Ladybugs are a sure sign of spring

You can tell spring has sprung. My globe willow tree has green leaves at the tippy top, the daffodils have opened. It seems like that is always during a spring snow. The flowering plum and flowering pear are close to opening their buds. The ant holes have opened up again but the weirdest thing was while I was in town last Friday, I left my window cracked open only an inch and a ladybug flew into my car. Is that lucky?

Ladybugs or ladybird beetles come in colors ranging from yellow, orange and red with the famous black dots on their wing covers. According to the Wikipedia, a very large number of ladybugs are black, brown or gray. I've never seen those that I can recall.

Ladybugs are really good for our gardens because they eat aphids and scale insects. I remember years ago my parents bought a gross of ladybugs to let lose in Dad's garden. He believes in the whole Mother Earth stuff.

I remember as a kid that if a ladybug were to land on you it was supposed to mean you were lucky or something. What about the fact that there are more than 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs? Or that a ladybug beats its wings 85 times a second. Wow don't they sound amazing?

Here's another weird thing: ladybugs chew from side to side not up and down like us. Also ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so predators won't hurt them. One more fact most people may not know: if you squeeze a ladybug it will bite you but it doesn't hurt. And what about the fact that a ladybugs spots fade as they get older. I hope we all appreciate this wonderful little creature as they start to appear in our yards now.

Another strange thing happened this past week that I have never seen before. Three red-tailed hawks were above me. Two started fighting with each other and spiraled downward all the way to the ground. When they hit the dirt the one started attacking the other one, maybe this was a spring mating ritual, I don't know.

Pinon Hills Elementary

Last Friday night was family movie night at Pinon Hills Elementary School featuring "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." Students as well as some of the parents all dressed in their pajamas with blankets to cuddle with. The turn-out was great and the cost of admission was a can of food for the Carson Valley Community Food Closet. Water and popcorn was provided.

Happy spring!

n Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.