SEPTEMBER THREAD 2007

Tropicman was saying it could get down into the 40's next week in our area. I am so not ready for the cold weather, I hate cold weather, I would like for it to stay in the 70s. Now I would love that.

I'n not ready for low temps either. My body hates cold. I'll need to make sure all my plant that will come in have been treated for ant, etc. this week. I got more Kill a Bug yesterday. It's a good general purpose insecticide.

I used the big loper to cut off a lot of huge seed loaded weeds late yesterday and by late evening my right upper arm and shoulder ached really badly. I put some menthol patches on it and that helped some. So did a muscle relaxer and 1/2 a Percocet & 500 mg acetaminaphine pill. A nice hot shower helped relax my whole aching body at bedtime. I need to get out and do more loping. I'm wondering if I should have Holly tape my arm and shoulder since it is going to get a workout today. The support from the taping does help a lot.

Pepper, I doubt I'll get to PG tomorrow. I've been running to help an elderly friend who lives about 35 miles from me and have used up my gas money for the week. She has been sick & needed bandages for a sore on her leg. I took her the bandage supplies Sat. morning and took her to the doctor yesterday. And my place is a real run down mess because I do so much running for others and then am too tired or don't have time to take care of my own home. And another friend who is like a sister to me needs transportation while her vehicle is without a transmission. And then there is the woman from our church who needs help and transportation. & I'm feeling stretched to the limit right now. Not complaining, that just is how it is. There are only 24 hrs in anyones' day & I battle chronic pain and fatigue as it is. I think I need to get a lot more weed seed control done this week. I really miss going to PG but I don't want to get so tired I am into exhaustion and in bed for days. Even the mental stress of seeing my home in such weedy condition causes fatigue and pain. Does that make sense to the rest of you? Fibromyalgia is like that tho.

Must go check on other threads. GOD bless and keep each of you.

Thats what I need is something to use on my plants to kill ants. Last winter my GH was infested with them. Not that bad, I did have them in two or three pots. Does the Kill a Bug work pretty good for the ants?

Yes, Kill A Bug is very good for ants. The label said it kills termites too so I may go spray the crawl space of the house just for good measure. We use to have them but I haven't seen and sign of them this year. I have sprayed the crawl space 2 or 3 times a summer every year but this one for several years. So maybe I have gotten rid of them. We use to see them so I knew when we had them.

So what do you do spray the plant and the soil?

Yes, I do spray on the plant but mostly the soil. If I can find the main colony or hill I will soak the whole thing as much as possible. I have pour 1/2 a gallon of the solution down and around some large colonies. I try to keep a gallon of solution(1 1/2 - 2 TBLS. of concentrate to one gallon of water I think but read the label because I don't really measure anymore)in each bed so I don't have to go looking for it when I need it. Heat and sun exposure don't seem to affect it's potency.

Hi Everyone,
So, EvaMae, should we just mix up the Kill-A-Bug and water our potted plants with it?
You are such a giving person, but you can only do so much. You could probably use some help yourself. If I lived closer......I was thinking about you last evening, I imagined you out there with your Fire Dragon, the sun setting and your place is just ablaze with seed pods burning! It was really kind of a comical thought, because I don't know what this monster fire-breathing dragon thing you have looks like, I can only imagine it being the head of a dragon, breathing fire, and has a squirmy, squiggley neck that is about all you can control with both hands clinched around the thing. Maybe you can show me at the RU, as I'm sure it doesn't look like the image in my head. You take it easy, I hope you did have Holly tape your arm & shoulder. I'm glad you have meds to help aleviate at least some of the pain. My knees are telling me the seasons are changing, whether we like it or not.

The Fire Dragon is nothing more than a propane torch head on a long rubber hose that is connected to a grill size LP gas tank. The end of the torch is 2" wide. If you have seen one of the small propane torchs many home handy people have you have seen what the end looks like. I like your mental image tho. I think the company should have made it look more like that.

I went to one food bank this morning and took a friend who was picking up food for someone else. A local grocery store close the first of the month rather unexpectedly to the managers and a lot of food was donated to the local food banks. Today every family no matter what size got 12 papaya & a case of 12 16 oz. fat free sour cream. One of my papaya is going to have to be eaten tonight but the rest a good for a few more days. I'll take some to Kris's with me this weekend and Holly, Kyle, & Skyler are trying one to see if they like them. I'll see next week how much the other food bank got. My friend Geraldine won't have a way to go because the person who usually takes her is out of town. So I'll take her the first part of next week.

I did lots of weeding and spraying this afternoon and evening. I feel good about what I've gotten done the past couple days. I hope to work more on the big south slope bed tomorrow. Hopefully I won't have to go anywhere tomorrow. I've been threatening to take my kitty Guy to the local shelter tomorrow for killing and eating a baby chicken today. He had to go into the bird house to get at it and that he knows is a no-no. I have the chicks and their mothers in the east section of the building and the door doesn't go all the way to the floor. But I keep bedding pushed up against it to fill in the gap at the bottom. The stupid hens however keep digging the bedding away from the door so the chicks can escape. So it is a matter of him doing what any good hunter cat would do. Now I have a couple heavy boxes against the door to prevent escapes by the chicks.

Must go check on other threads. GOD bless and keep each of you.

Wow! It must be so quiet this time!

As this early morning, it now 47.9* (48*) down here! So Chilly to my bone! brrrrr! It been 3 days row...
Got my central heater on and stay warm!

Ohhh, I just looking at Rusty that he playing with my tarp while I trying to fold it up here come Rusty running and trying to take 10" x 12" tarp ragging around (he hate color gray) so final he stop and give him a good puff air! lol... So, I got tarp folding it up and put it away!

As next week, I going to take pop-up trailer to repair for lifter motor ( I hate to crank it up and down)...

Hope weather get warm someday! (Never know it will be!)

Take care!

It will be back in the 80s next week. At least for now it is. lol. It is cold up here too. I hate going outside without a jacket but am trying to get used to the chill again. lol. Makes it easier to enjoy the weather sometimes.

Good morning Anna and everyone, I liked your tarp story, Anna. It WILL warm back up...... I hope. I slept in this morning, very unusual for me.. I climbed out of bed around 9:30! Having coffee and puttering around the house. I'm not sure when it started during the night, but I awoke to a nice soft rain. The morning glories took over my gauge so I don't know how much we've gotten. It is cool here, too Anna. I was snuggled up in a blanket on the front porch (covered) just enjoying the rain sounds and the warmth and aroma of my coffee. Everything is still so green, but if the temps stay like this, everything will be brown, soon. Hard to believe it's the middle of September already.. my youngest DD, Barb has a birthday coming on the 27th. She will be 27, (wow, 27 on the 27th in 2007!) she was born 2 weeks after my Dad passed and it's hard to believe it's been 27 years! (GULP) - I'm "middle-aged"! lol -- they say 50 IS the new 30! Oh, well it's more about the journey, than the destination. I really wanted to get outside and plant those hosta I bought, poor little things have been sitting on the front porch, looking at me with those sad puppy dog eyes and I know I heard a couple little sniffles coming from over their way... I'll get out there when it stops raining, the ground will be just right! Then there's the coneflowers sitting on the deck, and a couple lilies, still have some repotting to do and bring in my house plants, clean out the front beds.... still raining.... guess I'll switch to plan B.... grab my other 2 children and move oldest DD's belongings to a different spot in the basement. She moved back in in July and we just unloaded her things inside the garage part of the basement.... (I live in a fab home with full basement and the east end is the garage door. ... SO, her stuff will be in the way when we start lugging my tropicals in.... which I fear will be very soon :( I want to use the garage for my car this winter,..... wow! could it be true?... actually using my garage for the car!

I only have 3 tropicals to drag in. Gardenia which I am making a somewhat hardy one. I haven't brought it in yet and we have had temps in the 40s. Only hardy to the 50s then it throws a temper tantrum. Mine hasn't yet. lol. Then I have a HUGE jasmine to find room for. Probably on my floor in my room. Gets light and heat. Then an unknown that looks similar to EE but on a small scale. Everything else stays out whether it wants too or not!! lol

Well we are home and got thru the wedding though I sure do not know how. Got there last Saturday evening. Went over to my sons ocean front rental on sunday morning and you could look out from the porch and see the outer bands of the hurricaine Gabrielle about 20 miles away. It turned and we never got a bit of bad weather other then some pretty high wind that first day. Stayed very nice till Humberto decided to slam Texas. By wednesday we were in a real sweat because the wedding was right out on the beach Thursday and Humberto was tearing accross all of the southland and was suppose to drench us the next day. It threatened off and on the whole day. We moved the reception inside that house (believe me it certainly was big enough) only hours before the wedding. We got thru the wedding without a drop of rain. But it got stared not long after that. I think we got better gas mileage coming home our pockets were sure a lot lighter I can gaurantee you that. Hilton Head is a very very expensive placeto visit, not to mention having a wedding there.

Pepper send me the directions to Eva Mays home by Dmail. I do not want you to put the direction on here OK I am planning on being there for this one I hope. A lot depends on if we got to make a trip to St Louis. We have a bunch of wedding proofs coming to review. I have no idea how long before that will git here.

Welcome home, Oz! Glad you are safe and the wedding sounds very nice and unforgettable! Sounds like the storms held off just for you guys. I was thinking about you over the weekend, wondered if you'd made it back, yet. I'm so glad you are going to try to make the RU! It will be so nice to meet everyone in person! We had some cool night temps last week, rattled me right out of denial that it's Fall and all the chores that come along with it! We had a freak hail storm at my place yesterday morning, large pea size, almost covered the ground. All my tropicals look like they were in a war. I had a productive weekend, got my front beds tidied up, spirea bushes whacked WAY back... I didn't clip them last spring so they were overdue for a haircut. Potted up some stuff for the RU.Got some help to get my hosta shopping spree planted. Although, this morning I was out unpotting some elephant ears and came across 3 hosta, I'd tucked in here and there! I took today off work so I could "keep on truckin". lol With that said, my coffee break is over so I'd better take advantage of my "skip" day. Welcome back!

Now I can needle oz some more. That is soooo much fun! LOL

We are going to put up signs as those instructions from MapQuest will get you lost for sure. The last couple turns do NOT exist. It is a matter of driving straight ahead onto the next road. The road connecting D & my address road is only about a mile long.

I've been cutting off the huge Jimson Weed 'trees' I've let grow this summer. And other weed 'trees'. I have a lot more to get rid of. Hopefully tomorrow. I think that is my one day at home this week. I need to make the most of it.

This morning I took Geraldine to the 2 food banks and got food from one myself. I had gotten from the other one last week. Then we took 3 of her 1/3 grown cats to the local shelter. One more is here because she is so attached to it. I'll have to get Midget spayed the first of the month. Then I took her home, went back to Sedalia and took Barbara to a couple places. She always seems to want to eat out when I take her somewhere. I seldom am hungry but today I was more so than I realized. I felt better after we ate. Then I had 3 or 4 things to do for myself. I finally got home about 5 or so. Headed straight outside after I put Midget in the house and gave her food and water.

The temps are wonderful. I am so glad to have these temps again for a week or so. I'm going to try to use the new weed eater tomorrow after I get thru lopping off big weeds. Hopefully Holly will come up and use the chain saw to cut off the old Hansa rose bush and a couple Arborviate(?)that the bag worms damaged badly last year.

I have a new red mum to get potted up for the winter. I don't know if it will have time to put down good roots before the weather gets to cold for root growth. In a pot I can keep it on the enclosed porch or right up against the south end of the house for the winter.

Oz, good to have you back. I'm glad the wedding wasn't rained out. Yes, weddings nowadays can be very expensive. But they aren't any more married than the people who repeated their vows in front of a minister or judge with a couple witnesses. Nothing against big weddings if that is what one wants and can afford, but it seems like such an expense when the money can be used so many other ways. Maybe that's because I never had the money to afford that lifestyle.

Guess what I saw on the shoulder of highway 50 between Smithton & Sedalia? A dead armadillo! I pulled over onto the shoulder & drove up beside it the second time past it just to be sure. I knew Oz has been talking about them being in the Ozarks, but now they seem to have moved this far north. I'm not looking into them coming to our community from what Oz has told us.

Must go. GOD bless and keep each of you.

We have had a lot of armadillos at our place, they dig up the ground real bad, and I think they can carry rabies. Nasty creatures.

Well, I final got my ex- helped me for my house to paint ( spray with water to remove dirts & paint peels out of the wood... Then scraping off the paint peels... I have color for that will be brown "Bear Claw"

Here's the paint name and it from Lowe's:

(For only outside)...

Will dogs like Beagles dig them out, etc? And will they kill them if they can find a vulnerable part of that shell? We have a Beagle who does a fair job of digging in the yarden for whatever she thinks might be down under.

How about those ultrasonic devises like they have for mice? An armadillo sized one, of course... do they have those? I've never tried them. Would have to consider if the sound would annoy your pets...Anna, I like that name "Bear Claw" brown...

Could be turtle or crawfish... I was living in Osgood (Up North central about an hour to Iowa state line) that I know of is crawfish or snapping turtle or maybe bullfog.... I have no clue of thinking other creature is...

Down here I seen some creature dead on I-44 is amadillo sometime raccoons, too... When raining came out and there is so much babies snapping turtles coming out of the flooding in river and draining to creek river...Also some frogs!

OZ, don't bring dead amadillo on road which it bad. Get good old fat amadillo in health fresh one! Not young one! It taste like turtle...

Anna! REALLY? NO! My dad used to eat turtle, there are 7 flavors of meat on a turtle... or something like that... I love frog legs..... (does NOT taste like chicken) I've eaten squirrel and rabbit too, may have tasted barbequed racoon, when I was little, can't remember.. And game birds.. (Dad liked to hunt) I don't think I could eat armadillo. Do people eat them? Mostly shell and gristle, right? Anna, come clean.. you've got me going now!

I use to be eat froglegs and it's true taste like chicken and it so good! Also I sometime eat rattlesnake meat just like chicken, too! So, I go hunt for white-tailed deer one time and lost it which it 8 point buck! I miss the shot right to deer's shoudler and got away in 1994! So, I love squirrel meat too and never try raccoon meat yet! I eat elk, deer, frogleg, squirrel, buffalo and some fishes... I never try amadillo and raccoon... either bear, and moose, too!

Evamay do not bet on the dogs getting them out. Around here they get into the rock crexises I am told and there is no digging. That is what i think this one has done and it makes it real hard to find the den. He seems to have disapeared this past week though.

Anyone had alligator meat? Tastes like spicy chicken.

We never did aquire a taste for rabbit, wild or tame, squirrel, etc. but I've made several BBQed 'coon. Never did want to eat 'possum, I hear it is rather greasy. I just wondered about the armadillo. I've butchered a few snapping turtles. Won't do that anymore tho. I've eaten frog legs. So disappointing. Like dry white meat chicken. They weren't fresh tho. I hate the way they are hunted & killed. I'm going to tell the hunters I only want 2 or 3 big deer this year. I still have meat from 2 years ago. No freezer burn tho.

EvaMae, if you want any more deer let me know and I will ask the guys at work if they will try to hunt one for you.

Well i was in the navy awhile and did some travel around the world and i have seen something i would not touch. anbyone know what a balout is huh????

Oh, I just won't eat this balout! (Never touch it) YUCK!

(They are baby chickens still in the eggs. I heard stories from Phillipines which I just don't want to read it... Some peoples eat that balout!)

Ugh

Rusty it is sold by street vendors in both Manila and Olongopo. At least it was up until the 80's when my sons friends were over there. I was there several times in the 50's and was a supervisor and kind of a historian concerning the Phillipine Army during WW11 for several years in St Louis. At one time I had 1400 five drawer file cabinets of records of the Phillipine gueriila and about 10 cabinets of diaries from POW's that were used to procecute Japanese war criminals.

That where I was born in Clark Hospital AFB 1956 that my dad was in service that time! So, I have old photos for that and Also my grandfather was in service too....

But the Jews don't eat pork, the Hindus thing eating cattle is cannabalism, etc. Our eating habits are determined largely by the culture, even the micro culture of our community or family, we are raised in. I was raised to believe that 'mountain' oysters were the lowest of the low foods. Jack's family thought they are a delicacy. As long as I don't think about what I am eating I enjoy them a lot and will gladly eat them. Once I think about what I am eating, I have to stop. Brains however, have nothing to do with culture. I simply cannot handle the texture I guess because I will vomit them right back up. Or at least I did as a child and teenager. The school tried them and finally gave up. Too many vomiting children after lunch even if we didn't know what we has eaten.

I had to get off quickly the other night because of lightening I suddenly saw. Sorry for the sudden exit. I didn't even take the time to speak a blessing over all of you.

I'm so looking forward to using my chipper/shredder and lawn mower tomorrow morning. Maybe just one of them. Probably the chipper/shredder so I can get the limbs out of the yarden. I'll have to have someone help me get it started. At least those are the current plans. Doesn't mean it will happen.

I'm taking it very easy this morning. I do have some plants I got at PG on Wed. that need to be more permanently potted. Mostly house type plants. I got the mums planted last night and the 2 pathetic rhododendrons repotted. There are still 4 tiny Arbor Day freebies that need to be repotted and allowed to grow a LOT before being planted in the ground. I just talked to on person from the greenhouses and she thinks the multitude of sedum appearing plants are hardy. YIPPEE!! I can use them in so many places to fill in between plants. So can Holly. This is a real GOD send.

Must go see about other treads. GOD bless and keep each of you. Truely and richly.

It's Autumn Day today! I just like that day! It more like Indian Summer now....

My house is not done yet still working on it! Very slowly!

I might get some rain tonite thru Monday and Tuesday but weather is not prefect!

Yesterday, I just mow front and back yard done I just hate it so much work around here! lol...

I might get a nice trip to Arkansas to see if I go for camping and fishing after RU...

I need to go fishing again. Been months. Very busy months. lol. Next month will be crazy but I am hoping to get a day in.

I haven't been for a few years... it sounds great, though Anna, too much work??? Go fishing! Sometimes it helps you get focused when you get home. They have been busy months, Amanda... we'll be chatting on the October forum before long.

Yep, about a week. :~)

What a messed up day this has been. I went to the food bank only to learn there was a mix up and someone else arrived to do the receptionist duty. I left because I can go in tomorrow and she can't. Went to the Dodge dealership and got the van serviced(oil change, etc.), out to the pharmacy to get a prescription refilled. It was out of refills, my doctor is out of his office for the week so I had to leave a message with a different doctor's office who is filling in for him. Got some large size as well as the small ones I use so many of of the menthol pads for my arms, bought OTC Zantac to get me thru until the refill is ready and came home. No wonder I felt so horrible, there laid my morning meds on the counter. So I took them, laid down for a few minutes and started trying to get some things done around here.

It is so terribly hot outside I think I'm trapped in the house for the afternoon. I'll try to go out this evening and do some prep work on the cut down trees and shrubs so I can really make good time with the chipper on Wednesday. I need to call my supervisor at PG and tell her I won't be there. I'm needed at the cafe' on Thursday and just cannot do 4 days in a row of physical activity. Three(T., F., & S.)will be more than enough to wear me out. If I can get a lot of cutting the outside branches, Ts, curved branches, etc. done before I start the machine it will go much faster. I learned last Sat. a.m. that there is a lot of prep work that needs to be done. That Cranberry shrub has so many twig size pieces sticking out to the sides of branches and small trunks(?)that get in the way of the rest of the branch going down into the shoot. I hate to think about working with that old Hansa rose. It is so thorny I think I may well just burn it right where we piled it. I can drag a hose out there to protect what is left of the plant from too much heat or fire. The chain saw chain needs to be put back on but I only know the generalities of the process. I need someone to walk me thru it a time or 2.

GOD bless and keep each of you.

Thanks for mentioning you won't be at PG Weds. That's my day off this week. lol. I have to work Sat so I get Weds off.

Hope things look up a bit soon.