69°f, light showers off and on. A godsend.
It was marvelous to see a little rain! Little being the key word here, probably not even a quarter inch, but still rain. Today was nice and cool, a welcome relief. It will be heating up as the week goes on, and we will be back in the 90s, with no more rain in sight. But at least we had this, and I am grateful.
The deer got in the garden again, this time leveling the new cucumbers and doing damage to the tomatoes. Larry was furious! He now has netting over the tomatoes, and more old wire and whatever he could find to try to protect as much as he could. I found some old sheeting and muslin and covered my cabbages in my garden, as I would absolutely be upset if the deer got to them. They haven't been in my garden---yet. But now they have had a taste of fresh green, I have no doubt they will find a way in there.
I can't really blame them. Everything is so dry and dead, they don't have much to eat. There will be no mast this fall, either, so I think we will have deer coming in to eat shrubs and whatever they can find this winter. Larry is going to apply for a nuisance permit soon, so that we will at least be able to get some venison for whatever they destroy. Country life can be grim sometimes.
We went out and gathered in most of the butternut squash and some of the peppers this evening.
We only picked the squash that were ripe; there are as many more still green on the vines. These will keep all winter and through the spring in our back workroom, where it is cool and dry.
I made my last batch of dill pickles today, and the dilly beans.
Canning is winding down now, earlier than most years. We will make applesauce this week, I think, and maybe put up some pears if they get any size to them.
Are you watching the Democratic convention? I really think these big gala events are a waste of time and money, particularly when the outcome is a foregone conclusion. I have zero interest in celebrities or what they have to say. I will read the platform, and Harris' agenda for her presidency, but that is all that concerns me. I sound like a curmudgeon, don't I? But I think as a nation we are far too into personalities and spectacle and too little into substance.
Another thing I have noticed is that when a woman runs for office, she is referred to in the media most often by her first name, whereas men are almost always called by their surname.
Is it an unconscious way of belittling a woman's stature and accomplishments, like a pat on the head and a "good girl"? I really don't understand why the candidates allow this, and why the media is not called on to examine why they do this. I find it very curious.
Well, enough about politics. I'm pretty sure the world has little interest in what an old lady on a hill in West Virginia thinks. I will just go quietly back to my kitchen and clean up the mess I made today. At least that's constructive!
...you sure are a busy bee. Eating looks good this winter.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the entertainment factor having taken over not only the conventions but most of anything on the news. So glad you had a bit of rain (better than Connecticut which got dumped apparently) Oh those poor deers. Shame on them. I would be mad also if I'd worked in a garden and deer just came along and thought it a buffet.
ReplyDeletePoor deer..I hope they will find some food in the woods. Great that you finally got some rain. You were busy doing all the pickling and preserving :-))
ReplyDeleteI don't think you sound like a curmudgeon. I think you sound like someone who is talking sense. I haven't watched the convention and don't plan to.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting note about first names and last names. We may not have a big enough group for as conclusion. I guess Hilary was often called Hilary, but I don't think Thatcher was called Margaret. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteDem damn deer in the garden?!? How dare da! I am with you on your thoughts on the convention. I feel as though I am pretty politically in tune with both sides and the conventions are just more of the same that you hear all the time. That money could be spent much more wisely. As for the media, you are right, I had never noticed that they refer to her by her first name.
ReplyDeleteWe have a leaky front faucent so I have turned off the water to the whole house, hoping for a visit from a plumber. Now about politics . . I think reading the platform is a waste of time. Most candidates from either party pay little attention to it once the convention is over. And about paying attention to men's last names as opposed to women? How about all those signs and crowd chants of "We Love Joe!"
ReplyDeleteI sure hope the plumber showed up!
DeleteOkay, you got me on the name thing. I guess I can remember other Presidents and candidates often referred to by the public by their first names--Ike, Tricky Dicky (although that was not meant in a positive way!), Bernie...but the press did not refer to them by first names, as I recall.
You are probably right about the platform. Aspirations might be a better name for it? Or smoke cloud?
The deer are hungry and could use a walk through when they come and visit. :) It must be frustrating though. I don't watch anything that has politics in it but I do read about it. I wish I could divert some rain your way. We just had a downpour and there's more rain in the forecast for the rest of the week.
ReplyDeleteDeer are exceeding their natural capacity in many areas now that we have removed their predators. It’s a problem of our own making.
ReplyDeletePoor deer so hungry for exactly what you have growing in your garden. It would be great if you could get a permit to shoot one. That might spook the others and keep them away ( while supplying you with venison).
ReplyDeleteHuzzah on the rain, and I hope you'll get more as needed! We are starting 5 days of a no-rain forecast, and I am hoping so hard that the barn repair will at least begin. Sorry you are having deer problems. My perimeter fence for the goats is probably the only thing keeping deer out of my gardens, and since next year I'll be planting a new raised bed that's outside the goat fencing, I guess I'll find out.
ReplyDelete