The Past Week: July 12-18, 2009 (Energy-Saving Porch Project; “Full Plates Full Lives” Food Campaign; JFK, Jr.)

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

We’ve been busy for the last week or so having our back porch enclosed. It’s costing some bucks, but we figure we get an extra room out of it and eliminate the dust and dealing with the wind, which has made the area virtually unusable, except to pile up a lot of junk!  It’s unheated, but we bought E-366 doors and windows and have insulted the walls with above spec insulation. Here in southern New Mexico this means that we will have a delightful place to hang out during the winter and also in the cool mornings and evenings during most of the warmer months. Even all closed up now the temperatures are no more than what’s going on outside, which means our choice of the E-366 glass and the insulation is really paying off already!  Our AC isn’t working any harder, so we’re very pleased!

Here’s what the room looks like before caulking and final finishing. By next week I’ll be able to show you the entire room painted and in all its glory!

Porch Enclosure in Progress...

Unfortunately, the dogs aren’t getting out into the backyard very much because of all the mayhem.  But Slick, in particular is enjoying the gated area at the front of the house:

Slilck hangs out...

As we prepare to write a large check for this project (which is being done by neighbor who teaches but has a contractor’s license, too), it seems we’ve been musing a lot about money and the economy this past week. Here’s something in particular that is something to consider supporting:

Full Plates Full Lives

U.S. Foodservice, a 150 year old company that supplies food and related products to “restaurants, hospitals, hotels, schools and governmental operations” is running a “STEMulous Drive” now through October 15, 2009.  They’re organizing neighborhood drives, selling a cookbook, etc. all with the aim of feeding families who need help during these tough economic times. “Operation STEMulous” is specifically aimed at getting fresh fruits and vegetables to needy families.

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Speaking of vegetables…this porch project has really cut into my gardening time…I’m barely able to water everyday, but as of last night the patio outside the new room is finally cleared of lumber!

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And finally, this:

Jul 16, 2009 10:25 am US/Eastern

10th Anniversary Of JFK Jr.’s Death Passes Quietly

NEW YORK (CBS) ― The tenth anniversary of the death of John F. Kennedy, Jr., in a small plane crash off Martha’s Vineyard passed with relatively little notice Thursday, overshadowed by attention paid to the 40th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon mission.

I remember that night clearly…It was a sultry evening in New Jersey and after hearing the initial reports I stood outside on our back patio and gazed up at the sky for a long time and prayed it wasn’t true…but it was.

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THE PAST WEEK

CNBC (Among Others) Caught in the Act “Reporting” Nouriel Roubini’s Comments on the Economy…He Responds

HEADS UP! It’s HERE! The New World Currency Design, Presented to the G-8 Delegations (With Pics)

The Past Week: July 4-11, 2009 (Where We Are Now re: The Economy-Robert Reich, Nouriel Roubini, Robert Shiller, Chris Martenson)

Saturday Sanity: The Antidote to the Madness (April 25, 2009) The Squirrels Invade

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

I had a very busy week in the garden this week and posted the details here.

Today, I finally got the chocolate flower into the ground. Hopefully, I won’t drown this one…it’s tricky with desert plants because they need some moisture to get established when first planted. BUT…it’s sometimes hard to tell what is too much.

The big event of the week actually occurred yesterday.  The SQUIRREL WARS have begun in earnest!

After the carnage in the garden a week or so ago, when all my baby swiss chard and mesculin was munched on by bugs, I bought on the spur of the moment a 9-pack of buttercrunch lettuce.  To be safe, I planted them in the patio pots, in with the tomatoes and peppers.  Perfect, right?

Saturday Sanity: The Antidote to the Madness (April 18, 2009) Glorious Organ Mountains; Apricots; Quail on the Wall; Sneaky Slick the Min Pin

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

It’s been a frustrating week in the garden as the winds have continued and the temperatures have dipped the last day or so.  I’ve managed to put a couple of veggies and flowers into the patio pots, only to cover them up again to protect them from the weather.

Yesterday I bought a new Belle of Georgia peach to replace the one that is languishing.  I’ll get that in the ground over the weekend.

A big surprise is that I found a little apricot growing.  One seems to be finally showing on the flower I saw…but this one never seemed to have a flower that I ever saw, so imagine my surprise to see a an actual baby apricot!!  Let’s see if anything more shows up!

Last Tuesday I took advantage of the short trip over to my chess teacher’s house and took some wonderful pictures of the Organ Mountains. These views are literally a couple of minutes from my house…I’ll share one with you now:

Organ Mountains 4/14/09 Looking Like a Painting...

New Mexico has wonderful light, which attracts a lot of artists.  The changes in the skies and the light that changes from second to second are things which never cease to amaze me.

Closer to home, the quail are beginning to show up on my wall.  I love these guys and their plaintive calls.

A Curious Quail...

Finally, Slick the Sneak was into all sorts of trouble yesterday.  We left the house for an appointment and when we got back we found garbage all over the floor!  This hasn’t happened in quite awhile.  It really was close to the boys’ dinnertime, so I guess Slick was the leader of the pack in search of some grub.

This picture, which I took a couple of days ago, shows the little flash of the devil in his eyes:

Sneaky Slick

Let’s hope the winds die down next week! I have to put up the new grape trellises, plant a chocolate flower and really have to decide if I should bag the peaches. So far the squirrels haven’t shown up, which is amazing. I see the papa or mama when I look over the wall and they gobble up the lettuce and other veg scraps I toss over right away.  I suppose they’re busy with babies and as they grow, I’m sure they’ll be hunting for a lot more food…including peaches!

Take a Ramble…

over to our new “sister site” —  Open Range Ramblings!

Sometimes we just don’t have the time to do a “serious” post everyday…and sometimes we just feel like taking a break and doing something relaxing and fun. And there are the times when we’re so pooped that we NEED to take a break…

That’s where Open Range Ramblings comes in…

We’ve enjoyed doing the “Saturday Sanity” post lately so we thought we’d create a new site to provide a “haven” to escape to.  And our gang here at IA will be contributing pics and other things as time goes on, so we’ll be able to see what’s going on in other parts of the country, too.

The site has more additions planned and it will be developing as time permits. Plans are to get the live cam set up there, too, and to have pages for gardening, health topics, and pets and other lovely animals.

Today, we’re looking at the fruits that are already taking shape in the garden…so, especially if you live in colder areas of  the country, stop by Open Range Ramblings to lift your spirits!

ENJOY!!!!!

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Here’s the URL:

http://openrangeramblings.wordpress.com/

Saturday Sanity: The Antidote to the Madness (April 4, 2009) Spring Winds; Squirrel Wars; Bees Invade Feeder; Wounded Butterfly; Sunrise Over the Organs; Slick Lounges Around

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

It’s been a tough week for the garden in some ways.  The spring winds have arrived so I’ve had to put wind barriers up around the raised beds. I’m using the sunshade for this, because it’s bright and I don’t want my plants to dry/fry!!!  The temperatures are still in the 40’s overnight so with the winds coming through, although they weaken overnight, I don’t want too much of a temperature shock.

Still have some of the plants saved for the pots…a couple of peppers, an eggplant, and a couple of tomatoes…but I’m keeping them inside overnight. I bought some annuals…zinnias, petunias, a new geranium and an interesting spirally plant called “Rush.”  But these are all sitting safely under protection for now…

The squirrel wars have started. They’ve been gnawing at the cactus in the far corner of the yard and nibbling at the eggplant and lettuce. I’ve got tons of peaches on the tree in the warm corner and I’ll have to “bag” the fruit soon or else the squirrels will be busy there too as soon as they start smelling something sweet.

The hummingbird is coming all the time now…until today. The feeder was full of swarming bees!  This happens every year and I think these may be Africanized bees. So, the hummer and I will back off until they go.

A few days ago I spotted this butterfly on the ground. I picked it up and placed it in the Texas Ranger.  The poor thing obviously had some problems with its wings. A short while later it had gone…

Wounded butterfly

This past Thursday I had an early morning blood test.  The Healthplex branch of one of the hospitals is near our house and has stunning views of the Organ Mountains.  And being up so early, I knew I could catch the sunrise….

As I write this, I’m just back from a rendezvous with Animal Control. This morning I was walking Slick and Toro in the arroyo and suddenly spotted a golden lab (?) who had obviously recently given birth. I thought I had seen this dog barking from behind a wall on the far side of the arroyo. We left in a hurry and I figured she could easily jump back over the wall and get home.

At 8:30 PM as I as out with Slick and Toro again for their last walk, I thought I saw the dog near the path into the arroyo. It seemed to go back down into the arroyo.  I immediately call Animal Control and I took the officer down to the path and pointed out the house I thought the dog came from. We scanned around with a flashlight but didn’t see anything moving.  The officer was going to stop by the couple of houses where she could have come from to find out more from the owners.  I sure hope this all turns out OK, because if there are puppies involved, I’d hate to have the mother wandering lost for days or sitting in the shelter.  It’s expensive to get dogs back these days and I wouldn’t want her to be left there and the puppies orphaned.

This sort of thing always makes me go and give mine a hug…I’m not bragging, but they have a really good life…because they run mine!!

Slick lounging, safe and sound

Let’s hope next week bring less wind so I can finish planting…and that the lost dog is found.