Die (No) Mites!

The plague has struck again.

Just when I thought it was safe to imagine that the strawberries I've been raising all winter long would be safe and sound in time for the spring planting -- which is just around the corner -- the world has been turned upside-down by the appearance of the dreaded spider mites.

You know. Those teeny-weeny web-spinning vampire mites that explode all over your strawberry plants and suck the juice out of them until they die.

Cheryl noticed them the other day crawling all over the planter. (She pointed out the Big Clue on the hook from which the planter hangs, which was covered in spider-mite silk.) Ick.

How do you get rid of spider mites?  I looked it up on the web, and there are many different ways, some of which don't involve toxic chemicals. My favorite was the one which uses a distillation of habanero sauce liberally applied to the leaves. Apparently spider mites are not from Mexico. And don't like the spiciness.

Or so it said.

I tested it out by filling my spray bottle with a mixture of habanero sauce and water, then spraying it onto the leaves. Or at least I attempted to spray it on the leaves; apparently my mixture had too many 'floaties' and the nozzle got jammed up. And since I was misting it onto the leaves, it got into the air and everyone in the room started coughing.

Oops!

So then I switched to a bottle for the mix and just poured it over the leaves. No one coughed this time.

Now to see how the little devils like their sauce.

Parent's Nightmare

A family is grieving today.

A young man who had everything to live for, is no longer living. And the circumstances surrounding his death are the type that cause parents to hold their breath in sympathetic horror.

Sudden Infant Death syndrome is bad enough, a tragedy that should never occur to anyone, devastating beyond understanding, calling to mind all the unspeakable terrors which build up within the minds of a young couple as they are beginning a family.

Sudden Young Adult Death Syndrome - if there was such a thing - is, in my mind, far worse, for it takes away the hopes and dreams of a family who have spent nearly eighteen years watching their young son or daughter growing up, achieving, failing, persevering, overcoming, astounding, going above and beyond all expectation of success and taking it all away in a single, unguarded, unimagined moment.

Had he been involved in something dangerous or reckless or illegal, it would have made some kind of sense and there would have been an answer to the question of "Why?" in the mind of the parents.

But when all he did was go to bed, what answer is there to be found?

The medical examiner said he had an "enlarged heart"; that is, one of the chambers of his heart was thicker than normal, which, although difficult if not impossible to detect, would have led to a number of issues resulting in heart failure. It functioned well enough for nearly eighteen years; why stop now?

This young man was a superb athlete, a good scholar, well-liked, active in his church, and about to take an appointment to either West Point or the Naval Academy. There was everything to look forward to.

Every untimely death is a tragedy, no matter the cause; but this one resonates in my mind because as I imagine myself in that circumstance, I see myself looking through all the old photo albums, seeing the things that my children encountered year by year, the things they learned, the way they grew, the joys they experienced, the tears they cried, the hugs we gave them -- and I wonder, Why now? Why did he have to go now, after all those things he survived, all those years he grew larger and smarter and more capable of handling life in the real world, all those years he built up a set of skills and talents which he was supposed to use to go out there and make this world better?

Where is the sense in that?

There is no sense in that. There are only questions. And the only answer is, God knows. Yes, He knows now, but we won't know for a long time - if ever, at least during our time here on earth - and there is very little of earthly comfort to be gained from the knowledge that it doesn't matter if you are good, bad, or ugly; your very good, very smart, very capable child could die in the night without ever giving a hint of a condition that there is anything wrong with them.

How is a parent to sleep at night knowing these things?

Mall Rats

Today is Writer's Group. I finally have something ready. My post from Feb 25th. You may have noticed it's a bit different than the rest of 'em.  It's actually readable. 

Adam won't be at Writer's Group today because he is on a Writer's Retreat with the college.  Can't wait til he gets back so I can find out what all he did!

While I'm at Writer's Group, Deb and Sabrina are going to a movie at the Mall, then hanging out for awhile until I'm done. Seemed kind of efficient to combine two trips going to (practically) the same place.

postScript

Finished Writer's Group then went over to pick up the girls. Found 'em very quickly, right next to (of all places) the bookstore. They were ready to leave. Turns out they didn't even see a movie. Guess they just weren't in the mood.

So they spent two hours wandering through stores in the Mall. Truly a fate worse than death!

Consequently, they were ready to leave. But I wasn't. Because I had a headache and an incredible thirst. Went to Orange Julius to get a smoothie -- and they're blender was broken.  !!!What?!??!!?!!

Had to make do with a waffle cone. Rats.

That's how hard my life is. I host a pity party because I have to eat an ice-cream cone instead of a fruit smoothie.

I'm pathetic.