The book said prune in fall or spring, and spring didn’t work. So this time I’m trimming in fall, and cutting it back until it looks like an Angry Orchard poster.
It gave us 2 good apples. But it’s right near our Japanese maple, it’s an espaliered apple and should be kept under control, so we hope ultimately to limb-up the taller maple to let them co-exist. If not, it’s curtains for the apple, which is up against the fence, anyway.
This is strenuous work, but I now have proper short loppers for the job and we are early enough to get the compost-trash to hold the branches I cut.
Whew!
Put the winter cover on the koi pond, and will shut down the pumps when it threatens freezing. We’re around the 36’s at night.
Quiet today. No howling from Tanner, which has been nearly constant for 4 months. Maybe we’re going to win this. I hope the poor fellow is not depressed.
Whoa, something like 20 replies since I last checked in on the blog. And stuff on languages. I’m gonna have a lot to read!
Very Off-Topic: — I am so not used to living around a bunch of people, or around a bunch of neighbor kids. I didn’t have brothers and sisters, and my cousins were all far away. (Still are.) I just interacted with other kids at school. So, uh, my level of “the science of kid-ology” is probably lacking, and mostly instinct and odd personal experience. — Right now, there’s a whole bunch of kids outside, playing. You would think there are nine kinds of mayhem going on at least. I mean, there’s yelling and screeching as if all heck is breaking loose. But they’re fine, they’re having fun, somehow. It only sounds like there’s something dire going on out there. — It’s messing with my parental / nurturing instincts. I do have ’em. (And I’m prepared to admit, maybe my emotional level has gone higher than normal, maybe due to too much isolation. Dunno quite why, but yes, it’s not as even and mild as it used to be.) So I hear that and something inside me twitches as if, are those kids OK? In danger? No? Just having fun and yelling blippin’ like something’s after them, is what. Seriously, out of control, kids. Surprised half the parents around don’t stick their heads out and tell ’em to cool it down some. A few notches. Boys and girls both.
And…whew… either a lull, or they yelled themselves hoarse, or ended the game, or got fussed at. (I didn’t hear any adult laying down the law.)
Man, you kids, chill, would you? I’m OK with regular horsing around, having a good time, some yelling. But that was over the top by any standard. At least to me. — And I don’t know all those kids, but they live around here, they’re neighbor kids, here at the apt. complex. I want them safe and happy and having a good time, just on principle, because this is a pretty decent place, they are nice kids (I presume) and I’ve got some crazy notions that people should be happy and healthy, safe, enjoying themselves, out with friends, whatever, and loved. — And not ever scared or in danger. Which is what that sounded way too close to. — And yet, they were only messing around, playing, evidently. Dunno what the game was. But wow, kids. Just…wow.
— Ever since my electricity was fixed and my internet connection came back, I have been getting odd messages about some “Emergency Alert Messaging System,” national or presidential or some such. About like the old days when I grew up, and the Emergency Broadcasting System would bleep your TV for a solid 30 seconds or so, to test in the event of some emergency, natural or man-made. Cold War Era kind of thing. They stopped doing that at some point around the 90’s or after. — So now, I’m seeing this message pop up on my cell phone every few days. — And tonight, a message that there’s going to be “The biggest Trump rally EVER,” in a few days, urging everybody to show up. Uh, yeah, that quoted wording, complete with capitals. Oh, come on. Pep rallies were fine in high school. Kinda fun. Even a geeky guy like me could cheer for no reason. But uh, that guy got elected over a year ago. Enough with the pep rallies, guy. Please. This is getting out of hand. I get the idea every person in my city, voting age or not, got that message. Sorry, guy, but no, thanks. I voted for someone else. Even more convinced after a year that I was right to vote for someone other than that guy. (And ordinarily, I would not be so cavalier in how I refer to that office or person. It’s how far we’ve gone that I’m so unimpressed. But in a democracy, I can still have that opinion, and I can still vote for other people I think (hope) could do better. So…wow, I’m just surprised and not impressed by that appearing, not as spam in my email, but as a message I can’t avoid, popping up on my cell phone notifications. Uh, hey, enough with the pep rallies. Actually do what you were put in office to do, please. Thanks much. (Just my opinion. I’m only put off that I’m getting frequent messages. Unnecessary to get those. Intrusive. Did everyone in town get that? Is the whole country getting those emergency test messages? Might be better to cool it with those, and not every week or every few days. I really hope everyone’s not having to put up with that. It’s…odd, in a way I can’t put my finger on, and don’t quite want to.
(Now back on-topic. Just…I’m weirded out a little by that. I understand or can put up with the kids’ behavior better than that, in fact. But lately, at times I wonder if I woke up in some alternate timeline, and our heroes haven’t stepped in yet to see it’s been messed up, and repair it back to the original timeline. Meh.)
You may want to stay out of your local library if they are having a story time. Today ours sounded like a football game, and at least one toddler is a past grand master at temper tantrum.
I was at my sister’s a couple of weeks ago and heard kids screaming and yelling. Looked out window, and there’s a school at least a quarter mile away, at the bottom of the hill, on the opposite corner of the block. (there’s a small canyon in the middle, which is why it’s so big – my sis can see hawks and turkey vultures at eye level.)
ETA: there was a test two weeks ago of the “presidential alert message system” – if you didn’t have the phone on, you should have missed it. It’s not supposed to be a regular thing.
So far tonight, it has been less raucous, and there’s a lull right now. They are probably eating supper. Or there might be actual homework to do.
I don’t know what was going on last night that they were so over the top. I’ve gotten kinda-sorta used to “semi-rowdy” from the kids. At times it’s what I’d consider, OK, just having a good time, kinda noisy but cool. At other times, it gets wild, but still, OK, they’re kids, they need a place to blow off steam, and there’s not too much in the way of a playground or enough space for a ballgame playing field or basketball court here within the apt. complex. They need space to have fun, exercise, play, imagine. I get that, that’s an important part of being a kid, IMHO.
But last night was off the scale, about like one pool incident during the summer, late night. — However, I am pretty sure last night was fine, just…whoa, kids!
LOL, as long as the kids aren’t having tantrums or fighting, and the noise level is, ehhh…. OK, yeah, my sympathies. I could see a certain level of excitement, noise, glee, from the little kids getting all excited and into the storytelling. Hmm…maybe I am getting the wrong idea, and the kind of rowdy behavior you mean, has little to nothing to do with kids getting into the story, and more to do with not yet having impulse control or knowing how to behave around other kids, with manners in a library, and so on. — See? I was that weird kid brought up with extra good manners, but also maybe overly strict upbringing. I was way more used to how to behave around adults as a kid. So possibly my outlook is, hmm, skewed in that direction. LOL, somehow, I did manage to grow up and get along (mostly) with other kids. :: shrugs :: See, I’m kind of a natural fit for libraries and schools and religious centers. (Guess where most of my time was spent besides growing up in an art shop. Haha, OK, no wonder my perspective is so off-center from most people….) Hmm. OK, this navel-gazing thing, not working so well. Haha.
I am, however, glad the kids are getting to have a story time at the library. Maybe a few of them, it will soak in and they’ll learn to love stories and books. One can hope. — I believe it is said that they outgrow this childhood thing eventually; most of them. Some, not so much. LOL.
Sorry I’ve been kinda scarce on the ground lately, what between “pre-hab” for possibly getting a new left knee for xmas, or else March-ish, and one of my knitting friend’s husband having had a triple bypass Wednesday, I’ve been a bit busy. She has eye problems and can’t drive (he was her driver and now he’s out of action for a while). Still all went well and he came through with flying colors. Wednesday, while he was in surgery, she and I spent most of the afternoon in the surgical waiting room sitting and knitting. I was having these Mme. Defarge flashes. She and I both have gotten a lot of knitting done in the last three days.
It was cold and rainy both Wednes and Thurs, but the sun came out today. The cotton farmers are not happy, because they want to finish stripping the cotton and can’t because rain, but our playa lakes are full now after having been nearly empty over the summer.
Knitting is excellent for occupying the hands and at least partially calming the mind during stressful waiting.