It was a hot day. I knew that but i didn’t yet realize how hot. When i walked outside to fetch the dogs the air hit me like an oven door opening. I glanced at the outdoor thermometer on the porch and swiveled my head around to look again. It was 110 degrees. At first, …
Tag Archives: texas
A Dung Beetle just Doing his Thing
An Eventful Friday
Every Friday i received an afternoon fedex delivery of a pink box full of produce, and usually a little rice. Every friday i took great pains to make sure i was home at a reasonable time to pull the box out of the blistering sun and save some of the produce. I asked my coordinator …
The Gardening Struggle
I picked the lemon cucumber when it began to turn yellow on the outside. I figured that must mean it was done. Also, its growth had stagnated and it was getting no bigger. It was room temperature, as it had just come from the garden. It smelled and tasted like a cucumber. It was sustenance …
A Day Off
It was rare that i got a day off when something didn’t need to be built, fixed, or chopped down, but they did happen on occasion. On one such day i spent time with the land that i had come to love so deeply. I realized that the chickens had grown drastically since the last …
Culligan to the Rescue
My water spigot on the side of the well house was leaking ever so slightly. Naturally, i called the culligan customer service number and they scheduled the same two technicians that had been with me since day one to come out the very next business day. They had the spigot replaced and wrapped in insulation …
Garden Update
The potted husky red cherry tomato plant sitting on my porch behind a baby gate fashioned from wire fencing, a beaded wrap-around wire bracelet and an extra piece from Cashew’s dog crate continued to produce faithfully throughout late spring and even into summer. The outer skin of the tomatoes became tougher as the months wore …
The Emergency Weather Radio
My emergency weather radio would not ship to my PO box. I had to do what i usually did when that happened which was mail it to my friend and then leave two dollars under her welcome mat when i picked the package up off her porch. When i finally got my hands on the …
Artemis
This red wasp had come in through the hole i had made for the bees to enter and exit the mosquito net tent. It had been in the tent for about three days when i noticed it wasn’t present anymore. I scanned the mesh walls looking for it when i realized the wolf spider that …
Why I Need a Storm Cellar and Don’t Have One.
There was a big summer storm brewing. It was a bit early in the year for such a thing but i had been through plenty of them last august and i figured it would be more of the same. Whirlwind storms developed out of thin air on the radar and built and built until they …
Continue reading “Why I Need a Storm Cellar and Don’t Have One.”