weather app

I rarely use my weather app. 

You wanna know why?

My husband is so tuned in to his that he always keeps me informed about what Mother Nature has in store for the upcoming week, the entire day, or even the next couple of hours. He has mad it one of his "jobs" keep track of the weather, and he can hold an entire conversation about what has already happened, too.

Take Thursday, August 20, for example. He remembers that we got 2 to 4 inches of rain, enough to trigger flood warnings and leave basements flooded. And if I’m heading to the farm for my five-hour shift, he’ll make sure I know exactly what kind of weather I’m walking into.

There’s no need for me to check an app when I have a living, breathing weather service right here at home. My personal meteorologist. 

I don't need to check my weather app. 

I, Todd, take you, Diane, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life, and you will never have to watch the Channel 7 weather forecast again.

the friday feed: peaches

One of the more frustrating things at the farm is the way people test the ripeness of peaches. Just look at this peach. Someone had a heyday digging his/her fingers into it to see if it was ripe. Now it is a damaged peach, and no one is going to want to buy it at full price. It will be moved over to the half-off corner and most likely end up in the hands of someone making a peach pie or cobbler.

This is one area where I wish American produce markets would follow the European example. In Europe, you generally don't touch the produce. Instead, you tell the vendor what you want, and he or she selects it for you.

A few years ago, while in Salzburg, we visited the Salzburg Cathedral. In the plaza outside, several produce vendors had set up their stands. Todd reached out to examine a head of cauliflower and immediately received a scolding from the vendor. He didn't realize it but he had broken the rule: look, but don't touch.

This does make sense. When you are selling fresh produce, every squeeze, poke, or poke-and-sniff test can damage something that another customer might have purchased.

I would love it if Treadway Gardens took a lesson from the European approach. Let the people who know the produce choose it for the customers. The peaches would arrive in their bags without fingerprints, bruises, and dents, and the half-off corner just might not have as much damaged produce. But doing this would be be against all norms of American shopping. 

good morning!

I've never been someone who puts stickers on my car, but I sure do enjoy looking at the stickers other people put on theirs. They give me plenty of fodder for blog posts! 😊

The only time I put stickers on my car was when my kids went off to college. During those years, there were just two: two kids went to Miami University (of Ohio), and two went to Ohio University.

Sunday night after dinner, Todd's sweet tooth kicked in, and he wanted to go out for ice cream. We headed to the good ole Dairy Queen that's been in the same spot for years and years and years. My parents took my siblings and me there, Todd and I took our kids there, and with Andrew and Owen coming to visit this weekend, we'll take Owen there for his first Dairy Queen.

Sunday was also the day before the first full week of school, so there was a long, long line of parents and their offspring waiting to order and get their DQ treats. We didn't want to wait, so we headed off to another ice cream parlor.

And that's when I noticed the car parked in front of us. It had this sticker:

"I HOPE SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENS TO YOU TODAY."

What a nice message to stumble upon, a sweet way to end a Sunday evening. 

And "I hope something good happens to you today."

wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

Last week was a quiet one. We had been on vacation with our kids and grandkids, had an absolute blast, and when we got home, we were tired! We took things slow and steady, doing a little bit at a time as we eased back into the swing of things.

Between raindrops, we took quite a few walks. With all the moisture, mushrooms - BIG mushrooms - had popped up in quite a few yards. They seemed to appear overnight!

The Danvers carrots I planted as a nod to my mom’s little hometown in Illinois are growing, and their leaves are such a beautiful, fresh green. Curiosity got the best of me with this one. I knew the carrots weren’t big enough to pick, but I just had to pull one. My first carrot! I’m so excited!

Out at the farm, puddles are all around the parking lot. As I was walking back from the gate, I noticed the reflection of the flowers and the farm stand’s roof in one of them. So pretty. Puddles can be such a fun medium for photography, turning an ordinary bit of water into a reflection of the world around it.

Monday, Todd and I met my brother and sister at a family-run Mexican restaurant that has been in business for 22 years. Sadly, the restaurant is closing its doors at the end of the month. COVID was tough on them, and what makes it even more frustrating is that the government wouldn’t provide them with PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) funding to help them stay open because the entire family was employed there. That just isn’t right. So many people scammed the government to get PPP money, while these honest, hardworking people couldn’t get any type of financial assistance. Also, the shopping center where the restaurant is located has a new owner and the rent has been raised. A double whammy right there.

After dinner, we stopped by Lincoln Park Commons to stroll around on a lovely evening. Once the leaves start dropping, the fountains will be turned off, and preparations for the Christmas season will begin. It’s hard to believe we’re already heading in that direction!

And finally, with all the rain and clouds, there haven’t been many sunsets lately. I caught this one, though, and it was just beautiful!

weed-zilla!

Todd was out doing some early morning weeding on this sunny, low humidity, 64° day and look what he found tucked behind the burning bush hedge...Weed-Zilla! 

The leaves looked like it could be a thistle but the roots did not. The PlantNet app identified it as American Burnweed and actually it's a good weed. It's a favorite for pollinators with its flowers providing nectar for many insects. With its wide, sturdy burnweed offers a safe haven for insects to lay their eggs. This weedy species is not recommended for home gardens. It is considered a weed in lawns but is considered a beneficial part of the ecosystem elsewhere.

monday's mulling: david vs. goliath

Ohio’s first Buc-ee’s opened April 6th in Huber Heights, Ohio.

The travel center is gargantuan…about 74,000 square feet, has more than 100 fueling positions, is open 24 hours a day, and has all the Buc-ee’s staples — brisket, jerky, Beaver Nuggets, and those famously clean bathrooms. The opening? It was absolutely massive. City officials said it brought in more than a million dollars in sales on opening day, with traffic backing up for miles and miles and miles and area hotels sold out.

But here’s where things get REALLY interesting.

Buc-ee's is suing a long ago established neighborhood establishment, Beaver’s Mini Mart, a convenience store in Beavercreek (12 miles away from its Huber Heights location) for having a cartoon beaver as its logo.  Needless to say, it's not gone over well.

Why is Bucc-ee’s doing this?

The beaver.

Buc-ee’s states Beaver’s Mini Mart’s cartoon beaver logo, including its eyes, smile and red coloring, could create confusion with the Buc-ee’s brand.

What do you think? Is this enough for trademark infringement?

Beaver’s Mini Mart has been around for decades, and its owner says the business was here before Buc-ee’s ever came to Ohio.

Buc-ee’s brings a beaver mascot to the Dayton area and then finds out there’s a Beavercreek whose mascot is a beaver ever since it was incorporated and wants to sue about the logo. Apparently, there’s room for 100 gas pumps but only one famous beaver? My money's on the little guy.

attitude of gratitude

Vacation was wonderful. It gave me a much-needed break from the stress of thinking about my car and having to buy a new one. But then we came home, and processing everything that happened put me right back into a tizzy.

Whatever the bigger plan was for my car to get rear-ended, it doesn’t make much sense. But it happened, and now it’s time to deal with it. I have to remind myself that it’s all about perspective. The pity party needs to end, and I need to turn this negative reaction into something positive or, at least, constructive.