Where Baby Cucumbers Come From

Last week I thought I picked the last cucumber, a giant behind the planter, but this week there were four growing on the end of the vine,


These are small and are staying small, or growing slowly, and must be where the baby cucumbers grow. There were also a few more flowers, so there may be a few more on the way. I'm still picking an occasional strawberry and my blueberries are supposed to grow in June, but now I have a few growing in September,


Sarah's raspberry is growing right on the other side of one of the blueberries and must be crowding it, because it is not doing well. I might let the raspberry win and give up one of the blueberries, but then I might have to give up the rest of the yard for the raspberry, Sarah's is spreading like mad.

Friday was the first ugly day in Boise that I've seen since I've been here. Thursday night there was the smell of smoke from a fire, and Friday morning there was a red orange sun in a grey sky. They say, red sky in morning, sailor take warning, I figure red sun means the same thing. The day was hot, dry, and orange grey all day, but now it is raining. Raining?

The day started clear and warm and I was motivated enough to start another drawing, then I went out to try to go to the Art in the Park, but it was already too crowded at 10 am and I couldn't find free parking. Remember when I went last year? I paid to park last year on Saturday, but I found free parking on the street early on Sunday morning. Just as well, I would have felt like spending money I don't have anyway. So I went to the fruit stand instead and then went home to paint.

Just after I got home, a connector exploded, that's what my neighbor said it was called as he looked at me like I was stupid because I didn't know, and the power went out. One thing about Idaho, when the power goes out there is usually an explosion first. The squirrels have been loud and busy around here over the last few days, one of them probably stepped in the wrong spot, boom! By the time I called Idaho Power they already knew and had a recording about it, they better, that was the reason for the Smart Meters, right?

Amazing how much you realize you cannot do without power. Can't cook, electric stove, can't sharpen a pencil, electric sharpener, can't paint, not enough light. By the time I got ready to pull weeds in the front yard, the power went on again, but I pulled weeds anyway.

The sunny half of the front lawn is not doing well, at least the grass is not doing well, the weeds are doing fine. It is covered with a low spreading weed that makes those round stickers, the round stickers start out green and then turn golden, which is when they get really nasty. They are easy to pull up, since they spread far and wide from one root, but you have to pull them up before they get the green stickers and you have to use gloves. My street tree, which again is a Catalpa, also dropped a ton of seeds on the lawn after it bloomed in June and I would have a regular forest if I did not pull up the seedlings, or at least mow them down.

So I had the usual Idaho weather day today, pulling weeds in the baking sun, wait to mow the lawn until it's cooler but by then it looks like it will rain and is getting blustery, the sky clears as I mow the lawn, not too long after I finish it is suddenly raining.

Sarah was also working on her yard this afternoon and I asked her what vet she uses. Spit is recovered from her stabbing, but the event made me realize I should know a good, and reasonably priced, local vet. Dad's dog had major surgery over an abscess caused by a foxtail of all things.

I was feeling better by Wednesday last week, but it is a good thing, since it was a day of constant vigilance. Someday I will just intuitively know the right thing to do, but today it still takes work, it takes constant attention, and it is exhausting. Try looking evil in the eye, or at least someone telling a complete lie, and not looking away, but not taking it on either. I was so tired by the end of the day on Wednesday that I thought I was going to cry and had to call Mom, since she understands the limitations of public employment.

I'm not sure the weekend was enough recovery time to face that again tomorrow, but hey, I have Columbus Day off, and Veteran's Day. I love it that Idaho gives Columbus Day as a work holiday, it is so politically incorrect, one of the IT guys at work said well, he discovered something, didn't he? And everyone should have Veteran's Day off, just out of respect.