Word of the Day

Deja-booboo - The inexorable feeling that you've made this mistake before.

Well heck! I can't think of anything to write at all. Actually, when I was out picking berries, I did spend some time thinking about where I was this time last year. Or what about the year before? So much changes and so much remains the same. Let's see.

On this day in 2003, I wrote:

August 12, 2003

I've been busy today. I made two more quarts of dill pickles from the cucumbers I picked from my garden. I made five quarts of dill pickles on Saturday. I picked, cleaned, cut-up, cooked and canned 3 quarts of green beans from the garden. I boiled up another batch of crayfish caught and brought up from the traps off my dock. I still have to make the wild raspberry jam. Tomorrow. Maybe. We'll see. I'll get to it. Soon. Really. I'm told that I need to go out blackberry picking too. Maybe I'll run into my brother's lawn gnome on my berry picking venture. I'll let you know.

If I remember correctly, the dill pickles that I made that year were too salty but we ate them anyway. I haven't baited any crayfish traps this year. I only made one small batch of wild raspberry jam so far and that's it because they're done. Oh...and I never did run into my brother's lawn gnome that summer. I didn't even kidnap it when I saw it sitting on his stoop in the fall. I didn't can any of my green beans this year. There were plenty of green beans in the garden this year but we've been enjoying them so I doubt there will be any left over for canning.

Now, last year at this time, I wrote:

August 12, 2004

And just when I was getting ready to dig out the snow shovel....The sun is shining today. Despite the rain we got for the last two day, one of my tomato plants graphically reminded me that it wanted water. It was "touching its toes". Apparently that poor plant drank all of the 3/4" of rain we got and wanted more. "Feed Me!" My deck looks like it's been invaded. It's over-run with the green foliage of the tomato plants that are attempting to escape from their containers despite all my judicious pruning. So far no-one has been bitten... at least not by a tomato plant.

As I recall, last year was an awful year for tomatoes. Too little rain and not enough heat. I had plenty of green tomatoes but they never ripened. I never did get enough to can. I ended up buying some from a local farmer. When the first frost hit, I picked all my green tomatoes and added them to the ones my mother gave me to make relish.

This year my deck is over-run by tomato plants and it looks like I'll have a surplus of tomatoes. I'll have to start canning them soon or they'll get away from me.

I picked three quarts of blackberries while I was out wondering and wandering. I plan to make some blackberry pies.

Murphyism of the Day

Ruckert's Law

There is nothing so small that it can't be blown out of proportion.