Saturday Slight

Bill calls 'em depression potatoes, and he often likes to dice 'em up and fry them for breakfast. 

I'm always vowing to "plant more potatoes" every time the news signals possible bleakness in our future. 

If I had followed through that vow of late, our whole 20 acres would be growing spuds!

So far this year, just the patch in the well-aged manure pile dirt, a little patch under a big tree and a few scattered about inside the fenced garden are growing. 

I prettied up the manure-pile area this week with some posies and am looking forward to seeing the full growth of both potatoes and flowers.  

Not a lot going on other than the usual around here this morning.  The sun has returned after two days of rain.

I liked the rain for a change because it gives the grass in the fields a boost, especially when it warms up.  

Cooler weather of the past two days has also kept my lawn under relative control with this being just a one-mowing week.  

I also liked the rain because it loosened up the roots of tall grass that seems to love growing in my flower beds.  So, yesterday, I took my cart around and spent a couple of hours pulling grass and other weeds from some of the beds. 

Lots more to do, but I managed to get a good start.  My ambitious plans of pulling even more grass fell short in the afternoon, however, when I took some time and sat down at the computer to make reservations for a fall trip.

The process of filling out the online forms went fine until the end when the usual "thanks, yer done" type message shows up. 

It did not.

And, when I went to my email for confirmation, nothing appeared.  Maintaining a relative calm for about ten minutes, I kept checking and also returning to the site where I'd made the reservation.  

To get any information regarding the itinerary, the site needed my email and a password. My password was not acceptable, and I did not want to change it.

So, while continuing to check the mail for the confirmation, I decided to find a telephone number to call.  Of course, all went well until the message indicating that all agents were busy, please hold the line. 

For about 15 minutes, I listened to the same song played over and over.  Normally, I would like that song cuz one of my favorite kinds of music, but it wasn't long before I started despising it, especially when the song would come to an end with a sound very reminiscent to someone coming on the line. 

No one came on the line, and the stupid song would start all over again. Finally, I hung up.  

Then, I wrote to Annie, expressing my concern.  She quizzed me on a couple of items and in the interchange, I suggested to her that "certainly I wasn't working on a fake website." 

Eventually, I tried calling again, getting the same message and the same irritating music.  I walked downstairs and then back upstairs with my phone on speaker. 

Finally, thankfully,  a lady in New York came on the line.  Turns out the reason I wasn't getting any confirmation was that my online reservation form had timed out, and there was no record of a reservation.  Thank God.  No worries about the credit card.  

This nice lady got me all set up with the reservation and even a cheaper price.  A couple of hours of mild apoplexy came to an end, and, happily, the confirmation came immediately in the email.  

So, Bill and I are all set to set off on an adventure on our own this fall.  Well, at least, we're all set to fly.  We're both looking forward to the rest of the planning. 

Plus, it will be fun looking forward to the trip when the lawn dries up and the garden is harvested.  

For now, we're enjoying what Mother Nature gives us.  Bill will be fishing with Willie today, and I'll probably go to town and visit the Farmer's Market.  

Should be a fun Saturday. 

The grass does grow taller and greener on the other side of the fence, said Lefty this morning.  As you can see, the bent fence agrees. 

Weeds, yes, but buttercups at the water trough are always a pretty sight. 

Morning mist at the Meserve Preserve

My little buddy CB is growing up fast.  Right now his head looks a lot prettier than his rump.

Lefty, who's never been able to boss before, has used CB's rump for a frequent dinner plate.

Maybe the day will come when CB's much taller than Lefty and the rump will get a break from Lefty's teeth.