Tomorrow officially ends August, and so the slide to winter begins. The grass is cooperating, only growing enough for a weekly to 10 day mowing...my bees are clustering in the cool evenings...we have tomatoes still coming...there was a dry spell that drove some leaves off the trees enough to remind us of whats coming...my apples are turning red.
Of course, I still have enough summer projects to carry me for another 4 or 5 summers. Seems ambition isn't enough. Nothing takes the amount of time that is scheduled. And, nothing starts on schedule. That's why we have 30 year mortgages.
They say we'll have a cold winter without a lot of snow. How do "they" know? Wooley Caterpillars. They know. The only good thing about the onslaught of winte ris that it leads to spring.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Prime time is all the time
Where's the headline?
A few days ago the headline was "Dow slides 241 points" on a particularly bad day. Then, right afterward, it climbed around 25 points, then 89 points, then today up 212 points. No headlines for the good news, we wouldn't want anyone to have the impression there's anything GOOD going on, now would we? If them news guys say we are suffering economically, we must be. I mean, look at those cars at the gas pumps....they are filling up for $75 dollars twice a week and are darned mad about it...and the danged lines at the Ruby Tuesday...you'd think you wouldn't have to stand in the danged line so long to spend your $37 on them big hamburgers...and if my 5th grader complains onemoretime about that old fashioned 6 month old cell phone I gave her, I'll take the $40 dollars a month and buy something for me with it.....
Yep. Times is hard.
We did get the good news of the 8 gold medals by the American swimmer. We also got the good news the Hillary would let her people vote for Barack. That was nice. And that they were so generous they decided not to vote for Barack, let's just all yell "hurrah" and call it a day - who needs those time consuming voting things anyway? Hurrah for the great leader. Yeah. Caught up in the moment...
Why do we have these conventions anyway, since everything is already decided? So there is a forum for all Americans to hear the list of impossible promises and pandering, and to be convinced that though there are no values discussed and that lying is OK if they are white lies and don't really hurt anyone anyway and if I say sorry..we can all feel GOOD about ourselves and ...whoops...what's that sound...? Sounds like flushing water....or is that rushing water....? If I don't believe it maybe it won't be real!?
Can you tell me what I want to hear one more time? C'mon, tell me a liddle lie...
A few days ago the headline was "Dow slides 241 points" on a particularly bad day. Then, right afterward, it climbed around 25 points, then 89 points, then today up 212 points. No headlines for the good news, we wouldn't want anyone to have the impression there's anything GOOD going on, now would we? If them news guys say we are suffering economically, we must be. I mean, look at those cars at the gas pumps....they are filling up for $75 dollars twice a week and are darned mad about it...and the danged lines at the Ruby Tuesday...you'd think you wouldn't have to stand in the danged line so long to spend your $37 on them big hamburgers...and if my 5th grader complains onemoretime about that old fashioned 6 month old cell phone I gave her, I'll take the $40 dollars a month and buy something for me with it.....
Yep. Times is hard.
We did get the good news of the 8 gold medals by the American swimmer. We also got the good news the Hillary would let her people vote for Barack. That was nice. And that they were so generous they decided not to vote for Barack, let's just all yell "hurrah" and call it a day - who needs those time consuming voting things anyway? Hurrah for the great leader. Yeah. Caught up in the moment...
Why do we have these conventions anyway, since everything is already decided? So there is a forum for all Americans to hear the list of impossible promises and pandering, and to be convinced that though there are no values discussed and that lying is OK if they are white lies and don't really hurt anyone anyway and if I say sorry..we can all feel GOOD about ourselves and ...whoops...what's that sound...? Sounds like flushing water....or is that rushing water....? If I don't believe it maybe it won't be real!?
Can you tell me what I want to hear one more time? C'mon, tell me a liddle lie...
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
To bee an assassin
I'm having the first year in my bee yard where I feel like I have a clue. Only a clue, but it's better than nothing.
I started the season with 4 hives, all 4 had survived the winter. I divided the strongest ones early, making 6 out of the 4. I have pulled off what will turn into around 20-25gallons of honey as soon as I go through the arduous task of extracting it from the comb.
Last week I dethroned 2 queens who weren't performing up-to-snuff, replacing them with a pair I bought from a local breeder. (that idea lends itself well to all kinds of child-rearing applications, doesn't it?) The idea is to go into the upcoming winter with a queen who is producing a lot of eggs so the population that has to go through the winter is as large as possible.
The guy I bought the queens from showed me his operation - very interesting. He is selectively breeding queens for their gentleness (always good for bees), their parasite resistance, and their ability to survive our winters. Amazing, because he and his wife control the entire gene pool by not only selecting the queens from the colony, but they also artificially inseminate the queen from males in known colonies. Yes. Artificially inseminate. I was pretty amazed that you could do this with the tiny little queen, but even more, that you could to the "removal" from the little tiny male.
Think about it.
Anyway, one of the beekeeper tasks is to know the environmental threats to the bees and control them as much as you can. The other day I was out in my beeyard and I spotted an amazing creature...a threat to bees but not really a problem for a beekeeper. He is called an assassin bug. This guy is about an inch long, and appears to be armor plated. He has hexagon shaped plates covering him, and a large, curved proboscis that reminds you of a Samari sword. He was holding one of my unfortunate honeybees in his front hands like we hold corn-on-the-cob, turning and nibbling. Very impressive.
The good thing, my colonies are very full and each have about 50-60 thousand bees in them. There's plenty of food for Mr Assassin Bug and plenty left to get my colonies through the winter. Cooperating with the natural world, I let him keep nibbling.
Poor, unfortunate bee.
I started the season with 4 hives, all 4 had survived the winter. I divided the strongest ones early, making 6 out of the 4. I have pulled off what will turn into around 20-25gallons of honey as soon as I go through the arduous task of extracting it from the comb.
Last week I dethroned 2 queens who weren't performing up-to-snuff, replacing them with a pair I bought from a local breeder. (that idea lends itself well to all kinds of child-rearing applications, doesn't it?) The idea is to go into the upcoming winter with a queen who is producing a lot of eggs so the population that has to go through the winter is as large as possible.
The guy I bought the queens from showed me his operation - very interesting. He is selectively breeding queens for their gentleness (always good for bees), their parasite resistance, and their ability to survive our winters. Amazing, because he and his wife control the entire gene pool by not only selecting the queens from the colony, but they also artificially inseminate the queen from males in known colonies. Yes. Artificially inseminate. I was pretty amazed that you could do this with the tiny little queen, but even more, that you could to the "removal" from the little tiny male.
Think about it.
Anyway, one of the beekeeper tasks is to know the environmental threats to the bees and control them as much as you can. The other day I was out in my beeyard and I spotted an amazing creature...a threat to bees but not really a problem for a beekeeper. He is called an assassin bug. This guy is about an inch long, and appears to be armor plated. He has hexagon shaped plates covering him, and a large, curved proboscis that reminds you of a Samari sword. He was holding one of my unfortunate honeybees in his front hands like we hold corn-on-the-cob, turning and nibbling. Very impressive.
The good thing, my colonies are very full and each have about 50-60 thousand bees in them. There's plenty of food for Mr Assassin Bug and plenty left to get my colonies through the winter. Cooperating with the natural world, I let him keep nibbling.
Poor, unfortunate bee.
Welcome to Napless Valley
So I think I mentioned before how we got these 3 new kids in our home..a 2,3, and 4 year old. They are basically good kids, except that they are 2, 3, and 4. That many of them in one house makes for some real vintage whine.
In addition, someone trained them that the way you tell someone you need or want something is you stand in the middle of any group of adults and cry loudly and unreasonably. I knew some guys in boot camp that tried something like that.
Once.
These kids know you don't need tears, you just need the sound. As all of us know, any adult with more than 15% hearing will respond by offering everything possible until the right thing hits.
Not good.
The 2 year old and I have a routine now where I stand there and mock him in response to his crying. It annoys even me, but he seems to understand how stupid it is....he sometimes just stops and stares at me. Of course, nobody offers me anything to make me stop, they just hope it'll work so I'll stop. Being annoying to get what you want isn't restricted to kids.
We are getting some progress, as the 4 year old almost never cries, and the 2 year old can turn it off with the right prompting.
The 3 year old, however, hasn't moved very far from her first day. She cries for no apparent reason sometimes. Often, the only option is isolation until there is quiet...a technique that often makes things worse (decibally speaking) before they get better. She doesn't buy the "Poppa's crying too" routine...I think she sees it as validation rather than redirection. Sometimes the "cry accelerator" gets stuck, and she just wails and pants and screams. She'll get it sooner or later, we're hoping sooner.
Our institutional system for providing parents for children who need new ones them has a fatal flaw. It assumes that children can be moved until there is a good fit. These newest little guys we have point to the fact that a child, especially a very young child, is a different person almost week by week as their brains wire to fit the environment they are in. They sometimes lose opportunities to learn when that enviroment is jerked away or undergoes a radical change without warning. They leave with neurons left hanging. Like my new 3 year old demonstrates, they are stuck in a rut of an age-inappropriate behavior set that requires remedial teaching to overcome. The problem is - then they lose out on what is appropriate, what might have happened if they weren't occupied with recovering. The more times this happens the more the deficits build on each other.
I suppose there is an economy stimulation effect though. It does create employment for counselors and analysts as these people reach their early 30's...
I hope my new little girl has the crying worked out before then.
In addition, someone trained them that the way you tell someone you need or want something is you stand in the middle of any group of adults and cry loudly and unreasonably. I knew some guys in boot camp that tried something like that.
Once.
These kids know you don't need tears, you just need the sound. As all of us know, any adult with more than 15% hearing will respond by offering everything possible until the right thing hits.
Not good.
The 2 year old and I have a routine now where I stand there and mock him in response to his crying. It annoys even me, but he seems to understand how stupid it is....he sometimes just stops and stares at me. Of course, nobody offers me anything to make me stop, they just hope it'll work so I'll stop. Being annoying to get what you want isn't restricted to kids.
We are getting some progress, as the 4 year old almost never cries, and the 2 year old can turn it off with the right prompting.
The 3 year old, however, hasn't moved very far from her first day. She cries for no apparent reason sometimes. Often, the only option is isolation until there is quiet...a technique that often makes things worse (decibally speaking) before they get better. She doesn't buy the "Poppa's crying too" routine...I think she sees it as validation rather than redirection. Sometimes the "cry accelerator" gets stuck, and she just wails and pants and screams. She'll get it sooner or later, we're hoping sooner.
Our institutional system for providing parents for children who need new ones them has a fatal flaw. It assumes that children can be moved until there is a good fit. These newest little guys we have point to the fact that a child, especially a very young child, is a different person almost week by week as their brains wire to fit the environment they are in. They sometimes lose opportunities to learn when that enviroment is jerked away or undergoes a radical change without warning. They leave with neurons left hanging. Like my new 3 year old demonstrates, they are stuck in a rut of an age-inappropriate behavior set that requires remedial teaching to overcome. The problem is - then they lose out on what is appropriate, what might have happened if they weren't occupied with recovering. The more times this happens the more the deficits build on each other.
I suppose there is an economy stimulation effect though. It does create employment for counselors and analysts as these people reach their early 30's...
I hope my new little girl has the crying worked out before then.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The baby wins!
Little Ensley was born around 5:30 this morning. He was between 5 and 10 pounds, somewhere between 15 and 25 inches long. He has a healthy voice, 10 fingers and 10 toes. I'm sure the other, more precise stats will be published as soon as they are verified by our analysts.
As things like this go, he decided he'd rather take the short vertical road versus the long 1 foot trip we thought he'd take. The medical advice was that it needed to happen yesterday, so all means were on the table, so to speak.
Mother and baby are resting comfortably now, recovered and ready for the next 100 years or so.
As things like this go, he decided he'd rather take the short vertical road versus the long 1 foot trip we thought he'd take. The medical advice was that it needed to happen yesterday, so all means were on the table, so to speak.
Mother and baby are resting comfortably now, recovered and ready for the next 100 years or so.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Off the charts!
As it turns out, this waiting game is good for my readership. My readership is up about 300%. I even had a second comment! I haven't had that kind of attention since last summer when I talked about you know what and you know who lambasted me on the air...(by the way, that's going to come back on me if I run for public office..)
That's the thing about dadhood. I get to deliver information and take messages. I am known because I am Kate's husband. I am also known because of who my children are, a fact that can enhance and, let's say, not enhance me in the eyes of the beholder.
So, for all you fans in my new 2 digit readership, she hasn't had the baby yet. There is likely to be some medical help in the way of a contraction-horsepower-booster. She's in the hospital now, everyone insists it'll be tonight.
Little Ensley hasn't voted yet.
That's the thing about dadhood. I get to deliver information and take messages. I am known because I am Kate's husband. I am also known because of who my children are, a fact that can enhance and, let's say, not enhance me in the eyes of the beholder.
So, for all you fans in my new 2 digit readership, she hasn't had the baby yet. There is likely to be some medical help in the way of a contraction-horsepower-booster. She's in the hospital now, everyone insists it'll be tonight.
Little Ensley hasn't voted yet.
Are we going for a record or what?
So I sit here at the early morning table still waiting word that Ensley has made his appearance. Both my wife and my daughter's mother in law have joined her and her husband, trying all the old tricks to get that baby to make the trip. As we all know, in the end a baby will do what it wants when it wants to.
ALl the signs are there, labor proceeding with big, strong contractions at about 8 minute intervals. They have walked every street walkable in the neighborhood, of course, 8 minutes of walking, stop, breathe and stare, then walk some more.
Of course, those Martian Rovers have lived over 3 years beyond their original intent of a 90 days mission...
I await word. Prayer and patience for now...
ALl the signs are there, labor proceeding with big, strong contractions at about 8 minute intervals. They have walked every street walkable in the neighborhood, of course, 8 minutes of walking, stop, breathe and stare, then walk some more.
Of course, those Martian Rovers have lived over 3 years beyond their original intent of a 90 days mission...
I await word. Prayer and patience for now...
Sunday, August 3, 2008
The longest foot
I like to track the progress of the Mars Rovers. These amazing machines are crawling around Mars at the command of joy-stick-holding scientists here on Earth. Each command takes a few minutes to be recieved on Mars, and then another few minutes to be acknowledged back on Earth. A long trip is 4 feet with a response time like that. Amazing remote control to the extreme.
Well, that is nothing.
My brand new grandson, Ensley Smith, is about to traverse the most dangerous, the most arduous, and the most mysterious 1 foot road he will ever see. My daughter called from her home about 1 1/2 hours away to say that the new baby signaled very clearly that the trip was starting. he was positioned for the launch and the countdown was starting. My wife got her prepacked bag, hopped in the car, and began her 65 mile drive to attend the occassion. The thing is, she'll make that 65 mile trip in about 1 1/2 hours, and Ensley will undoubtedly take most of the night traveling the 1 foot he has ahead of him.
It's the shortest and hardest road, fraught with danger, shock, and surprise. And at the end of it he will never be the same, emerging from his warm dark home with the muffled sounds and endless feeding to the cold, lighted world he'll spend his next 80-100 years in.
This is some of God's greatest work. He blesses my wife and I with the joy we see in our own child and her husband. They, his parents, are blessed as they see their marriage manifested in this greatest gift, this timeless memorial to love, this promise of a new start that illustrates the birth the Christ makes possible for all of us. He, little Ensley, is blessed with new life in this world, an exciting life that may even extend to the 22nd century. Whew!
A joyful night is happening.
Well, that is nothing.
My brand new grandson, Ensley Smith, is about to traverse the most dangerous, the most arduous, and the most mysterious 1 foot road he will ever see. My daughter called from her home about 1 1/2 hours away to say that the new baby signaled very clearly that the trip was starting. he was positioned for the launch and the countdown was starting. My wife got her prepacked bag, hopped in the car, and began her 65 mile drive to attend the occassion. The thing is, she'll make that 65 mile trip in about 1 1/2 hours, and Ensley will undoubtedly take most of the night traveling the 1 foot he has ahead of him.
It's the shortest and hardest road, fraught with danger, shock, and surprise. And at the end of it he will never be the same, emerging from his warm dark home with the muffled sounds and endless feeding to the cold, lighted world he'll spend his next 80-100 years in.
This is some of God's greatest work. He blesses my wife and I with the joy we see in our own child and her husband. They, his parents, are blessed as they see their marriage manifested in this greatest gift, this timeless memorial to love, this promise of a new start that illustrates the birth the Christ makes possible for all of us. He, little Ensley, is blessed with new life in this world, an exciting life that may even extend to the 22nd century. Whew!
A joyful night is happening.
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