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For the most part, after my children were grown, my Christmas-giving has been even more low-key than it was when my children were growing up.[I've always given people what I want to, not because I have to, and certainly never because they asked for it. The only exceptions I made to not fulfilling requests were to my children when they were under the ages of 18 and when I could afford it.]. Unless you are a kid, I think it is downright rude to ask for what you want for Christmas.
 
 
I'm only giving 15 gifts this year to a few family members and very close friends.They each will get a pound of pecans per friend (2 pounds per couple) and a peace rock*. The local ones will also get a tomato transplant that I started from seed a few weeks ago. Nothing shouts "hope" quite as loudly as a tomato transplant in December in North Texas.
 
 
I was going to plant seeds for a papaya tree earlier but just didn't get around to it. Papaya trees are not outdoor hardy for North Texas but they have a very fast growing season and will produce fruit within the first 7 or 8 months. Thus, in one of my many horticultural experiments, I am planting several seeds within the next week and by July or August I expect papayas. When all danger of frost is gone, I'll plant them down at our community garden. Then before the first frost we will dig them up and give them to people who would like to have an indoor papaya tree.
 
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*Peace rocks are part of an exhibit that I hope Charlie and I will be able to install at the Garland Community Garden this weekend. I have painted a sign with the world PEACE that will have lights and a box of peace rocks I painted along with permanent markers for those who wish to write their message for peace on the rock and commit to being their word throughout the coming year and beyond.
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 MORE USES FOR OKRA!

Those who know me well, know that among other things I am somewhat of an okra aficionado. This year I grew approximately 250 pounds of okra in 8 five-gallon buckets. [I'll have to check my exact figures as I kept records.]

I planted them around the 15 of April and they started producing in May. My last harvest was on November 15. Okra needs to be cut about every two days. It is quite prolific.

I conducted this okra-growing experiment to prove to folks that even if you live in a city with little growing space, you can still grow a substantial amount of food. I chose okra because it is drought tolerant, requires no fertilizer, has no pest enemies, and seems to thrive on neglect. The only requirements it has are sunlight and heat--the two main natural resources in Texas after oil and gas of course.

Average retail market prices for okra range between $3.45/kg in the frozen form to $7.07/kg when sold fresh [about $3.50 a pound for fresh okra].

 Over the course of the past 7 months I have saved 200 pods for next year. Thus, I have a few thousand okra seeds.

Yesterday I hung a wreath on my front door, and on a whim, I added a stem of okra pods--lovely as you can see for yourself in the attached. photo. Then I wondered if perhaps others had used okra seed pods Christmas decorations so I googled "okra Christmas decorations" and got my answer in a few seconds.  Just as I suspected. Using okra pods for Christmas decorations was not my original concept. For example, there are Santa Clauses made from Okra pods. Don't laugh. These ornaments have considerable market value as they sell for $10 each on Etsy.

 

To summarize, my limited urban farm of eight, 10-gallon buckets of okra plants yielded approximately $700 in value of Okra to eat. If the 200 seed pods I saved were converted into Christmas decorations, that would be an additional value of $2,000.

Who would think that 8 five-gallon buckets, a little soil and 8 okra seeds could be the raw materials for creating a food and product value of $2,700?

 

NOW, if I still have your attention, consider this: What if responsible adult(s) undertook a project with high school students. 1. Create an Okra Cooperative (a business model that we need more of in this country). This would be a great education into the operation of this type of business. 2. Obtain two to four acres of unused land owned by your city. 3. Borrow a tractor from a local implement dealer or perhaps the city. 4. Plow the field. 5. Plant the Okra in mid to late April if you live in Texas. 5. Figure out how you will package the crop and get it to market, advertising, allocation of work schedules among co-op members, etc.

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Nov 23 2022

POSTER AT GOOD SAM'S - Yes, it's corny and yet still true and uplifting to remember.  In fact, it is often the broken among us who bring forth the most amazing gifts to the world.


BEING PART OF MY LARGER WORLD OF FAMILY

I spent 8:30 to noon today at the Good Samaritans of Garland preparing packages of groceries for citizens in my community.

Good Samaritans is a 501(c)3 non-profit providing supplemental food assistance.

All families and individuals, regardless of residence can obtain food assistance very two weeks. No appointment needed.

Unhoused guests (the homeless) are provided “10-Packs” of food/drink once a week. In the winter, warm clothing (coats, gloves, hats, scarves) are distributed, as available.

In addition, Good Sam’s, through on-site partnerships, provides street-side Showers on Tuesdays, 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. Parkland HOMES, Medical provides medical services every third Tuesday, 8:30 am to 3:00 pm.

 This morning, as I talked with other volunteers, I noted that it is highly likely that none of us are extremely wealthy “high society folks”. I thought about what John Steinbeck once wrote in his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, a novel that is now banned in many schools across the USA: “If you are in trouble or hurt or need, go to poor people. They’re the only ones that will help--the only ones.” 

It may be because those of us closer to poverty know the pain of it better.  I don’t know. But the truth of Steinbeck’s words has been proven literally to be true.  In 2010, Paul Piff, a psychologist at U.C. Berkeley, carried out a study and published his findings in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.  His experiments found that poor people were inclined to give away 44 percent more of their points or their credits than the wealthy people involved in the experiment.  His team's findings that the poor are more charitable than the rich were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

SO HERE IS A TRIBUTE TO SEVERAL OF THE VOLUNTEERS WHO WERE HELPING OTHERS THIS MORNING AT GOOD SAMARITANS OF GARLAND, TEXAS. I’m sure many of us would fit right in at the dinner table of the Joad family from Steinbeck’s novel--not a hoity-toity one in the bunch.  Also, as you can see, we come in all ages, shapes and colors.

A FEW PHOTOS FROM GOOD SAM’S THIS MORNING.

 

KAREN, A four-year Good Sam Volunteer

 

LARRY - A 4.5 Year Good Sam's Volunteer

VICKY  -  I think she is second in command of the operation, a full-time employee.Thanks to Vicky, I'll be serving "a pink thing" on Thanksgiving in tribute to my mom and her Aunt, my great-aunt Lois.  Both of whom made these perfectly awful yet delicious concoctions from jello. My mom's was pink and Great Aunt Lois's was green. They both escaped this veil of tears without leaving me the recipes.  I was talking about it with Vicky on Monday (my usual time for volunteering) and Vicky gave me the recipe for a reasonable facsimile: But Vicky's recipe does not call for jello. Two cans of cherry pie filling; two medium containers of cool whip; two cups of Walnuts; one can of condensed milk (the thick syrupy stuff). Mix it all together and voila--It tastes pretty good.  But should I call it a dessert or a salad.  My mom and Great Aunt Lois always referred to it as a "Salad".

 

Another Full-Time Good Sam's Employee, 

 

Three beautiful Good Sam's Volunteers. They were in Vicky's office preparing sacks that are  given to Good Sam's unhoused guests.  It's great  that the little girls is  getting to have the wonderful experience of giving to others.  Good Sam's is also extending the possibility of this experience to other parents and their children.  Once every quarter they will be open on Saturday mornings for parents to come with their children and fill food boxes that will be given away the next Monday.  Yesterday, Tuesday, the day normally devoted to the unhoused, the volunteers of Good Sams along with other community volunteers, hosted a Thanksgiving feast for the homeless.  About forty people attended.  Isn't it amazing to consider there are even 40 people/families in our community without a place to call home?  [And  there really are many more than the 40 who attended this feast.  So many of the homeless in our communities maintain invisibility to the rest of us due to the shame associated homelessness.]

 

Megann - This was Megann's first day at Good Sam's.

 

If you want to know what's going on in Garland, Texas, visit the Good Samaritan's and read their bulletin board.

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IDLE SPECULATION: WILL MY GROW LIGHT OUTLAST ME? --

 
Just one of many serious considerations of an older person who is a gardener.
 
 I’m now contemplating the possibility that my grow light could well outlive me.
 
Indeed, it will if I dive off unexpectedly into that oblivion referred to as death before now and approximately. 6 or more years. The bulb's specifications say that it will last for 25,000 hours or 2.85 years. However, I can expect the bulb to last much longer as I will only be using it for about 4.5 months a year, AND I'll only have it on for about 10 of each of the 24 hours when in use.
 
Yesterday I purchased a grow light at North Haven Nursery. In reading its specifications on the box it arrived in, I learned that it will burn for 25,000 hours. [25,000 hours divided by 24 hours (in a day) = 1.041 days divided by 365 days in a year = 2.85 years.]
 
 
 
It is LED and very low energy burning only 9w an hour. The bulb cost more than the container for it ($19.99 compares to $14.95 for its metal container that came with a clamp).
 
I’m very excited about my new grow light as it is the first one that I’ve owned. My home, like most homes in Texas, is designed to minimize the amount of indoor sunshine--great in the summer heat but not so much in the winter--especially for eager gardeners who like to start seedlings indoors for their spring gardens. Usually with me, I begin by faithfully moving the plants from sunny spot to sunny spot in the house throughout the day. Then, after about three weeks, I tire of this and of course the plants either die or become etiolated beyond redirection.
 
My main purpose in doing this is to see if I can grow a papaya tree to fruition. Already it is in its sixth month of life.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF JOURNEYS AND EVEN JOURNEYS WITHIN JOURNEYS THAT WE TAKE THROUGHOUT OUR LIFETIME.


Section  of a mural painted on the side of a building in Amarillo, Texas.  Many of the buildings in Amarillo serve as the canvas for the artwork of artists and students sponsored by "Blank Spaces", a local nonprofit that brings artists and students together.

Journeys are the best path I know to education. The recent journey I just returned from was one of those kind in which I physically travelled among various geographical locations--from here to beautiful Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas panhandle; to Amarillo, Texas with all its beautiful murals on its buildings.
 
Palo Duro Canyon at Sunset (28 miles south of Amarillo, Texas). November 2,2022
 
From Amarillo we travelled to North Eastern New Mexico with its extinct volcano I never knew about now.  From there to Colorado Springs, Co and the magical Garden of the Gods and on to the quaint little hamlet of Oak Creek Co nestled in the mountains a few miles south of Steamboat Springs to visit my granddaughter.   After that magical weekend we drove down through Colorado and across the state of Utah.  We passed over a northwestern corner of Arizona that had the most beautiful and interesting display of rock formations. Our Journey continued down through California to Laguna Niguel to see my friend, Sandy.  Our visit with Sandy included a trip to beautiful Dana Point and a visit to a beach there I had never seen, even though I lived only about 20 minutes from it for as many years.
 
Dana Point Beach - Dana Point California
 
Then we were homeward bound across Arizona, New Mexico, and most of Texas. The three things that impressed me the most about my homeward journey were 1. the sheer beauty of our planet. 2. Pollution of our countryside by 1% fossil fuel industrialists that our elected officials have continued to allow since the early days of our formation as a nation and 3. All the vast empty spaces in our country where no human being lives--in some examples for over 100 miles.
 
But physical journeys are not the only kind of journeys one may take. There are mental journeys as well, journeys of the mind guided by the content of books that we read. These journeys are as real as the physical journeys and can also shape and even redirect the outcome of our life. I am embarking on such a journey this morning. When I was visiting my granddaughter, Megan in Oak Creek, I noticed a book on her coffee table, “A beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe. The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art and Science.” I thought that sounded worth a read so I ordered a copy online from Thrift Books [Yes, there are other and much more economical choices than Amazon]. The book was in my pile of mail waiting for me when I got home.
 
 
The book’s promise to readers on its back cover in part reads: “Michael Schneider leads us on a spectacular, lavishly illustrated journey along the numbers one through ten to explore the mathematical principles made visible in flowers, shells, crystals, plant and the human body. This is a new view of mathematics, not the one we learned at school but a comprehensive guide to the patterns that recure through the universe and underlie human affairs.” The book promises to show me, among other things, how the human body share the design of a bean plant and the solar system--definitely of interest to a gardener like me.
My advice to you and to myself is to keep taking as many journeys as you can.
 
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I NOW SHARE MY WORLD WITH A PAPAYA

This June a friend of mine, Pat Patel, gave me a small papaya plant, about four inches high in a paper cup.  It grew and grew--to the extent that I had to re-pot it three times. Today the diameter of my plant’s canopy is 30 inches.  It stands 27 inches tall from the soil in the pot to the top of its canopy.

I’m still undecided about a kitty, but at least for now or until it dies, I’ll be sharing my world with a papaya in my living room.  I’m sure it will teach me many lessons.  In fact, it already has.

It’s amazing how quickly one can fill up one’s brain and it keeps expanding to make room for more information. Even old people like me can continue to learn and evolve. For example, just day before yesterday I knew practically nothing about papayas except that I like to eat them and that they are a tropical plant that does not survive a frost.  Now just a day later, I know about two pages worth of information about papayas--not an expert to be certain, but perhaps I have enough knowledge to keep this one alive for a while or at least until it bears fruit. [I’ll keep you posted.]

HERE ARE A FEW OF THE QUESTIONS I GOOGLED TO ASSIST ME IN MAKING MY DECISION TO KEEP OR TOSS THE PAPAYA:
I began my quest for answers with two deal breakers for me.

  1. How soon does it bear fruit?  Like most Americans I lean to the impatient.  I’m not about to nurse a plant that takes 3 to 5 years to make fruit.  Besides I might die in the meantime.

    Well, the papaya passed this criterion with ease.  According to all the sources, papayas begin to produce fruit 7 to 11 months after planting.  That means my plant could begin producing as early as Christmas.

  2. Does the papaya require a second tree for pollination?  Many fruit trees require as second tree.  I’m not about to nurse two indoor trees.  As it is, I’m not that fond of houseplants anyway as they tend to draw gnats and other undesirables.

    AND the papaya passed this dealbreaker with ease.   I found: “Papaya does not require a second tree for pollination because the male flowers on the tree can pollinate the female flowers on the same tree. However, papaya trees will provide a better fruit yield when there is an additional tree close by.”

A FEW MORE NECESSARY FACTS ABOUT PAPAYAS:

  1. Sunlight is crucial for the growth and development of your papaya tree. Papayas need a lot of sun. (I’ll probably need to get a grow light for mine.)
  2. Papaya trees need fertilizer.  I read that Nelson Citrus Fruit and Avocado Tree Plant Food is a great fertilizer choice for your papaya tree. It has a balanced nutrient ratio specifically for fruit trees to properly grow fruit. I may see if I can find some on the Internet as I doubt my local stores (first choice) would carry it.
  3. Papayas need moist soil but they cannot tolerate standing water.  Make sure to put plenty of holes in your pot.  Papayas are prone to root rot.
  4. Male flowers grow in thin clusters, with thin shoots that extend off the tree a few inches. Female flowers are fuller and grow right above leaf stems. The female flowers need to be pollinated to produce fruits. If you are growing papaya plants inside strictly, you can pollinate these flowers yourself by using a cotton swab or a small paintbrush.


By the way, If you live in most parts of Florida, south Texas, Arizona, southern California, and Hawaii you can likely easily grow a papaya tree outside.

ARE YOU INSPIRED NOW?  DO YOU WANT TO GROW PAPAYAS?

This is an especially fun activity to do with children.

  1. Buy a papaya in the store.
  2. Remove the seeds
  3. Wash the seeds, break the outer sac that contains the seed—this outer shell inhibits germination—dry the seeds for a day or two, then plant them.
  4. The seeds will start sprouting in a few weeks. You’ll just need to have well-drained soil, keep the soil moist, and make sure they are kept very warm. Papaya trees thrive in higher temperatures.  Keep the room warm.

    NOTE:  If you live in North Texas you can bring it outdoors when all danger of frost is past.

It's good to know as much as possible about the plants you grow because then you are better able to care for them. AND, it makes the adventure of gardening even more fun.

IF YOU PLANT NOW, YOU COULD EVEN USE PAPAYA PLANTS AS A HOLIDAY GIFT. 

Plant in a nice clay pot.  Make instructions regarding its care and voila! You have a great gift that cost less than $5.

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Okra is still blooming [November 11, 2022 -- Planted April 15, 2022

AMAZING TO RETURN TO THE GARDEN AFTER TWO WEEKS

In part of my front yard I have a modified woodland garden with several peach trees serving to provide the forest canopy.  This year, because of our extreme heat, it has served well for the herbs, squash, peppers, lettuce and even tomatoes.  In the full sun of my front yard I have 10 buckets, each with an okra plant.  I planted  the seeds on April 15 and the plants have been producing okra since the last week of May--7 months now.

Two weeks ago I left on vacation and expected to return to  a spent garden but that did not happen. After returning today I toured my garden and as you can see from the photos, it is still producing!  I feel about my garden  in many ways the same way I felt about pets--those nurturing, protective, caring feelings   I was delighted to see it still thriving.  To celebrate, I harvested Okra and Jalapeno peppers for Charlie's and my dinner tonight.

Okra and jalapeno peppers harvested from my garden.


Many of the okra pods I harvested late this afternoon were too large for eating, but their seeds can be saved and planted next year.  Four of the pods measured 8 inches long and one inch in diameter--much too fibrous for easy digestion by a human.  In my opinion, the most delectable pods are 4 inches long and not more than 1/2 inch in diameter.

For dinner tonight  I made stuffed (with cream cheese) jalapeno peppers and bacon; roasted okra; and green peas.

The two smaller roasted Okra pods were delicious.  The two larger ones were not edible because they were too tough but I thought they deserved a try.  Beneath each slice of bacon is a roasted jalapeno pepper stuffed with cream cheese.  Peas in the center finishes off the meal that was 50% from the garden.

MORE SCENES FROM MY WOODLAND GARDEN

Thai and Dill, nestled together. (I'll dry them soon and save their seed.). I like fresh dill in salads.

 

Oregano is still healthy and is also nestled with the Thai Basil and Dill.  I may bring this one into the house.

My Italian basil went nuts in my absence.  It smells so good!

 

The roman lettuce really surprised me.  I had twelve of them growing and before leaving for my vacation, I pulled all but two up and donated them to the Good Samaritan's food bank of Garland because I didn't think any would survive.  The two I left did quite well.  Tomorrow  I'll harvest some for a salad.

I have about 25 tomatoes in my garden and I will continue to spin the roulette wheel of first frost with them.  In my opinion a frost ruins the tomato--even one night of if.  So I let them vine ripen up to the last moment.

The asters are still blooming but they are beginning to look a bit ragged.

Cannas are a great and showy flower.  So amazing!  They require little care and bloom from May until the first frost AND being rhizome producers, they come back faithfully year after year!

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New Resident in the Garland Community Garden--a female fashionista Scarecrow.

SCARECROWS

Many Gardens have a scarecrow and now the Garland Community Garden has one of its own.  We really don't have that much of an issue with crows, but when it comes to bugs--Bingo!  Perhaps a Scarebug instead of a Scarecrow.

Scarecrows are scary and creepy--Well, DUH! They should be, and the creepier the better. After all, they are designed for the practical use to frighten off crows in particular, and we all know how smart crows are. Ours isn’t so scary because we love little children who come to our garden and we want them to have fun--not be afraid.  They can read the newspaper for that.


Scarecrows are used around the world by farmers, and are a notable symbol of farms and the countryside in popular culture. Scarecrows have been with us for a long time.


In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan (compiled in the year 712), a scarecrow known as Kuebiko appears as a deity who cannot walk, yet knows everything about the world. He is sometimes referred to as the “God of Agriculture”

The Scarecrow is featured early on in American literature as well.  Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Feathertop" is a scarecrow made and brought to life in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts, by a witch in league with the devil. Isn’t it interesting how some of us are afraid of witches but not afraid of those who kill them, or who want to kill them? Did you ever think about that?  We seem to have things backwards.

 

Our scarecrow is a gardener herself.  You can tell by her dirty hands and feet [made from the roots of discarded broccoli plants].

So, if you don’t like what is happening in the world today, just blame the scarecrow. In fact, you can even blame our friendly Garland scarecrow.  She won’t mind. In fact, that’s why she is here--to be a scapegoat. Blame her for all your problems and then walk away but not before you take a halloween photo with her.  [We recommend that you don't hold her dirty hand. ]

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NEARCATION - Like a vacation only near to home, shorter, and much less expensive

 Yesterday Charlie and I took a nearcation. We went to the Texas State Fair.  It was a wonderful adventure that lasted from 1 PM until 8 PM when we got home.  We took the Dart train.  It was easy, relaxing and fun. From Garland, there is only one transfer at Pearl Station and voila! We were delivered to the world of Big Tex--and also our world for the next almost six hours.  Big Tex is a 55-foot (17 m) tall figure and marketing icon of the annual State Fair of Texas.  As we learned from a sign at the Fair, Big Tex was born in 1952, ten years after the Corn Dog was invented.

The Texas State Fair is unique for a number of reasons.  First of all, it is the biggest state fair in the USA.  Second of all, it is located on a historical site--the grounds of the 1936 Centennial built to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Texas independence from Mexico.  As it was built in the middle of the Great Depression, these grounds are a monument to hope and a tribute to human achievement.  You don’t have to visit these grounds only once a year, Fair Park is open throughout the year and it includes the Children’s Aquarium, The Women’s Building, Texas Discovery Gardens, and more.  Fair Park was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986. It is home to the nation's largest collection of publicly owned Art Deco buildings in the U.S. and one of the largest collections of 1930s art.

The six female figures that flank the entrance to the Hall of State building at Dallas’ Fair Park are the work of Raoul Josset and Lawrence Tenney Stevens. The 20-foot statues (on 12-foot pedestals) face each other and represent the five nations (and one would-be nation) that are more frequently represented by the “six flags” of Texas.

  It was a wonderful, magical day filled with too many adventures to post here--the great Mexican food we ate, the fancy electric cars we saw,  the John Deere zero turn mowers, the sheep, the baby pigs, etc.  I look forward to another nearcation soon.

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SHE WAS BORN ["eclosed"]

Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday,
That was the end,
Of Solomon Grundy.

Here is her story told the short Solomon Grundy style (although we hope that she will make it to Mexico to overwinter and lay a few eggs in the spring of 2023 on her return through Texas, headed north) :

This is what the butterfly looks like just before emerging.  We didn't get to see this one in that stage, but I'm sure this is also how she appeared.  The chrysalis is transparent.After the chrysalis has been softened and often become transparent the butterfly will push through first with its legs also removing the triangular piece covering its eyes and proboscis. The butterfly then crawls the rest of the way out of the chrysalis, exposing the abdomen and wings.

When Charlie and I came home from an afternoon of volunteering at Good Samaritans, one of our local food banks, we found a healthy female butterfly in the Jar.

HOW DID WE KNOW IT WAS A FEMALE?

WHY RESCUE MONARCH CATERPILLARS?

According to most sources such as "Journey North", it is estimated that 95% of Monarch caterpillars do not survive to adulthood in the wild. The converse is true for Monarch caterpillars that are rescued as 95% of them are said to survive and be released as butterflies.  As of July, 2022, the Monarch Butterfly has been on the endangered species list.