Animals in the garden

Just as I finished my last email I went outside to work but I had been hearing the plea of a small creature thru my office windows - I knew that a frog had been caught by a snake - but I didn't know I would find it. The cat had spied it on a plastic tarp - the snake - light green with round eyes 3 feet long had a small bullfrog by one leg - his tiny screams of Help - this loud chirp - this plea. I looked at the snake and that frog - the snake was too small; the frog too large - he only had one leg down its throat and the rest would not go - so I picked up an 18 in handtool and proceeded to pin the snake to the tarp. Oh, he faked it - he rattled that tail - there was no diamonds and it was as pointed as a pen. The frog was still screaming his 'let me goooooo' and finally my tool in the middle of the snakes back caused him to release his grip. The frog leaped 3 feet straight up and the snake slithered into my shade garden - damnit - not exactly a good spot - but I doubt he will stay long. I did try to shoo him further but he is under mulch - its ok - he's harmless - the frog is safe.

Sometimes I even amaze myself - not a scream no hesitation.


My dad was scart to death of things like that - scared - I spelled it incorrectly on purpose. He killed snakes and spiders as if they were the size of volkswagons - initially gardening scared me - bugs - spiders, snakes - worms - now I am one with it all. Yesterday 2 nukes of bees were delivered by my beekeeper - the indominable Ms Della and my hair was still drying and blowing about wildly. I got stung twice by bees who accidently became entangled in my hair. Even my bees did not hurt me for their sake but out of fear of my wild ass hair that was blowing all over the place and they were kinda lost and scared - they got caught - I'll bee more careful.

Planting Foo

Yesterday I planted 105 peppers - habanero, kong pow, black pearl, jalepeno, corno verde, gypsy, parks whopper banana and then my sweet bells, chocolate beauty, gourmet, islander and an entire flat of jupiter. I am going to hit restaurants with bell peppers.

Today I want to plant 100 tomatoes - I know I won't cuz I really intend to get the hoses and the mulching done and I don't have the materials for the mulching. I also plan to plant all my eggplant - (plan/plant/eggplant - can't help it - just turns out sounding repetitive).

Della came out to care for the bees - she coos over the girls and speaks lovingly to them - I smile as I tuck peppers into the ground - then I tell them to sit tight - I will water them into the next day. Most of my cole crops look so pretty except for the weeds that are trying to get toe holds - mulch sits in bags unground - my grass is unmowed, my feet are getting tired and my skin is getting brown. I am not sitting still - tomatoes are being tucked into pots for resale at market - plants being arranged for better viewing and Jenks market may be in trouble again - insurance went from $169 to $503 - market doesn't make enough to justify those costs. It gets to where I don't wanna do this - the OTC is trying to force us to buy permits and collect taxes - for 17 years I have paid my damn taxes - I won't become their lacky. Put me in jail.

I have a lot of left over tomato plants - I plan to use existing fence row for a lot of them - stake and weave where there is no fence row - the plants are indeterminate - they won't last the summer and David suggested we plant another flat of parks whopper in about 6 weeks - sometimes he is brilliant.

I am da FOO who will plant all day today and probably most of tomorrow - best of luck all of ya.

Sudden Death

Just got home from the local feed store - Farmers Feed in Sapulpa. They just lost a son and brother. Sam and Kay Johnson own it - the kids work there - and one of the sons died. This guy has loaded feed and hay into our vehicles for 20 years or more - and it was shocking to me. We forget just how short life is and how quickly it can be taken away. I heard the story but my heart is way to tender and I had to walk out - tears were rolling down my face as I approached our truck that was parked near the cattle panels that I needed to move my plants out of the greenhouse.

It wasn't that he was a close family friend - it was the fact that this handsome, strong, muscular man's life was just snuffed out - gone so quickly to an outsider who didn't know he had cancer. We don't see what is wrong in other peoples lives - we don't tell others our own horror stories as we wage war with emotional pain or deep illnesses.

The greenhouse business makes me nuts - I get very stressed out this time of year and for all intents and purposes, I must get my butt outside and work to get it all ready for sales at Herb Day at Brookside start this next Saturday. And I am so stupid for letting it get to me - that all this stress piles on me and I become a nutcase crazy bitch. Maybe I can slow my mind down and try to enjoy the process - after all, any one of us could die between now and tomorrow.

And then there is the taxes - death and taxes - life's only guarantee.

Finally Dry Enough - We Plant Today

I have waited long enough - the ground is dry and we will till today - David's got two gardens to till - then we finally get our own done. I have lots of overgrown cole crops - and I never plan to start these again cuz I have the shittiest (I'm sorry but this is the word to use) luck when it comes to broccoli and the like. My cherry tomatoes are ready for the big pots - now! Do I dare - and the geese still sit where I plan to move my regular tomatoes - grrrrrr. Lord help me - the forsyntia is in bloom - plant your peas now too - hurry - more rain coming Friday.

Footnote - if you get a huge influx of grasshoppers - grab all you can, stuff them into a blender and make grasshopper sludge - if there is disease in them and you spray it all over your garden, they will consume themselves - they are cannibalistic that way - and the germs the smushy ones have will be shared - and they die quicker. They also do not like the taste of very very hot peppers - a good use for Kong Pow (not the right spelling) and Habanero - she said with a deep bow at hips and whispering - good luck muchachos.

OPCG Work Party

Breaking ground and first planting party at Owen Park Community Garden. Edison and Santa Fe. Tonight at 6pm

The 8th Plague of Egypt.

God then had Moses stretch his staff over Egypt, and a wind picked up from the east. The wind continued until the following day, when it brought a locust swarm. The swarm covered the sky, casting a shadow over Egypt. It consumed all the remaining Egyptian crops, leaving no tree or plant standing.

Scary Stuff. Let's hope the swarm dies down before it reaches us.

Requiem for Detroit

I watched this BBC documentary last night. Very good insight into the rise and fall of American's fourth largest city, and the collapse of the industrial world as well. It ends with the Urban homesteaders raising food on empty lots. I loved the guy talking about he makes $500.00 a week growing food in Detroit, and the other guy exclaiming "That is about the same that I make working at Chrysler. You can watch it online. If you have a slow Internet connection, press play, let it connect and buffer, then hit pause till it downloads.