Scavenger Hunt - October 2018

For October's Scavenger Hunt on Swap-Bot, there were five things to find:

Something alive

These flowers are in a little prairie garden and perennial flower garden I established this past year. I don't remember what type of plant this is, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the purple flowers still blooming on it.

The flowers are very delicate and cup-like when in full bloom. They are the only flowers in the garden that are still blooming - even after a couple hard frosts.

Something woven

We have had these woven placemats for many years now. I put one down on the bureau in the dining room and placed the Halloween train on top of it so the ceramic wheels wouldn't scratch the wood.

The Halloween train used to belong to Paige's mother and step-father. It is only one of a few Halloween items that we still have after the fire on May 5, 2018, destroyed the hobby shed (where many of our holiday decorations were kept).

So, we are very grateful to have the Halloween train and a few other items as a connection to past Halloweens.

Something you’d never want to find in your house

I was checking on the status of the garage that is being built as a replacement to the hobby shed that burned. Sitting on the ledge in the sunlight was this Northern Paper Wasp.

Northern Paper Wasps are commonly found in Minnesota. They build nests near humans because that is where a lot of wood can be found (e.g., barns, homes, fences, sheds, landscaping, firewood). The wasps use wood to help create their nest.

What I don't like about these wasps is that the queens aggressively defend their nests and their oldest workers join her in that effort. Animals and people who disturb nests may be stung multiple times as wasps do not die after one sting (like honeybees do).

That being said, Northern Paper Wasps are useful insects in the sense that they do a great job of removing plant-devouring caterpillars from gardens. Still, I would not want them in my home.

A poster or marquee announcing an event

This was a recent poster that our Lions Club placed around town to let people know about our Service Project Sampler Day. We held the event when youth had the day off of school. Lions and community members of all ages came to do 13 different service projects (hands-on activities as well as donated items) that benefited 14 organizations locally and globally.

It was a fun event and everyone said they would like to have another Service Project Sampler Day. So, we are looking at having the next one in January. The goal would be to do an event once a quarter.

Something fluffy

This is Lucy, our cat. He is about 15 or 16 years old now. He and his sister, Maggie, came to our farm as kittens. They were wandering around the farm at only a few weeks old. We never could find the mother.

So, we ended up feeding them soft food and milk and they were thrilled to have something to eat. We fed them daily and checked on them many times (they were living in the hobby shed which had a cat door on it thanks to the previous owners).

Eventually, they made their way indoors and lived inside ever since. Although Maggie is no longer with us, Lucy is hanging in there. He is showing signs of aging - like reduced vision in his right eye, loss of weight, and not being able to jump up onto high things any more.

However, he's always eager to sit right next to you and purr; and loves being pet. He's a really good cat. We are fortunate to have had so many years with Lucy.