Don't bug me

The fancy cankerworm traps done by professionals are catching the wingless moths that crawl into the trees and lay cankerworm eggs.
If you don't have fancy traps already, drag out something sticky -- holiday packing tape, duct tape, whatever -- and please wrap your trees. There's still time to catch more of these lovely bugs.
The moths are climbing wild cherry trees in addition to willow oaks. No sign of them climbing dogwoods or a maple. How about your trees? And has anyone heard official counts of the number of bugs this year compared to prior years?

Watch out for Rudolph

Neighbors spotted a deer near the 2600 block of Arnold Drive recently. Drive carefully. For more, see here.
deer courtesy of Aileen via Flickr.com with Creative Commons licensing.

Check this local site out

If you just don't have enough to do this season, check out this site for information and shopping "inside the four."
Route 4 is Charlotte's old "inner belt," including Eastway, Wendover and I think Woodlawn on the south side, though I'm a bit fuzzy on that. The website has links to neighborhood information and blogs about events and shopping in the center city. Save gas, plan your trips, or just make virtual connections with Charlotte's best neighborhoods.

Band your trees

Reminder: band your trees to fight cankerworms. Advice varies whether you should do trees other than willow oaks. This picture shows what the worms can do to a dogwood, though, if the worms manage to reproduce on your oaks and then move to other food sources.