Last Friday when bff was over with her new pup Orso, she brought me two tiny tomato plants (she said she had "extra"). One was a cherry tomato plant; the other was unknown, as the writing had worn off the identifying tag. I lovingly planted them in the backyard, carefully added nurturing potting soil, gave them some "tomato plant food" (an organic version of Miracle Gro, marketed specifically for tomato plants) and then sprinkled the plants with a little cayenne pepper and garlic to keep the critters away. But I forgot to replace the spices after the rain the other day. When I checked on the plants around noon, they were doing great. When I checked on them before my evening walk around 8:00, they were two bare stalks. Around 6:30, I saw a little skunk (not Fabio, the fabulous long-furred skunk--haven't seen him in a few weeks) sauntering through the backyard. I suspect the little stinker had himself a tomato (plant) salad for dinner 😡
And because I don't want to be too NILS-y...speaking of Friday's visit, I mentioned previously that Orso was even more wound up this time than the last time he visited. He was jumping and bumping against me and thwapping me with his muscular tail. Shortly before he and bff left, I noticed a lump just above my knee, and it HURT. It didn't hurt long, nor was it a lump for long, so I eventually forgot about it, though it remained a bit sensitive to the touch for a couple days (but just a bit). This morning I woke up to a spectacular bruise where the lump was. I bruise weirdly (and fortunately rarely)...often after contact, nothing shows up, and I'll skip over the black/red/purple phase entirely only to see a greenish yellow bruise days later. That's what happened this time, though there's a bit of purpling on one side. Even Dad noticed...and he doesn't notice anything short of a gaping chest wound (and those few times I've burst a blood vessel in my eye; he has the same thing happen from time to time, though not for a looooooong time). The bruise doesn't hurt at all but man, it's ugly.
