Mud, Sweat and Fears
Posted by Rebecca, July 5th, 2011
This weekend consisted of a lot of cleaning up. The weeds out front were the first to go. Did you think I was kidding about the 4 foot weed?
Those stems sticking out of the top? Follow them with your eyes and see how tall they are. I was considering waiting until it bloomed and seeing how it looked, but instead I plucked it. It was very rewarding.
I also (finally) cleaned and organized my side of the closet. I seriously had things that were not unpacked from our move over a year ago. I donated 3 bags of clothes and got rid of a bag of clothes/crap. I still need to finish up a little, so I’ll share pictures of that later this week 🙂
Yesterday while I was cleaning myself, Mike told me to grab a a towel and come see something. I listened and went running down the hall like a looney. Funny thing was, Macky was so excited by the running that he started running up and down the hall. The interrupted shower was totally worth seeing 3 awkward baby deer running around our property.
That’s an iPhone picture taken through our window, but trust me, they were jump-out-of-the-shower adorable.
Today, I left work a little early to pick up our veggies at the local farm we belong to. It’s an organic CSA (that’s a wikipedia link) where we pick up our veggies every Tuesday. When I got in the car to head there, the temperature was 102. Ouch.
So being the genius that I am, I decide that after I grab my veggies from their respective bins I want to grab some of the pick your own flowers. We were allowed to pick 10 stems this week and I couldn’t help but want to put some in my Kate Spade rose bowl on the island. I figure after all of the cleaning and organizing, we could use a fresh little arrangment, right?
First problem, I couldn’t find the flowers. I walked over to the green beans (yuck not a fan) then all the way back to the herbs (already have 2 weeks worth of catnip). This sounds easy, but the farm is big and it was hot. My paleness felt like it was scorching since I was without a hat and sunblock. I walked back into the barn to glance at the hand drawn map to find the flowers. I think the map was backwards? I’m still very confused by that map.
I finally spotted a man in the distance and figured those must be the pick your own flowers! So I began to walk in his direction, but the farm was muddy. I slowed down and began to walk gingerly, in my flip flops and dress, only on the dry areas. But the dry areas weren’t so dry and within a minute, my one flip flop was inhaled by the mud.
I panicked for a minute but then gave it a good tug, which firmly planted my other flip flop in the mud. So now I’m standing in the middle of a field, in work clothes, sweaty and fearful that I am in some sort of South Jersey quicksand that my wannabe hippie self was unaware of. Because I am not a hippie. Which was pretty obvious at this point.
In an attempt to blend in, I left my iPhone in the car and have pictures/videos of this. Not that I would have taken any, considering I was terrified and completely unable to move. By some sort of miracle, I pulled and pulled my feet until I got one free. After that I was able to free the other one and move along. I am still amazed that I didn’t end up actually sitting in the mud like that time in 7th grade gym class…
I finally got to the flowers and they were so…. dead and droopy. There was no way in hell that I was leaving empty handed, so I cut my 10 stems. I wasn’t going to cut a full 10, but anything less would have been a kick in the face.
When I got home, I had to hose my feet. This is the pleasant view, after the mud had dried in the heat and I had wiped my feet in the grass during the walk back to my car.
Yes I know my legs are pale. Yes I go outdoors, I was sitting by the pool all day yesterday. And yes I have heard of sunless tanners, that natural glow above is courtesy of Jergens 🙂 (I am serious).
When I whipped out my rose bowl, I noticed that car ride home had…. further killed my flowers. But I stuck them in anyway…
The best flower I picked still isn’t the greatest looking thing.
I thought maybe those ones that haven’t bloomed yet would do something for me in the next few days?
I was so covered in mud and sweat that I had to shower the minute I walked in the door. So much for leaving work early and getting extra things done around here. I blame Kate Spade and her pretty crystal rose bowl.
The first cat to eat these flowers is going without treats for 1 week*!
*Unless it’s Darwin, he needs to put on weight and can have all of the cookies he wants….
