The Trickster in the Shed

I am convinced that there is a trickster living in the garden shed.  He/She/It vandalizes power equipment and hides things, and sometimes it goes out to the garden and digs up seeds and plants grass and weeds.

Nanny's birthday was Saturday, and we had a fish fry to celebrate.  In addition to the normal crew that hangs out at her house from time to time, we invited her siblings and a few nieces and nephews that we could reach by phone, about 16 folks from ages 8 to 80.  Cake.  Ice cream.  It was fun.

While the fish was cooking, the relatives visited on the back porch and wandered around the yard.  I spied Uncle B checking out the vegetable garden, and later, when I had a minute to sit down beside him on the porch, he said, "Yo' garden is a little grassy, ain't it?"

Hmph. 

I said, "Yeah, it is.  We've had 'issues'." 

He noted that some of the rows were "skippy." 

Gee, I hadn't noticed.  :-\

Truth is that nothing but grass will grow in part of the garden, that low spot in the northwest corner that holds water forever.  And, believe you me, we've had plenty of water for it to hold this year.  It's a waste of time to plant anything there, but I do it, anyway, when I can catch it dry enough to plant.  Hope is eternal, I reckon.

Anyway, yesterday was a relatively cool day, and I spent half of it trying to remedy the grass situation and the "skippy" situation.   Ran the big tiller down the wide rows and chopped with the hoe where the tiller couldn't go.  Re-planted the skippy rows, and put in a couple more new rows of peas in hope of a later crop.  I'd done about a quarter of what I intended to do when the tire came off the tiller.  AGAIN.  It made me so mad that I just left the tiller where it sat and came back to the house to cool off.  Later in the day, I went back to the garden and pressed Gloria into service while The Husband worked on putting the tire back on the big tiller.

The tire attaches to the axle with a bolt and a nut that goes through the axle on the outside of the tire.   When the bolt comes out, the tire doesn't immediately fall off.  It lets me till a little while before the tire slips far enough up the axle that it no longer gets traction.  By the time I notice the problem, there's no telling where the bolt is.  I've already buried several of them in the garden this year.

I keep wondering why this happens.  The menfolk in the family are fixing that tire for me when it comes off.  I've seen them bearing down on the wrenches to tighten that nut.  They don't play.  Those bolts shouldn't fall out like they do.  My conclusion is that the trickster loosens the nuts while the tiller is parked in the shed.  That's the only thing it could be.  ;)

Fortunately, The Husband was able to find yet another bolt/nut that would fit.  I'm thinking a new solution is in order - one of those elongated, pinchy question-mark-shaped things (the proper word escapes me at the moment).  I shall go to the hardware store today and buy two of them.  (Hopefully, the word will come to me by then, so I won't have to use the term "elongated, pinchy question-mark-shaped thing" to the hardware professional.)  We'll see if the garden shed trickster can get THOSE off.

In other news....

I planted a short row of tiger beans yesterday.  These seeds are some that I saved two years ago, when The Grandson wanted to try tiger beans just because he liked the name.  By the time I got around to picking those beans, some had dried on the vine, and I saved those dry ones in the freezer.  I'm curious to see if they will sprout.

I ate this season's first home-grown tomato last night, standing at my kitchen counter with a salt shaker in my hand.  It was heavenly.  Earlier in the week, we made the season's first batch of cucumber-and-onions-in-vinegar.  Served them at the fish fry, along with white beans, French fries, slaw, and hush puppies.  Yum!  Tonight, we'll be having some home-grown, pesticide-free squash for dinner. 

Speaking of squash, the "church row" is looking fine.  God's zucchini plants are show-stoppers.  Hopefully, it won't be long until we can contribute some to the food pantry at Nanny's church.

We had a gentle rain this morning, which ought to swell those pea and bean seeds right out of the ground.