Friday, July 22, 2011

A Weekly Link Round-Up with Aliens


This is the perfect time of year to get a lot of reading done while sitting in the shade in the pool, and that's exactly what I've been doing. Cicadas are whirring away at varying decibel levels. Monsoon thunderheads build and collapse high above me in the cobalt sky. Hummingbirds and dragonflies play in the water of the pool aerator. I can even tell how good a book is by my skin: the higher the prune factor, the better the book.

The only time my paradise in the Valley of the Sun is threatened is when the aliens land. Think I'm kidding? Take a look at the alien to the right. It's a small one... only about five inches long. It's a palo verde beetle, and is one of the Evil Triumvirate in my bug world. (Earwigs and sewer roaches are the other two.)

I well remember the first time I met one of these beetles. It flew at me out of nowhere, and I found myself running for cover. Dashing into the laundry room, I managed to get my hands on the broom and gave it a couple of good whacks. In no time at all, it was lying on the patio, deathly still. I had conquered the alien!

For good measure, I went inside and got a can of foaming bug spray, guaranteed to "kill bugs dead". I sprayed a mound of the stuff on the alien-- until it was completely buried under the avalanche. An hour later, I remembered that I had to remove the corpse, but when I went out to do so, what do I see but an antenna waving above the foam! I would tell you that the thing crawled off and lived to divebomb me another day, but it wouldn't be true.  And that's all I shall say on the matter; I have links to share!


Bookish Lists & Quizzes

Bookish News & Other Fun Stuff

eBooks

Blogging & Social Media Tips

New to My Google Reader

That's it for this week. I hope you found an item or two that tickled your fancy. Don't forget to stop by next weekend when I'll have a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!

3 comments:

  1. What a scary story, Cathy! I hope you are armed to the teeth!

    Ha, I´d love to be a horizontal writer. But sadly I know that it would be a dreadful waste of time for me to begin with a handwritten draft.

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  2. Cathy - Always love catching up with your links :-). Thanks for sharing them :-). And I am no bigger of an alien bug fan than you are...

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  3. Dorte-- Normally when I'm out in the pool, I only have my camera and a fly swatter handy. Most critters find the camera more scary than the fly swatter!

    Margot-- Yes... the bigger they are, the less I like them!

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