March 22, 2010

  • THE PEACH BLOSSOMS ARE OPEN !


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    The day was rainy, overcast and chilly but the peach blossoms started opening today!  The Beast was so excited you would have thought he got a check in the mail.    He went out inbetween the rainy sessions to check on the apples and cherries but they are still just buds.  I'm hoping I will actually end up with things I can freeze and can this year.  We just need to hope that we don't get too much rain this year.

    Because of the weather, I got to be lazy today.  Just the normal making up of the bed and keeping the kitchen straightened out.  I always clean up the kitchen before I go to bed.  The Beast can be awful about making a mess in the evening with his hot chocolate (on cool evenings) or his chocolate milk (on warmer evenings).  He can get the Nestle's powder all over the counter and, of course, he wouldn't think of cleaning it up.  He also has the bad habit of never putting anything back.  I forgive him because he will put dishes in the dishwasher or, if they are clean, put them away.  All I need to do is get him to stop putting my cookie sheet in the oven and I will be happy.  He knows perfectly well where it goes because he has no trouble finding it when I put it where it is supposed to be.  Men just aggravate the piss out of me at times.

    Family Channel has been running all the Harry Potter movies since early this morning.  They are doing it in order, thankfully, or anyone who hasn't seen them might get thoroughly confused.  They are up to The Order of the Phoenix right now and it's probably the one I really get aggravated over the protagonist in it.  She's a real bitch and brown nose.  I know they won't get to show the next one (The Half Blood Prince) because it's way too newly released on DVD and Blu-ray for them to allow it.  That's okay, though, because I can always slip it in if I feel like it once this one is over. 

    The baby got up around 7am this morning and came over and climbed into bed with me.  Her baby doll included.  We slept until almost 9am.  She pushed her high chair in front of the TV because she wanted to watch it while she ate her cereal.  I had called Johnnycakes as he instructed and he got there while Chewlee was eating her cereal and watching the first Harry Potter movie of the day.  She finally decided that she was done only because daddy reminded her she had her own TV in her room and they have Eggo's (which is what she really wanted for breakfast but I am out of them....color me embarrassed).  She pronounced one of the characters in the movie as *nasty* and cracked me and the Beast up.  Her face was so serious and you could tell she sure didn't like him.    It struck us as funny because of her choosing the word *nasty*.  It just seemed so...well, fitting.

    As time goes on, you will be hearing more and more about the doings here on the actual *farm*.    All I need now is to keep the Beast from adding more trees.  There is, however, one type of cherry tree that he will probably be replacing if it doesn't recover.  He'll have to make a bit of a trip to replace it however.  The only place we know of that will have it is in Georgia, south of Atlanta.  I'm hoping he gives up the idea.  We have all the ones needed for pollination.  That one is just a type he read about and thought he would like to try. 

    I'm going to be buying some netting a bit at a time since what's needed is kind of expensive.  I told the Beast he will really need to get a taller ladder than the six foot one he has.  I also want him to get an extension ladder for us so we can clean out the gutters this year.  We haven't done it since we moved in and, with all the debris we get in the yard, I'm sure some of it got blown from the various pines into the gutters.  I'm not even counting the maples and oaks.  Those at least break down quicker than pine needles.  We had clogged gutters at our house in Port Charlotte the year Charley hit there and we ended up with several big bags of debris.  We haven't had a hurricane here but we have been in this house now for almost five years.  That's a long time to go without clearing those out.

    There's also another reason we need an extension ladder that's tall enough to allow us access to the roof.  The Beast needs to pressure clean the mildew off the siding.  It looks awful.  Oh, not from a distance.  But when you get closer to the house, you can see it.  Last year he cleaned off the front and back but he couldn't really get the sides since that is where the peaks are for the roof.  It's the darn crawl space that makes it tough because that just brings the roof line up higher off the ground.

    Nothing special is planned for tomorrow for me.  The Beast may take a ride to the site of another gun range we read about on the internet.  It's a state range which means it's bigger and, best of all, it's free to use.  He can also find out about the hunting areas for the handicapped while he's there.  He didn't want to do it today because the day was so nasty and grim.  He's extremely pale so I know he's not feeling up to snuff.  It's the only time you can see he's freckled. 

    I guess I will just go ahead and do some of the washing I should have done today.  I need to get my bedspread done so we can start making the dog stay off the bed.  I haven't done any wash in a few days so that can keep me busy enough between games on Pogo.  Love you all.  Have a great day. Here's a thought for you:  A clear conscience is the sign of a bad memory.