Posted by Brad on July 31st, 2009 — Posted in Gardening
My right arm has really been taking a beating lately.
Two days ago I was moving my tree cholla pot and a piece of old cactus stuck itself to my fingers. I didn’t know how to get it off because touching it with my other hand stuck it into that hand. I ended up wrapping it with a rag to pull it off. Pulling the individual spines out really hurt. They’re barbed, for gosh sakes! During some research on the plant (Opuntia imbricata, for the memory archive), I found THIS story about about a relative of my cactus. It’s kind of a funny story, but there’s a disturbing picture of a dead kangaroo rat stuck on a cactus at the end. Fair warning.
Anyway, later that day, I was taking some Bisquick biscuits out of the oven and branded myself on the inside of my elbow. I wasn’t as upset about the pain as I was about how stupid it was that I touched a blazing hot cookie sheet to my arm. Sheesh!
And then yesterday, I was helping a co-worker load a moving truck, and as I shifted the her couch in my grip, the lower edge of it dragged across my forearm. I knew I had torn my skin on a staple or something. Instead of saying “Ouch!”, I said: “Dang it!”. I’m not sure my arm can take much more abuse.
The cholla stabs were just above my fingernails. You can’t see them in the picture. The other two wounds are readily visible.
I need to include two things in the memory archive:
Thing one - Yesterday my lotus finally bloomed. I’m not sure I like the flower form. I may be shopping for a new lotus next spring.
Thing two - I met another neighbor. She lives at the house with the Arnudo grass in the front. She called it “the stuff that looks like corn” 
Her name is Cheryl. Her husband is Gary. They have a lot of bamboo in their back yard.
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Posted by Brad on July 30th, 2009 — Posted in Investigations
Have you ever wondered where telephone poles come from? I think I might have found out yesterday.
I once again went to Badolato Stone Supply to get some Pennsylvania field stone for a garden project. Badolato is in a twisty place that has a lot of roads that look like alleys. I turned a little too soon and found myself in an unfamiliar area. I turned again and saw something quite peculiar. The sign said “Comcast Pole Farm”. Behind a chain-link fence and coils of razor wire, there was a forest of telephone poles, some taller than others. It was as if they were growing there. Risking the wrath of the Comcast SS, I took a picture.
Behold, the (possible) origin of telephone poles:
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Posted by Brad on July 29th, 2009 — Posted in Projects
I have a ton of home projects that I want to do this summer, but now that I’m home I’m feeling kind of lazy. I decided to start with something easy.
My kitchen faucet has been in trouble for a while. When I originally installed it, I didn’t seal the bottom, so water has been leaking in. It’s left some water bumps on the floor of the cabinet. The faucet has also come unscrewed or loose where it swivels. The whole thing felt like it was getting ready to break off or something. So I got a new one. Six months ago. I got the new faucet and the silicone sealant and sat them on the countertop. Then on a chair. Then in a cabinet.
Yesterday I finally put it in. It works fine. And there’ll be no more leaking water.
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Posted by Brad on July 28th, 2009 — Posted in Cat
I had a wonderfully uneventful day. After some quick work in the garden, I did a little looking for teacher shoes. I saw only one prospect, but have other places to look first.
Upon arriving home, I ate a little bit and settled in to watch the opening mini-series for Torchwood. It was very emotional. Denis was out playing tennis, so I could cry all I want and no one would make fun of me. It was great to use one of my giant mugs again. My ice crusher was clogged with condensed ice, so I had to go with cubes, but tomorrow I’ll enjoy a delightful mugful of ice chewing.
Max was very happy for me to be sitting on the couch for a couple hours. He gladly joined me. I’m still not quite used to him again, after living with skeletal cats for so long. Max is ginormous. It almost hurts my back to pick him up. After a few weeks of free-for-all eating, I’m afraid it’s back to rationed food.
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Posted by Brad on July 27th, 2009 — Posted in Gardening
I came back to many wondrous developments in my garden. It will take days and days of work to clean and neaten. Yay! Not to mention the time to plant anything new I may buy on impulse at the garden center. I went to my favorite garden center yesterday to find some dark green plants to help lend weight to the view of my back yard. I was unsuccessful, but it was still a great trip.
While I was in Nebraska, the pond cleaned itself. It’s sparkling clear. I can see straight to the bottom. Which enabled me to see that there were more fish in the water than I had originally put there. The goldfish had babies! There are at least three. They are extremely hard to see because they are dark-colored. I’m hoping they change color as they grow. Goldfish do that, I’m told.
I tried to take a picture, but as hard as it is to see them with my own eyes, it’s even harder to see them in a picture. I circled two of them in yellow below. And as a bonus, I circled a tadpole in red. Shouldn’t that be a frog by now?
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