Stop, look, listen.....

 

 

 

 

 

 Before you know it, winter will arrive!

Hot Tomato Sauce

 

Grass!

 

We have a big lawn which I have always stubbornly insisted on mowing with a self propelled walk behind gas mower, insisted that is, until my husband decided I needed a lawn tractor and went out and bought one. I resisted his decision for years, an inclination which probably describes my personality, saying the exercise was good for me... all that walking. Well, this year the nearly every day rain has made our lawn a lush ever-growing green monster. Between rains I rush out, jump on my lawn tractor and cut it down to a walkable length. Almost before I'm done it begins to grow, greedily enjoying its rain water power shake and gathering energy from the sun.

Now that I'm riding, not walking, I also cut an area we call the bowl, which my husband used to do with his big brush mower, and a section near the barn where we feed the sheep grain in autumn and spring. The lawn looks beautiful, like a golf course, and this year we have kept the sheep off of it so there's no gooey surprises when you don't watch where you're walking. The excessive growth has caused one problem though. Because I have no bagger on my mower to catch the clippings it sort of looks, for a while, like a hay field with windrows needing to be baled! New growth quickly catches up though, buries the clippings and no doubt makes it even more lush in the end. But, being me, I couldn't control myself from raking it a couple of times, taking cart after cart-full and dumping them over the bank by the lake. So I did get my exercise after all.

This year we're both wondering why we created so many tight spots where the big mower can't go. I have to mow the berry garden with the walk-behind - so many turns and tight corners - no way the ride-em mower could get in there. And there's under the swing, around the well, etc., etc. The rampant summer growth, also affecting the gardens and the  gobs of veggies being produced, has kept us busy, busy, busy. We could weed whack every day!  Richard has a gas powered whacker and does the big stuff, controls the thistles and stinging nettle on the beaver dam and in hard to reach places in the barnyard, and cuts the grass on the rocks that edge the house. I have a battery powered whacker and do around flowers, berry bushes and fruit trees, in-between and around spots where the walk-behind mower can't go. 

Whew! It's time. The evenings are getting darker and cooler, the rain drops colder. One clear night the dew and rain residue will crisp up and turn to frost. Hopefully by then all the sensitive veggies will be canned, frozen, eaten, or ripening in the house. Root crops will be in the bins before we know it, and we'll be more concerned with putting wood in the fire and shoveling snow. 

 

SALE! SALE! SALE!

 

Hidden in these alluring messages - the NECESSITY to BUY.

     Saving by spending is an interesting concept, one which can work for or against you. Powerful advertising can hook people into buying things they don't need or can't afford. It can, in other words, trigger our brains into "needing" stuff we had previously not even considered. A careful shopper can profit from all of the above if they are cautious, if they buy only what they planned to buy and are nor enticed by the "savings" to buy on impulse.

     I wouldn't call the above false advertising, not even misleading if you recognize you can't SAVE by BUYING. Saving by buying is an oxymoron.   It's a false premise that entices us to spend.

     Credit card companies earn a small percentage on every purchase their card is used for. They make even more by charging interest on purchases if you are unable to pay your bill at the end of the month, and that interest rate is often very high. But using a card that in some way rewards you for using it can be worthwhile, and it's kind of nice the day you "use your rewards" at the till, you get your rebate check, or your membership is paid.

      I have 3 credit cards that give "rewards". I bank on line and pay for my purchases within days, avoiding credit card debt. Some cards can be paid right at the store. You can even pay 5 seconds after you charge and they don't mind. After all, you just spent your money in their store. You might have made that purchase somewhere else if you didn't have their credit card.

     Advertising, sales, rewards, promotions, anything that encourages people to buy products, to try new products, to spend money in a specific store - all of these are expected to be advantageous for the seller. Buyers who shop with their eyes open to the subtle psychological pressure of these "encouragements", who exercise caution and common sense, who are able to avoid getting hooked by the hype, can also benefit. Who doesn't enjoy the satisfaction of getting "the best bang for their buck"!

Barn Swallows

Gotta love these little swallows despite the mess they make. Their mom and dad are continuously busy catching mosquitoes for them! They stay in the nest until they are so big they pretty much fall out, getting close to that now! And getting close to time to leave - a late hatch.

 

A New Definition of Summer

Summer, a new definition: a few short months to get an awful lot done.

      This summer has been especially challenging. It started with a dry, hot spring which had us searching the sky for wildfire smoke and pouring over newscasts showing the plight of fire refugees. The unseasonably warm weather encouraged us to plant our gardens early only to be forced to water them if we wanted them to germinate. Then the rains came - to stay. So now we rush around trying to get good weather projects started and completed between torrential downpours accompanied by window rattling thunder and some spectacular light shows.     

        It is, despite the weather, coming along. Ten gallons of Honeyberry wine are in the carboys. The raspberries are ripe. I'm picking a couple of gallons every few days. I expect to discover the first ready to eat zucchini any time now. It's fantastic growing weather; the gardens and the grasses are taking full advantage. 

 

It's not just "get ready for winter" projects filling the time between rain storms. The brush mower's back wheel grabbed a fence wire and broke down a corner post which had to be replaced. A hose on the tractor sprung a leak. Strong winds have been depositing trees on the fence lines causing major clean-ups. Then there's the summer BBQ's, fairs, music jams... We're going to a gathering on the August long weekend to celebrate the 100th year of a generational farm.    

Every once in awhile I find myself longing for the calm of winter.

     

Busy or not, a couple days ago I had a "stop and smell roses" episode smack me in the face, literally. While gassing up the mower, standing precariously on a wee ladder trying to figure out what direction I needed to twist a valve I could barely reach, a tiny little bee decided I was invading his territory and stung me on my left cheek. Hurt!  Yikes! Yelling at my husband for "making me do stuff I really wasn't able to do", I stomped off to the shop leaving him to finish the job. Suddenly I felt weak, nauseous. Sweating profusely I sat down on a chair and lowered my head. I loosened my jeans and noticed a line of blisters around my waist. What is this, I thought - sun stroke? After awhile I made it to the house. That's when the itching set in. I took a cool shower to settle it down but it didn't help. Finally deciding I might be having an allergic reaction I took two Benadryl.

      During all this my husband completed the lawn mowing, quite unaware of my plight. By the time he came in I was shivering, breathing hard, had bumps all over my back and an almost total body rash. He said, "Get dressed, we'd better get you to the hospital".

     Unreal - over 70 and just now developing an allergic reaction to bee stings! I stayed in the emergency ward all night, on an IV while three bags of Benadryl (one shot of same) and electrolytes dripped into my system, slowly taming my reaction. I was released in the morning, told to continue taking Benadryl and advised to get an EpiPen. Two days later and I'm still weak. The actual site of the sting is swelling down my neck and it feels like there's a wee critter running around under my skin.

     A couple years ago I blogged about "An Alien in My Head" (see Feb 12, 2014). That time I felt no sting and doctors were mystified, even thought I had an abscessed tooth because my only reaction was the swelling of the right side of my face and neck. This time I know for sure I was stung, had nearly every symptom described under anaphylaxis in Wikipedia. I've never had a fear of bees, but, especially now, I recognize their power. At least I won't have to struggle to get gas anymore, my husband said he's doing it from now on.

 

     

I just love feeding the birds

 

The beads are hanging on the window in an attempt to dissuade the birds from crashing into it. Works most of the time although the new fledglings sometimes go through a bit of a learning curve.