@fred1st I'll take a try at Thymer if you still have a beta key # @fred1st If you want to really confuse yourself check out the numbers reported by Google analytics...even more, different numbers. in reply to fred1st # This Time, We Won’t Scare: http://digg.com/d1tWHW?t # Powered by Twitter Tools.
@fred1st Do they still work? If so, try a school or church... in reply to fred1st # We finally got a good soaking of a rain that did more than wet the top layer of dust. It should soften the grass on the trail tomorrow morn. # Powered by Twitter…
Light rain has decided to bless us today. The clouds and rain are keeping the temperature below 80° so far...Though... I am sure the rain is making the mosquitoes more than happy... ◊≡◊≡◊≡◊≡◊≡◊≡◊≡◊≡◊ A pot of soup is working on the stove for lunch. I tend to use weekday lunches…
Taking a morning walk this morning, I noticed that the heat was already heading up into the 80's. Warm and getting warmer...A great way to start hurricane season. Over the weekend the the mosquitoes returned with a vengeance. That little bit of rain last week seems to have hatched out…
The weather prognosticators called it right for once...It's 73 and falling on a May afternoon...Their latest call is for a low in high 50's. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
The Future Of Food http://bit.ly/CWliV on hulu...go watch it and get mad...then get busy. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
Grandpa duty this morning...Dr. Phil on Sesame Street. What does that say about the pre-todlers of America? Even as the grandson ignores it? # Powered by Twitter Tools.
Summer is over a month away here and it's 83 degrees fahrenheit before noon. To be expected since we hit 90 last month. Mountain dreams now. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
@BlueRidgeblog I'm jealous...How was the market? I am missing the mountains badly. How about a spring shot at your blog? in reply to BlueRidgeblog # Powered by Twitter Tools.
RT @bittman Wonderful Wired piece about Penn, Teller, and the science of magic:http://bit.ly/1znuY The videos are great # Powered by Twitter Tools.
@fred1st I hope the driver has the guts to face the road along Goose Creek...I want my book! in reply to fred1st # Powered by Twitter Tools.
@scalzi How many inches so far? I trust the new roof is up to the task... in reply to scalzi # It's been overcast all day. It looks like rain but the radar shows the real precipitation is miles and miles away and moving away from here. # Swine flu…
@fred1st Seems to me, face masks only protect the minds of the wearers. It's all in the head. in reply to fred1st # Powered by Twitter Tools.
@fred1st I thought of you when I read the first story in the local paper yesterday...Swine Flu in San Antonio... in reply to fred1st # Powered by Twitter Tools.
This morning as the sun comes up, the day starts out foggy. The woods behind the house are hazy through the gray, cloaking moisture. The morning is still, but nowhere near quite. Birds, lots of birds are singing their welcome to the mornings light. The back doors are wide, letting…
Today the thermometer says it reached 89 degrees outside my kitchen. I think spring is giving way to summer. I'm not ready yet for the 90's. # RT @fred1st Looking at http://bit.ly/EjWtb # Powered by Twitter Tools.
Check out Food Democracy Now | Sample Letter - Close the Millionaire Corporate Farm Subsidy Loophole at http://tellafriend.socialtwist.com ... # Powered by Twitter Tools.
Watching birds fly about the tree limbs reflected in my laptops screen. Life reversed and internalized rather than right side right and out. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
You never know where you will stumble upon a word, a phrase, a few paragraphs that paint a picture in your mind so vivid you would swear you were there... I made my getaway. This dark and wannabe-smokey hideaway was nearly empty. The cushy chairs and couches were without asses.…
Stumbling through my news reader I came across a reference and a video of Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I have been aware of the work Joel is doing for a while. His success with Polyface is an inspiration that will become more important…
Sometimes you are amazed at the serendipity of life...I discovered Felder Rushing a few years back while wandering the web. I started listening to the podcast of his weekly public radio program, The Gestalt Gardener, and keeping up with his travels. I even posted a link and his picture back…
I have a confession to make...I just discovered Marion Nestle and her blog Food Politics. I know, I'm slow on the uptake sometimes. I find that my feelings about food are becoming somewhat activistic...I am getting more upset by the industrialization of our food on a daily basis. So you…
From his vantage point in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, the author elevates the simple and local in a way that will bring a smile, a raised eyebrow, or nod of affirmation. This unique view of the world will be appreciated by fellow biology watchers, grandparents, rural dwellers or wannabes and by those simply seeking a pleasant place to ponder a few minutes before bedtime.
After eight years of backpedaling by the previous administration on the requirements that it protect the environment, there is a new group in charge. They seem to feel that the laws passed by congress prior to the Bush Administration really are laws...Go figure.
We cruised through East Columbia on the way home. East Columbia is one of the earliest settlements in this part of the state. It was founded in 1823 as Bell's Landing.
@GStephanopoulos Why isn't anyone commenting on the fact that these bonuses are just a way to sidestep tax liability on salaries? # Powered by Twitter Tools.
Leon Hale's weekly column is up at the Houston Chronicle...This section in the middle caught my mind's eye and reminded me of my year living with my Grandparents back in the early 70's. When sprummer comes to the country, what arrives along with it is a lot of work to…
This is the closest we have been to winter in a month or more. We woke up to the low 40's with light rain...brrr.
Check out this World Hum article on the seven best cities in the world for all you latte-drinkers, java-sippers, and espresso-lovers. Here's the rundown: via Best Cities for Coffee Drinkers? - Slashfood.
As the sunlight begins to show the scene outside my kitchen door, the spring weeds wildflowers look like misty ponds scattered over my back yard. Mounds and mounds of purple vetch (Vicia americana) with their millions of tiny purple flowers on multiple green stems seem to rise mistily from the…
Daily through the screen door, the Pileated Woodpecker that we see occasionally, can be heard greeting the day in the woods along the bayou. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
Ten days into March and the weather feels more like late spring or early summer from my childhood. This week we have seen 80's over and over again. So far the March winds (which began blowing in November) have kept the house reasonably comfortable. I don't like to think about…
@BlueRidgeblog I bought , read , and wore out these books back in the '70's dreaming myself back to the land. Bought new copies last year. in reply to BlueRidgeblog # Spring returned. Summer is coming, too. Yesterday hit the low 70's, the prediction for today is the upper 70's.…
Reading the news this morning, I saw this short spot: Marion Nestle went to see Food, Inc and she gives it two thumbs up. I've only seen clips and heard a talk by the director and stars Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan about the making of the movie. It's going…
Parched winter months this year have put California agriculture into a tailspin. With a third dry year in a row, the state has been forced to deeply examine its strategies for coping with dry times. Many worry this drought is a harbinger of the long-term impacts of climate change, a…
Dear Kitchen Gardener, Whats a home garden worth? With the global economy spiraling downward and Mother Nature preparing to reach upward, its a good question to ask and a good time to ask it. There isnt one right answer, of course, but Ill give you mine: $2149.15. Last year, my…
We love Mark Bittman for his sensible approach to cooking and eating. The name of his column in in the New York Times,Scryve Corporate Social Responsibility Rating The Minimalist, says it all. In a recent web interview, Bittman expounds on ecological eating and his philosophy on cooking. Check out the…
Today is Texas Independence Day, when a group of men met in a tiny unfinished wooden building in the small town of Washington-On-The-Brazos to take the daring step of announcing to the world that they were creating a new nation. via Writer finds record of Texas' birth 173 years ago…
The garden for recovery movement keeps gaining ground...Roger Doiron has an op-ed out this weekend... In Jerzy Kosinski's novel and award-winning screenplay, "Being There," the U.S. president turns to a plain-spoken gardener named Chance for wisdom at a time of economic crisis. The insight Chance offers is as simple as…
It seems that every where you go online these days you read the same thing...At least from anyone of a certain age...People are thinking and planning to garden their way through the crisis. Leon Hale posted his plans on his blog today... The news keeps being bad, and we haven't…
Winds blow. Lakes of blue sky scud overhead in the pale gray bowl of sky. Leaves, nan-falling since autumn, fly by like sailboats in a race. # Overcast (mostly) and the temperature is at 80 and it's still rising...Thank god it is breezy, otherwise I'd be turning the AC switch…
Last evening as I sat with grandson in arms gooing and oogleing, my wife made the comment that it was going to get cold again this weekend. Now my wife thinks cold on the weekends is a personal affront to her happy enjoyment of her non-income producing time. Keeping in…
@bittman I had that prob a few years back...seemed to escalate as I kept taking them. Finally just quit and decided to tuff it out...worked. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
Life throws you that spitball. Your plans don't count because your plans were based on being allowed to work out your career and end it when you planned.
Looking on the weather wunderground, I see that Fred is still feeding the woodstove and wearing the multiple layers of clothes he was lamenting in his essay. While I am enjoying the open door and the porch rocker, Fred is still dreaming his summer weather dreams.
Is it darker at night where you are? Am I seeing another byproduct of the economic crisis in that people are turning off the outside lights? # Powered by Twitter Tools.
Good article on the food safety issue from The Ethicurean Blog. Down on the farm Here’s a quick backgrounder: After the E. coli/spinach episode in 2006, big leafy greens producers in California (where the toxic spinach was grown) got together and drafted guidelines to reduce the risk of contamination on…
This past week the signs of the season's change have sprung up all around...The oaks that were stripped of their leaves by Ike in September, now are leafing out with all of that bright, spring green color that changes the very light. Around the edge of this little house the…
@scalzi The whole reason I prefer driving...Enjoy the trip. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
On awakening our lady weather presented early summer. Light rain falls from a gray sky. Neither rising nor falling, the temperature 'tis 70. Twitter Tools Powered by Twitter Tools.
My reading on the web keeps coming across a common thread...It's that over and over in blog posts and comments people are talking about buying seeds and starting to raise vegetables again. It looks like I'm not the only one making the connection. Here is what Verlyn Klinkenborg had to…
Reading Leon Hale's column is an institution in Houston and the surrounding counties as well as my house. Mr. Hale has been published in a Houston Paper for most (if not all) of my life, and his was the only column I remember reading in my dad's paper as a…
Winter thunderstorms...all thunder, no rain. The day really looks wintery, 'tho the temperature belies the look...Shorts and flipflops rule. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
It seems the story of the Peanut Corporation of America just keeps getting better and better as it shows just how poor America's food safety system really is... Even amid a national salmonella outbreak linked to peanuts, state health officials allowed a Texas peanut plant last month to continue shipping…
Another above 60 winter morn...The sun rides above low clouds full of misty rain. I find myself asking...What happened to winter this year? # Powered by Twitter Tools.
First morning all week that's not already in the 60's. Pink clouds in a blue western sky with an almost full setting moon...Low morning fog. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
I grew up reading Jeff Cox in Organic Gardening & Farming (or vice versa depending on the year). I was happy to find him at the OrganicToBe.org blog. His article on potatoes not only fills in the history of the tuber but also gives recipes. He sure makes me feel…
It just seems to me that when you have production of goods going into so many food products you would have controls in place to insure the safety of the public...Doesn't it? Passing the responsibility off to others for the testing of the product is not an option. Both the…
When I was born in 1952, there were 203,000 farms in Iowa, only 11,000 fewer than when my dad was born in 1926. By 2002, the number had dropped to about 90,000, with roughly the same acreage in production in a state with a population that had remained roughly the…
Currently (on Mon 6:02AM CST from Pearland Regional Airport) Light Rain Temp: 66° Dewpoint: 64° Wind: SE 9 MPH The weather here this winter has seemed to be more spring (or fall) like than any I can recall seeing. Checking the almanac for the past two months is eye opening. Since…
Space may be the final frontier, but scientists who recently discovered a hidden forest in Mozambique show the uncharted can still be under our noses. BirdLife were part of a team of scientists who used Google Earth to identify a remote patch of pristine forest. An expedition to the site…
Image via Wikipedia It seems this story was inevitable... ROSENBERG, TX — A trip out for a free breakfast at Denny's took a big bite out of the wallets of several people in Rosenberg on Tuesday. Some of those who went to the local Denny's Corp. restaurant for a free…
High compensation doesn’t attract the very best. It attracts the greediest. via Letters - Wall St. Bonuses - Enough Is Enough - NYTimes.com. Why is this the first time I've ever seen anyone say this? A more true statement has never been said. This sentence should be the banner headline…
Thunderstorms and hail, oh my..The first of February and the temperature is flirting with the 70's. My apple trees still have their leaves.. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
Sunny days, cold clear nights...Down around freezing and up into the 60's .Winter is beginning to mess with my head...And not in a good way. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
Days of summer followed by a day of winter followed by another round. The pollen count is crazy too. It will stuff up your nose. Sniff-sniff # Wispy, smoke-like streamers of pink streak the evening sky...The sun is down. A tiny sliver of moon divides the evening star and the…
Currently (on Tue 5:53AM CST from Pearland Regional Airport) Mist Temp: 66° Dewpoint: 66° Wind: S 9 MPH This is what greated me this morning when I woke up. According to the forcast it's going to stay like this all day long and then start heading down overnight. The highs tomorrow…
With the morning sun, my ideal summer weather returned. Winds from the gulf have brought the mid 70s today. Weather on the Texas Gulf Coast. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
I have been spending a lot of my online time updating my websites, trying to figure out a use to make of twitter, and trying (and failing) to catch up on my photoblog. Tied for first place this month has been playing Grandpa. Chief cook and bottle washer for the…
Winters return, though anticipated, is not appreciated. Both yesterday and today, dull and dreary after what seems like weeks of spring sun. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
From the web... That’s CalTech engineer David Rutledge, who spoke to EarthSky at a recent science meeting. He said governments around the world have overestimated coal reserves or, the amount of coal still available for energy use. David Rutledge: That estimate, at least for these trends, appears to be high,…
In the news... More than 125 products have been recalled in a salmonella-and-peanuts investigation that keeps getting bigger, federal health officials said Wednesday. The list ranges from goodies like cookies and ice cream to energy bars. Even food for pooches may not be entirely safe, with a national company recalling…
Andy Griffin writes a great post from the experience of a farmer. If you haven't visited The Ladybug Letter, you should... “What’s your ‘Plan B’?” a radio reporter asked business school students the other day. One young woman’s answer caught my ear. “If things get bad enough,” she said, “my…
Blue skies keep drawing me away from the monitor. Daytime highs in the 70's keep me out in the sun. Until winter returns, I'll enjoy summer. # Pretty simple, funny how it's so hard...The Socratic Method To Great Living (5 Simple Steps) http://bit.ly/PdbWV # Powered by Twitter Tools.
“This is an excellent illustration of an ingredient-driven outbreak,” said Dr. Robert Tauxe, who oversees foodborne illness investigations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, more than 470 people have gotten sick in 43 states, and at least 90 had to be hospitalized. At least six deaths…
The naked trees to my west glow pink in the light of the rising sun, those to the north have the vividness seen only at either end of a day. # Good site on how you can help save the local farmer and insure your local food supply..."7 Ways to…
In case a snake ever comes in the office If you want to know the truth, I never sit down at this desk to write a sentence without a bottle of whiskey within my reach. It's always just behind the computer, between a Roget's Thesaurus and an American Heritage Dictionary.…
Sunrise through fog, clear skys above...The sun rises on one side, the moon sinks on the other. We start out in winter and warm into spring. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
"Creative Consultant for the upcoming Stargate: Universe " http://bit.ly/hMhl Way to go Scalzi... # If I could just convince my wife..."Simplify Your Space" http://bit.ly/hoTQ # Powered by Twitter Tools.
Health officials are urging nursing homes, hospitals, schools and restaurants to throw away containers of peanut butter that have been linked to the 43-state salmonella outbreak. The peanut butter, manufactured by Lynchburg-based Peanut Corp. of America and distributed by King Nut Cos. of Solon, Ohio, was recalled by the distributor…
Nice service for tweeting from a web page http://bigtweet.com/ # Cooking for Pollan! Yikes! http://bit.ly/62X6 The man continues to amaze. Too bad he didn't want the government job. # I'm back to following Dave Winer...again. Interesting. "sphere of consensus...it doesn't matter if they're true or not" http://bit.ly/hfu9 # Clear sky,…
There is something beautiful about naked tree limbs against a pure crystal blue sky. Take the time to contemplate the view today. It's life. # One of my favorite short life lesson sites...Try this: http://tinyurl.com/5nqbah # Powered by Twitter Tools.
The day is over half gone and I haven't really moved. Other than throwing together breakfast and rocking a baby through a nap nothing doing. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
In my daily walks with our dogs I travel a route through the woods behind our house along a pipeline right of way then along Mustang Bayou to anther pipeline right of way and back home.The trip if I wanted to hurry it would not take much over 10 or…
While I was do my house-husband duty folding laundry I started to muse on the condition of some of our towels...You know you've been married a while when you hold up a towel and can see through it. Now granted we own a lot of towels...I know, it a woman…
When I went walking yesterday with the dogs I sat down for a while on the grass by the bayou. I kicked of the shoes and pulled of the shirt I was wearing and soaked up some sun. Sitting there I heard a heck of a commotion in a tree…
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME you were dazzled? When was the last time you lay down on a block of granite and fell asleep beneath the sky? Our few remaining pockets of unconnected, unwired time—walks, airplane trips, camp-outs, reading a novel on a beach—are dwindling fast. And yet: The Earth…
Image via CrunchBase You can't be on Twitter or FriendFeed and not be inundated with comments from and about Scoble. I don't know how he does it, but it's really annoying. I find myself relaxing when he takes a break from Twitter, for example to fly from Europe to the…
Wow, am I relieved to see you. Wasn't sure anyone would find me at my new address (or recognize me from NPR circa 1979). And having come out today as a casuality of the recession and one of the 64 folks laid off from NPR, I frankly wasn't sure how…
