The Legacy Gardens

This year, I had planned to set up a pumpkin vine on some trellises that had nothing growing on them.  I love the huge green leaves and even bigger golden blossoms.  Pumpkins would just be a bonus!    

I didn’t plan on the compost pile delivering me two huge packages of pumpkin seedlings!  One was moved to a trellis and the other left to take over the compost pile.

Welcome to the NEW Legacy Gardens blog.  There will be gardening topics, my gardening experiences, tips, opinions and as you will note in other posts, occasional social comment.

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Smoking issue

I despise smoking. Smokers smell, they contribute to health hazards. In crowds, they make me smell in a manner that is most offensive when I get away from them; the odor hangs on and ruins my clothes, fouls my surroundings and belongings. (Wipe a wet cloth down the walls of the smoker home, or on the windows of the smoker car. Yech!) With all of the information about health in particular that has been daily available for the last 50 years, I have a really difficult time appreciating the intellect of someone who chooses to begin a smoking habit.

I understand the evils of smoking in terms of health and these days in terms of money. I have great sympathy with the people who think that adding four cents to a pack of cigarettes will keep young people from smoking. I am suspicious of the success future of such thinking, but they have my sympathy.

However, this is an amendment to the constitution. I cannot support a lifetime tag on the amendment of any constitution that addresses an addiction, a health issue and a small tax. This would have to be introduced in a different format to get my support. So, I will be voting NO next week and the smoking idiots can remember that if you play, you pay. Sure, your health care will cost Missouri neighbors, but you will be the uncomfortable one with the ravages of lung cancer or emphysema and with the shortened life. We will miss you, but it was, at the very base of things, your choice and you can choose.

Stem cell issue

I have major problems with the Missouri Stem Cell Initiative a proposed amendment for the 2006 elections in Missouri.

Number one, I do not believe this is good for Missouri or the United States. I believe that researchers have not sufficiently resolved the possibilities of stem cell benefits for the ailments and conditions targeted from other sources of stem cells besides embryonic stem cells. I believe there are sufficient other resources for stem cell research and possible resolution of health conditions, both disease and injury. Resources which include cord blood, baby teeth, adult stem cells and others. I do not support the call for the embryonic stem cell supply. There are lines of embryonic stem cells of sufficient supply to experiment. Prove it first with these; then be good scientists and check in other paths to learn if the results cannot be replicated with acceptable stem cell sources. Embryonic stem cells are not acceptable. I must vote NO.

Secondly, the advertising for this initiative makes fools and points the ‘stupid’ finger at Missouri residents and voters by implying that without this amendment being enacted, Missouri residents will be denied the medical advancements of stem cell research. What a totally fraudulent statement to make! That is so insulting. If I were mad/insane enough to endorse this mad scientist idea, I would hope that my pain at the insulting promotion would counsel me to vote NO.

Thirdly, with the caveat that I do endorse stem cell research and that I do not wish to diminish the suffering of people with injuries and conditions for which there is no other encouragement, stem cell research and application/treatment is still a medical procedure. And a medical procedure with limited demand among the general population.

I resist the thinking that would make a medical procedure an amendment to any constitution. Make it a law; make it a proclamation, make it a proposal with term limit, but not an amendment.

I find sufficient reason and personal opinion to vote NO on Amendment 2 next week.

For the second drought haunted season, our black walnut tree has outdone itself in production!

There were probably 200 lbs of walnuts (in hull) on the ground. Walking between the upper end of the garden and the tree line was a treacherous project. Earlier, green apples had dropped to threaten, but they were cotton balls compared to the ankle turning opportunities offered by the walnuts.

Enter the Nut Wizard — http://www.thenutwizard.com/! This tool comes in various sizes, but we have the largest one. I wish I had a little one for acorns, but that is another tale

DH brought a giant sized Nut Wizard home and it works best for the black walnuts. It worked so well that I agreed to help him pick up a load of walnuts to take to the huller! We were really tired and worn out after that afternoon of scrabbling for walnuts.

He says it reminds him of the Fisher Price toys that little kids push around. The pop corn popper one. It reminds me of a carpet sweeper. But sometimes it works best if you just pop it over the top of the walnut. The wires separate and Schzam, the walnut is netted!

The Nut Wizard – don’t be without one!

Big thunder boomies and rain here all night, but no storm damage. There will no doubt be some flooding in the “hollers”, they aren’t putting out weather channel warnings yet.

People in other areas had the beejeezus scared out of them with high winds, hail and rain. Table Rock Lake and Branson were the worst last night. The TV people pre-empted much of the night with reports, etc. which is good.

The rain has really greened stuff up. Forsythia is getting the yellow flowers. The one that got a good hair cut a couple weeks ago even has a few buds on it. Our neighbor and I were discussing how to trim the ones by the road as we don’t want to give them a good hair cut. They are closer to the road, so their three big shrubs stop a lot of dust, noise and give them a little privacy screen. We have one right on the road that stops a lot of dust, with big lilacs paced across the grass toward the house. We’re thinking that if we take the trimmer with us when we get the mail and whack a little, we can groom them, but not get us too dusty!

The local saying is that we are 2 weeks from a drought. I think we’re cool for a few days.

Boy, that rain has helped green things up. The ever determined surprise lilies are sending up their early greenery, the daffies are blooming and the tulips and irises are starting. One Forsythia close to the house has it’s golden flags flying. It’s been trimmed back pretty severely and isn’t what I’d like to see, but we keep thinking of next year. The hostas are sending up some shoots. i have surprise lilies and hostas in pots under a leaf blanket that have survived the cold quite well. And, those hide-out onions from the weedpatch the garden became are really tasty!

I re-trimmed the roses a few days ago and kept a couple of pieces of the runner to repot. People here hate these multi-flora roses. They do require a lot of discipline, but they are pretty at bloom time.

I see a newly updated garden blog on the this morning. The writer in the UK uses the same green template. It’s nice to see someone in growing who shares my genious in thinking the green background goes well with a grow/green topic. My yard is still green and will keep a little of the green grasses even when the weather gets colder longer.

We will be able to discuss gardening techniques and gardening issues. I will be glad to discuss alot of them and if you don’t join in, I will be okay with that.