days in the life of a
Previous POSTS
July 2009
click here to read older July 2009 posts....
July 6, 2009
LAMB'S EAR
photo from google.comJust look at this sweet little fella!
More specifically, look at his sweet little ears!
What could be more innocent?!
Soft, fuzzy lamb's ears...
...are taking over our flower gardens!
You can see why this plant is called Lamb's Ear.
Soft, fuzzy, pale green leaves shaped just like the ear of a baby lamb.
But don't be deceived by its delicate appearance. This is one hardy, tough plant!
Once planted, it spreads all over the place.
Bumblebees especially love the purple flower shoots it sends up. Just walking by a patch of Lamb's Ear, you can hear it buzzing with bees.
So if you're looking for a subtle, low-maintenance, impossible-to-kill filler for your garden, Lamb's Ear's your ticket!
But beware...if you aren't careful, your flower garden may soon become a Lamb's Ear jungle!
Like ours!
July 7, 2009
BEHIND HIS SMILE
It's been about a month since the final time I saw him.
Laughing and chit-chatting small talk with him through the chainlink fence surrounding the tennis courts, I hadn't the vaguest idea that we would never speak again.
As it turned out, my tennis friends and I were some of the last people to see him alive.
I've known him for about 5 years, casual tennis friends and occasionally even my mixed doubles partner during pick-up matches. He was in his mid-50s, tall and handsome, a good tennis player, a family man who drove a nice car and vacationed on Martha's Vineyard. Friendly and enjoyable to be around, he was easy to like and fun to play tennis with.
He had it all, it seemed, living the good life. A beautiful family, looks, money, prestige.
A smile as wide as his face, happy and loving life.
I had no clue what that smile was hiding.
I had found out this spring that he was in serious legal trouble.
As in FBI. As in accused and convicted of scamming a major federal agency and preparing to serve a prison term.
But, like all of us in his tennis world, I assumed he'd do the time, pay the money back, learn his lesson, and life would go on.
The last night I saw him, he was due to report to prison the next morning.
He never reported.
That very evening, just a few hours after I talked with him and he'd played his last tennis match, he called his wife to tell her he loved her, carefully organized his final details and schedule, and in the quiet, dark, lonely parking lot of his own business he took his life.
"Shocked" doesn't even begin to describe my feelings when I received the phone call.
Unbelievable!
Surreal. Unimaginable.
I had JUST talked to him, and he seemed happy and even carefree. And I remember wondering how he could be so cavalier, that if I were in his shoes I'd be embarrassed to even show my face in public.
But we all thought he was handling it. He knew that people knew, and we believed he was just trying to go on as best he could until his freedom was over.
No one, including his wife and children, had any inkling of his plans. And yet, that very night that I had my last conversation with him, I realize now he had already plotted out the whole sad scenario. I've heard that when a person has decided to commit suicide he is often overcome with a strange sense of near-euphoria, a freedom, relief. In his mind, it was already over and he was thoroughly enjoying his final hours.
He taught me a valuable lesson. You just never know what is going on in a person's mind.
I can't begin to know what he must have been feeling deep inside to drive him to do such a thing. Embarrassment and humiliation. Fear, dread, and frustration. Sadness and despair. No one will ever know.
But one thing for sure that I do know...
There was so much hiding...behind his smile.
July 8, 2009
FULL BUCK MOON
Did you see the full moon rise Monday evening?
Absolutely gorgeous!!!
I was driving home about 9 pm that evening, and I saw this in the eastern sky (that's how I knew it WASN'T the sun!).
A huge, golden ball just above the treeline!
As soon as I got home, I rushed inside for my good camera, so I could get some photos while it was still huge, golden, and hovering over the horizon.
Incredible!
The Indians called this the Full Buck Moon...
photo from www.bowhunting.net...because it is the time of year when the young deer bucks are getting their new antlers.
I call it spectacular!
July 9, 2009
THE CANNER
One of our very first purchases as newlyweds 29 years ago was this canner.
Along with this canning book.
Apparently they were (and still are!) at the top of Kim's list of essentials for life.
I'd never even venture to guess how many jars of produce this canner has processed.
It's probably in the thousands.
When we were first married and living in the old farmhouse, there was no air conditioning. And always little ones at my feet! I wonder how I managed to do all that canning in the HOT kitchen (made even hotter by the constant heat and steam from the canning) with kids fussing and crying and always needing something.
It must have been my youthful energy, patience (?), and naivete!
Whatever it was, over the years this canner has been my friend...and my enemy!
It's a love-hate relationship, for sure!
I love what it produces, but I hate the time and work involved.
So here I am this morning, with another bushel of fresh green beans...
...and Miss perky-blonde-smiling-coifed&manicured-1960's Homemaker (who's never seen a muddy garden in all her perfect days!) demonstrating for me step-by-step how to can green beans.
***sigh***
Me and my canner...a match made in....well...let's just say...
...together for 29 years and counting!
July 10, 2009
JUST NUTS
Back in April, we got 75 baby chicks to raise...25 for laying hens, 25 to eat, and 25 freebies.
The freebies were a breed called Amberlinks, white chickens that lay brown eggs.
We were hoping that at least a few of the 25 Amberlinks would grow up to be hens we could keep for layers.
No such luck.
All of them turned out to be roosters! The last thing we need are a bunch of roosters, so Kim decided to keep a couple of the young roosters...
...to replace the old fella whenever he decides to kick the chicken bucket.
He nearly died last summer then made a remarkable recovery, but it's only a matter of time. He's old for a rooster.
So Kim kept out two and we butchered the rest of them last weekend.
Now, I must tell you at this point that the Gray family can be a little crazy at times. I mean, who else celebrates Memorial Day and the 4th of July and sometimes Labor Day killing poultry?!
And let's face it, killing chickens is JUST NOT FUN no matter how you look at it.
So whatever we can find to entertain ourselves during the chicken dressing is fair game.
My brother-in-law, Kent, is the main instigator in this quest for amusement.
Being the last link in the chain of chicken-dressers, Kent cuts the chickens up.
And he has access to chicken innards that the rest of us don't see.
Like these.
Any idea what they are???
These are testicles from a male chicken.
Rooster nuts!
Pretty monstrous ones, at that, especially for such scrawny little roosters as they were!
This fella had it goin' on!
Compare those to these from another rooster.
Poor little fella.
(I apologize for the poor quality of these photos...they were taken with my little point-and-shoot camera. Just goes to show you how important it is to have your camera with you at all times...you never know when you might need a high quality photo of rooster testicles!)
And this is the weirdest of all! Three, count 'em...THREE testicles. Very odd!
Seldom do we kill roosters, as we always order pullets (female chickens), so we were fascinated by this new anatomical discovery. And so we passed the time by comparing and contrasting one rooster's parts with another's.
Okay, I'll admit. Maybe we're all a little strange. Crazy. A tad bit sick-o.
Or perhaps...just nuts!
