In Florida a problem pest is the “love-bug.” In Michigan, we have the “lady bug.” Yup, in Michigan lady bugs have cross-bred with a wierd strain of lady bugs. About five years ago this new cross-breed became true pests. They don’t bite or eat much, but if you happen to squish one, they smell horrid. They’re not the cute little critters we enjoyed during our childhood and encouraged because they’d rid your houseplants of aphids. This new breed is over-whelming. There are way too many of them to be tolerated. So in Florida the benign bug that is a pest because of the sheer numbers of them is the love-bug. But Michigan has it’s a similar problem.

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Chile and crackers make the best cold weather meal.

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Cold weather follows us. In April, we returned from Florida and everyone told us how nice it had been for most of the month, but for the next couple of weeks we had snow, gloom, and cold.

When we returned last Thursday from Florida, it was in the mid-70’s and lovely. But within two days the temperatures had dropped and they’re still falling. It’s now bitter cold and snow is predicted.

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I miss those little geckos that scurry around in Florida. They’re sweet and help rid the world of pesky insects. I will admit I was startled by one when he jumped on me while I was sunning at the pool, but generally they are benign. I look forward to them.

Our buddy Bob has one who lives in his house. He calls it his “dragon.”