One of the highlights of our Columbus weekend was a day at The Columbus Zoo. We got there right at opening and got a nice discount for being Minnesota Zoo members. We did not really have much of a plan for the day – just wanted to see everything.
Not in any particular order…
Saw the tiger feeding and met a staff member who had been part of the Secrets of the Zoo show!
Watched a training session with two gorgeous cheetahs.
Walked through Adventure Cove (glass tube with water on all sides so you can see the various sealife swim above you and below you.
Watched the lion feeding. I had the BEST spot of anyone… I kid you not.
YA walked through the Lorikeet Aviary
Lots of kangaroos in the Kangaroo WalkAbout
Extraordinarily expensive pizza lunch
Spent a LONG LONG time at Stingray Bay. YA is besotted with petting stingrays and little sharks.
Petted some goats at The Barn
Gorgeous polar bears
Visited the manatees and got to see “Stubby”, who can’t be released to a boatstrike injury but has acted as a mom to many young rescue manatees over the years. Even found a cool manatee t-shirt!
I’ve talked about Jack Hanna running the Zoo for many years, basically turning it around and creating the fabulous experience that it is today. Up near the Africa area, there is a great bench/sculpture of Jack and his wife, Suzi. I couldn’t resist the photo op!
We were at the zoo for almost 8 hours and I can truthfully say that I slept like a rock that night!
Yesterday was the anniversary of the day we lost Edith, our LIttle Jail Bird. Here is another of her posts – one of my favorites!
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Jim’s comment “The squirrels around here seem to be unusually pesky” got me thinking about how much I hate squirrels. South Minneapolis squirrels seem to be especially hateable. People who say squirrels are “cute” either are crazy or they haven’t seen the squirrels in my neighborhood.
When I grew vegetables in my yard, it was an endless source of frustration to see tomatoes get almost to the point of perfect ripeness and then find it lying on the driveway with a squirrel bite taken out of it. The thought of eating a tomato that had been handled by one of those rodents deterred me from ever cutting off the bitten part; my compost pile was the only thing that benefitted from the squirrel leavings (and, actually, the compost pile didn’t benefit, either – see below).
I now only grow herbs and fruits and flowers in my yard. Squirrels like to dig in the planter boxes on the front porch or any freshly turned dirt and also do things like eat tulips off stems before they open their blooms. But at least they aren’t eating my food.
One time a squirrel got into my house. I’m not sure how…but you haven’t seen pure craziness until you’ve seen a squirrel dashing around your house at full speed.
We’ve all heard about how squirrels rob bird feeders of the bird food. If you have an open compost pile, to which you add food scraps, in your yard in south Mpls, you are basically operating a free restaurant for squirrels.
But the real reason I hate squirrels? They hate me. Here’s proof. Those of you who also live in the city of Mpls know that the big gray garbage bins the city provides us for our trash are pretty tough. But they’re not tough enough for south Mpls squirrels. Our diabolical neighborhood squirrels chewed a squirrel-sized hole in the lid of my trash bin. They would then go inside the bin and enjoy snacks
(this was before I composted most of my food scraps). Then, I out I came, blissfully unaware of any danger, with a bag of trash to put in the bin. I threw open the lid – and SHAZZZAAAMMM out flew anywhere from one to three squirrels in my face. They ran away, laughing hysterically at my scream, and plotting when they can do that again.
I learned to kick the trash bin several times and then stand back before I lifted the lid. After the squirrels escaped, I gave it another kick, then waited to make sure they were all gone before I carefully lifted the lid and tossed in the bag. But sometimes in my usual spacey way, I would forget to kick – and once again the squirrels would enjoy their dominance over me.
Any “cute” object or animal driving you crazythis week?
Mondays can be tough. Monday two weeks ago I accidentally ripped open a bag of flour in our pantry, which is also called the ‘doghouse’ as it’s a completely impractical storage area six feet deep, with a three foot door opening three feet off the floor, inside a closet. Because Heaven forbid my mom would waste any storage area. My family and I were recently talking about this area; as kids we had to climb in there to get things for mom because the adults could never get in there.
Long story longer, a month ago I needed something in a hurry from a tote behind a shelf unit in the doghouse. I had to move a bunch of stuff to get the shelf out to get the tote out. I had junk scattered all over the kitchen. And it all sat for a few days because I wanted Kelly’s help putting stuff back. And then early Monday morning, I was doing something in there that I don’t recall and something shifted and as I tried to shift it back, I ripped open the bag of flour. Then I knocked a 48 pack of AA batteries on the floor. It was a new package and batteries went everywhere. I closed the door and went to an eye appointment.
Later in the day, after my eyes cleared up, I started cleaning up the flour and trying to organize. I bought some pull out shelf slides and cut some boards and then realized if you pull out the shelf unit, you can’t get in the closet. So you’d have to be standing in the closet before you pull out the shelf, meaning you’d have to move the stuff in there first, and at that point Kelly said let’s re-evaluate this idea. Always the practical one that woman.
The Doghouse Pantry.
This last Monday I stopped at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to report my crops for the year. It’s called certification and it’s how the government tracks our production for all those farming handouts we get. I worked for this office back in the 1980’s when it was called the ASCS office. Certifications were easier back then. I had emailed this year’s certification maps into the office twice, trying to get the process done correctly, and there were still some questions. An hour and a half later all was well and I am certifiable. I mean certified. The agent helping me did a great job and when I told her this process was easier 30 years ago she gave me a blank look. Well, it was, I said. It just was. Trust me.
I went home and was gonna mount the loader back on the tractor for an upcoming lumber delivery. Usually this is a quick five minute job. But I bumped something and something shifted and bolts popped out and the support stands gave way. I stopped the tractor there so as not to make things worse. And then things got sketchy. I used a bunch of those wood blocks I was just saying I didn’t know why I had so many of. And I used a thing called a ‘Porta Power’ that I bought at an auction, and a jack, and a metal stand I’ve been saving for 15 years just for this purpose. I said some prayers and got it all jacked back up and the bolts replaced and the stands back in place and got the loader mounted. Whew!
I thought I was gonna start mowing weeds this week. I haven’t gotten that done yet. Got some other stuff done though.
Tuesday morning I donated platelets. It was my 80th donation, meaning 10 gallons (which I quibbled about; donating whole blood 80 times might equal 10 gallons, but not donating platelets even at two units / donation. Still, I got a 10 gallon pin and a new hat.
Our basement bathroom remodeling has begun… I don’t think it will take long as nothing major is really happening. The old cement board shower walls have been removed, and a new shower stall will be installed, a new vanity, and new toilet. With bidet!
1968 no more.
I got lumber delivered…more work for me and the boys.
More on this when we get to it.
And then I decided to haul in some scrap iron before I take the loader off the tractor again. I loaded up the trailer and when I got out of the tractor there were spots on the front fender, and the inside of the front wheel was wet. That seemed like a problem.
What you’re looking at here is something pretty special. It’s a hydraulic hose under the tractor that controls the steering. There’s one on each side. This one has developed a leak and was spraying oil around. Usually the dealership can just make up a new hydraulic hose, but for some reason, the parts manual didn’t tell them what parts were needed for this. I took the old one off and up to John Deere. Turns out one end is odd.
John Deere says there’s two of these hoses in North America. One is in Texas and one is in Canada. Which doesn’t make sense. Something isn’t right. Hydraulic hoses break; how can there only be two of them?? But I’ll get them, on Tuesday. And this whole thing really discouraged me. I had things to do with that tractor the next few days.
I did have 2700 pounds of scrap iron at $160 / ton. So that will pay for the new hydraulic hoses.
I’ve got corn tassling! It seems early.
And these flowers, which I only post because some of you got grumpy about them last year. : – )
Here’s the neighbors cows hanging out.
How now Brown Cow.
The boys helped me do some work at the Rep theater. We hauled out 30 old lighting fixtures that are not used anymore. I’d like to renovate these…create something funky out of them.
Last weekend we vacationed in La Crosse, WI with our son and his family. It was a lovely time. We have wonderful memories, like seeing our 11 month old granddaughter have her first ice cream. She thought it was pretty wonderful. We also took away a nasty upper respiratory virus that Granddaughter brought from her daycare. Son, Dil, and Grandson all were ill by Sunday evening. Husband seems to have avoided it. I got it on Monday. By yesterday I was running a low grade fever, had lost my voice, and was coughing my head off.
I don’t get sick very often, but I must give the impression I don’t take care of myself when I do get sick. because I have never felt so bossed around as I felt this week. Husband insisted he drive me to the doctor after he and Boommate made sure I made an appointment. Boommate ordered my out of the kitchen when I was just trying to straighten up, and they both made me set up a nest for myself on the sofa. The dogs even got in on my care by lying on top of me so I couldn’t get up. Then Boommate started to work on a big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup that takes hours to simmer. I feel very loved.
It has been ages since I had a summer cold. The doctor told me that the symptoms would be the worst on the fourth to sixth day. There was very little she could give me aside from something for my cough. I don’t like going viral this way.
What sort of a patient are you? Any good “first” stories?
YA and I switched from margarine to butter a long time ago. It was a hit to our budget at the time so I’ve spent years keeping an eye out for butter on sale. I have absolutely no brand loyalty to any kind of butter, unless you count the seriously fancy hand churned butter that I get a Kowolskis every couple of years.
I’ve also been lucky enough to have two friends who have worked at dairies. My friend Tim worked at one of the big names for years and he would regularly be able to grab a pound or two of butter from their “free shop”. Right about the time he retired, my friend Rita moved to the same company and now part of my solstice gift every year is a gift bag of butter. Such wonderful friends.
Because of how I acquire some of my butter, I don’t always know what I have in the fridge. Last week, I opened up a box of butter and was surprised when eight little wrapped bars fell out. Instead of four ½ cup bars, there were eight ¼ cup bars. As a baker who goes through quite a bit of butter, I laughed out loud. I didn’t know anybody packaged butter like this. I do occasionally need a half a stick of butter but it’s pretty rare and when I do, I just cut a whole bar in half. Not a reach.
But I suppose there may actually be a need for these half bars since somebody somewhere when to the trouble to manufacture and package these things???
Butter or margarine? Any brand loyalty? Would you appreciate half bars?
Backstory to today’s story. Quite a few years ago, one of my back teeth broke (no pain.) And I mean lots of pieces broke. My dentist sent me to a specialist to extract it (no pain). Then after a few weeks, I got a bridge. Fast forward about six years and I was having some discomfort (ok, yeah, pain) and it turns out that the very back tooth of the bridge needed a root canal. Sigh. Off to the endodontist for this. That morning she said she was a bit concerned due a small crack in the tooth but she thought she could make it work. Easy peasy (no pain). This was two years back.
Fast forward again to about 3 months ago when I noticed a bit of discomfort during brushing (no pain, just discomfort). I paid a lot of attention to this because I figured it was the bridge/root canal acting up after two years. The discomfort really didn’t change so I decided to let it ride until my usual dentist appointment yesterday.
I explained it to the hygienist (Kenzie) and when she poked at the area, there was a little jolt (yes, of pain) and she backed off. When the dentist came in to do her check, Kenzie said “I saw a little something stuck there”. I wasn’t sure what in heavens name could be stuck there – I am an every-night brusher/flosser, including under the bridge. I was prepared this time for the discomfort when the dentist poked about (a smidge of pain). She mentioned a tooth fragment while she was poking and that gave me immediate thoughts of one of those bridge teeth disintegrating and all those implant commercials I’ve seen recently flooded my brain. Turns out that the fragment is NOT from any of my current teeth. It is almost certainly a fragment left over from the initial tooth that was extracted eight years ago. The dentist showed me a couple of past x-rays and pointed out what she thought may have been the fragment slowly migrating to the surface.
WOW. Seems like science fiction to me and I probably said “wow” more than once. And, of course, I was instantly so relieved. I couldn’t leave the little fragment just sitting there on the dental tray so I convinced Kenzie to find a little sleeve to put it in. I’m pretty sure I won’t keep it for more than a couple of weeks, but really – WOW.
I’ve never had a souvenir from the dentist before – unless you count floss and toothpaste. Truly I’m pretty sure I ever want another but for now, this will do.
What’s one of your most unlikely souvenirs?Bonus points if you know where the phrase “little offenders” comes from.
We got to Columbus about 9:30 a.m. on a Friday morning and after picking up the rental car, we got to the hotel well before check-in time… in fact we were there before check-out time. We knew this was a possibility so we left my phone number with the front desk and headed out.
Started with lunch at The Rusty Bucket. Veggie burgers, fries and fried pickles. Best fried pickles ever. It was a gorgeous day and we sat near the big open windows so there was a great breeze. Then we headed over for a hike to Indian Falls. We walked quite a bit down of pathway before we realized that the little gurgling “rapids” we had passed earlier were the actual falls. Guess living so close to Minnehaha Falls, I had bigger expectations. But it was pretty and we got to pet a few dogs along the way.
I know I mentioned Anthony Thomas Candies earlier; we found an Anthony Thomas Candy Shoppe outlet between the falls and our motel. Anthony Thomas is a fourth-generation company that started as a Dairy Co-op in 1932 and following a couple of expansions, in 1952 they began making what is now their signature candy – the buckeye – peanut butter filling surrounded by milk chocolate. They make 14 million buckeyes a year and are recognized by Ohio State University for the licensing of the candies. We found a little box of what they call their “oops” – seconds. Neither YA nor I could figure out what was wrong with them. They were delicious – and cheaper!
Quick stop at a grocery store for a few bottles of pop/water for the fridge in our room and then headed back to the motel for our check-in. Showers, lunch leftovers for dinner and we found Banana Ball on ESPN. In a complete reversal of our usual roles, I am a BB fan, YA is not. However she humored me.
Set our alarms to make sure we got up early enough for our adventure on Saturday. Not bad for a travel day, no?
Do you have a candy that you would eat, even if it were an “oops”?
Saturday night was the first downpour we’ve had in a while. So it didn’t surprise me when my tomatoes, which are really tall for the first week of July, were sagging over, taking their tomato cages with them. I don’t usually have to shore up tomatoes this early in the season, but …. gotta do what you gotta do. As I was pushing my stakes in, I found two ripe cherry tomatoes. Two. On the 5th of July. I have never ever had ripe tomatoes this early.
I usually pull out the cookbooks looking for tomato recipes in late July, early August. But I have the perfect recipe for these two darlings.
First of the Season Cherry Tomato Delight Ingredients
Two perfect cherry tomatoes
Salt (optional)
Instructions
After harvesting the two cherry tomatoes, rinse thoroughly
Pat tomatoes dry
Open mouth
Pop the first tomato in
Chew
Repeat
Serves just one
What summer produce are you looking forward to the most?
It’s been hot. Got the fan on in the chicken coop. At the moment, daughter just came back from her walk and the dogs are panting. She was smart enough to cut the walk short. Wednesday when it was so SO hot, I convince her to just make her laps in the shop, the only place we have AC. How funny is that? The shop has AC, the house does not. Well, just how it goes. Don’t want the tools to rust you know.
The boys and I found work in the shop this week. Sure glad I’m not milking cows in this weather. I’d have been grumpy and ornery. And hot and sweaty.
Man, life is just relentless. I went back to read last week’s farming update so I’d remember what I’ve already told you. Padawan 1 quit another job and he’s back with me. Which is OK, but I’ve still got P2 around. I can’t really afford both. And together…well, you know, two nineteen year olds… It’s more work for me to keep them both working independently. And they still chatter and make noises. Such nice young men… can’t wait to see how they are in about five years.
We’ve gotten 2.5” of rain the last few days. The latest drought monitor map has us as “abnormally dry” back on June 30, so presumably we’re in a little better shape now. We don’t need two inches in two days, but an inch over a day, every week would be nice. Down around Grand Meadow, they got 8″ of rain. My goodness…crazy stuff.
One day in the shop I had P1 in the cab of the tractor trying to figure out why the blinkers would only work randomly. I had him start in the fuse box. It has a diagram on the cover so you know which fuse is what. Somehow he still managed to read it backwards. Considering this is all kinda new to him I wouldn’t be so concerned. However as he’s rebuilding the engine in his car, I wish I had more confidence in his skills… Eventually he deduced the switch was bad. He removed the steering wheel and got the cover off so we could see the multi function switch. High and low beams, horn, and blinkers. I called John Deere. $665 for a new switch. Well. Blinkers are overrated. He squirted some circuit cleaner in there and reassembled. It took a few tries and he had to take the steering wheel back off to bend up some tabs to keep the nut holding the steering wheel tight. Again, should I be concerned about the lack of attention to detail? Well, it’s not my car engine he’s taking apart.
I took the boys on a road trip. We picked up a part in Plainview and then to my tire place, Appel Tire in Millville. Dropped off four tires: The one that was packed full of mud this spring which I cut apart to get the mud out of, a tire off the generator meaning I just needed a used tire to hold the air INSIDE, and I replaced two tires on the haybine. We went to lunch at the only place in town, Whiskey Dicks. Brat burgers were the special and they were really good. The boys spent an hour talking like hillbillies, which kind of annoyed me. Then we picked up the tires ($476.52) and came back home.
P1 mounted the tires back on to the haybine. (Funny how all the machinery I bought in the 1990’s or 2000’s needs new tires these days. The haybine, wagons, the corn planter, the grain drill. Like I should only expect 25 or 30 years out of a set. It’s not the tread, it’s the sidewalls that crack and wear out.) On a car, there are the studs, or bolts that stick out and you fit the wheel over them and add nuts. On farm machinery there’s a bolt that goes through the wheel and threads into a hub. So a little fussier getting things lined up. And it gave him trouble and he got mad and didn’t want to listen and I just had to walk away. It took him an hour but he got the two new tires on. It doesn’t help when I point out he’s letting a couple tires make him mad. There’s that lack of a soft skill again. It’s such a shame when you get in your own way, you know?
P2 has more soft skills. He was mounting a couple new LED work lights to the rear of the cab. I thought we’d have to run new wires up to the top lights and splice them in. But that’s when I noticed connectors tucked under the fender as part of the blinkers. Often, the entire wiring harness is installed and then only some of it is used. The lights that we added would have been part of a ‘premium’ lighting package. Up in the cab, I ordered a new switch for those lights ($67), and it came with a couple wires that simply plugged into a connector and BOOM! More lights. Can’t wait to need them. Looking forward to it.
Just add a couple wires
Bottom right, new switch!
P2 also figured out how to get my shop garage door to talk to my phone again. It used to work, then I think I hit ‘factory reset’ or something. I gave him the manual and my phone, and eventually using his phone, it all works again and I can open the shop door from your house. He told me never to get the book out again. He did it all by asking AI how to make it work. Crazy stuff. And that’s why I gave that job to him.
Crops are looking good. The beans are starting to fill in, the corn is well over knee high; it’s at least waist high if not chest high in some fields. The oats is starting to turn color. I picked up two bales of twine last week, because we’ll be doing straw before you know it.
Last week when I stopped at the library to pick up a couple of things, there was signage at the entrance that at 2 p.m., there was a schedule fire drill. I asked one of the librarians what was involved and she said “the drill rings, everybody goes outside and stands around until the bell rings to indicate they can come back in.” She said that they are usually very low-key.
But it made me think about what would happen if it were a real drill and the library was on fire. It reminded me of the ending scene of Legal Eagles, a wildly improbable film from the mid 80s. The bad guy sets a fire in a swanky art gallery in New York (where they just happen to be having a memorial service for one of the owners). As the funeral goers are rushing to get out, there is a quick shot of some folks trying to take some of the art with them:
So, here’s the drill. You’re in the library when the bells go off, somebody yells “smoke, smoke”. You have just enough time to save five books. What books will they be? I’ll get us started.
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The Martian by Andy Weir
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Us by Heather McGee.
Trail Baboon 