Wishful Wednesday.

 Wishful Wednesday.

 

It’s just the third day of August, so there really isn’t much sense in wishing away this crispy, cracklin’ heat. Not happenin’ Dear Hearts. Walk out on the deck and my feet burn even wearing sandals. No wonder the hens are losing every feather they can spare. Have not watered under the deck today for them. It’s no wonder they are griping. Even the water in their bowls is hot. Yes, the old woman will go out shortly and give them ice in their water. Ok, that is done, water sprayed under the deck, the feed bin filled and put in the little hen house so MAYBE the freaking doves and other wild birds can be tricked away from my hens. Nothing like trying.

 

Any child brought up in this part of Texas knows better than to gripe, but since adulthood hit around here several decades ago, pardon me while I winge and moan. This heat is enough to put a person down for the count. And on top of that, sitting here this late in the afternoon drinking the last mango flavored Pepsi. Think there is still a liter bottle of Ginger Ale in the pantry, but will look when thirst gets to me again. It might do to be concerned about drinking anything with caffeine this late in the day, but all that seems to happen lately is sleep and snack. Even the hens are not doing very much else. They found my basil plant in a pot on a stool on the deck and . . . well, the dirt is still there. Guess ordering some cabbage for them might help. Or alfalfa. Don’t think Market Street carries alfalfa, however.

 

Once upon a time, some movie came out that had folks living basically underground because of the ultraviolet rays of the sun getting through the atmosphere. Instead of weather reports, they gave updates on when to expect a slight break in the force of the rays onto the earth below. All travel had to be in specialized carriers that had some kind of protection from the sun and its rays. Don’t remember the plot of the show, but it occurred to me that if they could figure out how to move around on the ground, surely they would have some way of producing artificial cloud cover. But what does an old woman know? Now the space telescope has found other worlds with a similar atmosphere to ours. It is hard to imagine going to another planet, but one would hope that it would not soon be covered in garbage the way this one is. Right. Going is foreseeable, but mankind is messy and thoughtless.

 

Read an article about re-introducing the lynx back into its native territory and finding that it suddenly upset the balance of the smaller animals that lived there. Every time we mess with something in nature, we have a tendency to upset whatever fragile balance there is. Near Chernobyl, the wildlife is taking over and the wild plants are covering everything again. Imagine what the world would look like without us.

 

Watched just enough of the Kentucky flooding and aftermath—plus the threat of more to come—that it was depressing. Simply can’t imagine. The tornado that tore through WF was horrible, but parts of the city were not even touched. Where those folks near the rivers have just had their homes and livelihoods wiped off the map, we had FEMA trailer houses and quite a bit of help. But they are having to deal with this horrible heat on top of everything else. God help them!

Sitting here thinking about my dogs and how they are not having any skin issues at the moment. Now the old woman COULD pat herself on the back thinking she finally found the right foods for them. But realistically, what if it is simply the heat that is killing whatever was getting on them? Teeny tiny chiggers could not even begin to live in this heat. So, maybe it is good for something. Nah, not even going there.

 

Can’t tell you how many times Sylvia has brought that silly green alligator to be refilled with dog food as treats. Give her some in a bowl, and she won’t touch it. Put it in the alligator, and she eats until she can’t eat any more. Small children and dogs. Not sure about cats. Think their personalities are totally independent of such silliness.

 

Having my medications delivered here to the post box is about the best thing to happen in a long time. But then, the bill for the truck tags came in the same mailbox. Oh well. But the neatest thing yet is Amazon and being able to order whatever is needed and getting it quicker than an old person could go shopping! Even my mailman thinks Amazon is great! Unfortunately, my mailman is about to retire this fall. Mr. Couch has been such a nice guy. We have had a couple who were total grouches. Our first one growled about everything. That was back when the metal boxes were stuck on posts down by the two-lane highway. It always worried me that he would get hit by someone leaving the hospital. Pretty soon, the hospital road will be totally different even from what it is now and come out at the north end of the usual entrance. It would be wonderful if the city or state would put in a traffic light. Otherwise, it is a bit like Russian roulette. They’ll get ya from the south or from the north but you can bet that they are in a hurry and not looking! Sigh

 

Made some tuna salad for din-upper. Had cole slaw for breakfast. Nothing usual sounds good. Maybe toast tomorrow. That is crunchy and there’s always Robin Christian’s seedless raspberry jam to put on it! Ummm

 

Wish ambition came in a box or drink. Honestly need to do some house work. The dust under the TV table could make enough stuff to grow an African violet. Bet dog hair is good fertilizer. Maybe soon. Just have no ambition or even enough guilt complex to get things done.

 

Have been reading this American Indian Stories/Legends. The print is small, so it takes a little longer to read. Sitting here thinking about all the college texts that were printed even smaller than this! It is a wonder we did not all go blind. Well, some of us actually did read. But remember, this was before the day of being online and finding a synopsis or being able to Google anything. Kids today have absolutely no idea what it was like to go to the library and look things up in the card catalog or even look through the literary magazines to find discussions of a particular work. Nope, first we had to read whatever we were to discuss. Think one of the hardest writers to distinguish one work from the other was Emerson. He had some good ideas, but so much of what he said could have been reduced to the basics. Well, hello! The same could be said for my meanderings.

 

Will leave it with you. Know my sister-by-another mother is feeling better—covid test and all. She said that they were just very tired. Can feel the same way and just have to shake my head. No excuse to be so tired considering no more than the old woman does around here.

 

Sylvia just could not find her alligator. How sad. For one whole minute she had to mess with me and make her special stink until the old woman got up to find the treat-gator. Oh! To be a spoiled dog!

 

Pray for peace, pray for rain for those who need it, pray for those who have lost all hope. Let our hearts cling to His love. Rest and rejoice in His promises. You are loved.