Older and Better with Shelly

  There’s a new buzz around town and it’s not involving crime, baseball or politics. They’re called cicadas. They arrive every 17 years. I’m of that age that this will probably be my last visit with them. Cicadas are everywhere and people are constantly talking about them. You can hear them, you can see them, and if they land on you, they’ll make this irritating popping sound. I don’t like them. They’re disgusting. My husband knows when he buys my coffin that it has to be cicada proof. I will never lie in peace if I know my body is crept on by those things. Since they’ve arrived, I have not been outside much. I prefer to jump straight into my car in the garage, open the door and take off. I made the mistake of going out to the garden the other day. One of those irritants had the nerve to jump onto my clean hair. When I flipped it off it made that awful pop noise. My head hasn’t stopped itching since and it was salon clean hair. I told my husband Steve that I think t...

So we’re in the middle of a pandemic, rioting all over the United States, and the Republicans and Democrats waging their own war. So here on the home front we have a battle of our own. Flies, mosquitoes, fleas, larva, bees, wasps and moles Let’s not forget the deer that like to eat my plants and vegetables. And there are the spiders. We get those every year. Years ago when I had my house sprayed for bugs the technician would always ask me what I had in the house. The first thing I would say is spiders. He said it doesn’t work for that. I would list a couple other things like flies and mosquitoes. Again I was told it doesn’t work for that. I decided he doesn’t work for me anymore. So in 50 years of having kitties we never had one with fleas. They’re not outside cats and I wouldn’t know a flea if I saw one.  I guess if my cats were itching that would be my first clue.  Well they were and they do have fleas.  2020, the gift that just keeps on giving.    ...