Dinosaur in the garden
Tag Archive: garden
Like all of us, I read many of the freshly pressed posts of the day. I want to see what people are writing about and find topics other than mine interesting. I also like to see what other people make in their kitchens or craft rooms. Some of it is very inspiring.
So today, I was looking at EcoWomen: Protectors of the Planet as they discuss green resolutions that can make a difference for our planet. This post resonated with me as the hubs and I do many of these things. We recycle and compost. Our water bottle usage is less as we re-use those bottles until they can no longer be used. We have a garden and use it well. We have re-useable bags that need to be used more.
The one thing I cannot do on this list is give up meat – even for one day.
I am willing to try to lessen my paper towel dependance and I do try to hit the local farmer’s market for produce. Our garden produces wonderful vegetables. We want to plant at least one more tree in our yard.
But the meat thing is a sticking point.
My family has a history of diabetes running through it like wildfire on both sides. One of the things I have noticed is how protein really helps keep my blood sugar from going crazy. My diet has become a balancing act of fresh produce and proteins so that I do not get dizzy while keeping the calories at a point where I continue to lose weight.
When I was college age, I did try the vegetarian diet. I went for less beef and more chicken. Slowly, I realized it was the grease that made me sick so I went for lean meats. I tried tofu but I didn’t like it all that much. I do some bean dishes but they are not my main source of protein. I learned how to cook what I like in a tasty manner which means there can be a lot of cheese. Many of our meals might be chicken as opposed to beef.
However, as I get older I find I want meat – especially beef. There is nothing like a real Italian Beef sandwich. A hamburger made well is a thing of glory. I do not need bacon on my burger but sharp cheddar or blue cheese takes that burger to another level. I feel better when I have an animal based protien. I would like to think this does not make me a bad person just one who needs certain foods to survive. I am sure there are plenty of vegans who will tell me differently, that a few minor adjustments will make life better for me.
The suggestions made by the Eco-Women are wonderful. I agree with most of what they say. While I am willing to give up using plastic bags, and our family will continue to compost and recycle the one thing we are not doing is giving up meat.
I wonder if planting a new tree will make up for my meat consumption.
Are you making any resolutions to help the planet?
This past week I have felt myself get hot and bothered over a number of things that just piss me off royally. I can feel compassion for the people who have been hit by a tornado or other natural disaster. These things happen and there is no control over them.
Picture by Cohdra
People purposefully acting stupid, cruel and plain evil get to me. Some I want to spit at, others I want to slap and some, some I wish could find out what waterboarding is all about because I think they deserve that kind of torture to even out what they gave to their victims. I might want to be a pacifist but I am not very good at it, still.
So let me share a few.
I learned that the First Responders Bill, the legislation forcing our government to help out those people who came to ground zero to help clean-up after 911, has been hi-jacked by idiotic politicians who sought to tack all sorts of amendments on to this bill. If you apply for the health care relief you might need because you are dying of cancer and do not want to leave your family in debt, first you have to prove you are not a terrorist.
While that is a long term plan at best – living in this country, helping with a terror plot and then applying for medical aid to the government you sought to destroy ten years earlier – I bet there are some terrorists jumping for joy at being able to destroy our country by getting money from it. Thanks for that goes to Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida.
Picture by Grafixer
Then there was the whole Donald Trump congratulating himself for getting the truth about Obama’s birth certificate out of the way. Now let’s look at his academic records, Trump says. Really?
You want to investigate the college records of a Harvard Law School graduate? A man who was the editor of the Havard Law Review which only goes to a top student? A man who worked as a professor at a law school? You want to pick a fight with a man who is that much smarter than you?
Hey, Donald? Can we look at the books for your businesses? I hear stories about you losing money for your investors. Perhaps we need to check that out. You know where there is smoke, there is sometimes a blazing hot inferno.
Which leads me to the Birthers and Tea Party members. Where were you guys when we wanted to know if President Bush had really served in the National Guard as he stated? Few pictures or records tell the story on this one. Your dogged determination should have set the record straight on that mystery.
Hey, where were you guys as this war with Iraq went on and on, long after President Bush declared “Mission Accomplished?” Billions have gone from the treasury to pay for this war. We even learned we were lied to about there being weapons of mass destruction. Not a peep out of you people about that or the first round of stimulus money given to the banking industry with no way to track it during the final days of President Bush’s term.
I am not even sure I have heard you people complain about the bombing of Libya all that much. Just the bombs alone covered NPR ‘s annual budget at least three times. So let’s be honest – do you really want responsible spending OR do you just want to get President Obama out of office?
Now the next thing had me going all day yesterday. Really hot and angry. The news on Sunday reported that a man raped a six-year-old little girl while her brother watched, terrified. This man was a friend of their father’s. He comes into the room and rapes a six-year-old girl.
There are a few choice words for a person who does such a thing. SCUM comes to mind. I could go off on a torrent of swearing. But the one I hope describes him best is DEAD MAN WALKING. It won’t be me who does it. But I hope his life is living hell from now until the moment he does meet our maker. I know Jesus saves but this is going to be tough.
I haven’t told the saddest part of the story yet. This “shitbird,” as one blogger called him, had been turning his life around, making things better. Now he is in jail and his five children are in protective service. All seven of these children need our prayers.
Jane Austen, enhanced portrait by Cassandra Austin, source unknown
Now, remind me again why I prefer to work in my garden and read Jane Austen novels? Why I would rather spend my days quilting or making a fabulous meal or having fun with the kids? Why I would rather stick my head in the sand than listen to this stuff on any given day?
Both plants have flowers. One will have a tall stalk with flowers, the other is an annoying vine with white or purple flowers.
Every now and then I will talk to friends about my garden and we get into the conversation of “is it a weed or a flower?”
Well, how do you know? Personally, I wait until the plant is a few inches tall if I do not recognize it right off. In my perennial bed I have plants that come back every year and I know them right off. My Hen and chicken (Sedum) has started off quite nice as have the two colors of Obedience plants that live happily with the various Black-Eye Susans.
But there are always a few I am never quite sure of. I took a few pictures from my garden today to illustrate how easy it is to mess up identification.
Wait, you are saying to yourself. I thought this blog was about family and movies and the occasional alcoholic beverage. Well, it is. But when you live in a cottage, one should have a cottage-type garden. Plus I have noticed that as soon as you bring out the plants to be planted, the shovel and the mulch, kids seem to want to be right there with you. I dig a hole, they put in the plant, we all move the dirt back to the right place. It works nicely.
This is our daughter’s first year in 4-H. She is doing visual arts and crops. We will grow corn in the back yard. I think that is perfect for her to do this year. One of the other things that was done in the yard today was her little plot of land was heaped with compost and then turned over. In six weeks it will be ready for her seeds.
Now back to the quiz.
Did you figure out the first picture yet? Both are hardy plants, over winter nicely. Both will have flowers. However the one I want is on the left, commonly known as Hollyhock. It will grow six feet or taller. I currently have shades of maroon. I would appreciate other colors but I cannot seem to get them to grow.
The other plant is called creeping Charlie by some of my friends. I call it a major pest and will be ripping it out all summer long. It chokes my Obedience plants and pulls them down. It does the same to my Black-Eyed Susan plants as well. Another pest that does that is Morning Glories. They can be pretty but I work to contain them in one part of the garden or the blasted things take over.
Now lets talk about this next beauty that is resting at the bottom of the page. It looks like a clump of grass. Feels like grass until you pull it out and there are tiny white bulbs dangling from the roots. What do you do? Put it right back, of course and water it. But how will you be reward?
In mid-June you will notice the grass die back a little and little white flowers, about 1 – 1 1/2 inches wide, bloom like crazy. You might notice little white bulbs in your garden as you put in bedding plants. Just stick them back in, water the ground after you are done putting in the bedding plants and next year you will be rewarded with more of these flowers. It sounds crazy but this was one of the hidden delights in my garden.
Good luck with your garden this spring and by all means share a secret or two.
It is a clump of grass that has a white line on each blade. But is it a weed?
Notes from Rumbly Cottage 