Reconsiderations

It is Sept 11th and I am becoming torn about how to respond to the 20th recognition of such a horrible event.  I  wrote a post in great anger a couple of days ago.  Everything I wrote in it is true,  to me.  But I decided not to post it here.  I spoke of anger and not ever forgiving the events of THAT DAY.  And I do NOT forgive.

But this morning, I also thought about hope and new days and the past, and I decided to change my post to reflect that.  I understand that part of the World's problems are due to various People nursing old angers and victimizations.  How long should anger continue?  I remember reading about some people expressing anger about a battle fought in the 1400s (I do not recall who or which battle now).

The US fought 2 wars against Great Britain, yet we are strong allies now.  The US fought against Germany, Italy, and Japan in WWII, yet were are allies now.  People who live today are not the same people who lived in the past.  

Many people around the World and within the United States think we think we are "all so much " or "all that".  Yeah, sometimes.  We are fortunate here.  Otto von Bismarck once said, if memory serves me correctly,  "America is blessed by God having oceans on 2 sides and weak neighbors on the other 2".  Let's say "peaceful" for now.  I like our good neighbors...

So maybe this round number of years is time to begin to let anger go.  We in the US are not innocent of horrible crimes against others.  

I acknowledge that there were people here before my European ancestors, but migrations happen in history.  And I know about slavery.  We have done wrong and I can't change the past.

But I listened to a song today and it reminded me of hope.

Hope has come from many places around the world though time.    Freedom has sprung up in the weediest places and defended to the death.  Sometimes it lasts and sometimes it doesn't.  

In my lifetime, "America" has stood for hope.  It's not perfect or anything "real" close, but sometimes a good try is worth it.  As Churchill said "The Americans do the right thing...  eventually."

So I was reminded of a song.  And today it felt more important.  We here are more divided than for scores of years.  We will re-unite...

Because there is a basic promise in our very existence.  Hope, freedom, and a promise that most of us agree on outside of politics.

The symbol is from France...

The words "We The People" have reverberated though 2 centuries+, and 

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Still has meaning...

It is a promise not kept perfectly lately, but I think things are changing again.

The song is from Neil Diamond, who expressly described his Grandmother (as like so many others) reaching our shores from the far parts of the World...

Coming To America

Someday, the US will fade into history or change from what it was; every good nation has and no nation can hold the best ideals forever. History move forward relentlessly as things change.  Sometimes cruelty and horror erupts.  But somewhere there is always an island of hope.  I think we are that, however briefly.  It has been other places at different times.

To paraphrase Edna St. Vincent Millay:

Our candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, our foes, and oh, our friends—
We gave a lovely light!

But for today, and with a sense of humility, we are doing the best we can and I am pretty proud of the dream.    

Better than anger and hatred.  Cherish hope! 

You can read my original post HERE.  It's a site I've used for various purposes at various times.  There is a part of me that still thinks as I wrote there, and probably always will.  Sometimes we hold conflicting thoughts in our minds.

Let's say I am going 75% with this post and 25% with the post at the link for now.  It will certainly change over time, and I don't really know in which direction...

New Kitten Delayed

I called the Tonkinese breeder yesterday.  She knows I am looking for a female of light colors like Iza.  Turned out the newest litter was 5 males in the color I wanted and the one female was dark brown.  Well sometimes gender is uncertain for weeks.  

But she assures me the litter of her partner-in-breeding has had a healthy litter of mostly females 2 weeks younger and ready for adoption in early October and they are sure the colors will be about what I wanted.  And will send pictures of all.

I'm to blame if I have Iza in mind.  I keep saying "whatever close " in my head, but I keep saying "Iza" in my heart.  I'm torn...

The available "brown" female Tonkinese might melt my heart.  Brown would be different, but the breeder says their colors get darker.  Yeah, Iza's did too.  I didn't mind that.  It made her different after her first year.

She has the picture of Iza on her wall next to my name.  She understands about colors.  I can't describe Iza by Tonkie colors but she can.  I think Iza was "platimum or champaign" but blue eyes only come from some mixtures.

The next litter are ready in early October.  Quite frankly, at that point, I will take any female Tonkie I can get.  I've waited a year and a half.  Has to be female though.  3 males and Ayla would feel odd.

Arranged for the car to be "maintenanced" tomorrow.  First annual visit to the dealership since I bought it.  If I have to do a 90 mile each way trip for a cat, I want to make sure it is ready for a highway.   The dealership service department pulled me in 2 directions.  First, 700 miles in a year is not a problem in most ways.  But a year is too long for oil or coolant sometimes.  I have enough problems with gas-powered yard equipment; I won't risk a new car.

I'll let them do what they want.  Most of it is free for the first years anyway.  I just want to make sure I can safely drive at highways speeds to the breeder 90 miles and back and not worry about oil and coolant.

Looking forward to Lorelei Lee even if it is ANOTHER few weeks.  Though my patience IS thinning.

Will post promised pics from the breeder when I get them...

Blogging

The best computer response to a sent Comment  is:  "Your comment has been posted".

The second best is:  "Your comment is awaiting moderation" (well at least it got through).

The worst is "Oops there is an error".  Well, thats why we usually remember to copy it first!

LOL!

Griping

Hi - Anyone bored enough to trade being 50 or younger for 71?   I'm offerring good rates; I'll hardly charge anything in exchange for 20+ years of life-experience...

I'm beginning to feel like a clone in a sci-fi movie that is wearing out.  Don't worry, this is all just a gripe; not depression.  I'm happy enough with life not to feel depressed.  But things are creeping up on me.

I'm tired of the muscle cramps.  Oh sure, they happen sometimes even when you are younger when you over-exert yourself, and that is normal.  Around 60, they started getting a little more common, but still mostly when I did too much yardwork.  You hold a shovel tightly enough while digging, a cramp a few hours later isn't that odd.  I push myself a lot.

Living alone means having to do "necessary things" that would be better off with 2 people doing it.  

I suppose an equation would be:  Doing 2x times 2y projects times AgeZ = 2 cramps...  OUCH!

It is almost becoming a daily routine.  I go outside and do some yardwork.  I've gotten smart enough to take breaks after 1/2 hour, wear padded gloves, apply some muscle rub...  MOST days are OK.  But more often lately, preparing dinner a few hours later results in hand cramps as I grip knives to cut veggies and meat and hold a wok spatula, etc.  And if I apply a muscle ointment then, the knife handles are hard to hold.

And sometimes the surface muscles on one side of my ribs or the other will cramp.  That's the least ones.  Bending over slightly and waving my arms below me resolves that in a few minutes.  Definitely not heart problems.  Very surface and no dizziness or other discomfort.  

But night-time is getting worse.  There can be any of several kinds of muscle cramps when I lay in bed.  The least is when the ankle muscles "harden".  It doesn't actually hurt, but it is annoying.  Next are the calf muscles.  That hurts some, but I can stretch my foot back and forth and it stops in a minute.

The backside thigh muscles (hamstring?) are the bad ones.  I will suddenly wake up feeling a cramp that feels like the muscle will tear loose from the bone.  I have to walk around for 15-20 minutes before it stops.  Sometimes I'm lucky enough to be awake and feel the first pull and I jump out of bed before it gets worse.

I saw a basketball game once where a player had that cramp and use a rolling stick to press along the muscle like using a rolling pin.  I bought one.  It is hard to use on yourself...  So I walk around until it goes away.

There isn't much connection between yardwork and that cramp.  And it isn't like I sleep all pulled together with my legs pulled up tightly.  My cats sleep against me (which limits my movement sometimes), but it happens without them around me too.

I may get dehydrated.  I'm sometimes very good about drinking a lot of water, but then forget for a while.  But I typically get a lot of water from meals.  My first meal of the day typically is a sandwich with a mug of green tea, a mug of milk, some small amount of Coke, and celery, cucumber, carrot; so that's a fair amount of water.  After I work outside, I often drink a pint of water and-or Gatorade.  

Dinner and dessert involves a fair amount of water.  I eat a lot of fresh veggies and they are mostly water (meat is usually about 3 ozs).  Dessert is always assorted fresh fruit and lots of it.  Aside from keeping me from drinking that 3rd glass of wine, I'll enjoy a peach, a plum, a handful of grapes, some cherries, apple slices, some melon cubes, and  they are mostly water.  

I may be alternating between hard work and sitting too much.  Daytime means outside or inside work;  evening means watching TV or being on the computer.  When I sit in the easy chair to make a lap for the cats, I put an ankle onto the other leg.  And shift legs when one feels stiff.  My right knee is getting worse.  Maybe I am warping my legs indulging The Mews.

Maybe I should start taking a walk down the street after drinking a pint of Gatorade.  And standing more instead of sitting.  I've been a "stander" in the past; sitting is new.  I was a "stander" in my office whenever I had the chance.  Really, I spent a lot of time on the telephone and got a long cord so I could pace back and forth.  Maybe it would be good to get back into that habit.

I feel too young to be old...

Gripe...

Catching Up

Wow, 2 weeks since I posted here!  Well, I've been busy. 

1.  My lettuce trays on the deck "bolted" in the August heat.  Time to replant.  I have a large shallow plastic tub I use for mixing potting soil for Spring plantings.  Fine for dumping the soil in the trays and mixing it around to add new slow-release fertilizer, too.  

I did that on the deck.  No rain forecast for 2 days, so time to let it dry a bit for easier mixing.  Naturally, it rained.  And then more forecast for the next day, so I covered it wit a piece of plywood that almost reached the edges so I added a a big trask bag to reached over the sides.

The rain got in there anyway!  So I tilted it and siphoned the water out.  Muddy water doesn't siphon well, so I had to keep fussing with the tube.  I got most of it out.  And realized I had a dry tray inside, so I added that to soak up the rest.

That's not exactly rocket science, but it does take time.  I covered it better today.  The remnants of Hurricane Ida are coming straight through here Wed and maybe dropping 2-3 inches of rain on us.  The last thing I need for the trays is mud.  It compacts as it dries and I want to replant soon.  I miss my bright red leaf lettuce in my salads!

2.  I bought a battery-powered mower in 2018.  It's pathetic.  I went by Amazon ratings (no offence to Amazon) but I sometimes forget that their ratings only apply to customer ratings about things Amazon sells.  So if they sell average stuff, the best ratings are still about average stuff.

The Greenworks mower I bought has batteries difficult to remove (I devised twine loops to pull them out),  the batteries die after 10 minutes, the power is so weak that the mower cringes at 4" grass being cut down to 3", and it is entirely push/pull.  I've hated it for 3 years!

So I went to Consumer Reports magazine website (I have a subscription) and went looking for the best self-propelled models.  Wow, what a difference!  The one I bought in 2018 was rated poor.  

The best Top 3 ones at CR were about the same.  I bought a Ryobi "40V HP Brushless 21 in. Cordless Battery Walk Behind Self-Propelled Lawn Mower with (2) 6.0 Ah Batteries and Charger", model RY401014US (if you are curious).

I used it yesterday and it worked great.  Powerful, long-lasting. cut down 16" high weeds in an old bed for renovation (with a bit of care).  I had let a tall-growing weed grow there to smother the others.  I love the self-propelled rear drive wheels.  I WAS disappointed to realize that it didn't self-propel in reverse, but apparently none of them do.  My DR brush-mower does and I made an assumption that forward also allowed back.

But I use it in tight spaces and around trees where the riding mower can't go.  It's the forward self-propel that helps the most.

3.  And speaking of the DR brush mower (brutal thing that can cut down weedy shrubs and wild saplings 1.5" thick, turns blackberry canes into mulch, and is self-propelled forwards and back), I left it with gas in the tank 2 years ago (well, I expected to use it again soon but didn't).  Won't start now.  Have to inject the fuel line with "starter fluid".  Sounds like an old boy scout joke about smoke shifters, sky hooks, and 50' of shoreline, but it is real.  

If that doesn't work, back to the repair shop and and they both slow and expensive.  One thing I hate repairing is gasoline engines.  I can fix a lot of things, but those aren't one that comes easily.  

A neighbor once climbed up on the fence and asked if I was good at repairing things.  I said "yeah, as long as it isn't a 2-stroke gasoline engine".  You should have seen the look on his face; that was exactly what he needed help with, LOL!

I am switching to almost all-battery stuff these days.  They just keep working,

4.  Time for my first car maintenance visit.  13 months and I've driven 600 miles!  Laugh if you want to; I just don't drive much.  But I'm going to have to drive 120 mile round trip sometime in September to adopt my female Tonkinese cat, so I need to make sure the car is ready for a trip.

5.  The garden is producing a meal's worth of flat italian Romano beans every other day.  Not bad for a 5' long 1' wide trellis".  My 3 cherry tomatoes have fruits and I expect to strt picking ripe one in 2 weeks.  The regular-size tomatoes were planted late and are just beginning to open blossoms.  It will be a contest between warm-weather growing and the first frost on late October.  I expect a month's worth at least.  Maybe 6 weeks.

6.  The deck Mums are starting to bloom.  Yellow, orange, and red.  That will be nice.

7.  The Black-Eyed Susans are blooming nicely.

Actually, they are very numerous and spreading.  Well, they are native here. so no threat.  I encourage them.  They bloom for a few months.  My plan is to transplant the Susans in the garden paths to the meadow bed and add purple coneflower transplants (from places I don't want them).  Yellow and purple together look good to me.

Lighting

 I've always had a problem with my kitchen ceiling 4' fluorescent light.  It is attached to the ceiling.  Every Summer when the temps get up to 90F, it doesn't want to light.  It flickers, but won't light up fully.

I had an electrician here for other work some years ago and asked him about it.  I assumed he would replace the ballast.  Well, I can hook up wires because the logic is ppretty obvious.  But I'm no electrician. I barely udersrtand what a ballast is and I sure would try to replace one.

He asked if I had new tubes.  I did and changed them.  The light came right on.  I have no idea why he didn't want to get some money for replacing the ballast, but maybe he thought it wouldn't help.

So every July, I replace the tubes.  Until this year, that worked.  It's the heat from the attic.  If it wasn't, why else would the light fail in Summer?  But this year, I replaced the tubes and they only lasted 3 days!

I had to consider separating the light from the ceiling or replacing it entirely.   Either way, a suspended fixture to free it from the attic heat.  I considered an attic fan, but those can be noisy...

And then we had a cooler week and the light worked again.  Clear proof it is heat-related...

So I decided to replace the fluorescent tube fixture with a 5-LED light suspended fixture I found.  I could hook that up.  Its just a couple of obvious wires and a few screws in the ceiling to hang it 4" below.  Or I could detach the existing fixture and suspend IT.  Either would probably work, but I'm not thrilled about messing with electricity these days myself.

Like, I was working on replacing a ceiling fixture in the basement and I felt "pulses".  Well, if I hadn't been sitting on a wooden ladder, I might have electrocuted myself!  So I favor hiring someone these days. Everyone has skills; electricity is "iffy" for me.

So I did some research about fluorescent vs LED fixtures!

Both are efficient.  Both are better than incandescent bulbs.  Both last a long time.

But what matters is "lumens" and "color temperature/light spectrum".  Watts are electric demands, lumens are brightness, color is the visible light.  Just saying it in case you don't know, it can get confusing...  

I assumed that LED bulbs were not only more energy-efficient than fluorescents, but provided more lumens.  I was wrong!

As I stood in the DIY store light aisle, I compared wattage to lumens.  And a watt is a watt.  You pay by the watts.  Well, to my surprise, fluorescents provided more lumens per watt than LEDS!  Check it if you want to...

Two 40 watt fluorescent tubes provided more lumens (brightness) at equal color temperatures than 40 watt LED bulbs did!  

I love that LEDs can be turned on and off without damage to their life-span.  I love that they fit into any standard incandescent socket.  I love that they last 10 years.  I have them almost everywhere these days.

But for my kitchen light to provide the brightness I like, fluorescents are better.  I think I will take a shot at lowering the existing kitchen ceiling light to escape it from the attic heat.

Bean

I mentioned I grow Italian flat pole beans.   I didn't show how large they get.

And they are tender and tasty even at that size!  It doesn't take many to make a good side dish.  And unlike bush beans, once they start producing, they never stop until the first hard freeze!  Cut them up into 1" pieces, simmer in chicken broth or some garlic for extra flavor.  Sometimes I add mushroom bits.

Quite aside from that, I set out mosquito traps starting in April when the local mosquito eggs hatch from over-wintering.  The female mosquitos always need to find a water source for the eggs to hatch in so I give them some.  With Bt dunks in them (sized to the container - half sized for the small pond, smaller for the water jugs).  BWA-HA-HA...  The Bt is a bacteria that only attacks mosquito larva.  The eggs go into tempting water jugs and adult mosquitos never come out!  They are cheap too.  Find them in any DIY box store or online.

Bt is safe for people, pets, fish, and almost anything else.

I have about a dozen wide-mouth jars baited around the yard.  And I add some to any planter trays where water can collect.  There are other place that can be overlooked.  Rain gutters, downspouts, etc.  I make sure those drain well.

I even found an old turtle shell upside down (poor turtle) with water in it, so I turned that over to drain.  I'm sure there are some small water-sources that elude me.  I DO get bitten sometimes (aloe works well, but 1% Hydroxine works better - either is better than nothing).

I have been using Repel Lemon Oil Eucalyptus rather that Deet the past 2 years.  Both got equal ratings from Consumer Reports, but I read that Deet is slightly bothersome to cats.

Dead Trees

Last year was hard on trees here.  Very dry.  And I only say that about MY local conditions.  It has been horribly drier in other places.  But I'm here and not there.  So I have my only experience "here".

Many years ago, I planted Golden Rain trees on either side of the driveway near the street.  I like "specimen" trees, small and interesting.  Golden Rain produces ping-pong-ball-sized seed packets in July that turn deep yellow as they mature.  The seeds never seem to grow, so I assume they are sterile hybrids.  And that is good; I don't want invasive plants.  But they ARE interesting in the middle of Summer (I have some other trees and shrubs for Spring and Fall color).

But, as I said, last year was harsh.  One is completely dead (it sent up one shoot from the trunk, but it didn't last long). 

 The other is half dead.  IT looks fine from the house, but dead from the street.  I'm not an arborist, but I have "enough" understanding of pruning small trees to remove the deadwood properly (undercut, then downward cut, then allow 1/2" "branch collar cut" for healing.

The surviving tree will look unbalanced for a few years, but the tree will send out new branches and I know how to direct them slightly if necessary.  

I also lost a beech tree.  I was slightly fooled at first, because there were vines growing on it and the vine leaves made it look like the tree was recovering.  When I pruned the vines at ground level, and THEY died, the sad truth was obvious.  

The tree was here when I moved in 35 years ago.  If you look closely, you will see that the top was literally "trunkated" but new branches arose to create a new canopy.  The tree can't very well have died of last year's drought; it is just a few feet from a drainage easement and there is "some" water flowing from the neighborhood above year-round.  That itself is actually amazing.  No matter how dry it gets, water flows...  I have no idea how old the beech tree was.  Maybe it just lived its full life.  But it sure had access to water!

Ground conditions can be strange.  When I first moved here, the lawn would get so dry that the soil would crack open.  I used to water the lawn, not realizing that it was natural for the grasses in my area to go dormant and grown in the hot days of July and August.  I've stopped doing that (waste of water and fertilizer to force the lawn to grow).

Instead, I started leaving the grass-clippings on the lawn and laid down corn gluten just twice a year (both a natural fertilizer and a weed suppressant).  I also bought a soil aerator I could drag behind the riding mower.  It brought up plugs of soil to the surface, allowed air and decaying grass in, and over the years, the soil greatly improved.  It hasn't cracked in a decade.  And the tall fescue grass stays green most Summers.  

A lawn-care company rep came by a few weeks ago.  I don't ever engage the services of "door-knockers", but I had time and was curious.  So we sat on the front step while he pointed out that I had a few weeds and a lot of clover in my lawn and his company could fix that.  I mentioned that I was an organic yardkeeper.  He said "we can improve your lawn".

My immediate thought was "welcome to my web, said the spider to the fly"...

So I asked him why my clover was so bad.  He said "it's not grass".  I pointed out that clover has deep roots and brings nutrients back up to the grassroot level, that it was pleasantly green, that it didn't need fertilizing, and that bees like clover blossoms.  

He got an annoyed look and decided he should move on to talk to other neighbors.  I LOVE doing stuff like that...

 

Garden Hose, Part 2

 I mentioned repairs to a 50' garden hose Aug 9th.  Sadly, it didn't last.  Oh the repair worked well enough, but the hose burst again in a different spot.  Apparently, the hose is just worn out.  So I disconnected it to remove the usable snap-on connections and male/female brass connections I had recently added (nothing wrong with THEM).

And as I curled up the old worn-out hose for recycling or trash (have to check on that), I realised that I had another 50' garden hose backing it up on the hose reel.

BTW, the hose reel is mounted on a turntable.  Anchored with 2 simple lift-out bolts, I can turn the reel freely to pull the hose out in any direction when I pull them.  It was a fun build.  Yes, it drove me crazy at first figuring out how to do it; that's why it was fun.  

And the backup hose was identical, so it was the same age and use.  Time to replace both.  

I looked at Amazon and Walmart.  User reviews are usually useful.  I pay more attention to negative reviews.  Happy users are happy and just say so; unhappy users give reasons.  Most involved moldy hose surfaces and kinks.  Some even said the hose left their hands blackened...  

Well, I couldn't judge much about that.  So, I went to Home Depot and just looked at the offerrings (not many, BTW).  One label claimed "superior strength and "drinkable water safe" and "nonkinkable" plus "mildew-reistant".  Not like any other hose label said they didn't, but I chose that one.  

It seems pretty good.  I stretched it out in the backyard.  It comes all curled up, but I twisted it opposite the curl until it was straight.  With tomorrow's warmth, it will be easy to attach to the hose reel and without twists. 

I'll see how much space is left on the hose reel.  If enough, I will add the 50' version of the same hose.  Well, it is better to have a hose too long than a hose too short...  And same age and type is convenient.

Tomorrow, I retrieve the connection from the 2 old hoses for reuse later.

Garden

The garden was started late, but is catching up with the warm weather and sunny days. 

The Black-Eyed Susans are spreading and thriving.  I encourage them, as they are native plants and adapted to the weather patterns here. 

The flat italian beans are growing well up the curved trellis.  I made the trellis curved so the beans would hang down in plain sight.  Easier to find.

I planted a Fall crop of snow peas on a short trellis of leftover concrete mesh wire.  The corks are there so I don't scratch myself on rusty wire.

The melons are slow to climb a trellis at first, but when they start, they climb fast.  I have mesh onion bags to hold the developing melons.  THere are cukes growing in another bed.  But they are self-supporting.

Two cherry tomato plants from a couple of weeks ago.  One now has a fruit ripening.  They are double the size now.  When they start producing, they don't stop until late October. Or maybe November if the frost holds off.  Climate change has SOME benefits if you are in the right place.

The tadpole tub.  It wasn't intentional, but I saw tadpoles in it one day and have been nurturing them since.  The stick is for the ones that survive to develop legs to get a way out.  I don't know if they are toads or frogs.  I hope they are toads.  Both eat some pesky insects, but toads are quiet.  A toad in the garden is better than a frog in a pond.

I sprinkle some fish-flakes on the surface every couple days.

This is the bean patch a week later.  I'm harvesting!

I like them better than regular green beans.  Earthier, nuttier flavor.  Plus, you won't find them in the grocery store.

Hose Repair

I took pictures, so I might as well use them...  :)

One problem with garden hoses is that, if you don't turn off the water, they tend to burst.  I had a 2nd episode of that recently (last one many years ago, so it isn't routine).

I looked out the window a week ago one morning to see water spraying from a broken hose.  I ran out to shut it off of course.  Totally my fault.  

But there are connections to fix such damage and I have a pot of various types.  The usual is a ribbed plastic piece 3" long you insert in the undamaged parts and tighten clamps to seal.

But hoses come in different sizes and I didn't have the right one.  So, maybe off to the DIY store...

Suppose I just considered the cut up hose as "2 hoses" in need of connections?  There are also connections that fix hose ends.  I had a male and a female connector of thge right size for the hose!

So, here is the busted section and the freshly-cut ends to be connected.

I attached the metal male connector just fine, but the female part would simply not push in the other open hose in spite of lubricants and pulling, yanking, and pushing.  

But I had a plastic female connector.  It worked!  

My broken hose now works just fine, 1' shorter.