Monkey vs Honey Locust Thorn

The culprit . . . thank goodness for that little spur
on the thorn cause that is what stopped the
entire thorn going into the shoe and foot.

My poor Monkey stepped on a Honey Locust thorn the other day at the big farm.  He was out in the pasture with Kyle, Squirrel and my father-in-law.  They were target shooting and Monkey was walking around and fell to the ground with extreme anguish.  They though he had been bit by a snake at first but then realized the thorn had gone thru the sole of his tennis shoe and into his foot.  They pulled it out and took him back to the house to doctor it.  The poor guy is constantly getting injuries and if something weird or crazy were to happen  . . . he is always our victim.

OUCH

Spiders . . . I HATE THEM

I HATE SPIDERS.  Any kind, every kind.

Our new-to-us house was empty for several years before we bought it.  So when we moved in . . . we stirred up all the brown recluse nests.  EEEEEEKKKKKKK.  During the summer, I generally find one a day and so far (knock on a huge piece of wood) none of has been bitten.  Right now we have sticky pads all over our house that are made specifically for brown recluse that we got at our local feed store.  It has their pheromone on it and attracts them to it.  We have one behind each couch, under tv cabinet, behind washer dryer, in closets, kitchen cabinets and pantry.  Then upstairs, we have one under each bed and in closets.  Just this morning I found a brown recluse in our dirty laundry basket.  I HATE THEM.  Cricket was helping be carry the laundry down the stairs when she saw it in the pile.  We dropped the basket and I ran to get a shoe while she watched it to make sure it didn't run off.  And yes, I killed that thing.  I told Kyle last night that we needed to check all the sticky pads so we did.  You will be shocked at how many we had.  33...OMG, did I just say 33?  Yep, I did. 33. Needless to say, I had MAJOR NIGHTMARES last night.  We are now looking at other ways to rid the house of them.  At this point I am up for almost anything. I HATE THEM.

I was bitten by one when Kyle and I were first married on the inside of my thigh.  It didn't rot my skin or leave any scaring . . . thank goodness.  A week after I was bit, I found the culprit.  It was in between the top sheet and comforter on our bed so we think it bit me thru the top sheet and that was why it was a "mild" reaction to the bite.  Yes, I HATE THEM.

A friend posted this chart on FB recently and I thought it would be a good thing for others to see whether you live in the country or not.

Oh Shucks . . .

June means fresh sweet corn in our area.  We have a local fruit and veggie stand where you can get watermelons, cantaloupe, onion, green beans, corn, squash, zucchini and so much more.  The man who runs it is a retired Agriculture teacher from our school district so you know his fruits and veggies are going to be well taken care of.


We stopped by there the other day and bought 2 bushels of bi-color sweet corn which is approx 50 ears of corn.  The kids love corn-on-the-cob so I decided that they needed to see what it takes to go from fresh picked corn to corn-on-the-cob on their plate.  So we took the bushels outside to the backyard, pulled up our chairs and started shucking.  I taught them how to pull the shuck down and remove the threads then I chopped off the ends and put them in the freezer bags.  They did really good and had it all shucked within an hour then we went in and cooked some for dinner.

If you have never shucked corn don't be scared to do it.  It is super easy (remember my kids can do it) and it is nice to buy it fresh and freeze for future use.

1. Pull the shucks down

2.  Pull/remove the threads 

3.  Chop off both ends

4.   Place in freezer bags (DO NOT WASH)

Pull the shuck down

Pull/remove the threads

Chop off both ends and place in freezer bags then freeze

If you get your corn with the shuck on , be aware that you may come across worms that have gotten in and started eating the top of the cob.  Don't worry though cause you will be chopping off the ends of the corn anyways.  Here is a pic so you know what to look for and hopefully it wont spoil your appetite but it is life!

Then when you are ready to eat, just boil the corn in water for 10 minutes.  We usually just smear it with butter and salt.  How do you eat corn-on-the-cob? Are you a typewriter going side to side or do you go around the cob?  Just wondering.

Clothesline

One of my most favorite things about living in the country and about our house is that when we bought it, it had a clothesline already in the backyard.  To say I love it would be an UNDER exaggeration.  I mainly throw our towels, sheets, blankets, work shirts and jeans on there.  Sometimes my only problem is that I forget that they are out there.  I also use our patio chairs for drying undies and socks but only if it is not too windy cause I really don’t like scooping them out of our pool. 

Clothesline Resource

Clothesline Shop

How to Install a Clothesline
Saving Money by Drying on Clothesline

Just looking at pics of clotheslines make me smile. 

Why Did the Sow Cross the Road?

Because they (there are actually 2 in the road) decided they needed a break from feeding all their little piglets and they heard that the grass is greener on the other side!

Just another joy of living in the country . . .