Gardener says Newspaper makes for Bigger Crops

I'm not much on mulch. 

wasn't there a weed that turned into a flower in your mind? Turned your mind to flower? Can't remember.

RoadYacht, a weed is any plant deemed not supposed to be growing where it is. A rosebush in a cornfield is technically a weed. So, if you're OK with dandelions in your yard, POOF they aren't weeds anymore! At least, not to you.

I'd heard that a few layers of newspaper makes for excellent weed cloth, but mulch? That's a new one on me. I might have to try it.

Weed  turns  lotsa  things  into   flowers.....imaginary  ones.   Allegedly.

I love the closing of the cited article:That's the only part of the whole thing to which his wife of 56 years, Erah Brady, isn't looking forward. ---

"He comes up with ideas all the time, and he decided to put the paper on the garden," she said. "He'll grow it all, but I'll put it all up."

I rise in defense of Merci, who was, after all, only trying to keep us close to the topic last night.  And now, Merci, I ask you please, to tolerate us when we stray and to forgive us if we get too flowery or self impressed. Do not hesitate to nudge  us back toward the topic, just don't count on our going all of the way there.  Some of us are too old to be housebroken now.                                                                                          I believe there are people here who are familiar with the genre "beach music", as in a certain kind of motown-inflected R&B, etc, once apreciated by college students visiting the coast. That visiting took place in the 1960s, but the name has stuck and has been expanded, abused, decried, etc., for nigh on 50 years.  I mention all of this because, somewhere in the 80s, instead of more songs about beer and the beach and your 39-21-40 shape, we started getting what might be called "meta-beach music", i.e., songs about beach music. Other genres have suffered the same thing from time to time. I am betting true country music fans don't want to hear songs ABOUT country music greats when they can hear songs BY country music greats. What has this got to do with anything at all? Well, it goes back to  what Mr Zev said last night about no policemen (at all) in Heaven... Regardless of our best intentions, our best laid plans, etc., now and then our little Eye Garden needs some Intelligent Design, to borrow a dangerous phrase. What I'm sayin' is that I dislike TALKING ABOUT THE FORUM on the forum as much as I dislike  doing laundry, but sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do. Not too long ago, I prattled on about my notion of the ideal post- a little substance, a lot of fluff, a package big enough to know you'd read something. Other folks are content to say "Hey" and "thanks" but I like to go ahead and have a paragraph or two.  Some may not approve or someone else may think I am being a blowhard, to which I can only say mea maxima  danged culpa,          God and J Peterman know, I have no particular authority here and I am admitting such to those who wonder if I think I do.  But I am trying to articulate what I see as The Family Tradition, just in case anybody cares.  We talk, we tell stories, we change the subject. We love one another. We banter and chaff. We flirt. We disagree. We sometimes walk away in dudgeon, high, low, or M-O-R.  We imagine insults. We strain at gnats and swallow camels.  And now and then, we does stray from the topic.                                                                Somebody else is welcome to the  hydrant, now.

I think this whole "went to the farm" is just a euphemism for "I have writer's block."  That's cool.

hey w.t.....write on! thanks!

my thinking is simiiar, i stand back though and wait, patiently, to see if some have more to offer than just criticism.  walking in and just starting critically?  i like new ideas.  bring them on, mercy me. 

sometimes seed just won't grow, no matter what kind of mulch, soil, or water.  it's just in the wrong climate.

I was thinking, if we put the wall street journal on a garden would you get richer soil? 

unhinged...so if we put the comic's on the garden, all the plants will be happy too!

   Willie T, Stoney and Jalopkin
 
We all know you are the"60 Minute Men" of the EyE!( at least for me any way.) Wille you may even be considered"Chairman of the Board". WE tip our Tams to you.
 
Teasin' and Pleasin' and all. I also prefer the real Beach Music to the Meta stuff, all others pale in comparison( yes a pun) though folks like Delbert McClinton can rock with the best.My husband hosts a weekly Beach Music show on the local radio station. WESR
 
I Always mulch the vegeatble and flower gardens. Been doing it for decades now. I have moved from Newsprint under straw in the veggies to a material that can be left down for more than one season, is very water permeable and is biodegradable. It warms the soil sooner in the spring and keeps it cooler in the heat of summer. a win win. I use hardwood mulch in the flowers and herb gardens.The issue here is water. I live on very sandy soils and we have long drought cycles....this they think killed off the Pre Clovis peoples but off topic.
 
Merci, point well taken. But I had to learn here at the forum.....go back and read some of my earlier whines. I think they gave me an Honor Roll medal just to shut me up at one point!
 
And the best way to keep us on topic is to offer up your own on topic essay( or whatever).
 
 
 
Off to see the lizards( attorneys) for a day of feeding frenzy( different music style, same sand)...he did record our friends the Tams though.
 
 
Topic was mulch...thought it said schmultz.
 
 
 

Miss Blue,  I think the best advice you offer ( amongst much good advice) is to go back and read. I just reread your post above and discovered that you didn't say "THEY THINK I KILLED OFF THE PRE CLOVIS PEOPLES" after all. Measure twice, cut once... And, never missing a chance to talk about ME, I can tell you that I once went to a wedding reception where Delber M was playing and went off and got myself engaged that same night. And, never missing a chance to poke at IJ, I believe Archie Bell and the Drells are from his neck of the woods. Tighten up, y'all.

DelberT.

There was a reason that the farmer who sold his land to the developer who eventually built our house did in fact sell it -- it will grow nothing much of any value......."vegetarily" speaking that is -- it did grow four fine children who regularly had it all over and in them.  Newspaper mulching or anything else has not worked here.

 Speaking for myself, it seems that, particularly on weekends, Eye topics, as presented by our host, tend toward the non-contreversial with an eye, one supposes, toward avoiding over-stimulation of the weekend state of mind.

More or less along the lines of other things topical: lidocaine, tetracaine, benzocaine, and prilocaine.

This gives contributors an opportunity, should they care to seize it, to bring their fellow villagers, friends and neighbors up to date with respect to how their own lives are coming together or, in some cases, falling apart.

We care about these things and about each other, finding in them more warmth and value than is to be gotten from a discussion of French theater or shredded newspaper.

Maybe I am wrong, but I would guess that our host is understanding and appreciative of that.

As for being mostly old well, we, some of us, no longer stand so tall or walk so straight but the lovely thing about a community is that there is always someone to offer an arm, encouragement or a prayer.

As to our various styles of expression, they are what they are owing to several factors: A) A lot of life experience, good and bad. B) In some but not all cases, extensive education and a wide range of knowledge that comes from being widely read. C) The comfort that arises out of being among friends old and young who understand that words come out in print as they are formulated in our very individualistic minds not to impress but to express.

Finally, the only really unsafe place to find oneself is in the way of the mad rush of other long timers scurrying to welcome new persons. They are always needed to replace those who fall or walk away and if there is a place found to be more accepting, welcoming, congenial and just downright friendly than the club car aboard thesepia train, tell us all about it... any way you choose.





 

stoney, i concur.

I really don't have mulch to say right now as I am getting ready to take my nephew to the National Aviary and then out to lunch and then the bookstore on this glorious Saturday. However, after reading Mr. Trask's reference to my missive last night regarding my statement about there being no policeman (at all) in heaven, I feel I must clarify myself. I do believe there are people who were police officers during their mortal existence is heaven; what I don't believe is that there is an actual Heavenly Police Force. If heaven is supposed to be freedom from a lack of want and desire, than why would there be a need for Police? There would be no laws to break and there would be no needs or desires to meet, as everything would be met. But that's just my interpretation of heaven. Others may think or believe differently. But that's the beauty of the metaphysical.

i like twinkie, kite, and candy store days, sprinkled with the law days and such.  it's good to have a place to call home....with a porch to sit on, the sepia train will always stop for all who choose to board, and that's a fact.
 
mulch to absorb.....that should qualify as on topic...no?

Mike Feldman and "Whad'Ya Know"(WYK), a program on NPR, that I have listened to for very many years, has a video stream,with realtime chat, on Mogulus.  So I am now typing to two...brain mulch. It makes my smile grow.

  Peter Lake,

Off topic but, unapologetically so, we had rain here last night but not enough to, as my mother would have said: "fill up the puddles."

That was after two dry weeks.

I have been empowered by the locals to request that the next time a deluge looms, that you get out your star wars light saber and direct it about one hundred and ninety miles northeast to the west shore of Lake Winnebago.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

Stoney  Ab, Bs, Msg. R&R

Now that we have paper shreders we can all easily make mulch.
 
I've heard of this before but have not tried it yet.
 
Guess I'll shred thous no good reports from A. G. Edwards to see how it works.
 
The paper isn't good for mulch else.

Maybe my garden porfolio will show more improvement than my stock porfolio.

Mind flower. I was wondering if,out behind the sepia train station,in that old shack that was surreptitiously converted to a myth lab, the wizardpoet is working on the final version of VIACKERA yet; you know,that pill for the guy who's back ain't what it used to be either.....

Vi ache ra     one of those visual puns, from my mind mulch

 Thanks RoadYacht,

You're right, a good front and a bad back are an unlucky combination.

Pamila,

Offered for your consideration:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28814979#28814979

 

Like WT, I don't like talking about the forum on the forum....but I will now do so.  The conversation that wanders, often far afield, from the posted topic of the day, is, in my mind, exactly what is supposed to happen here.  This is what happens at every social gathering in our lives.  Just because we're in virtual print here doesn't make it wrong.
 
As for mulch, I'm in favor of it.  Next?
 
 

Shandonista:   Bravo!  Divergence  from  topic,  especially  on  weekends,  is  what  gets  me  to  log  in  right  from  jump  street.   The   on-topic   answers  we  often  already  know,  it  instead  is  the  nuancy  variations  on  a  theme  that  make  this  a  cool  place   to  hang  our  metaphorical  hats.   Higher-functioning  mammals  of  the  world,  unite!  You  have  nothing  to  lose  but  your  chains.

As most have stated, it seems our esteemed host tends to feed us weekend topics that allow us to wander off topic.  A direction that takes us digging into the fertile soil of our rich minds.  We all have something to say and we all thrive and grow with the benefit of new additions to our beautiful garden.  A landscape with just one variety of flower can be so monotonous.  But a flower bed with various shapes, sizes, and colors is so much more appealing and interesting.  It's an honor to share this garden with all of you.

Worms, and all?   Everything in a garden feeds something else in that garden; and we, here, feed off each other's posts,seeded  by J P, and cultivated by the experiences and teachings of all who have gone before us.

Worms, and all.  I like to think of the ladybugs instead of the worms, however. 

WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I see that the Krewe is "ON" this morning !!! I Love It !!!
 
I want to Thank You Miss Blue, for including me in the Panel you mention above ... that is the most pleasant thing anyone has said about me in a long time ... and WT ... poke away Bubba !!! I take no offense, and often learn something about myself by examining the poking ... Stoney, I was touched by your recall of the picture before you,  across the table , and glad that another of my ilk can see it too ... Men miss so much, because they lose sight of the thing which attracted them in the first place ... if nothing else, such realizations are confirmation/validation of one's own good taste and judgement ...
 
HAPPY DAY !!!

One of the lessons that I learned the hard way on my walk through these woods is that it is not always a good idea to remain dedicated to accomplishing a plan just for the sake of the plan.  

I think that applies to topics as well.

Whenever I'm in a situation where I'm forced to stick to a plan no matter what may have changed since its inception, or a topic that fails to inspire..... why I feel suffocated. They become places where fresh new ideas and concepts have had their feet stuck in concrete only to be pushed over the side of a boat into a stagnant lake.

In my pitiful case, sometimes the daily topic has unintentionally quickened a totally unconnected thought or awakened some memory that has been gathering dust in my memory warehouse and I'm am helpless in my attempts to not just blurt them out.

I love the freedom that exists here that allows one to be as direct or creative in their writings as they please. Speaking for myself, this is the first place I've felt safe enough to let whatever creative beast I have in me roam the streets freely. At the same time I'm still learning that I have a responsibility, an obligation... to keep a reign on my beast so that it doesn't hurt or interfere with anyone else's rights of expression or put a dent in their dignity.

I really enjoy our "topical vacations", the detours that we often take here. In this neighborhood, everyone has a remote control that allows them to either change the channel or just turn the program off and come back later.

I have learned as much off-topic as I do from being on-topic. The fabric of "Peterman's EyE" is comprised of knowledge, education, inspiration, romance, tall tales, the common man and heroes, but most of all adventure and imagination.

As today's topic suggests, the shredding and mulching of the daily topics and headlines may result in more fruitful yields. Yes, that was just my token attempt of sticking to the topic........

..... but,

with an eye on today's topic..... as I sit here with a broken heart brought on by the realization that yet again, this is not the "Cubs Year to Win it All", and seeing my paper shredder out of the corner of my eye..... I think I'll shred the Sports Pages before reading them and then bury them in my garden to see if they will make my garden flourish or just turn to weeds.

So in closing (which means I need a rest stop), I've enjoyed many of your posts these past few days, from both young and old....... and I thank you. You folks make my life richer, or as Georgia - Eve would say..... "enrichened". I've become a loyal and constant reader.

And Ivan J., you definitely hit it out of the park yesterday. Well done

Peace out ....... And I've totally run out of my allotment of words today.

SToney,I'll try to push some more rain your way.  We had a window rattling long-lasting T-storm here last night.  It seems like it has rained every other day here for the past few weeks.  The corn was "knee-high by the 4th of July" and it's almost waist high now. If I have any hot air left in me (who am I kidding..... I've always got some hot air) I'll try to blow the next wave of rain clouds up your way.

Out for our morning walk a few days ago, my pal and I noticed on a short stretch of road ( less than 50 feet) numerous earthworms.  Many had been smashed by car tires or had already dried out and expired.  We picked up as many as we could find that seemed salvageable and placed them under leaves in someone's yard. This recurred over about a week's time.  What on earth was going on here?  It was like seeing a mass whale stranding on a beach.  Any ideas about this?   

Stoney, In the meantime, gather up all of the townspeople and gather at the dog-walking park at midnight and try howling at the moon.  It won't rain but it is a lot of fun.
  

Shandoista                   I remember something about earthworms reacting to electrical currents; if there are dwellings in the adjacent area, there may be stray power going to "ground",actually a dangerous condition in a dwelling, but not uncommon between outbuildings in rural areas. Cows react to bad grounding around barns, by seeming to dance...

.....Stoney.......thank you, most kindly.  :~)

Peter Lake.....imagine being a Mets' fan.........

Enjoy the day, Eyes.  I'm off to enjoy the outdoors; we've been blessed with beautiful, sunny skies for about a week now, here at the Jersey Shore.  Must take advantage of it. 
Ciao.  :~)

Shandonista,  my  guess  is  that  the  earthworms  had  their  tunnels  flooded  by  rain,  and  they   hit  the  pavement  to  breathe.   Worms  thrive,  by  the  way,  in  wet  shredded  newspaper.  Don't  ignore  night  crawlers,  they  bring  $2.50/dozen  here,  so  the  marketplace  has  spoken.   At  that  rate,  I  have  some  very  valuable  largemouth  bass  living  just  offshore,  who  owe  me  some  respect,  as  my  flimsy  fishing  skills  have  been  sp  inefficient  as  to  have  fed    their  entire  families.  Then   again,  without  a  kid  in  tow,  fishing  loses  its  appeal  for  me.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_veQRT7bus                            http://www.shanespeal.bigcartel.com/product/another-evil-bastard-smokestack-lightning

http://www.shanespeal.bigcartel.com/product/another-evil-bastard-smokestack-lightning

With the stuff I've been linkin, someone else would be a thinkin, if I only...

GOOD ON YOU    PETER LAKE ....... and THANKS !!!
 
My Uncle Lewie used to say that, "Plans Are Only a Basis From Which To Make Change ..." and there is an old Yiddish axiom that says, "Man Plans, God Laughs ..."  So, we all do the best we can and keep on going .......
 
Happy Day !!!

Merci to Merci for trying, but, my dear, it's hopeless.  The topic wanders, as it should.      And so I bring yesterday to today, since it's undone and we're having a virtual free for all here at the Eye-land:
 

Ivanjalopkin, while your explanation of last night does explain your original entry, I'm still left with the impression of sad, sad women - and now I know what rankled me initially:  you're condescending.  You stoop to conquer, and you kiss and tell.

You love women?  Really?

The sense I get is that you pity these women, and as a sort of gift, you lift them up for one brief shining moment out of their lives of drudgery and dinge - that's not love, ivanjalopkin, that's not love that I feel you feel.

It's something else entirely.

Ah. Well.

You understand your motives, ivanjalopkin, and as a bonus, not everyone misunderstands as I do.  Many seem to get it.  Bravo.  I still do not.

But I think the whole thing can be explained thus:

No two people read the same book.

Moreover, that while all this may be mulch ado about nothing, the ado is never not mulch when it's about oneself.

Ain't words fun?

Your Bugatti speeds through the night on a mission of mercy. You may wear another's clothes, but you're drive your own car, you make your own way, and your thoughts are your own, to hoard or to share.
And your food, your flowers? Grown in the medium of your choice. You read, you know, you understand how to help the world go around just a little more efficiently, and that's why you're determined to deliver the very best mulch to the very best recipients, who will use it in the very best of gardens, cultivating healthy bodies and healthy minds.
What's that newfangled term, you say? A twofer? Yes, first stimulate the mind. Then, run the media through a shredder, and spread it where it best defines your purpose, and you take the next step.
We'll take that step with you.
 
Newspaper mulch, from the most reliable sources, delivered wherever you like by a uniformed representative of the United States government. Just tell us how you want it.
One size, $21.99 the stere (after all, it used to be wood)  
 
1-800 PET RMAN (look for the EYE, sign of quality...)

  It is my personal view that roses became more popular growing as they do than would have been the case had they come on upside down.

Other wise, their thorny stems might simply have been mistaken for nettles.

A Saturday parable by:

Stoney  

  Park4,

I would be more inclined to say that Ivan stoops to lend an ear, a heart and a hand.

He is the one mirror into which if they look for themselves, they will see the soft edged image of everything at its best because that is what he is seeing.

I say now my,my,my..You say I am a FART but I am not an old Fart.How does it feel? feelings are not facts but it hurts just a little, huh?
 
Kisses all around Stoney..
 
Being The Alpha makes you uncomfortable when you get challenged? What a shame you claim to invite all that want to join and then condemn those that have a different view and want you to stay on course.
 
I am not hypnotised by your magic flute and when you write, I will not fall in line and concur because you are the "MASTER" Forgive me maybe your nose is some place it should  not be, just suggesting?? Your village is under your rule, you will NOT allow outsiders, new ideas and we both know this to be true. Out write, out wit and be cruel..
That is how you will win medals...

 fhit hit the san
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGVnH39UzI8

 Merci,

All thorny stem. Show your rose... Bud.

Or, alternatively, try speaking to the topic- whatever it was.  

My garden grows when shit is around the tomatoes..Beers  make you smarter BUDWeiser

Merci, 

You begin by insulting us with broad stroke generalities.

You were welcomed by us even though you entered with nothing but criticism.

Your only contribution was to restate your criticism, and strongly suggest we stay on topic, or in other words, be like you want us to be.

And then you do everything except push all of us "old farts" on to a broken off iceberg so we can just drift away because we didn't fawn upon you and agree that we should change the way we feel and express ourselves to suit your needs. You criticize us for the one thing that we cannot change.... our age. And then you conclude by insulting us with your original set of broad generalities and patting yourself on the back because in your world you were right all along.

Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy to me.

I'll not inflict my old stagnant ideas upon you any further, but if you hang out here that just means you need to change the channel when I post and I'll gladly do the same. Agree to disagree.

That's what we do here.... Agree to disagree and not attack someone for holding a viewpoint. Everyone should be allowed to hold on to the dignity regardless of age.

I was hoping for fresh ideas. Not judgment. It's just rude to shiite where you eat.  Bad form indeed

Sorry to be blunter than the rest, but I just calls 'em as I sees 'em and I don't find your rants amusing anymore.   

Stoney does it and its OK? When I give it back its not??

The Flute Plays..

Merci, vous fais une gaffe, quand vous tombe en ici pour rouspeter de notre type de conversation. Ne puis-vous pas faire concurrence? Je pense-non...
Un cul dit seulement des injures, sans contribution utile, ne paiement pas de sa partie. Etes-vous un cul? Cherchez-vous pour les forums des culs, alors.
Nous esperons pour votre bonne chance.
 
And I really hope you can speak street French... 

young gardners learn as they go, if they don't listen to advice and/or read.... through error, no fault of the blooms, sometimes the flowers or plants get hurt resulting in the death of the whole plant. 
 
horse manure makes an excellant fertilizer...but one mustn't use it green...it's to hot..meaning it will burn the plant...to high in nitrogen......it needs to mature....if you wait to long, it will loose it's properties and then must be used as a mix in mulch....  timing of the manure is most important.
 
there's a big difference in mulch and fertilizers....tin foil works in mulitiple ways..blocks the sun...and yes can hold beer...which will keep the slugs out if you pour it in a shallow dish

To Olivia,
I did not come in to insult anyone are to make fun of anyone nor will I go away. Until I am ready.

Merci-
Stoney used a colloquialism to gently poke you for your intemperate and judgemental, not to mention insulting, comments about people you don't know. You spew venom because you apparently have no manners or self-awareness. You've stopped in the wrong forum, and are far out of your depth here.
The reason we're here is because we treat each other with reserved good humour, we listen to one another's incisive opinions, interesting anecdotes, or drunken ramblings or whatever we choose to share. We are tolerant of just about anything except jerks stopping by just to stink up the corridors with pointless negativity.
There are forums for that sort of behaviour, and if you don't have such a place, I highly suggest you get one.

Our host will decide whether you stay or not. Until that time, if you want to be unpleasant, expect to be ignored.

Sadly, you missed the gist of my Gallic disquisition. So, you can't read street French.
Pity...

some plants grow out of the perimeters of the garden and must be pruned back hard sometimes...and some still won't grow because they're in the wrong climate.....perhaps they should be pulled and put in the mulch pile...being careful to make sure they haven't gone to seed...
 
i have some books i'd like to share, with those of like interest.
 
the art of french vegetable gardening by louisa jones
and
the well-placed weed by ryan gainey

also, anything on or by tasha tudor

New ideas frightened people..You are one and if I am expelled from the VILLAGE what does that say? Only Mature people buy and have ideas at J.peterman? Ignore me please,  it shows your intellect. so when you  one disagrees with you or we can not talk you shut them out and call someone in to agree with you. So Adult of you..

the rose is a lover of manure tea....must watch the container you mix it in...the dogs love to drink the tea...and oh! my goodness...the breathe...staggering....you should then use from your lovely herb garden...a stong mint!  lemon basil or thyme to rinse the dear dogs silly little mouth out....
 
with the left over mint one could say...decorate a pie whole lemon.. whoops got the cart before the horse...should be reversed...lemon whole pie...anyways....can always put a little sprig in the kool-aid.  that's refreshing after a days work in the garden...
 
i hope we get to discuss fertilizers soon....there's bone meal, blood meal...
 
 

cuukoo1,

Thanks for the book suggestions. I usually develop a rash and get short of breath when I read non-fiction, but gardening may be different.

I used to volunteer at the Morton Arboretum on their prairie restoration project and after our work was complete for the night, we always got a walking lecture by one of their resident experts which I totally enjoyed. Soon as I get a knee replaced I hope to work in their prairie again. Most of the plants I have around my house are native prairie plants (and no..... I didn't take them from the arboretum........ just the information came from there)

Speaking of gardens, I think I'll go out and dig around mine. "its just a lazy afternoon, no point in going anywhere........"

Peace out to all yous boyzs and goils.....

Dang it, who brought up Beach Music?  I am simply grateful that I have moved away from the old downtown, for next weekend is the annual car-show, and the music store next door to my apartment likes to set up giant speakers and play the SAME Beach Boys cd over and over again for about 10 hours straight.  It is too much!
 
Mulch bring gardening to mind.  But my yard was largely destroyed by the roofers/carpenters that were here for the past few weeks, and it is too depressing to think about.  As August comes around, Nebraska yards turn to straw.  So, I will do what I can to salvage and start again fresh when the season rolls around again.
 
Merci: Please, relax.  Nobody here is going to try to stop anyone from having a different sort of idea.  I often disagree with what others have said, and if I feel the need, I will bring up those differences.  New ideas are fine, but you can't expect anyone to agree with anyone else about anything.  If we all agreed, that would be a horribly boring life. 
 
Now, if you will all excuse me, I'm going to the smoking car, to play solitaire and watch the green fields flow by.

  I've been remiss in failing to mention that, while we were away on an excellent out of town excursion, the pool responding to chemical treatment, turned from slightly turbid to liquid crystal.

A dime thrown into the deep end is discernible as to heads or tails.

Had this been revealed sooner, I know many of you would have been spared a restless night.

And Olivia, if I haven't mentioned yet today how much I love you, c'mere.

swiss made felco#2 nipping tool...it's the best for nipping buds....otherwise pruners should be used for the larger plant stems and roots.  even the best mulch can't kill out the most invasive poison ivy...you just have to put your long gloves on and a long shirt and start digging, pull the mulch back and keep looking, until you get all of the root, ever last bit of it.  if you don't it will creep under the mulch and come up in the most unusual places.  you can always recognise it though, it can't hide it's abrasive nature.  blisters. redness and itchyness.....
nip it, nip it, nip it. and if that doesn't stop it, then get to work.  i don't use chemical poisons, am always amazed at what dog urine will kill though.  guess they know what they're doing when they mark their turf.
 
 

She will get bored.  Or school will start.  Or she'll need a new battery charger.  Or the cable will go pffft.  In any case, the end result will be thankfully the same.

WOW......got  back  from  the  usual  weekend  emergencies,  god  bless  people  with  bad  judgment,  without  them  emergency  room  physicians  and  criminal  defense  lawyers  would  be  forced  to  get  real  jobs.....THEN......OMG,  this  comfy  environment  has  gotten  flat-out  dangerous,  at  least  for  those  with  eggshell  egos.  Oh  well,  Merci  has  no  experience  factor  with  us,  no  registered  profile,  no  photos....not  even  gender  identity.  And  today  will  pass  for  all  of  us.  Not  a  bad  day,  but  hell  I  always  am  frustrated  when  people  write  checks  with  their  egos  that  their  intellects  cannot  cash.  Nap  time,  wash  up  first,  get  the  blood  and  the  gunshot  residue  and  the  stink  of  the  city  safely  down  the  drain...and  thank  god  for  my  daughter,  my  friends,  my  diverse  albeit  imperfect  country....and  for  ALL  of  you....no  exceptions.

cuukoo1, That's why I always carry a small dog around with me in the garden..... just point the dog in the right direction and weed-b-gone!  MAGIC!

Peter Lake: Do you have  a special squeezing technique, or do you rely on luck?

Good Lord! I take my nephew on a Saturday Adenture and I come back to this? A new person with an objective and an argument? This Merci seems to be nothing more than a spamming little troll with a poor attitude who doesn't seem to care or understand that one must earn their stripes. Yes Merci, there is a difference between the rants you and Stoney write. His have class and a certain intellect; yours are just whining little diatribes. To the other Eyelanders who seem to disagree with this Merci person, I suggest simply ignoring them. If we don't acknowledge her until she actually has something to contribute, perhaps she'll learn how this place works. Hopefully we stayed on topic enough for her----mulch is sometimes manure, and there seems to be a bit of that tossed around today. 

I hope the above doesn't come across as insulting or rude, so I figured I'll get on topic:
Mulches are used for various agricultural and gardening purposes, they are applied to the soil surface. Properly used, they benefit plant growth and minimize garden labor. The main functions of mulches are the conservation of soil moisture and the moderation of soil temperature. They moderate internal soil temperatures by retaining heat from the day and radiating it to the soil at night during spring and fall; in the winter mulches moderate soil warming during the day, limiting the stress plants undergo during soil freezing and thawing cycles. They also are used to prevent frost heaving of unestablished plants in winter. During summer, they keep soil cool by blocking direct sunlight exposure of the soil surface. Mulches are used to block evaporation of water from the soil, slowing down soil drying. They also help control the growth of weeds, blocking sunlight and/or smothering weed seedlings under layers of material. Mulch also reflects sunlight back from the ground to the leaves of plants, they also provide a clean and dry surface for ground-lying fruits. They prevent soil erosion from heavy rains, prevent surface run-off of water, and prevent the direct impact of hard rains on the soil surface. Some mulches improve soil texture, adding humus. Organic mulches may add nutrients to the soil as they breakdown. Biodegradable mulches, as they decay, are incorporated into the soil where they provide air spaces and surfaces for fungi and root growth.
While mulching may improve the growth of various plants by directly manipulating the plant's abiotic environment, mulch can also improve growth as an effective means of pest control. Various forms of mulch, deter herbivorous insects and increase the numbers of beneficial insects.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ain't Wikipedia fun kids?

i just wish i could read street french.......

maybe rosetta, stoney, could help, mulch?
 
 
bad, soooooooo bad!

IGNORING? I know a lot about ignorance. I also have a fair amount of experience with insults, mild, hot and otherwise.  I count it a pretty good week when the worst thing that happens to me is to be compared to a hall monitor,  (Or, for that matter, to the Pied Piper of Hamelin) but I have seen plenty of people misunderstand good natured "ribbing", heckling, b-busting, what you may call it.  Nasty teasing in my childhood may have made me a sarcastic teenager and an insecurity-driven frantic consumer / young adult. Or maybe it was just the times. But I got over most of that, thanks in large part to generations of relative poverty and the capacity for disdain I inherited instead of cash. Chances are, whatever you have ( except for maybe a Bugatti or an XK 140,) is not important enough for me to envy.                                                 The other thing I inherited from somewhere is a serious aversion to discord.                                        The web brings many altered circumstances. Nobody much cares about many of the things that matter elsewhere. Famously, on the internet Nobody knows I am a dog, much less whether or not I am a dog with a diamond earring. And when I bark, the only thing that will draw comments is the quality of my barking.  Most of the time, nobody knows whether I am around, or looking at eBay , or  looking at beyotches over at    http://www.foxredhuntinglabs.com/english_setters.html       at least until I post something. And, from the quality of some of my posts, it is hard to tell sometimes if I did it or some pup came along while I was already logged in.  Being ignored is harder to gauge, I guess. Since I started this, an hour or two have passed while I was elsewhere. Some may assume I was ignoring them, some may have assumed I was just absent.  I figure I will read most of what comes up. If it is worthy of a reply and time allows, I may reply. If it isn't, I may reply anyway.  If I don't, the possible reasons and motives could fill the rest of my few short days, but now and then it is because  I prefer otherwise.   We all have the choice.

Oh, my.  We apparently have a blight on our crops here at the Eye.  Merci, perhaps you should change that "i" at the end of your name to a "y," and beg for a little. 

 
Michael...my dear lad, please
 
 
 
 
the Beach Boys are not Beach Music....(as I run out of the room screaming)
 
 
Merci.....I'm not one to mince words and write in flowery metaphores........
i welcomed you and made excuses for you but you didn't learn your lesson on manners.
 
 SO ,SHUT UP AND KMA

Willie: Those are some fine bitches.

Michael, It all depends on whether the dog just barks or if it bites.  Fortunately for all involved, I don't have a dog.... so if it bites, then of course its not my dog.

Miss Blue: My apologies.  In my defense, I have been traumatized by Barbara Ann.
 
Peter: I think you win.

  Willie,

I should just automate this process: nice link, very nice indeed.

Park4--Thank you, and thank you!  She's a doll--I only wish we lived closer, so I could see her more often.  Sorry.............completely off topic!!!!  :~)  Carry on. 

Aw shucks, dsrtlady, it warn't nuthin' -- (blush).  There are some really attractive people on this Eye-land.

Agreed.  Inside and out. 

Can't anyone translate street French? Maybe in the club car?
 
I agree with all of the above share don't criticise, disagree and just give us your opinion.
 
We'll respect that.
 
That's why we all love each other.
 
Now I'll have a glass of chablis, thank you.

"Street  French?"    I  have  no  clue,   the  little  French  I  know  I  understand  only  by  watching  body  language  and  focusing  on  context.   But  I  have  probable  cause  to  believe  that  the  loose  translation  sought  so  eagerly  by  Ms.  Blue  of  Olivia's  quotation comes  out  something  like  the  old  Jane  Curtain  (as  newscaster)  line  from  the  original  Saturday  Night  Live:   "Jane,  you  ignorant  slut..."
Tomorrow,  I  plan  to  have  only  happy  thoughts.....

Mr. Trask, I truly hope I didn't offend you by suggesting Merci be ignored. If I did, I do apologize. I too had a childhood full of nasty teasing and know ignoring doesn't work with children, but adults on the other hand, tend to disappear after a while, at least in my experience.

Probable cause!  JD:  You were definitely working today, weren't you?

Curtain rises: 

EyEgore: Shuffle, drag.....shuffle, drag...."Master!, Master!!... come quickly!!

Master: What is it now EyEgore!! Can you not see that I'm busy?!?

EyEgore: B, b, b but Master!

Master: Oh .....go on and be quick about it.

EyEgore: It's the angry villagers again your worship! They formed a mob and are carrying pitchforks and torches!!!! And they're coming this way!! What shall we do?!?

Master: Well let's just try to be nice this time EyEgore. Instead of the old pouring boiling oil down and hurling Greek fire upon them from the catapults....... Let's be kind and gentle and just toss a little Merci their way.... You know....take ‘em by surprise.... Catch ‘em off guard ..... that should get their minds off of us for awhile.

and if that doesn't work, wellmake our escape on thesepia subway that runs beneath the castle!

EyEgore: As you wish Master...... but may I set her on fire first??? Shuffle, drag.....shuffle drag.....

Master: Use your best judgment EyEgore, just use your best judgment. Now off with you, I've got some work to do and I'm not getting any younger....... FINI

Curtain falls

Olivia, I tried FreeTranslation.com for the gist of your street french. Very clever and well played. In the words of the Count of Monte Cristo, the King's to you.

as EyEgore slowly makes his way back to the garden in a last ditch effort to stay on topic......shuffle, drag......

we're all but mulch sooner or later.

to florid?

Oh, bloody Hel.

Off topic. Sorry. Today's topic really SHOULD be "Pool-Side Drinks & the Men Who Drink Them" because I just spent the morning and afternoon beside my lovely local club's pool, letting marvelous people with aprons and trays bring me drinks while I watched the children (but let the Lifeguards do the proper job of "guarding" them).

So now I'm home and thinking another drink would be just lovely and perhaps a movie on the couch with my children snugged up close while I snore through another viewing of "Transformers" or summat.

I give all of you the fondest of good wishes for the rest of your day today. I'm off to couch/movie/kids/snoring.

I choose later for the time being...... Reminds me of the movie Soylent Green.......

Eygore:  will he really pour boiling oil on us?!  And:  be you a Villager or a Castle Dweller, Eygore?  In other words, are you wit us er are ye wit him?  JJoking, Mr. Lake.  I enjoyed that.
 
Cuukoo, yes we are all mulch one day sooner or later.  If I were inclined to use an "LOL" on this board, I'd do it now.  LOL, lady.
 
 

ya killing me smalls....
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W16M0eYJUd0

Yes, and in case it got missed (which my brethren/sistren here NEVER do, and I mean that quite seriously) then I am indeed the Anchorman of Olivia's quite accurately pointed-out continuum, at the "Drunken Rambling" end, naturally. Oh! The Transformers do beckon. Excuse me.

Zut, alors!
Running it through a translator only produces gibberish. That's one of the beauties of using slang in any language. It doesn't really translate, and even the words that will render are used in a different way, with a different meaning.
It was just an observation on the human condition, some rhetorical musings on motivations and a suggestion for the use people of a certain mindset might find for some of their free time.
All in the spirit of fellowship, mind you...

PARK4:     I  would  do  what  I  do  4  free,  I  feel  extremely  lucky  to  have  a  job  that  is  made  4  me......I  get  to  play  with  big  boy  toys,  run  around  at  unreasonable  hours,  make  acquaintance  with  women  of  ill  repute.....yup.    U  R  perceptive,  if  I  said  nothing  else,  that  "identifier"  woulda  busted  me.    In  the  days  when  we  still  had   wars  {hot  &  cold}  in  Europe,  the  Eastern  block  countries  taught  their  people  how  Americans  ate,  different  hand  movements  with  silverware  and  napkins  than  Europeans.   Now  I  am  home,  I   get  to  wipe  hands  on  pants...

PARK4, What's today's special at Scuttlebutt's.   BTW - EyEgore would never pour boiling oil on an EyEster.  He's also the ticket puncher on thesepia train.

I missed the spirit of fellowship tone in your post to her.     Or did I?    Just joking.  Bien said.
 
 

Mr. Zev, Please be assured, I am not offended by you or anything you have typed. Or, for that matter, by anything anyone else has.  And, by the way, I surely hope there is a policemen's heaven, whether or not it  intersects with mine. Miss Blue, PLEASE BE NICE. Not everyone knows the Beach Boys are not beach music. BUT THANKS for doing my hatchet work on that one. But BACK TO ZEV.  There is a Colonel PSEV (stet) in an Avengers episode that I may have to go back and watch again... DID SOMEBODY ASK FOR A LINK? Well, look what I have here:      http://www.dissolute.com.au/avweb/emmabw/412.html    Now, Peter Lake, you may stand. One bow is sufficient for La Peel. Ordinary people, even witty ones, make her nervous sometimes and we do not want that.

Willie T,

As Jimmy Durante would say....... "Tanks..., I needed dat! A dinka-a dink- a-doo"

Does this count as beach music?
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7UTKi2wdjI

le voila, BEACH MUSIC   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxumz76eLP0  But also Brown Eyed Girl by Van M, or anything by the Tams, The Drifters, The Chairmen of the Board, The Catalionas, Certain Marvin Gaye, the Harlem Globetrotters ( yes: Rainy Day Bells) Archie Bell and the Drells, a lot of Solomon Burke and Billy Stewart and the Georgia Prophets and so much more. Call now, just 9.99

Michael, Absolutely..... they almost sound like the Ventures... Now I'm needing a Kill Bill mini marathon.... who's bringing the popcorn???

The shag.  When I was down in SC last all these people, women mostly, were doing this dance I'd never seen before and someone told me it was called 'the shag.'  It was a hot night, and the shag as I saw it involved almost no movement -- point is, they said the guitar guy was playing beach music.  It's a regional "thang" isn't it?  Because it hasn't hit Wisconsin yet -- try not to laugh at that...the chicken dance is a hard act to follow...

Speaking of dirty French movies....

As I was saying...dirty French movies...

SHAG??
 
That's an old one from a long gone movie.
 
I'll have to find you a link.

Shag...Great artist: http://www.shag.com

So these two movies, on TCM tonight beginning at 11:30 Eastern, aren't really French and the actress Jean Seberg was born in Nebraska or Idaho or someplace like that, she is more French in her movies than any born Frenchwoman.  And what a beauty she was.  So if anyone's interested in a movie tonight, there's Bonjour Tristesse, from Francoise Sagan's novel of the same name; stars Seberg as a charming nymphet of a daughter of a charming father (David Niven) with a lovely fiancee (Deborah Kerr), and how it all rolls out on the French Riviera.  After Bonjour Tristesse, there's Lilith, with Seberg as a wealthy mental hosptial patient.  A little more intense than the first movie, but very good.     So:  showings begin at 10:00 pm tonight, with a Disney cartoon of your choice in the Sepiatrain, Club Car Deux, the one with the projector Peterman salvaged from the old MGM lot, and the pull-down screen used in Sunset Boulevard.       ...
  Be there.

Okay, google search or yahoo search "shag dance".
 
It's the South Carolina dance.
 
The sites have lessons and demonstrations.
 
They have clubs just to go to to shag.
 
It's from as long ago as the 1920s.
 
There was a movis that had that as a feature but I can't remember the movie name.
 
Anyone out there remember?
 
It's a sepia memory for me. I can see the dancers in my minds eye.
 
HELP!!!

The movie "SHAG: with Pheobe Cates. Bridget Fonda and Annabeth Gish.
 
Released in 1989.
 
Directed by Zelda Barron and choreography by Ken Ortega from Dirty Dancing.
 
Real fluff chick flick film.
 
I loved it.

The SHAG if the North Carolina state dance since 1984.

Google and Yahoo are the best.

We could watch SHAG after PARK 4's movies in the club car.
 
That could take us to our next assigned topic from JP for tomorrow. 

Does  STRANGER ON THE SHORE count as Beach Music ???

I can only be redundant and say ...
Sometimes God gives you a gift when it doesnt look like a gift..
Things got stirred up and the "Village" had to think in a new way and rally.
 
I received a card that said you don't need need landscape just new eyes..

I REALLY hate to belabor this silly business, but I must say to PARK4 and a couple of others .......You are devastatingly wrong ... but thats OK, because you do not know me ... and anyhow, you're entitled .......  Absolutely no hard feelings ... I am Honored to be in the fray .......
 
 
ps: I NEVER kiss and tell .......

my apologies ..You don't need new landscape just new eyes.

Jalopkin:  I don't know you, you're right.  But I look forward to getting to know you.  And you, me, if you're interested.  Let's put it all under a pile of shredded newspapers, stomp on it, and shake hands.  ....  And I'm sure you never kiss and tell.  My keyboard knew not what it said, forgive it.  ...  to a new day, tomorrow?    ,,,Enjoy your evening, Ivan Jalopkin, and all.  I'm off to the movies....

I think it may be time for a pipe. Anyone care to join? I have an excellent assortment of tobaccos waiting in the Smoking Car.

 DZ,

I'm there and thanks.

Park4--your mention of Jean Seberg sparked the memory of another classic of hers that I haven't seen in years and years:  Moment to Moment and that hauntingly beautiful Mancini score.  They don't make 'em like that anymore. 

Dan-Z:  I think I'll join you.  I have a clay pipe I'm still breaking in.

My new beach music comes from the Hellecasters, Los Straitjackets, and Johnny A, among others. I love the old stuff, but guess what? New beach music comes out all the time!
 
The spirit of fellowship drips from my honeyed French stylo, mes amis...
 
Jonathan-I wasn't thinking specifically of you, but now that you mention it...*grin*
 
Stoney-luv you too, babe, even if you are a camera obscura sometimes *kiss kiss*
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZfpCga9qck&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TjfxtUOtII&feature=related
 
WOOLY BULLY!

Oh! The scent of a man smoking a tobacco pipe. I'm heading to the S. car of the S.T. (yes, it is that special that now it can go by initials) I could just sit here breathe you all in.  How lucky can one girl get?

Stoney..aka grasshopper....Many times Things are not what they seem. Sites come around
to test members you guys failed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6v4PDUZwNk
Enjoy and goodbye

 sleroy,

"You don't need new landscape just new eyes."

In case nobody has mentioned today that you are a person with valuable insights, let me be the first.

  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYwrk9boWJM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iJjb-t1Jwc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwfZT4LLYcQ
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X49doPwp0bc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzE6SQvhdGQ
 
LOOOOOVE TO DANCE !!!!

Thank you Stoney,
you were the first person to  be kind on this board. It seems to be a rough day.
I am going to bed I look forward to tomorrows banter.
Good Night..
Susan
 

Merci: Bye.  Thanks for stopping by. 
 
And Yu-Gi-Oh was never anything but a second-rate Pokemon.

Definitely time for a mercy killing.

Of course I mean myself. And of course I'm speaking metaphorically, insofar as one who's had as much to drink as I have today AND watched a long series of classic Disney shorts from the 1930's deserves to "suffer" the "death" of a soft pillow and just the right amount of blanket for the perfectly cool summer night in the mountains.

"It's a great night for sleeping, from all that I hear, it's the best night for sleeping in many a year". Name THAT book, my Eye-Landers.

But save it 'till tomorrow, as I will be asleep by the time I finish typing this one last wor-

Ten cents a dance
It's the only price to pay
Why give 'em more
When it's only love for sale?
Adam and Eve
It's the oldest game in town
Just a one way street
To a faded magazine

Kiss and tell
Money talks - it never lies
Kiss and tell
Give and take
- eye for an eye
Fever - the heat of the night
Dreamer - stealer of sighs

One public face
In a private limousine
Flash photograph
It's the only light you see
No secret life
There's no secret you can steel
Your lips are moving
But I will never know
What they mean

Kiss and tell
Money talks - and love...it burns
Kiss and tell
Give and take - we live and learn
Fever - the heat of the night
Dreamer - stealer of sighs

Fever - the heat of the night
Dreamer - stealer of sighs

Kiss and tell
We never lie
Kiss and tell
Eye for an eye
Kiss and tell
Blood on a nail
Kiss and tell
Kiss me again
Kiss and tell

As I read this, i begin to appreciate that tho we all can type, we can''t all write. We may just be reading reading,not writing.     I am still chuckling over my visual pun...vi ache ra, because sometimes your back needs a little help,too.      

It sounds like Dr Seuss, JI.  I give up. Dream Sweet.

  
 
 
of course tomorrow we will realize this was  MULCH ado about nothing

you're grounded 

MISS BLUE:  
 
That is a RIOT !!!!!!!

  Robins, you gotta love them. Their slightly aloof upturned beaks and reverse eyeliner notwithstanding, they are the last to sing away the old day and the first (right now) to sing in the new.

  Good grief! I ought to have mentioned that newspapers, shredded or not, were once considered, owing to the antibacterial properties of the ink, to be the perfect absorbing medium for whelping and puppy boxes.

Just a guess, but it is probably because ink has changed and they no longer have that, that makes them suitable for plant mulch.

Okay, I'll admit that it is thin and oblique but I tried.

Penn wins! "The Sleep Book", by Dr. Seuss. Penn shall receive a signed copy (signed by me, naturally) and a margarita, someday, whenever we happen to meet. Great, so now I'll be carrying this book around with me until then... I'll stuff it up the kilt and keep it warm and safe.

Oh The Places Dr. Seuss Will Go!