whoops!

missing out on the finishing of my stint with NaBloPoMo. I'm sorry about that, but glad I'm very busy with work

NaBloPoMo

I don't have much to say, that I could offer in this format. I do suggest you make the acquaintance of Kate Atkinson, however. I can't put down her newest in the Jackson Brodie series, Started Early, Took My Dog (please don't take a break, Kate). As I felt with Inspector Morse, so do I feel with Jackson Brodie.

hoarder

found all these in the garage; disappointed in self

pea pickin'

Hoping to harvest pounds of these expensive snow and sugar snaps

damn

I'm still here and so is the laundry . . .

Friday

Looking good around here.

What will happen tomorrow, if no one is Raptured up? Will there be general disappointment?

finally

getting there; actually accomplished everything on my to do list and then some. Feeling a lot better, and wondering what it was that struck me down.

Remus is excellent at looking out for her cats; I heard a furious barking, and when I went to look, there was Black Cat, lurking at the perimeter. The police brought by a trap for him, so we'll have to bait it with food, though a cursory look at it reveals it to be pretty flimsy. I can't see it holding Black Cat for long. We'll see.

better

but not 100%. Still, I'm proofing some books for my niece, managing editor here. These are fun little reads for the 8 to 11 set. There seems to be bad guys, pirates, treasure, the ocean, ships. Anyway, check them out.

Tuesday

not so good around here; I don't know whether it's a bug or pollen, but I'll spare you the details. Busy with work, though, so that's a good thing!

Time out

of the four pets living here, two have vomited today. Rather operatically, I may add. Cleaning agents were involved in the tidying. Sorry to burden you with this, but . . .

Early Spring around these parts

Steps need some tlc; we'll get to it this summer. We fixed our fireplace ourselves last year, so we'll mix up a batch of cement and get conversant with our trowels.

Out back, the chives are doing extremely well, as is most of the rest. Some lemon verbena is poking up under the window, in amongst the weedy lemon balm.

Bear or Frank? I can't tell.

peas

I harvested more snow peas this morning. I think I'll blanch and freeze as they come along. They are $4+ a pound, so my incentive is clear: I should have quite a hoard for the winter.

The cat remains on antibiotics for his wound, which is healing very well. I hate to let them out, but there is no way at this point to contain them.

Miss Mouse and I discovered a SP**MER! Quite an exciting exchange this morning on FB messaging.

Finally, and most important, it was strawberry milkshakes and Southwestern burgers (with bacon) for lunch from Petunia's Airstream trailer. We shared the burger and tried to eat a quesadilla too, but it proved too much. That shake is worth every penny. There are no words, really, to describe this food. It's heaven.

posting

I hope my post from yesterday reappears . . . if not, I will cobble something together. You do want to see the Space House, don't you? There, I've gotten at least some interest.

Soul has been to the vet, and his hideous wound (under his tail) is healing. Time to roust this feral feline from the woods, though I'm sure at some point he was the house pet of some horrible family. A family, I'm sure, who moved away and didn't bother to call him home in time to get in the car.

I happened to see a truly crazy person being interviewed on TV this morning. Ron Paul is certifiable; I think there was spittle flying out of his mouth. No federal government. My head is in my hands (not literally, of course). What must Rand Paul be like? Can you see the two of them in the White House? But, why, if they don't believe in a federation, would they want to head one up? Maybe Donald Trump could be Secretary of State, and that Bachman woman could be . . . I can't even imagine. Geez. Thanks, McCain for unleashing S. Palin and the entire Tea Party movement.

Have a great weekend

hey

D arrived back from the garden with this handful of snow peas! From the number of plants and blossoms, I may be sending a few in your direction, gentle reader.

D was supposed to have gotten me an anise hyssop plant yesterday at the farmer's market, but he FORGOT, even though he called to make sure (men). Then he was stuck for an hour going up the mountain in a snaking standstill of cars, because a tour bus had gotten itself stuck halfway up, near the Space House. I don't think I've shown a picture of the Space House, have I? I pass by it almost every day, and rarely think about it, but really, how odd, isn't it? just another Southern eccentricity that has become commonplace.

image thanks to Creye-Leike Realtors

hot hot hot

Newt is running; the governor of Indiana pulled the plug on Planned Parenthood. Misogyny is not only alive and well, it's more in control than ever. Centrist and left of center representatives from all levels of government and industry, please step up to the podium before all is lost. We need sane voices, speaking out for us.

heat

it is very hot out today; like summer, really. And I saw my first flea of the season yesterday on Remus. Damn! Now it's time to flea all the animals.

***
Also, yesterday after dinner, I heard a tremendous caterwauling out front. I rushed out front to see Soul at the mercy of Black Cat, on his back under the crushing, brutish power of this interloper. I yelled, and both cats took off in opposite directions, a goodly bit of Black Cat's fur blowing around the driveway. Soul hurried in, to crouch in the hall, growling, for a while. Then he repaired to the back of the couch. Where he remains almost 24 hours later.

This same Black Cat was responsible (I'm certain) for the puncture wounds on Frank's back that took a lot of time (not to mention money) to heal. I'm hoping Soul is only psychically, not physically, wounded.

Black Cat is too feral to lure inside, and I think the  three cats, not to mention Remus (who has been in to check on Soul several times throughout the day) would come apart at the seams if he were to come into the house.

Soul, in a more relaxed moment

Busy bee . . .

bee hives, Crabtree Farm, Chattanooga

Spent the day at the computer and at the desk, trying to make sense of it all—at least what is on the screen and page. Getting steamy out there; hope we are not in for another summer of extremes.

Mother's Day

Planted six fledgling fennel plants up at the plot; hoping they swell up into beauties later this summer. The peas are coming along amazingly well; D really did a great job planting them and rigging up a trellis out of string and stakes for them to climb on. Plus there are lots of ladybugs on them! Now the owners of the plot next to us needs to stop with the Miracle Grow and pesticides and it all will be good.

Bought a salad burnett, bay, and horseradish at the Sunday Market. Now I need to find a permanent home for the horseradish so it can spread out. Looking forward to that. In Heath, we didn't realize we had a patch of it in the field next to the house. The first time we ground it up in the food processor, the pungency of it  almost knocked us across the room.

I'll put the bay in a pot, to bring in during cold snaps in winter, but otherwise it'll stay outside. Salad burnett will go in the herb garden.

***
I am halfway through my history reader (interesting for the most part) and almost done with my lab manual tome (yea!). I haven't really had a raise from that company (lab manual) in about 15 years! What's new, though, really?

Finally, Mike Huckabee hasn't robocalled me all day! I guess he takes his day of rest. Isn't he an ordained minister—or something?

one thought

Thinking about my mother, but of course my father arrives to assume center stage. Ranting and railing, cursing and name calling. So much belittling. To what end?

Still a potent presence even in dreams.

Visitor

on my herbal walk

wild food, part 1

Rachel, our walk leader, pointing out the first wild food she spotted: wild lettuce. Like many of the plants we encountered, this one is know for its sedative/narcotic and anti-anxiety qualities. As a tincture, it is a useful sleep aide. You can also cook up the leaves as you would spinach.

This cropped version, while blurry, shows the dandelion-like leaves. I had what I thought was a volunteer lettuce up at the garden, but now I know it is this. There is a row of spikes on the leaves' underside, and a milky sap that oozed out when the stem is broken.

Wild yarrow, which can be used topically for wounds:

Pick and dry the blossoms, then grind to apply on cuts. Infuse the fresh flowers in olive oil or almond oil and use as a cosmetic.

Wordless Wednesday

comrades at Reflection Riding

Bear With, Bear With

as Miranda's friend would say; I WILL get a post out on herbs. but thanks to Gretel, I am now obsessed with even more British TV:

May!

Hey, I had an entire post to put up of my medicinal herbal walk on Saturday, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Work got in the way. One job is getting to be like the movie Groundhog Day; it just keeps coming back for more insertions. NOT my fault, btw. Not all of it, anyway.

May, Maybe

Happy May Day, Happy Beltaine.

This day found me with some strawberries I had gotten on sale from Greenlife (now Whole Foods), so after my type coding editing stint this morning, I jammed it up in the kitchen, and produced these:

I haven't made jam in several years, so I'm a bit rusty. However, when strawberry season begins in earnest locally, I think I've got the kinks worked out.

For Betty C.: