Homestead mailing list

[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT gmail.com>]

Un freaking real.
I have no dial tone on my phone and went out to check the box, which is 
on my deck.  To get to the box, I had to brush by a large palm tree.  As 
I got busy, I realized that my hand and wrist were stinging, much like 
the other day, but not as severe.  I suddenly remembered reading on the 
garden page that saddlebacks like palms, so I looked at the underside of 
the palm leaf and wouldn't you know that there was a baby saddleback 
under there.  He's about 3/8" long, but he got me twice.  What's funny 
is that it is the same arm, forearm, dermatome as the previous sting 
from last weekend, which was still itching as of last night.  This 
doesn't seem as bad, but it is just my luck to be hit twice in one week 
by some elusive little nasty bugger.  All stings are within 10 inches of 
each other. 

We lose phone and electricity on a regular basis.  It is one of the 
drawbacks of living in the boonies, I guess.  But my stepfather worked 
for Bellsouth when I was a kid, and I know that they usually fixed 
problems within 24-48 hours, max.  Now, they say it should be fixed by 
Monday evening.   In a digital world, where I have already done half the 
work for them by testing the line and ruling out that it is a problem in 
the house, you would think that they could have it fixed within a day or 
two, but no, it almost always takes 4 or 5 days.  In the past, I would 
have lost internet, too, but I am thankful for Hughesnet, which is 
allowing me to bitch to the world.  I actually reported the problem via 
email. 


--
EarthNSky Farm  34.498N 85.076W
SISU! (Finnish--There is no single word in English that encompasses
all that sisu means, but it combines the following ideas: guts, pep,
determination, stubbornness, perseverance, hardiness, stamina, go, do,
nerve, spunk, pluck, and grit.  It's like "Just Do It!" & "Go for It!")