Another wet, dreary and dark morning arrived, and as I suspected, the light rain must’ve continued all night and into the morning. I’m sure everyone’s glad it wasn’t hard and heavy, because if it were, there would’ve been wet basements all over town.
When I arrived at office, my first duty was to go and check on a ceiling fan which was dubbed ‘broken’ because the light wouldn’t turn on and yet the fan was still working, so I grabbed my step stool and a new lightbulb and headed over. Gee! Isn’t it magic when you can unscrew an old bulb and then replace it with a new one and suddenly it’s not broken? Like I’ve been saying, one must never underestimate the stupidity of the general public, as nobody wants to step back and start solving a problem on their own, as well as thinking critically forward. Believe me, changing that lightbulb was not an act of genius.
When I returned, I changed my clothes and headed out of town to a friend/past client who’d mentioned some days ago about getting ready to burn three very large piles of branches which were from deciduous trees he’d accumulated in his exceptionally large yard, so I willingly offered to help him burn those piles as long as he would let me go back and collect the ash for my garden, so yesterday he called and said he’d be ready to burn once the rain stopped this morning, so I agreed to be there.
When I arrived, he’d already started one of the piles on fire, so I proceeded to get the one nearby going, but unfortunately it was more of a chore due to how wet the top branches were, but I did finally get far enough under the pile to get it started.
In the following hours, that’s all we did was move branches and small logs closer to the flames, along with carrying fresh ones from another pile. Once our piles were both raging, we took a break and had a nice little chat about this and that until it was time to start throwing more onto the flames.
I’d say it must’ve taken us a good three hours, but by the time we were finished, I was in near shock at the amount we started with, and the end result. I couldn’t help saying, “I guess my expertise with starting and tending fires is still with me after all these years because there were three summers spent burning monster Dutch Elm trees on our little farm.” Believe me, I thought we’d never get all those dead monsters cut down and burned. On a positive note, we did have some really good potash for our crops. By the way, just so you know, it’s not at all advisable to spread ash from coniferous trees in your flowerbeds and gardens, and only because it contains creosote which is a detriment to plant growth.
Just last winter I was able to get a 20 gallon barrel of ash from a guy who burns wood in his workshop, which I spread all over my yard and in my garden. Knowing I had great crops this year, I’m sure that ash gave it a good boost. From the looks of my giant carrots, I’d say they were loving that potash as well. Judging by the size of today’s piles, I’d say there’ll likely be another twenty gallons of ash from all those logs and branches. Tonight’s photo has happens to be of the last log getting fired-up.
When I returned to office, I happened to find an offer on my Prairie Place on 1st Unit in my mail slot from the agent who viewed it with his customer yesterday afternoon, so I called the owner and walked thru it. I now have an appointment to meet with the seller late tomorrow morning, so we’ll see if that ends up going under contract. If it does sell, I’m going to be terribly sad when the current owner moves out of our City. She’s definitely one of the kindest souls. For Christmas last year, she gave me a beautiful quilt she made which I’ve been putting to use during the cold months.
Before heading home, I stopped out to Hy-Vee, and as soon as I walked down the first aisle, I happened to run into a couple whom I’ve done some real estate work for over the years. They had their two children with them who actually remembered me, and of course I couldn’t help saying to the both of them, “I’ll not forget you because of how much the two of you would fight whenever we were looking at homes.” I then said to their father, “There were times I thought they were really going to hurt each other.” He winked and then said quietly, “They’re still at it.” Teasingly I looked down at the two of them and said, “I know you do like each other more than you want to admit, because if you didn’t, you wouldn’t be fighting so much.” Oh, did I ever get the looks from those two! Yes, fighting siblings is always to be expected, but unfortunately in some families, it turns into dark jealousies which last lifetimes. If I have to come back in another life, I’m gonna be begging to be an only child, irregardless of that old saying, ‘There’s nothing worse than none, but one.”
When I arrived home, I proceeded to get a banana bread recipe dug out, and went to work at creating a treat for the members of St. Paul Lutheran who go downstairs for coffee and snacks. I’m confident it’ll be well received because I added a good helping of my cracked black walnuts to the recipe. I seem to be batting a thousand with what I take over there, so hopefully it won’t change. Truth be told, I truly enjoy giving tasty treats to those who’re appreciative. I’ll not be surprised if someone asks me for it’s recipe because I’ve made it before, and as far as I’m concerned, it is very good.
On a more sober note, please pray deeply for a peaceful resolution to the conflict that’s going on between Israel and the Hamas faction of the Palestinians. Truthfully, I’m now almost afraid to read the news, but as we all know, we mustn’t ignore such happenings.
Tonight’s One-liner is: Be he that dares not to grasp the thorn, should never crave the rose.
