Scaredeer

Here is a little pic of my "scaredeer".

This little guy has been in the garage forever. Suzy bought it one autumn or Halloween.

I have almost thrown it away a couple of times. It almost made the garage sale two weeks

ago, but I forgot. Now it has a new use. Look at my beautiful tomatoes - the best I have

ever grown (Suzy started a couple of them - so thanks, Suz!). Anyway, the deer ate the tops

off a few of them, so I put up some poulty netting. Then they reached over the top. So I

added more netting. And just to discourage them a little further, my scaredeer.

79 and counting - I'm melting

My AC was supposed to be fixed yesterday, but they got the wrong part. It can't be done until Thursday because of my schedule. I have been sleeping with all of my windows open and the big patio door. I guess my electric bill will stay low and it really isn't bad at night once I stop moving and lay down and the sweat dries from the fan. The downside of that is the nightmares about murders. On the other hand, my sinuses hurt so bad, the heat is only secondary and anybody who tried to mess with me would probably have a worse day than me.

The Good News and the Bad News

The BAD news is my AC is broke again and this time it is the compressor. The WORSE news is the part is another $1800. The GOOD news is that it is still under warranty. The BAD news is that labor is $800. The sorta GOOD news is that the company who installed the new AC last year is partly responsible due to overcharging the freon so much that it caused the comprssor to go bad, so they are gonna make me a deal and only charge me $500. No, they didn't offer, I had to get stinky.
In more GOOD news, I plan to lose another 200 pounds this summer. The BAD news about that is that it will probably cost me more than I want to spend.
And in yet more good news, my garage is ALMOST cleaned out.

I didn't get it... at first

NPR. I love listening to NPR. On the way to they gym, they were talking to Paula Dean. She had to get two out of three questions about tofu correct in order for some lucky listener to get Carl Castle on their answering machine. So, to make a long story short, the correct answer was that Colorado did not allow a woman to have this personalized licence plate: IloveTofu. The reason? because it is obscene. Of course I was on the way to teach a class. I had to wait in the p-lot for the answer. I didn't get it until I was half way across the lot. Did you get it?

How To Tell a Rotten Egg

Rosie, the red Amerucana was "out" today. When I located her, I also located her nest. She had 5 eggs in a little hollow next to a log and was carefully pushing each egg under her wings. If I ever go crazy and accept one of Dr. Lisa's roosters, Rosie will definitely be my brooding hen.

Here's how to tell the good eggs from the bad eggs: Carefully put all the eggs into a pan and cover with cold water (not iced). The green arrows: I put a brown egg that I know was laid today in the pan so you can see what a newly laid egg should look like in the water. Next to it, the green egg looks pretty fresh. The two eggs with the yellow arrows are not as fresh as indicated by the fact that the ends of the eggs are floating slightly. The egg with the red arrow is on it's end and is the oldest egg and one that I will throw into the compost. As the eggs age, gas builds up and gravitates to one end. If it's a really bad one, it would float. Presuming you were able to get one that bad into a pan of water without breaking it, you better be extra careful because if it does break it will be one stinky mess!

The Butterflys and The Bees

A couple of weeks ago, this is what was happening in the back yard.

These are the early variety of peach

tree. The others have yet to bloom, but I think they have all survived the drought. I gave each of

them water 20 minutes at a time, at a very slow rate at least once a week last year. I explained to these poor trees that they would have to be strong and make it through the drought with only the minimum of assistance from me. So under the stress of drought, they have also had to fend off insects and disease. At least one of the trees has antler scrapings from deer. Anyway, wish I could have gotten a really clear picture of the bees. There were so many and they were so busy. Funny thing that while I was watching these guys, I was talking to my friend Wendy and she knows about bees. She left her beehive at her mother's house and she's thinking about getting into bees again. I encouraged her and promised to split expenses. Do we need a farm???? Oh, retirement, where are you!?

Yogurt Chickens

Look at these girls eating/drinking yogurt. They go absolutely crazy over it. It is a tie with grapes. And Cy, the big egg was a double-yolker. I got to see Retta crack it open. They were getting ready to make cream puffs. Sadly, I had to go to work before they even got started. Sigh....