Somewhere through the haze of the Monday night voice lesson and the particularly fine passionfruit mojito consumed earlier, it was with great reluctance that I had to wake up enough to realize that little needles were attacking my leg and foot in the small hours of the morning……that’s the downside of having that adorable new kitten.
By day she is Leda, little 2-3 lb Furball of Cuteness and Purrs, by night she is Fanged Lilith who shall conquer All Exposed Flesh in Her Path. Leda now tallies along with Luna as the second cat to have been dumped or found stray at our farming partner’s home. I remain disappointed with my fellow country dwellers–people that should know better just refuse to be responsible about altering their animals. It’s much easier to dump unwanted offspring at another farm and hope they find a home. Well, in this case, someone got lucky, but it doesn’t change the problem. People can’t seem to understand that having a pet means making sure they can afford basic care, vaccinations, and making sure that their Fido or Fluffy doesn’t create a problem for someone else….what a concept.
The first figs are ripening, and I’m not sure what happened. Last year they were the size of a racquetball and very good. This year the fruits I’ve picked are almost the size of a baseball. Figs Gone Wild. The taste is "just okay" for now, but I expect it to get better.
(an aside–I’m watching what threatens to be another game of Giants i mean little league Baseball….can anything be sadder than this season???)
I am receiving a lot of requests for CSA deliveries to outlying areas like Yuba City and Sacramento this week. This tells me 2 things: People would like to have good produce, and, I wish I currently had the circumstances to make them happy. I still am on the hunt for a part-time job that will free some of my time away from my current position at UC Davis, but right now, I have no idea how I can expand further and still stay somewhat sane. I hope that some of these individuals from outlying areas might band together; if we can compile enough requests from one area, we can consider making the delivery run even though it’s out of our way. The whole subject of deliveries is really complicated, I’ve learned. Often, the hardest part of connecting a customer with our produce isn’t the growing, picking, packaging or driving; it’s the actual logistics of where to leave the stuff so that the end user doesn’t have anything happen to their order (theft, wilting in the hot sun, etc) and we are able to receive a payment. I mean, most city streetcorners don’t have locked dropoff boxes. Most stores or businesses are not going to be willing to act as a dropoff point, what’s in it for them?? And many people don’t live in a detached house, so there’s nowhere to really leave a box. Like I said, it’s complicated……
Problems with assorted chicks continue, we lost 2 of the poor little guys overnight. This time I’m calling on the powers of Pathology, it’s time to find out what’s going wrong….
Well, that’s most of the news. Oh, and a followup to the bee sting business….turns out the ticket, according to someone with lots more degrees than I possess, is oral Benadryl and a hydrocortisone cream. And ice and all that other stuff, call the doctor if that doesn’t work well enough. So, until next time…maybe I’ll get stung in the butt, so at least I can be more productive….a farmer that can’t sit down, what could come of that?!? Possibly a sparkling chicken coop, or a polished car………..nah.