country n news-country n woes

COUNTRY N NEWS-COUNTRY N WOES

last saturday i left the house at 600 am
headed to do this landscape at the habitat for humanity house

i always get there early
as i want to get everything set up for the landscape project
that day

these kids from 5 different schools
yes i talked my wife she to help this time
were about to show up to finish the landscape

usually this is the best day for me
when i volunteer at habitat for humanity
getting to work with the high school kids
visiting with them as we go along

as i was getting things ready
my wife she called
we dont have no water

i said
ok
ill deal with it when i get home

so
7 hours later
after finishing the habitat landscape
i entered the realm of the unknown

now we live 30 miles from town
electricians plumbers dont like to come this far out
its always been a problem for us out here
so
you just learn to do some of the things yourself

i once had a plumber come out to fix several things
he looked it all over
let me see if i have the parts
last i heard from him
so
i just figured out how to fix the plumbing issues myself

now we have a rainwater water system not a well
so everything is at ground level
i put it together myself
doing all the plumbing and electrical stuff myself
following this books directions
rainwater collection for the mechanically challenged

so i looked at the pump that had a pressure of zero
it should be around 40-50 psi
i checked to see if the shutoff had electricity
it did according to my meter
now
i still dont understand how this happened
so
this told me either my fuses were out
or
i had a dead pump
we had been having some issues with it lately also
so
i got in my car drove the 20+ miles to get new fuses
sorry the old gent said
we outta that one
you reckon home depot or lowes has them
dont know he said
i never go to those places
so
off to the next town
another 15 miles further away from the country n
yep
that home depot had the ones i needed
so
off back home i went
with my two fuses in tow
then
i plucked them into places
switched back on the shutoff
nothing

so now its saturday late around 5ish
after
working several hours on the landscape
i was tired and filthy and sweaty
greasy feeling like when you have camped out for
three days in the wilderness

i need a shower i said
oops
we aint got no water
then
i remembered
yes
you do
you got 30000 gallons sitting in all those tanks
but
you just cant pump it into the house
so
living away from our nearest neighbors by a 1/2 a mile
i hung a water hose over the input pipe to my largest tank
its about 6 ft high
plugged the hose into the bottom faucet on the tank
turned it on
took me a cold lengthy shower
a true outdoor refreshing shower it was

then
i took to thinking
it has to be the pump
so
the next morning on a sunday
i waited until the local store where i got my last pump
was opened
i knew if i got the same one i wouldnt have to change any fittings

wait
i could just call bud the well guy on monday
he would come over for a few bucks to check out the pump
last time i did that
he just said
you need a new pump
so
i decided to not wait for him to come over in a day or too
to tell me you need a new one
so
i just went and got me a new one

got it home
pulled out the old one
started putting the new one all together
robbing parts off the old one

i dont have one of the 1 inch metal pipes i need
since i couldnt get it out of the old one
plus
i had no pipe goop

oh my wife she
old buddy
old friend
ill owe you one
could you go get me some pipe goop and a pipe

that means a 30 minute one way trip
multiple phone calls
she called back
this guy helping me doesnt know anything about these pipes
mam a man and his wife walked up
what you need
so i had sent a picture of both
oh he said to my wife she
this is what you need

my wife sent me a picture of what she was about to buy
then called me
is this what you want
yes
please hurry home

so
i got all my stuff
rehooked it all back up to the rainwater system
checked for leaks after i turned the water supply
line on
no leaks
flipped that switch to on
no water

by now its 300 pm
im tired
im dirty sweaty again

i dont understand why this doesnt work

so i noticed my solar control system had a flashing red light
saying
power disconnect
no kidding

then
i remembered that my solar went into its own electrical box on
our light pole
it shared this with a few things
before a line ran into my main box

i opened the lid
carefully
i always get nervous when i do this
like a big ole lightning bolt of electricity
is going to shoot out and get  me

now
i dont want to die from alzheimers disease
but
i sure dont want to die this way

i switched all the switches off and on
didnt help

so by then
i was tired
ticked off

should i call an electrician out tomorrow
which may take a few days
call bud the pump guy

as i switched this one breaker off and on
it made this noise
i knew it shouldnt do that

maybe i thought those dang fire ants got in there
or some snake or something to short things out
but
we had full power inside the house

remember now all this has left us with no water in the house
its like camping out with a large lake nearby
since we had 30000 gallons of rainwater just sitting there

so i contemplated all night
even dreamed about it two nights
i dont understand it
hopefully an electrician will figure it out
if i can get one

now it had been real warm
we hadnt used any of our minisplit heat pumps
one for each room
for several days

a friend staying with us a few days
you know i turned mine on last night and it worked ok
so
i went to try to turn on the other three
none of them worked but hers did

now im really confused
my rainwater pump dont work
my solar system is off with a red flashing light
ive got electricity to my house
3 of 4 minisplits dont work

i dont understand this
then
a light came on
as i awoke on monday
thats two days later
its that damn breaker switch i think
having remembered that
the three minisplit were tied to the back panel
along with the rainwater pump and the solar system
their electricity came from a line
that came right to that big ole breaker that
was making this strange noise when i turned it off and on

im going to the store to get another new one
before i call that electrician that may not even come out

i remembered years ago that lowes had the right breakers
that fit into the electric panel
nothing wrong with my long term memory

so
yep
off i go 30 miles and back
huh in case you arent counting
thats
180 miles of driving so far

i got this breaker
plugged it all in
flipped it on

into the house i went
turned on all the minisplits
all of them worked
yes i pumped my fist

now i was getting excited

i went out to the barn
my solar control system was no longer blinking red
it was solarizing sending electricity into my panel

then
i walked over
carefully a little sweaty a little tachycardic
lifted up the cover on my shutoff box
slowly pushed in the control lever

guess what
it worked it worked

we got water finally after 3 days

now we have to wait to drink it
until we get our new filters in
then after changing those
we have to resterilize the lines
then
hopefully today sometime
we will have some
good ole country n water

my
how we have missed that sweet taste of our water

i realized
i am a electrician
i am a  plumber
i am a well man
i am a problem solver

this
sort of despite the three days of no water
made me feel good
to
realize that my memory hasnt been so affected
that i cant problem solve

theres always good to every story

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-flare em

COUNTRY N NEWS-FLARE EM

when i do the landscape at the habitat for humanity houses
i try to do what i can to make trees better
make the landscape
well function for the homeowner the best i can
since i have limited funds to do the landscape
plus
i try to get to know the homeowner to decide how much
landscape do they want to manage

some want the minimal done to the landscape
so
thats usually based on the cities requirement
3-4 shrubs
at least one 4 inch approved tree like a cedar elm or oak
sod in the front

so
sometimes thats all we have money to do
so thats all we can do

on this house
the old house was burned
the remaining slab was removed

the fire damaged the 3 live oaks on the property
of
course building the houses are rough on trees that are
already on site

so
i protected them well with boards
so boards and machines wont be banging the bark and limbs
i also trimmed up the trees to open up the canopy
trying to predict which limbs would not interfere with
construction
and
be a source of nuisance for the new homeowner

i also removed any damaged limbs from the fire
it looks like even though the tree itself was damaged some
they will survive ok

i also went ahead and added a layer of compost
in the drip line as well as a sprinkling of
organic fertilizer to help these trees
neglected for years it looked like

during construciton a lot of soil was dug up
piled up
so i noticed that over the time of construction
that a lot of soil had piled up around the trunk
of the trees
a lot of it was there before construction started

so now that we are through with the outside construction
i removed all the protective barriers
gently raked off all the soil around the trees

there is a thing called a root flare that should be showing
on trees
planted too deep a tree will have its lower bark underground
which
allows it to rot and permanently damage the tree
stunting its growth
now
these poor old live oaks were already fighting a
battle from
having being fire damaged
having roots cut during construction
having its  drip line walked on and driven on
for weeks

they didnt need the added stress of having their
root flares all covered up

so i went to work
gently removing all the piled up dirt from the tree trunk
one tree had a foot of dirt piled up
yes there was some damage done to the bark
but
it should do ok
thank goodness

i added a thick 4 inch ring of mulch around the tree
leaving the root flare and roots exposed

here is what it should look like
if a tree is planted correctly
this allows for the maximum growing environment for
these trees

now take a look at the base of your trees
can you see the flare of the trunk as it enters the ground
or
does your tree look like a straight pencil in the ground

maybe you should consider gently digging out that flare
and roots
so your trees can breathe

flare em out i say


i will be the featured speaker today
at an alzheimers disease and dementia conference
at baylor scott and white sun city clinic
4945 williams drive georgetown texas
from 430-630 pm
i will speak for about 45 minutes then will answer questions
from the audience for the rest of the time
the public is invited

the organicgreen doctor

the intern

the INTERN
having been rained in for several days
having seen too much rio olympics
seeing all those stories about swimmers urinating in
a gas station
why not just save that for the swimming pool guys
having not enough football yet to watch
i said to my wife she
lets find a movie on tv
so on hbo
there was the movie the intern with robert deniro and anne hathaway

as i watched this
as many of you who have retired
as i did too early 5 years ago
you recognize that lost look
that
what am i going to do now
you can only clean the house
mow the yard
paint
read the paper
organize your papers
all those other things that need to be done
then
what next you ask

thats when
your life can either get better for everyone
or
you become stagnant

i chose like robert deniro did
to not to become stagnant
look at
you need to see the movie
the good
how much he made those around him
better
and
happier

there are a lot of retired folks who have a lot to offer
their numbers keep growing and growing each year
why dont we
schools government charities businesses
do a better job of taping into this source of knowledge and manpower
some of its free ie they just volunteer

thats what i did

i always wanted to help build a house with habitat for humanity
so
i showed up one day and started volunteering once or twice a week
i am on somewhere between 10-15 houses that i have helped with
most i have supervised and planned the landscape
with sometimes little funds

i would do it again

then
my mom got free meals
so
i volunteered for meals of wheels delivering once a week
on a 28 mile route spread out from the kitchen site
to close to where the country n is located

i have befriended several of the clients
helping one find the right medicare rx plan and saved him a
couple of thousand on his drug bills each year
i also helped with making sure his last will was handled like
he wanted along with other dedicated volunteers

i even planted a tomato for a 94 year old client in a movable
pot so she could grow fresh tomatoes
a proud possession is that tomato for her

i recently cut down a fallen tree off another clients wheelchair ramp

things i wouldnt have got to do if i hadnt decided to get involved
with meals on wheels
the clients life was made a little better by my decision
i feel good inside for doing it

i got involved with the alzheimers movement
doing alzheimers walks to raise funds
i having personally raised several thousands for the movement over
the last 5 years
i like doing alzheimers talks answering those questions about the disease
that people always want answers for but cannot get them
i am involved with alzheimers research as a volunteer subject
ive been stuck with needles in the arm and the back multiple times
endured numerous memory tests
hoping to do my part to find an answer for this disease
at the same time somehow making my memory better

wait
maybe it was because i chose like robert did
not to stay home and go stagnant
but
to get involved

so
if your are retired or if you just have some free time
you need to get involved
maybe
become an intern

the organicgreen doctor

moms work day

MOMS WORK DAY
each year habitat for humanity williamson county has a
womens work day
only women show up to work
most of the regular worker volunteers that are males
stay away
just try being a male telling 10 women what to do
its like having 10 wives
no i think this should be done this way
no i think that should be over here
no that color doesnt look right
etc

so i usually stay away
however
i was asked could you save the landscaping for this new
house for one day
we want to use one of the womens work days to do the
landscaping

:-( is the way my face looked
thank goodness i was on the phone when i was asked

all kind of thoughts went through my mine
is this going to be like having 10 my wife shes working
with me
with me telling them what to do

i just hope they dont all look like this when i ask them
to do something
yes thats my wife she staring in the distance
i think she was biting her tongue so much it was bleeding

so i said yes i would do it
with some trepidation
just hope none of them read my blog today

so this house we will be working on is a repossession
the folks apparently just walked off
trashed the house well is what they did

but
with a lot of elbow grease and paint it will look brand new

here is what i started with
a pecan tree an old native one with another one in the back
during the house construction the dirt got piled up so
that the tree flare could not be seen
so i and the new homeowners son dug it all out
we dug 1 ft of dirt off the tree so now the root flare shows

there are two red bud trees planted in the wrong place
these are nice trees however they live about 25 years
then
they just die

i attempted to dig them up
however on both trees the roots were so girdled
that means they were growing around and around like
a big ole screw
destining this tree to an early death
i preformed euthanasia on it
into the brush pile it went

the two indian hawthornes by the front porch are really
struggling
they should have been planted in a raised bed so their feet
wont get too wet
so up they came
they will be replanted in the back in a better location
by
the back porch in a new bed that will raised so water
can drain off it
if they dont make the transition i will plant turks cap
and cat mint in those beds
two natives that require no upkeep and provide flowers
for bees and hummingbirds

then along the front a new bed was  made using
donated lava rock which is laid over black plastic to help
kill out the bermuda grass
the homeowner wanted cactus so spineless cactus
will be planted in the middle of the bed
next year on either side
by then the bermuda under there should be all dead
the homeowner will rake bake the lava rock
slit the plastic
dig out a planting hole
add good soil and plant a xeric flowering plant of
her choice
thanks to cm for donating two truckloads of lava rock

also someone donated the limestone rocks that will be
used around the borders of the beds
thanks to sp for finding these
enough to use at three habitat houses

so i have a budget when i asked for this project
of zero
kinda hard to do landscape with all that money
so thanks to those who donate their time and supplies

i will donate a few shrubs and the soil for them
but a local landscape nurseries gives me a big discount
on them

then in the back a monterey oak was planted about
a foot too deep
so i dug it out so the root flare is visible now

the only problem is it was planted underneath a power line
so
the electric company will regularly take a big bite of
the top of the tree on a regular basis when the tree gets bigger

so on the day before mothers day on womens build landscape day
we will
place cardboard around the pecan tree and the beds for the shrubs
lay a thick layer of mulch around the trees
but not not not up against the tree trunks
and
on top of the beds
the shrubs two dwarf yaupon hollies and two salvia greggiis will
be planted in the front yard raised bed
a yard of compost will be spread over the yard
an organic fertilizer will be spread on the yard
hoping that will resuscitate the ignored grass
photos to follow

hoping that i survive these 10 my wife shes

if you have the xx chromosomes
you can join this workday
here is the link

the organicgreen doctor

my own

MY OWN

thats what she said 

when she was interviewed

her mother died when she was 8

she was a foster child after that

many of you know what that is like

it can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing

as a doctor ive seen both sides of the story

the good and the bad

lucky ones get a good home 

and even more lucky ones get adopted into 

this new home

many dont fair as well

this mother a school nurse 

my guess not a rn or a lvn but probably an aide but i dont

know the full story on that one

had their home she and her young son was living in burn to 

the ground

the next months were spent living in motels friends and family homes

even a period of homelessness

their remaining material things were scattered in different places

across the county

enter habitat for humanity williamson county

she did the lengthy application process 

and won out over several applicants

remember these homes are not just given to them

they have to do 300+ hours of sweat equity

i mean sweating a lot sometimes

do several classes on finances home care yard care life care

then they pay for the house at 0%  interest rate for 20 yrs

the total amount they pay is based on how much is donated 

and how much volunteer help is used

we those who volunteer reduce the labor costs down to only the

special contractors like plumbing electrical or concrete work

we do the rest

they are assigned a mentor who follows them for months

in this area you can not get a decent apartment for the amount

her monthly payments would be which includes mortgage insurance 

and taxes

pretty darn good deal thanks to the generosity of others

eg my contribution will be i plan and supervise the landscaping

using what money is left over and what landscape supplies i 

can get folks to donate

trying to do this xerically and in such  way that they dont have to pay 

so much for upkeep

what landscaping we do on each house is based on the dollars we have

and 

the wishes of the owners

my wife she also works helping me with the landscaping some

i also do some of the construction work based on what bothers

my back from last years ruptured disk

putting up tyvek putting up outside sheathing of the osb plywood

bothers me the most

the landscaping and most of the other work doesnt bother me much

my primary contribution is landscaping though

my new feature is to encourage more recycling from the job site

especially metal plastic cardboard rocks some wood like pallets

some of which can be sold to help fund things

plus its less habitat has to pay for dumping at the land field

shall we say a more green construction site

then ive added a new contribution to this build site

the one for this struggling mom and her son 

that is to make a home

that has a nice yard

that is easy to maintain 

a vegetable garden designed by the organicgreen doctor

that will be one of the best landscaped houses in the area

that where the readers of this blog can help

we need some donations to be able to reach our goals and the 

new homeowners of a yard and garden she can enjoy

something since her childhood she has wanted

for herself and her family

something she never had

you can help by clicking here and making a small contribution

to the cause

also volunteer sometimes at your local habitat for humanity

 
click here to read our story and donate

the organicgreen doctor

didnt make it, help us

DIDNT MAKE IT
yesterday i was looking forward to going to ut southwestern to
the alzheimers disease research center to do my annual
followup visit for the adni or alzheimers disease neuroimaging
initiative
but
i didnt make it
because
the night before i could not go to sleep
1000pm then 1100pm  then midnight then 100am then 200am
i mean 2 eyelid open not being able to go to sleep
then
i dozed off awakening
i mean wide awake at 400am
knowing we needed to leave in a hour at 500am to make
the long drive to dallas for the appointment

no way i thought as i got up
there is no way i can make that drive and stay awake
and
there is no way i will be able to do my 2 hr neuropsych test at
1100am and be at my best
my most alert self
heck im already working at a deficit there 2 standard deviations below
what is normal for my age and degree of education

so to be accurate and to be fair to the study and to make sure
i didnt fall asleep driving
i canceled my appointment that morning
with the plans to return again in the next few weeks

why couldnt i go to sleep
wasnt nervous at all about going
didnt nap too much the day before in fact i cut back some on that
didnt drink a lot of coffee late or eat a lot of chocolate candy late
which would let the caffeine in all that do its thing

i take aricept (donepezil) each morning and i sometimes will
have the problem of insomnia but not this bad
it seems as if there is too much aricept in that pill that day
maybe the quality control sucked that day it was made
thats what it feels like
when i first started taking aricept (donepezil) this is the way it
made be feel only this was the worse

one thing is of course when you are in my shoes
is that one of the things that happens with alzheimers disease as
it progresses is that it begins to alter sleep patterns such that
sometimes a person with the disease cant sleep at all at night
that
i am afraid was what i was and am worrying about

i dont want to be one of those nighttime wondering folks you
read and hear about

this morning i read this article that said that 7 hrs is the sweet spot
on the amount of sleep you need to get each night
a recent memory test study showed that those who got 7 hrs
did better than those who got less than that and
those who got 8 hrs of sleep

for me 2 hours just didnt cut it last night

HELP US
many of you know that i do volunteer work for the
williamson county habitat for humanity
i do the landscaping for the houses trying to do the best we can
with limited funds
we get some money left over at the end for landscaping but
sometimes that money gets siphoned off since the landscaping is
done last

so i have set up a crowd funding site just for the landscaping for the
next habitat build in jarrell texas
any money raised will be used only for this houses landscaping
our goal  is to  make the yard as xeric as possible but to make it
attractive to the eye and have it as the best yard in the neighborhood

so please go to my site at gofundme to read about it
and to make a donation if you are able to
so far we have raised $200 in rock donations and $100 in donations

click here to donate
landscape for habitat for humanity

the organicgreen doctor

the way to do it

THE WAY TO DO IT

the last two years i have volunteered at habitat for humanity
in the area where i live
over the last two plus years i have learned a lot about building
carpentry painting caulking roofing framing flooring etc
some i have applied to the country n when i do projects here
now i even know now what the right tools are to use for a project

i also about a year ago took over the landscaping for the houses
the goal is to landscape
xerically
plant only native plants sometimes i have to redirect the owners some
decrease the need for water a big issue here as we are all
low on water in this area
and
make it look good when its all done

so ive learned a lot over these few months
ive given back a lot as i volunteer

i also know how habitat works
they dont just give these folks these houses
they earn them
and
they pay for them over 20 years

you and i and the many sponsors and many volunteers provide
most of the construction costs for the house
except for certain contractors all the labor is donated
many contractors even do their work at a reduced cost
or for no cost at all

the homeowner
has to work 500 hours on the house or other houses or in the
habitat stores
has to qualify for the house
has to attend financial classes
has to attend home care classes
is followed for several months by an assigned mentor

so its not all given to them
they earn and pay for most of it

the benefit thanks to those who donate money and time
get the house for about half price
at 0% interest for 20 years
the day they move in their equity doubles
they gain some self esteem

so as i thought about this
i was thinking
what if many of our government programs where we give
money to folks
require within reason that they give something back

eg
i am now on social security disability for mild short term memory loss
granted of course the disability nsurance paid a lawyer to get me on that
its costing me taxes on that money i didnt have to pay before

require that in order to continue for me to get social security disability
that i do something in return for society to continue to get that money
like
volunteer at habitat
volunteer at meals on wheels
volunteer with a nonprofit like the alzheimers assoication
keep the roads along a stretch of highway clean
help some senior mow their yard
etc etc etc

of course this needs to all be done with compassion in mind
a wheelchair bound stroke victim with severe dementia
would not be able to do much
but
most folks could

think what good this would do for those in need
for our society
and
maybe most important for the self esteem of those who
like me are receiving our tax dollars every month

nah
that might make sense to do all of that

the organicgreen doctor