interesting and boring all together

I have a big sugar maple in the side yard. It's huge. Back when we had that inland hurricane, a large side branch had been knocked off it. The tree was apparently not too healthy to start with but you'd have never known, all the branches had leaves on them and it looked good. The truth of it is, the branches are mostly hollowed and every time we get a good storm, another gets knocked out of it. Well, we had another big storm and the tree is about done for. I will need to cut it down sooner or later. I hate to, but there's not much left of it. The branch now laying in the yard has not been cleaned up yet. It's full of bees. I mentioned this before, the bees were getting wiped out by the birds. Well, some made it thru the feeding frenzy and they are still active in the tree branch. I have decided to learn about bees and honey. I didn't come up with this brilliant plan on my own, one of my regular read magazines has a whole beehive article in it. I thought it was Mother Earth News but I just checked the latest issue online and it's not in it. Maybe it was Hobby Farms or Grit. I found this article online over at Living off Grid and it has the top bar beehive as well. This is what I plan to do about the bees before they swarm in the spring. Now, what am I going to do with that huge branch laying in the yard? Oh, I haven't a clue at the moment.

Life here at the farm has been pretty boring the last few weeks. I am spending all my time around here cleaning up after others that live here. I have to say, it's gotten old darn quick. it's hard enough that I do everything around here all by myself anyway but having to play maid to others on top of everything else just pisses me off. Nobody ever misses supper but they sure can't seem to find the dish rag. Everybody loves the cats but nobody can clean up after them. Cats are NOT clean animals. No use putting them out, somebody just lets them back in when I'm not around. ARG is the only polite thing I can think of to say about it right now.

So, instead of catering to others this weekend, I have spent all my time going thru my pantry, looking at my stock of herbs and such. Working out in my mind and on a list, what I need to be concentrating on in the herb garden next season. I have also looked at things I can't grow that I still need to purchase or trade for. Since there isn't a good set-up for trade here yet, I guess the salt, sugar, noodles and various other odd stuff will have to be purchased. I hate that. I hate having to buy anything at all. The whole commercial thing just chaps me.

Here's something depressing. I just owe $200 on the cow and was hoping to have her home this coming weekend. I had a side job set up that would have given me what I needed. It fell thru. On top of that, I turned my front burner on the stove on this morning, the element has apparently burned out. Guess I used it too much. The stove isn't 3 years old yet. This is the same stove the oven element burned out of in just 8 months. It's a Frigidaire glass top. I haven't a clue how to even get to the elements to repair it. I will need to repair it, it's my cheese making element, the one that fits my cheese making pot perfect. Guess I just need to say ARG and move on with it.

You know it's a bad week when even baking bread doesn't cheer me up. This week it felt like a chore, a boring, time consuming, unrewarding chore. Wow, I need a vacation...........