tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23462509817157274902024-02-21T03:34:25.147-06:00Mitzi's Wild Kingdoma little blog about urban gardening and catsmitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.comBlogger415125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-51359241991916675362011-05-07T19:40:00.002-05:002011-05-07T19:52:12.595-05:00Two Jobs And Not Enough TimeA wife wears many hats, especially if she works outside the home. She works inside it as a given. That is her first and always-primary job. Household management is intelligent labor; it requires planning, ordering, purchasing, delivering, and cleaning, among other services not rewarded monetarily. And that is WITHOUT kids. With kids, it goes beyond full-time fast, and in the early months beats the medical resident's hours at their worst. <div>To ask us to work outside the home is hardly modern, as women have often worked the fields and served alongside men in various capacities. But the modern insistence that the woman is equivalent to a man and thus can ignore the home duties or leave them to paid substitutes is perilous. Who can afford to pay others in these economic times? So we struggle to meet expectations ourselves, and the dust bunnies gather.</div><div>I have two jobs and not nearly enough time to do them justice.</div>mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-64240571050192257392011-04-30T17:35:00.004-05:002011-04-30T17:50:36.235-05:00Storms of Spring<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNaWAr7ZipX5JYszvm5SewTR_ukd2CQs7hZ-tKN4KimO8A2E5hYHGKmENiV9_BX_10LivncfsqtZDTyH-gnoTKZYf_XU4uW-v0gZ0sUyDkdUlGd3VG1hYgr1ekaYVlYLVgkHC0Dq-zYzQ/s1600/IMG_2130.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNaWAr7ZipX5JYszvm5SewTR_ukd2CQs7hZ-tKN4KimO8A2E5hYHGKmENiV9_BX_10LivncfsqtZDTyH-gnoTKZYf_XU4uW-v0gZ0sUyDkdUlGd3VG1hYgr1ekaYVlYLVgkHC0Dq-zYzQ/s200/IMG_2130.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601509646095468514" /></a><br />It is springtime in the South, and that means big storm systems. In good years (for agriculture, not city life) we get two weeks of more or less solid rain in the spring, causing flooding of waterways. We may get the same in the fall, some years. This shortens an otherwise very long growing season.<div>The tree in this picture died last year. We left it as a convenient place to park the bird feeder, but it blew over in the most recent storms. It hit the fence and did nothing more than cosmetic damage. I cut it up with a hand saw today, to be hauled off later.</div><div>The storms are being especially destructive this year, probably because we have chosen to take up agricultural/forested land with concentrated population centers. The destruction is awful to contemplate. There are reasons why this continent was not as densely populated as Europe when the Europeans arrived. It simply has large sections that are not very hospitable to large groups of people- too wet, too dry, too hot, too swampy, too stormy or unstable geologically, etc. </div><div>Here in Memphis homes and businesses are being flooded as the Mississippi backs up into its tributaries. A lot of people decided that the older parts of the city (on higher ground) were not desirable anymore, so they wanted to move out. "Out" has a lot of low ground in the regions surrounding the city. We should either build enough levees to protect the whole thing or bring the population back to high ground. Selling people houses in"100-year flood plain" should be outlawed, plain and simple. More storms are coming in the next few days. I pray they don't bring more destruction. We've had enough to last a while.</div>mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-57204809022082813672011-04-22T16:36:00.003-05:002011-04-22T16:58:11.185-05:00Patient or consumer? How about fellow human?Paul Krugman recently wrote a post in the New York Times about not liking the fact that Republicans sully the sacred relationship between doctors and patients by calling the patients, "consumers". Sorry to break it to him, but the doctors did that a long time ago. From what I have seen, "patient" does not even mean "fellow human" to many doctors anymore. It means "profit machine". Many of the most commonly prescribed drugs (statins and anti-depressants, anyone?) have been shown to be of limited to no benefit for most of the patients taking them. Likewise for invasive procedures like mastectomy for DCIS (which has a death rate of 0.7%, and is classified with the non-lethal skin cancers by the CDC in terms of mortality), stents and bypasses for asymptomatic coronary blockages, and cancer treatments for screen-detected "incidentalomas". One of my grandmothers was treated for years for diabetes when she did not have it, simply because she was obese and fit the profile. She was a Medicare cash cow for the doctors, who treated her for a disease she did not have AND all the attendant side effects of the drugs. She was reduced to a "health care consumer", obediently taking 11 drugs a day, by the doctors. I'm afraid our health care system needs a total rebuild, not just reform. When you hear med students choosing residencies on the basis of how soon they'll be able to retire, and doctors recommending tests for you and your loved ones when recent medical lit shows such tests to do more harm than good, simply because they will find SOMETHING "wrong" if they test hard enough, then they can steal all your retirement money in the name of "saving your life" with procedures that show little survival benefit, something has to change. The entire moral outlook is wrong. It does not MATTER whether private insurance or pubic tax-payer dollars fund this sinking ship. There aren't enough funds. Both political parties are looking to patch the Titanic, when water is already over the decks. We need to man the lifeboats and start teaching true prevention (simple diet and exercise) instead. Let her sink and build a health CARE system in which humans treat humans as they would be treated, not a money-extraction, disease-mongering system.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-69652456142650905042011-03-26T19:42:00.003-05:002011-04-22T16:36:24.840-05:00Kale-White Bean Wraps and Tomato Soup<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgywYneZYt9-G90v5W4L01JOJ-qG2dsOkowjOHCuHYkOUME4QAgw-6Aqa9XPPGOTepWxWYCbkP80tSrXXuJvjtkrdhOK9mRXzOROjL-PKxLkRQKvHNWjaL5LXbW0iyZZ7fqtvt-YmolI/s1600/IMG_2175.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgywYneZYt9-G90v5W4L01JOJ-qG2dsOkowjOHCuHYkOUME4QAgw-6Aqa9XPPGOTepWxWYCbkP80tSrXXuJvjtkrdhOK9mRXzOROjL-PKxLkRQKvHNWjaL5LXbW0iyZZ7fqtvt-YmolI/s200/IMG_2175.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598524938547399474" /></a><br />It is spring, and my basil, anise hyssop, lavender, black cumin, and other herbs are tiny seedlings in pots. But today it was cool and rainy, so soup was in order. I made tomato-basil soup (from canned tomatoes, vegetable juice, onion, celery, frozen corn, and my basil frozen last summer) and kale-white bean wraps. The kale was harvested from the back yard 10 minutes before it was wilted on top of the beans. The best way to grow kale without having to spray it or maintain constant vigilance for the cabbage worms is to over-winter it. Plant it in the fall so it has time to get 4-6 inches high before it freezes. It will go into suspended animation, wilting a bit in the bitter cold (as bitter as it gets here, in the teens Fahrenheit), but reviving in the sun and growing in the early spring. You can eat it gloriously before the worms can develop to do their thing and make you miserable watching your plants get swiss-cheesed. Wonderful, healthy stuff. Your eyes will thank you.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-28580553204265601132011-03-05T20:10:00.004-06:002011-03-05T20:16:52.504-06:00Daffodils Are Up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QzY6JfDoJKIogfQDcgjCMHIl3S0jGZA096pIC_ZqCThyphenhyphenyAA9_4x1rzbavxoQpXfPsIFxj_qbC2Ne8GC6eWmPqg5VhuLa3x6Tb7Qa8Rerp-h_31Unac8evlr_ONQHFLtVk92nIPu4We4/s1600/IMG_1289.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QzY6JfDoJKIogfQDcgjCMHIl3S0jGZA096pIC_ZqCThyphenhyphenyAA9_4x1rzbavxoQpXfPsIFxj_qbC2Ne8GC6eWmPqg5VhuLa3x6Tb7Qa8Rerp-h_31Unac8evlr_ONQHFLtVk92nIPu4We4/s200/IMG_1289.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580785138283289234" /></a><br />This is the time of year when it is extremely tempting on balmy week-ends to get out and plant. You could put in sets of crucifers or snow peas, but beware! That balmy week-end could turn into a snowstorm in a few days. We have roller-coaster weather. I'm going to dig and smooth tomorrow if weather allows, but no planting yet.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-50176232085058661992011-02-05T17:50:00.003-06:002011-02-05T18:06:38.159-06:00Garden Planning 2011Done, such as it is. I won't be growing much this year, but I did the usual draw-it-out-on-graph-paper-and-dream-with-catalogs thing. It never quite turns out like you plan it, but the planning is fun. Husband will help with making sure everything is well-mulched.<div>On a happy dietary note, the central library in Memphis is a treasure trove for those who live here on a budget. The vegetarian section (the cooking section in general) is quite good. I even found Neal Bernard's Food for Life in the second-hand bookstore for $1. Now I have recipes from Dean Ornish (circa 1996, when he was still strict about his stuff), Caldwell and Rip Esselstyn, and Neal Bernard. I like it when people who publish recipes have science behind them. Did you know even Laurel's Kitchen (first published in 1976) had similar science in it? The science isn't without controversy of course (especially from people who Really Like Clogged Arteries), but the gastroenterological research supports the general approach of those listed above. More vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Less junk. More fiber, less SOFAS (term from latest USDA dietary standards meaning "solid fats and added sugars"). Helps all conditions (except rare forms of epilepsy, in which cases ketogenic diets are life-saving), hurts nobody. Good stuff.</div>mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-47562206138164484422011-01-28T19:01:00.003-06:002011-01-28T20:09:30.224-06:00A Dietary Manifesto<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYjX1TGzUw8yz_BhGlQpcEvOl0jhMFZPUqOunCOFE4Dmf-uQL1D-Iz3QXBAsxjqsLZFSLgiH4nV-hB3JbLLHRVGIs0QhuPyzPhZpQc8frQecmF59qtpGYwVDUkql87C-3ivLUQ78ryFs/s1600/IMG_2110.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYjX1TGzUw8yz_BhGlQpcEvOl0jhMFZPUqOunCOFE4Dmf-uQL1D-Iz3QXBAsxjqsLZFSLgiH4nV-hB3JbLLHRVGIs0QhuPyzPhZpQc8frQecmF59qtpGYwVDUkql87C-3ivLUQ78ryFs/s200/IMG_2110.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567407298767493218" /></a>O.K. I'm a budding biochemist with a problem. I keep getting mad when I read otherwise reasonable people talking about healthy eating without a blooming IDEA about basic biochemistry and human physiology. We're talking science writers and physicians with best-selling books who should know better. Points to ponder (with references where available):<div>1. Coconut oil is NOT a health food. Just because a saturated fat comes from plants does not make it O.K. (for just a sample, see <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7542556">this link</a>). I have a colleague from India who comes here periodically to do research. She is from an area of South India where most people are vegetarians, and their major dietary fat is traditionally coconut oil. THEY DIE OF HEART DISEASE AND STROKE! They fry stuff in coconut oil, just like we do with oils in the Southern US, and they die like we do. Saturated fats, from plant or animal sources, are bad for your heart, your brain, and anything else dependent for function on good blood flow as you age. My Dad, who often donates platelets for leukemia patients, could not donate one evening after stopping for a burger. The visible, yellow blobs of fat in his bloodstream clogged the machine. He felt so guilty about not being able to donate (they call him in the event of a tissue match, when someone is in real need), that he never ate that evening burger again. And making it "organic" and "grass-fed" would have made little difference. Ask a phlebotomist (a person who draws blood regularly) what happens when the blood starts to separate, and if they can tell who eats lots of fat and who does not.</div><div>2. Low fat diets are good. They are a lot like abstinence from sex outside marriage (which is also good), though; they can't work if they are not implemented. The <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18373274">WHI</a> has been widely cited to "prove" that low fat diets do not work. However (see the citation for a sample), the low fat group never got their intake near the target, and the "high fat" group was at almost the same level by the end of the study. You won't see a difference if there isn't one. People say we've gotten fatter since the government started recommending fat reduction, and this is true. However, we never really implemented the fat reductions. WE JUST ATE MORE OF EVERYTHING (except fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, of course). Cookies are fat free? Eat the box! With ice cream! Aargh. Or get a fatty dessert with your Diet Cola.</div><div>3. Fiber is <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18953766">valuable</a> if you want your colonoscopies to be seldom and short. If you really like long rods with clippers and cameras (I've seen them at a conference- you do NOT want to see the equipment they use) where the sun don't shine, avoid grains and beans, fruit and vegetables. They may give you gas and <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20679230">happy intestinal flora</a> to help you avoid illness, after all. A lot of benefit for a little gas. </div><div>4. So what should we eat? The diet gurus of all stripes agree that we eat too much junk and too little vegetable matter. As Mr. Pollan said, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. ". If it's in a brightly colored box, don't eat it. If it has a cartoon character on it, beware. If it is in the produce section, shop ad libitum (except for the salty, white-bread croutons and nasty chemical dressings. Get a good mustard, olive oil, and vinegars and herbs and make your own dressing if you must). Stuff your fridge with vegetables, then eat them. Get a good cookbook to help you start. How? Go to your local library. Hit the vegetarian section. Look for one using real food (like vegetables, beans, rice or other whole grains, etc.). Cook a few recipes to see if you have the same tastes the authors do. Here's <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=UfaSJlGMN9sC&printsec=frontcover&dq=sue+spitler+linda+r+yoakam&source=bl&ots=RBfhFdPgBC&sig=w8Fsud2rdl70UZjGiJX6x1PrgHY&hl=en&ei=mHJDTZLsAsGcgQf1l_2QAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false">one</a> I liked enough to buy. Learn the techniques, then play. </div><div>5. Want a little meat and dairy? Fine. But if you like your <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20843485">colon and prostate</a>, limit them. Please. Stick to veg with a little fish or poultry once in a while. You'll resemble most of humanity throughout recorded history. Even Neanderthal skulls have been found with <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12071424">cooked grain</a> in their teeth. So much for grain-free paleo dieting, eh? </div><div>End of rant. Back to normal programming. One of my fall harvests is shown above. The tomatoes out front did well this year. </div>mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-71203475742283406772011-01-21T16:50:00.003-06:002011-01-21T17:02:24.148-06:00Homegrown Herbal TeaThis year, knowing life would get hectic (but not as hectic as it got), I planned to start switching over to more herbs/perennials and less labor-intensive annual food crops. This past year was herbs in addition to other crops, this coming year most of the crops will be history, back to flowers and herbs. Trying to graduate, hopefully.<div>I planted lemon balm, bee balm, German chamomile, and anise hyssop for herb teas. The balms (and mint from the previous year) grew like crazy. The anise hyssop never came up, and the chamomile produced only a few flowers. So I have a cup of mint/lemon balm tea in front of me now.</div><div>What do you do? Very simple. Grow the plants. Cut off parts that grow where you don't want them to go. You can prune a mint unmercifully in this climate, and it will grow even more. Bring leaves inside and dry on a towel. The low humidity of hot, dry weather and air conditioning help the process. No dehydrator required. Put crispy leaves in a dark glass container to block deterioration from light. Store until winter.</div><div>Go for a walk in brisk winter air. Come in with your face tingling and your glasses foggy from the warm house. Warm a cup of water. Crumble about a teaspoon of leaves into a tea ball (metal ball with holes to allow essence of leaves to escape). Drop tea ball into water and let it steep until it smells good to you. It won't get dark like green or black tea, unless you add those leaves to it. Curl your cold hands around the cup and savor it. Mmm.</div>mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-65607323666387446452011-01-20T20:04:00.002-06:002011-01-20T20:10:47.562-06:00Second ChristmasThis past MLK week-end we has Christmas with family who got trapped in another city by snow during the actual Christmastime. We are having a lot of cold, wet weather. The Southeastern US was supposed to have a warm, dry winter due to the influence of La Nina. I guess that forecast was a little off. <div>My nephew and niece are darling children. 4 and 6 years of age. I see them once a year, and am amazed to see the similarities between them as a set and my brother and I growing up. The boy is my brother's clone. Mom played an old cassette tape from 1979 (my brother was 4), and we discovered that his son even has the same laugh he did as a child! The daughter does not favor me in the face, but she has my tall, thin frame. Beautiful child.</div><div>Snow again today, and a chance Sunday night. Winter in Memphis is usually much milder than this. Fun! Hot chocolate calleth.</div>mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-27774323262781716232011-01-10T15:55:00.003-06:002011-01-10T16:06:11.843-06:00New Year's First Snow DayWe had our first snow day of the year today, which meant the obligatory sleeping in (I can drive on snow, but there are too many idiots in Escalades on cell phones going full speed down treacherous streets for me to venture out), walking in a winter wonderland, taking pictures of Beautiful Winter Scenes, and getting hot drinks at the local cafe. I shoveled the driveway so that the slush would not refreeze. Must work tomorrow.<div>Spending some time researching vegetarian recipes. Have spent a lot of time this year learning about being vegetarian (basing diet on vegetables). Good stuff.</div>mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-59281055558615486472010-12-29T19:47:00.002-06:002010-12-29T19:53:09.097-06:00Snake Handling in the Park<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWFT-VQZolPDj-iEgpni8UlzNV48nTT19trCjQhVDzwXGjrpEglgnsmL591QDzXoDxweZIy0yFQTZjMoeKHm9QgJW0HKuQcLlGQl2kmdDwhyphenhypheno8lQayUqmb-sLOcoJocQaxsuDxjUEMkQ/s1600/IMG_2086.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWFT-VQZolPDj-iEgpni8UlzNV48nTT19trCjQhVDzwXGjrpEglgnsmL591QDzXoDxweZIy0yFQTZjMoeKHm9QgJW0HKuQcLlGQl2kmdDwhyphenhypheno8lQayUqmb-sLOcoJocQaxsuDxjUEMkQ/s200/IMG_2086.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556286238839685362" /></a>One delightful thing about living in the city is the unusual characters you can meet in the park. One day last spring we walked to Overton Park for a most unusual day. One man was teaching another how to cast a fishing line- on land. It was fun to watch. The percussionist group showed up for background music, along with other musicians, including a Caucasian male guitarist with long dreadlocks. To top off the day of picnic and unusual sights, a couple brought their reptiles to enjoy the sun. My husband and I were graciously allowed to handle an albino python, pictured here. It was tame, and the snake-handling was quite fun.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-88832421229480057842010-12-24T16:09:00.003-06:002010-12-24T16:24:49.470-06:00Lovely Luffa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5F47C9ybp921wdzkAtfZrlXKGE1kG2gm4XhyphenhyphenF8lvV2rKoyrDMWvoRUgFe3n6D7X76pI7CiemPApQBOwDG8_Ad9CDi6-E2BwIiPAX3Y4X3JyuU7gspzDdj4qGtT_CC1dgrDhX66syuuo/s1600/IMG_2094.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5F47C9ybp921wdzkAtfZrlXKGE1kG2gm4XhyphenhyphenF8lvV2rKoyrDMWvoRUgFe3n6D7X76pI7CiemPApQBOwDG8_Ad9CDi6-E2BwIiPAX3Y4X3JyuU7gspzDdj4qGtT_CC1dgrDhX66syuuo/s200/IMG_2094.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554375965737082722" /></a>This is a view from inside the house of the luffa vines I grew this summer. I can't find the outdoor pictures, but they would show a tangle of vines growing over the fence, up the side of the house (hence this view from indoors and shelter for the praying mantis), and over the fence to crape myrtles down the way. They produced five-lobed, bright yellow, bee-attracting flowers, and about 30 gourds that look like large, lumpy cucumbers. When young, they can be eaten like zucchini, though my variety was rather tasteless. When the gourds are yellowish brown, it is time to process them. First, you peel off the skin. Hopefully the inside is white or pale tan and moist, smelling of cucumbers. You wash the inner skeleton with a hose or hot water to get rid of inner plant residue (squeeze and you get suds). Then bleach, especially the ones with dark or moldy spots. Allow to dry naturally, then shake out the seeds. Do not flatten the luffa before getting the seeds out! They'll get stuck. They are good for any kind of scrubbing, from pans (use as dry as possible for really stuck on stuff) to skin (let soak in water for a bit to soften the fibers). Compostable, degradable, scrubbable, expensive in the store, and practically free from the yard. Strange vegetable, but useful. This was a fun one to try.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-56353072080031046802010-12-24T11:58:00.002-06:002010-12-24T12:03:38.160-06:00Mexican Torch Sunflowers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj901HItvaW9uKDP4GuNnDcTjC_l3DDqbAi-35dqXZG0tird7tjMLJ312QFcW1vVzycEgs2P3R2LnicU4d9s1wMZH7vXyqyUUTv38HAdY_sT1rKKPqIGEs0LlEK4hYWQJyrSnRiJywbM-0/s1600/IMG_2092.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj901HItvaW9uKDP4GuNnDcTjC_l3DDqbAi-35dqXZG0tird7tjMLJ312QFcW1vVzycEgs2P3R2LnicU4d9s1wMZH7vXyqyUUTv38HAdY_sT1rKKPqIGEs0LlEK4hYWQJyrSnRiJywbM-0/s200/IMG_2092.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554309947124376498" /></a>These are beautiful flowers. The plants are short (4 ft tall) and branched, with many flowers per plant. I only had one plant survive transplanting out of 4 (one got accidentally weeded by someone else), but it proved attractive to people (until late in the season) and butterflies alike. If you like taking pictures of butterflies, they sit still on these flowers long enough to allow even a novice to get a good shot. It bloomed from mid-summer into the fall, but looked a bit straggly in the cooler weather, right up until hard freeze. Good plant.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-84050821957428660552010-11-12T21:06:00.002-06:002010-11-12T21:11:09.000-06:00Back OnlineSorry no posts in forever. A stressful life event erased my password from my memory and completely reset my priorities. I did grow a garden this year, but it survived among weeds and with much less care than usual. It was hot and dry, but with daily watering I still got 20 pounds of sweet potatoes this year! Otherwise the overall harvest was about the same as last year. And I tried growing luffa, or vegetable sponge. It grows a lot like kudzu if you let it, so I have a few fruit hanging from a telephone wire. Post forthcoming. I'm back.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-90089180513641790582010-03-20T19:02:00.002-05:002010-03-20T19:04:26.487-05:00Harvesting, AlreadyToday I harvested 2 small green onions, a little over an ounce of overwintered broccoli, and some lively and fabulous-smelling kale. Sauted in butter with some baby portobellos, these will make a fine baked-potato topping. Yay!mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-73202352852831218022010-02-28T17:51:00.004-06:002010-02-28T18:01:19.548-06:00Getting Ready to Run<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBcimbHM997LJyAIj8jO5rZgVMI6soDb0iwUT6WC4TcpwGFFFSUpeh-YgevzVx5-l0z25QgHdUx7I0BGPVh7s_8PqPamT9lykuNbY3ANdIeASJmKhSsO3TBtTjaSVJDyAAI_8SqvFdvIM/s1600-h/IMG_1959.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBcimbHM997LJyAIj8jO5rZgVMI6soDb0iwUT6WC4TcpwGFFFSUpeh-YgevzVx5-l0z25QgHdUx7I0BGPVh7s_8PqPamT9lykuNbY3ANdIeASJmKhSsO3TBtTjaSVJDyAAI_8SqvFdvIM/s200/IMG_1959.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443448467157878850" /></a><br />My experiments at work are starting to produce data again, after a long, long dry spell. That is good, but it means long hours at work while I stare out at sunny days wishing I could be elbow-deep in dirt and baby plants rather than at work, all clean. I started these peas a week ago. Sunny days lead to remarkably fast growth for these guys! I have to try to get them conditioned and out soon. I'm starting more sugar snaps tonight, and the 4 or 5 varieties of tomatoes I'm putting in this year. The chard, spinach, radishes, carrots, and beets can go out whenever I get time. The buttercups are about to bloom, so I'm waiting for the last snowstorm/severe cold snap to pass, as it always comes when they are blooming. We'll see.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-25483903425317128522010-02-21T17:47:00.002-06:002010-02-21T17:52:45.997-06:00Dig! Dig! Dig!I finished clearing the front bed Saturday. It is ready for fertilizer and liming ASAP. Since we are having a real winter this year (lows in the 20s forecast again next week, after a warm weekend), the baby plants will stay indoors for a bit longer. The broccoli and bok choi have moved to the porch, and the peas are going in tubes tonight on a radiator cover for faster germination, then to the windows, then the porch, then hardening, then outside. I also cleared some of the back beds of the rake-able leaves, hoping the cold night-time temps will foil my nemeses, the slugs. A broccoli plant that survived the winter is heading now. Wow! Maybe we'll get something out of those plants after all!mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-58597386524741190682010-02-13T13:18:00.002-06:002010-02-13T13:22:51.746-06:00Digging Up Roots With Snow on the GroundNext week-end starts the beginning of the cool-weather planting season here in Memphis, if the weather cooperates, as next week-end will be one month before the average last frost date. This is my last week-end before the indoor and outdoor planting begins in earnest, with the sunporch turning into a greenhouse and the flats starting to appear outdoors on sunny days for cold-hardening. So I'm digging, and the longer cool snap than usual we had last week means that there is STILL snow in the shade on the bushes and the ground. Wow. Soon I'll be planting outdoors, and losing the winter flab! Woohoo! Ow.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-7780769495491034202010-02-08T10:50:00.003-06:002010-02-08T10:56:24.373-06:00Snow!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8ybyqOYn2LUrmXauD1Kke0uuhQsNWbi7PIQXd1RR1EN_hXcHCAT0x0EihSbJ5Evf3NTuv6eNFx6f14k9Hww8gwTt9Ay4cKJ-gbBbq_xRIG0cBnXmQYUHEyUjG381__93CQxUVxOaIjU/s1600-h/IMG_1927.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8ybyqOYn2LUrmXauD1Kke0uuhQsNWbi7PIQXd1RR1EN_hXcHCAT0x0EihSbJ5Evf3NTuv6eNFx6f14k9Hww8gwTt9Ay4cKJ-gbBbq_xRIG0cBnXmQYUHEyUjG381__93CQxUVxOaIjU/s200/IMG_1927.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435917362597954114" /></a><br />This is a photo from last week. I have lettuce plants from last fall that have survived some pretty severe temperature extremes, and being frozen solid, with no protection. Amazing. Today I woke up to a total surprise: snow on the ground! It was a wet, snow-ballable snow, too. Work is closed, so I get the day at home. Woohoo! Play and shovel time this morning, followed by Internet time and oatmeal bars and things I did not finish over the week-end. Shovel dirt in a garden bed one day, shovel snow the next! I love Tennessee.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-88456855495876945602010-01-31T15:35:00.004-06:002010-01-31T15:41:23.912-06:00A Sound of Rushing Waters<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtr4-9P-mpTsJdRwrPepp0IpKemWaBKEE8qc9iUn6EX_oqAhxFH5PeyHrhWZtlSFUp5uQOztriXuIxi9ND_SgDzWry_QDP6MP1ZHD-cQzPfp-WVfV1244OkF4iDQqfXgAx6g_O4BiqMM/s1600-h/IMG_1910.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtr4-9P-mpTsJdRwrPepp0IpKemWaBKEE8qc9iUn6EX_oqAhxFH5PeyHrhWZtlSFUp5uQOztriXuIxi9ND_SgDzWry_QDP6MP1ZHD-cQzPfp-WVfV1244OkF4iDQqfXgAx6g_O4BiqMM/s200/IMG_1910.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433021730282296898" /></a><br />This is a picture of a dogwood bud, taken yesterday before the thaw started. Today was the first day of melting after the freezing rain/sleet/snow mix Friday. We got about half an inch of ice with less on the tree branches, enough to look pretty without breaking the trees. Things melted off nicely, and I'm starting broccoli and lettuce (and some cookies) this afternoon. Great day, blue skies, water and ice everywhere, and ice bits raining down under every mature tree.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-6502289088898287102010-01-23T18:04:00.002-06:002010-01-23T18:21:03.689-06:00Halfway ThereAnd adjust it has! I dug twice as much today as Monday, in two sessions split by lunch and a rest break, with much less soreness than last time. We went to the Cafe for a sundae, and that always helps, too ;). <div>A quote about why I'm hacking out bushes by W. Robinson (editor) from The Vegetable Garden by MM. Vilmorin-Andrieux (containing a detailed list of heirloom varieties going back to 1920):</div><div>" We cannot grow vegetables well under trees, and in attempting to do so we destroy the roots of the trees... The vegetables, too, would be more wholesome for good light and air, for shade from ragged and profitless trees and bushes and hedges is one of the evils of this hopeless kind of garden. The broken crops, too, (for the most part sickly patches) are not such as one can be proud of." </div><div>I'm taking out as many "profitless" plants as I can!</div>mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-84204695635178498022010-01-18T16:47:00.002-06:002010-01-18T16:52:40.040-06:00BeatenIt was a beautiful MLK Day today. Sunny, warm, breezy with just a hint of January in the gusts, it was a day to be outdoors. I spent part of it this afternoon at the park, and part of it digging. I got out a huge bush, with corresponding roots, by digging all the way around it and prying it out with pick and shovel as levers. The end was an old-fashioned " 'rasslin' " match. Now I do not want to move anything larger than my fingers. My body doth protest the unaccustomed effort. It will adjust.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-41798454252528771872010-01-16T13:09:00.002-06:002010-01-16T13:22:37.558-06:00One Bush at A TimeAn altered version of a Dottie Rambo song from my childhood ("One day at a time, sweet Jesus, that's all I'm asking from you...") was sneaking through my thoughts as I started digging the front bed in earnest today, trying to beat out the rain. The bushes and grasses in the front bed have much healthier (larger, deeper, harder to dig) root structures than the ones in the back beds did. It will take me a long time to get this bed dug properly, but just getting the roots out will plow it up pretty well. And don't get me started on decorative grasses. I hope the numerous root nodules I saw on overgrown, exuberantly healthy looking plants ( the roots were packed several inches deep) indicate a healthy soil bacterial population. You know it is going to be a long dig when you raise the pick above your head, swing down with all your might, and THE PICK BOUNCES. This is not rocky soil. It is full of roots. No pictures of the work out front this year, but I'll talk about it. Must rest a bit and continue the indoor work now that the rain has started.mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-54752228048024073572010-01-09T19:33:00.002-06:002010-01-09T19:39:48.651-06:00Winter is Here!We had our first dusting of snow this week. We were hoping for more, but it did not happen. It is also unusually cold! We've been below freezing, even for HIGHS, for a few days now, though we're supposed to warm up next week. The cat's water freezes inside the garage. The 3-gallon bucket outside is frozen solid. No gardening here, though the lettuces and broccoli ARE NOT DEAD! Unbelievable! <div>I've been reading a lot, collecting herbal tea recipes, and working on the spring planting schedule. The broccoli seeds go in for germination week-end after next. Hope we get a break in the weather to clear beds soon.</div>mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2346250981715727490.post-58830932134783633502010-01-01T14:42:00.003-06:002010-01-01T14:56:09.859-06:00My hope for 2010"You shouldn't have to work that hard." That seems to be a refrain I hear often from people in my parents' generation (the Boomers). Their parents, growing up during the Great Depression and World War II, came through those crises grimly determined to get only the best for their children. They succeeded, and for a lot of people who came to maturity in the 60s and 70s, life was expected to come easy. Get a degree, work in an office, come home to lounge in front of the TV. Big salary, big house in the suburbs. Retire to travel, get a place in Florida in a retirement community, and relax. That was how it was supposed to be.<div>Things are changing. Even the white-collar jobs are being outsourced overseas. Unemployment is becoming a long-term issue. My generation (born in 1971) will have to shoulder a lot of burdens in the future, with increased taxation to pay incredible debts, care of elders not provided under a decreased Medicare, and care of our childless selves as we age.</div><div>We really will have to work hard, probably harder than many Americans in recent generations have worked. We'll have to relearn the skills of frugality (rice and beans and backyard vegetables, hand washing and line drying clothes to make them last longer, sewing and repair, etc.) and extend them. We'll have to reject the label of "consumer" and produce something good for other people. We'll have to turn from our culture's idolization of self and back to God for any long-term good to be done. Let's start in 2010.</div>mitzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492882647541112728noreply@blogger.com0