Day 68 and 69: Dog Days of Summer



Dreaded Japanese Beetle

and

The Hooters I prefer.



Yesterday I noticed some ugly bugs on my vegetables, most noticeably on the bean and cabbage leaves.  Japanese Beetles, I am told, have arrived in Minneapolis and have voracious appetites.  They have attacked the rose garden by Lake Harriet, so I guess my poor vegetables have illustrious company.    Meanwhile, both Gracie and I are running at diminished capacity thanks to the oppressive humidity.  We should live in some cool, dry place like San Francisco (or Oakland)...operating a dog wash?  Sounds appealing to me.  So Yesterday we biked to the grocery store.  Day before yesterday, we had dinner at the bowling alley where we saw part of the Twins game with a little bit more elbow room than we have at the stadium and, happily, air conditioning that the stadium does not offer.  Earlier that day, I watched a YouTube video about a veteran with a service dog who was denied entrance to a Hooters (exactly where in the country, I'm not sure).  Since I'm already boycotting Hooters on general principle relating to exploitation of women, I guess I cannot double boycott them; however, I would if I could.  I don't like to tell others what to do, but really?  Deny access?  Isn't access a law?  Apparently, Hooters does not think so.  The manager said the vet's dog was too small and not of the right breed to actually be a service dog...like he was qualified to judge such thing.  Plus the man had all four of his limbs and was walking.  The manager decided that this meant he didn't need a service dog.  Well, the outcome of all this should be interesting.  I also watched a YouTube about a woman with a service rat that can sense when the muscles in her neck are about to spasm and lets her know by licking her neck.  This enables her take medication that prevents the problem before it become debilitating.  Amazing!  However, she too is experiencing access issues undoubtedly related to society's prejudice against rats.  Gracie and I don't like that situation either.  Well, freedom isn't free.  We have to keep fighting for it, even when the humidity is at terribly uncomfortable levels, even when the government is proving dysfunctional, and even when the Japanese Beetles arrive to steal the fruits of our summer labor.  Maybe those beetle traps actually work.  Maybe.  It's worth a try.