Mulching, Creep-Master and Biting

My computer has been finicky of late. So have I. As the temperature is dropping, I have been taking advantage of those sunny afternoons to work in my gardens. I am hoping that this will make the spring clean-up a little easier. Hoping.

Since the marigolds have turned brown, I decided to collect more seed. At this point I have enough seed to start my own business, yet I still feel the need to pinch the heads off as I pull the plants. They need to be free of seed to go into the compost bin. No matter how diligently I pinch those dead heads off, I always end up with some volunteer plants in the compost. So, I got to thinking and decided that I should run the dead bushes through the mulcher and mulch the beds that I want marigold in. Some times I really impress myself with my own ingenuity!

The hunters have been out in force. I don't hunt. I don't understand the "sport". Stalking and killing an animal would not be thrilling or fun for me. My opinion, that's all. I do not condemn those who enjoy the sport. I stay inside when they are staying here in the kampground. Not because they have guns blazing. I just enjoy my solitude while I work in my gardens and don't really want to explain what I am doing. I tend to get advice from those who are wont to track down deer. Advice like, "why bother with all that, why not just pour gravel and make the parking lot bigger?" I don't tell you how to hunt .......

But, the number one main reason I make myself scarce is the hunter with the holistic medical advice. I have dubbed him the creep-master. He makes me uncomfortable and I keep the store locked whenever he is in residence. Last time he came in to pay I actually carried my meanest dog into the store with me. My dogs always growl and bark at the creep-master. He actually asked why I would want Oscar (mean dachshund), since all he seemed to do is make noise. "He does more than that." I say, "He will bite you if you get close enough." That did not deter him, though. He lingered in the store and asked after my health (fine) and then wanted to know if my husband was around. I answered with a question, asking if he needed a propane tank filled. I was loathe to admit that I was all alone here, save a pack of miniature dogs that were barking their heads off at the intruder. Oscar had that deep growl going the entire time he was in the store. I have found Oscar to be a good judge of character .... and he bites.

So here I sit, sipping my morning brew, happy to see no hunters here, the sun shining brightly in the sky ........ let the mulching begin.