I’m thinkin’…. A rough estimate of the cost of the strawberries (2) that I have got so far, from the pots which I have planted this year alongside the house, is somewhere around $15.87, each. The plants themselves look fine—plenty of big green leaves, plenty of blossoms–however, the end result appears to be kind of paltry. No shortcake happening here, that’s for sure. I did get to pick up at Monroe’s on Pioneer Trail, and those were excellent, as usual, but I only made it up there one time. Will have to hit my stash in the freezer to tide me over. Cherries are also finished, I hear; didn’t get any of those at all. Hope that I don’t get stiffed on peaches too. The tomatoes are looking good; a few of the little guys are even turning red–think of that! However, I do have competition for their consumption. I think that whichever raccoon has figured out the meal schedule around here (Up at five-thirty, feed the inside cats–and do litter boxes, do breakfast for the Porch Kitties by five-forty or thereabouts) has set his/her raccoon clock to make an appearance shortly after the the kibble hits the dishes. I caught one of ‘em peeking out from around the porch rail by the steps to see if I had served the entree yet–probably wanted to put in an order for an “everything” bagel. I have been disabusing them of the notion that the spread has been intended for them by waving a stick around and chasing them through the bushes in front of the porch. So far, they are not convinced.
Anyway, somebody has been helping themselves to a tomato here and there and scarfing down the store-bought peaches which I put out on the porch rail to finish ripening; seemed like a good idea at the time, in full daylight, when I thought that I’d remember to take them in at night.
Wrong! Apparently, they were ripe enough to be attractive…and juicy enough to make a mess all over the place. Nothing left but the pits when I came out the next morning. Nobody (fingers crossed) has yet discovered the red raspberries in two of the other pots; I’ve been taking them in as fast as I spot them, hoping to actually taste one or two. The blackberries which were to have joined them gave up the ghost some time ago but have scattered friends and relatives all around, mostly amongst the ferns, where they hide out until some unwary soul tries to make horticultural inquiries and gets ripped by those infernal thorns. Haven’t seen any berries on those guys. They’re just the marauders in the neighborhood.
My major agricultural connection these days seems to be as a judge for the national Miss Agriculture U.S.A. competition held recently in Streetsboro and at Gallagher Farms in Mantua/Freedom. Some of those young ladies would knock your socks off (assuming that you had taken your work boots off first). They’ve started their own businesses, won prizes for all kinds of endeavors–agricultural or otherwise–worked in major organizations like Future Farmers of America or John Deere International, volunteered for worthy causes. Wheew ! A person could get tired just following their FaceBook pages. They are all about AGvocating for Agriculture. We could all well-nigh starve without what they are about. Remember that the next time you sit down to a hearty meal…or your diet delicacies. If nothing else, the agriculture industry takes part in developing new, tasty, nutritious, adapted-to-climate-change items on your table. “No Farms, No Food” is for real.
And, speaking of eating, did anyone else see “Dennis the Menace” in the Sunday Record-Courier? ( It’s been a good stretch for cartoons lately.) Dennis announces to his mom that he’s starving, then complains about having carrots and broccoli again. Mom says, “That’s the plan.” Dennis complains about having vegetables EVERY night and Mom says, “You need vegetables so you can grow up big and strong like your father.” Dennis looks over at Dad, an ordinary kind of guy with an unimpressive figure, whistling while putting something in a cupboard, and says, sorta skeptically, “Nice try.”
The last panel in the “Crankshaft” set, after several depictions of fireworks explosions of all sorts going off all over the place, shows Crankshaft himself and the whole family ducking behind an overturned picnic table, as well as a tree and a garbage can. The very last part of the panel shows similar explosion symbols erupting from a barbeque and Crankshaft saying, “Okay…maybe using gunpowder to light the grill was a bad idea !”
D’ ya think?
