June 13, 2020

When I watered my garden this morning, I noticed my bird feeders were getting low.  I have mentioned I provide different types of food for different types of birds.  I have grain in one and black oil sunflower in another along the fence, and two hummingbird feeders next to the house.  The lawn also provides an abundance of worms which are especially in use now by the Blue Birds who are feeding their young in the bird house.  I have yet to see or hear these chicks, but the frantic back and forth of the parents make it clear they are doing well.  Even the squirrel is doing well, feeding off the seeds kicked out by the cardinals rummaging through the feeders.  I do not mind him eating off the ground, but I have chased him off when he got into the feeder itself.

The Friday night commentary show Melissa and I watch featured Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian an American cardiologist, Dean and Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.  His main point was that the Pandemic is magnified by the fact that 12% of American Adults are metabolically unhealthy.  This is defined by obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, and hypertension.  Nearly half of Americans are diagnosed as diabetic or pre-diabetic.  Mozaffarian said the shocking death rates are caused by the rapid pandemic coinciding with a slow pandemic, as obesity has skyrocketed over the last 40 years.  Sadly, none of this is even mentioned in the daily briefings we have heard from around the country.

Melissa and I have been on a diet for the last six months trying to curb our own problems.  I often hear weight is a response to America’s sweet tooth.  I have always said I will forgo desert to save room for the carbohydrates I really want.  The number of low-carb diets that are popular now let me know I am not the only one.  When I went for a cup of coffee this morning, I noticed the slice of “specialty bread” next to the pot had gone moldy.  This is happening more often as we cut back on carbs.  I tore the moldy parts off the bread and took them out for the squirrel.  We kept the rest.  After all, the bread is “special.”

THOUGHTS:  A century ago, there was a concern that we would not have enough food to feed the world.  Huger and vitamin deficiency was, and still is, a concern for many.  The intentional goal was to focus on production of cheap, shelf stable foods fortified with vitamins.  This focus worked and we now produce enough food for everyone, even if cost and distribution keep it from those who are in need.  Much of what is produced rots in fields, storage, or like my bread, in homes.  It has caused other problems as these foods are often high in calories.  We were able to fight global starvation and the ravages of scurvy, rickets, and similar diseases.  Perhaps now we need to build a different system to allow us to stay healthy and still be fed.  If you venture out, stay safe.

June 12, 2020

For the last several weeks our house has been filled with chaos.  It began when the succulents first arrived.  As their numbers grew, they took over the kitchen table, then the living room floor, and finally the counter space on our kitchen peninsula.  Melissa has been diligently working with them daily.  They need to be unpacked, labeled, and watered.  Next, they need to acclimate to our house, or for those intended for outside, our weather.  Finally, they are decoratively placed in pots.  This all takes time.

Neil Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, nonfiction, audio theater, and films.  He is quoted likening chaos to herding cats.  “I would like to see anyone, prophet, king or God, convince a thousand cats to do the same thing at the same time.”  I had a friend who used to put a leash on her cat and take it to the park.  Often people would comment they had never seen a cat on a leash before and wondered how it could be so well trained.  What they did not understand was the cat went wherever it wanted.  The 25-foot leash just kept it from running away.

Even amid the chaos our house is being transformed into a thing of beauty.  Melissa took me out to the porch several days ago and showed me the shelves of succulents placed along the wall.  Despite my good intentions, our porch has always been cluttered.  We keep the pool, gardening, and bird feeding supplies there and it is hard to keep them straight.   The chaos that ruled the porch has been transformed by the beauty of the succulent garden.  This is happening inside as well as more plants are being transferred to pots.  Change is never easy, and it often requires chaos to come to fruition.

THOUGHTS:  I listened to a pod cast by Van Jones (Activist and CNN personality) where he discussed generational poverty.  These are the people who live in Appalachia, the hood, on reservations, and homelessness.  The Pandemic has taught us a tough lesson that we have ignored in the past.  We need to take care of those at the bottom and do everything we can to keep them safe.  These are the people who also hold the essential jobs of caring for elderly parents, our children, and making sure the supply lines are open.  We can be safe because they are at risk.  Sometimes we need a little chaos to see clearly.  If you venture out, stay safe.

 

 

June 11, 2020

When I went out to water this morning the wind was blowing hard for Arkansas.  My vegetables were being blown around and the tree branches were matted to the south.  I checked to make sure the plants were alright and then went about watering.  Even though they were not being damaged by the wind, I know windy days suck water from the leaves and quickly dry the soil.  I gave all my plants an extra dose of water and restacked the mulch to help support my potatoes.  That done I put the hose up and went inside.

The reason I say “for Arkansas” is because a 15 to 20 mile per hour wind is normal for the Kansas plains I come from.  Melissa and I used to ride our bikes along the river trail that was near our house in Wichita.  We took off one morning and enjoyed the wind in our face as we breezed along on our trip to the dam.  When we turned around, we struggled.  We were peddling as hard and fast as we could and did not seem to be making any progress.  When we finally made it home, I checked the weather app on my phone and found out why.  We had a steady wind of 35 miles per hour with gusts up to 50.

It turns out it was a good thing I was concerned enough to recheck my plants.  When I walked onto the porch, I noticed water pooling by the door.  As I went outside, I quickly knew why.  I had forgot and left the hose on after I had watered.  We have a self-winding hose caddy, but it only works if the water is on.  I had earlier replaced the fixture but the hose itself has a small hole in it which creates a small but steady stream of water that points toward the screened in porch.  As I shut the water off, I thought I should check again later to see how things are going.

THOUGHTS:  Wind can be both good and bad.  The sheer winds that come down the canyons in Utah can reach over 100 miles per hour and literally rip the roofs off of houses.  Wind is the power that moved ships and commerce across the seas and around the world prior to the invention of the steam engine.  The unrest we now face can be understood in a similar light.  America was born amid the riots and insurrection of the Revolution and the Constitution was written by the founding leaders demanding that right whenever injustice occurs.  We are in a different time, but the wind still blows.  If you venture out, stay safe.

June 10, 2020

We finally got the paperwork for Melissa’s car over the weekend and time was running short to get it registered.  No problem. I could do it Monday.  First, I went to the online registration site.  I worked through the forms until I was asked for the temporary tag number.  I do not know about you, but I do not even know my permanent tag numbers, let alone the temporary one.  I waited until Melissa got home with the car, checked the tag, and made a copy of the insurance and our licenses.  I got back online and hit another snag.  It seems I needed to mail my information and they would get back to me.  Since I only had a week to register, I decided it was better to go to the office.

Today I gathered all my information and headed to the Assessor.  Registering last year, I learned I needed proof I had paid my taxes before the Revenue Office would deal with me.  As I came through the Courthouse door an officer stopped me and asked where I was going.  He asked me to step back outside and told me the building was closed.  I got a paper with the Assessor’s contact and was told I had to go online or call.  I checked online and ran into similar snags, and then called.  The woman who answered was polite and quickly assessed my vehicle.  She said she would fax it to the Tag Office, and I could complete my registration today.

I had gone home to contact the Assessor online so now I had to get back out.  This seems like a bigger hassle now since I have been confined to the house for the last eight weeks.  I collected all my insurance cards and car registrations and went to the office.  I had been warned by the officer at the courthouse that they were only allowing four people at a time in the building.  When I arrived, there were ten people standing in line outside, plus the four inside.  I waited for a while and then decided to go home.  I chanced it again this afternoon and the line was clear.  Now I am legal.

THOUGHTS:  It seems everything is a little different now than it used to be.  I wondered why since the courthouse is closed, they kept the door open?  Two women who worked in the building walked past the masked officer and myself as I stood in the door.  Neither had a mask.  The Tag Office only allowed four people at a time in the building and had placed a plastic sheet across the bay of windows to protect the workers.  Neither of the three women working behind this sheet were masked and their conversation made it clear they were not worried.  When we get so many mixed messages it is hard to know what is best to do.  I will continue to be one of the fewer people still wearing their mask.  It is not about me.  It is to protect you.  If you venture out, stay safe.

June 9, 2020

The expectation I felt as I planted the various types of vegetables in my garden shifted to excitement today.  I check on the plants once or twice a day.  This lets me see if they need additional water and clean up the grass that seems to be able to grow through the straw I laid down as mulch.  I have had flowers on many of the plants and even a few small beginnings of tomatoes and peppers.  The hot spell over the weekend followed by the cooling rains left over from Cristobal (and dare I say my pruning?) have caused an explosion of growth.

I noticed this first on my strawberries, as two pink berries have arrived seemingly from nowhere.  I know for them to be there, and about a half inch in size, means I have not been paying as much attention as I might.  When I planted it was estimated the first berries would be ready to pick around July 1.  This is still three weeks away.  I realize it will take time for these small berries to be ready to pick, but it is still exciting to know they will soon be sitting on top of a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

The rapid growth of the peppers and tomatoes is what has surprised me the most.  While my Mammoth Jalapenos are not quite mammoth yet, they are getting close to eating size.  The Roma’s have taken off after the rude treatment of several days ago and the Big Boys are coming along nicely.  We have been eating a lot of Jalapenos lately and when I went to the store yesterday, I eyed the bin and wondered if I should get more.  Then I realized, hopefully I will not have to buy them for a long time.  When I checked online it said they will grow well into the fall and I should get 25-30 pods from each of my three pepper plants.  I hope my friends are ready to share the bounty.

THOUGHTS:  I have found even when I check my plants daily it is easy to miss the change that is happening.  I have marveled at how I am trained as an observer/archaeologist and still fail to see or recognize the obvious changes in my garden.  We live in a time when changes are happening in our society as well.  The pandemic has shown how quickly the earth can recover from our abuse when we stop the pollution.  The unrest has shown us abuse of others has consequences.  Some refuse to notice these changes while others deny anything is different.  I hope you can see the difference and work to insure change.  If you venture out, stay safe.

June 8, 2020

I did something yesterday I never even knew was a practice.  I pruned my tomato plants.  Melissa had come across a YouTube video of a lady on a vegetable farm that explained how and why to do this.  She sent me the link two weeks ago as an Instant Message.  I checked the note and saw it was a picture of someone I did not know and then scrolled down to another message she had posted.  On Saturday Melissa asked if I had watched the link she sent.  That was when I learned the picture had “additional content.”  She went on to say another friend she had sent the video to had pruned, and her tomatoes were doing great.

When I watched the video, it told me to prune when the plants were about two feet high.  So much for that as mine were approaching three feet and had filled out nicely with leaves and branches.  Later the video mentioned she allowed two plants to grow higher to demonstrate how to prune an older plant.  Pruning the lower leaves and removing the young “suckers” that grow between the branches and the main stem allows air to circulate and reduces disease and pests.  Removing the excess leaves and stems also allows the plant to focus on producing fruit rather than feeding foliage.  This made sense to me, so I sat next to my plants and trimmed away the excess.

When Melissa learned I was going to grow tomatoes she went online and purchased these cool little finger cutters.  One side was a rubber cup that fit over the thumb that had a sharp steel nub on the end.  There were two other choices for the fore finger.  Either a cloth fingertip or a rubber tip without the cutting nub.  By pinching your thumb and forefinger together it will cut the stem cleanly to remove the fruit and not damage the plant.  Pruning seemed like the perfect time to test how well they work.  The problem I had was the plants were so bushy, it was hard to get the nub positioned correctly.  I ended up cutting my middle finger several times before I gave up.  Maybe I will try again when it is time to pick tomatoes.

THOUGHTS:  I am constantly amazed by what I do not know.  Or rather, at how many other people know about something I do not know.  One of the sidelines to the presidential debates was Elizabeth Warren’s oft heard response, “I have a plan for that.”  It was not that she did not have a plan, it was instead that she literally had one posted on her web site providing details and how it would be implemented.  I find the same to be true concerning online videos.  If you have a question, just type it into your browser and a page full of different answers will appear.  The problem is not finding someone who knows the answer, it is deciding which voice to listen to.  If you venture out, stay safe.

June 6, 2020

Melissa and I have been married for just over 10 years.  We were married the first weekend of December and Melissa moved to Wichita right before Christmas.  That meant we needed to immediately figure out how to embrace our different family traditions for the season.  This was further complicated by having to incorporate different religious and social traditions.  I was surprised how easily this worked out.  My family focused on Christmas Eve and Day so those were spent in Wichita.  Due to extended family commitments, Melissa’s family gathering took place later in the week.  That allowed us to travel to Arkansas and participate in her traditions as well.  Since we spent Christmas in Wichita, the next year we decided to always spend Thanksgiving in Arkansas.  This is the way we have celebrated since.

We recognized we needed to not only participate in larger family celebrations, but to create new traditions of our own.  I have mentioned one of the Christmas traditions we have started is attending an IMAX movie on Christmas Day.  This allows us to be with the family on Christmas morning but provides a transition into our own time.  Being purposeful is important.  We can purposefully join with both extended families while still purposefully creating time together.

While figuring how to manage the big holidays, we both realized we needed to be purposeful the rest of the year as well.  We have devised two specific ways to accomplish this end.  The first is to commit to stop what we are doing to listen when one of us has an issue or concern.  We try to do this at least once a week, even if there is not a pressing issue.  The second is a weekly Date Night.  Because of our various work schedules, Thursday night seems to be the best.  We have not always been able to achieve this goal, but we have found if we are not purposeful about it, it does not happen.

THOUGHTS:  We have struggled with Date Night during the pandemic.  We usually go out to eat on this evening.  Between the restaurants being closed and the pressure of new jobs we have slipped.  This changed last week as we purposefully ate a special meal at home (Dungeness Crab, one of our favorites).  It is important to not allow distractions to move you from your focus.  We need to decide what is important in our life, community, nation, and world.  Then we need to be purposeful in working toward solutions that can bring systemic change.  If you venture out, stay safe.

 

 

 

 

 

June 5, 2020

As I sat at my computer on the kitchen table this morning, I heard a loud bang near my house.  Then the power went out for the entire neighborhood.  I know transformers can blow when they get struck by lightning, but there were no clouds in the sky.  I have also known them to blow when it gets hot and everyone decides to kick on the air conditioning at once, but this was 9:00 am.  I guess it just blew because it was its time.

I checked the outage map and it assured me the power would be restored by 1:00 pm.  One pm!  That was four hours, what was I supposed to do without power for four hours?  I read my paper and worked the crossword as I sipped my coffee.   I went back to the Keurig for my usual second cup, and it was dead.  No problem.  Since I had a charged battery on my computer, I could surf the internet.  I fired up the laptop and tried to get online.  Whoops, the router ran off electricity so the WiFi was down.  I loaded the dishwasher with the plates from last night’s dinner and turned it on.  No power.  I went outside and checked my garden.  We had a big rain last night so there was no need to water.  I came back inside and checked the clock.  It was 9:30. Only three and a half hours to go.

In my despair I realized my iPhone was a hotspot.  I went to settings and turned it on and tried to connect.  It immediately told me I needed to update some software which I did.   The phone still would not connect.  “Trouble finding server.”  I got the USB cable and plugged my phone into the computer.  It worked!  I surfed for another 30 minutes and then figured I should get to work.  I went into my office, connected my phone to the office computer and this time it automatically detected and brought up the hotspot.  I could not believe how hot and stuffy it was in the office without the air on.  As I began to work my printer came on.  Unbelievably, I had survived a whole hour without power.

THOUGHTS:  Electricity is something we take for granted, yet our lives revolve around the gadgets for which it provides power.  When it went out, I initially continued to do what I normally do.  I found that one task after another was unavailable without this power.  Before I realized my batteries allowed me to circumvent the electrical grid, I became anxious wondering what to do for four hours without any “connections.”  It is hard to believe but 940 million people, or 13% of the world, do not have access to electricity.  Perhaps I should reevaluate how privileged I am.  If you venture out, stay safe.

June 4, 2020

Today I Zoomed out.  I had heard about this phenomenon but had yet to experience it.  Most of us who work from home spend a lot of time on the computer, but not so much in meetings.  Over the last months I have had three standing calls a week.  The time spent varies but most calls last from an hour to an hour and a half.  I had two calls scheduled for today, but I did not make them.  On the call I hosted I IM’d everyone, and it was agreed we would skip a week.  One of the participants messaged they had heard of more people becoming weary of online calls.  My other call was voluntary.  I intended to join the call, but when the time came, I worked through it on another task.

The first I heard of becoming Zoomed out was with elementary students.  When the schools closed, they were forced to stay at home, but that did not let them out of completing their class work.  I figured it would not be too different for most of them.  I was a substitute teacher in Arkansas this last year.  I subbed for grades from fourth to eighth in seven different schools and two different school districts.  My job each time was to watch the students work online.  Everyone had their own laptop and they were all adept at getting online, even if the sites they visited were not the ones mentioned in the lesson plan.  Now that they no longer had someone like me redirecting them back to their work, many were opting not to complete the tasks.

Another reaction to the Zooms came from the students who did complete their work.  I heard from several people who were providing zoom calls to keep their kids together who said they were finding a reluctance on the part of the kids to join.  The parents were telling the educators that after spending six hours online everyday doing schoolwork, the last thing they wanted was to join another hour online call at night.  I can sympathize with them.  I am looking forward to my six-hour Zoom meeting this Saturday.

THOUGHTS:  When we first discover something new it can be exciting as we spend time figuring out what to do and how to do it.   Once the newness has worn off, we realize even with it being different, it is still the same work.  As a substitute I saw some students who went right to work, finished their task, and then were eager to have additional opportunities to learn.  I found others who found it a struggle to get their name on the top of the handout.  The difference seemed to be whether they were enjoying what they were doing.  I think the same than can be said about adults.  I hope you have found something that you enjoy doing.  If you venture out, stay safe.

June 3, 2020

When I went to check on my garden yesterday, I found a dead rat floating in the pool.  Since we have a field behind us that is often too wet to mow it did not surprise me, but I had never seen a rat around our house before.  We did have a mouse when we cleared the flower beds the first year that decided to come into the house, but he was dispatched quickly.  Rats are a different story and harder to get rid of.  Frankly, I was glad it was dead, and I did not have to decide how to deal with it.  I strained it from the pool and threw it in the ditch.

I have had several encounters with rats in my life and none of them have been pleasant.  When I lived in Salt Lake City, we had a stretch of unusually wet weather.  The generally small creeks overran their banks and they literally decided to sandbag Seventh Street and let the water run down as a new stream.  I was into playing golf at the time and went to the course with a friend of mine.  My shots are not always the truest, and on one of the holes my ball went into a grove of trees surrounding a culvert drain.  I knew the ball had gone into the middle and there was no chance to play it, but I hate losing balls.  I pushed back the tall grass and started into the area when I noticed 20-30 rats jumping and frolicking where I thought my ball might be.  I left the ball.

My other encounter with rats occurred when I lived at the camp in Hesston.  We were letting the grass grow to create a Tall Grass Prairie ecosystem and it seems I got more than I hoped for.  I went out to my truck one morning and it would not start.  I towed it to my mechanic, and he told me the distributor wires had been chewed through.  He replaced the cap and I thought nothing more about it.  The next summer my truck would not start again, and I returned it to the shop and asked him for a repair.  The more he looked the more he found and since I had given the go ahead, I was committed for the repair.  The rat had chewed my entire electrical system and it cost over $750 to replace the wiring.  When he opened the hood to check, the rat was sitting on top the engine block glaring at him.  He decided to come back later.

THOUGHTS:  I have heard on the news that the rats that infest New Your City are experiencing a crisis.  The garbage from restaurants is no longer available and they are forced to find new sources of food.  In some areas this is driving the rats indoors to confront the residents.  While rats can be destructive, they are only doing what they need to do to survive.   In contrast, toxic people make a choice.  We can behave badly or as Spike Lee said, Do the Right Thing. Do not choose to be a rat.  If you venture out, stay safe.