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Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, August 1, 2014

Found me a Cabbage Patch Doll today… ;)

After fixing Andy and the grandboys a ham and cheese omelet for breakfast yesterday morning, they had to be on their way back to Rochester.  It was a short two day visit, but any time I can get a grandkid fix, I’m up for it.  They had a long six hour drive ahead of them, so I packed some sandwiches for them to take on their journey.  I also made up two boxes of snacks.  Each one was labeled, Seth or Joseph, so there would be no fighting about it.  Everything has to be even-Steven when boys are seven and eight, don’cha know.

After they left, I spent most of the day mowing.  John and Bridget were having guests for lunch so they invited me to join them.  The choice was between  raspberry chipotle BBQ ribs, Hawaiian salad, beans, and coleslaw or go to my rig and have a bologna sandwich.  Easy-peasy decision there.  I told them anytime they put out a spread like that when I’m mowing, I’d be more than happy to help them not have left overs.

This morning I had to work the VC, and about the only excitement there was adding something new to my resume.

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I can now add goose pooper scooper to my list of talents.  All those yucky green land mines on the cement patio outside the VC are Canada goose droppings.  A couple of pairs of geese with all their goslings have decided to descend upon the VC bird feeders for a free lunch.  It seems to me that more comes out than goes in.  This is just a small portion of what greeted me when I opened up the VC this morning.  Can you imagine the mess with kids running around on the patio and then trooping inside?  Smile with tongue out Talk about tip toeing through the tulips!

This afternoon, I made a run into Detroit Lakes to pick up the two new pairs of glasses that I’ve been waiting for from Walmart for over two weeks. I ordered one pair of reading glasses for use when I’m on the computer, and another pair for distance with reading bifocals for use when I’m not on the computer.  I’ve had a pair of those photo-ray type glasses that get darker when you go outside for two years, and they absolutely drive me crazy.  I couldn’t  stand them any longer.  

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I had a special stop to make on the way home.  Perhaps some of you remember my friend Mr. Smith that grows vegetables down the road from the refuge.  I wrote about him last year when I was here.  Last year, he only wore the bare essentials… velour sweat pants and Crocs.  He’s put his sign out on the side of the road again so I had to stop by to see if he had any tomatoes (and if he had gotten any new clothes Winking smile).  He always reminded me of the Wild Man from Borneo.

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Well, he’s back in business this year, and gave me a big hug when I arrived.  Disappointed smile  He wanted to know if I was still painting sign posts on the refuge.  We joked a bit, and then he led me down through the raspberry patch to one of his gardens.  You see, he doesn’t pick much of his produce until you come and ask for some.  You can’t get it any fresher than that.  I told him I wanted the smallest head of cabbage that he had since the tomatoes weren’t ripe yet.  He told me to pick out one with my name on it while he went to get a knife.

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So here’s the cabbage patch doll (?) I found today.  I’m thinking Mr. Smith still looks like the Wild Man from Borneo.  What do you think?  And no, he hasn’t gotten any new clothes.  Only now there’s a hole in the sweatpants on his knee and in back, which reveals that the pants and Crocs are his only apparel.  Surprised smile  What a hoot this guy is!

On the way back up to his house, I was able to persuade him to sell me a pint of his fresh raspberries that he had picked last night.  That pint of ripe berries turned out to be more like two pints, and he threw in an almost ripe tomato with the cabbage and told me that would be $400.  I gave him a twenty, and got $16 back in change. 

He also told me that since the berries wouldn’t last too long, I should consider consuming them in a not so tasty way if I had to.  And tonight, I’m doing just that… waste not, want not is my motto.

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                                                                               THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

27 comments:

  1. It's probably a good thing Mr Smith's clothing holes were on his knee and not further up :)

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  2. Now that's a real character! I do remember reading about him last year...he hasn't changed a bit! What a treat to pick your own veggies. Those were some mighty healthy looking cabbage plants.
    You made real good use of the raspberries...Yum! Yum!

    Those geese can sure make a mess!

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  3. Quite a character ... "holey" pants or not, his advice for consuming the berries was spot on! And you found an excellent way of following his advice.

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  4. We had six geese once upon a time. The original good processors. In one end and instantly out the other. I sure wouldn't try to scoop that stuff. Hose it. Next visit bring Mr Borneo a new pair of sweats as payment. Holes get bigger over time. HA! Although I know the feeling about beloved sweats. Only I patch mine. :-)

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  5. Yep, quite the character! I like the way you consumed your raspberries!

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  6. That is one ugly cabbage patch doll. I can see little girls running away in terror. At least he makes up for the poor image in great produce. Better eating than baloney sandwiches!

    GPS? Goose Pooper Scooper? There have been many times when my dash GPS gave me some poopy directions... ;c)

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  7. I am so glad to see that Mr. Smith is hanging true to his life. And his garden. You needed that berry treat after all that GPS (per Paul).

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  8. Mr. Smith, "holy" apparel and all, looks like he is leading a joyous and robust life. We should all be so lucky, eh? Nothing like right-out-of-the-field fresh produce. Enjoy!

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  9. Holey moley! What a character.....Visiting him is worth all those fresh vittles.

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  10. Those raspberries looked wonderful and very healthy. We had a recent goose poop problem at a campground. The owner said it had gotten out of control. What is the proper way to get rid of geese? I think of you as a bird expert.

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  11. He may be a wild man but his cabbage crop looks pretty good. So do those rasberries.

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  12. Those raspberries look good enough to eat!

    I used to like Canada geese when I lived in Northern VA as there was just one pair that hung around. But after having been places where they are in great numbers and finding that there isn't a clean spot to step in, I'm not so crazy about having them up close!

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  13. He is a wonderful gardener! One of those Minnesota characters for sure! Goose poo is just gross...they may have to fence off that area if it is a real problem..public health and all. A good Border Collie on patrol would chase them away:)

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  14. Speaking of goo poo some years ago spouse and I took a 55 and alive driving class from the guy in Rochester whos claim to fame was he had been on Johnny Carson show demonstrating his artistic talent. Which was painting with goose droppings found around Silver Lake. Which had an abundance of them in those days. Seriously.....:)

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  15. Maybe Mr Smith would clean up the goose poo for fertilizer on his garden!

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  16. Geese are forces of nature that is for sure.

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  17. Did you find a small enough cabbage, they are huge. Fresh rasberries look really good.

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  18. LOVE LOVE LOVE Mr. Smith...Half the fun of traveling around is the wonderful characters we meet! He is totally the Wild Man from Borneo....lovin' his blondish hair...Thinkin' he has "designs" on a certain NWR volunteer...just sayin'.

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  19. ugh. . .I was so excited when we first started traveling because I had never seen Canada Geese. I was going to try and get pics of them in each state until I discovered the "blessings" they leave everywhere. . .that was it for me. The enthrallment was over. . .nasty stuff!

    Was wondering how you like to fix your cabbage. . .I've recently discovered cutting cabbage steaks, dousing them with olive oil and salt, then roasting them in the oven til tender. . .delicious!

    We will be there for your "talk" Thursday week (Aug 12) . . .would love to invite you and your co-workers for lunch or supper. . .whichever is most convenient to your schedule. . .I'll make fajitas. . .but I have no way to communicate with you. . .so I hope you get this message. (big smile) You can email me at JaniceLEvans1015@gmail.com if you like.

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  20. Wow, that dessert with raspberries looks awesome, I almost forgot the rest of your post when I saw it.
    Glad you had a good visit with the grands, it goes a long way and means a lot!
    After adding to your resume', you should have several pages of experience.
    Judy, take care!

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  21. Two words: Yum. Yum. (The guy's a looker, huh?)

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  22. Such a visual on your description of Mr. Smith's "apparel", too funny.
    Jan

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  23. Those geese can make quite a mess, can't they?? We got to clean a floating dock regularly in Maine that the geese used as a roost. Nasty stuff!!

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  24. lordamercy … that Mr. Smith is …. quite a friend. wild man from Borneo… HAHaaaaa… that's my line for me! nice raspberries! chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream ... man oh manischewitz

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  25. You make me laugh out loud as usual. Working with you at Anahuac give me insight to your humor that makes my life richer. I sure hope we get to work together again before we get too old. Hugs

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