Friday, April 22, 2011

In Reverse

Yesterday was the direct opposite of the day before.  It was raining and windy when I went down to the barn and the girls and I were all cranky.  Now my barn shoes have sprung a leak and I squelch around with a soggy sock after tromping through the wet grass.  (If it would quit raining every other day I could put off shopping for shoes, something I hate worse than dusting.)

In the afternoon, lo and behold, the sun came out!  Patrick came with the alfalfa and stayed to chat, or, in Patrick's case, chatter.  He is such a good kid, going above and beyond.  He not only puts the bags of grain in the feed room, he empties the chicken feed into the barrels for me.  That boy does love to talk.

Bessie Anne, the cats, and I decided it was just too nice to spend the rest of the day inside, so we all went out to weed (my justification for not doing housework).  There is a particular plant that, for lack of knowing its real name, I call bracken.  It is a lovely shade of green, lacy, with tiny white flowers, and it grows quite tall.  After the first year or so of thinking how pretty it was, I learned to pull it out by its roots as soon as possible.  When dry, this danged plant throws off bijillions of seeds like tiny daggers.  They get in socks, the seams of pants, the lining of shoes, in between the dog's toes, and, since Bessie is my nighttime companion, all over the bed.  For some reason, it is particularly virulent this year.  We spent an hour or so pulling this weed and barely made a dent.  My supervisors and I then wandered out to the garden.  In only four days, the lettuce has sprouted!  My ambition renewed, I weeded and prepped two more barrels for planting.  It's not visions of sugarplums that dance in my head.  I'm envisioning tomatoes, beets, green beans, and fresh peas.  And squash!  I grow squash for the blossoms as much as the vegetable.  Dipped in a light beer batter with a smidgen of cayenne and sauteed in butter and oil...my mouth is already watering.

If the sun comes out today and anyone comes looking for me...I'll be in the garden.

4 comments:

Jennie Bolen said...

Alright, well at some point here today I'm going to come looking for you and some milk, and maybe eggs if you have them. :) Glad you got your feed, sorry you've got soggy socks. I hate shoe shopping too, for me, they're all uncomfortable and expensive. I used to run around barefoot 90% of the time, but my feet have gotten a lot more sensitive. Barefoot and pregnant. haha, for three more days that is. :)

Kathryn said...

Wow, beer-battered squash blossoms?? Now that's ANOTHER one I have not heard of, but then again, "gourmet cook" would never be associated with me! And with the length and width (yes, pun intended) of the web, I bet you could find an online source for your barn shoes/boots, IF you wanted the same designer style that you are wearing now...the only question would be if they could compete with the price of your store...plus the gas to get there...plus the frustration of shoe shopping...just sayin'!

Bo said...

LOL! You mean my designer WalMart specials?! I get the same shoe, same style, same size every time...never try them on (did that the first time), and hope for the best. Toldja I'm a fashionista!

Kathryn said...

Well I FIGURED that there wasn't much "deciding" on the right pumps for the red carpet...but you made it sound like it was like pulling teeth...and now we find it's only the trip to Wally World that yer bitchin' about...haha