right now

right now

Jul 7, 2011

Random Stuff

I woke up this morning to NO WATER!  That is one thing that will send me over the edge.  Hubby looked at the well pump and he thinks the motor is toast, so it looks like we'll be out until the pump guy can come later today, and hopefully he'll have what he needs to get us up and running again.  This happening in the country with a hand pump I'd be able to deal with, but these suburban shallow wells are usually located under the crawl space of the house with no hand pump and no way of manually getting water.  Over the years I have figured out what my limits are - I could get by with no electricity as long as I didn't live where it's hot, but  I MUST have running water, I don't think there is any negotiation on this one!  

With no water I can't can my tomatoes or get any kitchen related chores done, so I figure I'd take the opportunity to post some of the random photos that were on my computer desktop, completely unrelated stuff that I was saving to try and integrate into a relevant post, but who am I kidding?  Everything is random some days :)

Ever wanted to know what a cotton plant looks like?  I grow them to show the kids in the 'Ready-Set-Grow' program in the schools every spring.  Most kids have no clue that their clothes came from the dried stick of fluff I pass around :)


Cotton plant flower - the white flowers turn pink after a couple of days which is what you see above.  It is a relative of the Mallow plant, you may notice the resemblance of the blooms and leaves.




From CurlBros. CottonInfo: "Each flower falls after only 3 days leaving behind a small seed pot, known as the boll. Children in cotton-growing areas in the South sometimes sing this song about the flowers:

First day white, next day red,
third day from my birth - I'm dead.


Each boll contains about 30 seeds, and up to 500 000 fibres of cotton. Each fibre grows its full length in 3 weeks and for the following 4-7 weeks each fiber gets thicker as layers of cellulose build up the cell walls. While this is happening the boll matures and in about 10 weeks after flowering it splits open. The raw cotton fibres burst out to dry in the sun. As they lose water and die, each fibre collapses into what looks like a twisted ribbon. Now is time for harvesting. Most cotton is hand-picked. This is the best method of obtaining fully grown cotton because unwanted material, called "trash", like leaves and the remains of the boll are left behind. Also the cotton that is too young to harvest is left for a second and third picking. A crop can be picked over a period of two months as the bolls ripen."  If you are interested in more info, this link covers the basics.  


Yesterday harvested more tomatoes & eggplant


If you are looking for a game that both kids and adults will enjoy, I highly recommend this one, "Camp".  The questions are all educational about plants, animals, geology, "outdoor stuff", and have different levels so it remains interesting for everyone.  For instance, Finn will take Level 1, Loch Level 2, and hubby and I will take Level 4 questions if we are feeling particularly knowledgeable LOL.  Beats the heck out of CandyLand anyways!


Some of you "far North-ers" might want to know exactly what that darn Squash Vine Borer (SVB) looks like:


When you see the frass, dig into the stem of the squash vine, and you are likely to find the culprit, the larvae of the Squash Vine Borer moth, pale with a brown head.  They normally lay the eggs at the base of the squash vine where they hatch, burrow into the plant and commence mass destruction.  So now you know :)

Found a new way to keep kids occupied while I'm canning - clipping coupons!  Now I'm not really a fan of coupons mostly because they are all for highly processed junk that we don't eat anyways, and although I watch "Extreme Couponers" on TLC with fascination, it's usually with mouth agape from shock LOL.  Coupon cutting, however, seems to be extremely exciting for kids, they stayed busy for over an hour!  They asked which ones to cut, and I said ALL of them - bad mommy, maybe, but it was an hour of peace and quiet!


The weather has been just ridiculous, the thunderstorms have been continual for several days now, no sun, and temps in the upper 90's.  Mosquitoes are terrible, and I think the garden is going to be showing signs of problems soon from it.  We have sand for soil so it drains well, but the constant wind, wet leaves and heat is going to be bad.  The plants never have time to dry off since the storms are coming several times a day.

I'm itchy just thinking about going out there to harvest today!

19 comments:

  1. Your video from your back deck looks exactly like you're living deep in the rain forest! I guess the only good thing is that your soil is so sandy because otherwise your yard would be, indeed, DONE already!

    I'm right will ya on the water thing, Girlie. I can virtually do NOTHING when I don't have water. I get a panicky feeling just thinking about it. I think it starts with the fact that I wash my hands too much!

    Hang in there . . . this too will pass.

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  2. keeping kids occupied is a challenge to me also- I am so gamed out-I'd rather take the kids outside to watch them play,ride bikes,chase them on mine if they leave the cul-de sac---lol that is a sight to behold.

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  3. Well, you woke up to no water and we realized yesterday our A/C wasn't working. Can I just say it was a very uncomfortable night last night. The repair guy is coming out today, now we're just hoping it's not too expensive to repair. Good luck with your well, hope it's an easy fix! Good idea letting the boys clip coupons for you. I don't use all that many either (too many junk food coupons) but know several "coupon queens". While in the commissary, I send my girls with coupon in hand to get certain items. Keeps them busy and they have to check and compare prices.

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  4. Mama Pea, you aren't kidding! I went and drained the last precious drops of water from the garden hoses to fill a bowl for washing hands! They are hopefully coming around noon to look at it, don't even want to think about the price, I know the last time I had the pump replaced in 2003 it was $550, wonder what inflation will be today? Hopefully it's something cheaper like a new bladder or pressure switch!
    ***
    Judy, I'd be outside too if it wasn't raining and 100 degrees! Blech!
    ***
    Anke, why can't things just WORK LOL?

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  5. It sucks not to have water. Been there, and now I have a hand pump, and some in storage at all times. And I think you are getting all my rain, so I would appreciate it if you would please give it back.

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  6. It's amazing what not having water will do to a person! Hopefully you've got it up and running.

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  7. No water inside but too much outside -- well that's got to be pretty annoying.

    Your garden has done really well this year, in spite of some serious setbacks (I'm remembering the early blight), so we will all hope that some of your crops will turn out to love the drenching and heat!

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  8. I hate it when that happens. It happens here whenever the power goes out -- which is often. I used to keep jugs of water, but if they stand too long, they're not good for drinking. Hope it's a quick and (relatively) cheap fix!

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  9. I never knew that cotton plants were so pretty. The flowers are thorny too, right? Every time I read about cotton, I always think of one of my favorite movies from childhood - Places in the Heart. It's all about growing and picking cotton and Sally Field is amazing in it!

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  10. Oh! Sorry about the no water situation! You distracted me with all of the cotton talk!

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  11. Man. Stick a bucket outside and at least you'll get enough water to flush the toilets. Yuck for all that rain.

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  12. Hope you get water back on soon.

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  13. Ugh, hope your water situation changes soon. I really miss driving in he south and passing fields and fields of beautiful cotton. Thank you for reminding me!

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  14. Thanks for the cotton plant posting, very interesting.

    I hope that the well guy gets out there soon and the fix isn't too expensive. Pumps can be a little pricey. I was lucky at the farm. I had two wells, one with the electric pump for the house and the barn and an old one out in front of the house with a hand pump. That hand pump sure came in handy at times!

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  15. Not having water must be horrible. Why are you on a well? Doesn't the area you live in have a municipal water system? I hope the pump guy comes soon and it's an inexpensive fix.

    Interesting about the cotton. I've never seen a cotton flower, they are really pretty.

    Now that is one hot day with rain! I can't believe it's still that hot and rainy where you are.

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  16. The cotton plants and flowers are really pretty! Very interesting info you gave as well. Another one of those things I am sure we all learned about in school and dumped not long after ;)

    Those bugs are nasty! Knock on wood, never had a problem with them. First time for everything tho.

    I can not believe your morning wake up call as a bad pump. That would set anyone off. Hopefully by now, it's fixed or you've collected enough of the rain water to at least flush your toliets!

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  17. I agree---no water, no ME! I head for a hotel.
    The electric, well, it's kinda nice once in awhile to go without.

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  18. Oh that gross grub just makes me cringe. YUCK! The kids must like seeing the cotton plant at school, you are such a good garden teacher Erin.

    I hope your pump acts up again asap, that is an expensive visit otherwise, sheesh.

    The rain is here today, and I was planning on going to the beach. Now theres a funny one for ya!

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  19. Oh my, I'm a BAD blogger, I can't keep up with all of you! First I don't respond to comments then I log on this morning and have 23 blogs to catch up on LOL! Thanks for all your support yesterday, I tell you it got me through the day! All I did was pace back and forth waiting for the pump guy since I couldn't work in the kitchen or the yard in the t-storms, so I looked forward to getting your comments and sympathy LOL!

    And Thomas, no thorns! And I still say you need to post a photo of a mess... LOL

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