Today is Flag Day, as I put pen to paper (only figuratively and not literally), and I hope many of you will remember to display our Stars and Stripes. Which reminds me, I changed our location of the flag pole but the new spot didn’t have the adequate support to properly display our flag, which is quite large – I believe its 6X4 (in feet) and is quite heavy. I ended up having to install a 2X4 brace in order to properly support it. Now, more than ever, this nation needs all Americans to do the right thing.
It appears we’re finally into summer, as daily temps begin to hit the mid 80’s. How are your gardens doing? I trust with all the extra time at home with the stay at home warnings, if you’re like us, everything should be coming up “roses”. But we also discovered some other critters like the tiny seedlings, beginning to sprout – chipmunks! Yikes, these cousins of Alvin are digging up some of the veggies we’ve planted and making mockery of all our hard work. So, after some research on google, we decided to invest in a Havahart trap. These traps are amazingly efficient and we’ve gotten eight guys in two short days. The little Alvies can’t resist the smell of Jiff’s peanut butter and they enter the cage and with their first lick, the trap doors close. At least they can enjoy a nice PB lunch. We take them to a vacant lot about a mile away to release them, assuming they can’t find their way back.
So, now with the little critter problem hopefully solved, we’re back to grooming and watering our tomatoes, peppers, cukes, egg plants and lettuces. But yesterday, we noticed a bunny so we may have a new battle on our hands. Hopefully, I can build a fence using chicken wire to keep the bunnies from enjoying the tender green lettuce leaves. Stay tuned!
My observation on the corona virus thing is interesting. We Ohioans should be proud. Majority of us are law abiding, well healed folks, smart enough to listen to authority and our government leaders. So unlike other places where their numbers are still getting worse, I believe we have been rewarded with good results for the ways most of us have practiced social distancing and wearing face masks. I was delighted to get my first haircut and we’ve saved a lot of money, not buying as much gasoline and my wife decided to no longer have her hair colored that used to cost about $60 every month. The Collectors Club of Akron, a stamp collector club that meets once a month at Papa Joes restaurant started to meet again, although limited to 10 attendees, so I had my first restaurant dine in experience three weeks ago. Let’s hope increase in cases from those other states don’t find their ways into Ohio!
On the Foodies side, let me share two new spices I discovered – Sazon and Adobo. They are both from the Carribean and can be found among the Spanish flavors. I purchased them online and adds a great new flavor to grilled chicken. They are not spicy hot – try it as a new venture.
Bill Melver
Akron, Ohio
Did you miss any previous This Too Shall Pass? See them all here.
“Bill Melver is an interesting local personality, having founded the Akron Life & Leisure Magazine in 2002, ran for mayor of Akron in 2015 and now an aspiring author with his first book “An American Samurai: Born to Righteousness”, will be released soon. You can also learn more about Bill on his website www.BillMelver.com
