More Disabled Gardeners, Laughing with Joy ...

Sherri, I've only got one cat. Cricket is a chipug and Dillen is a blue Heeler mix.
Untill Kittykat came along absolutely nothing bothered that dog.

Birdie, If Dogwood gets too free with his claws, you can have his front claws removed. I had to do that with my cat, Boots. After I tried all the less radical solutions. The adorable little she-devil drew blood more than once. I would not do it to any cat at Amargia. It would leave a farm cat to vulnerable and it would make hunting field mice too hard. But, for an indoor cat-of-leisure, it is an option you might consider.



Humidity is 84%. Temps in the 90’s. But, Kay tells us it is time to start the fall garden. It feels strange to be planting broccoli and brussel sprouts now. The artichokes and New Zealand spinach (perennial spinach look-alike) are new crops for me. Harvested my Gala apples. Made an apple pie to celebrate my success. May not sound like much, but growing apples is quite an accomplishment down here. 8b is a challenging zone but it has such unique possibilities. In what other zone can a person harvest both apples and oranges? I should have a few mandarin oranges later this year.

Yummy! Do you have lots and lots, Jim, or just enough to be proud of them? I go check my very first tomato harvest (well, they're not ready to harvest quite yet) every day! We ate the first three for dinner tonight. (They weren't ALL we had...)

Jim, I'm going to have my black Kittykat declawed soon when i have her fixed. She refuses to go outside tho she could thru the doggie doors. I have claw marks always. LOL Both of my daughters call her She-Devil. She is so loving but just don't know how to controll the claws and she loves to jump.........on.......me!
How great to harvest your own apples. I did'nt know there were any this early. We tried to grow apples but they did'nt do well and died out. Peaches are out of the question. It's to cold too late. Pears do good tho. Fresh apple pie sounds as good s fresh tomatoes. So Jim and Carrie are definately King and Queen this week.
We had a surprise visitor this morning. DD,s dog treed a bear. We were pretty sure one was around and now have seen it. Tomorrow we'll call the forest service and see if they'll carry it off. I REALLY don't want a bear around.
I'll trade a bear for a bushell of broccoli and brussel sprouts. Just think you could make a bearskin rug and have meat for winter.LOL Bear meat tastes awful tho.

Cats claws can be clippped withought to much dificulty. Also a loud "NO" and a spray of lemon water is effective in behaviour changing. ******When a cat is declawed, it is not just the nail that is removed,, but the entire distal joint of each toe. **** Yes, many cats do adjust, but they will forever have strange or painful sensory impairment of those mutilated crippled digits. I have had declawed cats. but would never do it without first trying weekly claw trimming and providing a good tall scratching post. It can be as simple as a 4' piece of wood covered in carpet and nailed to some out of site door way. Something that they can get a good stretch on and pull on. ( a little catnip will atract them when you first mount it) I bought a 3 tier catpole (floor to ceiling) and my cats do all their scratchng there. I need another one, but do not want to mutilate another cat now that I have been educated.

I resign as Queen. My tomatoes have some nasty itsy bitsy bug that I can barely see without my drugstore reading glasses! I sprayed with Neem again today, but we didn't have this bug until we sprayed the first time with Neem! Hmm .

OH carrie, your poor tomatos. Hope they throw off the booger bugs. I ended up bringing a few of my half ripe maters in cause of squash bugs. They were still good.

I hope so too!!!!! (What are squash bugs?)

squash bugs are grey bugs that suck juices out of veggies. They leave spotted tomatoes,squash etc with little juice.

hmmmmmm. mebbe.

Hi, everyone. Carrie, there were just enough apples to give me bragging’ rights. In fact, apple pie, waffles topped with fresh apple butter and hungry teenage girls have wiped out my entire crop for the year. Cando, the reason I am so excited about my apple harvest is because every attempt I made over the past few years failed. Gala is the only variety so far that worked. I have a Fuji, but the verdict is still out on that one. Too young to produce yet.



We are having tomato troubles too. The rains coming almost every day have caused them to start splitting. Kay is a subscriber to Allrecipes, the online part of “Taste of Home” magazine. Maybe, I can get on that site and find a recipe for that southern classic, Fried Green Tomatoes. I read in a recent DG article that the couple who own “Taste of Home” fund a public garden so I’ve decided not to give her a hard time about the subscription. She is into collecting recipes, but it almost takes an Act of Congress to get her to do the real cooking part.



Visited another in-progress small community garden yesterday in Fayette, AL, a 4-hour drive north. They are totally into edibles so we brought up a load of ornamentals to dress up the front of the house on one of the lots. It is right in town and they are working with three city lots.



An elderly woman left them the property in her will. She was an avid gardener and had been working with the lot the house was on since the 1960’s. It appears the lady was heavily into bulbs. The bulbs just had not been flowering because they were literally shoulder to shoulder and above and beneath one another. We collected a garbage bag full in a space the size of my chair seat and still left plenty in the ground for next spring and summer Kay was like a garden pirate who stumbled on another pirates buried treasure. We came home with more plants than we left with.



I’ll have to pass on the bear, Cando. It sounds like I already have one. We scaped the shallow front yard in a few hours. Kay is so sore today she shuffling around growling like your bear. Not sure if it is the extreme gardening that got her or the two little boys that were her “helpers.”

I love Gala apples ^_^ mm mm mm

LOL Jim, I've had those kind of bears before and been one. If you feed them they usually get better. LOL
My bear has'nt been back. Maybe our dog got the message across.
My Texas DD has been put in the hospital, a reaction to some medicine. and i'm going down there for a few days. Please pray for her and i'll be back.
Vickie

That we will do Cando1 we believe in the power of prayer.

Oh, no, Vickie! Please know she is in our thoughts and prayers.

Vickie, How are you and your daughter? This has been in my prayers for healing good medical care, safe travel, etc.

{{hugs}},
Sheri

We are all getting over the flu. (I would recommend getting flu shots this year... What the Buggies are throwing at us this season is particularly wicked.)



August is a lull month in the garden here. Not much to write about anyway. Nothing pretty, fun or exciting happening. Lately, work is mostly a matter of moving soil from a Point A to a Point B. Digging out the side of a slope to create a covered parking area for the garden equipment. We take the excavated soil to the wheelchair garden area for leveling. Also, a long established flower bed is being moved. There just wasn’t sufficient room to maneuver a wheelchair between two of the beds. Kay isn’t about to bury her carefully nurtured garden soil beneath a layer of concrete surfacing so she is moving the top foot of soil, as well as the plants. I have discovered a new appreciation for verbena. Not too many flowers bloom in the August heat so its exuberance is a treat.

And Black Eyed Susans!!

There are so many great plants that are yellow. When I was little, there were four of us kids in the family and we were each assigned a different color, and yellow was my sister's color. mine was blue. So if there was a blue plate on the floor in front of the TV, Mom would know it was mine and if there was a yellow mug somewhere, it was my sister's. So yellow (Stella d'Oros and Black Eyed Susans and Coreopsis) are my sister's color and blue (balloon flowers and gentian and creeping phlox and grape hyacinth) are mine.

Thank you so much for the thoughts and prayers. DD was released from the hospital yesterday and i came home today. She'd had 2 teeth pulled and was given Oxycontin for pain. She had a reaction of hallucinations,total weakness,(she could'nt even stand up)uncontrollable shaking. I looked it up and about 1% of the population has this reaction. My DH had a simalar reaction to anther opiod once. Really weird! I'm going to get her a medic alert bracelet. She's still real weak but she'll be ok. Her DH is going to be taking care of her. This should be intresting. He is helpless when it comes to nursing and housework. But thats what they want to do and sent me home. I'll only be a phone call away if they need anything. Probably be good for both of them. LOL
It's good to be home. My furbabies and i were glad to see each other. It was good to catch up on you guys too.
Vickie

Vickie,

So glad everything is working out all right. How scary, though! Hope you get some extra rest.

Jacki

The contrast of something yellow and upright like black-eyed Susan. Would look good with the verbena. The only black-eyed Susans we have growing here are those very big, wild type that will bloom next month. 8-10 feet tall. Will try to have some of the garden type by next August. Nadine went through a phase where she was obsessed with violet and purple. Think most of our violet and purple flowers are remnants of that. Gotta ask, Carrie. Did you ever sneak your sister’s stuff and leave it out so she would get into trouble. If my parents had a system like that, it would have been tempting. Maybe, that’s a brothers thing.



That’s spooky, Cando. Think you can get her to actually wear the medical alert bracelet? Malignant hyperthermia runs in Kay’s family so I know the feeling. Kay says its plastered all over her medical records so wearing a medical alert isn’t necessary. Anesthesia doctors think of as so mild they are routinely used on children are lethal to people with MH. One overworked, inattentive doctor is all it would take. The fact she won’t wear one drives me crazy!

Jim, Don't have to ask Carrie about trying to get sisters in trouble. My 2 girls were always trying things like that. probably got away with it some but am sure it equaled out and they were found out too. definately not just a boy thing. What amazed me was as much as they fussed, one time a bully threatened little sister and a teacher told me big sister went to this bully and told her she'd answer to big sister if she bothered little sister again. so-o-o go figure.
Neta said she'd wear a bracelet. Tell Kay she could be in an accident somewhere she's not known, and be given something before she knew it. The bracelet i want is like a silver charm bracelet yet noticibly a medic alert bracelet.


I would love to see those tall blackeyed susans. I've got lots of blackeyed susan seeds i can send you.
I'm always obsessed with pink, violet and purple. but all colors just seems to sneak their way into my color schemes.
Carrie, this year i payed more attention to my daylilly colors than normal and i have more yellow ones than any other color. Got to get more pink ones. I've always loved grape hycinths, They're tough lil boogers.

Jim, until high school I was the squarest, nerdiest, most honest, law-abiding child you ever met. Plus, we never got "in trouble"; the worst punishment I can remember is not being allowed to eat sugary cereal in front of the TV during Saturday am cartoons. We kept getting second third fourth chances, finally she said "NO MORE CEREAL in front of the TV - forever." That was a scary day.

Cando, I would love to have some seeds for a garden variety of black-eyed susans. Are you still interested in Gotu Kola? Melinda and Kay both have a fascination with medicinal plants. Personally, I like the look of monochromatic flower beds. The ladies, however, have been trying to teach me about contrasting colors and textures. The nice thing about handling this much property is I can do both. I miss the spring blues like muscari. I never see them down here. Must be too hot for them.



I will have to look for the more “fashionable” medical alert bracelets. Kay will never admit it, but I do think vanity is the problem. She cracks jokes at the expense of her two older, former fashion model sisters, but I think they had their influence.



Saturday mornings with Cap’n Crunch and Yogi Bear, I remember those! It was a treat for us. Not so with kids now. They can have cartoons 24-7 with all the different cartoon channels. Spoiled brats! :-)



Quiet, easy-going day. All still recovering. I think the 2009 flu season will be an infamous one in the south. The Novel H1N1 virus is hitting Florida and Georgia especially hard. And, it is on the increase in Texas and Arkansas. So, if you have a personal regimen that helps you keep the flu at bay, Cando, you might want to start it a little early this year.

I'm a little concerned about H1N1 flu too.
and there's a case in the next county. It irritates me for medical people to say wash your hands frequently to avoid the flu. (something we should do to avoid a lot of things) Flu is an airborne disease and spreads thru the air. You can wash your hands every 5 minutes and still get the flu. Stay out of crowds,doctors offices,and hospitals. Avoid sneezing, coughing people.
This flu seems to hurt younger people more than older people. Makes me suspect its a mutated virus from the 40,s,50.s or 60,s. There was a bad one in 57 and i had it.
I try to keep my immune system the best i can by taking vitamin C,B12, and iron and drinking lots of fluids.
They don't have a vaccine for it yet.
Jim, i'll get you some blackeyed susan seeds. These are the ones that are native but they don't get more than about 18" high.

It's raining and gloomy and foggy here today. We're going to have low temps in the 50,s this weekend. I may sleep on the porch and pretend i'm camping. Get out the hotdogs and marshmellows again. I will work outside while it's cool and let everything else go.
Nita had to have another tooth pulled yesterday with no problems. They did also find a growth on her tongue and will send her to an oral surgeon for evaluation.
My kids loved fruit loops and yogi bear.I have to admit a love for cartoons in my 40,s. Might do me good to watch them again. Gotta be better than news.

Want to say hi to DonnaB if she's still lurking and lets us know how you are.
Have a good aftrnoon
Vickie

Vickie, you mean avoid people who are coughing or sneezing, right? My MD told me she anticipated a vaccine this fall and that I would be in the hi risk group, not that there was one already, sorry if that wasn't clear.

Raining here today too, after a few days of muttering about the heat.

Sorry Carrie, i put things badly sometimes. Must be the southern accent,LOL I did'nt see you comment about the flu vaccine. I'd just heard it was'nt ready yet.
Hope you all sleep good and dream of floating on clouds and talking to angels.
Vickie

These are Jerusalem artichokes, but the flowers remind me of black-eyed susans. I’m told you will get more of the edible roots if you remove the flowers, but I like the flowers so much I never do..



Melinda always worked a lot of cinnamon and garlic into our diet during flu season. She claimed those foods have anti-viral properties. If you like those flavors, they certainly would not do you any harm. And, who knows, they might actually help. We never came down with the flu while Mindy was here doing most of the cooking.

Your Laughing Reporter will not be doing this week’s Amargia Report. She was busted today and is currently attempting to dodge the consequences. (In other words, trying to evade her handsome and brilliant husband) So….

This is Jim Smith, speaking to you in my best Paul Harvey voice, with …..The rest of the story.

Those of you who read the “Practical Matters” thread know of Kay’s plan to lay vinyl flooring on Amargia’s deck. This is curious. Why would a woman who will not even let her handsome and brilliant husband wear white socks to church or drink from a Mason jar as though it were a glass, use a material that is perceived as unfashionable. Outside, where God and everyone can see it, no less! While the sophisticated looking new vinyl designs might actually have something to do with it. And, it is true the sheer number of older people will indeed have an impact on what is considered chic in home décor in the future. THIS reporter, through the powers of his keen perceptions and an amazing feat of deductive reasoning, will now reveal the untold truth. It seems there was a sub-rosa project going on at Amargia.

I extracted a promise from my co-hurts that we would not start any new projects until the 7 projects that we have going are completely finished. Yes! Seven! No one has yet claimed responsibility, but someone had the idea that it would be possible to create a new storage area inexpensively by digging out the space beneath the deck. The deck was already 4’ high so it was deemed do-able with a reasonable amount of work. When they came up with a plan that did not compromise the stability of the deck, but actually strengthened it, the battle was lost. These highly creative types do not know the meaning of the words “restraint or “patience.”

However, as the deck roof does not stop rain from blowing in and seeping between the boards, their secret storage area project has a leaky roof. (Yes, I do still consider it a “secret project” despite the fact that everyone but me knew about it.) Yes, I’m sure your own powers of deductive reasoning can take it from this point. The vinyl on the deck floor will provide an excellent roof for the new storage area. Now, you know the rest of the story. This is Jim Smith. Good day.

Letter to the editor,
Mr Smith,
Where as i can certainly sympathise with your problem. Being of the female persuasion and since women are from Venus and men from Mars. I totally see the ladies point of view. What possible problem is there for a totally handsome and brilliant man to solve only 7 problems. You could handle 10 without blinking an eye. This reader has complete faith in you.
I do suggest tho that the next time you leave town........Take the women with you.
A Fan
ROFLOL

Love it!

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I plead innocent. The dirt excavated from under the deck was used to level the Wheelchair Garden, an old project. Ergo, we have not started a new project.

“"Keen perception" and "amazing feats of deductive reasoning"…… Yeah. Right. The dogs showed it to him. Fenny and Miss Potatohead seem to think it is their new luxury doghouse.

“Handsome and brilliant.” We’ll let him slide on that `cause there is some work that needs doing today that only he can do. And, `cause I'm a fan, too. Catch ya here next week. Kay

You’ve got that straight, Cando! I will never leave DW to her own devices that long again. What I am curious about, is how YOU knew she did it while I was away. Are you part of the Pink Velvet Revolution, too? It certainly sounds like it! I have long understood the smiling, God-fearing women here are quietly taking over the world. Since it is female hands that do most of the hard work here and female hands that keep the pain at bay with back massages, I made up my mind to accept the new regime. I think they have decided to let me be a figurehead. Isn’t that sweet of them. I will be a willing “straw man” as long as this straw man gets his back and his ego stroked. It is when they decide my ego needs a little pruning that I rebel. Jim

Jim AND Kay, you two are too funny!

Here's a good one. when my x remembereed to salute, he got a back rub.....he never did rigure our what it was he did avery once in a while that resulted in a wonderfl back rub and oth.. oops..oh well... I never told eitheer but sure got a good laugh at the dense nature of some.
and dit was him who said so if you go back in as nurse, I get to salut youwhenever I walk up to you outside...shesh!!

Hey you guys I needed a laugh and you were right on target. I jumped on line for a quick check of mail and you were all having too much fun without me. So I decided I better jump in here and put in my 2 cents worth. Jim and kay you are definitely a funny couple. I love your antics. My hubs and I do not have this much fun when we disagree.
We are very close to finishing our house and we have not hurt each other yet so we are doing great I think. I have always heard that if your marriage could survive building a house it was a strong or good one.
We are waiting on the plumber to hook up 3 sinks and the electrician to hook up the hot water heater and we can start the horrible task of moving. Thank God it is so close by.( a quarter of a mile) I just hope he will give me time to weed out the junk I do not intend to carry and give me time to clean stuff as we go. I hate to be rushed when moving.
I am so tired I can not even explain it to you. I had to prop up at the sink tonight to wash out 2 glasses. He threw away the paper plates and hollered he did dishes. We are living on sandwiches and eating in between chores.
My baby is at college and I miss her so much it is unbelievable. But she is a smart cookie for she will have a great excuse to miss moving. I have been harassing her by telling her her dad is doing the decorating in her room.LOL. He is colorblind so there is no telling what would happen should he try to. I keep asking her to take some pictures for me because I have not had time but she is too busy with college and working so I will have to try myself I suppose. keep us in your Prayers I am running low on energy and in alot of pain but I am to happy to complain.
Keep the laughs a coming they boost me up when I am low.
Love and Prayers, scraps

Jim, Remember i'm one of those women people. I did my best creative work when my DH was out of town. So all of us great mind woman type think alike. LOL
I'm also a great beleiver that men and woman make great pardners. Because one is always much better at some problems and the other is much better at different ones. So the sooner you find each others strong points the better marriage you will have. Than you can get down to the serious business of having a lot of fun of giving each other a fun hard time. RIGHT? jUST think how utterly borng a marriage would be if you agreed all the time.
Oh yeah!!! I also noticed what a great sense of humor you two have.

Scraps, So glad you're back. Hope it wont be long and you can have a good long break and rest up. Has this cooler weather made it's way down to you so it is'nt so miserably hot? We all want a full description of you new house.

Good to hear from you, Scraps. Kay and I have been teasing each other since we were kids. The marriage license hasn't changed things much. Except my super hero comic books are neatly packed away and referred to as a "collector's item." where once they were scattered all over the floor of our tree house and called "Little Jim's mess." Sounds like you and DH are going to survive it. But, make sure to ask before you throw any of DH's stuff away when you move. It may look like junk to you, but.....

TOO funny, is right. Everyone here is at their absurdity limit. The current crisis is so bizarre.

We sort of lost Mike, the man the wheelchair accessible garden is dedicated to. Meaning, we can’t find his ashes and it has been almost a month. Nadine’s car disappeared while she was in the process of moving to her new apartment. Her Dad’s urn was in the car when it was stolen or impounded. The poor kid has spent all her off hours going to junk yards and impound yards all around Meriden, CT searching for her car and more importantly, her Dad. She says it is like a very, very bad situation comedy.

Mike was into dark humor. Of all the cartoon characters he created, his personal favorite was called Freeky Freddie Ridiculously bad things were always happening to Freddie. Mike was a freek (sort of like a hippie with an attitude) in the 60’s and Freddie had a suspicious physical resemblance to Mike. This situation is like something out of a Freeky Freddie comic. If Mike is somehow observing this, I have no doubt he is doubled over laughing. But, it has the rest of us a little crazy. Sometimes, laughing at things, even if they aren't really funny, is the only way to survive them.

I think the next post in "Different Shades of Green" (Amargia's blog) is going to be about Catnip and Catmint. Since we still don't have a cat here. Can we use a pic of Dogwood, Birdie? Never know, it could be the first step in his career as a celebrity cat. The next Morris. Jim

Dogwood says that he would love to be your margia kitty, but meowes out that he wants to know if that includes transport for him to come climb the trees?
Hi is a very different cat from my other two, but does make a great playmate for 4 year old Marley. sometimes they go runnin thru this house like I don't know what...it's zoom, zoom around and up and down. 'Elvis my old man tries to join in at times which is even funnier and faithful old feline Sara just sits on my life occasionally grring something that faintly sound like . 'Can yu believe all this folderol and foolishness,mom?" to which i calmly smil and say "yes"

BB/Sheri & Dogwood