Holy Moly!

My brother, sister-in-law, and I spent the morning working in Mom and Dad's yard. Something is always needing to be done there. We got everything mowed and my brother got a water leak fixed in the yard. Dad's health is really bad. I am afraid (as is Mom) that he has had a little stroke. So often, his words are slurred and he is so weak that he can't do anything. I stayed and ate lunch with them and he couldn't say the blessing that he has been saying for 60 years...always the same one. I would not be surprised if he dropped dead any time. Actually, I hope that is how he goes because then he wouldn't have to endure a miserable illness. Mom sees him more than any of us and she said something is bad wrong with him.

Today has been the first day that I could mow my own yard because it has been raining so much. I finally got the front yard done, but  it was a major task. In fact, I had to stop and raise the deck on the mower because I could not push it through the thick grass. I'm just a wimp, I guess, but I am the only 66 year old in my neighborhood that mows my own yard with a push mower!! So there!!

Note to self!

WooHoo.....3 1/2 inches of rain!

Went down to the garden this morning to try to see what needed to be done in between the rains. Brother had already cut the okra this morning and most of it was too big to use because we had hadn't cut it since Saturday. With the rains, more will be ready tomorrow, but it is supposed to rain again tomorrow, so we may miss that cutting as well. I tried to pick peas, but kept bogging down and losing my balance, so I gave up. There are blooms all over the peas since the rains yesterday, so we still may get a lot of peas. Got very few tomatoes. They aren't putting on any new ones. I am loving all the rain, but I sure do get lazy and sleep a lot. And.....I spend way too much time playing Bejeweled Blitz on the computer. It drives me crazy! I don't even know why I put this frog graphic on here. I hate frogs!!!! And.....I must be ADD judging by the way this post is all over the place!!!!:)

Yet another rant!

Due to inclement weather today, I have spent a lot of time reading blogs and on Facebook. It amazes me how many people misuse "your" and "you're" and "their", "there", "they're" and "its" and "it's". I know the previous sentence is poor sentence structure, but I am just frustrated with people today. My last few years of teaching English, I made it a point to just harp on these words over and over. Obviously, I failed because a lot of the people I follow on Facebook are my former students. It just drives me crazy and a few of them are teachers now and making these elementary grammar mistakes. Actually, at least one is an English teacher and it takes every ounce of restraint I can muster to not correct the errors....especially on those who are now teaching!

No explanation needed!

Be afraid...be very afraid!

CRAP!

More aphids....not on any of the things they sprayed last week, but I just discovered them on my althea and some of my flowers in pots. The man sprayed everything but the althea. Don't know why he didn't spray it. I wondered why the leaves were not looking healthy and there are very few blooms. Now I know after inspecting it closely. It's always something!!!!

I need counseling!

I didn't know it, but Obama's health reform bill (which he hasn't read) will insist that since I am 66 and about to die, I need counseling to prepare me for the medical care that I am NOT going to get to save my life! What a CROCK! Our nation will not survive this MORON!

It's over!

The gardening is winding down. This morning I picked the last of the corn and tomatoes. Okra will keep making for a long time, but there will not be tomatoes to go with it. I may have to go back to the Farmers' Market Tuesday afternoon and score me some fresh tomatoes. I cut off enough corn to cook today and gave the rest to my sister-in-law. I hate to see it end because I enjoy it so much even though it is hard work. I will have a few more peas to pick and my brother has some sweet potatoes growing, but for the most part, it's over for this season. I will look forward to planting a fall garden which will include broccoli, cabbage, turnip greens, and carrots.

My view...

I was completely oblivious to the fact that my town was hosting a little tykes baseball world series this weekend. Imagine my surprise when a friend called and asked if I would drive her in a convertible in the parade. Well, yeah...I can do that. She is the krewe captain and our queen for last year came and rode and threw some beads. Many states were represented and the weather was 10 degrees cooler than yesterday. Still 90's, but bearable. Short 20 minute parade down the main streets and we were done. Cute kids!

WooHoo!

Finally, got some very beneficial rains tonight just after I finished mowing. Lost power...which is highly unusual in my neighborhood. It wasn't off for long, but long enough for me to figure out that I cannot find the cute little flashlight that my brother brought to me from one of his trips. I just used it a few weeks ago while down under my desk hooking up the computer. I cannot find it anywhere! Of course, it is going to bother me until I find the damn thing!

Fingers crossed......problem solved!

Looks like the aphids are dead! Of course, I had to hire the big guns to do it, but since they were sprayed this morning, they seem to all be dead. Now I have to wash the dead ones off the leaves and wash the "honey dew" off the tops of the leaves. Also, since the yard was treated yesterday, the bahai is dying, the crab grass is dying and the other weeds are dying. I'll be a happy camper after I get it all mowed and start watering again. Next week, we are supposed to get a break in the weather after 10 days of over 100 degree heat and no rain. The highs will be in the low 90's instead of the low 100's!!!

WooHoo!

Well, OK! Just maybe my faith has been restored in my yard company. The dude with the big truck was here at 8:30 this morning spraying my crepes and azaleas. He promises that this will work. Of course, I am the eternal optimist and always believe, at first, that it will. I didn't even know they had a tree spraying program, but next year I will make sure to include that service in my program.

Now I have the rest of the day to do as I please. I may even go to a movie since it is too hot to do anything else. I've been told not to mow or water the yard for another day and I did all my duties at Mom and Dad's yesterday, so I am unleashed! Look out!

All hope is not lost!

The dude finally came to take care of all the weeds in my yard today that should have never been there in the first place. He used one spreader of granules and two different backpacks of liquid. Something surely will kill the bahai and crab grass. While he was here, I asked him if he had anything for the aphids on my crepe myrtles. He said he did, but it was on his truck with the big sprayer. He will call Randy on the other truck and tell him to come spray for me. He says it will definitely kill aphids. Of course, this is the same guy who told me last week that he would be here in two days, so I don't have much faith. We will see, but now that I know there is something that may work, I will keep calling until someone comes and sprays.

Giving up!

This morning I spoke with my plant guru about the aphids on my crepe myrtles and he said there is basically no sure way of getting rid of them this late in the year. He starts treating the ground around his in January, so I guess that's what I will do next season. I actually started spraying the leaves as soon as they started putting leaves on this year, but that did nothing to solve the problem. Now the leaves are turning yellow and falling off. An acquaintance bought lady bugs through Amazon, but they are dying due to excessive heat in South Texas. Heat would be an issue here as well, so I'm not ordering any.

Awww, Man!

I screwed up! It's been so hot this week that I have not been to Mom and Dad's at all this week. Today I went there to check to see if peas were ready to be picked, but before I checked on them, I swung by the little okra plants to see if they were putting on okra. Turns out there was okra everywhere and nearly all of it was already too hard to use! Damn! I love me some okra and tomatoes, but I didn't get much okra I can use. I will be checking it much more frequently now.

My brother and I got all the mowing done at Mom and Dad's, but it was majorly hot and dry. I got the peas and tomatoes picked before I had a complete melt down. We don't have many peas or tomatoes right now, so that part was easy, but HOT!

Backyard nature

While I enjoy watching the hummers, I am not quite so fond of the mockingbirds. They get on my very last nerve because they constantly fuss while I am outside trying to work. I know they are just being protective moms, but, please, just shut up!!!! There must be nests with babies all over the place because there is never a quiet moment. Apparently, it was time to kick some babies out of a nest in my backyard today. I watched some babies fall out of the tree and walk around on the ground for a while. Then one made his way to my patio and stayed there forever. I wasted half a day watching to see how the mom would get him to fly and I still missed it. I saw the mom bring a bug to it a couple of times, but I missed how she got it to leave. That baby will be riding the short bus! She had to invest way too much time on that one!!!

Maybe the best cartoon ever!

For your viewing pleasure!

Just playing with graphics...

WTH!

Since moving to Louisiana 3 years ago, I have used the same doctor. He's wonderful. He has (had) a lab person that never hurt me when taking blood. A few days ago, there was a report on the news that a woman had been sending nude photos of herself to a 16 year old boy. Turns out it was the lab person from my doctor's office. She is now in jail! People are just freakin' CRAZY! I don't understand this kind of mentality!