Need A Push?

What with one thing and another, lately I've been lacking the incentive to attend to housework.  It's never at the top of my list on my best days, but it was time to do something about it.  To ensure that I stayed on track, I invited Camille and Arden for a Ladies' Night supper.  I wouldn't want to get caught with my housekeeping down and it was just the push I needed.  At the Farmers' Market, I'd bought a big box of fresh produce and was given pounds of wonderful just-picked tomatoes.  The red globes were perfect for Summer Tomato Pie with lots of cheese.  I wouldn't bother making it with anything but home-grown tomatoes.  The pie and green beans with olive oil, garlic, and balsamic added up to a light summer dinner.  Enjoyable company made the efforts of the day worthwhile, as I knew it would.

The hummingbirds have their own way of pushing me to do their will.  I'm scraping the bottom of the 25-pound sack of sugar (75 pounds so far this summer), and I've been stretching it out by waiting until all the feeders are completely empty before refilling.  Impatient, the hummers peer in every window until they find me and then bang on the glass.  "Lady!  Hey, lady, we need some service here!"

Something spooked the goats during the night.  Nervous as they came out of the barn, they snorted and stared, bunched in a group instead of going up for alfalfa.  I got a little spooked myself, as I'd read of several recent sightings of a couple of mountain lions and a bear in the area.  It's not surprising, as the wildfire undoubtedly pushed wildlife out into more populated space and domestic animals make for easy pickings.  Tessie needed a pull, not a push, to come to the milking room.  Failing to coax her with feed, I gave up and we started the long walk-around.  Fortunately, she wears a collar so all I needed was to get close enough.

Epazote has become the tattletale plant on the deck.  It used to be the comfrey that would wilt first if I were slow to water, but epazote has taken on the job of telling me to get the job done.   Sometimes I just need a push.