Interloppers

I am an early morning person (and I start fading when the sun goes down). “Zillions” of more important things crowd into my life if I don’t go for a stroll in the very early morning hours . I missed an early morning stroll today but did make it about ten AM. Normally there is early morning heavy dew that keep me on the dry macadam roads. This morning I discovered that the sunlight effectively dries everything as the morning progresses. That enabled me to walk through the fields and around the stream and pond that I enjoy so much without wet feet.







As I entered a neighboring fence row a couple of burrs “reached out” and attached themselves to my sleeves and pant legs. They had a Velcro like grip and seemed intent on accompanying me wherever I journeyed. My mind went back to my youthful hunting and trapping days. It always seemed to be wet, windy, freezing cold, and I’d be covered with burrs, or at least that’s what I remember. I used to hunt on those days with my father, my grandfather with his sawed-off double-barreled Parker 12 gauge shotgun, and sometimes, even my mother. (My mother will always remain in my mind as the “crack shot” but that’s another story for another day!) I recollect trudging through all kinds of terrain toting a slender 410 gauge shotgun. I hadn’t seen any of the favored dinner quarry-pretty male Ring necked Pheasants-for quite some time. Ironically, one crossed my path this morning as it scurried to the safety of a wooded area. I never stopped enjoying the outdoors although my hunting and trapping days ceased when I joined the military almost forty five years ago.






Now that it’s November the resident water snake that hides along the edge of our neighboring pond is nowhere to be found. However, a beautiful pair of Mallard ducks cruise warily in the middle of the pond. I can see game trails that deer and other creatures follow mainly at dusk and dawn as they come to sip this cooling water. I am so glad to be able to stop and relish this beautiful fall panorama as leaves drift one by one onto pond’s mirror-like stillness.






Later, when I return home I stop to admire the hibiscus flower that several weeks ago my wife had me bring indoors before any frost could affect it. A friend installed a vertical window on the landing between our first and second floors. It gives us a wonderful eastern exposure that is perfect for providing maximum sunlight to plants like this giant hibiscus. Persistent watering, some plant fertilizer sticks, and abundant sunlight have yielded nine new buds. Recently, we’ve delighted in seeing beautiful blossoms and I was eager to see today’s offering. I was not disappointed—new soft orange, yellow, and pink ones. However, I was shocked to see all the vital life giving leaves missing from two stalks. Mysterious pencil point-sized black dots litter the floor. Closer examination showed a fat caterpillar contentedly hugging a bare stalk after a scrumptious breakfast of lush leaves.






I thought back to the burrs that had hitched a ride on my clothing earlier this morning and now the caterpillar who’d stealthily let me introduce him to this predator-less utopia in our home. I realize that interlopers are everywhere and many never get our attention “if they behave.” They are eager to use us to help them advance their purposes and agendas. Amazingly, many times I don’t even realize that I am a host or an enabler unless I inadvertently feel the burrs or notice leaves missing with telltale droppings. Guess I need to be more alert to the many stealthy things that would like me and mine as hosts.