Disgusted!

I refuse to talk about the weather today.  My blood pressure is skyrocketing as I even think about another lost weekend in the garden.    Of course talking or thinking about our broken political system is almost as stressful.  The old saying "you get the government you deserve", seems a little harsh.  Short of mass murder, I don't believe we deserve the clown show Boehner and his merry men are treating us to.  Surely my fellow Murcans did not elect Steve King, Michele Bachman and Louie Gohmert all in the same congress.  But wait, they did.  All I can say is it was a bit of national hysteria over the ACA and the presence of the Kenyan, Muslim, communist, atheist usurper in the White House which caused the collective brain fart which deposited the present crop of idiots in the house and to a lesser extent, the senate.  We as a nation can only hope there is a correction in next year's elections.  I am not too hopeful, since President Obama's presence seems to bring out the festering sore of racism which lies beneath the national psyche.  I can only imagine what sexist assholery will follow the election of President Clinton in 2016.  To quote CSNY  and Joni Mitchell, I've got to get back to the garden.

Throw me a rope

Although with the weather being what it is, some growers in this area might use the rope to hang themselves.  As far as the long range predictions stretch, there are chances of rain and thunderstorms.  Whatever the hail is not destroying quickly, the constant rain and humidity is setting the stage for a slow grind toward oblivion.   Arriving home yesterday, I discovered another half inch of rain had fallen.  One small part of the kitchen garden was still workable, so I put in some oversized lettuce transplants, but without much enthusiasm.  To paraphrase Tom Paine, the summer soldiers and sunshine gardeners will not persevere in these conditions.  Even growers with decades of experience are feeling the effects of the steadily declining conditions.  There are a few bright spots in the gardens, such as the winter squash and the lettuces, but they are overshadowed by the many drowned spots and the struggling pepper, cukes and tomatoes.  It is definitely a time to try mens' souls.

Last Gasps

Four angry old white men and one Uncle Tom set back the cause of voting rights in the US, but ironically probably lit a fire which will result in more profound changes occurring sooner than they might otherwise.  By telling southern pols they can attempt to suppress minority votes with impunity, the court has also empowered those minorities with powerful tools to mobilize as never since the original voting rights act was passed.  That, and the changing demographics of the old confederacy will spell doom for last stronghold of the increasingly irrelevant republican party.  According to population experts, Texas and Georgia will relatively soon resemble California with whites a minority majority of the population.  With those cornerstones of the republican south gone the way of blue California, the more racist and white states such as Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina will be electoral cyphers, unable to affect national or even regional trends. 

Spare me the outrage

The administration and its critics seem unanimous in their condemnation of Edward Snowden for his disclosure of US cyberspying on citizens and governments alike.  Spare me the faux outrage!  Anyone who did not believe this stuff has been going on since the means became available is living in a fantasy world.  The amazing thing is it took so long for the extent of the government eavesdropping to be noted.  It seems thousands of twenty and thirtysomething computer geeks have had access to our personal calls for years and no one has bothered to blow the whistle until now.  The fact a low level grunt like Snowden had the ability to compromise the entire program should be more worrying to the powers that be than the actual revelations.  Who knows what else will be revealed in the near future.  Snowden is obviously a troubled soul who can't seem to make up his mind if he is Horatius at the bridge, or a self serving cypher who is auditioning for a  part in his own life story.  We still owe him a debt for opening the debate on what sort of society we have become since 9/11. Have we become a fearful people willing to cede all the information we once called private to big brother for our protection?  Or can we redefine our constitutional rights and reclaim the moral high ground.  The Fourth Amendment is far more important than the Second, and is in far more danger.

The beat goes on

As in raindrops pounding my gardening dreams into mush.  Another weekend, another rainout.  Saturday wasn't too bad with just a couple of tenth of an inch.  Sunday started nicely with early sun, but by early afternoon, the thunderstorms were coming fast and furious and we probably picked up at least an inch on unwanted rain.  I'm hoping for a respite, but the rest of the week looks like off and on showers and rain.  The back garden looks like it will be taking the rest of the summer to dry.  So far, the tomatoes have been taking the rain, but late blight is certainly a possibility any time from now on. The garlic is thriving so far, but it needs some dry weather to mature properly.  The peppers are starting to yellow from excessive moisture where they are planted and I'm running out of spots to plant the continuing supply of lettuce and brassica transplants.  I think it may be time to start working on my golf game.  It can't be any more frustrating than gardening.

Showers and drying

Looks like more in and out weather for the weekend and next week.  Much of the garden is still too wet to work in and that seems unlikely to change.  The chances of a potato crop are looking increasingly remote and even corn is in danger of not making an appearance on the family table this summer.  Temps will be higher, so even with showers there may be some drying, but overall this is not the season I prepared for in the spring.  I cultivated the peppers last night to break up the top layer of soil.  An older farmer once told me one of the most important things you can do is break up the soil so the roots can breathe.  These particular roots have been holding their breath for at least 3 weeks, so I hope they can still grow.  Looks like a hard slog this weekend, but this time of year it is expected.

we are all Brazil

The Brazilians are rioting in the streets due mainly to the gross inequality of economic opportunity and the government's indifference to same.  The World Cup soccer matches will cost the country in the neighborhood of $13 billion.  Meanwhile the authorities in Rio and Sao Paulo increased transit fares on public busses.  Transportation alone costs the poorest Brazilians up to 25% of their income.  The mayors of the cities backed down in the face of riots, but the ultimate goal of the protestors--free public transportation is still pie in the sky.  Meanwhile, the inequality continues to accelerate in the US.  Student debt is over a trillion dollars and many who do manage to graduate find themselves working dead end jobs if they can find work at all.  The stock market remains high and corporate profits are rising.  The Occupy movement was a warning shot by the 99%.  It was very polite and seems to have subsided without generating any lasting effects.  However, the underlying economic disparities and the hopelessness felt by many 20 and 30 somethings will translate into Brazilian style protests at some point.  The feckless republicans in congress are exacerbating the situation with their relentless culture wars.  As Bill Clinton once observed, "It's the economy, stupid".  Our leaders ignore that at their and our nation's peril.

Lucy and the football

I feel a little like Charlie Brown this week.  Much like Lucy tormented him by holding the football and snatching it away at the last minute, the weather is teasing me.  Since the last deluge on Sunday, it has been clear, albeit somewhat cooler than normal.  The forecast is for more of the same and even warmer as the weekend approaches.  Unfortunately, just as the back garden gets almost dry enough to work, it promises a shower on Sunday.  We  really need about 2 more weeks of dry weather, but Lucy, aka Mother Nature is going to pull the ball away again.

Republicans and the new diversity

With all the talk about the economy and jobs, the republicans in Congress are laser focused on two priorities;  denying a path to citizenship to brown skinned immigrants and forcing women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.  It would seem that such a mean spirited and wrong headed agenda would be generating little support and perhaps even a backlash.  If you supposed that, you would be right.  Congressional approval ratings are the lowest since measurements began.  The older, whiter voters pushing the social issues are beginning to be overtaken by demographics, but the GOP clings to this base because they have backed themselves into a corner by alienating younger voters, women, gays, and everyone else who is not a white male.  The coming tsunami of color will leave the repubs as a minority party everywhere but the most racist states of the confederacy.  Even Texas will probably be a reliable dem state by 2030.  Of course democrats will not be able to stand the prosperity and will undoubtedly alienate some of the above groups.  Besides, the corporate interests both parties serve will continue to push the political system further away from the average voter. In a Congress where more than 50% of the senators and representatives are millionaires, the policies being advocated are not going to be in the best interests of the 99%.

Old is new

It was a typical Father's Day.  It rained, Phil Mickelson came in second in the US open and the girls came over for dinner.  Ordinarily, the rain would be welcome this time of year, but this is no ordinary year.  It would seem this will be a year when the conventional wisdom gets turned on its head.  I will soon be running out of places to continue planting as garden #3 is and will remain too wet to plant for at least another couple of weeks unless it stops raining immediately.  The grass continues to grow no matter how wet it gets and the guy in charge of mowing (yours truly) is about to throw up his hands in disgust.  I have to tip my cap to the growers and mowers who get it done no matter the weather.  For Phil, there is always next year.   It's starting to look that way for gardening also.

Chickens roosting

They're starting to come home.   Meaning the problems the last 3 weeks of rainy weather are causing the veg crops up and down the east coast.  From tomato problems in the Carolinas to the virtual destruction of the strawberry crop here and in Canada, they run the gamut.  Disease, dead roots insect problems are all there.  Throw in cool temps and it looks like a summer that never gets to the lift off stage.  Sure, we will all struggle and there will be some bright spots in the picture, but overall, the picture looks pretty bleak.  To add insult to the injury, the lousy weather is holding down demand for what crops are available which is causing the market to tank.  On a different note, happy Father's Day to all the dads out there and kudos to all the children and spouses that put up with us.

To believe or not to

That is the question most Americans should be asking in light of recent assertions that spying on domestic phones has averted "dozens" of attacks here and abroad.  My reaction to that particular bit of hubris is "Show me what you have been doing in my name".  If we want to preserve the fig leaf of participatory democracy, then we should have a more open discussion about how we the people go about protecting ourselves.  Spending billions of dollars on mining the phone calls of ordinary people and building a huge database which will soon be able to tell the NSA what you gave your niece for her baby shower is not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind.  Besides, most of us have already agreed to confide our daily agendas free of charge.  If the death of privacy must come, let's recruit thousands of teenagers to monitor Facebook and Youtube.  It would be cheaper and probably more thorough.

Summer Veg shortages

The shortages are coming.  When we get weather like this on the east coast, the first thing that happens is gardeners abandon their waterlogged, insect infested plots for more fun venues.  There won't be a glut of zucchini anytime soon in your neighborhood.  Next, small growers on marginal land will lose their crops.  Finally, major chainstore suppliers on good, well drained soils will start cutting back orders as their yields drop.  California will be able to supply some of these shorts, but higher FOBs, coupled with increased demand for trucks will cause sticker shock at the Veg counter.  It is still early, but the weather pattern does not look good for eastern shippers and growers. 

Citizenship in the Empire

After the last few days of revelations regarding our national security apparatus, I think I know how Romans, Bonapartists and Soviets probably felt as their empires went into overdrive to deprive them of the rights they thought they had won in their respective revolutions.  It seems that the common denominator among these authoritarian regimes in their latter years was fear of and disrespect for the common man.  The gathering of information on people was for the purpose of intimidation and disassociation of the citizen from the other like minded people.  If everyone is looking over their shoulder all the time, there is little trust in your fellow man.  This atomization of the commonwealth makes control easier.  Coupled with the doctrine of permanent war, people are passively and actively discouraged from excercising the oversight every democratic government must have.  Don't worry, we know what needs to be done in your name is a recipe for disaster.  When a mid level private contractor apparachik feels a pang of conscience and exposes a system most of us believed was in place already, the collective yawn should be deeply disquieting.  As we go further down the road traveled by these earlier empires, the increasing irrelevance of our democratic institutions will become more apparent.  Our representatives abdicated their role in the aftermath of 9/11 and many of them feel this is a natural progression.  Even the faux outrage is muted.  It is a depressingly Orwellian turn of events.

Variations on a theme

Well, it's Tuesday, so it must be raining.  We got over an inch of water last night and it looks like another inch or more today.  As I told one customer this morning, I've lived on the NCR for 12 years and this is the wettest I have seen the land at this time of year.  The forecast for the balance of the work week is wet and a dry weekend will still not get us to a good place.  I am already thinking of the triage that will be necessary as transplants start backing up and there is no place to plant them.  I hate the idea of dumping plants that I've grown from seed and nurtured to size and now can't transplant.   There has always been room before, but it looks like this time there won't be a dry place to plant. 

Drought to flood

In the Midwest, farmers are facing a choice.  For many, it will soon be impossible to plant their remaining idle acres with corn.  The rains don't let up and even planted acres will soon start suffering if drier weather does not soon come to help roots penetrate waterlogged soil.  Although the USDA claims most of the crop is in fair to good condition, that assumes the weather will be normal for the balance of the season.  So far, it has been anything but.  Last year farmers watched as their crop burned up with heat and drought.  The same acres are now like rice paddies.  My own little corner of the ag world is in the latter condition.  I have had to abandon for the moment my heavier soils and concentrate my plantings on the more well drained parts of the garden.  I am hoping to be able to at least cultivate the plantings I made during the dry spring.  That seems like a lifetime ago.  The forecast this week is for continued wet weather.  When I run out of dry places to plant, I guess I'll face the same choices as  the Midwesterners.  It's only June, but I'm already thinking about next year.

Through the PRISM, darkly

The latest disclosures regarding the data mining of Americans' private phone and data information by the government may be the biggest scandal uncovered so far, but to listen to Dems and Repubs alike, it is a big yawn.  That's because both parties and their enablers are hip deep in the mire and therefore there is no political gain to be made by accusing the other party of malfeasance.  The question before us is in an increasingly interconnected internet world, can we reasonably expect any privacy rights.  We give all our personal information through any number of devices to anonymous people and organizations in order to function in the modern world.  Without cell phones, credit cards and other electronic gizmos, we may as well resign from the 21st century.  Indeed, someone without those encumbrances could fly so far below the new informational radar, they could be the ultimate provocateur.  I'm thinking of my 92 year old mother-in-law.  She is the ultimate secret agent, assuming they don't mine the Social Security Administration for data.  Seriously, I think the public is ahead of the media on this one.  There is no outcry, because there is no expectation of privacy.  If you ask most people, they will regurgitate the old chestnut about not worrying if you didn't do anything wrong.  Of course, it's just a small step from that attitude to cheering the Leader's latest alliance with Oceania or East Asia.  Or the repudiation of same.

Another rainy weekend

Looks like a washout weekend again.  Depending on which weather report you listen to we could have anywhere from a half to 2 inches of  rain.  Right now, that's the difference between dolce vita and disaster.  Most of my heavy clay soils can't take the larger amount of rain at this point.  The ledge rock which underlies most of the Champlain valley does not drain easily once the soil above it is saturated.  I tilled some of the heaviest ground last night to plant corn and it was really too wet for the weight of the tractor and tiller.  I made a mess of the one bed and if we get a significant rain it will be July before I'll work that particular area again.  Coupled with high temps in the 50's tomorrow, it is not an auspicious June so far.  Worse yet, with all the rain, even the local golf courses are a mess.

The "Farm" bill and your health, physical and otherwise

the 2012 edition of the nation's farm bill is still making its way through Congress and is getting more depressing by the minute.  That is if you care about the health and well being of most of the American people and the land which is used to grow ingredients for the foodlike substances many of us eat every day.   In an audacious display of mendacity, the house of representatives has managed to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and add a subsidized insurance program guaranteed to cost taxpayers billions in the short and long run.  The stupidity of the SNAP cut is really breathtaking.  In a struggling economy, people on food stamps generally spend the grants as soon as they get them, thereby generating needed economic activity.  Besides that, most of the eligible applicants for this aid are children who desperately need the nutrition these grants provide.  Hungry children do not learn as well as those with adequate food.  In addition to this atrocity, the new bill provides subsidized crop insurance to those who plant commodity crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat.  While I agree that agriculture is way more risky than almost any other human endeavor and there should be some income support to struggling farmers, the advent of $8.00 corn and ethanol have made most farmers rather prosperous.  Besides, we are not talking about a guy and mule out on the back 40.  Most commodity growers today are multimillionaires who oversee thousands of acres of corn.  The idea of providing them with subsidized insurance is laughable if it weren't so fraught with danger for the nation's farmland.  It's a heads I win, tails I win scenario.  If they bring in a bumper crop, the farm is wildly profitable.  If there is a flood or drought or hailstorm, it will still be somewhat profitable thanks to insurance provided by Uncle Sugar.  If I had highly erodible land which would only bring in a crop once every 5 years, I would still plant it and collect the insurance.  What a scam.  This is our democracy at work.  Just sayin'.

Drying out for the moment

Things are looking up in the garden, at least for the moment.  Yesterday and today are good drying days with mild temps and a good breeze.  If we could have 3 or 4 more like that we might actually need some rain.  Unfortunately, the next 4 days will feature clouds, showers and cooler temps.  I hope the forecasters are wrong, but since we don't need the water, we will probably get another couple of inches.

Seasonal Beginnings

The lettuce season is starting in the North Country and I would like to say it is not a moment too soon.  But that would be a gross misrepresentation.   We are actually about two weeks ahead of schedule due to favorable lettuce growing weather.  Areas south of here are actually behind their normal times due to less than stellar weather.  This combination of factors will cause that perfect storm of low markets and lack of demand.  The local markets will fill with lettuce this weekend and the export markets are still using their own lettuce.  There is nothing more attitude depleting than watching your first fields of the season sold for cheap money or worse yet not sold at all.  It is a long summer, but starting on the wrong foot is never a good thing.

Preservation Halls

The weather was a half and half affair this weekend.  A long day of planting on Saturday, followed by storms which sidelined these efforts on Sunday.  I think many of the crops planted before the deluge, specifically potatoes and winter squash are probably goners.  The soil can't dry out between the storms and it may be July before some of those areas are workable again.  I guess I'm fortunate that some areas of the garden drain well and I will continue to plant as much as possible in the days ahead.  The storms did give me the opportunity to attend both concerts given by the Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble.  The Divine Mrs. M is an avid singer who brings many years of experience to this group.  She began singing chamber music and madrigals in college and has been a member of many groups in the intervening years.  Looking around at the audiences in Plattsburg and Saranac Lake, I wondered who will be the consumers of this music in a few years.  When I am bringing the average age down, you know there is a problem.  The music is beautiful, but where is the audience?  I don't remember so many greying heads at concerts in years past.