Tuesday? Miscellany

My work schedule has shifted somewhat recently, so I'm a bit out of sorts. It feels much like Monday this morning, so I figured I'd just share some recent unconnected photos. (Or are they connected?)

I'll start with a guilty pleasure of mine: flicking stink bugs off the window screens. I am a person who pretty much enjoys all creatures and leaves them alone, but in this case I can't help but interfere a bit. I love the feel of launching them, the gentle drumming sound the screen makes, the way it takes them a meter or so before they realize what's happening and start flying. So much fun!

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I think I saw a termite

Recently I split a bunch of firewood, and needed to stack it. I always have trouble finding the right material for the bottom of the stack as I don't want to put the wood directly onto the ground (it will rot). I've tried using older logs for the bottom, but that always results in the fungi moving off those old logs onto my firewood. I've tried using bricks, but it's hard to use those on the uneven ground. Metal poles (electrical conduit) are too small. So I decided to use one of the boards from the raised bamboo bed I recently disassembled -- I'd keep it off the ground with some bricks.

This wood has some obvious insect damage, but when I first saw it I thought it was due to ants. The boards have been stacked together since I pulled that box apart, and I found out that ants were probably not involved.

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Termites! (don't panic)

So the other day when I was scrambling around trying to find more potting mix to use when potting up bamboo divisions, I emptied out a container which had been sitting around since last Summer when the Rhubarb that was in it went dormant (and then I guess died). Breaking the potting mix up, what did I see?

Termites! Ack! Termites! Well, that was my first reaction.

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