Well, it has been a frustrating morning on the computer. Outlook has been bitchy today. I have had a problem getting it to take my commands to delete items I have read or don't want to read and it wouldn't close out. That is on my laptop. but it works fine on the iPad. I have been seeing some weird crap on the computer lately. I found that everything works fine on Safari but not on Chrome. I have no idea what gives with this.

On the other hand I got another nice bit done on Mom's blanket/afghan. I think I have another two pattern rows; i.e., 8 rows since each pattern requires four rows for the repeat. Then I can start on the edging.

In the garden: got the second hanging section put up inside the fence. The first I put on the outside and found that seven of my large yogurt carton pots will go on each without crowding. After I finish hanging the rest I plan to get the smaller cottage cheese cartons hung on a wire shoe rack converted to a trellis. That will empty the little greenhouse so I can move some the plants I have started outside into it to harden. The weather looks really good for getting work outside done.

Interesting article about events I have been watching for a while and wondering "what if this goes farther?' For most of the post-WWII era countries have put up with U.S. highhandedness because they saw benefits that more than balanced the irritations of our "cowboy" swagger. Now, I think, the pendulum has shifted direction. The benefits no longer justify putting up with our demands and our attitude.

Sunny right now and expected to be so all day. It is a bit cold yet and the temps are only supposed to rise to the mid-50s. But the weather people say warmer days are coming. I certainly hope so. Even though the temperature is still below 40F I went out to try a couple of ideas I had for the hanging plants I was planning in my head. The ideas seem to be working so I will continue with the scheme. The strawberries are all doing very well--even the two that appeared to have given up. I think I will set my tomatoes out on Wednesday with cover during the nights. And the week after this coming one I will start to visit the garden shops. This is a year when most of my seedlings will be bought.

Hmmm---interesting.

Wednesday--April 25

Sunny this morning but cool and very windy. Getting some garden work done in little spurts with long rest periods to warm up.

Well, I am done for the day. Got all but two of the pots on the fence filled. Hope the wind dies down and leaves the last ones alone. Yesterday we found two had been blown out of the wire baskets supporting them. Luckily they didn't go far and we were able to retrieve them. Should be able to get more done tomorrow because I won't have any inside work to do. Today I had egg shells to grind and water to filter.

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Thursday--April 26

Outside work planned for today. But they changed the weather forecast and put off the high 60s and 70s for a few days and put in rain for tomorrow. When I am done outside today I will cover everything and plan inside work tomorrow. We had hoped to get out of sweats and into lighter clothing but not for a while yet. The garden shops are open but I think I will hold off getting seedlings for a bit yet.

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Friday--April 27

Another day for some outside work. I filled the last two pots in the baskets on the fence and two of the five gal. buckets. Also checked all of the strawberries and watered them. They are all doing well and one I thought lost seems to be coming back. Our overnight temperatures are still too cold for the hibiscus. I have been thinking about an arrangement of hanging (or semi-hanging) pots so I can expand my growing area. I don't know how my ideas will work but I have hopes.

I had an interesting thought when I read this piece: if (and a big If it is) this pans out and produces a peaceful, denuclearized Korean peninsula #45 and the U.S. are irrelevant in the area. That might just be a very good thing.

As if we needed any more evidence of the clueless cruelty that runs throughout this political administration this proposal from HUD Secretary Ben Carson. Salon provides a more complete picture of the proposals. "Austerity for thee, not for me" seems to be their motto.

It is nice and sunny but doesn't feel like the almost 69F the weather channel says it is. But we do have a breeze and I have been working in the shed and on the patio which are still in shadow for the most part. I put the hibiscus outside so it can get some direct sun for a change. I set up the two shepherd's hoods I had left. One has the bird feeder which is a bit heavy and caused it to list to the side a bit. I anchored it with bungie cords so it is now standing upright. It is so nice to hear the wind chimes again after this interminable winter. They are hanging on the opposite hook. The last hook is set up in the corner and I can only use one of the two hooks. I put a wind spinner on it. So far it hasn't needed any extra support. The shed is almost pretty well cleared and swept after accumulating all sorts of junk over the winter. I had collected a whole bunch of large plastic cartons from yogurt and cottage cheese in anticipation of the strawberries. And I had a bunch of coffee cans and gallon vinegar jugs stored. Much as I hate to they all went in the trash. I simply have't the space for all that and, for now, I have all of those items I need for whatever uses I had planned. If I need more I can keep the next ones. I can't see our commercial producers going to something else anytime soon.

I guess self-centered stupidity isn't limited to our own politicos--as Ugo Bardi can attest.

Welcome to Earth Day.

I plan to rearrange another section of the freezer today and clean out the shed. I can't dig out any more of the large containers because I don't have anywhere to put the dirt till we get some more 5-gal buckets.

I hope the Tohono O'odham can make their decision stick. We don't need #45's damned wall. We need a sane government which I am afraid might be a while coming.

I was a really nice day yesterday and actually got a bit over 60F. Supposed to get in the high 50s today so some outside work is on my to-do list.

Well, got the pork and chicken sections of the freezer rearranged and sorted. I'll do another section tomorrow. I also put drain holes into two new 5-gal buckets. I will start filling one of them with the soil in the cracked 30-gal tub. The temperature is only 45F right now so I am doing short stints.

Cracked tub emptied and gone. I swept the area and put five of the buckets in their positions. They aren't quite full but I want to put fresh soil in the top 8 to 12 inches. I will have a go at cleaning out the shed tomorrow. Tuesday we will bring in another five 5-gal buckets and I will start digging out one of the other 30-gal tubs that need to go.

Just uncovered the strawberries since last night was the last predicted to fall into the 20s. They all look good--some even have new growth. I won't do any digging until tomorrow because it is way too cold and some needs to drain. I might do some rearranging in the shed after it gets a good bit warmer. The red mini-belle peppers surprised me by sprouting but checking my dates they aren't that far behind schedule. It has been a bit cool upstairs.

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The temps are supposed to get up into the high 50s today with sun and no precipitation. Good day, if it all pans out, to get some digging and other work done. I went out briefly to check on the strawberries. Most seem to have made up their minds, for the moment anyway, to survive. A few are still deciding. The temperature went down to about 33F last night. The soil has a frozen half inch but the soil beneath seems to be soft. I hope I didn't take the covers off too soon. But, if the weather predictions are right, last nights low should be the lowest at least for the next 10 days. I hope the overnight temps will go above 45 soon so I can put the rosemary and hibiscus outside.

Well my plans for the day got side tracked. First, a rearrangement of a part of the big freezer. Mom wanted a package of stew beef but after digging for a bit I couldn't find it. So I sorted and rearranged all the beef. Then Candy (our 1-year-old cat) got on one of my shelves and started knocking things off. And her partner-in-crime and mayhem, Lena (the 3 year old) has been trying to find a way to climb behind a stock of jars on two high shelves. So we rearranged those shelves and a couple of more besides to thwart the beasties. And I wanted to take the stash-buster afghan out of the ottoman because the three items in there (and the yarns I am using for them) were getting a bit too bulky for the space. I remembered a basket I had various stuff in in the outside shed so I emptied it and washed it out to receive the stash-buster and it's yarn. That is now sitting upstairs in our craft/planting/storage room. Besides a bit of puttering I think that is it for the day.

An interesting study on the effects of a warmer/dryer climate on agriculture in the U.S.

It is a cold Monday and we have had snow. The strawberries have been covered since Saturday afternoon so I don't think they will suffer. At least, I hope not. The temperature is right about 30F. We have another couple of cool cold days (and nights) ahead before things swing back into the 50s and 60s. Until then I am content (sort of) to merely tend the inside plants and think about what I might put in--besides the tomatoes and peppers.

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Tuesday is just as cold as Monday was. We had snow flurries all day yesterday but we should get some sun today.

Interesting Tomdispatch piece today.

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Goodness, Wednesday already. We had shopping to do yesterday which, as usual, was the limit of what we had the energy for.

Right now the skies are clear but the temperature is about 27F. The weather people predict snow for tonight which I hope won't amount to much. I got glimpses at the strawberries over the last couple of days and so far none are obviously giving up their ghosts. If we get sun tomorrow and a bit more warmth I will uncover them enough to get a good look.

Vogue has a good article that puts the immigrant crisis in a different perspective. I am not an immigrant. Once I loved this country and was proud to be American and, when I was serving in the armed services, I was proud to do so. But my pride has almost died over my adult life, especially the last 30 years. My love is slowly dying as well. The title asks if "the price of the American Dream is too high." I think the "dream" we have been fed since childhood has become a nightmare that most of us don't want to admit. Somewhere along the way the terms have been changed just like some of #45's business partners found out after they delivered the goods.

Cold and wet. The strawberries are under their shrouds probably for the next week because nighttime lows might go into the low 20s several times. The daytime temps should return to the 50s and 60s a bit later in the week.

An interesting study but many of the real monkey wrenches aren't even considered: rising international tensions with or with out actual war, economic concerns, religious tension, Supreme Court decisions on any number of sensitive issues.

The New Yorker has this opinion piece this morning that is interesting and, I fervently hope, is prophetic.

Another "Internet of Things" story. There are times when "free" is not really free. As the saying goes, reiterated in the story, when something is "free" you are the "product." I am really tired of all the attempts to make me someone's income stream.

Only in the mid-40s today and rain so my gardening is on hold until after this system passes. The strawberries are all potted with the last of them in the little greenhouse. I hope that will protect them from the coldest temps which should come Sunday and Monday nights. I have three areas to cover tomorrow--or today if I get a dry spell. My back is thankful for the rest the weather is providing. As I noted I wasn't expecting the strawberry roots to be delivered for another week or two and wasn't really ready. Plus I wasn't expecting to dig out four pots that have cracked or are in danger of doing so. My patio really is a brutal environment for everything--an oven when the weather turns hot and a freezer during the cold months. Once I get all the fragile/broken containers dug out and replaced with 5-gal buckets the whole garden space will be more manageable. As various joints are reminding me, I am not 25 any more.

The attitude displayed, though not really surprising, pisses me off. I am very skeptical about modern medicine. The costs of the treatments is mind-boggling. I don't know how many ads I have seen for what I call "helper" drugs. Those are drugs patients are supposed to take with another drug that isn't as effective as it used to be or as it was promised to be. Or drugs that, as the ad says, are shown "effective" when taken "with the highest dose of (whatever other drug) plus diet and exercise." And then there are the drugs that may cause the very symptoms they are designed to alleviate. What the article tells me (and what I have come to realize over the years) is that we aren't people/patients we are "income streams" and medicine is an industry that hides its primary focus on its bottom line by pretending to care for people/patients. Goldman Sachs analyst simply stated the case with brutal honesty.

Another good History Unfolding article from David Kaiser.

Ehrenreich's article and book have sparked a number of articles along the some line. This one is from Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism.

Should be another nice day today so I will be back in the gardens. I still have 25 strawberries to plant and a bunch of digging to get done. Strawberries first--then anything else I can get done. Ooops! I have to remember to water the plants upstairs. This warmer weather and warmer temps in the house make them draw up water so much faster.

I read the headline that proclaimed that an extra glass of wine could reduce your life expectancy by 30 minutes. As usual I didn't bother with the article itself. I plan to ignore it just like I ignore most dietary advice I see. At my age I will enjoy my wine, or beer, or butter, or red meat or whatever I damned well like. I like this Dutch public health minister who said he takes such warnings "with a pinch of salt."

I hope the rain that moved in overnight moves out soon. If things aren't too badly soaked I can get more work outside done. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be windy but fairly warm. The weekend is supposed to be a return to near winter temperatures. I saw a good quip on facebook this morning: Mother Nature apologizes for Spring being late; Father Time was driving and refused to stop for directions.

I saw a pathetic headline first off: Dow poised to edge higher as traders "wait to see what Trump tweets today." That was on MarketWatch so you can go there for the story which I didn't read. The stock markets aren't about investing. It is pure speculation and has been for a long time. Followed a couple of hours by a headline crowing that "the Dow soared 300 points as market perceives Trump's tweet as Syria de-escalation." Still just speculation.

This is a brutal assessment of Paul Ryan's tenure as Speaker from MarketWatch's Rex Nutting.

So far I have dug out about 80% of the big tub in the area I am working and filled 3 five gallon buckets and two 20 inch pots with the removed soil. I have also planted almost all of the first 25 of the strawberries. The last few from that half of the strawberry order will be done later this afternoon and perhaps I will fill another 5 gallon bucket. Tomorrow should be a good day to finish the strawberries and, perhaps start on cleaning out the shed. I will cover them Saturday night through Monday because the weather people predict cold temps (down in the 20s with day time highs only in the high 30s) for that time.

Beautiful Spring day--finally. I am getting quite a lot of work in the gardens done. One of the very large pots that developed cracks is empty and in the trash. The soil was mixed with potting mix and some of the top layers of areas where I dumped the coffee grounds and spent tea leaves over the winter. I put the tower pots back together and filled them. One I had to have Mom's help with because it simply didn't want to to together nicely. The other went together like a charm. It is older and, honestly, more substantial and sturdy. We noticed that so many of the newer containers and pots simply aren't as rugged and don't last as long. I put drain holes in all of the large cottage cheese containers and filled nine of them. I also emptied and refilled the long planter I keep close to the fence on the table/work bench. I'm putting strawberries in it this year. I am getting a considerable amount of work done but I have to remind myself, sternly, I'm not 25 any more. That passed more years (decades, actually) ago than I like to remember.

I am getting some reading done in my rest periods between bouts of gardening. Including this interesting take on #45. Hmmm--"accidental authoritarian." That works only because he is 71 and president. If he were 5 he would be a "spoiled brat."

I saw this first on Susie Madrak's Crook's & Liars post and followed her link to Axios. Then I just found this on CBS. Frankly, I will be glad to see the last of the sanctimonious/hypocritical bastard.

I like this notion.  I am glad the school has the land to do an urban farm program and the farm stand gives them experience running a business. Seems to have helped with community relations also.

Nice and sunny day but I will wait till tomorrow to work on the gardens. It is supposed to be warmer.

I pre-ordered Barbara Ehrenreich's newest book Natural Causes a couple of months ago. I am looking forward to reading it especially after reading this piece in the Guardian. I got the notice that it is ready for downloading.

Well, tomorrow and Thursday will be busy. I ordered 50 bare root strawberries from Burpee in January. They just arrived and I am not ready. The weather has been so cold it simply doesn't feel like spring. I looked at the long range forecasts for the next 10 days and the rest of the month and was relieved to see that we should have fairly normal temperatures. I saw a couple of overnight temps in the low 30s but I can cover the plants those nights. It is hard to believe it is mid April.

We have light snow on the grass. The pavements are too warm for it to stick. Supposed to change to rain over the morning. No Spring yet! I haven't planted outside yet and this makes me glad I haven't tried. It isn't our area but we have been visited by similar weather. Most of the snow is now gone washed away by the rain. It is still gray and gloomy.

Ronni Bennett has a piece this morning on Elders and Cannabis--Pt. 1. I haven't smoked pot or tried it in any form but I have had more frequent episodes of sleeplessness, fitful sleep, etc. Some of it can be attributed to two young cats who joined the household just before last Christmas. That makes pot, in some form other that smokable, intriguing. Given the statistics she cites, which the government is, and has been, aware of I am flummoxed by the antediluvian dinosaurs who insist on keeping it illegal. See especially the stats on the effects on the opioid "crisis" of legalizing marijuana. Until my state joins the 29 who have already legalized at least medical marijuana, I will settle for a nightcap of chamomile/lavender tea.

The issue of cyber security has taken a bizarre twists. The Netherlands government has told government and business travelers to China to take blank laptops and phones with them because the Chinese government wants to know all about them and their companies and will infiltrate the computers and phones. Representatives are also taking printed copies of important papers to circumvent that. The article also suggests they be wary of Russia, Iran and Turkey as well. From what I heard on the American border they should add the U.S. to that list. Mom mentioned stories she had seen which said some diplomats and others are taking typewriters that use pressure sensitive paper, including the child's typewrite from Hasbro, so there isn't a ribbon they can remove.

A good piece on public education at Naked Capitalism: The Corporate Plant to Groom U.S. Kids for Servitude by Whipping out Public Education.

And then there is this piece on vitamins and the contradictory work that has been done on them. I think my main criticism of nutritional studies is that the researchers take the specific compound (nutrient) out of the food and give it to patients to see what it will do. Maybe it has an effect, maybe it doesn't. Perhaps it needs another "nutrient" to have its full effect. Worse--the researchers then publish their findings which may lead to doctors prescribing the vitamin to patients only to be informed later that the "preliminary results" were wrong.

Says the man who won't get "hit" at all.

Sunny right now and the high should reach the mid 40s--perhaps a bit more. It was cold last night (low in the low 20s) and expecting more of the same tonight. The seedlings are doing well although the malabar spinach, albino bullnose pepper, and mini red belle pepper haven't shown themselves yet.

I found this in my morning feed and, given the paranoid and authoritarian nature of our current regime, I am not surprised. I commented to Mom this morning that, in a very few years, this country will resemble a locked-down grade school. She remarked that she thought it already did.

David Kaiser at History Unfolding continues his comparisons of #45 with Kaiser William II. The basic problem every political system has to face is succession. The president may be limited to a four year term, with a possible second four year term, but a lot can happen in four years. James II of England ruled only about 3 years before he was overthrown in favor of his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange. Caligula rule about 4 years before he was assassinated.

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Today (Sunday) begins like yesterday. I have nothing new in the plants. The peppers and the malabar spinach are still not emerging. I will have to thin out the tomatoes. I hate that chore because I would like all my plants to survive, thrive and produce. But right now I am considering whether I will be able to give my extras away. I don't know too many around here who are growing anything.

I like this kind of diplomacy. No guns, no bombs, no bombastic threats.

Mother Nature has a way of lying in wait till we think we have things under control and then cackling manically, she hits us in the head with a 2x4. This could be nasty.

It looks like we will have sun for at least part of today. The weather forecast has changed to a tiny bit warmer and the snow we expected over the weekend has been removed. We did get a bit of snow yesterday evening but not much stuck. Most surfaces are too warm. It did get cold enough overnight to put frost on the roofs. Like many people commenting on the weather I fervently wish for the winter to end so things will thaw out completely, warm up and I can begin prepping the gardens.

Nimue Brown has an interesting question concerning who we are actually helping with our social programs. Supposedly, they are set up to help those in need but actually appear to be more about excluding than including, about preventing the least bit of perceived fraud. I agree with her conclusions but I had two thoughts on the matter. The mindset behind the zero-tolerance stance on people who might (just might) access the benefits while not being worthy goes far back and deep into our psychology. We try to distinguish who might be the worthy recipients and who might be unworthy of our consideration and then we split fine hairs to define "worthy." Second thought is that this system of exclusion is reflected in the attitudes of the general public with a bit of a twist. I don't know how often I have heard disparaging remarks low down on the political/economic food chain about those who are perceived to be getting the help: illegal immigrants getting benefits "reserved" for citizens, lazy poor of whatever minority getting help denied to deserving white people. Unless both those change we won't get to anything like the social order Nimue would like to see.

We have sun for the moment. I say for the moment because we are supposed to get clouds and possible snow and/or rain. The conditions seem to resemble late January not early April. Gardening remains an indoor activity.

Found this post almost first off this morning. At one timeic I average about five books a week. I was a history graduate student so much of that was for classes. That didn't include articles and essays. Now I am down to one or two books a week and enjoying the reading a lot more since I am not galloping through them at light speed. And I still keep up with articles and essays.

I am so glad 😠the Secretary of Agriculture says the "USDA has complete faith in the safety of gene-edited crops." I am a skeptic. And I think the distinction between gene-edited and genetically modified is very minor.

I do like this story 😀. I had read the story earlier where the Dutch healthcare institute advise the government to refuse to cover expensive drugs when the companies making them wouldn't satisfactorily explain how they arrived at their price. Evidently, Europe has its share of "pharma-bros."

Woke to snow--a bare sprinkling--this morning. It shouldn't last long since the temps are supposed to hit a high of mid 40s. But this certainly doesn't feel like April. So all I have done is dig out the cottage cheese containers we saved and started figuring out how to arrange an nice plant tower. Oh, and I put my sewing machine away and cleared a spot for the smaller grow light so I could move it. I needed easier access to the area under the large grow light. I saw one of the Mitoyo eggplants and the perpetual spinach have sprouted. Whatever the weather outside the inside plantings have done well. So far.

We bought some yarn a couple of days ago and I started a twin sized afghan. Mom liked the scrap Catherine's wheel that is my stash buster project but it is already too heavy for her. We found a more open pattern she likes so that is the new project. I figure that, with two embroidery pieces, two afghans, and a large doily, my summer stitching is pretty well planned.

Here is an interesting article about the nine oldest food recipes still in use today--excluding staples like bread.

Interesting post from John Michael Greer. I can think of two recent abstractions that are contrary to my experience and to that of several people I know: the so-called economic recovery and the "absence" of inflation. The economic "experts" loudly claim both. I ignore the experts and pay attention to my "anecdotes."

For the "Out of Sight/Out of Mind" file: the seafloor extending from the Mississippi Delta is eroding. That is an extension of the erosion of the land itself. The conclusion of a study of multiple sources of data from the last 200+ years is "The Mississippi delta has entered a stage of decline."

I don't know this site but from what I have read on military procurement from other sites I know better, the story is all too believable. More details here, here, and here.

We did get sun yesterday but it was way too cold to do anything outside. And the soil all had a frozen layer about a half an inch thick. Instead of gardening I put a few more rows on my stash buster afghan.

I don't plant on this blogger's scale but I to feel a similar pain. Last year I felt that I was behind on everything: cleaning, starting seeds, planting. It felt like everything was 2 weeks late. This year it is even worse. Unless the weather changes I am going to be even farther behind this year.

We have sun right now but the temps will only go up to the high 40s. However, I might just put on an additional layer and do some outside work anyway. I have a few other chores planned but for the most part it should be a relaxed Sunday. We don't really celebrate Easter (or any of the other highly commercialized holidays) but for those of you who do: HAPPY EASTER 😄.

As usual, I will be reading so here is a list:

David Kaiser at History Unfolding

This Reuters article on the Atlanta ransomware attack. I am old enough that I remember when computers weren't so ubiquitous and most operations were performed with pen and paper. We are as vulnerable as our technology. I read a few months ago the the Kremlin was going back to typewriters and paper/pen for their most critical work.

Ugo Bardi doesn't normally go in for satire but it is April Fool's Day. Enjoy.