a brief laugh

I think its a soldier beetle.


see more crazy cat pics

Hope and Faith

Wow, just when I was really feeling grouchy and cynical...

Yesterday while work continued digging the new beds, I noticed something. Buds, buds everywhere, but first a little background. Last year, against what prior experience would say is wise, we planted 5 new trees. Prior to that, we have attempted trees, and met with repeated failure. I don't know if it was poor quality stock (possibly) or poor site preparation (probably). But the bottom line is they don't last long for us. After transplanting last year things were not looking good for this batch either. The 4 lilacs had dropped quite a few leaves before the season was out, I'd say we were left with about 30% remaining...not good. The ornamental cherry did not fare much better. I was not expecting a return in the spring.

I was wrong. The lilacs are bursting with buds everywhere, and the cherry appears to have lost some of its longer branches, but is fairly vigorous on the shorter ones. But they survived!

If that was not enough, I found a bud on one of the grape cuttings, in spite of my anxiety about the process, it is working.

And to top it off, our son (well not legally ours yet but it matters little) just turned one yesterday. There's another one who beat the odds. Born at 27 weeks, a mere 2.2lbs, now a healthy growing 17 pounder crawling all over God's green earth and sprouting teeth.

So I guess I got exactly the lesson I needed yesterday, funny how things work out like that.

the horrors of change

How are we ever to grow if people like this get paid to write this crap...an excerpt which is at the heart of the problem.

In "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore preached to us about downsizing our
lifestyles. He wants us to take colder showers, hang our clothes outside to dry,
avoid driving, use less heating and air conditioning and generally reduce our
standard of living.

emphasis mine.



It doesn't matter what the overwhelming evidence says, if a person percieves that there is no problem, then there is no need to change. If a person percieves that to change requires sacrifice, and that ultimately that sacrifice will only result in an intangible change in total, then there will be no change. No one wants to reduce their standard of living, especially when the net gain will be negligable.

What we must first attack is the idea that the change in lifestyle is a reduction at all. Ask Mr. Dervaes if he is happier now, or before. Ask the folks over at elements in time if they are happier now? Everytime anyone consciously makes a decision about where their food, clothes and life's necessities come from, everytime someone realizes that personal responsibility and sovreignty is as much about choosing what you really want, and not what everyone seems to want...they are that much closer to truly being free and fully actualized. It is not so much a reduction in the standard of living as a realization of what living really means.


And for all the talk about the so called sacrifice not having any effect? Every person that stops by Path to Freedom and says, "wow, I never thought about that, I might try a few of those ideas." Every person that stops by the farmer's market "just to check it out" Every person who looks at the news and sees what the monsanto's of the world are doing, and wonders where the food in their fridge actually came from...

is one step closer to the turning the tide. Person by person the tide IS turning, and someday people who think like that WILL be in the minority, but by then, they'll just blindly follow what the rest of us consciously decided to do long ago.

and if its all for naught, at least I can meet my end knowing that I tried.

Why am I in such a mood to rant today? yesterday evening I broke my forked spade. Its not even a year old and snapped right at the tang. Post mortem revealed cheap cast "steel." Buy cheap buy twice. But hey I just caused economic growth, because I will have to buy another spade. Sell cheap, sell twice. Watch the GDP rise! the economy is GROWING! Hurray!

Grrrrr.

Mammon and Mutants

I knew monsanto was the many headed beast, quietly swallowing the genes and livelyhood of real agriculture, but I guess I never knew how downright despicable they really were. I have to credit Groovy green for finding this article in vanity fair.

Notice in the parting shot, my favorite global warming denier Steve Milloy gets a shout out as being one of the underhanded shills trying to move a whisper camaign of support for the devils.

The flood cannot be stopped, only redirected

Old Business First.



















as you can see, the nascent perrenial sanctuary is taking off! It will be a shame to part with the cheer when it comes time to move them into their permanent home in our yard. I will certainly have to fill the empty spots in the window. Nothing much to report on the veggie front, I'm still waiting on the shipment from moose tubers, by schedule, I should have started chitting today. A week or so shouldnt really mess with things in the long run. I do have carrot seed to start tonight.


On to new business...

My recent agricultural persuits have prompted my father to begin a more expanded gardening program this year. Last year he had a couple tomato bushes and a few herbs, but I found out last night he is adding another bed and going to try spinache, lettuce, and my favorite: peas. I convinced him to try some heirloom varieties, and I know as soon as he opens up that first pod, he'll be hooked for life.

If it was just political it might be funny

A friend of mine recently affixed this to his truck. "Hydrocarbon powered Eco Vehicle" well duh, all internal combustion engines burn hydrocarbons. His response was that only chemists will know the truth and he'll fool all the silly hippies. I like this guy, I really do, we've been friends for a while, but sometimes the unapolagetic unabashed elitism grinds my gears.

Or the people who vow to eat twice as much meat to make up for my vegetarianism.

Is one person's uncloseted environmentalism as much an invitation to backlash so as to provide yet another example of Jeavon's paradox?

The phrase "South Park Republicans" has come and gone, their ilk mostly concerned with libertarian issues of non-interference. I think the effect remains though, we are now a "South Park Nation" a country full of people who will deride anyone who cares about anything. Now Mr's Parker and Stone (south park creators) and Mr. Beck (who's smarmy storefront provied my friend with his adhesive clad vinyl statement) would say they don't mind people having opinions, so long as they keep them to themselves. (And God forbid perhaps make you rethink your position) But isn't speaking your mind part of having an opinion? If there is a fire in a crowded theater, please excuse me if I dare to open my mouth and let people know. If I'm wrong, and there is no fire, then I'll suffer the jibes for the inconvenience I caused. But I would be morally remiss if I said nothing.

I used to think that once I started caring about one thing, I will have to start caring about everything. I was right. Its made me neurotic, angry, and depressed at times, but in seeing the world for what it is and not just how I wanted to see it, I also see hope. I see people who are slowly remembering what it means to live, what is necessary and what is distraction or destructive, people who are learning to innovate again, people who are breaking dependency on a system that exploits them.

I can't help but keep referring back to the works of Frank Herbert. I'm reading Heretics of Dune right now. Herbert's analogy of hydraulic despotism, humanity's dependence on a single commodity leading to stagnation and possible demise, is so prescient.

But maybe I'm the elitist one.

before shot

courtesy of google earth the stack of lumber is now a deck, but you get the gist of exactly how small a lot I am working with. Can I make it to 100 lbs of produce? I think so.


And thank you for the wood stove suggestions, keep them coming, they have been very helpful. My father actually has a pellet stove, and maybe its too small for the room but it doesnt seem to work as well as our friend's "logburner".

more research is definitely necessary.