Happy Birthday, PIRL!!!

Is it cold enough to hang meat in there?

Glad your chillin' again, Arlene.

How funny, Nancy. Not quite that cold and I haven't heard that phrase in days!

In fact, last night I was working in the garden (planting the MANY coleus from Allison) when I got very heated with one of "the summer people".

Lord knows I despise them enough when they arrive with their "country" attitude but this couple was doing the mandatory "we're in the country, let's ride a bike" scenario while their huge light colored Cock a Poodle ran free far in advance of them. I first saw the dog peeing on my neighbor's lawn on the waterside, then ten minutes later he was relieving himself next door! No sign of the bikers. I was ready to leap the fence, get the dog, and call the pound when she appeared with "the bag". I called out and said, "We don't let our pets run free around here" but she wouldn't look up - I know that attitude. So this time I yelled it out and she asked (hand on hip, assuming the pose of the offended), "Is the dog bothering YOU?", and I said, "Yes, he's using my neighbor's lawn", as she waved the bag. Then I asked her how she was going to pick up the urine. I told her to put the dog on a leash and obey the law. I'm sick of these people!

So they'll return to where they live, eventually and not a moment too soon, and tell of the woman who was bothered by the dog's little "accident" or how nasty we are out here when they're the ones at fault.

Sorry for the rant but I'm not out there at 8:40 at night because it's the country thing to do. We all have pride in the area and I hate how we're treated when we pay the taxes, not them.

When I went back inside and told Jack he said he met her earlier during his 4 PM walk with Harry, who tried to bite the other dog's nose! Maybe the bimbo thought Harry was due for a doggie play date but Harry believes in his heart he's a huge aggressive dog and he is fearless.

I can fully understand dogs who escape (we've had two of them) and those who slip their collar or who can't be controlled by children who weigh less than the dogs but irresponsible pet owners irritate me. If the dog had been hit by a car I'm sure they'd be eager to blame the driver and expect all expenses to be paid and yet they refuse to look in the mirror and see who's really wrong.

That IS annoying pirl. I have both extremes here, there is one neighbor who lives one block away who faithfully takes her little doggie out twice a day. She walks around with a bag and picks up debris from the road as well as her dog's droppings every am & pm - a very nice conscientious responsible person, & she's a Lawyer!

There is however a big dummy who walks his dogs on a retractable leash and lets his GS go on the lawns of every house he passes, as if he doesn't want his dogs paws to touch the pavement! If the owner is standing by his house he retracts the leash and crosses the street.

The unleashed dogs however are few and far between. Cars have naturally dwindled their numbers and no driver is going to stop and deal with a road kill at 8am on their way to work, especially if the dog owner is nowhere in sight. - its hard enough to get them to stop when they run over people!

Even worse is the dog owner who takes out 2 big dogs at the same time. The dogs walk the owner! If the dog lunges the owner is pulled like a rag doll. Unfortunately many owners do not care to even learn how to hold a leash correctly. If you have a dog it is your responsibility to be responsible,

- people just don't "get it".

(ps the rose is J&P 'Dream Come True' ☺

At one time we had a woman who owned a home nearby and never used a leash. Jack stood outside as he saw her coming and the dog promptly urinated on our lawn. He told her to keep the dog off our grass. She then informed him the 10 feet adjacent to the road was town property and, as I had suggested to him, he told her: he cuts it, he feeds it, he takes out the weeds, he waters it and he better not see the dog there again. It ended.

Awful. Don't blame you one bit, Pirl.

You go get 'em, Pirl!! Bravo to Harry!

What I hate is the garbage. I know I live in a resort area, but I can't deal with garbage that they throw out the window of their car on my front lawn. Now that I think about it, I could deal with some dog poop more than the empty Amp, Bud, Marlboro, etc. WHO ARE THESE PEOPL??. When I go on vacation I do not throw garbage out the window.

Here we find less each year. Weekend nights are usually the worst for beer cans and beer bottles but I think it's adults with the McDonalds and Starbucks coffee cups. I'm glad it's on the decline. It may reflect how kids are brought up and the fact that they don't want their parents knowing they were out drinking and driving.

Starbucks coffee cups will be on the decline as they are closing like 400 stores.

Including the one here in Southold - hurray!

They need to bring that American Indian crying commercial back.

My sister used to cry when that was shown! She was 4 or 5.

Thank goodness mine is safe... I like Starbucks coffee. I have 3 near me - at least the biggest one will probably survive, the one in the supermarket does a lot of business too... ☺

They even have a Starbucks in the new Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral here.
So dumb.

Really?! Instead of lighting candles??

Sort of...for penance for mortal sins, they make you drink the old acidified coffee from the day before ...GROUNDS and ALL !!!

I still have never tried Starbucks. based on the smell, drinking the 'fresh' stuff would be punishment for me. (Do they use holy water?)

I like Starbucks coffee... the stronger the better... like right now I could totally use a cup!

time to go to work! oops!!!!

DH likes strong coffee too but even he said Starbucks taste like they burnt it! I can't even stand the smell, but I will rarely drink McDonalds coffee either. Maxwell house if I must...but Dunkin Donuts is the best in my opinion.

I'm on Pixie's side! The smell of Starbuck's is a turn off for me. The taste is worse.

I like Dunkin Donuts coffee. But sometimes it's hard to get them to make it like I want it, (very dark), so I buy the beans from Starbucks & grind and brew my coffee at home. ☺

oh I was born drinking coffee so to me is not bad... yes, I love Dunkin Donuts ... hey the one good thing about Starbucks is that they will give you coffee grounds if you are a gardener... lol... I actually need some for saturday...

Since I followed Victor's advice about putting down coffee grounds to deter slugs I think I've had only one or two in the entire kitchen hosta garden. It works SO well!

Thanks, Victor!!!

I actually found slugs in my garden this year... I am blaming on the horrible amount of rain we have had...

I use coffee grounds to keep them away from the patios. If they're slimy enough they'll go right through the coffee grounds... ☺

You guys have it all wrong: The snails put the coffee grounds out to deter Victor !

You're welcome, Pirl! Actually, I put them out as a great organic fertilizer / mulch. I never had a big slug problem but did hear they're effective for that too. They really attract earthworms.

I have noticed the huge increase in earthworms in that area, Victor, but also it's free from slugs now. Somewhere I read that they find the coffee grounds irritating! Well, I find slugs irritating in a different way so I'll continue adding the grounds to the garden.

I guess it's like diatomaceous earth to them. Back to Starbucks, I could never understand those who are willing to pay more than $5 for a single cup of (burnt smelling) coffee - possibly as much as $50, or more, a week! That's probably more than the increase in what they are paying for gas.

I guess I should be a Starbucks fan since my granddaughter works for them but I just don't like the smell or the taste. Thinking of $50. a week for a year (for "just" coffee) is a wake up call without the caffeine.

I spend about $25/ month incl tax (two 1lb bags) on coffee, not bad considering I make it exactly the way I want it & I get to keep the grounds for use in the garden... I do know some who spend $50/ day on dinner - they never cook!! Now that I have trouble understanding! lol ☺

I prefer Dunkin D over Starbucks also. Wawa coffee is good also. I mix hazelnut with mocha alert. It is an infrequent treat.
I usually add the grounds to the compost pile. should I just be adding it directly to the garden?

You can do either, but I prefer direct.

Right on top of the soil or mixed in? I've read that they get crusty and hard if just placed top as a mulch and repel water....so I've always mixed mine in. Is that not necessary afterall?

Just scratching in the coffee grounds works for me.

We have two neighbors who eat out almost every night. We gave one of the couples some tomatoes last year and they handed them right back to Jack. The guy said his wife would have no idea what to do with them. Jack suggested a salad and the man said his wife does not cook. I guess he considers salad to be cooking.

Salad constitutes as cooking in my book too ;o) Actually, I CAN cook but I typically work 60+ hours a week, so all my spare time goes to my garden. Peanut butter and jelly or cereal are frequently on the dinner menu. Fortunately DH is a saint and doesn't complain often...I keep telling myself that I'll start cooking real meals again once life slows down a few paces.

Tonight I ate tomato number 3 from my garden. That was dinner. YUM!

I mix them in or just spread them. Never had enough to create a 'concrete' layer!

I spread them... they seem to 'disappear' into the soil overnight!

I went "overkill" with the coffee grounds once and 2 days later they had this bright orange mold growing all over them. It didn't seem to bother anything, though.

Yes, they can get moldy for a while - no big deal. That's organic too!