When Married To A Sheetrock Hanger:

This is for all you girls out there who are considering marrying a sheetrock hanger, or a construction worker. These are things that I have learned over the years.

1. They tend to want to unload their tools in the front yard. Which wouldn't be a problem if they would go put them up afterward, but the one that I'M married to, just leaves them where they fall. He does, however, stack them semi-neatly in the front yard, which I guess I should be thankful for.
2. If there is a chance that it might rain, then the tools are unloaded onto the front porch. Even though they are under cover, it still makes the appearance of our place look so junky and unloved. I regularly go out and clean the porches off, but the minute I get them looking good, they get junked back up again. And some of these tools are danged heavy, and it's hard to put them up.
3. We went to the expense of buying and building a shed to store all the tools in, but the shed is too far away from the front of the house, ( probably about 50 feet or so), so it is too much trouble to put them where they belong. I understand that he's tired; I have learned the hard way that getting older means you can't do the things that you used to be able to do. Simple things like walking and lifting, are much harder to do when you're tired or you have degenerative disks in your back, and a hurt shoulder that you can't get fixed because you can't be off work for the time that it takes to heal. Because:
4. When you are in construction (self employed), you do not have medical benefits. If you get them privately, you pay big time cash every month, as well as a huge deductible for every procedure done. When you are self-employed, if you don't work, you don't get paid; so you suck in the pain of whatever ails you, and go to work anyway, and don't get your medical needs taken care of. All that to say, if you are too tired or hurting too bad to walk 50 feet to put your tools up, then your front yard is continually going to look like a yard sale or a construction zone. We'd never make it in a gated community, that's for sure.
5. And if you DO manage to get him to put his tools in the shed where they belong; he stands at the door, and tosses, and where ever they land is where they stay. It doesn't take long for floor space to run out in a 16X16' shed. (I regularly used to try to clean the shed too, but the minute I do.............
6. Sheetrock dust follows them around in a cloud, especially in the summertime. Sheetrock hangers look like PigPen off of Peanuts cartoons, only the dust is powdery white instead of dark. And when it's time to wash their clothes, the combination of dust and sweat makes a kind of white mud that is yukky indeed to have to pick up to put in the washer.
But, on the other hand:
1. Sheetrock hangers get up very early in the morning to go out into all kinds of weather to earn their living, and provide for their families. (all of them are not so good at this, but the one that I'M married to is).
2. He works when his shoulder is hurting so bad that he cannot lift his arms above his head, because he cannot afford to take off for the six months that it would take to heal if he had the surgery that he needed.
3. He works in the freezing cold in the wintertime, and the burning heat in the summertime to provide for his family.
4. He stresses every Friday about whether or not the people that he worked for this week will pay him what they owe him. If they don't, his workers get paid anyway, but he doesn't. And if he gets ripped off by the builder, then that loss is his.
5. The work is so physical that it is no wonder that he has shoulder and knee problems. As he likes to remind me often: "We're not spring chickens anymore".

There are many other pros and cons, (more cons than pros, let me tell you), about what to expect if you marry a sheetrock hanger, but I have thoroughly depressed myself, and don't want to think about it anymore.
So, bottom line is: these are just a few of the things that you will face, but you have to ask yourself if the hassle of putting up with the aggravations are worth the reassurance of knowing that he will do his best to take care of you and the children that depend on him, and know that he does what he can do, and if you want a clean shed and yard, then either clean them up yourself, or marry a professional man. I guess I'll stay where I'm at, after 30 years, I've 'bout got him broke in, and at times I'M not the easiest in the world to live with either. (sheepish grin)
Besides, if I didn't have junk all in the yard, then I'd be mighty lonely, 'cause he wouldn't be here, and I'll put up with the junk (don't mean I gotta like it), in order to have someone to argue with. Happy Gardening!
P.S. What does this have to do with gardening you say? Why, because I keep my garden tools in the messy shed of course! (All put up neatly, I might add).

Family Pictures

 
 
 
 

The Does And Don'ts of Clearing Garden Debris

This is the way it works: you decide to finally get off your lazy bum-bum, (Frankie and Steven's new word for rear-end, courtesy of two years of living in California), and slog your way out through the (literally) five-foot-high weeds, to clean up the area that is supposed to be called your garden. Now, in the first place, you are not supposed to let your garden get into such a state, and in the second place, you are not supposed to let it go for so long without cleaning up for the winter. (I kill myself, preaching about how to get your garden ready for winter, and then letting mine go so bad). I know! I can blame it on SADD, the seasonal disorder that some people get in the wintertime, when they recieve less sunlight, so it makes them depressed........ Well, it sounded good anyway, sigh...... Ok, ok, I admit, I've let the stupid garden go all to pieces. Well, to the weeds anyway. Can't blame the bugs this time, they are all dead, YIPPEE! Finally got rid of them little suckers, halleujah! 'course, now nothing is growing, (weeds included), but, by golly, them bugs are history baby! Ok, now that I've gotten that off my chest, I feel much better, (MY kind of therapy is cheap, hehehe!)
Back to the subject at hand: to re-cap - I've slogged my way through the five-foot-high weeds, gotten through the guilt-trip, and rejoiced about the absence of bugs........ So, as I studied the situation, (all the tangles of thick, dead weeds), I ultimately decided that the best way to handle the dilemma of getting rid of them from my raised beds, was to burn them off. Now, first of all, when you decide to burn weeds, you 1.Make sure that it is not a windy day. 2.Make sure that you have a water supply handy. 3.Make sure that you are not alone. 4.Make sure that you have cell-phone signal, and 5. Make sure there are no structures or vehicles close to the burning area. The reason that I know what NOT to do is simple: 1.I burned weeds on a windy day. 2.The water supply had been turned off at the pump-house for the winter. 3.I was all alone on a dead-end country road with very few neighbors. 4.The area where I was has always been completely without cell-phone signal, and 5.Steven's junky trailer AND my vehicle were within danger range.
Now, I've said before that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, and every lesson that I've learned has always been learned the hard way, so you'd THINK that I would have given this some thought. I probably wouldn't have done it if I had not had a lighter, but lo and behold, I found a lighter in Steven's junky old trailer, just in time to do the dirty deed. Yippee!
So, I went all around, setting lots of little areas on fire, (had to make it burn away faster, don't you know), and before I knew it, all kind of grass was burning. Now, it's hard to have to try to decide to fight the fire by yourself, or call the fire department; if you take the time to call someone, the fire can spread so fast, because of the wind, and if you decide to fight the fire before calling (so you won't be embarrassed about causing such a calamity, because even I'VE got to admit, it was a pretty stupid thing to do), then the stupid thing could get out of hand so quickly.
So, I started raking and stomping, and frantically beating that darn thing out as fast as I could, so I wouldn't have to admit to anyone that I'd made a ton of mistakes; and hoping and praying that I could handle it by myself; when I actually started making head-way, and could actually see being able to put it out without having to call someone. Whew! what a relief! dignity restored. Now, if only the neighbors up on the hill didn't notice anything.
So, in the end, I got the fire put out; hung around for a while afterwards to make sure that no sparks got carried by the wind, and re-set the darn thing, and tried to breath a sigh of relief that the situation got no worse than it did. So, all's well that ends well..........except that...........the stupid weeds in my raised beds didn't burn at all.........they were wet and mushy and did not light up; it was the grass all AROUND the raised beds that caught on fire. Good Grief!

Improving The Soil

I don't know what happened to that last post. It is a collection of my favorite photos, set into a movie. It posted, but, for some reason, I can't get it to play. Oh, sigh.
While Amber and I were in California, I was able to get some baby lily bulbs from Tansy's front yard. She has got some beautiful lily flowers that some military wife planted, before she and Jacob got there. I was totally amazed and awed at the quality of the dirt in Monterey. Here, we have clay, which is good in its own way, (it's good about holding water), but it is absolutely back-breaking to try to dig, plow, or otherwise generally disturb in any way.
When I started digging in Tansy's flower bed, I was totally amazed at how easily the shovel went through the dirt. It was so crumbly, and light; I could have dug a hole to China in just two hours, it was that easy! You can, however, improve the soil where you live, if you are not so fortunate as to live in Monterey, where the soil has the consistency of lumpy flour. (I swear to you, it was that easy to dig). Improving the soil where you live is not a complicated matter. What I did in my garden this year was, when we built the raised beds, we put a mixture of clay dirt, and bagged top soil. At the time that we put the beds in, we had a man out there with his big tractor, clearing off the spot where our new house was to go. I told him while he had his tractor there, and was disturbing the dirt anyway, to take a good truckload of topsoil down to the garden area for me. Topsoil is great for planting in, especially if it has lain fallow for a long time. Forest topsoil is fantastic; all the leaves and pine needles and other forest debris that has decomposed over the years, is just brimming with wonderful nutrients to grow plants in. Topsoil is a lighter color than the subsoil. It is more crumbly, easier to work, with lots of compost and castings in it. So, I don't think that what the guy put in our garden area was exactly top soil. It was just as red as the red clay that was all over the rest of the place. But it was there, and seeing as how I didn't have the money for a dump truck load of compost or topsoil, I figured I'd just have to make the best of the situation. So, we tried to mix equal amounts of dirt and bagged top soil, and compost, (bagged at this point, because I didn't have enough compost made for three, thirty foot-long garden beds.) Filling those beds in was some more kind of hard work, let me tell you. Hauling the dirt to the beds, dumping it all in, and then mixing the dirt and topsoil together. And, I knew that I didn't have enough top soil to do the job correctly, but when you're on a strict budget, you do the best you can do. I was hoping to do what I could this year, and slowly try to improve year after year, which, actually, is basically what all gardeners do. So, we got it mixed the best we could, and planted, and we actually had a pretty good garden. (We are NOT going to talk about critters at this time). My plan this next spring is to shovel some compost on the top of the beds, work it in, and see what happens this next garden season. Now that I've got the bulk of the dirt in the beds, hopefully the rest shouldn't be as hard to do. I've got a fairly decent compost pile; a neighbor has horses, and I helped clean out the stalls so I could take the bedding and "other stuff" for my compost pile. It has gotten kind of soggy, which compost is really not supposed to do, but I figure I can salvage it by shoveling on a layer between now and spring, so it will have a chance to dry out and finish breaking down. (But first, I have to get all the debris from last season out of the way, sigh.......) That's my plan, anyway. Happy gardening.

Facebook | Carole Heaven Ewing

Facebook | Carole Heaven Ewing

Cute Lil' Snake

I was doing some clean-up work in the garden today, and as I was pulling spent bean vines, (minding my own business, don't you know), and I saw what looked like a great big worm. I can be kind of slow, but eventually I figured out that it was a snake. A SNAKE! IN MY GARDEN! UNDER MY DADGUM BEAN VINES! RIGHT BESIDE MY HAND! And, if this weren't bad enough, he was leering at me! I tell you what, that snake had his nerve, invading my garden, eating my bugs, leering at me! What is this world coming to, when an innocent person, (who is minding their own business), can't go out into the lovely world that God has so generously created for us, without encountering bugs, rodents, and reptiles? I've had my share of these creatures all summer long; all I needed to complete the trio was to see a snake. I'm complete now; the snake I've seen. There he was, hiding under the bean vines, (which were HUGE, by the way), slithering along in a concrete block, looking for all manner of things to eat, and he looked at me like I had the nerve to mess up HIS day, by tearing down all of his lovely bean vines! What makes creatures think that they can just trespass on someone's property and lolly-gag around, doing whatever, without a care in the world, la-di-da? So, I'll tell you what I did; I grabbed me a big stick, crept up on him from behind, (although this was hard to do, because he kept squirming around), and got ready to WHOMP the tar out of him............. when I got to thinking........... wait a minute. Didn't I read somewhere that 1. the bees and butterflies pollinate the vegetables and flowers 2. the toads , bats, and the lizards eat all the creepies 3. and the snakes catch vermin!
Let's see, let me think about this a minute; (you remember I told you from the first that I was not the sharpest tool in the shed?) Hmmm, a snake in the garden might not be such a bad thing after all. Lets add up all the reasons why I should not whomp this bugger, right where he slithers. 1. He eats vermin. (well, he will someday, when he grows about two more feet; did I mention that he was only about twelve inches long? too little to make snake stew out of , sheepish grin............) 2. He actually wasn't leering at me after all; it's kind of hard to tell if a creature is leering at you when you can't see his eyeballs very well, because they are pin-pricks in the sunshine. 3. He was kinda cute; he was all curled up, ( it kinda looked like he was posing, really! ), and he was flicking his tongue at me, (you know that snakes use their tongues to check out the world around them, don't you?), and yes, I could swear that he was winking at me! (Ok, maybe he wasn't winking, snakes don't have eyelids, after all............. or do they?) 4. He wasn't lunging at me with intent on bodily harm; actually he looked kind of docile, come to think of it. 5. And, (drum roll please), he is already in the process of eating vermin! He's not big enough yet for mice and rats, but some day he will be, and in the meantime, he can cut his teeth on crickets and other such creepie-crawlies. And if something in my garden is willing to eat the creepie-crawlies, then have at it brother! All of that said, I just couldn't bring myself to whomp him, he was just too little and cute. Problem was, I didn't know if he was poisonous or not. I'm not a snake expert, and he couldn't talk to tell me whether I needed to worry or not, and I certainly didn't want my dear husband, (who is getting on up in years, and not able to swiftly get out of the way, poor thing!) , to get bitten by what might, or might not be a poisonous reptile. So............ I bravely, and with great trepidation, lunged at him, grabbed him by the tail, and whisked him with lightening speed into a soft-drink cup. Now, this is probably not the best thing in the world to keep a possibly poisonous reptile in, but out in the wilderness, you do what you have to do, to accomplish the task at hand; (protecting my aged, infirm, ...........well, you know.) I did manage to find some screen-wire and rubber bands to secure the top of the cup; (this wilderness was maybe not quite so void of SOME needed items, it seems.) Well, to make a long story short, we took Elmer, (the baby snake) up to my brother-in-laws house; and we were told that he was just a chicken snake, wouldn't hurt you, actually make good pets, and so forth and so on. We took him home to show JoAnna, and then let the poor little creature go forth back out into the wilderness, to do what snakes do. (Ok, ok, this is what really happened: I took him out to show him to JoAnna and Joe, and he took one look at freedom, and jumped right out of my hands, and took off like a streak of brown and tan lightening, vvvrrrroooooommmmm! ) Oh well, I've got vermin up here that need to be eaten too.................

Connor, the Conure Parrot

Since I don't really have anything worthwhile to contribute to the world today, I thought that I would just let my thoughts go where they will, and see what happens.
First of all, I would like to talk about my pet parrot, Connor. ( Connor, the Conure parrot.) I got Connor about a month ago; I have always wanted a parrot. I wanted one that I could teach to talk, but two things influenced my decision to buy Connor. Main thing was the price. Conures are the small parrots, they don't usually talk, if they do, it is limited (according to the articles that I have read). I like to research everything before buying, and according to research, Conure parrots have a more out-going personality than their larger feathered friends. Large parrots are more prone to bite, although they are capable of an extensive vocabulary. So, the second main reason for getting a Conure was the fact of having a more social pet. I'm telling you what, I never knew a bird could have a personality like Connor does. He's just like a little person, I've read that they are like two-year-olds. He absolutely loves to be paid attention to; if you don't do it voluntarily, he will sit on the door of his cage, (we keep it open most of the time during the day), and he will either screech, whistle, or trill to get our attention. He's usually very vocal during the day, but when I cover his cage at night, somehow he figures that the screeching and yelling will not work, so it's the funniest thing to hear him try to sweet-talk us into uncovering his cage. He makes soft little chirrup noises, and any other little birdie noises to try to get our attention. In the morning, when I go to uncover him, he will hop onto the inside of the door and "ride" it as it comes down, he just can't wait to be held and talked to. If you don't pick him up right away, he will strreeeettcchhh toward you as hard as he can and try his best to "talk" you into picking him up. It amazes me how human he acts.
The previous owner told me when I clipped his toenails, that I'd be better off taking him to the vet and letting them do it, because he holds a grudge; but if I did it, I'd better hold him in a towel. So, tonight I decided that I really needed to cut the toenails, despite the hard feelings that may result, because he keeps getting hung up in Sarah's hair every time she lets him sit on top of her head. I actually had to break several hairs to get him disentangled from her hair last night. I decided that I'd better not put it off any longer. So, I get my little towel, and wrap him up, and try to do the job. Let me tell you folks, it's harder than you think that it might be to clip a parrot's toenails; especially when the parrot doesn't want you to. I never in my life heard such screeching as I did tonight. You'd have thought I was killing the poor little thing, it's a wonder the neighbors didn't call the police for parrot abuse, the way he was carrying on. I just thought he was loud before, it didn't even compare to the decimal level that I heard. That was one mad bird. But it was kind of funny to see him throw a fit like that, he just seemed so human! Parrots don't have but four toes on each foot; good thing it didn't take that long, poor thing would have probably had a heart attack or something, the way he was all worked up. Goofy bird! But, you know what? He didn't seem to hold a grudge; that was unexpected, but a welcome relief. I guess he was so glad that I turned him loose, that he wasn't worried about pay-back. Either that, or he knew that he needed his nails clipped, and he knew that this was the only way to get it done. Who knows how a bird thinks? Good grief, when I start thinking like a bird, then everyone can legitimately call me a bird brain!
I love to watch him eat sunflower seeds. He uses those toes like fingers. He'll hold the seed in his mouth, and crack it, and then will stand on one foot, and hold the seed in his other foot, and PEEL the little skin off the seed, (until this time , I never knew that sunflower kernels HAD little skins on them.) Then he will delicately nibble a little at a time until the kernel is gone. He looks so human when he does it, it's hilarious!
He LOVES to get into your hair, and stomp around. Then he'll start to groom. It's the funniest thing to watch; he'll take little individual strands and stretch them out in his mouth all the way to the length of the hair, (can you imagine him doing it to Sarah's hair? ) But his favorite head of all time to stomp around in, is knot-head Steven's. He gets so excited when he gets in Steven's hair; he stomps all around, and gets in a frenzy to get him all groomed before someone removes him. And poor little Steven looks kind of nervous with the bird tromping all around on his head; after all, Connor is not completely potty-trained yet. (Yes, Conure parrots can be potty-trained , interesting, huh?) But, all's well that ends well; so far Steven has not been "doodied" on, although I can't say the same for the rest of us!

All Around The World In Just Three Hours

Ok, so maybe it wasn't all around the world; just all around St. Clair county. But what makes it fun, (did I just use the word "fun" for the set of circumstances that JoAnna and I experienced last night?) ; Ok, let's call it fun for the time being, I can always edit later, and I HAVE to call it something.
It all started with a good deed, which I am feeling real noble about, because, as you know, good deeds are fun to do when you can pat yourself on the back for sacrificing for someone else. But, wait a minute, the good deed was for my daughter, whom, as we all know, we sacrifice for from the minute they are born; nay, from BEFORE the time that they are born; so does this still count as a good deed since it was a sacrifice that I would have done anyway, since she is my daughter; or does it only count if it was done for someone of which I wouldn't normally have done it? Oh, lordy, I'm getting sidetracked, see what you have to look forward to as you age? (Where's my cane and glasses?)
Ok, so back to this good deed, (that I have decided DOES count as a good deed, because the bible says that if you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto Me, and since Amber was there and Jesus wasn't at the time, and Amber needed a good deed done, and Jesus said.................good grief , here I go again!!!!!!)
So, here's how the good deed thing works. When you are feeling bad, either physically or emotionally, (good deeds count for either in this case; see, I restrained myself, I'm not getting sidetracked again....), anyway, when you are feeling bad, (either physically or emotionally; oh wait, I've already covered that); then whichever is the strongest of you at that time, is the one to go out of their way for the other. Now, recently, Amber has been the stronger of the two of us; I had just gone through a bad several days, and Amber was there to lend support, (which is a miracle in itself, because she has been feeling really bad from being "with child", and has not been able to take care of herself and her family, much less be a support system for dear old Mom, but she stepped up to the plate admirably, and was there for me!! Yay, Amber, go girl!!!! Oh lord, here I go again!!!!) Dang, I keep this up, I'm gonna have to write this in installments.
Back to the subject at hand; now what was it? Oh yes, good deeds. As I have already established, I have been down, and Amber has been the support person. Now. Last night, the roles were reversed, and Amber was down, and I was the support person. I had Knot-heads 1 and 2 at my house, because grandchildren and grandparents get very cranky if not given an opportunity occasionally to eat junk food and watch cartoons and spend money on junk toys at Dollar General. But when it came time for the boys to go home, Amber and Frank both were wiped out; her from being "with child", and him from working, being an angel of mercy and all. So, since I was not as tired and worn out as they were, then I felt like I should volunteer to take the boys home, so their dear deserving parents could get some rest. Dang, I feel noble, where did I put my humble crown (encrusted with diamonds)? Oh good grief, Carole, get on with the story!!!
So the trip to the boys house went fine. We sped along the back country roads, singing with the cd in the player, looking out for deer, so we wouldn't hit one with the car accidentally. (Frankie and Steven were watching for the deer, because whoever rides shotgun is automatically appointed that job; and let me say what a fine job they did too, we did not hit one single deer on that ride home......thanks, boys!!)
Ok, so we made it to the boys house in one piece; no deer were harmed in the making of this story, me and Frankie sung Steven to sleep, and Amber and Frank got some more rest.
The real fun started when JoAnna and I left to go home. Now, it is a known fact, that I could not find my way out of a wet paper bag if my life depended on it; and here I am in the boonies, with no sense of direction; which is not really a problem, because I have driven that route many times, and knew how to get home. The problem started when I got the bright idea to stop by WalMart for groceries before heading home. After all, WalMart is just a couple of miles out of the way, I'm going in that general direction anyway, we DO need groceries, and if we stop at this particular WalMart it will be good, because everyone knows that the people in the little towns are ever so much friendlier than the ones in the big city, it's after ten p.m. so they won't be too crowded. So, I get directions from Amber, and off we go into the wild blue yonder; well, BLACK yonder, 'cause it was nighttime. I've been told by a higher authority that Amber is not the best judge of distance when it comes to giving directions, so I tried to allow for a little lee-way, when , what should have been approximately three miles seemed to stretch on and on and on, (and on).
I told JoAnna that this was the longest three miles that I had ever been on, and was wondering if someone had changed the linear footage of a mile and forgot to tell me, and so I finally decided to pull over and get out the good old GPS, and try to get back on track. I started looking for a place to pull over, and thought I never would because, after all, we are in the boonies, it's after ten p.m., and other than me, JoAnna, and the cows, I saw very few signs of life. After a little while, I came upon a wide place in the road, with a building, and LOTS of cars. Now, I'm not the brightest star in the galaxy, so when I started wondering what kind of business could possibly be thriving that late at night, it wasn't too hard to figure out "bar", especially when a huge sign by the side of the road proudly stated "Tha Bar". I kid you not, this is what the sign said. Tha Bar. (hehehe)
So I pull over into the parking lot, and was looking for a place to stop, and to the right of the car, a headlight came between two parked cars, and stopped literally 2/16th of an inch from the passenger-side window. I absolutely had a heart attack, I am not kidding. I'm driving along in the boonies, a weary traveler trying to find her way, and almost run down by a drunk dude on a motorcycle. Now, I couldn't for sure attest to the fact that this dude was drunk, but 1. He was in a bar's parking lot; surely he wasn't there for his health at that time of night, and 2. he drove between two parked cars and almost hit a car that was ten times bigger than his motorcycle; how in the world he managed not to see something that big, and how in the world he missed it are beyond me. Which leads me to assume that the dude had to have been drunk. And the bad thing about it is, if he HAD hit me, it probably wouldn't have done a whole lot to my jeep, but he would have been seriously hurt, and as an EMT, I would have had to save his stupid, drunk life. I've never been in a serious car accident, but, I'm telling you, this (almost) one like to have scared the living daylights out of me. And at the exact second that this near-miss happened, my cell phone started ringing, and progressively getting louder and louder, and I couldn't answer right away because I literally could not move from shock. So, the guy was not hurt because he didn't hit us, and the jeep was not touched, so I pulled over to compose myself, and try to get back on track.
Only to find out that the GPS was not in the car at all; I had taken it into the house a couple of days before, and forgotten to put it back into the jeep. So, not only am I lost, but I am still in the boonies, I have just had a heart attack, I have no idea where I am, how far off track I am, no idea how to get back to civilization, and a bad tire on the front of my jeep. I could just see myself having to call my husband to report a mutilation of my vehicle, and you're where?, and what are you doing THERE? , at this hour of the night. Embarrassing! So, I decided to try to turn around and go back the way I came and try to figure it out myself; so, about eight miles later, I came upon an intersection that looked familiar, and lo and behold, there was WalMart, lights shining in the distance. Now, I had told myself that I wasn't going to stop, I was already aggravated enough by that time, but I am a stubborn person, and I wasn't going to let this beat me; so off I go into WalMart's parking lot. The trip inside wasn't too bad; I bought my groceries, only having a little incident inside the store that was a little stressful, and loading up and starting for home.
Now, to re-cap, I am the one that cannot find my way out of a wet paper bag; I am still in the boonies, (friendly people in the country, but nevertheless, still in the boonies),I now have frozen food in the back that needs to be in the refrigerator, it's even later at night than it was an hour ago; I still have a bad tire on the front of my jeep; and I really still don't know where I am, and I am hoping that if I point the front of the jeep in a direction, that it will be the right direction. Well, folks, let me tell you, this strategy is not a good one. Take it from me, you really need to know where to point your jeep, because trusting that little blue devil to know the way home is sheer foolishness.
I saw a freeway sign just out of WalMart parking lot, but I thought that if I did that, then it would take me the long way around, and I had already had my nice little drive through the country tonight, thank you very much. Also, I didn't know if I was supposed to go north or south on the freeway, and I sure didn't want to wind up in Timbuctoo, so I didn't get on the freeway. So, I drove forever and ever, (this three miles was even longer than the last three miles), and the bad thing about it is, I even thought I recognized landmarks along the way. Now, let's see, did we pass St. Clair County Correctional Facility before? (and remember not to pick up any hitchhikers if I should happen to see any; oh never mind, that's another story). I started to get worried after about ten miles, so I figured that my only choice was to keep going, that if I turned around now, that it would take me just that much longer to get home; and there are no roadsigns or anything to tell me where I was. ( I didn't figure that the "Hay For Sale" sign would do me any good.) FINALLY, I saw a sign, and it said "Welcome To Ashville". Boy, when I make a mistake, I do a royal job, don't I? I couldn't explain if I had to, how in the world I got to Ashville from Springville. (But I saw a sign in Springville that said the EXXON had gas for $2.99 a gallon; we haven't seen it that cheap in a long time!)
Well, I figured that if I just drove along, that eventually I would come to a main intersection that I could use to try to figure out how to get home. I drove along for a while more, and saw some blinking lights in the distance, and it kind of puzzled me because they would appear and disappear. I thought that that was strange, until I got to the enormous tree that was lying across the road, hiding the police and fire apparatus on the other side of the tree. So, now I had no choice, I HAVE to turn around and go back the way I came. A good ten dad-gum miles, no less! RRRrrrrrr!! I literally cannot win for losing, but at this point, I'm thinking, this is totally ridiculous, it can't get any crazier than this, let's play this out and see what happens. So, I finally had to break down and call Steven, and answer all the questions that he seemed to think that I needed to answer before he could tell me how to get home; where are you, how did you manage to get THERE from HERE, what were you doing in that part of town, you did what?, and so forth and so on; only to hear him finally say, " I have no idea where you are, or how to tell you to get home". What do I keep a dang man around for if he can't help me in a time of crisis, I ask you? Had to go through the embarrassing question and answer session for nothing, 'cause I still didn't get any help. Good grief!
His final advice was to turn around, get back to the freeway, GO SOUTH, get off on the next exit, take a right, and you should know where you are. Which almost worked, it didn't take me exactly where I had been before, but before I had time to worry, I arrived at a place that I knew, the very place I had started from, two hours and forty miles earlier.
But, while I was there, I stopped and got gas for $2.99 a gallon. What a bargain!

It's All Out Of Hand! How Did This Happen?

Well, actually, I KNOW how it happened. It was just too hot to get out there and work in the garden. I don't feel too guilty. I got out there and just about worked myself to death for a lot of hours. Got a lot accomplished too. I think that between the heat, and having too much to handle, it just got the best of me. The problem this year was, we put in completely new beds; which meant that everything had to be done from the very start. Blocks had to be laid, dirt had to be hauled, mulch had to be done; and when you have a fairly decent-sized garden, then all these things are time-consuming and HARD WORK. And my husband keeps saying, " We're not spring chickens anymore!" I swear, I'm going to slug him if I hear that from his lips one more time! My body tells me this everyday, why does he feel that he has to rub it in, I'd just like to know? Anyway, the good thing about all the work that was done this year, is that a lot of it will not have to be repeated. Unless I decide to enlarge my garden, which I am seriously thinking about doing. I have come to the conclusion that farm equipment is a wonderful thing to own. Tractors, plows, wheelbarrows, riding lawnmowers, I get all mushy inside just thinking about all those things. Because, most of the work that was done this year, was done by hand, and if you don't have a whole lot of help getting it done, then any mechanical implement that can help me to get the job done, where the machine does all the work, is a wonderful thing in my opinion! My problem is, we have very-well-used equipment, and I get so frustrated when it won't start, or it quits in the middle of the job. I used a regular push-mower for most of the grass-cutting season, and then started having trouble out of it, couldn't keep it running. The grass would get so high, that it looked like we were trying to grow a crop of hay for our imaginary horses. It kinda made me want to go buy a couple of horses just to keep the stupid grass cut. When the lawn mower tears up, it doesn't get fixed right away, sometimes it takes as long as a month. And we all know that the grass is certainly not going to cooperate by not growing. Well, since I was trying to keep the grass down at my garden cut , (about 1 1/2 acres) , and the grass at home cut, ( almost 1 acre), with a push-mower, I talked hubby into buying a used riding mower off of the want-ads. Now, hubby didn't want to do this, after all, we have a perfectly good broken-down 15 y/o riding lawnmower that's been sitting in the yard with weeds grown all around it, ( because I have nothing to cut the grass with). But, he's going to get that one fixed some day, I'D BETTER NOT GIVE IT AWAY TO GET IT OUT OF MY YARD! And we also have the push-mower that won't stay cranked more than 30 seconds; he's going to get that one fixed too; so why do we need to buy a working riding lawnmower? Well, we bought it, ( the riding mower), and I got three grass-cuttings out of it before IT tore up. I tell you , sometimes I just want to cry. I don't know how I got stuck cutting the grass in the first place; JoAnna contracted the job last year, to make spending money, but this year, she would only cut grass when she wanted something, not once a week when the grass needed cutting. If she was only going to do it for the money when it suited her, that wasn't acceptable, so I took the job away , and started doing it myself. And when we got the riding mower ( the one that lasted three grass-cuttings), then she started wanting me to pay her to cut grass again. Now sometimes I can be pretty obtuse, but this time, I didn't fall for it. The nerve!
So, the grass is waist-high again; all three lawnmowers are broken, and I tell you, I get pretty depressed sometimes. The weed-eater doesn't work, and I have actually gotten out into the yard with a pair of grass-shears, and cut around the edges by hand. I really despair of ever having a decent-looking house and property. I am always so embarrassed when people come over. So, these problems and others, are why my garden and property got out of hand. The only thing that I know to do is to let it all die down in the winter, try to clear it all out, and try not to let it get out of hand next year. That, and pray that God send some working equipment my way! I am also going to check into lasagne gardening between now and next spring; I've been reading a little about that, and it's supposed to ease most of the digging that has to be done.

All Is Well, We Are Not Alone

Are there times when you feel all alone? Like maybe at two or three in the morning when it seems that everyone but you is asleep? How do you feel, knowing that you are the only one awake at your house? Do you feel sad that you are all alone, or do you feel joy that all is quiet for once? Do you use this time for meditation and prayer, or use it for doing something that you have wanted to do for a long time, and just never found the right time to begin?
I have been using this time to think deep thoughts; of course, most of what I think of seems to BE deep thoughts. I've been told that this is a sign of a sensitive and creative mind. And I don't seem to have a whole lot of trouble thinking of things to think about. I don't know if that's my AADD (adult attention deficit disorder), or just my creative mind just keeping busy; who cares, at least I'M seldom bored by my thoughts. And I don't have to worry about boring anyone with what I'm thinking about, because no one knows what I'm thinking besides me. I feel the power! Oh, but wait! There is one who knows the thoughts, and that is God. He says in His Word, "I will never leave you nor forsake you", and that is very comforting indeed, but even more-so when it is in the middle of the night, and you feel all alone. I don't know why, but I feel panicky when I am alone. Now, I am not panicky right now, because even though I am the only one awake, I know that all of my family is here (the ones who live here), and I know that if I need them , all that I have to do is to wake them up. (Hey, this could have possibilities..................all the times the kids got me up in the middle of the night????? heh, heh!)
Do you have family nearby? Are you all alone? If you are the only one in your house, and you feel deserted, then remember that if you are a Christian, then God has promised in His Word, that He will never leave you nor forsake you. God bless, my friends, let us all be there for one another.

Fall Prevention For Spring Garden Problems

When it comes to lawn and garden problems, prevention is the best cure. Fall affords gardeners a great opportunity to set the tone for next year's growing season by way of soil preparation and cleanup. By putting in just a little bit of extra effort this fall, you spare yourself a whole lot less work and worry next spring.

1. Clean Up And Cut Back
Fall is the best time to clean up dead and decaying plant debris, and it's also a good time to cut back spent foliage. Decomposing plant debris can provide a safe haven for overwintering insect pests and disease , and removing it reduces the likelihood of having to deal with problems next year. Having a neat and tidy garden going into winter also means less time spent on cleanup in the spring, and makes it easier for tender shoots to push their way through the soil. In the coldest zones it's often better to leave spent foliage until spring. It offers plants extra winter protection by attracting and trapping insulation snow.

2. Ward Off Weed Seeds
Weeds really go to town releasing their seeds in the fall. If you can, pull them up, clip them off at ground level, or collect the seeds by hand (or with a cordless handvac) before they have a chance to scatter. The same is true for any desirable self-seeders that have run a bit wild this season. Now is the time to regain control. Whatever you do, don't toss the seeds on top of the compost pile. There may not be enough heat left to kill them off by next spring. Toss them in the trash instead and be done with them for good. If you have a large area infested by weeds, smother them over winter with a sheet of black plastic secured with rocks or stakes. If you cover them now, you'll have a clean slate to start with in the spring.

3. Test Your Soil And Top Off Your Beds
Fall is a great time to test your garden's soil, because once you get the results, you will still have plenty of time to add amendments before the really cold weather settles in. Once you've added your amendments, top off all of your vegetable and flower beds with three to four inches of compost. There's no need to work it into the soil; winter rain and snow will leach the organic nutrients into the soil, giving your plants a great head start next season.

4. Water Everything Well
One of the most common mistakes gardeners make is not irrigating properly in the fall. Frozen soil limits moisture availability, which can create a drought situation that damages ( or even kills) plants during the winter. Give perennials and trees a good weekly soaking in the final weeks leading up to freezing weather. In colder zones where the ground freezes several inches deep, top plants with a heavy layer of organic mulch ( four to eight inches deep depending on average snow cover) for some added protection. This will help prevent frost heaving and conserve moisture.

I found this article on the internet; it says perfectly what I wanted to say about putting your garden to bed for the winter. I still plan to plant a few more things before cold weather sets in; I'm just waiting for the heat to ease up a bit, so it will be a few weeks before I get my garden ready for winter.
I make it a habit to clean up all garden debris after the gardening season is over; spent plants, weeds, etc. When the green stuff is dead, it is much easier to clear away, plus it makes it much easier in the spring to begin to work the ground. Also, it's not nearly as hot, and hardly any mosquitoes at all! These are just some things to think about; to let you know what makes gardening easier, to prevent disease and insect problems next spring. Happy gardening.

The Dog Days Of August

It must be that time of year- the time when you are all pooped out on the garden chores. In the spring, there's something inside you that makes you want to get outside and do anything at all. Cut grass, clear weeds, plant flowers, clean up winter's debris, paint the porch, wash the car, whatever, as long as it includes being outside. I tell myself that very possibly this is a spring-time occurrence only, but I really don't believe that this is the case. I still feel that urge to get outside and beautify my little corner of God's green earth, but I just can't take the heat anymore. I've tried to do it at night, but, for one thing, it's not much cooler, and, another thing is, I'm scared of critters. Isn't that crazy? I've never really been afraid of snakes, or insects, or anything that would do me harm, but ever since I found that wretched black widow spider, I've been afraid to turn over rocks, do heavy weeding, go in brushy areas, woods. Good grief! I hate letting something like that keep me from doing what I need ( and enjoy) doing. That doesn't mean that I will never do these activities again, it just means that I will be very, very, cautious. ( BTW- I was looking on the internet to try to find the ever-elusive mosquito repellent recipe, and I found out that Listerine mouthwash sprayed all around your yard, porch, or any other place that you would want to repel those wretched beasts, works very well. I have personally tried this remedy, and was very pleased to find good results. It won't last forever, of course, but is a very good short-time remedy.It works as a general bug killer as well, it can be sprayed directly onto the bug, and at least stuns them enough so that you can kill them with the fly swatter. I tried it on my skin as a repellent as well, it worked, but left a very sticky residue; highly unappealing, but I sweat so much when I am outside working, that it might actually be worth the sticky feeling. It doesn't smell too awfully medicine(y) , and it is fairly inexpensive. And I figured that if you could put it in the inside of your mouth, then it couldn't be that bad to spray onto your skin. Oh, and I tried rubbing olive oil all over my skin; according to Captain Compost of Al., this works great for him. Didn't work for me, though. JoAnna thought I was nuts, but she's getting used to seeing me use strange and unusual kitchen lotions and potions to try to get some relief from these horrible creatures. )
So, back to the yard chores; I see so many things that are just begging to be done, but it is so hot, that, even if I convince myself to go out there and get busy, the heat gets me before I make a good dent in any project that I happen to start. A friend drove by the other morning about six a.m. when I was in the front yard, and asked if it wasn't just a little too early in the morning to be raking up lawn clippings, and I asked him what better time there was to do it? It was as cool as it was going to get. I thought it made perfect sense, but I had to question the wisdom of that when the hornets got after me. Man, oh man! do them boogers ever hurt! Only one of them managed to get me, but bam! bam! bam! , he got me three times in very quick succession! Yee-oowww! So, that's another reason that I am afraid of critters. I have not been afraid of insects too much in the past, but just this summer, I have gotten bitten by a tick, (first time ever), stung by the hornet, and bitten by all manner of biting insects. My things that I have been particularly abhorrent of have been spiders, and ticks; now I am actually afraid of them. But I'll be doggoned if I am going to let these wretched beasts cripple me, I've got enough phobias as it is, without going out and collecting more. So, there!, you wretched beasts, Carole ain't gonna give up, it's all-out war!
Hey, something else I've found out on the internet: In researching natural weed killers, 90% of people on all the gardening forums that I looked on agreed that vinegar, ( household vinegar is 5%, horticultural vinegar is 10 - 20% strength) , used alone, or in combination with regular household salt is a great weed killer. There is some debate about the salt, it is supposed to work very well with the vinegar, but is supposed to be bad for the environment in large quantities. It is not supposed to break down easily, staying around for years. Vinegar works, used alone, but the vinegar and salt mixture is supposed to be the absolute best remedy around. I haven't tried it yet, ( still too hot for me to be outside for any length of time), but I do know someone who used regular household vinegar, and had very good results. If one application doesn't kill the weeds, then another application should take care of the problem. I'm not sure where horticultural vinegar can be found, the web-sites all say that garden centers will carry it, but either they don't carry it in our area, or I am not looking in the right place. I'll keep looking, however, and post it if I am able to find it. It has been said that boiling water poured over weeds will kill them as well, but either my weeds are way too big, or I didn't use enough boiling water, because the weeds didn't die.
Well, that's my two-cents worth, ( for what it's worth, he he he!) Happy Gardening.

In The Rural Setting......

In the rural setting:
1. You get to share your space with a multitude of God's creatures- rodents, insects, deer, snakes.........good grief! where do all these critters come from? And the bad thing about it is, even if they are cute and fuzzy, most of the time they are destructive. The deer will eat anything, including the baby fruit trees that you paid $150.00 for, and paid your son-in-law $100.00 to plant for you. The rodents dig up your flower bulbs and eat them; the insects chomp down on your vegetable plants until there is nothing left but skeletons of what used to be; rabbits eat your vegetables as well; and good grief, what the worms and raccoons will do to your corn patch! It's enough to make you want to cry! ( or get mad; or get even; or declare WAR!) We bought three six-foot-high dog pens to encircle our garden with; this has worked pretty good about keeping the animals out. The deer don't like to jump inside an enclosed space; also, there is not a good landing-place inside the fence, because we have raised beds; two concrete blocks high.
Lizards, toads, and snakes, however, are very good to have around. Toads and lizards eat insects, and snakes eat mice. Also, ladybugs and praying mantis eat aphids! Yay! Bats are also wonderful to have around, they eat mosquitoes.
2. You might have a lot more lawn to cut when you live in the country, but you get lots more grass-clippings and leaves for your compost pile. I got out there today and cut grass, and then raked up all the clippings, and got LOTS of material for composting. I'll bet all the neighbors thought I was nuts; you can drive down the road, you can see the yards that have just been cut; that the grass has gotten so large that it has gone to seed. And when the grass is finally cut, there is huge clumps that have been spitten out by the lawn mower. ( I want to get my rake and go get all of that free mulch). Anyway, most everyone in MY neighborhood just leaves the grass where it falls........the yard is too big to do all that raking, don't you know. Me, though, I get out there and rake up all them precious greens, and dream of all that precious black that will eventually grow my next ford-hook lima beans. ( see previous post on composting).
3. You can have a bigger garden when you live in the country. The one I planted this year wasn't big enough. We put in three, 30-foot raised beds; we planted corn in the middle of two of them. The corn took up too much room, so when I plant again, I will put the corn in a separate area, (and hope they don't get ravaged too awfully bad by raccoons). I'm telling you what, though. That was some of the best ( and sweetest) corn that I have ever eaten. The ears didn't get as large as I thought they should be, but they made up for it in taste. ( We didn't plant the corn the way it is supposed to be planted; we planted just two rows. You are supposed to plant more than two rows, at least four or six, so that the corn can help pollinate each other. It doesn't matter how long the rows are, in other words, plant it in a square-shape instead of rectangle or row-shaped. ) That way, they have a better chance to help pollinate each other. I think my corn did not have enough corn around it to get good pollination; hence, the smaller ears. BTW, something interesting about corn; each of the silks goes to a kernel inside the corn husk. Each silk has to be pollinated to form a kernel of corn. If you have an ear of corn with bare spots on the cob, that means that the silks didn't get completely pollinated. Interesting, huh?
4. It is quieter out in the country. There are not as many people all around you; if you don't live in an apartment or in a trailer park, that is. I live in an area that has people all around; but we are currently building a house on 6.75 acres, which is where my garden is located. The place where I am now is very noisy; I can hear my closest neighbors talk when they are out in their yards. And unfortunately, I can hear their music as well. I had my garden up here until this year, and I would take my music outside to listen to while I was working, but it had to compete with the neighbors music as well. And the neighbors in the back are prone to have large gatherings. Frequently. And loudly. And, the language is not exactly g-rated. Goodness, I can't wait to move!
5. It is darker out in the country. And that is not always a good thing; especially when you are building a house, and people keep coming onto your property and stealing things. We put up a fence, and installed a gate ( with padlocks), and STILL they got in and stole my little tiller. My husband bought me a Little Mantis tiller, because I have back problems, and this tiller weighs less that 20 pounds. He paid $450.00 for that little tiller, and I had only had it for 2 years, and someone UNLOCKED the doggone gate and stole my tiller, ( along with an air compressor of my husband's) . It's too hot to stay there at night to guard the place; no electricity or plumbing yet. I sure mourn the loss of my tiller, though.
Well, there are lots more good things, and bad things about living in the country, but I'll have to ruminate on them later; most of the Locust Fork population is asleep but me, and I wouldn't want to rock the boat. Good night!
P.S. May God continually bless the man who invented the riding lawn mower!

Subtle Signs Of Dedicated Composters

This is too funny! I've been guilty of a lot of these, but now I have lots more ideas!

1. You get very excited when your next-door neighbor gets a herd of cows.
2. You scavenge your friends trash cans when you visit, to get all the 'goodies' that they've thrown away.
3. When you see your neighbor raking leaves in the fall, you run over to ask if you can have them.
4. When visitors ask you if they can use your bathroom, you tell them your toilet is broken, and ask them to pee into a container, so that you can add all that 'natural nitrogen' to your compost pile.
5. When neighborhoods place all of their raked and bagged leaves out for the city to pick up, and you want to cry because you've run out of room in your car to bring all that you see home.
6. You can't see how to change lanes, because of all the bags of leaves in your car that you've picked up.
7. Your car still has tell-tale odors from last year's manure haul.
8. You bribe employees of the local coffee shops to save their spent grounds for you.
9. You barter home-grown vegetables for sacks of lawn and grass clippings.
10. When you give a compost-turning tool for a house-warming gift.
11. When you start talking to other people about 'greens' and 'browns'.
12. When co-workers look at you strange for taking home all the scrap paper from the trash can beside the copy machine.
13. When you ask your co-workers if you can have their banana peels and apple cores.
14. You offer to help clean a chicken coop in exchange for the bedding.
15. Weeding is now for the purpose of feeding your compost pile.

P.S. My bathroom is in good working order, so feel free to visit.

Things To Do

Today, I am going to use this forum to give myself a pep talk.
All of my pink-eye-purple-hull peas have given up the ghost, and instead of pulling them up and re-planting, I let the heat intimidate me. Good grief! I'm telling you what, I just can't take the heat anymore. I go out into the garden with a wet rag around my neck, use the hose to wet various body parts, strategically place fans all around............. I feel like such a wimp. So, I have let this deter me from doing what I KNOW that I need to be doing.
Here are the things that need to be done; ( and this list is not only for me, but for others that may be first-time gardeners that may wonder what needs to be done next.......)
1. I need to pull all of the spent pea-vines, and throw on compost heap.
2. Need to turn compost heap. ( despite all of my good intentions, this heap has not been turned once this year. )
3. Need to pull all spent corn-stalks, compost the remains. ( Although, let me tell you what I did with some of the last ones that I pulled up. When I pulled them out of the ground, I tossed them into the middle of the rows that were growing , to help provide mulch, because the mulch that I had put into the middle was not thick enough, and weeds were beginning to get large. Worked pretty good!) In any event, it's still time to clean up the garden, so that I can get another crop in before winter.
4. Gonna have to scrape the mulch out of the way, and scrabble up the ground a bit, and throw some more seeds in, along with a little of that un-turned compost, and see if I can get some cool-weather crops growing; carrots, turnip greens, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, etc.
5. Need to use some of my wonderful fish emulsion to fertilize what is currently growing. BTW, have any of you folks ever used fish emulsion? I have discovered this wonderful stuff recently. I found it at Wal-Mart and Lowes; I had been reading about it in my garden books, and had no experience with using it, didn't know anyone that HAD used it, but in all of the books, it was supposed to be good stuff. (Organic). The problem with everything recommended in these books is, they all give the ingredients of the products, but they don't give brand names, and the sales people look at you like you're crazy when you go in and ask for IGR (insect growth regulator). It has been a dickens of a time trying to find most of the organic items that are recommended. Anyway, back to the fish emulsion, this is a liquid foliar fertilizer, that is mixed and sprayed directly onto the plants, leaves, stems, all of the plant parts. The first time I used it, I sprayed it onto some sad-looking pink-eye-purple-hull peas, and the next day when I went back to the garden, the difference in the appearance of the plants was very noticable. I'm not kidding, them boogers were standing up straighter, looked a lot greener, it was awesome! I like that fish emulsion! ( just a note: it is sold in the garden centers in the spring, once they sell all that they have ordered, they normally don't buy any more, because they don't want to have to put it on the clearance rack in August; note-to-self- buy fish emulsion when you start the garden season, if you wait until later, you probably won't be able to find any. I have sung its praises so much, and it is not available right now, so I have poured a little in quite a few little bottles, and passed it out. Fortunately, I bought extra, so I had some to share. ) Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, look at all the garden center's clearance racks right now; everything seasonal is being marked down, you can get lots of good buys! It's a great way to get some things that you have wanted but haven't had the extra money to buy. ( They say seeds are cheap, and they are, but when you have to buy everything that you absolutely HAVE to have, some things you just have to wait until later on.)
6. I really need to water the garden as well- this is a time-consuming job. It usually takes me about an hour and a half to water. ( Of course, this is a great job for kids to do, THEY don't seem to mind if the hose "just happens" to get them wet as well as the plants!)
7. There are some BIG weeds that have grown around the edges, that the landscape fabric didn't quite cover, ( there is one huge plant that grew in one of my raised beds in the tomato patch, it has little ball-shaped seed pods on it.......... my husband asked me what kind of vegatable was the one growing in the tomato patch. It was kind of embarrasing to tell him that it was a weed that had gone to seed,.....he he he!) Since my weed-eater is not working, I will have to get the grass-shears and shear the weeds by hand. I enjoy this kind of stuff, but it is so hot, that I get wet from head to toe from sweat, how I long to take my clothes off; couldn't do that to the neighbors, though. My, how I do ramble!
Well, just from seeing a partial list, I have revved myself up, ..........I think? In any event, revved up or not , guess I'd better get to it. More later........

I Love The Internet!

I have never been the type to stay online for hours at a time; I never could find that much to do. I always wondered what people did when they stayed on for hours at a time; I don't play video games, and I don't do chat rooms, and when I check my e-mail, it doesn't take any time at all to delete all the commercials. (That's what I call all the junk mail and advertisements that usually is all the e-mail I get).
However..............
I have found the most wonderful web-site........well, actually, TWO of the most wonderful web-sites. Of course, you'd have to understand what makes me tick to be able to appreciate how excited I am to discover these sites. I have always gotten such a thrill out of pairing up the ONE thing that I know for sure that someone that I know is looking for; or finding the most perfect thing at a yard sale or the thrift store that is just the thing that I didn't know that I, (or someone else) was looking for; or finding a great way to save money, or some simple ( or obvious) tip that could make a task or hobby ever so much easier. I have quite a few books that have tons of home and garden tips, that I have the most fun reading. Problem is, I have read these books so many times, and tons of these tips are duplicated in most of them; also, sometimes I think that people duplicate a lot of these tips, and put a bunch of junk in there, just to fill up the book. So, I am constantly looking through new books, to find the perfect tip that is just the thing that I needed to either save money, or make live easier, or recycle something.
I was looking on Google the other day, and I came across the ThriftyFun web-site. Now, I don't have a clue as to why this web-site is called ThriftyFun, but, I think that this web-site was designed especially for me! I have never seen so many tips in one place in my life; and in every category imaginable. It is awesome! And another good thing about it is, you can bookmark a tip that you want to store, and it stores all of them in one place............recipes, garden, Christmas, living green, saving money, you name it. I have spent more time on this web-site than I ever have anywhere else, and another good thing about it is, you can look up anything you need an answer for, and if you can't find the answer, then you can post your question, and either a staff member or a helpful person like me will try to answer your question. So, I'm thinking that I started started a blog to be able to pass on garden tips and lessons of life, and there a source was the whole time. (Oh well, I've got a forum now, and if no one ever reads it but me, then at least I can vent once in a while. )
Oh! And the other web-site is for people to post things that they want to give away. It is a place where members can post things; everything is free, and you can advertise for something that you are looking for, ( that one special something that will complete your light bulb collection for instance). Whatever. You just type in freecycle.org, and put in your zip code, and it connects you with the area closest to you that has a group of members. You have to register with Yahoo!, (if you haven't already).
I'm telling you, these two sites are great! I just love the internet! Happy hunting.

Kids Are Great!

When you are having a really bad day, find yourself a grandchild. Borrow one if you have to, but it is imperative to your well-being (and theirs) , to be able to connect. The reason that you want to go to any lengths to connect with a grandchild is...............grandchildren love unconditionally. You know how parents love their children unconditionally? Well, grandchildren are like that. They don't care if you are not perfect, they love you as you are. They give themselves whole-heartedly, loving without abandon, and they have just as much fun loving you as you do loving them! I think that's why God made kids; because He knew that we needed them so much. When I am really down, I can love on a grandchild, and it does wonders for my soul, and they seem to like it as well.
Another great thing to do with a grandchild, is to take them swimming. That's a blast! They love it when you sneak up on them in the water, and act like you are going to dunk them, and when they get their water guns out and squirt you, then you have to chase them all over the pool, (and you have to take a really long time to catch them, because the longer it takes to catch them, the more fun you have), and then when you catch them, you have to dunk them, ( but you give them a chance to hold their nose before you do). They really act like they are terrified that you are going to dunk them, but it's funny how they manage to let you catch them. Kids are great!
It's great to be able to leave the responsibility to the parents, and just have fun with the grandchildren, feed them junk-food, and let them watch cartoons in your bed.
I hope my grandchildren have as much fun being my grandchildren, as their Grand-dad and I do being their grandparents.

Reasons To Not Garden In The Dark

Actually, there is only one good reason to not garden in the dark.........critters! ANY kind; flying, crawling, creeping, flitting, buzzing, slithering, you name it! Anything that does do any of these things is not your friend.
I was real proud of myself, I figured out the way to beat the heat was to string up lights and work at night. Sounded like a good idea, anyway. Well, I got out at dawn the other day, and was doing some heavy-duty clearing out of brush and weeds, and stirred up a hornet's nest. I managed to get out of the way real fast, but not before one of them got me; in three different places! Good grief! I didn't know that hornets (or wasps, whichever the one was that got me) could sting so quick in succession. That little booger got me good! And the bad thing about it is, that, as I have written about in the past, I am allergic to insect bites. I don't think that I am as allergic as my dad, ( a bee sting would actually send him into anaphalactic shock), but I definitely had a reaction. I got nauseated big time, and the injection sites themselves lasted for over a week, got real hard, and HURT for several days. Also, itched for several days.
As you know by now, I am always one to try a natural way to deal with a lot of things; not only do I like to try to save money, but it interests me to be able to solve the problem myself, instead of calling the doctor, or having to go buy insect spray, also, I feel a lot better using natural products instead of chemicals. All that to say; I dipped a q-tip in witch hazel, and kept it pressed to the injection sites, and it worked very well! I was so pleased to be able to find a home remedy that actually worked, ( so many that I have tried have NOT worked).
Which is actually one of the reasons for me starting a blog; to have a forum to be able to pass along things that I have learned (usually the hard way). So now we know..........
1. Witch hazel relieves itch from insect bites.
2.Bounce dryer sheets tied to your belt does NOT deter mosquitoes.
3. Avon skin-so-soft applied to skin is not a good mosquito repellent. ( but you smell good)
Another adventure that I experienced while I was working at dawn ( to beat the heat) ; I was lifting a rock that had fallen over from my flower bed, ( right by the front door.......very close to the house.........where people walk frequently.........) , and when I lifted the rock, I saw a very unusual-looking spider. Now, when you live in the country, you are going to see quite a wide variety of unusual-looking insects and vermin, but I had never seen a spider like this one before. And even though I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT LIKE SPIDERS, I got me a couple of sticks and picked this one up and put it into a jar ( with a tight lid), so that I could look it up and try to identify it. When I was able to identify it, I found out that it was a sure-enough black widow spider. You have heard about certain things all your life, and sometimes they seem like a myth in a way, but then later discover that they actually DO exist in our part of the world. I was very glad that I had captured the thing, not only to identify it, but to rest secure knowing that there is one less black widow spider ( waiting beside my front door) , that I have to worry about biting me or one of my loved ones!
Ever since I found him, (or her), I have been afraid to walk into a dark room, afraid that if I sit on the couch that one will crawl from behind or under the cushions, afraid to go into my closet.
I am not afraid of snakes, but I absolutely cannot abide spiders, and creepy-crawlie insects. So, I will be initiating a spraying program to rid my little part of the world of this dangerous creature, so that I can feel more at ease in going about my every-day activities. I'll let you know what spray I wind up using, and how I feel that it works. Happy Gardening!

Facts that I have learned about black widow spiders:
1. when a female spider mates with a male, she actually very seldom ever eats him.
2. male black widows and juvenile black widows do not bite, only the females do.
3. black widows will only bite if they feel threatened.
4. they live under rocks, and in dark places.
5. black widow bites are 15 times more potent than a snake bite, but since so little venom is injected, humans rarely die from being bitten. ( Although this is the case, it is still an excellent idea to see your physician if you are bitten.)
6. black widows are very shiny black, and have the classic bright red 'hour-glass' mark on their underside.
7. black widows are one of the very few spiders that are actually harmful to humans. ( great, that WOULD be the one that I found on my property).

I Hate Mosquitoes!

I'm afraid that its gotten to the time of the year when I get the "garden blahs". This is not good. I find it hard to get out there and do anything, weed, stake, etc. It's just so darn hot! And the mosquitoes have banded together and started a Carole Club.
I have tried so many remedies for mosquito control that I could probably write a recipe book for mosquito prevention. Problem is, none of these remedies seem to work for me. I have tried the remedy that everybody raves about, Avon Skin-So-Soft bath oil, plain, and mixed with rubbing alcohol, quite a few essential oils, vanilla extract, ( that one didn't work either, but I sure smelled good; did you know women in 'the old days' used to use vanilla for perfume? Cool, huh?) Anyway, I have tried the Bounce fabric-softener sheet tied to my belt, I think THAT one sent subliminal messages to every mosquito in the state of Alabama to come for a special meeting of the Carole Club; I have tried sprays galore, they all seem to work for a short time, but not for long. ( BTW- the DEET that is in a lot of the sprays is not supposed to exceed 35%; its bad enough to have a chemical on your skin, but you don't want to repel mosquitoes and be poisoned while doing it. There ARE higher levels of DEET in some brands, so be sure to read the label.) So I tried a spray with 40% DEET in it, and promptly broke out in hives. It ain't fun to have hives. Your hands and feet swell up, and you get huge 'blops' all over, and once you ever start scratching, you will have the dickens of a time stopping! So, then you go to Wally World and pay $25.00 for 45 Zyrtec so you won't get sleepy while waiting for all your symptoms to get better, and find that you just as well to have paid $4.23 for 400 x-brand Benadryl at Sam's as to have gotten the Zyrtec, because the Zyrtec makes you just as sleepy as the Benadryl. Good grief! One thing that actually works for me, however, is a product that Avon puts out. It is a sunblock and mosquito repellent combo, that I have actually had good luck with. Now if I can just find an Avon lady........sigh!
So, not only do I have mosquito itches, but I have hives from the mosquito spray, and now that I have much more foliage in my garden, and have more contact with it, I have found that I am allergic to my garden. Yep, here come the hives again! Man, I can't win for losing.
I seriously ask myself why I continue to do this, ( garden, that is.) In 2003, when I moved up to the house that I am living in now, I decided to give gardening a try. I bought every book known to man, ( ok, only about 20 of them); studied up on the subject, ( I like to be well informed), put my raised beds in, (more work at the beginning, but not near as much hassle in subsequent years), dug and hoed, plowed, dumped, bought, planted, weeded, SWEATED. I definitely put body and soul into this venture, let me tell you. I never seemed to be able to harvest much from my garden, though. If it wasn't the bug problems, it was disease, or critters. I never knew so much could go wrong with a garden. The good thing about it is, I have learned (the hard way) what NOT to do. (see previous post) I would have so loved to have had someone to be able to ask questions of. ( BTW, I have since discovered the county extension office; Alabama Cooperative Extension Services, ACES.edu) So, back to the question, why do I do this?
There's just something about getting out in God's world, being a part of nature, digging in the dirt, ( amost-50 year old ladies are not supposed to enjoy digging in dirt, and hunting worms.) I feel so much peace out in my garden. I get out there, crank up the music, ( actually sing along if I have enough breath to do so, much to the dismay of the neighbors), and have myself a good old time just doing what has to be done. I have always enjoyed working outside, I feel more free out there, happier. And, of course, there's always the hope that some of these extra pounds will vamoose. And I keep thinking that if I keep trying, that eventually I will get the hang of it. ( It seems to be working, actually; my garden looks better this year than it ever has before). There's just something in my soul that screams, " Get out there in the beauty that God has given you, enjoy yourself, and teach others!" And, since, this is what is in my soul, this is what I will do. It's nice to know that you are doing what you are meant to do. Happy Gardening.

Help For The Garden

Here is a tip that may help some of you fellow gardeners:
Chop one small onion with two medium cloves of garlic.Blend on high in the blender, then strain the pulp through cheesecloth or panty hose. Pour the liquid into a hand-held mist sprayer, and spray your flowers at the first sign of aphid infestation.
Aphids are a big problem in the garden. They are tiny little soft-bodied bugs that situate themselves on your plants, and suck the juice out of them. Not only is this hazardous to your plants, but they carry diseases as well. It looks like it has rained and splashed dirt up on your plants, only what looks like dirt is actually very tiny bugs. But these little tiny bugs can do a LOT of damage in a very short time. They cluster on the stems and undersides of leaves mostly, but can be just about anywhere when they get real bad. When aphids are present, they produce a fluid called honeydew, which draws ants. Ants LOVE honeydew, and will do everything they can to protect them from harm, to keep their supply of honeydew from vanishing. If you see a lot of ants in your garden, look for aphids, chances are you will find them.
It is a good idea to check your garden every day for signs of pests and diseases. It doesn't take long at all for either one to wipe out your crops. Believe me, I have learned this the hard way.
I have tried to garden for about five years now, and have found that it is harder than it looks. I have seen gardens all over, where it looked like people just threw seeds into the ground and viola! plants burst from the ground and vegatables grew with leaps and bounds.....bountifully! For some reason it never worked this way for me. I'd dig. And dig. And dig some more. And plant. And weed. And weed. And weed. And put up trellises. And weed. And put down mulch. And anything else I could think of to grow plants that produced food. And along would come the bugs. Of every kind, bringing all their friends and relatives with them. And diseases; dear lord, I never knew so many things could go wrong with plants! I finally figured out several things that made a tremendous difference in plant health:
1. You have to have adequate sunlight for plants to grow well. When the books say 6-8 hours of sunlight a day, it doesn't mean that you can plant in the woods and expect a garden to do well. You can plant in the woods if you want to, but you are going to have problems. If a plant is not healthy, it cannot protect itself from disease, poor growth, bugs, etc.
2. You have to feed plants. In order for them to be healthy, they have to have food. If they cannot get what nutrients they need from the earth, then you have to supply them if you expect to reap a harvest. A lot of the time the quality of the soil is poor, sometimes what was planted before in the same area leached all of the particular nutrients that this plant happens to need, and therefore nothing is there for the plant to eat. Remember: if a plant is not healthy........
3. Worms are very good for gardens.
4. Dogs are NOT good for gardens.
5. Hoping a problem will resolve with no intervention on my part does not mean that the problem will fix itself.
6. 7-year-olds do a pretty good job of watering if you show them what to do, ( and promise to pay them).
7. You can get 4-year-olds to pull the hose for their brother if you give LOTS of encouragement.(And promise to pay them as well).
8. It's wonderful to have a garden buddy to talk to ( and help shovel manure). How many times do you have to shovel that stuff anyway? You gather it up, unload it from the trailer, turn the compost heap several times, shovel it into the garden, rake it out, etc. And it isn't the most pleasant thing in the world to deal with.............
9.It helps to be strong.
10. Mosquitoes love blood. Mine, especially.
11. If you have music to listen to, you can get a lot more done, but it can't be slow, mournful stuff, it has to make you want to MOVE!
12. Surely all this activity will result in the loss of SOME weight!
13. You can string lights around the garden fence and work at night when it is not so hot.
14. Nothing tastes as good as water when you are bone-dry.
15. You cannot expect water pressure to be good when your hose is 200 feet long and going uphill.
16. Bugs are very sneaky and they play hide-and-seek very well.
17. I hate mosquitoes.
18. Rocks grow and reproduce.
19. Son-in-laws can run the tiller if you look helpless enough.
20. I'm told that if you shoot off firecrackers, it will drive off the mosquitoes. ( I'll let you know how that one works. )