respublica

Vegetables to plant in May

Tomorrow is May! Finally. April seemed interminable to me. In any case the garden experts are now telling us what vegetables we should be planting now. Actually, I've already planted a number of vegetables, especially those which do well when it's still chilly. Potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, onions, sweet peas, cauliflower, and quite a few herbs.

But I am really ready to plunk in the tomato plants and peppers I've purchased as well as beans and cantalope. I have several types of tomato plants, the slicer type, plum, and red and yellow cherry tomatoes. I love the yellow cherry tomatoes they give a burst of flavor in your mouth. Since our yard is small, I don't have tons of each of these, since they all grow big, it will be plenty for us and give some away.

Planting time is here!

But the article from the expert on what vegetables to plant are kind of strange. No mention of tomatoes, she must be up north somewhere. Some I've never heard of. She advised planting a lot of the root vegetables like Rootabagas, beets, pumpkins, baby corn, and squashes. Then she got into vegetables I've not heard of and will probably never plant. Callaloo I would not know what to do with. Cranberry beans are pretty but I"m not sure they are meant to be eaten, just look pretty.

Photos of all her recommendations are at this link

So...

Has anyone else noticed a conversational trend in which a person answers a question from another person by starting with the word--So? I'm hearing this all the time these days.

"Anything happen at work today?"  "So"...

How do you keep the pie crust from burning?  "So"...

"How did it go with the doctor?  "So"...

"Who let the dog out?"  "So"...

When did this become a thing?

My favorite story of the week

Park County Colorado authorities were on the look-out for what was thought to be a pack of wolves on the prowl. The animals were filmed on a phone camera some distance away and there was sound of howling and growling.

But after investigators arrived, they learned the wild animals turned out to be five St. Bernards who had gotten loose from their owners home. It seems they were good escape artists who often left home.

What I wouldn't give to run into a pack of St. Bernards! I love those big guys. When I was in high school we had a neighbor across the street who owned a St. Bernard they named Blossom. This guy was a hoot and if he saw us in our yard, here he would come to visit. We played and took him home later. As it happened I frequently babysat for the kids in Blossom's house and got to be with him more often.

They are big cuddly duddlies.

More advice from "experts"

Some one out there always knows what's best and this link a good example of people who don't live like us. Granted there is a lot of truth in some of this, but not all.

An expert in home things has put up a list of 10 things we should get rid of "right now" because they are just taking up space. Some I agree with, I'm an obsessive "get rid of it" person. I especially agree with getting rid of some of the many coffee mugs. We have way too many, most being give-a-ways at some function or other.

The do it now and the never agains

Two articles I came across this morning give advice on plants we should sow in May and 1970's food that should not come back. I have to confess so many items in each list I have never heard of, will never plant and have never eaten.

I can't be the only one.

No Mow May

A new trend in lawn maintenance has popped up all of a sudden. There is a push to have homeowners not mow their lawns in May. It surprised me as to how many stories and articles speak to this. There is even a "No Mow May" campaign in quite a few cities.

The idea is to put the mower in the garage or shed and leave it there throughout the month of may. This sounded kind of crazy to me since lawns around here really take off in May. So what is the reason for this campaign?

The uncut lawn will allow a number of wild type flowers to bloom which will attract all kinds of pollinators which we all need for other plant growth.

"Plantlife's survey recorded 97 species of butterflies, moths, and bees on lawns. The largest number of pollinators were found on lawns that were left unmown all year, while the lowest number was found on lawns mown weekly."

Last year I noticed very few bees in our back yard which caused our cantalope plants to not produce much fruit. I believe we had 4 or 5 great sized and wonderful tasting cantalopes but that was all. We did have dozens of big flowers on the plant but they were never pollinated in order to produce the fruit. So I am a believer in the importance of bees and other pollinating insects.

Just not sure we are ready to let the grass keep growing and growing for a month.

News you may not have known but may need to use

I never knew this as long as I've been driving. You can extend your sun visors. I saw this 15 second video and went out to our cars to see if this is actually a thing. Sure enough! First lower the visor then unhook the side which is attached to a clip thing. Then slide the visor right or left along the top and voila it extends to give you more length in sun protection.

Check this out. Sadly, Dale did know this.

Call Day 2022

Call Day is arguably the most major event in the seminary school year, ahead even of graduation. It is on this day that second year seminarians receive their vicarage year assignments and the graduating class learns where they will begin their lives as pastors. These places can be anywhere in the country and emotions run high. Each service is beautiful, the chapel is always filled. For the past two years this day had to be done virtually and live streamed due to the Covid shut down. It worked, but was not the same as in person.

Today will be one to remember I'm sure, the relief of being in person and with classmates and families and seminary faculty and staff. I have to confess I miss not being there for this and I know Dale is grieving this loss in his life. But we will watch the live stream and remember all the students we'd come to know and be glad for them.

Are we going north or south?

I'd long heard the saying about the direction of highway numbers was: "evens run east to west and odds run north to south."  But it wasn't until yesterday when a friend of mine posted two American highway maps with these routes. It is most certainly true about the evens and odds.

This headline had me reading

Here is the headline: Walmart ends the use of plastic bags. More retailers expected to follow.

My first thought was to wonder how I'd get items out to the car. But the idea is for shoppers to bring their own bag or buy one of the store's reusable ones. But in the end, this has only just begun in Canada with no notice about it happening in the U.S.

I am pretty neutral about this, I don't like plastic bags but they are normally the only option. Oddly so many times a grocery store bagger will put only one thing in a bag which is why I go to the self check out as often as possible. No need to bring home a dozen plastic bags with only a couple things in each one. Paper bags are rare or even available in Walmarts and grocery stores have them but they are not really easy to find. Some lanes have them, others do not. So much more can be put into a paper bag and the bag re-used. We keep a paper grocery bag near our kitchen trash can and toss in any paper, cardboard, glass or aluminum into it. When full it gets emptied into our outside recycling cart.

Bringing our own bags is probably coming for all of us, not bad if we remember them.