I started this blog to share some of the thoughts I have along the journey of life. I love to travel and spend time with my family and friends. A good meal, breaking bread with those I love, gives my life meaning. So does travel. I adore dreaming of sites to visit, not just to check them off on a list. Rather, I consider myself a student of life, traveling as an explorer, to open my mind to all the possibilities the world holds in store for me and for others. I love to travel to discover how different the world is in terms of climate, cultures, politics, terrain, economy, etc. but also to discover how SIMILAR the people are. Despite language barriers, much can be communicated with a smile or gestures. Language is simply a means to communicate, yet there are so very many other ways to communicate. Once when I was in French-speaking Canada, I realized that my 7th grade French class didn’t teach me the word for “straw”. However, when I thought about it, I was able to communicate to the very French-speaking waiter in a very French-speaking restaurant about my need for a “cylinder through which to drink” in my limited French vocabulary. Travel challenges the mind and soul, stretching us to problem solve and form conclusions about all that we experience. THAT is the type of travel I enjoy best. “All’s well that ends well”, as they say………….”Life is Good” as well.
Today is the day. THE day that our ladybug larvae arrived. Arrived in a TUBE, that is. Evidently there was a “run” on ladybug larvae during the pandemic (go figure!), and Carolina Biological Supply was a bit short on these larvae during the earlier part of the pandemic. I ordered the larvae on May 19, and today (June 13) they finally arrived. The directions said to moisten the circular sponge in the habitat before adding the larvae. The directions also told me to add a half scoop (scoop provided) of the orange-colored food to the habitat before adding the larvae as well. The directions further told me that I should not fret if the larvae do not move right away, as they had a long journey and were likely thirsty, hungry, and tired. At least three or four larvae found their way to the moistened sponge within five minutes of their liberation from the tube. Remarkable creatures in my opinion. I’m really hoping these tiny little creatures don’t come out of the habitat when I open the lid tomorrow to re-moisten the sponge, as several were crawling onto the sides of the habitat shortly after I took them out of the tube.
The directions tell me I am to moisten the sponge daily and add 1/2 a scoop of food every two to three days to the floor of the habitat and to keep the habitat out of drafts or sun.
tiny larva on the plastic tree stump
Evidently, IF I do everything I’m supposed to, we will have pink ladybugs in ten to fourteen days. I received ten ladybug larvae, and evidently five should survive the process. Another exciting diversion during the pandemic to keep us busy.
lady bugs that we received were in stage two, the larva stage (a page from the guide included with the kit
There is a sense of excitement I feel watching something so tiny growing before my eyes. I can’t wait until the larvae change to adult ladybugs so I can release them to tackle the aphids in the yard.
Life is good; find something to ignite your sense of wonder and excitement during this pandemic if you can, even if it is a bug!
yellow flower petal with ladybug under blue sky (credit: Dreamstime)
I just did it. I ordered fifteen HUNDRED live ladybugs for release into the yard. I began thinking of some new ideas to do during the pandemic while we continue to self-isolate. I love watching the butterfly caterpillars we have growing in the house, looking each day for subtle changes in them. Watching and waiting. Watching and waiting. I wondered what else we could have growing in the house during this hot Florida spring and decided that ladybugs would be amazing to watch, grow, and release. I looked on Amazon and found this kit:
Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Ladybug Garden, picture courtesy of Amazon.com
I love this kit, as it has three magnifying glass lenses (for 3x magnification) on the top of it, which will help to really notice the amazing changes in the ladybugs as they grow. I love watching life through a lens. The kit contains a voucher for about ten live ladybug larvae, too. I decided that ten is not nearly enough ladybugs to eat the white flies and aphids I have growing and eating in my yard, so that’s why I ordered the large, no VERY large, order of live ladybugs in the meantime.
ladybug (credit: Dreamstime)
“The ladybug wears no disguises.
She is just what she advertises.
A speckled spectacle of spring,
A fashion statement on the wing,
A miniature orange kite,
A tiny dot-to-dot delight.”
-J. Patrick Lewis
The ladybug kit, Amazon assures me, will arrive at my home on Tuesday, May 19, and the live ladybugs will arrive on May 29. The kit will arrive WITHOUT the butterfly larvae, however. I will have to order them separately after I receive the kit, using the voucher that is provided along with the kit.
“Life is a series of tiny miracles. Notice them.”
-Roald Dahl
(photo credit: Dreamstime)
“Ladybugs all dressed in red, strolling through the flower bed… if I were tiny just like you, I’d creep through the flowers, too!”
-Maria Fleming
(photo credit: Dreamstime)
Evidently legend has it that ladybugs are associated with good luck, changes, divine intervention, and a happy resolution to something troublesome. The Celts associated ladybugs with protection, and in French folklore legend has it that whatever ailment you have flies away when a ladybug flies away from you. The French, as well as the Austrians, also believe seeing a ladybug would be correlated with good weather. In Norway, if a man and a woman spot a ladybug at the same time, legend has it that there will be a romance blooming between them. A rare sighting of a yellow ladybug, according to yet another legend, signifies upcoming travel, adventure, and a new chapter in one’s life. Swedish folklore tells us that if a ladybug lands on a young woman’s hand, she would be married soon.
There are also some religious meanings associated with ladybugs as well. In fact, some say the origins to the ladybug’s name, originally known as “Our Lady’s Beetles”, is the result of a reference to a prayer made by farmers in the Middle Ages to the Virgin Mary to keep their crops safe from swarms of pests (aphids). When the ladybugs arrived, they thought they were sent from their prayers to the Virgin Mary, and they called them “Our Lady’s Beetle.” Some say the common number of seven spots on the lady’s back are associated with the Virgin Mary’s “seven joys and seven sorrows” as described in the Bible.
It has also been said that lady bugs in the Jewish religion also have religious meaning. The Hebrew word for ladybugs is “Moses’ Cow”, as there is an old Yiddish legend in which Moses encountered these beautiful creatures when he was sitting in the Garden of Eden studying the Torah. When the ladybug asked Moses why he had spots, Moses replied that the spots represented God’s words and deeds. Also, a common number of spots on the lady bug, seven, is symbolic of the six days that God created with world and the seventh day that he rested. If a ladybug has only two spots, it stands for the “Two Tablets of Jewish law (the first tablet was written by God, and the second Tablet was written with Moses). If a ladybug has ten spots, it represents the ten commandments, and so on.
Ladybugs are some of the most beautiful and appreciated beetles in the world. They help us by eating pests and are the stuff of legends. When I look at my new ladybugs when they arrive, I will remember their association with good luck and protection. I can’t wait to release them into the world so that in some small way, I am doing my part to make the world a little bit better than I found it.
Life is good. May you find good fortune and may any ailment at all, or any ailment from the pandemic (physical, mental, or otherwise), fly away from you if and when you see a ladybug land on you during some enchanted evening or magical moment.
While driving through New Mexico a few years back, we just HAD to stop in Roswell, New Mexico for a laugh or two and certainly a few great photo ops. Roswell is the fifth largest city in New Mexico, and the city really got on the map in the 1940s when a military balloon crashed in a nearby area. Residents were convinced that this was a UFO, but the military maintained that it was a weather balloon. Conspiracy theories were created and gained interest, especially in the 1970s, when some conspiracy theorists suggested that an alien was onboard the alleged UFO.
I’m not sure of the validity of any of these claims, but it sure seemed like a fun place to visit. I would suggest only driving through the place, as the alien/UFO area is pretty seedy at the present time. However, many things on this stretch of road, route 285 or Main Street, leading through the city have alien-themed photo ops. Even the McDonalds is saucer-shaped.
Even the lamp posts on the streets had alien-themed lights. This is the ultimate kitschy place and a hoot to roll through.
One place that was an interesting, albeit short, stop was the International UFO Museum and Research Center, where there were many displays about the history of the alien hype.
Display at the International UFO Museum and Research Center
By far my favorite place in Roswell is the Alien Zone shop, however. For just a few dollars, you can go into this seedy (and frankly dirty) little place where you can take funny pictures with “aliens.” This place is priceless in my opinion for kitschy photo ops. Granted I wanted to go back to the hotel to take a shower after posing with some of these old props that could have used a good cleaning, it was worth the laughter thereafter.
There are several “scenes” where you can walk into and take pictures. Some of the scenes are better than others but definitely worth a few dollars (if you have some hand sanitizer).
Traveling through New Mexico, you just have to roll through Roswell for a few laughs if nothing else. It is out of this world.
Life is good; find somewhere kitschy to take photos and laugh thereafter, LONG after.
Cabin Fever. Wanderlust. Tough to be inside. Spring Break today, ” Teen Traveler” and I decided to venture out of the house to where we could maintain an appropriate “social distance” from others to protect ourselves from Covid-19. Living in Florida, we decided we would find a remote beach area where there were few people present. We searched for the perfect “Cast Aside Covid Cove” with a song in our hearts and our usual spirit of adventure.
Turtle Sculptures were originally auctioned off and placed in Vero Beach by Turtle Trax to raise awareness for mental health. There are over thirty turtle sculptures similar to this one in Vero Beach.
We traveled to Vero Beach, FL, where we found WAY too many people in the parking lots and on the beach for us to maintain our “social distance”, but we enjoyed our day trip to this magical place that is dotted with sea turtle sculptures in so many places. Vero Beach wasn’t as isolated a spot as we wanted, so we decided to drive further south until we found some hidden beach access somewhere else.
Local Beach access on A1A in St. Lucie County. Blink and you’ll miss it…..
I wanted to share this day with “Teen Traveler” to show her how we prepare for Corona to come knocking on our door. We think. We come up with a plan. We prepare. We have FUN! A day spent all alone with “Teen Traveler” where we went on a road trip, we laughed, we talked, we laughed some more, we listened to music from our respective generations, and we laughed some more was just what we needed.
“Teen Traveler” the mermaid
There were few people on the beach, but there was a red flag waving in the breeze. Native Floridians know this means to stay out of the water for some peril or another. One red flag means that the surf is high or there are dangerous currents or both. So, we decided to go into the water only up to our knees, but the surf was so high the waves hit our waists as they came rolling in toward shore. The water was cool at first (for the Native Floridians in the crowd), but we adjusted okay.
“Teen Traveler’s” Life Through a Lens………..
Being with my daughter reminded me of a song by Sia……….
“… I’ve been waiting for a magic moment But maybe there are magic moments Could it be a magic moment now? I’ve been waiting for a magic moment But maybe there are magic moments Baby it’s a magic moment nowBut darling it’s a magical, magical life, life, life Oh honey, it’s a magical, magical life, life, life And baby it’s a magical, magical life, life, life When you can find magic in every day, night, night, night….”
“Teen Traveler” contemplating…….serious one moment…………. ….then making “sand angels” in the sand instead of the snow the next minute…………..
We had a great day and we are already thinking of where we might take a day trip next week. Clear kayak on a Florida spring? Fly a kite at another beach? One thing is for certain. On Earth we have ONLY these five minutes. Time to go out to make a memory, as there is beauty everywhere.
Carpe Diem with Caye 