Nope, not edible

I took this picture last weekend, and emailed it to my sister to find out what this plant is. I was hoping it might be elderberry, but as it turns out, it's a pokeweed plant.  I'm going to start cataloging the various plants that I find on the property. What's edible, what's medicinal, what's poisonous... Very useful information to have. Hopefully I'll be getting a decent DSLR so that I can take much better pictures.

 

Three most hated words

Brown recluse spider.

Yuck, yuck, yuck. My husband put down some glue traps last time we were up, and in June had the house sprayed, and we put off bug bombs. There were a couple caught in the traps and found several dead ones in various rooms. I went on a serious spraying frenzy. This freaks me out. Just reading up on  how to eradicate them freaks me out.  We got tubs and large space bags to put stuff in when we aren't there. Bedding, clothes that aren't hanging, dog beds. You name it, it's getting sealed up.

Hey, are you taking my picture?? Cheese!

The mystery of what made the footprints in the sand in the backyard has been solved. We weren't sure if it was deer or hog. Trust me, I was praying for deer. The thought of feral hogs that close to the house freaked me out. The Aussie set up a game camera and hung it on one of the trees is the back. Bambi and friends made their camera debut. I guess this means I'm going to have to fence in any garden I plant. Seriously fence. With a roof.

 

Who needs Crossfit?

Between 6:30 am and 10:30 pm yesterday, I logged 4 hours and 18 minutes of physical activity. Let me tell you, in 90+ degree heat, you feel each and every minute. A lot of those minutes were spent hauling this thing around. We had to get it down driveway #1, on to a metal trailer (which had to be pulled down the driveway and on to the road by hand), strapped down, moved off of a trailer, and pulled up driveway #2 and positioned sideways (so it doesn't roll) in the garage. That little black trailer dolly you see me pulling on is a godsend. This "garden cart on steroids," as The Aussie describes this cart, weighs 1500 pounds. Not easy. I earn more WW activity points doing yard and ranch-type work than I do lifting weights and walking dogs.

 

My only injury of the weekend came when I momentarily let go of the dolly and the leg smacked in to my shin. Getting the dolly back under the ball of the hitch was a minor miracle, so I can't complain too much. The bruise and bump are impressive, but I'll just count them as another badge of honor. (Badge number 1 came the weekend The Aussie learned how to use a chainsaw and I got scraped up by some branches while clearing brush.)

 

Speaking of branches, while we were wandering around, we heard a really loud crack. The Aussie was actually looking at this tree when a huge branch came down. You can see the broken off section halfway up the tree the branch was.  I'm glad we weren't near the tree. Eventually, it may have to come down, but even dead trees serve a purpose. Especially if you're one of the resident woodpeckers.  In the meantime, I'll just keep working on my farmer tan.