I knew I shouldn't have posted earlier. Usually I don't find anything after going through my various blogs, news sites, and the google alerts. However, this is interesting. If the Feds do carry through with the 'new' tactic of targeting corporate execs for the abuses practiced in their companies' names we might actually get some form of accountability. The major problem has been that the individuals who have the responsibility for making the decisions in their corporations have been able to get off relatively lightly as the penalties, usually pitifully light, were applied to the companies. But, as an old saying holds, a 'committee is the only living organism with four or more legs and no brain.' The same goes for any collective grouping including, perhaps especially, companies in the modern economy. I often wondered during the Deepwater Horizon spill if we shouldn't somehow devise a death penalty for bad companies.

Good morning to you all. It was nice yesterday--dry and warm. I would still like something that resembled spring but, once again, we won't get that. The weather people say that this May was one of the five wettest ever. Funny, because just two weeks ago the rainfall levels were almost half an inch below normal. Most of my plants are doing well. However, I have to consider what to do about the beans and cucumbers--neither have done well. I have a couple of spots in the large containers that might do well for them. I may make a new start there. I can always put flowers in their places in the pots. I have three tomatoes and one pepper that are already blooming.

Thanks for the hug, Kay.

I have been following this story from Europe because it sounds so familiar. And they are having the same difficulty tracing the source of the contamination.

While the news media is spending obscene amounts of time on Sarah's 'non-'political bus tour and Snookie's fender-bender in Italy, Tom Englehardt asks a question that has been in my mind for some time: is America now a 'post-legal' society?

Good morning, everyone. I am finally feeling somewhat human. Mom and I have spent the last several days fighting very nasty colds. We still aren't fully recovered but at least we aren't totally wiped out. This weather hasn't helped either. Cold and wet. Nothing done in the gardens. I have to get busy and maybe this week I will be able to do so. It looks like someone flipped a switch. We couldn't get out of the 60s last week and will be in the 80s and 90s this week. Thankfully the heavy rains did not damage any of the plants. I kept the milk carton cloches on the ground cherries and the shades I had put up protected the rest from the rain. Has some wind but it didn't damage anything around here. Parts of Michigan and Chicago weren't so lucky.

Good morning, everyone. We have bright sun again today but cooler temperatures before a couple of days of cool rainy weather moves in tonight and tomorrow. But none of the low temps are predicted to be low enough to threaten my plants. The news just showed some pictures of damage from a tornado spawned by the same system that hit Joplin--in Rensselaer, Indiana. Not that far from here. Luckily, from the scanty coverage, the damage was isolated and minor.

So Tim Pawlenty has thrown his hat into the Presidential circus ring with the promise to tell us the Truth when no one else will. I guess that depends on how you define 'truth.' The Political Wire has a couple of links which show just how slippery the definition can be.

I think your God has been talking to mine, Lois. I am pretty sure we're all ok. And Kay's yawn has echoed here on the rescheduling of the Rapture.

This is a little late today. I did my library run and visited the Menards and Home Depot garden departments. I still had 2 tubs with almost nothing in them. After moseying through I finally settled on three new tomatoes (2 heirloom, 1 hybrid), a cilantro, a 'sweet' mint (their name for spearmint), a miniature pink rose that (surprise, surprise) has a strong rose smell, and several flowers. I transplanted the tomatoes, cilantro, mint, and rose. Also place the three ground cherries in their final homes. I don't plan on anything for the next couple of days if it is as cool and wet as forecast. But we were really pleased to see that the yellow cherry tomato has blossoms on it. We shut the front door and bedroom window because the temp has dropped from about 80 to 70 over the last couple of hours. And the wind has picked up.

Good morning, everyone, and what a night of nasty weather. We had thunderstorm and tornado warnings and watches last night. Thunderstorms rumbled through here but we, thankfully, missed the hail and tornados. The temperatures here reached the high 80s yesterday (low 90s on the patio). I had to water the containers well for the first time. I also moved the lettuce because the plants really did not like the sun. They were wilting even though they had plenty of moisture. I changed out the plastic and put up the cloth awnings to shade the tomatoes. This roller coaster weather ride is getting very old.

As if the foreclosure mess really needed another Catch-22. Is it any surprise that the banks deny any responsibility in this? An owner is an owner--unless it is a bank. If any individual failed to maintain their property properly and created the kinds of public nuisances described here, the city would have a court order and a lien so fast the owner's head would swim. But bringing even legal pressure to bear on the too-big-too-fail national and international banks? Very difficult indeed. Perhaps the cities should cut their losses, seize the properties under eminent domaine, and sell the properties to recoup some of their costs.

I don't know if Mitch Daniels is as bad as Kassich, Kay. He isn't nearly as nasty as the Repthuglicans who control our legislature. I was pleased to see an article that said the effort to put that SB 5 on a referendum is likely to succeed. I am afraid I may have to reconsider my earlier notion that I wouldn't vote for either Obama or which ever Repthuglican emerges to challenge him. Obama may be the lesser of many evils. Unfortunately, I found out about the community garden experiment too late to even consider getting a plot. I hope they expand the program next year and open up plots closer in.

We agree, Lois. We, also, wonder why the 'end of the world' message seems to have touched a chord. For the last couple of years I have seen numerous tv shows on that theme. Many centered on the so-called Mayan calendar end-of-time predictions or Nostradamus. The news last night interviewed the 'true believer' who put up so many of the billboards to announce 'the Rapture.' He is going to leave the ads up because he thinks that though they got the specific day wrong the event will come this year. Wishful thinking, maybe?

Good Morning to you all. Well, I guess the end of the world has been put on hold. No earthquake here and everything is as it was yesterday morning. Except it is sunny and we expect temps in the 80s.

I didn't get anything done in the gardens yesterday. The clouds we had for most of the day rather took my energy away. Besides I am still debating with myself what else is going to go where.

So our Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels will not be running for President. Smart man!! At least in this matter. I am not enthusiastic about any candidate in any party.

Just browsing around on the internet yesterday I found that my town has this year started a trial community garden. They only had, I think they said, 20 10x10 plots available (for $10 each) and I found about it well after the last one had been claimed. I hope they can continue it and I would love to have some new plots opened up nearer to me. The first garden is located in the far north of the town--not at all convenient. I would much rather have a plot within walking distance.

Good Saturday morning to everyone out there. We had a nice sunny and dry day yesterday. I got my lemon verbena moved and rosemary into their own large pots. Also got the new tomato, oregano, and lavender planted. I still have two large containers not even started yet. One will be my greens container later when the temperatures get too high for the lettuce and spinach to thrive. These two are in a shady part of the patio. I will have to take a trip to Home Depot and Menards to get some inspiration this week. The impatiens seem to like their new home--not evident transplant shock at all. I want to put some new lettuce and spinach seeds out today. I put the little pots into the large containers yesterday. Hopefully the rains will be very scattered.

The weather people said that over the last almost 3 months (from March through now) we had two months (March and May) with less rainfall than normal and one (April) with significantly more. Result--we are just .2 inches below normal. Actually, I was surprised that April wasn't wetter given how few sunny days we had.