March 29, 2011


  • TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I woke up to a dismal looking day.  Not surprising since it rained hard last night and was a big (large in area) storm because we had a couple hours worth of thunder and lightning.  Well, actually, I guess it could have been a slow moving storm.  Hmmm!  Regardless, I also went to roll out of bed and discovered I had hurt my back while I was asleep.  Talk about a major groan coming out of my mouth.  It startled the Beast sitting at the kitchen table even. 

    I got up and headed straight for my pain pills and took two of the minor ones.  The other ones will knock me out and I had things I needed to do.  Got my coffee, sat down carefully and waited for the pain pills to kick in while the Beast and I discussed what we wanted to get done for the garden.  I planted some seeds in peat pots to get started.  The Beast had already put the second *garden planter* (I don't know how else to describe it) out back with the weed barrier underneath and started pouring in the Miracle Gro.  He put 11 large bags in and it was nowhere near full.  He got about six big buckets of our soil from a pile we have on the next lot (don't worry, it's ours) and mixed it in before putting another 11 bags of Miracle Gro on top of it.  He then added the six bags of top soil (those bags are slightly smaller than the Miracle Gro ones) and it is now ready to be planted.  That one will be for carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, radishes and rosy tip lettuce.  I joked with the Beast and told him he should just dig up the onions that are scattered all over our lawn and he shot me *that look*, I'm sure you know what kind of look I mean.

    He said he's going to plant four or five corn plants at the end of the planter just to see how well they do.  His next planter is going to be for a watermelon and cantaloupe plant.  Notice the singular.  They are space hogs and you have to keep after them to keep them from tailing all over the place.  His original plan was just for three planters but now he plans on a fourth one the size of the smaller one he made to start with.  That one will be for the beets, turnips, bush beans and I have no idea what else might occur to him.  Looks like a busy summer for us.  I told the Beast that if the fruit trees do well, I'm going to be really, really busy canning come late in the summer and early fall.  And we won't have enough Mason jars.  He was all for running out and buying a bunch more while he could but I told him they will have plenty available and we need to find out how well the trees do this year.  I AM going to push him for an upright freezer, however.  The prices will be higher in the fall than they are right now.

    NEWS ON BAILEY................................

    Johnnycakes found a vet on Sunday and took Bailey in to be examined.  Bailey was sedated and X-rayed and the vet didn't find any pieces in the muscle.  The bullet was easily removed, I think since it was closed up and no vet would leave it in.  Bailey was sent home with some antibiotics and other medication and she will be fine.

    After meeting with the landlord and discussing the changes in their schedules since getting Bailey, the Princess and Johnnycakes realized that there was very little time that Bailey would be in the house by herself so they are not going to put her outside any more.  She isn't destructive so she can manage to be alone in a room (I think they will get a baby gate and block off the kitchen to keep Bailey confined just in case she has an accident).  She doesn't bark....even the landlord commented on that so she should be just fine and they won't have to worry about her.  She will only be alone for about four hours at the longest by my calculations.  It will depend on the day and the Princess's work schedule.  Johnnycakes gets home about the same time every day so there will be times he will have to walk her when he gets home.

    I'm glad Baron doesn't know he might have had company here for a while.  He would be so disappointed. 

    Love you all and I hope you are having better weather than we are.  It's going to be a very wet week for us.  Not that it's going to rain every day but it will be dismal.  This too shall pass, thankfully.  In the meantime, we hope to finish putting the garden in within 8 days or so.  It would be sooner but we have to wait for these seeds to germinate and start growing.  It should be worth all the trouble.  I love fresh veggies, don't you?  Be good.  Drive carefully and stay dry.