Today was kind of a surprise, but has been known since the weekend. My wife is off, and that makes writing impossible. I moved one big chore to today so I could recover tomorrow as a writing day.
I spent quite a bit of my morning on various social media sites, because there was no good reason not to. I find myself avoiding Twitter on my off days, and this held true today. I put most of my Twitter effort into supporting others, so I tweeted out those blogs I read. I’ll get back to tweeting out your pinned tweets later this week.
I waited until about ten o’clock to head for the dump. First I salvaged the few high peaches the birds didn’t get to, and put my ladder away. The season is over, but these late peaches are the best ones I’ve ever grown. I’ve been snacking on them morning noon and night. I’ll miss them until next year.
The dump has evolved since I was a kid. In my hometown you could go to the dump whenever you wanted and it didn’t cost a thing. This included the middle of the night if that’s the time you had available. Today they have business hours and they charge.
There is the pay booth, then you have to stop again for some kind of traffic director guy. He had a problem because I had branches and grass. They want to mulch the branches, but can’t do it if there is grass worked in. I finally convinced him it was one single bag of grass and I could easily place it aside. He directed me to unload my branches, but I had to put the bag of clippings in a different place. (Dude, I’m sorry I didn’t bring two trucks so one included only a single bag of clippings.)
Finally, he handed me a green safety vest and let me in. (I’d already paid, so I didn’t think he would send me home for a second truck.) Since when do we have to wear a safety fest to unload garbage???
The load was nasty and slimy, because the remaining peach parts were rotting now. I got wet, I got slimed, and there is some kind of ooze in my truck bed now. However, it’s done. I don’t have to deal with it tomorrow, and there are no clouds on my Wednesday horizon.
I did make some baby steps on the formatting front for Viral Blues. These involved an exchange of emails to address some minor issues. It had to get done, and this kept it off my Wednesday schedule, so bonus.
Many of you were interested in my zucchini grown in a pot. This old pot has grown petunias out front for over ten years. When the idea occurred to me, I dumped the tired remaining soil in the flower bed and raked it smooth. I bought a big bag of potting soil, cleaned some doggie debris from the back yard for the bottom of the pot, then added the potting soil. When the roots reach the bottom, they’ll get a dose of high-powered fertilizer when they likely need it.
The pot is on the back patio now. I selected a bush variety to avoid vines going everywhere. Most of those don’t produce as much, but let’s face it, zucchini tend to produce more than you want anyway.
The whole project is about four feet tall now, and may get a little bigger as summer goes on. My wife is talking about some stuffed squash blossoms for supper very soon.
Attempting to write tomorrow, then it’s back to work for the rest of the week.
Impressive zucchini plant; I’ve never thought of growing that in a pot!
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It seems to work. I’m picking at least one every day.
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Sorry about the slime. Glad you got your schedule cleared for tomorrow, though. Wishing you a good night’s sleep and a productive writing day.
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Everything counts. As long as it comes out well I’ll be content.
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I worked until 10:00 last night to finish an edit so I can write today. (It’s been a few days since I had the chance.) I forgot about a noon meeting, though. Right in the middle of the day. I guess I can eat lunch after then get back to it. Hopefully the break doesn’t derail me. Hope you’re having a productive day.
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HAven’t even started, but I have that first coffee and my writing buddy beside me.
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Well, coffee and furry friends are crucial to a good day, so you’re off to a solid start.
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Your description of the peach slime sounds horrible, Craig. I hope you get an opportunity to use it in a book.
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It’s a thought. Thanks.
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Sounds like a job well done for the day. Good riddance to bad rubish. Hope you get your writing going today.
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I will, right after that first coffee.
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Nothing can be done before first coffee
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Sounds like a good day, Craig. Hope you have fun today with your writing 🙂
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Good is subjective. Productive is what I’m calling it. Writing is always a good time.
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Interesting about the dump. The one here has a park now with Pygmy goats. You drop the junk off and go for a walk.
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Sounds like more fun.
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I too remember the dump in the good old days.
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Had an elderly uncle who used to bring home more than he took there.
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A hearty and industrious person probably could have made a business out of it.
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He thought so, but kept most of his treasures.
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Everything has to be complicated, including trips to the dump. It’s the same way here. Heck, I remember when we burned our trash (we lived in the country).
Impressive zucchini plant. Good luck with the writing.
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I used to have a burn barrel at my Nevada house.
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Nice zucchini plant. I have a brown thumb. My goal is a lemon tree and a prune plum tree if they still exist.
Glad your writing eve day went well. I’m sure you will be productive.
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I’m right on the questionable line for a fig tree. Tried one, got some lovely figs for a couple of years, then a bigger winter did it in.
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Tree branches aren’t easy to work with. Glad that job’s done for you. I’ve never seen a bush zucchini plant. It’s huge! Hope you gets lots of writing time today.
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Thanks. Worked out pretty well, but I came far short of the targeted goal. Still some good work.
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Having goals is great, but we don’t always have to meet them.
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Are you sure? (Joking.) I’m content with what I accomplished.
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Glad you got those jobs done. Hope Wednesday has stayed clear for you so far, and you get a nice productive writing day.
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It worked out well, thanks.
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A safety vest at the dump? Wow. That’s probably why you have to pay now–so they can make up for the outlay of cash they spent on those vests. Our dump (for yard waste, branches, clippings) is still free but it does have regular hours.
I’m jazzed about the zucchini in a pot. I’m going to have to try that next year.
Wishing you a good writing day!
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Thanks, Mae. I wonder how bush beans would work now.
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I had to wear a safety vest at our dump to unload an old washer. Such a lovely smell there. Hope you have a productive day, Craig!
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Times change. It was a pretty decent day. I’m wrapping everything up now.
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Man, I hate the dump. Every time I went there (not going again ever) nothing was right for those guys. The worn-out fridge needed a line cut. No paint cans, cardboard needs to be flat. Always a hassle. I have felt your pain. Best wishes today.
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And they wonder why some people just toss it out deep in the country somewhere. Not saying that’s right, but it happens.
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I know right. Should be an unlimited situation.
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I can’t say much about your dump run. Living in the city, most of our stuff is picked up. We sort recyclable material into a separate bin, and you can get a different bin for green waste, but we compost most of that stuff. Only time we have to go to the dump is when we have something toxic, like used motor oil or paints.
Not so sure about putting dog droppings in your pot. Carnivore waste has too much protein. You really need herbivore dung to help plants grow. Too bad — if I could use cat droppings in my compost, I would have a never-ending supply. But, a few dog droppings won’t hurt much, and it keeps the smell down in your yard, right?
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They’re pretty good about picking up here. They aren’t going to take a truckload of branches though. The neighbor across the street has illegal chickens and ducks. I should have asked him.
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It’s oddly satisfying to hear that it’s not just Australia that’s taking Occupational Health and Safety to the Nth degree 🙂
We’ll get to the point here where we wear safety vests to go do grocery shopping (although, I kinda agree with that – those trolleys HURT when they hit your ankles)!
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And hardhats, lest a can bonk your head.
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😁
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Glad the peach tree fiasco is over, Craig. Yes, the days of just driving into a local dump and offloading are over. Everything has changed. What a beautiful healthy plant! Wow!
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We’ll see how the zucchini experiment plays out over the rest of the summer, but it looks like a success.
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I learned about the changes in dumping some years ago and I’m not sure it’s not BS and extortion, but whatever. The city collects SOME garden debris, although we put most of our branches behind the fence to our back 40 and one day, we’ll pay an extortionist to collect it.
Thanks for sharing the info on the potted zucchini. I’ve got a perfect pot available.
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In Nevada I used to have a burn barrel. Made a lot of this stuff easier. We’re cutting zucchini every other day now.
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Interesting, zucchini plant in a pot! 😀
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Thanks. It’s been pretty productive, too.
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