Friday, August 9, 2013

Grumpy August Mood Update

I been in a really grumpy mood yesterday and today. It maybe the fact that we have not really seen the sun in over a week but haven't gotten anything but scattered raindrops here and there for our trouble. Oh and the wind. All the rain is causing big flooding  a  few miles South of the Small-Hold but very little has been falling here. Now I am going to have to water the garden and the fruit trees yet I will bet a hundred bucks the minute I start it will rain just enough to convince me to stop then after I do stop the rain will sputter out as well.

Very annoying.

That last little swarm I captured is also getting robbed out bad every time I try and feed it. Even with the robber screen in place the neighbor hive is just coming and going at will and taking what little bit they manage to collect. If any of the original swarm is left alive I may have to move them tonight but of course I can't do much of anything until the foragers (if any) return. It never fails that Mid to Late Summer swarms all suffer this same fate no matter how far I attempt to remove or isolate them and August always puts me in a grumpy mood. For some reason I lose a lot of motivation in August each year.

The weeds, the heat and the bugs start to take their toll I guess.

And the stupid storm wind, with NO RAIN destroyed my mammoth sunflower as well. I looked it up and compared to the largest sunflower that stood some 29 feet tall my sunflower at approximately 15 foot was just a baby but I was pretty proud of it. Yesterday morning we must have had a wind and a bit of rain as the cars and deck were wet although nothing showed in the rain gauge but my poor sunflower had been broken off about a foot up it's central stem and was laying over on my muskmelons. The very top main central flower had just started to open up too.

Also another predictable August feature are the squash bugs. They have now multiplied to the point they are killing off the squash and zucchini plants. All the egg squishing and bug smashing always ends with the same scenario, nothing more than delaying the inevitable. There is simply no way to find all the buggers in the thick foliage and eventually they find the safe zones to build a massive bug army in.

Interestingly enough though I haven't seen a single hornworm in weeks although the tomato flies are bad this year.

Now writing about all this aggravation has made me grumpier. I need a nap.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!





16 comments:

  1. Sometimes you can't win for losing, but knowing that doesn't make it any easier.

    I hope you get the weather you need, soon.

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    1. RP - We finally got a bit of real rain last night some. A bit of sunshine this morning maybe things will get better now.

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  2. Lots of stuff screwed up here by the weather this year, I have to focus on the stuff that did grow. So I went out and dug what is a poor carrot crop this year and have already got 9 pints canned and have more in the works. Not a lot but something.

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    1. SF - Amazingly enough the one thing that did poorly this year more than anything else were my tomatoes which usually are my best crop. The bugs just wouldn't leave em alone this year and the rains made em split and end rot bad.

      Been a good year for peppers though.

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  3. I passed by the bees hives yesterday on the road I always drive on. I didn't want to stop fearing an attack LOL I did a quick count 10 to 20 hives?? about 4 to 6 ft tall. Does that sound about right?? all the layers(tray's)are painted different lite colors. They are in an open area surrounded by trees not to far from a river that is more like a creek. There is a metal gate into their area so not to be disturbed.

    Don't be grumpy :)

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    1. Rob - Were they all on a trailer or setting on individual stands?

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    2. It looked like they were on the ground.

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  4. Cheer up! Don't be grumpy!
    Just remember....
    "Things are never so bad that they can't get worse."

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    1. GM - Oh I am just frustrated which makes me grumpy it will pass.

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  5. Strange. I've been feeling the same way. It's hot and humid, the things I need to do I can't do while we are having thunderstorms...

    I went to town to get the things on my wife's shopping list. Usually I go to one grocery store and buy the items I have to buy there, then I go to Walmart and buy other things I can get a lot cheaper.

    But today I just bought everything at the grocery store, even though I paid fifty eight cents more for the same sack of cat food, and fifteen cents more for the same butter. But I took a sour satisfaction in not driving all the way to the Walmart.

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    1. HF - Ya everytime I go out to get something done or start a new project it begins drizzling on me. This was just bad timing as I finished up the frames I was making and need to start a new project. That always makes me grumpy.

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  6. Sorry to see what's going on. I can understand why your grumpy. Here's a little something to run through your mind. Be glad your a man. If you were a woman you'd have pms, periods, mood swings, boobs and you wouldn't be able to pee standing up. :)

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    1. eileen - hmmm well the pms goes away about now age-wise. Of course since I have managed to stay alive through the end of my wife's pms cycle I would say I had to deal with that as well :)

      did you say boobs? :)

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    2. I sure did :) Just wanted to put a smile on your face so your grumpiness wouldn't cause your wife to throw tomatoes at you. Or watermelons :)

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  7. A neat trick that works sometimes is to collect sick bugs; bugs that aren't moving as fast, or are otherwise sickly looking. Collect some dead bugs too for good measure. Place in blender with a pint or so of water and liquify. Finally, spray your special tonic on all over your problem while laughing maniacally.

    You'll feel better in no time and with any luck all your bugs will start looking sickly.

    Best,
    Dan

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    Replies
    1. Dan - LOL I would need to go find a different blender no way the Mrs. would let me use ours for that :)

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