Thank goodness it wasn’t such a hot and humid day today. I’m remembering how horrible the it was on the 4th before the wind changed directions and the short rain arrived. There’s certainly one nasty by-product of all the rain we’ve been getting, and that’s the increased number of biting flies and mosquitos. I’ve had more mosquito bites already this year than I can ever remember. They’re even in the Downtown! They’re getting all the more clever by hanging around my front and back doors and waiting to get in and pester me. Thank goodness I have my flyswatter handy.
The calls are still coming in on my listings and I do hope to have several more sold before next week ends. What I’m finding all the more this year are the number of lower priced homes not getting sold. Some of them are at bargain basement prices to where I’m just about ready to make the determination that far too many of our younger generation are either lazy, possess no vision, and/or don’t have the funds to make improvements. It may sound like I’m back blaming their parents again, but all fingers do point in that direction, don’t you think?
I have a dear friend who’s been very much into restoring and improving homes all the years I’ve known her. Just recently she said, “If I were now physically capable of doing those improvements, I’d be all over them.” On the flip side I had to laugh to myself when reading a bio written by one of our residents where she was going on and on about how she liked to do restorations and improvements on homes. I’ve see her work, and all I can say is if she were to take an industrial arts course, she’d be kept after class for additional training just to keep from flunking it.
One of the homes I was in today is a perfect example of a blue diamond in the rough. I was amazed at the quality of construction as well as its design and appeal. All that home needs is some cosmetic work, and afterwards it’ll return to being a showplace that’ll “wow” anyone visiting. Seeing a home like that would make anyone wonder why in the heck they’d want to build new. Please don’t think all older homes are well built because I continue to see ones that are quietly begging to return to the earth in spite of the lipstick their owners continue to put on them. I’m afraid I’ve become so jaded with North Iowa homes, that it doesn’t take me but five or ten minutes to determine if a house is a keeper, or one that’s long past its usefulness. There’s one particular house that I drive by often which makes me wonder how it manages to remain standing. I’m sure the neighbors are sick of looking at that rickety shack.
The giggles flowed freely when listening to a gentleman speaking about how to ward off four-legged garden pests. Somehow we got on the subject of gardening and all the problems our growing deer populations are creating with our flowers and vegetables. I couldn’t help but interject the major problem I had last year after they’d discovered my garden. In two nights, that “herd” had eaten everything except the onions. The damage they caused was irreplaceable.
My gentleman was quick to tell me his tried and true deterrent which was to urinate around the perimeter of a flowerbed or vegetable garden. The more he went on about how well it works, the more I laughed. Because I was laughing so hard, he must’ve thought I didn’t believe him until he finally let me get a word in edgewise. I said, “Oh Mercy! You are the first person from the general public that has spoken about that, because I’ve known that from the mouths of the really old farmers in my family, and yes, it does work.”
We of course had to carry that thought even farther when talking about what type of container one would use to save urine. We came to the conclusion that we’d have to invent some sort of chamber pot with spout on it, so to keep the line straight and connected when pouring. I’ve been told that using human urine between rains will keep out just about ever four-legged animal. It’s strange how animals must really hate the smell. Yes, I did get a well-deserved laugh today.
Tonight’s one-liner is: Once you say you’re going to settle for seconds, that’s what happens to you in life.
