Bats, the government and me

I'm hot. In more ways than one. It's going to be 100 degrees here today and I just noticed I have bats living under the overhang of my bay window.

So the bats have to go. Dear husband was not too keen on handling a bat invasion and told me to call someone. I did and Ms. Mildred at the pest control company put me on hold then informed me, "Ma'am, we can't do anything about bats until August 1."

K: Excuse me? What? Why?

Apparently, I started sounding like an irate customer here because Ms. Mildred put Ms. Jenny on the phone.

What's in the works?

Things have been quiet the last few weeks. Too quiet. So I set out to see what kind of surprises our politicians have in the works for us.

Senator/Congressman really should not be a full time job. It makes them feel like they're not doing their "job" if they aren't strapping Americans with one sort of legislation or another. Trust us, guys and gals, we'd rather you do nothing.

Okay, so what did I dig up this morning?

Kristin bakes a peach pie...or not

My dear husband brought home a sack full of Georgia peaches last night. There are more than we can possibly eat fresh, so I'm going to bake them into something delectable.


11:20 First thing first, I need to clean up the kitchen. This should take a good 30 minutes. Last night's dinner dishes have been joined by this morning's breakfast and it's a mess!


11:42 My kitchen is no longer a health hazard so I can get to work. Eep! I forgot the water is on in the vegetable garden....brb.


11:47 Water is off. Husband is mowing the lawn. I offered to carry the grass clippings up with me. Dear husband asked that I rake all the leaves the chickens scratched out of the grass. I declined. Leaf blower is roaring outside. I'm sweaty and need a Diet Coke.

11:49 Let's get started. I use the pastry recipe and pie recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. Copyright 1968. I bought it in an antique store for $10. My mom has always said that women should know how to make homemade pastry and real mashed potatoes. I'm inclined to agree with her.


The recipe calls for:

• 2c sifted flour
• 1t salt
• 2/3 c shortening (I usually use 1/2 lard 1/2 Crisco, but I don't have any lard today)
• 5-7T icy cold water

Grr, looks like I don't have any Crisco either. Sooooo......

Kaziah Hancock

This woman is amazing!

Who is Bill Ayers?

What about his wife, Bernadine Dohrn? What is their relationship with Barrack Obama and why should we care?

William Charles "Bill" Ayers was born December 26, 1944 in a suburb of Chicago. in the 1960's he became deeply involved in Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). The SDS Constitution describes the organization as:

Students for a Democratic Society is an association of young people on the left. It seeks to create a sustained community of educational and political concern: one bringing together liberals and radicals, activists and scholars, students and faculty.

But SDS did not go far enough for Ayers. By 1969, he had become a part of the Weather Underground, a violent offshoot of the SDS with the goal of overthrowing the US government and replacing it with a dictatorship of the proletariat, aka a Marxist regime.

Guard Cat on Duty

Our flea and tick medicine came in the mail. I applied it quickly and I sent Trevor off to work.


He stalked around the corner of the house...

The chickens think they hear something....

I thought Trevor was going to go after one of my little chicks. He doesn't have claws so I don't think he could take down one of the big chickens, nevertheless, I was watching closely. He got Flag in his sights (see sidebar for Flag's picture), hunkered down, got ready to pounce, then changed course and pounced my rooster!!! This picture of Woody is a couple weeks old. He is much bigger now.

Much clucking and fluttering ensued.

But the chickens ended up back where they belong.

Then I learned that fleas in my area have developed a tolerance to Frontline. Back to square one and back to chickens under the deck.

Taliban hang 7-yr old "spy"

This is so sad. My boys are six and I can't imagine anything like this happening to them. But these are the peaceful Muslims the Progressives and Radicals love, doncha know?

Taliban hang 7-year-old boy accused of being a spy, suicide bomber kills 40 at Afghanistan wedding

Rosie O'Donnell: Seize their assets

I just don't understand these people. On her satellite radio program Tuesday, Rosie O'Donnell urged the government to take over BP.

"I say seize their assets. Right now. Seize their assets today. Take over the [company]. I don't care [how]. Issue an executive order...Call it socialism, call it communism, call it anything you want. Let's watch Rush Limbaugh explode on TV...Seize the assets. Take over BP."

What? Besides the obvious problem that BP, British Petroleum, is not a US company, what?!

I wonder if Rosie has thought this through. If an omnipotent federal government can issue an executive order and take over a foreign company what's to stop them from seizing all Rosie's assets? Or does she think that being friends with the dictator will make her safe?

These people plan to take down BP anyway. Their boot on BP's neck, they plan to squeeze every last ounce of lifeblood from the company. The UK is warning that BO's stance on the spill is harming relations between our countries. Kinda like sending back the bust of Churchill.....

This administration has taken over 70% of the US economy in the last 18 months. But that is not enough for the revolutionaries they co-opted to put them in power. They plan to fine and tax BP out of business, but the Rosies of the world want BO to throw down his Progressive mask and take the throne.

On Tuesday, Nancy Pelosi was heckled at a Town Hall (click for video). Her radical supporters want more money for their communities and Nancy just hasn't come through enough for them.

BO's revolutionary supporters are turning on him. While Van Jones may "reject the radical pose for the radical ends", these people want blood and they want it now.

Why I'm not Organic

I have a large vegetable garden. Each year I grow tomatoes, peppers, beans, eggplants, squash, zucchini, beets, chard and various other things. Without fail, when I tell people about my garden, they ask, "Is it organic?"

Not to sound insensitive, but when I hear this, I wonder if that person has ever tried to grow vegetables in Georgia. We have a wonderfully long growing season here in Georgia and mild winters mean I can grow vegetables year round. But we also have three things that make gardening a challenge. Bugs. Humidity. Red clay.


Our mild winters means the bugs are never killed off by cold weather. Come spring, they are back with a vengeance. I've tried organic concoctions to kill the bugs. I've even had lady bugs shipped in (they were half dead and the rest flew away). When it finally came down to it, it was either, the bugs get to eat or my family does. I'm not working my tail off to feed the bugs.



The high humidity means that fungal diseases can run rampant if not controlled. One year I lost nearly my entire tomato crop because I didn't spray for blight. I love to try heirloom varieties, but the only way I can grow something other than blight resistant hybrids is to spray for fungal diseases. And I've found that even the blight resistant varieties and not blight proof.


My first garden was a failure because the soil was so bad. My husband tilled up a spot in our field. I say tilled up, but the soil was so hard, the tines of the tiller would only penetrate 2 or 3 inches into the soil. With help from my mom, I have spent the last five years working leaves and grass clippings into the clay to make rich, loamy soil. The problem is, those leaves and clippings require a lot of nitrogen to break down. So I fertilize. A lot.

According to the Mayo Clinic, among others, there is "No conclusive evidence shows that organic food is more nutritious than is conventionally grown food. And the USDA — even though it certifies organic food — doesn't claim that these products are safer or more nutritious."

Organic foods may cause greater environmental impact than traditionally grown crops since yields are lower and more land is required to produce the same amount of food.

So no, my garden is not organic. If it were, my family would get very few vegetables fit for consumption. I limit my use of chemicals as much as possible, try not to spray or dust when bees are active and pay close attention to label instructions on how long to wait to harvest after treating, but I am not organic. My chickens are free range, but not organic since I supplement their scratching with non-organic feed. Do you have any idea what the organic stuff costs?!