Pizza

I seldom order pizza to go.  Some aren't worth ordering and the better stuff has gotten oddly expensive.  I think that is because the pizza places decided they had a captive customer base during the Covid pandemic.  Some kept their prices and reduced the quality, and some places kept the quality and raised their prices.

I've also bought some frozen ones and some are "OK" but having a pizza stone, I'm helping them out considerably.  Plus I tend to add more toppings.

So I go through cycles where I make my own.  It's not really THAT hard.  You need some equipment though.  I have a pizza stone, a paddle, a bread machine, and a roller pin.  And you need toppings of course.  Well, gee, who DOESN'T have pepperoni and shredded Italian cheeses sitting in the fridge?  LOL!  And I do always have green peppers, mushrooms and a can of crushed tomatoes around (I make spaghetti about once a week).

But I'm not really talented at rolling out dough in a nice circle, and crimping the edges to raise them a bit never works well for me.  And you've seen that tossed the dough in the air to spread it out?  Fugetaboutit!

OK, so I decided to make a pizza Saturday.  It came out of the bread machine "dough cycle" so wet and sticky it was more like I had dough gloves on than a ball of manageable dough.  As a former friend used to say about anything that went wrong "ITS NOT MY FAULT".  But, of course it was.  The dough didn't mix itself...

After slowly scraping the dough off my hands and getting most of it onto the sticky-ball (there is a lot of "ME" in this pizza), and washing my hands free of the rest, I started adding flour and folding several times.  I let it sit in the fridge overnight for gluten-development and rising.  Be aware that doing that also makes the dough a bit sticky again, so when I turned it out onto my silicon mat, I had to add more flour.

But it was OK for rolling out then, but I had a couple of rips in it that didn't want to hold together when pinched and it wasn't uniformly flat.

So I had an idea (and this is actually the point of the post, I suppose).  I have various pans.  A couple of nonstick, a couple stainless steel, and a surprising number of cast iron pans.  The cast iron pans are well seasoned over the years and nearly non-stick.  Most are standard-shaped skillets ranging from 4-12", one is a 10" wok, and one is a 10" griddle with 3/8" raised sides. 

That was when I had a Grand Idea!  First, the griddle was perfect for flattening the pizza dough uniformly while it re-rose from the warmth of the house.  I set it on the rolled-out dough and let it sit for 30 minutes.  Voila', when I lifted it the rips were healed and it was flat.

And the 2nd part was also good.  The barely raised edge of the griddle would also provide a sufficiently-raised edge to the pizza crust!  But I wasn't sure about constructing the pizza on a heated pan.  

Normally, I construct the pizza on the paddle with corn meal sprinkled on the paddle for sliding it onto the pre-heated 500F pizza stone.  But the griddle had to be 500 and set on the cooktop for constructing the pizza this time.  (I set it in the oven at the start)   I was worried I would touch the hot griddle.

But the whole idea was an experiment, so I tried it.  Granted, experiments CAN be painful or fatal (this one was not; I was VERY careful.

I had all the ingredients lined up in bowls on the counter.  Then when the oven said 500 I waited 15 minutes (air heats faster than cast iron).  Took the 500 griddle out of the oven wearing both an oven mitt and folded washcloths (wet) and set it on the cooktop.

Lifted the crust from the silicon mat easily and set it on the griddle (perfectly centered and with the edges "just" to the top of the griddle lip), quickly brushed some olive oil on the crust, spooned some of my reduced tomato sauce on, spread around self-sliced pepperoni evenly, sprinkled onion/pepper/mushrooms, added more tomato sauce (I like that), and sprinkled shredded Italian cheese mix all over it.

And got it back into the oven ASAP.  About 2 minutes I think.  The usual time I need to cook a pizza on the pizza stone is 15 minutes and a crisp but chewy crust.  It took 20 minutes this way.  

But it was WAY worth it.  OK, many people like their pizzas some different ways.  Some like "thin&crispy", some like "chewy".  Some like a crust with a topping or two, some like a lot.  

I tried to make what *I* like.  And it worked out GREAT!

So, finally a picture...

A simple salad goes well with pizza, as does a standard Zinfandel wine.  I cut the pizza into 6 parts; ate 3.  The others are in the freezer to be re-heated in a hot covered pan in a few days.

Garden

The wet early Spring and the cold dry May has not been a great start to the gardening year.  For example, I usually pre-soak my bean seeds inside to improve germination and then I forgot them for a day and they rotted.  Twice.  I had new ones online with shipping.  Try to find Flat Italian Pole Beans at a Big Box Store in late May.  But I received them today.  So guess what, it is going to rain all weekend.

But maybe not.  The Weather-Guessers said yesterday evening would bring powerful thunderstorms, hail, and strong damaging winds. So I move all my  tender lettuces and flower seedlings inside temporsarily.  It drizzled for an hour.  Wow, such a threat...

I really have to get the garden planted.  Some crops mature by mid-Summer but some take the whole growing season.  I need to get the tomato and pepper seedlings into the ground, and seeds of melons and cucumbers started really soon.

Part of that is because I've read some gardening articles recently that say planting too early stunts growth and later plantings actually surpass earlier ones in total growth, health, and production.  But maybe this wasn't the best year to try that.  

These are 2 grafted Brandywine tomatoes I bought (heirloom tomato tops on vigorous disease-resistant roots from a tomato you wouldn't eat.  They were $10 each, but with heirloom tomatoes almost $5 each (and of poor quality - they refrigerate them) at the local grocery store, just 2 more per plant means a savings.  And I expect a dozen from each plant.

And here are the lettuces/greens.  I LOVE salads!  OK, actually this is celery.  I love the slightly bitter taste of the leaves so I harvest them "leafy" for both salads and stir-fries.

Red-leaf romaine lettuce.  You won't find them in the local store.

This shows endive (another slightly bitter green) and red leaf lettuce.  You've seen "red-leaf" in the stores and just the tips are red?  When I say "red" I mean "RED!

The whole stand from the side.

And the front.

The backmost tray is Bok Choy.  It is an Asian member of the cabbage family.  They are too young to harvest yet, but are growing fast.  Here's the mature version...

The stalks provide crunch (and can be used in any recipe involving cabbage - and smells better during cooking).  I use the large leaves in Spring Rolls.  I put the leaves on the wrapper and the shrimp/peppers/whatever on top.  The leaves prevent the ingredients from poking holes in the wrapper.  Leaf lettuce works for that too, but doesn't add any taste.

Next time, I hope to show planted seedlings of veggies and flowers.

Hair 2

OK, I am nothing if not persistent.  Megan asked for a picture of me with my ponytail.  I didn't have anything that old digitized.  So I looked through old photo albums.  No luck.  There was a basketful of un-albummed but also not digitized photos and I really hesitated to go through them.

But I knew I had a specific picture "somewhere".  

So...

I found the photo!  Scanning it was easy.  Finding and sizing and saving it was horrible.  I ended up with 13kb, 590 kb and 5MB versions in my download folder.  Took a while to get at them.  But what's a few hours when you're retired?

So here is finally a right-sized pic of the ponytail...

BTW, oddly my hair grew back over the years.  Grayer but fuller.  Either better diet or less stress when I retired.  :)

Hair

Megan commented on The Mews blog about a hair restraint Laz played with "Am I the only one who's wondering why on earth TBT would have bought one of those things? I can't imagine that he ever wore one himself".  And that made me consider the history of my hair.  And why pass up a good topic to post about?

OK, I'm sort of an old fart (turned 71 Friday).  When I was a kid, we all had either "buzz" or "crew" cuts.  "Buzz" was a short 1" high flattop cut and you needed Brylcream to comb it up stiff.  Crew" was a short cut rounded to the skull.  I think the 1st was army and the 2nd was navy.  The really short hair for boys was a leftover from WWII when head lice were a problem.  There was probably also some element of "long hair gives an enemy something to grab".

But, of course by the late 60s we guys were tired of looking like Dad, so we wanted our hair long as a symbolic act of rebellion.  It was one of the least objectionable ways to do that.

So, in college, I grew an 18" ponytail.  Dad hated it, so that was great!  I must have been quite a sight then.  Square-toed engineer boots, a cowboy hat, bell-bottomed jeans, a vest, and the ponytail.  My dorm-mates nick-named me "Sheriff".

It DID cause some surprises when I worked at a department store.  When facing away from a new customer, I often heard "Excuse me Miss..."  LOL!

I still had it when I went to my Govt job interview.  The boss decided I was worth hiring but also asked if I would cut off the ponytail "for professional appearance".  I'm no fool, I immediately agreed and cut it off that night.  I mean, it was a 25% pay raise from the department store!

But I cut it off with the elastic still on and hung it from a picture hook for years.  Reminders of "good old days" are good.  I tossed it away eventually.

Many years later (secure in my job) the 3rd level boss above me grew a ducktail.  He was an utter jerk but thought he was "hip".  So I regrew my ponytail to mock him.  I am basically a progressive type with a few conservative ideas, but very sarcastic (or is that "sardonic"?).  I don't show that here very often, but you should see me on some discussion boards.  No, I won't tell you which ones; I am rather compartmentalized.  But eventually I got bored with the trouble of maintaining it and cut it off again.

Then, when the covid-19 problem came around and visiting the barbershop was a no-no, I shaved my head completely.  3x in 2020.  But my skull is "lumpy" (impacted sebaceous glands), so I gave up on that too.  That's a topic in itself, but not today.

These days, my hair (what is left of it) is styled like my high school yearbook picture.  1/3 to my right and the rest to the left, tapered at the neck, none more than 6" long.  Ease of maintenance has overcome style...

My hair has gone "around the block" (makes me a "blockhead?) a few times, so to speak!  :)

So I am familiar with hair-restraints.  Mostly though, I was happy to see him play with anything.  He is not a toy-oriented cat.  Nor is he a lap cat.  I think he gets really bored inside.  Even in the morning, not having eaten for 10 hours, he would rather go outside first.  

And until he arrived here and was also kept inside for several months until I was sure he knew the house smells and could find it, he had never been outside.  It may explain part of why he had frustration issues at first.  

The more he gets outside, the calmer he is inside.  He avoided returning inside the 1st few months, but as he learned I would let him out frequently (and by very loud demands) the more he has become willing to return when called. 

 

I pretty much let him out when he wants, and he pretty much returns these days when called.  And even when he doesn't return immediately, he is at the deck in 5-10 minutes.

They say "nothing can ignore you like a cat".  And it is true especially with Laz.  He can be right on the lawn and when I call his name, clap my hands, whistle, his ears don't even twitch! But he knows he has been called.  He's at the deck door soon enough.  Marley responds at once.  Ayla seldom even leaves the deck these days.  

But that is the tale of the hair elastic...

Thanks for the topic, Megan!  Give me a question and I'll write a chapter, LOL!

More Random Stuff

Some good news:  My newest Mac Mini has mostly really tiny ports I am not familar with.  I looked them up, but I can't find the notes on what they are called.  Most of my stuff has USB plugs.

I bought a 4-multiplug device months ago, and it works but I needed 6 ports.  Hey, I discovered there were 2 more on the new keyboard!  I have "enough".  But I would rather plug stuff directly into the Mac Mini (seems  more direct).  But at least I don't have to keep switching the printer cord and camera cord.

The new keyboard is a bit weird.  It wants 2 ports.  It works on one port, but every few days it fails to communicate and I have to restart the computer.  The discovery of the extra ports on the keyboard means I can plug the 2nd keyboard plug in.  So far, no fails.

And I like the new keyboard (dasKeyboard).  The keys are slightly engraved, not stenciled, so they aren't wearing off like most have.  And there are the 2 USB ports.  It's black with white letters, which I prefer.  But it has an odd reflection that keeps making me think I have cat furs on my fingers.  Nothing is perfect, LOL!

I got my vegetable and flower seedlings outside several days ago to get them used to actual sunlight.  The area was dappled.  I carried the lettuce trays onto the deck for easy harvesting.  The seedlings stayed down for another day.  Later tomorrow, I will plant the tomatoes and peppers in full sun.  They will have had 3 days of partial direct sunlight.

Watered them thoroughly yesterday.  Had to change nozzles 3 times to find the most appropriate one for delicate lettuce leaves.  In fact, I went to a soaker nozzle for "next time".

The flower seedling need more growing time.  They look a bit weak.  A few days of dappled then full sunlight should improve them.  Besides, the place I want to put them has grass growing. so I need to dig that out or at least damage it a lot tomorrow. 

Every day my Federal tax form DOESN"T come back "insufficient postage" is good.  The State owes my a small amount, so I don't worry about that.  They don't penalize you about a refund.

The Mews are doing well.  Laz hardly bothers Ayla at all these days.  She is actually the hissy one.  And I don't worry about it.  Each of them lick foreheads mutually these days, so it can't be too bad.  Yeah, it took Laz a full year (nearly to the day) to " settle".  

A hiss is not the claw/tooth fight.  I'll accept a hiss.  Next challenge is the Tonkinese female kitten due for pickup in early August.  I so much hope The Mews accept her immediately.  Marley is definite, being so calm; Ayla has always gotten along "OK" with any female cat; Laz is so much calmer now and has 2 months more "calm" to experience.  It should be OK.

Yeah 4 cats is more than I expected.  Maybe I should have just gone with Marley and Ayla.  They like each other.  But Laz was a rescue.  Not the normal rescue.  But the breeder I've dealt with in the past DID literally reascue Laz from a bad home and was looking for a Forever Home.

I sure almost gave up on him a few times.  But on his Gotcha Day here, he changed rather suddenly.  Maybe memories fade or he finally realized it was a safe place.  Whatever.   Who knows with cats?  He is only 3.5 and I think mostly he just wants to play.  Laz an Marley wrassle happily and gently often.  So I think "now" he just wants to do that with Ayla.  

His attacks on her ended months ago.  Maybe it was status-seeking in his new home.  Ayla doesn't forget (and I don't blame her).  But lately, they meet, sniff noses, and lick foreheads.  I'll accept the peace as a good sign for the future.

My car made "hot metal noises" when I came back from shopping last week.  I noted there were drips under the car.  After it sat for a day, I opened the hood and set up a lamp under it.  I'm not a mechanic and Dad never taught me stuff about cars.  But I understand enough to know what basic parts are.

The stuff that dripped was water.  Yeah it could have been air-conditioning condensation except for all the hot metal.  So I checked all the fluids.  

Oil level was fine.  Windshield washer lever was low so I refilled it, but that stuff being low doesn't heat the engine.  The coolant reservoir was empty.  I opened the radiator cap (it was cold after a day).  It was filled.  So I added water.  Not coolant; I didn't have any.  But that should las a trip until I schedule maintenance work at the dealer.

You are going to laugh.  I bought the car in July 2020.  It has 500 miles on it now.  But you should have a maintenance visit after the 1st 500 miles and I was planning it for next week.  The manual said I should expect "greater than usual" oil usage, but it was the coolant that was low.  

I'll let the dealership figure that out.

Time to go to bed...

Tax Form Troubles

I like to write in detail.  I hope you like to read in detail, LOL!

It's been a bad several days.   I thought I had struggled through my tax form software and gotten Federal and State forms printed out to mail.  But a couple of the questions and even how to mail them bothered Saturday. 

I'll dispose of the mailing issue first; it's just less complicated.  I had more sheets of paper to send than would fit in a legal size envelope, so I would have to actually GO TO the Post Office with a large flat envelope to have them tell me the postage.  I know what the lines are like there on Tax Day and would do almost anything to avoid it.  I eventually resolved that, but I'll tell you at the end.  But the immediate concern was that I tried e-filing the tax form earlier today (Sunday).

The 2 items in the tax form itself were the US Stimulus checks and the credit for the car donation I made last year.  I found a deposit for the 1st check, but not a 2nd one.  I checked all my bank statements for 2020.  Either the Govt didn't send me the 2nd one, someone took it out of my mailbox, or I didn't recognize it as legitimate (they warned later it arrives as non-govt mail).  But I was worried about the consequences of not reporting it.

Saturday I saw a report on TV reminding tax-filers that the stimulus checks are non-taxable, so I stopped worrying about whether I reported the 2nd one or not.  

The worse part was the car donation tax form.  I had assumed that a 15 year old car wasn't worth much even with only 30K miles on it.  So I donated it.  I should have checked at the time.  When I checked a standard professional estimation site last week, I found that this year it would have been worth $7249 (so surely would have been worth more last year when I donated it).  And Carmax offerred to buy it for $8800 (of course it was long gone).  

So I entered the $7249 on specific donations form.  I got a receipt from the charity organization.  It had the vehicle make/model, VIN, date, and a signature on a form naming the charity.  What else could I need?  Well, apparently an appraisal document and a tax form from the charity...

I donated a previous car to the same charity, and I didn't need that then.  So that part was missing from my tax documents.  Being that I was using tax preparation software, I assume any question it doesn't ask is not applicable or necessary.  And the tax software "accuracy review" found no issues when I printed out the forms to mail.

That's where the mailing issue resurfaced.  Not willing to stand in line at the Post Office for an hour or more, I decided to e-file.  Which meant I would have to pay a "convenience fee" to use a 3rd party for a credit card payment but it seemed worth it.  It used to be $20, but it is down to $2.95 for a $6 payment, so OK.  I'll gladly pay $3 to not stand in line for an hour!

Guess what?  The tax software that happily allowed me to print out the forms with a missing donation appraisal form said the IRS would not accept an e-filing without that form.  So instead of standing in line at the Post Office, I spent 3 hours trying to provide the required information on the form or get it elsewhere.  

If I mail my tax forms, I can include explanations for missing information.  E-filing does not permit that.  E-filing is only for "perfect forms".  If I mail it, they have to receive it and read everything.  If I e-file, their computer can "just say no".

So I was really in a situation.  Tomorrow is the filing deadline.  So I could stand in line mailing printed forms with 1 incomplete or file for an extension.  All my numbers on the tax forms are accurate; I am WAY too honest (and scared of the IRS) to lie about anything.

If I mail the forms (all with accurate numbers) all they can do is tell me I need to complete one specific form more properly, and I can contact the charity for that.  

So I went to the US Post Office website and found the most accurate estimate of the mailing cost.  $1.50, so I added a couple more stamps for safety and put it in the mailbox.  My $6 check is in there.  The IRS can't say I didn't pay (my total taxes were rather higher; the $6 was just the additional amount owed).

Done, finished, will be picked up Monday.  I tossed the Sate tax forms in the mailbox too.  It is based on the Federal tax form, so no reason to wait.  At least THEY owe ME money.

I may never donate a car to a charity again.  The IRS makes it altogether too annoying at tax time.

A weight off my back...  Now I can get back to the cats and garden.

Ah, Tax Day

 Aren't doing the taxes a thrill?  I'm glad there is software for that.  I wouldn't stand a CHANCE of getting it right otherwise.

I once read of a simplified tax plan:

1.  How much did you earn last year?

2.  How do you have left?

3.  Send item 2.

Actually, I'm not against taxes.  I pay them (and accurately as humanly possible) for several reasons.  First, the government does do many things of overall benefit.  Second, it's a civic duty.  Third, I'm scared to death of the Internal Revenue Service(IRS)!   I worked for the Federal Government, and they CAN be relentless down to the dime.

Soldiers, food inspectors, bridge inspectors, medical researchers, etc don't come free.  Just as in olden times, we must each pour some wheat into the granaries.  

I just wish it was fairer.  Some multibillion corporations and individuals paid less tax that I did this year.  And some people cheat!  Those ads on TV from companies promising to negotiate with the IRS irritate the heck out of me.  They encourage people to cheat on their taxes and pay "dime on a dollar" in settlement.

The tax software sure makes it easier though.  It just asks multiple choice questions and puts the answers in the right boxes.  I have some mutual fund stock investments and I don't have the slightest idea what some of the terms mean (how would I know what "foreign taxes" the index funds paid?  

My index fund used to send pages of data and I had to add up all the columns.  Now (finally) they total them.  And how would I know "qualified dividends" from "unqualified dividends"?  I also donated a car to a charity last year.  All sorts of details required about that.  The software organizes all that.  It is a relief to be told just "enter the number in box 3b of form 1099".

And it STILL took 3 hours!  Part of that was answering "no" to a lot of questions that didn't apply to me, and some took time to download my stock detail report.  There was a time that I could use the "EZ1040 form" (income, standard deduction, subtract the 2nd from the first, pay or get a refund), but stocks and dividends are worth it.

But it really should be easier.  I spent 2 hours proving I owed the Federal Government an additional $6.   I have to mail a check (credit card payment costs more than that). Had they just told me, I would have paid $20 for the advice!  I will get a refund from my State and that is nice.  They starting crediting senior age people (I am one) some income exclusion.  I'm getting $400 back.  Well, I used to owe some.  Not that I didn't pay the taxes; now just a bit less.

Well, I just glad it is over for another year...

Mother's Day

OK, I'm gonna get a bit maudlin here...

Happy Mothers Day to all the Moms out there.  Mine left in 2010.  She was a good one.  I mean, I read newspaper advice columns and some people have weird or crazy ones, but mine was pretty good.  She attended university, met my Dad the first week, and they never parted.  She taught me stuff.

I'm not one of those people who recall infancy, so I kind of start around age 4.  She taught me letters and reading; I could read simple stuff before kindergarden and I had a library card by age 6.  The love of reading has lasted all my life.

But just knowing letters and words isn't everything.  She encouraged me to write as well.  I cringe thinking about how poor those earliest efforts were, but she appreciated them of course.  And when I went out into the world on my own, we maintained a lifetime of exchanging letters until Parkinson's and dementia took away her abilities.

Our letters were full of humor, puns, parody-poems, and of course the usual personal news.  She would sometimes sent me the wording of party invitations (she threw good theme parties) after the fact (I lived too far away to attend).  They were clever, subtle, and poetic.  I would reply in kind as if I was accepting the invitation.  She often expressed regret that none of her attendees answered her creative invitations  in kind as I did.  

Language skills run in her family.  One sister was an analyst for the 'Webster's Third International Dictionary (1976, I think).  

Mom and I never met a pun we couldn't appreciate.  And when it came to even crude humor, if the wordplay was good, we overlooked the content, valuing the cleverness.  I get in trouble for that sometimes these days, as content is viewed more critically.

She was very creative.  One year, for a costume party, she had Dad make her a hat with a 4" brim and used our small plastic set of Romans (we always had educational toys) to re-create the chariot race from the movie Ben-Hur.  I think she also staged a dinosaur hat, but that was earlier and my memory is not certain.  But it is the kind of thing she WOULD have done.

She loved cats.  It's probably why I have them living with me today.  Her parents had dogs.  Mom preferred cats.  Her first was named 'Kittigree".  Later we had siamese females.  Kenani and Hai Yu sequentially.  I think that means "pretty little girl" in different languages.  She never wanted more than one at a time though.  Maybe that was a negotiation with Dad.  But that's why I finally got Ayla.  It just seemed right to finally have a female siamese when I found her.

She took me around the yard when I was a child, showing me bird nests and plants.  She knew where they were because she put out small lengths of red yarn for the birds to use in building their nests.  

She taught me to play games.  I'm sure she sufferred having to play Candyland and Chutes&Ladders at first when I could barely understand rules, but as I learned, we advanced to cards and Scrabble.  She taught me to play chess.  And like writing and reading, that has stayed with me all my years.

Funny quick mention:  When Mom couldn't beat me at chess anymore (I'm guessing when I was 10), she handed me over to Dad for my improvement at the game.  Let me assure you that she played to win once I learned the rules.  Dad was good with games too.  But when I started to beat him routinely around 12, he stopped.  He hated losing.  Don't worry, I'll be kinder to him on Fathers Day.  ;)

Mom was a dancer and a thesbian at university.  She once led opposite of (and if I get this wrong it one of those memories I never get right) Broderick Crawford.  I've tried to research that a few times but the university website doesn't have a good record of its late 1940s plays.  I remember seeing a "professional picture" of her from back then, but it is lost to history.

Mom taught me to listen to classical and Broadway music.  I have no musical skills, but music stays id my mind almost perfectly.  I used to win bets in the dorm about "the next line".  I know the next high note and the slight inflection of a word to be sung.  I love that and Mom is the reason I do.

Mom taught me to cook.  It probably mattered that I was the eldest child, so naturally the first to be able to help in the kitchen, but I also did it by interest and my younger siblings were not as interested.  I remember reading once that "If you like to eat pork, you have to get down in the mud and keep the hogs happy".  Meaning basically, if you like to eat, you should know where food comes from and how to prepare it.  I was Mom's sou chef for my teenage years.  

There is something about a kitchen I love to this day.  Spending time preparing fresh foods seems satisfying and productive.  Sure, it started by mashing potatoes and peeling carrots, but I learned more as the years passed.  Oddly, Mom was not a very good cook...  I am a far better one than she ever was.  But I might not have been if she hadn't encouraged me to help with the simple stuff.

So here is a tale of 2 grammas.  Paternal gramma was Pennsylvannia Duetch (German-Amish).  She was a great cook.  She and grampa had a small farm.  We would sit on the back porch and de-string beans and de-silk corn, etc, and I would help in the kitchen.  She often made stewed chicken with dumplings (I can't make a dumpling).  Simple basic food and I suppose it is defined as "farmhouse" now.

The Maternal gramma never met a vegetable that couldn't be boiled to death.  Grey Brussel Sprouts, yellow carrots.  She even boiled all the meat.  Mom did a BIT better than that, but she learned her cooking habits from her Mom.  Steak or spaghetti nights were appreciated and also when Dad grilled outside.  The day I discovered Chinese food was one of my happiest days as a teen.  The day I discovered steaming was good too.  Crispness was a new concept.

So no one is perfect...

But I miss Mom.  I suspect that is why I am here writing now.  20 years ago, I would have been writing Mom a letter (I blither on a telephone) instead of posting here.  

I don't have many pictures of her, but I do have a couple.

Iza wasn't THAT big; Mom was short.  And it's a camera angle thing too.

But this is my favorite.

Happy Mothers Day, Mom...

A Particular Wine

We all have some favorite things.  I have the misfortune to like things that are not popular.  They tend to disappear.  I hate that.  

The latest one is my favorite brand of wine.  Not that I drink a lot of it; 2 glasses of wine with dinner.  But, as far as I am concerned it goes well with most everything I usually cook.  And it is cheap.  I don't see the point of drinking a $20 bottle of wine with a $5 home-cooked meal.  Wine is an "accompaniment", not the focus.

But I do enjoy the couple of glasses.  So when the local wine shop wasn't selling enough of it to support the shelf space, they were kind enough to special order a few cases at a time for me.  I appreciated it.  Now they have trouble even getting it from their supplier.  

The store is actually a wine/liquor/butcher/deli store and they have great specials each week, so I shop there often anywhere.  There aren't many places where you can get filet mignon trimmed and sliced to order for $10.99 sometimes or Delmonico steaks for $8.99.  Their deli dept is great, too.  

Oddly, they are the only store I know of around here where you can get actually ripe Golden Delicious apple.  

But they are having trouble getting the wine (Twisted Cellars brand Old vine Zinfandel).

There is a place in Maryland that gets it, but they don't ship and it is a hour drive away to pick up.  There is a store in New York State that will ship, but it's an extra several dollars per bottle.  I ordered 8 cases from them 2 weeks ago.  And if the local store gets more (usually 4 cases when they can get it), I'll buy all they have.  Anything to keep them trying to get it.

I have a large basement that is mostly underground so it stays at 68F.  It will keep red wine OK.  I wouldn't mind a year's supply, LOL!

I'm down to 1 case.  And just tonight I got an email saying I could expect the NY shipment of 8 cases on on Saturday.  Which means I have to stay around to sign for the delivery, but that's OK.  I leave the house about once a week.  

Hurray!

Update:  It arrived.  I was expecting a call to assure delivery between 2 pm and 6 pm, so I laid in bed after 1 pm fully dressed (I'm a real night owl sometimes and only went to bed the at 8 am), but there was just a knock on the door at 3 pm.  I was out and ready to sign for the delivery (the website said I had to) but the the UPS guy said they don't.  

But hey, 8 cases of 1.5 L bottles.  I'm good for many months!

Gardening

Spring planting times are iffy.  The weather is uncertain.  Some years, the temperatures are warm in late April; sometimes the nights are chilly in early May.  I used to fight the weather using all sorts of odd methods.

Cover the raised beds with clear plastic, and the soil will heat up.   Surround the large plants with covering of water that warm in the daytime and maintain some warmth at night...  

Put plastic or cellophane hot caps over seedlings.  Used fabrics to cover seedlings.  Put warmed bricks around the.  You name it, I'm probably tried it.

But I've stopped that.   I've been a (mostly) organic gardener all my life (Well, I spray poison ivy carefully) and yet I've been fighting "time".  At this time 10 years ago, my tomato seedlings would be planted.  Now, I am waiting.

There just isn't a better time to plant than the right time.  And the right time for tomato and pepper  seedlings is when the nightime temperature reaches 50F.  So, because we have a streak of chilly weather in the mid-40Fs,  I'm keeping my seedlings inside under high-lumen fluorescent lights another week.  

On the other major gardening note (my trays of lettuces, radishes, pay choy, and celery) I am delaying putting them outside as well.  I set up 2 sawhorses to support the trays on my deck.  But I'm waiting.  And a good thing, too!  We have a serious hailstorm several days ago (rare for here at any time of year) and the hail would have ripped all the lettuce into shreds.  

I want the lettuce etc to have actual sunlight, exposure to the world will bring ladybugs to eat the aphids (a problem indoors where they are safe), and the routine rain will ease watering requirements (frequent and overflow is a problem indoors).  Plus, harvesting is convenient on the deck.  

I planted some brocolli, brussells sprouts, and purple cauliflower last year.  For whatever reason, they didn't grow well.  But they survives the Winter and have an early start for this year.  I harvested a brocolli head and some later side-shoots last week.  Brussels sprouts are always tricky, but this might be the first year I get any worth mentioning.  They are growing fast.

The snow peas are up and climbing the trellis.  It won't be long before they flower and fruit.  I've been missing them in my stir-fries.

I set up an odd trellis for my flat italian beans yesterday.  It is surprising how well mature beans can hide among the leaves, so I had the idea of setting new trellis at an angle in an old bed so the beans would hang down and be more obvious.  I had ignored it for several years so it had junk sapling roots in it that had to be dug and chopped out with a sharpened spade and an ax.  I even broke the old ax handle twisting it a bit and had to replace it.  But I got it done over several days.

I pounded two 8' rebar rods into the ground in front of the bed as supports, then lashed 2 more at an angle for supports to get the most sun for the beans.  Then set some 6' mesh rebar anchored at the bottom and attached at the top.  I have the bean seeds soaking in water overnight.  They sprout better that way and you can see which ones send out a root and which don't.

I'll take pictures of everything when the trays are on the deck sawhorses, the tomatoes and peppers are planted, and the beans are emerging.  The bare bean trellis didn't show up well in a picture.

I also have a lot of flower seedlings, but they aren't ready to plant yet.  Another 2 weeks.

More Odd Thoughts

I was in a convenience store last night and the person in front of me used a credit card to buy 2 bananas.  "2 bananas" on a credit card?  And it took 5 minutes before his card was finally accepted.  Damn, he must being having a bad month or year.  I sometimes forget how fortunate I am.

I have a cigarette habit.  I only smoke at the computer every few days, so it is really more a habituation than an addiction.  I type; I smoke.  We all have some failings...

My State raised the tax on cigarettes by $2 a pack last month.  I understand the logic; more expensive means fewer young people can afford a bad habit.  I can afford the increase.  But I remember when a case of beer and a carton of cigarettes were both $15.  The cost of beer hasn't increased but a carton of cigarettes is $100.  

I wonder why.  Alcohol is more dangerous ( I hardly drink anymore - wine with dinner)  but I suppose it is more popular.  

I bought a new car about this time last year.  It had 79 miles on it.  Now it has 570.  I don't drive a lot, LOL!  The dealership sent me an email reminding me that my 10,000 miles maintenance was due.  I laughed.

I donated my previous car to a place that takes old cars and trains released felons the repair trade last year. It was a 2005 Toyota Highlander with less than 20,000 miles on it.  They even emailed to check if I misreported the milage.  Nope.  

I ruined a batch of bean seeds last week.  I usually presoak them a day and that works well.  But I didn't have the planting spot ready for them.  There were tree roots in the spot and I couldn't get them out as fast as I expected.  Tree-roots are tough.  I finally succeeded but the beans rotted.  Have to start that again.

I went out to get my mail (none) but I saw an envelope on the road.  2 houses away.  I wasn't sure it was legal for me to put mail in another person's mailbox (the post office has some VERY strange rules), but I did it anyway.  It was a thick envelope from a business.  

For all I know, it might have been just junk mail,  But it may have been a job offer.  You never know..  Or maybe I changed someone's life.  One of those things I'll never know about.

Speaking of which, have you ever wondered about what other people remember about you?  That neighbor you helped load a coach onto a trailer?  That roommate from 50 years ago?  I do sometimes.  So I do random acts of kindness.

Today is Lapis Lazuli's 1st Gotcha Day here.  He had a hard year adjusting, but better than his previous 2 1/2 years.  I think he is calmer the past couple months and will be better in the future.  Sometimes, all you can hope for is "better.  

I am mostly recovered from the fall off the extention ladder.  I walk normally.  The right clavicle will always be slightly annoying but it doesn't seem to prevent me from doing things.  The left thumb is weak but usable.  Well, I've been lucky most of my life and it could have been a lot worse.

I've had both my Covid shots with no problems, so I am probably safe from that.  I still wear a mask in public though.  I'm careful and willing.

I set up 2 sawhorses on the deck.  I have trays of lettuces to put out into sunlight for growth.  I will post pictures soon.  And the deck is even more convenient for cuttings than the basement is.  It is right next to the kitchen after all.  And it means I can turn off the plant stand lights.  They are fluorescent but that doesn' mean "free".

I think that is about all for today...

Random Thoughts

1.  I like mushrooms, but there are limited uses.  They don't go with BBQ, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard,; just stir fries or suateed with butter or bacon fat.

2.  I always I have to examine my paper napkin before tossing it.  Sometimes I make notes on them while eating dinner and watching TV.  Well, they're paper and I always have a pen handy.  

3.  I love tomatoes.  I ran out of them and made spaghetti sauce 2 nights in a row.  I could have made a pizza, but I was too late to make decent dough.

4.  I showed pics of myself on the cat blog yesterday and one commenter suggested I should smile more.  It's not the first time.  People have mentioned that for most of my life.  I do not have a natural smile.  In fact, my "neutral face" is rather frowny.  No idea why, but I also don't blame anyone.  It IS a frown.  

It is almost funny.  I once practiced smiling looking at a mirror.  I can assure you, that does not work.  An artificial smile (I CAN do it but it looks worse).  I CAN be surprised at one occasionally, but it is rare.  Rest assured that I am actually a pretty happy person, enjoy my cats when they are on-or-around me, and like my life.  

Really, who could have have happy cats around and not actually be happy themselves?

5.  Last Summer was brutal on trees here.  I have Golden Rain trees on either side of the front of the driveway.

They look like this on the web...  Mine don't.

The flowers look like this and it is very lovely towards Fall...

But last Summer's drought about killed them both.  There are few leaves growing from a couple branches.  Most limbs seem dead.  I watered them daily through a 5 gallon drip bucket.  That's where you drill a small hole and let water leak out slowly so it gets down into the roots.  I probably didn't do it enough. 

But I'll see if I can get them growing again.  There are a couple branches leafing and a few shoots from the trunks.

6.  The Beech tree in the front yard is probably a goner for the same reason.  The top had already died years ago, but lower limbs continued to grow.  This year, I need binoculars to see the one small branch with leaves.  

It isn't all that tall and if it falls over by the usual wind direction, it won't actually damage anything; and it has no special value for shade on the house.  In fact it shades the lawn and the Saucer Magnolia tree, so I'm thinking losing it might even be a benefit.  I value all trees for producing oxygen, but I will plant a specimen close to the spot to replace it.

7.  My indoors lettuce garden is growing.  Not enough to take a picture, but soon.  The seedlings are 1' high and growing fast.  The heirloom tomato seedlins are about 4" high.  I will be trying to graft them to more disease-resistant roots again soon.  I usually fail, but I keep trying.  Commercial grafters say they get about 90% success.  I get none.  Someday I will learn what I'm doing wrong.

Which is why I always plant enough heirloom tomato seeds for regular plantings.  Better some than none.

8.  I'm trying something new with the pole beans.  An angled 6" wire mesh so the beans hang down though it.  The idea is to make harvesting easier.

9.  I planted cherry tomato seeds in an upside down pot.  I've done this before successfully, but not for a few years.  The idea is to hang the pot at least 8' above ground so that the tomato hangs down from the bottom.  No cage required, easy to water from the deck, and convenient to pick a couple of cherry tomatoes as I leave the basement to do yardwork.  

The pot didn't fit under my basement lights, so I found a gooseneck lamp around the house and put a high-lumens LED bulb in it.  That should help it grow for a few days.  The weather is warming this next week, so I will be able to hang it from the deck soon where it will get direct sunlight.  After that, it is on its own.  If it doesn't work, little loss; 2 seeds...

10.  I went shopping Sunday.  Some produce stuff at Safeway (great fruitsd and veggies) and some basic stuff at Walmart (they have really great prices on some brand-name stuff).  But I also wanted 2 specific flower seeds and a couple automotive items (heavy lubrication grease for the garage door opener tracks, and starter fluid for gas engines, so I stopped at one place (that had  neither) and another place that had one. 

I guess I have to go to an automotive store for the starter fluid.  Another trip tomorrow.  Always one more trip to get what you need, but I had milk and ice cream in the car so could tarry much.

11.  Got back home, fed the cats, put away groceries, made dinner.  Some dinners seem great in the mind but are boring in actuality.  The chicken, onions, and bell peppers were boring; needed some spices.  

The tossed salad was good.  Mixed 1,000 Island dressing with leftover Italian.  The new tomatoes and basement celery leaves saved the meal.

12.  I almost forgot to mention the Baby Fish!  When I got a new pair of fancy guppies months ago.  Some were born and I worked to net them out into a separate container and they grew.  The aquarium is covered with floating anachris plants, so the newer babies have places to hide and grow but kind of on their own.  I now have a couple dozen guppies.  The males stay fancy with red and black colors and delta tails.

Sometimes efforts work...

Darn Ouchies!

I get so tired of muscle cramps sometimes.  During the day, I can get finger-clenches  and rib muscle cramps.  At night I can get thigh or calf cramps.   It used to be seem there were causes.  If I did too much gripping of shovels while gardening, I got finger-clenches a few hours later.  If I lifted too much, I got rib muscle cramps.  If I just did too much walking, I got leg cramps in bed.

Now it doesn't even seem connected to physical activity.  I got finger-clenches a few days ago after just mowing the lawn and I don't exactly keep it in a death-grip.  Tonight I got them and I didn't do ANYTHING active.  Sometimes just holding a knife while preparing dinner causes it.

I try to stay hydrated.  I take a supplemental potassium tablet.  I have a good diet (not a "diet" diet, just good fresh foods with some meat and several colorful veggies).  A low dosage Ibuprophen helps.  Ointment rubs with aspirin or lidocaine help the finger clenches and rib muscle cramps.  

I saw that basketball players use a sort of rolling pin for leg cramps. so I bought one.  It's hard to use by yourself.  Walking around for 10 minutes usually works.

Mom had the finger-clenching thing and that was the first sign of Parkinson's.  I hope it isn't that.  Dad had lumbar muscle cramps in his 60s but that went away.  Neither are around to ask questions of.  I wish I had asked more questions of them, but who thinks about aging at 50?

I am beginning to wonder if the finger-clenches are from typing.  I'm a bad typist and a fussy writer.  I almost redo half my typing most days.  I took typing in high school, but never mastered touch-typing.  Well, my fingers and brain don't communicate all that well.  I can't play a musical instrument for the same reason. 

But that is just my latest thought about the causes.  I have no really good reason for the cause.  My Dr says these things can happen for many reasons and there isn't much that can be done about it.

I suspect the real cause is DDT exposure.  When I was a kid in the 50s, the town I lived in sent mosquito-fogger trucks around several days a week at twilight.  It was a DDT fog and supposedly harmless to people.  But we kids loved riding our bikes in and out of the fog.  

I developed hand-tremors after that and they remain to this day.  I got bad enough soon after that and I never could build a decent model kit (glue got everywhere).  These days, I have to be really careful handling a mug of tea or bowl of soup.  

It's OK; I'm just complaining out load.  Attaching notes to tumbleweeds, as some people say...  

Mom used to tell me that getting old isn't for sissies.   Dad was actually fortunate in a way.  He went into dementia before his physical health failed, so he really didn't understand what was going wrong.  

Yeah, I'm only 70, but I see what is coming.  It probably won't get better.  I see the downhill slope more lately.    I don't mean to worry anyone; I'm still mentally and physically active and enjoy my life.  But life passes in only one direction.  I'll never be 30 again.  Heck, I'd love to be 50.  Tell that to a 20 year old, LOL!

And I expect to be "compos mentis" til around 85-90.  That will have been a good run and better than average.  Lots of great experiences, lots of good meals, and lots of special cats.  And as Frank Sinatra sang once, love was good to me a few times.

I probably shouldn't even really post this, but my finger is over the button and...

Mice, Voles, Moles, And Shrews, OH MY!

Funny how sometimes think you know is wrong.   I thought I was identifying some lawn rodents correctly for years, but now I'm not as certain.  

I know what a mole looks like without much doubt, so I can kind of not worry about mistaken identity there.  They are simply bigger, have almost invisible eyes, and large paws.  I have a few around (Marley caught one once), but not many.  They tend to stay in their tunnels and leave and occasional, well, "molehill".  They eat only underground grubs and worms.  I begrudge them the worms (which I love for soil health) but applaud their taste for grubs.  They do have a side effect I will mention later.

So my problem is mice, voles, and shrews.  I forgot about shrews.  It's like when you have a lot of squirrels, you don't always notice the chipmunks.  So, after reading some articles of the differences between mice and voles, I thought I could tell them apart mostly through feeding habits and habitats.

Mice are not a real problem to a gardener.  They live above ground (though nest in small burrows).  They mostly just eat fallen flowerseeds.  And easy to identify by their long tails, prominent hairless ears, and plump round bodies.  If they get into the house, they are easy to control.  Cats and (in tight places like under the oven) traps take care of any invaders

So I thought that left just the voles.  And it made sense.  Voles use mole tunnels where available or dig their own near the surface.  They eat plant roots below-ground and stems at ground level.  They have short tails like moles but they are smaller.  They seldom invade houses (no plant roots to eat).  And the images I saw years ago seemed to show them as slender, chisel-toothed, and small-eared (as is suitable for travelling through tunnel).  And the little rodents that the cats brought up on the deck (for play or as "gifts" to me) matched that description perfectly.  

But as I decided to post about the little evil things, I looked at pictures of voles.  They didn't match my recollection of previous images.

This is not what the cats have been catching!  

Allow me to interject.  I DO indeed have some moles, some field or house mice, and many voles.  I have come across a couple of molehills.  I have trapped mice in the house and the shed (a natural wintering place where I have found nests and they have chewed into corn gluten fertilizer bags).  

I know I have voles because of the shallow surface tunnels and them eating unprotected tulip and hyacinth bulbs by digging tunnels belowground and also digging down from the surface.  They also leave small clean holes in tunnels for surface access.  Moles don't do that and mice don't tunnel.

I have no idea why shrews completely escaped my mind for many years.  Sometimes, you just miss things.   It's embarrassing to miss basic stuff, but it happens. I think the cats are catching shrews.

Sure looks like what they have been catching to me...

According to Wikipedia,shrews forage for seeds, insects, nuts, worms, and a variety of other foods in leaf litter and dense vegetation, living both over and under ground.  They say (to my surprise), shrews are not even rodents, being more related to hedgehogs.  

I know a lot of "stuff".  But what I DON'T know is so much greater...

A wise person once said that it isn't what you know that gets you in trouble, it's what you think you know that isn't true.  It wouldn't be the first time for me.  I thought I knew my yard's rodents; I didn't.  Live and learn.

If so, they have the perfect place here other than the cats. My back yard is semi-wild, mostly organic, covered with leaf litter and groundcover plants and brambles (so there are rarely disturbed by my activities).  I have many large seed-bearing plants (hollies, berries, and nandinas), rich undisturbed soil (lots of earthworms), and many small-rooted plants.

I gather that they (like voles) use existing tunnels, but usually live aboveground (or The Mews wouldn't be catching them).

I don't actually mind what rodent or shrew The Mews catch.  All are annoying in some way.  I respect a certain degree of lethality in them and glad to see that Laz has joined the club (Ayla used to be a great "mouser" but has retired in her senior years).

But I should probably retire "mousies" as meaning all small furry mammals.  Convincing them to change the term might be more difficult.  It's their blog, after all...  

But for myself, I will try to remember the differences.  Shrews are not mice or voles and they don't eat my plants (but like moles, they do eat my worms).  Mice aren't a garden problem, but voles are.  Voles don't invade the house, but mice do (but The Mews get them).  I don't have many moles or mice, but I do have a lot of voles and shrews.

And the moles aren't much of a problem themselves, but the tunnels they build are highways for the voles and shrews.

So my original plan to reduce the moles that make the tunnels the voles (and now shrews) use is still good.  Mole repellent (industrial castor oil) and stomping the tunnels flat and milky spore powder (organic) to kill off the grubs so the moles have less food is still the way to go.  

Just that The Mews are catching shrews, not voles...  I THINK.

Dinner At Chez Cavebear

A few months ago, I received an offer to subscribe to many magazines at $2 per year.  I know a come-on when I see it, but 3 of them were interesting and I had subscribed to them in the past.  Cooks Illustratated and Eating Well, and I forget the 3rd which hasn't arrived yet.

I'm no sucker.  I know they will beg me to renew the subscription in a year.  I won't.  But, as they desire to take advantage of me (hoping I will automatically renew) I will take advantage of them.  Both magazines are very good and have good recipes.  A year's worth of good recipes from 2 cooking magazines is nice.

In fact, they are good enough that I used all the subscription inserts as bookmarks.  Oddly, they equaled each other rather well.

One that interested me was beef with black bean garlic sauce and asparagus.  I didn't find that sauce in the store when I shopped but I found black beans and I found the basic recipe online.  OK, so it wasn't fermented black beans.  And I didn't use flank steak.  But I improvise.

I had New York Strip steak I cut into 2"x2"x6" pieces 1/4" thick because I like cutting the pieces against the grain.  I had the black beans (but not fermented).  I had garlic. I had canned jalepeno.  I immersion-blended the mix.  Close enough.  Then I made a cornstarch slurry of beef boullion paste, sherry, and soy sauce with some toasted sesame seed oil.

The wok cooked the beef nicely and I set it in a bowl.  Then wokked asparagus, red bell peppers, and scallions.  Just the too much "crunch".  Returned the beef and poured the cornstarch slurry in for a minute.    That made the veggies "crunch" right.  Had to add water because the slurry was too thick, but water never ruins the taste, just changes viscosity.

The result was very good!  Enough hot for me (I don't need much), enough beef (I like meat but not a LOT!) and the veggies came out perfectly.  With a nice tossed salad, a perfect meal.  Hurray to a magazine recipe (even if I didn't follow it exactly).

Next time, I will serve it over angel hair spaghetti or fettucini.  It needed a starch (I used a slice of bread).

A professional chef would have been horrified, I suppose.  Well, I'm not one, but I can turn out a decent dish most times.  The failures get tossed (there is a good reason to have premade meals in the freezer).  The good ones I eat and enjoy.  LOL!

Happing dining to all!

A Hard Day

 We didn't have a great day here yesterday.

Laz fell 12' off the deck rolling over inattentively.

I tried to move a tall wheeled plant stand and the wheels stuck so it fell apart.  Took an hour to get it reassembled.  It holds together by friction of poles in holes.  I improved on that in the re-assembly and I have one more idea drilling 2 holes and attaching a bungee cord, but not today.

I tried to pay a hospital bill online.  What idiot developed that website?  There were options for identifying yourself for paying.  Account number on bill, last 4 digits of Social Security Number, date of birth, date of visit.  Yes, I could establish a user name and password, but I doubt I will need one soon again (they expire) and I have way too many one-shot sign-ups as it is.

Everything I tried used a Captcha test.  I got through that, but it didn't matter.  No method of identification worked.  They just wanted a new Captcha test every step.  And the steps led nowhere.

It was circular.  Add whatever identifier info they wanted, get a Capcha Test, succeed, and repeat.  Back to Square One.    Why is it that non-commercial websites never seem to work?  

I went through the same nonsense with getting a new sticker for my trailer license plate.  The website said I didn't own the trailer.  I received a renewal form in the mail and replied to that.  It worked in 5 days!

Speaking of the trailer, I noticed the supporting pipe fell off the cinder block I use to keep it off the ground.  So it was in the ground.  In fact, it is stuck in the ground.  I can't lift things like I used to.  I'll have to drag out the car's jack.

Lately, all my neighbors have decided it is great to mow their lawns at 9 am.  Im trying to sleep then.  Not their problem, but the noise is "sleeplessness".  And 2 neighbors have bought motorcycles they drive up and down the street at the same general time.  What is it with loving "noise"?

Just ranting mildly...

Bird Houses

 My Good Neighbors installed the multi-gourd Purple Martin birdhouse pole with artificial nesting gourds they asked me to sell them.  It looks good in their backyard.  I tried to give it to them because they helped me so much after the ladder incident, but they refused.  So I asked for $20.  They agreed.  I had explained that I had planned to dispose of it anyway, but I guess they have a strong sense of material value.  Well, I'll bake them some more bread...  They really liked the 1st one.

The nesting gourds were for Purple Martins.  I mentioned all this previously, but I forgot to mention a few things I need to tell them.  The entrance is a crescent shape that swallows (like Martins) like but other birds don't.  John needs to widen the entrances.

I was planning to dispose of it because I haven't attracted any Martins here for 10 years.  Today, as I went to get my Covid shot, I noticed that the 2 houses that used to attract had removed the poles and gourds.  Either Martins are going to different places because of climate changes, or they are dying out.

I am sad about that.  On the few occasions where I saw them flying around, they were graceful and acrobatic.  But they have very particular demands for nesting sites.  They like to nest in groups.  They like holes in old trees.  They want open areas for approaching their nests.  I had too many trees and shrubs...  The successful sites in my neighborhood were on large open yards.

Purple Martins have always been "on the edge" because of their fussiness of nesting sites.  They don't mind human activity in the least, but flight obstructions disturb them greatly.   There aren't many old trees with holes in them these days.  

They had a pre-Columbian resurgence when Native Americans started putting up large hollowed gourds in clusters for them.  Purple Martins were thought to eat mostly mosquitos, so that made them worth helping.  Or maybe they just admired their flight.  

There was another resurgence of help for them starting in the 50-60s (?) as suburban homeowners had empty yards and Martin-enthusiasts pushed them as mosquito-eaters "up to 2,000 mosquitos a day" and "end your mosquito problems" they claimed.  

Sadly, that wasn't true.  It has been disproven.  Mosquitos seldom fly more than a few feet above ground (they are flower-nectar drinkers mostly - the females only bite to get a "protein-hit" for developing eggs and the males never bite) and Martins stay well above ground level, like bats.

More Random Things

1.  I got my 2nd Moderna Covid shot yesterday.   What a STRUGGLE (I joke)!  Actually, I just drove 15 minutes to the shot center, was in and out in 20 minutes (and only that long because there was a required 15 minute observation period) and 15 minutes home.  Seriously, from the time I walked in the door to the time I had my shot and my vaccination card returned was only 5 minutes!

I had only the least sensation of any shot.  Well they DID stick a 1" needle in my arm, after all...  But at least that is all over for now.  When time has passed, I will get a Covid test to see if I had it asymptomatically last year.  If that would be detectable after the shots, of course.  I'm planning to have an annual physical in June; I'll ask about that then. 

I'm curious because I have felt oddly tired since last Fall and tend to lay abed for longer than I used to.  It might be several things.  Age, Covid itself, mere boredom from home-restriction due to the virus concerns, or even Season Affective Disorder.  I've had a mild problem with SAD for a couple decades.  

It varies.  Some Winters are mild and I am out more so little problem.  Other years Winter is harsher and I get less sunlight exposure.  I don't mind fluorescent bulbs and have "daylight" tubes in most fixtures, but I don't know if that helps much.  The only true sunlight is sunlight.  I know there are special bulbs available.  Everyone seems to have some odd minor problems...

2,  All the indoor seed-planting is complete.  Next comes some early outdoors plants.  Beets, spinach, beans, carrots, leeks, radishes.  My tomatoes will be a bit late as I got them planted late.  Some are for "normal" transplanting out and some are for grafting attempts.  I used to go to great lengths to plant heirlooms early with devices designed to keep them warm (wall-of-water cylinders and hotcaps), but I am convinced now that it doesn't seem to matter.  Tomatoes transplanted out "late" seem to catch up and possibly surpass the earlier ones.

My bell and hot peppers didn't emerge well this year.  They aren't any older than the tomatoes (which came up almost 100%) but some seeds don't store as well as others.  I may have to buy some pepper seedlings in May.

3.  John showed me how to drain the gas tank on the brushmower (and then of course I should add new gas).  And he told me I need "starter-fluid" to squirt into the carburator to get the engine running while new gas is pulled in.  Wait, does he mean "starter fluid" like some people use to light charcoal or some specific gas engine stuff with the same name?  I need to ask.  

4.  A half of an old tree in my neighbor's yard fell over into mine. It is substantial. Fortunately, none of it landed on the 4  small flowring trees I planted in Fall 2019.  Part of me says "sure I can cut it apart".  The sensible part says "call a tree company".  I'm not 35 anymore.  But I WILL wait until the backyard daffodils have lost their leaves and the bulbs are safely underground again.  

The tree guys do great work and they work hard, but they don't pay much attention to landscaping.  They have a goal.  Cut stuff up, drag it out. throw it into the grinder.

I'll call them when there is little to damage.  The fallen tree isn't actually causing an immediate problem.

Random Things

A few unusual things:

1.  I got a recall email notice from Chewy.com a week or so ago.  Turns out a bag of dry food I bought was a "possible recall" but gave a "lot #" to check on the back of the bag.  There was no lot # of the back or anywhere else I could find.  I called the manufacturer to ask where the lot # was supposed to be.  Their system was overwhelmed, so I left a message.  Along with the name/email/phone, I asked if some marketing idiot had arranged for the lot # to be printed on the top part of the bag that you have to rip off to open it.

A couple days later, I called Chewy to see if they knew where the lot # was printed.  They didn't.  You might think they had been asked about that previously and gotten the information, but apparently not.  On the other hand, I had a wonderful conversation with the Chewy representative about our respective cats.  She didn't know about cat-blogging and asked for the address, which she looked at on the spot!  She read the header (so I know she looked), and said it was a wonderful idea.  How a Chewy representative didn't know about cat-blogging seems odd.  But she said they were sending a new whole bag, so that was nice.

The manufacturer called back 2 days later.  She said the lot # can appear anywhere on the back of the bag but it is randomly placed and COULD be at the rip-off top in rare instances.  She assured me that it is intended to be seen.  I have my doubts that a modern processing plant would print the lot # randomly.  She did say that if the seller did not replace the product (that is the usual arrangement, I gather), they would.

It's  not like they would compare addresses, so I could get a 2nd free bag of food if I wanted.  But I'm honest.  On the other paw, I could give it to the animal shelter.  I may think about that.

2.  My parents had a Purple Martin (bird) multi-nest-site in the 70s.  They usually got nesting Martins.  When I moved here, I set up one myself (they are on poles in a cluster).  Martins like to be in groups.  Martins arrive from S America in March/April depending on weather.  Yearlings arrive first and are called "scouts, as they find artificial nesting sites first and the older birds find THEM and set up nests.  Here is a successful colony...

I got scouts several times but no mating pairs for a few years.  Starlings tend to take over the nesting sites (on the right in the picture).  Then a new design came out that discouraged starling.  I bought a new pole nesting system.  The entrance is crescent-shaped and starlings are well, "too fat".

I got scouts then too but no mating pairs.  I saw some successful colonies in the neighborhood, but none liked mine.  They like open fields and I had too many trees and even shrubs bother them.  I gave up, but the pole and nesting "gourds" remained in place because I had better things to do than dissemble it and sell or toss it.

So 3 days ago, my Good Neighbors asked if I would sell it.  Deb had this idea of sticking it in the backyard for their "swamp birds".  Well, I didn't want the thing, so I told them to just take it.  I mean they have been so helpful, it it wasn't of any value to me.  Deb wants to paint all the gourds different colors and hope they attract nesting birds.  

They refused "free" so I said $20.  Yesterday John said he would come over today and get it.  Hurray, junk out of the yard!  

3.  They both arrived and Deb showed me pictures of their new cat (to prevent me from trying to help John pull it up I suspect - she is convinced I am still too fragile).

I have a picture of the cat on my new iPhone XR but I haven't learned how to upload pictures from there yet (I bought a book to read about the XR and will study it soon).  But it is a nice little female black cats with a white bib, from a shelter.  I think she named it Olivia but now she pronounces it " O Love Ya".  

She has had cats before, but became excited for a new one after taking care of mine when I could walk or get to the litter boxes in the basement.  Not that The Mews came out often when a stranger was around, but I DID manage to hold Marley and Ayla at hallway length so she could see them.

Not that I would fall off a ladder deliberately, but if that resulted in another shelter cat being adopted, that was good "accidental" result.

4.  They invited me to join in their 25 cent weekly poker game.  Given their kindness, I assume it was for a fun activity.  But I'm not a gambler.  And I probably have no "poker face".  Besides, I can never even remember whether a straight beats a flush.  I probably have "tells" all over me.  That's death in poker.

I played "penny-poker" in college and usually ended with more pennies than I started with, but my winnings were from "high-low"; a game seldom played now.  That's where the best and worst hands split the pot.  I had NO problem assembling the worst hand!

So I told them I was happy to play Hearts, Spades, Cinch, or Gin Rummy (maybe even Bridge) 25 cents per hand.  They declined.  I play for pleasure of winning.  I am BAD when money is involved.

5.  I decided to try myself at some mild gardening outside today.  Parts of my garden and flowerbeds are over-run by invasive flowering vines a neighbor planted a decade ago.  Their's were on open ground so they mowed them to death when they realized they were a problem.  But they are in my flowerbeds and thriving.  MUCH harder to remove.

I attacked them in a raised bed today to test what my arms could still do.  It went well!  Hours later, I feel no soreness.  That is VERY encouraging.  Shovel and garden fork work went well.  I was able to dig out all the invasive vines (so far as I can tell).  There were some sapling in the bed I cut down last year but the stumps were still there.  I got most out.  

Enough to dig the soil loose and set up a 6" concrete remesh supported by a couple metal poles at an angle.  The point is that the metal mesh is facing the afternoon sun and the Romano pole beans will hang down for easy picking.

6.  John (The Good Neighbor) is experienced in gasoline engines and I am not.  I can fix a few things by logic, trial, and error, but he actual knows what he is doing.  I have a brush mower that I used once and could never start again.  I forget to drain off old gas in Winter and that causes problems.  Well, to be honest, I expected to use each one another time that year but didn't.  Gas gets "old" and accumulates some water as it sits.

After he collected the Purple Martin House assembly, he looked at the 2 machines I couldn't get running.  He showed me where all the parts were and what I needed to do for each.  I have a general understanding of gas engines, but it is more theory than practical.  John knows practical.

He showed me the detachable tube that drains the old gas.  He showed me where access is and where to spritz starter fluid into the carburator.  

So I have a good idea know about what to do.  John assured me he would be happy to help when I got starter fluid, but this is a case of "Mark Try First".  LOL!  But I won't hesitate to ask for help if I fail. 

7.  John has side-gigs repairing stuff.  He does it on the driveway, so I see sometimes.  Everything from refinishing old furniture to gas-powered equipment.  So I offerred him the old riding mower.  It smokes. He said that's not worth fixing (bad rings and I barely know what that is), but then he said he had an engine that might fit.  So he is welcome to it.  Otherwise, it goes to the landfill where some company takes working parts.

8.  I have my 2nd Moderna Covid shot scheduled for Wensday.  That will be a relief.  Based on past history of vaccines, I will not have reactions.  I'll still wear a mask and maintain social distancing though.  I could be an asymptomatic carrier.  I wouldn't know without a test for previous infection and I think the vaccine shots mess up the test.

That's enough "weird" for today...

Water Supply Leak

Great, my lawn has bocome a swamp in one spot.  It's right along where the water comes to the house.  I assume the pipe is broken.  No spouts or fountains, just WET SOFT LAWN. 

I know the yard after 34 years.  It isn't rain.  The County is sending someone over to look at it later today between 8 am and 2 PM.  Wow, the cable company does better than that.  I sure don't want to be up at 8 AM and sit around waiting.  But I have no choice.  

Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be a cost to me.  The leak is before it gets to my meter.  But I bet they will tear up the lawn to repair the pipe.  And that involves landscaping.

The pipe leak seems to be near the edging around my Saucer Magnolia Tree (the focus of my Spring love)...

If they rip up roots and it dies, I will weep.  I've spent years shaping it gently one twig at a time!  But it IS an evaluation visit.  And it is County water leaking, not mine (I only pay for what gets into the house).

But this could get really yard-messy...

Well, at least the County finally answered the phone!  I left messages 3 times before with no reply.

 This time I got a human, a time, and an admission the water leak is not my cost.  It could be a LOT worse.

Seedlings UP!

 I was gratified to see some seedling emerging from the newly-planting trays today.  Some Cosmos flower seeds emerged, some lettuce seeds emerged, some radishes emerged.  Good start.  I expect tomatoes and peppers in a day or two.

I planted snow peas outside today.  I wasn't sure how to plant them; they need support and I didn't want to dedicate any tomato cages to them as I'll want those in a few weeks.  So there I was in the yard, and I noticed a 5'x3' piece of rebar 6" mesh.  Perfect!  I keep stuff around because it always gets useful "eventually".   

Attached it to a support pole after weeding the spot and loosening the soil.  I had the pea seeds pre-soaked overnight 3 days ago and saw which germinated (16 of 18).  Those got planted.  

I received 2 grafted Brandywine tomatoes from Territorial Seeds yesterday.  Those are under indoor lights to firm up the grafts and encourage rooting.  I have my own to graft, but I'm not good at it so having a couple professionally done is good backup.  And I have pots of direct non-grafting seedling for standard growing.

I was late on planting, but experience tells me that later-planted tomatoes catch up to early-planted ones so I thing I may have a good harvest this year.  One always hopes...

This year, I hope the many flowers I have planted indoors will thrive outside.  They usually do, but I have less-usual ones I hope to use to establish some self-sowing ones that may repeat for years.  It's a fight between the weedy grasses and the flowers each year.  

I've been rubbing the marigold flowers to separate the seeds the past few days while watching TV.  They grew well enough just scatterred around last year and I am hoping for the same this year.

There were whole square yards of them.  I hope for the same this year...

The weather is great.  Time to be outside more these days.

Unmoderated Comments

 I was surprised today to  learn that I had un-moderated comments on Mark's Mews.  I clicked on the dashboard button by accident today.  They went back more than a year.  I apologize.  I deleted a couple of ads, but the rest were all good.

In a way, it was nice to read them relating to many posts.  But obviously. I should have read them at the time.

I will be more careful about that in the future.  I LOVE comments and read them carefully.  

Mark