Vicki Lane's Blog, page 6

Jumping Worms

                                                                   

 Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Jumping worms, also known as snake worms

  It sounds like a rock group from the past but it's no joke. Jumping worms are an invasive Asian species and a friend of mine has found them in her beautiful, carefully tended for decades garden. Evidently they've been around for over a century, now they're spreading to forested areas where they are altering the ecosystem.These worms feed on the upper layers of forest litter and they are insatiable. They out compete native earthworms and leave the soil depleted, to the disadvantage of native growth.As if the current regime weren't bad enough--these guys could be their mascots.A good article on these critters is HERE.

Early Autumn Blooms

 




 

Our National Embarrassment

After the cringefest at the UN where Dear Leader lied and bloviated to a captive audience, and after his medical advice on Tylenol and autism, there is so much I could say but I'll just content myself with RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!
 

Power to the People

The news that Disney has caved to the massive boycott and that Jimmy Kimmel will return tonight is, to me, a very hopeful sign. I don't think I've ever watched Kimmel, but I deplore the sort of government coercion that this regime is exercising.
We didn't have a Disney subscription to cancel but it was a delight to see so many cancelling that Disney's website for subscriptions crashed. Even my friend Martin in England cancelled his, standing in solidarity with us across the pond!


And what makes me hopeful is the very real demonstration of people power--something we are in sore need of to combat this heartless, corrupt, oligarchical regime. 
Starting with midterm elections . . .

 

Autumn Equinox

 The sun is halfway through his journey across the eastern sky. At the Winter Solstice, he will rise far to the south then begin the slow return.

But for now, our day and night are of equal length. Those long-shadowed summer evenings when the twilight lingered on and on and fireflies danced across the meadows will give way to early dark, the comfort of lighting a fire and pulling up an extra blanket.

Powerless

We had a power outage last night, and me with butternut squash roasting in the oven along with a spinach/broccoli quiche. No biggie--John lit the grill and our supper finished cooking outside.

The power was restored after a few hours but the internet was not. It was back this morning in time for me to say:
RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES

 

Watching the Rain Sweep Over the Hills

Thunder and dark clouds had us hopeful as we watched curtains of rain obscuring the distant Blue Ridge.

Bailey takes great exception to thunder and stands up against the railing to bark it away. 

We've had some rain but the branches (creeks) are low and the longer the pastures stay green, the longer we can put off feeding hay.

The rain got tantalizingly closer then seemed to stall. (Not sure what caused the divide in this picture.) 
Finally, after it was dark, it rained, pounding on the metal roof and sending Jenny into hiding.
A bit over a half an inch--glorious!


 

Free Speech for Some

As the Awful Regime moves to stifle any opposition to their beliefs, actions, and newly proclaimed martyr Charlie Kirk, it's time for those in Congress and, indeed, for those of us who believe in the Constitution to re-read the first amendment:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right o the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
And it's time for the Supreme Court to recollect the oath they took to uphold the Constitution.

 

Free Speech for Somw

As the Awful Regime moves to stifle any opposition to their beliefs, actions, and newly proclaimed martyr Charlie Kirk, it's time for those in Congress and, indeed, for those of us who believe in the Constitution to re-read the first amendment:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right o the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
And it's time for the Supreme Court to recollect the oath they took to uphold the Constitution.

 

My Shortened Life

                                                       

 In sixth grade, I was the tallest in my class and very thin. When I got off the train returning from summer camp in NC, my mother cried, saying I looked like someone liberated from a concentration camp.

I felt fine and had lots of energy. My height didn't bother me, except at dancing class where I always loomed over potential partners. On the plus side was the fact that I could consume huge amounts of food without gaining weight. 

But my mother, looking into the future and envisioning a skinny giant of an old maid, hanging about the house, decided to seek medical intervention.

And so, in the summer after the seventh grade, I was taken to a clinic in north Georgia that specialized in aberrations of human growth.  It was a very weird experience-- all I really remember was a building with few windows and before and after pictures of naked children standing next to a measuring chart. I really hoped I wouldn't have my picture taken like that.

I must have been x-rayed at some point for I remember the doctor telling my mother that my wrist bones were still hollow which meant I could grow a good bit more--maybe to over six feet.

To my mother, that was a catastrophe. So steps were taken. I think a series of shots, maybe steroids, were prescribed. I don't remember having an opinion or being asked for one--it just happened.

I topped out at a little over 5'8"--though age and two pregnancies have taken away an inch. 

Sometimes I've wondered what my life would have been like at over six feet--no big deal for a woman these days but kinda freakish back in the Fifties. A model? A Rockette? An athlete? (Despite my total lack of suitability or ability for any of these.)

But now, after having done a bit of online snooping, I find that there is NO approved method for limiting growth short (!) of, in rare cases, surgery to reduce leg length. 

So what was I given? Was this some sort of experiment? And did it work or not?

I'll probably never know.