Povey Prattle

I  offer  a recipe for a "safe" weed killer  -  I damn well hope so, even though I am not a skilled environmentalist. Try this for spot weeding on driveways, brick pavers, crazy paving areas, and hard to reach weeds in flower beds. It has no noxious chemicals which will remain in the soil for many generations. Recipe 1 gallon white vinegar 1/2 cup of table salt 1 tablespoon of dish washing liquid. MIX WELL then transfer to an old and cleansed spray bottle. Use Spray on "spot weeds"  on a hot and sunny day on which there are no prospects of rain,  after the  dew has evaporated. It will work well,  but may need two applications. N.B.   1.This is for spot weeding only. DO NOT USE IT ON LAWNS unless your aim is "super accurate" as it will kill weeds in your lawn AND the grass itself. 2. Salt is a vegetation killer so this recipe should be used sparingly. 3. I truly believe th...

I preached my heart and mind out on Good Friday 2014 at St. Boniface Church in Sarasota. You can read the sermon on this blog.   One friend who heard it told me that she "has difficulties  with the Crucifixion" , so she was glad that I had focused on joy.   Another friend read my sermon on line. This friend was so happy that my sermon dealt with "serving others".   DUH!   When you read the sermon you will (I hope) note that I did not mentio n joy or service.   I guess that many people hear or read what they want to hear or read in the sermons which we preachers hope are so clear! Such is the foolishness of preaching,   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   British children of many generations will remember the sugary and chewy sweet/candy which we called  Jelly Babies.     It's very odd t...

We call them "snow birds", those people who flee the colder winters in the northern United States and in Canada to spend four to six months here (between October and March). Increasingly we see "snow birds" from the U.K., Germany, and Scandinavia. Of course we complain about the problems they cause:  "too much traffic",  and crowded restaurants. (In the case of SRQ our complaints about traffic jams would make anyone from a big City convulse into laughter!). We complain, but we are glad that they spend and spend - filling the State coffers with Sales Tax income. My neighbour Eddie P has already left for North Carolina. His partner Ed G . will follow soon.  We went out for valedictory dinner last Tuesday.   My good friend (and retired Episcopal Priest) Fred E will be going up to Maine very soon (his wife Diana following later).  The three of us will have lunch together on Tuesday.   Muriel is a friend from Church (who has the great...

So, as I was trying to settle down to sleep last night (Oct 19th) I heard rain. That caused me to get up to shut some windows. Before I could do that, I discovered Junior cat Ada in the very act of stealing the dog's food in the un-lighted  house. Just as soon as I turn on a light she scurried away, guilt writ large on her face. "Cats love darkness rather than light because their deed are evil"  (or naturally feline). I went outside for a moment.  We've not had rain for about a month, so the smell of the gentle rain on the parched earth was simply delicious. And the rain  dripping off the roof made for a lovely sight, and for gentle sounds.

I have been posting to this blog since 2007, during which time I have posted 1998 entries, and the blog has received 132,917 page views. Therefore please excuse me as I take a night off.

http://twistedsifter.com/2013/03/most-perfectly-timed-photos-ever/

I am reading “Brothers” by George Howe Colt (Scribner 2012). Colt (who lives in Western Massachusetts) is also the author of “The Big House”, and of “November of the Soul: The Enigma of Suicide”. He grew up in Dedham, MA, then Darien CT, then back in Dedham with his parents and with his three brothers, Harry, Ned and Mark. Colt weaves an affectionate and honest tale of life in a family of four sons (and no daughters) with wondrous, sad, and lovely stories of famous brothers. There were the Booths , especially Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth. Both were famed Shakespearean actors in the 19 th Century.  John Wilkes Booth is remembered not for his acting skills, but because he was the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. Thus John Wilkes Booth’s name is remembered more than his brother’s . How about the Kellogg brothers?  They were Dr. John Kellogg, health food fanatic and founder of a sanatorium in Battle Creek MI, and his younger brother Will (W.K....

Some years ago I wrote about a couple of Hutterite women who work in a local supermarket, and retain their traditional dress.  This is anomalous since Hutterite people live in “colonies”, and there is no such colony in this neck of the woods. I had a brief conversation with the older of the two women (it turns out that they are aunt and niece).  She was more than a wee bit surprised that I knew of Jacob Hutter. In common with other Hutterites she is very reserved; therefore I have not pressed her for more of her story. Last week whilst I was browsing at Sarasota’s Fruitville Library I glimpsed a title, which then caught my attention. The book is “I am Hutterite”, by Mary-Ann Kirkby (Thomas Nelson 2010). It is a delightfully nuanced memoir about growing up in Hutterite Colonies in Canada: - (New Rosedale and Fairholme, in Manitoba). Mary-Ann’s parents made the fateful decision to leave the colony and with it everything that was familiar, lovely, and tender. They were...

The ecstasy and the agony Ecstasy (1) Senior cat Ada loves to be brushed.  She comes running towards me when she sees that I have the brush in my hand, and mews and wreathes with glee as I brush her. Ecstasy (2) Just as soon as I start brushing Ada, my dog Penne lurks nearby.  She also loves to be brushed, so she stands nearby saying “me too, me too” Agony (1) Junior cat Adelaide runs and hides when she sees me with the brush. She will not allow me to brush her. Agony (2) After all this brushing I need to vacuum clean.  Penne hates this. She sneaks off to get as far away from the noise of the vacuum cleaner as possible. Agony (3) Adelaide also fears the vacuum cleaner and hides under a chair when I use it. Indifference. As I vacuum clean Ada sits on her perch and surveys the scene with benign indifference. I suppose that she is the best adjusted of my three animals.

I have been visiting St. Boniface Parishioner Fred Costin who is recuperating at the home of another parishioner, Reg Irvine, as Fred recovers from surgery. Reg has a long haired Dachshund  named "Skipper". Skipper is a sweetheart of a dog.  If I had not already fallen  in love with my Penne I would have been tempted to kidnap Skipper.

June 17th  Supply Priest at All Angels, Longboat Key, FL June  24th  In Atlanta for the ordination of my friend Tracy Wells Miller July 1st At Cathedral, St. Petersburg,  FL for “Pride” service and brunch July 15h Supply Priest at Good Shepherd, Punta Gorda, FL July 22nd  Supply Priest at All Angel’s, Longboat Key, FL July 29th  Supply Priest at All Angel’s, Longboat Key, FL