FUNNY THAT WAY!

4/19/2026

At last, the days of summer are here and so is the intense heat that will soon drive me crazy. But first I have to get all my gardening done. Fertilize the arborvitae in the front yard.  Bring in the new ones to the back yard and plant them along the fence.  Get some new planter boxes to mark off a special feeding area for the birds so the cat doesn’t chase them or chase the neighbor’s cat.  When she’s not chasing the birds, she’s marking her territory all over the yard. It makes me so frustrated. But it’s my husband’s cat so she stays. This year for some reason I’m really looking forward to laying back in my lounge chair with a book, feeling the afternoon sun. The morning sun is deadly. I really understand what global warming is all about now because I used to be able to stay in the sun for long periods of time and just get brown. Now I can’t stay in the direct sun at all except for when it starts to cool down.

What has happened to my skin. I never used to burn; I never used to find the sun anything but delicious. Those days are gone. I used to pride myself in being able to get a Coppertone tan with out the Coppertone. Now I stay under the umbrella or in the shade. I still use lots of coconut oil. I couldn’t do without that. My body still craves coconut oil so I cover myself in it, winter, fall and summer.

Now I have finished getting my planter boxes ready for the anti-cat plants which I will plant tomorrow.  These are to keep the cat away from the bird feeding area. I hope it works. I’d love to plant food but somehow, I don’t want the responsibility of caring for them but I know I wouldn’t mind picking the lettuce, tomatoes, cauliflower and cukes. When we lived in Newark in our three story 1870’s red brick town house, my garden was the talk of the town and I gave away every kind of vegetable possible eggplant, cucumbers to anyone who wanted, there was always such an abundance from that small yard. And the apples from the small crocked tree in the middle of the yard, that made the best apple pies.  That property is now a parking space with a number on it and its for the folks who attend the games at the Newark arena. Yes, it broke my heart to give it up but then that was Newark. I never go there anymore and I have not the faintest desire to do so. I wonder what would have happened in my life if I had never moved to Newark in the 90’s but then I wouldn’t have met my husband. So, I guess it was meant to be. Some things are funny that way.

If you are a reader of this blog - here's wishing you a great summer. Write and tell me all about it. yolandskeetearts@gmail.com