Here's my annual requisite picture of an okra bloom. I don't even know why I bother to plant okra. If I get ten pods this year I'll be surprised. I always wait too long to plant them. I do this every year. And they don't mind the heat. They do fine in the heat but the bugs have just about destroyed several of the plants. The picture does not do justice to that dark burgundy velvet center. I suppose that alone is a reason to plant them.
I am feeling good this evening although a little ant-bit on the hands and arms. After a day of not doing very much I finally changed into my overalls and did some weeding in the garden. I freed a rose bush from the wild morning glories and I yanked weeds for about an hour and a half. It was hot but not deathly so. It felt so good to get out there and get dirty and sweaty and rip those weeds by the roots and toss them into my old canning kettle with rusted holes in the bottom which I use for just that purpose. I did not meet up with any ants until the very end when I went to pull the weeds and skeleton of the gone-by basil plant from a pot I have out there, only to find that ants have taken it over, the little fiery bitches swarming over my hands, furious at being disturbed.
Ah well. It is part of it. And I feel much the better for having done some dirt worshipping and have had a shower and washed my hair and feel like a new woman. Soon it will be time to get everything cleaned out for the fall garden, which is always the best here. The greens! Oh, the greens! And carrots and lettuces. Arugula, arugula, arugula! Or, as you Brits might say- Rocket, rocket, rocket!
By any name it tastes as deliciously bitter and spicy.
The kale, the collards, the turnips and the mustard greens! Ooh boy. That's all the best stuff right there.
So yes, Mr. Moon and Jessie have made their way to Apalachicola. I have not heard from them but I feel sure they are there by now.
But what about Lily?
Lord. That girl cannot catch a break these days. She called me this morning, pretty early and said that Lauren's back had gone out on her so badly that she was on the floor and literally could not move. That she had never experienced pain like this. She absolutely could not move to get in a car to go see a doctor. They did get ahold of Dr. Zorn's office (they are both patients of his too) and got a prescription for Flexeril but even after taking that and Ibuprofen, Lauren has not been able to so much as move from the floor to the couch. And of course she keeps telling Lily to go, she'll be fine and of course, Lily cannot leave her in this condition, not even if friends stepped into help, which they would.
I feel so bad for Lauren and for Lily and for Jessie and Glen. I know how Lauren feels- it's the same way I felt when I had to ask Glen to come home from his trip to Apalachicola to go fishing with his sister when I had my kidney stone. I know she doesn't want to prevent Lily from going but I also know she needs Lily, just as I needed Mr. Moon. This is what love is all about. And as I told Lily- now that they know it's possible to do this, they can plan another trip. That perhaps their daddy should take them to Disney World!
Lily laughed at that. I just really, really hope that Lauren feels better soon. At least better enough to get in a car and go see a doctor or a chiropractor or a massage therapist. Someone who can help her.
In other, less serious news, I had a horrible experience this afternoon after the man left. I have often said that the main reason to have a man around is to remove any dead animals from the house that need removing.
I am only partially kidding when I say this.
So what happens an hour after my man leaves today?
I walked into the kitchen to find Jack lying proudly beside what appeared to be a dead bullfrog. Not one of our cute little tree frogs. I mean a frog big enough to harvest the legs from for a frog-leg dinner. Not that I would ever eat such a thing but...
I almost gagged. I freaked out. GODDAMN IT JACK! NO!
I have nothing against frogs. They are wonderful. Toads, too. But they are creatures that I have a slight problem with in that if I touched one I might die. They belong outside in their natural habitat, cheerfully croaking and eating insects. Not on my kitchen floor, lying on their backs.
After some stern self-talking, I went and got the broom and the dustpan to deal with this situation. I pulled up my big girl panties. I girded my loins. I gathered all of my woman-power courage and I approached the frog with the broom and the dustpan and THE FROG STARTED MOVING!
Oh god, oh god, oh god.
It was not dead.
I had to retreat and do another pulling up of panties, girding, and gathering. I re-approached the poor, no-doubt suffering creature, and as quickly as I could, I got it on the dustpan at which point it was sitting right-side up and, fearing it was going to jump off and probably right onto me, I hurried to the kitchen door, opened it, and tossed the doomed thing into the kitchen garden. I just could not get any farther than that with a dustpan full of living frog.
I was making noises by that time that I am sure sounded like cartoon sound effects. The kind of noises that originate at the back of the throat. You know what I'm talking about.
So I survived that. Barely.
I know that Jack thought he was bringing me a gift.
Well guess what? He was wrong.
So that's about it. I just got a call from Jessie and her daddy and they have made it to Apalachicola and are having a fine time although they are so very sad that Lily can't make it. As it turns out, their fishing trip is not going to be the six-hour affair that they had originally thought, but due to circumstances beyond their control- twelve hours.
Oh my god.
Well if that doesn't get all of their fishing ya-ya's out, I don't know what will.
Here's some late roses growing on one of the rose bushes in my garden.
Was the trigger warning for Hank? Because i was expecting a funny story about him, but nary a mention.
ReplyDeleteYes. Hank is completely freaked by frogs. And toads. We all have our thing and that is his.
DeleteErrrrr. It kinda sounds like that frog thing might be the tiniest bit genetic....
DeleteHe's me times a thousand.
DeleteOMG do you need a Martini indeed! Your bullfrog sounds like the huge rat i caught 2 weeks ago in a box trap....and I when I decanted him into a 5 gallon bucket (we release them after a long car ride)..........he tried to leap out and I screamed for the first time in ages! Thankfully.....he didn't actually make it out of bucket......but whew! Poor Lauren. Not good to be SO incapacitated. I feel for her and send her healing thoughts....and bless dear Lily......no, of course she cannot leave Lauren in that state. That Okra blossom is absolutely divine.....forget the okra, bring on the flowers!
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday (after I spent all day on phone trying to schedule CT/Sinus appt, I was told....*we didn't get the referral*....... then back to square one....and will spend another 7 hrs. on phone Monday trying to schedule after referral was *re-faxed* by ENT. Grr. After my own 40 yr medical career.......I detest incompetence more than anything. You *get it*.
Bottoms up for Martini's and wine!
Susan M
There are so many pieces to our health care these days and if one part of the chain of them breaks down, the whole process is screwed. I'm so sorry you had to spend an entire day on the phone with those people.
DeleteYou are kinder than I am, taking a rat for a ride to release him. Not that I'd actually kill a rat by myself but- well, I am not sure what I'd do. Scream, for sure.
That okra flower is so surprisingly beautiful ... forget the okra!
ReplyDeleteSorry ... I had to laugh at the bullfrog gift!
The red, red roses🌹are beautiful,as well!!
Happy Friday, happy martini 🍸 drinking!
Thanks Marcia. Okra is related to hibiscus. Can you see that?
DeleteThose roses are just a glory.
Your roses and okra blooms are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI think so. Thank you.
DeleteI fervently hope the next news of Lauren is that she's vertical.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the only reason for okra is the wonderful flowers. See, now if I'd been there, you could have gone and done some jigsaw puzzle while I hauled the giant frog back to his friends. Not a problem at all. Hank, this goes for any related critters you need hauled. It's a serious commute, but I'm a serious person.
Oh my word, Liz! You made me laugh. Yes. Next time Jack brings in a frog and Glen's not here I will call you (send me your number please 😂) and go do about three jigsaw puzzles while you make your way down to North Florida to get that thing out of my house. Do you think Gary would bring you? I bet he would.
DeleteWe'd be in the car as soon as he tosses the puppy in the back seat! We'd also do a tour dropping in on his relatives and friends in Florida that I know, too. This could work!
DeleteYour winter garden is the best I have ever heard of. Y'all will live for eternity eating that garden. The "red" rose is hot pink on my monitor. I love it- In my Barbie world. So sorry your frog was unattractive- no kisses for him!
ReplyDeleteNo. I did not kiss that frog. I already have a prince. Of sorts.
DeleteMy favorite thing about the winter garden is salads. Of course, unless we build a green house, there is no way we'll ever get lettuce and tomatoes and cucumbers all at the same time. Oh well.
Ms. Moon, you sound quite back to yourself. What a wonderful post, trigger warning and all! Except of course for Lauren-on-the-floor; I second Boud's vertical wishes.
ReplyDeleteChris from Boise
She's better today!
DeleteNot only are the okra flowers beautiful but okra is my favorite vegetable and not grown by the farmers around here. If on very rare occasions it is available in our coop market it is old because it has come from god knows where and it was picked much too long. Love those tender little ones.
ReplyDeleteWe love okra too. Every time I eat it I feel gratitude to the people who somehow managed to bring seeds from Africa on those enforced ocean voyages. How did they DO that?
DeleteNever had okra and for some reason have no desire to try it but I would grow it just for the flowers. Do they last long?
ReplyDeleteIn Australia we have cane toads and you do not what to touch one or get within spitting distance - and I mean spitting distance. Evil things they are.
I do hope Lauren is now vertical. That crippling back pain is horrendous.
No. The okra blossom comes and then it goes, turning itself into an okra pod. You might like okra if you tried it.
DeleteOkay. I never, ever want to see a cane toad. Oh my god. I just googled and there ARE cane toads in central and south Florida. You know what that means- eventually they will be here, right along with the damn pythons.
I’m worrying about Lauren …
ReplyDeleteIt’s Rosemarie at 37P
She is a tiny bit better.
DeleteI can certainly relate to the frog 'incident'. My cat was bellowing at 3AM one morning and I turned the light on. There lay a dead mouse and Eddie was proudly standing there with his 'gift' beside my bed. If anyone ever needed a 'Depends' it was me. A couple of them! I freaked out. How that got in the house(condo) I'll never know. I had to put my big boy Depends on and get the dustpan. Thankfully, it WAS dead. Had it moved, no Depends on earth would have contained it! Come on, I worked ICU and ER as an RN for years...and saw it all What on earth is wrong with me that I can't deal with a little mouse. So, I 'get it' about frogs and most any critter that has croaked. Hope Lauren's back issue is resolved. That sounded horribly painful. The rose is a beauty. Thanks for sharing. Hope you enjoyed that martini.
ReplyDeleteParanormal John
Okay. So I had a friend who was an RN who worked in an ER and one day she told me, "I saved a life at work the other day." "Whoa!" I said! "Tell me about it."
DeleteTurns out that there had been a tiny mouse that somehow got into the unit and everyone freaked out but she caught it and took it outside. She's one hell of a woman.
My cats have brought me mice before too. Also decapitated squirrels. Also what looked like squirrel fetuses. Why do we have cats?
I always enjoy my martinis!
Oh Poor Lauren!! I remember that kind of back pain, I sweated and cried so much my younger daughter who was nine at the time thought I was going to die and she cried too. I had a severe muscle spasm somewhere between my butt and my waist and was interrogated by a doctor for almost an hour to be sure I wasn't just a druggie looking for a fix before he injected the muscle relaxant. I hope Lauren feels much better much more quickly, do they have home visit doctors there?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure another fishing trip or similar can be arranged at a later date.
I've never had a cat bring me anything at all, even when cats here were allowed to live outside none ever brought me a "gift" and I am thankful for that. I'm glad you managed to get the frog outside.
Oh, gosh. Lily asked me once if I was going to die because I was laid up in bed with cellulitis. Good thing she wasn't around when I had my kidney stone.
DeleteAnd EFF that doctor for not giving you that shot immediately. I mean- muscle relaxers aren't heroin. That's just horrible.
Your cats obviously do not love you enough. Or perhaps my cats hate me.
You have reminded me of a few nights ago when I was coming up the stairs to bed and P shouted from the landing......stop there !!! Unfortunately I glimpsed the reason for the shout.......the biggest house spider I have ever seen, crouching on the carpet. P would normally pick them up and throw them out, but this time he asked where the spider catching thing was and tried to use that. Sadly he managed to kill it while trying to get it, but I wish I had not seen it as it has freaked me out ever since I go round that corner! Well done you dealing with the toad. Not so bad if the creatures are dead, but horrid if they are half alive!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh. You have spider PTSD! How big WAS this thing?
DeleteAnd yes, the almost-dead/half-alive creature is so much worse than the dead one.
PS I hope that Lauren has had some help to get her back on her feet by now.
ReplyDeleteTime and muscle relaxers.
DeleteWell done on getting rid of that frog - that would make me gag too! And I do hope Lauren has gotten some relief for her back by now!
ReplyDeleteIt was a nasty experience for me.
DeleteLauren is somewhat better.
Too bad about Lauren's back. Hope she feels better real soon. I hope Mr. Moon and Jessie enjoyed their fishing trip.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the toad survived and hopped away? I would not want to find one in my kitchen! Ugh! Brave Ms. Moon!!
I hope that Jess and Mr. Moon enjoyed their trip too. I'm hoping to hear from them soon.
DeleteI doubt that toad survived. I am actually hoping that a raccoon came along and ate it. Don't coons like frogs?
Oh, I'm so sorry for Lily. and Lauren. I've had my back go out like that a few times in my 20s and 30s but not since I started doing yoga regularly.
ReplyDeleteFortunately Cat prefers the indoors. she'll go out with me in the morning when I water and in the evening when we sit on the deck but she always comes in with me. so no unwanted almost dead critters to deal with (which made me laugh btw).
My back went. out like that once but not that bad. And that was bad enough! Poor Lauren.
DeleteYour Cat sounds so civilized. Mine are still at least a quarter wild, I think.
Poor Jack! I'm sure he was very proud to be the provider. And poor frog! I hope it survives, though I suppose the chances are slim.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about Lauren but I was glad to read in your subsequent post that she's feeling better. I have been lucky enough not to throw my back out and I hope to keep it that way.
A 12-hour fishing trip is my idea of ... hell.