Wake Up Call

You just never can predict one day from the next. Especially when living on a farm ;)

Last evening we sprayed our first round of pesticide on our orchard. I usually don't talk much about us and our spraying because I know some people can be funny about that. Organic is what it is all about these days, but honestly, to get a truly organic apple, I think, would be a difficult task for an orchard of our size. (120-ish trees).

For backyard growers with a tree or two, it is very possible. I have read about how you can just enclose your buds into brown paper bags for the growing season and voila! A perfect apple at harvest. But for us, with 120 trees x the gazillion buds per tree, it just really isn't an option!

Next year, I would like to experiment with 'natural' pesticides & fungicides with the few trees in front of our house and see what happens, but for now, we stick with what we have been doing.

Anyways, the point of all this was me trying to say that I sprayed the trees last evening. It's a long story but after a "I can do anything you do" conversation with the husband, I was insistent that I would spray. I tried once prior, last year, when we first started spraying. I did one row and was covered in spray, as well as the tractor, and that was the last time....until yesterday. I must say, I did a dang good job too!

And this morning, I was woken (is that a word?!) up to a meow in my window. At first, since it was 4am, I thought maybe it was Maggie next to the bed. Then I heard it again so I cracked open an eyelid....didn't see anything. So I grabbed the cell for a little light and pointed towards the floor...still didn't see anything. Then I heard a few quick meows and my heart sank. 'Crap - that came from outside the window'. "meooooooow" - oh super, it sounds like a kitten. 'Please dear lord, don't let it be a KITTEN!' So now I am up out of bed and the dogs quickly moved onto my pillows [grrrrr] and I peer through the curtain.

SURPRISE - fricking Savannah sitting on the dang window sill meowing RIGHT IN MY EAR! How she even got onto the window sill is beyond me. And why she felt the need to sit there at 4am and meow into the window I will never understand. The thought did cross my mind that maybe she was channeling Lassie or Flipper and being the kind of animal that was coming to try and tell me something was wrong. Maybe something was wrong with one of the horses? Did they need me? Should I go out to the barn? You know I ran out there, half asleep in my pjs, to make sure everyone was up and breathing! Why else would Savannah be on my window sill at 4am.

So since Savannah has a recently history of slitting screens, I then had to crank the windows closed in an effort to squeeze her off the sill. Just what I wanted to do at 4am - thanks Savannah!