Raw

It's a cold and wet weekend.  It's just raw out there.

My motivation to be a productive human being goes right out the window on days like this.

It is inspiring to actually see green.  You know, that light, fresh, tender green of new growth.

I can't even be bothered to get off my back porch this morning. 

(*Although I did summon the energy to take the pups out in the drizzle for a quick mile.  Shows you where MY priorities are @:)

Peeking through the bushes to see that the garden is still hanging in there.  I threw some kelp and bone meal on the peas and carrots before the rain started yesterday.

Back inside, I feel like a bug wanting to huddle in the tomatoes and suck up some "grow light" too.

My last batch of (store bought) Idaho's are starting to sprout...need to use them up.  There's a nursery nearby that has a sign out for organic seed potatoes.  I might try some this year.  We usually only eat potatoes in the winter so I usually just by a big bag from Sam's Club. 

Fried potato's for breakfast the past few days. 

That's how SM like them best.  Who can complain?  Butter, onion, salt and pepper?  Crisp em up just so, and I have a happy man.

I've putzed on the computer yesterday and this morning looking at TV options (they suck) but I also watched a foreign film online last night with Hulu (love Bollywood stuff, it's SO FUN) and explored Hulu Plus and Netflix, both of whom offer a free months trial.

I'm reluctant though.  Personally, I'd rather be outside right now...I know the sun is hiding out there somewhere.  Why bother with the TV?  Maybe this winter.  When I'm as trapped and cold as I am right now huddled around the computer for warmth.  (grin)

Come on back sunshine!

The Big Addiction

I am of a generation that can't remember a time before there was TV. 

I remember watching the black and white TV "console" as a child.

The thrill of color TV.

Ooooo...HBO.

Cable boxes, remote controls, 65" projection TVs, flat screens, plasma....

There has always been a TV around. 

I admire those of you (whose blogs I read) that have given up the "boob-tube" and while I can walk away from it from time to time, it's always there, calling my name, "turn me on, what's going on in the world"?

SM and I have a large flat screen TV that we paid the earth for back when it first came out.  (These kinds of TVs are a dime a dozen now.)

WE have had DirecTV for 10+ years.  I like their service, programing...love, LOVE, LOVE... the DVR function.

Over the past year or so we've watched the DirecTV bill inch slowly higher.  We call to complain and they give us 20 bucks off here and there.

Yesterday I got the bill...$97.  Are you kidding me?  (I guess we need to call and complain again.)

We have a package called "Choice Plus" which gives us a gazillion channels and (of course) nothing is on.

Except for March Madness.  (SM loves college football and basketball.)  Don't mess with the man's B-Ball.

I remember when "basic cable" cost $30 bucks a month. 

I went into work today and quizzed the staff.  Didn't seem to matter who the provider was, everybody was paying between $65 and $95.  For BASIC services.

When you break it down $97 is about $3.23 per day.  We maybe watch 2 hours in the am and 3-4 hours in the pm. 

More on weekends, and in the winter. 

Less on weekdays and in the summer. 

On average though, I expect most people pay somewhere between $800 and $1200 a year for basic TV.  More if you watch pay per view movies or subscribe to premium channels.

I've tried to analyze my feelings about this.  Today for example, I blew out of the house this morning without really even watching anything.  Came home tonight, and read a few chapters of a book and got online to blog.  So very little TV for me today.  Did I miss it?  Not really.  It's a habit.  Like a child sucking her thumb, it brings me comfort.  A habit so ingrained that I'm not sure I can give it up.

Two weeks ago, the TV was barely turned off all weekend with the tsunami news.  I was completely absorbed.  Remember 9-11?  Same thing.  I couldn't away...I was there experiencing everything, no way was I going to walk away.

So how to let go?  Or if I can't let go, can I make it less appealing?

SM and I have discussed the fact that with nicer weather on it's way, we're unlikely to spend much time in front of the TV.  Happens every year.  Nice weather hits, we're outside.  Perhaps now is the time to start our withdrawal.

So yesterday I called Direct TV and stripped us down to a "unadvertised" package of about 100 channels.  I'm keeping the HD and DVR functions for now.  Slap some tax on it and guess what?

I'm still paying $70 for DirecTV. 

What I'd really like to do is go on a TV diet.  I'd love to break this addiction. 

We read about "free online TV" but I really haven't explored that avenue much.  SM isn't into movies so NetFlix is a waste. 

Curious how I can't imagine life without a TV. 

I hear some people feel that way about their cell phones, texting and facebook.  Even blogs.  Would I be crushed if I stopped blogging tomorrow? 

I get cranky when we're having computer glitches and I can't get online.

Will I substitute one addiction for another?  That's usually the way it goes when you deny yourself.

Funny the only time we're free from our addictions is when we're on a vacation somewhere.  Do you notice that?  No phones, no computers and if you're in a hotel usually lousy TV anyway.  There's too much to see and do, lets go!

Why isn't my day to day life like that?  Am I so bored with my life that I need TV / Internet to entertain me?

Not So Subtle Harrassment

Look what came in the mail today.

(It's been at least a month since I've asked SM if we could keep chickens...)


So...What's on your fridge? (Evil Grin)

Coming Along

I re-potted the pepper seedlings yesterday.

Grow babies, grow!

I also tossed a yard of pine bark mulch on top of the cardboard walkways and transplanted the spinach that had over-wintered from this past fall into the lettuce bed.  (Notice the lettuces coming up?) 

When we started building the new raised beds, I didn't want to sacrifice the spinach so they've spent the better part of this past month in a cardboard box I had tossed them into.  Time to get them back into the ground. 

Last year we planted the apple trees in April and after about a month or so I noticed little orange spots on the leaves.  They would yellow-up and die.  Further research showed that what we had was Cedar Apple Rust, a very common disease.  (Notice the big cedar behind the tree?)  Cedar are everywhere down here and from what I read the spores can travel up to 2 miles.

 Are we doomed?  Who knows.

 I guess you need to spray fruit trees with a fungicide during the spring and early summer.  I promised myself I'd try to be a good little apple tree owner and try to be a bit more attentive to the trees this year.  If anyone out there has some tips or products that can help me with my apples, I'd be very appreciative to hear from you. 

Other than nursing the tomato and pepper seedlings along, that's about it for the early spring plantings.  Everything is in.

Hard to believe in eight more weeks, I'll likely have the entire summer garden in.  Strawberries will be in season.  I will hopefully be harvesting peas and carrots and salad greens.

The cycle begins again.

Kill Da Wabbit..

Kiki brought in a springtime gift for us late last night.  About 1 am we all shot up out of a sound sleep to hear a high pitched crying.  Almost like a squeaky toy.  I already know what it is, as SM and the dogs beat me out to the living room. 

Poor little thing.  SM hates it when KiKi kills but that is the nature of a cat.

This morning KiKi proudly saunters up to SM in hopes of praise and kitty scratches.  Nope.  SM is having none of it.

I wiggle my fingers at KiKi.  He's usually does not come to me for affection as I belong to the dogs.  But he'll take whatever loving he can get this morning.

"Good Kitty..." I croon.

"Good!?!" SM asks.

"You bet.  One less bunny eating my garden."  I respond, as my fingers work their way to the "top of the tail" kitty scratch that leaves KiKi arching his back and raising up on his toes.

"Such a good Kitty...

Perhaps I Should Be Canning

I mentioned a few posts ago that SM went out and bought us a much needed upright, frost-free freezer.  I was very excited to start filling it up with what food items I could buy or grow and watch my food storage pantry start to take shape.

Say "Hello" to my new freezer!

Say "Goodbye" to my new freezer!  It's a lemon!  We took delivery on it Tuesday the 8th.  We plugged it in, leveled it and let it be for a day or two.  I went out and transferred frozen goodies to it. 

Three days later I went out to get some strawberries (gotta eat em up) and opened the door.  No lights on.  Food was still frozen (thankfully) but the sucker up and died on us.  Didn't even last a week!  We checked the fuses, the outlet.  All good.  We got a lemon.

Do we swap it out for another of the same model?  Heck no. 

SM went a bought a freezer that is as simple as possible.  Meaning this little guy will need to be defrosted. 

It's either on or it's off. 

It has a dial instead of a digital readout.  It has a light at it's base that tells me it's getting juice.

This whole episode had us reconsidering if we really even wanted to go the freezer route.  Perhaps our money would be better invested in canning supplies?

Trouble is, I like frozen meats and vegetables.  Canned meats and veggies just don't do it for me.  Fruits on the other hand, I like canned.  Pears and peaches and jams are best out of a jar.  Applesauce is good either way, frozen or canned.  So is soup.

Funny...it's all about taste and texture when it comes to food storage.  To each his own I guess.  I've read posts on canned meat...I just can't see it for us.

So.  I plan on letting this puppy sit for a day or two and then I'll transfer my frozen goods over. 

Hopefully, we're done with lemons for awhile.

Ah-Choo...

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.

~Charles Dickens

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.

~Margaret Atwood

I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face.

~ Langston Hughes

"Bang" in the face is right!  Our pollen count is high in the Piedmont.  Claritin has become my new best friend.  I never had spring time allergies until we moved down here.  88 degrees yesterday and 78 today.  I try to be outside but after an hour or two my eyes burn, I get congested.  (sigh)

But still...IT'S SPRING

Ya-hoo....

Ah-choo! 

Back To Work

I thought I'd try the "bulk" compost in the third raised bed.  I bought a yard of it yesterday and tossed it in.  I'll actually need another yard to fill the bed completely and then more as the compost settles over time. 

I'm actually pleased with the stuff.  It looks decent, so I thought I'd try a little experiment. 

I filled up one end of the bed with the compost and planted my lettuces, (which were over due for direct sowing).  I won't need the rest of the bed until the end of April, so lets see what happens with the bulk compost over the next month.  If it's crap (Ha Ha) then I won't buy anymore.  But I'm hoping it's good stuff cause that will save me a pretty penny.

For the record, I planted:

Salad Bowl
Slo-Bolt
Baker Creek Sunset (red-leaf) and they sent me a gift of Red Romaine
Buttercrunch Bibb

Casey has had a lame back leg for the past 2 weeks.  Sort of a stiffness that wears off enough that she'll use the leg after it warms up.  She never indicates any pain with it, though I've poked and prodded her.  We tried icing and rest but it doesn't want to go away.  So yesterday I sucked it up and took her to the vet. 

She's "tight as a tick", per the vet, meaning she's all muscle and, while he ruled out elbow and patella issues, he just couldn't say what the problem might be.  He suspects "soft tissue" issues which should resolve with the anti-inflammitory meds he Rx'd.  I should notice improvement within a day or two.

If not, then it's a "mechanical" issue and she'll need to go back in for sedation and further testing.

Back to work for me today...I got vet and gardening bills to pay!

Third Rock From The Sun

What can be said about the tragedy in Japan. SM and I have watched and read the news coming out of Japan. Devastation on a scale so huge, I can't wrap my head around it.

We think we can prepare for disasters.  Japan did.  From everything I've seen and read, Japan is as prepared as anyone could be for the events that they have experienced singularly.

They engineered buildings to withstand earthquakes and ran drills to prepare the population.

They have warning systems in place for Tsunami's.

They are at the top of their game with nuclear technology.

But put all three together?  How can anyone have imagined a scenario like that?

Some tragedies in life are small and contained.  They may only affect an individual or a few people at most. 

And some like what we are witnessing in Japan have such a massive impact that the reverberations will be felt for decades worldwide.

How can anyone in this modern age prepare for anything?

SM and I prepare for rising food prices by planting a garden and plan to "squirrel away" as much of it as possible by buying a freezer and canning our surplus.

We continue to drive old cars because the cost of gasoline to fuel them outweighs the desire to purchase newer vehicles.

We consider energy alternatives and water storage.

SM asks me this morning..."But are we just kidding ourselves?"

 

God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road. ~Isak Dinesen

Never have truer words been spoken.

Peas Please

Sunshine and 78 today.

(78 freakin degrees!  Can you believe it!)

I like it a lot.

And so do the peas...

Please pretty peas...

Soggy and Boggy

TWC says we've had about 2 1/2 inches of rain this week.  

On top of that I just discovered today that I hadn't turned off the outside tap, so for the past WEEK I've been leaking water from the hose which contributed to the soggy ground around my garden.

(Sigh)  Trust me, I've called myself 12 different kinds of idiot today.  Just wait till the water bill comes.  ("IDIOT")

Since I can't dig with the ground as wet as it is, and I can't haul dirt to fill the raised bed without bogging down the truck...I've been at a bit of a loss as what I could do today.

But never fear...Besides giving all the dogs a bath...(Muddy, filthy puppies)...I managed to find some inspirition from Leigh over at 5 Acres and A Dream. 

Like Leigh, I decided to attack my future weed/bermuda grass problem.

Last year I laid out landscape fabric between the beds and threw pine bark mulch on top of it in an effort to keep things looking nice.

Ha!  Bermuda grass can grow through anything and everything, so before long my nice paths were again covered.  You can pull and pull, it's stubborn stuff.  It's also a loosing battle. 

So I figured cardboard was the way to go and started snagging cardboard boxes from work.  I had them in the Jeep, in the shed, in the garage.  I've been collecting since the first of the year.

I even trolled the neighborhood yesterday and found a few more boxes.  I thought I had enough.  Nope.  I think I'll be snagging cardboard from now on since the garden is expanding in size. 

I pulled back the mulch.

I then laid the cardboard and wet it down from the "swimming pool" bed. 

Then I tossed the some of the mulch back onto it to help hold it down.

I don't have enough mulch for this, so I'll be hauling more mulch on Monday along with some topsoil to back-fill the other bed.

Now what the heck am I going to do tomorrow?  Maybe I can finish the "double dig" bed.  If it's dry enough.

Chasing The Light

Today was a wash.  Literally.  It started raining yesterday and just now stopped today around 5pm.

I remember last March we had a lot of rain.  My hopes to get out and do some gardening are on hold again. 

Ya gotta take the good with the bad.  The good is that we need the rain.  The bad is that I'm on vacation this week.  Not much to do.  This is why taking time-off in March is just silly.  But you just wait until April comes along.  There won't be enough hours in the day.

Today, I chased the light.  No natural sunlight for most of the day, so the grow light  was turned on.

Then a bit of late afternoon sun came peeking through.

Bedtime guys... and since it's getting down to 32 again tonight, I'll tuck you into the laundry room to keep warm.

Nighty, night!

What's that I Smell?

Ever notice how Springtime smells different?  You can smell the earth, the worms, the grass.

Here in NC the first smell of spring is onions. 

That's right, onions. 

Well, actually if you research this some will say that what is growing here is really wild garlic, not wild onions.

They are everywhere though.

We haven't mowed our lawn yet, haven't needed too.  Seriously...what's to mow?  It's all weeds.

But every spring you can smell that nice "onion-y" smell for the first month or so.  Phew!

Some people slap various chemicals onto their yards to try and kill them.  We drove by a farmers field that was covered with them.

I personally think the best way to deal with them is to just dig them up.

Remove the bulbs or they just keep coming back.  These bulbs are teeny tiny.  I suppose you could eat them, not much there though.

I don't remember having these up north.  Is this just a southern thing?

Square Peg, Round Hole.

I thought today I'd start to double dig the patch out by the shed.  But "Wow", was it cold outside this morning.  (A bone chilling 32!..@;)

While I waited for things to warm up a bit, I putzed around the house and then went online to see what the blogging world had to say.  I explored most of the sidebar.  There seemed to be a common theme today or at least there was in the some of the posts/articles I read.

Labels, definitions, judgement. 

Jenna at Cold Antler wrote a post "Five Hours" where some irate person called her a "pig".

Granny Miller wrote an article Survivalist, Prepper or Housewife

Patrice at Rural Revolution - The Flip Side of Feminisim


Since I don't wish to incur the wrath of any of these fine blogs by "copying" any of their fine content I would ask, if you have the time, to read the posts and see if you get the same "sense" that I do.


(BTW, Digging is nice.  My mind wanders...)

I think about what I've just read and it makes me a little introspective.  I enjoyed all the posts.  Agreed with some of what they had to say. Not all.  Nothing is ever as simple as it seems.  It's not a black and white world out there. 


Why do we judge?  Give someone we don't know a label?  Try to define who they are?  Does it make me feel better/more important than you because I disagree with your point of view?  Do I need to be right in order to be valued?


I had a Dr say to me once in front of a patient "Watch out, she's a conservative.  She watches Fox News!"  (I guess they were discussing politics...)


"Actually," I informed them both, "I'm more of a Libertarian than anything else.  I do watch Fox News.  I also watch CNBC and MSNBC.  I even watch the Colbert Report from time to time.  I read (online) NYT, Washington Post, The Atlantic, London Telegraph, Huffington Post, just to name a few."  I shrugged. "I like to be informed...Hear different points of view.  I can think for myself, you know."


He looked at me like he didn't know who I was...and we've worked together for 10+ years. 


Huh. 


I guess he had formed an opinion about "who I was" and put me, safe and sound, on a shelf in his mind as someone he had "figured out".  Labeled.


I don't think anyone can really know another persons point of view until they've walked a day in their shoes, smelled them when they're stinky, seen them cry.


Right now I'm here, doing this, thinking that.  But in 20 years will my world look different?  You bet.


I like to think of myself as a student, always learning.  Oh, I know that I can be a "teacher".  Some consider me a "teacher" or "expert" at my work.


"Ha!"  That's just life experience.  I don't care if you're 16 or sixty...I bet you have something you can teach me.


I guess I'm just surprised at all the "judgement" that's out in the world right now.  All the labels.


Live and let live.  That's become my moto.  I've mellowed out with age. (grin)


Isn't life tough enough?  Why can't we support each each other more?  I'm going to make mistakes.  So will you.  Think twice before you cast that stone.  It might get thrown back at you.


I Don't Wanna Be by Gavin DeGraw

Stay-cation Day One

Besides having a rainy weekend, I hadn't been feeling too sparky this past weekend.  I did nothing.  Really.  No housework. No cooking.  No errands.

I sat on my duff and watched TV.  They were running marathons of "The Real Housewives of Wherever" and "Bethanny Getting Married".  I'm such a sucker for those shows.  Can't really explain the fascination.  Now what I'd really like to see is "Real Housewives on the Farm."  Now THAT would be fascinating television.

It was nice to wake up Monday morning feeling, if not 100%, than at least 75%.

Besides household chores, I found more to clean up from the voodoo sacrifice from a few days ago.  "Will it ever end?"  SM wonders?

Casey's ear seems fine.  I took the bandage off on Sunday and applied a coat of "liquid bandage".  (That stuff is smelly!)

I eventually wandered out to the soggy mess that is my backyard.

Hmmm, care for a dip, anyone?  I'm hoping to back fill this swimming pool later this week once the yard dries out enough to allow the truck back here.  For the record, TWC says we got 1.5 inches of rain.  Seems like a lot more than that.

Still getting a few frosty nights.

But look what's popping?  Mamma's got peas!  And the carrots are also starting to come up, but slowly...

Inside, the peppers are popping up too.

I also started the tomatoes.  For the record, I planted:

Matts Wild Cherry
Mortgage Lifter
Abraham Lincoln
Old Virginia
Brandywine OTV
Tropic VFN
And a new one from Baker Creek called German Red Strawberry.

Considering I don't actually EAT tomatoes off the vine, I am hoping to get a good batch for canning and freezing some sauces.

I also took some inspiration from Lynda at Cortina Creek Farm and started some sweet potato slips.  Never done that before! 

I mentioned before that just because I'm taking vacation at home doesn't mean that I'm not spending money. 

Yesterday, with my blessing, SM went shopping for an upright freezer.  He took a peek at a "craigs list" 14 cubic foot freezer, but I told him I'd rather go full size.  

SM ended up at Lowes and bought one for under $500.  Good job, Baby!  Six months, no interest.  Free delivery.  (They're supposed to deliver it today.  That's fast!) 

Funny, how I used to be a Sears girl for appliances but I have a lemon Kenmore washer that we bought a few years ago that has all ready undergone several repairs.  I told SM that, other than the Craftsman line, I'm not buying from Sears anymore.  SM hates Best Buy because of past purchase issues.  Retailers take note...We've got a long memory. 

A Spot of Color

"It's snowing in Pittsburgh."  SM points out.  SM grew up in eastern Ohio so Pittsburgh, being the closest city to his home town, has always been his "go to" weather city for his comparisons of where we are now versus where we were then.


"Ugh" Me...(shuddering in sympathy.)

"I think I'd be insane right about now if we were still living in Ohio."  Says SM

"It's so tough this time of year."  I said agreeing.  "Remember how we were so starved for color?  Months after months of nothing but gray and brown and white."

13 years ago this month, SM and I decided to make the jump to live in North Carolina. 

SM and I remembered how we stood in amazement under a bright blue North Carolina sky in March of 1998.  We marveled over the fact that pansies were growing and red buds and pears were popping.  We didn't even need a heavy coat.

Heaven on Earth!

This weekend we are having what SM calls "Ohio weather".  Gray and rainy.  But I don't mind.  We need the rain.

It's a slow soaking rain that will make my life easier when I "double-dig" later this week.

For now, though...I thought we could ALL use a spot of color in our lives to remind us that Spring is just around the corner. 

I have a southern friend who call forsythia, "Yellow-bells." 

Crime Scene

Thursday night, I'm minding my own business...blogging, catching up on the days news.  (SM won't be home until after 10 so I can hog the computer.)

I get up to do something (I can't even remember what) and walk into the living room to see a crime scene. 

Blood everywhere! 

WTF! 

(This time I did not say "freakin"...)(Grin)

I notice the blood immediately on the carpeting and suddenly, everyone (dogs and cat) scatters.  So I have to figure out who's bleeding.

Cat runs to the cat door.  I try and head him off, but "swish" his fat little kitty butt is through that thing like greased lightening.  Then I notice that there is no trail of blood to the cat door.

One of the dogs then.

Ginny sometimes wags (and therefore bangs) her tail so hard that she bleeds on the tip of her tail.  I grab her tail.  (Nothing) Mouth, feet...nothing.

Scooter has retreated to his couch and I do a similar pat down but also notice no blood on the floor around him.  So it must be Casey.

When Casey tries to hide, she can be quite invisible because of her coloring.  Instant camouflage.  It takes me a few moments to realize she gone into her crate.

I grab some wet paper towel's to try and figure out the source of the wound.  Because of the amount of blood on the floors I immediately suspected a torn nail or dew claw.  I get nothing but a little "pink" on her feet.  Start to swipe up.  Nothing on her belly.  I get to her left side and she's soaked.  I went and got a bath towel and wet it down to not only wipe her down, but help me see if I could find the wound.

Nothing...still.  I can't figure it!

Casey by this time is flipping and flopping like a puppy does when she knows she done something wrong.  I start to speak to her more playfully and she pops up and lets some more blood fly, but this time I see it. 

Tip of the ear.

In all of my dog owning days, I've never had a dogs ear get wounded.  She has a small gash on her left ear.  I sat there "compressing" her ear looking around astonished at the amount of blood everywhere.  I finally get it to slow down enough to leave her and get my first aid kit...(which we never use.)

More clean up and I've bandaged her ear and wrapped both ear's down with a compression sling around her neck.  Back into the crate to rest.

I now survey my kingdom.  It's around 7:30pm by now and I know the blood on the carpet is dry.  Both living room, hallway and office have areas of large drips and smaller spray drips.  Then I notice the walls.  Areas of sprayed blood on the walls as tall as I am.

I wet another bath towel and hit the walls, and furniture first.  I mop the vinyl and wood floors.

On to the carpeting.  I attack the area with the carpet cleaner, but as I suspected, the blood ain't going anywhere.

I hit Google.  Hydrogen peroxide.  Who would've thought?

So armed with a bottle of HP and a toothbrush and wet dishcloth I set to work.  It works pretty well!  Takes some time, and the bigger drips will need repeat applications, but there is hope that my carpeting might be salvaged.

It's  amazing how quickly a bottle of HP can go.  I call SM and ask him to pick some more up before he gets home.

By 10:00 I'm out of HP and exhausted.  Casey starts to whimper, (she doesn't like being crated) so I call it a day and unwrap her sling and cuddle her.  The bandage is holding and I don't see any more seepage.

SM comes home and I'm too tired to do anything else.  Everyone to bed!

Friday morning at 4:30 I'm up and take the bandage off.  Looks OK.  Give everybody a snackie and with a quick shake of her head, starts she starts dripping again.


I bandaged her back up.  Later that morning I research dog ear wounds.  Dogs ears help them regulate their temperatures so they are nothing but furry covered blood vessels.  I read a few articles of potential, stitches and/or cautery.  Need to get some "liquid bandage".

Hmmm.  A trip to the vet is undesirable right now.  SM and I form the plan that we'll try it my way with the bandage only for the weekend and monitor her. 

I'm off from work next week.  "Stay-cation".  So I'll have time to run her to the vets if we can't get it to heal up on our own.

As of this morning she's still doing well.  Yesterday's bandage is holding up.  Casey doesn't seem too annoyed by her big white earring and my house is slowly getting cleaned up.

I'll be on my hands and knees scrubbing the carpet again today.  But it looks better already.  I need to look more closely at the furniture though.  I even saw a drop of blood on a lampshade.

What a freakin mess!

Sad Little Compost Pile

I've been tossing all my yard waste (grass, leaf) into the "dug-outs" this past fall and winter.  Along with shredded paper, egg shells, coffee grounds and any store bought (boo-hiss) veggie trimmings from the house...

(*Sidenote:  This is the first year that I've refused to pay the high prices of "fresh" vegetables during the winter season.  Being in NC, most of our winter veggies travel up from Florida and in years past I've bought the broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and zucchini to help us get through the winter blahs.  This year, I just can't do it.  And it's not just the price.  Last year I ate my own fresh veggies (and also purchased from the local farmers market).  So I know what good taste is about now.  Can't do it anymore.  Sorry grocery stores!  The only thing I do buy right now is romaine and carrots for the occasional salad and frozen peas and corn are a staple for me right now.)

Anyhoo...Getting back to the compost piles...When we built the raised beds, we built them over some of the other compost piles.  I didn't even think about digging those up and out.  So they're at the bottom of the beds.  Oh well.  (That was my "duh" moment of last month.)

So all I've got left is this one puny little pile to work out of.

Sad isn't it?  Even the dogs are circling in sorrow.  "Is this all ya got?"

I tossed in the wood ash from the big burn and gave it a toss and a good watering. 

There's a section in the book on composting.  I haven't gotten to it yet but I thumbed through it.  This is an area that I really need to educate myself on.

I see in the gardening catalogs these fancy drum turning gizmo's for hundreds of dollars.  Ha.  Ain't happening here I can tell you that.

So what's the mystery of composting?  As a novice gardener, I'd appreciate any links, sites or words of wisdom that you might like to share.

Dig into my pile please!