While out and about getting a few groceries today I saw one of the moving trucks with the company “Two Men and a Truck”. I say that is false advertising, since there were actually three men in the cab and not two. But, at least they WERE in a truck.

My basil plant is going crazy! I pinched off a branch to give to someone to root but it ended up being about a foot long so I kept it and stripped the leaves off to dry and crush. There must have been 2-3 cups of leaves on that one branch alone. The plant is bushy and probably almost two feet tall – even after I pinched off the top as it started to flower (which I read is not what you want to happen). I hate that it is in the ground and won’t make it through winter, but I will root a cutting off of it in water then plant it. Maybe I will even cut it of at the ground to see if it will root. This time it’s going in a pot so I can use it fresh year ‘round.

I also have that Italian parsley plant next to the basil and was able to trim off some leaves off to dry. It makes me want to get some other herb plants so I can stop buying herbs in the store. Basil is surprisingly easy to grow and smells so good when picked it makes you want to cook! Makes the house smell good too.

Granted I got my plants in the ground late, but the damage the hornworms caused set my tomato crop back even more and I hope the plants start producing more soon. There are a few on the vines, and one is decent sized and ripening, but it is still disappointing. The peppers are really putting on the blooms and fruit. I should see a bumper crop of those in the next few weeks. I cannot eat hot stuff like I used to but I’ll still be roasting some of them up to make salsa and will be giving some peppers away. With any luck I will have my own tomatoes to use.

Last week I inadvertently walked through some grass about 4” deep – not even ankle high. Big mistake. I did not have on any protective clothing or spray. The damn chiggers ate me alive from the neck down to my ankles and all points in between. Yeah…go ahead and laugh – it looks like I have smallpox and the itching was horrible for about 4-5 days. I am still itchy and I have red bumps all over from those voracious li’l bastards.

The truck A/C gets fixed next week. While driving along in the heat last week I noticed that I was getting really good gas mileage (compared to normal) so I had suspicions it was the air conditioner compressor that I just had replaced. I took it back to the shop and he concurred it was a bad compressor (even new parts can be bad) so he ordered up a new replacement. Should be a free repair under warranty, but even if I had to pay it is still cheaper than buying a new car. And I do find my truck fits my needs very well.

Plus, there are several new car manufacturers whose cars I would never buy due to problems the manufacturer won’t fix and won’t let the dealer fix…even under a purchased extended warranty. I am talking about the so-called “American” car company based in Italy.

There were a few days last week that were absolutely horrible to be outside. The humidity was incredibly high and those days were some of the most uncomfortable I have ever been in. I was thinking it is just me since I really hate hot weather, plus we have had decent, cooler weather lately. But, I was talking with a few people and they all agreed…it sucked.

You can definitely feel Fall in the air. Pretty soon some of us in the world will be going through the twice-yearly, needless stupidity of changing clocks for a mere hour. An odd time of the year, to me Fall has always felt like “The End”; plants beginning to go dormant, tress losing leaves and looking dead & ugly, and the days are getting shorter for the next several months. At least it is cooler.

Now that the weather is getting better I cannot wait to get the truck fixed and at least get some day trips in. I know the dog is ready to get out more as much as I am. I got out for a short walk this morning but it was warming up fast and I had a sweatshirt on due to the cool early morning hours so I was warming up fast between that and the humidity. But, it was still a nice morning for even a short walk and it was good to get some exercise.

That is all for today’s post.