Finally Using My Metal Detector

     A few years back I bought a metal detector @ half price clearance sale at that store everybody in the USA claims to hate but shops at almost religiously, you know the one I mean. I thought I would use it at city parks and such to see could I find lost jewelry, coins, et cetera. Long story short, it got set aside and pretty much forgotten until a few days ago.

     I went out to do a bit of mowing in my back yard the other day and had scarcely gone 40 feet when my mower keeled over and died. A quick check revealed that a bolt that holds the handle to the body had fallen out. On my mower, the handle must be fully extended and locked for the motor to run. Without this bolt in place, my handle was neither fully extended nor locked.
     I knew it was futile, but I attempted a visual search  and ended up  taking the bolt from the opposite side and hitting  the road searching for a replacement. After 2 hardware stores and 1 lawn mower parts house I came home empty handed.

     Then came my "eureka"  moment... my metal detector! I knew I had one but the grand question was "where?"..... It took me a couple of days to locate the little device and you guessed it, the batteries were as dead as dead could be.
     The machine requires 2 each 9 volt batteries so I bought 4. Hey! That's the way I roll! If I need 2 now, I buy 4 so I'll be ready next time.

     Anyway, to make a short story long, I slapped the new batteries in, calibrated my detector using a bolt of near the same size and went out searching. It took longer to replace the batteries than it did to find the bolt. I did pick up a lot of small "trash" signals which makes me think... how many tons of assorted metals are in my back (and/or front) yard? I'm sure there is a piss pot full of scrap such as nails, beer cans. I've found a plenty of that by visual only. Believe it or not, I have even found rail road spikes, which it rather freakish considering I worked a few years for a rail road repair company.
I pulled and drove my share of rail road spikes, believe me.

     I'll continue scanning the yard with the metal detector just because I am a curious sort of geezer and who knows? Perhaps some day I'll actually get my old butt out to the parks and such to see if I can find a fortune!

77 To 57 & Vlad Going Crazy

     Today's high temp is supposed to be 77 F and tomorrow's is forecast to be a mere 55 F, a 20 degree drop in 24 hours., more or less as a high. After almost 3 months of near high record temperatures, we're expecting our frsrt frost of the year this coming Sunday morning.

     Yesterday late morning I was parked on the sofa, watching the idiot box when my boy , Vlad the Jack Russell terrier came running in yapping and doing his "crazy dance". I asked him what he wanted, he answered but as usual I didn't understand what he was saying. First guess, I fed him and Bella, my Dachshund and they were happy for  moment. Then Vlad came back dancing and telling me something which I again didn't understand. I filled their water bowl and again they were content... for a moment.
     Later when I went to take some clothes off the "redneck dryer" aka clothes line, Vlad waited until I got to the line then jetted past me as if he'd been shot from a cannon!
     That's when I knew he was feeling the season, that the heat wave was past and he was ready to run crazy! He would run crazy past me and I would call to him

, "Run crazy, boy!" and to Bella, "Run crazy, Get Vlad!"
     After about 10 minutes or so, I'd had enough of running crazy so I called them in.
It was no more than 2 minutes after we came in I looked around for Vlad and Bella and found them sacked out in bed, awaiting Papa to come lay down with them.

     It's getting a bit nippy here come evening time to sunrise so I've turned my heater/Ac unit to "heat". In the daytime, it's still comfy with doors n windows open but we need a bit of heat to sleep.

     Who knows? Maybe I'll actually begin cooking indoors soon instead of on the grill or smoker.

Almost A Heart Attack

     Five nights a week I drive past my Mom's house on my way to work and 5 mornings I drive past again on my way home.
     This morning I almost had a heart attack when I saw a fire truck parked in front of her house, lights a-flashing. First thing after I screeched my car to a halt was notice no doors were open, no lights on at Mom's. I went to the fire truck and could find no one inside. By now in a near panic state, I spotted someone on the front porch of Mom's next door neighbor's house so I scampered as briskly as possible over there. The fella there was a member of the local fire department. I said, "Hey! That's my Mom's house you're parked in front of... What the Hell is going on?"
     Turns out they were responding to a call from Mom's neighbors's house but when they arrived, a school bus was parked there so the fire truck parked in front of Mom's. Mom would have slept through all the noise had it not been for her little dog, Gracie.

     Needless to say, when I got home I fell to my knees and thanked God Almighty that my Mom and brother (who lives with her) were okay.  Then I asked Him to watch over the neighbors for whom the fire truck was actually called.

     I have called Mom and my best friend regarding the whole false alarm ordeal and then as even now telling you all about it, my heart raced as it does now.
     My brother is 60 years old and has Alzheimer's and is too blind to drive. Mom is 79 years old and is his full time care giver as his medical insurance don't cover mental, So you know in the time it took me to pass the fire truck and stop my car, 1000 worst case scenarios were put in my mind by Satan.

     All I can say, beloved children of God, when all else fails... put it in His hands. When times seem their worst remember that the children of Israel were 11 days away from the promised land when their faith failed them. Whatever happens, make use of your wilderness that He sends you though.

Tilting The Kilt

     I've always been a bit of a free spirit, you may say. I believe it was even before my teens I gave up wearing skivvies, under britches, drawers, whatever you may call them.
     Aye, I became a "free baller".

     At any rate, I believe it was late July or early August I found kilts for sale on line and ordered 5 of them. Upon first wrapping myself I was in love with the kilt. True, here in Mississippi I was attacked my fire ants, mosquitoes, assorted biting critters not to mention saw briars, poison oak, ivy and sumac... all sorts of vile flora and fauna crept up my kilt but  manned it out! And I loved it! Mowing my back yard was first then I became confident to go out front kilting.

     Now one thing comes that I cannot take in my kilt. 'Tis the cold! I'm wearing shoes in the yard and britches! No more bare foot, bare chested, kilt only outside, my loves!
I still put on the kilt of a warm afternoon indoors and who knows ? Maybe next Spring I'll sport the kilt when out shopping? Hey! Not many 58 year old men have the legs to sport in a kilt! I am by the grace of God one of the few. Now it's just up to me to go out in front of God and everybody sporting the kilt.

Used To Be Cheap

     Back in the day when I still had lots of black hair and my whiskers had color, I enjoyed foods that were less expensive than they are now. Today these cheap eats are swiftly becoming luxury items, at least to my budget.

1 Round steak:  When I was in my teens, this was considered the worst piece of a cow, about the same price as bologna which is made of whatever falls on the butcher house floor. Last time I looked it was right at $5.00 per pound. My parents would toss a couple pounds of it (round, not bologna) into a slow cooker with onions and such and serve over a bed of white rice and feed our family for near nothing. Boy, howdy! I could eat near my own weight in that!

2 Citrus: What is going on here? I know California is burning and Florida is flooding but citrus prices went ape shit before then.

3 Avocados:See # 2 above.. Avocados don't begin to ripen until they're picked so why are they now over $1.00 each?

4 Bacon: Bacon, to a redneck is a food group all unto it's own....    But $3.79 for a 12 ounce package?


     I just thought about this... why is grass fed beef so much more expensive than corn fed? Corn fed is fed corn that ranchers have to buy but grass fed eats grass that just grows. Maybe after the corn season the corn growers could let the cattle rancher have the corn stalks for the cattle to eat. If cattle won't eat it I'm sure hogs would and bring down to cost of bacon.

     One last thought regarding meat...bison were here long before cattle. Back in the 1970's there was a bit of interest in bringing back native grazers like bison.  Whatever happened to that?

     One last, last thought about meat. I'm hearing a lot about feral hogs here in the USA. Give me a dead wild hog or 2 and I'll be one happy redneck!

Harvest Ending & Planting Starting

     It's late October and I'm still bringing in green tomatoes to fry and okra seeds to store. I'll be setting up a cold frame or 2 soon and starting some starter beds for cacti inside the house.
     It's a never ending story here at Merlin's Garden trying to start a business doing things that make me happy and I can actually make some little money doing.
     While a grand dream is to be able to do this for a living, it seems Satan is always putting obstacles in my way. Now it seems one step forward and two steps back. But the Lord is always by my side and I see this time as His leading me through the wilderness. I just pray my wilderness doesn't last 40 years.
     I heard somewhere that if the children of Israel had taken a straight path it would have taken them 11 days to reach the Promised Land. Even after 40 years, after all that 1st generation had passed away, their sandals were still not worn out.

     Meanwhile, here at Merlin's Garden, I take each day as God gives me. Blessed.  Yes, some days I want to give up and cry and wallow in self pity that things ain't going my way. Instead I stand up and be joyful that things are going HIS Way.
     It's not how many time we fall that matters. It's how many time we get up.

Banking Issues

     I'm starting to think that banks and money aren't really worth all the hassle and we should just go back to the barter system.
     The Sunday before Columbus Day here, I tried to use my bank card to add air time to my cell phone. For some reason, the transaction wouldn't process. So, on my lunch break I drove across the street to the local bank branch ATM and did a balance inquiry. I almost shat upon myself when my balance was reported as $0.00 ! As soon as I got home I called and killed my card just to make sure my balance didn't go any lower. Monday was a bank holiday (Columbus Day) so it was Tuesday morning before I could actually call the bank. The nice fella there told me, "the system was probably down" for whatever reason but I did, in fact, still have my money.
     I still had to go back to the bank to fill out paperwork for a new card (which still hasn't arrived in my mail to date), an ordeal which took around 60 minutes. But I have to wonder... How many other bank customers were put through more than I was ? As in, parents needing formula for babies and such that didn't have access to funds from 12 AM Sunday to 9 AM Tuesday.

     So while awaiting my card, I'm using checks. The other day I wrote a check at the grocery store where I work. As soon as I get home, I get a call from the store saying they can't find my check. In retrospect I should have said "Not my damn problem, is it?" But nice guy that I am, I got back in the car and went back to write another check with the promise that one or the other would be reimbursed to me. I get there and my friendly cashier tells me that she'd found my check.

     How about we all go back to the barter system? I know that's not gonna happen but we can all try to make life simpler for all with just a wee bit of effort.
     One of the fellas I work with does scrapping and recycling for extra money and is seemingly doing quite well at it, by the way. His day job produces quite a bit of scrap metal, all of which he fetches to the scarp yard. Whenever I have or find some, I give it to him. In return I get to pick through whatever is in his truck for tidbits I can use for my projects.

     Give some, take some. I've found that if I make life easier on my fellow human being, life turns out easier for me as well.

Mowers

     I always though electric lawn mowers were for "Save the Planet" dweebs and geeks. Well, I am now a dweeb and/or geek. Since I moved, I have bought 2, count them, TWO gas powered mowers. I have used only ethanol free gasoline in them... Neither has lasted a full cutting season. So
I decided to try electric.  I won't mention the brand name, I'll just say that it is the ugliest shade of piss green/yellow in the world.
     I am happy with my ugly electric mower! A charge will cut either my whole front and some back or whole back and some front. No more pulling on the wretched cord for longer than I actually mow, it is SO quiet that I can actually think while I work... At first I thought about buying a spare battery so one could charge while I use the other but the battery recharges faster than I do.

     It doesn't cut a wide swath but so long as I don't let the grass get knee deep it does just fine & dandy by me. So don't be afraid of your neighbors thinking you a dweeb or geek. Consider an electric mower. Hey! My weed eater is electric and so is my chainsaw.
     Maybe I'm a 3 time dweeb and/or geek.

Hotter To Colder

     For the past few months it's been hotter than normal here. Now the little gal on the weather says next weeks we're gonna be colder than normal. I do declare, the weather is crazy, not only here but it seems world wide.

     Halloween is a mere 8 nights away and I'm frying green tomatoes from one on my washtub gardens. Also still harvesting okra pods for seed for next year,. I've filled almost two 16 ounce cups already and still have many more to gather as long as the wet weather don't come in and mildew/mold them. Last spring I was hard pressed to find even 1 packet of okra seeds. This coming Spring I should have plenty to share.

     I also last Spring planted some pineapple crowns to see could I get them to grow as well as my Mom did with hers.  She even had 1 make a pineapple a few years back! I was still living in the trailer hood but her plant got so big she threw it into the ditch behind her yard to be shed of it! But back to my plants, I have a dozen or so pineapple plants now in my living room
     I also have 3 date palm tree seedlings that are doing fair to middling. Just buy a pack of dates (with seeds, not pitted)...eat the fruit and spit the seed into a cup of dirt, add water and wait. I got all my seedlings started from the first pack of dates I bought. The grocery had some organic dates on sale that I bought along with some later dates and so far, no seedlings from them. As I recall, it takes a few weeks to almost a month to see any germination.

Growing My Own Potting Soil

     I've been growing my own potting soil here at Merlin's Garden. . I burn most of my bills and other mail which may or may not contain sensitive info hackers can use to get my money along with scraps I trim from bushes and bits & pieces from my wood working projects. To these I add my home grown scraps such as egg shells, veggie scraps and such. The main ingredients are dirt from my digging projects, dead potted plants my neighbors throw away and coffee grounds form work.

     All you need to start your own compost project is 3 buckets. Add coffee grounds, tea bags, crushed egg shells, dead flowers & such. Then dump from one bucket to the other daily, keeping 1 bucket empty.
     Before you know it, you'll have a bucket full of 100% home grown potting soil better than any store bought! Poke a few holes about 1" above the bottom of 1 bucket, add some seeds and you have your own container garden, perfect for tomatoes, eggplant or whatever makes you happiest.

Man Playing God

     In the book of Genesis it says that the Lord GOD made all the plants and animals each according to its own kind and saw that it was good. HE saw that it was good and He blessed them.

     Now we have all these genetically modified organisms or GMO's filling our grocery shelves and pantries. Heads up... If you don't see a non GMO label on the front of a package, look at the fine print on the back. So many will state, "May or may not contain genetically engineered product" or something similar.
     This is just my feelings on GMO products... God mage each plant and animal to its own kind and it was good. Man with his genetic tinkering is bringing in to being things He never intended. The famines and diseases foretold ion the Old Testament will come to pass due to man playing God. At some point (soon) all the GMO and hybrid plants and animals man has made will fail to catastrophic effect.

     Later the Bible admonishes against men wearing women's clothing and vice versa. Now again, this is just my thoughts on that. I think that the Old and New Testament writers were inspired by the Lord God, Jehovah. Inspired though they were, they did not, could not grasp the idea of trans genital changing surgery. While back in they day, there were eunuchs, I can't see anyone wanting to be eunuchized (I just made that word up). The Lord God made man and woman, man made eunochs...
Genesis 1:31 King James Version... "And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good". .... Let me repeat that.... "And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, IT WAS VERY GOOD"!

    How can man, even though made in God's image, do better than God, our creator?

Coast to Coast Calamaties

     It seems things are wild here weather wise in the USA.
Texas and Florida were both hit with major hurricanes and a minor hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  All my local are got from all the storms was just a bit of wind and rain, thank God!
     Meanwhile, California is in flames. Last I saw on TV was some rain finally came to the West Coast to assist the fire fighters. God be with all the folks affected by the storms & fires and with all those helping the victims.

     Another calamity, this one man made happened in Las Vegas.... "Sin City". Some crazed man went on  a shooting spree, killing many and injuring so many more and affecting lives across the USA and world wide. Last news report I saw, nobody knows why.
     Just as a side note, I do believe in our right to keep and bear arms but nobody needs that many firearms (modified) to protect himself, family, etc... Fully automatic weapons, "bump stocks" and such should be regulated, registered, etc. in my opinion.

     But back to the natural and man made disasters... We all need to pray for and support the survivors and families thereof. I heard on the radio some of the hospitals in Vegas were giving care for the shooting victims free of charge. Hope lives in Sin City!

     Not bragging, just stating the facts, I have been dumping my change and some few extra dollars in the hurricane relief jars at local stores. When the tornadoes ripped up my neighborhood where I lived at the time I gave not until it hurt but rather until it felt good!

Some Catching Up To Do

     It seems I have some catching up to do... It also seems I am still having computer malfunctions as it took me some 15 minutes to get back just today.

     I heard a preacher on TV not long ago saying that when things seem worst is when God is closest to you as that's when Satan is working hardest to get you back. Well, if that's the case, the devil is working overtime on me as of late. Therefore, God is tight by my side! Amen!

     It's like one step forward and 2 steps back trying to even sign onto my blog here. But no worries.

     It was, I think, mid August when I started having internet provider issues so it's been since then that I've been able to post anything at all. When I finally got back on I saw I have 3 followers. Grand deal and welcome!

     As I mentioned last time, August 11 was my boy dog, Vlad's birthday. I gave him & Bella, my she weenie some canned food and some other treats so it was a good day for them.
     We had a wet August for Mississippi and not too horribly hot, heat index in the 100 - 110 F range but typical.

     September 4 was Mom's birthday and the 10th was mine. As usual, my supervisor @ work screwed up my vacation request so Mom & I had our birthday dinner a week later than planned.


     My herb garden produced spectacular results! Basil (2 varieties), Spear and peppermint, dill, oregano, etc. all grew to mammoth proportions. I let them all go to seed and while they were in flower, the butterflies were flocking to my back yard. Also, maypops (passion flowers) volunteered in my grape arbor and I let them do their thing. I couldn't count the caterpillars consuming the leaves on the maypop vines. I don't know what critter they will become but I reckon I will know soon enough.

     Okay, this post has already become longer than most so I'll sign off before I bore you.

God loves you all and so do I!
Merlin

I AM BACK!!!

     Woo, Lord, it has been a time since I've posted and I have missed it!

I had a problem with my internet provider and it has taken quite some time to get them and myself back to blogging status. All Io can say is "God bless" and I have much to share with y'all!

     The first thing I missed sharing with you was Vlad's birthday back on August 11, my boy turned 9 years old.
     The second is Mom's birthday is September 6 and mine is September 10.  We went and had a happy lunch at a catfish joint here in Pearl, Mississippi after finally getting my brother's disability payments approved.
     That road trip was an adventure all unto itself, believe me!

     It has been in Biblical terms, a walk through the wilderness as of late but the main thing is I am finally back on line so I can share with you once again. I am beat down to my socks from work and trying to get back on line so I'll keep this post rather short but I do ave much to share with you all. I'll get you up to date and keep you posted ASAP.
   
     I love you all!
     Merlin