Wednesday.
Wet and, evidently, going to stay that way all day. From the weather maps we have a large area of rain that will move in waves over the area. I moved the little eucalyptus, which is still struggling along, into the little greenhouse last night. It doesn't need to be drenched--again. Everything else outside is strong enough to take it. I noticed just yesterday that our average first frost date is only a bit more than a month away. How fast the time goes.
I still cannot get onto Bloglines. I have no idea what is going on with it--but I am much annoyed. This is, I think, the fourth time this year that the site has been inaccessible. I think it annoys me on two counts: I don't like it when a technology that is a large part of my life fails and I don't, really don't, like having my routine disrupted. Oh, well--consider it an exercise in flexibility and adaptation.
Ah, Margaret and Helen are back with a conclusion I can support: life is full of questions and pie is always the right answer.
I think it is a curious juxtaposition of stories on the news this morning that David Cameron visits Scotland to promise greater autonomy for Scotland if the Scots vote no on independence and Petro Poroschenko promises much greater autonomy for eastern Ukraine within a united Ukraine. In each case they had rejected those measures a while back which fueled their respective oppositions. There are times when politicians should look seriously at compromise but that seems to be a lost art among modern politicians--of any nationality.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Sunday.
Cool so far this morning. Cool enough that I debated wearing the winter robe but settled for the light summer robe. We should have sun and the temperature should get up into the mid 70s. Nice for work in the gardens. I transplanted the creeping thyme and lavender, brought the rosemaries and pesto basil inside. Our weather people predict overnight temps in the 40s and low 50s for the rest of the week. I need to find space inside for my scented geraniums. Otherwise, I need to harvest some lemon balm before cleaning out that area as well as the stevia from another area.
Lambert Strether posting at Naked Capitalism asks a very good question: what are the long-term unemployed (or as Strether says, "disemployed") doing with their time? His comments remind me of a point Dmitri Orlov made in one of his posts some time ago: jobs may have disappeared but work always remains. We are used to an economy in which we sell our labor for money that we exchange for the things we need (food, clothing, etc.) Though we may not have a job the work of obtaining the things we need remains.
Monday.
It was a very pretty and mild day yesterday. More of the same for today, they say. I got the lemon balm cut and drying. I had thought I would pull the remaining plants but I have changed my mind. I will leave it for another cutting. I need to grind the dried leaves today so I can cut and dry some of the stevia. I collected a few of the spent flower heads from the hyssop which are dropping seeds now. Those are drying on a small plate on top of our fridge. Next week I will collect the seeds in an envelope for next season. The bees are still working over the remaining blossoms on the hyssop which aren't many so I am debating when to start cutting the plants to dry the leaves. I think I told you that the shiso is blooming. Rather pretty but not enough to plant next year. I noticed that it isn't attracting any bees. As I clear an area I am putting down a layer of newspaper mostly to keep the soil from being splattered out by rain of which we have had an abnormal number of very hard episodes. Over the fall and winter (as long as we are clear of snow) I will add more layers to inhibit weeds. I also took cuttings from the scented geraniums hoping they will root. I look at the cuttings I took from other plants late last week. So far they are still looking pretty good. Hoping they produce plants.
Tuesday. I have stevia to grind. The peppermint is next on my cutting/drying list if the weather holds. So far it looks like the rain that was supposed to come in tonight is coming in this morning and will clear off by afternoon. It may or may not give us anything.
Update: minimal rain--sprinkles and not much else. I have been unable to get on Bloglines for two days now. Damn!! Have no idea what is wrong but about half of the blogs I usually follow are inaccessible.
Cool so far this morning. Cool enough that I debated wearing the winter robe but settled for the light summer robe. We should have sun and the temperature should get up into the mid 70s. Nice for work in the gardens. I transplanted the creeping thyme and lavender, brought the rosemaries and pesto basil inside. Our weather people predict overnight temps in the 40s and low 50s for the rest of the week. I need to find space inside for my scented geraniums. Otherwise, I need to harvest some lemon balm before cleaning out that area as well as the stevia from another area.
Lambert Strether posting at Naked Capitalism asks a very good question: what are the long-term unemployed (or as Strether says, "disemployed") doing with their time? His comments remind me of a point Dmitri Orlov made in one of his posts some time ago: jobs may have disappeared but work always remains. We are used to an economy in which we sell our labor for money that we exchange for the things we need (food, clothing, etc.) Though we may not have a job the work of obtaining the things we need remains.
Monday.
It was a very pretty and mild day yesterday. More of the same for today, they say. I got the lemon balm cut and drying. I had thought I would pull the remaining plants but I have changed my mind. I will leave it for another cutting. I need to grind the dried leaves today so I can cut and dry some of the stevia. I collected a few of the spent flower heads from the hyssop which are dropping seeds now. Those are drying on a small plate on top of our fridge. Next week I will collect the seeds in an envelope for next season. The bees are still working over the remaining blossoms on the hyssop which aren't many so I am debating when to start cutting the plants to dry the leaves. I think I told you that the shiso is blooming. Rather pretty but not enough to plant next year. I noticed that it isn't attracting any bees. As I clear an area I am putting down a layer of newspaper mostly to keep the soil from being splattered out by rain of which we have had an abnormal number of very hard episodes. Over the fall and winter (as long as we are clear of snow) I will add more layers to inhibit weeds. I also took cuttings from the scented geraniums hoping they will root. I look at the cuttings I took from other plants late last week. So far they are still looking pretty good. Hoping they produce plants.
Tuesday. I have stevia to grind. The peppermint is next on my cutting/drying list if the weather holds. So far it looks like the rain that was supposed to come in tonight is coming in this morning and will clear off by afternoon. It may or may not give us anything.
Update: minimal rain--sprinkles and not much else. I have been unable to get on Bloglines for two days now. Damn!! Have no idea what is wrong but about half of the blogs I usually follow are inaccessible.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Saturday.
Oh, my, did those storms roll through yesterday evening and last night. Thankfully, we didn't get what the northern Chicago suburbs did. They are cleaning up and trying to get the power back for some 65+k up there. We got nasty winds that swirled and seemed to hit from all directions. Normally my little patio is well protected but the winds wiped the plants viciously. I will check everything when we get light out there. Supposed to clear off and get sunny but with mild temps today.
Things look pretty good out in the gardens. The Pesto Perpetuo basil is listing and needs to be staked but it isn't broken. It also needs to be trimmed. That is the worst of the storm's leavings. I will start the garden work shortly.
This isn't much of a surprise--nor, I guess, very unusual. I remember two near minimum wage jobs I had which specified a dress "code" all employees had to adhere to and, if they didn't have suitable items in their closets, they had to buy them themselves. I may have recouped the expense but it was a serious hit at the time. Good thing--I still have the slacks from those jobs and I am back down to a weight that allows me to wear them.
Well, out air attack that killed al-Shabab's leader did such a hell of a lot of good. The organization, as any organization would, has already named a new leader. We really need to get someone who can think outside the box because getting a bigger gun or more guns isn't working.
Oh, my, did those storms roll through yesterday evening and last night. Thankfully, we didn't get what the northern Chicago suburbs did. They are cleaning up and trying to get the power back for some 65+k up there. We got nasty winds that swirled and seemed to hit from all directions. Normally my little patio is well protected but the winds wiped the plants viciously. I will check everything when we get light out there. Supposed to clear off and get sunny but with mild temps today.
Things look pretty good out in the gardens. The Pesto Perpetuo basil is listing and needs to be staked but it isn't broken. It also needs to be trimmed. That is the worst of the storm's leavings. I will start the garden work shortly.
This isn't much of a surprise--nor, I guess, very unusual. I remember two near minimum wage jobs I had which specified a dress "code" all employees had to adhere to and, if they didn't have suitable items in their closets, they had to buy them themselves. I may have recouped the expense but it was a serious hit at the time. Good thing--I still have the slacks from those jobs and I am back down to a weight that allows me to wear them.
Well, out air attack that killed al-Shabab's leader did such a hell of a lot of good. The organization, as any organization would, has already named a new leader. We really need to get someone who can think outside the box because getting a bigger gun or more guns isn't working.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Friday.
We expect storms sometime today. I don't know if I will have either the time or the energy to do anything in the gardens. Depends on whether the when (if) the rough weather comes in and whether my get-up-and-go wakes up. Right now it is still snoozing.
The Powers-that-be and their cheerleaders keep telling us that the economy is in recovery and has been since 2009 and they keep scratching their heads in bewilderment when we don't believe them. This piece by David Dayen would tell them why we don't believe them. Most of us have experienced declining incomes and increasingly tenuous jobs over the last decade. That doesn't translate into recovery.
I have thought for a very long time that the bleats from employers about how difficult it is to find "qualified" job seekers to hire has been a self-serving crock of shit. Wolf Richter basically defines "qualified" for us and it isn't what we normally mean in using the term.
Update: well, my get-up-and-go returned by 8am it was already too hot and humid to do any real work outside. Since we expect rain storms overnight I won't water anything. We did go out because I wondered if either of our garden supply stores had herb plants left that might be suitable for the tower planter and Mom wanted some appliance enamel paint to repair a couple of spots on the clothes dryer. I didn't expect anything in the plants and wasn't surprised to find nothing. I will check my seeds to see what I have that I can start for that space. I also have some cuttings that may root. We'll see what happens.
We expect storms sometime today. I don't know if I will have either the time or the energy to do anything in the gardens. Depends on whether the when (if) the rough weather comes in and whether my get-up-and-go wakes up. Right now it is still snoozing.
The Powers-that-be and their cheerleaders keep telling us that the economy is in recovery and has been since 2009 and they keep scratching their heads in bewilderment when we don't believe them. This piece by David Dayen would tell them why we don't believe them. Most of us have experienced declining incomes and increasingly tenuous jobs over the last decade. That doesn't translate into recovery.
I have thought for a very long time that the bleats from employers about how difficult it is to find "qualified" job seekers to hire has been a self-serving crock of shit. Wolf Richter basically defines "qualified" for us and it isn't what we normally mean in using the term.
Update: well, my get-up-and-go returned by 8am it was already too hot and humid to do any real work outside. Since we expect rain storms overnight I won't water anything. We did go out because I wondered if either of our garden supply stores had herb plants left that might be suitable for the tower planter and Mom wanted some appliance enamel paint to repair a couple of spots on the clothes dryer. I didn't expect anything in the plants and wasn't surprised to find nothing. I will check my seeds to see what I have that I can start for that space. I also have some cuttings that may root. We'll see what happens.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Wednesday.
Oh, well. My hope for a clear day yesterday didn't come about. By the time we finished our errands we had sprinkles and a short time after a heavier rain fell. We did get some sun late in the afternoon. But it was too wet to do more than collect a ripe tomato. I was pleased to see that the hummingbirds are still here. A couple of them visited over yesterday. One found the cypress vine flowers. T.he weather should be clear an sunny today; if so, I need to get out an get started on the clearing up and transplanting chores.
This is an idea I like--a lot. I hope it spreads.
Thursday.
I got my sage transplanted into its own pot. That took a bit of effort. It has some very well developed roots. I hadn't intended to do that but it really had grown too large for the tower. I don't know if I will get much done outside. The weather predictions for the day include early showers followed closely by heat. We'll see what happens when. I also got the bean tower pulled. That was a bit of a chore also. I had woven the vines back and forth through the trellis. We processed the brussels sprouts we got while shopping Tuesday. We usually buy frozen but it has become harder to find plain sprouts and we don't really like the spices and sauces the processors put on their products. We only found two packages of "Asian spiced." I put that in quotes because I am sure no self-respecting "Asian" would eat that crap. We won't waste it because it is barely palatable. However, the produce section of the grocery store had sprouts for $2.99/lb vs. the $2.49 for those 10oz packs. The "convenience" (which isn't all that convenient) isn't worth the cost.
Ah, some humor from the Contrary Farmer on the issue of mega-farms.
Note: I (very) few moments ago I stepped out on the patio to get my small watering can, the one I bring inside for the winter, and though the cement was wet, indicating a recent rainfall, I didn't feel a single drop. By the time I watered the eucalyptus and the sage (both inside now) and sat back down with the computer the rain had escalated to a downpour. Since I started writing this it has backed off again. That is why this fall has been a problem for watering the gardens. What we just got wasn't enough to do much good for most of the plants. It looks like a lot but it simply isn't all that much.
Talking about rain brings to mind water generally and a story on the news last night. I forget which major internet/computer/cloud company has awarded its new data center to Las Vegas but my first thought when they mentioned the new jobs was "what about the water for the new center and for the new workers?" Has anyone thought about that? Not from what I have been reading.
Reading this my first reaction was "Well, DUH!!!" Our of curiosity I looked up what percentage of the world's population live in cities now: 54%. A quick look at what defines a "megacity" indicates a population of 10 million or more and there are about 20 such cities in the world. I disagree somewhat with the one person quoted when he said we "have no precedent" for such operations. Think Leningrad, Stalingrad, Moscow for starters. Then of course there are the cities bombed into oblivion or near oblivion: Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Dresden, London. The only difference is the number of people. We have been playing with urban warfare for some time. Many historians consider the American Civil War to have been a dress rehearsal for WWI and WWII. Think Atlanta, Vicksburg, and Richmond.
I have found the discussions of the Trans Pacific Partnership, which is being hammered out in as much secrecy as the participants can muster, and its bookend deal on the Atlantic side, also being constructed in secrecy, very disturbing. This story from Triple Crisis illustrates why they are such bad ideas. All of these basically trash the whole notion of national sovereignty and cut the legal knees out from under anyone or any group who wants a say in what impacts their own lives.
Oh, well. My hope for a clear day yesterday didn't come about. By the time we finished our errands we had sprinkles and a short time after a heavier rain fell. We did get some sun late in the afternoon. But it was too wet to do more than collect a ripe tomato. I was pleased to see that the hummingbirds are still here. A couple of them visited over yesterday. One found the cypress vine flowers. T.he weather should be clear an sunny today; if so, I need to get out an get started on the clearing up and transplanting chores.
This is an idea I like--a lot. I hope it spreads.
Thursday.
I got my sage transplanted into its own pot. That took a bit of effort. It has some very well developed roots. I hadn't intended to do that but it really had grown too large for the tower. I don't know if I will get much done outside. The weather predictions for the day include early showers followed closely by heat. We'll see what happens when. I also got the bean tower pulled. That was a bit of a chore also. I had woven the vines back and forth through the trellis. We processed the brussels sprouts we got while shopping Tuesday. We usually buy frozen but it has become harder to find plain sprouts and we don't really like the spices and sauces the processors put on their products. We only found two packages of "Asian spiced." I put that in quotes because I am sure no self-respecting "Asian" would eat that crap. We won't waste it because it is barely palatable. However, the produce section of the grocery store had sprouts for $2.99/lb vs. the $2.49 for those 10oz packs. The "convenience" (which isn't all that convenient) isn't worth the cost.
Ah, some humor from the Contrary Farmer on the issue of mega-farms.
Note: I (very) few moments ago I stepped out on the patio to get my small watering can, the one I bring inside for the winter, and though the cement was wet, indicating a recent rainfall, I didn't feel a single drop. By the time I watered the eucalyptus and the sage (both inside now) and sat back down with the computer the rain had escalated to a downpour. Since I started writing this it has backed off again. That is why this fall has been a problem for watering the gardens. What we just got wasn't enough to do much good for most of the plants. It looks like a lot but it simply isn't all that much.
Talking about rain brings to mind water generally and a story on the news last night. I forget which major internet/computer/cloud company has awarded its new data center to Las Vegas but my first thought when they mentioned the new jobs was "what about the water for the new center and for the new workers?" Has anyone thought about that? Not from what I have been reading.
Reading this my first reaction was "Well, DUH!!!" Our of curiosity I looked up what percentage of the world's population live in cities now: 54%. A quick look at what defines a "megacity" indicates a population of 10 million or more and there are about 20 such cities in the world. I disagree somewhat with the one person quoted when he said we "have no precedent" for such operations. Think Leningrad, Stalingrad, Moscow for starters. Then of course there are the cities bombed into oblivion or near oblivion: Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Dresden, London. The only difference is the number of people. We have been playing with urban warfare for some time. Many historians consider the American Civil War to have been a dress rehearsal for WWI and WWII. Think Atlanta, Vicksburg, and Richmond.
I have found the discussions of the Trans Pacific Partnership, which is being hammered out in as much secrecy as the participants can muster, and its bookend deal on the Atlantic side, also being constructed in secrecy, very disturbing. This story from Triple Crisis illustrates why they are such bad ideas. All of these basically trash the whole notion of national sovereignty and cut the legal knees out from under anyone or any group who wants a say in what impacts their own lives.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Tuesday.
Hoping for a clear day today. I want to get some cuttings started and a couple of plants moved. Also have a couple of containers I should clear out and get ready for winter. I know it is only the second day of September but the plants are done producing and, even if they decided to bloom again, they don't have time for a second crop to mature. I cored and seeded the Lipstick peppers which are now in the freezer. One plant still still has a few peppers ripening. The first of the Cornu di Toro Rosso peppers is in the fridge waiting for the next three which should be ripe this coming weekend. Mom plans to stuff them with chorizo and cheese.
The broadcast news made a big deal of this in their usual sensationalist manner that provided no useful information. I think the first lines are pretty accurate: are you less secure than you were? No, you were never as secure as you thought to begin with. I have distrusted the "cloud" from the day I first heard about it. I don't use any of the "cloud" services. I am not so concerned about "sensitive" information making its way into unfriendly hands but I don't like the notion of being at the mercy of the service to get my own info. It is bad enough when our internet service is interrupted for some unknown reason. Anyone remember a couple of stories over the last couple of years where people and businesses lost access because the government seized the servers to investigate possible criminal activity? Far more non-criminals were locked out than criminals were inconvenienced.
Interesting piece on the Guardian's Environment Blog. The paragraphs on temperature sensitivities are especially interesting. Translating: 20C = 68F; 25C =77F; 30C = 86F; 35C = 95F. But we don't have to worry about heat alone. Last year we had record breaking heat here with 40+ days over 90F. This year only 4. We have had a very cool summer so far--almost as cool as one about six years ago when I seriously considered getting seeds for a cold adapted tomato. But then a couple of years, like last year, were so warm I was thinking of a heat tolerant plant instead. I haven't gone with either and have actually had some pretty good harvests given how little space I have. We were talking to one of the venders at the farm market who said that all his customers and fellow growers have commented on how strange our weather has been. All we can do is be as flexible as we can.
This cartoon says a good bit of truth about our higher "education" "system." My own advice to prospective college students: think twice--and then think again. The diplomas aren't worth what they once were worth, and many aren't worth the time and money you will spend on them.
Hoping for a clear day today. I want to get some cuttings started and a couple of plants moved. Also have a couple of containers I should clear out and get ready for winter. I know it is only the second day of September but the plants are done producing and, even if they decided to bloom again, they don't have time for a second crop to mature. I cored and seeded the Lipstick peppers which are now in the freezer. One plant still still has a few peppers ripening. The first of the Cornu di Toro Rosso peppers is in the fridge waiting for the next three which should be ripe this coming weekend. Mom plans to stuff them with chorizo and cheese.
The broadcast news made a big deal of this in their usual sensationalist manner that provided no useful information. I think the first lines are pretty accurate: are you less secure than you were? No, you were never as secure as you thought to begin with. I have distrusted the "cloud" from the day I first heard about it. I don't use any of the "cloud" services. I am not so concerned about "sensitive" information making its way into unfriendly hands but I don't like the notion of being at the mercy of the service to get my own info. It is bad enough when our internet service is interrupted for some unknown reason. Anyone remember a couple of stories over the last couple of years where people and businesses lost access because the government seized the servers to investigate possible criminal activity? Far more non-criminals were locked out than criminals were inconvenienced.
Interesting piece on the Guardian's Environment Blog. The paragraphs on temperature sensitivities are especially interesting. Translating: 20C = 68F; 25C =77F; 30C = 86F; 35C = 95F. But we don't have to worry about heat alone. Last year we had record breaking heat here with 40+ days over 90F. This year only 4. We have had a very cool summer so far--almost as cool as one about six years ago when I seriously considered getting seeds for a cold adapted tomato. But then a couple of years, like last year, were so warm I was thinking of a heat tolerant plant instead. I haven't gone with either and have actually had some pretty good harvests given how little space I have. We were talking to one of the venders at the farm market who said that all his customers and fellow growers have commented on how strange our weather has been. All we can do is be as flexible as we can.
This cartoon says a good bit of truth about our higher "education" "system." My own advice to prospective college students: think twice--and then think again. The diplomas aren't worth what they once were worth, and many aren't worth the time and money you will spend on them.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Sunday. Last day of August.
Yesterday was pretty nice. The rain held off until evening and, has become usual, was a very heavy downpour that didn't last long. Supposed to be dry and sunny today. I hope so. I have a few things I want to do outside. I didn't do anything except look at the plants yesterday. They say we have had a much wetter than normal August and I can believe it. Stepping outside we feel like we are breathing through a wet cotton ball.
This is an interesting notion but I noticed the article didn't deal with two very important concerns: how much water is required and how much energy is required--and where will each come from.
Monday. Welcome to September. Because of the high temperatures and copious rain it doesn't feel like Fall has arrived but the spreading color on the trees is making it look like Fall.
Harvested some peppers and a couple of nice tomatoes yesterday and pulled a couple of petunias that were looking very spent and ragged. Right now most of the work is deciding when to pull what and whether to take cuttings from which plants and which to repot for moving indoors. If we get some sun and it remains somewhat dry I may get some of that done. We'll see.
I don't remember the name of the billionaire (choose your own favorite descriptor) who said late last year that our voting philosophy shouldn't be "one man, one vote" but "one dollar, one vote." He may be getting his wish though not as directly as he wished. However, I think it is both obscene and wasteful that the tab for this year's elections has already topped $1Billion and likely to quadruple by election day.
This isn't surprising given stories last fall and just a week or so ago about the problems farmers and grain storage operators had and are having because the oil tankers are hogging the lines. In a sane world one would think that food stuffs and agricultural products would have priority. They are perishable after all. But the oil companies and rail operators must think we will simply mutate to be able to directly consume fossil fuels instead of food.
Yesterday was pretty nice. The rain held off until evening and, has become usual, was a very heavy downpour that didn't last long. Supposed to be dry and sunny today. I hope so. I have a few things I want to do outside. I didn't do anything except look at the plants yesterday. They say we have had a much wetter than normal August and I can believe it. Stepping outside we feel like we are breathing through a wet cotton ball.
This is an interesting notion but I noticed the article didn't deal with two very important concerns: how much water is required and how much energy is required--and where will each come from.
Monday. Welcome to September. Because of the high temperatures and copious rain it doesn't feel like Fall has arrived but the spreading color on the trees is making it look like Fall.
Harvested some peppers and a couple of nice tomatoes yesterday and pulled a couple of petunias that were looking very spent and ragged. Right now most of the work is deciding when to pull what and whether to take cuttings from which plants and which to repot for moving indoors. If we get some sun and it remains somewhat dry I may get some of that done. We'll see.
I don't remember the name of the billionaire (choose your own favorite descriptor) who said late last year that our voting philosophy shouldn't be "one man, one vote" but "one dollar, one vote." He may be getting his wish though not as directly as he wished. However, I think it is both obscene and wasteful that the tab for this year's elections has already topped $1Billion and likely to quadruple by election day.
This isn't surprising given stories last fall and just a week or so ago about the problems farmers and grain storage operators had and are having because the oil tankers are hogging the lines. In a sane world one would think that food stuffs and agricultural products would have priority. They are perishable after all. But the oil companies and rail operators must think we will simply mutate to be able to directly consume fossil fuels instead of food.
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