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.