Emmalyn's New Explorations

I just put in 3 days of gig work. It's grueling and I am not sure how much longer my body can take it. Can you stand for 4 hours straight on concrete without moving, three days in a row? My body is saying no. There is no anti-fatigue mat. I don't get paid enough to continually buy new shoes, arch support, etc. That is the state of me. There is still work to be had. I wonder for how much longer?

A note on tariffs: If you are wondering what groceries will be impacted the worst and what to stock up on, I recommend Suttons Daze. https://youtu.be/WUw9W8AIoPc?si=7etP6sjXCfC3oIZ0
My thoughts are darker. Much darker. Her assumption is based on facts and well researched information. My mind always goes to worst case scenario. What if no one wants to sell us anything at all? As in embargo. We are detaining so many tourists from other countries. At some point, they may get so pissed off over how our government is treating them that they walk away entirely. I also think about climate change's effect on our food supply as well as lack of farm workers. I have a lot of dark thoughts that I hope never happen.

As for the garden, I ran the numbers. I am only behind 3 pounds on my goals to date. Crop failures include currants, raspberries and I didn't have time to harvest mulberries. Will I meet the rest of my goals? Probably not on the potatoes. The new seed potatoes are looking good. The others were hit with a killing cold snap. There are lots of empty grow bags at this point. The deep plastic pots are doing terrific. Basil had root rot from all the rain. The herb spiral is bare. I just plopped a few seedlings into containers. I'm hoping they do better. There is still time to replant.

Chrono's shows and hospitalization means I never installed my cucumber trellis. Those are sprawling but still doing okay. Looks like a cucumber that never originally germinated decided to grow in the front flower bed. I reused soil. Surprise!



Tomatoes need to be clipped. I bought clips. Do I know where they are? No. Suckers also need to be trimmed. With the skunks out and about, I'll be working in enclosed garden. I also need to get a few more squash plants into the ground. That means weeding first. There's a lot to do.



With luck the beans are on track. Tomatoes are on track. If the squash gets planted, that's a large chunk of my food goals. The jury is still out on carrots. One patch germinated but I'm waiting on the second. If I can find time, a third batch will get planted. Onions did poorly this year. I need to reorder potato onions. Look them up. They are a fascinating onion. Bulb onions don't like my growing conditions.



Fireflies are happy with my yard. It's fun to watch them from the window at night.
My skunks: https://youtu.be/2CRcR4sLkKA?si=8Ny2Yq7oInH1Gs2i

I am researching natural repellents. Irish Spring soap, Pinesol, Epsom salts, citrus peels . . .Some are for the ground hog, some for the skunk. Apparently they often co-exist in the same warren. The skunks are eating my slugs. At least there is that.

Food goal: Still at 325 pounds.

The rain finally stopped. After tomorrow, medical appointments will be fewer and farther apart. Hubby still gets confused. He took his evening meds in the morning which screws everything up. Not enough of his anti seizure meds at the right time. Tonight he forgot how to take a shower, at least the prep work and what he needs where and when. Leaving a towel 2 rooms away doesn't help you. "But I always leave my towel here" Yes, that is when you are done, not when you are stepping into the shower. "I have never done it this way". It's best not to argue. He gets this way when he takes his meds wrong.

Chemo took all day. It was 78 when we left home. The hospital must have been 65 inside. When we left, it was 109 in the parking lot. It dropped to 107 in the shade. Then down to 102 once we got home, much further away than the concrete of the city. Concrete holds the heat.

After chemo, we headed to the co-op for groceries. Supply shortages still continue. Whether you go to Whole Foods, Edens Market or the Food Co-op, there is a problem. It turns out that the main distributor for organic foods, Unified, was hacked. Fresh produce comes from local suppliers. Bakery comes from a local shop. Cheese was well stocked but gluten free options were missing almost entirely. There was no chocolate either. It's been just over 2 weeks since the hack. The state dept warns of more hacks against the US in retaliation after this week's air strikes. Great. This one was bad enough.

I spent a bit of time recovering from driving in the heat. The vehicle's air conditioner could not keep up. It's hard to see with sweat dripping into your eyes. Traffic was bad today. Strategic positioning of cops made it worse. Driving in that heat wipes you out. After a pause and ice water, I headed outside to water the garden. I almost got to the end of the hose when a baby skunk came right up to me to sniff me. She was so damn cute. She was thirsty. My first reaction was a blood curdling scream. The skunk was confused. She headed into the yarrow to "hide" but I could see the tail. I just began watering. When I turned around, she was on the front steps, looking for water in my planter bottom trays. When she didn't find any, she left. Geez give me a moment would you? I didn't get that far. I watered everything. Then went up the hill to the backyard garden. I watered that too. Several bowls got filled with water. Pushy!

The yard is quite overgrown and full of baby skunks. It's Mom and Dad I worry about. They can spray. The babies will take a while to develop that. I learned a lot about skunks one Pennsic. Baby boy skunks are stinky but don't spray yet. My skunk was not stinky so she must have been a "her".

The neighbor has been enjoying watching the babies frolic with their mom at dusk. She says there are 5 babies. She thinks moth balls will deter them. I think I know the number of a trapper. I am afraid to weed my own garden. I don't know where they are nesting. I don't think they kicked out the Ground Hog. At least my fencing paid off. The babies didn't bother my plants. Mostly, they like grubs. The skunks have sharp claws. I noticed scratch marks in the driveway earlier this year (and in my pathways). Last night an adult was out at 12:20 am in the front yard. I smelled it. Unfortunately they will also eat the garter snakes. Rabies is also a potential problem.

Sigh. I can't wait for the weather to break.