Friday Morning

Well Thursday turned out to be another busy day with beautiful weather. The humidity has pulled out of the area and been replaced with spring like temps. Just enough coolness in the air to require a sweater the first thing; but by mid-morning it's t-shirt and shorts. I started the day way before daylight as the crowing began sometime around 5:30. After my quiet time, cup of hot green tea and a lite breakfast of grapefruit and blueberries I pedalled out to the rec for a couple hours of pickle ball.

The early gang of players were late today but by 8 AM we managed 4 players and then eventually more arrived to finally have 2 courts going with a few players waiting. There finally was a few wet shirts so the work out was good. I pedalled home to spend the rest of the morning outside in the yard and garden. Nancy's clothesline was leaning badly so I dug out the one post and used 80 lbs. of concrete to once again anchor it in the ground. These steel posts have been in the ground for over 30 years and have surely been used. I replaced the lines as well. It's amazing how much fresher your clothes smell when dried outside plus I know I save lots by not using the drier, except for on rainy days.

I then mowed up all the old leaves and fuzzes from the new leaf formations and mulched them. The earthworms love mulched oak leaves and they will add great compost to the soil as well and faster than just leaving the leaves whole. By this time it was after noon so Amy, Sam, GG and Nancy returned from the errands and we had a bite of lunch. After lunch I took Sam outside to play while I changed out a hose bib to the well. Sam loves to feed those chickens next door hibiscus flowers. I have a large tree next to the fence where he plays and he keeps all the chickens fed with all the flowers he can reach. They love for Sam to come around and they will not leave the fence when he's there.

Well I picked another bucket of sugar peas as well as green beans and several tomato's. The new lettuce seedlings are doing well except for a couple the squirrels dug up. I did find one in my rat trap when I got home from pickle ball. One less nuisance I will have to contend with; while I was hoping for a rat as they have been munching on my egg plants and tomato's. The squirrels are out of control here as there are no predators to keep them in check; except for the few we see squashed in the road. I tied up my cauliflower leaves around the head of the plant which help to bleach the head white. Some old farmer told me about doing that and it works or else the head turns a yellow and looks bad. Amy said they cut their head and it was bitter while still somewhat green.

I took a couple hours while Nancy took her mother to the grocery and then home to sit outside in the partially shaded back yard and read. It was just beautiful outside. When she got home I snapped fresh garden grown green beans and she baked a couple sweet taters and I grilled a couple Salmon steaks loaded with fresh dill, Yeow was that ever delicious. After the clean-up we headed for the couch to watch FOX News before the Idol came on. I then headed to the bedroom to watch Lightning hockey and they got whupped again in New York. Well that was about it for Thursday the last day in February. We are or I am getting antsy about heading north to the mountains in just a little over 3 months. Hopefully our little cabin made it through this cold, snowy winter. I gave my uncle Junior a call who had triple by-pass surgery on Monday and he is leaving the hospital today; amazing recovery for a 77 year old feller, LATER