Liming The Yard

I'm an organic gardener, so I try not to use artificial stuff around the yard.  I'm not above using serious herbicides on patches of poison ivy I find in the far corners of the yard (the neighbors bizarrely let the stuff grow wild in the edges of their yards so it keeps creeping into mine.  But generally, I avoid synthetic solutions to yard plant problems. 

One thing I do keep forgetting about is the pH of the soil.  It's not a visable problem...

So I remembered about that and bought pelleted limestone.  In the east half of the US, soils are generally acidic so the pH needs to raised.  So I bought some pelleted lime a week ago.  I got around to spreading it today. 

To make the distribution as even as possible, I set the spreader on a low broadcast rate and go over the lawn in several directions.  Then I want to get it into my flowerbeds.  I bought a hand-held spreader you turn by hand.  It works great with light stuff like fertilizer, but pellets defeat it.  The pellets get into the turning mechanism and stop it from turning.

So I had to spread the limestone pellets by hand.  Fortunately, tossing a handful of the pellets high really spreads them out well, so I think that went as well as possible.

I avoided the drip line (the outer edge of all branches) around the holly trees.  They LIKE acidic soil.  So do azaleas, BTW.

You can apply lime to yards and gardens any time of year.  It lasts many months and the plants appreciate it at any time.  It accumulates over time, in the sense that is slowly leached downward in the soil where some deep-rooted plants benefits from it.  But it is used up too by other natural forces so applying it 2x a year is a good habit. 

I have a ph test kit, so I will be checking the lawn soil each month for a while.  Though specific plants like higher or lower pH, 6.5 pH is best overall.

But I started this post to mention that I spread the limestone pellets and I must have walked 4 miles doing it!  I walk about 13 minutes per mile.  Removing the time I spent refilling the spreader, I walked it an hour

Good for the lawn, and good for me...

The Deck Is Too Hot

When I decided to have the deck I built 25 years ago, I decided to go for the composite material base (over pressure-treated woof posts and joists).  At the same time, I was sufficiently worried about a HUGE oak tree hanging over the house that was starting to drop large branches.  So the tree went (saved a dozen 6' long 4" branches to use to smoking meat on the offset smoker).

But 2 things happened.  First, the removal of the huge oak tree let a lot more afternoon sunlight onto the deck, which I thought a "good thing".  Second, I discovered that the composite deck base heats up a lot more than plain wood does. 

The cats alerted me to the heating problem.  They ran out on the new deck when the oak tree was removed and ran back into the house.  I put my hand on the deck and took it right off fast!  It's HOT!  My kitchen temperature probe said it reached 115F!  That was not something I expected OR was warned about. 

Temporarily, I have put outdoor carpet runners (by name and literally) in some paths that get the cats safely to the stairs out to the yard and to shaded spots on the deck. I am looking into awnings (openable/closable like Sunsetter and possibly permanent ones) that will keep the deck cool. 

The heat on the deck isn't constant.  It is shaded about noon to 5 pm.  But a couple hours before Noon and after 5pm, it get seriously hot.  Even I have to put a towel on the top rails so that I can stand there leaning on them.

Maddening Games

One of the games I play on the computer is Civilization 2.  You have to build a spaceship from a start of a few primitive Settlers against 3-6 AI bots.  Well, you can play against other people, but that takes a lot of computer work). 

The game is designed to defeat you.  You build various units and city parts, the AI builds them cheaper.  The better you do, the more the AIs cheat.  But I love a challenge.

I've been struggling with it for years.  I thought I knew all the formulas for building a fast spaceship.  Last week, the computer found faster ones.  I launched one to land at Alpha Centuari (the goal) in 2000 and the AI built one afterwards to land in 1999. 

So I went back some turns and managed to build one that would land in 1992.  The computer made one that would land in 1991.  Built one to land in 1985, they computer built one to land in 1983. 

It's crazy.

I even build one to land in 1965!  The computer built one to land in 1964!  And that was after I used spies and aircraft to destroy all the spaceship parts of the AI civilization every late turn!!!

But I'm persistent.   I finally went back and revised my construction to land one in 1960.  And won...

Overall, it took 5 all-nighters, 5 bottles of wine, and a carton of cigs.  So who won?  Well, the company that sold me the game, of course (they aren't to blame for the wine and cigs).  I was so angry after all that cheating and time that I took the disk out of the drive and broke it.  Only to find it was all loaded onto the hard drive anyway.

I bet ya I'll do better next time, LOL!...

Politics

I understand that many people think Hillary Clinton is "slippery".  And many people think that Donald Trump is "crazy". 

Skill matters in international and domestic politics. 

Slippery is better than Crazy every time.  So if you can't vote FOR someome, vote against someone.  I'm voting against "crazy"...

Just a short thought...

Yardwork

Well, I may have had some problems after the yardwork yesterday, but I did get some good work done that I will enjoy seeing later.

I have 3 edged areas in the middle of the backyard.  One is for wildflowers (nearest my garden, so I am hoping to attract a lot of native pollinators).  The 2nd was originally intended for a lovely but invasive plant with the idea that I could mow around it, but it spread seeds around so I am killing it (it will take some time).  The 3rd is my favorite so far.

That is the area where I planted tulips and hyacinths in cages to protect them from voles and squirrels.  The tulips all came up nicely, but no hyacinths.  Well, they were planted late.  I worried that the hyacinths all rotted (or oddly, grew stems larger than the wire cage mesh and were cut off).  The 200 hundred daffodils were planted freely as they are ignored by pests. 

So this Summer, I gave thought to other plants to grow there.  A single-season flowerbed is sort of wasteful of space.  Spring flowering bulbs want to stay a bit dry Summer and Fall (or they rot) so you can't surround them with plants that need regular watering. 

So I thought about lilies.  They are tough, they have tuberous roots that collect and hold what little water they need, and I had lots of them rescued from an area that was dug out 2 years ago.  Really, they survived plopped in small 6" pots and ignored except for natural rainfall.  So they were good to add among the tulips for Summer color. 

Well, it is probably too late for blooming this year, but I managed to plant 30 of them around the outer edges of the circle the past week.  And then, knowing they wouldn't bloom this year, I considered what I had that could survive no special watering this year and might provide some color.

I should mention that my regular flowerbeds need serious work.  I didn't give them the attention they needed last year and couldn't do it this Spring (my bad knee).  And I had planted 3 dozen marigolds, 2 dozen zinnias, and 2 dozen salvia indoors under lights in March, expecting to use them in the regular older flowerbeds.

Well, marigolds are pretty adjusted to dry soil, so I started planting them around the lilies today.  And then added most of the salvias and zinnias when I ran out of marigolds.  If they live on natural rainfall and bloom "HURRAY"!  If not, there wasn't anywhere else to put them.

So I planted most of them among the lilies and will hope for "something" from them.  And even then, they were the lesser of all the seedlings.  I used the best in 7 deck planters last week.  So no loss and some possible gain.  I bet in a month, I will have some good flowers to show.  I don't grow wimpy flowers.

That 3rd 20' diameter edged circle is the one closest to the deck, so I will see it better than the other 2 most of the time.  And the main birdfeeder is in the center of it, so that draws my attention there as well.  And to not disturb the plants, I have a small path to the feeder from the side and stones to set my ladder on for refilling it. 

This Fall, I will take some leftover largish flat rocks I bought for edging the old flowerbeds and make a path to the birdfeeder.  I intend for the area to be filled enough with future plantings to need places to step.

And cramps or not, I have more annuals to plant, so I will be out there again tomorrow...

Physical Gripes

As always, I approach any complaints of mine by first recognizing that I am generally fortunate and others have worse complaints.  But mine are mine and they are the only ones *I* have ever experienced.  And so many ailments are impossible to compare; a person with a constant itch, a person with occasional migraines, and a person with sciatica can never really compare how they feel.

Me, I get muscle cramps in my legs, my hands and my upper rib side.  Not at the same time fortunately, but always by surprise and every few days or nights.

I understand the hand cramps, where all of a sudden my whole left hand will claw up.  It happens about 2 hours after I've been doing yardwork.  I'm technically right-handed, but I suspect I was a natural lefty as a child and was taught not to be.  That used to be common.  Regardless, I tend to do many things left-handed.  Like pulling weeds and sometimes in tool use.

I try not to overdo it.  But sometimes I'm fine working for hours and no problems; sometimes an hour work causes left-hand cramps.  And the cramps always start as I'm preparing dinner.  I like to prepare fresh food (lots of raw vegetable work), so there is a lot of knife-work involved.  And that's when the cramps start.

I'm considering the possibility that I actually don't get enough salt...  That may seem strange given modern eating habits, but I eat mostly fresh food  and don't add much salt to my food.  It's not especially deliberate, but I think I may start drinking more Gatorade (an electrolyte drink for anyone not familiar with it).

Then there are the ribside cramps.  I originally thought "heart problem", but they occur on both sides randomly.  Usually after I twist around too much.  So its not a heart threat.  Oddly, it used to occur mostly while I was kneeling on the floor cleaning the cat litter boxes.  I have to pound on my afflicted side and do "wall push-ups" to stretch the rib muscles.

And I got a surprise the past few months.  Because I twisted my right knee in April and kneeling became painful (a whole different problem) I started lifting the litter boxes onto my workbench

[Bizarre but true timing.  I just had a leg cramp and had to walk around for 15 minutes and stretched the right leg each step.  I took a small amount of salt and large glass of water.  It helped.]

and cleaning them up there.  It is actually MUCH easier that way and I will continue to do it that way even if/when my knee heals.  Lets me sweep away loose litter from around them too.

Usually, the leg cramps happen while I am laying in bed.  No reason I know; I'm just laying there motionless and it starts.  Always the right quadricep.  It feels like the muscle is going to tear loose from the bone.   

I suppose it was because I was weeding and planting in some crowded space so I had to squat awkwardly, so it happened while I was still awake.  But usually, I'll just be laying there in bed and it happens.  

Speaking of the right knee, it has been 3 months since I originally injured it.  I wish I had a good cause to blame but it is only stupid.  All my life, I have tended to sit with one ankle up on the opposite knee (both ways).  And I fidget!  So I shake my on-the-knee foot.  I have probably loosened my knee joints that way (though some thought says that OUGHT to strengthen the muscles there).

I can walk almost normally again, but I still can't put my right ankle on my left knee because it seems to twist the knee.  It has happened before but healed after a couple weeks.  I hope it is not permanent.  To kneel while doing yardwork, I have to wear knee pads.  You know those knee pads that carpet installers wear?  I use them.

I'm used to injuring myself and healing fast.  Or at least "eventually".  Years ago, I threw a rock at a groundhog and strained my rotator cuff.  Couldn't raise my arm above the shoulder for 2 months, but it healed just fine after that.

I think I had better start being more careful.  And some preventative exercises might be in order.  I have a bicycle, maybe I better start using it.  Or at least walking a mile a few days a week.

I sure don't want to be using a walker in 10 years.  Or taking medications either... 

An Old Whisker

Because the composite deck gets very hot (something I did not know when having it installed), AND removing a tree made it sunnier, the cats were not happy going out on the deck in mid day. 

So, I found a roll of outdoor carpet to give them a cooler path around and off the deck.  The carpet was leftover from when I used it on my aluminum Jon boat in 1994 to reduce glare and deaden sounds. 

Well, when I unrolled it, I found a cat whisker.  I can't tell which cat it was from.  Skeeter, LC, maybe even Tinkerbelle.  But it definitely the oldest cat whisker I have.  I haven't mixed it in with the others; it is "special".  It is 22 years old!

One of those really odd things you discover digging into the past...   Which reminds me that I should pour out my bottle of collected cat whiskers and take a picture of them.  I have a lot, but I bet I missed most of them while cleaning.

Cats

Cats are predators, possibly the purest mammal for of that.

So Ayla was out on the deck with a bunny.  I initially assumed Marley had caught it and left it for  Ayla.  But then I saw Marley was inside,  And so was Iza.

So Ayla caught it by herself!  Good for her...  I praised her for her catch.  When she left it, I let Marley and Iza out.  Marley ignored it.  Iza went lunch on it.

Now, I thought it a bit weird that she chewed on the ears first.  I mean, wouldnt she go for the meaty parts first?  But no, she ate the whole head!

I was shocked myself, but fascinated and curious too.  What could possibly be better than the haunches than the head.  But it was her decision, so I just let her do her thing.

A Little History

A century ago, the US economy and government was in the grip of what were called Robber Barons.  People so wealthy and powerful that they formed business monopolies, chose political leaders by themselves, decided what laws would be passed and considered everyone else but themselves "losers".  Working people were poverty-stricken, there was no "Middle Class".  You were either rich or broke.

People had few legal rights to complain.  Courts were packed by judges appointed by the rich to defend their overbearing methods.  Does that term "losers" ring a bell when you listen to a Trump speech?  It should.  Trump wants to return to those years.

The Republican party is to blame for this.  They have denigrated the value of government for years.  They refused to admit that government for the People is a good thing.  They desired that political success go only to the rich and powerful, so that they could get more than any human could possibly need to thrive in the world.

The Republican party has yelled for several decades that all we need to succeed is to have no government regulation.  That outsiders "know best".  That inexperience in world affairs is somehow "purer" than experience.  Basically, that ignorance is better than knowledge.  Now they have their purfect candidte for an upcoming humiliation of that view.  Trump will be crushed, and they might lose both the Senate and the House.  And later, the Supreme Court, as vacancies will be filled in the next 8 years.

The Republicans hate government so bad that they slashed the budget of the IRS, whose only function is to collect taxes and make sure we all pay what we owe.  They call it "starving the beast".

But the IRS is merely the agency that collects taxes declared by Congress.  The audit function doesn't bother most of us.  What they look for is very rich people who aren't paying their fair share.  They aren't after those of us earning $30,000-100,000.  They are after those multi-millionaires and billionaires who are paying nothing in taxes by gaming the system with secret accounts overseas or claiming massive business losses through indirect multiple company tricks.

We WANT more IRS agents to find those cheaters and get the Government revenue for schools, military support, VA hospitals, and roads and bridges!  What we don't want is the Donald Trumps of the world to get richer by cheating on their taxes.

More IRS agents don't threaten me or you.  They threaten the most wealthy who have been cheating us all.  We should SUPPORT more IRS funding for auditors.

The government does a lot of good things.  Defense, education, infrastructure, personal rights, helping poor States, assuring honest elections, managing the general economy, protecting the right to religious freedom, the whole Bill Of Rights...

That takes some money.  Not much in exchange for the common good.  In some countries, it is more; in some it is less.  I think we are doing pretty well where we are.

The Republicans want to lessen Government to enfeeblement; Democrats want to expand it in some few directions.  That's general human progress.

Let's consider insurance.  The theory of insurance is that the larger the group, the less risk there is to any member of the insurance group.  Doesn't it therefore make sense to increase the insurance pool?  YOUR medical costs go up everytime an uninsured person needs medical care.  So shouldn't we increase the number of insured people?  Fewer uninsured people mean lower costs for the rest of us.

Now let's say that the roads are failing in your area.  And in other areas.  And will fail in the future in other areas.  Isn't it a better idea to all get together and share the expenses gradually overall instead of all at once locally?

Isn't that what helping your neighbors now so that they can help you tomorrow is all about?  Government is merely the organized method of sharing todays costs with your neighbor tomorrow.  What you need to accept is that your neighbor might be several States away.

We understand that when some community many States away suffers a natural disaster.  A hurricane, an earthquake, a tornado.  We help them then.  That's what government is.  Society agreeing to hel each other in bad times...

And the Republicans fight against THAT!

Politics As A Profit Center

I suspected many months ago that Trump was playing the money game by running for office as he gave his speeches.  Now I have more evidence.

The recent Federal Election Commission filings provide information Trump would preferred to hide.  But unlike tax filings, those are public.

Trump says he is financing his campaign.   Well, not really.  He is LOANING money to his campaign (and loans usually have interest charges). That's right, he is loaning personal money (and it may be more tricky than that) to his campaign.  That means he is signing the checks on both sides of the loan!  The campaign is obligated to back Trump back for the money he is essentially loaning to himself.

Don't you wish you could borrow money that easily and expect payment back?  But it gets worse... 

Trump is using his own businesses to support his campaign.  And he is charging his campaign a hefty sum for "privilege" of using his own services.  The idea seems to be that he will use his own companies to benefit financially supporting his Presidential campaign.  Its a great gig, if you can arrange it.  And Trump does.

Use his his own jet to fly to campaign stops?  Trump charges himself high fees.  Staying at his own residences in various States?  Trump charges the top rates to his campaign.  Eat at a fundraiser (and yes he has them though he says he doesn't) you eat Trump steak and drink Trump wine.  Get given a framed picture of The Donald for a donation?  That picture comes in a Trump Picture Frame. 

Play a round of golf with Trump?  High green fees for the round charged to his campaign.   He charges the campaign to operate his campaign in various business locations he profits from. 

Staffers and campaign supporters eat at Trump restaurants, fly accumulating Trump miles, and wear Trump T-shirts made by Trump companies.  Those Trump hats he tosses out at campaign rallies?  A staffer company makes those and the campaign pays top dollar for them.

On the single day Trump announced his campaign in June 2015, his campaign cost generated $506,846 to Trump businesses.  One single day!

By the end of just 2015, the Trump campaign paid out $2.2 million, $2 million of which went to the airline where Trump is the CEO...

$90,000 went to staffers eating at Trump Cafe and Trump Grill...

Unspecified amounts went to Trump Payroll Corp. and Trump Tower Commercial LLC to pay for campaign staff payroll management, but that work isn't cheap...

This isn't a campaign, its a profit-making scam!  The Republican party has finally produced the perfect example of its long-held claim that businessmen (and it's usually men) are the most suited to run the country for the benefit of all the citizens.  If running for office is now a profit-center for Republican candidates to operate as a business, do you want to see what laws they pass?  I sure don't.