Some Observations from the Hill
by H H "Hub" Brown  

 This summer reminds me of the one in 1916 when we lived in Susquehanna County in Pennsylvania. I was only 10 years old, but have heard Dad tell about it many times. Dad had no hired man here, the two older brothers had to fill in that job. Of course, the farmers always exchanged work so that took care of any man's work. Dad said he got corn and potatoes and oats planted but then it rained so much he couldn't cultivate and they didn't finish haying until September. 

 Looks as though things will go like that this year. Fritz takes me with him most times when he goes down into Pennsylvania and we see lots of the white containers that the farmers put partly dry hay called haylage, but for a farmer depending on dry hay, this has been a catchy year. You'll see some fields all rutted up, the ground has stayed so wet.

 I'm too unsteady on my feet to be involved in any real farm work anymore, but still like to have a garden which I work from a plastic stool with wheels on it. Last summer I bought a small garden cultivator, a Mantis, but the ground has stayed so wet I can't use it, have to pull weeds by hand.

 Found out that broccoli and snow peas don't like too much rain, had some drowned out. Had planted some tomato and pepper seed the first of March and these can take all this moisture. Have a new tomato called Brandy Boy. They are large enough that a slice will cover a slice of bread for a sandwich. Tried a new kind of winter squash, they resemble a pumpkin in shape and have the most male blossoms of any squash I ever saw. I pick some of these, beat up some eggs, add a little milk and then a little pancake flour mix and make some fritters. Topped with some pancake syrup you have a tasty dish.

 Was just interrupted by Monica's African Parrot. When Monica's brother, Tom, stays here, he always leaves Tweedle or Tweety's (I don't really know what his name is) cage open. He and I have never gotten to be real fast friends. He just climbed up my chair and hesitated by the arm and as I am never sure what kind of a mood he's in, I folded a newspaper and offered to help him get back down. He climbed on the paper but as he left, he took a small sample of my arm. 

 Some mornings when I'm eating my breakfast and reading the paper, he will climb up on the framework of the table and shake a fold of my trousers to let me know that he is there and ready for a bit of breakfast. I offer him a Cheerio or a bit of cornflake and he'll take it but his bill is so sharp he usually cuts it in three pieces. One he'll eat and the two outside pieces will drop and then Peter, the cocker spaniel, will clean them up later. Our three cats and even Clemmy, short for Clementine, who mostly resembles a Belgian Shepherd, have learned to respect that sharp bill. He has a way of disassembling things and usually so they can't be reassembled. Tom left his cap, a cheaply made advertising one, where he could reach it and he destroyed the adjustable part at the back so Tom hung it in his cage so he could finish it off. 

 Life never gets dull when you have animals to share your life.