Wet July

     It's been a wet July here in Mississippi and I have no complaints. My herb garden is doing great and my others are hanging in there. A while back I talked to Mr. Mack across the street and he said his brother is in the dirt business. I've about gotten all of my truckload of sand where I need it so a truckload of dirt will be my next major project
     If Mack's brother can save me a few dollars on a truckload of dirt, I'm all for that. I'm still working on getting my riding mower/garden tractor running again. Having that on my side would make moving a load of dirt so much easier than moving the sand by the wheel barrow load was.

     I saw on TV a while back a show about a fella who got some plastic buckets and offered them to his neighbors to put their kitchen scraps in. He collected and replaced them with fresh buckets every week. He then composted the scraps and sold the stuff (mostly back to his neighbors).
     That sounds like something I could do easily enough (and so could you). I'll ask the ladies in the bakery department at work to save their buckets for me and ask my neighbors to fill them for me. Regular trash pickup here is Monday & Thursday, bulk pickup of furniture, appliances & tree trimmings is Wednesday so I reckon my pickup on Saturday would work best for all.

     I've met but 4 or 5 of my neighbors since I've been here and 1 has already pissed me off. Anyway, I'll either print or hand write enough cards to cover the 11 houses on my cul-de-sac and pass them out, see what response I get and go from there.

Butt Shopping

     I heard a new term today called, "Butt Shopping". It's probably not what most of you think but it perfectly illustrates the difference between men and women.

     A married couple go into a furniture store. While the wife looks for furniture they'll have for the next 20 years, the husband looks for the closest comfortable chair to sit in while she shops. 

     He is butt shopping!

Play Sand & Jerky

      The store where I work is clearing out all their Spring stuff. They got rid of all the remaining seeds and veggie plants before I knew it. Next year I'll talk to the old gal in charge of that department so perhaps I can purchase the leftovers at rock bottom prices.
     Anyway, the formerly $3.99 sacks of play sand are now $1.00 each. I fetched home 6 sacks today. I may get more tomorrow but 6 sacks of water soaked sand is about all I felt like dealing with today.

     I've been seeing all kinds of jerky on the store shelves as of late. Back in the day, there was only beef jerky. Now I see beef, turkey, pork, bacon and even (how nasty can this be?) veggie jerky. To make a long story short, my store now has pork loin on sale for $1.77 a pound. I bought a small one to freeze semi solid,  cut off the fat cap, marinade and put on my smoker to try to make pork loin jerky. IF my first attempt proves worthy of eating, I'll break my dehydrator out of storage and start cranking it out in quantity. I reckon a couple hours on the smoker to flavor, then finish in the dehydrator. Jerky is like candy to bearded rednecks!

Reading The Bible

     I've recently begun reading the Bible during my lunch breaks at work. I'm into Exodus now. The first plague God put on Egypt was turning all their water into blood. I tell you what, even God would have had a job turning my heart hard after that!
     Anyway, I was talking to a friend and she said, "I wonder what they drank during the 7 days God kept the water as blood".
   
     I pondered this for a few hours and came up with several possible answers.

     I know the Egyptians made beer and wine and pickles so beer, wine and pickle juice (vinegar) are my first idea. Then I know they had livestock so there was milk but after less than 7 days with no water all the beasts' teats would have dried up.
     Possible answer #2 is go down to the land of Goshen where the children of Israel dwelt and try to kiss up and beg a cup of water. "You know, I always thought Pharaoh was a butt hole, I never liked him and they way he treats you all."
     The last answer comes as a joke about the mentality of good old Southern rednecks like me. "god wouldn't have ruined the sweet tea they just fixed and put in their refrigerator, would He? I mean, that would have been just spiteful!"

July 4th & later, 2017

     July 4th was Independence Day here in the U.S.A. Some of my neighbors shot off (illegal in city limits) fireworks, there was a huge display at the base ball park but I and mine slept through it all.
     I spent most of the day July 4th moving sand. Ergo, I have almost all of the truckload I bought shoveled and wheel barrowed to where I want it. It has been a mighty task, I must admit with all the rain we've had as of late.

     The other day I saw my neighbor, Mack out cutting roots of a Bradford pear tree he'd had cut down so I went over to chat. Seems his brother owns a dirt pit and hauling service so Mack will ask his brother about bringing me a load. I think the folks what brought me the sand want some $150.00 for "brown dirt". If  Mack's brother can deliver for $149.00 you know I'll save a buck!

     I'm still trying to get my riding mower/garden tractor running again. Even with a fully charged battery, it never seems to have enough voltage or amperage to crank so I'm thinking about taking my truck battery to try and jump start it.

     None of my gardens are doing exceptionally except my herb garden. The rest are doing fairly to poorly. I've started a dozen or so more cups of assorted tomato seeds. The amazing thing is what God plants in my garden or back yard. Where I had my ducks & geese I have bountiful things  never planted. The sunflowers probably came from their feed. But squashes, tomato and watermelon? I have no idea who other than God could have planted them where they are doing so much better than anything I myself planted.
     IT seems almost like Biblical gifts sideways that where and what I sow in my gardens, I reap not. Where God sows, I do reap. He does indeed work in strange and mysterious ways .I'll not question Him nor His ways. I'll just accept His blessings when and wherever I  find them.

     I'll work more on getting my mower/little tractor and my tiller working again. I've a trailer to haul dirt w/ my tractor. With my tiller I can turn the soil (and the "new dirt" ) . All I can ask is God bless the soil and my efforts.