July 23rd

Rain, rain, rain.......

 

Every day for the past few weeks, all it has done is rain. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the rain. It brings the temperatures down on these crazy, hot oppressive days. Its just that the CEO can't get his outdoor projects completed. Every time he starts to really get into it, the rain stops him.

(A convenient excuse, I think)

He is known far and wide in our little fiefdom as the Great Procrastinator!

As the saying goes "he put the "pro" in procrastinate"

 

I've made lists of the projects that need his attention.

 I've nagged.

I've complained.

All to no avail.

He marches to his own drummer. I just wish that little drummer boy would march him right up to an unfinished project!

Oh, well. My philosophy in life, is to pick my battles. These aren't the ones I'm gonna win. Not my battlefield.

The projects do, however, finally get done. I can truly say that the CEO will NEVER have stress issues!

 

 

We do currently, have some pressing issues that he and I are trying to get under control.

Our precious garden is under siege by bugs!

Quite a lotta bugs.

I think the rain isn't helping either. The tomatoes were almost decimated by those large green caterpillars.

 

.

It's not easy to see, but this picture actually shows about five of those voracious eaters.

It also shows the damage done. This is only in the space of two days!

 They not only eat the leaves, they eat the small fruit as well.

We are organic, so no pesticides. We are looking at alternative ways to murder those little assholes!!!

Sorry, I get carried away........

 

Enter the hen assassination squad!

The girls have proven themselves yet again. They gorged on those bugs like a fat lady at the casino buffet! 

They paced around the plant to get a better "kill shot", then eyed the critter and zeroed in for the kill! Then wiped off their beaks on the grass and went back into the fray! 

I was so proud!

"Kill 'em girls!" was my battle cry!!

 

But, it's not just the tomatoes, its the okra and mirlitons too.  

Don't know what kind of bug this is, don't really care.

Oh, yeah, it's LUNCH for the girls!

 

 

That's Ethel and Hazel eyeing up the plants. Hazel is standing on some of the tomato branches we cut off to save the rest of the plant. Sometimes they eat the bug whole and other times they eat parts and share with their sisters. (disgusting, but it gets the job done)

 

The CEO and I were busy with the bug extermination when we hear a frantic clucking in the other side of the yard. He went to investigate. Tis some visitor, I muttered.....

A white Egret. He was stunningly beautiful. I was able to get quite close to get these shots. All he did was watch me.

My curious feathered flock, didn't dare encroach on his area. They watched quietly from a distance. He was hunting....... stealthily....... moving slowly.

  He ate the bugs from the higher branches that our girls couldn't reach. His efficient skills were legendary. For those bugs about to die, we salute you!  

I wondered if there was some kind of "bat signal" that the hens turned on, to get help from this guy, their super hero!

They were quietly in awe.

Nary a peep out of them.

 

At least the butternut squash hasn't been under attack

This particular plant lives near our compost heap.

 

 

 As I was scoping the squash out, I turned to my left and saw someone scoping me out.  

I guess he was making sure that no bad bugs escaped on his watch!

Thank you, our super hero!!

 

 

Time to go back inside. After all tomorrow is another day, Scarlett  - or 23 hours 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds

July 15th

I was sitting on the couch thinking of how this year is literally halfway over. As I age, it seems that the years fly by. Time moves so quickly and feels accelerated. It seems unfair that the closer you get to running out of time, the faster it goes. There ought to be a way to tap those breaks. The real cruelty of aging is the loss of eyesight and growth of chin hairs. Tweezers can become weapons that remove chunks of flesh in the effort to pull out that offending hair! Then there are the aches and pains! Don't get me started! There are times I wouldn't be surprised if a random body part just fell off!

When I was a kid, in grade school, the summer time seemed like forever. Playing outside, riding my bike and splashing in our small, blow up, backyard pool, was something that I woke up eager to do every day. Catching bugs in mayonnaise jars, staying out till the street lights came on and running inside to eat a home cooked meal, ahhhh, I remember it well.

Coming from a family situation that was financially limiting, I never really knew that fact. My Mom was widowed at an early age and raised 2 girls as best she could. I sincerely don't remember feeling "poor". She was a "make do or do without" kinda woman. I guess, living through the Great Depression, left her with a frugal outlook. I felt very loved, and really, that's all that counts. Don't want to get too maudlin here.

Speaking of the year being halfway over, I can't wait till the weather gets cooler. I like to sit outside and be in the garden or watching the hens goof off, but this humidity is limiting that. But, soon, it'll be autumn and then Christmas.


This day in history.............

(neat, huh, how I tied that right in?)

 

 

 

But, there's this too.....

 

Thankfully,after years, that catastrophe is finally shaping up.

 

 

After an afternoon nap,(an activity I am becoming disturbingly fond of. There was a time I thought only old people took naps, but now, just the thought fills me with contented anticipation) the weather was slightly more accommodating, so the CEO and I ventured out.

 

 

 

 

The CEO, texted me the other day.

The text read "We've sprung a leek!"

 

I love puns!

Speaking of puns, my son texted a few.....

 

and another one.....

 

"I have a step ladder.

I never knew my real ladder.......

 

Very puny!

 

 

 

 

It was getting dark and the girls were settling in for the night. They ambled back to the coop and jumped up on the roosting bars. They can't ignore the coop's siren song of sleep.

Hold the phone! Wait a minute!

I've seen this movie!

And it doesn't end well........

 

 

 

 

and I'll leave you with this.......

 

"If you know somethin' well, you can always paint it, but people would be better off buyin' chickens"

Grandma Moses

 

 

 

 

July 8th

Today's moon phase......

The moon is a Waxing Gibbous phase. I had absolutely no idea what that meant. Found out, that all it  means, is that it's more than 50% illuminated, but not yet a full moon. Oh, and it is in Capricorn - whatever THAT means..... (the moon is in the 7th house and Jupiter aligns with Mars.......) What brought me to wonder about the moon was, as I was driving  home from work last night, I noticed how beautiful it looked. Now I can't get that Age of Aquarius song outta my head!

 

 

It is officially the Dog Days of Summer! That's according to me. After all, I write the blog, I make the rules. It is Africa hot out there folks! Any time the thermometer climbs above the 80 mark, with the increase in humidity, and your clothes try to melt into your skin, it's HOT! I mean, Satan called and he wants his weather back! ............. Although I do love the smell of summer on the sun burned grass.  

 

 

 

 

The chickens don't seem to care about the heat. Although they do know enough to stay out of the sun

That's Ethel soaking up the shade.

 

Lucy joined her to get a scratch.

 

Hazel's rendition of "I'm king of the world!"

 

Sandy and Pepper snacking on dried grubs, yum!

 

Nugget chilling' with the CEO

Hazel and I discussing her day at work. Egg laying is strenuous.

 

 

 

The veggie garden is trying to escape the heat too. Some of the leaves are turning yellow on a few of the plants. I'm wondering how hot it actually gets, with the sun relentlessly beating down on their inescapable little leaves.  Thats a lotta photosynthesis going on!

 

 

 

I'm sitting on the patio, watching the dragonfly's. There must be 20 or so of them. All colors. Brilliant, metallic colors.

 Dogfighting in agile spirals through the muggy, still air.

 I'm amazed they don't get their delicate wings entangled in each other as they compete for a tasty morsel of unsuspecting bug.

I'm watching a mini version of Top Gun!

It seems that they all go into attack mode when the see their prey. They unleash a blitzkrieg of flapping gossamer wings to ambush that blissfully unaware bug. They are voracious predators. Fossils of large ones were found that were325 million years old. Pretty successful, I'd say.

This little guy stayed still long enough for me to meet him up close.

 As a kid, my Mom and Grandma called them Mosquito Hawks - an apt name. Mosquitoes in this neck of the woods can multiply faster than melanoma cells!  No mosquito is safe around those winged pest controllers.

 

 

 

 

There are several plants that keep producing. Here is our okra. I don't let them get too big. The small ones pickle nicely.

There are 3 tiny okra on this bud.

 

 

 

The hens are all interested in something in the garden. All their little heads are bent down clucking and examining whatever they've found. Ooh! A hen party!

I went over to take a look. Couldn't see much of anything at first. No habla chicken.

Then, I saw a green blur jump up and out of their way.

I still wasn't able to identify the object of their adoration. All 7 pairs of sharp beady eyes and waiting, opened beaks intent on murder!

Its a tiny tree frog! It was trying to get away

I debated with myself whether or not to come to the aid of the frog, or to let the hens at him. My sense of fair play came to the fore. Seven against one certainly wasn't fair.

Decision made.

(I love it when I'm decisive. After all, the road of life is paved with flat frogs who couldn't make a decision!)

 I saved the little guy.

 I shoo'd the girls away and grabbed him. He jumped right up into my opened hand. I guess he thought "any port in a storm!"

Then, I relocated him to the other side of the yard.

(under an assumed name, in the witness frog protection program)

Hazel and Nugget followed - hmmm, trying to see where his new hiding place was, I'll bet.

  Curious girls, or maybe in this case, hungry girls.

There is no accounting for taste with chickens. (except when they're fried! Ha!) Oops! I think I said that out loud......

They eat pretty much anything.

They are higher up in the food chain than the bugs, so I guess it is as nature intended. But, no carpe diem today for that frog, girls!

 

 

 

Thought for the day:

 

Why is there writing in Braille on the drive up ATM???

Methinks the Americans with Disabilities Act might have overthought that one.......

 

July 1st

Today is International Joke Day, so in honor of that, I'll lead in with this........
What do you get if you cross a ghost with a chicken?
Answer: a poultry-giest!

It is also National Early Bird Day.
Seems that I celebrate this more than I'd like. When I get in bed, my first thought is that, it would be nice to sleep in, but sadly, it almost never happens. Sometimes I succumb to the realization that I just don't sleep well. I've taken melatonin, but I get these crazy dreams.......
Last time I took melatonin for sleep, I dreamed that I was in some kind of tunnel, waiting, with other people, to crawl through this small hole, at about 6 feet off the ground, in order to escape. It was the only way out. I was having a hell of a time trying to get a foothold to boost myself up to get into the hole. When I was finally there, my arms and head got stuck. I couldn't go upward or fall back down. I was getting anxious because the others in line were yelling at me to get moving...... then I turned over and the stupid movie in my brain changed.
Even after I woke, I still remembered it vividly. So, I began to analyze the blasted dream. Was it an unfulfilled life issue? Did it mean that I'm struggling with some problem? Am I getting too fat? (that certainly goes without saying!) God only knows! I rarely remember my dreams, but this particular one stayed with me. Pondering the metaphysical reasons for a stupid dream isn't getting anywhere.
 I don't think I'll give it any more credence. Moving on.........

The bell peppers are doing well. There are a few "hinky" looking ones that didn't completely fulfill their little puny pepper potentials. (alliteration!) Oh, well, they are all loved here. The recent rains aren't helping. Its causing them to rot on the vine. It keeps down the heat but, the humidity still feels sticky, like walking through a sea of soap bubbles.

 

 

The pineapple and peanut plants.

 

 

Ethel, eyeballing the CEO as he turns over the soil in the old tomato plant bed. He is preparing it to re-plant some Créole tomatoes.

 

 

 

The CEO with "help" from the girls. Its irresistible to them when he turns soil. It brings up grubs and earthworms, that they absolutely love. Its chicken sashimi!

Pepper, Nugget and Sandy (Colonel Sanders) are in the soil bed with Lucy looking on.

 

 

Composting Class 101:

We use compost in the plant beds. Our compost heap is made up of green (grass clippings), brown (leaves, wood chips, newspaper and such) and kitchen scraps. That's veggie scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, chicken poop and other waste, but nothing with a "face". In other words, no animal products. No meat or animal fat and no dog poop. You can however, use animal poop when the particular animal isn't a carnivore. Hence the chicken poop. Dogs eat meat - meat can spoil and cause disease. So, no dog poop. Ever.

This is a completely organic process. A no brainer. As all of the ingredients break down aerobically (uses oxygen), it raises the temperature. That's when the heat loving bugs and microbes take over to consume the waste. What they poop out, is the finished compost. Oddly, it never smells. If it ever does, it means you haven't turned it enough to release carbon dioxide. You smell rotting organic matter. So, grab a pitch fork and get in there! You can add bone meal, but it needs to be dried completely and finely ground. A better option is to simply buy a bag and blend it into the existing heap. Lime also helps to break down the organic matter. A small bag blended into it should do the job for a few years. Remember, as always, there will be a test........  (ha,ha)

 

 

A friend gives me kitchen scraps and coffee grounds for the compost heap. This last time I put the scraps and coffee grounds in the heap, I didn't spread it out. It was raining, so I just dumped it near the middle, with intentions to spread it later. Then I promptly forgot about it. I let the hens out to forage. They raced to the compost. The girls love pecking and scratching around to find bugs and worms.

I was pulling weeds and noticed them running all over the yard.

 Back and forth.

Several times.

 Never still.

Then it hits me........ its the coffee!

 It was hysterical.

They kept it up till their little chicken systems rid itself of the caffeine dose.

After they settled down, they all went back into the coop to lay down.

That was my entertainment for the day.

 Gotta remember to spread out those scraps.......

 

 

So now, his helpers are Nugget, Pepper, Hazel, Sandy and Henny (Hen Solo). Ethel and Lucy are off exploring the delicacies in the compost heap.

 

 

 

I made veggie soup with some of our produce. Came out very tasty. The CEO eats it with shredded cheddar and crackers.

 

 

 

Speaking of food, my daughter made this............

 

she sent this text.......

Looks amazing! She's a great cook. Cauliflower is so healthy too.

Hugs to her for the pictures!

 

 

 

 

Gotta include a picture of her puppy.

He's a mini Australian Shepherd.

He's a year old and his name is Riley Grimm.

How cute is this little guy? I mean, couldn't you just hug him?? Those eyes!

 

 

 

 

Lastly, a picture of the CEO with our old gal.

The End?