I always enjoy reading Ruth Charney’s My Turn articles and her sense of humor.
Regarding the tiny black flecks on her windowsill, as soon as my husband read it he said they are probably black poppy spores, also known as spores from artillery fungi. They become airborne and can travel quite a distance. They can be found in mulch chips and are small enough to enter through screens. They can look like poppy seeds.
Suggesting she Google them for more information and to determine if that is what they may be. While they are a nuisance, it is certainly better than having termites.
Florence Bergmann
Wendell