As you know, here at Beyond Reason, we always tackle the biggest, most important issues of the day. A philosophical conundrum. A Buddhist koan. The t-shirt gun. Look, if it’s in Beyond Reason, it’s important. That’s why, this week, it’s time to consider bunting.
It’s a rainy morning. Kinda dreary. The kind of day that keeps people in bed longer than usual. Or curled up in a comfy chair in the corner with a good book and a soft quilt and a cup of coffee. What a difference a week makes. Last week’s onslaught of wind and hail was not what we wanted or needed. But we soldier on. The corn fields that aren’t stripped from the hail look wonderful. It is fun to watch a gust of wind come across the sea of tassels.
In a mid-summer garden update, I have now successfully grown a tomato plant. Not just any tomato plant, but a cherry tomato behemoth. A leafy, sprawling monster that has overtaken one of the two raised garden beds as though it hopes to soon audition for the “Little Shop of Horrors; Granite Falls edition”.
I make a lot of jokes here at Beyond Reason. Some are at the expense of the game of pickleball. Some are the expense of the pickleball players. While I do try to make other jokes about other topics—bugs, potato salad, and, of course, gourds—heretofore, I’ve never attempted a single joke about the Dewey Decimal System.
Last week, I noticed a person walking into one of our local establishments carrying a sign that I found rather amusing, admitting on cardboard in big black marker letters that they were seeking funds for specific wipes for a specific part of their body. I recalled seeing the same person last summer, because of the amusing sign.The person also carried an instrument.
America believes in second chances. It’s the land of reinvention. The country that invented brunch, rebooted Batman eleven times, and gave Paul Giamatti a leading man phase. And now, it has done the impossible: turned a backyard barbecue game into a professional sport.
It finally happened. Friday morning I woke up, and was enjoying my morning coffee while on the phone with my first born child. As I entered the kitchen to refill my coffee cup, as one does when listening to their reckless first-born child talk about such things as his desire to join the military’s program that trains you to jump out of planes and such, I glanced out of the kitchen window. And I saw it. A bunny - a cute, fluffy little demon had made it’s way into my raised garden bed and was sitting happily amongst the bok choy.
Dear Julia—
As it goes sometimes, all of the best intentions can fall to the wayside when things get busy. I had been accumulating the necessary items needed to work on a project to accompany my photo exhibit that will go up this fall in the Marshall Area Fine Arts Council gallery, and finally had all of the necessary supplies to work on botanical printing of native plant species found in the public lands that are featured in the photo exhibit. Alas, I had big plans for the weekend to get out in nature and collect some of the plants to work on the project, but, as a volunteer also, I ended up being the one to not have out of town plans for the weekend - thus, the entire weekend was spent volunteering.
I am so thrilled that I found out that the hordes of mosquitoes are cattail mosquitoes and their numbers are at a 5 year high. It makes battling them so much more thrilling. Not. My place looks like an abandoned farm site because I can’t find a repellent that keeps them at bay for long enough to mow the lawn. Don’t tell me to wear long sleeves and long pants. It’s summer time and the temps are in the high 80s. There is only so much suffering I am willing to do for appearances sake. If I am not already busy on a day with a stiff breeze I may tackle the lawn again.