Foreign Policy Stupidity

Maybe most of us are just tired of the US acting as the world's policeman, but there seems to be little public appetite for blowing up real estate in Syria as retaliation for the regime's use of chemical weapons against their own people.   Thanks to the system set up by the US after world war 2, the UN is basically  a toothless tiger when it comes to the policing department.  Russia will use its veto to hamstring any action by the Security Council.  This power was supposed to be used by the US and its allies to keep the world "safe".   Thanks to the Cold War and its legacy, this little loophole has drastically reduced the role of the UN to enforce penalties for use of WMD.  Also thanks to xenophobic US foreign policy, we will not suffer the UN to dictate our actions in any given situation.  So now we are stuck as lone actors in a deteriorating situation which has little to do with our national interest.  If we strike the Assad regime, the arabs will probably come down on his side and the Iranians will be faced with a put up or shut up moment vis-à-vis Israel.  The whole episode could spiral out of control and for what.  We blow up a few radar installations because we can't allow any of our servicemen to be killed and then have to deal with the  fallout listed above.  Can't we ever learn?

wishing and hoping

I spent the evening transplanting lettuce and killing (hopefully) flea beetles.  This time of year, transplanted lettuce is a little bit of a gamble.  A warm beginning to Sept. and some timely showers and I will have beautiful lettuce by the equinox.  A cold, dry Sept. and I'll be hoping for a late frost and anticipating harvest in mid-October.  The same goes for spinach planted now.  With a little luck we will be eating spinach frittata in November.  The fall garden is more of the same for me and most gardeners; plant it and hope the vagaries of the weather are in your favor.  With costs for seed, fertilizer and land escalating every year, many commercial growers who used to do the same thing can't afford to gamble that way unless it is a desperate toss of the dice.  An early frost or a too wet fall can be the difference between a good year and clinging to your business life.

Here we go again

As the media and political pressure mounts for some sort of retaliatory strike against Syria, I hope the president ponders the words of Martin Luther King who spoke in Washington 50 years ago today.  King never avoided confrontations, but usually defused them before violence broke out.  What if blacks had confronted Bull Connors and his police dogs and water cannons with AK-47s.  I can't think the Civil Rights movement would have been advanced.   The Arab League condemned Syria, but won't condone an attack on the country.  Israel is caught in the middle and would likely be attacked by the Syrians which would draw the Arabs in on their side if the Israelis retaliated, which they would certainly do.  The best thing we can do is let the  U. N. weapons inspectors do their job.  If they find evidence the Syrians used nerve agents, then let's lead a coalition in the U.N. for a worldwide condemnation of Syria and for a U.N. force to bring peace to Syria.  I think that is what Dr. King might have proposed.  Let's hope we have grown enough in the past 50 years to live up to his legacy.

The pleasure of late season gardening

We got a good 3/10 inch of rain last evening and this morning it was a pleasure to survey the late planted garden.  Aside from the porcupine I surprised and the deer tracks in my lettuce that is.  All the weeding and fertilizing I did over the weekend, along with the transplanting is poised to reward me with a bountiful Sept.  Kohlrabi, swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach will be the stars of the coming month.  The lettuce continues to thrive and the late planted bok choy and nappa cabbage will be prime if I can keep the flea beetles at bay.  The weeds keep coming, but they are not overwhelming at this point and the forecast is for enough dry weather to keep them in check with judicious use of the wheel hoe.  Meanwhile, the crops of summer are not major producers, but tomatoes, peppers, basil, cilantro, summer squash etc. are continuing to fill containers.  And of course the carrots and beets brighten up the tables at the Saturday market.  It's a fine day to be a grower.

The new possibilities

I'm reading a series of sci-fi novels set in the far future.  The dominant society in the galaxy is call the Culture.  Money has no meaning to the people in this society since the machines they have created have produced so much wealth the human members can pursue whatever jobs they want to or not.  Some people specialize in playing games.  Others pursue planetscaping.  Still others help the machines run the galaxy.  As opposed to the terminator vision of the future, machines are benevolent and view humanity as a feature, not a bug.  What fascinates me is a future where you are not forced to chase dollars at the expense of what you may perceive as your true vocation.  Which brings me to the article in today's times saying the middle class must educate its way out of the current lack of middle skilled jobs.  If productivity is so high, why do we have to dream up new ways to make money.  Let people pursue their muse and see where society goes.  Of course there will be some who decide an 18 hour day watching ESPN is there idea of productivity, but some are already doing that.  Let a million flowers bloom and there will be enough bouquets for everyone.  We may be approaching the ability to make money superfluous. 

Limping toward the finish line

Got a quarter inch of rain yesterday.  That's fine short term, but in a perfect world we would have gotten a nice slow inch of rain over the course of the day instead of a quarter in about 10 minutes.  It would seem we only get precipitation fast and hard these days.  I won't have to water the spinach plantings to get them up.   My fifth planting made on the 17th is up this morning.  The lettuce continues to thrive and the blast of heat early this week is bringing on the tomatoes and peppers.  The fall greens look good also.  The market should be well stocked this weekend.  I hope the shoppers are looking for cooking greens and salads.

World Views

Concentrating on summer pursuits, either selling, golfing or gardening.  Every once in a while, the world intrudes and demands some thought.  The situation in Egypt and the middle east as a whole is volatile and important to us, but perhaps not as much as 10 years ago.  With the boom in fracking and Canadian tar sands, we can meet most of our energy needs without the Arabs.  Of course we are speeding down the road to an uninhabitable planet, but I'll put some trust in science and capitalism and hope for the best.  The whole democracy thing seems questionable at this point.  We preach to the world about how wonderful our system is and meanwhile prosecute people who speak out and try to make the government transparent.  No wonder the majority of the world's population is ruled by authoritarians. If the "shining city on the hill" can't get this democracy thing right, how can we expect the third world to come along.  When getting enough to eat is a daily struggle, self rule can seem pretty futile.  Maybe that's why we are having some problems with government.  Up to 30% of US population experiences hunger on a regular basis. 

Staving off the inevitable

As I watered my fourth planting of fall spinach, I realized why I keep planting despite the calendar.  I will probably plant at least two or three more beds of spinach before retiring the planter for the season.  Chances are the final planting will not be harvested this year and maybe not even next spring.  But those little green sprouts at summer's end keep me focused on the garden.  There is plenty of life out there, but the temptation is to slack off when planting stops.  Weeds, disease and insects are ready to step in and devastate the fall crops.  By planting late, I'm keeping interested in what is going on out there.  When it is too late to get spinach to germinate, the only weeds still coming up are chickweed and the dread galinsoga.  At that point, the garden is on autopilot with only a little fertilization  and cabbage worm control necessary.  Then it is on to garlic planting and cleanup.   All possible thanks to the humble spinach plant.

Warming trend

It began to feel like August this past weekend.  The temperatures at least came close to the 80 degree mark for the first time in several weeks.  A welcome thundershower Friday evening provided enough moisture to keep things growing.  Made some more lettuce plantings on Saturday along with kale and kohlrabi.  I have 4 more lettuce seedings to transplant, which if the weather cooperates will take me all the way to November.  I have continued to plant spinach with the seedings getting closer together as the days shorten.  As I wrote to a friend, this has been one of the most challenging gardening seasons I have experienced in over 30 years of getting my hands in the dirt.  I wonder how many people will give up their backyard plots after this season.  It makes sense to spend time and money on gardening if you get a return on your investment.  To put seeds in the ground and get relentless rain and/or searing heat and drought is more than many of us want to experience.  The wired generation has by and large given up the idea of gardening and many of my generation are getting tired or fighting the wild swings of weather.  Climate change will make us more and more dependent on commercial growers who are also under increasing pressure from weather. 

August doldrums

The garden is status quo.  We could use a shower, but I won't complain if we have sunshine for the next few days.  There is not a lot of political news either.  Talking about Republican stupidity and mendacity gets boring after a while.  It's like shooting fish in a barrel.   The Divine Mrs. M and I will probably make tomato sauce this weekend.  That's all I've got.

Weeds and Deer

The twin banes of the late garden have struck.  Weeds of course are and ongoing problem, and with a little (or a lot) of sweat and steel can be handled.  The bushy tailed varmints on the other hand are a real problem.  So far it is a single deer with a somewhat finicky apettite.  A bite here and there is not a big problem.  Lately however, Bambi has developed a taste for beet tops and radicchio.  It's definitely too late to start putting up fences and I'm not up to pre dawn patrols of the ultra secret garden, so I guess I'll have to hope for a little intervention in the shape of wily coyote or someone with a taste for out of season venison.

daylight on the wane

While feeding the local mosquitoes as I watered yet another planting of fall spinach, I noticed it was getting pretty dark at 8:15 p.m. last evening.  I was regularly staying outside for an hour longer during late June to mid July.  It always comes as a shock when I realize the summer is on borrowed time and fall is just around the corner.  Of course, the temperatures we are experiencing now would make you think we have already reached the autumnal equinox, but we still have over a month to go.  The only thing still growing strongly right now is spinach and weeds.  And the weeds don't have a damping off problem.   I guess I'll have to root for a long warm fall with just enough rain to keep things growing at optimum rates.  I'll have another dose of that hallucinogen also.

The One Percent Solution

Matt Damon's latest diatribe against the social stratification of America, Elysium is giving Rush Limbaugh heartburn.   The plot of this sci-fi thriller is based on the exodus of the planet's wealthiest 1% to an orbital habitat, leaving the rest of the population to eke out an existence on the miserably overcrowded and resource depleted planet.  Sounds a little like Detroit and its outer ring of hyper wealthy white suburbs, eh.   The bad guys are of course caricatures of real people, some of whom, presumably feel some empathy with their fellow humans.  Of course, Damon saves the day for the rest of us, but I felt somewhat deflated when I left the theater.  The too little, too late band aid being applied at the end of the picture was unsatisfying.  The clear message is we are playing a zero sum game and someone or some group has to lose.  Why not everyone be a winner?  That would really throw Rush for a loop!

Ham sandwiches and Obama

A Nassau NY, judge was once quoted by novelist Tom Wolfe that a district attorney "could indict a ham sandwich if he wanted to".  Likewise, the Republican majority in the House could impeach the President, according to a Texas congressman.  On what grounds he did not elaborate, but the sheer stupidity and racism showed through.  I think we ought to take governor good hair up on his threat to secede from the union.  It would certainly raise the average IQ of the rest of America.  It would also save the country a ton of money.  The lone star state gets far more money from the federal government than it contributes in taxes, so it looks like a win-win situation for the country as a whole.  The Gerrymandered congressional districts in Texas promote the most extreme demagogues at the expense of rationality and civility.  How else to explain Louie Gohmert to the rest of us.  The coming demographic tide of Latino voters will probably turn Texas democratic in a generation or two.  They can then petition to be readmitted to the United States.  In the meantime, let them work out their issues with evolution, climate change and science in general.  The spectacle would be worth the price of admission.  Or at least the cost of a ham sandwich.

Still planting and hopeful

After an orgy of planting and transplanting fall veg; lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, kohlrabi, spinach, radishes and rappini, the garden is looking like it should this time of year.  The lettuce especially is beautiful as well as tasty.  The weather remains dry, but not excessively, so everything is growing normally.  I'm still scarred by the miserable June weather, but things are definitely looking better for the late garden.  Growers whose whole season was planned around long season crops planted in May and June are probably not feeling the love right now. 

Teaser showers

The NCR was finally blessed with a few showers last night and for germinating fall spinach plantings it was just the thing.  I hope we get at least another couple of tenths today, but I won't complain either way.  The fall crops look good so far and the additional rain will help, but it is not really necessary.

Coming scarcity

It is midsummer and as I write this, cucumbers are bringing $35.00/bu., summer squash is out of sight and even corn is tight.  These three items are usually virtually free on markets at this time of year due to the productivity of farms and favorable weather.  This "summer", the conditions have been anything but favorable and it is reflected in veg prices.  Heavy rain in the spring followed by a heat wave and then a very cold spell has most growers shaking their heads.  If this is climate change, growing crops will become even more risky and food prices will trend higher because of it.  The rains now inundating the Midwest will probably result in reduced corn and soybean harvest which will translate into higher prices for commodities also.  It becomes more apparent every day that our civilization is balanced on a razor's edge of climate variability.  A few degrees either way from what is expected can bring disaster.  Meanwhile, our elected representatives tune up their violins and rearrange the deck chairs....

Image as reality

The Republicans have every right to be afraid of the Hillary Clinton biopic being produced by NBC.  Much as Helen Mirren made Queen Elizabeth a more human, likeable person and perhaps saved the monarchy by her portrayal in "The Queen", Diane Lane could well put Hilary over the top in the Presidential sweepstakes.  While Ms. Lane is past the sex appeal she exuded in many of her early films, she is still a very beautiful woman.  Most of us tend to see the screen as at least an approximation of reality and Ms. Clinton will get a serious dose of star power from Ms. Lane's turn.  I'm sure the team around the erstwhile presidential candidate will whip her into shape and try to glam her up to movie star standards.  With unlimited money virtually anything is possible.  The hedge in the last statement is there because even a tidal wave of cash could not transform Sarah Palin into a credible national candidate.

Time and Temperature

Although it is still early in August, many growers are running out of time as temperatures stay cool here in the North Country.  Many acres of field corn and soybeans which were planted late will never mature with the cooler temps.  On the veg side, peppers, tomatoes, cukes and squash are at a standstill as night temps hover in the low 50s.  On top of that, Mother Nature seems to have turned off the faucet and fields have gone from muddy to pavement hard.    Late planted crops like carrots, beets and fall greens need a drink and I refuse to wish for rain.  We are supposed to get some showers later this week, but if recent experience is a guide, they will be spotty and unreliable.  Trudging up and down beds dragging a hose is no fun, and while it is not a waste of time, there are many things I would rather be doing.  The wild ride continues....

Gardening for the fall

At 50 degrees this morning it feels like fall is already here.  It is the 5th of August and it feels like late Sept.  The first spinach planting is already showing damping off, so perhaps the second will do better with this cooler weather.  I'm still seeding lettuce and bok choy and transplanting cauliflower and broccoli.  Of course it is dry, but I'm not complaining.  There is adequate soil moisture and some showers are predicted for this week.  I transplanted some nappa cabbage seedlings I started last week.  Nappa is a flea beetle magnet, so it should be interesting to see if I can keep them off at least until the seedlings take off.

Rain and Shine

Despite the recent dry weather, I am loathe to wish for precipitation.  The last time I did that it did not stop raining for three weeks.  We did have a nice shower yesterday which helped germinate some late crops like radishes, beets, spinach and herbs.  It will also help the summer crops keep up production and the fall cauliflower and broccoli to continue maturing.  The tomatoes and peppers are coming, but many of the plants made vegetative growth but very little fruit.  Some of the Ace peppers on the other hand have 2 or 3 large peppers hanging off a plant that is less than a foot tall.  It has been a learning experience this summer, but one I hope not to repeat.