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Local H - "Here Comes the Zoo" (2002 -I think) another great cd by this one man "band" My Photographs You like photos? I love taking them. Click here, if you wanna see some of my work
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Saturday, Jun. 12, 2004 - 11:04 p.m. First, the photo:
Wicked looking, ain�t it? The color on my hands is from the internal fluids I drained from the bodies of my prey. I show them no mercy� (An aside� anyone have a copy of the album �A Boy Named Goo�, by the Goo Goo Dolls ? If not, click here to see what I was aimed at with the photo above� Anyway�. I checked on my wild black raspberry plants at work yesterday afternoon, and decided that they were a total loss. Yes, the fruit is ripening. With all of the fertilizer and water I have given these canes, they are really growing well. They would have provided a very nice harvest, if only�. The dickhead who sprayed the cornfield to the north hadn�t sprayed them (when he dumped his chemicals on the day the wind was out of the north- but I am sure y�all are sick of reading about THAT subject). I picked them anyway, and brought them up to show my coworkers (no, I didn�t pick them on State of North Dakota time- I did this at lunchtime). Every berry was large (as big around as dimes or better, which is real nice), and almost every one of them showed some scaring from the chemical bath they withstood. The man who is playing temporary Mohall #1 came into the toolroom later in the day, and asked me the following question: �Are you willing to drive a little bit to get some nice, free black raspberries?� Um�Hell yes? He owns about 5 acres of river bottomland that he has made into his private little retreat. He is growing wheat on the land that is tillable, and has mowed out an area to have bonfires and family gatherings. He has big plans for the rest of the area, but he told me before that it is a work in progress for his family and him. He also told me yesterday that the area running along the small feeder creek that heads to the river is basically overgrown transitional prairie (my term), filled with about everything that can grow wild around here. That includes both black raspberries and blackberries. He had mowed a walking path around the wheat field. All along this path areas filled with grasses, weeds, and the aforementioned berries thrive. He offered to draw me a map that would get me to his acreage, along with a note to give to anyone who asked me if I had permission to be there, picking the berries. Very cool. Especially considering how much many of my coworkers have complained about this man�s behavior (I have no opinion about this, since I don�t work on the road with him. Haven�t had any troubles with him in my job, anyway). So I thanked him, and made my plans to head to his property after work. Just before lunchtime yesterday, he called in on his cell phone. He had just been hit in an auto accident. Rear-ended as he sat at a stoplight, waiting for it to change. He wasn�t injured, but had to head to the hospital for precautionary x-rays and the required drug testing. After playing telephone relay man for the next couple of hours, I was drained. But I headed out to the berries anyway. After spraying enough Deep Woods Off� on my body to deter an army of mosquitoes( I hoped, anyway), I headed into the bottomlands. About 45 minutes later, I was ready to leave with 12 cups of ripe, sweet black raspberries in the bottom of my 5-gallon bucket. I must have missed a small area of my back with the Off�, because enough of the flying monsters feed on me there to leave their mark. It kinda looked like an allergy doctor had done one of those strip needle tests in that area. I made a batch of jam today with 8 cups of the berries (9 half-pints of canned goodness, along with 2 small jelly jars unsealed to hand out now), and have 4 cups left for Lease to convert into some kind of desert for me to eat next week. Cool�. I called Temporary Mohall #1 at home late yesterday, and he was doing fine. I told him about my pickings, and he said he was happy I was able to get some good out of what I did. He will be getting a couple of jars of black raspberry jam from this batch, along with a couple more jars of last year�s strawberry jam or something for his kindness� The unsuccessful hunt? Might be an entry for tomorrow. Let�s just say Lease and I tried very hard to find a specific toy for our grandniece�s 2nd birthday, all to no avail. Locally, anyway. You gotta love the Internet�..
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