Dog days of summer

It's a dog's life. Well if you are a cat it isn’t. Talk about having it made. Tigger Tiger finally calmed down and doesn’t hunt as much as he used to. I know the birds are relieved about that.






I know the frogs in my fish pond are happy too.




I took the day off last Friday to go fishing. We caught tons of fish but unfortunately, they were all too small so we didn’t have any to eat. It was a fun day though and I stayed busy taking the small fish off the lines. I am happy to see that the fish population seems to be rebounding. The wildlife people wouldn’t have you believe that but I am catching more fish these days than I used to 10 and 20 years ago. Of course it may be that I am just better at it. Watch out Roland Martin. All I need is a bigger motor so I can get to the fish faster. Every good fisherman knows that you can’t catch fish if your boat won’t do 60 MPH.



I had to get up early that day to get bait. It was still dark and I easily caught a bunch of shrimp and small minnows for bait. I put my hand down in the bucket to see how many were in there and something bit me. It turned out to be a toadfish. I have always called them dogfish. These are nasty creatures and bigger ones can do some damage. They eat anything and everything so they have really dirty mouth’s. (insert Orbit Gum commercial) They are very slimy too and have spines that will hurt you if you grab them too tightly. They also give off a toxic substance and they will kill all the bait if you leave them in the same water. I put him in his own bucket and then dumped him back into the water out in the ocean. This is what a toadfish looks like.





Speaking of bad dogs or should I say bad dog owners. Wait that should be OK dog’s , bad owners. Whatever, just let me spill my guts. Saturday at the market, this lady is shopping at the booth beside us and her dog decided to relieve himself on one of my son’s plants. We didn’t see it but someone told us about it after the fact. I moved the plant back behind our display because I didn’t want to sell it that way. Then a little later, this woman about 30 comes by with a big dog which decides to do the same thing. She gives him some slack on his leash to allow him to do it. I see it this time and I reach down and snatch the plant up before he can go. She just looked at me and laughed. I understand that the dog was only doing it because another dog had gone there but it is up to the owner to be responsible for their dog. Lots of people down at the market bring their dogs and many of them let the dogs go wherever they want. Talk about unsanitary


So a little later this guy comes up and grabs a free sample of one of the grapes I had on the table. I brought some along because some people don’t know what a Muscadine tastes like. Well he ends up dropping a grape and but he chased after it , picked it up and tossed it in his mouth. I thought Ewwwww. (Remember the last paragraph). Later on another woman tries one of the grapes and spits it out in disgust saying that she didn’t like the taste. Then she said that she might like the wine but I told her no she wouldn’t if she didn’t like the grape. Muscadine wine tastes like Muscadines. Take my word for it. I think she was upset that I didn’t try to hard sell her some wine. That’s not my style. I only had her and one other person who didn’t like the grapes I had to offer. One family sat there and ate the entire sample basket of grapes so I had to restock after they left.


Sunday morning, I got up early and went down to the local convenience store for a cup of coffee. There was a lady there with two flat tires. She was trying to get air into them but they were ruined and she finally gave up. It seems that she hit a pot hole two miles down the road and flattened both right side tires. Since it was dark on that road she decided to drive slowly on the flat tires until she reached this gas station. This totally ruined the two tires. She was from out of town and didn’t know where she was so she asked me and another person for directions. After a while she decided to call her son to ask what to do. He told her to “push the button on the dash”. She didn’t know what he was talking about so he had to guide her. Finally she found it and pushed it and a voice piped up saying “This Is On Star, may we help you?” This was a 2008 BMW and it came with On Star but she didn’t know it. This wasn’t a cheap BMW either. Maybe she should have had “Blond Star” instead of “On Star”. LOL


Well today is the last day of summer vacation for my boys. They aren’t too excited about going back and neither am I. It has been a huge gas savings, not having to drive to town every day. My youngest is starting middle school this year. Other than changing classes all day we noticed one other difference between grade school and middle school. In grade school the kids were instructed to bring scissors. In middle school they will be arrested if they bring them. Isn’t that ironic.

Have a great day,
Greg

Comments

I am truly happy that I no longer do the customer service jobs.....PEOPLE!?!?

I love Muscadine wine....and grapes!

can't believe that lady was gonna let her dog pee on your plant, what an idiot!
Scarlet said…
What a weekend! Some people need more training than their dogs. :)

The funny thing about your wine story is I'm just the opposite of that lady. I like mangos but not mango ice cream or the jelly. I think I might like the wine though. ;)
Angel said…
"Blond Star"..!!!!!! LOL! Funny!

Hey, I have a question for ya...my cucumber plants have died! and my zucchini plants too. I had lots and lots of blossoms, but only got a few fruit off of each, and now they are dying off....what's up with that?
Happyone said…
That toad fish sounds really creepy.
Some people just don't have any sense at all!!
I don't drink wine anymore. Two times I've had an allergic reaction and I'm afraid to drink it now.
Lori said…
That is one ugly fish!! Somebody let their dog pee on one of my grocery bags once while I was standing on the street corner waiting for the light to change, so I can relate!
That is one of the nastiest looking fishes ever!!!

I've never had muscadine wine or grapes. Am I totally missing out on a local delicassi?
Marie Reed said…
It's so relaxing to read about fishing! I used to go all the time with my Dad! I should go for it agian. I need to but a reel and a bit of tackle... Hmmm.. Maybe I'll try this weekend because of your post!
Sian said…
I loved muscadines but I preferred scuppernongs, which is also up on my list of favourite words.

However, I do not love the look of that fish. Yuk!
Or thoughtless dog owners. Double Yuk!
Can't believe people let their dogs pee on your plants; that is NUTS. You're right, they ARE bad dog owners.

I haven't worked with the public in 25 years or more...I'm sure I'd be shocked at the gall of some people. I always fancy "crazies" few and far between.
Janice Thomson said…
My goodness that's one ugly critter! The fish I mean - not the cat :) Muscadine grapes...never heard of them but they sound good.
Loved your mish-mash post today!
Had to chuckle on the scissors comment!
Talk about irresponsible dog owners! Geez, when I took Kira thru there she KNOWS BETTER than to pee or poop unless I tell her to!! Yeah...my dog is trained to do so on command. If she doesn't, well, then she learns really quick how to hold it until the next time she can go potty! It took once for her to learn when I say poop, you poop! lol.
A) the toad fish...eewww.

B) I've come to like you, so I'll let the blonde joke slide. :-)

C) Scissors being a problem in schools: just another reason I home school.

Glad to see you back! Have a great day!
sandy said…
This is the kind of post I like, newsy....and with ugly toad (or whatever in the heck that is) pics.

Enjoyed hearing about your day at the farmers market and ...I would be irritated too at the owners of the dogs.

Blond Star..hahahahaha

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