On Wisconsin---and Maybe More

In my world of collecting graphs, I occasionally run into some patterns that make me smile contently. Here is my first evidence that leads me to make note of my state. Now, this all doesn't mean other states are losers (sorry Texas) but it does imply the upper Midwest seems to have some notable quality possibilities.

This map/graph demonstrates that there is less income disparity among our citizens than other areas. I don't know why, but it must have something to do with attitudes of leadership, and maybe the general population that would not put up with it. In other words, if we in a small community see some business individual living in a starter castle, the tendency might be to not support his business, particularly if his workers were not being paid well. Self correction, maybe.
This graph demonstrates that good old Wisconsin is not heavily endowed with poverty in my beloved rural areas. We personally are probably in the poverty group but we are rich in other ways. Not a lot of poor around us.

Hey, we have water and water can be used for all sorts of thing, many of them fun but also it can be used to grow food without having lots of fear of drought. I like that. I like the Tomorrow River, and the Wisconsin. I like the Crystal River and how about all those lakes. Thank you Jesus---or whom ever.


Here is an interesting map, rather a different topic, but still not with out merit. So far not many nasty weather events up here.

I have another one of maps somewhere that demonstrates the level of education and value placed on education. Oddly the pattern is the same. The upper Midwest is way out in front. Now, it may not be that we are the most fortunate in every class but still nicely positioned.

Of course, if we had to include weather, or the easiest place to live with weather (that would be winter) it might look a bit different. Then, does the harsh weather lead to the strength in the other areas? Does it chase out the riff-raff. I'm still here.

Good Dogs Die

There is a saying out there that the one bad thing about dogs is they don't live very long. I can attest to that.

We had Chester, that is the same dog who has been pictured here many times because he was always just there being next to vegetables, going fishing, digging in the garden and being under foot.

Well, Chester had an odd life I suppose. We recently learned via a chip, he started out in California the off spring of some bitch (I mean that kindly) and later moved to Colorado. We think he may have been abandoned somewhere in that first story.

When we got him he had been abandoned again, this time on the ranch we used to live on. The cowboy that worked there had been having some marital problems and for reasons unimaginable just left him to fend for himself in the foothills of Larimar county on a five thousand acre ranch. The dog freaked out and jumped in a friend's pickup and wouldn't leave.

We could see he was one hell of a dog, a beauty in every way, maybe a little baggage from being abandoned and possibly beaten, but still a real lover. I got him to jump in our car because our friend with the pickup had a dog.

So five years later at the age of eleven, Chester moved on. We had a great life together and he filled a great spot in our lives. For him to just up and have a bad spleen seems very unfair but either cancer or a little spirochete got him and he faded away.

After his first bout of blood loss, he rebounded so that we could adjust and spend some fun time with him, catching popcorn and walking the yard. As of three days ago he is no more. Bummer. Dogs sure do make our lives rich that's why when they go there is pain, but many great memories. Three cheers for Chester.

Broccoli, Global Warming---Revolution Watch

One might say, "Just how do you plan on tying broccoli to global warming?" This might be a stretch for sure because I don't really know all the patterns. But I find it strange that the broccoli in my garden, that would be my outside garden, is still growing. It don't mean it is sitting there in extended idle animation. It has grown since the last time I checked it a couple of weeks ago.

Clearly the stuff is tough, and I can imagine that this is not the first Dec. 15th that someone in central Wisconsin had broccoli in his garden. Still, it seems odd to me on this day as it is raining outside. Interestingly, a weed ago my kid that lives north of Fairbanks told me it was raining there. He noted that in the past couple of years they have seen rain in Dec. It had been 60 below a few days earlier. Not that uncommon.

Today, I read a piece talking about how methane is exuding from arctic waters at a rate never seen before, apparently due to the warming of arctic waters. Methane is a gas many times more destructive than co2.

Still, most of the front runners, or at least the field of contestants for Republican party, say there is no such thing as climate change. Or as one commenter stated, "Does this mean you all agree with the 3% of scientists that think climate change is not real?" Apparently. We are idiots, that is all there is to it.

Yesterday, the Canadians walked out of the Kyoto discussions basically saying, "Screw the global climate change, we need to make money." So the governments don't meet for another 4 years and in the mean time I will be growing more and more broccoli in winter. Now, I know what they mean when they say humans are the most invasive species.

Pictures that Speak to Me

I have always loved how images can provoke emotions of all sorts. It is only fitting that good ones are shared, and as we all know many folks are now sharing the hell out of them via the internet, and of course, jackasses like me that pass them around.

I just went through a few I have collected and here is what I found. I am sorry if you have seen some of them but I can't help myself. This one made the implication that our politicians need to take advice from this dude and "Grow a Pair." Unfortunately, there may be individuals, both male and female that symbolically have this endowment but chose to do what this big fella is doing---sitting on his ass.

For the biblical types, we have this one. In light of the fact they we may be looking at a currency war and sure as hell have been looking at huge usury fees from the banksters, this one rings true---might even make me a Christian.

For this one, I need to say little. It just reads well and seems to say something without saying anything. He said, "To sin by silence makes cowards of men."

Jobs-----Revolution Watch

We keep hearing this Jobs, Jobs, Jobs mantra over and over. Then we hear the politicians say how we have to bring them back, and we have to do this and we have to do that.

The Democrats think they have to spend money government style and Keynesian style to create new jobs which in turn means they have to find the cash. They spend and they spend and spend but still the U6 jobless rate stays in the 16% range. To top it off, no one wants to pay taxes. It all seems so stupid. There is no money, so they print the stuff out of their asses and then throw it all over the place thinking the jobs will come out of the woodwork. Making oil out of algae?!

The GOP mostly gave it to banks by getting Treasure, Hank Paulsen, ex Goldman CEO, to throw bailouts in the trillions to his big banking buddies. While doing this the Republicans cry out for free trade, no regulations, feed the wealthy job creators, no new taxes. They believe the banks will graciously loan mega dollars to new businesses. The banksters then give themselves big bonuses and sit on the money gathering interest. They don't invest it---not in this country

But it sure looks like neither one of them have a clue and I am not sure they care. The above article demonstrates how this area is losing 1000 jobs as two large factories close down. One is a paper factory that no longer has much of a market due to the internet. The other made windows and doors and the union wouldn't drop there demand of wanting a working wage, plus no one is building.

What it turns out is there is no place to invest money in business in this country simply because demand is down and we, under no circumstance can compete with foreign labor. It just can't be done. Good old globalization. In the mean time the 99% get poorer and the 1% are rolling in free bailout money and laughing their rich asses into the ground. "Party on Garth."

It looks like one hell of a dilemma. No matter what we do it is not going to work. The sad part of it is we are not talking about other options. We are not taking about ideas and proposals that does not involve these antiquated growth concepts. We have to move to another type of thinking but it looks to me like thinking outside this box will not happen. Is it just a continuing slow decline? We need a new set of economists, not these shit heads suffering from rectal-cranial inversion. Time to start over.

Running the M Mccormik Deering Engine

I have had this engine for a couple of years and I have talked about, admired it, tinkered with it. Actually, I should say "we" as Jeff my brother is also in on it. He is no worse than me, or no better, depending on how you look at it.

We have purchased a few new parts, disassembled it, hand honed the head and gussied it all up in what amounts to an overhaul. Truth is, the motor is very simple and once a person learns about it, even if it sat on the bottom of a lake, they can be brought back to life.

There has been doubters, "friends" that look upon us in disdain, but mostly they are just jealous because we are somebody, we are motor heads, old iron affectionatoes. Almost every body knows these throbbing brutes attract chicks and that is why they are so envious.




What we have here is the final hour, the real test, the icing on the cake for old iron buffs. We have the running of the engine. I know, it needs a few adjustments and a fuel system that will keep it going forever but this is for real, this is the moment. So admire and, drool over this magnificent machine.

Europe Soverign Debt---Revolution Watch

This was a poster the English government was going to post all over England if it became apparent the Nazis were going to invade their home land. It never was put up because the English decide to put up a good fight---which in turn brought in the Yankees and the rest is history.

Interestingly, some one has brought the poster back out thinking it might be useful during the coming revolution/economic upheaval.

It seems England, along with many countries in Europe have gotten themselves in a bit of a pickle and the banksters/economic terrorists think that the only way to solve the problem is for a big dose of austerity (higher taxes and service cuts, pay cuts). This would be done so the banksters/bondholders could get their money back even though it would appear that they, that would be the banksters, have loaned massive funds to both individuals and countries, that had absolutely no way to pay it back. Never did and never will.

It seems odd that they are trying to put all the blame on the average Joe and make him pay even though the banks were particularly stupid and one might say profoundly greedy, in making the loans. Who is at fault. It would seem that banks I have known would never have dished out monies unless they knew for damn certain I intended and could pay it back. Not these guys.

What they did is loan the money out and then not wanting to sit on the large privately-known risk, sold the paper, that would be bogus AAA loans, to unsuspecting buyers--pensions, IRAs, countries, blah, blah, blah. Actually they sold other absurd "products" as well--derivatives, credit default swaps, who knows.

In the last couple years it has become real obvious the loans are not really of much value, so the banksters are now trying to get it back so they might maintain their lifestyle--oops! ( it is really uglier that that but I like this part of it)

Oddly, England and most of Europe doesn't manufacture much (rather like us) any more, oil is declining and the biggest earner, banking, is also going down the tubes. So it looks like many of these countries will become almost third world. Thus, the sign to the public. I don't think it will do much good. Will there be blood? Sign is red.

Trophy Deer---but

I do very much like to hunt and I work at it. I am not a gunslinger that goes out and takes "sound" shots but a character that enjoys sitting in the woods watching the birds, talking to the skunks that get too close and marvelling a the fall landscape.

Venison in the freezer is a very comfortable thing as it is about the only red meat we eat. My general plan is to go bow hunting by sitting in some natural constructed blind over looking an area where there is a clear shot and then waiting for one of the less unsuspecting to walk by offering themselves up. Bow hunting is not always successful in my world due to inappropriate day dreaming, sometimes falling asleep (even in the snow) and generally not paying attention.

This year three does walked with in 25 feet of my blind before they were noticed due to day dreaming about getting a deer or was it my other dear. They stood there motionless, looking right in in the blind, unafraid but intent on knowing what was in the bushes. I remained motionless knowing any blink of the eye would spook them and the hunt would be done for another day. The cross bow could not be lifted and the only hope was that they would turn away and then I could re-position. No luck. They made a small jump that put a large oak between me and them. It was over.

Well, this meant that I would have to take up heavier armament in the form of a shotgun with slugs and a dandy scope. We headed off to southern Wisconsin for a Thanksgiving dinner and a one day hunt. Filled to the gizzard, we hunters headed out for a pass through a local forest. My position behind a massive Black Oak proved well selected and in ten minutes from the start I was in possession of a very large buck that made a very large mistake. He didn't see me.

While harvesting a magnificent deer is a thrill, it would have proved better if I were comfortable eating it. We were in the CWD area and all had to be tested. Some 15-20% of the older deer are thought to be infected with those nasty little prions that cause wasting disease. Uncomfortable with eating it at all, I gave it to another hunter who was not uncomfortable after it was tested.

I wish the entire act of hunting would have been complete.

Europe---Revolution Watch

Watching The Revolution take place is not an easy thing because it comes in many forms, and has many diverse causes. I have always listed them in the following way. #1 Resource depletion, meaning the active consumption of resources to a point where it affects our ability to grow (both population and economic) most notably fossil fuels but water may be close behind, #2 environmental destruction most notably climate change but there are others, #3 an economic model that is not workable, being based on never-ending exponential growth, and #4 human population growth at 75 million gain every year--every four years an amount equal to the population of the US today is added.

They are all out there and experts in each respective field claims theirs is most pressing. They are all pressing, really pressing it would seem. But one has taken center stage of late, and it is a stage, and that is economics. It seems, and I say seems because there is no single individual who can totally explain it, that we have screwed up.

While I can sit back and read my ass off, which I appear to be doing because my ass is falling off, and learn great things, or things that are not great but may be nefariously monstrous. As near as I can tell we, globally connected banks (JP Morgan, Goldman Sacs, Douche bank and others) have sold derivatives that represent things that do not exist and they have been selling them back and forth to each other for some time. In the process they have (sorta) printed money. In addition many countries have been buying each others bonds almost like selling each other lattes. Nothing is really real. it is a ponzi scheme of a magnitude that has never been known.

In the mean time, people and countries have been borrowing money form each other that can never be paid back because most countries don't produce anything anymore but leave that up to China and India. They and we are all living beyond our means, individually and collectively. Oops!

It is truly a God Damned mess and now we are seeing a bloody revolution as the above great leaders try to sort this one out. I just love the fact that both Italy and Greece have appointed ex Goldman Sacs employees to lead their countries. For Christ sake, Goldman Sacs and the big banks are what got us in this frickin mess. So here we go.


Lets extract the last bit of wealth from the regular folks with austerity and higher taxes to save the fat ass of the banksters. Just how long will that go on? Sell off public assets in a Shock Doctrine move, really? This watch is getting more interesting all the time. Gonna need some spurs, chaps and some good boots to ride this one out.

Pumpkins------Butchering and Preperation

So far I have not be able to secure a deer, which in Wisconsin terms is not acceptable. It does not mean that we will be doing Thanksgiving at the Shelter again but it does reflect poorly. Besides Ann hates pushing our local transportation vehicle, the wobbly-wheeled grocery cart, more than 10 blocks particularly if there are no aluminum cans to pick up. She is not all that fond of Mad Dog in a paper bag either but hey, this is America. Could be Robitussin.


No, we are not there, we are here in paradise and getting ready for a Thanksgiving dinner that can't be beat. To start it off one of the big squash had to be sacrificed. Now, I told a friend I had shot one with a 30-06 and was now butchering it. I was butchering it but I didn't really shoot it.

The pumpkins/squash, to put it bluntly, were gargantuan, elephantine, like really big. I took the smallest (20 Lbs) and hacked it in quarters to as to get it to boiling size. The photo doesn't really give the size but this is a beauty. The meat was thick but not as dense as last year's. It may be the seeds from last years got crossed with an actual pumpkin and we have a bit of genetic cross. The meat looks succulent and boiled down real nice.

Tomorrow the leavings , combined with cream, maple sugar and exotic spices will produce some six pies. Some will accompany us to friends estate were we intend on glutinizing until the tryptofan hits us along with numerous beverages to complex to mention. We have no discretion when it comes to consuming other peoples booze.

The highlight of the butchering was the surprise find of quarter sized seeds that will be fit for toasting and subsequent consumption. All of this from the frequently discarded Pumpkin/ squash. The hell with the shelter. I love being part of the 1 percent.

Art-------On An Eighteen Wheeler

Every now and then, a person runs into things that, no matter what they say, you just have to take note (I suppose this also includes humans) . While coming back east from our sojourn to western destinations largely centered around mythical fish, we stopped for the usual callings at a truck stop. I think it was in Nebraska but it is hard to remember because it gets to all looking the same out there---not that we don't like it.

There parked next to us was this, obviously independent trucker with a mural on his cab. The first thing that came to mind was just how was this done. We didn't run up to and try to figure it out but assumed it was done by one individual with an air brush. But even if that is the case it is one hell of an undertaking that must have lightened the pockets of somebody.

I liked the two little admiring kids transfixed in front of the robust men of arms. I actually think it is a copy of a Glenna Goodacre sculpture that we have always seen and thought seriously sucked. We hate kid art. It also looks like Rambo might be in there caring the 50 cal on his shoulder. All in all, the quality was quite good and somebody had some serious talent, or some serious tricks---photo projection?

I'd really like to know how this was done----not that we plan on doing it.

As for the message, well, I guess I have a little trouble glorifying soldiers to little children. It may be that he should have had a couple of dead foreigners scatters about with body parts missing, or maybe a picture of some dictator or war mongering politician lusting to go steal some precious resources. Still, one persons feelings expressed in any form of art is fair game in this country. I wonder what was on the other side.

Hey, we didn't see any Jesus stuff.

Dogs----I Couldn't Live Without One

What is it about dogs? Some are nothing more than an unquestioning friend. Oh, I guess they are all that in some ways. Others go a bit farther and actually do things. Now, I could take our dog Chester first but while he is a great critter, he has limits.

Here we have Mist, I think we have Mist because he is not my dogs but Gary's and Carmen's, and Mist does real things like herd animals. For reasons unknown to me, but probably not to breeders, these dogs have to herd to feel right with the world. It is their life. While I could go to great length about this dogs prowess of hold and moving these sheep. I would rather relate a incident we experienced at a trial of sheep dogs.

We sat in the bleachers. We sat there with other folks interested in watching this activity and we sat there with other sheep herders who sat there with there dogs sitting there next to them. The dogs, unlike our Boarder Collie who would lay next to us, SAT on the bleachers watching the show. We could look down the line and here were all these collies and mutts watching the show and in some cases seeming to be a part of it, ot at least wanting to. The owners/companions were jabbering and laughing, paying little attention to the events on the arena but the dogs watched.

I do not know if they were admiring the work, judging it, or learning, but cared and given the word all of them would have headed for the floor. It was their life.

This dog is a pointer. This dog does hang by a warm fire and will fetch a ball in good suburban style but what he wants to do is point at birds. Oh, he will, I am told, point at other animals including a skunk, but he lives to mark the presence of birds.

He has an interesting ploy. We leisurely walk along a forest trail where in dwells the grouse, talking and telling anecdotes of hunts gone by. This dog, almost uninstructed, moves back and forth in front of us with his head held high, not to the ground like spaniel. He is hell bent of only a couple molecules of grouse and the minute he finds them he locks up, tail raised and one foot lifted in an elegant stance. There he will stay until we, noble hunters, step froward, our fouling pieces raised and release him to flush the bird. It is grand sport. The only thing we lacked was a single bird and appropriate knickers made of Scottish wool. Still had fun.

Then there is Chester, part Border Collie Part Spaniel. His life is good. He is mostly a friend and appears to have no genetics that render him useful beyond a companion of great affection. He hates water, will not fetch by hides the balls, couldn't smell a dead chicken, thinks cattle and goats are stupid, mindless brutes that need no handling. He doesn't even try to eat the fish I catch like his buddy Zoey who appears to love trout as a toy. We love Chester.

The Upper Midwest---My favorite

Nothing like a good visual. Ya, I know what you are thinking but I am talking about the above map and enclosed information.

It would seem that those states in the upper Midwest have the smallest amount of poverty, say no more than 12%. The deep south appears to have the most. So just what does this say? I reckon it says we have less income disparity (that may change if we can not get rid of the most recently elected, Ayn Rand loving, yahoo that somehow thinks he is one of the "Enlightened") and that we have fewer unemployed. It may also mean that our working folks are paid more.

I find this all very attractive and probably means we have fewer unhappy citizens, fewer folks who just might feel left out, fewer dirt bags, and for the most part more workers less likely to go ballistic if things take a small turn south.

Then again maybe the poverty of the south has produced a vast group of individuals capable of living real low to the ground who will not be too rattled if things go even farther south. But the south has lots of fundamentalist religion, and poorer education as well. (I do have a chart like this that shows folks listing of importance of education---it looks just like this one) Where is Nascar more popular?

Truth is, I have a number of these types of graphs and all of them show this same pattern. The upper Midwest is strong. If this Walker character remains in office there will be a continued attempt to put us in the "southern way". I guess it is not all his fault, the world is changing and we are all not much different than Greece.

Now if we had to live with less, which it looks like we will, maybe we can redefine poverty and just lower the scale. Never the less, the upper Midwest will still retains its rather jaunty position. I'll take that. I don't need no stinking NASCAR

Chard----Beating the Reaper

Today is the 9Th of November. It snowed about 5 inches, a wet heavy slush that weighted down the cedars and buried the Chard. The temperature hovered all day just above freezing. While yesterday I did manage to get a small bowl of red raspberries for my cereal, that was it on the fruit front. No more.



But this evening as I slipped out of the wood pile, there was a few leaves of very green Chard peaking through the snow. While many of the plants had been picked down there still remained a good meal of rich greens under the snow.

While it has been freezing every night, the Chard always rebounded during mid day and seemed to still be growing, and certainly remained very edible. But the forecast for tonight is 26 and tomorrow night 22. In the world of chard that is reaper time. While they have not gone gently into that good night, there was no way growth could go on much longer. It was time for the last good-by for this season. Not bad I would say.

The next fresh vegetables will show up in April, so unless we go to the just-in-time delivery of fresh things from Mexico and South America, it is 5 months of laid-away vegetables and fruit. Interestingly, it was not that long ago when only stored, or canned products was the way it was for everybody here in the north.

I do remember as a kid getting oranges and grapefruit in winter, but not much more. Wonder what the Native Americans ate?

Our Cat----A Sad Excuse

We have this cat. We have had him for some 12 years, plus or minus. He was a replacement for the past one who one day decided he was going to go for a walk in the canyon, on the ranch in Redstone. That was a bad mistake for a cat because up there numerous predators constantly pursued the compound just waiting for anything to leave the yard.

This also included humans as mountain lions were beginning to feed on joggers in Colorado. So Ann always had to take along the dogs as protection and some, more 2nd amendment oriented, carried heat.

Truth is, the last cat got out too far and he became a carryout lunch for who knows what. Maybe a big cat, but roaming bands of coyotes loved a little pussy. This didn't play well for me because it was on my watch. Never even found a hair but we did find this ratty-assed thing we now call a cat, or Catmando.

He made it out of the canyon in one piece, sorta. Truth is he was never a whole piece to begin with, just a seriously skinny, disheveled, unkempt, shitting-on-the-floor cat, that never found any affection from me, but Ann has held on to him because he purrs---and does things like sneak up on every thing the minute he is out of my sight.

To top it off he is ugly beyond reproach with teeth missing, hair in gnarly blotches, and the general appearance of being from Ethiopia. He doesn't even smell respectably.

The one thing he has done is survive to the age of around 18 which from my point of view is a touch too long. I am now convinced he will go to 25 and out live me just in spite. Oh well, he is sorta tough but makes no attempt to be civil. Maybe he is a feline personification of me. Oh God!

Banking Today---Unregulated---Revolution Watch

I find it odd that some 40% of our GDP is in banking and money handling. Can you believe that? The handlers are producing nothing, just touching money as they pass it along to the next handler and then extracting a fee. The really sad part seems to be that many of the "instruments" they handle are nothing but made up investments called CDOs, CDSs and those charming derivitives that do not really represent anything tangible. They are simply pieces of paper thought to represent debt.

They may claim to be something, these derivitives, but in reality they have been leveraged so many times that in the end they are really worthless. The sad part of the deal is the "instruments" end up in the portolos of retirement funds, pension holdings, soveregn nations and unwarry investors. Most of these holders have been sold a product that they were told had value, even a high ratings from a rating agnecy like AIG.

It was all a scam, a fraud, a pozi sceme and oddly enough, they are still out there, still going on. The reason being that the individuals doing this operation, this fraud also are the ones who made the laws that eliinated the rules regulating these transactions. The removed the Glass Steagall act, allowed naked short selling and let Wall Street sell things that were not real.

Oh, but they made money from it, they added to the GDP with it, and now that they have been found out. We are all the poorer for it, all of the 99%. What does the government do, gives the dip shit banks bail out money because they are too big to fail. Yup, if they go down, we all go down. Cute. One has to wonder just want our real GDP is, paticularily if we are not really producing anything.

Has anyone been arrested? I don't think so. In fact, Lloyd Blankfein got something like a $62 million bonus last year. And there are folks out there wondering why we have an Occupy revolt going on and they are saying its not the fault of the rich. Dear Lord, what are we coming to?

Fortunately, most of the real conflict is going down in Europe---but it is all the same cause, and caused by the same people, that would be people on on very own Wall Street. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan have their hand in all of it. Lets hope that when it all collaspes that the blame is put on Europe and OBama will not be the target. Sadly, few of our citizens remember that it was Republicans, or I should say the Laissez Faire economist associated with the conservatives that set it off. Unregulated captalism is not a sustainable system. It is time for a change.

Late Harvest---Don't give up on the Garden

I'm sure most folks think a garden is a summer thing that is largely harvested in the fall. You know, Harvest Moon and all that. What I am learning this year is the garden actually lingers very well and as of the 1st of Nov. we still had a handsome collection of goodies after everything seemed to be at an end.

Let's take the broccoli. I noticed that many proud backyard farmers buy broccoli plants, put them in the ground in May and by July they have a nice selection but by August the plants are belly up, covered with aphids, stinking and telling me to buzz off. Lately. I have only planted seeds and I have not even been in a hurry to do that. Once up and robust in July, I transplant them around the garden in areas where growth has failed me. If the friggen rabbits don't get them, and this is where the conceal carry comes in, they will thrive nicely, get huge but will not flower until fall.



Broccoli loves cold weather, sneaky aphids hate it and the flower heads are firm and most succulent----and that includes now, now being November. I will say, I believe 2 weeks from now, with a bit of covering, they will still be growing.

About conceal carry, if you show a rabbit a weapon, he will depart in haste but unarmed he will linger casually lifting his nose at your miserable presence. "Get out of my garden you silly boy, you two legged swine, you sniveling, flat assed old coot, you gun hating left-wing commie." That is when the heat comes out and he is met with a blaze of fire power. Now in town I have to set up a blind, wear Rambow camo and get him with a scoped crossbow. Be prepared, they love broccoli beyond all else. Maybe an electric fence---and that might get a cat or two---whoopie.

Also the chard takes on a rich green color in the fall and, I maintain, stocks up on more nutrients making it the best ever. Lightly boiled and covered with butter or bear grease it is sublime. Seal oil is also excellent but the fresh water seal population is down.

If the frost is not hard the late variety raspberries just keep coming even though someone told me they don't taste as good in the winter/late fall. I find that to be drivel. They are sissies, sloth-like panty wastes who are tired of picking and love rationalize away a little work. This will not work after the revolution.

This is not all of it. The tubers are still out there, as are the Brussel Sprouts and check out the celery. Gardening is really a nine month affair and I dig it.

Fishing the Secret Spot---a Telltale

Fishermen probably are pretty much always thinking, "What was it really like back in the day?" Just what was fishing like when the hoards didn't have access to every pond, stream and river. Truth is it is really hard to know.

There have been many writers, be it Norman Mclean and his River Runs Through It, or Ted Trueblood blathering about his exploits in Field and Stream, but really the only way was to have been there and actually seen some fishery in its pristine state. But to do that we'd have to be 150 years old.

In my case 68 years is enough to have some recollections but still even then in , say 1957, things had already been altered. However, I suppose I could use that as a baseline because I did fish all the time, but then I was young and had no real skill and only marginal equipment---like no fish finders---we still don't have one as we believe they are immoral.

The baseline is only a 1957 baseline and nothing else. So if I say, "Back in my day we would get 10 strikes if we went out on Montello Lake in an afternoon." There might even be some question as to my actual memory, and just maybe a tendency to exaggerate a little. So presently if I go on a regular basis to Montello pond and only get two strikes on a Silver Minnow, then I might say things are not as good. Generally, this is my attitude. Not as good.

And again this base line is a shifting thing, or maybe it is called the Shifting Baseline Syndrome where one only can compare something to what one knows and not to an old baseline of 150 years ago.

Anyway, I believe we just found a better way to check the way fishing used to be, that would be back in the old days. It seems we have found a place where no one else fishes because they do not know about it and it is very difficult to reach. It is a bitch and believe me, there will be no $50,000 bass boats in there. It is like it was.

The truth hurts, I am afraid. Hurts bad. In a few hours, it is possible to catch 10 bass, 5 Northerns and maybe a Tiger Musky (we did see a big boy). The fish are large, strong and fat. The message clear, there was a time.

A Big Tree That Had To Go

The first time I saw the tree was 35 years ago and at that time it was huge, a huge leaning White pine sitting in my brother's front yard. The trunk was about 3 feet across and the entire thing extended upward 100 ft or better. (There is a dude in the tree for scale)

Through the years the old beauty was a center piece of the northern yard, but it was always a bit of a problem in that cars were parked under it and the tree did have a perspiration problem that left pitchy leavings on the vehicles. Now, if the cars were junkers, then the tree probably just added to the ambiance, the country look, but as they (my kin) became more affluent (I was going to say effluent) the deposits rather detracted from the general appearance, and maybe left friend wondering if they really lived deep in some forest in a subterranean hut as was rumored. Plus, even if a small branch were to fall the resulting alteration to the body would compromise even their accepted standards.

But the bigger problem was as the tree grew and as the winds blew, it was tilting more and more to the southeast---and in the direction of the house. A few years ago, one tree in a similar location had been hit by lightening, shattered and fell safely in the yard, but this one was larger and now over 120 ft tall. It was becoming clear that if it fell, with its massive tonnage and all, the entire house would be flattened if not vaporized leaving my kin in ill repair. In second thought, it would be a closed casket affair consisting largely of parts.

I just kept leaning, and leaning and the wind continued to blow---mostly from the northwest. A couple of days ago a smaller tree fell and landed 20 ft from the house. That was it. Death of a tree, while tragic, is not equivalent to a death of a couple of reasonable folks.

So the tree guys came out, trimmed the lower massive branches, climbed to the top, topped it and worked downward in 8 foot hunks. Today it is gone, cleaned up but not forgotten after 150 years of growth and regal display.

Fishing The Rogue River------Issues

There we were standing at waters edge preparing our lines to approach the half-pounder run of Steelhead on the Rogue River. It was mid day, which by most fisherman's estimates is like going to a night club in the morning, or attending a Supreme Court session thinking that they would make a decision to remove a corporation from being a "person".

Never the less, it was a absolutely gorgeous day there in southern Oregon, the water was clean and cold, eagles flew over head and the mighty forest of the coastal climate framed our setting with elegance and dignity.

We fisherman were dressed for the occasion, decked out in various costumes including vests, hemostats, large billed hats and wadding gear. Generally, we looked good but not over done. We all had fly rods and not cane poles, and a large can of glistening nightcrawlers. We were sportsmen full of intent and good wishes. Ann wanted us to be successful.

While I was having a small problem getting about due to various injuries accumulated doing some questionable activities, like playing basketball, football, and oh yes, there was those five years of rugby at Wisconsin, fishing was still obtainable and wondrous.

To top it off there were no other fishermen, none. Unlike the Root River near Milwaukee(actually in Milwaukee) where combat fishing is the call of the day---you know, handguns, knives and submerged mines. It was beautiful.

Only one problem. There were no fish on this particular day because they were off in the ocean having tea and biscuits. Did I really care? Oh ya, but not alot. I was on the Rogue, dude.


Then it happened. Coming straight up the pristine river was this thunderous roar, not unlike a jet. It was the sound of power, of size, of movement, of America. There it was a giant jet boat filled to the brim with grinning tourists out to see the Rogue River and the few stupid fishermen. For good folding money all of the participants could see the river in all its glory, they could burn up a hundred gallons of fossil fuel while sitting on their cans.

Why hell, for 3 dollars they could have floated in a canoe---and they would have seen the eagles all in peaceful quiet. Ya gotta love America.

The Money---Revolution Watch

So many times we hear about the financial woes of the USA, but it truth, it is really hard to figure out what is actually going on. I mean, the numbers are so big that nothing makes much sense. In truth, everything we hear is alarming and appears to be ridiculous. So what I did is run down one person's way of putting it all together.

Here is why S&P downgraded the US credit rating.
• U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
• Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
• New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
• National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
• Recent budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000

Now let’s remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget.
• Annual family income: $21,700
• Money the family spent: $38,200
• New debt on the credit card: $16,500
• Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
• Total budget cuts: $385

I have many times said humans don't get scale, and they don't get the exponential function but these figures hit it on the head. So what does this have to do with a revolution. Lots, I reckon. If the public gets a drift that our elected leaders are doing this they might become unglued.

Of course, the same thing is happening in Greece and the rest of Europe (particularly Germany) wants them to sell their country to them to pay off the debts and in the process give up their sovereignty. I just don't think that will fly and the bricks will begin to fly----oh, they already are but we don't see it in our mainstream news. Interestingly, our debt, and trillions of it, are held by China and oil states. I'm not liking this.

"I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution - taking from the federal government their power of borrowing."Thomas Jefferson, 1798

"When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes... Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain."Napoleon Bonaparte, 1815
Barstait provided

Gotta Love the Warmer Globe

Well, things are bit odd. Here we are on the 19th of October and there has yet to be a sign of frost. I take that back a bit as there was a little kiss of 32 degrees a couple of weeks ago. But the truth is it didn't even kill the squash. In fact, while most delicate plants have just given up for lack of desire, there are some still growing like it was summer.




It is no secret that the Brussel Sprouts love this weather even if it does freeze, as do the broccoli but the Chaco Canyon Beans, that would be the ones found in a cave in Chaco Canyon, are still growing. There is even a squash out there trying to put on a good show by expanding some six inches in the last two weeks. I'm sure it is all in vain due to the fact that as an adult it is supposed to be one of the monsters. Still, nice effort dude.


I do find it interesting that many plants just shut down by Oct 1st no matter what the weather. They are just done, worn out, feed up in some cases if they have had a bad year, while others jump on the extra growing time. The chard is very robust but the tomatoes, while they signed out in Sept, still have fruit laying all over the place, some green but still ripening.


I suppose the warm weather puzzles me, and some of the plants. Their genetics tells them to throw in the towel, or do the dirt nap, but there is still opportunities. Those not so programed just keep going. It must be that the native Americans of Chaco Canyon selected out the bean that would not quit. Not a bad trait for a changing world. Handy adaptation.

Oil Depletion---Net Exports

In the past 4 or 5 years there has a great deal of banter about peak oil. This is the point where no matter how hard we, as humans, try to extract the precious liquid from the earth, the amount gained can not match the amount being depleted from older wells. We simply can not continue to exponentially expand oil production no mater how fancy the technology gets.

This discussion does not even take into account the fact that much of the new sources of oil, that would be all this unconventional production, will cost many times greater to extract. If it is tar sands, oil shale (there has, to my understanding, never been a single barrel of commercially available oil made from shale) deep wells and wells in hostile environments, it will not be dumped on the market at $100 a barrel.

This entire thing is a really big deal and is rapidly becoming an issue in the next presidential election. All we hear is "Energy Independence". What a joke. Presently we import some 12.5 million barrels a day and only produce 5.5 million. There is so much potential discussion here, but there is still another kicker. A thing called "Net Exports".

The Net Exports of oil is the amount available on the open market and any given time. It is the oil that is purchased by countries that can not produce enough at home. While the figure may be related to peak oil, it really makes little difference. If the USA wants to buy oil and there is none on the market, it will make little difference how much is in the ground. There simply may be a limit to what can be purchased. This will cause a shortage. A shortage will make us all squirm. It sure leaves me uncomfortable--- particularly when these candidates keep blathering as if oil is to just be be had by drilling more. It is a sad day. (Note the decrease in net exports from 2008 on!)

The Potato Machine---Failure

In the spring, we tried a little experiment after we had read the way to grow potatoes, at least if you have little garden space, was to fill a container with soil and then as the potatoes grew, keep adding soil. This would allow the vines, and entire plant to grow vertically, and in doing so would produce copious amounts of spuds.


Well, we set the rig up using a milk crate and then a plastic bag filled with dirt and supported by chicken wire---doing it like the advocating individual suggested. Seeing it is now mid October and it still has not frosted, and most potatoes have long sense gone night-night, we decided it was time to harvest and see if indeed we had a 20 Lbs of potatoes.

In digging, the soil appeared rich and well enough watered, the vines were still growing but dwindling. The upper portion held a number of spuds but none of them were of great size. As I dug deeper, the number of tubers declined but there was one here and one there. On the bottom there were a few more but interestingly, 3 of them had started to rot. I suspect the soil was too confining and not enough "breathing" was going on---like potatoes have lungs, dude.

The entire lot was washed and assembled so Chester could weigh them--he appears here in the process of evaluation. By our count there was maybe 3 pounds, a far cry from the anticipated 20 Lbs. While this was only a one-time try, I am still judging this a failure and a general waste of my precious time---but still a learning event and I do have those three pounds.

Javon's Paradox and our Motor Car

The Subaru only gets 25 MPG and as a result it is, by our standard, a bit expensive to drive. In addition, we feel that for the sake of the planet we need to consume less. Americana's uses 25% of the world's energy supply and we are only 6% of the population. We are simply racked with guilt over using so much energy to drive hither and yon.

Seeing the old car has some 200K miles on it, purchasing a new rig seemed appropriate and in doing so figured we'd get one that got 50 MPG, there by saving on the consumption of carbon producing fuel. It was just the ethical thing to do.

So, we got this VW TDI diesel unit that is some 6 years old. It is a beauty and has only 35K miles and sure as all get-up achieves 50MPG. So as a result of this improvement of efficiency we are of the mind that our move has helped fuel consumption globally and decreased carbon emissions. We are aware it is a diesel and there are some particulates but it is very "clean" and hardly smells like a diesel.

However, after going Steelhead fishing in Sheboygan some 110 miles away, it occurred to me that had I been driving the old subaru, I would not have gone fishing. In fact, had we had used the car that got the paltry 25MPG we never would have gone across country fishing and gabbing!

What we have here is good old Javon's Paradox which simply says that efficiency improvements don't necessary mean less consumption, but possibly more. I'm a loser, I guess.

Occupy Wall Street---Revolution Watch

The Sustainable Revolution will come in many forms, some subtle, most over a period of time and the worst of it, hopefully ushered in by reason and trust. But the winds are stirring and like the the heated overthrows of the Middle East and North Africa, the US is beginning to take notice of some of the injustices of our system.

Corporatism is coming under attack both in Europe and now here. It has often puzzled me how we, as a people could not notice how 1% of our population has more wealth than the lower 90%. When would we notice? When would we notice that the system is being looted by the super wealthy and the corporations. When would we notice that our leaders are owned by the big money? When would we notice that it is common to privatize the profits and socialize the liabilities?



Well, it is beginning to look like it is now happening. True, the mainstream media is not covering it, or if they are it is to belittle the protesters but there is a story here and an articulation. Naomi Klein is one. Listen. http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/6/naomi_klein_protesters_are_seeking_change

Here too is a statement of intent by the more organized. This thing is for real and may make the revolution move a bit faster than is comfortable. But it will happen and just maybe we can get some democracy back along with some new form of stable state economics. We live in interesting times.

From the protesters:

-President Obama "ordain a Presidential Commission tasked with ending the influence money has over our representatives in Washington".
-This protest represents a variety of demands with a common statement about government corruption and the excessive influence of big business and the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans on U.S. laws and policies.
-Raising taxes on the rich, raising taxes on corporations, ending corporate welfare, support for trade unionism, and protecting Medicare and Social Security in their traditional forms are expressed by some participants.
-Occupy Maine is asking for an investment in public transportation infrastructure and the return home of Maine National Guardsmen from wars overseas.
-Other protesters are calling for an audit or elimination of the Federal Reserve, affordable healthcare, dismantling the military-industrial complex and to end all wars.

The Blackfoot River---Norman Mclean

“Like many fly fishermen in western Montana where the summer days are almost Arctic in length, I often do not start fishing until the cool of the evening. Then in the Arctic half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise." Norman Mclean A River Runs through It

In our travels this fall we could not but help visit the Blackfoot River of Mclean's past. It is in the north, away from the eyes of most, wondering through sheep and cattle country not that far from where they danced at the Rascal Fair. There are few towns, and Missoula is distant by Wisconsin standards.

We travelled along a dusty dirt road to a place we later learned was one of Mclean's favorites, and to a spot that might have been used to shoot the film. As the miles passed, we could see glimpses of the rock-filled river and recall the stunning scenes in the film.

It was, in the film, as if the place was untouched, filled with fish and unencumbered with the trappings of man. Of course, that was not true even in Mcleans time because the area had been timbered, ranched and mined to near exhaustion even in 1920s but there may have been enclaves. Still, for us it was a romantic spot filled with visions of another time.

We pulled of into an official access point and hiked down to the river---this spot certainly looked like the spot where his brother was found naked with the hussy, but then I have a good imagination---for naked women you say. No, for fishing water---with naked women.

I wadded into the stream and cast with great grace every imaginable fly I could think of and to my surprise never raised a single fish. I was as if they were gone, departed, disappointed, to some other section maybe where there had not been so many fisherman dreaming of Norman. For some reason I never took a picture at all. Was it that a simple over site or a act of sadness?

The picture is the Rogue River in Oregon. They are similar---in too many ways.

Pumpkin & Squash---Big is Better

When we returned from our western sojourn we found some six squash, ya they are squash, greater than 25 pounds. They were things of beauty and like many garden experiences where we have done something right, I strutted around the yard like I was somebody. Well. I might have had a beer or two which always makes me feel like I am somebody---and a touch delusional.

In fondling the squash, and one was close to sixty pounds, we began trying to figure out just what to do with the gargantuan monsters. It was not like one could just cook them up and have a nice squash dinner, or a warm spiced squash soup, or even a giant pie. They were really too big to manage. I even had to have the local mussle-bound kid pick the thing and set it in the back yard. It was either that or use a come-along, a pulley system or a helicopter.

We concluded we were going to have to have a festival of sorts that featured squash dishes and invite everyone over we know. This would fill our social obligation of having a fandango once a year and put the squash to good use rather than just displaying them on the front porch as some pagan ritual----even though as pagans, we will being doing some of that anyway.

In truth, these beauties are a food source and this variety is very dense and has an abundance of tasty meat. I was wondering if these were developed by Native Americans to feed a large tribe. Used as a nutritious food storage supply (these puppies last until April), it is possible they could have been stored and eaten much later. They are impressive.

Well, just when I thought we had made a profound discovery, the following pumpkins were seen today in Marion Wisconsin. The biggest one weighted in at 1250 pounds and there were three others that were many hundred. The Indians didn't come up with these. This is the work of modern man, genetics, chemicals (LSD for pumpkins)---and a fork lift. At first thought, they seemed worthless but today I learned on my birthday, Oct 29, the earth will hit 7 billion people. Maybe God made these things in hope of feeding the masses-----or a hell-of-a-big pagan celebration.

What it is all About.

A person can ramble on about the great aspects of life. Oh, some might name the seven wonders and go to tears over the accomplishments, the scale of it all, but as near as I can tell for the average yahoo it comes down to some things more simple, things that are frequently at hand.

I know I can be impressed by a pristine Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, or maybe a deeply colored trout caught at the bottom of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, or climbing a fourteen in Colorado. There are lots of them. I've seen them and they are things of wonder for sure.

Yesterday, the Badgers took Nebraska to a clinic and today the Packers bitch slapped the Broncos. The Brewers are in the playoffs and I have a selection of cold beers, and that does not include the locally made honey liqueur we scored in Madison. It is good out there---excluding the fact that we are going through the Great Adjustment, The Long Emergency, the Sustainable Revolution or what is becoming to be know as The Crash.

But this picture represents something that quite possibly is better. It is the gathering of friends in the company of good food and each other. It seems that no matter how far we may travel, no matter what we see of the physical world, the places, the events, being among friends is priceless.

After just travelling some 3500 miles or more, the time spent laughing and blathering of great deeds, of relating distant experiences among other friends is the most exciting. It is the exchanging of the day, sharing music with grinning musicians, flopping through some marsh with fellow hunters the entire time hassling each other, that really makes the day. I suspect it is why I have always liked the saying from St. Catherine, "All the way to heaven, is heaven."

Grapes, Taking the only Option

Last year the birds got the grapes. I am still not sure what that was about. Maybe like the blue berry guy, I should have taken the nuclear option. This would be to blast the birds like he does----he got a permit to take out 100 robins but in the end didn't have the heart. Me either.

This year the grapes came on well and just before leaving I snatched one variety (not a special Merlot) but a wine grape it was called, and froze them all in bags for later fermentation. I suspect many were not really totally ripe so my wine may suffer. I felt I had to grab them or the hoards of invading Mongolian (Genghis Robin) red breasts would have robbed me of my bounty.

I had to leave the Concords because they were at least a month off. They were looking good and in truth no Robins were stalking them as near as I could tell. I had threatened the few resident birds but it was a hollow threat---like the blue berry dude.

While away fishing the rivers of the west, I heard rumors that they were hanging long on the vine, robust and absorbing nutrients fit for a fine wine, maybe a mediocre wine after all they were Concords, the same type used to make Mad Dog. Still, I could put the bottle in a paper bag go down to the village bench and sit there for hours in a stupor passing the bag among the other homeless types. They had value. I love my friends.

On return, I found the majority of them to have survived the onslaught largely due to the heavy foliage and the shear numbers. Many of the visible grapes were mauled but the bulk awaited my arrival. They were clearly anticipating being turned into a nice vintage, some thing maybe snappy, maybe naughty, maybe aggressive but not pretentious. Nice leg, robust nose and possibly drinkable, and not just drinkable when everything else is gone. Let's hope for the best.

Ther Squash Dilemma

Every fall we have tons of squash. They come in many forms but through the years the favorite has been the Butternut with an Acorn close behind. The reason is that these two seem to last the longest. Here in Wisconsin, if stored upstairs and not in the damp basement, they will last until April.

In the basement they started to rot by Christmas due to the humidity. This only makes sense because the fungus only needs so much encouragement and a touch of moisture and off they go. Hell, even the concrete has mold on it. Give 'em a little damp and it is like Nascar.

While I love the two above squashes, and they make good pies, last year I brought a larger squash from our daughter's place in Colorado. It looked like a flat pumpkin but it was heavier (greater specific gravity), more dense and the meat was reddish as was the squash. Well, I don't know the name of the thing but it was really tasty, possessed lots of meat and made a great pie as well. To top it off it lasted until June---that would be June.

So I says to myself, "Man, you need to plant this thing and make a bit of a transition because this is the mother of all squash, like a mother Hubbard." Well, I put the seeds in the ground and yesterday when we got home from distant lands, there were six of these beauties scattered about the holdings and thy were all puffed up like a bunch of toads, gnarly and fat.

But here is the dilemma. One of them is sixty pounds! I had to have a kid pick the frigging thing and place it on the bench for observation. My Christ, the others are forty pounds. What does one do with a monster? I mean, the minute one butchers it, there has to be a plan. Squash soup, squash pie, mashed squash. No wonder they feed them to hogs. Maybe we can be hogs. Maybe a squash festival. It ain't easy being a farmer.

Agriculture---Missionary Position

I just learned that when travelling it is hard to post because I usually have things to say that are not just about travelling. I always want to have a hint of a comment. So for the last 5 weeks my mouth has been shut.


Today, I reflect on some of the travel. Oh, in a month we have gone from Wisconsin to, Nebraska, N. Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado and a touch of Utah.

We saw a trend that always leaves me a bit cold. I will use the Palouse area of eastern Washington as an example. This region is known for its wheat production and driving through there it is impossible not to notice the millions of acres covered in golden waves of grain---mind you this is modern wheat, genetically modified, weed free from roundup, and planted with little thought of saving space for anything other than wheat.





To look at the impressive landscape, one would think the Palouse could provide grain for the world. It just goes on forever and from an artistic point of view, it is beyond comprehension with its expanse of textures and subtle colors. To travel the area, however, one can see the result of this type of farming.


Years ago, to pull off this wheat production there had to be a strong community every so many miles simply to provide manpower and all of their support systems--schools, stores, churches, blah, blah, blah. But as the farms were consolidated and mechanized the need for manpower diminished as have the once vital communities. The towns are now in shambles with tipped over, partially salvaged cars in the backyards and the populations diminished. Rather sad to me.


The large corporate farms are planted and harvested by giant machines ( above $350K variable leveling harvester) that run 24/7 during cultivating, chemical applying and harvesting. The jobs appear to be sporadic during off times---but production is beyond comprehension. The odd part is the profits, and they are huge with $15 wheat, all go to big corporations and in more and more cases foreign countries that are now buying up our crop land. I even found myself wondering where the wheat goes if it is owned by China.



Some transitions I just don't like.

Leaving The Garden

Once a garden is started, it is hard to just hard to leave it alone. It calls out to be fondled---if that is the right word. That which is doing well needs encouragement. That which is unwelcome because it is not there for purpose, weeds to be exact, require liquidation, roots and all--- gone, caput, nada por nada, outa here, dirt nap time, gone.

It is all about love, I suppose, maybe a need for food but mostly about doing something that makes sense. It, I believe is a worthy cause that can lead to good health, spiritual rewards and maybe some down-right good eating.

Each day there is a garden growing, I step outside and always look in that direction even when my wife is running around naked. Well, there are some exceptions, but generally the garden is the first draw in the morning. If the tomatoes are 6 feet tall, which they are, and the fruit is fat and sassy, life is good and they should be fondled and encouraged to proceed.

If the beets greens are starting to rot from excessive rain, they need to be encouraged by the elimination of those things that are confining them so they might dry out. If the broccoli has been massacred it is time to bring out the bow and arrow to harvest a rabbit that has found pleasure in the early harvest. Last year the count was 4 for four. This year 0 for 5 and as a result the broccoli has disappeared like Palinís & Bachmannís brains. Oh, the later never had them.

I like that analogy, broccoli and brains, both gone while the rabbit lives on as do the combo of Palin and Bachmann. Sad state. Iíll take the rabbit.

But maybe a sadder state is that we have to leave the garden unattended for all of September because of the call to travel the wild west in the pursuit of leisure and large fish. On return, we shall see just what is the affect of no garden fondling. Will it be unhappy or will it hold out from so much attention earlier?