Well, no beaches here, but lots of sunshine and the grasses (which I have not been able to QUITE control) are blooming with a surfiet and copious amount of pollen. I awaken each morning ready for Zyrtac! MMMMMMM Zyrtak. Friend to Allergic Gardeners Everywhere.
Seems we have 2 new ferals since the coyotes took my wee friend Dinkum /sadness.. I miss Dinkum with his whinings at the door for MEAT, MOM, MEAT! He would devour an entire chicken quarter in minutes flat. He demanded his due attention. These 2 new ones are just your basic skittish ferals moving in to fill the vacuum left by Wee Dinkum's demise. *sigh*
I must make a new appointment for the Hobbits and Mimi to join the Clip of the Month Club. The coupon expired. *bah*
I deep watered the (soft evergreen big tree person whose name I can never remember, good thing I kept the tag!) and my two baby apple trees.. BOY were they dry! BAD Mommy. Gave everything up there a soaking to.
The Salad Bar Garden is looking lush, or wait a minute, am I the Juicy Lush, and the Garden is just growing? Lushfull thinking.
The tomatoes are looking quite nice. I have a few SunGolds already ripening, and a few Stupice, Glaciers, and Celebrities getting sizeable. I have a few eggplants ready for harvest and a yummy new recipe to try with them!
Nihki is growing like a weed, no new photos yet, since I STILL don't have a digital camera. Spoiled, I be, with this film developing thing! HA!
My Work Horse Computer --upon which my entire website resided, and my full version of Office 2003, Windows XP, Cute FTP< and Cute Map not to mention Paint Shop Pro (whose disk I have no nso worries there) finally gave up the ghost. I am attempting to have the data retrieved. I only pray it's NOT a SATA system, as those are more difficult to fetch information from. If you're out there, with a spare moment between hoeings, I would appreciate a pray or three for the successful retrieval of said files and folders. 12 years worth of work in there.
Off to shower my self in preparation for a long, warm day at work.
>^,,^<
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Happy Fairy Day!
My friend Twig the Fairy reminded me that today is Fairy Day.
Happy Fairy Day!
So how did you spend YOUR Fairy Day? I spent mine with the Garden Faes. Now I know Carol will understand this, and I hope she spent a lovely day with her friends, the garden faes. Mine helped me tend to the garlics today. With their help, I discovered an underground shrew factory. These evil minions had been attacking the roots of my wee plants. We exposed their evil plan.
I left a Gift of a dish of cream, several small baby beets, and some tender baby lettuces to grace their dining.
Here's a place to puruse Fairy Garden furnishings : The Fairy's Garden
and places where Faerie gather, and you can invite the Fae Folk into your gardens
eFairies
Fairy Divas
I puttered about, pulling weeds, and watering the Salad Bar, playing with Nihki, and taking her for a nice long walk. Drinking from the hose like a child on a hot summer's day. I found myself altogether delighted with the world I live in, and my friends the Garden Faes all nodded in unison, as they gamboled and danced amongst the flower petals.
May your Fairy Day be Blessed!
>^,,^<
Happy Fairy Day!
So how did you spend YOUR Fairy Day? I spent mine with the Garden Faes. Now I know Carol will understand this, and I hope she spent a lovely day with her friends, the garden faes. Mine helped me tend to the garlics today. With their help, I discovered an underground shrew factory. These evil minions had been attacking the roots of my wee plants. We exposed their evil plan.
I left a Gift of a dish of cream, several small baby beets, and some tender baby lettuces to grace their dining.
Here's a place to puruse Fairy Garden furnishings : The Fairy's Garden
and places where Faerie gather, and you can invite the Fae Folk into your gardens
eFairies
Fairy Divas
I puttered about, pulling weeds, and watering the Salad Bar, playing with Nihki, and taking her for a nice long walk. Drinking from the hose like a child on a hot summer's day. I found myself altogether delighted with the world I live in, and my friends the Garden Faes all nodded in unison, as they gamboled and danced amongst the flower petals.
May your Fairy Day be Blessed!
>^,,^<
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
On Becoming A Juicy Goddess!
Lately I have been feeling my age. I took a spill on the work tractor after someone left the tractor out in the rain overnight. The bucket was slick as cat spit, and I did the splits backwards and dislocated my left hip out of socket. So now, month plus later, I walk like a crippled up old woman, and look longingly at fancy walking sticks.
Leaves a serious dent in my self-esteem! So I look in my Roomie's reading library, and what should I see? "On Becoming an Older Goddess". YIPPEE!!! THAT'S what I shall do, I shall focus on my Goddess hood, and remember how to be juicy! Living Juicy! Starting right now, starting with this next breath. I turn the radio up HIGH, and I dance, (pirouetting on my one good leg) with my arms upraised... I step outside and just take a moment to glory in the breeze, in the sun, in the splendor of the day. I raise up my head, and open my throat with a good long howl to the heavens, which, of course, instigates a Howleluja Choir sing-along with the Kidz.
And do you know what? It WORKS! A lovely day. A friend stopped by and we measured out what will soon be my new house extension, The Kat Kondo, for the kitties... It will be attached to the house, and will include the third bedroom window, so that the kitties will have an inside access, where we can feed and pet them, and an outside environment where they can feel the breezes in their fur, play with butterflies, hunt bugs, eat grass, and throw it back up again. We're using some old framed in windows on the east side, to protect against the rain, it'll be roofed by either aluminum, or Lexan, (a see-through polycarbonate roofing material rated for 20+ years) depending on what I can afford... and then we are using chainlink for the rest of the walls, sunk into a concrete ditch, so that no predators can push their way in. There'll be a double-entry door, glass on the outside, and a small framed-in wire door on the inside, so that when I go inside to clean litter boxes (as this will be where all the litter boxes will go -- OUTSIDE! *yay*) and to play with the kitties, there will be no dashing between my legs out into the wilds.
I'm quite excited about this project, as it will mean I will be able to have my bedroom back. WEEEEEE! To sleep in my own bedroom with my own bathroom and no kitties dancing on my head at night! *happy dance*
A serious step towards Goddess-ness. /nod. We all achieve our Goddesshood in a different dance!
>^,,^<
Leaves a serious dent in my self-esteem! So I look in my Roomie's reading library, and what should I see? "On Becoming an Older Goddess". YIPPEE!!! THAT'S what I shall do, I shall focus on my Goddess hood, and remember how to be juicy! Living Juicy! Starting right now, starting with this next breath. I turn the radio up HIGH, and I dance, (pirouetting on my one good leg) with my arms upraised... I step outside and just take a moment to glory in the breeze, in the sun, in the splendor of the day. I raise up my head, and open my throat with a good long howl to the heavens, which, of course, instigates a Howleluja Choir sing-along with the Kidz.
And do you know what? It WORKS! A lovely day. A friend stopped by and we measured out what will soon be my new house extension, The Kat Kondo, for the kitties... It will be attached to the house, and will include the third bedroom window, so that the kitties will have an inside access, where we can feed and pet them, and an outside environment where they can feel the breezes in their fur, play with butterflies, hunt bugs, eat grass, and throw it back up again. We're using some old framed in windows on the east side, to protect against the rain, it'll be roofed by either aluminum, or Lexan, (a see-through polycarbonate roofing material rated for 20+ years) depending on what I can afford... and then we are using chainlink for the rest of the walls, sunk into a concrete ditch, so that no predators can push their way in. There'll be a double-entry door, glass on the outside, and a small framed-in wire door on the inside, so that when I go inside to clean litter boxes (as this will be where all the litter boxes will go -- OUTSIDE! *yay*) and to play with the kitties, there will be no dashing between my legs out into the wilds.
I'm quite excited about this project, as it will mean I will be able to have my bedroom back. WEEEEEE! To sleep in my own bedroom with my own bathroom and no kitties dancing on my head at night! *happy dance*
A serious step towards Goddess-ness. /nod. We all achieve our Goddesshood in a different dance!
>^,,^<
Monday, June 15, 2009
On Yer Knees, Grrrrl!
Wrong clothes, it was cloudy, but of course now that I am OUT in the garden, and on my knees in the Prayerful Position with sweat running down my neck into my t-shirt, the sun comes out and I am DRENCHED, can hardly see for the sweat in my eyes.. Pulling weeds, skittering about on my hands and knees in the soil... The knees of my sweats are dark rich chocolate with the soil of my garden.
Think I waited a tad too long for the lettuces... They look a bit beaten, but they are not bolted... SO! Maybe I shall have some lovely salad greens available to me for dinner... I planted another set of Walla Wallas, because oh my goodness, one can never have too many sweet onions! And I planted 6 more broccoli starts, since the slugs hit the ones I planted by seed.. ALTHOUGH! Once on my knees, I realized that I have more broccolis than I figured.. I should have some lovely steamed broccoli florets this summer...Yesh ....
The slugs did, however, take out the majority of my organic spinach, may the Goddess take their slimey souls before I can salt them. The ones who lived look like they bolted before they even had leaves. /sadness. *sigh*
I think I may have pulled up some of my parsnips, not knowing the plants look like carrots. So, why aren't there pictures of what the plants look like? I know what the ROOT looks like, but goodness me! And dagnabbit, but marigolds look just like weeds until you pull them up, and smell them. *bah* And the SMELL is what I wanted them for!
Nary a single Diva cucumber came up, so now I know that Diva cuc seeds are not viable past 4 years even if well-kept in the fridge with dessicant and ziplok baggies. Only TWO of my organic cuc seeds came up, and I am nursing those two wee plantlets, but the organic Muncher cuc starts I bought are doing very well.
I planted 2 starts of Early Butternut squash, and skipped all the rest of the squash, hoping to get some nice sweet butternuts for winter soups.
That derned puppy Nihki moved my garden stakes, or else I was sleep walking, because there's SOMETHING in there that doesn't look like a weed, but sure as heck doesn't look like anything I'M familiar with.. I'll let it grow, and see what happens. The Mystery Plant.
and I realized as I was pulling weeds that there is a BUNCH of volunteer tomato plants in this garden from downed fruits from last year. I wonder what kind?
wash off the sweat, git off yer kneees, Grrrrl! Off to place the 54" tomato cages about the perimeter sectors of tomatoes. I still have 6 more Bonnie Best tomatoes to find homes for... My friend Doc Lloyd passed away before I could plant the tomatoes I grew for him. I don't think I'll ever taste a Bonnie Best without thinking of him. What a delight my friend Doc was.
Gardening is when I am closest to the Angels.
>^,,^<
Think I waited a tad too long for the lettuces... They look a bit beaten, but they are not bolted... SO! Maybe I shall have some lovely salad greens available to me for dinner... I planted another set of Walla Wallas, because oh my goodness, one can never have too many sweet onions! And I planted 6 more broccoli starts, since the slugs hit the ones I planted by seed.. ALTHOUGH! Once on my knees, I realized that I have more broccolis than I figured.. I should have some lovely steamed broccoli florets this summer...Yesh ....
The slugs did, however, take out the majority of my organic spinach, may the Goddess take their slimey souls before I can salt them. The ones who lived look like they bolted before they even had leaves. /sadness. *sigh*
I think I may have pulled up some of my parsnips, not knowing the plants look like carrots. So, why aren't there pictures of what the plants look like? I know what the ROOT looks like, but goodness me! And dagnabbit, but marigolds look just like weeds until you pull them up, and smell them. *bah* And the SMELL is what I wanted them for!
Nary a single Diva cucumber came up, so now I know that Diva cuc seeds are not viable past 4 years even if well-kept in the fridge with dessicant and ziplok baggies. Only TWO of my organic cuc seeds came up, and I am nursing those two wee plantlets, but the organic Muncher cuc starts I bought are doing very well.
I planted 2 starts of Early Butternut squash, and skipped all the rest of the squash, hoping to get some nice sweet butternuts for winter soups.
That derned puppy Nihki moved my garden stakes, or else I was sleep walking, because there's SOMETHING in there that doesn't look like a weed, but sure as heck doesn't look like anything I'M familiar with.. I'll let it grow, and see what happens. The Mystery Plant.
and I realized as I was pulling weeds that there is a BUNCH of volunteer tomato plants in this garden from downed fruits from last year. I wonder what kind?
wash off the sweat, git off yer kneees, Grrrrl! Off to place the 54" tomato cages about the perimeter sectors of tomatoes. I still have 6 more Bonnie Best tomatoes to find homes for... My friend Doc Lloyd passed away before I could plant the tomatoes I grew for him. I don't think I'll ever taste a Bonnie Best without thinking of him. What a delight my friend Doc was.
Gardening is when I am closest to the Angels.
>^,,^<
Poems for a Cloudy Day
I just found this Alberta poetry website. and ran across this poem. I loved Hunter S. Thompson. I met him once, and gave him a sketch I did of him. He touched in a very deep manner, and although to my regret I can't say I knew him, I FELT him move in my own writings. There were many like me, Hunter was a very charismatic person. I wonder if he liked the drawing I did of him? I wonder what he did with it? I wonder if he was touched by my Gift.
So when I found this poem, I laughed, and felt a little melancholy a little restless, as I always do when I remember my life on the Bus. (Cuz you are either On the Bus, or you are Off the Bus)
Sunset w/ Hunter & his Hell’s Angels
Sitting in a worn out
Fold out camp seat
Reading H.S.T.’s Hell’s Angels
Sipping on brandy-orange
Last of the day’s sun withering on my face
& on my cucumbers
They have spots & many of the leafs have wilted
Perhaps diseased & dying
I chew on this a while,
Drink to the bounty they’ve given me
Nod my head back into the book
Where I find this phrase
“I knew all the outlaws
Lived in cities,
Where the price of a six-pack ranges
From $0.79 to $1.25”
I’m comfortable w/ the carriage of time
Say as seen whipping by
On a diseased & dying vine
But 79 cents for a six-pack
Back in California, 1965
Conjures up all kinds of romantic thinking in me
& I rehash some old folk wisdom
Can while you can
& pickle in the prime of the vine
~ Piotr Pawlowski
So when I found this poem, I laughed, and felt a little melancholy a little restless, as I always do when I remember my life on the Bus. (Cuz you are either On the Bus, or you are Off the Bus)
Sunset w/ Hunter & his Hell’s Angels
Sitting in a worn out
Fold out camp seat
Reading H.S.T.’s Hell’s Angels
Sipping on brandy-orange
Last of the day’s sun withering on my face
& on my cucumbers
They have spots & many of the leafs have wilted
Perhaps diseased & dying
I chew on this a while,
Drink to the bounty they’ve given me
Nod my head back into the book
Where I find this phrase
“I knew all the outlaws
Lived in cities,
Where the price of a six-pack ranges
From $0.79 to $1.25”
I’m comfortable w/ the carriage of time
Say as seen whipping by
On a diseased & dying vine
But 79 cents for a six-pack
Back in California, 1965
Conjures up all kinds of romantic thinking in me
& I rehash some old folk wisdom
Can while you can
& pickle in the prime of the vine
~ Piotr Pawlowski
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Storms of Living
I am out there with my hose watering and weeding my vegetable gardens. My new garden has been layered upon the old indigenous thistles and blackberries, rehabilitated by tilling, by soil amendments, by love and care... but the thistles, they are tenacious, and will not give up so easily, nay! So I am pulling this new crop out before they have a chance to establish their prickly selves.
The sky is growing leaden, heavy as quicksilver, leaves skittering before the breezes. I have finished watering everything in front, moved some pots around, pulled weeds, given hair cuts... And am aiming for the back portion to water in my wee baby trees and shrubs, and put in the 54" tomato cages in the garden.
It's muggy, and of a sudden I smell that ozone smell, and the sky begins grumbling, and lightening begins to strike around hither and yon... FLASH! BOOM! and the skies open up and pour upon my head like a bucket. Even my muckboots got water in 'em. I was soaked within minutes, well before I was able to exit the garden and attach the gate, well before I could grab my tools, well before I had a chance to register that MAN! This was a SOAKER!
Scampering inside, I realized that I should probably bring Nihki in too... There are sheets of silver pouring from the sky, my rain gutters above the front porch are completely overwhelmed by now, and it's a cascade, a waterfall. Nihki is a very wet puppy! I bring her inside, towel her off (to her delight, she thinks that is FUN!) and we settle in to watch a movie.. Well, I settle in to watch a movie, "Song Catcher" Nihki settles in to give a good chew to the pork neck bone I've brought her.
Stormy weather. Hey, the watering's done...
>^,,^<
The sky is growing leaden, heavy as quicksilver, leaves skittering before the breezes. I have finished watering everything in front, moved some pots around, pulled weeds, given hair cuts... And am aiming for the back portion to water in my wee baby trees and shrubs, and put in the 54" tomato cages in the garden.
It's muggy, and of a sudden I smell that ozone smell, and the sky begins grumbling, and lightening begins to strike around hither and yon... FLASH! BOOM! and the skies open up and pour upon my head like a bucket. Even my muckboots got water in 'em. I was soaked within minutes, well before I was able to exit the garden and attach the gate, well before I could grab my tools, well before I had a chance to register that MAN! This was a SOAKER!
Scampering inside, I realized that I should probably bring Nihki in too... There are sheets of silver pouring from the sky, my rain gutters above the front porch are completely overwhelmed by now, and it's a cascade, a waterfall. Nihki is a very wet puppy! I bring her inside, towel her off (to her delight, she thinks that is FUN!) and we settle in to watch a movie.. Well, I settle in to watch a movie, "Song Catcher" Nihki settles in to give a good chew to the pork neck bone I've brought her.
Stormy weather. Hey, the watering's done...
>^,,^<
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Gots My Feets in Soil
The Salad Bar Garden is SOOO rich, so well worked that today, as I weed weaseled between the rows, I had to kick my flip flops off and stick my tootsies in the beautiful loamy soil.. How decadent! Like having one's tootsies immersed in rich dark chocolate... Darn, too bad it's not the lickable kind.....
The voles got my Walla Walla onions, and the slugs got my spinach and my broccoli and my cuqs ... I laid eggshell traps all about the Salad Bar .... and planted some more Walla Wallas and cuqs....
>^,,^<
The voles got my Walla Walla onions, and the slugs got my spinach and my broccoli and my cuqs ... I laid eggshell traps all about the Salad Bar .... and planted some more Walla Wallas and cuqs....
>^,,^<
Monday, May 25, 2009
Grief & Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
This past year I have been told time & again that I am holding on to my grief too hard, too long... That I am being unreasonable in my sorrow. So I am writing this, not for an audience, not for the Family, not to explain. I am writing this for me. Vinnie & I were friends longer than we were adults, longer than we were lovers, deeper than the hollar, longer than the song of a whippoorwill. I know there will come a time when my thoughts of him will not come with the price of a knife dragged across my heart. I know this. He left me. It was not the first time he'd left me, he left me during our long long relationship every three years. Sometimes for a short time, the last three times he left me, he'd leave me for up to a year. He'd leave me dangling, wouldn't return my calls, leave me selfishly, leave me with no warning, leave me without a chance. But he'd leave me KNOWING in his heart that when he was ready to come home, that I'd have that home to come home to. Except for this last time.
Lyrics
My Immortal
Vinnie always considered Memorial Day Weekend "his". This was "his" Birthday, "his" time to gather "his" Tribe to him, to his heart. This is the first year that Vinnie hasn't been here to gather his Tribe. I miss him. I miss him in the world, I miss knowing that he was HERE. I do not miss his Peter Pan ways, I do not miss the idiot drunks he'd bring home from the bars, cursing and out of control sitting in the driveway... I do not miss the abuse he'd heap upon my head. I don't miss his telling me that all our problems were as a result of my menopause. I don't miss all the cruel names he called me. I don't miss the drunken nastiness. But damn, I miss the shining light that he was, how he could be when he was happy... I miss the psychic connection we had. I miss the instinctual camaraderie, the history we shared. I miss his spirit. I miss him. I miss my Vinnie. I miss my friend.
At his funereal, I felt so lost, so forsaken. I fully understand that people grieve in their own way. Some people are demonstrative, some are not. Some people are so filled with regrets that they simply must have a "villain" to blame. I realize my part in this. I have taken these lessons to heart. At his funereal, I think all I could actually vocalize was that I was a lousy wife. That is the only thing I regret. Damn it, I wasn't a "lousy wife", not unless you compare me to Betty Crocker. I did the best I could. I gave the very best I was. None of the positive things I wanted to say would come out verbally, they only came out in my tears, in my memories. I had written a... an emotionally honest tribute to the man I married, but all I could verbalize was that I was a lousy wife. And really, I was, as long as you held me up to an unattainable pedestal.... I did the best I could. I gave you the very best I could The Best of My Love the very best I am. It wasn't enough. That is neither a condemnation of you, nor I, my Dear One, my Friend. I'm Feelin' You Lyrics
I'm Feelin' You
I wish you to know something. You, who are my friends, my family, Vince's friends
I felt deeply about Vince. He was my dear friend for a very long long time. (longer than we were grownups. I know I have said this before, but it is important to know. We were children together. We grew up together.) But Vinnie was not my GREAT LOVE. Nor was I his. He was definitely a great love and a great friend, and he was a big part of who I am today. But he wasn't the "greatest love of my life"... and again, I don't believe I was his. We were a comfort to one another, support for one another
(at least at one time) but my ability to love deeply and thoroughly did not die when he did. I need to know this, I need to hold this fact next to my heart. For my own protection.
I grieve for him. I wasn't given the opportunity to express that at his funereal... and I wasn't given the opportunity to fight, or argue or ... much of anything... when he left. The many times that he left me.
So mostly, I am dealing with a heart full of unexpressed emotion, within a person of great emotion. I.... I guess I am not very good at expressing things like this.. maybe because it's all so RAW... maybe because I stuff the raw edges away so they won't trouble others. So this Memorial Day, I will say Goodbye to you, my friend. My Vinnie, of all the men in my life, you have been the one old friend who has known me throughout all my life, who was there for me through my griefs and my triumphs, my sorrows, my silliness. You were there to help me with my Grammy's passing, you helped me bury my darling pets. You were my good life friend. You will always be in my heart. I wish you would have been able to love this new life as I have. I wish ... oh there are so many wishes I had for you .. for us. Damn it, you are NOT my Immortal. Vinnie, you know you aren't, you left me too many times. I am NOT your Good Bye Girl.
But if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
So. My point.
I Am Unwritten
Do not let one single moment go be without telling, showing, demonstrating, hell SHOUTING!!!@! making a fool of yourself if need be... just Shower the people you love with love
With the death of my Grammy, and then with Vinnie's death, this I know... do not not hesitate to tell the people you love that you love them.. Do not hesitate to forgive the people you love their weaknesses, their trespasses. Do not hesitate to offer a kindness, do not hesitate to be patient... Do not hesitate to love open hearted, with open arms.
>^,,^<
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The Dauphin of Dirt
I tried on "Duchess" but it just wasn't "rich dark chocolate" enough for this sensually loose fragrant blend of garden soil and fertility which now blankets my garden plot, my Venus of Vernality. But now, "Dauphin", how elegante!! Magnifique! How Fabulicious!!! So perfect a description for the fecund composted earth I shall soon be delving, deep and lustful plungings into this readied & stimulated plot of heaven... So royal a requiem for regionally refulgent radishes and rhubarb.... Such an adequate abraxas for the abrosial effects of the alluring apples & artichokes soon to be added to the bounty of my kitchen... I shall adorn the Title as a Wild Woman adorns a living kitty about her shoulders, filled with purrs and perfection.
I shall endeavoure to upload photos soon, mes ami! .... (I didn't plant artichokes yet, tho....)
off to plant more veggies! I shall take pictures! (but they shall be late in arriving!)
>^,,^<
I shall endeavoure to upload photos soon, mes ami! .... (I didn't plant artichokes yet, tho....)
off to plant more veggies! I shall take pictures! (but they shall be late in arriving!)
>^,,^<
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
I Made Myself a Grammy Sandwich
We get so busy with our lives, making the mortgage, paying the bills, working at a job -- even if you love it --in order to pay those bills, trying to make a Refuge from the Worrisome Ways of the World, working to make a sanctuary in one's own One Mile Radius... We tend to forget what makes us happy, we tend to forget what makes us smile, we tend to forget the little things in life, and sometimes, we tend to forget the ones we love, both past and present. It is definitely in self-preservation. We must shield ourselves sometimes.
But sometimes, life throws us a curve ball, and we swing anyways. I took my new puppy Nihki out for an off-leash run Teaching with my Spirit, up in the Top Yard. She was driving me crazy inside the house, and I thought "OOOO I shall wear her out with FUN!" I snapped a bunch of pics, and then we got caught in the deluge. After about an hour --me drenched, the puppers drenched, neither of us caring much, after all, we are not made of spun-sugar-- we hei'd ourselves back to the house.
I got out of my sopping wet clothes into some dry warm ones, and fixed myself some food. By that time it was 3 pm, and I had forgotten to eat, AND forgotten to take my Advil, so I was hurtin' for certain. As I fixed this yummy sandwich --on home made wheat bread, with ripe avocado, tomaties, clover sprouts and sharp cheddar cheese-- and some green tea, I was overcome with memories of my Grammy, and the lunches I made her. Extra yummy sandwiches filled with as much fresh produce as I could stuff in them, because she was anemic I added spinach instead of lettuce. because she wouldn't eat her veggies, I stuck 'em in her sandwich! And she used to rave about my "special" tea, (I always added a shot of Cap'n Morgan's Spiced Rum, to help cut her pain, and make her mellow)
I miss my Grammy. I hope that where she is now, she knows I did my best, and that she'll forgive me for the times I didn't quite make it to my best. I am so grateful for my friends, for my Tribe, and for my Family.
and now, me's'a gonna eat that sandwich.
>^,,^<
But sometimes, life throws us a curve ball, and we swing anyways. I took my new puppy Nihki out for an off-leash run Teaching with my Spirit, up in the Top Yard. She was driving me crazy inside the house, and I thought "OOOO I shall wear her out with FUN!" I snapped a bunch of pics, and then we got caught in the deluge. After about an hour --me drenched, the puppers drenched, neither of us caring much, after all, we are not made of spun-sugar-- we hei'd ourselves back to the house.
I got out of my sopping wet clothes into some dry warm ones, and fixed myself some food. By that time it was 3 pm, and I had forgotten to eat, AND forgotten to take my Advil, so I was hurtin' for certain. As I fixed this yummy sandwich --on home made wheat bread, with ripe avocado, tomaties, clover sprouts and sharp cheddar cheese-- and some green tea, I was overcome with memories of my Grammy, and the lunches I made her. Extra yummy sandwiches filled with as much fresh produce as I could stuff in them, because she was anemic I added spinach instead of lettuce. because she wouldn't eat her veggies, I stuck 'em in her sandwich! And she used to rave about my "special" tea, (I always added a shot of Cap'n Morgan's Spiced Rum, to help cut her pain, and make her mellow)
I miss my Grammy. I hope that where she is now, she knows I did my best, and that she'll forgive me for the times I didn't quite make it to my best. I am so grateful for my friends, for my Tribe, and for my Family.
and now, me's'a gonna eat that sandwich.
>^,,^<
Monday, May 18, 2009
Back in the Saddle Again
*whew!* Gardening Season in the Glorious Pacific Northwest has landed with a VENGEANCE! The Garden Center MGC (Webpage awaiting construction as soon as I get the "extra" time) has been just crazy. This year, I get the distinct impression that gardening has broken the "Old People Barrier" into the mainstream. I see more and more young people coming in asking for advice on what they can do to plant a garden, in particular, a vegetable garden. I am also noting that a strong majority of these new gardeners are actively wanting to grow organically.
I find this validating.I have been advocating "going green" for decades longer than I have been a Plant Nerd. My Great GrandPops used to tell us that this is our ONLY Home, and we must take care of her. He used to make a game of finding and picking up and carting out at least ONE item that we did not bring in. He said if everyone did this, there would not be a pollution/garbage problem. I tend to agree.
Well, heck. There's never enough time to write what I am thinking, and my fingers are waaaaay slower than my mind is at thinking them. I watered the Salad Bar Garden this morning, and I can see how the wee weeds will be a pain in the patootie to dislodge. I can do nothing about them yet, as I really need to allow the veggies to get established before I muck about in the roots dislodging weeds. I 'spect that'll come sooner than late. The half lot of tomatoes I planted Saturday look FABULICIOUS! and in just 2 days, I am seeing wee blossoms popping! C'MON little bees! C'MON and POLLENATE!! I saw many Bumbleybees, mason bees and honey bees buzzing busily about in my Garden Farm, I am very happy to see their honey-sweet selves.
Whelp, off to fetch Nihki the Puppy Shark and hei us off to another work day.
Happy Gardening!
>^,,^<
I find this validating.I have been advocating "going green" for decades longer than I have been a Plant Nerd. My Great GrandPops used to tell us that this is our ONLY Home, and we must take care of her. He used to make a game of finding and picking up and carting out at least ONE item that we did not bring in. He said if everyone did this, there would not be a pollution/garbage problem. I tend to agree.
Well, heck. There's never enough time to write what I am thinking, and my fingers are waaaaay slower than my mind is at thinking them. I watered the Salad Bar Garden this morning, and I can see how the wee weeds will be a pain in the patootie to dislodge. I can do nothing about them yet, as I really need to allow the veggies to get established before I muck about in the roots dislodging weeds. I 'spect that'll come sooner than late. The half lot of tomatoes I planted Saturday look FABULICIOUS! and in just 2 days, I am seeing wee blossoms popping! C'MON little bees! C'MON and POLLENATE!! I saw many Bumbleybees, mason bees and honey bees buzzing busily about in my Garden Farm, I am very happy to see their honey-sweet selves.
Whelp, off to fetch Nihki the Puppy Shark and hei us off to another work day.
Happy Gardening!
>^,,^<
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's Day!
Just in time to avoid the scheduled outage, I wish you all a VERY Happy Mother's Day
>^,,^<
>^,,^<
Friday, May 8, 2009
Gearing up for WAR
Tuesday, May 12th, the Oregon Legislation in having a public "working" committee on a couple of important Constitution affecting Bills: SB391 and HB2470.
One is about how many dogs you can own. I guess I am WAAAAY Libertarian, and publicly state, if my animal are well loved, and well kept, who the heck has the Right to tell me how I can observe my Constitutionally guaranteed rights of Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?
The other is SB391, the Exotics Ban Law. We "exotics" or better known as "different" animal owners are being targeted as a "beginning" of an Animal Rights agenda. My neighbor has Savannah cats. They are SO well loved! In GREAT condition, in SUPERIOR containment... I wish that every domestic cat owner would take a lesson on how these so-called "exotic" (read this racially, please) animals kept. MY friends and fellow "racially different animal owners" keep THEIR animals well contained. They don't wander into the neighbor's garden and crap. They DON'T wander into the neighbor's yard and bite the neighbor's FIV-free innoculated cat and infect him with Feline Immune Deficiency Virus. They DON'T wander loose on Publically health-risk packs of marauding vicious "exotic" gangs.
I have another neighbor who has crocodiles. GUESS WHAT??? The only animals I have seen on his property "running loose" (and well-contained ON his own property) are his BEAUTIFUL!!! *sigh!* Fresian horses, and his Llamas. I didn't even know he HAD a crocodile!
I would would rather have my neighbor have a well-contained and well-loved Tiger, than I would my neighbor have a loose at-large dog. My neighbors' (plural) loose, at large dogs crap in my Yard, put my well-contained babies at risk with unknown pathogens, kill my livestock and my way of life.
SO I offer my argument against Species Ban Bills.
Thank you for hearing me today.
My name is Kat Malstead
Owner of Wolfdancer Creek Farm Mission Statement
Webite to follow: Wolfdancer Creek Farm
Member Wolfdog Rescue Resources
Board Member of National Wolfdog Alliance
Member Phoenix Exotics Inc
Member Rexano, Inc
Contributor of Wolfdogs Magazine, Inc
Registered and Active Voter
Registered Member of Certified Naturally Grown, Inc
Member Estacada Garden Club
I am speaking here today in opposition to SB391. I have been told that there are many people that have spoken to this legislation in support of SB391. In my many letters of opposition to this very poorly conceived Bill, I have been told that I needn't worry, that wolfdogs are not on the list of banned species. They are, as they should be, listed as Canis Lupus Familiaris. However, even though I have voiced my opposition in every manner that I can without jumping up and down in rage, even though I have hand carried copies of the Humane Society's true goal in the 2005 legislative session, even though I, and many other law-abiding animal lovers have repeatedly pled for our rights of responsible private animal ownership, I now stand here before you with my heart in my throat, terrified, and I think of Clergyman Martin Niemoller's famous speech:
"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
Amongst the arguments in support of this Bill are concerns for the publics' safety and health. I would like to ask this Legislation where responsible private owners of ANY animal puts the public at risk. If there is a problem at all, it lies with the fact that the Common Sense Laws that Oregon currently abides by are being laid to the wayside. It lies with IRRESPONSIBLE animal owners. So why are we attempting to legislate & punitively punish ALL animal owners???? Is it just because we so-called "exotic" animal owners are "different"? Isn't that profiling in nature??
I lost an endangered domestic duck, one of my nesting females, the other day to a neighbor dog's attack while running at large. Why do we not enforce our current excellent laws rather than effectively banning animal ownership? It wasn't my neighbor's Lion or Tiger who killed my duck, it was my irresponsible neighbor who let his pet run loose.
The people who sponsored these Bills, the Humane Society of the United States, have stated in plain English that their ultimate goal is the abolishment of animal ownership. This is an Animal Rights organization. They are NOT an Animal WELFARE organization. Let me reiterate: HSUS' goal is to abolish all animal ownership. In their own words:
“We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding. One generation and out. We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding.” Wayne Pacelle, Senior VP of Humane Society of the US, formerly of Friends of Animals and Fund for Animals, Animal People, May, 1993."
HSUS’s senior management includes a former spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a criminal group designated as “terrorists” by the FBI. HSUS president Wayne Pacelle hired John “J.P.” Goodwin in 1997, the same year Goodwin described himself as “spokesperson for the ALF” while he fielded media calls in the wake of an ALF arson attack at a California veal processing plant. In 1997, when asked by reporters for a reaction to an ALF arson fire at a farmer’s feed co-op in Utah (which nearly killed a family sleeping on the premises), Goodwin replied, “We’re ecstatic.” That same year, Goodwin was arrested at a UC Davis protest celebrating the 10-year anniversary of an ALF arson at the university that caused $5 million in damage. And in 1998, Goodwin described himself publicly as a “former member of ALF.”
HSUS president Wayne Pacelle described some of his goals in 2004 for The Washington Post: “We will see the end of wild animals in circus acts … [and we’re] phasing out animals used in research. Hunting? I think you will see a steady decline in numbers.” More recently, in a June 2005 interview, Pacelle told Satya magazine that HSUS is working on “a guide to vegetarian eating, to really make the case for it.” A strict vegan himself, Pacelle added: “Reducing meat consumption can be a tremendous benefit to animals.”
And HSUS won’t stop at initiatives aimed at livestock farmers and trappers. At the 1996 HSUS annual meeting, Wayne Pacelle announced that the ballot initiative would be used for all manner of legislation in the future, including “companion animal issues and laboratory animal issues.” Pacelle has personally been involved in at least 22 such campaigns, 17 of which HSUS scored as victories. These operations, he said, “pay dividends and serve as a training ground for activists.”
Can you see why we responsible animal owners feel betrayed by these kinds of laws? I Voted for you under the expectation that you would represent my interests. That you would at least listen to your CITIZENRY. Instead, I feel as if the only voices you are hearing are those of a well-funded political Lobbyist group bent on creating panic and fear where there is no cause, and on exterminating pets. I feel as if we are reacting in a knee-jerk manner to a invented situation.
I have no doubts in my heart that each and every one of you are attempting to do your very best to protect animals, and to protect the public's safety and health. But I believe you are being manipulated by a very slick and extremely well-financed organization bent on impinging on MY and other RESPONSIBLE animal owners' Constitutionally guaranteed Rights to Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness. I have no children due to a medical mishap where I lost my only daughter. My animals are all I will ever be granted to nurture. The HSUS would deny me this, saying that if I "need" to nurture, I should nurture my own species.
According to Animal Legal Defense Fund, Oregon has some of the toughest animal abuse laws on the books. Upon light research, the Oregon regulations already in place are quite inclusive and cover all contingencies. The Law as it stands reads: Pursuant to 609.309 Policy on exotic animals. (see OR ST § 609.205 - 609.335 Oregon Department of Agriculture) "It is the policy of this state that the keeping of exotic animals be regulated so as to ensure the health, welfare and safety of those animals and to ensure the security of facilities in which they are kept, so as to avoid undue physical or financial risk to the public. It is the policy of this state that regulation place no more burden upon the keepers of exotic animals than is required to accomplish the purposes expressed in this section." [1985 c.437 §1; 1999 c.699 §4] Oregon's private owner base is peopled with dedicated & responsible persons, who are already regulated by common sense laws. Oregon law even includes a very common sense dangerous/nuisance dog law. http://tinyurl.com/6j7v8 (see Oregon Statute Title 48, Chapter 609 Citation: OR ST § 609.010 - OR ST § 609.994)
In summary, Oregon does not have a problem with exotic animals running at large. We are an independant State with a rich history of Common Sense. I BEG you to oppose these kinds of Ban Laws. They are NOT in the best interests of animals, or of your constituents. They only serve the political aims of the Animal Rights movement, not of Oregon citizenry. Please, enforce our current excellent laws. I beg you again, PLEASE allow the people who are trustworthy the opportunity to succeed.
References & Citations:
Oregon SB391 1st Legislative Summary
Quotes from Animal Rights Activists
75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2009 Regular Session
Humane Society of the United States
As they say, "I'm Mad As Hell, and I'm Not Gonna Take It Anymore." I just hope to God, NAY, I PRAY to God that our Representatives decide to come to their senses and not follow HSUS' yellow brick road path over the cliff like lemmings.
/heaves huge sigh.
>^,,^<
One is about how many dogs you can own. I guess I am WAAAAY Libertarian, and publicly state, if my animal are well loved, and well kept, who the heck has the Right to tell me how I can observe my Constitutionally guaranteed rights of Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?
The other is SB391, the Exotics Ban Law. We "exotics" or better known as "different" animal owners are being targeted as a "beginning" of an Animal Rights agenda. My neighbor has Savannah cats. They are SO well loved! In GREAT condition, in SUPERIOR containment... I wish that every domestic cat owner would take a lesson on how these so-called "exotic" (read this racially, please) animals kept. MY friends and fellow "racially different animal owners" keep THEIR animals well contained. They don't wander into the neighbor's garden and crap. They DON'T wander into the neighbor's yard and bite the neighbor's FIV-free innoculated cat and infect him with Feline Immune Deficiency Virus. They DON'T wander loose on Publically health-risk packs of marauding vicious "exotic" gangs.
I have another neighbor who has crocodiles. GUESS WHAT??? The only animals I have seen on his property "running loose" (and well-contained ON his own property) are his BEAUTIFUL!!! *sigh!* Fresian horses, and his Llamas. I didn't even know he HAD a crocodile!
I would would rather have my neighbor have a well-contained and well-loved Tiger, than I would my neighbor have a loose at-large dog. My neighbors' (plural) loose, at large dogs crap in my Yard, put my well-contained babies at risk with unknown pathogens, kill my livestock and my way of life.
SO I offer my argument against Species Ban Bills.
Thank you for hearing me today.
My name is Kat Malstead
Owner of Wolfdancer Creek Farm Mission Statement
Webite to follow: Wolfdancer Creek Farm
Member Wolfdog Rescue Resources
Board Member of National Wolfdog Alliance
Member Phoenix Exotics Inc
Member Rexano, Inc
Contributor of Wolfdogs Magazine, Inc
Registered and Active Voter
Registered Member of Certified Naturally Grown, Inc
Member Estacada Garden Club
I am speaking here today in opposition to SB391. I have been told that there are many people that have spoken to this legislation in support of SB391. In my many letters of opposition to this very poorly conceived Bill, I have been told that I needn't worry, that wolfdogs are not on the list of banned species. They are, as they should be, listed as Canis Lupus Familiaris. However, even though I have voiced my opposition in every manner that I can without jumping up and down in rage, even though I have hand carried copies of the Humane Society's true goal in the 2005 legislative session, even though I, and many other law-abiding animal lovers have repeatedly pled for our rights of responsible private animal ownership, I now stand here before you with my heart in my throat, terrified, and I think of Clergyman Martin Niemoller's famous speech:
"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
Amongst the arguments in support of this Bill are concerns for the publics' safety and health. I would like to ask this Legislation where responsible private owners of ANY animal puts the public at risk. If there is a problem at all, it lies with the fact that the Common Sense Laws that Oregon currently abides by are being laid to the wayside. It lies with IRRESPONSIBLE animal owners. So why are we attempting to legislate & punitively punish ALL animal owners???? Is it just because we so-called "exotic" animal owners are "different"? Isn't that profiling in nature??
I lost an endangered domestic duck, one of my nesting females, the other day to a neighbor dog's attack while running at large. Why do we not enforce our current excellent laws rather than effectively banning animal ownership? It wasn't my neighbor's Lion or Tiger who killed my duck, it was my irresponsible neighbor who let his pet run loose.
The people who sponsored these Bills, the Humane Society of the United States, have stated in plain English that their ultimate goal is the abolishment of animal ownership. This is an Animal Rights organization. They are NOT an Animal WELFARE organization. Let me reiterate: HSUS' goal is to abolish all animal ownership. In their own words:
“We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding. One generation and out. We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding.” Wayne Pacelle, Senior VP of Humane Society of the US, formerly of Friends of Animals and Fund for Animals, Animal People, May, 1993."
HSUS’s senior management includes a former spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a criminal group designated as “terrorists” by the FBI. HSUS president Wayne Pacelle hired John “J.P.” Goodwin in 1997, the same year Goodwin described himself as “spokesperson for the ALF” while he fielded media calls in the wake of an ALF arson attack at a California veal processing plant. In 1997, when asked by reporters for a reaction to an ALF arson fire at a farmer’s feed co-op in Utah (which nearly killed a family sleeping on the premises), Goodwin replied, “We’re ecstatic.” That same year, Goodwin was arrested at a UC Davis protest celebrating the 10-year anniversary of an ALF arson at the university that caused $5 million in damage. And in 1998, Goodwin described himself publicly as a “former member of ALF.”
HSUS president Wayne Pacelle described some of his goals in 2004 for The Washington Post: “We will see the end of wild animals in circus acts … [and we’re] phasing out animals used in research. Hunting? I think you will see a steady decline in numbers.” More recently, in a June 2005 interview, Pacelle told Satya magazine that HSUS is working on “a guide to vegetarian eating, to really make the case for it.” A strict vegan himself, Pacelle added: “Reducing meat consumption can be a tremendous benefit to animals.”
And HSUS won’t stop at initiatives aimed at livestock farmers and trappers. At the 1996 HSUS annual meeting, Wayne Pacelle announced that the ballot initiative would be used for all manner of legislation in the future, including “companion animal issues and laboratory animal issues.” Pacelle has personally been involved in at least 22 such campaigns, 17 of which HSUS scored as victories. These operations, he said, “pay dividends and serve as a training ground for activists.”
Can you see why we responsible animal owners feel betrayed by these kinds of laws? I Voted for you under the expectation that you would represent my interests. That you would at least listen to your CITIZENRY. Instead, I feel as if the only voices you are hearing are those of a well-funded political Lobbyist group bent on creating panic and fear where there is no cause, and on exterminating pets. I feel as if we are reacting in a knee-jerk manner to a invented situation.
I have no doubts in my heart that each and every one of you are attempting to do your very best to protect animals, and to protect the public's safety and health. But I believe you are being manipulated by a very slick and extremely well-financed organization bent on impinging on MY and other RESPONSIBLE animal owners' Constitutionally guaranteed Rights to Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness. I have no children due to a medical mishap where I lost my only daughter. My animals are all I will ever be granted to nurture. The HSUS would deny me this, saying that if I "need" to nurture, I should nurture my own species.
According to Animal Legal Defense Fund, Oregon has some of the toughest animal abuse laws on the books. Upon light research, the Oregon regulations already in place are quite inclusive and cover all contingencies. The Law as it stands reads: Pursuant to 609.309 Policy on exotic animals. (see OR ST § 609.205 - 609.335 Oregon Department of Agriculture) "It is the policy of this state that the keeping of exotic animals be regulated so as to ensure the health, welfare and safety of those animals and to ensure the security of facilities in which they are kept, so as to avoid undue physical or financial risk to the public. It is the policy of this state that regulation place no more burden upon the keepers of exotic animals than is required to accomplish the purposes expressed in this section." [1985 c.437 §1; 1999 c.699 §4] Oregon's private owner base is peopled with dedicated & responsible persons, who are already regulated by common sense laws. Oregon law even includes a very common sense dangerous/nuisance dog law. http://tinyurl.com/6j7v8 (see Oregon Statute Title 48, Chapter 609 Citation: OR ST § 609.010 - OR ST § 609.994)
In summary, Oregon does not have a problem with exotic animals running at large. We are an independant State with a rich history of Common Sense. I BEG you to oppose these kinds of Ban Laws. They are NOT in the best interests of animals, or of your constituents. They only serve the political aims of the Animal Rights movement, not of Oregon citizenry. Please, enforce our current excellent laws. I beg you again, PLEASE allow the people who are trustworthy the opportunity to succeed.
References & Citations:
Oregon SB391 1st Legislative Summary
Quotes from Animal Rights Activists
75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2009 Regular Session
Humane Society of the United States
As they say, "I'm Mad As Hell, and I'm Not Gonna Take It Anymore." I just hope to God, NAY, I PRAY to God that our Representatives decide to come to their senses and not follow HSUS' yellow brick road path over the cliff like lemmings.
/heaves huge sigh.
>^,,^<
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Patience! Yes, Carol, there IS a Lesson here!
I had a wee bit of a respite to write while Nihki was sleeping --a rare occurrence in itself-- so I went a'reading and a'catching up with a few of my fellow Gardening Faes. I read about Carol's patience! and I must say, I sure am glad I listened!
Yesterday, JUST after I put Nihki out for a brief visit with her Uncle Teeghkii & Auntie Spirit, as I was walking back into the house, I saw the sky light up with a BIG flash, fairly closely followed by the BIG Bang (but not the one which generated life) and Lo! & Behold! the skies opened right up, and BEAN-sized hail dumped upon our heads!
I hurriedly marched back around and scooped up my poor wee bairn, who was huddled beneath the semi-leafy arms of the apple tree, cowering at the nasty beans of hail pummeling her, and we went back inside and snuggled on the couch.
Now, if I hadn't been practicing patience, my seedlings would have been smashed to smithereens. Shredded leaves, torn limbs, tender veggies all pulverized. BUT! Because I was patient, and had NOT planted out my starts yet, all my wee baby plants were gazing at the weather event from beneath their sheltered glass.
YAY for Patience! What a strom!
>^,,^<
Yesterday, JUST after I put Nihki out for a brief visit with her Uncle Teeghkii & Auntie Spirit, as I was walking back into the house, I saw the sky light up with a BIG flash, fairly closely followed by the BIG Bang (but not the one which generated life) and Lo! & Behold! the skies opened right up, and BEAN-sized hail dumped upon our heads!
I hurriedly marched back around and scooped up my poor wee bairn, who was huddled beneath the semi-leafy arms of the apple tree, cowering at the nasty beans of hail pummeling her, and we went back inside and snuggled on the couch.
Now, if I hadn't been practicing patience, my seedlings would have been smashed to smithereens. Shredded leaves, torn limbs, tender veggies all pulverized. BUT! Because I was patient, and had NOT planted out my starts yet, all my wee baby plants were gazing at the weather event from beneath their sheltered glass.
YAY for Patience! What a strom!
>^,,^<
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Spring is Always Eagerly Awaited, and TOO FAST!
I wait and I wait *open*open*open* for Spring to finally GET HERE! especially after a rather long cold lonely Winter, (Little Darlin') and once she sneaks in on pussywillow feet, BAMMO! I have no time to write, no time to think, no time to muse... I clutch at my spare moments desperately, always intent on cramming as much into them as I possibly can, and generally always overbooking myself.
A friend needs a pruning done? SUUUURE! No problem, I'll be right there. A customer would like to hire me to prune their yard, SUUUUUUURE! I'll spend my day off working. Another friend, who is in his 90's, has macular degeneration, and can no longer see to garden, wants me to come over three to four times per week and work his garden. I have planted 2 flats (nearly 35 four inch pots) of Bonny Best tomatoes, and a flat of assorted celeries for him, and they are doing VERY well! Stout and sturdy, they will be ready to plant on Mother's Day.
I have my own garden to tend as well, my joy! the breath in my heart! the sighs of Mother Nature when I breathe in, as she breathes out. I have a BUNCH of beautiful tomato plants ready! (I think I've already listed them *laughs*) Box Car Willies, Abe Lincoln, Bonny Best, Sun Golds! (YUM) Early Goliath, Celebrity, Carbon Black, and for the life of me, I simply cannot remember the names of the other four without trouncing out to the greenhouse to see. *bah* Old Timers.
My seedlings are now plantlets, and will be ready to plant out along with the tomatoes on Mother's Day. They are pretty well hardened off, and ready. I planted seeds, and THEY are coming up well! I see the tender red heads of the Bull's Blood beets peeking above the soil line ! The tender "Y"s of the spinach reaching for the light, the tiny lettuces and even the baby grass blades of the Walla Walla onions. It takes vewy vewy caweful observation to see them, but I do. My peas are almost 3" high now! WEEEEE! And I broke down and bought a bulk package of Drunken Woman Frizzy Headed lettuce to plant for this year as well.
And then add to my stack of spinning plates, Ainihkiwa, and I think I'll go take a nap now.... It's cold and rainy and I really can't do much in the garden today anyway, except get soggy and watch the garden and the puppy grow...
Happy Gardening!
>^,,^<
A friend needs a pruning done? SUUUURE! No problem, I'll be right there. A customer would like to hire me to prune their yard, SUUUUUUURE! I'll spend my day off working. Another friend, who is in his 90's, has macular degeneration, and can no longer see to garden, wants me to come over three to four times per week and work his garden. I have planted 2 flats (nearly 35 four inch pots) of Bonny Best tomatoes, and a flat of assorted celeries for him, and they are doing VERY well! Stout and sturdy, they will be ready to plant on Mother's Day.
I have my own garden to tend as well, my joy! the breath in my heart! the sighs of Mother Nature when I breathe in, as she breathes out. I have a BUNCH of beautiful tomato plants ready! (I think I've already listed them *laughs*) Box Car Willies, Abe Lincoln, Bonny Best, Sun Golds! (YUM) Early Goliath, Celebrity, Carbon Black, and for the life of me, I simply cannot remember the names of the other four without trouncing out to the greenhouse to see. *bah* Old Timers.
My seedlings are now plantlets, and will be ready to plant out along with the tomatoes on Mother's Day. They are pretty well hardened off, and ready. I planted seeds, and THEY are coming up well! I see the tender red heads of the Bull's Blood beets peeking above the soil line ! The tender "Y"s of the spinach reaching for the light, the tiny lettuces and even the baby grass blades of the Walla Walla onions. It takes vewy vewy caweful observation to see them, but I do. My peas are almost 3" high now! WEEEEE! And I broke down and bought a bulk package of Drunken Woman Frizzy Headed lettuce to plant for this year as well.
And then add to my stack of spinning plates, Ainihkiwa, and I think I'll go take a nap now.... It's cold and rainy and I really can't do much in the garden today anyway, except get soggy and watch the garden and the puppy grow...
Happy Gardening!
>^,,^<
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Happy Day After May Day!
1920 – The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis, Indiana.
1945 – World War II: Fall of Berlin: The Soviet Union announces the capture of Berlin and Soviet soldiers hoist their red flag over the Reichstag building.[citation needed] German forces surrender in Italy. German forces surrender to the New Zealand Army in Trieste.
2000 – President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
Polish Flag Day
Events of May 2nd
and the most important one, Blaidd and I slept on the bed with only ONE tiny mishap.
What? You don't know who Ainihkiwa is? Heeeeeer's Nihki! & Sibs
Your Basic Daily Dose of Puppy!
Yet More Puppy Cuteness
Bad Grandpa Teaches Puppy to Eat Shoes
Puppies!
Puppies!
My New Baby Grrrrrrl. She is the neice of my Teeghkii.
And boy have I been busy!
Julie/Julia
I have to see this movie!
It's back to rain rain rain, I am glad I haven't yet planted out my starts, as they'd've been flattened by now.. They are still in the greenhouse, awaiting Mother's Day.
My thoughts are with you all. Happy Gardening!
>^,,^<
1920 – The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis, Indiana.
1945 – World War II: Fall of Berlin: The Soviet Union announces the capture of Berlin and Soviet soldiers hoist their red flag over the Reichstag building.[citation needed] German forces surrender in Italy. German forces surrender to the New Zealand Army in Trieste.
2000 – President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
Polish Flag Day
Events of May 2nd
and the most important one, Blaidd and I slept on the bed with only ONE tiny mishap.
What? You don't know who Ainihkiwa is? Heeeeeer's Nihki! & Sibs
Your Basic Daily Dose of Puppy!
Yet More Puppy Cuteness
Bad Grandpa Teaches Puppy to Eat Shoes
Puppies!
Puppies!My New Baby Grrrrrrl. She is the neice of my Teeghkii.
And boy have I been busy!
Julie/Julia
I have to see this movie!
It's back to rain rain rain, I am glad I haven't yet planted out my starts, as they'd've been flattened by now.. They are still in the greenhouse, awaiting Mother's Day.
My thoughts are with you all. Happy Gardening!
>^,,^<
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Gracious Gracious Life is Good, and I Beleaf
Friday we had snow in places, I saw wee flakes floating, floating, drifting aimlessly across my window, like soft fragile leaves of imagination. Saturday, the greenhouses hit over 95*, and I was able to open up both sets of windows for ventilation. It was actually uncomfortable ! to work in the third greenhouse, the Nursery/Baby House. Where the wee small tomatoes, peppers, celery, and such are germinating, and growing.
I'm rather struggling with Alfonso, the OTHER gardening Guru, about the importance of AIR CIRCULATION. He says (in his broken English) "Peppers, they like hot". I say "PLANTS, they HATE slimy molds!!!!" So I take my wee plastic fork, and I gently, oh so gently, fork over these wee tiny 4" pots' top soil, to break up the slime crust. There's no dampening off, there's no HARM, but the soil needs to breathe.
The tiny wee plantlets are loving the heat. We have small heaters on at night, I close up the greenhouse around 4 pm to conserve the day's accumulated heat.
It's GLORIOUS! splendiferous! fantabulicious! to see the sun, to realize that TODAY, I get to get OUT of my sweats & my thermals!
I opened up my own wee greenhouse for the air. My seeds are sprouting on the TV tray perched along the south glass doors. The garden soil is still too wet to till (again, for the sixth time this year) or to rake smooth, but it's getting there. The pea seeds I planted last Wed. are swelling, are ripening up to pop their wee rootlets.
We will get more rain mid-week. But for Today, Life is Good. Gardening is EVERYTHING. Bright Blessings!
>^,,^<
I'm rather struggling with Alfonso, the OTHER gardening Guru, about the importance of AIR CIRCULATION. He says (in his broken English) "Peppers, they like hot". I say "PLANTS, they HATE slimy molds!!!!" So I take my wee plastic fork, and I gently, oh so gently, fork over these wee tiny 4" pots' top soil, to break up the slime crust. There's no dampening off, there's no HARM, but the soil needs to breathe.
The tiny wee plantlets are loving the heat. We have small heaters on at night, I close up the greenhouse around 4 pm to conserve the day's accumulated heat.
It's GLORIOUS! splendiferous! fantabulicious! to see the sun, to realize that TODAY, I get to get OUT of my sweats & my thermals!
I opened up my own wee greenhouse for the air. My seeds are sprouting on the TV tray perched along the south glass doors. The garden soil is still too wet to till (again, for the sixth time this year) or to rake smooth, but it's getting there. The pea seeds I planted last Wed. are swelling, are ripening up to pop their wee rootlets.
We will get more rain mid-week. But for Today, Life is Good. Gardening is EVERYTHING. Bright Blessings!
>^,,^<
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April Fool
Here it is, April 1st. Fool's Day. I am an April Fool.
The Fool
The Fool Defined
"The Fool represents the "everyperson" - the essence of us all embarking on the journey of life, self-discovery and mastery. He is the innocent, the whimsical, the "inner child" mixed with the "inner sage" that lives down deep inside of us all. He faces life and his journey unafraid, trusting, the perfect example of total and utter faith that all will be well, that every experience has a deep essential meaning. He trapses along the crags of life, regardless of any hidden peril or disappointment, his eyes are turned to the heavens and he knows that he will be kept safe and whole along his travels. Key words associated with the Fool are new beginnings, important decisions and optimism.
The Fool is sometimes known as the most worthless card, yet also as the most valuable one. He is the first and the last, the alpha and the omega. It represents both the fledgling beginner and the adept master. The Fool reminds us of things, sacred things, that we have forgotten or repressed. The Fool knows his or her own ignorance, thus is seen as the most wise."
So at my most foolish, I planted garlic (two new kinds) in early March. Shame on me, I was told, you are supposed to plant garlic in the Fall, it needs cold. Then we got 2+ weeks of snow & freezing, and hoar frost, and hail. My new garlics are pushing up, all lovely and healthy. I fed them all a lovely supper of bone meal.
Now at my most foolish, I go forth to plant my peas in my new garden. It's a chilly 39* outside, drizzly, and supposed to reach a high of 47* WEEEEE!! with more rain. But I am going to plant them anyways, because I got a foolish feeling that this is a Good Day to plant peas. We will have a couple of dry warmish days coming this weekend, so my wee pea children will have wetness in order to swell and germinate, followed by a couple of days of warmth to combat the rot which threatens them. I have Pea Innoculant to help the battle as well.
I started some cole crop seeds inside, and to my surprise, the Walla Walla onions didn't even wait a week to push their wee heads up to search for light.
Hope Springs Eternal! Happy Gardening to Thee!
>^,,^<
The Fool
The Fool Defined
"The Fool represents the "everyperson" - the essence of us all embarking on the journey of life, self-discovery and mastery. He is the innocent, the whimsical, the "inner child" mixed with the "inner sage" that lives down deep inside of us all. He faces life and his journey unafraid, trusting, the perfect example of total and utter faith that all will be well, that every experience has a deep essential meaning. He trapses along the crags of life, regardless of any hidden peril or disappointment, his eyes are turned to the heavens and he knows that he will be kept safe and whole along his travels. Key words associated with the Fool are new beginnings, important decisions and optimism.
The Fool is sometimes known as the most worthless card, yet also as the most valuable one. He is the first and the last, the alpha and the omega. It represents both the fledgling beginner and the adept master. The Fool reminds us of things, sacred things, that we have forgotten or repressed. The Fool knows his or her own ignorance, thus is seen as the most wise."
So at my most foolish, I planted garlic (two new kinds) in early March. Shame on me, I was told, you are supposed to plant garlic in the Fall, it needs cold. Then we got 2+ weeks of snow & freezing, and hoar frost, and hail. My new garlics are pushing up, all lovely and healthy. I fed them all a lovely supper of bone meal.
Now at my most foolish, I go forth to plant my peas in my new garden. It's a chilly 39* outside, drizzly, and supposed to reach a high of 47* WEEEEE!! with more rain. But I am going to plant them anyways, because I got a foolish feeling that this is a Good Day to plant peas. We will have a couple of dry warmish days coming this weekend, so my wee pea children will have wetness in order to swell and germinate, followed by a couple of days of warmth to combat the rot which threatens them. I have Pea Innoculant to help the battle as well.
I started some cole crop seeds inside, and to my surprise, the Walla Walla onions didn't even wait a week to push their wee heads up to search for light.
Hope Springs Eternal! Happy Gardening to Thee!
>^,,^<
Friday, March 27, 2009
It's HERE! I can SMELL IT!!
I have my organic Grafitti cauliflower, my Walla Walla onions, and my organic biodynamic spinach in cells awaiting germination! I have my Thompson's organic brocolli ready to cell up tomorrow and do the same! My peas aren't planted, but I intend to plant them tomorrow, even in the rain! My new 50' X 20' garden is only awaiting some dry days and sunshine --and of course, germinated seeds-- to embrace veggies! My tomatoes and peppers are about an inch and a half tall, and some even have the beginnings of their second true leaves! (these, of course, are still in the greenhouse. They won't be planted until Mother's Day)
But it's HERE! I see my Flowering Quince's buds swelling. I see flowering cherries in town, one tree is already in full regalia! My weeping pussy willow has a few fuzzy yellow catkins peeking and meowing at the day. My peach trees are swelling, as are the plums.
I have given my garlic and bulb boxes a nice feeding of bone meal. I still have to take the chainsaw out and top the apple trees of their more exuberant growth, and spray them with Neem for the season, but it's been too rainy to spray.
Glory! Spring is Springing!!
>^,,^<
But it's HERE! I see my Flowering Quince's buds swelling. I see flowering cherries in town, one tree is already in full regalia! My weeping pussy willow has a few fuzzy yellow catkins peeking and meowing at the day. My peach trees are swelling, as are the plums.
I have given my garlic and bulb boxes a nice feeding of bone meal. I still have to take the chainsaw out and top the apple trees of their more exuberant growth, and spray them with Neem for the season, but it's been too rainy to spray.
Glory! Spring is Springing!!
>^,,^<
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Bloom Day!
May Dreams Gardens Bloom Day! I had to cheat, because I couldn't get my pictures from my garden developed in time.. I have a lavender tulip! and a cluster of beautiful purple whozeewhatsis bulbs peering up at me.. BUT! until I get my film back (drat that my digital died, and double drat that I can't seem to get my new camera to WORK! *bah*) I have to settle for flowers at work.
I'm cheating, of course, since these are all at work.. BUT they ARE in bloom, and they DO remind me that it is almost here, that season of joy and work, and Godliness.
Orange Sedge & pansies. Soon these will be planted in a pot. The snowy ice crystals were just too fun to let go unphotographed!
sweet daffodils in a nice little pot.
Happy Bloom Day! Happy Gardening!
>^,,^<
I'm cheating, of course, since these are all at work.. BUT they ARE in bloom, and they DO remind me that it is almost here, that season of joy and work, and Godliness.
Orange Sedge & pansies. Soon these will be planted in a pot. The snowy ice crystals were just too fun to let go unphotographed!
sweet daffodils in a nice little pot.
Happy Bloom Day! Happy Gardening!
>^,,^<
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