Spencer Pratt is a Creep

I said it before and I'll say it again... well, even if I didn't say it in these exact terms before, still...

Spender Pratt is a creep.

Well that... and he is about negative 17 million on a scale of 1 to 10, as far as being "sexually appealing". There's not enough bandwidth in the universe, much less the world wide web, to list the many reasons.

And Heidi is either an equally egocentric money hungry, publicity hound... or she suffers from such low self esteem that bagging an "important" guy is the only way she can feel good about herself.

Either way... sad. Just sad.

Bang Bang Bang, Repeat

The bulk of my week was spent getting a new roof on my little house.

Four days, it took. Four days sequester, banging, power rationing. and anxiety.

Followed by the (equally unnerving) squeaking of my wallet.

I'm pleased, though. They did a great job, and were as considerate as nine men with hammers, nails, saws, an air compressor and a torch can be.

And as the rains set in today, I am flooded with a sense of security that I haven't felt in a long, long time.

Pathetic Non-Celebrity

Spencer Pratt is pathetic, as he blogs about blogs that blog about 'Spencer Pratt'.

Not Good Enough For Lauren Conrad

Last week,we were worried that she was still in love with Jason.

And after last night's episode of 'The Hills, we might assume that Lauren Conrad is once again enamored with the deep yet shallow Brody Jenner.

Let's all (ye with little or no personal lives) say it in unison... Lauren is SO much better than that.

She hasn't endured the agony of the Laguna Beach high road (past Kristin, Stephen and Jason)... to settle for a smooth talking pimp, has she?????

Listen to your mom, L.C.!

More Trouble For Beth and Greta In Aruba

It's clear. Aruba considers the publicity undue scrutiny, aka bad publicity.

All Beth Holloway wants, however, is to find her daughter's remains, and to understand what happened.

What Greta can't understand is what I can't understand...

How can anyone who hasn't lost a daughter (by any circumstances, much less these)... pass judgment?

Our Spiny-Backed Orb Weavers

About this time last year, I began noticing brilliant webs with crab-like spiders at their centers.

Because they appeared along with the second appearance of my hummingbirds (more on those later), they caught me at a time when I was particularly curious about nature.

And so I discovered the Spiny-Backed Orb Weaver, akin to the barn orb-weaver spider of Charlotte's Web.

Mine are known as garden orb weavers, and they are mostly a brilliant red orange in color.

Uniformly, my spiders connect primary lines to three fixed objects. Two strands affix to the points (one coming, one going, I assume), and in the center they spin a perfectly round segmented web, comprised of 20 to 30 radii (yes, I've counted them... again with the life!), measuring measuring between 14" and 18" out to out.

According to Aggie horticulturists (Gig 'Em, Ags!), these spiders are considered beneficials in the garden, because they prey upon small garden pests, including mosquitoes.


The more I've learned, the more I've come to really appreciate the species. For instance, it is the female of the species that spins the intricate webs, while the male hangs from a single strand... waiting, I assume, for the female to deliver dinner.

While I don't condone those roles, I applaud the ambition and fastidious work of the female.

I'm told that these gals spin a new web each evening, and that's likely true, when need be. I've gone to great lengths to preserve their webs... including the relocation of a primary point connection. On the rare occasion when a web is destroyed, however, I've noticed a new web somewhere else.

Photos are best in the morning sun. I'll be home again tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for better photos?