America 250

Happy 250th America!  

I didn't do much of anything special for the holiday, other than my usual stuff.  One of my coworkers had asked if I was going to fire up the grill, but I said no.  It's a lot of work firing up a grill for just me.  Even when I used to grill, I'd grill a bunch of meat all at once -- like and entire 12 pack of chicken thighs-- then freeze it.  I thought about it, but decided I just didn't want to.  Instead, I got some of my pulled pork out of the freezer and ate that. 

Pretty much all I did was to watch A Capitol Fourth on YouTube, because I missed it last night.  I had thought it would be on today, so I watched Project Hail Mary on Prime instead.  Last night, that is.  If you haven't seen that one, I highly recommend it.  It was so good, and seeing Ryan Reynolds as a geek was priceless. 

Today I watched the musical 1776 and The Patriot, as is my custom.  I had tried to find some sort of celebration on TV, but nothing jumped out at me.  I watched the ABC coverage for a bit, then turned it over to C-Span, but gave up on those and put my movie in.   Other than that, it's been a quiet day so far.  

My town has never done anything for Independence Day -- at least not since I've lived here.  They do the big fireworks show in June for Thunder On Water, so they don't have any on the 4th.  I'm sure once it gets dark, there will be some on TV.  Of course, you know me.  What I really want to watch is a nice historical documentary.  I'm sure I can find one somewhere. 

In the meantime, I went out early this morning and got that garden bed finished.   First step was to get the last of the red clay out.  I did my best, but there are still traces of it left in the bed. 

After a break to cool off -- it wasn't that hot, only 77°, but the humidity was 92% so I was drenched in sweat anyway-- I moved the two piles of compost into the bottom of the bed. 

All of the gardening channels say that's how to deal with clay soil, by adding compost.  The benefit of this is that my piles were already chock full of earthworms, most of which I managed to move into the bed with said compost. 

Another break to cool off, and I filled the rest of the bed with garden soil.  It took four bags, but I think it's full enough to start planting.  

I know it will settle some with the next rain and all, so I'll top it up after the growing season is over.  And of course, I'll re-start my compost pile...probably tomorrow.  The last thing I did before settling down in front of the TV was to finally record that garden vlog I've been promising you for so long.  

I won't embed it here, because a certain social media site doesn't seem to like it when I post my own videos.  You can watch it by clicking on the link below.   Fair warning, it's raw video, not edited in any way.  And yes, I know I have an accent.  One day at work this week, I managed to make "hat" into a two syllable word.  Even I heard that...

Garden Vlog 2026

And finally, before you go, let's take a moment of silence to remember those who were lost in the devastating floods in Texas last year. 

And join me in praying that they find the one little girl who is still missing so her family can finally lay their baby to rest.  

A Monster

I think I've created a monster.  

My lemon balm keeps swallowing up the two little marigolds I planted next to it like some kind of cannibalistic monster.  

Life!  Life!  Give my creation life!!  

I have no idea where that came from....Sheesh. 

Anyway, I keep having to cut it back so the little marigolds can get some sunlight.  I've got to find something to do with it.  Besides drying it and giving it to Cody, I mean.  I already have an 8 oz jar full of the stuff, and it's still a long time until the first frost.  I know the stuff has tons of medicinal uses, too.  I just need to do a little research into that.  

Well, at least next year I'll know not to plant marigolds under it. 

While I was out there, I noticed that one of my zinnias had flopped over. 

It's the only one that did that, and I'm not entirely sure why.  Maybe all of the rain we've had this week softened the soil, but I would have thought they'd all be flopping over if that were the case.  No matter, I ran and got some of my extra tomato cage parts -- being thankful I sprung for the six pack-- and made a bit of a trellis for it. 

It hasn't actually rained any today, so I was able to get my garden flag hung.  

That one will stay up at least until Fall, when I start hanging seasonal flags.  The last thing I did today was to get my missing man place set up. 

 Now it's time for the National Memorial Day Concert, which I never miss.  

I'll catch you later. 

Not My Garden

Look,  y'all!  I'm not posting about my garden!  Instead, I'm posting about my Amazon order, which arrived this afternoon.   And just what did I order, you may ask?  Well, I'll tell you.  I ordered another America 250 ornament. 

This will probably be the last one of these I order, but I do want to collect some more commemorative stuff.  I wonder if they're minting coins, like they did for the bicentennial.  I still have a few of those somewhere around here. 

Anyway, I also ordered another garden flag.  

I'll need to pick up a hanger when I go to Walmart next, and I think I'm going to hang this one in my fairy garden.  Which is looking very nice, by the way. 

The flag will look right nice in that front right corner, I think.  What say you, Gentle Reader?  

Speaking of my garden, look!  My little tomato is really coming on like gangbusters.  

Putting it into the big garden was exactly the right move.  It hasn't hurt that we've gotten more than 1 1/2" of rain over the last 24 hours, and have more to come.  In fact, it's raining right now.  It won't be enough to relieve the drought, but it will ease my water bill just a bit.  

While we're on the subject, I watched that new show on Discovery Channel, In The Eye Of The Storm: Chasers.   It was pretty interesting.  All of the footage was shot by storm chasers -- in this episode, it was in South Dakota sometime last year.  I'm telling you, that highway looked like a dadgum parking lot from all of the storm chasers out there. 

The next morning, one of the local guys posted this on his Facebook:  

 

Every one of those red dots is a storm chaser.  (He also said this is why he pretty much sticks to Dixie Alley to chase -- and besides that, it's home.)  A few moments later, I saw a post from another chaser -- I can't remember who it was -- that said in the storm that passed in Nebraska a few days ago, there were more than 7000 storm chasers on the ground.  That's astounding.  I didn't even know there were that many chasers.  

This morning, Kenny Shenk posted this:  

I don't really have a dog in this fight, but still, it seems to have gotten completely out of hand.  These days, literally anyone with a car and a cell phone can call himself a storm chaser and get in on the action.  It's kind of the in thing right now.  

It kind of got me to thinking.  Now, what I'm about to say is completely my own opinion, based strictly on anecdotal evidence from what I have seen myself.  

It seems to me that storm chasers fit into one of three categories -- though there can be some overlap.  

Category 1:  The Serious Chasers.

These are the ones who actually have meteorology degrees, or who have at least taken some meteorology classes at an accredited university or studied in non-traditional ways -- such as online courses.  

Point is, they're educated in the science of weather.  They've studied.  They've learned.  They have all the equipment to collect scientific data.  Many of them have an affiliation with local TV stations or with the NWS and send information in to them.  Or they're partnered with someone like Ryan Hall or Max Velocity.  They're serious about this stuff.   Unlike those in 

Category 2:  The Thrill Seekers

The thrill seekers can be divided into a few sub-categories, the first of which is the adrenaline junkies.  These are people who put themselves into dangerous situations to get that rush of adrenaline -- much like those who jump off cliffs or free climb or whatever.  They're in it for the excitement, not for the science.  These are the dangerous ones, the most likely to get killed or get someone else killed because they don't know what they're doing.  

By the way, if you hear someone saying he's a "certified storm spotter," that doesn't mean a blame thing.  Anyone can become a "certified storm spotter."  I'M a certified storm spotter.  You, too, can become a certified storm spotter.  All you have to do is go to the NWS website and take the online class.  It's about an hour long.  When you're done, they'll send you a PDF you can print off, frame, and hang above your fire place.   Wood stove.  Whatever...

The second sub-category is those who want to be heroes.  They want the attention, the pats on the back, the glory that comes from helping someone out of the rubble of a destroyed house, or taking someone to a local hospital.  Oh, don't get me wrong.  Serious chasers do this, too, but they don't do it for the attention.   They do it because it's the right thing to do.  To be a decent human being. 

The next sub-category is the know it all, who just wants to one up everyone with his superior knowledge about updrafts and convective currents and what not.   They watched a few Ryan Hall videos and memorized the jargon, and toss it out like candy at a Christmas parade.  They're the most annoying ones, in my opinion. 

The final subcategory is the content creators.  These are the ones who are in it for the likes or click or views or whatever.  They're after the little dopamine hits they get when they get that notification that someone liked their post or video.  Again, they're not serious about the science.  They're serious about themselves.   Unlike those in 

Category 3:  Reed Timmer. 

There is no need to say more.  The man is in a class by himself.  

Some people are saying there should be more regulation on storm chasers, but I don't know if that's the answer.  I don't see how you can tell someone not to follow his dream if that's what he wants to do.   At the same time, something needs to be done.  I wouldn't know what, though.  

I'll bet you never knew there was so much drama in the weather community, did you?  

OK, back to my Amazon order.  I needed new coffee,  so I got this.  

The last thing I got was a garment bag for Brennan's wedding dress, which I need to go put into it and hang it up.  

I guess I've chuntered on enough for today, so I'll stop boring you with my drivel.  

I have an idea that I might regret later on.  And that idea is, YOU come up with a topic you want to hear my opinion on.  Just not politics.  I try to keep politics off the blog for the most part, so let's avoid that topic.  

Anything else is fair game.  Almost.  

I Don't Think

I don't think I'm going to be able to move tomorrow.  Seriously.  

I'd thought I'd get up and go walking some trails, either at the lake or at the nature preserve, but changed my mind because I had to go to Walmart and do the shopping I'd skipped yesterday.  I figured that would be enough walking for the day. 

Then what did I do?  I came home and mowed.  Between Walmart and mowing, I got nearly five miles done.  That ought to help the ol' blood sugar come down a bit.  

I'd said I was only going to do the front yard, but ended up doing the back as well.  That was a bit of a pain mowing around all of my clover patches, but I got 'er done.  I did not do behind the fence.  Maybe I'll get that done sometime tomorrow morning. I don't know.  It's not my property, but I do knock it down a few times per year, just so it doesn't get out of hand. 

While I was doing all of that mowing, my package from Amazon arrived, and look what I bought.  

This year's new Christmas ornament.  I know, I know, it's a long way until Christmas, but I had originally thought I'd hang it from my car's rear view mirror.  Now that I have it and see that it's plastic and not glass, I don't think I will.  I'm thinking it might fade in the sun, so it's put away until November when the tree goes up.  

Also in the order was the final piece of this year's fairy garden -- a picnic table.  

Now, my little fairies can get together and have a little fairy picnic, all under the watchful eye of Oberon the fairy king, of course. 

The final two things in the order were spare chains for my mini chainsaw, and my magnesium glycinate.  "Easy to swallow caplets" the description said.  Yeah, right.   For a horse, maybe.  Obsolete coin of the realm included for scale.   

I immediately cancelled that subscription and found some gummies instead.  They'll be here Monday.  

Next up on the agenda was the weedeating, which went pretty much without a hitch, and the whole yard looks so much better. And now that the necessary chores were done, I could get to the fun stuff!  Putting in my tomato cages!  

And yes, I do realize how pathetic that sounds.  Don't envy me my exciting life.  Those cages were a bit of a pain to put together, but in the end, I got 'er done.  After I took the photo, I went back and straightened up some of those wonky bits, and it looks pretty OK.  Most importantly, they'll support my tomatoes. 

While I was doing that, I put in my drip irrigation system -- which is a 1 liter water bottle with holes punched in the bottom.  

Some of the channels I've watches say to cut the bottom of the bottle off and punch the holes into the lid.  Then you put the bottom in upside down to keep dirt and debris out of the water.  I guess that's OK if you want to go that route, but to me, it made more sense to put the lid back on to keep things out of your water.   

I was kind of worried that I'd buried them too deep, but I think as the tomatoes grow, it'll be OK.  Speaking of growing, do you see what I see?  

Yes!  True leaves!  Go littlest tomato!  Go!  

Speaking of growing, the cayennes are really taking off, so much so, I went ahead and tied up the three biggest ones, along with one of the banana pepper plants. 

It may not be strictly necessary, but it won't hurt.  I'm trying to remember if I had to stake my last cayenne plant, but I can't.  I know I had to stake my last banana pepper, but then, it didn't have nearly as much root room in that raised planter as it will in this bed. 

Look, it's starting to look almost like a proper garden!

Oh, and before I forget, even though we had some rain a couple of days ago, we only got .3", so I was able to try out my new watering wand this morning.  It was right handy to have.  I was able to get the water right down to the bottom of the plants without having to bend over, and the little lever thing controlled the water flow so I wasn't blasting them into oblivion.  

On the other hand, it was strong enough to clean the bird bath, getting all of the algae off the sides and bottom, then gentle enough to fill it without splashing.  It's probably the best investment I've made this month...

The last thing I did before coming inside and taking a shower was to make a frog pond out of an old food bowl.  

I've seen a lot of toads in that part of the yard.  Hopefully, they'll stick around, and maybe I can even attract more to come.  Toads are one of the best slug controls you can have. 

Now that I'm all nice and clean after a hot shower, it's time to settle in with some knitting and Lark Rise To Candleford.  

Laters...

What A Week

How did April go by so fast?  Seems like just yesterday, it was April Fool's Day,  and I still feel like it's March.   Yet, in a few hours it will be May.  But I'm not going to post that meme.  IYKYK

I meant to post yesterday, but I got home from work, turned on the TV to watch the latest episode of NCIS....and about halfway into the episode, the internet dropped.  Then it came back.  Then it dropped again.   It was out so long that time, I gave up and put in a DVD of Keeping Up Appearances.  

I watched one episode of that, and the internet came back up, so I turned NCIS back on...aaaand the electricity went out.  Only for a minute, but by that time, I was so fed up, I just went to bed.  

I needed that sleep, too, because Tuesday night, we had some pretty loud thunderstorms come through.  Those weren't so bad, but then the phone started ringing off the hook.  A while back, I'd signed up with the county EMA office to get weather alerts, and that was what I was getting....just not for MY county.  I was getting them for Hinds county, for Holmes county, for Attala county, Yalobusha county, Lafayette county, Humphreys county, Panola county, Oktibbeha county, Coahoma county, Tunica county, Calhoun county, Pontotoc county -- every county BUT Grenada county.  

I finally blocked that number just so it would stop ringing and I could get some sleep.  I think I'm going to sign up for local meterologist Matt Laubhan's Weather Call thingy.  It's only $15 per year.  I can spring for that, and delete a lot of the other weather alert apps I have. 

Well, turn them off at least.  I won't delete a weather app.  

Since it appears we're done with rain for a few days -- by the way, we got 1.4" over the last three days, but it's still not enough to alleviate the drought conditions -- I stepped out before work this morning and took the Walmart sacks off of my baby tomatoes so they can get full sun.  

They are all doing very well, even the tiniest baby tomato.  

This is the biggest one, and probably tomorrow, I'll snip off those bottom leaves, then give it a few days to heal and add more dirt to the cup. 

That's another one of those things I learned from YouTube -- to let the wound heal before putting it into dirt.  Maybe it's not necessary, but it doesn't seem like it would hurt, so I'm going to do it.

Good news!  I don't know if you can see it in this photo, but my baby rosemary is putting out new growth!  Maybe it's going to survive after all!

In other news, I went to the store today instead of tomorrow and decided to treat myself to some fancy soup. 

I had intended to make two meals out of this, but it was so good, I ate the whole thing.  

Look what else I found:  

Reduced sodium beans and rice!  I'd made some a few weeks ago, but it was just so salty I could hardly eat it.  I don't like salt.  Weird, I know, but that's just who I am.  It's supposed to get cold again this weekend, so this will be a perfect meal for a chilly day.  Oh, and I bought smoked sausage to put into it.  

After I'd eaten my soup, I finally got my new flag hung up. 

And I totally stole this AI generated image from social media, because it's awesome. 

 Finally, in memory of David Allen Coe:  

Terrible News

I've got some terrible news today. Terrible. 

Group Leader Shark announced it at the morning meeting, and it's just terrible.  What is this terrible news?

Second shift starts next week!  You know what that means!  No more coming in to a neat and tidy work area where I can get straight to work.  Nope.  As of Monday, we'll have to spend the first 30-60 minutes of our day literally putting the department back together.  Tracking down my parts trays...tracking down my rolling table...playing my favorite game:  guess what the unlabeled order is...and hearing management crow over them about how much they're out-brazing us.  (Dear management:  it's because they skip down in the schedule and pick out all the easy orders to do!)  That's not just sour grapes.  They really do do that. 

You want to hear something funny?  When Demi-god first came to day shift, it didn't take him long at all to start complaining about second shift doing the same things he used to do when when he was on second shift.  I laughed and said, "Welcome to day shift!"  

All that said, I do have some good news.  I'd been wanting something for the 250th, but didn't really want a t-shirt, which would eventually fade and get worn out.  I'm still thinking about getting a hat, though.  And maybe a challenge coin or shot glass or something.  One thing I did already buy arrived today.  A garden flag: 

And if you look carefully, they gave me a free patriotic gift:  that little lapel pin on the left side of the flag.  This won't go in the garden, though.  Nobody will be able to see it back there, so after tonight's storms pass, I'll hang it up on hanger on the car port. 

More good news, I got another sailor hat cast on yesterday while I was watching TV.  

Yarn:  Red Heart Bitty Stripes

Colorway:  Rainbow

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8/ 5mm

I'm kind of surprised that I got that much done, because I kept wanting to be outside.  It was such a beautiful day, I couldn't stay in.  One thing I did do was to get some of my herbs cut and started drying.  So far, I've cut my tarragon, my spearmint, and my so called orange mint.  I say that because it said orange mint on the tag, but I don't smell much orangeness in it.   It may be plain mint for all I know.  

Maybe next weekend, I'll cut some lemon balm and rosemary, as well.  I probably ought to invest in some regular herb jars to put it all in, too.  

And one last bit of good news before I go.  LOOK AT THIS!  

I know it's hard to see in this picture, but it's there.  The last little seedling has finally arrived.  I have to confess, I cheated.  I dumped all the old soil out and started completely over.  You know what they say, the third time's the charm.  

At least it wasn't three strikes and you're out.  

Even though we are supposed to get some storms tonight -- nothing severe -- the three older plants were looking a bit droopy, so I took a chance and put them all back out into the garden spot.  Even the new little sprout.  I did cover them with Walmart sacks just in case the rain gets heavy, but at least they'll get pretty good light, and I can pull the sacks off as soon as I get home tomorrow.  

This is the last time I'm going to move them -- except for planting them when they've gotten big enough, I mean.  Severe weather season is almost over, so they should be OK from here on out.  Plus, I can always cover them again if needs be. 

And finally, I was watching an archeology series on Hulu with Dan Snow called Lost Treasures Of Ancient Civilizations, and one of the episodes was on Machu Picchu.  It was all very interesting, but every time he mentioned Pachacuti, all I could think of was the Horrible Histories song...

And now I want to go watch a few episodes of Horrible Histories, so I think I will

Laters...

Patriot's Day

 

Stand your ground

Don't fire unless fired upon

But if they mean to have a war

Let it begin here. 

Concord Hymn 

 RALPH WALDO EMERSON

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

   Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood

   And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;

   Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;

And Time the ruined bridge has swept

   Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,

   We set today a votive stone;

That memory may their deed redeem,

   When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare

   To die, and leave their children free,

Bid Time and Nature gently spare

   The shaft we raise to them and thee.

A Date That Will Live In Infamy

December 7, 1941

Tell it to your children, 

and let your children tell it to their children, 

and their children to the next generation.  --Joel 1:3

So that we may never forget.  

Rough Day

Following a largely sleepless night last night, today was a rough day all around.  It seems like all the parts I got were bad -- not bad enough to get re-cut, but just bad enough to make my job a struggle.  All day long.  I told my coworker, "I'm not going to be able to move my hands tomorrow!" after I saw her over at her stand shaking her own hands.  

Beats the heck out of me.  Group Leader Shark stands up every day in our morning meeting and says to do our first piece inspections, but apparently the ones who do adapter tubes don't seem to think she's talking to them.  Especially that one... as soon as we see that one clock number on the parts ticket, we know right away those parts are going to be wrong. 

As much as we complain, they won't do anything about it.  Well, nothing but blame the brazers for being too slow.  On the other hand, if they employees won't take pride in doing a good job, there really isn't that much anyone can do about it.  It's not like GLS can stand over each of them all day.  Not that she would, anyway.

Even so, I think next time I get some parts that are as far off as the ones I had today, I'm going to take them to Inspector Gadget and say, "YOU go explain to [Forrestina Gumpette] what a 90° bend is!"

As if that weren't enough, my nose picked today to ooze.  All day long.  Man, I got so tired of it, I told my coworker I was going to come home and cut my nose off, so if you see me walking around tomorrow with no nose, you'll know why. 

On a similar note, I spent the entire day trying to psych myself up to call another tree company, but before the work day even ended, I felt my resolve weakening, and you guessed it.  I didn't make the call.  I don't understand why this is so difficult.  I mean, I'm an introvert and we hate the telephone anyway, but it still shouldn't be this hard to pick up the phone and call someone.  

Oh, and in fairness, I went to the 811 website to request a scan, but it said not to do it more than 10 days ahead of time, so I just left it for now.  Because I still have to call the surveyor, then decide if I'm going to use the same fencing company, and I'll probably have to hire someone to grind the stumps in the fence line -- and that brings us back to making phone calls and one of those will have to be to a tree service.  

Sigh...

To lighten things up a bit, here is a pretty picture I lifted from the interwebs.  I'd give due credit if I knew who took it.  

And finally, today is September 17, and we all know what that means.  At least, my readers do!  It's Constitution Day.  In honor of that, here is a classic Schoolhouse Rock.  

By the way, to this day, I cannot recite the Preamble without singing it.  And in the spirit of it being Constitution Day, I signed up for PragerU's course on understanding the Constitution, so I'm going to get off of here, take a quick shower, then do lesson 1. 

Laters. 

Patriot's Day

 

Stand your ground

Don't fire unless fired upon

But if they mean to have a war

Let it begin here. 

Concord Hymn 

 RALPH WALDO EMERSON

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

   Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood

   And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;

   Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;

And Time the ruined bridge has swept

   Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,

   We set today a votive stone;

That memory may their deed redeem,

   When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare

   To die, and leave their children free,

Bid Time and Nature gently spare

   The shaft we raise to them and thee.

1941

Advent will be posted below the remembrance. 

December 7, 1941

Tell it to your children, 

and let your children tell it to their children, 

and their children to the next generation.  --Joel 1:3

So that we may never forget.  

Today's advent figure is Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  Luke 1:30-31

Eighty Years

June 6, 1944

Eighty years ago today. 

In the misty gray light of early morning, landing craft approached the beaches of Normandy. Boats filled with frightened young men, many of them barely more than boys. 

Boys wishing they were still at home in bed. Shaking with fear. Praying. Maybe crying. Knowing that many of them would not survive the day.

 And yet, when those landing craft hit the beach, 

 when those ramps opened, 

without hesitation, they stood and charged into the hail of bullets that would claim nearly 10,000 of them before the sun set. 

Seeing their friends, their brothers in arms, cut down beside them. 

Still they ran. Still they fought. 

In spite of their fear, and knowing that the fate of the entire world rested on their shoulders, they claimed that beach and began the long, slow slog across Europe that would eventually lead to Hitler's demise.

That is why they truly were The Greatest Generation.

Most of those who stormed the beaches at Normandy that day are gone, and those who remain are well into their 90s and early 100s.  Soon, they'll all be gone. Soon there will be no one left who remembers that great and terrible day. 

That is why it is up to us.  It is up to us to remember them.  To guard their legacy.   To teach our children what they did for us -- for the world -- that day in 1944. It's our responsibility.  

Not the school's. Not the History Channel's. Ours. 

We must tell the story.  So that we may never forget. So that they will never be forgotten. 

 Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, 
and their children to the next generation. Joel 1:3