August Updates and Observations

 

It's been a busy summer.  Summer always seems to fly by.  (Winter, on the other hand, does NOT.)  Next week my son will be wrapping up his summer jobs and we will be taking him back to college for his 3rd year.  (Talk about time flying.)  Labor Day weekend is two weeks away!  (How the heck did that happen?)  On this summer Friday, I'm thinking back to things that have happened already this summer and providing updates and observations (Is this really necessary Bfth?  Probably not, but...)

• Bats:  Since that one appearance, we've had no other sightings.  Hopefully that continues.  We had a pest control guy come out on Tuesday who thought he figured out how the bat got in.  (Through an exhaust fan).  We had the pest control company's bat expert come on Thursday and he disagreed.  He thinks that it came in through the chimney and squeezed its way out through a very small opening in the glass.  He did a full inspection of the house, including all three attic spaces and found no evidence of bats. (Apparently they tend to leave a lot of guano...file that under thanks you don't want to know or find out.)  He also didn't find any evidence of any critters up there which still leaves me scratching my head over what I heard in June.  He felt it was not likely to happen again, but gave my husband some pointers on what to do if it did.  (Including what to say to the pest control company to get quicker service.)
• Weeds:  They keep on coming.  While I think I have the chameleon plant somewhat under control (I'm not kidding myself), the darned spurge is a scourge!  I pull it up and a day later I turn around and there is even more.  The weed killer that I used only on the patio (because I couldn't really pull them), worked really well.  However, I used it all up and now need to go get more because while the ones I sprayed are very much dead, others pop up.  It's an endless fight.  Additionally, I purchased 2 lavender plants (because I love lavender and the plants that I thought MIGHT be lavender turned out to be Russian Sage).  They are small and seem to be doing okay, but other plants and weeds keep coming closer and closer.  I'm trying to give the lavender some space so it can grow and spread.  Because I do love lavender.  I'm also loving the Russian sage, rose plants and other various flowering plants that have taken off this year.
• The "Jungle":  While we've had several days without rain (and the rain that came this week didn't amount to much), the jungle still is managing to make a comeback in the yard.  I do need to call the landscaper again to do some trimming, but since I have yet to get the bill from the last clean-up, I'm a little hesitant.  In the meantime, my plum tomato plant has tomatoes! 
  
  
  They are small and I managed to use one in half a tomato sandwich.  I have picked two more and there are several more on the vine.  Maybe my black thumb is starting to turn green?  My rosemary is going well and both basil plants (Indian and lemon... did I know there were different types?) are flowering. (Did I know they would do that?)  Even inside plants seem to be doing "okay."  I have yet to kill off three of my mother's orchids (although they are no longer flowering).  Only one of the 4 plants in my resurrection garden has died.  (One actually did resurrect itself...so maybe this one will too?)  But sadly my remaining succulent plant got too big and broke.  I've kept the root in the pot, so maybe there is hope there too?
• My Son's Birthday:  He had two cakes this year.  One that I bought (thank you Abe's for making great vegan products that I can eat) and one from the thrift shop, or rather from one of the ladies who volunteers there and knows of a regular shopper who is an artist when it comes to cake.  My son had seen several cakes that this artist had made for our church events and said he wanted one.  When asked what he wanted, he said lobster and...   
            He brought it home and had some of it, but had to cut it up and bring it back to church to share because...this was a LARGE lobster!
• Supporting Local:  There was a trash and treasure sale at the community center AND a church yard sale in town last weekend.  There is another large yard sale this weekend.   Last weekend I ended up getting bargains at both.  One of the items I bought (actually a "lot" of 5 items) was a sugar bowl that had a slot for spoon.  My husband had wanted one and for the price (it was $5 for that and four other small pieces, including a creamer) it was more than worth it.  However, now I have a problem.  I've kind of fallen in love with the pattern.  While I have "good" china, my every day is a mish mash.  I don't have more than 4 plates of the same pattern.  So I'm leaning towards buying a service for 8, but I really don't need it.  But... (Does anyone want to point me in one direction or another?)
• The Pond:  The guy who runs the company came out yesterday to look at the issue. We've got a temporary "fix" in for now, while he orders new parts.  At least the fish are still alive. (Who knows what happened to the turtles.  We all think that they decided to wander off...as is their right.  But I guess that wasn't a "good investment" for me!)  And it turns out what I thought were tadpoles are actual goldfish that aren't gold.  (Who knew?  Well, I didn't.)  I'm thinking there's been some procreation going on there.  The pond guy thinks they were in the "pack" that he provided us with in the spring that were just too tiny to really see. (They are still quite tiny.)  Who knows!  The fish still are skittish and won't eat the food that I toss in.  (Instead they rely on pond plants and growth.)  Maybe it's time to try again.

I guess that’s more than enough “nattering” for a summer Friday.  Wishing everyone a great weekend full of sunshine and fun.