Critters

6/2/08 Monday
This hundred plus degree is killing me, and not so good for the plants either. When the weatherman puts up the seven day forecast it is all in the hundreds. Wednesday or Thursday is going to be 109 degrees. We bought over a hundred dollars worth of soaker hoses when my disability check came. They are absolutely essential in this heat.

We lost another potato plant to the gopher or whatever it is. This time I carefully excavated it and found the tunnel. This enabled me to put lots of the poison pellets in it. Hope it gets the critter. So far it’s killed three of my potato plants and they’re the best growing things I have right now.

Speaking of critters, I smelled something dead in the garage this morning. Presumed it was a rat as the rat trap had been triggered a few days ago though there was no rat in it. So I was scrounging around back there, looking for a pan to soak the multiple outlet faucet in vinegar with, when the puppies both started barking and backing up. Looking down I saw this rattlesnake. It was most curious as it didn’t move and it’s head was tucked out of sight under this cabinet. Seeing flies on it I figured the thing was dead. It was good to see that the puppies have a great respect for snakes, or at least this one. I put them in the house and got the hoe. Sure enough it was dead. I suspect it had triggered the rat trap cause the head was a bit out of sorts.

The last time I wrote in this journal was Thursday. It was hot then and has been hot since. Don’t remember much of what has happened in the last three days but that’s not unusual. Working out in this heat just drains me so I’m not real motivated to write by the end of the day. Right now I’m taking a break from the heat so am making the time. Friday we went to Lubbock to get whatever is between my toes looked at. It’s a soft corn caused by two bones rubbing together the doc said. He advised me to discontinue by habit of conducting my own surgeries when he heard I cut my hangnails out myself. The corn was real close to abscessing so it was good I brought it to their attention.

It didn’t take us long to spend the disability check. Just paid the monthly bills, got soaker hoses, and bought food. Oh yeah, I bought a pair of work boots. The ones Cherie had picked up for ten bucks had fallen apart. We got some cheap ones but it didn’t take but a few minutes for me to figure out they wouldn’t work. So we spent a few more dollars to get a good pair.

Cherie has decided to look for work. I haven’t pushed her in that direction at all, figuring it should be something she wanted to do. She is filling in for a lady at an office today. That’s her background anyway, office and receptionist type stuff.

The only other thing I can think of that’s happened is that the puppies decided to use my bible as a chew toy. It’s still usable, they mostly took the leather cover out. Dweebs!!!.

Make that “Double Dweebs”. Because they seem to have returned to chewing everything we are locking them in the front porch room. (it had been a porch but was enclosed) I leave the window that goes from the living room to their area open to allow the cooled air from the house to flow through. That’s important when the temperature is 107 degrees. So I had to go to Midland and put them in their room. When I came back I found Rascal was roaming the house. The little bugger had first of all pulled the tarp we had protecting the couch Don and Cynthia gave us, that was against the wall where the window was, through the window. Then he had climbed through. Trixie didn’t follow as she has pulled a muscle on her hind leg. Rascal has become adept in stealing things off the kitchen counter and got the icing Cherie had made for the snacks we took to Sunday school class. He knew he was in trouble when I got home.