How Things Are Now

During the week that I was away, the purple milkweed, along with the butterflies that used to frequent it, entirely disappeared. On the other hand, the common milkweed is blooming, albeit half-heartedly.

The common milkweed is pushed up against the fence by competing poison ivy plants, so it is not thriving

There are no butterflies or bumblebees attracted to the blossoms, but I did see a couple of Japanese beetles who found the leaves inviting.

Japanese Beetles on the Common Milkweed

They seemed to make the leaf they were on bounce up and down.

The tall phlox is  just now starting to bloom.

Tall Phlox in Bloom 

A ladybug I saw seemed very attracted by some of the unopened blossoms.

A Ladybug on the Tall Phlox

It struggled against the high wind to climb up to that spot.

The blooming phlox always reminds my of my children's book, In Case There's a Fox.

Summer is in full swing and the grasshoppers are out.

The tree by the outer fence line that sports "service berries as big as cherries" has some ripening fruit on it now, turning a bright red color.

I suspect that these are neither service berries nor cherries, but I don't know what they actually are.

Some of my friends on Facebook think it is a jujube tree, but according to the Wikipedia, the distribution of jujube does not extend to the continental United States.

What do you think this fruit is? Leave a comment below.

Meanwhile, Bow continues to take an interest in YouTube music videos.

Watching Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance", Bow did not dance. He sat perfectly still and watched respectfully. He could tell this was family friendly material, so he was not excited, but happy and calm as he watched. He likes images of babies and young girls, and he responds very differently to them than to Lady Gaga, who clearly excites him.

Lawrence told me that while I was away, he kept trying to entice Bow to use his own computer, but Bow was only interested in what Lawrence was doing on Lawrence's computer. Finally, after a few days of Bow asking to use Lawrence's computer whenever Lawrence was using it, Lawrence realized that if he used Bow's computer instead of his own, then Bow would ask to use his computer.

Bow watched a lot of music videos. He preferred Lady Gaga to The Music Man. But he also was interested in reading Lawrence's email. He wants to do what he sees us doing.

Bow does not want to have a special computer just for chimpanzees. He wants to use the sort of computer all of us use. This is one of the reasons he has been resisting. I think this calls for a new strategy on my part. Maybe I should try to use the touchscreen more often myself.

Spring Returns

The snow only lasted half a day. By late afternoon it had melted. Bow woke up from his nap, refreshed and ready to explore.

There is nothing like napping to help clear the mind.

He even went outside for a little while, but it was still cold, so he came back in and napped some more.

When Bow is not napping and we are stuck indoors, sometimes he likes to watch videos on Youtube. If I am watching something on my side of the partition, and he thinks it is interesting, he draws my attention, takes my hand and spells: " תני לי לראות" -- "Let me see."

He was very interested in a video about the effects that meditation has on the brain. When a picture of the brain came on the screen, he leaned in closer to see.

He also likes music videos.

The Sound of Music is one of his favorites. When Bow listens to music, he does not do it passively. He gets involved.  Bow lets the music sweep him away. But when the music is done, Bow sits down and watches the people applauding.

When not watching videos, Bow likes to groom and be groomed.

Bow likes to groom my face

The weather changes did not really phase Bow, because he has other things to do when going outdoors is not an option. But I wondered what the snow had done to the flowers and the buds. When I ventured out yesterday to check on the flowers after the snowfall, there was no visible damage from the snow,

The daffodils by the lagoon were fine.

I went out into the woods to look at the volunteer daffodils growing there. They were thriving and swaying in the breeze.

By evening last night we had a beautiful sunset.

In the dimming light, I could hear a symphony of croaking frogs. Frogs! What were they doing during the snow, the day before?

Nature is full of mystery. Somehow things survive despite the ravages of the seasons. Maybe it's because nobody helps them, and nobody notices if they don't survive. They just have to find a way on their own.