Monthly Archives: March 2020
Back in the Day, If I Had Only . . . Nah, It’s Best Not to Think Such Things
We were officially ranked as a garage band. In those days, as I am sure is the same today, noise remains a problem. I cannot count the number of times the police were called on our tiny little foursome for releasing an overabundance of racket. I believe they call it, “disturbing the peace.”
Filed under On writing
Let Me See You Roll This Up And Smoke It
It’s time to gas up the lawnmowers, string up the weed eaters, oil the hedge trimmers and sharpen, grease or otherwise, fix any other lawn maintenance tool you may own. Then again, if you have a mind to purchase each of these appliances in a gas-less model you can forgo the petroleum based fuel and slap a fully charged battery into the power slot.
“Is it that time of year?” you may ask.
“Why, yes, it is,” your neighbor, might say. “The time has come to beautify your lawn, for the next 3 to 4 months.”
For some, grooming the lawn is no small task. At the proper times, they aerate, fertilize, seed, water, cut, weed, trim, water, edge, re-fertilize, re-seed, water, and repeat each week until frost. Then, there are others (me being one) that never plant a grass seed, but cut and weed-eat the greenery that has taken over their lawn. Usually, these lawns contain a wide variety of weeds, but it still looks pretty good to me.
Lawn care has come a long way since its conception. A scythe, which is what was used to gather wheat, could be employed to knock the height off the vegetation around the house. Then, the reel type mower came along in the early 19th century, which could be pushed over the grass making a bad job slightly less so. I remember my father using a sling blade to trim the grass since a weed eater, as far as I know, had not been invented. Many times, we don’t realize how good we have it, especially when we’re tooling around on that hog lawn tractor.
There is one thing I don’t believe I’ve ever included in any of my writings, and that is the lawn. Hmm . . . don’t exactly know how I’d fit one on another world . . . maybe I could . . . no that wouldn’t work . . . how about . . .?
Filed under On writing
Don’t Worry, You’ll Get That Hour Back in a Few Months
Once a year, we come to this place in time. Personally, I enjoy this stage of the year more
so than its competitor, and I believe my view is shared among the populous. What am I talking about?…Daylight Savings Time, of course. Two states decline to indulge in this extra hour of light that most hold dear, those two being Hawaii and Arizona. The downside to this changeover is a loss of an hour of sleep; however, this deficit is so short it hardly matters after the first day or so.
Moving time around, even the slightest bit, can cause odd behavior. I can’t help but wonder about those who attempt to arrive at work an hour late, blaming this on the hour change of the clock. If they’re not careful, their plan will go array for this scenario only works during the November change to Eastern Standard Time.
However you prefer your time, you can revel in your extra hour of light courtesy of Daylight Savings Time or enjoy the dark of Standard Time. Either way is fine, for one thing is certain; time stands still for no man.
See you next week!
Filed under On writing
What a Blessing to Have Fare so Simple Yet so Good and Good for You
If you’re a lover of fresh vegetables and you enjoy growing your own, then you know it’s time to begin prepping for your summertime garden. I suppose millions of crunching, munching, connoisseurs literally chomping at the bit to get a fresh tomato, breathe a sigh of relief after suffering through winter’s fare.
Now, if you’re a fan of beginning your own starter plants from seeds, that’s a process you would initiate in the month of February, readying the young plants to move outside after the danger of frost has past.
As much as I love meat, I tend to lean toward vegetarianism during the summer months. Sliced tomatoes, spring onions, and hot peppers are a staple at each evening meal. I love hot peppers, within reason. I’m a big fan of the Cayenne which rate at about 30,000 scoville units. With the practice of trying to develop hotter peppers, we’ve exceeded the Habanero, 300,000 units and ended with the Trinidad Scorpion and the Carolina Reaper both topping out over 2,000,000 scoville units.
When my mouth cools down, I’ll continue with sweet corn covered in butter. Fried squash with onions and potatoes, butter beans, green beans, new potatoes, I could almost make out of a meal, and if that’s not enough, there’s always dessert. Watermelon, cantaloupe and trees baring luscious fruit that would rival the most decadent baked goods available.
Occasionally, when writing I have the pleasure of creating an exotic form of plant or fruit upon which the characters dine. Sometimes these fruits are unbelievably pleasurable and then there are times when one bite means death.
Not exactly the best way to end a blog that speaks of an abundance of fresh vegetables . . . but you know what I mean.
See ya next week!
Filed under On writing