Monday, March 18, 2019

A Full Day, To Say The Least


And so it begins. The bamboo, unbeknownst to me has begun to sprout. For those of you who are relatively new here, what this means is that for the next few weeks I have to go out and find every sprouting bamboo I can find and kick them all over or else my entire yard will be a bamboo jungle which sounds sort of cool but trust me- is not. In five years you wouldn't be able to hack your way through it with a machete.
I have decided that my yard is the poster child for invasive species, all planted, I am certain, innocently enough by former owners of the house.
I discovered that particular shoot right after I'd come home from the grocery store and while my bags were still on the counter waiting to be emptied, I began kicking. As I kicked I despaired, feeling as if my life is out of control and that I cannot possibly keep up with it.
From preventing bamboo overtaking the place to pulling other invasives to weeding and planting and tending the garden to clearing out areas of the yard that have been left too long without attention, to dealing with the housework, the grocery shopping, the cooking, the laundry- all of the endless chores that need doing- I am overwhelmed.
And then I discovered that the washing machine is broken.
Sigh.
But, the wisteria is purpling up.


And the tung tree is in full bloom. 


I am sorry that these pictures are not better. It has been overcast today, and cooler and I am not complaining about that but the sky has not made for great photos. 

I complain too much. The fact of the matter is, I have the house and the yard that I always so desperately wanted and if they have come with a lot of work involved, that is merely part of the bargain. If I want fresh vegetables I need to pull up my big girl panties and get out there and tend to things. 


I weeded the carrots today and the approximately three leeks which came up and are still alive. Jack helped me by laying in the kale and watching me carefully. The beans I planted last week are up and doing nicely, the arugula too. I hope to goodness it survives the coming heat because store lettuces and salad greens leave me completely unimpressed. I have got to get my ass to a nursery and buy tomato plants and I've also got to plant some squash and cucumbers and Owen specifically asked if I'd plant more corn this year. I would love to make him happy. I would love to be able to get out the canning kettle and make pickles this year. I would love to have fresh squash and I'd give my pinky toe for some delicious, ripe, homegrown tomatoes this year. 
Well, maybe not really but you know what I mean. 

So anyway, I am feeling overwhelmed by it all, the yard, the garden, the house, the washing machine being out of order, the anxiety which has seeped back in to fill up all the spaces that I thought I'd banished it from with my wonderful weekend. I talked to Lis today. We rehashed a few things from the party and she is slowly trying to pull things together. Today she and a friend who is still there dealt with the dessert table which was absolutely filled and over-filled with, well, desserts. And muffins. And so forth. She said the dishwasher is running and that soon she will start to go through the refrigerator to see what it holds. I'm afraid it's going to be like an archeological dig where there are layers upon layers of things to discover. People would come to the party with a food item and say, "This needs to be refrigerated," and we'd about die. It would have been easier for someone to build a refrigerator from q-tips and car parts than it would have been to fit so much as a stick of butter into that thing, much less one more large Gladware container of salad. Hell, we lost an entire damn shepherd's pie although we eventually did find it. I won't even mention the tiramisu that was carefully placed in an ice chest and almost forgotten. But thankfully, was not as it was homemade with love and all of the best ingredients. 

It's been an up and down day here in Lloyd as I've coasted on the sweetness of the weekend and crashed on the rocks of reality. Our friend who was in the hospital received what may have been some halfway good news from a doctor today which raised our spirits and then, because life is cruel and unfair and horrible sometimes, I discovered that one of Hank's best friends died suddenly and tragically young from a heart attack. My boy has had to suffer way too many deaths of friends. It's also the birthday of a another one of his beloved friends and tribe member who died quite a few years ago in a car wreck. I talked for a long time on the phone with my ex-husband and we discussed some of our own longtime beloveds who have passed on. We shared some sad stories and some funny ones. It was good to talk to him. We still make each other laugh and that's a beautiful thing. I am so grateful that we get along and like each other. Hell, we're bonded for life due to the children we had together and we have a shared history. We went to the same high school, we spent some formative years together, to say the least. And he IS a funny guy. And as a bonus- his wife is awesome. 

And that's been my day. Ups and downs and kickings and cursings and hopes and sorrows and waterings and cleanings and flowers and weeds and memories and laughter and tears, too. 
Still no baby chicks and no, I did not deal with that issue today but I'm going to have to. I'm afraid those two hens are going to sit on those eggs until the Rapture if I don't take them away. 
Sometimes it is absolutely not in our best interests to persevere even when circumstances tell us we are on a fool's errands. 
Turns out, sometimes we are and it's best just to walk away, go eat a good meal, drink deeply of sweet water, take a dust bath, rejoin the flock and live to lay another day. 
Eggs, that is. 

Love...Ms. Moon



25 comments:

  1. I've had a particularly tearful day today. My grandson took the oath and became a Marine, then walked away and flew to California. All I can suggest to you is to look at the video of August the Fiddler, in his awesome shirt/dress made with love by his Mer, and listen to that sweet boy make beautiful music. I've watched it at least ten times today, and though I do cry again, for a few minutes I'm smiling.

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  2. Oh, Catrina! What a beautiful comment. Thank you. And let me say that a very, very dear friend of mine who is as non-violent and as anti-military as they come has a son who joined the Marines. You, of all people, probably know how she felt. And she was in terror, basically, for the whole time he was in Iraq. Now though, he is home and he has become a person who will not kill a fly and who has two beautiful daughters. He is a wonderful father and is gentle and loving. And...still very much alive.
    Take heart. And you know, Marines do beautiful things sometimes, helping people in absolutely horrible situations where no one else could help them.
    Thank you for loving my August and appreciating all that video truly means.

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  3. Is neither clutch of eggs going to hatch? I'm so disappointed, I was looking forward to more baby chickens.

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    1. I'm thinking no. I haven't throw away the eggs yet but I'm going to have to do that really soon.

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  4. Wouldn't it be better to allow the bamboo shoots to grow a little and then hit them with the kind of weed killer that travels down to the roots?

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    1. Alternatively, you could buy a giant panda online.

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    2. I can't bear the thought of using weed killer. Plus- these bamboo probably wouldn't be deterred in the least. Those roots are like iron. The panda idea I DO like but I don't think I can handle another pet. I'm so negative, aren't I?

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  5. Is that bamboo really as thick as it looks? Mine is thinner than a pencil.....I just have some in a pot!

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    1. Yep. Thick as it looks. It's BIG bamboo. There are literally thousands of varieties of bamboo.

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  6. Oh Ms Moon, you are one incredibly busy lady. I do like 1% of the activity and work that you do every day. I hope that anxiety scurried off where it belongs while you slept.

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    1. I do try to stay busy which is actually pretty darn easy to do around here.

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  7. The photos are lovely. My mum was one of those people who planted invasive species without knowing it. I spent a lot of time digging up crap and finally gave up and then she sold her house.

    Sorry you're feeling anxious again. I can't imagine but I've seen Katie anxious and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

    Sending hugs.

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    1. I think I've given up on getting rid of the invasives too. It's seemingly impossible. Even wisteria is actually invasive.
      I'm sorry that Katie gets anxiety. It is no fun at all.

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  8. "Turns out, sometimes we are and it's best just to walk away, go eat a good meal, drink deeply of sweet water, take a dust bath, rejoin the flock and live to lay another day.
    Eggs, that is."

    Wise words. I hope today is much better. As to gardening, mine terrifies me at the moment. So much work to do out there and I should have planted before this. Too much on my plate. I hope to get to it by the end of the week.

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  9. Yes, and I am moving come late spring, and no garden this time. I keep leaving each passion, with no regret. If I ever quit blogging, well, you'll have that much less to read and think about. Like broody chickens!

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    1. Oh, Joanne! Don't stop blogging! And are you going to have a deck? Container gardening is wonderful. You could at least do some herbs, maybe one or two cherry tomatoes.

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  10. except for the cooking, grocery shopping, and laundry you have described my days. try keeping up with 2 acres. is the bamboo timber bamboo? I've been thinking of planting some of that at the back of my property to keep the spotlights from the trailer park across the field from shining into the back bedroom through the new windows. 5 days in a row I've been out working in the yard and today I'll be out there too. still need to get my tomatoes which is the only food I'm going to put in this year I think.

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    1. Oh, I DO have two acres. 2.2 to be exact but some of it I don't have to mess with. I have no idea what kind of bamboo this is. The spreading kind. Make sure that whatever you get, it's the clumping kind. If you get good home grown tomatoes, that'll be good enough!

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  11. Sounds like you could use a day of just reading and watching unchallenging TV, and also cooking, as that seems to be a meditation for you. Take care of yourself, dear Mary. You've just returned from a wonderful weekend, but I bet it drew down on your social battery all the same, and now you might just need to recharge. Love you so.

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    1. Woman! You know I can't do that unless I'm sick in bed. I did iron and watch some fairly mindless Netflix though. And I will say that your reminder about my social battery did make me feel a little better about the lack of energy I've had today.

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  12. Are these bamboo shoots like you can buy in cans or bottles to eat? Maybe you could harvest them since they insist on growing...Tho the one in the picture looks pretty formidable. Kicking them sounds like a good outlet for frustrations, tho they themselves ARE a frustration. Eat some, kick some?

    Also, what Angella said...

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    1. They are definitely NOT the kind you eat. When Owen was little he would try to cut them up and serve them to me and I would pretend to eat them but it was impossible. Not that kind of bamboo, I guess. Plus, we have so much that even if they were that kind, we'd never be able to eat enough to make a difference.

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  13. There's always so much to do, isn't there? And I don't even have invasive bamboo, though we have our own problem species in the garden (spurge and English ivy among them). Your wisteria is looking wonderful! I can't wait to see it when the flowers come out all the way. Didn't you just get that washing machine worked on not too long ago?

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    1. We have English Ivy too and it's spreading out back of the chicken house.
      Sigh...
      I can't keep up with it. I just can't.
      I have no idea when we got that washing machine but it's busted. Fuck these new appliances. They don't last for shit.

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