Good sunny Tuesday. Bee Balm. Hummingbird feeders.

I already have seven trays of bee balm drying.  I had to cut it back because the hard rain we had a couple of days ago knocked some of the stalks over.  I pushed them back up but they fell back again so I really had no choice.  If it all dries out early enough I will cut back the pineapple sage in front of it and dry some of it as well.  Otherwise I will cut it tomorrow.  We have had some bad luck with hummingbird feeders this year.  The one we started the season with suddenly started leaking.  We replaced it with another that has leaked as well so we are on the third one now.  So far it is holding up well.  We saw the little lady hummingbird stop by twice (or two did once each).  The cypress vine is blooming now and they might visit that as well.

I have had a lot of trouble with this little pest.  You may recognize the Japanese beetle.  It eats just about everything.  I had to take my strawberries off the fence because they were destroying the leaves.  Very few beetles have found them on the table or the patio surface.  I will have to spray with the pyrethrin insecticide I keep on hand.  I also drown as many as I can knock into a cup of water.  I don't mind a few bugs eating a bit of the garden but these guys would leave absolutely nothing for me.

We have seen the few and short stories on the train explosion in Lac Megantic, Canada.  They don't say much.  I found this on Firedoglake which provides some interesting information.  I have no great love for or loyalty to capitalism as constituted today.  Adam Smith, the founding saint of capitalism, would not recognize today.

Well, we had a thunderstorm race through.  Not much rain but it interrupted internet and cable.  Both have come back after about two hours.

It isn't often I agree with the notions a businessman/woman might have concerning schools in America but this piece I found on Undernews I can agree with thoroughly.  Schools are not businesses; nor are governments.  They can't function like businesses and they can't be judged by the same standards.

So now the meat industry is suing the government to overturn rules requiring them to label the meat as to country where the animals were raised, slaughtered and processed and prohibiting them from mixing meat from different countries in the same packages.  Those rules sound good to me.  I want to know where my food comes from.  That is one reason why we buy our meat from a small local meat market.

No comment except "Well, Duh!!  What did you assholes expect?"