From commentor OldGold:
Diary: May 7
Inexplicably, my garden, West of Eden (f/k/a Rabbit Feeding Zone), continues to grow unmolested by rabbits. I was particularly disappointed by the great strides made by my Killer Kale over the past week. I fear that soon, if the rabbits continue to forsake my Killer Kale, my significant other will be scanning the internet for ways to make use of this foul tasting weed. Kale chips? Whare are the rabbits? Whare are the rabbits?
Diary: May 15
Alas, despite my worst efforts, my vegetable/flower garden, West of Eden, continues to flourish. Before completely giving up on my formerly ravenous rabbits reclaiming their feeding zone, I have decided to make a bold move. Going into full anti-tRump mode, I am taking out what has in the past been laughably referred to as a fence. And, I am going to make the rabbits pay for it.Some, like my neighbor from Hell, DeeDee Plorable, she of the sulfuric scent, might see West of Eden as a testament to piss poor planning, pathetic procrastination and pedantic posturing.
My response, ”It’s modern day presidential!”
Diary: May 23
The failure of the rabbits to ravage West of Eden this year and thereby expose me to the horrors of eating Killer Kale Cupcakes and Zany Zucchini Salads may be a wage issue.I am going to increase the rabbits’ starting celery.
Diary: June 14
Svensker asks, “What zone are you in?”
This year, with the mysterious disappearance of my ravenous rabbits, West of Eden is in a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone (A/K/A Down The Rabbit Hole).
Diary: May 22
Yesterday, I ambled up to my still flourishing green nightmare, West of Eden, to check if the big bowls of Trix I had placed next to my vibrant veggies had attracted any silly rabbits. No luck.Then, the sun dimmed and the birds went silent. Suddenly there was the scent of sulfur in the air. My neighbor from hell, DeeDee Plorable, was bearing down on me at warp speed.
“Ogee, those are some killer Kale,” she cruelly sneered. “I will have to share my recipes with your Mrs.” Ouch!
“Ogee, Purr and Fect (her cats) are missing as well as several others in the neighborhood. What’s going on?”
Hmmm!?!? Whare are the rabbits and cats?
Diary: June 27
At the crack of noon I trudged up to West of Eden to weed. A task I had effectively eschewed since early in the Eisenhower Administration. I was armed with 2,4-D, a blow torch and a machete. The plan was to clear a path for the rabbits to reach the Killer Kale.Just before initiating this desperate plan, I saw something that explained the mystery of the missing ravenous rabbits and DeeDee Plorable’s missing cats.
Diary: June 30
Whare have all the rabbits gone? The answer is what I have come to call the Fudd Fox Family, in honor of the most infamous rabbit hunter of them all – Elmer.
Diary: July 4
Given the seven Fudds’ seemingly permanent encampment, I fear my only hope for a return of the ravenous rabbits and a reprieve from the horrors of Kale cuisine, is Divine intervention. Lettuce pray.
Diary: July 25
Still no rabbits, but Possible salvation from the horrors of eating Killer Kale Cupcakes and Zany Zucchini Cookies – Heat and Drought! It is so hot and dry here the Jehovah’s Witnesses are telemarketing.
***********
What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
Mary G
Fox kits are cuties! Very funny diary, OG.
SiubhanDuinne
Hilarious! And some wonderful photos!
rikyrah
Good Morning,Everyone ???
J R in WV
@rikyrah:
Good morning, rikyrah! My first timely good morning to all!!
I’ll go back to bed again soon, I’m intending to power up the Kubota tractor and go bush-hogging everywhere I can safely drive. But I’m not going to start a 6 am, for cryin’ out loud.
More like 9 or so.
JPL
Thank you OldGold for sharing your gardening experiences.
raven
This thread sent me down the rabbit hole looking for a picture of Bob Hoskins and the white rabbit he gives Michael Caine in “Mona Lisa”. A google search came up dry but this shot came up! Apparently Pete Rosa is a guitar legend in New Zealand !
MattF
@raven:
Wrong rabbits, but…
raven
@MattF: That’s what struck me in Mona Lisa, I saw it when it came out but I didn’t remember the rabbit. There is some discussion of the meaning of the rabbit online but it really made no sense in the film.
NorthLeft12
Ha! I don’t usually read these but I thoroughly enjoyed the write up and pictures. I would probably prefer foxes to rabbits any day.
satby
Well done Oldgold! I like kale, and I feel bad if your neighbor actually did lose her cats though she shouldn’t have them roaming, but funny! And great pictures, especially of the fox kits. You won’t be bothered by mice or gophers this year either!
evodevo
I stole that cooking kale pic if that’s all right …. hilarious post ….
Raven
@NorthLeft12: Here’s a totem pole up the street.
OzarkHillbilly
Whare are all the rabbits? At the hardsrcape Hillbilly’s ridgetop homestead in the Ozarks where not even Wile E. Coyote roams and the only thing the wee Sill eats is OHB’s chickens.
Job well done, OldGold. The garden pics too.
Suburban Mom
I can send kale to anyone who feels deprived. It’s the dinosaur kind and very tasty!
Patricia Kayden
Love the fox family hanging out in your yard. They’re too cute.
@Suburban Mom: If seasoned well, kale can be delicious. Also, I love Costco’s kale salad which comes with sesame seeds, dried cranberries and a poppyseed dressing.
MomSense
Wonderful!
OzarkHillbilly
We’ve come a long ways folks, and no matter how hard the Evangelical right tries, they can’t turn the calendar back to the 14th century:
Racism on the other hand….
donnah
When I was a kid, in the grocery store they used this ruffly green plastic stuff in between the packages of meat in the display case. That’s what kale tastes like.
satby
It’s a beautiful morning here in South Bend, currently 57° and going up to a high of 82° with lower humidity. I’d like to finish the weeding that was interrupted by the wasp stinging me. Then figure out the sprinkler system that is over the raised bed so I can water it better.
But I have to go to work. I’m deciding what timeframe I’m giving notice though: either the end of October before my vacation or the end of the year. It’ll be a relief to both me and the annoyingly incompetent office manager. I just have to decide which date would be less disruptive to the practice.
SFAW
Most of the rabbits seem to have relo’d to my neighborhood.
If that’s not what happened, then I’m guessing that the rabbits, and your neighbor’s cats, and various other feline (former) denizens of the area had unfortunate encounters with coyotes, although I don’t recall (if I ever knew) where OldGold lives.
SFAW
@donnah:
Not gonnah ask how you know what the ruffly green plastic stuff tastes like.
HinTN
It would take a predator far greater than those adorable foxes to diminish the deer population around these parts. They can keep nine acres of soybeans mowed to the nubs, not to mention destroying the garden I quit trying to raise four years ago. Well told, OldGold.
oldgold
@Suburban Mom:
“It’s the dinosaur kind and very tasty.”
A new tenable explanation for the rapid mass extinction.
HinTN
@satby: 62 °F here in the midst of Tennessee this morning, with so much dew that watering isn’t a requirement.
Ohio Mom
@satby: What would be less disruptive to YOUR life?
When I was working, I did that a couple of times, plan my departure according to the organization’s needs, and while I guess that did something for my self-concept, it was never appreciated or acknowledged.
What’s your plan for after your last day?
WereBear
That was delightful, OldGold.
My hanging fuchsia is attracting hummingbirds, just as promised. We have placed a table and one corner of the couch in monitoring range for the kitties near that window.
Waratah
Beautiful daylilies, a family of foxes and a great story, thank you OldGold.
Aleta
Thanks OldGold. You had me at that 1st beautiful photo and then I laughed, a lot. I always heard that fox will leave cats alone as long as there’s plenty of
mice and fruit and other foodkale though.Wyatt Derp
Your rabbits have moved to my house. I can assure you they are numerous and well fed. Also kale chips are awesome, just remember to use lots of salt!
Quinerly
Great pics and diary. Back from almost 2 hour beach with Poco. Low tide. Storms yesterday…air is crisp and clean, probably 10 degrees cooler. Less interwebs and BJ today for me…more beach…and 5th Tony Hillerman of the trip. Back to St. Louis, Thur or Fri. Have a great day!
WereBear
Kale is great… when it is covered with tasty things.
Suburban Mom
@Patricia Kayden: I was serious about the tasty part. Last night we had whole wheat fusilli tossed with chiffonade of raw dinosaur kale, chopped local tomato, kalamatas,slivered almonds, olive oil, garlic, and fresh mozzarella. It’s a great summer dish that requires very little cooking. I do have an epic kale crop this year but I am not complaining.
OzarkHillbilly
@WereBear: Slugs? How do you cook them? Sauteed in olive oil? With a little sea salt?
satby
@Ohio Mom: less disruptive to my life would be a two week notice tomorrow ?! I have a two week vacation planned in November, so end of October should be a good time. My own biz at the market is enough work at this stage of my life.
But the doctor offered me a job as soon as I hit town and I wouldn’t want to leave her short. She’s a very loyal person, which is why the o.m. is still there even though she’s 71. They’re converting records systems and I can try to help during it. That changeover will be established by end of October too, so I can bug out not feeling like I shafted the doctor, who I like very much.
WereBear
@OzarkHillbilly: Butter and garlic. Mmmmm.
Though I admit I am just not sure about the person who looked at them in their raw form and got tempted.
Suburban Mom
@oldgold: Never considered kale as a cause of mass extinction.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
I actually like kale and other greens, like broccoli rabe, collards, beet greens, etc.
Nevertheless, the one question we can ask ourselves that keeps us from joining the CSA every year (a cooperative agreement with the farmers where you agree to take whatever they deliver each week), is “what would we do if what we got was 5 pounds of kale?”
Not an idle question, a CSA member told us that is what you get sometimes.
WereBear
Sounds like you would appreciate what happened to me this week :)
My job has been revamped to things I like more. Yay! I spent two weeks in our massively overcrowded office moving from the conference room to an empty desk over and over, before I stated that I needed a place to settle. My real boss made a suggestion I liked, sharing a long desk with nice people with my own shelves and drawers, electrical outlets and internet access, and so forth. A person who outranks me but is fortunately not in my chain of command suggested a little shelf in the hallway.
Yes. This is just that kind of person: one who can only come up with stupid ideas and then use their power to make the rest of us try to make it work.
I expressed my displeasure at the inadequacies of this placement and went home. When I came in the next morning a chair had been placed at the shelf. I wheeled it to the better spot, got the approval and help of my workmates to make it my own, and was working away when Idiot came by and could only say, “So, you are settling in okay?” I said that I was, thanks.
They couldn’t give me a hard time without diluting their power. Bwahahahaha!
I swear, if I had not found some kind of handle on dealing with this person I couldn’t work in the home office.
WereBear
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Let it age and use it to mend shoes?
O. Felix Culpa
Good morning! Great garden story! I’ve been able to protect my veggies from the ravening rabbits (thus far), but they’re enjoying munching on the yarrow I planted in the front garden. The many coyotes don’t seem able to keep up with the even more prolific rabbits, which is nature’s point, I guess.
satby
@WereBear: a little shelf in the hallway?!
What an asshole.
Glad you snagged a better location in spite of that idiot.
O. Felix Culpa
@Quinerly: I’m working my way through Hillerman’s Leaphorn and Chee books. Which ones are you reading?
Josie
Great story, OldGold. That last picture looks like my whole yard right now. We got up to 102 degrees yesterday. Our poor little AC unit struggles to reach 82 degrees in the late afternoon now. Praying for October to come quickly.
Josie
@satby: Does this mean you will be full time with your soap business? That would be really nice for you.
Jeff
A kale use I like is Portuguese fisherman’s soup.
WereBear
@satby: I wish I understood bullies when I was a child as well as I do now. But hey: we are always having to deal with assholes so it’s never wasted knowledge :)
And my real boss has the asshole’s number: they said they would talk to asshole and try to make things “their idea” which is the tRump level of dancing we are at. But I relieved my real boss of that burden and I know they are also grateful.
I assume the asshole has some skills… I just, honest-ta-gawd, have never seen them in action.
OzarkHillbilly
@WereBear: Oh, that was me. They slide right down. The salt makes them wiggle and that kind of tickles the throat as they go down.
Adria McDowell
Apartment dweller here. Jealous of all the garden pics and stories! Just beautiful, even the kale. Kale chips are delicious! I’ll have to try and make some and season with tajin.
OzarkHillbilly
@WereBear:
Self promotion is an art for some.
debbie
@WereBear:
Why are there people like that co-worker in every organization? I’m crotchety enough I tell them off, but that never seems to stop them moving on to someone else.
WereBear
I understand it can get you all the way to Leader of the Free World.
Immanentize
Hello All,
Thanks for the story OG. I know where a few of the rabbits went — my cat Toasty is catching them and leaving them for me. It’s kinda cute, he always brings them to the yard right outside the big window over the kitchen sink. Cute in the sorta my cat is a slaughterer but I love him anyway way.
MattF
I’ve managed, so far, to avoid kale. It just has an air of self-abnegation about it– and I’m not into that.
WereBear
@Jeff: Oh, that is the tops!
For the gluten free, like me, kale is an excellent noodle substitute.
debbie
@MattF:
Kale’s not bad…until you begin to massage it.
WereBear
@debbie: I have come to see such “extreme social engineering” as the only skill they have; which proves what a crucial one it is.
And this “soft psychopath” behavior is gotten away with because normally functioning people do seem to want to go along to get along, not rock the boat, want to think best of other’s motivations, and so forth. I used to think this person was conniving and backstabbing, but some dramatic events seems to indicate that we really can’t attribute to malice… what can be explained by stupidity.
I consider it a form of psychopathology because this person creates so much upheaval and they do not seem to understand how much it interferes with the smooth functioning of the office. If this is their shield for incompetence, though, it all makes much more sense.
schrodingers_cat
I like greens in general, but can’t stand kale. My favorite is methi or fenugreek, its easy to grow, I sometimes get in the Turkish/middle eastern grocery store. I usually make it with lots of onions and throw in some shrimp there. It ar delicious and nutritious. Unlike kale, ugh.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@schrodingers_cat: Perhaps my favorite Indian dish is saag paneer. My understanding is that saag means greens (as opposed to spinach, palak). But I have no idea what greens they use.
rmthunter
Based on my own observations, I suspect your rabbits have migrated to Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, where they are very industriously keeping the lawns neatly trimmed — we seem to have an extrardinarily high number of rabbits this year.
schrodingers_cat
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Saag == spinach. Methi or fenugreek is far more assertive with a slightly bitter taste. It is fairly easy to grow from seeds that you can get from a store like Patel brothers.
NorthLeft12
@WereBear:Speaking of assholes, last night my next door neighbour was having another campfire in his back yard with one of his buddies. Just after 1030PM [our local bylaw is 10PM] the music was cranked up pretty loud, so i went over to ask him to turn it down. I had to enter his backyard because he could not hear me so I walked up and asked him to turn it down. He initially muttered “oh yeah”, so I said thanks and turned and started walking out.
He then started an obscenity laden tirade at me and came at me out of his chair. He was obviously drunk as was his friend who nearly fell into the fire attempting to restrain my neighbour. My neighbour continued his tirade in my face, pushing me against the fence a couple of times. He shoved off his buddy who tried to intervene and calm him down. He accused me of “fucking with him since he moved in”, and then went on about my wife as well. I kept my hands up to protect myself as I was sure he was about to take a swing at me.
My wife suddenly appeared and pushed my neighbour back and me towards the doorway. I tried to get between my wife and my neighbour, while the buddy was pulling on my neighbour. We made it out of his backyard, and then my neighbour shoved my wife and I into our brick wall. With that space we beat a retreat back into our house and immediately called the OPP.
My neighbour continued to rant and call me and wife out. The cops arrived and we had a good discussion in my house. The four of us agreed it would not be for the best that the police confront my neighbour right then [he had quieted down a bit] and after getting our info they agreed to come back on Sunday to talk to my neighbour.
The shocking thing to my wife and I was that this was so unexpected. The neighbour has always been an okay guy, and his wife and kids are really nice people. They are great neighbours except for the fires and partying which has been a recent development.
We are not planning on laying charges [no injuries except for a scraped elbow] but we are going to see how today plays out. I think I slept for about two hours last night and my wife less than that. I am still completely blown away by this. Even in Canada eh?
Thanks for letting me vent guys.
O. Felix Culpa
@Ohio Mom: @satby:
Hear! Hear! I made the same mistake too…organizing my life around the organization’s perceived needs. Needless to say, no thanks or medals ever awarded. Although I understand satby’s point about being in a small office and caring about the doctor who hired her. Still, I have yet to have my loyalty reciprocated by an employer.
MattF
@NorthLeft12: So, there are anger issues, even in Canada. Sigh.
Immanentize
@NorthLeft12: That is so weird, upsetting and scary. I hope it was just a one-off. I hope it gets sorted today. But that kind of behaviour, if repeated, is symptom of something seriously troubling your neighbor.
O. Felix Culpa
@Immanentize:
My childhood cat was a Mighty Mouse Hunter and used to take hunting trips in the fields across from our house with his best cat buddy, Sammy. They ate everything but the kidneys, which they would deposit on our front steps as gift offerings.
Immanentize
Garden question — what is the fungicide that Anne Laurie is always raving about! Anyone? Buehler?
OzarkHillbilly
@NorthLeft12: Been there, done that. It sucks. Sorry about that.
Immanentize
@O. Felix Culpa: they didn’t like kindney either, I take it.
Quinerly
@O. Felix Culpa:
Old paperbacks on the give away rack at public library at the beach. Unfortunately not reading in order, just as my librarian friend snatches them up when beach folks drop them off. Gotten thru. The Blessing Way, Sinister Pig, Dance Hall of the Dead (should have read it before I spent all that time at Zuni, Ramah, Gallup on the 2016 trip), Sacred Clowns… I just started The Dark Wind. A friend gave me Tony Hillerman’s Landscape in 2015 before I spent all that time around 4 Corners. It’s a great companion read…orients you where all the books are set.
OzarkHillbilly
@O. Felix Culpa: loyalty reciprocated by an employer? SHOW ME THE MONEY!
germy
@NorthLeft12: I’d rather have a neighbor who took bong hits than a drunk, belligerent neighbor.
Asshole across the street from us was drinking on his front porch one night last summer. We heard loud, sarcastic “MEOW!”s from him. (He could see our cat sitting on our windowsill and decided to start a “conversation”)
O. Felix Culpa
@NorthLeft12: Oh, that’s disturbing. I’m glad you and Mrs. NL are ok. I hope this is a one-off, but please be careful. We value our commenters from the frozen north!
germy
Patricia Kayden
@Quinerly: “Sinister Pig” sounds like a Trump expose.
Patricia Kayden
@NorthLeft12: Sorry to hear that you and your wife had to go through that. I hope the police are able to talk some sense into your neighbor so he doesn’t engage in similar behavior in the future. At the very least, he had no business to put his hands on you and your wife.
O. Felix Culpa
@Quinerly:
I’ll have to get a copy. Being a little literarily OCD, I’m trying to read them in order. Recently finished “Dance Hall of the Dead” and am now on “Listening Woman.” I’m interspersing them with books about southwestern Indian history and culture. Hillerman did his homework. I’m enjoying his books especially because I recognize some of the places in which they’re set. Not that this will help given your book source, but here’s a link to his books in order: http://www.bookseriesinorder.com/tony-hillerman/.
O. Felix Culpa
@OzarkHillbilly:
Yeah, like when they lay you off after heroic efforts working on their behalf. Not doing that again.
ThresherK
“Gone to hasenpfeffer, every one”?
—
We had a genuine nice-dry-air, open-the-windows overnight. Rare for July here.
WereBear
@NorthLeft12: That is so upsetting! I wonder if some highly stressful event is at work in the neighbor’s life? Since this seems to have “come out of nowhere.”
I am sure it is not really about YOU.
sheila in nc
@Immanentize: 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. It’s been around a long time so it’s off patent, so now it’s used in a lot of herbicide and pesticide preparations. It is legal but should be handled carefully. More information here:
Lapassionara
This was a great way to start a Sunday morning. Thanks for the smile. And the wascally wabbits are plentiful here in the St Louis area.
Iowa Old Lady
@NorthLeft12: Oh wow, how disturbing. Let us know how this comes out.
Ohio Mom
@O. Felix Culpa: To be fair, over the years, on occasion, I had some loyalty rewarded a little bit — never commensurate with my effort/contribution, though.
And yes, why every workplace must have at least one psychopath, it seems to be a law of physics. With any luck, it is not the boss.
sheila in nc
Sorry, I tried to include a link but I’m terrible at it.
https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/2,4-DichlorophenoxyaceticAcid_BiomonitoringSummary.html
OzarkHillbilly
@O. Felix Culpa: I was a union carpenter. As a gypsy I never worked a job where I wasn’t working myself out of a job. Finally landed a job with a general contractor and was with them for 6 years, at least until I started tearing cartilage in my back when carrying loads. After the 3rd time i was asked during general conversation, “How old are you, Tom?” With out thinking I answered “53.” Got my layoff check a week later.
I could have fought it, but why bother. It would have been little more than pissing into the wind.
satby
@Josie: Hi josie, no part time. I’m ready for more time to enjoy semi-retirement and to do some travel.
WereBear
Without teen companions, I imagine :)
satby
@WereBear:
You just encapsulated the modus operandi of the office manager here. I’m sure the doctor is just praying that her manager retires under her own steam rather than needing to be pushed out, which would be a shame.I like the woman, just not her lack of (or maybe I should say anti-) management skills.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
OT – Brutal take from Kevin Williamson – Trump is Shelly Levine from Glengarry Glen Ross.
satby
@Immanentize: Actinovate.
Barbara
@NorthLeft12: Wow. Alcohol is dramatically disinhibiting for some people. It’s why a lot of abusers can keep it together while sober but give in to their worst desires when drunk. What an upsetting experience.
O. Felix Culpa
@OzarkHillbilly:
I hear ya. I could have fought a legal battle and might have won, but decided the aggro wasn’t worth it. In my line of work, the biggest occupational hazards were paper cuts and butt spread. Yours sound a lot worse.
ETA: Hmmm, to clarify perhaps unfortunate phrasing…I meant growth of the posterior. Not other nasty things that might come to some imaginations.
satby
Late to jump in the shower and get out of here. Thanks again oldgold for a mood brightening morning! Good luck with kale eradication!
O. Felix Culpa
@satby:
You have a standing invitation!
Now I’m off to water my garden before the plants turn into crispy critters, then to make strawberry-buttermilk ice cream for today’s dinner guests. Cheers!
Gelfling 545
@Suburban Mom: I like to plant dinosaur kale in amongst the flowers in my pots. The blue-ish leaves make a nice accent and there are enough leaves for me to toss a handful into a pot of soup or a stir fry. Not enough though, to my grandkids disappointment, for kale chips.
WereBear
LOL! Yes. It’s “anti.”
Sadly, I have concluded that these people actually think it is all a game and this is how you play it. In this case, the asshole was able to shrug off “my countermove” because I gave them a route to save face.
And that is all it is.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: When I broke my back in 74 most of the guys I knew were union hod carriers at the Clinton nuke plant construction site. I was told that an identifiable back injury such as mine would prevent me from getting hired for that and of work. It forced me to go back to school.
OzarkHillbilly
@O. Felix Culpa: It was my last working at a regular job. I was in so much pain by the end of the day I couldn’t even grip the steering wheel on the drive home. I had told my wife months before that I thought it would be my last dance. I now work part time as I want when I want on what I want. The money isn’t so good, my pension will never grow any more and I really miss the carpenters insurance but now at least the pain is tolerable.
And more important, she’s OK with it.
O. Felix Culpa
@OzarkHillbilly:
Two excellent reasons to keep your current employment arrangement!
chris
@Immanentize: Others have answered but I think the one AL mentions is Serenade.
chris
@germy: Reminds me of this:
ETA: She is a very vocal member of the resistance.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@Josie:
Satby has a soap business? Excellent! She’ll clean up in that market.
WereBear
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: That was really good. And pertinent to our side discussion of “office psychopaths” too!
Gelfling 545
@donnah: When I was a kid I hated just about every vegetable. When I started cooking for myself I learned that buying canned vegetables and boiling them (my mother retained the old fear of canned items and BOILED, just to be safe) was not the only method of preparation. Soon I learned that I did like most vegetables. The moral of the story is: it’s all in how it’s prepared.
J R in WV
@Immanentize:
Or, alternatively, you neighbor is a nasty sort of bully, who looses his restraint under the influence of alcohol. I’ve seen people’s personalities change when they drink, usually for the worse.
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: I actually broke my back in high school (3rd and 4th lumbar) Was undiagnosed until my late twenties when they were found during an x-ray after a car accident. It was a “No wonder” moment**. When I asked the Doc about it and what it meant for the future of my back he said something to the effect of, “Why worry about it? You were fucked when you became a carpenter.”
** in the years right after I broke it it would go out every 6-12 months but it started settling down in my late 30’s & 40s. the last time was about 15 yrs ago when I bent over to pick up a drywall screw. since them i have felt it tweak or twinge from time to time but not crippling (knock on wood)
Gelfling 545
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Make kale chips!
WereBear
@Gelfling 545: That was my experience; my midwestern relatives followed the rule of “boil it to death to make sure” and this was disastrous for pasta, as well :)
Gelfling 545
@NorthLeft12: I suspect that the election of Trump has caused a universal disruption in the Force which is causing pockets of asshole-ishness to appear everywhere.
Barbara
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Williamson’s take is brutal but the problem he has is that he goes after the low hanging fruit — as he has done in the past — the naive and unsophisticated but leaves the deeper game players alone, the Mercers and whoever else thought they could ride the tiger and paid beaucoup dollars to enable victory. Ultimately, voters are responsible but for him the context in which the election took place is invisible — the voter suppression, the vocal support of Trump by the end of nearly every Republican politician. These are things Williamson can’t handle.
Waratah
@O. Felix Culpa: Thank you for the link. I discovered Tony Hillerman when I found his paperbacks at a motel in Sante Fe. I had trouble finding his books. I know I have read a lot but not all am hoping the list will help me. I think it helps reading the books to have seen country and the people and to have visited Pueblos they live in.
MomSense
My grass is all turning yellow and dying and now the weeds seemed to have moved in. It would be a lot simpler to just let the weeds take over.
Quinerly
@O. Felix Culpa:
The Landscape book was written by his only biological child (they had several adopted)…Anne Hillerman (with a photographer) after his death. It’s a great companion. I think there are some cheap used ones on Amazon.I guess you know that the daughter picked up the characters and has written at least 3. I’m enjoying The Dark Wind…it’s Hopi…takes place where I spent a day after leaving Winslow, headed north through the Hopi Mesas and back over to Cameron where I stayed at a Navajo place for a week. I’m only 50 pages in it and Chee has had lunch where I had lunch that day of that leg of the trip❤ I trudged through the ice and snow at the end of February to get to the Hopi Cultural Center….while Poco guarded the Ford Escape and waited for leftovers. I was the only non Hopi in the place that time of year.❤
WaterGirl
@NorthLeft12: So sorry to hear that happened to you. Very upsetting and unsettling.
@Immanentize: My first thought was similar, but more specific. I’m hearing about wife and kids but the wife and kids are absent and it’s only the guy and his buddy, lots of partying, I immediately wondered about marital problems. But for now let’s go with wife and kids are away visiting family and now-crazy neighbor guy is just blowing off some steam while his family is away, and things will return to normal.
CaseyL
Adorable story, OldGold, and a great start to the day!
I went through a “kale period” when I was eating lots of the stuff – yea, verily, even raw in salads. It’s good in soups, because it can hold texture very nicely, but otherwise I’m back to eating normal lettuces.
I do still quite like kale chips, though. They’re just a tad expensive!
WaterGirl
OldGold, your story is so great! Always nice to wake up to the garden chat, but your clever funny story was a real treat.
But, damn, you have really raised the bar for the rest of us on our narrative if we send in garden photos. :-)
?BillinGlendaleCA
Where have all the rabbits gone? They’re at the Huntington.
Immanentize
@sheila in nc: Thank you very much. I will check it out.
Immanentize
@satby: Thanks!! I will try that also. I have some Wilt where none should be (totally new soil in the SATBY box), so I suspect it is not actually wilt….
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
Thank you for the delightful tale. May you harvest zero kale.
Immanentize
@chris: Thank you — I thought is was an “S” word.
Sherparick
@Mary G: Not so cute if you are a cat or a rabbit. Time to keep the cats insider or outside with supervision.
Immanentize
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: hey there. Hi howdy! Everything OK with you?
WaterGirl
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: Hey Balla Q, that is you, right? I kept looking for the right word to describe how fun the story was, but it eluded me. Delightful is the word I was looking for. Perfect!
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Immanentize: Thanks for asking! I’ve been thinking of you and Mrs. I a lot lately. I hope things are good. I’m working on a doc review with an hour 15 commute each way, so I’ve been scarce everywhere but work, car, and bed. But we need me to have some work, since my wee NAMI was the M&A victim and my consulting K finished. Nonprofit jobs that don’t want a MH license of some kind – and ones for aged counsel types – are thin on the ground here.
@WaterGirl: Tis I, Bella with a Twist Q. How’s things out your way? I’m so glad my word choice worked, even if the rhyme is dumb.
PS – I miss interacting with all y’all. I hope I can get into a rhythm that will include reading Balloon Juice regularly again soon.
Yarrow
Oldgold, love your photos and story. And that fox family is so cute.
donnah
@Gelfling 545:
I love veggies, and I love greens, too. But kale has a unique texture and a scratchy feel, even if it’s steamed or sauteed. I love broccoli, brussells sprouts, scallions, and scores of other green goodies and vegetables. So allow me the dignity of disliking kale. ;-)
NorthLeft12
@Immanentize: Thanks, I keep replaying what happened to try and make sense out of it, and is just not [making sense]. The one cop did say to me last night that my wife and I did nothing wrong and not to worry about how we handled it.
A little reassuring, but not much.
BTW My Chocolate Lab, Gus, was in seventh heaven over the late night visiting police officers.
NorthLeft12
@germy: Funny, I mentioned that to my wife sometime around 130 in the morning.
As you may or not know, Canada is moving forward with legalizing marijuana use. Not quick enough for my liking…….although just to clarify, not so I can use, but so my fellow Canadians can.
NorthLeft12
@O. Felix Culpa: Thanks…..not so frozen today. My lawn is starting to look like a hay field, but shorter.
NorthLeft12
@Patricia Kayden: Yes, like in the US, they call that assault here. I don’t want the guy arrested, but I want him to understand how serious that is and how it could have been a lot worse. We will see.
NorthLeft12
@WereBear: Thanks. My wife have been talking almost non-stop trying to sort out some meaning from his words. I don’t buy the “just the rantings of a drunk” theory. I want to find out what he is angry about towards both of us.
I am not a great neighbour, but i am quiet, stay on my property, say hello to him, his wife and kids, and have offered to look after stuff at their home [watering, etc.] when they are away.
NorthLeft12
@Barbara: Yes, if I would have known how drunk he was, I probably don’t go in his yard at all.
I guess I always expect neighbours to show consideration for the people around them. I am an early riser and would love to cut the grass on weekends around eight o’clock, but I wait until 9:30 just because.
NorthLeft12
@WaterGirl: His wife was at a festival in the nearby big city of Sarnia. She posted this on FB and her and my wife are FB friends. Not sure where the two teenage girls were, possibly the same place. My wife and I were hoping that meant no campfire and resulting smoke and noise. No such luck.
WaterGirl
@NorthLeft12: I’m sorry this happened to you guys, that would have been frightening, to say the least. And no matter what happens going forward, that bell cannot be un-rung. Do let us know how it plays out with the visit from the police today.
Anne Laurie
@Immanentize: Serenade. As recommended to me by a couple of the plant professionals here. Works a treat on my tomatoes, lilacs & (when I get around to it) roses!
Only problem is that it needs to be re-applied after it rains. And ‘for best results’, you’re supposed to start using it before the blight shows up, which I also manage to ‘forget’ every year…
Julia Grey
@NorthLeft12:
Alcohol was clearly a factor. If his use has increased or become more regular lately, he probably needs a bit of early intervention.
Sometimes these accelerations just get away from a guy, and an incident like this, a visit from the police, can get him to rethink things. Here’s hoping.
NorthLeft12
BREAKING UPDATE!! Guys, I don’t mean to insult any of you but take this as the “you can’t make this shit up” part of the story…..another neighbour told me that the neighbour I am having issues with is actually AMERICAN, from Port Huron.
Anyway, the cops returned and talked to him for about thirty minutes. They then came over to my house to discuss the situation further. What he told the OPP;
1. I came on his property [yes to ask him to turn down the music] and would not leave [no I was actually trying to leave and he would not let me], thus he felt he was justified in using force to eject me. He did not feel he assaulted me or my wife.
2. He denied shoving my wife into the wall. Did not remember that.
3. He was upset over some branches that fell into my yard when he had a large tree cut down. My wife asked him if the contractor was going to clean the branches up before they left. This happened over six years ago.
4. Admitted to being drunk.
5. He told the OPP that he would not be the cause of any more issues and if I was willing to stop bothering him, he would not bother me.
I was not very happy with the outcome, as I feel the guy learned nothing from this beyond getting away with shoving me and my wife around. I asked the officers if his wife was involved in the discussions, and was told she was not. I am pretty sure she only knows what her husband has told her.
I also asked the cops if they told my neighbour why they did not talk to him last night. Basically it was at my request to wait until the next day as a potential confrontation between the officers and two drunks was not in anyone’s best interest. My neighbour had a heart attack about four years ago and i told the officers I was concerned for his safety. The OPP are armed with tasers in our area.
Well, life goes on….I guess I was lucky that my neighbour did not claim he was standing his ground and thus could shoot me.
NorthLeft12
And just to be clear, I have not discussed this with any other neighbours even after a lot of them saw the OPP go into my neighbour’s house, then walk over to my house before leaving.
I was asked what was going on and I said I knew, but really did not want to talk about it.
WaterGirl
@NorthLeft12: Ugh. i hate it when people lie. Hate it, hate it, hate it. Do you think the police believed his story? Do you think they believed you? So the guy has absolutely no consequences?
I wish they had interviews his buddy separately. I would have told all my neighbors so they would be careful around him. Oh, and I can’t believe he has been holding a grudge for 6 years.
P.S. I hope you will copy your update to a current thread.
oldgold
Thank all of you for your kind words.
In particular, I thank Anne for allowing me to tell my tale and doing a wonderful job of editing.
NorthLeft12
@WaterGirl:The police officer told me he challenged my neighbour on parts of his story. He told my wife and I he believed our story 100%, but also said he believed that my neighbour feels that I have a grudge against him. I was less than thrilled at that and that the cop said he had to debate with the guy to try and convince him that he assaulted me when I walked onto his property to ask him to turn the music down. Neighbour argued with him that he was legally allowed to physically eject me from his property. He sort of glossed over the fact that he was not allowing me to leave and never asked me to leave.
Thanks for your kind support. We will see what the rest of the summer and on brings.