Thursday, August 11, 2022

This Is Life


Here we have another okra blossom. There is very little about the okra plant that does not delight me but the two parts that don't are fairly brutal. One is that the stems and leaves are prickly. Not like nettles but they can cause a reaction. The other is that they attract ants. I haven't gotten any of those this year yet but I reckon they'll be along pretty soon. They are still concentrating on the field pea vines right now and it's all about the aphids that the ants herd and farm. The aphids suck the sap from plants and create a sort of nectar called honeydew which the ants then eat. So there is a good reason for ants to be on okra but there have been years when they've been so thick on the plants (and they're always the sort of ants who bite like fire) that I just abandoned the whole honeydew farm to them. Gloves can help, of course, but if you've ever gotten red ants or fire ants up a glove you know that they are not a perfect solution. 

Besides the okra I am only getting the dregs of the summer garden right now. 


Rather sad, eh? But I think that if the ants are slow to move their herds over to the okra, we may get quite a bit more of that. Oh, what I wouldn't give for a few pints of homemade pickled okra! I will surely be able to make a batch of fried okra in a day or so. 

Mostly today I was in town, being Mer Mer. Jessie is working on Thursdays now and Vergil is working too, of course, so I am picking up Levon at his school around 1:15 and then we go pick up August at his after-school program whenever we want. Today that was about four. I had a good time with those boys today. I asked Levon if he'd like to go to Publix with me to get a sandwich and maybe a little something-something for him and August, too, and of course he did. He was so good! He waited patiently in the cart while I ordered a Pub Sub and then we searched the aisles for something that he and August would like. We settled on little kits that were hanging randomly from a shelf that included cards to punch out, coloring pens, and stickers. I also got some fried chicken to put in the fox trap because fried chicken is the recommended bait for foxes. Somehow this does not surprise me and it also amuses me. And who doesn't like fried chicken?
Levon played with his little coloring thing for at least forty-five minutes, maybe more. I was shocked. And then we read some books, including Madeline, and when we got to the part about Madeline having to have her appendix removed and then having a scar,  I explained about appendixes and how sometimes they get infected and must be taken out and what that used to entail and how easily it's done now but he was stunned hearing that a human can get their body cut open and NOT DIE. IN REAL LIFE! I also tried to explain anesthesia, only describing it as "medicine" they give people so they can't feel anything. And I told him about how these days, like when I got my appendix removed last year, they only have to make teensy-weensy cuts and instead of staying in the hospital for weeks like poor Madeline did, you only have to stay for a few hours. 
I hope I have not scarred him for life. 

We went and picked up August at the community center where his after-school is and for once, he seemed very happy to see me but also seemed very pleased to have gone to after-school. "I only had time to play with a ball," he said, buckling himself into the carseat. And then back to their house and he played with his coloring kit




and then we read more books and then Vergil got off work and now I'm home. I had some very fine conversations with the boys about school and other things. Sharks, whales, chewing gum- the important stuff. 
I love them so much. They are so smart and funny. 

I had a major cleanse last night. Not the sort that you take a whole bunch of laxatives for but the kind where something finally triggers you and you cry your heart out for awhile. I have been needing to do this for some time and finally, when my husband said something so sweet to me that I could not swallow my tears or fears or hide my anxiety any longer, I just let go and I have felt the better for it today, like a garden after a good, sweet downpour, even one with cracking lightening and booming thunder. Or perhaps especially one with those things. 
I am married to a very good man. I would say that I hope he knows how much I love him but I think he does. 

Off to make pesto. The basil is still full and aromatic and green as Robin Hood's britches. 

Love...Ms. Moon


33 comments:

  1. Oh, I remember reading those Madeline books as a tiny girl..."And on her stomach was a scarf."
    At least that's what I thought it said, way back then.

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    1. A scarf! That's great. Funny what our minds can make of words when we are little.

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  2. Those are such happy kids, able to amuse themselves, interested in everything. No wonder they're great company. They did learn some that from mermer...

    The only part of okra I like is the flower. So beautiful. And I'm in awe of ants farming herds of aphids. One day they may grow big enough to herd humans to run their machines and generally take over. Behold the mighty ant!

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    1. Those boys are pretty okay in my book. I really do love talking to them.
      Okra is not everyone's cup of tea. I get it.
      I have heard that if ants disappeared from the planet life, as we know it, would end. They are THAT important to our ecology. But damn- why are they so bitey?

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  3. sometimes a good cry is SO cathartic. Your grands are so bright and stimulating..... I read Madeline books to our goddaughter when she was a tot........she's 32 now.....but she saved the books (bless her) for her own daughter Reagan Jane (my grand god daughter) and I'm happy she did that! also the okra blossom is gorgeous, never knew it was bristly and that ants love them.....pox on fire ants! Have a Martini! You deserve one!
    Susan M

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    1. I am going through a bit of a grieving process in that some of the books I've saved for my grandchildren are now too young for them! ARGGGHHHH! I'm not getting rid of them though. No way.
      I guess that technically, ants love the nectar that aphids make from okra sap. Strange and pretty cool except that they sting me when I pick!
      Tonight is martini night. Glasses are in the freezer.

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  4. A good, messy cry solves so many issues. Such a shame it leaves my face looking like swollen beetroot. The okra flower is lovely.

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    1. You've made me wonder why it is that we cover our faces when we cry. I suppose because we feel so naked when we are being that emotionally honest. Isn't the okra flower pretty?

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  5. My daughter's best friend in college wanted to make pesto for us. Having no idea where to find basil she finally went to the nursery and bought a flat. It was the best pesto I've ever had!

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    1. Now that is ingenious! I bet it was delicious- such tender, baby basil.

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  6. Another good day, and yes, a good cry can be necessary. I hope the pesto was good. I will miss my great-aunt forever. She was bedridden with Parkinsons which is difficult and which took her away before death.

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    1. Parkinson's is a horrible disease. It shows no mercy and slowly robs us of our lives.

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  7. I should send you a Madeline with a scar- PROOF!

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  8. I'm so glad that you had a cleanse. I'm also sure that I'd love to be a little one, listening to "Madeline" again. You're such a beautiful grandmother.

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    1. Honestly, the pleasure I get from reading books like "Madeline" is so far above the pleasure the kids get from hearing me. There is something just so primally satisfying to me about reading out loud.

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  9. I don't think you have scarred Levon. He is an inquisitive boy, eager to soak up knowledge and learning about operations like this, from you, is far better than having to unexpectedly suddenly go through it.
    I have trigger moments too, when I cry my eyes out for about an hour or so then fall asleep and all is right again when I wake up.

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    1. I'm sure that Levon will be fine but he did appear to be quite shocked to hear that people can be cut open.
      I think we all need a good cry every now and then, don't we?

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  10. Where would we be without a decent crying time every so often. I am glad we can have that.
    I hope the fox appreciates the fried chicken. I never knew anything about fried chicken or poultry throughout my childhood as both my parents could or would not eat any. Something to do with their war time experience.
    My grandchild refuses to eat chicken now that the connection between feeding the hens and collecting eggs and a leg of chicken somehow made itself apparent. Early days.

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    1. I am glad we can cry, too, Sabine. There is such a relief in it.
      Well, the fox didn't fall for the chicken but a cat enjoyed spending a leisurely night eating every scrap of that piece. Sigh.
      My grandkids are well aware of where chicken comes from and yet, they do not seem to mind eating it.

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  11. I'm glad you got to let all that tension out - crying really does heal doesn't it. And as for the okra, I think I've only tried it once and didn't really like it, but it would be worth growing just for that beautiful flower, I reckon!

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    1. Okra is one of those foods that if it's not cooked properly can be not worth eating. HOWEVER, there are ways to prepare it that make it sublime. Gumbo, for instance! And of course, "gumbo" is an African word for what we call okra.

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  12. I do not know anything about okra but the flower is lovely! I don't think I have ever tasted okra in my whole life! What would you compare it to?
    Another nice day with the boys. I am glad you had a good cry and that it made you feel better.

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    1. I don't know that I could compare okra to anything. It is absolutely it's own vegetable.
      It was a nice day with the boys and I did feel so much better after my cry.

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  13. I have those days as well. I just cry and cry and it does feel good when it's over, usually.

    I had a patient the other day who was born in Ghana. I was starting her IV and I try to distract patients by asking them what their favorite food is. Her's was okra and I thought of you.

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    1. Oh. I love that- I know that in some African cultures, okra is a very important vegetable. Also in India.

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  14. I haven't had a good cry in years. It's a shame we can't take medicine to induce a short-lived crying jag so we can enjoy that aftermath. (Or can we? Some people cry when drunk or stoned...but then there's the hangover to deal with.)

    I love the okra flower. It really shows its relationship to hibiscus.

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    1. What a great idea, Steve! A medicine to make us cry! Or perhaps, that allows us to cry. I think that psychedelics often serve that purpose. Another one of their beneficial properties.
      Yes, the okra is the cousin of the hibiscus. Definitely.

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  15. We're finally getting a major cleanse but it's the rain kind. Raining pretty hard there for a while. Sort of put my plans for the morning on hold.

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  16. I love that it was something so touching that your husband said that made you feel safe enough to open the floodgates of pain. And let it all swirl away. May the cleansing waters continue to flow freely through. You’re such a good Mer.

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    1. Lady- I knew this was you before you commented with your identity. You are so wise and so right on point. I absolutely had to feel safe enough to let go. I love you.

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  17. 37paddington left that comment above. ^^^

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