Trying to take care of my little piece of the planet
Apparently earlier today (while I was earning my daily bread) the conservative Wall Street Journal reported the following: North Carolina’s seven Democratic House members are poised to endorse Sen. Obama as a group — just one has so far — before that state’s May 6 primary, several Democrats say. Ouch!
Posted on March 31st, 2008 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Rants and Musings | No Comments »
There are all sorts of well documented reasons for the decline of small family farming in America. Trade policy, subsidy inequities that favor large scale farming, corporate control of raw materials, processing and distribution, etc. All play key roles in the disappearance of small scale farming, to our nation’s great detriment. I’m not qualified to [...]
Posted on March 31st, 2008 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Gardening, Nature Diary | 4 Comments »
Another post in the wee hours, falling mostly in the vein of recording Mother Nature’s moves for future reference – so feel free to click away to a more exciting URL elsewhere. The tulip poplars (the next major bee forage crop in our area) are now in leaf but not yet in flower. The dogwoods [...]
Posted on March 28th, 2008 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Nature Diary | 3 Comments »
We’re still flirting with freezing temps, but last night should be the last for the next week or so, and we’re certainly are much further toward spring than most places. (And still three full weeks from our official last frost date.) I’m gradually moving the light further away from the chicks, who are now eight [...]
Posted on March 25th, 2008 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Gardening, Meat, Eggs, etc. | 6 Comments »
I really want to get back to spring time posts about my new hatchlings, or the fact that the redbuds have started to bloom about the same time that the gladiolas are peeking through the mulch and the bullfrogs are throwing out a few random croaks. But my other ear is still tuned to the [...]
Posted on March 25th, 2008 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Nature Diary, Rants and Musings | 4 Comments »
Consider this post a bookmark. A lame attempt to register my anger, my frustration, my sadness, without any attempt to try and articulate the why and the how of it. Hopefully I will attempt that later. The political status quo, both Democratic and Republican has succeeded in diverting our attention, likely derailing any chance for [...]
Posted on March 20th, 2008 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Rants and Musings | 4 Comments »
It’s spring, so I guess we’re just following our instincts. As the peach and the redbud have started to blossom this week and the bees are ramping up to take advantage of the blooming maples, so have we increased the size of the family unit. First, the little stray kitten that I found in the [...]
Posted on March 19th, 2008 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Meat, Eggs, etc., Nature Diary | 3 Comments »
Hillary’s ‘kitchen sink’ assault on Barack Obama has led me to write a couple of posts in recent weeks, and Sheria has weighed in as well in a more thorough analysis. But I just came across this item by Jonathan Chait in last Thursday’s New Republic and it’s the best summary I’ve seen of her [...]
Posted on March 11th, 2008 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Rants and Musings | 7 Comments »
A quick post late on Sunday after a productive weekend. Thanks to the ingenuity and efforts of our buddies, we essentially have the system completed, toasting it with glasses of rainwater at sunset today! In short, we plumbed the lines from the now full (5000 gallon) tanks to the new pump, through the 20 micron [...]
Posted on March 9th, 2008 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Rainwater Collection | 6 Comments »
My earlier post about Hillary’s praise of the presumptive Republican nominee at the expense of Obama is now clearly central to her scorched earth strategy of telling Democrat voters and party officials: ‘nominate me or else’. Because yesterday she ramped it up even further here. “I think that since we now know Sen. McCain will [...]
Posted on March 7th, 2008 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Rants and Musings | 5 Comments »