Flowers.

 So the hens had just about totally consumed every bit of the irises in the back flower bed except some that were under a tub. For $50 Jerry was willing to dig them up and transfer the roots to the front along the fence leading to the parking spaces. Then he repaired a place on the hen house door for me. Yes, maybe the old woman could have done this all by herself, but he was just over there making noises. So now it is done. My drill has been sprayed with Lysol, my hands washed thoroughly, and then cleaned with alcohol. 

The Cheese Brothers got a box of cheese to me today. Several different kinds of cheese were in that box. Should keep me happy--cheese wise--for a few weeks. Then Chewy got a 50 pound bag of dog food delivered. Managed to get that slid down onto a rolling cart to drag it to the office. By the way, the company that sold the SportMix dog food and had a recall let me know that the bag my dogs have been eating was not included in the recall. So now the dogs and the hens will have something that LOOKS like rabbit pellets to nibble on as they wish. Remember that my Grandfather Kennedy gave his chicks dog food occasionally to keep them from pecking each other. Go figure. 

Cooked some ribs and was not satisfied with how done the meat looked, so they are BACK in the oven. Gave the dogs one rib each so they would not just stand around and drool. It really DOES smell wonderful.

My friend John Rhoads sent some funnies to me. Among them is a picture of Betty White saying: "If you think wearing a mask is hard, try wearing a bra in August!" Yep, just about any month, for that matter. sigh

Have two hens molting and looking sad. The Rhode Island Red just looks as if she has been plucked!! The Black-Laced Wyandotte has lost her tail feathers and most of her neck feathers. She really looks weird. 

Michelle Malay asked me how Thompson's skin rash was doing. He is totally healed up. Think it HAD to be chiggers! May have to figure out some way of spreading a great big bag of sulfur next spring to get rid of the chiggers. Hate those itchy beasts! Not sure what good they are. The hens eat fleas and ticks, but even a hen can't eat a chigger! That is why they have to have diatomaceous earth to dust in.

Did some more embroidery this morning to keep my mind from thinking about things that bother me. Have six or seven done for Reece and have started on some for Grayson. Hope they like them. But even if they don't, they can say, "Bet your grandmother doesn't do things like this!" Course, most kids' grandmothers do not have 26 hens out in the back yard either. Back when the six hens, two dogs, and the old woman were all staying with Jennifer and her family three years ago, Reece brought one of his friends home with him. The kid had never seen a live chicken before and wanted to touch one--or hold it. This is normal for kids today. Not many of them get to hold a hen and listen to her tell them about what it is like to eat worms. 

Connie thinks she feels much better now even though she says things still don't taste right. Can think of worse things. But now Lance is having to work from home since his barber exposed him to Covid. Prayers are appreciated. Got my hair cut back before it got cold and think it may be down to my tailbone before this happens again! My doctor sent out a message to her patients this morning about the vaccine. She and her nurse have had it and only had a slight reaction. Nothing more than soreness and fatigue. Hello! Fatigue goes with my age set! At least have been sleeping better for the past couple of nights. This waking up at 3 in the morning really sucks. Think that is the time the newspaper person drives by. Having a quiet neighborhood has its advantages and its disadvantages in ways. Can't imagine having to listen to traffic all night and day.

Didn't get to the bank to deposit the insurance check for the Mustang. Maybe tomorrow. Hardly any reason to get the truck out other than to drive down for the mail. May need to fill it up with gasoline before this week is over, however. The Jerusalem Post keeps saying that we are about to get hit. Guess we wouldn't be going anywhere anyway under those circumstances. But still need to get gas in the mower cans. Ah well. Paranoia is such a wonderful bug to have--not! Just keep watching the warships and seeing the contradictory orders being given to them is enough to make a person wonder. This is the kind of thing that my brother and cousin talk about after they both stop cussing politicians. Both know what war is like. Our parents and grandparents told stories about the war (WWII) and the era of hard times known as The Depression. Grandmother Pollard taught me how to make a "jam cake" with the preserves that they had stored in the cellar before the rationing of sugar during the war. Then too, my mom used to tell me that they had NOTHING in the line of diapers when she needed them for her babies. Grandmother Pollard had cup towels that had to do for diapers. Young people today would probably have a time of it just trying to fit a cloth diaper on a baby. Bet a lot of those babies might just go bare behind!

A lady just called to tell me that she was bringing over three big sacks of turnips! Wooo whooo! She only likes the greens, so she said she liked to see the turnips go to someone who wants them. If it is too many turnips for me, will have to tell Cindy Jones that an overstock has to be taken to the stock! Never a dull moment or a lost goodie! Will give the lady a dozen fresh eggs since the plants her husband dug up did not live. Some things are just difficult to transplant.

Have been drinking as much water as memory and convenience demand. Jennifer always thinks that pain starts with dehydration. And she may be absolutely correct. Then there is hopping up and down to take care of the excess. ahem

Thinking about going to Ace Hardware and buying a hoe. Mine broke two years ago and still has not been replaced! No excuse for those khaki weeds if a hoe is in one's hand, right? HA! Gotta USE the hoe for it to do any good! Hate going ANYwhere right now, so will have to think about it some more. Many of the best laid plans just go to cow fodder around here.

The floors still need to be vacuumed, swept, mopped, and otherwise have dog prints eliminated. Now the dust is something else again. Dust on the TV table, on the book case, on the heater, --just dust. And this is after a bodacious rain and snow. But that moist stuff just seems to encourage the dust bunnies. That and the two dogs who romp on the couch and run through the house! Was bent over digging a dust bunny out from behind the recliner in my bedroom and got gouged in the backside by a dog nose. He just wanted to know what was found back there! Just about had a runaway though. Dogs are always doing unexpected things. Connie says her cats are like that as well. She says hers act as if they are going stir crazy. Not enough kitty TV--windows for watching birds. She does not really have good windows to the outside. That would bother me, but being trapped inside an apartment might be just about the hardest thing on earth for someone who has always been outside and in the open. At Mom and Dad's house, we were always outside and with critters. Here on Dickerson Hill, outside was where the children were. Not sure how a person could adjust to being in a little bitty apartment. Guess it can be done, but would not want to try.

Well, nothing is too encouraging in this post, but we know to pray constantly and fervently for those who are ill, for our president, for our nation. May you all rest well and stay healthy. You are loved.