Well, it’s been a quiet week in Little Garrettsville. (Lake Wobegone was another story)
BUT…things are moving along.
The paving over the “grooved pavement” is inching toward finished; there are lines and everything. Crews are on-site to take down the perennial eyesore downtown which has been “slip-slidin’ away” for –LO!—these many years. Haz-Mat suits and all, they seem to be doing their level best to beautify the space, which would be improved by making it into just about anything, including parking space. The Eagles will, no doubt, be pleased if that is exactly what happens there, ‘twill give them more space to entertain the public at their new lawn on the corner—with sod, yet! Looks like picnic space, for sure.
The Liberty Street Bridge—the one that’s been out of commission for a loooooong time—seems to be likely to open a tad ahead of schedule, thus ending the aggravation of having to go around on the “grooved pavement” to get to the other side of town. Here’s hoping that Ohio’s Largest Tractor Parade can be routed over it when the grand procession comes to an end. Would make it easier on the traffic planning to get all of the participants back to the starting point at the high school.
Improvements are being made here at the estate. New plants are going in and most of the old ones seem to have survived the demon winter that we had. The black raspberries are going gangbusters; they were covered with blossoms and the little green fruits are forming right now. I did plant them at least partly to make sure that the birds would have plenty to eat but I do think that it would be nice if I were left a few to eat myself. The ferns were invigorated by something–the cold weather, the timely rainfall, something—because they’re doing a fine impression of jungle foliage all around the house.
Anyone like to have a butternut seedling? The squirrels were getting ready for a really rough winter, apparently, because they buried all kinds of nuts all over the place and the nuts are now doing their thing and coming up in the middle of flower patches and borders with total abandon. Butternut trees(Juglans cinerea), sometimes known as White Walnuts, grow rapidly(and don’t I know it), having alternate compound pinnate leaves and oblate, bunched fruits, across most of the northeastern United States and Canada. Because the soft covering of the nuts is, like walnuts, such a coloring agent(as you would know if you ever were inveigled–willingly or not–into removing the husks to get at the nuts), they were once much used to dye fabric, especially in rural areas. As a matter of fact, the uniforms of many units of Confederate soldiers in the Civil War were said to be “butternut brown”, and faded to gray as the time of service lengthened. All of you spinners and weavers out there, here’s your chance to get genuine dye materials right in your backyard. The wood is softer than walnut, takes polish well and is frequently prized by wood carvers. The bark was said to have cathartic properties…now there’s a selling point! Anyway, I have got seedling butternut trees, sapling butternut trees, adult, nut-producing trees. Any takers?
And speaking of squirrels…. Actually, speaking of chipmunks…. The porch kitties have decided to reward me for my support over the winter by leaving deceased chipmunks—or parts of them—on the steps, on the porches, on the walk, anyplace that these treats can be discovered and admired. Lucky that I don’t step out on the porch to get the paper in my bare feet. Surprise! I don’t even count the mole that was buried between the concrete and the foundation. I think that some creature was just stashing that away for future reference.
And that’s about it.
Well, unless you count the business opportunity that I spotted in the news the other day; I don’t see a franchise opening here real soon but you never know.
It’s called Rent-A-Gent and it’s about what you might think…or not. For $200 per hour you can have a “sexy, smart, sophisticated” dude at your beck and call for events such as bachelorette parties, special occasions like openings or charity balls (I get a lot of those). You can hire a handsome chef, a sexy bartender, a Renaissance philosopher, a musician, a plumber studying for his Ph.D., whatever. The founder of the operation, a Ms. Sara Shickhman, says that these guys are on the up-and-up, no gigolos; they are in business in eleven states and the District of Columbia. She says—from experience—that the hirable hunks are perfect for attending anything where you want to have a hottie dancing attendance on you to make your ex jealous…arm candy to the max! One of the ad photos shows a group of chicks in pink T-shirts that said, “Don’t support him. Rent him.” Some franchise!
