Reznjun

what is indian summer. same as regular summer ‘cept it has a casino. old joke eh. we still are having hot days. and i still have to mow the yard. the grass continues to grow.

i found this old picture of my paternal grand mother, angeline battese mitchell. i never met her. she died when my dad was young. i didnt know my maternal grand mother either. she died when my mother was young. that was the reason both were sent off to boarding school.

maybe that is the reason i spend as much time as i can with my grand kids. i didnt know my grand mothers. i didnt know either of my mishos either. one died when i was young. i just wasnt around the other. i want my grand kids to know me, their misho. i want their memories of me to be fond ones. i hold them, hug them, play with them-every thing i can to make them happy and feel secure.

i put on a new wind shield wiper. now my wipers work good. the body shop i went to did me a favor by telling me to put a shorter blade on. they could have set up an appointment and charged me some bucks. i never had a problem with my wipers in the 7 years i owned my car. i am sure i changed the wipers before. dont know why it didnt work this time.

i am glad it was a simple fix. i am not a mechanic. when other guys were working on cars i didnt have one. besides i was out partying. didnt have time for cars when that happened. now i wished i had taught myself to work on cars. dont matter now with these newer models. no simple fixes on them like old rez cars. no such thing as pulling a starter and replacing it with a used $25 one. those days are gone.

i have noticed my dogs are really slowing down. i dont know how old they are. i had them a long time. i would think in dog years they gotta be at least in their 80s. they used to follow me everywhere-mushroom hunting, rabbit hunting, to the mail box, my 2 mile walks on the road or just walks in the timber. now they dont. too old. poor old dogs.

if i posted that on facebook, some would send thoughts and prayers. time is just catching up with my dogs. i always had dogs while living here the past 30 some years. probably always will. my grand son asked if we were gonna get new dogs if these ones died. i said sure. i will treat these ones good for the rest of their lives. they have been loyal to me all these years.

speaking of face book, i only got back on there over a month ago. i was off a year. i am already getting tired of it. for the same reason i got off. too much b.s. it is suppose to be about keeping up with people. maybe i will be off there again.

maybe i will head to topeekie today.

today is my mothers birthday. she would be 91 years old today. i learned a lot from her. she probably made a biggest impression on me than any one else. the things i learned from her are price less. i try my best to carry what she taught me. happy birthday mother.

i check my junk mail before it is deleted. that is so i dont accidently erase something that might be important. i got one email from some one who said they won a $350 million in a lottery. they were gonna be kind enough to give me $1.7 million. all i had to do is click on the link. yeah right send me the money not a link . i deleted it.

i was given a Pendleton hat. i go thru a lot of hats in a year. i get them dirty while working. i was given the hat because “he likes Pendleton hats”. i have about 5 of them. i wear them because some one gives them to me.

that reminds me of when i used to work with native prisoners. they would give me black and mild cigars. i would smoke them because they gave them to me. they would give me more because they thought i liked them. after a while i got used to smoking black and milds. i was taught you honor the thought of some ones giving by using the gift.

i ordered tickets to KU’s first football game. i am interested in how they are going to be. i want to see the first game. maybe start a new habit. i haven’t missed KU’s first basketball game in bout 15 to 20 years. i lost track of how long i have been going.

the tickets i bought are on the KU side. i am hoping they win. KU football hasn’t been easy to sell. i think with the new coach we should get better. i have empathy with them. KU football is kinda like me when i used to be down and out. the only way was up.

growing season is winding down. it was an off year but i still enjoyed many things i grew. i got to eat cabbages, radishes, potatoes, onions, leeks, kale, cilantro, strawberries, tomatoes, jalapenos, habaneros and indian corn. there are a few things i didnt get but i am happy with what i did have.

i haven’t dug up my sweet potatoes. i am sure they grew. the vines are everywhere. i also still have indian beans in the corn field. plenty of time for them to grow. i may even get another picking of indian corn.

i dont chef often. today i have a pot of ham and beans on. mary is at the health conference. that leaves me to cook supper. i have been hungry for beans. i can cook them while i am working around here. i better pay attention.

when you retired, you wonder what day is this? every day is Monday. every day is Saturday. when work has to be done, it has to be done. and there are times it dont matter what day it is. i do what ever i feel like on those days.

i had one of those days. i decided to binge watch a show that caught my attention. there was a new season airing. i had to go back and rewatch season one first. i forget what happened. i watched all 19 episodes this week end. i haven’t done any binge watching in some time. i thought why the hell not.

i went to Lawrence friday. we picked up the grandsons from their school. on the way we bought some cantaloupes. they cost $3 each and were a good size. we froze some for later. we have been eating a few. gotta eat what is in season.

besides eating whats in season, we have put away lotsa fruit and vegetables for the coming year. we dried, froze and canned many things. our work will pay off. the food we saved will taste better than what the grocery stores will be selling later. even now.

i make a conscious effort to eat healthier. that’s why i grow a garden. and pick fruit and berries. i also take things from nature. our old people said we started getting sicknesses when our diet changed. i agree with that. maybe if i had stayed on the diet of my youth i wouldn’t have become diabetic. now i keep it in control by trying to eat healthy.

got an email from pandora radio. i listen to it some times when i am working. the email told me what i was listening to. it said i listen to “vintage” music. oh really. wouldn’t have known that.

i had a problem with my wind shield wipers. one wore out. i replaced it. an auto parts store replaced it. that blade got bent because it crossed the passenger side wiper. another auto parts store replaced that one. the guy that put it on said my wipers were out of sync. he said that would only ruin the wiper just put on. he didnt say any thing about me getting my money back. of course not.

i went to an auto body place. the staff looked at my blades. i told them what happened and what the auto parts guy said. they asked asked if i ever took the blade attachment off. i said no. they said then there shouldn’t be any way it would be out of sync. one of the guys said the drivers side wiper blade was too long. that’s why it made contact with the other side. they said just get a shorter size wiper. so i did. i like simple fixes.

looks like i have to mow again. i replaced the two mower blades. the old ones got dull and had some nicks in them. next i will change the oil in the mower. i mowed a lot this year. dont remember the grass still being this green this late in the season. usually it starts to turn brown by now. we have had a lot of rain lately.

will see what this week brings.

the heat we had the other day finished drying our corn. the cloudy day we had gave a little of it a red tint. nothing wrong with that. it is still dried indian corn. we have two gallon freezer bags full. we will stretch that out until we have another crop next year. this corn will be precious to us. well it is every year.

the growing season is slowly winding down. i am waiting on my indian beans to ripen. that is if i get any. the vines have flowers on them. we have predicted rain coming. that should give the beans a growth spurt. hopefully i get some beans.

i picked another batch of cucumbers. that is my third or fourth picking. i like to slice them and eat them fresh. i planted sunflowers and radishes in the same grow box as my cucumbers. they are companion plants. it must work because my cukes taste real good.

the boys went back to their home in Lawrence. today is their first day of school. Andrew will be in the second grade and Samuel will be in kindergarten. i use to hold them in my arms. now they getting big.

there used to be a saying “too old to rock n roll and too young to die”. that must be where i am at. i am old enough to remember when rock n roll really was rock n roll. i remember old people always woke up early and thinking hope i dont get like that. today i woke up at 5:30.

i am outside a lot. i get my vitamin d from the sun. i seen some deer in the field across from the house. one was a fawn and the other musta been a doe. they were a distance away from me. i can watch them awhile until the dogs start barking. that scares the deer away. i like to watch deer.

speaking of deer. i hope i get a couple of deer hides this year. i use them in crafts. i asked the meat locker for some. they said they would hold 5 hides for me. they didnt. i will ask them again. maybe if i keep at them. i want to make some miniature hand drums.

got a call about a roach head dress. i quoted a price. i was asked if there is an indian price. i said that was the indian price. they go for much more than what i charge. not often that people do favors for me but some always want a favor from me. if they cant afford a roach, they cant afford to pow wow. it takes money to hit the circuit.

its kinda sad to see the open racism that is out there today. too much hate in the world, perpetuated by a few in power. its a good thing that not everyone is like that. i am surprised that there are still many good people left. that’s encouraging.

today i get my old folks check. i need to run to town to buy feed for my growing chicks. they are about 5 months old now. they are still on chick grow. once they start laying eggs, they go onto egg layer. that should be anytime now. while in town i might go buy some home grown cantaloupes i seen advertised.

gotta feed my animals then head to town.

the temperatures today are predicted to be in the 90s today. and the heat index will be in the 100s. that is good for drying corn. ours has set up for the past coupla days. one good day of heat and it should be ready to bag up and put away for the year.

i set up a coupla saw horses to put my screens on. i also pushed our wagon into place to hold the other screen. we set the screens with our drying corn out on these. it will finish drying today for sure.

i am still thankful we got what corn we have. this year and the previous two years we only got 3 gallons a year. i put much work into raising what i got. we gratefully take what ever we get. we mainly use our corn for ceremonies since we haven’t gotten much. we also have a big pot full at thanksgiving dinner.

i posted a picture on facebook of the corn smut or huitlacoche that was on my corn. i asked if anyone had ever fixed it and eaten it. it is considered a delicacy in mexico. only one person that i know has ever eaten it. she said she liked it. a coupla of others cautioned me not to eat it. that planted enough doubt that i didnt try it.

instead of eating the huitlacoche i had tacos made with buffalo tongue, cilantro and onions. that tasted real good. the last time we got commodity buffalo mary chose the tongue instead of the pound of burger. the ones closest to the fort get the best cuts.

i picked some of my leeks. they were about the right size. i diced them up. mary used some to cook the buffalo tongue. the rest was put in a bag and put in the freezer. we will use the rest to add to things we cook like soups and stews. i use leeks to cook turtle with too.

the only things i still have growing are my indian beans and sweet potatoes. i am sure the sweet potatoes are ready. gotta wait and see how the indian beans end up. they are flowering now. that is a good sign. i hope i get some indian beans.

i changed the mulching blades on my riding mower. i mowed the yard again. cant keep up with mowing this year. i think i will change the oil before the next mowing. i have the oil filter but not the oil. will get it next time i go to town.

the grandsons went home for the week end. they are back today and tomorrow. their school doesn’t start until Wednesday. now misho gotta keep them entertained for two days. i am up to it.

we were lucky that we got some indian corn this year. it rained a lot during most of the early spring. the ground was saturated almost every week. my son and i took a chance and planted anyway. we dug a trough in the mud to plant the seeds in. we then pulled the mud over the corn seeds to cover them.

the seeds sprouted 7 days later. i kept at the weeds for awhile. i tilled in between the rows several times. i planted indian beans and crooked neck squash in the rows of corn. the beans came up but not my crooked neck squash.

i was happy to see that the corn was tasseling. i have been keeping an eye on the growth of my corn. i seen some of the silk was turning brown. that is one sign it is getting done. i squeeze a kernel with my thumb. it popped. i knew some of the corn was ready.

yesterday my son picked what was ready. mary, my sister jackie and i went out and finished picking when he had to leave. we put it in a cart i pull behind my riding mower. we moved it to the back yard. we pulled the corn husks off while we were sitting in the shade.

i made a fire and filled a wash tub and a cooking pot full of water. when the water was heated we put the shucked corn into it. we blanched the corn to stop the sugars in the corn from turning to starch. we put it on top of the corn husks to cool. after it was cool we moved indoors to spoon the kernels off the cob.

we were glad to get indoors. the central air unit was on. we didnt have to work in the heat. we spooned the whole kernels off the cob. i took the spooned corn and spread them onto screens i made for drying corn and squash.

today i have been going out and moving the corn to help it dry out. i break apart any kernels that were stuck together. they dry better when they are a single kernel instead of two or three stuck together.

the corn is set up pretty good. it had a good start yesterday and over night in the car port. i am glad about that because the forecast calls for rain maybe this evening and again tomorrow morning. our corn should continue to dry. i will set it back into the car port to keep it dry.

we ended up with almost 3 gallons of corn. with all the moisture we had over the winter and into the spring i was guessing we could possibly have a good crop this year. it didnt turn out that way. i am happy with what i got. i know some weren’t so fortunate. i always say i take what i get. i am grateful i got some dried corn.

i noticed a lot of indian beans growing in the corn rows. the vines are flowering. now i am hoping for some indian beans. i went skunk on crooked neck squash. i probably will have to buy some. that’s okay. as long as i have some dried squash on hand.

i also dried my second picking of sema. i put a lot of work into that. i hand carried watering jugs to water it during the heat. i kept my plants alive by working at it. now i will have some sema i can depend on. its been a rough growing year but i got some things. thankful for that.

we got some rain again last night and this morning. that should be the final push for my indian corn to ripen. the ears are getting bigger. i probably will be drying corn some time this week.

i will also get a second picking of sema. my plants are looking good. i have put a lot of work into my sema. i tilled, transplanted, weeded and watered. i raise it so i can always have some when i need it. the second set of leaves are big enough to pick soon. this rain will make it grow some more.

the grand sons wanted to have s’mores. i had to go to topeekie to fill our water jugs up. i bought some marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars while there. last night they kept bugging me until i got a fire going. they then settled into roasting the marshmallows. they were more interested in that than actually eating the s’mores. the things misho has do to indulge them.

we had the grand daughters during the day on Monday and Tuesday. they are here today too. having 4 grand kids here makes it pretty lively. usually it is quiet during the week. i like having them here.

i am still glad we got rid of a dumpster full of junk around the ol home place. i still want to do more cleaning up. there are other things we can get rid of. my son will loan me his pick up to haul off stuff. there is a county dump site about a mile from here. the only service the county provides on the rez is to dump their trash here.

i dug up more of my potatoes. this is the third time i am having them. nothing like eating fried potatoes that i grew with fresh eggs from the chickens i raise. we add onions i grew. then to top it off i use hot sauce that i made and mary canned.

this past sunday was my brother bubs’ birthday. he has been gone about 35 years now. i never forget his birthday though. i will always remember him and my other 3 brothers i lost.

i got an email from a seed company i do business with. they said now is the time to plant beets. i had a few packs of seeds laying around here. i had an empty raised beds so i planted beets. it will be my only fall crop.

i used to watch news a few hours a day. i try to keep up with what is going on in the world around me. i kinda slacked off. the news got to be too grim.

i dont understand how this country can spend 700 billion dollars on defense. then cant keep our citizens safe whether they are in church, school, at the mall or in a night club. we are fighting terrorists half a world away but cant protect American citizens from American citizens. oh well. at least we get to hear empty promises this next election.

still got chores to do.

we went to bingo in Oklahoma this past week end. we didnt win. we did have a fun get away. we hit a coupla casinos on the way there and back. it was only my second time out gambling in many months.

the bingo hall wasnt packed like last time. we sat in the non smoking section any way. it is too smoky in the smoking part. we sat by an 86 year old lady who was helpful. she made sure we were playing the right paper. we had a good time talking with her all evening. she was a grand motherly type that enjoyed the company.

we were paying for $1199 a game. the packets cost $27. and $8 more for an extra pack. i needed one more number twice. i cussed when some one else yelled bingo. not loud enough for the old lady to hear. mary needed one more number once. at least we had a chance to win.

we seen a guy selling water melons on the road side. i learned long ago to pull over and buy one. we got this melon home and cut it up last night. it was real good. i am glad we stopped to buy it. anything home grown tastes good.

at the indian casinos near the state line we filled up our gas tank. i believe in supporting indian businesses. well any small businesses. big business takes too much of our money. they can legally rob us. they also try to eliminate the small guy from competing with them.

twice on the road we followed garage sale signs. it ended up that both were wild goose chases. they musta been old signs. there ought to be a law that you have to take down old garage sale signs. going to garage sales is serious business.

i am still waiting on the bulk of my indian corn to ripen. i got some early ears of corn but most of it isn’t ready yet. we will probably be drying corn real soon. i check on it daily. now and then my niece will come help us. my sons also help. we get it done. we have to get corn this year. the past two years haven’t produced very well. our supply is getting low.

we didnt have any grand kids this week end. that’s why we made a short road trip. we are making up for that today. the grand sons dont have school all week. and to make it even more fun the grand daughters will come over a coupla days.

i had to buy a new wind shield wiper blade. i just replaced one. the car parts store guy put it on. he told me to try it. i turned the wipers on and he said to stop. he said the wiper blades are out of sync. that’s why the one bent. i have to take it to get it fixed. gotta do that some time. hope it dont cost a lot.

will see how much i get done this week with the grand kiddies here. it will be fun.

the grand sons went home for the week end. they will be back sunday night for another week of no school. no road trips or gambling when they are here.

we will take advantage of no grand kids by easing on down to Oklahoma. it will be my second time to play bingo in months. i dont mind taking a short trip to play there. all the players have to play paper. no machines. that gives every one a equal chance to win. i like those odds better.

i made a reservation at a motel last night. we have stayed at this place before. it is in a nice location close to bingo. well close enough. bingo is about 10 miles away in the next town. my favorite burger place is half a mile away.

more than likely we will pass on checking out sharps indian store. not in the market for any supplies at the moment. i have bought a few things on sale there though. wasnt planning on it, i couldn’t pass on the items i bought.

yesterday the tribe came after the dumpster we had parked in our yard for a week. we filled it up to the top. we got rid of many things that just had to go. if we couldn’t use it, we got rid of it.

i had a couple of pallets. i seen on the internet a few articles about what to do with recycled pallets. i found another use for them. toss them. i used the ones with wider boards to make grow boxes. i didnt want to use the thinner ones because i would have to use more of them.

while cleaning up i moved many things. i picked up some old poles that hold the volley ball net up. i got stung by a couple of wasps. i think they were yellow jackets. i didnt have any reaction to the stings. glad about that.

i have to feed my dogs and chickens before i leave. i will feed them again tomorrow when i get back. i will make sure they have enough water to last them til tomorrow. i make sure my animals are taken care of.

we will take the turn pike most of the way. after we get closer we will hit the two lanes highways. we have taken most of the roads down there enough times that we know most routes.

i haven’t packed an overnight bag. that dont take long. i better get busy so we can hit the road. hasta la vista. i’ll be bach.

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we filled up the dumpster the tribe brought over. we spent a whole day getting rid of stuff. things break down eventually. other things we didnt use anymore. we gladly got rid of every thing that was taking up space.

my kids think i am a hoarder. i aint, we just accumulated things over the 30 some years we lived here. i go to garage sales, flea markets and auctions. perhaps i do buy too many things some times. i dont buy stuff i wont use. i like to have every tool i could possibly use. that has paid off. i did some jobs only because i had the tools to do them.

my yard is cleaner. i will be able to mow the areas i previously had junk in. we got rid of some pallets. my work benches are cleaner. next i will put arrange my tools so i can find them when needed. i will be able to use them again. the tribe will come after the dumpster tomorrow. i think that is a great service they provide.

we took some time off yesterday to take the boys swimming. we went to banner creek a few miles up the road. it only costs $3 a car load to get in. thats cheaper than other places. the boys were looking for shells. i said go swimming while we are here.

we planned on going fishing. i dug a few places looking for worms. didnt find any. the ground was too dry. i even tried the compost pile. i guess we will go fishing another time.

i got one ear of corn that was ready the other day. i thought i would be drying corn. most of it isn’t ready yet. i will have to wait til the bulk of it is ready. that means i probably will have some ears that harden. that’s okay. i will use them for seed corn. it usually is better to use the corn that matures early for seed. dont want seed stock that matures late.

it will be time to dry corn soon enough. i look forward to doing that every year. it is a long process that keeps us busy for a several days. after we are done we feel like it is an accomplishment. we get rewarded with dry corn to carry us til next crop.

the chicks i bought this past spring are about 4 months old. maybe in another month they should start laying eggs. i have 16 of them that survived. i will get plenty of eggs then. probably enough to start selling eggs again. that will cover some of my feed costs. i like it when the chickens pay for their up keep.

my garden is still producing. i picked more cucumbers. i can dig more potatoes when needed. i have some peppers still growing. my leeks are getting bigger. some of my tomatoes got ripe on the vine. i am glad my garden did okay. we had a lot of rain early then heat later. i take what i get.

now i have to keep an eye on the corn. once its ready i have a job to do.