A weird morning

So last Friday I went to work like usual. Everything was normal until it got weird. I went to spray some Burn Out (which is an herbicide made of concentrated clove oil and some other stuff) and the spray pump exploded into my face when I tried to pump it. The Burn Out sprayed all over my face, eyes, and body. It instantly started burning like hell, and I freaked out. I ran, with my most kind and helpful co-worker SW, to the nearest hose, and we started flushing me down with cold water. It was burning like hell, and I think I was crying and moaning and breathing weirdly. We realized that the clients whose home we were at had an outdoor shower, so I stripped down and got in the cold water and flushed my whole body for a long long time. I washed many times with Dr. Bronners, and after a few minutes the burning was gone, and I felt fine. I kept flushing my eye out for 20 minutes, which is what the Burn Out bottle said to do. Finally I got out and waited for someone to bring me some clean clothes from my truck, which was parked at D and H's house. The arrival of the clothes took a while, and it was strange to be standing on these people's patio in just a towel. After the burning stopped and I realized I was fine, the adrenaline made me giddy and giggly. This allowed for an unusual Friday at work...

It rained upon our heads

It rained here in Hot Springs on Monday night! A good lengthy rain. Here's some photos of the garden the next morning- lovin it.


sweet potato vines grew overnight!


mushrooms popped up overnight!


bird bath filled with actual rain water!


peace rose with water droplets!

God bless the Mom

So I have been staying in my mom's cottage while I am working on the Airstream, which I purchased as a place I could live right away but it did not end up being that way... So I have been in and out of the cottage for the past couple weeks, which is great because it is right on the creek (swimming any time of the day or night) and it is beautiful and I have a decent amount of privacy here. The other day, Mom made a comment about me having a lot of "organized clutter" around. I said, "what are you talking about?" and she just said "go look in the cottage." I went in and looked in the cottage. All the counter tops were covered with drying flowers and herbs. A pair of crow wings was curing with salt on a piece of cardboard on the coffee table. An otter pelt was draped over the chair, and my shotgun was on the kitchen table. Oh, that's what she meant. "That's not clutter, Mom-- those are projects." She cracked up. God bless the Mom who is amused by that use of her space. Today she called me (I was in Asheville attending to AV, who just had a baby boy yesterday!!!) and said, "Dana, I've been meaning to ask you...why is there a rattlesnake in my freezer in a Rice Crispies box?" I replied, "It's not a rattlesnake, Mom, it's a black snake." She paused. Then, "Oh, well, why is it in my freezer?" "Because I needed a place to put it Mom. Is that OK?" She said, "Yeah, it's fine for now."

Update

Notes on July 5th and 6th:
Hot Springs hosted its big fireworks and street party on July 5th. I walked downtown with a posse of friends, toting some Ancient Ancient Age bourbon in a Tazo Tea bottle which I consumed throughout the night. 4th of July (or 5th of July in this case) in Hot Springs is very interesting. Masses of people emerge from God knows where. Crowds and crowds of rednecks and other people gather in quantity to create an evening of pure, utter, enjoyably weird chaos. The town spends about half of its annual budget on a fireworks show that is way too big for its britches. Afterwards people set off explosives wherever they want- at the pub, in the street, what have you. There are hot dogs and nachos and deep fried oreos for sale, and stupid kids' games at which you can win second hand prizes (including some Happy Meal toys...) There is a street band called Country Sounds that is half cheezy half awesome (just like I like it). All the old timers and families go there. Right next to that is the pub where rock cover bands play really loudly for the wild crowd. I went to both. I became inebriated. I danced to Country Sounds with an old old man. I danced with a rowdy crowd to "Kemistry" right in front of the stage. I dropped a beer. I got hit on by a young dude that had on a shirt that said "Gr8-N-Bed." Gross. I staggered home and had a headache the next day, but it was fun and wacky enough to be worth it.
July 6th I went to A's birth class with her. No technical details of birth were discussed. Rather it was more like a support/ discussion group of topics such as: What do you need from your partner during labor? and How will you respond when people critisize your parenting? and What will you do if you can't make it to the hospital in time and you have to deliver the baby somewhere on the side of the road in the car? It was interesting, and I can also see how A sometimes gets frustrated with the class... After that we went to a most lovely gathering at B and C's 5 acres out in Swannanoa. It was my first time there, and it was ever so lovely. We ate wonderful food from the garden, visited with great people, soaked in a cozy wood fired hot tub, and marvelled at all the awesome permaculture projects B and C are working on. I was very impressed, and loved the place. How did I get so lucky to know so many awesome people? B and I were hugging goodbye, and a shooting star flew over us, and right then and there we decided we would both blog about it...
Oh, ps, I was given a really special prize that night. I think it looks good in the Airstream. Thanks!

Independence Day

Please enjoy this graphic created by artist JDH IV in honor of Independence Day. Isn't he something? I celebrated July 4th by milking 4 goats, letting a pet rat crawl on my neck just to see how it felt, digging a water hole in the creek in my soon to be camper trailer site, and harvesting many red clovers from a beautiful neighboring pasture. Then I swam in a muddy creek, soaked in a hot tub, drank red wine, showed off my new (old) Airstream to S and M, watched a few minutes of Being John Malcovich, ate veggie burgers with S and M and went to bed. It rained last night, which is really really good. It was a good 4th of July. I didn't go to the rodeo as I had intended, but that's OK because that means I didn't have to spend the extra energy bracing myself to be able to tolerate the blatent exploitation of many animals in order to absorb the wonder of a quite interesting cultural phenomenon. Tonight will be Hot Spring's annual fireworks show, at which I will see more people than I knew could fit in this entire county and their children, and I will dance to old country tunes played by a highly interesting band on a stage set up in the road by the railroad tracks. It will most likely be awesome. Cheers.