Just wondering if any of you folks who liked to hands on deal with
the limits of hands off the physical stuff.
I hit it as I can but it not as hard as I'd like. Puttering seems to
be becoming more real.
Small tasks seem to grow in correlation with anemia and muscle loss
still the ticker is A OK.

--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden

http://honest-food.net/

In article ,
Bill who putters wrote:

Just wondering if any of you folks who liked to hands on deal with
the limits of hands off the physical stuff.
I hit it as I can but it not as hard as I'd like. Puttering seems to
be becoming more real.
Small tasks seem to grow in correlation with anemia and muscle loss
still the ticker is A OK.

I didn't realize it was chronic.

Certainly the lasagna gardening has been a great effort saver. I would
be screwed if I still spaded my plots as I formerly did.

Mulch and newsprint suppressing weeds.

The dibble has been a great time saver as well. Now that the soil is
loose, I can take seedlings from starting trays that use the 1" X 1"
cells, and drop them into the hole left by the dibble.

Once in,
drip allows you to forego the bulk of the watering with the flip of a
switch.
--
- Billy
Both the House and Senate budget plan would cut Social Security and Medicare, while cutting taxes on the wealthy.

Kucinich noted that none of the government programs targeted for
elimination or severe cutback in House Republican spending plans
"appeared on the GAO's list of government programs at high risk of
waste, fraud and abuse."
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/state...is-kucinich/re
p-dennis-kucinich-says-gop-budget-cuts-dont-targ/

[W]e have the situation with the deficit and the debt and spending and jobs. And it¹s not that difficult to get out of it. The first thing you do is you get rid of corporate welfare. That¹s hundreds of billions of dollars a year. The second is you tax corporations so that they don¹t get away with no taxation.
- Ralph Nader
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/7/19/ralph_naders_solution_to_debt_crisis

Bill who putters wrote:
Just wondering if any of you folks who liked to hands on deal with
the limits of hands off the physical stuff.
I hit it as I can but it not as hard as I'd like. Puttering seems to
be becoming more real.
Small tasks seem to grow in correlation with anemia and muscle loss
still the ticker is A OK.

I assume you are under the care of a physician. Three years before I
retired I was working so much that I quit going to the gym. That was a big
mistake, I gained 40 pounds in the three years. I putter around the house
myself and gardening in no way is a substitute for the gym. Specific
machines can target muscular strength and the cardio for energy.

Since retirement this year I went back to the gym. I feel better now and
getting stronger. Also this a big factor, i had a pituitary tumor when I
was a teenager. I have a sluggish pituitary. This is the Master Gland that
controls almost all glands in the body. I have been taking testosterone
injections and other steroids for forty years. With out the shots, and I
have done without the shots to see what would happen, in one year I would
not and was not able to walk to the mailbox without holding on to
something. I used to get one shot shot per month, now I get two shots per
month. The testosterone patches and creams are worthless as they do not
have the strength that I need.

Ask your doctor, like the stupid commercials on TV. Get tested for low
testosterone. It can help you gain some muscular strength and energy.
However, one must lift weights to build muscle mass and cardio equipment
helps build the up the heart muscles or the shots are useless. Without the
shot I could lift weight to the next blue moon and still not gain strength.
The shots does have side effects, about three days after the shot, I have
to watch myself for Rages and a strong desire for sex that last about three
days. But it is much better than hanging on to something in order to walk
between A and B and huffing and puffing.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

On 8/4/2011 1:24 PM, Bill who putters wrote:
Just wondering if any of you folks who liked to hands on deal with
the limits of hands off the physical stuff.
I hit it as I can but it not as hard as I'd like. Puttering seems to
be becoming more real.
Small tasks seem to grow in correlation with anemia and muscle loss
still the ticker is A OK.


I've got an old book, "Minimum Maintenance Gardening Handbook". Don't
know if it would help or is still in print. Advice is about what you
would expect.

Also, to me, machines are part of the answer. My lot slopes too much
for a riding mower but I have the best of self propelled. Now instead
of trimming I have gas and electric weed whackers. Clipping shears have
given way to electric ones.

Years ago I could shovel snow all day but now my back gives out and I
have a snow thrower.

Still have to watch it as a few weeks ago I used the chain saw to cut up
a large fallen limb for firewood and figuring since I was all dirty and
smelly, I might as well do some heavy weed whacking and I paid for it
with a sore back for a week.

Really heavy stuff, you need to hire someone. My toughest pruning job
in the fall is a line of overgrown junipers. This year, I'm calling in
my tree guy to come and remove them.

"Bill who putters" wrote in message
...

Just wondering if any of you folks who liked to hands on deal with
the limits of hands off the physical stuff.
I hit it as I can but it not as hard as I'd like. Puttering seems to
be becoming more real.
Small tasks seem to grow in correlation with anemia and muscle loss
still the ticker is A OK.

I don't have a lot of physical strength, but I'm often amazed at how much I
can achieve in the strength department if I use my head to think about how I
might do it - you know that old saying about 'give me a fulcrum and I can
move the world'. Now it's more like a trolley with wheels and a crowbar or
a truckies knot or ......

The other thing I don't have like I used to in my youth is stamina. I just
can't spend 8 hours working in the garden or I'[m too shattered to even
sleep that night if I try that caper. Pottering is what I do now and it's
amazing how 5 or 10 minutes here and there throughout the day all adds up to
achieving something.

I also don't worry if I either can't finish soemthing or it takes me weeks
to finish something. I also don't care if the garden is not up to others
standards, it's MY garden and I'll have it how I want it or how I can manage
it and 'get knotted' to any visitor who doesnt' approve of the odd weed or
rough bits round the edges

On Fri, 5 Aug 2011 20:08:14 +1000, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given
wrote:

"Bill who putters" wrote in message
...

Just wondering if any of you folks who liked to hands on deal with
the limits of hands off the physical stuff.
I hit it as I can but it not as hard as I'd like. Puttering seems to
be becoming more real.
Small tasks seem to grow in correlation with anemia and muscle loss
still the ticker is A OK.

I don't have a lot of physical strength, but I'm often amazed at how much I
can achieve in the strength department if I use my head to think about how I
might do it - you know that old saying about 'give me a fulcrum and I can
move the world'. Now it's more like a trolley with wheels and a crowbar or
a truckies knot or ......

The other thing I don't have like I used to in my youth is stamina. I just
can't spend 8 hours working in the garden or I'[m too shattered to even
sleep that night if I try that caper. Pottering is what I do now and it's
amazing how 5 or 10 minutes here and there throughout the day all adds up to
achieving something.

I also don't worry if I either can't finish soemthing or it takes me weeks
to finish something. I also don't care if the garden is not up to others
standards, it's MY garden and I'll have it how I want it or how I can manage
it and 'get knotted' to any visitor who doesnt' approve of the odd weed or
rough bits round the edges

All good advice, and three mo
1. Refrain from instituting labor intensive maintenence projects.

2. Take advantage of appropriate weather conditions for outdoor
labor... do your high effort projects during early morning/late
afternoon, not in the heat of mid day.

3. Spend a bit more initially to do a job correctly; the cheap often
comes out expensive, both in money and labor.

Naturally it all comes down to thinking.

Bill who putters wrote:
Just wondering if any of you folks who liked to hands on deal with
the limits of hands off the physical stuff.
I hit it as I can but it not as hard as I'd like. Puttering seems to
be becoming more real.
Small tasks seem to grow in correlation with anemia and muscle loss
still the ticker is A OK.

I find that regular aerobic exercise helps my whole body keep going. My
endurance hadsincreased significantly, and my arthritic hands bother me less.
When I don't exercise, everything starts to hurt more, and my energy level
drops.