The investigation has officially expanded beyond my backyard.
Last night I enlisted the help of my longtime partner in detective work, Sarah.
Sarah works at a vineyard in upstate New York. Which immediately caught my attention because, in my mind, a vineyard should be a spotted lantern fly’s version of Disney World.
After all, it was the threat these little freeloaders posed to the wine industry that first got me invested in this whole mess.
No wine? No bueno.
So I asked Sarah the obvious question:
“How bad are the spotted lantern flies up there?”
Her response?
“What spotted lantern flies?”
I’m sorry…WHAT?
Naturally, Sarah did what any experienced investigator would do.
She said, “I’ll interview my colleagues.”
Perfect.
Because if there’s one thing Sarah and I know how to do, it’s conduct highly professional interviews with complete confidence. We’ve spent years refining our technique, and I trust her to ask the hard-hitting questions.
So now the detective network is growing.
I’ve got my brother-in-law covering agriculture (although he still hasn’t responded to my guest post challenge…)
I’ve got Sarah working the vineyard beat.
I’m holding down backyard surveillance and daily perimeter patrol.
Between farming, wine country, and two women with an unhealthy curiosity and unquestionably legit investigative methods…I have a feeling we’re about to learn something interesting.
Or we’ll just confuse a lot of innocent people with oddly specific questions about spotted lantern flies.
Either way…
The plot thickens.
ZOE ANN LARSON 