The Garbage Can Mystery

For several months now, I've been finding my green garbage can kicked over & the garbage strewn about. One evening, I even heard someone go down the back stairs quietly - my office window is beside the stairs but the blinds were down - AND HEARD the can kicked over!!! But, I didn't get out there fast enough to see the bugger who did it. I spoke to the Landlord & he's been getting his can kicked over too. I told him about someone sneaking down the back stairs the last time but he doesn't think it was his kid. He's blaming the kid next door! Guess we just have to catch him at it . . . Last night was Garbage Night - Pickup is sometime on Tuesday & if you wait till the morning - well, sometimes they come barreling through at 7:00AM when you're in the shower! Haven't had the can kicked over lately so I was surprised to see it on it's side waaaaay under the stairs. Dammit!! I had to get the broom to help me get at it & ran into the can kicker inside the can. Yup - waaaay inside with his head in one of the bags of leftovers! A half-grown Skunk. A real Stinker. He'd figured out how to get that thing on its side & jumped on it so the top would blow off - it's old, plastic, with split sides & the lid snaps on both sides just above the handles. I line it with double garbage bags but I guess he can still smell the goodies inside. He's been feasting on the fruit peels, veggie stalks & chicken bones for months. Then he gets to have a wash & a drink at the big bowl of fresh water I have under the plant stand & ferns for the local critters. And I suspect it was he, who left the stink under the stairs last week - probably met the local raccoons at the water dish. Perhaps it's time to buy a new garbage can with a hooked lid. Removing the water dish is not an option.

I bought a taro root almost two months ago for 18 cents. A lady in the veggie market was seriously checking out all the roots & I asked her what she was going to do with them. She told me Taro makes a wonderful house plant. She wouldn't tell me what it looked like but told me I'd recognize it when it sprouted. Well, it takes a long time to sprout. It needs heat & water, lots of water. It can be grown in moist soil or in a pot in a water garden because it also likes to live IN water. I tucked it into a BLACK pot & put it out in the warmest part of my garden spot on the concrete. I noticed yesterday that it had a sprout. It's been out there baking in the heat & FINALLY sprouted. I can't wait to see what it will become! Meanwhile, the Everbearing Strawberries are throwing out runners everywhere!! I suspect I'll be able to fill the Strawberry Pot with them this year!! And I'll have to check out the damage to the ferns where the Skunkette ran to hide when I disturbed his feast . . .

I've been pounding on the computer for up to 7 hours a day for the last 9 days!! Needless to say, I haven't spun a damned thing. My thumbs are not up to the task at all so I've dropped out of the Tour de Fleece. I can knit, barely, but I can report that both pairs of short socks in the Saturn color way are finished. I DID have to finish the second pair feet & toes with an odd ball of dark grey but they're DONE. Another pair are currently on the needles but only just. If I can get through all this work I've suddenly got, then maybe the old hands will get back in shape again. I've even ordered a trial sample of some Super Krill Oil from Purity Products in the US. They advertise on information & talk radio & made me an offer I couldn't refuse - for the total price of 7 bucks US, they will ship me a 30 day supply - & include the Hair/Nails/Skin product as well - which is guaranteed to make my joints better in 7 days or less or my money back. If I like it, they will ship for free! At this point, I'll try anything but heavy duty drugs!!! I have to make these hands work like this for another 10 years at least!!!