Gardening by the Moon

Culturally, everyone were Freewill Baptist in Georgia. We are Anabaptist who are the English speaking version of Hutterites, Amish and Mennonites. We were run out of England much like the Quakers. I was surprised when I did my family history and found so many Quakers. But it makes sense. I enjoy everyone's family history. It is the wee fragments of history that I enjoy the most.

This is a point to consider when I say I follow a widespread practice of folklore. You do not plant during a Full Moon or New Moon. You plant root crops when the full moon is waning to a new moon and you plant above ground crops when the new moon is waxing to a full moon.

I'm behind with my garden. April 7th was the last day to plant above ground plants until April 22nd. I can still transplant those plants I started indoors and those I purchased before the social distancing went into effect. Yes, I have tomato plants I purchased around March 12th that need to get into the ground. Not many, but a few of them. I need to dig through the potatoes for those that are sprouting to plant a few potatoes. I've got a fine crop of English peas growing along one of my fences.

I've got a Victory Garden this year. The bit of extra time at home has allowed me to work more in my yard. With the rain and warmth, the grass is now close to being out of control. So the best of my garden is planted. I did want to plant some corn. I can see myself with lots and lots or corn chasing people down to give them a few ears, a variant of the person with an over supply of zucchini. Since I don't like zucchini, I grow yellow squash.

This is a portion of one of my flower beds. It is never well manicured but the plants don't care.

Facebook or Frasier

I dally way too long on Facebook. Spending my precious free time on reading snippets of info and worse occasionally composing small speeches that I erase. There is that phrase about mad dogs and Englishmen by Noel Coward. For some reason I think of this when I write one of these. Don't worry, I seldom write them.

Facebook is your gramma's social network. We are all staying home, telling each other to stay home, and sending up prayers against this pestilence. So you guessed it, I use a timer when dallying on the net. By the way, friend me if you do Facebook. mememe

I like to surf the net as I watch television. I stopped turning on the TV in the morning. I haven't missed the morning news. I like to drink a cup of coffee by myself in the morning. So during the day, unwatched soap operas no longer fill the silence.

JoJoBear scratching her back on the driveway.

My mom is usually watching movies from her heyday or Perry Mason. She likes Perry Mason a lot. I watch exactly two shows and soon to be three next Sunday each week. I like Dr. Phil. But I don't watch him but about four or five times a month. PBS has some really good shows. I'm watching the science of food as I type this.

But instead of whiling away my time on Facebook, I read. I have been reading Jemi Frasier's book called "Dancing with Dementia" and Ha Lin's novel "Waiting".

One reason I retired early and find myself housebound is taking care of people I love who need a home, meals and comfort. I get a lot of undue praise in that I benefit from this deal too. I've yet to know anyone who has lived a better life by running away from their responsibilities. But dementia and it's cousins are something I live with. I had thought of writing about my experiences too.

It takes a lot of love and patience. My nature is to be headstrong, ignore what I can and force things. What I learn from all of it is that not all needs to be controlled. I'm terrible to put things together without fully reading the instructions. One thing I know, if you force something, it will break and will not go together. Stop and look at the instructions.

I wanted to have finished reading the book before this post. I purchased the Kindle copy. It is currently 99 cents which is a good deal. I've read about 20 percent. I like how Jemi Frasier gives a story to episodes. It is not a fact, fact, bang sort of book. The storytelling lets the reader come to a conclusion which I think is brilliant. When your loved one becomes mentally incapacitated, it is a gradual process that you don't always notice until it is all you can see in shock.

For the record, I get no benefit from posting this book. One thing I have enjoyed about A to Z are the blogging friends I have made.



Amazon Link

Easy Come Easy Go

I am ambivalent in this post title in that it has unleashed an ear worm which is not even a style of music I enjoy but tolerate. I just knew it had to be Justin Bieber. To my surprise it was Bruno Mars song, Granade.

In my search numerous songs use the phrase. Bobby Sherman brings me back to my preteen years and the magazine Tiger Beat. I would fantasize about all these boy singers being my potential spouse and of course we live happily ever after. Then I grew up.

What glitters is not always gold. I always felt sad when I read about the difficult lives so many of these promising young people led. It's interesting that those that went on to live ordinary lives like Bobby Sherman seemed to fare better. Today Sherman is 76. He pursued careers as an EMT and police officer. He married two times and has two sons. There is not much info on his personal life.

I got other thoughts on the matter. Some of becoming a writer is observing people. Some observations come with age.  Life is mercurial and there certainly aren't simple outcomes. 

I've had a lot of dumb luck in my life. The fact that I am quiet, people have assumed that I was smarter than I was. One time when buying the house I live in now, the realtor gave me the terms of making a bid. I was looking over the document ready to consent. She mistook my quietness for waffling and reduced the earnest money amount considerably.

At the time I bought this house, I had hit the proverbial brick wall trying to find a home for us. I did not love the house but it had what we absolutely had to have to be comfortable. Plus, I loved the small amount of land.

One thing that is true when you sell or purchase a home, you wheel and deal like a few thousand dollars is not much. I've lived in this house for almost 17 years which is longer than I have lived in any home. My parent's purchased the house I spent the most years of my life growing up in 1958. I moved out in 1974. At the time I was ready to move on. I was chomping at the bit to move out. 

My mom sold it in 2005. She moved into my house in 2003. The neighborhood had gotten sketchy. I still drive through. A big part of my life still rambles through that neighborhood. I miss that house terribly. In a way, that house is my greatest easy come easy go experience.

Dog Days

It's dog days everyday at my house. I currently manage a pack of ten dogs and five cats. They all love to eat.

But dog days are the hottest part of the summer which occur right after the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. It is hot because the days are longer than the night. So the Earth gains more heat from the sun than loses during the night. Much like a bank account where you put more money in than you take out and spend. The opposite occurs in the Southern Hemisphere. They are tilted away from the sun and have longer nights than days. Winter occurs during the dog days in the Southern Hemisphere.

At one time, people thought it was because of the bright dog star, Sirius, adding it's heat to our sun. Dog days begins with Sirius rising in the dawn on July 22, 2020. It will end on August 22, 2020. Sirius is part of the Canis Major (Big Dog) constellation which dutifully follows Orion in the night sky.

Now where are the stars during the day. They are still above us in the heavens. We can't see them due to the brightness of our own star the Sun. There are no stars visible with the naked eye or with binoculars during the day. You can see the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere, Sirius, at dawn and dusk if it is positioned in the night sky for that day of the year. The brightest star in the sky in the Southern Hemisphere is Canopus, the great star of the South. Canopus is never visible in the Northern Hemisphere.

The stars you see early in the morning or late in the evening at dusk are either Venus or Mercury and on a few days you can see both. Venus and Mercury are between the Earth and Sun. So you only see these planets late in the evening or early in the morning.

You cannot see Sirius or any other star during the day. You can see the moon, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars if they are positioned just so and you go out to see them. The moon and Venus are relatively easy to see whereas the other three takes a bit of dedication. Early morning or late evening are best in that the sun is a bit dimmed. There are daytime meteors.

When I was a child, my mother did not like us to skin our knees or have any sort of sore during the dog days. They would not heal. Those of us that live in hot climates and especially before air conditioning know sores heal slowly when it is hot. Rabies which is caused by a virus can be a problem during the summer.

It is important to note that there is a bit of ethnocentrism in the story of Sirius to those of us of European or North African descent. There are a myriad of stories and folklore to religion of other cultures in the world. The official names of all stars are listed by the International Astronomical Union which includes names of stars from cultures around the world.

In checking my facts, I found the following picture which is of "Sun Dogs" which are halos around the sun. This picture was taken February 18, 2009 in Fargo North Dakota.

I wish all of you well.

Cheat Biscuits

How to make Cheat Biscuits. Biscuits made without all that rolling and doughing.

You can stir in some melted or softened butter into some flour. Say two tablespoons into a cup and half or 2 cups of self rising flour. This solves your salt issue. White Lily is the best flour. Then mix milk or water until it is a very thick soup. This is where you cheat. You cook it in muffin tins. They look like muffins and taste like biscuits that have a crispiness when hot. Cook at 425 degrees for 15 to 24 minutes. Mine are usually done around 20 minutes. Buttermilk makes the muffin very soft and doughy in my opinion.

I'd give measurements but I haven't used them for much in twenty years. If you want to make biscuits the hard way, don't add so much milk or water so that the dough will be somewhat stiff. You beat the dough until the dough becomes stretchy. Place dough on floured surface and put flour on dough before rolling the dough. Cut out biscuits. It is handy to have a child nearby who will eat the excess dough. Re-rolling dough creates a lousy biscuit. You can pile the scraps into a biscuit shape. It's not bad. It's not that good either. (My dog loves them.) But anyway bake in a hot 425 degree oven for ten to 16 minutes. Brown on top and bottom is good. Black is not good at all.

Below is a picture by Willie Bearden of a pan of actual biscuits. For all the Brits, this is a biscuit. In the states we call the British biscuit a cookie.

Photo by Willie Bearden - willybearden.com

I could share with everyone how to make the perfect biscuit. But unlike my Aunt Sylvia, my biscuits are hit or miss. My Aunt Sylvia purchased a ten pound bag of flour and made biscuits over and over until she got the technique right. And this is what I know is true of cooking, gardening, sewing, repairing autos. The most important step is patience.

Now you may ask about how much auto repair I have done. Quite a bit, well I had to pay someone to do it. But I've had my share done.

Which leads to the next important fact. What is the difference between a scone and a biscuit. They are both quick breads. The scone originated in Scotland. There is the Irish soda bread which is a quick bread. A quick bread is made with soft wheat flour and baking soda/powder as the leavening agent. The American biscuit does not have egg in it's batter and little to no sugar. It is eaten with savory foods like sausage gravy. A scone has more fat and an egg or two. Raisins and other fruits can be placed in the batter.

There is a fast food restaurant who makes cinnamon raisin biscuits with a bit of icing on them. But they do not have egg in them.

Ciao - I would say Bon Appetit but it is C day on the A to Z. That's why these are called Cheating Biscuits.

Homemade Bottled Water

Homemade Bottled Water

I purchase bottled water for a sister of mine who is handicapped. She has difficulty using her sink and likes her water cold from the refrigerator. Otherwise, I'm not too keen on bottled water unless you live somewhere like Flint. Michigan that had tainted water five years ago.

Today Flint Michigan has one of the more monitored water supplies. They do recommend you use water filters which is not a bad idea for anyone who uses any municipal water supply. Because, you really don't know how reliable your water supply is. Most bottled water comes from a tap. In the end you are dependent on other humans being able to do the right thing. More Info about Flint, Michigan water.

In my hometown, the water got a little funky in the 80's. They discovered a guy was drinking on the job and as a result, he was over treating the water with chlorine?. I can't remember the exact story but I do remember it was due to human fallibility. When I lived in East Point. GA, I remember the water was really good. They got their water from Sweetwater Creek which was in the next county over.

I have well water. It damages the water fixtures in the sinks, showers of my home. But it is good. I had a man pouring gas on fire ants near my septic tank which is frustrating. He wants to know "what?". And I am thinking, why do I have to explain to him that he is tainting my well water. Ignorance is expensive.

Admire my homemade bottled water. I don't know why this Covid crisis has me doing this. I keep water outside for the wild animals. It works well to flush toilets. I have some containers near my home for my pets. And of course we got water in the house. But my dogs like muddy water the best. But if we lose electricity, we got some drinking water. Every night I load the water in the coffee maker. Coffee is the most important meal of the day for me.

Be careful. Stay home and maybe this crisis will pass soon.

Aloe Vera

I took these pictures while my brother was at the Shands hospital in Gainesville Florida last year. I had never seen Aloe plants growing outside much less blooming. I'm afraid I am more of an outdoor plant person. Plants that make it outside sort of fend for themselves in my yard. I do water more than I did in the past and that does help immensely. I planted several Chinese Chestnuts which have finally started to grow taller than I and one was covered in catkins last year. No nuts were produced.

I had a friend to post pictures of her Aloe plant blooming that she had planted in her yard. I was surprised in that she lives in Cordele, GA which is about 100 miles due South of me. Hers did not look as robust as these plants. I understand that South Texas and Mexico grow most of the Aloe today. They are tropical and semi-tropical, dry climates. One problem with Aloe is too much water will make the plant rot. Aloe is native to the Arabian desert.

The Aloe you get in products is not edible. The additives are not edible. But people do eat the juice. I have no interest in that or recommending that anyone does so. I'm cautious about health nut kicks. So do your research. 

I do keep an Aloe plant. The juice prevents fire ant bites from becoming infected and causing a small sore. At the nail salon, the Epson salts they add to the water also minimize fire ant bites.

This month, I will be writing "About The House". When I got the idea, I thought, I'll write some funny things. Funny thing is, I should have written when the jokes were coming to mind. My father always cracked jokes when things were very serious to lighten the mood. So hopefully, I'll be more glib in future posts. We all need to work on our attitude and staying home during this Covid crisis. I hope you and your family and your friends stay well during this time. It's a storm for sure.

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