Termites. Powder post beetles.

Remember when I did that nice to-do list?
Well, as usual, it seems that something else popped up and moved to the front of the list.  This wasn't even on any list I have ever created in my wildest moments for this house.
Termites in my porch posts.  And I found powder post beetles in my other porch.  A bug guy I talked to asked why I knew these bugs and I told him of my training.  One of the classes in museum studies is insect recognition - so you don't get them in your collection. We had a donated wedding dress from Iowa I kept in a fishing company's deep freezer for a month to get rid of some funky bug living in it. 
Someone asked me if I still like my house, and I told them "yup".  Too bad I can't put it in a big tupperware container and stick it in a freezer for a month....while I vacation somewhere lovely.

Woodpecker alarm clock

There must be a load of insects on the north side of my house. About once a week I wake up to a woodpecker pounding his little head on my house right outside my window. It is really loud, and wakes me right up. Better than my alarm clock since I can't womp that bird on the head to turn it off for ten minutes. I have been working on getting Amanda dog to chase away woodpeckers, but I don't think she knows what I am saying. Being that she is not a typical dog and befriends fowl, felines and foes.

Dream - House insect damage

When I was a kid I would tell my mom my dreams and she would tell me what they might mean. The one I had last night was worthy of pondering.
...I was outside and noticed a whole section of my house siding was chewed by insects. I was all indignant ("hey, I thought they didn't eat cedar", "hey, why a whole section on one side of the house", "hey, how could they do that in one night") and then I noticed there were large patches of chewed wood in several places on the house.
The interpretation dictionary off of dreammoods.com says : To see insects in your dream signify minor obstacles that you must overcome. There are small problems and annoyances that need to be dealt with. You feel that you are under attack.

I left off the insects as divine messenger part of the interpretation, since that just didn't ring true. In realtime...my siding above my bedroom window has failed, I have been worrying about termites I found outside in the yard last summer wondering if they think the house looks delicious, and I have one monster to-do list nowadays. So yes, something is bugging me.
I hate things threatening my house. Weather, bugs, age, earthquake, fire, unruly children, dustbunnies. Good to know those concerns just go right into my subconscious to make me some weird dreams.

Report on Dog and Day

Amanda is fine! She seems to be none the worse for her horse adventure of being slightly kicked. She can wag her tail again.
Strider the horse has some sort of itchy eczema thing going on his mane.
It is finally raining. It always rains AFTER I water everything in the yard.
We had heat lightening this morning at 3:30. Strange phenomena.
Someone (canine) threw up this morning. There are days that I think it would be really really fine not to have animals in my house. But then Amanda brings me her ball or her sock or her bone or Wilder's sock and I think that she is durn cute and such a great dog.
There are ants crawling up my drain pipe. Hmmmm. Where are they going? What are they doing? Why don't they crawl up the barn drain pipe instead? These are all questions that I know they will not answer. I tried to outsmart them by putting tape sticky side out on the drain pipe. It did not deter them one iota. Ants are more determined than I. There is a bit of news for you.