In article , Charlie wrote:

On Wed, 21 May 2008 22:12:09 -0700, Billy wrote:

In article , Charlie wrote:

On Wed, 21 May 2008 17:57:23 -0700, Billy wrote:


Not to be thought a slacker, yesterday I harvested a chard (3/4 was used
as an accompaniment to our dinner, the other 1/4 used in salad). Two
lettuces replaced the chard in the garden.

Whoa, Hoss....this confuses me, this replacement thing. Did you
harvest the whole chard plant, root and all?
Root and all. It was from a mesclun salad mix that included chard.
I need the room for my regular lettuce. I already have a designated area
for the chard.

OK....I assumed you know what you are about, but just wanted to be
sure.

Speaking of greens, have you tried Mizuna? It is receiving 100% in
this household, even Lovey, who has a , uhhh, very sensitive palate and
lots of taste buds, has given it the thumbs up. It is very prolific.

Strangly, I have a packet of mizuna but I haven't sprouted it yet.
But then the summer is young.

Well now, get that stuff in the ground. It gets down to business
quickly and produces abundantly. It is great fresh and and sauteed.

This morning I picked two
strawberries and shared with my significant other. Five anise came out
of the germinator. Yesterday I finished planting 26 Dent corn and
6 Mammoth sunflowers. Temps are cooling here and I covered the
peanuts with a clear plastic hood so they would stay warm.

I am still in awe of how early the tomatoes have started to bloom.

Charlie

How's thing goin' out in the "Skunk Works"? Yo plants jumpin' up and
givin' you a minstrel show? Anything lookin' different?

I've been watching it closely and I am beginning to see some vibrant
color and growth. Wishful thinking perhaps? You have your brewer up
and running?

I've a batch ready to go and I'll start another immediately. I've
started adding 2 TBSP magnesium sulfate to each batch, along with a
blender full of pureed dandelion and shepherds purse or whatever good
stuff is growing, and rainwater. Added 1 cup of alfalfa meal and/or
pellets to the brew bucket.

I finally made it to the feed store and got fifty lbs. of dried
molasses. Ten bucks, much cheaper than using store bought blackstrap.

Alfalfa meal and alafalfa pellets......ten bucks per fifty lb bag.

I've several cans of mackeral waiting in the wings....this one should
be fun.

I made a big mistake yesterday. I dosed the lettuce patch with tea and
fish sauce. Later in the day, I was wandering the garden and nibbling
stuff. Wasn't thinking about what I had supplemented and had to do
some serious spitting when I ate some lettuce. Fish juice tastes like
about like you would expect.

Whoa, have I got a book for you. "Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of
the Global Food Supply" by Vandana Shiva. Sound like anybody you
know?

Heh heh.....of course.

I've only finished the introduction and this lady is already
going for the groin.

Ain't she wonderful? Sigh.....off to Borders.....again. Thanks......I
guess.

http://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Harvest...y/dp/089608607
0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211432791&sr= 1-1
I'm only halfway through, "In Defense of Food", which the library
gave me two weeks to read. But "Stolen Harvest" has stolen my heart)

Dammit Billy......'tweenst Left Coast Bill and Right Coast Bill, I am
gonna go broke buyin' books. This education stuff is expensive! ;-)

Charlie, who greatly values the following passage, but often falls way
short of the ideal.

"Well, it's always a mystery, because you don't know why you get
depleted or recharged. But, this much I know. I do not allow myself to
be overcome by hopelessness, no matter how tough the situation. I
believe that if you just do your little bit without thinking of the
bigness of what you stand against, if you turn to the enlargement of
your own capacities, just that in itself creates new potential."

"And I've learned from the Bhagavad Gita and other teachings of our
culture to detach myself from the results of what I do, because those
are not in my hands. The context is not in your control, but your
commitment is yours to make, and you can make the deepest commitment
with a total detachment about where it will take you. You want it to
lead to a better world, and you shape your actions and take full
responsibility for them, but then you have detachment. And that
combination of deep passion and deep detachment allows me always to
take on the next challenge because I don't cripple myself, I don't tie
myself in knots. I function like a free being. I think getting that
freedom is a social duty because I think we owe it to each other not to
burden each other with prescription and demands. I think what we owe
each other is a celebration of life and to replace fear and
hopelessness with fearlessness and joy."

~~Vandana Shiva

She sounds like a cross between Saint Molly and I.F. Stone.

It's not the destination, it's the journey that counts.
It's not the goal but the process that is important.
--

Billy
Bush Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related