Crazy Week!

 I'm trying to post twice a week, but this week has gotten past me.  I am aware of 3 people that I know who passed away on Thursday, one was a friend from my Church.  In addition, I will be participating in a Speech Contest tomorrow.  I have accomplished some things this week, however!

• I made an appointment with my House Leveler who will be out week after next
• I bought some more blocks for building the raised beds
• Altered some plans based on a different re-use for the "greenhouse"
• Probably will be a run for the chickens
• Will not be moving it, so current fencing will be a smaller area

Some things that need to happen soon are:

• Get some help with the fencing (specifically putting up the posts)
• Probably should buy a gate (or two)
• Get the raised beds put together
• Get more compost soil (my friend with the trailer to get the soil currently has a day job).

I'm sorry this post is really brief.  Time got away from me this week.

Here is a photo of the garden area:

Until next time,

Stormy

Creating a Homestead - again!

When my husband and I married, we both wanted to move out of the city to the country!  Having a homestead was our goal.  I read "Mother Earth News" (the original) and lots of homesteading books, but what I really wanted was to live in the woods like at Girl Scout Camp!!  Fourteen years later, we found our dream property - heavily wooded.  After we moved onto the property, I cleared a little garden - 4 ft. square.

Fast forward 20 years or so, and I'm trying again to turn my property into a homestead.  My goals are somewhat different and my challenges are much greater!  The greatest challenge is that I'm no longer in my 20s or even 40s and I'm trying to do most of this on my own.  This means I'm hiring a lot of folks to help.

The first set of goals are:

• Stabilize my house - it's on a slope, and there are animals living beneath it.  Annual leveling is very expensive and needs to be corrected.
• Clear as much bamboo (planted by a former neighbor) as possible and find a way to remove it.
• Obtain an agricultural exemption

The second set of goals are:

• Put in a fenced garden with raised beds
• Raise Chickens

Other than the Ag exemption which takes 5 years, I'm hoping to get as many of these things done for this season as possible.

Over the weekend, I had my landscape guy clear out a lot of the bamboo, a "back yard" behind my house and some brush in various places.  I have a huge oak at one part of my property that I particularly wanted to save.  I think this weekend's work has accomplished that!!

 

I also now have a back yard.  I'm hoping to use it to plant shade loving plants.

I hope to keep this on a twice weekly schedule as before, but as I'm having to hire work done, I may not be able to keep that pace.

Until next time,

Stormy

Changing Focus

The tag-line for my blog is "The view from my cabin door -- sometimes looking out, sometimes looking in."  In the last several posts, I have focused inward with tools for my Spiritual Life.  I have been putting together a journal for a personal Bible study, but also other studies as well.

I have added a section at the back for sermon notes.  I'm enjoying the sheets I've downloaded from Visual Faith for sermon notes, though I have to write small.  I may go back and color in the graphics on some of these.

As mentioned before, I am a collector.  In this case, I wonder if I'm collecting too much information on these studies such that I'm worn out by the collecting and do not return to the actual study.  Most definitely an issue to work on!

Starting next week, I will change the focus of my blog to "Looking Out."  I will talk about the plans I have for working my place into a small homestead.  I've already started the idea of redoing the garden and I really need to get with that before it gets much hotter.  It's past time (around here) to get seeds or even plants in the ground.  It will likely be another week, minimum, before I can get another load of dirt as the soil is horrible.

This weekend I'll be doing brush clearing (or having it done!) and preparing to get a hive of bees starting next month to work towards an agricultural exemption.  That's a lot for this upcoming very busy weekend.

I hope to have before and after photos next week.

Until next time,

Stormy

Presenting my Journaling Template

I had the opportunity to present my journaling tool to my Ladies Group at church today.  The presentation took almost an hour, and I had done a bit of the work up front.  The Scripture for this study was about 5 verses, and there were 28 referenced verses!  We only went over a few.  I left the rest for homework.

One thing this tells me for longer studies is to "summarize"!  The preceding and following verses were numerous as well.  I did like re-thinking the keywords to look for the words that were most important to the overall verse.  [At this point, my mind is inserting, "Duh!!"]

I printed and passed out sheets for Sermon Notes from Visual Faith and those were well received.  I will be sending out links and a template to the ladies via email.  Overall, I think this was a successful presentation.

Now, I just need to get myself into a regular habit of nightly study.  I can do this 2 days per verse selection and take Sundays off.

To finish my journal "creation," I have a few things I want to do:

1. Create a bookmark with a "Prayer for Bible Study" - perhaps with a graphic on the other side.  This will be used in my journal to mark where I am studying.
2. Write a summary of the 10 Questions for reference
3. Figure out how to get my printer to print double-sided on the 7x9.25 paper!  (It will do it on 8.5x11 or 5.5x8.5)

My Friday post may be late.  The latter part of this week contains a "difficult day" for me.  Next week I plan to start discussing my plans for turning my home into a homestead.  This is likely to be a HUGE challenge as I will be doing most of this by myself.  I can probably get some help from friends and family over the weekend, but most of my weekends are full as well!  I'm not complaining!  It's always better to be busy than bored!

Until next time,

Stormy

Practice What You Preach

One of the followers of this series on my blog is the president of our Women's Group at church.  This month we moved our monthly meeting to a different date and the Pastor is not available for our Bible study.  She was impressed with my review on the 10 Questions book and has asked me to demonstrate it with the verses from our Ash Wednesday service.  (Not from the graphic here.)

This gives me several opportunities:

1. Motivation to test my personal tool (though it may not work for everyone and may need some adjustments even for me).
2. Test how I would study a longer segment of scripture instead of 1-2 verses.
3. Practice my speaking and presentation skills.  This will not count towards my Toastmasters' goals, but that's ok.

While the focus is on the 10 Questions, I really feel that provides more of an analysis tool.  The information gained gives us a deeper understanding of what we are reading, but I feel it needs further contemplation.

I have been working on my verses over multiple days and coming back to them for further thought.  Unfortunately, distraction is a real issue for me.  I need a better way to keep my focus and keep with my study.  I have also been adding sermon notes and graphics (not mine) to my journal and making notes on verses I would like to study further.

Finally, I have been collecting some devotional material in an online document.  For my book-based devotionals, I take photos of the page with the thought of including those in my journal as well.  I like the pre-written devotionals to give me ideas for application.  How might I write a short devotional on what I've studied?

Questions for my readers:

 

I have a lot of material in addition to the Specific verses I initially wanted to study.  How do you choose study material?  How do you relate God's Word to your personal life?

I would love to see your comments below (you may comment anonymously).

On another topic:  I will likely be switching topics week after next.  What would you like to see:  

• Discussion on personality types (and communication)
• Turning my yard into a homestead

Until next time,

Stormy

My Journal

 Happy Tuesday!

I can't tell you how many times I have tried to keep a journal.  I am so inconsistent in that regard.  However, I do like using a ring or disk binder, which gives me a lot of flexibility.

My journal has monthly calendars (with tabs).  I really don't use the calendar for appointments, as I have that on my computer which sends reminders and alerts.  However, I can use the calendar for very brief notes on what I'm doing.

The blank journal that I bought was just for notes.  It included blank lined paper and 3 blank side tabs.  It's by "Happy Planner" and I purchased it from a local crafts store.  I also purchased a couple of blank calendar journals on clearance, so I have a lot of monthly tabs.  I also have purchased some dividers with top tabs (the monthly tabs are to the side).  I bought a pre-printed monthly calendar with dates included which is just so much easier for that part.  (The paw print is from a template, and I colored it to match my kitty's toe beans.)

I have the calendar in front with the monthly tabs.  The first of the blank tabs are various notes I've taken at events or meetings.  The 2nd blank tab is my bible study journal and the 3rd tab is for blank note paper.

At the very front of my journal, I have a top tab followed by two "To Do" sheets.  I bought a lot of stickers, so modified the To Do to say, "To Pray."  On the back of the first sheet, I have people with current issues - surgery, recovery, illness, etc.  On the second sheet, I have people with long-term issues.  For most I have their care givers listed, if known.  I may stick the first sheet to the divider tab, so I can open the two sheets side-by-side.  This makes it easy to pray for all these folks during my morning prayers.  In the evening I pray from memory!

Visual Faith has weekly sermon notes.  I have printed out all those for this month and have started taking notes during the sermons.  Then I add the bulletin with the readings on the back, and the sermon notes to my journal.  At the moment, I'm adding them in at the monthly tabs, but they are bigger than the tabs, as you can see in the calendar photo above, so I may move them. 

Speaking of Visual Faith.... They have come out with a "Common Book" that is a compilation of their tools for a year: devotional calendar, prayer page, verse mapping, scripture scribing - all of the tools they provide in one book.  If this interests you, check out the article on their blog page (https://www.visualfaithmin.org/post/introducing-the-common-book).  It will link you to their book store, if you want to purchase.

Question to My Readers

Do you keep a journal of any kind?  Do you use a pre-formatted journal, or do you create your own?  Please let me know in the comments below (you may comment anonymously).  I would also be interested in styles and tools that you use in your journaling.  What works for you?  What doesn't work?

Until next time,

Stormy

Examples: John 3:16

In my last post, I used screen prints, but they were very small, and I'm really unhappy with what I posted.  I noticed that photos that I shared years ago can be clicked on and enlarged, so this time I took photos of my examples, and hope that you will be able to enlarge them and see them more clearly.

I probably need to redo the blog completely with a new "template".  I may try that over the weekend.  In the mean time, here are some photos of my journal.  I hope this helps with both the visualization of the template, and examples of how I am using it.

John 3:16

When I started this journey, this verse was not on the list, but once I did list the verses, I realized I had to start with this one.  It is often referred to as the "gospel in a nutshell."  I was still working with the tools and uncertain which I wanted to use (hence, the strike-throughs).  I also included fewer translations, etc. because I was writing it all by hand.

Page two contains part of the context.  I have since moved the geographical section under the boxes on this page (see the page under the Proverbs heading).

Here's page three with the table of POV, Enemy, How defeated and "Who are you, Lord?"

Page four was my opportunity to get artistic.  In some other verses, I have added downloaded graphics and artwork from VisualFaithMin.org 

As I reviewed  my 4-page template, I realized I wanted to include the text of the referenced verses listed on page 2.  This time I copied and pasted from my online Bible and printed, instead of writing each out.  Here is page 5.  On this verse, page 6 is blank, though I may go back and add to it.   In some other verses, I have added hymn text on page 6 and may add some graphics to that later.  I have decided that I want to try my hand at writing a devotional commentary (separate from "My experience and Feelings" on page 2).

Proverbs 3:5-6

This is the 3rd verse in the list.  With this verse, I have my pages in a better order.   I put a bit of a devotional in the "notes" and actually have the prayer on page 2.  Some of the information I've written is personal, so I will only show you page 2 which underwent the greatest editing of the template.

I can see that the photos are clearer even in the small size.  I hope these are helpful!

Until next time,

Stormy

Putting Together the Journal

I wanted a "template" to guide my studies.  I started with two pages based on the 10 questions book.  My plan was to put them in with my calendar (which is just months).  This posed a couple of problems.  I had just purchased some 9-disk based calendars which are 7x9.25 inches.  These are larger than my normal preferred size of 5.5x8.5 but did give me a bit more room.  I bought paper for this size, since I already have a punch for disk systems.

The second issue was that my printer, for whatever reason, refuses to print these double sided.  I print double-sided all the time.   I can only suppose that they are a non-standard size which the printer somehow doesn't know how to handle.  Sigh.  [If you know how I might accomplish this, please drop a note in the comments.]

Well...  I did want the two pages to be facing.  But then I had two more pages to fill ... and yes, I now have to print one side, turn the paper over and print the other - arg!!

Here's my original:  I know it's small, I'll give you the details at the end of the post.

I decided that it might be useful to add some bits from the other journaling study guides.  I also decided that adding blue dots would enable me to easier write or draw in the large blank spaces.  So, my next iteration looks like this:

Finally, I thought that it would be useful to print out the referring verses, instead of just listing the chapter and verse.  I've also added hymn references from my hymnal (in my case, this is the Lutheran Service Book).  Occasionally, I might list verses from one of the hymns.

As you can imagine, this has suddenly grown significantly.  After the first verse, I decided to copy my template (it's in MS Word) to a separate file with the verse and copy/paste as much information as possible (mostly the verses, translations, "other verses," hymn words and some graphics).  An advantage to this is that I can easily resize sections as needed.  I usually put the prayer after the geography question on p. 3.

For this reason, and the pain of printing, I usually do the compilation in the evening.  In the morning, I will print and then dive into the data.  I am wondering if I want to write a short devotional-style story in the notes section.  This would be different from the "experience/connection and feeling" section.  It might also be based on a key word or concept from the verse which would possibly affect how I complete that section.

I want to share my template, but I'm not quite sure the best way to do that.  As you can see, it's mostly headings, text boxes (for the context) and a 4x4 table.  The blank spaces are filled with rows of periods separated with two spaces.

The current template is headed as follows:

P1

Verse:                                    Date:

-spaces-

Other translations:

-spaces- 

[Note:  I use biblegateway.com, if you change versions, at the bottom of the new version, you will have the option to view all English version.  I start with ESV and look up NIV and AMP (amplified) versions.  There are other online Bibles available, use whichever works best for you or your physical Bible.]

Keywords:

-spaces-

[I like the Hebrew Interlinear Bible (there's a greek NT).  But it doesn't work well for the template.  So, I look at that one, then go to the other one, Bible Study Tools Interlinear Bible.  This one gives you the text in English with  highlighted words.  When you click on the words you get the Hebrew or Greek translation like in a dictionary.  Also, unlike the first one, you can copy and paste the information into your template.]

P2

I repeat the Verse/Date headers at the top with dotted space.  

Context:  How did we get here? / What  happens next?

Below this is two side-by-side text boxes (outlined).

Below this, with dotted space, is:

Where are we? (Geographical Context)

Footnotes/other verses (Where have I heard this before?):

My Experience and Connection to Verse; What am I feeling?

P3

Analysis

This is followed b the 4x4 table.  The headings are:

POV    Who is Enemy?    How is Enemy Defeated?    Who are You, Lord?

I include the following:

Jones, Andrew.  Ten Questions to Ask Every Time You Read the Bible (.p153).  Concordia Publishing House.  Kindle Edition.

Next is:

What Questions Remain?

P4

Notes, Graphics, Prayers

This is a dotted page for my notes, pictures, and prayers, though I usually put the prayers on the previous page, as there are few remaining questions and lots of space.

I've added a page 5 to write out the referenced verses and possibly a hymn.  Since you have two sides, there is a blank page 6.

This is really long, but I wanted to share my template.  Please take it and make it your own.

In my next post, I will share some samples.

Until next time, 

Stormy

Ten Questions to Ask Every Time You Read the Bible

 

 This is an interesting book by Andrew Jones.  I picked up the ebook version from Concordia Publishing House:  https://www.cph.org/ten-questions-to-ask-every-time-you-read-the-bible-ebook-edition.  Scroll down to the "Other Formats" tab if you want to buy a physical book. 

In my previous post, I mentioned that I loved the way our Pastor asked a lot of questions about the verses we were reading.  I had this in mind when I started the book.  Note that I was sitting in a waiting room, while my neighbor was at physical therapy.  This was probably a "good thing."

First, I jumped to the Table of Contents to see what the questions were, as each was addressed in its own chapter.  The first few questions are pretty straight-forward.  Some of the others are not as obvious.  Some of the questions I was looking for did not appear to be in the list... but they were!  Had I not been sitting in a waiting room, I might have shut down my e-reader and gone on to something else.  I am so glad I did not, because he really does have a great set of questions that build on each other to give you a fuller picture.

Rev. Jones starts every chapter with "Why is this question important?"  In the first couple of questions, you already know the answers in general.  He goes on to explain these answers and how they may be determined from the text.

The next section in each chapter gives some Bible examples and applies the question to each verse.  Finally, there is a "Putting it into Practice" section that summarizes the answer to the question and gives a few more verses that you can practice on yourself.

I won't share each of the questions here, but I will say they seem to fall into a few categories.

The first four questions seem to be an analysis of the verse(s), looking at both specifics and different points of view to help us learn more about God.  Each chapter not only introduces the next question, but also builds on the previous one.  The first four chapters come together in a chart that enables you to look at the verse in different ways.

The next three questions are all about context.  These three threw me, because I was looking for "context" in the question instead of the text of the chapter.  To me, this is really important.  The one that surprised me was, "Where Are We?"  Rev. Jones gives an amazing explanation of how the example verse has much greater meaning when you consider the geography behind the story.

The final three questions are all about connections.  Connecting the reading with your own experiences and reactions as well as connecting to other verses, hymns, and references.

Beyond the chart used to combine the first 4 questions, there are not any template pages for journaling.  That is not an issue for me as I am compiling my journal template from multiple sources.  However, I highly recommend that you read this book, because I feel the Author has really come up with a good set of questions to dig deeper into scripture.

Next Tuesday, I will share with you the template that I have put together.  I have already started using it and made a few adjustments.  I am having some technical difficulties that I'm still working on, so this is all a continued work in progress.  I will share all the fun next week.

Until next time,

Stormy

Searching for Bible Study Tools

In the last decade or so, I have found several Bible verses that seemed to have very deep meaning for me.  I think of them as my "philosophy of life."  In February of 2020 my church installed a new pastor.  A couple of weeks later COVID hit.  I was very fortunate in that we were able to quickly pivot to an online service, so that we only missed one Sunday due to the lockdown.  Once things settled down so that we could have Bible Study again, I started going.  I had not attended Bible Study in years, but decided to give it a try with our new Pastor.

I found I really enjoyed his methods and insight.  We would read the verses and he would ask us a lot of questions.  He would also explain the background situations.  These were not purchased Bible Study series, but a discussion on one of the readings for the day, usually the Epistle.  There were many references to other verses as well.  Sometimes, he would share with us a key Hebrew or Greek word used in a particular verse and its meaning.  We would also read in several translations (NIV, ESV, King James) and compare.

It was about this time that I thought I would like to delve more deeply into my special verses, but I didn't really know how...  however, an online search never hurt!

Journaling

I did know that I wanted to keep a journal.  I'm not the greatest with journaling, much like blogging, but writing down what I learn would be good for memory and future reference.  Obviously being able to write on a computer and print would be useful.  I do have a three-ring binder hole punch, but I also have a punch for disk binders.  I'm particularly fond of the 5.5x8 inch binders but have recently discovered the 7x9.25 size.  I wanted to combine my journal with my calendar.  You can also find paper online in just about any size!

I started looking for pre-printed (or PDF) tools for journaling and studying my chosen verses.

Verse Mapping

In 2022, I stumbled upon "Verse Mapping" which seemed perfect for what I was wanting to do.  I was especially intrigued by this site:

https://versemapping.com/verse-mapping-101-steps-to-study-the-bible-like-never-before/

I really liked that it came with a template that I could print and add to my journal.  But the more I looked at it, I realized I didn't have access to things like Hebrew and Greek dictionaries, especially since they use totally different alphabets that I didn't know.  [Update:  Having written this previously, I realized that I hadn't searched properly online.  I searched for "interlineal Hebrew and Greek Bibles" and found two.  I have bookmarked them both as they work differently.]

Additionally, while there were some elements I really liked, some didn't quite work for me and there were other tings I wanted to include.  SO...  I fell back on one of my best traits:  Procrastination!

Visual Faith

In Spring 2023, I attended a retreat for my Ladies Group at church.  The theme for the retreat was "Prayer."  We had a presentation and workshop on Visual Journaling.  This was focused on Prayer Journaling as well as self-illustration of Bible Verses.  The presentation was around materials from the Visual Faith Ministry: www.visualfaithmin.org.

I'm creative, but feel self conscious about drawing (my mother was a great painter).  On the other hand, I liked the idea of adding artwork and I have played with calligraphy in the past.  In addition, I knew I needed to include a prayer list.  Visual Faith provided artistic prayer lists to help you remember all the folks you wanted to pray for.  I put together a journal ... and used it for a few weeks.

However, another presenter at the retreat talked about a great book on prayer and gave us the information which sent me to our denomination's publishing store:  Concordia Publishing House.

I bought that book and several others, which I didn't necessarily read.  One of them was "Ten Questions to ask Every Time You Read the Bible" by Andrew Jones.  Last month, I drove a friend to physical therapy several times.  I remembered this particular book and decided to read it while I was waiting.

THAT will be the topic of my next blog post.

Until next time,

Stormy

She's ALIVE!!

 

Hello friends!  In my last post, I commented that I had been away from the blog for 5 years.  Now, another 6 years have gone by.  The secondary blog I created didn't go anywhere.  In the meantime, COVID has come and (mostly) gone.  Those of you who don't know me might shake your heads.  I tend to do things for a while, then jump into something else.

Like taking pictures of the spider webs on my window that look like otters!  Sorry - "photo for interest."

One of the things that is "new," and I hope I'll be sticking with for a while longer is Toastmasters.  I really enjoy learning about public speaking, leadership and being a mentor to newer members.  Another thing that is NOT new, but I have "stuck" to all my life is my Christian faith.

The tagline to my blog is "Sometimes looking out, sometimes looking in."  I plan to publish several posts in the next month of a personal project, somewhat "inward looking," while at the same time completing a project of blogging for my Toastmasters learning program.  Hopefully, I can keep up with my blogging if I get into the habit.

I have recently decided that I would like to put together my own Bible Study of Verses that have impacted me, especially in the last decade or so since my husband passed away.  I want to take a deeper look at these verses.  I've struggled on how to do this, but now I think I've found a method.  I am also at a point where I'm ready to start this project.

In the coming month or so, I will share processes and tools that I have found, some of my thoughts and what I have learned through the process.  I hope you will find it useful and perhaps apply these methods (or something that works for you) to your own studies.

I want to get back into the habit of blogging.  I have a lot going on these days, so perhaps I will have more topics to share.

I plan to start blogging twice a week.  At this point, I'm thinking Tuesdays and Fridays.  So, look for the first post in the new series this Tuesday.

A new evolution in my life

Hello Friends,

It has been 5 years since I posted.  I have tried a few things since this blog started as a birding blog.  Since my husband died, it's been a challenge for me to continue with birding, but I am slowly getting back into it.   Yesterday (April 23, 2018) was the seventh anniversary of his death.  On those anniversaries, I usually try to get out and do something to keep my mind off of it.  This year, I went kayaking down the Colorado River (the one in Texas).  I saw several shore birds, which I am no longer able to identify, a few Anhingas, a King Bird, several gull-like birds in a flock, Red Shouldered hawks and most especially a Bald Eagle!  I know he would have loved that!

I may pick up more on this blog soon, but for now I am starting a new blog just for Kayaking and RV'ing.  Please visit it at https://2lolsadventures.blogspot.com/.

Labor Day Work

I'm taking advantage of the Labor Day holiday to get some work done for my garden.   Or at least that was the plan.  I slept in today, but managed to get out and get a picture of the garden area at 9:00am -- it was totally shady.  At 10:00 I had sun in most of the area!

So I get dressed up in my longer-sleeved shirt (it needs to be white), my boots (I need some new Wellies), hat and garden gloves to go rake some of the grass recently mowed on the pipeline right-of-way.  The temperature at the moment is in the upper 80s.  I lasted about 10 minutes.  Raking is certainly a different kind of exercise than I usually get.  On my calorie indicator program, it said I burned about 28 calories for 10 minutes of raking.  Of course, there is no indicator for 86 degrees in full sun, with a warm breeze.   Sigh.

Anyway, here's what I accomplished.  Now, how do I get this to the garden area?  I need to check the wheels on my garden cart.

Oh, btw, I have now adjusted my camera settings -- hopefully future pictures will come out brighter (and I won't have to adjust).  They were set for indoors.... oops!  Ok, now to go take my 11:00 light reading.

Garden Site Preparation

I am trying to determine the best site for my Keyhole garden.  The area that I call my garden is quite shaded.  So I will be taking pictures several times over the next two days to look at the sun/shade patterns.

This first picture is from a couple of years ago.  (Warning, I haven't edited the photos, so they will likely take a while to download).

See the dead limbs in the upper right corner of the picture.  That (dead) tree fell over into the yard.  I have since had it (mostly) removed.  The banana plants have mostly died since I stopped watering them every day.  The center of the photo is my old 4x4 garden with a bit of fencing around it, all overgrown with weeds.  The lighter streaks across the photo is where the sunshine gets through the trees.

Here's a photo from 2:30pm today.  The bananas have mostly died -- they're hard to see in the shadow. The green area in the center is behind the well -- I'm not using that space.  I will be watching that big bright area in the right center of the picture, though I'm pretty sure that is shaded in the mornings.

The keyhole garden is approximately 6 feet in diameter, and about 29" off the ground.   Here are the specifications from Keyhole Farms, where I bought it.

Here are some links on keyhole farming:

• The description (one of several) of making these in hot and dry areas of Africa, and in locations in the US.
• Here is an article on Keyhole Gardening in Texas
• And an article on Dr. Deb Tolman, who championed this type of gardening in Texas.

I have collected paper and phone books, lots of cardboard as well as my compost bin and some bags of dirt, compost and manure that I have around.  I also have some dried grass from a recent mowing.  I plan to use all of these to create the soil in my garden.  I bought a paper shredder, and I'm thinking of shredding the paper goods to aid in the composting.

I have to figure out how to protect the plants from the critters.  Short term, I'll probably cure some bamboo, which I have way too much of, and use that to create a support for netting....  Hmmm, I might be able to slide it between the frame and the corrugated metal on the OUTSIDE, then clip the netting to the frame...  that might work.  On the other hand, if I plan squash (next year), it is likely to overflow the garden and onto the ground.  So long term, I'm thinking of putting a fence around the area with ground-level plants that deer don't like (like lavender).

In conjunction with the set-up, I will start thinking of what I want to plant.  I'm told that in shady areas, it's best to stick with bulbs and leafy plants.  But I plan to plant squash -- the fruits are shaded by the leaves anyway.  I also want to plant tomatoes, eggplant and maybe peppers -- those will be experimental for a while.

The other thing I'm looking at is information on preserving produce -- I certainly won't be able to eat it all -- even from this small garden.  I'm mostly going to focus on freezing.

The Garden!

I have been wanting to plant another garden for some time.  In spite of the fact that I rarely cook, and have very little time, I have decided to go with it!  I ordered a Keyhole Garden kit from Keyhole farms. It was supposed to arrive yesterday, but UPS forgot to put it on their truck!  So I'm a little disappointed I didn't have the whole Labor Day weekend to work on it.  Oh well...

My brother-in-law asked me to keep him informed on how this project went, so I've decided to wake up my blog and document this little project here.  I promise pictures and more details.  But since it's not happening this weekend, I guess we will settle for this simple post for starters.

The Insurance Question

With apologies to my readers -- I have been a bit lazy of late, and not much is going on here at the cabin.  I have a lot of time to think, and this question has caught my attention.  If you're not interested in politics, you can skip this one. :-)

[Stepping up on soapbox now]

As of recent GOP Debates, the "Insurance Question" has raised it's ugly head again.  One of my acquaintances on FB posted a video from moveon.org of a woman whose brother had no job, no insurance and no "governmental assistance" because of his age (mid-late 50s).  He came down with cancer and died in a lot of pain.  The question is asked (and she admits it's a poor question, and it is), "Should people be allowed to die because they have no insurance?"

These kinds of questions, with relation to politics, really irritate me.  Why?  Because not only is it a "yes or no" question that doesn't really lead to discussion, but it is a leading question which plays on our emotions and tends to put a damper on any followup.

Obviously the answer to the original question is "No."  But this has gotten me to thinking, what is the correct question?  I think the question should be this:

"There are people in our nation who are unable to get a job and therefore, without insurance who are unable to get the healthcare they need.  Many of them are dying without treatment.  How would you resolve these issues and save these people?"

 Let me start with an aside that I believe that our world and our lives are made up of series of systems and everything is connected to everything else.  So the answer to this question is complex.

My first "off the cuff" answer to this is that it shouldn't be the problem of government to deal with this, except that it was the government that caused the problem (in my opinion).  Now, they had help of course, but ultimately a lot of the problem stems from laws that have been passed over at least the last 150 years or so.   All of these laws were enacted with the benefit of the people in mind, but some have had a negative effect on the people they were intended to help.

I think that we need to go back and review many of the old (and some not so old) laws that have been passed to see what the consequences of those laws have been and if those laws need to be completely or partially repealed, and/or rewritten.  We need to look at Health Care, and the laws governing legal practices towards doctors and medical practitioners; at the laws governing the insurance industry (especially medical).  We need to look at all sorts of business-related, economics and tax laws that effect businesses' ability to hire and retain workers.  We need to review how we deal with illegal immigrants.  We even need to look at welfare and how we deal with indigent people.

All of these issues are involved in why a person in their mid-fifties who has lost their job and insurance and comes down with a serious disease would end up dying in pain because they can no longer afford treatment.

I want, however, to reiterate one important point that I made above.  Before doing anything, we need to look at the long term consequences of any changes we decide to make.  It's called a "risk assessment."  Most of our laws in the past have been made without any risk assessments (or so I would assume), and some have had consequences that have caused problems in the long term.  But simply repealing a law that "went wrong" will also have consequences.  We need to determine what those consequences are and rework the law such that it solves the original problem without causing additional problems, and transition those effected into the new situation with a minimum of "pain."

Unfortunately, I think the possibility of any of this happening with any politician is slim to none, because no matter what anyone does, someone is going to be unhappy and the politician will feel their ability to be reelected in jeopardy.  So the other thing I think we need is term limits!  But that is another topic all together!

[Steps down from soap box.]

Trip to the Big City Today

Today, I drove into town to attend a funeral at the church where Marc and I were married.  I saw a lot of people that I hadn't seen in years.  I made it through the funeral pretty well until the last verse of "A Mighty Fortress" -- music always gets to me, and sometimes it's the strangest things... but I survived.

Afterwards, I went to the genealogy library and tried out the new camera I bought to take pictures (instead of photocopies) of the information I found.  I don't think they turned out well.  (I haven't downloaded them yet.)

On the way home, I saw the wildfire in the park -- not close to me, but closer than some of the other fires "nearby."  I looked at the odometer when I got home -- almost 100 miles round trip!

Got home and discovered... yes, the hummingbird feeders were empty!  Well... that's a day in my life.

Saturday in the Woods

So I was particularly lazy today.  I purposely slept in, and awoke to find the humming bird feeder empty AGAIN!  I refilled it, only to have it empty again by 3:00 pm.  So this time, I filled two.  I've had lots of hummers in the last few days -- I think perhaps it is the beginning of migration season.  If so, it seems slightly early.  I wonder if that indicates that we might have a particularly cold winter?

I did get out for my walk this morning, but it was a little late, so I didn't walk a whole mile.  One good thing I noticed is that at 10:00 am, my garden area was wholly in the sun!

Even though I spent most of the day inside listening to the Tri-County EMS scanner, I did notice a few interesting things.  A couple of times, I saw Grackles (large black birds) on my seed feeder.  I also noticed that my thermometer got up to 101 degrees this afternoon (for only a moment).  Then the temp dropped quickly, vacillated a bit, then settled on about 96.  Strange, if you ask me.  I wondered if a bird or something was sitting on the sensor?

Tomorrow, as I'm sure everyone knows, is the 10th anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attacks.  I have received only one email, but saw several posts on FaceBook of remembrances of the event.  While I too feel that we should "never forget," I found quickly that I am not up to reading through all the stories.  However, my choir sings tomorrow.  I think the song I have chosen is appropriate to the day, both for the lessons of the day, and the remembrance of the tragedy.  It's the song It Is Well.  The person who wrote the song had lost his daughters in a tragedy at sea, and yet, with God's help is able to go on with his life.  Here's a link to a version of this song sung by three young siblings that one of my choir members sent me.

"When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll.  Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, "It is well, it is well, with my soul." 

 

Wildlife on the Homestead

I have a lot of wildlife in my little woodland sanctuary and that is a concern when I review my plans for developing a garden and livestock (probably chickens at this point).  Since we've cleared the area, the deer have been munching on my bananas, the squirrels have been eating the birdseed and several other animals have remained unseen, but I know they are there.

I will have to protect my garden and livestock from the animals listed above and from raccoons, possums, skunks, armadillos, coyotes, and possibly foxes.  Oh, and wild pigs!  I'm afraid this will be a case of "if you build it they will come!"

I visited a friend for lunch today, then ran some errands on the way home.  Driving through the country, I saw something I don't often see:  a dead coyote on the side of the road.  Sadly, I drove around the corner and saw another one!  I think the combination of the drought causing scarcity of food and water, and the fires to the north of us are likely driving animals this way.

Hummer Wars!

On the positive side, I probably have a dozen humming birds around my feeder.  I filled it up this morning and it's almost empty now (about 5pm).

The fires in Texas are a big concern right now.  I am particularly worried because I not only have a lot of dead trees, but a lot of dead brush.  Fortunately, the fires are about 30-40 miles away (maybe closer "as the crow flies").  But still everything is so dry.  We're in the path of the smoke, so things are a bit hazy, and you can smell the smoke from time to time.  Weather Underground has the option to select "fire" from their radar maps.  You can also have it show the smoke in the area.

Here's a really Impressive Video from Texas Parks and Wildlife.  It's labeled as "Scary" and it is, but not in a horror movie sort of way.  The whole video is 50 seconds, and shows the fire moving right across an area of ... maybe 50 feet?  I'm not a good judge of distance, especially from a video, but wow!  You can see the trees that are NOT dry are surviving well enough, but those that are go up like matchsticks!  Scary, indeed.

I have a couple of trees that are dead from last year (or before) that are going to be cut down -- hopefully today.  One is where it would fall on the garden/yard area and another is over the driveway.

Dead tree at the front of the driveway

Another tree that is dead is the one where my driveway splits off to the house.  This tree partially blocks the view to the house, so I hate to lose it.  It will be complicated to cut because the power line is in the way (click on pic to see the powerline).  However, this winter, I plan to plant several brushy type trees to create a "hedge."  I'm hoping to get fruits and nuts from the hedge, if the birds and squirrels don't get them first.

Dead tree at the back of the driveway

Here is a picture of the dead tree at the opposite corner of the circle driveway.  I'm not going to cut it anytime soon, but it's sad to see it go.  And below that are other trees that have died or are dying along the pipeline right of way.

Dead trees along the pipeline ROW