Big News Today .........

I ate the first ripe Strawberry from the patch today.

No. No picture. It was just friggin' beautiful and tasty and I ate it before I even thought about a picture.
No. I do not feel guilty because you really didn't need a picture of a damn Strawberry. You know what a Strawberry looks like.

Besides, I did that last year.
And not a one of you Ingrates commented on it either.

There are gonna be a shit load more of them coming on in the next week and then we'll be swimming in 'em.
Nice problem to have.

I've gotten most of the garden in and should have it all in in the next week.
Because I was a lazy shit and didn't start my own plants this year I had to actually buy a few plants today.
Shame on me but it just didn't work out right this year.

I went to a local guy who grows all his own stuff and is a real nice fella. That makes it easier to part with your hard earned money if the guy you're giving it to is not some jerk.

I had purchased stuff from him years ago but not in the last decade or so.
Cheap, nice plants and good conversation. Almost makes spending money worthwhile.
Almost.
I'm really trying to cut out spending on crap that I don't need so I can still afford to buy beer once in awhile.

I thought the economy was getting better?

Damn sure can't tell it around here.
If you take a drive around, it seems like the whole damn state is for sale. Every other home is for sale and more and more businesses are closed up with, For sale or For Lease/Rent signs in the window.

I keep hearing all of this happy ass shit on the radio about how, "The economy is turning around!"

But I ain't seeing it.

What I am seeing is a lot more people putting out gardens in areas that have obviously been lawn for awhile.

Clothes hanging out on lines.

Extra Cars, Trucks, Boats, Motorcycles, etc with signs on them that all end in OBO.

Lots of empty homes with stickers of various types pasted on the windows and doors.

More and more of those empty homes are somehow catching fire, too.
Saw another one just down the road today.

Somehow I doubt that's a coincidence.

I'm not buying the big economic recovery story that I keep hearing about.

But I can't really do anything about it except try to do my best to beat it in the areas that I can.
That's why the garden has been expanded this year.
More fruit and nuts trees are being planted.
The wood burning stove will be installed completely in a week or two.
Two news chains for the chainsaw are in the garage.
The Beehives will be all together soon and ready for Bees next Spring.
There's a LOT of new chicks here along with some Baby ducks that, TherapyBoy bought me the other day.

Damn, Baby Ducks may just be the cutest damn things ever!

I'm slowly gathering fencing, posts and wire to upgrade and replace the rotten crap I have now. That is an expensive project and is gonna take more time than I would like, but that's just the way it goes.

Ya do what you can do, as you can do it, and that's all you can do.
Remember that.

If you get all pissed off about things you lose focus, which is what happened to me back in February.
That's why I had to go BUY plants today, instead of setting out plants I'd already started myself for a fraction of the cost.

Don't lose focus. It only cost me $15.00 today for the plants I could have started myself for $2.00 or $3.00 dollars had I had my head out of my ass and focused.

I've got a ton of seeds & a nice starting setup. Should have had my head on straight and planned ahead.
The good news is $15.00 is a cheap lesson.

You also have to remember to be thankful for things like, "Cheap Lessons." - That's the best kind.

And seriously, don't forget to be thankful for things like -

Baby Ducks.
Baby Chicks.
That first PERFECT Strawberry of the year.
Peaches on the new trees.
A wood stove that'll be in next Winter.
A huge crop of Blackberries and Raspberries coming on now.
A GREAT Wife. (31 years and counting)
The ability to still be able to go out and do the things that need to be done, even with the physical limitations I have now.
The good fortune to have Great Friends and and co-workers at a job I still have.
A GREAT trio of children.
A vehicle that runs and is paid for. Shit. 3 vehicles that run and are paid for.
(And one piece of shit British Motorcycle that is paid for but will probably NEVER run reliably! That's part of the deal and not a complaint. The British Motorcycle industry did not go out of business for no reason ya know.)

So Yeah. There's a lot of bad shit going on out there. Get involved. Vote. Call and write your representatives. Even if they don't want to hear what you have to say.

Do what you can do to minimize the effects of what these Commie Bastards are doing to you now and what they will do in the near future. Because you know it's just gonna get worse before it gets better.

In other words, work on becoming as self sufficient as you can in whatever situation you're in now.

I don't expect to be anywhere near self sufficient anytime soon. Not gonna happen.
But I do expect to be able to minimize a shit load of costs that, right now are going up fast and look to continue that way.

That's what I CAN do and that's what I'm focusing on right now.

Y'all think about just what you can do and if you haven't already, start working on a plan.

Remember what I said.

Stay focused.
Start with the basics and work up from there.

I think you'll find that things like, Baby Ducks will make it easier.

And remember this. It can always be worse. You could have been born in Zimbabwe.

Or New Jersey.

Gratuitous Picture for a Thursday Night-
Do. Not. Be. This. Guy.
You can ride either one, fella. Unload the one that doesn't talk back.
Dumbass.