yum yum not

YUM YUM NOT

here at the country n the general upkeep that i have to
do has accumulated over the last two months since i
was down for the count with my ruptured disk

this is the time when i usually do a lot of clean up work
around the property as the spring has caused a lot of
plants and grasses to become overgrown

normally in the heat of july i am not doing much outside
since ive usually done most of the maintenance and clean up
in early june

so now i get up early and as soon as the light is light enough
i go outside to start working
but i am still limited on what i can do
but each week the sciatica improves so ive noticed i can
do more each day and not pay the price at night time when
i try to sleep

my measure of how well im doing is how much vicodin i am
taking
my last one was 10 days ago and i also stopped my
antiinflammatory mobic since it made my blood pressure go up
to 160/90-100 and once i stopped that my pressure is now
back to normal
sure helps to be a doctor sometimes

as i walk around my property this week as i am really getting
a close look at everything as i mow weed eat and move brush
i am devastated by the destruction that those damn grasshoppers
have done to our property
plum trees maple trees peach trees pecan trees citrus trees
honeysuckle vines trumpet vines oregano asparagus
lady banks rose persimmon pear
wonder why they wont eat those hackberries that seem to
pop up everywhere

i do not notice that there arent many if any true native plants
that these things eat
like native grapes salvia greggii oaks mesquite cedar elm
youpon holly definitely not cactus morning glory cedar
texas plum texas persimmon

as i walk around i think i wonder how i can get rid of these
guys
my guineas and chickens get so full of grasshoppers sometimes
that a grasshopper could land on their beaks and they
wouldnt eat them
except of course in the morning when we let them out
they are like a sewing machine going after those hoppers

i wonder could i eat those guys
i know in some countries they do
80% of the people in the world do
ive seen them on those food shows you know the one where
those guys will eat and drink anything

i think i would like mine if i ate them real crispy maybe like a
over cooked fired okra or a real burned french fry so
you could close your eyes and pretend it was one of those things
just overdone
bet the crunch would be the same

one of our friends knew of our plight or should i say plaque
and sent me a recipe for cooking those hoppers

from the book


well we do have a lot of onions and our neighbor just gave
us a lot of tomatoes
maybe use that lime that the hoppers didnt eat
and my wife she just bought some new kabob tools
and i did just redo my grill so we have
just what we need here at the country n to cook those hoppers

everyone is invited over for a kaboob at the country n
especially our friend who sent us the recipes
come as you are
bring a container to take some hoppers home with you
so you can cook some at home

oh and i like the last picture on the cover since i love
chocolate

the organicgreen doctor

square foot garden

SQUARE FOOT GARDEN

i have made several of these 4 foot square gardens for friends
for the habitat houses and for my wife shes school

this year i decided to build a 4 foot square garden and donate
it to a silent auction to raise monies for our team organicgreendoctor
in the williamson county walk to end alzheimers
the silent auction will be at the reunion grille in cedar park
a nice venue for this
it will be the first week of september the exact date is being finalized

my friend has just finished the alzheimers quilt she made for the auction
she is a plastic surgeon who does quilting and does a blog for a hobby
when i receive it next week ill take pictures and will post more details
on it

heres the recipe for the 4 foot square garden that the
organicgreendoctor himself will personally build
help site the garden at the winners place
help chose the fall veggies to be planted
prep the site
and assist in planting the veggies in the fall garden

ingredients
love for organic gardening and the wish to inspire others to
do this type of gardening

32 feet of 2in x 6in x 8ft cedar boards
8 feet of 2in x 4in x 8ft cedar board

1/2 cubic yard of hill country soil from the natural gardener

4  2 cubic feet bags of lady bug brand square foot gardening blend
wire to separate garden into 1 foot squares
nails

instructions on what to plant in the garden in the fall and in
the spring
instructions on caring for the garden

on the site assessment i will look at sun exposure
you must have 6 hours or sun or you can not have veggies
growing in the garden

i will look for compass alignment looking for the best sun
exposure

i will look for light exposure for the summer and the winter
looking at trees shrubs etc that may affect the gardens
placement

then
i we since i want the new owner to get involved and get their
hands dirty and put in some sweat equity
will scrape out a square that is 8 ft x 8 ft
then a 4 ft square hole will be dug down to 12 inches
removing the soil to be used somewhere else or if its
good soil replace it in the hole
the bottom will be filled with newspapers and maybe
cardboard as this kills weeds and hold moisture in the soil
also worms love to eat newspapers

then the square foot garden frame will be placed on the new soil
a 1 foot wide layer of cardboard will be placed around the
new frame to help keep weeds and grass from growing
into the new garden

















it would look something like this without the central composter
and the frame would be 6 inches higher than this one

then the hill country soil and the square foot garden soil will be
placed in the frame

you now have a 4 foot square garden with a soil depth of 2 feet
that will work much better in this hot dry climate

this picture is on the square foot garden we planted at my wife shes
school which has concrete blocks instead of cedar but it gives
you a better idea of the height of this new square foot garden
that we will build

you also have 16 one foot squares to plant fall veggies
which i we will plant together

suggested fall plantings are
spinach
lettuce
beets
carrots
swiss chard
cilantro
kale and more kale
broccoli
snap peas
cabbage
asian greens
radish
cauliflower
brussel sprouts
chinese cabbage
onion
garlic
turnips
arugula
etc

so if youve always wanted a square foot garden at your place
come make a bid on this one at our silent auction
the garden will be built with love and hopes for years of
enjoyment of growing your own veggies

also the monies will be going to a good cause

the organicgreen doctor

left was good

LEFT WAS GOOD
i hardly ever watch golf unless tiger is playing and now
only if he is in the run for winning
so this weekend i noticed he was close enough so
i turned on the tv to see the end of the british open


there before my eyes was the best feel good story occurring
this year in sports as i watched
old lefty phil mickelson
who has come in second a lot and
whom ive watched several times just
decompensate before your eyes
i mean really just playing awful when he had he lead
hitting the ball everywhere

such a nice guy you just want him to win


then this weekend he was in a zone
that final shot on the 18th green
the hands go up in the air
the crowd getting so loud with its cheering
abruptly occurring as the ball went in the cup


the tearful hug with his caddy
then

the long hug with his wife and  kids

that felt so good to watch this all
over and over again

you dont get to see this happen that often
where the win just feels so good to watch and to be a part
of the audience

its something thats missing from sports now a days


then i watched phils interviews on tv

yes what a classy guy

we need more of him

the organicgreen doctor