Wet Squirrels!

 Wet Squirrels!

 

It has been raining here since around three this morning, and let me tell ya, dear hearts, it is mighty wet rain. Yes, surely there is light rain that comes in like a ballet dancer just drifting across the pastures and sliding down the trees, but not this stuff! This was a soaker! It rained and it rained some more. And you will not hear me griping about a drop that came down out of that sky! However, and there is nearly always a “however,” the dogs have enjoyed barking at the squirrels down in the east lots in those Western Soapberry trees. Just open the door and listen to Sylvia answering their belligerent cursing! Then Thompson will come inside and need his coat dried off and his ears warmed up with the towel before he will go back down there to help her bark. The pawprints on the rugs in the kitchen don’t really matter much. Now the boot prints are a bit worse when the old woman goes out to pick up eggs or fill the feeders again. Somehow those prints are much bigger and messier. Oh well. At least the hens have not needed to come inside. Just wait until we have a good blizzard!

 

Called number one grandson today to find out if he had found the seeds for the Mexican Bird of Paradise trees in the sacks sent to his house. He did, but he needed instructions on how to plant them and some information about how fast they would grow and what size to expect out of a grown one. Sent him to Google. That is what my children always tell me: look on Google, Mom! See! More than one person can give that advice when information is not right there on the top of your thinking. Anyway, maybe he will have success with these trees. The one growing in my greenhouse looks pretty good and is a bit taller than my knees. The ones Shirley Taylor had in her yard were people tall and beautiful. The flowers look very exotic. Well, to me they look that way. Some folks think mesquite trees are exotic! Giggling. We went down to Corpus Christi one year to spend some time and asked at the desk of the condominium if there were any neat things to see close to the condo. The young girl at the desk said for us to drive down toward the convention center to see some really strange and exotic trees. We really looked forward to seeing something special. Yeah, right! Danged ol’ mesquite trees. But then, my friend in Oklahoma who had a wood burning fireplace did not know what a mesquite tree looked like. Told Ginger Wingo that we used that wood for the fireplace or for barbecues. She was just amazed. Of course, we have oak south of us along the corridor where the trees follow the rivers, but those trees do not tend to take the land and keep on moving wherever they can spread. Here in Texas, we have so many mesquites in one area that it is called “The Big Thicket.” All mesquites!

 

Noticed on the way to the cemetery that the plum thickets were taking over the hills close to the old town of Ringgold and beyond. One little bush is all it takes to get a good-sized thicket started. Unless they burn out, they will be there forever. Good forage for critters and protection for small animals though. And those plums make the best jelly you ever lapped a lip on. The only kind better were the hog plums that came off in the fall. If it was a good year, the trees would drop their fruit almost all at once and then it was Katy-bar-the-door! The hogs would eat those things until they got drunk as the fruit ripened and fermented. Great-granddad said that was the best time to kill a hog, too. Can pretty well imagine that the cold and the fires to clean a hog would make it interesting. Fresh meat and plum jelly on biscuits!

 

The rain gauge says two inches on the dot. Who knows what the weather bureau will say. We hardly ever agree on much of anything. Can tell you for sure that the mud right in the doorway of the hen coop is mighty slick. Started singing that song in my head, “Slip slidin’ away now!” At least the old woman did not slide down on her backside!

 

Two dogs begging for nibbles! Good thing two pounds of dog biscuits came home from the feed store the other day. Think another trip is coming up right away to fill up the lay pellets and scratch bins. Oh well. May have to call the Smith boys this time. Not really gungho on even letting a bag fall in the little red trailer out of the truck bed to then drag out to the coop. The boys can easily handle this stuff.

 

Saw on AOL that they are expecting the other type of virus to get pretty serious and spread out all over heck and half of Georgia. That does not sound good to me. Just about the time when we get to seeing folks’ faces again, we will end up behind masks. Wondering what this will do to the nursing homes now. While Anne was over at Grace in Henrietta, they had maybe a third of the number that they had when the folks were over there. Of course, that was a few years ago, but still. Folks are not getting any younger. And the wages for CNAs have not improved either. It is easier to work at McDs than to keep those hours for so little money. Saw that they start out at McDs at $10 an hour. Wonder what a CNA makes now.

 

The rain has let up for now, so maybe what we got will help fill up the stock tanks and alleviate some of the problems of evaporation in our area lakes. We really needed this rain. Just praise God that we got what we needed so if anyone actually planted wheat this fall, it might have a chance of growing and feeding some stocker calves. Right now, chicken and pork are on the menu for most folks. Guess we all need to buy some turnip seeds and see if we can grow our way into some good veggies. Cabbage, turnips, and carrots might be a decent crop in some places. The Europeans lived on turnips during the Middle Ages. Bet we could, too.

 

Let us ask God for His blessings on this nation and on this poor, desperate world. Only God can heal its wounds. Let us personally show the love of which we are capable.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.