This wonderful piece of original art was created by ME, in response to a strange search via which somebody visited my blog. They were looking for a "one eyed baby with horn" so I didn't want to disappoint them should they ever return.
This blog is a complete sentence, correct spelling, and proper use of upper and lower case letters blog. My aim is for you to leave here with a pain-free reading experience!
It took a while to get here, but when fall finally arrived it hit with a very yellow splash! I still think some of the leaves were brighter last year, but we've had a decent showing of color the last few weeks.
The garden is winding down in some respects, but there are still plenty of growing tasty things to look forward to. We had our first root veg harvest - parsnips, turnips, and parsley (arat humberg). They made a fantastic beef stew! Yum.
I've had such a great time with the garden this year, and have plans to make it even bigger next year. We've learned we must plant a lot more basil (a lot), and we'll probably just skip onions and pumpkins. The pumpkins just took up too much room that could be used for something else! They're nifty, but not much more than decorative... We will definitely grow our own cucumbers for pickling, and more cilantro earlier. The fresh is so much better than the store-bought!
We took some walks on the beach and in the woods...
And we went to the corn maze...
I'm happy to report the maze was not removed while we were in it, despite the man who was both running and using profanity.
I love Al Franken. Seriously, who would have ever thought the goofy comedian from Saturday Night Live would end up a United States senator? But here he is, and it's obvious why people like him, and why he'll do a great job.
He has passion, he educates himself on the issues, and doesn't put up with any crap from anybody. He calls a spade a spade. I know that makes a lot of people uncomfortable, but that's a good thing!
And just a reminder - the United States ranks 37th in the world for overall health care. We rank 24th in life expectancy. But hey - we rank 2nd in total health expenditures! We win!
Oh wait - the health insurance CEOs win. What on earth do these people do that is worth so much money?
That's right - they deny coverage as often as possible, because our system dictates the only thing that matters is profit. They oversee the mass ass raping of the American public for pure profit.
Immoral, unethical, and DISGUSTING.
Do you know anybody that is one serious health issue away from bankcruptcy?
Today there was a march, somewhere, of people opposed to our current president and his efforts to make this country a better place than it is for all Americans.
I would like to share some photos from the march, because I think they speak volumes about a segment of our population that seems to have COMPLETELY LOST THEIR MINDS!
Either that, or they are gullible, or racists, or unthinking, or some combination of these things and many others.
Please note this young lad's t-shirt. The sign is ridiculous enough, but the t-shirt is absolutely appalling. We need a new era of McCarthyism? WTF?
Well, at least as far as Z and R are concerned - talk about calling the kettle black! If I'm not mistaken, the term "CZAR" has been used for quite a while now to describe the people heading various departments of the government. The previous administration used the term as well. Your hypocrisy is showing.
As for C, A, and S - Oh puleeeze. Not even close.
That's nice. He'd rather be torturing people.
Lovely - this guy just wants to torture the President. I suspect the President has a far better education than this guy. I don't know that for sure, but I'm pretty confident.
I'm noticing a trend here... the vast majority of these people are WHITE. Which leads us to the next photo.
I find this very ironic. Generally, it's pretty well known that there's a subsegment of WHITE people that think there is racial superiority, and of course - it's white people. Maybe there's people of other skin tones that think the same way, and if so that's wrong. But this sign is appalling, in so many ways.
That's right ma'am. You're headed straight for a death panel. Even worse, that panel will be made up exclusively of Hispanics. They will decide your fate. All of those illegal aliens, who pick your vegetables and fruit and ensure that the prices are low for you, are going to be totally covered in this plan. But you will be sent to die.
This has got to be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. Death panels? The insurance companies are the death panels. Everybody remember Norma Rae? That's a nice feel good movie, eh? The underdog wins? Well, the real Norma Rae - Crystal Lee Sutton - just died of cancer after treatment was delayed by her insurance company. Who was the bean counting droog that made that decision? Who's pocket is lined just a little bit more by her death?
Because despair and the status quo = freedom, apparently. Despair is nice.
Undesirables, huh? And who is so special that they have the right to decide who qualifies as "undesirable"?
All of this makes me want to vomit.
And the biggest irony of all - these people call themselves Christians.
Been busy, very busy, and not too inspired to write anything. Such is life, I suppose.
Things have been well though - the garden is growing like crazy. We have lettuce nearly ready to nibble on, tiny green onions, and now the potatoes are starting to come up. And bush beans!
That photo is already a little outdated, as the lettuce is much bigger now! I haven't got my newer photos up yet though.
I still have to finish my Portland photos!
We had an excellent long weekend down South. Other than the car almost overheating, everything was great...
The part to fix the car has been ordered, so we shouldn't run into that problem again. Whew.
Portland... good as always. Such a nice city! If I were to move to any city, it would have to be Portland. No plans to do any such thing, but if somebody told me I had to - so much to do there! So easy to get around!
I am suddenly quite tired. Time for bed. More soon...
We had a beautiful sunny weekend here, and I managed to plant half the garden.
From the left
Hollyhocks and cosmos against the fence
Potatoes
Three rows of mixed salad greens
Two blueberry plants
Green onions
Bush beans
More potatoes
I also planted hollyhocks, cosmos, and catnip in a far corner of the yard. To keep the cat away. Actually, I have come up with an ingenious way of keeping the cat out of the garden...
and it's attractive, too!
Yesterday we also went on a hike. Our first choice turned out to be not such a good idea. Lycra-clad mountain bike racers passing by every three minutes or so...
Not at all conducive to a relaxing hike. "Step aside!" "Race course!"
No kidding. It was too difficult to try to figure out which trail they weren't on.
So we drove to a different park, and found a spot where we could hike in peace.
Ahhhh... no bicycle riders. No stepping aside every few minutes to let a racer by. A relaxing walk.
We even saw some wildlife! There were a bunch of these snakes out enjoying the sunshine and warmth, just like the humans!
It was so nice, having a sunny weekend at last. I got a lot done in the yard, and it is so enjoyable to spend time out there. The birds sing, the sun is warm, and all is good.
Unless you're a caterpillar. Today Michael witnessed a number of hornets swoop in and eat all of the little fuzzy caterpillars on the tree. They came right in and boom! Gone. Carried them all off for dinner.
Bye bye.
Currently listening to: Carnavas By Silversun Pickups
Was an excellent day. I spent the afternoon observing Senior presentations at the high school - talk about an amazing experience. I have a lot to say about it, but it is late and I can't give it it's due - so tomorrow. Much to say, about that and a few other things.
Let me just say that today was a day that gave me hope, small as it is, in the potential of humanity.
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