small gardens & small government

   Carrie, our blue healer/rat terrier, will not be getting her Buddhist wings anytime soon. This morning while I was digging in the garden she did also. I got peas planted she got the mouse. The mouse was likely the one that ate a perfect little hole into the hidden backside of one of the canary melons. He ate all the seeds inside and when I picked it, it looked like a cute yellow birdhouse. Mouse eats seeds, dog eats mouse, I'm going with 'circle of life'. 'sides I was in no position to argue morality as I went on to use a little vacuum to suck up squash bugs.    The canary melons had basically all ripened at once. This meant, along with the watermelons, our every meal has melon. Deb and I brought some to the neighbors - and I guess for a while the mouse. See, I share! We Libertarians get a bad rep. The other thing all ripening at once meant was a spot in the garden was open.    Territory is not to be wasted in the garden. I shared last blog how the potat...

     The two most important things in making pesto are, get a food processor and don't get caught licking the bowl. I'm trying to take the high road here. You know the one about it's not what happens to you but your reaction that matters. It's been a hot and humid spring into summer and August is days away. I might go down hugging my air conditioner but damn it, I will adapt. I don't have to have the shower 1st thing in the morning. I can get up earlier and nibble at the garden work. And yeah, cutting and freezing onions and making pesto aren't technically garden work. They are however garden adjacent, do need to be done and importantly inside work.    Don't get me wrong. I am the luckiest man in the world and a piece of that is my garden. Even if I chose to move that garden a zone further south and a million percent higher humidity. I will adapt and acclimate. It just takes time. 'sides no matter where you live you're always making pesto in hot weat...

 It probably depends on how you define 'the apocalypse'. It was a brief walk with the dogs this morning. Cooper's shoulder seemed to be bugging him a couple of days ago - so light duty for all! Thus I had simply slipped on a pair of garden Crocks and headed out. While Cooper & Carrie sniffed and peed on a mailbox my mind wandered to it being Friday the 13th, Riots planned for Trump's birthday, and Israel's attack on Iran. If a nuclear bomb landed on Tulsa could I really run in Crocks? Would there be time to change into my serious hiking shoes with the arch supports? What about the the shorts? - Do you wanna be the guy in the Mickey Mouse tee shirt, shorts and Crocks describing to the reporter gal "Well I was walking the dogs and just over those trees there I saw the mushroom cloud and I said to myself, guys, I don't think that's rain!" Heck no you wanna be the guy in camo, minimum. Preferably with the fully loaded Jeep, solar water still and g...

  As I slowed for the stoplight on the 4 lane I was inspired. The gym had been drudgery. To be done and now done. The library didn't have the book I was looking for but I grabbed some others. But there, there at the edge of the lane, making one of those comical steps that turtles make, was a small turtle raising his foot to triumphantly step on the white finish-line. I broke into a smile sharing in his Olympic moment. As traffic started to move I thought about jumping out to move him to the grass on the shoulder. But would that confuse him and cause him to turn around?! I looked in the mirror as I drove away. No one was being an idiot and driving over the line. The little guy was trudging off no fist pumps or premature celebrations for him just steady doing it. Me, I drove the rest of the way home smiling and thinking Yeah, just yeah!  This morning he came by the house. Or at least I think it was him, tough to tell with turtles. I did the math we're a good bit from the proverb...

  Hey all, I am literally surrounded by life. The window in front of my desk looks out to my garden. The garden is lush green with knee high garlic and potato-onions, flowering arugula and crimson clover, along with second runs of spinach and cilantro getting ready to pick. Beside me under a grow light is a tray of tiny tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, sage, melons and squash. Lord the squash! Thinking the seed was old I heavily over seeded the little pots. I should be so vigorous in my old age. The thinning will be a problem but that is for another day. For now I needed to clear the pile of seed packets off the laptop and write. Write while Deb pulls dinner and a batch of cookies together in the kitchen and the dogs settle from our walk.  Yup, surrounded by life but on a maudlin day. Last night and this morning was strong rain and the rest of the day has been a heavy grey overcast. It is the day before Easter which by Christian tradition is a day of joy. The Gospel accounts which...

  Adam was filling his water tank. More exactly, Adam was draining his water tank onto the compost pile while the rain was filling it and threatening to overflow the tank. Spring is a complicated time. Early spring is a dance with winter. Plant out too early and the plants will die or go into shock and actually take longer to grow. The spinach which poked up is great for an evening salad but it might stunt the onions it surrounds if allowed to grow too much. Leave the water tank to fill and overflow and the adjacent wood chips will wash down the hill. Leave the the drain open you capture no water for the dry weeks ahead. - Time to check the tank level. He put his hat on and walk in the rain.    The rain had been gentle and steady. Even with the drain open there was some overflow but nothing disastrous. Adam thought of the line from that sitcom long in the future, Mad About You. The wife is trying to get the husband to admit he was wrong. After many iterations he finally s...