Category: da rez blog

lived thru the heat indexes in the 100s. i am glad i have central air. it made it bearable during the hot temperatures. i stayed in a lot. or rode in my old rav4 that still has working a/c.

now we will have about a week of temps in the upper 80s. that will be much cooler than the heat wave we have been in. i can live with these cooler temperatures. i can mow the yard and not get drenched in sweat from the heat.

i had my push mower worked on. it would kinda start then die out. i took it to my cuz who works on small engines. he found it had a wire that was shorting out. he fixed it. i use the push mower around trees and small areas that my riding mower cant reach.

summer is winding down and i haven’t been any where. well besides a short bingo trip down south. my daughter moved into her new place in southern California. we plan on taking a train ride to see her after she is settled in. i dont want to drive the almost 3 thousand round trip. that would be over 40 hours on the road.

i haven’t ridden a train in this country since i was brought home after my birth. that was 67 years ago. i rode trains in Enland, France, Rome and Peru during my travels. those train rides were fun. that is why i want to ride a train here in the states.

we will ride thru the south west on the way to my daughters. i have been thinking of getting a sleeper car. it costs more but at least we will have a place to rest during the long ride. we will also have private viewing.

i will go see my grand son Andrew in a play at his school tomorrow. he is in the play ‘lion king’. he said he wanted his misho and grand ma there to watch him. how can i miss it after he said that.

next week Andrew and Samuel’s school will close for the whole week. they will spend the week with us. i promised Andrew that we will go fishing. i haven’t done that yet. he caught a fish his first time out fishing. it should be fun.

we got some rain this past weekend. just at the right time. my corn has ears of corn developing. the rain and cooler temperatures should help the corn grow better. the stalks are different sizes but i am lucky i have some. i may still get some corn to dry. these next few weeks are critical in the growth of my corn. i will see how it turns out.

i am waiting for my new hens to start laying. i bought them as chicks this spring. some may start laying eggs next month. some maybe the following month. i have 16 of them left. i will have plenty of eggs then. i will be able to sell my surplus to buy feed. i like it when the chickens support themselves.

gotta dig more potatoes up while it is cooler. i am lucky my garden didnt burn up. seems odd saying that after it almost drown out from too much rain earlier this spring. just lucky i still have a garden that i can eat fresh veggies from.

will see what this week brings.

been staying in because of the heat indexes. when i go out to feed and water my animals i can feel the heat as soon as i open the door. today it is suppose to be 116 degrees with the heat index. this indian is staying cool by staying in.

i am glad that i have central air. i dont know how i lived with out it. i have though. i remember the days of not having air conditioning well. when you aint got electricity you aint got a/c. there wasnt any thing we could do about how hot it was. we had to live with it.

heard some friends complaining about the heat. i told them they better mend their ways then. it is hotter in hell. got a polite smile but no laugh out of that.

while being indoors i have been on my computer. that cost me some money. i got caught up in the amazon prime days thing. i seen a coupla things i had to have. well i didnt really have to have them. i just went for it. i have done with out so many times in my life. now if i want some thing i get it.

Andrew dropped his tablet. it is cheaper to buy a new one than it is to replace the broken screen. prime sold tablets for $29 instead of $49. i had to go for that deal. i also bought a food vacuum saver system. we use one to preserve food that we freeze. the old one was worn out from so much use. we put away food every year.

i didnt buy any thing that we cant use. i get things when they are on sale. i try to save money so i can stretch my dollars. i will never be rich. missed that boat long ago.

i have been working on my music play lists too. i have thousands of songs on my computer and in cds. i am reorganizing so my favorite songs are included on my play lists. i cant say what my favorite song is. i can narrow it down to the top 3 or 4 hundred though. i try to listen to my music instead of what’s playing else where.

i also worked on my long dormant book. i reread it. i changed a word here and there. i do that with my blogs too. i will write some thing and then go back and change a word or two to strengthen or reinforce a meaning. gots to get that book done some time. that is my goal now. got the time but dont make the time.

i made my first picking of sema this morning. the heat zaps the plants. the leaves wilt from this heat. then when the sun goes down, the leaves recuperate. i weeded last night and watered the plants. i pulled the biggest leaves off today. that should make the water available to make the rest of the leaves bigger. this heat will dry this batch of sema fast.

the annual potawatomi gathering is coming up. around here some say “everyone is going”. dont know what they mean by every one. some of us aren’t going. one year another band wanted me to speak. one of our then council members said nope that aint happening. so i wasnt included. after that i lost interest in going to gatherings. that was alright. i dont have any thing to prove to any one. i have gone to a few gatherings on my own dime though.

maybe i will go to a movie. enjoy the free a/c in a nearly empty theater. last time i went mary and i were the only ones in the show we seen. i wanna see that movie about beatles tunes.

i dont need to be told stay out of the heat if possible. okay.

most of my corn is tasseling now. i can see silk on some forming ears. i may still get some corn yet. the corn is taller on the lower end of the garden. it got stunted in some places. i plant on a slight slope for drainage. the water drains to the bottom end. that is why some corn is taller. i say that i take what i get.

i am pleased that my garden has done alright in spite of the wet weather we have had. now the heat is coming. they are predicting 105 to 110 degrees with the heat index this week end. i went out this morning and watered my sema. some of the leaves are the biggest i have seen in awhile. i might do my first picking in a few days.

i am lucky that i have eaten fresh vegetables this year. i had cabbages, kale, radishes, onions, jalapenos, strawberries, cilantro, dill, cucumbers and potatoes. i had several pickings of kale. we get fresh onions any time we need them. i still have potatoes in the ground.

the cole slaw and fried cabbage was good. some were the fried potatoes i had. the red potatoes were fried with the onions i grew. i added hot sauce that i made to them. my straw berries were the biggest and the sweetest i ever had.

i went skunk trying to grow lettuce and spinach. i may have started the seeds too late. i am still waiting on my bell peppers, habaneros, okra and sweet potatoes. my tomatoes have fruit on them but the plants didnt get very big. i will still get some tomatoes. yep i am real grateful for what ever i get.

the coming heat must mean fiesta Mexicana is here. i didnt go last year. i used to park at my aunt zeldas house. we would walk over the banner street bridge to the fiesta. i thought of my aunt last year. maybe that’s why i didnt go. it just wouldn’t be the same without stopping in and visiting with her.

i bought some gold fish from a bait shop in topeekie. i lost two of them on the drive home. i put the rest of them in my rain barrels. i seen that i lost one more this morning. it was floating when i was watering my sema. the rest of the gold fish are swimming around. they will keep my rain barrels clean.

i got a massage yesterday. i went to a high school class mates place in beautiful down town mayet-ti. i had tension in my neck and shoulders. he relieved that. i will probably go back to him for a massage some other time. he told me to tell others about him. i said i would.

i plan on working inside these next few days because of the predicted heat wave. i still have to feed my critters though. i will make sure they have water. gonna kick back in the a/c. hell yeah.

sometimes people will ask me if its too late to plant something. i tell them if you dont plant it, for sure it wont grow. if you plant late at least you have a chance you will get something. if nothing grows, what are you out of. a coupla bucks worth of seeds?

i planted my potatoes kinds late this year because of the wet ground. i like fresh potatoes enough that i thought i would take a chance. good gamble. i did get some red potatoes. we will cook them up. when they gone, i will dig more up.

i used a potato fork i bought at a flea market for 4 bucks. i knew i would eventually need one to dig up my potatoes. i find tools i need at many flea markets or garage sales. why buy new when i can save money.

my grandson was helping me dig the potatoes up. didnt take long til he said ‘i’m going back in.’ it wasnt that hot but is warm enough. i finished digging them up by myself. when i got back inside he asked me if i was still going to pay him. i asked for what. he said for helping me. that kid.

an old friend of mine named Kenny used to always have a garden. he was one of the best around here. i listened to any thing he said about gardening. he told me to grow red potatoes, said they were the best. you can boil them, fry them. any way you fix them they are good. i agree. they are good when they are roasted too.

i picked my first cucumbers today. i got 6 nice ones. there are still more growing but they aren’t ready to pick. these fresh cukes really taste good. that is why i grow them. if i dont have any i will buy them at the farmers market.

i mentioned my misho using a spring to pluck his whiskers. some one sent me a picture of such a spring. actually two. i think there are still a few older guys around here that still use springs to pluck facial hair. that always reminds me of my misho. he would sit in his wheel chair plucking his whiskers.

a class mate of mine from high school has a business in Mayetta. it is the store front that has the train mural on the outside brick wall. i think long ago it was a bank. Mayetta had it going on when the railroad went thru. the mural is of those days.

my class mate does massages. i could use one. i haven’t had any in awhile. i usually get one around per cap time. i got an appointment tomorrow at 11.

nice to see some one still trying to have a business in down town mayetti. there aren’t many businesses left in my home town. well i used to tell people in my travels that Mayetta was where i am from. actually i am from the rez. nobody called it the rez in them days. not many wanted to live here then. guess now its cool or something.

will see what this week brings.

we have been busy putting away things for the coming year. we have canned hot sauce. i have to have that. we canned and froze 18 pounds of blue berries. we picked and bought some the other day from an orchard. we have a full freezer. that’s why we can. it saves room.

my niece kek came over to watch mary can the blue berries. she wants to start canning. she wanted to see the whole process. it is better to see how some one does it from beginning to end. mary didnt have anyone to show her. she learned by doing it.

i think canning is a needed life skill. same with drying things. our people had to do this back when we were poor. there is no need to today because food is so readily available in stores. but it is healthier to produce as much of ones food as possible. too many foods today can make people sick. a government seal of approval dont make food safe to eat.

we will still can salsa and tomatoes. we will can whatever we get off my tomato plants. i probably will have to buy tomatoes from a farmers market if we need more. i dont like buying a tomato for a dollar in the winter. then it dont have any taste.

i mowed the yard again. the lawn grows fast from all the rain we go this year. we had more rainfall this year than we have had in years. last year we bordered on being in a drought. i think we were in a drought advisory.

my indian corn is starting to tassel. some stalks are taller than others. the corn is not uniform size because of the weather we had. i am lucky my corn didnt drown out. at least i got some. i hope it makes it to maturity.

i planted 22 hills of crooked neck squash. maybe only half the hills have plants in them. that is okay. those hills should still produce plenty of squash if they make it. i will dry what ever i get.

this evening we will dig potatoes. they should be ready. i planted red potatoes. they are good boiled or fried. the small ones taste good when they are grilled.

the other day i was thinking about my misho. he had this spring he used to pluck his whiskers out with. it takes longer for them to come back after plucking. i use tweezers today. i can shave and feel stubble at the end of the day. that’s why i pluck the whiskers. so much for indians not having facial hair.

got a busy day planned. gotta get moving

we usually pick blue berries at Hiawatha. we had plans to go there today. last night they posted on face book picking would be sparse. the birds ate most of the berries. it took one person half an hour to pick a cereal bowl full of berries.

that put us on plan B. mary and i drove to a place near Lawrence with my sisters jackie and lisa. we left the rez bout 6:30. we got down there right at 8 o clock. besides an older gent, we were the first ones there. we paid a 2 dollar admission fee and climbed onto the trailer hooked up to a tractor. this hayride (without the hay) took us up to the field where the blue berries were.

we were in a blue berry picking mood. we got to picking. we talking back and forth and laughing as we picked. we noticed clouds moving in. we kept picking. soon one of the workers came up to tell us to move to a small building. we paid for what we picked. mary and i picked about 8 pounds of berries.

the wind picked up and we were told to move to another shelter house. the rain poured down for a while. the owner came and said the rain was expected to continue for some time. he said it would be a long wait.

we got onto the trailer again when the rain let up. it took us back to the main building. the owner said they had some berries already picked. we could have them at the picking price. that was a dollar off a pound. we bought 10 more pounds of blue berries at that price. so mary and i ended up with 18 pounds of blue berries.

we were happy with that amount of blue berries. we took what we had and made the drive home. we stopped in topeekie to eat at a migo diner. after eating we finished the drive home. we put our berries in a big stainless steel dish pan. it held all the berries.

next step is to can some. my sisters said they put some in small bags and froze them. their grandsons will eat them. we will do the same with some of the berries. we will have berries for awhile. our day trip was worth it.

got off the rez again. the grand sons were with their grand mother from the south west. she was visiting for the holidays. we took the opportunity to drive down to newkirk Oklahoma to play bingo.

they dont use machines at this bingo hall. so there aren’t handfuls of people with hundreds of cards playing against you like at our place. prices aren’t bad either. my packet for 2 thou a game cost me 50 bucks. that was to play every game including specials.

the big u pick em prize drew a full house. it was for $20,000. it was to go until some one won it. the place was packed. we got there an hour and a half early. we were lucky to even find two seats together. we sat in the non smoking room. that was good because it was way too smoky in the other room.

we didnt win but had fun on a week end getaway. we were this close to winning 24 thou. one game i was one number away from winning 2 thou. in a later game mary was also one number away from 2 thou. they didnt call either of our numbers.

the very last game is what drew the crowd. it was the u pick em game for 20 thou. mary needed one number to win it. number 7 didnt prove lucky for her. some one else won after calling about 5 more numbers. mary and i were really watching the monitor as each new number came up. we didnt win but we got our juice.

some say they wouldn’t know what to do if they won. i sure do. i would be booking my tickets to Angkor Wat and China right now. those are items on my bucket list i have to fill.

there was no need to rush home so we didnt. i wanted a slow cruise home. we took the two laned highways home. we made a number of stops. i had to check out an antique store. that took me awhile to go thru the place. i have to view every thing.

we also stopped at a estate sale. every thing was 50% off. i found a few things. got a wooden bowl for a buck. they sell for way more than that. i use them in indian dice sets.

we seen a farmers stand on the side of the road. i turned around to see what they had. i buy things that i dont grow. the guy had boxes of tomatoes. i bought one box of them. i will use them to make hot sauce. i am running out of it. i have tomatoes but i like to just eat them sliced up, fresh off the vine.

we got home bout 5 yesterday afternoon. my dog was glad to see me. i took a nap because i was tired. ol misho is getting older. maybe next time i take a trip i might take a train. leave the driving to some one else.

i rode a train in England to see Stonehenge. i took a train from paris to rome. i also rode a train thru the incan valley in Peru on my way to Machu Picchu. i haven’t ridden on a train in this country though. well i did when i was born. my mother brought me home on the train.

maybe i will take a train to visit my daughter when she starts her new job. she will be living near palm springs. right now she is in spain. she ran with the bulls yesterday. glad she does things i wish i could do.

will see what this week brings.

the rain woke me up. that is a good way to wake up. again i thought of my indian corn. this will make it grow. it is over waist high right now. it will grow taller after this rain. i am thinking that not many will have corn this year.

we are heading to Oklahoma today. this will be a short road trip. misho been staying home. need some open road. we will take the turnpike down to el dorado. there we jump onto a two lane highway. it is a pleasant drive thru small towns.

there is a bingo hall just over the state line. it is only a three hour drive. this wont be a long road trip. we will spend the night then drive back tomorrow. be back so soon it wont even feel like we were gone.

i will visit the hamburger place i always stop at. i am not into burgers but i like the way they make them at this place. it looks like a 50s drive up. service is good like those old places too. i will get my fix of red meat.

bingo starts at 5:30 this afternoon. i haven’t gambled since the last time i was at this bingo hall. everyone plays paper. no machines. so i wont have to play against the big players with hundreds of cards like here. i want a chance to win, even if i have to drive to Oklahoma.

bingo will be over 9 or so. that gives us time to find something to eat before heading back to the motel room we reserved. we will probably hit the slots a little while. i haven’t been on one in so long i forgot how they worked. if i remember right you drop money in and you dont get anything back. or something like that.

gotta feed my critters before hitting the road. that dont take long. i will feed them again when i get home tomorrow.

just a short blog. gotta get ready to hit the road. i will put on one of my play lists. jam out while driving.

woke up this morning to a little rain. i appreciate that. i am thinking of my corn. this will help it grow. the next few weeks will determine if i get enough corn to dry or not. not enough rain or not enough sunshine can stunt the growth.

the next few weeks is an important time in the corns development. i have had tall corn at the end of july. then like last year we had temps in the 100s with no rain. the corn didnt develop. i was lucky i got a few gallons. another time it was cloudy for 3 weeks. the corn didnt develop.

i am dependent on what nature gives me. we were told not to run in the rain. it is like running from what we are asking for. all living things, especially the foods were grow, need water.

the rain dampened the ground. i am glad the ground isn’t dry. this is our only chance to light fire works for the grand kids. the boys’ grandma from the southwest is here. they wont be here this weekend.

we just got back from the boys and girls clubs’ fireworks stand. it is located in the building next to one stop on highway 75. we had to go buy more fireworks for the grand kids. we should have plenty for them to enjoy.

we were talking about how our parents didnt buy us that many fireworks when we were kids. now the grand kids get a lot. that’s probably cuz older couples struggled to get by with their kids. now they make it up to the grand kids. young couples have it better nowadays than it used to be. that’s good.

i am kinda thinking since the boys wont be here this week end maybe we will drive to Oklahoma for bingo. they play for $2000 a game. the buy in cost is $42. i haven’t gambled since the last time i went down there about 4 or 5 months ago. gotta get my gambling jones on.

we are firing up the grill. gotta take any opportunity to have a cook out. when you are retired, every day is a holiday. and well every day is a work day too.

normally i dont like hot dogs. i do like them cooked on the grill though. i will also grill up some jalapeno peppers. my pepper plants have just enough for one grilling.

i bought some water hose attachments yesterday. i will rig up my soaker hoses around my tomatoes. i have 4 plants around a 5 gallon bucket. this is enclosed in a tomato support made of concrete wire. i have two of these. that means the soaker hose has to wrap around all 8 plants. there is a break in between each set of 4.

while in town i bought some sandals to wear this summer. they look like old man sandals. i shouldn’t draw any looks over that. i am at that age where older ones call me young and the younger ones call me an old guy.

we have picked blue berries at a place up north. they say the berries are about ready. either this weekend or first of next week. i hope it is the first of the week. i will be able to pick some then. i forgot how many we canned last year. i want more.

it is the fourth of july and i haven’t seen any menashkuk. it usually grows in the ditch by my house. it must be late coming up this year. i use it every now and then when i have a sweat lodge. haven’t had one of them in some time.

gotta get ready for the cook out and grand kids coming.

cant believe it is already july. it aint like time is passing by quickly. guess if you see enough seasons pass, one will go by without noticing. maybe hearing i am a great grand pa again got to me. never thought i would live this long. i am not old but too many of the people i knew didnt make it this far.

the fourth is a coupla days away. i think of the old country saying about corn. knee high by the fourth of july. i guess that is the benchmark for corn. mine is waist high now. that must mean my corn is doing okay. i hope it continues to grow until harvest time.

we will have fireworks for the grand kids. they want them. while all the celebrating of freedom and independence is going on i will think of those kids at the border. and my bros behind the walls. not all are free in a country to holds itself up as the epitome of freedom.

they just cut the hay in our field and baled it up. it is usually cut by the fourth. i get a rent check from my share of the hay. it isn’t anywhere near what the hay is worth though.

it is already july and i haven’t gone any where. i assume i will go on a road trip some time. i am not ready to start a go fund page to send this poor indian to the great wall of china and Angkor wat. the best trips are the ones where we just up and go. we get a destination in mind and go. the trip there and back is as much fun as the end destination.

i need to head to town. i need to set up an irrigation system for my tomato plants. i have soaker hoses. i need attachmets to rig it up to my water faucet hose. the soaker hose will circle the plants. then has to be connected to the next bed of tomatoes. i have some tomatoes forming already.

we had boiled cabbage with polish kielbasa sausage last night. it was made with the cabbage i grew. we already had fresh cole slaw with my cabbage. both tasted real good. better than store bought cabbage.

mary picked some more of my kale i grow. i dont know how much longer i will get some of that. the heat will make it turn bitter real soon. we have eaten it several times now. i will continue to grow it every year.

i got the new lens for my glasses yesterday. it replaced the lens that was scratched. it was put into my glasses and i was on my way. it didnt cost me anything. it dont seem right that i have to pay extra for scratch protection instead of that place guaranteeing their product. no business does that any more.

i bought about 15 cds at a garage sale for a buck apiece. that is more economical than buying one song off iTunes for 99 cents. i get a collection of songs for the money. i will add songs to my play lists. i listen to them when i am doing something and when i am on a road trip. i would rather listen to music i enjoy instead what is on the radio. half the time they play lame music.

we will have a cookout over the weekend. that will be fun.