Oh, no. The crazy man's at it again!

What do I mean by this? Well, specifically I mean that I've started up the garden again. I know, they are supposed to come and paint our house (it's a rental), but I've heard nothing, seen nothing, so as they say 'damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!'

I did play it a little cautious, as I decided to expand the area of the garden to allow for more items but at the same time I decided to leave the area closest to the house empty in case they do decide to show up and paint. Here is a picture of the current garden area after finishing planting, and one of the garden from two years ago (when I did this the last time) to show the difference.

I worked the ground up as follows: I tilled, then raked to remove the grass and moss. Then I went over it a second time with the tiller and again raked to complete the moss and grass removal (along with quite a few rocks. I think I found where they put all the rocks from when they built the house). I then went over it a final time with the tiller and raking to complete the rock removal (ha! I should know better. Growing up, I worked the same area for over 13 years and still came up with rocks). After that, I then put in the seeds and plants for this year. It ended up being a bit later than last time (by almost a month), but the soil was warmer, which I think will help in the long run.

What is on the agenda for this year's crops? It's going to be a mixed bag as usual. I've stuck to some of the standard vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans) for seeds. I've added some onions. They're 'super sweet' onions (not Walla-Wallas, and not Mayans as best I can tell) for some additional fun. And what about the plants? I've stuck to tomatoes and bell peppers. I'm hoping the additional space (both in the garden itself and between the plants) will allow the plants to do better than before. I'm cautiously optimistic about those. I've got some cucumbers (lemon? Never heard of them, but we'll see what happens) and spaghetti squash. The zucchini were gone by the time I got to buying plants, and the spaghetti squash will be helpful to me, as I can cook them and use them instead of pasta.

As with two years ago, I'll try and update you periodically so you can see how my garden grows. (wait, wasn't that a verse in a nursery rhyme?)

How I Learned to Stop Grumbling and Love Politics

Once again, I’ve decided I need to sit down and write something for this blog. I really can’t say why it takes so much effort sometimes to sit down and write. It’s not that I don’t have something to say, there are a lot of things I could comment on. Maybe it’s just the effort of trying to get my thoughts together to the point where they’re somewhat coherent. Anyway, I’ll hit a couple of big news stories and add my commentary. That should be fun, no?

I’ll hit the political side of things first. It appears the 2016 Presidential campaign season has begun in earnest. Major names officially declaring they’re running include (but certainly will not be limited to) Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, and Ben Carson. If you’re curious about whether or not your favorite candidate is running, you can go to this site. 

My thoughts? It’s really early, so most of the candidates seem to be in a pack and not breaking free. Two of the more interesting choices so far are Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders. Why do I find Rand Paul interesting? To me, he’s attempting to claim the mantle his father had in the last two Presidential elections: that of the Libertarian who speaks to the individual freedoms this country was built on. It plays well to a certain percentage of the electorate, but doesn’t bode well for the general election. He’ll fire up the partisans, but not much else. I’ll be curious about his candidacy’s effect on Republicans. Sanders? To me, the interest centers on the fact he is a self-identified Democratic Socialist. Right now he appears to be playing the part of a Rand Paul for the Democrats, where he appeals to the partisans but that’s about it. Depending on how well he does, he could be the first identified Socialist since Eugene V. Debs ran in 1920 from prison to receive a significant portion of the vote. Personally, I think there are too many people who are still allergic to the term Socialist to vote for him. But I think it will be an interesting barometer of how our society views itself to see how many people agree with him to the point of voting for him. Again, I don't see him winning the nomination, but he could pull the Democrats farther to the left than usual.

Police in general seem to be sinking fast, as you can find mention of incidents involving police and how they treat people almost daily. Baltimore seems to have been the focus this last week, with the Freddie Gray incident, indictment of six police officers, and the riots after the funeral. It’s an unfortunate situation when people feel the need to express their disappointment, rage, and frustration in that way. On the other side, no matter what the situation you treat people as humanely as possible. The appeal of ‘can’t we all get along’ does apply to both sides. At the same time, you cannot discount the grievances of the citizens, or the concerns of the authorities. We’re all part of the same society, and we need to strike a balance. And that is something that is sorely and sadly missing at this point.

There are other things I could probably read, think about, and comment, but those are the two biggest. For me personally? Since it’s spring I’m trying to get the house and yard set for the summer to include a re-start of the garden. It’s been difficult since we didn’t do anything last year while waiting for the painting that never happened and the garden area grew back over. Additionally, I'm trying to expand the space to allow for more plants. We’ll see how that goes. I’ll get a picture in later, once I’ve got it set.