I've Been Busy Playing Ketchup...

Ever since I started blogging I have been grossly neglecting everything else in my life, so I've been trying to play ketchup for the last week. I'm not even close to catching up yet. My new housekeeper doesn't do laundry or ironing, so I've given up on ever finding someone to iron. I've slowly been working through my pile of ironing, which is equivalent to having a root canal times 100. I've barely even made a dent and it's beginning to depress me. It's like the never ending pile of ironing. I swear it's multiplying while I sleep.

In addition to that I've also been trying to trim all the shrubs in the backyard because our yard man only mows, edges and blows the cuttings into the street so that it can all blow back after he leaves. Everything is hugely overgrown because I haven't done it since last Fall, so now I'm paying the price. My arms are aching from holding that damn electric thingy I trim the shrubs with. However, I feel lucky to still be in pocession of all my digits.

I'm still working on getting the vegetable garden ready, so that I can finally plant. We should be enjoying something fresh to eat by the end of June, which is the latest garden I've ever had. At least I finished the patio and repotting all the plants. I went through 3 extra large bags of potting soil in the process and got everything cleaned up after the harsh dirt storms we have all winter long. Frankly, as much as I enjoy having a garden, I'm done with it after this year. The physical work is becoming too much for me at this age and you can't pay anyone to do this, as far as I know. I'm tired of the toll it's taking on my nails and hands, my back, my feet... Oh, whatever! It's taking a toll on my entire body and I'd kind of like to save what little I've got left for moving sometime in the near future. Or not.

Then today, I spent the better part of the afternoon trying to find the lizzard that our cat Trouble brought in the house and then promptly let go. I kept hearing it scratching about in my den/office on the wood floor and it was making me nuts. I finally stopped looking when the sounds stopped. I figure I'll find it when the smell tells me where it is. Obviously, I've been through this before. Apparently, leaving her kill on the doorstep simply wasn't enough. She had to kick it up a level and bring them inside. So that she could let them go and die in obscure spots around the house. To be found later, when they are petrified. It's my least favorite part about having a cat. Well, this cat. All of the other cats I've ever had have always eaten their kill on the doorstep, like any normal cat.

Anyway, I'm exhausted beyond belief and I'm going to bed now. Well, as soon as I dig the inch or so of dirt out from under my fingernails. And throw away the cold, deceased lizard I just stepped on with my bare foot, on my way back from the kitchen. Oh great, I found him before he stinks at any rate.



This is where our genius cat lost the lizzard...

Bedding & Garden Plants Are Over The Top This Year...

This morning Mr. Snooty & I played golf early so that we could come home & start working on the yard. Hummmm... I've been dreading this and looking forward to this all at the same time. So, after golf, I went to my favorite locally owned nursery and spent a freaking fortune. Glad I could help them stay in business. They certainly treated me nicely. I always like that. I guess it is one of the reasons I give them my business.

Prices are high all over town, because I checked. If I have to give out that much money, by jove, it's going to be with a locally owned *mom & pop shop*. Besides, they take much better care of their plants than the bigger guys. You know what I mean. In other words, they water them when they should be watered. The variety is vast and this nursery is absolutely beautiful and well kept. I love going there even though I always spend waaaaay too much money. But, you get what you pay for, right?

Today was no different than all of the other times I've bought plants. I bought too much, of course. Wait, I didn't buy too much. I just SPENT too much. I could have gotten a lot more than I did, but I had been gradually calculating the total in my mind and it came pretty close, there at the checkout. More, actually. It was approximately the same as a round-trip ticket to Houston. Well, maybe I did get my money's worth.

I bought numerous packets of seeds (yellow squash, yellow squash, spinach, beets and Black Eye Peas) to plant in the garden and enough Asparagus Fern to replace the 4 hanging baskets I allowed to die (okay, I killed them) over the winter. I'd had them for many years and they were root bound & too big to pot by myself anyway. I also bought 8 Geraniums, 8 Caladiums (even though I usually plant bulbs) in several colors, 6 Airplane Plants, 2 Rosemary, 3 Basil, tomatoes (2 Beefsteak, 2 Early Girl, 2 Sweet cherry 100's, and 2 Big Boys) 2 habanero peppers, 2 jalapeno peppers, and 2 serrano peppers.

I also bought this lovely medium sized arrangement that was already potted and ready to go. It's pretty and it made me smile. Had to have it. This was the only potted plant that I dared to buy pre-potted. Everything else I buy in small pots & transplant to bigger ones. Apparently, I like to work harder than the average idiot, in my yard all Summer, just so I can kill it during the Winter. Yes, I am a paradox. Feel free to basque in my light. Or whatever.

Back when I drove to San Antonio to visit my good friend, I made a much needed stop at a place on the way home, in Boerne, Texas. It's just off Interstate 10. They have the best Mexican Imports, at the best prices available. I bought two more terra cotta plant columns, which I love the look of. Don't you? They also have extensive lines of pewter decorative items and citronella candles. I always stock up on candles and buy at least one pewter serving piece. I simply cannot resist that place and when last there, I shopped their outdoor market in the pouring rain. Yes, it's that good. And I don't do rain. After leaving, I drove the 5 hours home disguised as a very wet rat, but a happy wet rat.

I spent like 4 or 5 hours working on the patio area today, which looked like a total train wreck from 1895 after a West Texas Fall, Winter, and Spring. Much of last Summer's accoutrements had to be thrown away and replaced with new, as usual. When emptying out last year's plant soil, I simply take it out & deposit in the garden for a richer soil out there. I try to recycle everything I possibly can. You'd be shocked at some of the frugal things I do. And honestly, I'd love to be able to just pay for someone else to do it all and not have to bother with it. But deep down inside there is something inside me that just can't allow me to do that. Or be wasteful. Doubtless this is another side effect of aging. ugh. This doesn't in any way resemble the me of my younger days.

So, after we play golf again early Sunday morning, I have my plan cut out for my afternoon. After dragging my rear-end about getting this done for weeks & weeks now, it's time to get it in gear. Felicia needs her homegrown tomatoes, as do I. Besides, it's one of the things I do best. Grow a garden. Gardens are what obsessive/compulsive types do best and it satisfies my need to have everything in order since I don't have control of the inside of the house. Just semi-control so far, but I'm working on that too. How do I find time to blog? Same as everyone else, I suppose. I pick something new to blow off everyday.

After all the time spent outside this afternoon, I never did see Felicia the Fox. I'm beginning to think she has a *thing* for Mr. Snooty. He sees her all the time & every time I come around she scurries off (looking at me over her shoulder), which is making my picture taking goals rather arduous. However, I. Will. Persevere. I'm just going to have to carry my digital in my pocket when I'm outside (like I don't already).

On The Trail of a Fox....

I played golf today and it was the most beautiful day that I could have ever hoped for. Rain was in the forecast and there was no shortage of clouds, but it was so perfect! I said "Pish Posh" to the widiots (weather idiots) and I'm so pleased that I did. No, it wasn't because I played all that great. It was because the other golf girls & I went to another golf club today because there was a one day tournament going on at our club. The club we went to today is public and is called Nueva Vista. It's an easy course, most of the time. Very women friendly as far as the placement of the ladies' tees, which is always a perk. There is always an abundance of wildflowers and wildlife while playing at Nueva Vista.



Today, we saw a huge number of enormous jackrabbits with ears as long as their bodies. I swear. They look pretty lean but those ears make them look downright comical along with their big ole feet & skinny legs. They were chasing each other, which was amusing, but for all I know, it was their mating dance. I'm rather dense that way.










We also saw many birds that we don't normally see at our club on the total opposite side of town. We decided that it must be because of the Mississippi Kites who have taken up residence at our club. Besides golfers having to avoid the vicinity of their nests (during nesting season) so as to not get dive-bombed by them, we decided that they must also chase off certain types of other feathered friends. So, it was rather interesting seeing those others today.


In the end, I shot 107, which wasn't worthy of anything so grand as a toast, but I was okay with it. I damn sure didn't plunk 23 consecutive shots into the water, so I was happy. I shot 58 on the front (which was fairly inept), but then I shot a 49 on the back, so I know I could have done better. Maybe next time.



Anyway, I didn't get home until after 6:00 PM and when I walked through the front door Mr. Snooty announced he was making dinner tonight and I threw my arms around him and kissed him for being one of the greatest hubbys around. I wasn't really worn out, I just didn't want to have to fix dinner, so that was very happy news. One deserves praise for such outstanding behavior, don't you agree?


This is my grouping of Oleanders in the backyard. I didn't plant them until the children were grown because they are poisonous. Animals seem to just know. Children, it seems, do not.







The next thing I knew, Mr. Snooty went outside for something, then quickly opened the door & motioned me to come look. I knew it would be the fox. I had just gotten home & hadn't yet really unpacked from the day's game. I raced back to the front hall, grabbed my digital camera & dashed back to the rear door. MR. S was just saying I was going to miss it, while I'm fumbling & bumbling & trying to get my camera on and dialed to the correct setting (which is still a challenge). I reached the bottom of our back stoop just in time to see her gracefully glide the fenceline behind the Eleagnus bushes. She stopped briefly and looked me directly in the eye with absolutely no malice whatsoever, just her sweet, bright eyes & grin. She is a beauty, that Felicia.

Snooty Cat Trouble never misses an opportunity to roll in the dirt. Especially the day after the maid comes. Bitch.

















And Trouble (AKA Stubbie Troubie) is a total shameless slut when it comes to begging for belly rubs. Shameless, I tell you! Just looking at her makes me want to sneeze 9 times in a row.







Needless to say, Felicia ever so casually slipped between the missing board in our fence and disappeared between the wood fence and the original cinderblock fence. We believe that there is an opening somewhere in the cinderblock fence and that within the cinderblocks she has an entire network of foxholes. You know, the Fox Underground Network. I really do think she knows she's safe here. Her haven. I can't imagine evicting her & the fam now. How cruel would that be? They've been here almost as long as we have.


As cagey as sweet Felicia the Fox is, I will not rest until I get my picture. This is turning into a mission, really. It's my Summer Mission 2008 to get a really great shot of Felicia and/or the babies.

Oh look! There's that cat again....

Sweet Felicia, The Longtime Fixture In My Garden

Many years ago in our little yard beyond our regular backyard, we discovered we had a fox. The second yard is separated from the first yard by a tall cinderblock fence and covered in Trumpet Vine, which, of course, always provides lots of hidden havens for cats and foxes and pooches alike. You can't kill Trumpet Vine so you basically learn to keep it trimmed back and live in harmony with it.

When our Cairn Terrier LuLu was still alive, she ruled the backyard. That was her outdoor kingdom and she loved it. LuLu was the first alert we ever had, as to the fox & family being in residence. She must have truly traumatized that poor fox, but that's what she was bred to do. Hunt things. She was marvelous at it too, so I always tried to praise as much as I could stomach. The same rules have always applied to the cats. Even when poor old LuLu was blind & deaf with old age, she still managed to corner the fox. She might not have actually been barking in the right direction, but she knew she had something somewhere.

However, when the fox first appeared on the scene my children were both still in lower grade school. It frightened me that a fox was around while they were playing in the backyard with friends, so I arranged for Animal Control to leave a Have A Heart Trap. We tried for over a week to entice Felicia, but to no avail. We tried every delicacy known to foxes. True to her kind, she was not to be easily fooled into some stupid human made cage. We finally gave up and she must have known to lay low for a while because we didn't see her for quite some time.

That's when a friend who grew up in the country on a ranch, made a suggestion to me. She said "You know, when you live in the country you learn to live in harmony with some animals and yet you still know which ones need to be gotten rid of. Like, I'd worry about that fox if it looked rabid, but otherwise, I'd just leave it be. Maybe give it a tomato plant or two of its own and leave them unprotected, just to keep it off your plants. You kill whatever looks rabid and always kill coyotes. Otherwise, it's always best to leave the others be." Words of wisdom are always welcome when it concerns one's garden. Yes, this made sense to me. Even though we don't have a coyote problem here in the center of town. We do have red foxes who love tomatoes just like all the birds do. I'll let them duke it out over who gets what.

Felicia is a stunning example of her species. She has a very sweet face of red outlined by black and white markings and something that very much resembles a grin on her face. I know it sounds looney, but it's totally true. Her tail is almost as long as her body and her hair looks like she hits the salon once a week. The first time anyone sees her, they are thunderstruck. I was. So was Mr. Snooty, Big Hunter. Got all frozen by the beauty of the fair fox Felicia. He came back inside & claimed he couldn't kill her. He who used to love hunting & killing. The sly Felicia does know how to charm. I decided this was a good turn for Mr. Snooty. I don't believe he has really hunted more than birds ever since that day.

So, slowly, over the years, the fair Felicia and I have been at peace with one another out in the garden and I always get an extra little kick from providing for Felicia and her brood or litter or whatever the term is. I think she rather misses good old LuLu giving her chase because we often see her sitting on the sidewalk in the backyard, as if she is looking for her old nemesis and is wondering what became of her. At other times, Felicia seems to be saying to herself "Life is good. I love my yard, especially without that loud, annoying animal that used to corner me by the Oleander bushes". Who knows what a fox thinks.

This evening, Mr. Snooty was going past the garden to the alley to empty trash and happened to spot Felicia sitting out in the garden, next to the children's old playhouse. When he told me, I sneaked out to the garden to try & take a picture, but she was gone before I arrived. It's like she has some kind of Sixth Sense or something equally as perplexing. Perhaps it's just natural instinct but it certainly is uncanny. I have so many questions to ask her. Not that she'd answer. I think she was really wondering where in Hell the garden went, since I haven't yet gotten it planted. This weekend, Felicia. The garden goes in this weekend. Patience Little Grasshopper. I mean Fox. It is my goal this year to catch a photograph of Felicia the Fox

So far this year, I am behind in putting in my veggie garden, by six weeks. The Roto-Tiller we've had for more than 20 years has finally bitten the dust, which is more of a cause in the delay than my blogging, to be fair. It can no longer be repaired and Mr. Snooty doesn't want to purchase a new one. For some reason, Mr. Snooty has no desire to till the garden by hand. Hmmmm… wonder why? I did it many years when our tiller was on loan to any acquaintence that asked him to borrow it. But I won't get started on that.

Still, the garden usually lasts well into November, so there will be plenty of time left to reap, once I've finally sowed. How I do love Summer.

Me & My Vegetable Garden...

It seems that I may have implied that I stay in my robe all the time, which is true to some extent, during the cold months anyway, although I do this mostly when stationed at my trusty computer. However, when warm weather arrives, I begin planting & tending my garden, which I often do in my robe as well. I have an old worn robe that I wear out to the garden, along with a button front shirt, a scarf tied under my chin, knee high rubber boots, rubber coated garden gloves and a wide brim straw hat. Now before you start thinking how silly this sounds, allow me to explain.

Mosquitoes, wasps, bees, hornets, and anything else that flies & wants to harm, are crazy about me. Mosquitoes have a particular affinity for me, and can seek me out at any given time, even if it is the only one for a hundred miles around. I guarantee this. My friends & family can confirm this odd phenomena. Even if no one else ever gets one bite, I always get at least one, which everyone always finds hard to believe, until they see it with their own eyes. Unfortunately, it's impossible to deny once you see how I swell up from their sting, and I'm deathly afraid of contracting West Nile Virus. I've had this problem since childhood (although the West Nile thing is fairly recent), no matter where I go or whatever preventions I might be foolish enough to attempt. There is something about my body chemistry that they are devotedly attracted to. You'd think this would discourage any outdoor activities, but I've always been an outdoors girl.

I also have a honking huge squirrel problem and you can see the damage in this picture. Look very carefully at the edges of the white tablecloth underneath. It looks like something I got at a haunted house garage sale. My beautiful linen damask table cloth. Aren't squirrels cute? Yeah, right! Little rats. Off with their heads!!!!

I've had a vegetable garden almost every year since we bought this house 22 years ago. Evidently, we have idiots for neighbors because we NEVER seem to be in short supply of mosquitoes in spite of the fact that I check every single day for standing water during their breeding months.

That said, wasps, yellow jackets, red wasps, honey bees, bumble bees and hornets seem to have a similar affinity for my body chemistry. Okay, it could be the garden veggies & flowers, but they're attracted to me everywhere else as well. Since I want them to be in the garden, and I also want to weed & tend the garden, this is my solution to living in harmony with all the little flying beasts. I also enjoy having dinner on the patio, but am usually armed with the big guns. Meaning my 98% Deets spray and at least 8 to 10 big ass, big wick Citronella candles.

I once read an article in the Dallas Morning News about how to avoid getting stung. Although it was a rather lengthy article, they basically said this: When you encounter a bee, JUST RUN. When you encounter a wasp or a yellow jacket, RUN FASTER. When you encounter a swarm of bees or killer bees, RUN LIKE BLOODY HELL. How informative. I've already done those all my life. It usually embarrasses everyone around me when I start waving my arms & running around like a crazy person, but I got over the embarrassment when I was a child. The running thing has always worked for me, in spite of the laughter from anyone close enough to witness my *act*.

So, having spilled my guts to the world about my deepest phobias, I will now reveal to you one of the HU's favorite sources of comedy. Me, in my garden garb, in last year's garden. Enjoy. Feel free to laugh. Everyone else does. Me, in all my hidden glory. The garden area is located beyond our regular back yard, in a seperate yard that measures approximately 60 feet by 30 feet. All of our yards are on well water, which is a wonderful thing.

Also, for 22 years, we've had foxes which were at first distressing because they would take one bite out of like ALL the tomatoes. Since our first encounter many years ago, we have also learned to live in harmony... which could probably also be interpreted as a Mexican Stand-Off. I've always done an organic garden and don't believe in pesticides of any kind. To deal with the fox... I plant a seperate patch of tomatoes closer to the old playhouse that aren't in cages, and I kind of let them grow wild. Foxes eat fruit. Whatcha gonna do? If you can't lick 'em... join 'em. Thankfully, this has been an acceptable plan for Her Highness, Madame Fox. The bitch isn't even scared of my fake owl, lol. Frankly, I haven't found anything that IS actually afraid of that stupid owl, but I allow him to stay on anyway.

In the early years we used to try & catch the fox (or foxes) in a "have a heart" trap, and guess what? Yup, she was too foxy for that and we eventually gave up. I also now cover my caged tomatoes in what is called bird netting, which I buy through Gardens Alive, among other natural products for the garden. The only things that can get through those nets are the things I need to pollenate, and pollenate, they do!

I'm also usually lucky enough to see a handful for little horned toads each year and I fiercely protect them from my cat (who only wants to play until it quits moving).