The Burrow

  jpetersenphotography.com

I accomplished something today.  I've never done this before, not once in all my more than seven decades on this planet. I never imagined such a thing would occur,  let alone could occur.  After a trip to the local Ace  Hardware for sealant and to Michael's for clay pots, after another recess spent organizing water brigades running laps with plastic watering cans between a working hose bib and Grandma's Garden, after collecting and tossing those Dollar Store watering cans which could not bear the burden,  I sat quietly under the umbrella and began to create ollas.  The sealant is equal parts water proofing epoxy.  The dispenser is a clever gadget mixing the two.  The lid edges of the three inch pots are wide enough to drag it along.   The situation becomes more complicated when the pots are pressed together. Goo extrudes. This is not a bad thing; I use my fingers to turn the olla and smear the extra in and around the seams.  The las...

There has been lettuce in the standing garden outside the gate for a few weeks.  The oregano is a new addition.  The tiny clay ollas I made and thought were useless are now passsively irrigating our produce. . For scholars who are just walking by, Would you like a bite of lettuce?  is a powerful inducement to stop and have a taste.  I now have enough plants to allow us to denude one or two and still have more to feed us tomorrow.  The oregano is there to balance the blandness of the buttercrunch; it tastes like pizza  is my favorite comment. We filled the two new raised beds with ollas and veggie starts.  Celery and basil and dill and a tomato plant here spinach and dill and some petunias and a snapdragon in the other bed (which I forgot to photograph...sigh). This raised bed has lots of something coming up..... I have no idea what it will turn out to be.  There didn't seem to be any leaves punching through the soil on the right edge, so we placed...

It's pitch dark by 6:15. Thanksgiving is a month away, with Hannukah nipping at its heals. And suddenly it's almost TBG's birthday and then mine.   I remember thinking that I would be 9 forever.  Now, I keep forgetting how old I am; the years are flying by in a way they never have before.   All this while I'm conscious of living in the moment, of being present, of relishing each smell and sound and sight. I'm not sure I'm pleased with the situation.

SOME HIT CLOSE TO HOME Being Twenty in the 70's was more fun than being Seventy in the 20's I don't mind getting older but my body is taking it badly. It's weird being the same age as old people. I don't want to go through  things that don't kill me but make me stronger  anymore. SOME WERE PERSON SPECIFIC Everyone is born right handed.  Only the gifted overcome it. Emotional Support Husband - Do Not Pet Being a TROPHY HUSBAND is exhausting. Excellent friend.  Would recommend. SOME WERE SELF-REFERENTIAL Sometimes I talk to myself, then we both laugh and laugh I'M COLD.  Me 24:7 My password is the last 8 digits of pi. I just want to bake stuff and watch Christmas movies. Bigfoot saw me but nobody believes him. Sarcasm.  It's how I hug. Underestimate me.  That'll be fun. If you think I'm short, you should see my patience. Hold on.  Let me overthink this. My plants are rooting for me. SOME WERE EXPLANATORY I've lost my mind.  I'm pretty sure ...

Mayo Clinic is remarkable. It is also a four hour round trip from home. I'm impressed, relieved, and exhausted. If I could put two thoughts together they would be about great medical care. Unfortunately, I cannot.

Rep. Ciscomani and twelve other vulnerable Republicans  sent a letter to Mike Johnson on Tuesday, a letter that is being touted  as a plea to reopen the government.  As my Representative's website reports: These 13 House Republicans reaffirmed that Congress’s first duty is to keep the government working for the American people - not to use shutdowns as leverage for political gain - and that r esponsible reforms, such as with healthcare, must move forward on its own merits, through regular order, as soon as the Democrat-caused federal government shutdown ends. (the underlining is mine)   In and of itself, that seems perfectly reasonable....  at least the parts I underlined.  Kinda like a middle school social studies book describing the role of one of the co-equal branches of government. Oh, right. Nobody teaches civics any more.  And that whole co-eequal branches thing is long gone.  And don't get me started on.... no don't even mention what ...