What are you scared of?

On my list is most certainly the dark.  Yup, I am putting that out there for you all to read.  I am a woman in my mid-30s (ugh, the birthday last week is still taking some time to adjust to!) and I am scared of the dark.  I even sleep with lights on when Roy is away (except for when we lived at our first apartment in Manhattan because it was so bright from all the beautiful city lights)!

Now that I have admitted to that fear, I can tell you that our yard has provided Roy, Leighton, and I each with a chance to come face to face with something we are scared of over the past week.  Well, maybe scared is a bit extreme of a word. Maybe we can just call them things we'd rather to not be around or deal with!

So, in addition to the dark, on my list of not-interested-in seeing/touching are a lot of bugs.  Many of them really creep me out.  And I am not so sure that I buy into the whole face your fears thing.  Especially when I innocently go outside to water plants and find some weird, creepy, Texas insect on the bouncy castle bag RIGHT by the sliding doors.

I googled it and think it's a Dog Day Cicada.  Not 100% sure.  And it doesn't change the fact that I am not interested in seeing another of these things again and am thankful that my loving husband disposed of it for me when he got home from work.  Unfortunately, I am guessing I will see one again though because we have seen a few of the empty skins before.  Ick!

For Roy, it's frogs (he is going to be so appreciative of me sharing this with you, I just know it!).  He isn't scared of them though.  I should clarify that.  They just disgust him and he'd prefer to not be around them.  Or at least that's the story he tells.

So guess which parent had to be the frog-catching assistant and photographer?  Me, of course!  You think I'd be scared of an itty bitty frog?  No way!  Oh, wait ... you already know all about my fear of the dark and bugs, so I am not fooling anyone with my big brave talk here, am I?!?! 

Leighton has all sorts of things that scare him.  Some are really odd (like the eyes on a picture of a sunshine on a toy).  Some are understandable (dogs) and common with kids (dressed up characters).  And we get new additions regularly.  The most recent: dragonflies.  Doesn't matter that we've explained they won't bite or sting.  He sees one and he runs (or ducks his head under the water).

Not this kind though:

More like this kind:

Not sure how he can be scared of something so pretty!

And Riley?  Well, she's just little, so we are just starting to learn what terrifies her!  And sometimes she's just copying her brother.  She's very clear about it though, so there's no mistaking when she is in the presence of something she'd rather not be. 

We'll see what pops up in the yard this week to terrify us all!

In the meantime, Roy decided to give back and create some fear in the birds that were interested in our ripening tomatoes.  After our first red one was nibbled on, he set up some 'scarecrows'.  I laughed.  I admit it.  But, now I will give him his props.  It totally worked!

And so goes life in our yard.  Fear and be feared, I guess!