Honoring Service and Sacrifice

A young man from Terrell, Texas was killed in Afganistan recently. His name was Shawn McNabb and he was an army staff Sgt. I have heard news of his death in the local news a couple of times and was sad, but not truly touched by this young man.

This morning I went to work on the CSA farm, Eden's Garden with Marie, the farmer. We were just beginning to sort veggies for shares when she received a phone call from a neighbor. I hear only her side of the conversation that went something like, " Yes I've got a flag. I might have a red white and blue shirt. I'm going to bring a farm volunteer with me." After locating a red sweatshirt for me and a shirt with a flag design on it for Marie, we gathered up a couple of flags and loaded up in the truck.

We we went to gather with many others on an overpass along I20 to observe the funeral procession of Sgt McNabb. I expected a couple of people on the bridge, what I found when we got there was amazing. Fire trucks lining the bridges and people standing side by side holding flags. We only knew one of the dozens of people who lined that bridge, but it didn't matter. I learned later that there were groups on the overpasses in Terrell, Forney, Balch Springs and Mesquite. One of my neighbors was with a group at the beginning in Terrell.

At first we talked and took pictures. When the lights of the squad cars leading the procession came into view, everyone became silent. There were too many vehicles in the procession to count. Many veterans road in the process on motorcycles. Some of those men solemnly waved to us and there were a scattering of salutes.

After the funeral had passed, we were all in tears and hugging complete strangers. It was the most amazing/sad thing I have ever been a part of. I was glad to join this group to honor that young man's service and sacrifice.

This and That

I found this butterfly coming out of it's chrysalis a couple of days ago. We are having the most beautiful fall weather perfect for gardeners and butterflies alike. My cool season veggies have been in for a few weeks and are doing beautifully. The broccoli is already more than a foot tall and the cabbage about eight inches across. I planted onions, but I cannot remember where.

Hope you are all having a wonderful fall.

Does anyone know when sweet potatoes need to be dug up?

Recently, I have not had as much time for blogging. I have been using my blogging time to work out. Yes, every day I have been going to the gym and trying to take care of this middle aged body that is showing signs of breaking down if I don't take drastic measures.

I've shared before that my blood pressure has been a problem. Well, recent lab work revealed some other potential problems with triglycerides and blood sugar. Nothing is at crisis level, just needs to be turned around now.

This is week three and I have lost six pounds, my blood pressure has responded nicely and I have much much more energy throughout the day. The added energy has led to more working in the garden, which looks pretty good if I do say so myself.

Two other very weird but great things happened (guys you might want to stop reading now). I started having hot flashes about two years ago. Not severe, but annoying as hell. I have not had a hot flash in three weeks. The only thing that has changed is the exercise. Also, I have really badly calloused feet. They split and crack looking awful and hurt terribly. My feet are now nice and smooth. It has to be wearing tennis shoes and socks every day.

I will get back to garden blogging soon. Maybe not as frequently as before, but I miss it and y'all.

Teach A Boy to Grow Garlic

My Middle Monkey has a good friend. I am very grateful for this good friend. He has a wonderful family. I have known his grandmother for years. She is a member of our local garden club and a lovely women.

They have a love of music in common. Last week they practiced their instruments (clarinet and saxophone) outside in the back yard. It caused the neighbor to believe that a cow was being murdered in our yard, but I digress.

These boys spend a lot of time together. Last weekend, my boy went on a Boy Scout camp out with his friend and his friend's parents. Tonight, the friend is spending the night with us.

This afternoon, I talked the two of them into planting my garlic for me. The friend said he had not seen garlic in cloves before. I let them pull the papers off and separate the cloves. I told them to plant the cloves pointy side up about five inches apart. Then, I set them loose in the garden.

They are teaching my son to survive in the woods. I am teaching their son to grow his own food.

Win Win

Smelly Monkeys

In the ongoing saga of "make these boys leave my stuff alone" I bought pink socks and some pomegranate body wash. Guess what the boys smell like tonight? Somebody help me.

Fog Flowers

The rain has slowed and everything is deep dark green. We have had only one sunny day this month. The roses have their faces turned down away from the wet fog. Me too.

The First Pair of Boots

I remember getting my first pair of boots. I’m not talking about cute boots to wear to school, I am talking about my first pair of work boots. They were thick leather and tough. Those boots could stand up to Mesquite tree thorns. I needed them to ride horses and work cattle. These were no girlie boots. If I had been a boy, I’d have gotten the same kind of boots. My Dad took me to get them on our way to my grandparents farm/ranch. This was during the spring, when we had to work calves. I love those boots, still have them and they still fit. I was 13 when we bought them so that makes them more than 30 years old. They have not been out of the closet in years. I think I need to get out some saddle soap and clean them up, just for old times sake.

Yesterday, I took Baby Monkey to Eden’s Garden, the CSA farm we joined as a work share. He has had boots, but not work boots. He did not need cowboy boots, he needed mud boots. We stopped on our way and bought him a pair so he could work with we me on the farm.

After a couple of weeks of heavy rains, everything was sopping wet. We worked together in the muck and the mud. We planted 80 cabbages. I hand picked cucumber beetles and he squished them for me. Finally, he picked some tomatoes while I planted some beets. He seemed to enjoy himself, and it was much less messy that working cattle. It was muddy, but at least it wasn’t muddy, bloody and smelly.