It was Saturday afternoon and never in my life have I wished so hard that it would rain. But not for the reason you'd think.
I was just looking for an excuse to sit on my couch for five hours and watch stockpiled episodes of Breaking Bad.
The series started before I had a DVR, and I've been trying to catch up on everything I've missed
in preparation for watching the final episodes, which will begin in a few weeks.
The problem with living in New Mexico? You rarely get a rainy Saturday afternoon
and a legitimate excuse to be a couch potato. So I made a deal with myself.
I would watch an episode of Breaking Bad, then go out in the pasture and break very bad cacti for an hour,
then come back in to watch another episode, then go break more bad cacti, etc.
It has rained enough this past week that the conditions were perfect for killing cholla.
These cacti are more evil than The Cousins. If I'd had a shiny silver ax, I would have used it,
but I didn't, so my tree pruners had to suffice. While it would have been great fun to just lop off their heads,
I had to be more careful and twist them out of the ground to get the roots. It's all in the wrist.
As the saying goes:
Take that, you evil cholla.
By the end of my second interval of watching an episode for an hour/killing cacti for an hour,
I sensed a growing addiction. Killing cacti was a rush. I found myself saying, "just one more, then I'll go back in the house."
Then it became two more, then three more...
Then it actually did rain and I had no choice but to go watch another episode.
I haven't been this addicted to a tv program since Downton Abbey, and truth be told, I think I prefer Breaking Bad.
It's storytelling at its very best, and the fact that it takes place in New Mexico and is filmed here makes it
more relatable for me than a show about a bunch of wealthy aristocrats with servants in late 19th-century England.
Not that I relate to meth manufacturers. But the situations and the culture and the characters ...
well, you might have to live in New Mexico to appreciate just how real they are.
Call me suspicious, but if I ever see an RV driving down my road in the middle of nowhere?
I'll probably call the DEA.
my favorite show that I love like you love this one is Justified and that is because i spent 5 years of my life living in Harlan county... I have not seen this show and now i wished i had
ReplyDeleteCan Lucy take a video of you doing it? You basically have to have a vehicle to grab the stem well enough and the ground has to be soft enough to let the roots go, right? In the Northeast, it's Barberry. The spiny plant that harbors ticks. GRRRRR. The roots need a pick or root mattock and an angry farmer. I can't even touch them when they are babies. I have to lift them out with a pitch fork. And then there's the poison ivy...
ReplyDeleteI am captured by Breaking Bad as well. So much so, that I looked up the periodic table for BR and BA. I don't remember anything from chemistry class. Anyway it's a great escape. It's all mad science.
ReplyDeleteBest always,
Ha! this post is making me smile because I picked up Breaking Bad Season 5 yesterday morning and watched the whole dang thing while I worked INSIDE the house because it was just too hot to be outside!(my yard has bigger weeds than flowers now.)
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on the awesomeness of that show.
:D
I have not watched Downton Abbey yet, guess I should since it seems the world is in love with that one too.
I can't believe I'm going to admit this but...I'm ADDICTED to The Walking Dead! I never wanted to watch the show but my niece begged me and now I'm anxious for the next season. That might be a good one for you to watch if it ever rains again.
"Then it actually did rain..."
ReplyDeleteSee what happens when you live right? :-)
Oh yeah, Breaking Bad and Downton Abbey, I'm with you girl in that both are addictive even to us who rarely watch the tube. So is removing prickly pear cactus (and Russian Thistle and Siberian Elm) on my land. I scout them out after a rain when they are easy to pull up as they raise their nasty little heads. I did plant one cholla in my garden for the pretty magenta flowers but then I don't have acres of range land where they are just "too much of a good thing". And I definitely am passionate about the neat and tidy Hedgehog cactus with their bright red claret cup flowers.
ReplyDeleteBTW, nice to see Johnny Cashcat on your header (if you get a cow, will you name it Johnny Cashcow?)
No cable/Sat TV here ... just the over-the-air antenna, though we do get PBS :).
ReplyDeleteI do have a question, what kind of Tree Pruner is that? Looks very professional. The cactus must have a pretty tough stem for you to grasp,twist and get it out of the ground without snipping it off. I understand the twisting technique. I use it myself (rather like when a dentist extracts a tooth).
I know exactly what you mean about weeding / outdoor chores. You try to negotiate with yourself, but once you get outside and focus on the task it does become a rush. Sorta like vacumming (which I should be doing Right Now!)
M in NC
I watch Breaking Bad through Netflix, so you wind up seeing all they have and then have to wait until next seasons shows are released. You tend to forget about it during the interim. I'd like to finish it out though.
ReplyDeleteAlso love Nurse Jackie,with a great cast and lots of funny/sad stuff.
Jo
breaking bad, justified, copper, dexter, hell on wheels. all great shows for the .."seriously twisted" ahaha
ReplyDeletedeadwood was the best-ol calamity jane was top notch, in my book
then there's duck dynasty, for those who prefer the lighter side of life.
Oh man, I could use a little cholla destroying session about now. Better therapy than anything requiring sitting on a couch!
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched Breaking Bad, but my son is all about it. He can't believe I've missed out. I think I'd have about 40 hours to catch up on.
ReplyDeleteStay after the cholla. Looks like you've perfected a good technique. Love the detail on the patio.
Love love love it!....so sad it has to end.
ReplyDeleteHomeland!!!
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen Breaking Bad. Just wanted to comment that I actually paid money for barberry and Russian thistle plants to put in my garden this year. Some of your readers consider them weeds. Now I'm questioning my judgement. I should have known, since I found them at WalMart...
ReplyDeleteWe like Breaking Bad and Downton Abbey too, and also Walking Dead. After we watch an episode we need some comic relief like one of the Andy Griffith show episodes on the DVDs that I purchased. Careful of the van going nowhere!
ReplyDeleteI wondered if you watched this show or not!?! I always think of you when I watch it...:)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for the season ending season, can't imagine what they are going to do with Walt!