gardening, hot dogs, drownings

GARDENING
here is some of my potato harvest from yesterday
notice the duck planking
its safer having the duck plank instead of me

well eat these taters over the next few weeks
we store them in our pantry
and eat them as we need them

after we (i) dug the taters out of the bed
we (i) put down a 4 inch layer of barn yard compost
and put down some pure chicken manure compost
which is rich in nitrogen made from our chickens productions
this was then worked into the soil well then the area
was covered with a layer of newspapers
this then was covered with layers of mulch
i use pine straw
this will be allowed to 'ripen' until next spring when i plant
my spring garden
probably will plant tomatoes or onions in this bed as i rotate
my beds every year when possible to cut down on the
risk of disease transmission

we (i) also planted some amaryth and lambs ear in my wife shes
salad garden
these are plants that you can eat the leaves in your salads
the hotter it gets the better it grows
we (i) have to water them 2-3 times a day while the seeds are
germinating and growing

we also add malabar spinach which loves the hot weather
also added to our salads in the summer are arugula and pursalane
and swiss chard
all of these like hot weather and are all good together with our
maters and onions and basil in our salads
so this is whats in our summer seasonal salad garden

in a couple of months it will time to start the fall and winter
salad gardens with lettuces, spinach, and salad mixes so
we can have salads from our garden all year round

i watch what the local farmers are selling at the farmers market
each season and i try to grow what they are growing
figured they had already figured this out and they knew what
would grow in this area

also in this area its time in the next 2 weeks to plant your fall
tomato crops
remember the fall may the best time to grow tomatoes
some nurseries will have transplants available
you must provide shade and water for them to get them
through this hot weather
i use shade cloth i get from the local nursery but you can use
anything to provide the shade


HOT DOGS
so that guy ate 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes
that 6 dogs a minute
(i have trouble eating one hot dog)
thats 20000 calories in 10 minutes
thats enough calories for a month
bet he had a bad night and a real bad day today
what people will do for $10000

the black widow won the womens contest by eating
40 dogs in 10 minutes
she a short skinny girl
wouldnt want to have to take her out to eat

will admit it was hard to watch them eat all those dogs
this year i got nauseated watching it
so i dvred for a later viewing

DROWNINGS
weve seemed to have more drownings this summer than usual
maybe more people are swimming because of the oppressive
heat

please be careful
no more this summer

the organicgreen doctor

fourth, highlights

FOURTH

todays the fourth of july
i know its all about picnicing and fireworks (not here
this year as all the fireworks are cancelled because of the
severe drought)


but today is the day the declaration of independence was
approved by congress on july 4, 1776


most of us havent read it and know most politicians
either havent read it or they definitely dont remember
its contents
maybe we should all take the time and read it again

be safe today
enjoy the day
remember why we have this holiday

HIGHLIGHTS
the highlights of our recent wedding week were

of course just being in santa barbara think-divide our temps
here in texas by 50% and those are the temps
sure would feel good today

seeing the dreier museum and holding babe ruths bat
priceless
and of course all of the other stuff we saw there

meeting and getting to stay with a couple whos a friend of my
daugtherinlaws family she and getting to know them and
spending time with them    
thanks again to jm and d

i got to meet one of my blogging buddies
she is lk who writes the lks grab bag blog which is one of my
favorite blogs i follow
she wrote an article in february about my blog and my dealing
with my diagnosis
she writes every sunday
interesting blog
her daughter was the maid of honor for my daughterinlaw she
we read each others blog but have not ever met
now we have

the rehearsal dinner set up at my wet suitcase sisterinlaws house
was amazing
she did such a good job of helping us host the dinner
thanks again

then of course the highlight of the week was the
memorable wedding day
again what a beautiful wedding

the organicgreen doctor

wedding journey the wedding day

WEDDING JOURNEY THE WEDDING DAY
so todays the day
we slept better last night thanks to jm and d
their house is on the top of a hill overlooking  santa barbara
what an amazing view overlooking santa barbara at night and
in the am

(their house was burned in the fires that swept through here and
they lost everything in the house
they have only been back in this new house for a few months
they rebuilt it to be just like the old one
again they probably saved our wedding weekend for us
thanks again jm and d)

so we  got dressed and went back to the apartment to drop
me off
my wife she and her mom did the makeupprettyingup thing
and was gone until time to get ready for the wedding

not sure what they did for all of those hours but sure am glad
i wasnt with them

here is another good thing from a bad thing
i sat and talked to one of the groomsman who lives
in austin
if not for that mishap with the rooms i would never have
got to sit and talk with him
well hes an organic green gardener so you know we spoke
the language and spent an hour talking about gardening,
looking at pictures of his landscaping, hardscaping,
and garden
we use the same organic green nursery in austin
yep a bond was formed that afternoon

then
the guys walked downtown to watch the summer soltice parade
which was so good this year
think mardi gras atmosphere in the daytime without everyone
drunk but with everyone having a good time
(it was a green parade as all mechanization to move the floats etc
was done with human power)
was sad i couldnt stay  to watch all of it but we had something
better to do that day

so got on my tuxedo and it did not hurt at all
the black suit made my white hair stand out
my wife she looked fantastic
almost didnt recognize her after the makeup and hair fixing

we made to to the wedding ok
dang everyone in the wedding party looked so good

am glad they took all the pictures first as i dont think they
could have got them done after the wedding

ok i know its my oldest son hes and my oldest sons fiance
shes wedding but what a great wedding

the weather was perfect
we survived the wedding week
everything is turning out perfect in the end
the bride and goom look fantastic

the bride was given up by her mom as her dad had
died from a lengthy illness

(she gave her up very reluctantly i might add-
she was stuck to my new daughterinlaw shes shoulder to
shoulder with velcro)

luckily my son had met him and got to know him and got to be
there for emotional support as his disease progressed
my son got to ask her dad for permission to marry his daughter
my son was given the ok
just wished her dad could have been there
this was the time at the wedding when i cried the most

the ceremony was so good
the minister was so good and made every one comfortable
with his wit and humor

the people there were a mixture of religions from around
the world
the scripture read was one that one would not realize was out
of the bible and was so appropriate to marriage

for the wedding vows my now daugherinlaw she read her vows
wow she may turn out to be a good one after all
can tell they both love each other

my son the groom when he got to read his vows
reached in his pocket and pulled out his iphone
and clicked on his posting and read his vows from the phone
well we are in a new technological age arent we
what a great ceremony

what a great toast from my youngest son as the best man
ok so my wife she and i cried again when he did that toast

the bride and grooms speech was equally as good
the food was great
the band was great
the family and friends seemed to have a good time

what a great wedding and reception

the journey is not over though as their journey
has just begun

a toast to my oldest son he and my new daughterinlaw she
we wish you the best
may you have a happy life together

(a special thanks to
my motherinlaw she for allowing us to take over her apartment
jm and d for allowing us to use their home to rest our tired heads
my wet suitcase sisterinlaw for setting up and having such a
great rehearsal dinner)

the organicgreen doctor