By David Freeze
For the Salisbury Post
I am still thinking of ways to save money. Some of them are fun ways, so I will talk about them first.
There is one strange pastime that I have. OK, one that I can talk about. A few years back, my good friend Darrell Blackwelder wrote about battling carpenter bees.
Whatever Darrell says is OK with me. We used to work together in Charlotte, and he has probably forgotten more about horticulture than I ever knew. Carpenter bees are damaging little pests that bore into exposed pieces of wood around the farm.
They make little holes just big enough for them to enter the wood, and sawdust starts falling out. Plus there is the most irritating buzzing constantly. Darrell suggested that we get after them with a badminton racket.
I’ve never had a badminton racket, but I do usually have a tennis racket. In fact, it is a pretty nice one. Haven’t used it for tennis yet this year, but it has been used often to counterattack those darn carpenter bees.
Most fun is to wait till late in the evening when they start coming in from flying around doing who knows what, and then they hover and make that buzzing noise. I just walk up with my tennis racket and slap one or sometimes two against the wall of the building. They are briefly stunned, so then I have a few seconds to locate and stomp them. It can be a pretty good workout, and very satisfying once that incessant buzzing starts to lessen. Some call me competitive, but all I can say that the most fun is to break my previous record of stunned and stomped carpenter bees. All of this fun doesn’t cost a thing. One day I will get Darrell to come over and we’ll save money together.
Once all that bee slapping is over, there is another special thing available right now. Honeysuckle is at its peak, and smells fantastic. But it is also a good time to pull the little shoot out of the flower and suck just a tiny bit of honey. It is a lot of work, but the source is plentiful. Most of us farm kids spent hours doing this as we grew up, but now I occasionally ask a teenager if they know what I mean. Not many do.
Just last week, fireflies started to come out again. It seems to me that fireflies were much more plentiful in past years, and now it is a treat to see them. On my early morning runs last week, it was invigorating to see them lighting my way up the road. They aren’t around if it is windy or cold, and of course you can’t see them if there is too much light.
Since our weather has been so unsettled lately, there have been plenty of chances to see lightning. Nothing impresses me more than good summer lightning. It can be pretty scary when caught in the field operating a piece of farm equipment, so a more relaxed time of sitting in the yard or on the porch is much preferred. My farm has a far off view of the western horizon, and that is the best viewing angle for many of our storms. That lightning racing through the sky, reaching with fingers of jagged light, really is entertaining. I can watch it for hours.
Here is one that I don’t suggest for others. On one special morning last week, somewhere near 5 a.m., I went out for a run. As I headed up the road smelling that sweet honeysuckle, there were fireflies twinkling ahead of me. It was a cloudy morning, and thunderstorms were in the area. A few minutes later the sky started to flash. Fireflies close by, and lightning in the distance. Quickly I realized just how small and insignificant I am, and just marveled at the amazement of my surroundings. The lightning increased, the wind started to blow, and soon there were warm drops of rain falling. I felt great, and continued my run and returned very wet. For me, it was a perfect early morning. What a great way to start a day, and it didn’t cost a thing!