County fair

We visited the county fair this past weekend. We told the kids they had to pay their 'Mom dues' (visiting the booths and animals) first. When that was finished Owen told us we had to pay the 'kid dues' now. So we bought some tickets and the kids had a bit of fun.

Our kitty is adapting to the household. She tries desperately to play with our two fat older cats, who will have none of it. They tolerate her as best they can. She leaps upon their backs and they scurry away, swatting her with their paws. She regroups and prepares for another attack. Every once in awhile, very rarely, she settles down for a nap.

I spent a few hours weeding the garden yesterday. I finished the corn, beans, late potatoes and pumpkins. My peppers are struggling to thrive. I've never done well with peppers, or cucumbers for that matter. The snap peas are fading and I am leaving the rest of the pods alone to ripen for seed. I now have several green tomatoes, but nothing ripe yet.

And I am mourning my brussels sprouts, which have indeed become infested with cabbage worms, despite my efforts with the floating row cover. I squished over sixty of the little green buggers from just one plant, and decided my time was better spent elsewhere. I've decided to order some Bt (a 'natural' pest control) but it may already be too late. I need to devise a floating row cover that will allow for the tall growth of brussels sprouts. Either that, or build a greenhouse ...