Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Feelin’ A Little Better!

Dr. Mary has been working miracles, and I am feeling a little better today. We were up early, and I received my daily dose of the magic pill she had made yesterday. Although I tasted a new flavor, perhaps it was the ground tomato worm horn.

Poor Scout didn’t have it so easy!

Breakfast was served!

We procrastinated paying taxes until the last minute, then headed to Girls’ Night Out at the Lodge.

Returning home, I sat for a while at the computer and finished off the Friends Website.  I love going back to the old photos on our website.  I ran into “The Barn Raining” event where Ed, Del, and I made a garage for Irene’s car.  It was a “garage raising,” but the barn raising sounded more countryfied!

There’s a story from August 2014 about Irene, who had a parking pad for her car, which was covered by a large tree. The tree would drop leaves on the car, and the birds would add to the mess. A group of people went over to help her: Ed developed the design, I was the financial officer, and Del did the work. It was a team effort to improve her situation.

Please enjoy the memories!

We headed to the garden mid-afternoon and worked until almost 5:30 pm when we expected Robin to join us for dinner and stay overnight. We needed to coordinate about Easter and house-sitting while we are gone on vacation.

We went to Girl’s Night Out and enjoyed a wonderful meal with friends. On our return, we stopped at Home Depot to get some planting mix and a few veggies, including new canteloupe to replace what Mr. Wabbit ate!

We put together the rabbit trap!  No more pesky rabbits, we hope.  We left it on the ground next to where the wabbit was dining on our salad makings.

Me catch em rabbit!

He will not know what hit him!  We will then take him on a ride around the block and turn him loose on the playground.

We are trying several different types of pest avoidance devices, and this one holds promise. Bunny goes in; the door slams shut!

Why don’t rabbits get hot in the summer? They have hare conditioning.

Where do rabbits go when they are feeling sick? To the hopspital.

The nylon mesh seems quite flexible, so we tried it. Perhaps the lettuce will now have a chance to thrive.

Try and get in here!

Spring has forced the plum tree to blossom, and we expect a full load of Santa Rosa plums this year.  The Santa Ana winds buffeted the poor tree so badly earlier in the year that it removed all the early buds.  We may have to top it when we return.

The plumb is starting to make headway.

Mary chose to garden while I did easier work, and I am still recovering.  She replaced the old cantaloupes (which were eaten to the ground) with new ones and added sow-bug bait around the plants.   She is pretty amazing.

Did You Know? Other names for sowbugs and pillbugs include roly-polies, potato bugs, and woodlice. However, sowbugs and pillbugs aren’t technically bugs at all. Both are part of the crustacean family, which also includes lobsters, crabs, crawfish, and shrimp.

Mary replants the cantaloupe

While she was working out back, I took out the trash cans and took a good picture of our flag pole waving Old Glory and an Easter flag.  The wind was really whistling and the flags were flapping.

We had quite a breeze.

We had adult supervision all afternoon!  Scout can supervise while sleeping.  He is indeed talented.

Our supervisor.

I noticed our new timers were not working, and when I went to investigate, they indicated the new batteries were dead. I double-checked, and the timer covers stated, “DO NOT USE RECHARGABLES”.  I was curious and I learned something new!

Did You Know? Some devices have more demanding power requirements than others. Many rechargeable batteries have lower terminal voltages than primary batteries, which may be critical. Alkaline batteries have greater peak current capacity than zinc-carbon ones, and for higher current devices like flashgun, this may be important. Some devices have more demanding power requirements than others. Many rechargeable batteries have lower terminal voltages than primary batteries, which may be critical. Alkaline batteries have greater peak current capacity than zinc-carbon ones, and for higher current devices like flashgun, this may be important.

The sweet peas are looking pretty good.

Sweetpeas smell so good.

Our propellers were moving with vigor this afternoon.  I sprayed the bearings with WD-40 for good measure.  We have had no issue with birds in the garden as the six propellers keep them at bay!

Did You Know? Garden wind whirligigs, also known as wind spinners or buzzers, are often used to decorate and repel garden critters.  They can be powered by wind, friction, hand, or motor and can be designed to vibrate into the ground to repel burrowing rodents. The low hum of their spin can drive away unwanted garden critters, such as squirrels, and their bright colors can attract beneficial birds and insects.

Caught still, but in five seconds, they will sound like a propeller airplane!

We spent four hours in the backyard and kept busy the entire time!  We did over 6,000 steps just in the backyard.

There is a lot of truth in this saying!!

New cages were added to keep the varmints out.  These fold up and can be easily stored as the plant gets big enough to fend for itself OR we catch the varmint doing the deed,

More ways to discourage pesks!

The cages are configurable using 3/8th inch PVC and a series of clamps/adaptors.

The net is wired to 5,000 of electricity!

At 5:30 PM, the alarm system went off with a message to prepare for repelling boarders, indicating that Robin had arrived. Despite having the keys, I hurried to open the door because her hands would likely be full.

We had dinner and consumed a bottle of wine and champagne. We tried to call Colleen, but alas, it must have been date night on the East Coast! We did talk to Greg. We sat and talked until 9:00 pm and then hit the sack!

 

 

About Paul

Just an old retired guy trying to finish out my last years on this planet. I lost my best friend and wife in early 2020. I was blessed again by reconnecting with Dr. Mary Côté, a long-time friend. Mary and I got married July 28th, 2021, and are enjoying life together and plan to spend the rest of our lives being a blessing to our friends and family.
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