And the zen-like euphoria it produces.
Option 1 -- It's easiest to approach them from behind. Slowly, very slowy close the gap between the blades, then snip fast. This works about 20% of the time.
Option 2 -- Get them against the fence; it's harder for them to jump away or to get cover. Works about 25% of the time, but you scratch your fence.
Option 3 -- This is the best! They think that you can't see them so they scurry to the underside of a leaf. Well, considering how much damage they've done to almost evey type of plant in my garden so far (and it ain't even August yet--we're talking complete skeltonization of 3' x 3' plants and hundreds of hoppers), I'm willing to sacrifice a leaf or potential flowering stem to get them. Just snip right through the leaf. Approximate the middle of their body by their attennae and legs sticking out from behind. Works about 50-60% of the time, if not more once you get in the zone.
The art of grasshopper killing with scissors is an ancient one, handed down from the Chinese and Japanese bonsai masters--and popularized by Mr. Miyagi with his catch-a-fly-with-chopsticks technique. Try it! Not only will you feel calm and focused, you may have killed or seriously injured a female grasshopper.
In my book, even a legless grasshopper isn't as much of a threat as a two-legged insect. (And obviously the bigger they are, the easier they fall.)
Let the hate mail and comments for disgust ensue, but keep in mind pepper spray and molasses isn't working (esp molasses), and I don't believe in pesticides. This seems pretty darn organic to me, especially as I scissored about 20 tonight.
Namaste.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Swanky Birdfeeder, Wild Quinine, Decent Coneflowers
Let's define decent coneflowers: none of those freaks with fluffy pom poms where the seed head should be, but the geneticists put the thing too close to radiation and well, you know, strange things started happening. Do NOT get me started on this.
Below we shall enjoy, shall shall shall, views of the garden--now grown to twice its girth in the last two weeks. We shall partake in the lovely colors, and more importantly, textures. We shall ignore the portion by the fence on the small hill where not much works yet (dry in summer, wet in winter / spring where it's shaded and ice lingers while other parts of the garden are greening up).
And oh, do we have a birdfeeder for you hip cats....
I usually have terrible luck with these new cone cultivars, but 'Sundown' came back with vigor for me this year. 'Swan' and 'Sunrise' are two dependable ones, but I always figured that's because they weren't uber modified like these more recent and weaker ones.
I'm too lazy to look up, and therefore can't remember, what this cultivar is named--but I do enjoy it.
I thought this was nice. So do you, by the way.
A close up of Queen of the Prairie in bloom. Smells like roses. You have to have this native plant. This year it, like most everything else, has grown massively. The filipendula is now about 6' tall and 4' wide and shading a turtlehead and meadow rue.
Wild Quinine. When I first picked up this medium to large native perennial I was iffy--looked kinda boring. And it is. But look at these unique 'blooms.' Reminds me of cauliflower (click to expand). This plant is currently at about 4' tall by 3' wide, slouching a bit because we recently had 5-6" of rain in two weeks after nothing the whole spring.
I really enjoy the different textures in this photo. And again, so do you. Liatris up front with sumac to the left, cones and monarda behind, then wild quinine, eupatorium and ironweed along the fence. Meeeoooowww.
A suprise for me this year in how I like this combo of 'Black Lace' elderberry and Amsonia hubrichtii. The amsonia is finally at about full height and spread, but the elderberry is still settling in--growing too much out instead of up, so I've begun contorting (staking) it to turn upwards. Doing far too much staking this year, mostly that pesky deluge of 3" last week which finished off most tall things.
Last year's garden art acquisition. Pretty at sunset. Right?
And our new birdfeeder. We really debated purchasing this as it was out of our budget. But the wife said "hey, this can be our anniversary present." And fortunately, something good happened only days later that made the purchase affordable. Help the economy (eh), help artists (yes!). My mom says only fashionable birds would use this feeder, but so far it's just pretty much grackles. 10 at a time. They darken the sky.
I ADORE my Rudbeckia maxima (and the birdfeeder behind it in this photo, just in case you hadn't noticed). I have this giant--6 feet--black-eyed susan set where two paths diverge in the garden, and it is at the point of a bed of red monarda and chocolate joe pye weed. The height at this spot is just perfect, it seems to me, and adds so much interest with its big blue leaves (again not shown here, so google it and buy one). I first discovered this plant over at View From Federal Twist, then bought it at Ambergate Gardens in Minnesota--two very cool places you should visit.
Below we shall enjoy, shall shall shall, views of the garden--now grown to twice its girth in the last two weeks. We shall partake in the lovely colors, and more importantly, textures. We shall ignore the portion by the fence on the small hill where not much works yet (dry in summer, wet in winter / spring where it's shaded and ice lingers while other parts of the garden are greening up).
And oh, do we have a birdfeeder for you hip cats....
I usually have terrible luck with these new cone cultivars, but 'Sundown' came back with vigor for me this year. 'Swan' and 'Sunrise' are two dependable ones, but I always figured that's because they weren't uber modified like these more recent and weaker ones.
I'm too lazy to look up, and therefore can't remember, what this cultivar is named--but I do enjoy it.
I thought this was nice. So do you, by the way.
A close up of Queen of the Prairie in bloom. Smells like roses. You have to have this native plant. This year it, like most everything else, has grown massively. The filipendula is now about 6' tall and 4' wide and shading a turtlehead and meadow rue.
Wild Quinine. When I first picked up this medium to large native perennial I was iffy--looked kinda boring. And it is. But look at these unique 'blooms.' Reminds me of cauliflower (click to expand). This plant is currently at about 4' tall by 3' wide, slouching a bit because we recently had 5-6" of rain in two weeks after nothing the whole spring.
I really enjoy the different textures in this photo. And again, so do you. Liatris up front with sumac to the left, cones and monarda behind, then wild quinine, eupatorium and ironweed along the fence. Meeeoooowww.
A suprise for me this year in how I like this combo of 'Black Lace' elderberry and Amsonia hubrichtii. The amsonia is finally at about full height and spread, but the elderberry is still settling in--growing too much out instead of up, so I've begun contorting (staking) it to turn upwards. Doing far too much staking this year, mostly that pesky deluge of 3" last week which finished off most tall things.
Last year's garden art acquisition. Pretty at sunset. Right?
And our new birdfeeder. We really debated purchasing this as it was out of our budget. But the wife said "hey, this can be our anniversary present." And fortunately, something good happened only days later that made the purchase affordable. Help the economy (eh), help artists (yes!). My mom says only fashionable birds would use this feeder, but so far it's just pretty much grackles. 10 at a time. They darken the sky.
I ADORE my Rudbeckia maxima (and the birdfeeder behind it in this photo, just in case you hadn't noticed). I have this giant--6 feet--black-eyed susan set where two paths diverge in the garden, and it is at the point of a bed of red monarda and chocolate joe pye weed. The height at this spot is just perfect, it seems to me, and adds so much interest with its big blue leaves (again not shown here, so google it and buy one). I first discovered this plant over at View From Federal Twist, then bought it at Ambergate Gardens in Minnesota--two very cool places you should visit.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
On BS
So my wife dragged me to a packed bookstore last night to see David Sedaris, who is mighty funny. As I was waiting for my wife to get her book signed (took exactly 2 hours because Sedaris likes to yuck it up), I roamed the bookstore. I read every title in the poetry section, the terribly paltry nature / garden section, Nebraska and Nebraska Press sections, University of Nebraska faculty section, and the philosophy section.
The philosophy titles interested me immensely--at first. There's a trend in relating philosophy to the masses via pop culture: chat rooms, dating websites, Battlestar Gallactica, philosophy for dummies. Some of the titles, which I can't remember, sounded too deep / mercurial for me. Then I starting thinking not deep, self involved. Then not self involved, just sorrowful. I felt pity for the authors. All that time invested in what really amounts to nothing--circular words and arguments based on smoke and mirrors. Is all writing ultimately like this?
I think philosophy and, in general, "philosophizing" is fun and interesting, but it creates a very, very small world indeed--one that is exclusionary of experience in my opinion. And in many ways, I've just finished 9 years of a life that was this, but maybe it set me up to not live anything like that kind of life ever again. But I cheered up a bit when I hit the title on the bookshelf that read "On Bullshit." A small, thin book, and based on my flipping through its pages, discusses dictionary definitions and real wold manifestations of BS.
And I realized that, being self effacing but not really self effacing in a self effacing way, it was BS, too.
So I bought a 50% off garden book which seems to hold far more philosophy in one page than all that other BS. Which made me sad. Is all language just a form of BS?
So I started thinking about starting my own business--making change purses. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized there's just not that much money in them.
The philosophy titles interested me immensely--at first. There's a trend in relating philosophy to the masses via pop culture: chat rooms, dating websites, Battlestar Gallactica, philosophy for dummies. Some of the titles, which I can't remember, sounded too deep / mercurial for me. Then I starting thinking not deep, self involved. Then not self involved, just sorrowful. I felt pity for the authors. All that time invested in what really amounts to nothing--circular words and arguments based on smoke and mirrors. Is all writing ultimately like this?
I think philosophy and, in general, "philosophizing" is fun and interesting, but it creates a very, very small world indeed--one that is exclusionary of experience in my opinion. And in many ways, I've just finished 9 years of a life that was this, but maybe it set me up to not live anything like that kind of life ever again. But I cheered up a bit when I hit the title on the bookshelf that read "On Bullshit." A small, thin book, and based on my flipping through its pages, discusses dictionary definitions and real wold manifestations of BS.
And I realized that, being self effacing but not really self effacing in a self effacing way, it was BS, too.
So I bought a 50% off garden book which seems to hold far more philosophy in one page than all that other BS. Which made me sad. Is all language just a form of BS?
So I started thinking about starting my own business--making change purses. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized there's just not that much money in them.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Green Cows?
Mini Herefords, that is. Produce less methane, don't overgaze, help with erosion, don't compact / disturb the soil as much, and still produce a lot of beef and milk.
So, maybe when you go out this evening you should ask about a free range, growth hormone-less, ethically processed (possible?) mini cows.
So, maybe when you go out this evening you should ask about a free range, growth hormone-less, ethically processed (possible?) mini cows.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Copper Iris, Lysimachia, Sanguisorba, Sculpture
Perhaps my posts will become more lyrical late in the summer, but I'm tired-of thinking, talking, thinking, reading (for shame!). Pictures have been soothing my soul lately, and pictures ye shall have. The second full summer has been good to the garden, leaf-ripping hail storm not included.
I'll never tire of this window from the side garden into the main garden.
Main garden, beginning to fill in this year thanks to iris, monarda, and eupatorium. Unfortunately, the more numerous perennials are outpacing the strategically placed shrubs, which makes them appear not so strategically placed because you can't see them: dogwood, chokeberry, viburnum, itea, ninebark.
The side garden was in the shade, the fountain was reflecting copper in the sun.
I was thrilled that my native copper iris (LA) actually bloomed this first year after having been planted late last fall. The only shade of orange I can stomach.
Viva the tiger eyes sumac framed by the newly installed 'Summer Wine' ninebark.
Sanguisorba looks best, in my opinion, after its pink blooms fade to red and hold most of the summer. Stunning.
A nice foliar / color texture I thought: sanguisorba blooming up front, with swamp milkweed behind, then monarda, then rudbeckia maxima, with lysimachia and geranium blooming behind that.
Lysimachia 'Alexander' in bloom. Lovely plant from the first glimpse in spring to freeze in October. I do, however, need to find more May blooming things--it's mostly a foliage show in May, which, actually, is a pretty good one.
Mom emails me one day and says "I bought this on Ebay, do you maybe want it?" Fo-shizzle! Put it over the rarely-used sprinkler system access panel so as not to kill any grass. Though, less grass wouldn't bug me one bit--that's why I like planting trees, in part. And if I hear one more neighbor mowing their lawn when I'm trying to enjoy my garden--mowing pretty much all the time now--I will have to call my friend Steve, who now works in explosives for the FBI, and call in some old college favors.
I'll never tire of this window from the side garden into the main garden.
Main garden, beginning to fill in this year thanks to iris, monarda, and eupatorium. Unfortunately, the more numerous perennials are outpacing the strategically placed shrubs, which makes them appear not so strategically placed because you can't see them: dogwood, chokeberry, viburnum, itea, ninebark.
The side garden was in the shade, the fountain was reflecting copper in the sun.
I was thrilled that my native copper iris (LA) actually bloomed this first year after having been planted late last fall. The only shade of orange I can stomach.
Viva the tiger eyes sumac framed by the newly installed 'Summer Wine' ninebark.
Sanguisorba looks best, in my opinion, after its pink blooms fade to red and hold most of the summer. Stunning.
A nice foliar / color texture I thought: sanguisorba blooming up front, with swamp milkweed behind, then monarda, then rudbeckia maxima, with lysimachia and geranium blooming behind that.
Lysimachia 'Alexander' in bloom. Lovely plant from the first glimpse in spring to freeze in October. I do, however, need to find more May blooming things--it's mostly a foliage show in May, which, actually, is a pretty good one.
Mom emails me one day and says "I bought this on Ebay, do you maybe want it?" Fo-shizzle! Put it over the rarely-used sprinkler system access panel so as not to kill any grass. Though, less grass wouldn't bug me one bit--that's why I like planting trees, in part. And if I hear one more neighbor mowing their lawn when I'm trying to enjoy my garden--mowing pretty much all the time now--I will have to call my friend Steve, who now works in explosives for the FBI, and call in some old college favors.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
On Sending Out a Memoir
Ok, I'm not fooling anyone--I've no idea what I'm doing. I've never done this before. Still, when the first press says no to a proposal (of a book already done, but certainly in need of tweaking and smoothing out and an eye other than my own), it's similar to getting a rejection from a literary journal. Wait, no it's not. I think journals are worse. Though the letters read the same, I think there's the idea that this essay or this poem is far more perfected. Some would say then why are you trying to get your book published--because every single person who reads or hears about the book says "that's such a unique idea and story!"
Look, it's a good book, but I have no clue (or bravado) on how to prostitute myself. I've read some books and many, many websites on how to write and organize proposal packages, but I've never been good at fellowship or job letters (well, maybe job letters). What is anyone looking for? Is a book proposal nearly as much a lottery, darts at the board, lightening strike as publishing a poem? An essay? Is it like finding good pastries?
Look, I want to say, let's stop beating around the bush. I'll drive out to wherever you are, buy you coffee or dinner, and we can just talk. If after 10 minutes we can't stand the other person, let's have a safe word so we can exit and be mutually understanding. My safe word is "ni." Prior to our date, you could have stalked me on Google, read a chapter or two from my book, and that way we'd know if this relationship could even have a chance.
Promising hybrid memoir on hot topic that spans many niches and markets looking for press / editor to fill in the mortar joints. Author is congenial and will listen to anything, not terribly demanding (except for the cover perhaps). Book just wants to be held close on a rainy afternoon in mid summer and given a chance to become something more. Looking forward to taking a chance with the right person.
Look, it's a good book, but I have no clue (or bravado) on how to prostitute myself. I've read some books and many, many websites on how to write and organize proposal packages, but I've never been good at fellowship or job letters (well, maybe job letters). What is anyone looking for? Is a book proposal nearly as much a lottery, darts at the board, lightening strike as publishing a poem? An essay? Is it like finding good pastries?
Look, I want to say, let's stop beating around the bush. I'll drive out to wherever you are, buy you coffee or dinner, and we can just talk. If after 10 minutes we can't stand the other person, let's have a safe word so we can exit and be mutually understanding. My safe word is "ni." Prior to our date, you could have stalked me on Google, read a chapter or two from my book, and that way we'd know if this relationship could even have a chance.
Promising hybrid memoir on hot topic that spans many niches and markets looking for press / editor to fill in the mortar joints. Author is congenial and will listen to anything, not terribly demanding (except for the cover perhaps). Book just wants to be held close on a rainy afternoon in mid summer and given a chance to become something more. Looking forward to taking a chance with the right person.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Who Pooped?
You can go to the Minnesota Zoo and find out, or play the interactive quiz and match the African animal to its poop. You even get to help them poop by lifting their tails and watching it come out. It's like being an employee!!
In the garden I touch poop all the time: rabbits, squirrels, birds, mine....
In the garden I touch poop all the time: rabbits, squirrels, birds, mine....
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Flooding Disaster, Baptisia, Staking the Betula Youngii
I've been away, psychologically, from this blog for a while now. Wanna guess why? Ever since the chaos and intensity of this last, final term of grad school, I'm still in the process of coming down, though the smallest things seem so large. My sleep pattern is all haywire, most likely still stemming from my 8-10 hour workdays to finish my book in January. But I feel glimpses of normalcy again. And then things happen to disrupt them. Read on.
First, it's been a while since I posted garden shots. I dislike close ups of flowers on other blogs, usually, because I want to see the garden--but you can't see the garden in a picture. You can't move and focus in on something that catches your eye (or nose, or pant leg). Like, look at this 2.5 year old baptisia finally blooming, and blooming like gangbusters.
That's Baptisia 'Twilight Prarieblues.' Although it's so smoky you can't see it from far away, seeing it up close is way neat.
'Black Stockings' Meadow Rue. Very seductive and kinky. Right? Hello?
I've no idea which of my Iris sibirica this is, but it's cool.
First year in the ground and blue flag iris is growing fast and blooming beaucoup.
Globemaster allium tearing itself open. Reminds me of this blister I had last week....
Globemaster. (A possible name for a GI Joe or HeMan character?)
Amsonia hubrichtii about to bloom. Freaky. Click on the pic to expand it and see the hairs.
And below, please find the nightmare I've had this week. Most everything was going well this year, much less loss than the previous spring. Although I'm about to rip out the two 'Ruby Spice' Clethra which are languishing (what do I replace them with? 'Winterthur' Viburnum where it's damp clay, yet more dogwood shrubs?).
So, I woke up one morning this week to find I left the water hose on. No big deal, except the hose sprung a leak--the threads, with nozzle attached, ripped out of the hose. I bet 100s of gallons of precious water were lost. The ensuing stream went to the dry stream bed I have for the gutter downspout, out under the fence, along 40 feet of my neighbor's yet-to-be-sodded yard, and vanished underground in a waterfall. My clay soil was nothing but mush as far as I could dig.
So I rushed in and yanked out two shrubs and a perennial before they drowned. The dwarf arctic blue willow should be fine, but not sure about my wife's clematis or an itea. She said the whole area looks like someone was searching for a body. I was. Mine. My heart sunk into that muck, and I hope it dries out (the soil) in the 90 degree weather to come this weekend, but doesn't kill the potted shrubs (like the 'Ogon' spiraea, which after 2 years was FINALLY getting going).
But, I did accomplish one goal I set out to do 12 months ago: stake up the contorting young's weeping white birch that I got dirt cheep at Home Depot in 2007 (it pays to look). Some things just take a while to think about. You be the judge on my work. The bottom part of the trunk is so heavy it shouldn't go anywhere, and the top part (about 6' off the ground) seems snug against the hose and the velcro tape.
First, it's been a while since I posted garden shots. I dislike close ups of flowers on other blogs, usually, because I want to see the garden--but you can't see the garden in a picture. You can't move and focus in on something that catches your eye (or nose, or pant leg). Like, look at this 2.5 year old baptisia finally blooming, and blooming like gangbusters.
That's Baptisia 'Twilight Prarieblues.' Although it's so smoky you can't see it from far away, seeing it up close is way neat.
'Black Stockings' Meadow Rue. Very seductive and kinky. Right? Hello?
I've no idea which of my Iris sibirica this is, but it's cool.
First year in the ground and blue flag iris is growing fast and blooming beaucoup.
Globemaster allium tearing itself open. Reminds me of this blister I had last week....
Globemaster. (A possible name for a GI Joe or HeMan character?)
Amsonia hubrichtii about to bloom. Freaky. Click on the pic to expand it and see the hairs.
And below, please find the nightmare I've had this week. Most everything was going well this year, much less loss than the previous spring. Although I'm about to rip out the two 'Ruby Spice' Clethra which are languishing (what do I replace them with? 'Winterthur' Viburnum where it's damp clay, yet more dogwood shrubs?).
So, I woke up one morning this week to find I left the water hose on. No big deal, except the hose sprung a leak--the threads, with nozzle attached, ripped out of the hose. I bet 100s of gallons of precious water were lost. The ensuing stream went to the dry stream bed I have for the gutter downspout, out under the fence, along 40 feet of my neighbor's yet-to-be-sodded yard, and vanished underground in a waterfall. My clay soil was nothing but mush as far as I could dig.
So I rushed in and yanked out two shrubs and a perennial before they drowned. The dwarf arctic blue willow should be fine, but not sure about my wife's clematis or an itea. She said the whole area looks like someone was searching for a body. I was. Mine. My heart sunk into that muck, and I hope it dries out (the soil) in the 90 degree weather to come this weekend, but doesn't kill the potted shrubs (like the 'Ogon' spiraea, which after 2 years was FINALLY getting going).
But, I did accomplish one goal I set out to do 12 months ago: stake up the contorting young's weeping white birch that I got dirt cheep at Home Depot in 2007 (it pays to look). Some things just take a while to think about. You be the judge on my work. The bottom part of the trunk is so heavy it shouldn't go anywhere, and the top part (about 6' off the ground) seems snug against the hose and the velcro tape.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Trim Your Vagina Topiary
I just saw this commercial tonight and couldn't believe it. There are other, more blatant commercials for this product, but this one seems trim enough to me. And here I am helping them promote their product. Argh.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
ISLE is Publishing My Dandelion Essay
Wooooo freaking hoooooooooooo! You should wait to buy a copy, but you can read it here.
Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment (ISLE) is, in my opinion, one of the top journals on critical and creative environmental writing. It's published by / through ASLE, The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment.
Watch for "The Lion's Tooth" at an invisible bookstore near you.
Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment (ISLE) is, in my opinion, one of the top journals on critical and creative environmental writing. It's published by / through ASLE, The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment.
Watch for "The Lion's Tooth" at an invisible bookstore near you.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Here I Am Graduatin' With My PhD
I can't believe I have a PhD. Then again, it's the most natural thing in the world. I have two arms, a nose, brown hair, and a PhD.
Commencement (May 8) was pretty quick, and my advisor stuck it out with me--such a good sport. We cracked sarcastic jokes with one another for 2 hours as my family made faces at me from the stands. One caveat to those who come after me: the doctoral hooding used to be more intimate, both in setting and fan fair, and this commencement felt too undergraduate-ish to me (the basketball stadium, and the chancellor, tongue in cheek every year, asking for alumni donations?). Plus the address stunk. But I digress--have some pictures of the joyous day. Can't believe it's over.
Gettin' hooded, yo.
After commencement I immediately began "PhDing" to my family. This is my new word for "complaining."
I felt like a model having to strike too many poses. Then at one point my family felt like paparazzi, so I fought back with my own flashy camera.
My parents on the left, me, my wife, and my wife's parents on the right.
Mmmmm doctoral cake.
I received so many gifts from my family it felt like it was my 12th birthday or something. A rain barrel. Clever t-shirts. Personalized M&Ms. Garden journal. Commissioned artwork (more to come on that in 3 months). Good books. Monarch rearing thingy dealy. Trip to the nursery. I got spoiled.
Check out the post below with video from my wife's flip camera.
Now, can I catch up with blogs and emails and my breath?
Commencement (May 8) was pretty quick, and my advisor stuck it out with me--such a good sport. We cracked sarcastic jokes with one another for 2 hours as my family made faces at me from the stands. One caveat to those who come after me: the doctoral hooding used to be more intimate, both in setting and fan fair, and this commencement felt too undergraduate-ish to me (the basketball stadium, and the chancellor, tongue in cheek every year, asking for alumni donations?). Plus the address stunk. But I digress--have some pictures of the joyous day. Can't believe it's over.
Gettin' hooded, yo.
After commencement I immediately began "PhDing" to my family. This is my new word for "complaining."
I felt like a model having to strike too many poses. Then at one point my family felt like paparazzi, so I fought back with my own flashy camera.
My parents on the left, me, my wife, and my wife's parents on the right.
Mmmmm doctoral cake.
I received so many gifts from my family it felt like it was my 12th birthday or something. A rain barrel. Clever t-shirts. Personalized M&Ms. Garden journal. Commissioned artwork (more to come on that in 3 months). Good books. Monarch rearing thingy dealy. Trip to the nursery. I got spoiled.
Check out the post below with video from my wife's flip camera.
Now, can I catch up with blogs and emails and my breath?
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Status of a Writer
Let's review the last, oh, two weeks:
-- Three major literary journals, one that starts with an O, absolutely love my nonfiction time after time, but once more it's still a no.
-- Place as a finalist in a poetry chapbook contest after years of trying to get some love for my manuscript, and many re-orgs. Maybe I finally got it.
-- One poem places as an honorable mention, another a finalist, in a contest.
-- Four rejection notes.
-- Three poems accepted for publication.
Some times I have to remind myself that, as bipedal humans, we perceive and experience the world as up and down. That is, as we walk we constantly rise and fall. This is maybe why I often feel dizzy if I'm not paying attention to where I am and where I'm going. Or, why I almost faint to and from the mailbox every day as I eagerly rip open SASEs.
Go read this little piece on rejections by Judith Kitchen--fun, true, sad, nice.
By the way, in two days I will have a cute little diploma I will sleep with. You can take that any way you want.
-- Three major literary journals, one that starts with an O, absolutely love my nonfiction time after time, but once more it's still a no.
-- Place as a finalist in a poetry chapbook contest after years of trying to get some love for my manuscript, and many re-orgs. Maybe I finally got it.
-- One poem places as an honorable mention, another a finalist, in a contest.
-- Four rejection notes.
-- Three poems accepted for publication.
Some times I have to remind myself that, as bipedal humans, we perceive and experience the world as up and down. That is, as we walk we constantly rise and fall. This is maybe why I often feel dizzy if I'm not paying attention to where I am and where I'm going. Or, why I almost faint to and from the mailbox every day as I eagerly rip open SASEs.
Go read this little piece on rejections by Judith Kitchen--fun, true, sad, nice.
By the way, in two days I will have a cute little diploma I will sleep with. You can take that any way you want.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Of Crabs, Eupatorium, Smokebush, and Garden Vistas
May the pictures commence (as I will be doing in just a few days!).
The new bridge.
My maybe favorite plant, Eupatorium altissium 'Prairie Jewel.' Lovely golden spring foliage turns into speckled cream and green turns into thousands of white flowers insects adore.
'Prairiefire' crabapple blooms are actually more purple than this in sunlight.
'Coralburst' crabapple is growing left.
Corlaburst blooms begin red, turn rose, end in pink.
The only color of tulips I will ever have.
Can't remember the name of this smokebush, but the spring and summer leaves are gold, and in fall they turn to most of the colors in the rainbow.
'Autumn Brilliance' Serviceberry blooms and buds.
If I had fewer perennials I wouldn't have to wait until fall for things to look magical. But I can wait. It's worth it. Boy is it worth it.
The new bridge.
My maybe favorite plant, Eupatorium altissium 'Prairie Jewel.' Lovely golden spring foliage turns into speckled cream and green turns into thousands of white flowers insects adore.
'Prairiefire' crabapple blooms are actually more purple than this in sunlight.
'Coralburst' crabapple is growing left.
Corlaburst blooms begin red, turn rose, end in pink.
The only color of tulips I will ever have.
Can't remember the name of this smokebush, but the spring and summer leaves are gold, and in fall they turn to most of the colors in the rainbow.
'Autumn Brilliance' Serviceberry blooms and buds.
If I had fewer perennials I wouldn't have to wait until fall for things to look magical. But I can wait. It's worth it. Boy is it worth it.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Last Day of Grad School
It's ironic that the last month of grad school, and now last day, simply involve me being a TA, teaching two classes. It makes 9 years sorta anti climactic. Grading finals isn't much of a celebration.
Thursday will be my last day as a TA. 8 years teaching at:
Ohio State -- 9 classes (TA, 3 yrs)
Doane College -- 3 classes (Adjunct, 1.5yrs)
University of Nebraska -- 15 classes (TA, 4 years)
I've met some incredible students, nay, writers in that time. It's been a privilege to work with them, to spot diamonds in the rough, to convert some to English majors, to be a hard ass and push others to where they should be. Nothing pleases me more than being a thorn in their side--if I got paid more maybe I wouldn't be as "encouraging."
And in all this time I wrote three books, which was the main goal of grad school:
Indelible Marks (poetry) -- 32p
Afterimage (poetry) -- 62p
Morning Glory (memoir) -- 241p
This is as sentimental as I can get before a crazy weekend of grading, house cleaning, and general preparation of visiting family. Maybe it'll hit me harder in September. But I'm ready to move on, be all I can be (or an army of one), so it might not hit me at all.
I need a 10' tall ironweed. Now. But Plant Delights is out of them.
Thursday will be my last day as a TA. 8 years teaching at:
Ohio State -- 9 classes (TA, 3 yrs)
Doane College -- 3 classes (Adjunct, 1.5yrs)
University of Nebraska -- 15 classes (TA, 4 years)
I've met some incredible students, nay, writers in that time. It's been a privilege to work with them, to spot diamonds in the rough, to convert some to English majors, to be a hard ass and push others to where they should be. Nothing pleases me more than being a thorn in their side--if I got paid more maybe I wouldn't be as "encouraging."
And in all this time I wrote three books, which was the main goal of grad school:
Indelible Marks (poetry) -- 32p
Afterimage (poetry) -- 62p
Morning Glory (memoir) -- 241p
This is as sentimental as I can get before a crazy weekend of grading, house cleaning, and general preparation of visiting family. Maybe it'll hit me harder in September. But I'm ready to move on, be all I can be (or an army of one), so it might not hit me at all.
I need a 10' tall ironweed. Now. But Plant Delights is out of them.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tree Chilling Hours
Learn something new every month. This from Jeff Gillman out of the University of Minnesota:
"Trees have developed a tool to tell them that winter has passed and it's safe for them to open their delicate buds. Here's how it works: Although trees may look dormant in winter, certain important chemical reactions are taking place inside them. When the temperature is between 45 and 33 degrees, certain chemicals are produced in most trees. The longer the tree spends between these temperatures, the more of these chemicals are produced. Only when the chemicals reach the right level is the tree ready to respond to the warm air rushing through its branches.
People who grow fruit refer to the time the tree spends in this narrow temperature range as "chilling hours," and they select trees to plant based on their requirement for chilling hours. For example, a tree grown in Minnesota might require 1,200 chilling hours, while a tree in Florida might require 150....
To avoid late frosts, some trees also use what's called warm days. Even after they've met their chilling requirements, trees such as oaks wait until we've had plenty of warm days before opening their buds. This ensures that oaks almost always avoid late frosts. That's a good thing because oaks are not good at producing new buds. Other trees, such as maples, break bud soon after their chilling requirements are satisfied. If maples lose leaves to a late frost, they can produce more."
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/42192267.html?page=1&c=y
"Trees have developed a tool to tell them that winter has passed and it's safe for them to open their delicate buds. Here's how it works: Although trees may look dormant in winter, certain important chemical reactions are taking place inside them. When the temperature is between 45 and 33 degrees, certain chemicals are produced in most trees. The longer the tree spends between these temperatures, the more of these chemicals are produced. Only when the chemicals reach the right level is the tree ready to respond to the warm air rushing through its branches.
People who grow fruit refer to the time the tree spends in this narrow temperature range as "chilling hours," and they select trees to plant based on their requirement for chilling hours. For example, a tree grown in Minnesota might require 1,200 chilling hours, while a tree in Florida might require 150....
To avoid late frosts, some trees also use what's called warm days. Even after they've met their chilling requirements, trees such as oaks wait until we've had plenty of warm days before opening their buds. This ensures that oaks almost always avoid late frosts. That's a good thing because oaks are not good at producing new buds. Other trees, such as maples, break bud soon after their chilling requirements are satisfied. If maples lose leaves to a late frost, they can produce more."
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/42192267.html?page=1&c=y
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Of Tams and Blossoms
Did you know academic caps are called tams? And that if you want a PhD one it'll cost you $70, plus shipping? I do not want to look like the other riffraff so I bought it--no 4 square mortar board for me, luxurious octagonal velvet here I come.
And since it's too hot outside to garden, I took some pics. Stuff is growing by leaps and bounds even though we're well over 3" short on rainfall this spring.
The neighbor's seven pears are abloom
All kinds of insects, lady bugs especially, are enjoying the 'Prairie Cascade' willow blooms
'Prairie Fire' crab leaves emerged maroon, but are already fading to green, alas
At least the NWA planes don't say Delta yet
'Coralburst' crab about to burst
Lysimachia ciliata 'Firecracker' has spread from its now-dead center
Lysimachia punctata 'Alexander' spreading nicely this year
Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima' (Red Chokeberry) looks more like milkweed about to bloom
Ninebark 'Coppertina' looks the best this time of year
And since it's too hot outside to garden, I took some pics. Stuff is growing by leaps and bounds even though we're well over 3" short on rainfall this spring.
The neighbor's seven pears are abloom
All kinds of insects, lady bugs especially, are enjoying the 'Prairie Cascade' willow blooms
'Prairie Fire' crab leaves emerged maroon, but are already fading to green, alas
At least the NWA planes don't say Delta yet
'Coralburst' crab about to burst
Lysimachia ciliata 'Firecracker' has spread from its now-dead center
Lysimachia punctata 'Alexander' spreading nicely this year
Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima' (Red Chokeberry) looks more like milkweed about to bloom
Ninebark 'Coppertina' looks the best this time of year
Monday, April 20, 2009
Mr. Mows All the Time...
...is across the street. Not even May yet. And his yard is MAYBE 2/3 green, but more like 50%.
He will mow 2-3 times per week until November. Rain or shine. Grass or no grass.
Viva pollution. We all gotta have something to do in life. (Guess what my thing is?)
--Gas mowers waste 17 million gallons of gas each year in refueling spills, and comprise 5% of the nation’s pollution (this does not count weed whackers, blowers, et cetera).
--1 mower running for 1 hour puts out as much pollution as 8 new cars driving 55mph for the same length of time.
--Gas mowers are damn loud and damn annoying.
ADDENDUM 4/22 -- Mr. Mows All the Time scalped his yard, pretty much, and has spent the better part of this warm, sunny day watering it. He must wonder why it burns in August, too. Poor guy. Maybe it needs more fertilizer.
He will mow 2-3 times per week until November. Rain or shine. Grass or no grass.
Viva pollution. We all gotta have something to do in life. (Guess what my thing is?)
--Gas mowers waste 17 million gallons of gas each year in refueling spills, and comprise 5% of the nation’s pollution (this does not count weed whackers, blowers, et cetera).
--1 mower running for 1 hour puts out as much pollution as 8 new cars driving 55mph for the same length of time.
--Gas mowers are damn loud and damn annoying.
ADDENDUM 4/22 -- Mr. Mows All the Time scalped his yard, pretty much, and has spent the better part of this warm, sunny day watering it. He must wonder why it burns in August, too. Poor guy. Maybe it needs more fertilizer.
Friday, April 17, 2009
I Want to Be a Bride and Wear the Fancy Dress and Flirt with the Groomsmen
A very lovely, reputable, delightful literary journal has rejected me for the 4th or 5th time in a strongly encouraging way. But that makes it all the more painful. I don't get it--lots of wonderful comments on work from my memoir from here to there, but no bites. This is seriously like fishing. Every time you send new work to a journal (fishing spot) you know has some good action (they seem to like your work to some decent degree and you know where the bottom is, the sunken tree, the weeds), it's like trying to guess what style / theme (lure color, action, style) might work that day. Fortunately, in both instances, there's always candy bars, chips, and beer to fall back on to pass the time. I wonder, could I go all Crocodile Dundee on this and TNT the water (literary journal) and get fish (acceptance letter) to float to the surface? Would I go to prison?
Petunia With Human DNA
"Ready or not, a Chicago artist and a University of Minnesota biologist have concocted just such a petunia, called "Edunia," after artist Eduardo Kac, whose DNA runs through its veins. The pink-ruffled flower is the shy star of an exhibit opening tonight at the university's Weisman Art Museum.
With lush green foliage and cascades of pretty flowers, Edunia looks like any ordinary petunia. The blossoms' delicate red veins are the result of DNA manipulation that integrates a protein-coding sequence from a chromosome in Kac's blood....
Like all research involving the creation of transgenic organisms, Edunia had to be approved by the university's biological safety committee and conform to guidelines issued by the National Institutes of Health. That means, among other things, that no leaves, seeds or blossoms escape into the natural environment. Ultimately Edunia will be destroyed, though some of its seeds will become part of the Weisman's permanent collection."
And OMG:
"A professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Kac, 46, is internationally known for his work in technology and bio-art. His most famous creation was Alba, a genetically modified white rabbit whose fur glowed green because of an infusion of fluorescent jellyfish genes."
With lush green foliage and cascades of pretty flowers, Edunia looks like any ordinary petunia. The blossoms' delicate red veins are the result of DNA manipulation that integrates a protein-coding sequence from a chromosome in Kac's blood....
Like all research involving the creation of transgenic organisms, Edunia had to be approved by the university's biological safety committee and conform to guidelines issued by the National Institutes of Health. That means, among other things, that no leaves, seeds or blossoms escape into the natural environment. Ultimately Edunia will be destroyed, though some of its seeds will become part of the Weisman's permanent collection."
And OMG:
"A professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Kac, 46, is internationally known for his work in technology and bio-art. His most famous creation was Alba, a genetically modified white rabbit whose fur glowed green because of an infusion of fluorescent jellyfish genes."
Friday, April 10, 2009
Look What's Poking Up in the Garden
Men who garden at least 30-45 minutes per week halve their chances of experiencing impotence.
This according to several studies, and you can read more here.
I have an idea for new commercials that could tout ecological thinking AND help that guy from 1950 dressed in a santa suit. Can you picture poor Joe Blow (ahem), all depressed and alone, working in the garden--but then after a few weeks things start to take off in the compost-enriched soil. And no pesticides, please. I can imagine buxom brunettes tackling Joe and reaching for the water hose and... oh, I have to go outside now....
This according to several studies, and you can read more here.
I have an idea for new commercials that could tout ecological thinking AND help that guy from 1950 dressed in a santa suit. Can you picture poor Joe Blow (ahem), all depressed and alone, working in the garden--but then after a few weeks things start to take off in the compost-enriched soil. And no pesticides, please. I can imagine buxom brunettes tackling Joe and reaching for the water hose and... oh, I have to go outside now....
Thursday, April 9, 2009
V is 8 / 48. Time Flies When You Meow
Happy birthday my feline fellow. (minus the snip snip of course.)
You're 8 years old today, or 48, and you can still tackle M ferociously after chasing him through the house. You love to have conversations with me (are they conversations or polite ultimatums?). You're a constant companion, sitting on the chair with me in my office as I read manuscripts or write something that no one will publish. Take for instance the below picture when I had just finished using you as a head rest. Now, that's friendship.
Here's to the manx breeder in Cleveland, our move from OH to NE, and our move from NE to NE (a distance of 3 miles). And to the little circular brown spheres you leave on the bed sheets because manx are predisposed to not getting it all off the back end (no tail, you see, to wiggle things loose). V, you're Z and S rolled into one--and that's high praise.
You're 8 years old today, or 48, and you can still tackle M ferociously after chasing him through the house. You love to have conversations with me (are they conversations or polite ultimatums?). You're a constant companion, sitting on the chair with me in my office as I read manuscripts or write something that no one will publish. Take for instance the below picture when I had just finished using you as a head rest. Now, that's friendship.
Here's to the manx breeder in Cleveland, our move from OH to NE, and our move from NE to NE (a distance of 3 miles). And to the little circular brown spheres you leave on the bed sheets because manx are predisposed to not getting it all off the back end (no tail, you see, to wiggle things loose). V, you're Z and S rolled into one--and that's high praise.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Spring Does NOT Mean Gardening
It means Minnesota Twins baseball. Screw gardening, warm weather, nature, end of school year. Bah--all over hyped. This is the last year of the dome in Minneapolis, and I for one will miss the 100% chance of no inclimate weather or blood-sucking insects the size of blue jays. This year no loss in a 1 game playoff to see who makes the postseason, just a nice 7 game lead to win the division (and the joy of knowing the Yankees failed once again after spending the equivalant of Brazil's GNP).
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Dr. Me
Of course my defense was a fairly low key conversation about my writing, my future plans, daffodils, the sad state of affairs with poetry book publishing (the only way you can get a book deal is if you enter a contest for $25 and hope you win the lottery of a lottery of a lottery).
This isn't a pithy post--it's all so surreal and subdued. I think I'd feel different if the defense came with a book contract (that will INDEED be a happy-naked-dance-through-downtown-with-chocolate-sauce-glistening-on-my-hairy-chest day). There are some very important structural changes which need to happen in the memoir, some narrative tension and pressure that needs to be pushed a bit more--as well as some smoothing out between the various hybrid sections--and this could take a few weeks; my plan is June 1, however, and then on to publishers. I think it'll be a little hard to get back into the rhythm of the book, but I need to do it now. The poetry manuscript needs some trimming, but that won't take more than a day or a weekend I think--I just wish that darn thing would at least be a finalist somewhere.
9 years of grad school, straight. 8 years of teaching. 3,527 books read. 104 classes taken. 1 million stress-filled evenings. But I did not go to grad school for anything other than to work on my writing and leave a solid and confident writer, and I've done that. The next book project starts late this summer, and it'll be set in Oklahoma.
This post is almost as bad as the end to Battlestar Gallactica. Seriously. Could that switch directions any more suddenly, cover things any more quickly (or completely omit them), and confusedly end--all with tears in my eyes? I need a BSG toaster.
This isn't a pithy post--it's all so surreal and subdued. I think I'd feel different if the defense came with a book contract (that will INDEED be a happy-naked-dance-through-downtown-with-chocolate-sauce-glistening-on-my-hairy-chest day). There are some very important structural changes which need to happen in the memoir, some narrative tension and pressure that needs to be pushed a bit more--as well as some smoothing out between the various hybrid sections--and this could take a few weeks; my plan is June 1, however, and then on to publishers. I think it'll be a little hard to get back into the rhythm of the book, but I need to do it now. The poetry manuscript needs some trimming, but that won't take more than a day or a weekend I think--I just wish that darn thing would at least be a finalist somewhere.
9 years of grad school, straight. 8 years of teaching. 3,527 books read. 104 classes taken. 1 million stress-filled evenings. But I did not go to grad school for anything other than to work on my writing and leave a solid and confident writer, and I've done that. The next book project starts late this summer, and it'll be set in Oklahoma.
This post is almost as bad as the end to Battlestar Gallactica. Seriously. Could that switch directions any more suddenly, cover things any more quickly (or completely omit them), and confusedly end--all with tears in my eyes? I need a BSG toaster.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Eau de Star Trek
These are the scents of the starship Enterprise....
"Hoping to profit from the May 8 release of J.J. Abrams' new "Star Trek" film, Maryland-based Genki Wear will release three Star Trek-themed scents on April 24.
Soon, Trekkies will be able to channel their inner Starfleet commander with Tiberius, based on Capt. James Kirk's character. The scent, which carries the tag line "Boldly go," is described as having a "warm vanilla, white musk and sandalwood" base.
For those living like the next workday could be their last, there's "Red Shirt." This cologne, with the tag line, "Because tomorrow may never come," is in honor of the unnamed Enterprise officers who don't typically survive past the TV show's first scene. It's described as having a "leather and gray musk" aroma.
The "Pon Farr" perfume is for the ladies. A great gift for Mom for letting you crash in the basement for 50-some-odd years? Maybe not. It refers to the Vulcan mating ritual, which occurs every seven years. So maybe this one's only for special occasions?"
--Associated Press
"Hoping to profit from the May 8 release of J.J. Abrams' new "Star Trek" film, Maryland-based Genki Wear will release three Star Trek-themed scents on April 24.
Soon, Trekkies will be able to channel their inner Starfleet commander with Tiberius, based on Capt. James Kirk's character. The scent, which carries the tag line "Boldly go," is described as having a "warm vanilla, white musk and sandalwood" base.
For those living like the next workday could be their last, there's "Red Shirt." This cologne, with the tag line, "Because tomorrow may never come," is in honor of the unnamed Enterprise officers who don't typically survive past the TV show's first scene. It's described as having a "leather and gray musk" aroma.
The "Pon Farr" perfume is for the ladies. A great gift for Mom for letting you crash in the basement for 50-some-odd years? Maybe not. It refers to the Vulcan mating ritual, which occurs every seven years. So maybe this one's only for special occasions?"
--Associated Press
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Naomi Shihab Nye Poems
This week and next I have been / will be in a writing workshop with visiting writer Naomi Shihab Nye. This will be my last "class" ever as a student. I was thinking of dropping it because I'm just so tired, and there's grading and PhD paperwork to format, but I'm glad I stayed in because she is such a lively, inquisitive, passionate person. For example, I think she is on a mission to eat at every locally-owned restaurant in town, and this weekend is visiting the sandhills and the migrating cranes. And she really, really likes W.S. Merwin and William Stafford. Check plus plus.
Here are two poems of hers I particularly enjoy for their silences (which is what makes a good poem so lasting and meaningful, not the words):
The Art of Disappearing
When they say Don't I know you? say no.
When they invite you to the party
remember what parties are like
before answering.
Someone telling you in a loud voice
they once wrote a poem.
Greasy sausage balls on a paper plate.
Then reply.
If they say we should get together.
say why? It's not that you don't love them any more.
You're trying to remember something
too important to forget.
Trees.
The monastery bell at twilight.
Tell them you have a new project.
It will never be finished. When someone recognizes you in a grocery store
nod briefly and become a cabbage.
When someone you haven't seen in ten years
appears at the door,
don't start singing him all your new songs.
You will never catch up.
Walk around feeling like a leaf. Know you could tumble any second. Then decide what to do with your time.
Streets
A man leaves the world
and the streets he lived on
grow a little shorter.
One more window dark
in this city, the figs on his branches
will soften for birds.
If we stand quietly enough evenings
there grows a whole company of us
standing quietly together.
overhead loud grackles are claiming their trees
and the sky which sews and sews, tirelessly sewing,
drops her purple hem.
Each thing in its time, in its place,
it would be nice to think the same about people.
Some people do. They sleep completely,
waking refreshed. Others live in two worlds,
the lost and remembered.
They sleep twice, once for the one who is gone,
once for themselves. They dream thickly,
dream double, they wake from a dream
into another one, they walk the short streets
calling out names, and then they answer.
Here are two poems of hers I particularly enjoy for their silences (which is what makes a good poem so lasting and meaningful, not the words):
The Art of Disappearing
When they say Don't I know you? say no.
When they invite you to the party
remember what parties are like
before answering.
Someone telling you in a loud voice
they once wrote a poem.
Greasy sausage balls on a paper plate.
Then reply.
If they say we should get together.
say why? It's not that you don't love them any more.
You're trying to remember something
too important to forget.
Trees.
The monastery bell at twilight.
Tell them you have a new project.
It will never be finished. When someone recognizes you in a grocery store
nod briefly and become a cabbage.
When someone you haven't seen in ten years
appears at the door,
don't start singing him all your new songs.
You will never catch up.
Walk around feeling like a leaf. Know you could tumble any second. Then decide what to do with your time.
Streets
A man leaves the world
and the streets he lived on
grow a little shorter.
One more window dark
in this city, the figs on his branches
will soften for birds.
If we stand quietly enough evenings
there grows a whole company of us
standing quietly together.
overhead loud grackles are claiming their trees
and the sky which sews and sews, tirelessly sewing,
drops her purple hem.
Each thing in its time, in its place,
it would be nice to think the same about people.
Some people do. They sleep completely,
waking refreshed. Others live in two worlds,
the lost and remembered.
They sleep twice, once for the one who is gone,
once for themselves. They dream thickly,
dream double, they wake from a dream
into another one, they walk the short streets
calling out names, and then they answer.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Drugged Up Fish Found Near Water Treatment Plants
Fish caught near wastewater treatment plants serving five major U.S. cities had residues of pharmaceuticals in them, including medicines used to treat high cholesterol, allergies, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder and depression, researchers reported Wednesday....
A person would have to eat hundreds of thousands of fish dinners to get even a single therapeutic dose, Brooks said. But researchers including Brooks have found that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues can harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species because of their constant exposure to contaminated water....
...tested fish caught in rivers where wastewater treatment plants release treated sewage in Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Orlando, Fla....
Much of the contamination comes from the unmetabolized residues of pharmaceuticals that people have taken and excreted; unused medications dumped down the drain also contribute to the problem.
They found trace concentrations of seven drugs and two soap scent chemicals in fish at all five of the urban river sites. The amounts varied, but some of the fish had combinations of many of the compounds in their livers.
In an ongoing investigation, The Associated Press has reported trace concentrations of pharmaceuticals have been detected in drinking water provided to at least 46 million Americans.
The EPA has called for additional studies about the impact on humans of long-term consumption of minute amounts of medicines in their drinking water, especially in unknown combinations. Limited laboratory studies have shown that human cells failed to grow or took unusual shapes when exposed to combinations of some pharmaceuticals found in drinking water.
A person would have to eat hundreds of thousands of fish dinners to get even a single therapeutic dose, Brooks said. But researchers including Brooks have found that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues can harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species because of their constant exposure to contaminated water....
...tested fish caught in rivers where wastewater treatment plants release treated sewage in Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Orlando, Fla....
Much of the contamination comes from the unmetabolized residues of pharmaceuticals that people have taken and excreted; unused medications dumped down the drain also contribute to the problem.
They found trace concentrations of seven drugs and two soap scent chemicals in fish at all five of the urban river sites. The amounts varied, but some of the fish had combinations of many of the compounds in their livers.
In an ongoing investigation, The Associated Press has reported trace concentrations of pharmaceuticals have been detected in drinking water provided to at least 46 million Americans.
The EPA has called for additional studies about the impact on humans of long-term consumption of minute amounts of medicines in their drinking water, especially in unknown combinations. Limited laboratory studies have shown that human cells failed to grow or took unusual shapes when exposed to combinations of some pharmaceuticals found in drinking water.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wooden Stick USB Drives, Roadkill Rug, Fake Blooming Plants
A computer with a stick up its.... Cool. But 60 euros.
Also, check out the solar birdhouse that attracts bugs for birds to eat:
The roadkill rug (I REALLY want this):
And fake blooming plants, like gum tree, red coral, and lettuce (just add water!):
Also, check out the solar birdhouse that attracts bugs for birds to eat:
The roadkill rug (I REALLY want this):
And fake blooming plants, like gum tree, red coral, and lettuce (just add water!):
Fisherman Refuses Rescue, Fish Were Biting
A fisherman floating on a Lake Winnebago (Oshkosh, WI) ice slab refused to be rescued, telling authorities he wanted to stay because the fish were biting.
Winnebago County sheriff's officials say Joseph Dake used a ladder across open water to get to the ice slab, about a quarter mile from shore.
Lt. John Zimmerman says the slab was connected to ice that led to shore, but a large crack had formed.
The Oshkosh Fire Department sent a rescue boat to Dake Tuesday evening. But, the 35-year-old Oshkosh man refused assistance, saying the fishing was good.
1) I do miss them hardy northern folk
2) I do miss them stubborn northern folk
3) I do miss Battlestar Galactica already
Winnebago County sheriff's officials say Joseph Dake used a ladder across open water to get to the ice slab, about a quarter mile from shore.
Lt. John Zimmerman says the slab was connected to ice that led to shore, but a large crack had formed.
The Oshkosh Fire Department sent a rescue boat to Dake Tuesday evening. But, the 35-year-old Oshkosh man refused assistance, saying the fishing was good.
1) I do miss them hardy northern folk
2) I do miss them stubborn northern folk
3) I do miss Battlestar Galactica already
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Free Pot & Honeybee in Bird Feeder
Over 200 I imagine. See?
That's 1.5 seasons, and the #1 reason why a few people say my garden looks like it's been here longer than it really has. $$$
And what's this in the bird feeder? A honeybee?
The elm is blooming (above), though I'm afraid the development graders might have ripped up too many feeder roots, and hence its many dead branches.
Chokeberry is budding. And so are the three various willows. And just this weekend the martagon lily has come out of the ground--may she bless us with dozens of blooms this year.
And here is the latest and last tree--I swear, really--I will ever plant on this property: a 'Prairie Fire' crabapple (I now have 13 trees). If you go to Campbell's nursery the price ain't bad for this lovely 8 footer, and for just $10 they deliver later that day. Suhweet. This crab will, some day, umbrella itself over the entrance to the garden with its sweet rosey blooms, delicate red fall fruit, and lots of bird droppings. It is already just barely leafing out.
That widget to the above right is really starting to freak me out.
That's 1.5 seasons, and the #1 reason why a few people say my garden looks like it's been here longer than it really has. $$$
And what's this in the bird feeder? A honeybee?
The elm is blooming (above), though I'm afraid the development graders might have ripped up too many feeder roots, and hence its many dead branches.
Chokeberry is budding. And so are the three various willows. And just this weekend the martagon lily has come out of the ground--may she bless us with dozens of blooms this year.
And here is the latest and last tree--I swear, really--I will ever plant on this property: a 'Prairie Fire' crabapple (I now have 13 trees). If you go to Campbell's nursery the price ain't bad for this lovely 8 footer, and for just $10 they deliver later that day. Suhweet. This crab will, some day, umbrella itself over the entrance to the garden with its sweet rosey blooms, delicate red fall fruit, and lots of bird droppings. It is already just barely leafing out.
That widget to the above right is really starting to freak me out.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Tree Trimming, Crabapple Search, Spring, and Pushcart
Our neighbor's pond has, overnight, become its annual, throaty (froggy) self. Intense emanations of sound echo from the water's surface. It's time to get it on, the call says. The spiraea has green buds. The tansy has green shoots. The chokeberry buds are swelling....
Yesterday, during our second plus-70 degree day in a row, I trimmed up two river birch trees. They've been in the ground not even a year, but many many dead branches were on them. The clump birch probably because the nursery delivered the tree parched. That's not even a strong enough word. The single trunk birch because I either overwatered or underwatered it--apparently the symptoms are the same, a loss of lower leaves and branches.
I do HIGHLY recommend Cass Turnbull's Guide to Pruning. I needed to know how to make cuts, and when and on what plants. But I really needed to know how. Her advice, and humor, were spot on and I feel confident about my choices outside. I will forever remember the 2/3 rule--leave 2/3 of the canopy, and if 2/3 of the branch is dead just cut the whole thing off to avoid those little sprouts that go straight up.
I've also been searching for a small flowering fruit tree to grace the entrance to the garden and block out the neighbor's front porch. My results:
1) Dogwoods -- just too finicky, and need more shade than I can give them.
2) Redbud -- Me thinks they dost protest my clay too much, and may perhaps branch too low (I need them to clear 6' almost right at the trunk).
3) Crabapple -- here we go. 'Royal Raindrops' sounds delightful. Get's purple leaves early in the season, lovely red / purple flowers, red berries, interesting branch structure, adapts to clay, loves sun, very disease resistant (particulary to apple cedar rust--the neighborhood cedars do have rust). And its leaves are deeply-lobed so look like some laceleaf Japanese maple--perfect for my "Japanese" side garden. If I can find one. Otherwise I got backups.
I was also thrilled this week to discover on a blog--because they didn't notify me--that the literary journal Hayden's Ferry Review has nominated a poem of mine for the Pushcart Prize. Every journal and press can nominate just a few pieces of writing each year to this annual prize anthology, so it's cool. Really cool would be to get a prize. A fellow poet and UNL grad student was also chosen by the journal, same issue even. Go Nebraska.
Now it's time to get my hair cut and remove the winter mullet.
Yesterday, during our second plus-70 degree day in a row, I trimmed up two river birch trees. They've been in the ground not even a year, but many many dead branches were on them. The clump birch probably because the nursery delivered the tree parched. That's not even a strong enough word. The single trunk birch because I either overwatered or underwatered it--apparently the symptoms are the same, a loss of lower leaves and branches.
I do HIGHLY recommend Cass Turnbull's Guide to Pruning. I needed to know how to make cuts, and when and on what plants. But I really needed to know how. Her advice, and humor, were spot on and I feel confident about my choices outside. I will forever remember the 2/3 rule--leave 2/3 of the canopy, and if 2/3 of the branch is dead just cut the whole thing off to avoid those little sprouts that go straight up.
I've also been searching for a small flowering fruit tree to grace the entrance to the garden and block out the neighbor's front porch. My results:
1) Dogwoods -- just too finicky, and need more shade than I can give them.
2) Redbud -- Me thinks they dost protest my clay too much, and may perhaps branch too low (I need them to clear 6' almost right at the trunk).
3) Crabapple -- here we go. 'Royal Raindrops' sounds delightful. Get's purple leaves early in the season, lovely red / purple flowers, red berries, interesting branch structure, adapts to clay, loves sun, very disease resistant (particulary to apple cedar rust--the neighborhood cedars do have rust). And its leaves are deeply-lobed so look like some laceleaf Japanese maple--perfect for my "Japanese" side garden. If I can find one. Otherwise I got backups.
I was also thrilled this week to discover on a blog--because they didn't notify me--that the literary journal Hayden's Ferry Review has nominated a poem of mine for the Pushcart Prize. Every journal and press can nominate just a few pieces of writing each year to this annual prize anthology, so it's cool. Really cool would be to get a prize. A fellow poet and UNL grad student was also chosen by the journal, same issue even. Go Nebraska.
Now it's time to get my hair cut and remove the winter mullet.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Attention! Rain Barrels with 2.9% APR
Seriously. I'd like one, but who has $150? Go green--get a second mortgage on your house. $150 appears to be a lower end average for 50 gallons, particularly if you don't want a diverter on the down spout (which is extra for $30, and which you do want). I found a barrel for $85, but shipping was $70. And 99% of them are darn ugly--why must "barrel" be synonymous with "ye olde lemon juice container to prevent ye olde scurvy on the high seas, arrr?" I--mean--they--are--ugly. Perhaps 'tis time to make my own out of taped-together nursery pots and squirrel tails.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Like Ice Cream Trucks, TruGreen Arrives in Spring
Every day--seriously--I see TruGreen ChemLawn trucks perusing the neighborhood like bored teens. If they are actually doing anything, like making applications or such, is doubtful. I bet good money that they are simply mobile billboards. Sweet gig. Today one truck has been parked a block away over the lunch hour. Driver just sitting in there. Convenient time to park, isn't it? Think he's making out with someone?
I abhor TruGreen Chemlawn. I just do. Perhaps I shouldn't.
"A healthy landscape contributes to a healthy environment in many ways. In fact, healthy trees, plants, and shrubs actually:
--Purify and conserve water resources by reducing runoff and recharging the water table
--Maintain air quality by absorbing air pollutants like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and smog
--Trap dust particles that can reduce visibility and sunlight
Generate oxygen through photosynthesis
In addition, healthy lawns:
--Slow the spread of fire by providing a buffer zone around buildings
--Build topsoil through decay of grass clippings and other roots and shoots
--Reduce erosion of topsoil into streams
Keeping your landscape well groomed also promotes a healthy environment for you because it moderates temperatures and noise, reduces glare, and controls allergens.
Protecting and enhancing your grass, trees, and shrubs helps your pocketbook because it can increase your property value, and healthy, mature trees shading your home can cut your energy costs significantly."
What is "healthy?" And grass moderates noise? WHAT? Wouldn't more shrubs and trees do this, with the "side benefit" of providing lots of shelter and food to multitudes of wildlife?
Let's look at their tree and shrub care. How many treatments does a person need by this company? 7. 4 more if you want trunk injections (my god!) and trimming. I could cut that down to one.
How toxic are their products?
"TruGreen does not manufacture the products we use in lawn care, but the products we purchase generally contain the same active ingredients as found in products sold at retail garden stores and hardware stores.
Furthermore, the toxic potential of any substance is a function of dose or concentration. The spray applications most commonly made by TruGreen are dilute aqueous solutions of fertilizer and pesticides consisting of approximately 92 percent water, 7.5 percent fertilizer and 0.5 percent or less of pesticide. However, approximately 50 percent of our applications consist of dry granular formulations of lawn care products similar to those available at retail stores.
Twelve combinations of materials most regularly used by TruGreen in lawn, tree and shrub care were tested for oral acute toxicity in rodents using concentrations similar to those that are in the spray application. The term LD50 represents the dose that is lethal to 50% of the rodent test group. Eleven of the applications had an LD50 value greater than 20,000 mg/kg and one had an LD50 of 18,100 mg/kg.
What's more, a scale used for rating the toxicity of chemicals from Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, Gosselin, Smith and Hodge: Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, 1984 indicated the test results for liquid mixtures diluted for use in TruGreen ChemLawn programs can be rated as Practically Non-Toxic."
Did you get that one line with the implication that their treatments are safe because they are similar to ones available at retail stores? Dude, if Home Depot sold plutonium it doesn't mean I want it on my yard.
I'm curtailing this post because I need to go eat some chocolate. Anyone want to weigh in on this company?
I abhor TruGreen Chemlawn. I just do. Perhaps I shouldn't.
"A healthy landscape contributes to a healthy environment in many ways. In fact, healthy trees, plants, and shrubs actually:
--Purify and conserve water resources by reducing runoff and recharging the water table
--Maintain air quality by absorbing air pollutants like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and smog
--Trap dust particles that can reduce visibility and sunlight
Generate oxygen through photosynthesis
In addition, healthy lawns:
--Slow the spread of fire by providing a buffer zone around buildings
--Build topsoil through decay of grass clippings and other roots and shoots
--Reduce erosion of topsoil into streams
Keeping your landscape well groomed also promotes a healthy environment for you because it moderates temperatures and noise, reduces glare, and controls allergens.
Protecting and enhancing your grass, trees, and shrubs helps your pocketbook because it can increase your property value, and healthy, mature trees shading your home can cut your energy costs significantly."
What is "healthy?" And grass moderates noise? WHAT? Wouldn't more shrubs and trees do this, with the "side benefit" of providing lots of shelter and food to multitudes of wildlife?
Let's look at their tree and shrub care. How many treatments does a person need by this company? 7. 4 more if you want trunk injections (my god!) and trimming. I could cut that down to one.
How toxic are their products?
"TruGreen does not manufacture the products we use in lawn care, but the products we purchase generally contain the same active ingredients as found in products sold at retail garden stores and hardware stores.
Furthermore, the toxic potential of any substance is a function of dose or concentration. The spray applications most commonly made by TruGreen are dilute aqueous solutions of fertilizer and pesticides consisting of approximately 92 percent water, 7.5 percent fertilizer and 0.5 percent or less of pesticide. However, approximately 50 percent of our applications consist of dry granular formulations of lawn care products similar to those available at retail stores.
Twelve combinations of materials most regularly used by TruGreen in lawn, tree and shrub care were tested for oral acute toxicity in rodents using concentrations similar to those that are in the spray application. The term LD50 represents the dose that is lethal to 50% of the rodent test group. Eleven of the applications had an LD50 value greater than 20,000 mg/kg and one had an LD50 of 18,100 mg/kg.
What's more, a scale used for rating the toxicity of chemicals from Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, Gosselin, Smith and Hodge: Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, 1984 indicated the test results for liquid mixtures diluted for use in TruGreen ChemLawn programs can be rated as Practically Non-Toxic."
Did you get that one line with the implication that their treatments are safe because they are similar to ones available at retail stores? Dude, if Home Depot sold plutonium it doesn't mean I want it on my yard.
I'm curtailing this post because I need to go eat some chocolate. Anyone want to weigh in on this company?
Monday, March 9, 2009
Smorgasbord Recipes for Neurotic Goat People
As the four people who still read my blog occasionally might notice, my postings have become a bit neurotic. Like goat people. Hungry goat people. Hungry goat people who want hot dish. This is a sure fire product of my impending graduation and the refusal of my university to acknowledge two dissertations in their stupid and pointless paperwork combined with too many rejections still coming my way. I was heartened to recently discover that Einstein, in his mid twenties, questioned why he was alive, and wrote to his parents saying maybe he shouldn't have been born. Therefore, my melancholoy will breed genius. It's inevitable.
But, some good things have been happening on the writerly front, so I will list them in an attempt to create some coherence and pretend I'm happy and everything is easier than it appears (or closer than they appear, like in a rearview mirror, you know....):
1) Two essays from the hybrid memoir are forthcoming in two journals: Sou'wester, aforementioned in an earlier post I do believe, and a special environmental issue of Amoskeag.
2) I won $1,000 last month for some poems of mine. I need to do that about 20 more times this year.
3) Ted Kooser will be publishing one of my poems from my other dissertation, a poetry manuscript, in his nationally syndicated column American Life in Poetry. It should appear in about 40 weeks. The man plans ahead.
4) I've sent out the last batch of essays to journals and contests and books to publishers, I hope for some time. It was a busy weekend. I will now focus on editing the memoir for the oral exam, and with an eye toward its full-blown submission to presses this summer: Borealis Books (Minnesota Historical Society Press), Milkweed Editions, University of Iowa Press, University of Nebraska Press.
5) Classes feel, to me, like they are winding down. But it's simply the calm before the storm: portfolios of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and the other class has a 10 page term paper. Class workshops, conferences, two field trips and a film will buffer spring break for our weary souls. Which is next week. Thank the Lords of Kobol. (2 episodes left and it's just now getting good! Don't abandon the Galactica! Don't do it! I love you BSG!!)
But, some good things have been happening on the writerly front, so I will list them in an attempt to create some coherence and pretend I'm happy and everything is easier than it appears (or closer than they appear, like in a rearview mirror, you know....):
1) Two essays from the hybrid memoir are forthcoming in two journals: Sou'wester, aforementioned in an earlier post I do believe, and a special environmental issue of Amoskeag.
2) I won $1,000 last month for some poems of mine. I need to do that about 20 more times this year.
3) Ted Kooser will be publishing one of my poems from my other dissertation, a poetry manuscript, in his nationally syndicated column American Life in Poetry. It should appear in about 40 weeks. The man plans ahead.
4) I've sent out the last batch of essays to journals and contests and books to publishers, I hope for some time. It was a busy weekend. I will now focus on editing the memoir for the oral exam, and with an eye toward its full-blown submission to presses this summer: Borealis Books (Minnesota Historical Society Press), Milkweed Editions, University of Iowa Press, University of Nebraska Press.
5) Classes feel, to me, like they are winding down. But it's simply the calm before the storm: portfolios of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and the other class has a 10 page term paper. Class workshops, conferences, two field trips and a film will buffer spring break for our weary souls. Which is next week. Thank the Lords of Kobol. (2 episodes left and it's just now getting good! Don't abandon the Galactica! Don't do it! I love you BSG!!)
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Hey You! Turn Off Your Freaking Skyscraper Lights!
I knew tall buildings where magnets of death for birds, but this is the first I heard about the Aububon Society's 'Lights Out' program in big cities during peak migration times. And, duh, who knew, your company can also save money. Huh. (Please not the sarcasm.) Have some stuff I stole from another website and tossed together:
The critical times for the birds are during their migrations: The spring migration runs from March 15 to May 31, the fall one from Aug. 15 to Oct. 31.
During those times, small songbirds, including warblers and thrushes, migrate at night, guided by the stars, the horizon and rivers.... It's believed that the light from buildings and communication towers draws birds off course -- especially when clouds are low and birds tend to fly lower.
Once drawn to the lights, birds end up circling in the glow, having difficulty finding the way out. Often they crash into buildings or drop to rooftops or the ground from exhaustion, she said.
Nationwide, estimates range from 100 million to 1 billion birds a year that die because they fly into buildings.
The critical times for the birds are during their migrations: The spring migration runs from March 15 to May 31, the fall one from Aug. 15 to Oct. 31.
During those times, small songbirds, including warblers and thrushes, migrate at night, guided by the stars, the horizon and rivers.... It's believed that the light from buildings and communication towers draws birds off course -- especially when clouds are low and birds tend to fly lower.
Once drawn to the lights, birds end up circling in the glow, having difficulty finding the way out. Often they crash into buildings or drop to rooftops or the ground from exhaustion, she said.
Nationwide, estimates range from 100 million to 1 billion birds a year that die because they fly into buildings.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sandhill Cranes Are Here
I think we heard, and saw, sandhill cranes migrating late this afternoon, far up in the sky. I googled the call and it sure sounds like what we heard. The birds above were larger than most and the wings looked like the crane's, too. It's nearly peak migration time here in Nebraska, and these birds were heading west toward central NE and the Platte River. Pretty cool. Maybe I'm just outside more now with a garden, but it sure does seem like the wildlife are more present or noticable on the edge of town. Not a revelation I know, but I'm liking this, and want to go further out. And stay there.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Most of Us Almost Died This Morning
A 200 foot wide asteroid missed the earth this morning by 40,000 miles, or 1/7 the distance to the moon, or, twice as far as some satellites.
It's likely that it was and will again be drawn to the Earth's gravity, and could make us extinct or something. Oh, and it was only discovered Friday.
If the asteroid had hit, it would've had 1,000 times the destructive force of Hiroshima. Carpe diem folks, carpe diem old school.
It's likely that it was and will again be drawn to the Earth's gravity, and could make us extinct or something. Oh, and it was only discovered Friday.
If the asteroid had hit, it would've had 1,000 times the destructive force of Hiroshima. Carpe diem folks, carpe diem old school.
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