Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Ready, Set...

GROW!

The garden's in- Celebrity tomatoes, bell & jalapeno peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cukes, & about 50 Kentucky Wonder pole beans.


The "auxiliary" garden, installed & maintained by Mrs. DT, holds 16 Brandywine tomatoes (an heirloom variety), leaf lettuce, & butternut squash.

Scattered around are a couple "mini-gardens" holding more butternut, a few zucchini & summer squashes, & one plot of blue Hubbard squash. Turnips are planted in the blackberry patch, & the potato bin is started.

I got a good start this year due to a very cool gift of a greenhouse from the Mrs. last Christmas. It's just about 3x5', but big enough to walk into, with shelving for the plants. Works great if you want to get the plants outside- in March!

Another great gift idea from the very same smart lady was a gravity-fed irrigation system. This thing is specifically designed for use with a water barrel (blue thing on the wall), & allows the first plant on the run to get the same amount of water as the last, providing the runs aren't too long & the head (barrel height) is adequate. This year I'm just running the system for the beans, just to see if it works as advertised.


Now, I'm gonna start sharpening the knife for the first tomato sandwich.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

For the Brothers...

I'm not a big fan of the Dixie Chicks' politics, but I love this song.
Vietnam was "my" war; I served during that time, but not in country. I'm still here to talk about it; many are not.
But still...



Welcome home, Brother.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Thanks Again, Fed.gov

I’m usually a pretty healthy guy, but the one thing that has been a 20-year pain in my life is occasional flares of gout. Those that have had the opportunity to experience this delightful phenomenon know what kind of pain I’m talking about.


A couple years ago, my Good Doctor told me about colchicine, a relatively cheap medication to alleviate the symptoms of an attack as it begins. I was ecstatic; no more incapacitation due to this foul condition.

Enter the Feds.

My doc advised me yesterday that the generic drug has been pulled from the market due to a FDA ruling. That leaves only the “brand” name version- the price of which is 50X more than the commonly used variety (10 cents vs. $5 per pill).

Ben Franklin was a gout sufferer, & in 1820 or thereabouts he brought back info from Europe on an “autumn crocus extract” which became the drug colchicine. It’s been used since then to lessen the pain for the afflicted.

1820. Do you suppose that predates the FDA?

When your only tool is a hammer…

Sons ‘o bitches.

Friday, May 13, 2011

My Best Post Ever

Perfect.

The snarkyness of Tam, the exuberant crazy of Jay G, the smahtness of Borepatch, and the smooth serendipity of Breda & Nancy.

I hope you liked it.

What? You missed it?

Crap... the dog/cat... errr... Blogger ate it.

Never mind.