Relocated a cactus today. The spiky plant had been growing in a pot, and needed to be moved. It was moved, carefully. The spikes on the thing are wicked sharp. But perhaps, they’re not sharp enough, because years ago a wallaby, wombat, or perhaps even a rat, had taken a nibble. Brave creature. After the nibble, one of long spiky stems had emulated this weird sort of S-shape, only to end up draped on the ground.
The twisted stem had to go. It was carefully removed using a shovel propelled by a foot. The emotional intensity of the moment of cutting was palpable – Sandra was urging me to be careful. I need to concentrate here! The weird spiky chunk was removed. Leather riggers gloves protected the hands. Now disconnected, the chunk was grabbed and chucked deep into a garden bed. There was a moment of quiet reflection: Hopefully this is not encountered at some future moment.
Ordinarily cacti plants don’t provoke an emotional response, unless of course you’ve inadvertently blundered into the spikes of terror. This one’s different though. There’s a certain sort of sentimental attachment to the plant. The previous owners of the first house we’d live together in, had abandoned it.
Imagine a sad looking cactus, planted out in the smallest of pink plastic pots. It was like a tiny little lost baby bird was asking us: Can you look after me, please? The pot was so small that when tipped on it’s side, the plant fell out. There was no soil, just a mass of roots.
In those days, you couldn’t ask the interweb search engines what to do when faced with a dire plant emergency. No. You had to figure out such things on your own. Neither of us knew anything about plants, but we got the general idea that maybe a larger pot and a bit of extra soil wouldn’t hurt. The facts suggested that plants need soil.
Nabbed a larger terracotta pot and a bag of compost at the nearest hardware store. Gingerly placed the plant in the larger pot. Added in the compost. Bam! How easy is this plant stuff? Ooo, thanks mate! Did you say something Sandra? No… Oh!
It was a strange house that one. The neighbours used to play really loud music. It was a bit annoying. But then the thought popped into my head: We can do that too! Turns out, that’s quite a confrontational approach. There were death threats and the police were involved. The neighbours moved out within the week. They had to. There was always this suspicion that they were fencing cars. But then it was the recession of the 1990’s and a dude’s gotta pay the bills, somehow.
The house was cheap, and in a suburb with heavy industry. Probably not the best choice. However, we were worried that Sandra was going to be made redundant from her job. It ended up being a race between the impending job loss, getting the bank to approve the loan, and finding someone to sell us a house. We made it, just. Those were tough times, loud music, and cacti.
Being cheap, the Californian bungalow was in poor condition. The bank put clauses on the loan contract telling us to fix the place up. It’s hard to tell whether we had more energy in those days, foolhardiness, or maybe even a bit of both? It took a few months of crawling around in mud under the house replacing the rotten timber footings with concrete. One timber stump holding up the corner of the house fell away at the slightest of pressure. The house then hung above the mud, above me, in the fresh air, politely deciding not to squash me.
Pre-interweb, there were books you know. In this case, the book was a how-to guide to constructing a house, with pictures and detailed drawings. Like gardening, possibly some experience helps with these sorts of matters, but there was none. The rear of the house was a mess. The thinking went: We got this! Off we went to a major timber supplier with some rough ideas. The guy was really lovely, or perhaps it was the recession and he needed to make some sales. Who cares? He patiently sat with us and said you need this timber for this, and that bit of timber for that, and you’ll be fine. The thought of getting permits for the work, was a totally unknown concept. And nobody even cared.
Out with the old rear of the house, and in with the new. It took a while to complete the project in between full time work, part time study, and life. And it was a good first attempt, but not my finest work, by a significant margin.
We had plans though. Late at night, we’d walk the dogs around the area just talking. The talk was big too, and it certainly didn’t wake anyone up! The area was quiet, you’d rarely encounter another person. Had a bit of a reputation, it did. A bloke at my workplace, used to work the bar at the local pub, and he said: “You don’t pick someone else’s fight there”. Sound advice. The area sure had some rough edges.
The thing with plans, is that sometimes they come to fruition. And what we lacked in skill, we made up for in ambition and energy. The house was sold, the ill economic winds caused house prices to drop, and we sure lost a lot of mad cash on that sale. Maturity is facing up to loss, and moving on. However, maybe we won. After all, despite all the hardships, the cactus continues to grow.
As you’d imagine, with ten inches of rain over the past few weeks, the air was humid. Most mornings, thick fog pooled over the valley below the mountain range.
When the sun shone, the combination of strong sunlight and high humidity was a knock out. Ollie the Bull Arab (Australian pig hunting dog) who is ordinarily indefatigable, struggled in the conditions.
Spare a moments thought for Sandra and I during such conditions. Resting at our ease in the summer sun, does not get projects done. No! Horror of horrors, we had to get up at the break of day and attend to the long list of farm projects. Correcting the abysmal rock wall in the courtyard behind the house was one of those projects. In our defence, the rock wall was constructed maybe a decade ago, and it was not our finest effort.
We excavated and cleared away all of the soil and clay from around a very large Moby (body) rock in the courtyard. Hosing down the Moby rock with water cleaned it up nicely.
It was a strange project because it gained its own momentum and took its own direction. The work was begun with little idea as to how it would end up. It took a day of digging to expose the huge rock (which we knew was there). The top soil from the steep garden bed was excellent quality, so that was relocated to another garden bed. Perhaps the beginning of a future project?
The underlying clay was used as backfill on the low gradient path project which runs on the underside of the chicken enclosure.
In order to clear the soil and clay from around the large Moby rock, we had to cut back a substantial quantity of vegetation. All of the organic matter was chucked onto a new and developing garden bed. The soil critters will break it down into rich soil in very little time.
At some point in the future, we may have enough excess organic matter to develop a compost heap, but right now that isn’t the case. A close up of the excavations show just how much material was removed.
The excavated site in the above image now required a very large rock wall in order to hold the soil in place thus preventing it washing down the hill on the first heavy rain. Peak rocks is real man. There are no easy rocks to be had within any reasonable distance of the house. However, there are boulders we can drill and split, so that’s how we avoid peak rocks, for now. And this week, we had just the right boulder in mind to supply rocks for this wall.
The garden bed there is so steep, that another layer of rocks will have to be added to the new wall in the above image, but that is a job for the future. There was even one spare large rock left over from the work. The spare rock was added to the low gradient path project.
It wasn’t all rocks and excavations this week. An issue with the chickens had been annoying me for quite a while. Chickens are very particular as to where they wish to lay eggs. After almost fourteen years of keeping and observing chickens, it became clear as to what they wanted. Getting the free time to enact their wishes was a whole different story.
The chickens were nesting in the opened bags of sugar cane mulch. The stuff is meant to be used for providing clean bedding, not for broody and laying chickens. In the above image, you can see that with four broody chickens taking up the parking space, another chicken decided to simply lay an egg on the floor of the hen house. Nice.
With a few free hours to spare, I decided to see what scrap timber there was, and then make a more appropriate nesting box that the chickens would want to use.
It’s good to have access to scrap materials, and the new and improved chicken laying box hopefully works better than the previous arrangements. When I rearranged the hen house, the chickens cracked the sads. It was mayhem. However, by the early evening, the chickens had sorted out their issues and were enjoying the facilities.
The design had to take into account a lot of considerations. A standard sized bale of sugar cane mulch can easily fit under the new nesting box. Also the dimensions of the box were such that the birds on the upper level are unable to poop on their friends below. I’m sure the cheeky scamps above enjoy that particular moment far more than would their compatriots below!
In other farm news, the recently planted tall tree fern has seriously enjoyed the recent bout of rain. The tall fern sits at the bottom of a drainage basin, so the plant received a lot of water over the past few weeks.
We grow a lot of thornless blackberry varieties and they are used to produce a very tasty jam. The yummy berries are only a week or two from harvest.
Raspberries are continuing to amaze. Most days we’re harvesting a good supply of the tasty berries. They’re cooked up into the best tasting jam of the lot.
Kiwi fruit are an excellent winter fruit harvest. Many of the flowers have been pollinated, and are now showing fruit. The extended period of rain messed around with the pollination (the insects didn’t want to venture out in the rain), and as a result I believe fruit set is about half of what it was last year.
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 8am is 20’C (68’F). So far this year there has been 975.8mm (38.4 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 972.4mm (38.3 inches)
Yo, Chris – I wonder if the chucked chunk of cactus will root? Well, it happened once … It’s funny how, for some people at least, a plant, animal … or even sourdough starter evokes a feeling of responsibility. And if you stuff it up, guilt.
Oh, I remember all those books on what to do for a sick houseplant. Yellowing leaves? Might be too much light. Or, then again, maybe not enough light. On the other hand, it might be too much water. Or not enough. So, you usually had one shot at saving the poor thing. I always seemed to pick wrong. The mortality rate was high. No wonder I drank. 🙂
So, lots of dirt was moved. And then lots of rocks were moved. That’s beginning to look like a really nice little desert ecosystem, around the cactus.
American chickens seem to need a bit more privacy. A room of their own 🙂 . They get their own little space, and then call in the decorators. Looks like you’ve solved all the problems, to everyone’s satisfaction. Adapt with what’s at hand.
Wow! The tree fern sure looks happy. What a change over just a month or two.
Looks like your going to have a goodly supply of jam. Which is the best tasting jam? Whatever I happen to be shoving in my mouth. But perhaps it’s a dead heat, between raspberry and strawberry.
The pollinators need a bit of help. I’ve developed a Mission Impossible type of plan. A.) Make a midnight raid on the nearest cocktail lounge. B.) Steal as many of those little umbrellas they put in drinks, as can be found. C.) Pass them out to the pollinators. Soon to be a major motion picture. I wonder if what’s-his-name is available?
Chives seem to do particularly well, here. There are a few clumps around the gardens, that if you turn your back on them, will try and take over a whole bed. I don’t have any in my beds, but, there was a clump I reduced by 2/3, early last year. By the end of the season, you wouldn’t know it had been touched.
The rest of the flowers are lovely, and, as always, in particular, the roses. Lew
Greetings Göran,
Thanks for the shout out, and I hope that your weather has settled, or at least approximates normality – whatever that is.
Yes, it was something of an oversight to forget to include a photo of the final tiramisu, but hopefully by the next blog this error is corrected. Yum!
Zabaione is a very cool name, and it looks remarkably like an ‘egg nog’, which I can report is very tasty.
Good luck with fixing the website, and the underpinnings can change at short notice and without warning. The security certificate issue is what is known as a show-stopper for comments. There is a lot to keeping websites going.
The book was an excellent read and glad to hear that you likewise enjoyed the journey. Tyson was a natural story teller, wasn’t he? And yes, I agree, he could not have been more clear about the future. He’d travelled quite the journey to have arrived at that perspective.
Dude, I have a hunch that hierarchy-thinking works, if the people at the top of the food chain have earned their stripes the hard way. If they got there by other means than merit, well things are probably not going to go well. How does that work out for you?
The school story was fascinating. Yes, I do hope that works, the bloke has a lot to say about things – most of which I agree with.
I really liked how education was presented as an enjoyable experience. The authors description matched the techniques I used in the corporate world. And also Tyson could see exactly where we are most likely headed. What were your take away’s from the book?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
My gut feeling suggests that the true fans would stomp the daylights out of us should we proclaim such loose talk aloud. You and I are out numbered several million to one. No matter how good your fighting technique is, the fight was never going to end well. Think that scene in World War Z, but worse. How did that work out? You’re very cheeky for invoking the wrath of the true fans… Like your style!
I’m almost reluctant to ask, but has any of those areas ever liquefied after an earthquake? I recall the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand had that particular issue, and it was deadly.
Fair enough about the Lacanian psychology, and I’ve wiped those memories clean. The brain has limits, and only so much can get squished in before chunks fall out of the ears. Perhaps people don’t talk about the ears glazing over – because they can’t hear your question in the first place? I recall from my childhood, images of folks using large horns to naturally amplify sounds for their damaged hearing. You don’t see them being used nowadays.
I know of another lady who likes succulent plants. So perhaps it is the darker collector side to that story which is the sausage fest? Although in no way am I suggesting that the ladies aren’t equally collectors.
It’s raining here again tonight after a warm-ish but cloudy day. Headed into the big smoke for work, and being close to the festive season, things have to be wrapped up – well, as much as they can be anyway. Next weeks blog is the last one for the year. Where did the time go?
The use of pork is a very clever innovation from a food preserving technique perspective. It is hard not to notice that pigs can consume a very diverse diet. A handy skill in a farm animal. Plus they’re very intelligent creatures.
You’re not missing out on the mango. Some people really enjoy the taste, but I’m more of a temperate fruit kind of guy.
Has the fog lifted? And what the heck is an air stagnation? It sounds like something out of a sci-fi where you’re all at risk of suffocating, like err, Mr King’s book: The Dome. Talk about ending badly – for the characters that is!
Tail chewing is a nervous affliction in canines, unless she has a tick or fleas irritating it, or some skin issue? I’ll tell you a funny story about H, except it isn’t about H. The three dogs we have now which all arrived here as puppies, and they are quite boringly normal, and they all get along together. Not always the case with previous dogs. In the past we’ve only ever had dogs when they were older, and I tell you what, they don’t turn up baggage free. Don’t laugh, there are such services for H. She might be doing it for the attention at a wild guess. Do you have any thoughts as to the reasons behind the chewing?
It’s funny you write that, but there is a son of cactus chunk hidden deep in a garden bed. Despite being in full shade, it is the plant which refuses to die.
Lewis, it’s not just you there. 🙂 Trying to remember all of this plant stuff when I have a paid job already – is difficult. The old duffer in the show made it look easy, because that was his job, which he’d been doing continuously for four decades. A bit over two decades ago, man I didn’t even know you had to water vegetables regularly! I reckon over the past few years we’ve been simplifying systems here, and what you say is one of the drivers behind that change. I did enjoy a shot of rum this evening. After getting home late from the big smoke, I then had to review a large job the Editor had just finished. No rest for those who’ve been wicked in a past life. Something, something, tin can! 😉 Far out.
The funny thing about the placement of the cactus was that it was placed there temporarily, and well, why move it when it looks like that? The Olive tree next to it is huge. Picked it up at a clearance sale many years ago.
Ha! These chickens may have origins from your country because they are now in the process of chook-spreading. I kid you not. This evening, three chickens had managed to take up the entire nest.
The fern gets a lot of water and feeding being in that drainage basin. It’s growing faster than all of the other ferns here.
Best tasting: Raspberry jam, then Blackberry jam. So good. Strawberry jam is good as well, but the berries are less reliable. Although we may trial a batch of the Alpine strawberries for jam over the next few days. I note you’ve chosen the strawberry jam. Jam, Jelly, or Conserve is the next question: which is best?
Oh, hey I almost forgot to mention, but we watched the very amusing film Roboy you recommended a while back. Very funny. The third robot sub story was a hoot!
Hehe! That’s funny. At one point in the past thirteen years, the growing season was perfect. The climate just delivered at exactly the right time. Then there is the rest of the time, and the Great Cocktail Umbrella Job, of course!
Yeah, that’s been my experience with chives as well. They’re my favourite onion plant, and taste so good on garden fresh tomatoes with a touch of salt and pepper. Yum! Do yours survive the winter months?
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – You may or may not have read about this op-shop find, in the news.
http://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/bought-3-99-virginia-thrift-171323818.html
I can see why she sold it on. I think it’s just plain ugly. Wouldn’t have it in the house. No wonder it ended up in a thrift shop.
Yup. Earthquake liquification is a real thing. When buildings are built on fill. During the San Francisco earthquake, in 1989, their Marina District was particularly hard hit. Because it was all built on fill. Large chunks of Seattle are built on fill, including the area where the Seattle Center and Space Needle are. Here’s a favorite of disaster flicks. 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmm-CllmsAA
I have to watch the chunks falling out of my ears. H will snap them right up.
Those old hearing horns were used in a lot of old cartoons and movies, as comic relief. I’m lucky my hearing is relatively still sharp. Half the Inmates are deaf, and the other half can’t hear. 🙂
Yup. The Holidays are about done and dusted. Things can get back to normal. The Club has big doings planed for the day of Christmas Eve. Santa, pictures with Santa, free cookies, and biscuits and gravy. Unfortunately, biscuits and gravy are happening at the same time as Santa, doing his thing. I’ll steer clear of the whole thing. H and I went down to the Club, yesterday, and quit a few of the usual suspects were MIA. Probably wound up with all the holiday carp.
Why does H chew her tail? Probably, just to irritate me. Or, she’s just crazy. I really think her owner, being high strung, transferred a bit of that to H. Other than the tail biting, she’s not what I’d call a high strung dog. She’s got favorite chew toys (that she mauls), but, apparently, they aren’t enough.
You mentioned your olive tree. I read a bit more of “The Lost Supper: Searching for the Future of Food in the Flavors of the Past.” (Grescoe). There’s a chapter about olive trees. And, how a virus is spreading and being fought. Olive trees 2-3,000 old, are not that unusual. Some may be as old as 7,000 years old. Or, at least their roots are.
Maybe you can figure out how to throw partitions, into the chicken nesting area?
Oh, I think my vote goes for jam. Easiest to make.
Yes, that robot movie was pretty funny. And part of the humor was that the humans were just so awful, compared to the robots.
Climate can have it’s ups and downs. When they opened up our midwest to settlement, well, it just happened to be a particularly wet period, good for farming. Then things changed …
I see your having a lot of flooding, up in the north of your country. Crocodiles stalking the flooded streets of Cairns. Oh, and watch out for the snakes!
The chives seem to ride out our winters, quit nicely. Between parsley, and chives, there are greens all winter long. Lew
Hello Chris,
Sand Talk was stunning. Well written with a lot of humour, even though he covered tough topics like ongoing lack-of-privilege, and oppression.
He is so right that nothing depending on mining is sustainable and dependable. The passage about the “free republic people” who were dreaming of their own solarPV-place was great.
My main takeaway is that there are many skills needed to survive and thrive outside of civilization. And that it is a team effort. It is no use doing it alone. And like all skills that takes thousands of hours to learn, when someone does it well, it looks effortless.
(As you wrote about the gardener who did nothing else for a few decades…)
We have done our fair share of genocide up here North to the Sami people. I have been a few times in the Sami area, and most of it is completely colonized. A few of the largest mines are up there. This year, EU is panicking for “strategic minerals”, and is pushing for making it easier to open mines.
Last week, new laws were passed in Brussels to “cut red tape”, i.e. make it easier for international mining Behemoths to come in and pillage and pollute. Local concerns are waved away as NIMBY-nonsense.
I secretly hope that someone soon finds a really stinking uranium deposit right under the Berlaymont Building in Brussels.
Mining is part of the myth of modernity, as something boring but necessary. People just don’t want to think about mining.
Here in Sweden, mining waste is already today the largest single waste stream. 100,000 kg per person, per year. Some of it just rocks, some of it full of toxic heavy metals that leach into rivers and soils.
Old mine/slag fields can leach toxic effluents for centuries.
I wish it weren’t so.
We try to avoid using of new materials, but most people don’t care and don’t know.
And the apple tree with crisp apples hanging into December – I already grafted a couple of new apple trees with those scions last winter. I will make more copies this year. Apples are the most varied fruit tree here – with varieties that deliver from July until December. (and with good storage some keep until May.) This is the latest variety I know of crisp nice fresh-eating apples. Some of the latest apples need a month or two of post-harvest ripening to be enjoyable.
Finally – for the best jam contest, I vote for Quince!
Peace,
Göran
Hi Chris,
A happy summer solstice to you!
Thanks for continuing with your blog posts. I’m still reading, just choosing not to comment much for the time being in favor of completing other work.
As always, the flower photos remind me of the pleasures of spring and summer, a welcome respite from the cold gray-brown nature of our winters. Glad to see the tree fern is so happy!
Not much in the way of cacti around here; too wet, too cold in the winter. However, a seedling jujube tree stuck my knee with one of its thorns the other day and will be rewarded by being removed. I like raspberries and my two rose plants well enough to keep them despite the thorns, but other than that thorny plants are not welcome in my gardens.
I’ll try to check in now and then – if not before the equinox, surely then. Rest assured that I am still reading and enjoying your posts.
Claire
Hi Claire,
Happy winter solstice to you as well. 🙂
Thanks for saying so, and also for reading along. It’s been a fun journey! I appreciated your recent update on the results of your soil remineralisation project. The most recent visitors heard me singing your praise (for the prodding in that direction) and also for Steve Solomon’s fascinating body of soil knowledge.
It won’t be long until your area once again flowers and you can smell the scents of summer.
The rotten jujube tree! A mop top tree died many years ago, and I’m left with the Black Locust root stock. Every year it pops back up again. Wicked sharp thorns. Is there even a thornless raspberry variety? I’ve gotten used to pushing the canes apart in search of berries, and not getting stuck with the thorns.
You are productive, and please accept my best regards that your energies and endeavours produce ripe fruit.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Göran,
Tyson produced an excellent book, with a lot to say about the present state of the world, and the future. I’d be interested to learn your thoughts in the matter, but I believe that the author looked deeply at the goings on around him, and learned to go back in his mind to what once worked.
I’ve relied on this technology for almost fourteen years now, and most of the time it works. The thing is, 99.99% of the time fossil fuels work, and solar PV can’t achieve such heady heights. I wish it were otherwise, but I’ve kept daily records and those tell a very different story than what the true believers recount. And exactly, any system which cannot replicate itself using the energy available, is in for a world of problems.
Exactly, it takes a lot of hours to simply just know.
Dude, I have not had that opportunity to test my wits against a moment of time where ‘gardening when it counts’.
You’re lucky to be making connections in your part of the world. Things are different down here, and few if any people are even remotely interested in the subject under discussion. For most people, going along with the dominant narrative pays excellent dividends.
We’ve been pretty feral down here on that front as well with the indigenous people. It’s been my observation that wants are one thing, reality is something entirely different.
How funny would that find be? No, you can’t mine here…
Some of my friends have worked in mines, and trust me in this – it takes a lot of diesel fuel to extract low grade ores and then concentrate them.
Ha! Proving things can always be worse. The UK used to do their nuclear testing down under. Maralinga. I’d imagine that the wombats in that area were mightily annoyed.
There is little interest down here either in such matters. My reading of history suggests that civilisations will act as they do now, when they can afford to do so. After that point, conservation gets taken seriously.
Well done you! Respect. I’m looking at some of the earlier varieties of apples here, and this year due to the rains, they’re quite large.
Yes, of course. Quince jam is seriously excellent. Yum! Sadly the quince trees are suffering this year from too much rainfall, although the Chinese Quince tree is doing much better.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
What an op shop find! My favourite quote from the article was: “I needed the money more than I need the vase,” We’ve all been there. The paint strokes in the glass work were most excellent. Honestly, I wouldn’t use the thing either, but it is good that the item has ended up with a collector who can appreciate the, err, purity of the design. I doubt it would be put to the uses in its new home that I’d have put it too.
The Editor always tells me that sooner or later, whatever you’re looking for will turn up second hand. And in such places, value and quality do not equate with the price.
Maybe it is just me, but as the bloke on the push bike performed tricks and stunts to astound us all, why didn’t he take a side street and head in an entirely different direction away from the impending squoosh. And what was he doing standing at the base just looking up whilst serious structural failure was unravelling anyway. And is it appropriate to chuckle at such wanton destruction? 🙂 The film clip raised more questions than were answered.
Oh yeah, H would be dirty for those brain chunks. And you might need them. I certainly would. Would you even want them back after they’ve been through H’s guts? If I lost those chunks, mornings would take twice the coffee to wind me up and get me started. Candidly, I’m winding down to the end of the working year. I’ll get a short break of about a week and half, maybe two weeks off. Trust me, my phone gets switched off, and emails are returned with a polite office is closed reply. That’s what I call using technology for the good of the people! I heard the punk rock song ‘Smoko’ on the radio this evening. I’m on smoko, so leave me alone (thus sprach the lyrics of the band ‘The Chats’, a bit rawer than Richard Strauss’s version with the funny name of Zarathustra – never met the bloke with the funny name, but I hear he’s OK)… 🙂
Ha! You’re on fire. That is funny about the hearing loss.
We’re just about to begin the holiday season later this week. Things slow down for the weeks around Christmas and the new Year. Being summer, it helps. Looks like the day will be cool and rather wet. Beats bushfires, which happened in 2014 on Christmas day. Arson that time I believe.
I’d steer clear of the event as well.
Yes, I’ve read of this virus in Europe affecting the olive trees. There are resistant varieties of trees. Xylella fastidiosa is a bacteria and so I’m guessing that the soils could be tweaked a bit so that they’re more acidic than usual, and that might knock the pesky scamps back. Of course, the trees may then struggle to survive as their food supplies get cut off, but life wasn’t meant to be simple. I tried that trick with the citrus tree when it succumbed to the blight, which is not a fungi but a similar critter called an Oomycete (whatever that is). Took the soils over to the more basic side of things in my case. Honestly as a strategy it is probably too hard to do at scale, but for a tree here and there, no dramas. A cool burn in those orchards might also help kill the bacteria off. It’s worth trying.
I am so not going to provide the chickens with contraptions similar to those bathing machines. Nope, they get well fed and housed at the price of diminished dignity, and must console their haughty avian souls with such bounty. Yes, and if they could kind of reduce the bad attitude a bit, that would be nice too. The Editor tells me that they’ve chicken-spread even more today. I had to go into the big smoke yet again today for paid work. Me in need of a break from paid work. What you do for a living affects your personality. Did you find that the case with your work with the libraries and bookshops?
Jam, which jam? We’re going all scientific with the jam making process, and recording and testing recipes for each of the fruits. There are always differences in pectin and acid content with fruit varieties.
Yeah, that was it. The humans were truly awful, and the robots seemed far more human by way of comparison. The humans in that film were all bad eggs, every one of them, although it was a lovely redemption tale.
I’m not arguing with you in relation to the climate. We’re kind of learning how to adapt to the awful growing conditions. Today was cold and wet. We’re running the wood heater this evening. A completely nuts growing season, but yes your point about not having to worry about crocodiles floating down the main street of a major city is well taken. It also proves that things could be worse. The rain up there has been record breaking.
Those greens likewise survive the winters here, although we can also grow green and red mustard plants – which might be worth trialling in your area as they’ve survived snowfall here? Slim pickings at that time of year, but hey, as I said above, things could be worse.
Cheers
Chris
Hi, Chris!
My goodness – what an impressive cactus. I can only dream. I have one sort of like that, but it’s only 2 inches tall and has been so all of its life. It is fully grown and lives inside the house in a tiny pot. It has sentimental value also as my son gave it to me 10 years ago and the pot was glassblown by his friend.
During the renovation of the first house we ever bought, which was nowhere as bad as yours was, we used to walk around a neighborhood and make dreams and plans, also. This was not the neighborhood that we lived in, it was at least as dodgy as yours, but an upscale, even older neighborhood with beautiful large houses. A feast for the eyes. We did not dream of living in such a place – it would have been impossible financially. We didn’t want to live there anyway; we wanted to live in the country, as we do now.
Ollie lying flat out looks like the winner of an event in the ancient Greek Olympics, with a laurel wreath on his head. Surely he just completed a strenuous task?
I like your cactus background of Moby and rocks.
The chickens are so funny in the bags, but I am so glad that they accepted their new bed.
There’s a thought, duh. That insects weren’t out in all that rain, thus there was less pollination.
The flowers are more exquisite than ever. Thanks!
Pam
Yo, Chris – And, to add an addendum to The Editor’s observation on op-shops, you also never know what you’ll find, where. And, maybe, you can’t know it all. If I had even bothered to pick up that vase, and look at the bottom, the “Murano” mark would have rung a bell, and I might have picked it up, on a flyer. Maybe.
Apparently, the bike dude never worked out a plan “B” for Space Needles and earthquakes. Unlike surfers and sharks. 🙂 .
Here, as the holidays approach, things get faster and crazier.
The thing about the olive trees is that the virus is spread by a bug. And, if you mow your orchard at a particular time of the year, you can knock them back, quit a bit. I guess olives are like apples. They don’t breed “true.” But they are finding some “sports” that have disease resistance, and taste good. But it’s sometimes hard to move old farmers in directions that are good for their own survival. Conspiracy theories were also mentioned. 🙂 And maybe the need to diversify.
The chapter of the book I’m reading, now, is about the extinction of the Silphium plant. Which happened back in Roman times, due to over harvesting. But, there may be some isolated patches, recently discovered in Turkey. Maybe. An interesting story.
Does what you do for a living affect your personality? Oh, I don’t know. Some personalities might be better suited for some jobs. Nature or nurture? 🙂
We’re back to rain again. More drizzle than downpour.
Well. Merry Christmas. I guess. I got a letter from our State Attorney General (which oversees consumer protection, among other things), yesterday. I noticed Elinor had got one, a few days ago, but didn’t think much about it. According to the letter, 20 companies had been caught fixing prices, on “chicken and canned tuna.” I guess there was a huge fine. And, the money is being distributed. Inclosed was a check for $50.
When I got home at 7:15, last night, there were no parking spots. I had to park on the street, again. But, when I took H for a walk at 10, a spot had opened up, so, I moved my truck. I’m going to start tracking how often that happens. Might make for some interesting statistics, for next year’s anonymous satisfaction survey. Lew
Chris,
It rained Monday night. It was misty, foggy, drippy all of Tuesday. Long twilights do not exist in this weather. If there is some sun, then the twilight can last seemingly for 2 hours, perhaps. Otherwise, it gets dark early and quickly. The Princess drove to Toppenish today (Tuesday) and had to turn on the headlights by 2:30 p.m. Sunset is at 4. Hard to tell the nighttime from the day. 😉 We’re approaching the annual minimum of 8 hours of “daylight” before the days start lengthening. Much better than the 4.5ish hours in Fairbanks at the shortest day.
I remember Comet Fizzle. 1973. Twas Comet Kahoutek, aka the Great Disappointment. The brightness of these things defies predictability.
Ahhh, cactus. Wonderful plants. So many varieties. During one vacation, the Princess and I drove from Flagstaff, Arizona south through the wondrous Oak Creek Canyon, then Prescott (where my dad lived for 2 years in a tent during the Great Depression), then out of the mountains into the low desert. We saw a lot of saguaro cactus in the lower elevations. They’re common in western movies, so the Princess wanted her picture with one. We found a good spot and got a good photo of her near some saguaro. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro
Then there was the guy I shared an office with in Las Cruces. One September Saturday morning, he wanted to go on a long ride on our bicycles. The temperature was no longer in the blistering range, but was still a warm, sunny and arid 30C or so. I was hydrated and brought water. He had no water, was not hydrated and refused to share my water. At the midpoint of our 30km ride, we found a stand of ripe prickly pear cactus. Very tasty and full of water. I peeled some of the fruit with my pocketknife and enjoyed it. He broke them open and ate them out of their skin. The needles protrude inside the skin. Yes, he had cactus spines in his tongue and elsewhere in his mouth. I DID warn him.
After returning to university campus, we decided to go to the tiny restaurant a bunch of us hung out at. Best Mexican food I’ve ever eaten. By far. (Second best was surprisingly at a restaurant in the Las Vegas airport!) Naturally, he had never eaten any type of Mexican food before. Ever. Another guy came with us. Dehydrated Guy decided to order the spiciest thing on the menu. We warned him against it, as we KNEW from experience. Again, he wouldn’t listen. He also ordered a pitcher of water to drink, which of course made the heat worse. We suggested beer, wine or milk. He didn’t listen. He got so uncomfortable that he was steaming and sweating. Our friend and I enjoyed our meals, complete with the appropriate beer, and were none the worse. Man Who Will Not Listen was very uncomfortable even into Tuesday.
Dude, 10 inches of rain the past several weeks? That is a LOT. I sympathize with Ollie. I’d probably be out of sorts also. Avalanche enjoyed today’s rain. She would NOT come indoors until well after dark AND after the rain had ceased.
So, on the sunny days, it was you getting up at daybreak. That hurts too. It does, however, remind me of some type of song from some famous book or other. 😉 Dwarves were singing “We must away ere break of day to find our long forgotten gold.” Sounds like you, however, were breaking and moving and restacking rocks.
A good amount of the organic matter you threw into the developing garden bed would be unusable to me. The larger twigs and branches really don’t break down well for me. Those are the things I chuck into the compost bin for the City compost project. The smaller stuff does well, some getting dug directly into the garden beds, the remainder getting added to the compost pile.
Good job with the chickens and their new nesting area. Looks better with the added bonus of the upper level not being able to “bomb” the lower level. The hens sure didn’t like the new order though, did they? It was new and different and threw them out of their normal routine. Seems to be true of all animals doesn’t it?
The homemade raspberry ice cream at the club’s potluck was superb, as usual. We had a good turnout and a good feed. Your raspberries look luscious.
Chives are so pretty. And tasty. My mother grew them. I keep threatening to plant some, but never get around to it. Maybe this coming year. 😉
DJSpo
Hi Lewis,
Bummer of a day man! The interweb modem decided to crack the sads. Then I was off the air. In earlier days, this would not have been a problem, but in these enlightened days with so much work being on the cloud, well you can imagine how things rolled. After six hours of mucking around, I got the interweb modem working again. Truly, it has to be one of the most complicated machines known to man. That particle accelerator thing they dug for some unknown reason, a piffle! My head is now spinning. And once I got the thing working again, well the work which needed doing, had to then be done. Must have done something super bad in a past life for sure. Possibly involving tin cans… 🙂
Yup, the addendum works. It’s a lucky dip, or how they say it nowadays: a grab bag (whatever that is). Oh, I thought it meant the same thing as a go-bag, but that’s an entirely different and slightly more practical matter.
Despite the looks of the vase, it would have been quite the find. Hey, I’m always amazed, and we’ve spoken about this before, but why super expensive historic cars are just sitting around some dusty bat-poo (the real bat cave if you ask me!) riddled barn are just waiting to be discovered by enthusiasts with deep pockets. There seems to be no shortage of the things.
Hehe! Yeah, a plan B would have been quite handy for the bloke on the push bike. And maybe also an earlier head start, I mean, he almost made it, and that adds to the poignancy of the squooshing moment. But he could have gone in the entirely opposite direction and by late afternoon enjoyed a nice cup of coffee or tea (take your pick) whilst recounting to friends of the most awful moment he dodged the space needle. But no, the bloke displayed tenacity and stubbornness to change in the face of an entirely new threat – and the strategy failed for the dude. Probably didn’t feel anything.
Oh man, getting stuff done before the holidays seems to be some sort of spectator sport. However, it’s always unfortunate to discover that you’re in the role of the gladiator at such moments and they send you out to face the lions (who always seem to be underfed, provoked and rather annoyed). That was my day today.
Ah, I see. Know thy enemy, is probably the best mantra when faced with new bugs. I’m thinking about such matters with the bees. The dreaded mite is now loose and will get here eventually. There’s a strategy to try, and I’ll give it a go.
The other unsaid thing about older farmers not wanting to change in the face of new threats (A.K.A. Space needle squooshes!) is that mono-cultures and single-simple-approaches aren’t how things roll in nature. With only a single crop, life is sweet for any bug. I agree, diversify first, then worry.
The Silphium plant you referred to looks an awful lot like some sort of hybrid fennel plant. At least the seed pods do. You’d imagine that if the plant was actually found in the wilds, someone would attempt to cultivate it? It’s probably gone due to over extraction. It was a fine attempt by the Greeks to blame the Romans. 🙂 If it is that plant, then it is a very interesting story indeed.
I’ll have to think about that. The whole nature versus nurture argument does my head in. Probably both, is how I consider the matter to play out, but people do so want an answer.
It’s that time of year for you with the drizzle. It was a nice cool sunny day here today, but err, indoors mucking around with pesky computer equipment trying to coax the stuff back to life.
Nice score with the check. Did they? A fine Christmas present, but do try not to be bought off. 🙂
Lots of car parking intrigue goes on in your part of the world. Hope you’re winning the good and righteous battle.
Edging ever closer to my own holidays! Yay!
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
The cactus has been snowed on a few times. The plant sure doesn’t enjoy the cold icy stuff. After the snow melts (hardly more than a day max), the top of the cactus turns black and dies off. It grows back just fine. And the cuttings take very easily.
A lovely gift! And a cactus could survive brief periods of benign neglect inside a house. Life does chuck us all curve balls from time to time. I’m not much good with indoor plants, yet find myself watering the plants in the greenhouse by hand most days of the year.
My head is spinning around and around this evening – computer troubles. Moving on though…
It’s nice being able to enjoy grand old houses. They’re easy on the eye, I hear you. The ongoing maintenance costs would send you loopy though. And like you, we also wanted to head outwards. It’s funny you know but we sort of experienced the best of the big smoke before it became too crowded.
Pam, I cannot lie. Ollie was simply basking in the warm sunlight. I’d required no strenuous activities of him that morning, and he seemed appreciative of the break in the work routine. Meanwhile, we hauled rocks and soil.
How big is that Moby rock? It’s one of the two rocks, I’d originally wanted to get blown up. Sorry, it’s a guy thing. And Sandra said no. Nowadays, she’d probably say yes to that work. I’m sure you’ve faced such requests for support! 🙂
The chickens were funny, and they were also sending me to the funny farm. 😉 We’d tried all sorts of nesting arrangements with them, and they put their beaks down and demanded the water trough design. Seem to like it too. And the three broody chooks are spreading out and luxuriating in their newfound digs.
Insects tend to hide from rain, it’s probably fatal for them to encounter fast moving raindrops. We’ll see how the Kiwi fruit harvest goes, but my best guess right now is about half. The birds got the cherries today, oh well.
Thanks! And there are a lot of flowers at the moment. Makes a nice break from your winter weather, doesn’t it?
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Epic computer troubles earlier today with the modem. Somehow the software settings which run the thing became corrupted. After many hours did a factory reset, couldn’t get it working, and then recalled the backup of the settings I’d taken two months ago. Seems to be working, for now.
That’s the case here as well with those sorts of weather conditions and long twilight, dare I say it, zones… 😉 Sorry for the groaner. You’re not wrong there, 4.5 hours is nuts, but if people can adapt, then why not?
Comet Fizzle, indeed! Dude, they kept saying this summer was going to be hot and dry, and maybe it will get there, but right now, it ain’t! Oh no! Christmas Day is forecast for 20mm to 40mm of rain, with forecast rain for the days on either side. Well I’ll treat it as a present and I guess it’s better than massive fire risk weather. Err, to quote Yoggi Berra, predictions are hard, especially when they’re about the future. How good is that quote?
The Saguaro cactus are majestic looking plants, and real survivors. Some species in the hotter and drier parts of the country can do that trick as well with retaining the water when it’s available: Adansonia gregorii, commonly known as the boab.
Oh my! Those prickly pears are a weed around these parts at much lower elevations in the drier and rocky areas. Super hardy plants, but those spikes. Ouch. I’d heard of people running afoul of the spikes, and worked for a bloke long ago who’s uncle had fed him one. There’s nothing funny about that and you could still see the pain in his eyes years later. Well all those warnings may have fallen on a dehydrated brain, which are known for doing strange things.
Does beer work for chilli attacks? I’ll have to try that, but milk sure helps. I like the blokes colloquial name! It works you know.
So much rain, and more to come. It looks like the cyclone wandering around up the tropical north of the country (Jasper I believe) is causing mischief even down here. It’s a long way. Some parts of the country had a metre of rain. I’d call that sort of rain a disaster zone.
The dwarven folk of yore would know all about rocks and stuff, as well as gold. But the whole early morning thing was just wearing me out. Who’s wired for that?
Ah, I see and appreciate the limits on you with organic matter. The really large stuff gets turned into firewood, but really any large stuff I can chuck into the scary old wood chipper, gets the treatment. 😉 Getting materials to break down into soil is a slowly improving process which takes place over many years. Maybe one day in the far future, we’ll have a compost pile, but until then.
Had to replace the whirly bird thingee on top of the sewer vent pipe a few days ago. Need it really be that high in the air?
The chickens on the higher level would enjoy nothing better than pooping on their friends. Chickens have strange ideas about the pecking order and other such social stuff. I joke to Sandra sometimes about the ‘patterns not being right’ and it always earns me this exasperated look. Not sure what the look means, but it didn’t improve the patterns, did it? 🙂
Yum! Raspberry jam (or ice cream in your case) proves what tasty berries they are. We made batches of jam yesterday. Sandra has been going very science like with the process – and recording the recipe in detail for the sake of future replicability.
Chives are a fine choice in the garden, and mostly they simply look after themselves.
Cheers
Chris
@ all
I wish everyone a very Happy Christmas.
Inge
Yo, Chris – Just as an aside, Saguaro cactus are high on the theft list. Desired by landscapers. So, they’ve started to microchip them. 🙂
I’m sorry about all your computer problems. Don’t I know … But I have no idea what the Cloud is, or how it works. Please don’t explain. Chunks will fall out of my ears.
Warning! Gruesome (sort of) picture ahead. An interesting archaeological discovery, in Britain.
http://www.yahoo.com/news/dna-sleuths-crack-2-000-160038529.html
I was just reading about the Sarmatians, in that book “Pax”. Might have more to say about them, tomorrow.
Still reading “The Lost Supper.” Olive trees, Silphium and now we’re onto wheat. Yup. A relative of the Fennel. There were two contenders for what might have been Silphium. So, as an experiment, the folks at a Turkish botanical garden held a little picnic. A specialist in Roman cooking, did a test. Cooked several Roman recipes that called for Silphium, using both plants. One plants recipes tasted like ca-ca. But the other … ambrosia. So, two small patches of the stuff have been discovered, in Turkey. Maybe 600 plants, all together. But it’s being grown in botanical collections, now, here and there. It takes 5 or 6 years to come to maturity.
The author also had some interesting thoughts, about the extinction, of the plant. There was over harvesting. Maybe the first man-caused extinction of a plant, in history. And, also, when the Romans got North Africa, due to their farming methods, caused actual climate change. He speculates on soil depletion, in the Roman Empire, and thinks it might have been one reason (among many), for the fall. There are also some interesting chemical things, going on, in the plant. And it may end up having some pretty interesting medicinal uses.
Some mysteries aren’t meant to be solved. Deal. 🙂
Our state governor is retiring, after this term. The nice man who sent out the checks, will be running for governor. He may be remembered fondly, come election time. 🙂
Our USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) updated the hardiness zone maps, last month. We notched up a climate zone, or two. This pretty much talks about what we can expect, here in the Pacific Northwest.
http://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/northwest/topic/agriculture-northwest
LOL. Maybe I can finally get the Master Gardeners to trial a lemon?
Last night I took the half bag of dressing bread croutons, and made another big bowl of dressing. I fried up an onion. Simmered the chicken, butter, water and a scoop of the onion. Chopped celery, mushrooms, dried cranberries and the rest of the fried onions and bread went into a bowl. Just for poops and giggles, added some sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Poured the simmering butter / chicken over the whole mess, gave it a good mix, and nuked it for 9 minutes. Tasty, and I’ll be eating off it, for a couple of days.
I broke open a jar of the current jam, and put a bit of that on top. It has the same tart flavor as cranberry, but is slightly different. A bit seedy, but not as bad as blackberries. I got to thinking, now that I’ve used up all the bread, that I could probably repeat the whole process, with brown rice. Next time I “do” dressing, I’ll give it a whirl. Probably not too long, as I do want to use up that chicken I froze up, and not waste it. Lew
Hi Inge,
And wishing you a merry Christmas as well. Are you having a Christmas lunch, and is your son supplying any home raised pork? Roast pork is seriously tasty.
Christmas day here will be very stormy. Apparently thunderstorms and heavy rain is on the menu here. You get such weather during the summer months. By contrast, today was a superb sunny summer day. We dug and relocated a lot of soil today (some top soil and a lot of clay). I’m officially on a short break (although have to do paid work one full day next week). 🙂 As is remarked in your country: Mustn’t grumble.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Those plants take hundreds of years to grow, so thefts would compromise the entire local fragile environment where they originally grew. Far out. I’d microchip them too. The five foot tall tree fern planted in the drainage basin was harvested from a logging coup, but even so, the plant I reckon is about a century old. The same species grow in the forests here near to the creek at the bottom of the property, and they’re best left alone. It’s tagged too. The folks who ran the nursery said it was a lucky chance they could even supply me – a moment in time when they actually had some supply. Such long lived plants deserve respect, care and attention. Not sure that the average landscaper would provide that.
Dude, the real horror of the computer troubles was that I had to fork over a thousand bucks this morning for a replacement modem, and am now waiting on back order which is due to be filled maybe next month. Hope nothing goes wrong in the meantime, although as you’d imagine, I have a plan B and a plan C tested and ready to go. They’re just not super-fluffy-optimal. How could they be? Anywhoo, render unto Caesar and all that jazz.
I’ll save you any further stress and not even mention what a fragile environment the cloud thing actually is. I respect your boundaries.
The skeleton had remarkably good teeth, which the archaeologists clearly put to some clever use. It’s amazing how people travelled widely in those days. You sent me on a long and deep interweb rabbit hole beginning at that very subject. The volumes of people travelling nowadays will not be sustained, but the facts suggest that there will always be those adventuresome souls who want to check out what’s beyond the horizon. Might not be all that comfortable though. I noticed that the article hadn’t mentioned what the causes where for the demise of the young traveller. Or had I missed that bit?
I’ll be interested to hear what you have to say about the Samaritans.
It was a good guess, the Silphinium leaves and seeds in the depictions looked an awful lot like fennel. It’s good that the plant will be reproduced by folks with an interest in the matter. Such work is why botanical gardens get economically supported. Incidentally five to six years to come to maturity for the plant, is not bad at all. The best way I reckon to get such plants to once again prosper, is to make the seeds widely available to enthusiasts. Why not tap their energy? I had several canines following me around whilst working outside today, and it’s a useful way to ensure the species survival. Ollie cleared off a couple of deer today.
Didn’t the ancient Greeks also have similar dramas with their agricultural systems? It takes a lot of effort, and dare I use the word, restraint, to gain a harvest whilst building up the environmental resources in an area. Nature can provide a pound of flesh, but if taken too far, there are always costs.
Speaking of such things, I’ve got to get the past five weeks of coffee grounds spread around the orchards before the rains arrive on Sunday. Should get it done, maybe. 🙂
We started outside work late this morning. Some paid work needed wrapping up before the office was closed for the next two weeks (less one day next week which I am unable to avoid). It’s my annual holiday, dude! 🙂 Sorry, got a bit over excited there. Anyway, in order to celebrate this most auspicious achievement, we then spent several hours digging soil for another rock gabion cage. Got the job done by about 3pm, then went and had some lunch. A fine lunch as well, despite the order being accidentally forgotten, and the kitchen almost being closed. Ook! It’s close to Christmas, and such things happen. The excavated clay was relocated to the path on the downhill side of the chicken enclosure, and the top soil was placed on a new garden bed. It’s precious stuff top soil. And hard physical work clears the cobwebs from my brain.
I’ll take your fine advice in relation to the acceptance of mysteries, and try and deal. It’s not always easy when the first question which pops into my mind is: But why? Hehe! Personally, I blame society. 😉 How good was that film? I should re-watch it. A true cult classic.
Oh, the timing of the check is very convenient for the bloke, and hope you remember his good deeds when it comes time for you to cast a vote. Honestly, my fees (probably like yours) are higher than fifty bucks, but it goes a long way.
Dude, the top crops you grow in your environment, and in fact in all three states, are identical to the ones I can grow here. I do joke around, but seriously, with a bit of care on the very coldest and windiest of cold days, I reckon you could grow the really cold tolerant varieties of citrus. Cough, cough, Meyer Lemons. You just have to protect them from the coldest of winds. Maybe plant them near to the building protected from the northerly winds? It snows where you are, but not for very long. I haven’t seen snow here for the last two winters, and the citrus trees shrugged off the sort of snow I get anyway. I’d pick the citrus rootstock carefully though, because sometimes your soil could get rather sodden. Having volcanic-clay-loam on the side of a hill has some benefits when it comes to drainage.
Your dinner sounds very tasty. Glad to hear that the roast chicken is producing such excellent meals. Yum! How easy are dressings to make? We used to buy a Caesar salad dressing (the one with actor’s name), and for a while it wasn’t available, so a bit of interweb research, some trials in the kitchen, bam – we don’t need to buy the stuff any more. Cutting supplies can produce creative outcomes.
I agree, currants and cranberries don’t really taste all that different to me. You can tell the difference, but it’s not a vast insurmountable chasm. And, if I may add, currants are easier to grow.
In breaking cheese news… Began a new batch of mascarpone cheese this evening. This time around we used cream which was reportedly single origin organic with a fat content of 44%. Truly, it was twenty bucks for about 20 fluid ounces of the stuff. Not something I’ll do very often. Already, the cheese produced looks better. Who knew they even chucked gelatin in commercial cream? Might bake the biscuits tomorrow. A Christmas tiramisu is in the works!
Cheers
Chris
I’ve been thinking about your cactus. Funny how we get attached to things. Shared history, comfort with the familiar, and some odd resonance with other living things that like us, just keep on keeping on. We are rooting for the other sparks of life that somehow just stay alive through all that the world flings at us. Billions of years of evolution have developed some real winning strategies. Millions of species didn’t have that special blend, and are no longer with us.
At some point, cold hard pragmatism steps in, but we humans are a weird mix of top predator and mushy sentimentalists. A reflection of our evolutionary successful mix of group cooperation and empathy and personal self interest.
Our indoor house cat Houston is around 16 years old. He sleeps a lot these days. Still pretty healthy, but you can see the changes coming on. I like him, enjoy when he sits in my lap, but I don’t get deep attachments to pets, maybe as a defense to eventual pain? Dunno.
Patsy, however, will take it hard. She is especially doting of late, I think sees that our days with him are nearing their end.
Merry Christmas. We’ll have a houseful this year, All three “kids” (our oldest is 40 now!?!?!?) and three grandkids. I might not get to your weekly post very quickly.
Chris:
How on earth could a mere modem cost a thousand bucks?!
Pam
Hello Chris
It will indeed be home grown roast pork + my more unusual addition, roast celeriac which is my absolute favourite roast vegetable.
Inge
Yo, Chris – How do the tree ferns propagate? Just out of curiosity. Spores, like other ferns? You seem to have good luck with plants naturalizing, maybe your tree fern will produce issue? Do they have an angsty teen phase? 🙂
Yikes! That is a pricy bit of hardware. I’ve been looking at my computer replacement options, and, much to my surprise, what I want is 1/2 the price of what I originally paid. Still pricey, but a pleasant surprise. Won’t hit the savings, quit as hard.
People get restless. I hope they follow up with more information on the bloke. Tossed in a ditch? Doesn’t bode well for the end of his life.
Sarmatians. Don’t forget the “R”. The Samaritans (coexisted with the Jews, sort of) were a completely different group, also a thorn in the Roman’s side in the Middle East. Both groups ended up co-opted into the Roman auxiliary forces. The Sarmatians (Steppe horse people) were conquered by Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 175CE, and drafted into the Roman legions. And, sent to Britain.
Well, the whole Mediterranean basin, was eventually played out and became a whole lot dryer and desert like. Some of it was climate change, and some man caused. Take, as an example, the famous Cedars of Lebanon. Mostly gone, now. Here’s a bit on what happened to them.
“Ottoman Turks axed many of the surviving cedars for trade, while British troops used cedar wood to build railroads during wartime. Only 17 square-kilometres, 0.4 percent of the estimated ancient cover, of cedars remain in Lebanon nowadays, hanging on in a few scattered redoubts.”
But even before the Ottoman’s just about every group in the Med hit them hard. The Jews wanted huge timbers for the roof of their temple. The Greeks for the roofs of their temples. Ditto, the Romans.
Speaking of re-watching classic films, I re-watched “Warm Bodies,” last night. I needed a zombie fix, and have become aware of Nicolas Hoult, as an actor, and didn’t trig to the fact that “Warm Bodies” was one of his early films. He played Renfield, in “Renfield.” 🙂 Just as good the second time around.
Funny how you adapt or tumble to something that’s been staring you in the face, all along. Re: the Caesar Salad dressing. I was buying frozen Brussels sprouts, from the grocery. And, it suddenly dawned on me that I can buy them fresh, at the local veg store. So, that’s where I source them, now.
Is there a Mascarpone cheese cam? 🙂 Be sure and leave Santa a chunk of your Tiramisu. He might upgrade your gifts.
I picked up a book from the library, yesterday, that The Editor may or may not be interested in. “The Costumes of Downton Abbey” (Marriott, 2023). It’s a huge, mostly color, coffee table book. I haven’t taken a close look at it yet, but it looks pretty interesting. Yikes! $60 US dollar, according to the cover.
I had another thought about depletion of resources. A lot of the ancient natural resources, were heavily regulated and protected, by what ever original regime had access to it. Sooner or later, they were conquered, usually for their resources. The conqueror would exploit the heck out whatever resource (strip mine), and so ended … whatever. There was a story that the last stalk of Silphinium was shipped to Rome, and consumed by Nero. But, that apparently is just “one of those stories,” as Silphinium was mentioned even a couple of hundred years, after Nero. Lew
Hi Chris,
Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas to all. Glad to hear you’re taking a little time off.
When I had chickens they would often take turns and lay eggs in just a few boxes even though they had ten.
I have prickly pear cactus. A friend gave me some a few years ago and they are starting to spread but not too bad. They don’t look too happy now but will pop back and bloom next spring.
Your Christmas weather sounds like what ours is forecast here. Supposed to be mid 50’s and rainy.
Margaret
Chris,
Ick. Sounds like your modem problems got worse. And worse. Ugg. Condolences.
Loved the twilight…zone. Good one. Happy solstice, although it is the day after where you are as I write this. Cloudy, damp, foggy, but +5C. Avalanche and I took advantage of no rain, no snow and went on an extra long walk. The remaining leaves in the yard were no longer snowy or frozen so I raked them up. After cleaning up dog poo. Added to the yard activities there might have been some chase games with Dame Avalanche mixed in with some rougher play. Thick gloves were being worn so she took full advantage. It was fun. I’m exhausted.
I always enjoyed Yogi Berra and his quotables. Some of them are beyond funny.
Yes, saguaro are great! Protected from being removed for development in much of Arizona, I think I heard. The Australian boab is cool. I’ve seen pictures of them before but didn’t know what they were. It’s funny how different plants adapt differently to dry areas.
Beer works wonderfully for most chilis. Milk is good also. Beer works better for some people, milk for others. Beer does better for me.
Thanks. The name does work for him. He entered that program with a master’s in physics. He was working for a professor in the laser lab doing some stuff that was cutting edge at the time. They were trying to lift and float atomic particles via laser light. Man Who Doesn’t Listen mentioned to me a few weeks after the bike incident…they were having problems because the element they were using was too heavy to lift with the laser. I suggested looking at the Periodic Table of Elements, pick a lighter element in the same chemical family. I even told him which one. His response? “That’s stupid. You’re only a first year grad student.”
5 months later the professor came into our office and told Unlistening Man that the professor had figured out to use the same element I had suggested. I said, “Ummm, Maurice, I seem to remember making just that suggestion to you back in early October. You said it was stupid.” Professor looked at me, looked at Maurice Who Doesn’t Listen, quizzed us both and ascertained that I was telling the truth, and said to Unlistening Man, “Your ego just cost us 5 months of research. You idiot! Pull something like this again and you can find a different research specialty.” I felt rather vindicated. Man Who Doesn’t Listen was quite peeved that I had said something.
Early morning stuff. I’m allergic to it. School and work schedules, alas, forced me into 5:30 a.m. starts, or earlier, for decades. I’m now taking full advantage of retirement and avoiding any such nonsense as much as possible.
Compost. Organic matter. The leaves I raked this autumn got spread on the veggie area. They’ll get dug in during the spring.
DJSpo
Hi Steve,
Yeah, and candidly, the cactus is hard to kill. 🙂 It was pretty sad when we first encountered it though. You know, it’s sort of like the first plant win, but as you note, the cactus plant itself is like an emblematic representation of the tenacity of life itself. Imagine the harsh conditions over the long years which would have honed the traits of that species?
Hehe! Couldn’t agree more. I have an inkling that in the future, as a species we’ll have to become far more active participants in the wider land, as in, rather than plundering, we’ll be adding back and modifying.
Sorry to say, but Houston has reached an enviable age, and we’ll probably follow a similar path. Yours is an adaptive strategy which I applaud, and I’ve got a modified form which gets attached but acknowledges the implications of the greater arc. Mark Twain said it all when he wrote a lot of wisdom about dogs. A person can hang on, but the universe does not work that way.
Merry Christmas to you as well. Enjoy the rowdy rabble and hope you all have a lovely time.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
A great question, and one I also wondered about. 🙂 Frankly speaking, we brought this poop down on our own heads. There are no services here, not even fixed copper landlines. The interweb is accessed here over the mobile (cell) phone network, and here is the really weird thing. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and yet you can get 5G service here. Those 5G modems ain’t cheap. And that is the story.
Are you able to visit your mum for Christmas?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Inge,
Home raised roast pork is a sublime festive meal. Yum! And celeriac has a reputation for flavour, although I’ve never encountered the vegetable. You’ve piqued my interest and I’ll track down some seeds.
On the other hand, I’ve grown some turnips this year, and are now left wondering what to do with them? Do you have any recommendations for cooking up those root vegetables?
Made another tiramisu today. This time using proper cream (as distinct from thickened cream which uses gelatin as an emulsifier). The dessert is looking good, and this time around I remembered to take a photo.
Had a walk in a nearby (an hours drive north) dry forest today in order to see an 1867 stone miners cottage, which was in remarkably good (although abandoned) condition. There was even a single large pear tree of some variety and a couple of old quince trees. It amazes me to compare such buildings to the sort of thing which people believe are necessities nowadays. An instructive experience.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Flicked spores are how the tree ferns reproduce. That particular variety in the drainage basin is ‘Dicksonia Antarctica’, and it is a bit harder to get started by spores as they need the exact right conditions. Generally they are only harvested from logging coups where due to the works, the plant will not survive. The more dry adapted varieties ‘Cyathea australis’, I’m told by the fern nursery folks gets started much more easily from the spores. Both grow in the creek at the bottom of the property.
Honestly, I do my very best to avoid anything in the angsty teen phase of it’s existence! Always a dicey encounter. 🙂 Do you reckon Western civilisation is in the angsty teen phase of its arc?
Yeah, the replacement 5G modem is a nightmare of a cost. Infrastructure is one of those things which gets super-expensive to establish and then maintain, when you have no attached services. Probably brought that poop down on my own head by wanting to live in such a place in the first place. Candidly, I’m astounded that there is a strong 5G signal here in the middle of nowhere. Kinda hard to explain.
Good stuff, and hope that the replacement of your computer hardware goes smoothly (when you get around to it). What did they used to say about people coming and going all the time around here? The same might apply to people replacing computer hardware… 🙂
Your ‘restless’ hypothesis is a likely contender. Hopefully, someone looks at the skeleton and takes an educated guess as to what happened. I’ll bet the young bloke never thought he’d be discussed almost two millennia in the future.
Yes, and thanks for the correction with the Sarmatians. That was my first thought with those people, and it was wrong. The steppe’s produce some tough and mobile warriors. I’d imagine that any peoples not aligned with the Roman’s would have been a thorn in the side of the Romans.
I’d imagine that human actions caused a great deal of the changes to those environments. We went about an hours north (further inland) today to pick up some apricots (we had a bad year here for those tasty fruit) and whilst there checked out an old miners stone hut in the forest. Looking around the area, I got the impression that not long before the gold rush era 1850’s onwards, the environment was much more hospitable. The 1867 cottage was really interesting and surrounded by stone walls. It even had an old pear tree and a couple of quince trees. That was all that was left of the garden. I took the camera along, and oh no! I forgot to add in the photo of the old gold mining ruins last week. I’ll chuck it on this week, and maybe post a day earlier due to Christmas and people getting all weirded out if I post an essay on that day.
Ah, the timber of the Cedars of Lebanon trees is moderately dense and resistant to insect attack. Little wonder the trees were so heavily harvested – and the trees were spread to far corners of the planet. I have little worries when such plants survive massive relocations to distant areas. The Notre Dame reconstruction required some seriously old oaks for the replacement of the roof timbers. Big buildings, historically required big trees for materials. Stonehenge will probably outlast them all though.
I really enjoyed the Warm Bodies film as well. Those two lead actors appear to have similarities in the face (despite the age difference). We were talking today about obtaining a copy of Bram Stokers Dracula book. The Editor has read it, and has nothing but good things to say about it. On the other hand, Doctor Frankenstein was an idiot and the story was implausible. Turns out this writing thing is harder than it looks! 😉
Good stuff. Have you noticed any difference in the taste between the frozen and fresh Brussels Sprouts?
Hey, we made a tiramisu this evening, and I must report that the new improved super-expensive cream, did the trick. Think of the dessert as a Christmas dessert, although it is hardly traditional in that capacity. Unfortunately, the evening began very late as a consequence, like 9:30pm, and with dinner (a homemade pizza), it’s now just past 11pm. My eyes are shutting, the dogs are snoring, and bed is calling.
Rest assured, this time photos of the before and after were taken. Yum! I’ll mention the book to the Editor, but alas, the cover price is daunting.
I absolutely agree with you. Look at the soils down here. The organic content % used to be off the charts, and then the introduced sheep ate it all. The wool was fed into the English textile mills and presumably the meat was salted and also sent there. Empires struggle when it comes to such niceties as I dunno, survival. When rules are imposed from afar, the outcomes can be rather strange don’t you reckon?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Margaret and DJ,
I tried, and failed. We made a tiramisu this evening for Christmas and so the night got off to a very late beginning. It’s now past 11pm, and my eyelids are drooping shut. Yawns are hard to stifle, and bed is calling. Will speak tomorrow. Headed off north today to pick up supplies of tasty apricots for bottling over the next few days. It’s been a long day.
Cheers
Chris
Hello Chris
Why doesn’t someone move into the abandoned miner’s cottage or buy it if possible? I would be extremely tempted if I were there and younger.
I don’t like turnips, think that they are boring, so never cook them. Son thinks differently and grows them. so I’ll ask him when I next see him.
Inge
Chris:
Oh, I see. To get 5G here we had to give up our landline, the whole neighborhood did (though I expect that we were the only ones still with one). That makes me nervous.
I visit my mother seven days a week, so I will surely see her for Christmas.
Happy late Solstice.
Pam
Yo, Chris – Ferns, in general, are so cool. Sometimes hard to establish, but once they get going… They seem to have minds of their own, as to where they want to grow. Or, not.
I think Western Civilization is in it’s grumpy old man, phase. 🙂 I sure was grumpy, yesterday. Just a series of small things, some holiday related, some not. People do things to make themselves feel better. Never mind that the subjects of their largess do not feel better, and are generally inconvenienced.
Maybe you’re signal comes from satellites. Or, given the pictures I’ve seen of your wide open vistas, a distant cell tower. Speaking of tech, one of the caregivers has a truck that looks, to me, fairly new. And, it’s big. Ought to be a lot of room under the hood. But, she had to take it into the shop. They found a couple of things that needed replacement parts. One involves having to remove the whole engine, to replace it. So, she’s got a loaner, which is fine. But, she got a call today that she probably won’t get her truck back until after Christmas, as, one of the replacement parts was defective.
Maybe, due to the hasty burial in a ditch, the young fellow was either with a group chasing someone, or fleeing from someone. I’ll have to check out some of my Roman Britain history books and see what was going on, at that time. And maybe more about the Sarmation Cohort. Not much down the rabbit hole.
Sometimes, in places like the miner’s old hut, you find lost varieties of roses. Not enough hours in the day, or days in the year, but it would be interesting to check it out, at different times. See if anything interesting pops up. Slips from the Quince and Pear might be an interesting addition, to your place. You said abandoned. How abandoned? 🙂
The spread of plant species, around the world, can be a problem. But, on the other hand, it’s comforting to know not all our eggs are in one basket. And speaking of eggs, and the old which came first, chicken or egg, well, never mind that. How about, which came first beer or bread? 🙂 More thoughts from the book, “Last Supper.” The thing about the author is, he gets out there and eats (often from his own cooking), ancient food ways.
As many vampire books and films I’ve watched, I can’t say I ever sat down and read Stoker’s “Dracula.” I even read a bio about the author, but never the book, itself. Might have to put it on my bucket list.
Brussels sprouts, fresh or frozen? Keeping in mind that my taste buds aren’t as sharp as they used to be … The texture of the frozen is a bit mushy, nuked up. Compared to the fresh sprouts. Which, I don’t find to be a problem. Some people might. To me, the taste is identical.
It sounds like you’ve conquered Tiramisu. That will look good on your CV. 🙂
Every once in awhile, I hear an odd sound. It usually turns out to be H snoring. She seems to have several different snores. Just to keep me on my toes.
Roman Italy eventually couldn’t feed itself. People coming from all over the empire, to be at the center of action, probably didn’t help. So, vast quantities of grain were brought in from North Africa, and a few other places. This might sound familiar. Supply lines could be a problem. Civil wars, competing emperors, barbarians … cutting supply lines could bring the opposition, to it’s knees, in short order.
I’m reading “The Best Food Writing, 2023”. It’s due pretty soon, and I won’t be able to renew it. More history, and less politics, this year. And, interesting things. See: Rosin potatoes. 🙂
I’m also reading “The Lost Tomb: and Other Real-life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder.” By Doublas Preston who is probably most known for writing action/adventure fiction with Lincoln Child. But over the years, he’s written a lot of non-fiction articles, usually involving true crime or history’s mysteries. There’s a chapter on the Tanis site, at Hell Creek. Where they found all the dinosaurs, killed by the meteor. The interpersonal politics, and feuds, in that story, and a few of the other stories, are pretty interesting. It’s a real academic snake pit. Lots of gate keeping and defending territory.
Ted, one of the Master Gardeners, dropped by, yesterday. He was gathering up some paperwork. LOL. I told him I was gong to e-mail the lead gardener, the day after Christmas, to ask her when they were going to take the Christmas tat, down. 🙂 I brought up hardiness zone changes, and said I was going to bring up trialing a lemon. And, that I’d like to have a pumpkin patch … somewhere. Ted’s pretty receptive, so now to convince some of the other Master Gardeners. Lew
Hi Margaret,
And a Happy Solstice and Christmas to you as well. 🙂
With what I do for a paid income, it is difficult taking time off. People want stuff done, and I’m the guy who gets stuff done. The time off I get is really the bare minimum, but then there are moments I’m enjoying a book, coffee and muffin at a café when others are working, and people don’t understand the other side of that story. Oh well, not my issue.
You know, I’m coming around to the idea that chickens are very social critters, and the broody chickens simply enjoy each others company. We had separate laying boxes as well, and they didn’t want to touch them. The new laying box suits all of the chickens, and since then, I have not discovered any eggs in weird places – or cracked ones – or the worst sort, the remains of a shell. All up, I’d say the time making that box was well spent.
Your dry summer would have stressed out even the prickly pear plants, and your winters would test their best. I’ve heard reliable accounts that the fruit tastes like watermelon, but have never put the words to the test.
It’ll get a bit warmer here, but not by much. 73’F and far out, the thunderstorm threat is very real. In fact, minor tornadoes are on the menu. Yay for Christmas. Isn’t mid 50’Fs kind of warm for you at this time of year?
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
The modem has been very weird, but bizarrely seems to have settled down over the last day or so. I went to the telco and swapped the sim card for a new one. It’s a 5G commercial modem, and those things are expensive even at the entry level. Oh well, moving on. I have a hunch that the modem is located slightly too close to the wood heater, but the operating temperature for the circuitry is designed to run at 75’C max, so the chances of reaching that would be slim at best, but maybe not? Dunno. I told you the thing is meant to be sturdy.
🙂 And a Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas to you as well. Hey, it’s intense living in the future.
Go Dame Avalanche, and she’s a wise dog to comprehend the protection of heavy duty gloves. Dame Plum likewise enjoys such moments when I wear leather riggers gloves. Personally, I get the impression that Dame Plum wants to pull me in a particular direction and is all too happy to use her teeth to achieve that outcome. No doubt Dame Avalanche has similar aspirations?
Good to hear that the Saguaro are protected. Such slow growing plants need a bit of assistance from our species in very harsh environments. Alpine trees can be similarly challenged, and I recall travels in the mountainous areas in the island state of Tasmania and there were miniature trees which were over a thousand years in age. Talk about short growing seasons. Plants can adapt, and there are times I wonder about the fruit trees and how they’ll cope with a changing climate.
Beer will probably work for me as well, and I’d like to put this theory to the test. But probably not tonight, I have to write.
What a story. Oh man, but at least the bloke got his comeuppance. Probably didn’t learn anything from the incident. Such responses can be hardwired. The level of stubbornness surprised me, because I’d wondered whether he’d pinch your idea and present it as his own? That happens sometimes.
Dude, the early morning breakfast club is not an exclusive club, just sayin. The more civilised beginning hour is a far more excloo club, and the perks speak for themselves. I hear you, and did too much of such early morning activity also in my earlier years. ‘Tes not natural.
Good stuff. If at all uncertain, add more organic matter. Spread out about five weeks of the coffee grounds mixture today. It went a very long way. I ended up a bit sunburned, but the naughtiest dog had something to do with that. Hmm.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Inge,
The abandoned cottage was not at all easy to find. It’s got an interesting history (and I’ll put a couple of photos on the next blog as well as the water wheel ruin I forgot to add last week). The land was handed over to the state government. I believe that when in private hands, the cottage was in better condition. I wouldn’t describe it as weather tight, but it is the real deal from that era.
Thanks, and I’ll be very interested to hear what your son has to say about the turnips and how they are best prepared.
Another glorious summer’s day here today, but the heavy rain will arrive tomorrow night.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
Ook! Still at least you have a copper landline, for now. The modems are very expensive, mostly because they’re complicated bits of technology. I tried the cheaper modem, and it kept dropping out regularly. And when you run a business, this is not an optimal situation. It looked bad.
Respect, and I hope your visit Christmas Day is lovely for the both of you.
Happy Solstice to you as well. It’s intense living in the future. 🙂 That line may have been ripped from the cult film ‘Repo Man’. It’s a very silly film about a couple of dudes who repossess motor vehicles, but it’s just strange enough to attain cult status. There you go, all is now explained!
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Well ferns have really particular needs, yeah. There’s an intriguing part of the farm where maidenhair ferns are plentiful and super-reliable. But if you’ve ever tried to grow those ferns, they’re a lot of trouble. Enjoyed the shade of a patch of ferns late this afternoon. Ollie and I spotted a very large wombat, and left it alone. There’s a wombat hole surrounded with ferns, and it looks like a little Hobbit home.
Hehe! Fair enough, and you’re probably right. 🙂 Nothing wrong with getting grumpy, it’s what you do with the emotional energy that is the important bit. Generally if I get grumpy, it’s a sign to me that things be going wrong.
You guessed correctly. We have line of sight to a couple of cell phone towers, and that is the only way we could get 5G.
Ouch! What a story, and this is why I stick to purchasing Japanese produced vehicles. There’s one brand in particular which let’s not mention names, but they had to take out huge advertisements to apologise for the bonkers cost of spare parts. They’re in decline from what I can tell.
The hasty burial of the bloke preserved his skeleton pretty well. But yeah, there is a story there. Did you turn up anything in your history books for that era?
Not this time with the cottage. Now the quince might be very interesting if only because the fruit tree has survived benign neglect on a scale that few fruit trees can. In point of fact, the quince trees here are having a very difficult growing season due to too much water. You can make up your own mind, but it’s abandoned enough.
Which one? My head is beginning to spin. I’d say bread came first. Plenty of cultures use grains to make a form of bread, and get their booze from other methods. But that’s just a guess based on what I’ve read here and there. It’s good that the author can write from a perspective of experience.
The Dracula book is on my bucket list as well.
The taste from those sprouts (which are a form of cabbage I believe) is bitter, and I’m not really a fan of them. They were a regular part of my diet when I was a kid in the meal: Lamb chop and three boiled veg. The meal will keep you alive, but perhaps not set the culinary world on fire.
Fortunately at this stage of my life, I can dodge the CV. I witnessed a move to homogenise them, and was uncomfortable with that.
All those folks have their reasons for upsetting the apple cart of supply lines. Come Jan 1, oil supplies will be reduced. It’s not by much, but it may well mean that people somewhere will go hungry.
Rosin Potatoes. Well I never. Sounds intriguing. Read the article.
Academic snake pits are not my cup of tea.
Well done you. Did you just sow the seed of an idea with the Master Gardeners?
Cheers
Chris
Chris:
All is explained!
Pam
Yo, Chris – I didn’t get to the Roman Brit history books, last night. Maybe, tonight or tomorrow (Christmas) as I intend to spend the whole day, hiding out. 🙂
I knew I had read something about Brussels sprouts, and bitterness. It’s in you’re genes! You have the TAS2R34 gene. Don’t feel bad. You’re not the lone ranger. 50% of the world’s population have the variant. In the 1990s, the cleaver Dutch figured out what chemicals are involved. And, these days, there are varieties of sprouts that are less bitter. Also, there are ways to cook the sprouts, that make the bitterness less noticeable. I don’t know what I’d do without my Crucifers. I like them all.
You can do a lot of things with a turnip, that you can do with a potato. Not that I’ve ever tried. I hear mashed turnip with butter and pepper is quit nice. Maybe, with a bit of garlic?
One of the fringe benefits of retirement (and your situation) is never having to do a job application, again! With my checkered job career, I had to do a lot of fiddling with dates. Extending some to cover gaps of things that really didn’t apply, to what I was applying for.
Prof. Mass has another post (12/22) on our region and renewable energy. One hopes cooler heads, prevail.
That’s a terrible pun, about the Master Gardeners 🙂 . Planting seeds, indeed. I received my first seed catalog, yesterday. Haven’t had a chance to settle in with it, yet. I prefer another seed company, but, if they don’t have what I’m looking for, I fall back on the one I just received.
Last night I watched the director, Del Toro’s new “Pinocchio”. NOT a Dizzy version, but I didn’t see much that a child couldn’t take in. It’s all stop motion, and I watched some of the extras. It was a collaboration between stop motion studios in Mexico, Britain and … Portland, Oregon. I quit liked it, and it’s well worth a look. Lew