rain

RAIN

the last time we had significant rain here at the

country n was last may when we got close to 4 inches

we had drizzles off and on since of 1/4 inch-1/2 inch

you know the type that comes through in the hot summer

wets things down

and just makes it miserably humid with all the hot temperatures

we have in the summer

i was excited earlier in the week when we got some rain

it again was slightly over 1/4 inch

everything was wet so i went out and removed the wet dirt

which was about 1/4 inch thick

and below that it was dry 

like dust you could just blow away

this week here at the country n we got 4 inches of rain on 

thursday and friday

i was excited hoping it would drench everything well

heck when i ran my meals on wheel route on friday 

i got drenched myself 

it seemed just as i got ready to leave my car to deliver the meal

here a downpour would come

if i was a garden bed i would have be soaked good to the

bottom of the bed

so on saturday i went out to this keyhole garden i made from 

an old water trough and where i plan to plant my fall garden

this week i even watered it well with my dripper system knowing

it was going to rain

the soil in it is 3 feet deep and has a lot of organic material all the 

way to the bottom of the bed

i took the material from my large chicken runs and my large

compost bed where the chickens have been scartching around and 

pooping on everything and shredding all those oak leaves and 

just generally stirring it all up

and put it deep into this soil 

so on friday after the first 2 inches of rain i did the finger test

you take the index finger stick it all the way into the soil to check 

the moisture level

it was 1st knuckle positive after 2 inches of rain

last week it was 1 finger nail thickness positive after that smiggen rain

now after a total of 4 inches in two days its is 2nd knuckle positive

but

ive still got 2 ft 9 inches more of moisture that needs to go into that bed

thats how dry its been around here

the moisture just seemed to be sucked up everywhere and seemed

to just disappear

i was able to refill all my irrigation tanks this time that i use for my

garden and landscape

total 6000 gallons 

now for my home water system we are almost full

we need about 3000 gallons to be completely full

when that happens its sad

to see those tanks just run over and theres nothing to do to 

but just let it all run onto the ground

i guess thats a good position to be in 

hopefully also it will add more water to the lakes

the main lake with the sometimes island increased 1 foot in 1 day

now we need 40 more feet to be full

thats been awhile 

thats when that lady got sucked over the dam with her wooden boat 

and showed up downstream all beat up and naked and all scratched 

up

wonder how shes doing

that wont ever probably happen again the way the droughts going

i guess thats a good thing

FOOTBALL

good job cowboys horns aggies

and for awhile the hogs

the organicgreen doctor

ode to water conservation

ODE TO WATER CONSERVATION
if you live in central texas you know all about
water conservation
even though we got a lot of rain in this area this
weekend the lakes that serve as the major
water supply werent helped as much as
not much water fell on the rivers and streams
above the lakes
it mostly fell on the wrong side of the dams


i am always preaching water conservation
recently a friend and reader of this blog sent
me a poem she wrote about this

ode to organicgreen doctor

that dang organicgreen doctor-hes got me
thinkin bout the drain
and how the water going down
wont be coming back around

like when im in a comfy shower
i shouldnt stand there half an hour
and even when i shave my legs
his voice inside my head will beg
turn off the tap water abuser
be a conscious water user

when friends are at the kitchen sink
i stare at the faucet and i think
how can i say and be polite
close that water valve real tight
no wonder they wont spend the night
theyll get into a water fight

i look around the parched dry yard
and think why must this be so hard
the hostas or the lenten rose
which one deserves the water hose
already in the midst of drought
i guess thats what its all about

that dang organicgreen doctor hes got me
thinkin bout the drain
and how the water going down
wont be coming back around

thanks susan
we all should take note

the organicgreen doctor

rain, bucket list

RAIN
this rain we are having right now could be the one that tops off
my rain water tanks
thats where they get full and run over which
for those who are rain water savers
will drive you crazy
as you cant stand to lose any water at all

ive got 30000 gallons of water tank storage and
i still have 6  5 gallon buckets put out to catch rain
and would have more if i had more buckets

after this rain we are having
seems like a lot of rain maybe 4-5 inches
my tanks should be full and ill have enough rain for
two years without any rain

i now have $3000 dollars worth of water if i had
to have it trucked it
wont happen this year or the next
maybe this is the drought buster we need

the rain is actually falling on the headwaters of the multiple
lakes around here that supply the drinking water for many
cities and
provide recreational areas and jobs associated with the
lake activities

wonder if all those boats sitting on the dry beds will
start floating now

BUCKET LIST
when i retired i developed a bucket list of things i wanted
to do before i couldnt
some of these are local things that weve always wanted to do
but just havent got around to doing yet

this summer we will knock off three of the large ones but on
spring break we knocked off several of the smaller ones

we spent 2 days in fredricksburg texas
weve been there several times but there were things we or i
havent seen before



weve never gone through the admiral nimitz museum there
its an awesome museum of the pacific war from ww11
admiral nimitz was from fredricksburg
it was well worth the trip
still though couldnt see it all so guess ill have to make
another trip



we also found a place called the herb farm which is
a restaurant with a large garden area and with several of
the sunday houses that can be rented to stay in

it reminded us so much of our country n that we enjoyed
our 3 hour stay there
we sat out on the back porch area eating our lunch and
having a nice glass of wine
i got to spend an hour talking with the on site gardener
and swapped gardening and chicken stories with her



the other place we went to there was the wildseed farms just
east of town
they had rows and rows of wild flowers planted
sure was pretty
cant wait to see the area later in the year

our or my bucket list is still full so i
hope to work harder at emptying it this year

the organicgreen doctor

rain and rain water collection

RAIN AND RAIN WATER COLLECTION
i have these goals for the future
encourage people to live an organic green life
growing organic vegetables, do solar if possible,
control electricity use, recycle the recyclable , eat correctly
but well, and to exercise regularly

educate people about alzheimers disease and what they
can do to slow their risk down for the disease

and to conserve water and collect rain water
a facebook friends child collects water off their house
with five gallon buckets-good job bg

we decided several years ago to go to a 100% rain water
system without well water or a water system as a backup
source

that decision was questioned this summer during this drought
we went almost 4 months without any rain and
had to actually buy water this summer at $0.10 a gallon
we had only 8 inches of rain this last year (average is 32+
inches a year)
during the large 10 inch rain last year several of my tanks were
unplugged and i missed out on a lot of the rain and later in may
i was redoing my gutters and drain pipes when we got 6 inches
of rain in two weeks so i missed much of that rain

so possibly if i had caught all that missed rain i would not have
had to buy water even in the worse and hottest drought ever here

so this summer i redid my underground pipes and gutters and
down spouts so that they would maximize my rain water collection

before when it would rain i would usually lose water for various
reasons
i did use this dry season to fix those water collection problems
then it wouldnt ever rain for me to see if it would work

so saturday night it started raining
when it rains you need to go check everything while its raining to
see if its leaking or overflowing or stopped up
so at 200 am my wife she (per my instructions earlier) poked me
in the back-its raining

so i got up and got all my rain gear and flash light and took my
inspection tour of the gutters, down spouts, underground
connections, and rainwater tanks to make sure we were not losing
any water
thankfully there was not evidence anywhere that i was losing water
but i did have to clean out one of my gutters that had collected
leaves and was slowing down the water flow down the down spout

yes there is a water god
we got 4 inches of rain here

no leaks were found throughout the night and the next day
since i know my square footage of collection area i know
exactly how much water i should collect for each inch of
rain and i got the correct amount that day
and no leaks have occurred in my system since

we have enough water now to last 4-5 months without any
more rain
my wife she is very happy now that she can wash her hair and
clothes in pure rain water again

we did have to utilize some water conservation methods to keep
our usage down this summer
we will probably continue those
we had to limit what got water outside so we ended up having to
sacrifice some of landscaping as it was all on its own
will post later what survived here in this long drought

am afraid that some of the lessons we learned this summer
need to be used by many people in this area to conserve
water for home use
the water reserves are extremely low and if this drought
continues here many of the cities here will have to do what
we have had to do

not a bad thing though
adversity makes you appreciate things more

the organicgreen doctor

bye bye bank, bye ags, we got rain, the boys

BYE BYE BANK
am saying goodbye to my megabank that ive been with for
over 15 years
dang that feels so good to be rid of them

first they bundled all our mortgages and sold them off
this is one of the reasons we are in this financial mess
then we the government bailed them out

then
they have made huge profits over the last 2 years
then
they started charging for everything
$5 for checking account (ive got 2 accounts)
$3 for debit card
$12 for online banking
charge for checks
0% interest rate on accounts
potential charge for use of debit card
stopped rewards program for debit card

so i pay them at least $300 a year to use their bank
now that aint right
plus the megabanks helped get us in this mess and they seem
to be profiting off us

so
i switched to a credit union
found one next door to the two branches of the megabank we use
every day
dang that felt so good to do that

$0 for checking account
$0 for savings account
$0 for money market account
$0 for checks ordered online
they pay for each use of the debit card
$0 for debit card
they actually pay interest on my checking, savings and money
market accounts
$0 for use of debit card
%1 on all credit card purchases
$0 for online bill pay

total amount they will be paying me to bank with them next
year is well over $300 a year
will make over $100 just from buying groceries with the credit card
the interest rate on my money market is 20 x the rate on my
mutual fund money market

this was all a tough decision
it easily offsets the extra im paying every month for my smart phone

i feel refreshed like i did when i quit smoking
like ive got rid of this long time addiction to megabanking

just wonder if somehow this is all not right and somehow they will
take it all away

BYE AGS
d gigem ags
they are gone for sure now
think they made the right decision
now they are out of the shadow and control of the horns
sure will miss those rivalry games though
dont think they will continue the football games as ags will be
in a tough schedule every year
maybe in softball, basketball and baseball

even with them gone the rivalry feel will not ever go away
ags horns
it is sad to see it go
good luck

WE GOT RAIN
we got our first measurable rain last night in over 3 months
we got 1/4 inch of rain
if you bought the water i collected off it it would be $70
the ground is actually wet looking
hopefully it soaked better in the garden if not will have to
water it well today
just need more rain please
we are still 24 inches behind over the last year

my nephew he is here starting to work on a new movie
he was ousted from his chair by the lightning and thunder
just need to drop him in that rainwater tank and get that
limestone rock out of my tank #5

THE BOYS
roma survived
thank goodness for the kicker
they injected him before the game and once during the game
let see they take a needle of numbing medicine
probably marcaine or some other long acting anesthetic and
inject it around the site of the fracture
think broken wrist and they inject the fracture site so you can
use the wrist so it wont hurt

know that must really hurt bad when the numbing medicine
wears off
bet he sleeps in a chair tonight
hopes he doesnt have a night time cough-ouch
hydrocodone (vicodin) to the rescue

the organicgreen doctor

weird tomato, end alz, no rain, gamers, chocolate yum

WEIRD TOMATO
some one at my wifes shes work sat this mater aside and
later look what happened
it looks like a mutant tomato
wonder if it got nuked by something or
was it all that chemical crap thats put on tomatoes to get
them to grow and look like we want them to look
so they will sell

must not be an organic mater

wonder what would have happened if she had
eaten this thing
would it have grown and taken over her body
would tomatoes have grown out her ears

no
what happened was
the tomato was sat on a window sill and the tomato
acted like a green house for the tomato seeds
and they sprouted and are growing

my wife she and her students are monitoring its growth
with photos
well see what happens
just dont eat it though
dont want no mutant wife she on my hands

END ALZ


tomorrow is alzheimers action day
wear something purple tomorrow to support the battle against this
terrible disease
september is world alzheimers month

NO RAIN
to answer all the inquiries about did we get rain
no we did not
dang it
the drought continues
now cities are starting to fight for water from water sources
rain please

GAMERS
gamers do it better
seems gamers managed to unlock the structure of an important
protein thats involved with the aids virus
computers couldnt do the 3 d imaging so the gamers were used
and of course playing dungeon and dragons that did it
apparently its an important breakthrough
maybe all those video game playing those gamers do
were and are worth it huh

CHOCOLATE YUM
well now there is more proof chocolate is good for you
didnt need the evidence to make me want to eat more

apparently it was shown in a recent study to decrease the number
of cardiovascular events in those who ate chocolate vs those
who didnt
it already may help with alzheimers diseae

so more brownies and snickers in your diet

wear purple tomorrow
the organicgreen doctor

thanks, rain, football,debt

THANKS
thanks for all the response to my recent blogs on my story-final
answer
thanks for those who have made donations to the walk to end alz
and have made commitments to their local walks to end alz

RAIN
we certainly need more of it here
its so dry and now its so hot-due to get to 105 here today
there is no rain in the forecast only continued heat
have noticed some browning of the leaves on some of the
trees on my property and in the area
have also had some loss of shrubs from the drought

our hope for rain this time of the year is usually for a
hurricane to hit the gulf and drive moisture up this way
so in texas lots of people are hoping for that hurricane
to form in the caribbean and head this way

we just want one that will move slowly across and hit
the texas gulf coast gently in an area where there is no
people living there and then send waves of rain over
us here in central texas

FOOTBALL
ok im ready for some football
glad that holdout is over with now
hopefully the players ok the agreement today
am going through football withdrawals already

cant wait until sunday afternoons arrive when we can
watch football and nap-those go together

DEBT
they still havent fixed the debt ceiling yet
they sure are mucking around with our financial system
have developed a new disrespect for the way our political
systems work or dont work
hope they get it all together this week and get it done
we need to decrease our spending and increase our revenues
just like you and i do every day

they have a week to get it done

the organicgreen doctor

buford, rain yes, data, fb musing

BUFORD

so this is buford wyoming population of 1
its the highest town between ny and san francisco on i80
its also the smallest town in the us with its on zip code
the mayor said the town meetings were interesting
he always gets his way
maybe well visit there on our wyoming tour next summer

RAIN YES
was awaken from a noon time nap by the rain falling on our
metal roof
thats a great feeling lying in bed and listening to that rain
fall on the roof
made me want to go back to sleep
we have a rain chain that is about 15 feet long and its so
relaxing to sit on the top deck and watch the rain water
move downwards along the chain to our rain water tank

we are getting low on our rainwater here
but considering the drought we are in we are doing ok
we have enough water now for about 2 months
hopefully well get some rain by then
the 1/4inch we had yesterday and the 1/4 inch we had
last week helped out some

have reduced watering anything except my garden
its interesting to see what plants are surviving this
drought without any supplemental water
they are mostly all native plants
salvia greggi, turks cap, rosemary, 4 nerve daisy, blackfoot
daisy, oregano, zexmenia, sage, germania, shrimp plant,
knockout rose, orchid tree, texas persimmon, texas plum,
trumpet vine, lavender, sun flowers, gregs mist flower,
texas hibiscus, butterfly bush, cedar sage are just some
that are doing well in this drought
whatever survives after this drought is what ill keep around

more rain please

DATA
so in the us the cell companies are 80% full in their data capacity
now they will start charging us more for our data use

since we live so far out we have to use either a satellite system or
use a cell phone data plan
we chose the verizon cell phone data plan as it allows the computer
to run slightly faster
well now every month we get this message that we are
exceeding our data limit on the computer usage
we dont download much on the computer because of the speed

knew they would eventually stick it to us
now they are

on our smart phones we have unlimited data and wont get hit
with the extra charge
or so they claim


FB MUSING
thanks ag for this
greatness is obtained by our willingness to serve others

the organicgreen doctor

the glasses

THE GLASSES
so i wear glassses
and i am unable to wear those new lenses that will
turn into sunglasses when you go outside
i hate clip ons as im always losing them

so i found these sunglasses that i liked a lot
they fit right over my regular glasses

one day last year i was walking our two dogs to the
river wearing my favorite sunglasses
when we got down to the river it was real shadey so
i clipped them to my pants and walked up and down the river
with the dogs
as i was walking the dogs back to the house i realized i
did not have my sunglasses on
i reached down to get them and they were gone

i retraced my steps several times but never could find
my favorite sunglasses

fast forward several months

we had a retirement party for me at my house which was part
of our annual larrys weekend we had every year for the
employees and their families here at our house

one of the big deals is to walk down to the river and let the kids
all play in the river and catch minnows and frogs
as one of the kids was walking along the river bed he said
oh look here is some sun glasses

my wife she saw them and said oh my gosh those are his
long lost glasses

as you can see the glasses are covered from calcifications
from being under water at times for several months
i soaked them in vinegar for several hours and got almost all of
the calcifications off

we or i guess me and my glasses are lucky that we did
not have torrential rains that flood that river or they would have
been washed away

so i guess a bad thing (less rain) can be a good thing
(finding my favorite sunglasses)

RAIN
well we finally got some rain yesterday
so thats what it feels like
knew if i irrigated my garden well that it may cause it to rain

am sure that the dry soil mulch and dry air will just suck up all of
that new moisture

a nearby city is going to stage 4 water restrictions here
as their water souce is about to dry up
the next step stage 5 is ever more restrictive
you can only use half of your allowed water use and no
outside watering is allowed

the next level is zero in that there is zero water left

as we have a rainwater collection system for our water source we
stay on various stages of restrictons 24/7
we now have 3-4 months of water left so hopefully well get more
rain before then
what if everbody restricted their water use like we do
maybe water would not be as much of a issue

sure enjoyed going outside and getting soaked
more rain please

the organicgreen doctor

drought, rain, bb

DROUGHT
this area is in one of the worst droughts since the early 1900s
according to the texas gardeners newsletter one of the writers
went  fishing and the lake was so dry they had to throw the fish
back because they were covered with ticks
(thats a joke)

the high heat and dryness coupled with the high winds we are
having will dry out your plants fast
most vegetables and flowers need about 1 inch of water a week
the best time to water is in the am
some type of drip irrigation is the best way to deliver the water to
the plants roots
dont water with sprinklers in the heat of the day

keep the veggies and flowers mulched well this time of year
to conserve water loss

trees need to be watered at the drip line
newly planted trees need to be watered more often

info from texas gardener newsletter

RAIN
well we got some relief last night from the drought here
we got two inches of rain
as usual for here we got it fast and furious
it comes down so fast it overwhelms our downspouts
ability to capture all the rain

collect rainwater and you know how much a rainwaterer
hates to see rainwater losses to a overflowing system

we got 2 inches of rain so it helps a lot for this area
we just need more to get closer to being caught up
we captured enough water to add 1-2 months to our
rainwater supply
whew was getting low on rainwater
the life of living with rainwater collection as your water source
in the middle of a drought

side effect of the rain storm was it knocked out our electricity
and our computer
our computer came on but slowly and said it was monday
may 17 2004
its working but slowly this am
hopefully this blog will come through ok today

BB
well the heat won the series over the celtics
that demon is released for them now
now for probably the bulls and the mvp

the thunder won against the grizzlies
one more please so this playoff can move on

the organicgreen doctor

larry weekend, golf, rain yes

LARRY WEEKEND
well we had larry weekend this weekend
larry was our now demised rooster that frequently attacked
my wife she for several years
she defended herself with the infamous rooster rake
these attacks provided me with numerous jocular moments
over the years
larry submitted to the circle of life but we kept his name on the
annual party at our place we call the country n

the docs and employes from the clinic where i worked were
invited every year
as i had just retired (because of my mci (mild cognitive impairment)
diagnosis this one this weekend turned out to be the largest one
of all
also present were previous doctors who worked there and some
past employees and family members
also the doctor who took over my place in the clinic was here
with his family
i think those of you who choose him will be pleased

think everyone had a good time especially the kids
the kids love to ride on my lawn tractor with its trailer
through the yard, pastures, and 'snake country'

the kids also love the annual trip to the river where they can
wade in the water, throw and skip rocks, get muddy if they can
get past their parents, try to catch frogs and minnows, pet the
neighbors horses on the way, see a deer if they are lucky, and
climb over the rocks

the kids and their big kid parents also got to fly kites although
the wind was strong
mine went right up as the wind caught it but the manufacturer
forgot to tie the string and the kite continued its lofty flight up
towards the canada direction

my wife she and i furnish the hamburgers and hot dogs and each
family brings some food item
my favorite of course were the deserts ranging from several
brownies, chocolate cake, chocolate buck eyes (u know where
that person is from), the special amy desert, yum yum cookies,
ice cream and maybe the best the chocolate fountain

for my retirement i received a nice book of photos from the past
at work along with a gift certificate to my favorite organic green
nursery here in the austin area
cant wait to use that certificate

the photo book brought back old memories and i enjoy looking at
it every time i pick it up
thanks guys

know this is the last larry weekend
they have all been fun
this marks the end of that part of my life and my career as a doctor

now have to face a new future
have prepared myself for retirement
am doing those things i like to do (except for the housework and
dishes and the wash-ok i owe my wife she-didnt realize what she
had to put up with this for several years)

to be continued

GOLF
thought tiger might come back
thought there might be a big playoff
exciting masters
no more golf for me until next year
now its nba basketball

RAIN
yes we are getting rain here as i type this blog
those dam birds made a nest in one of my gutters and
it is overflowing
of course they had to pick the gutter thats the highest one
said i would never go back up there after the last time
maybe one more time

hopefully it will rain enough to repenlish some of the moisture
in the ground here
we are inches behind already this year

except for those dam birds this was a great weekend

the organicgreen doctor

golf, rain

GOLF
lets see ncaa men and womens basketball is over
nba playoffs havent started yet
so that leaves uhuh golf

the only golf i usually watch is the masters
the best golfers are there
its usually a thrilling if golf can be thrilling last day
to the event

can the young guns pull it off today or will
tiger make a jack nicklaus-like come back

should be a good golf day today

RAIN
from the old farmers almanac
weather means more when you have a garden
theres nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how
it is soaking in around your lettuce and green beans

that sounds so good
makes it cooler here just thinking about a nice spring rain

its so hot and dry here we need rain bad

the organicgreen doctor