What did you do in the garden today?

[Dadanga]

As an RN, I have had many patients with bad backs. I did not want to end up like them. I started moving all my in-ground gardening to raised beds, at first only 6 inches high, but now all my raised beds are 16 inches high.

I don't have a bad back, but I don't want to end up with a bad back either, so I do lots of things to proactively protect myself knowing that I am not getting any younger. If I find a way to reduce the stress on my back or make a job easier by doing it at waist level instead of bending over, then I go for that option.

Lots of people with back pain issues don't get much relief. Many doctors are afraid of prescribing medication for back pain. There are too many people hooked on pain meds seeking more prescriptions. Also, doctors have to worry about someone getting hooked on their pain meds. Nobody wants to lose their license, so it's much easier for the doctor not to prescribe heavy potentially addictive pain meds and risk losing their license.

I know of a guy who had a history of drug abuse but also had a bad back. He wanted pain management but not addictive drugs. He got no help from his doctor. I found out, at the end, he was literally crawling to the bathroom because it was too painful for him to stand up and walk. He could not handle the pain and took his own life. I am sure his family would have preferred to deal with an addiction over death, if that was the only choice. My hope is that someone out there is successfully treating pain without getting patients addicted to the meds.


I hope you are in a better place and are managing your back pain so you can have a good life. But I truly understand the problems people face with back pain and how many people don't get the care they need.

Oh, being in a family of bad backs; I've seen the other vicious side of it. A monster fueled by prescription meds doing the unthinkable but because of those drugs, bloke gets bugger all of a sentence.

I barely feel my back anymore. The only time it gets bad is if I've sat after a long time and it's the transition to standing that hurts a little bit. I want to work out more and keep my range of motion. I have some flab to get rid of LOL and summer is coming up. I'm just imagining getting all excited to do some exercise and bam! herniated disc!

Luckily the gardening helps. I didn't do a whole lot today except try to escape the heat. I delivered the quail eggs and got a thank you so that was nice. Probably going to do the watering of the garden when it cools down a bit more. Tomorrow it's going to be a lot cooler.

The chillies in the green house are all fruiting, mites are going nuts but tomorrow I'll start my rosemary oil pesticide and see how it goes. I'll do it three times a day for a while. They say it takes some time to work. Pakchoi is evolving into it's Seedchoi form sadly. I'll keep her going though and maybe sprinkle the seeds over the bed more evenly. I love how the little artichokes look with their interesting leaves.

I should of taken more care in seeding the radish as I must of got a big cluster going. I'll wait a bit more before thinning them out. What's really interesting to me is that despite an aggressive cutback of the roots on the vietmint it just continues to roll on getting fatter. Would love to see how it compares to actual mint and do a race of sorts.

 

[jerryse]

I used live traps all last year in my coops. I caught a scary amount of mice in them. I would take them to the state park about 2 - 3 miles from my house and release them. I don't like killing things, if I have a decent alternative. Although the last time I released a mouse at the state park, it was immediately nabbed by a snake I didn't even know was there.

Releasing in a park reminds me of a true story. In the 80s I worked at a seed and hardware store. People would buy live traps to catch nuisance chipmunks and release them in the park. After a while people living near the park came in to buy live traps to catch chipmunks.

 

[littledog]

3rd and final load of black walnuts picked up after work, Should keep my father in law and I busy for a week or three days, which ever comes first. Hull, wash, air/sun dry, then crack, separate nut from shell fragments. Then freeze or cook/bake the nuts. Still working on my set up to make the process easier.

I don't have walnuts on my property (have hazelnuts, but the squirrels always strip them clean the day before I plan to pick them...) But I know for sure there are walnut tree somewhere nearby, because I see cracked shells in my driveway, on my porch...one time I went to replace the battery in my truck, and every nook and cranny in my engine compartment was full of walnuts!
I need to follow the birds and squirrels and find the tree...

 

[littledog]

Best thing was, the chick cutting the pipe in half to fit in the wagon was kinda cute as well so it's a double win LOL. Part of me wants to find a reason to go back.

LOL that's how they keep customers coming back. Make sure you tip her next time, so she doesn't quit her job.

 

[Dadanga]

LOL that's how they keep customers coming back. Make sure you tip her next time, so she doesn't quit her job.

Yep! They got me coming back! They do have a heap of fittings which is kinda handy. Maybe I'll tip her with a cordless saw so she doesn't have to use a hacksaw on them. What was going on in her favor is that she was sucking down an energy drink and I too indulge in them quite a bit.

 

[littledog]

I don't know if there is a wrong kind of wood for hügelkultur, but the older the wood the better it seems to act like a sponge.

Also, treated wood might have been treated with insecticides you don't want leaching into your soil. Pallet wood with the HT stamp is safe, but some other ways of treating it are not. You probably know more than me about the different stamps on pallet wood, but just had to mention it. Really old, spongy wood might be safe even if it's treated, because the harmful chemicals might have leached out of it after a few years.

 

[Sally PB]

I don't want to bore anyone.

You're not. Don't worry.

I don't think a 4-foot-tall fence would stop the deer where I live, and I was not willing to pay all that money for an 8-foot fence with angled wire on top

I should post a picture, and you'll see how it works.

Basically, it's a 4' tall ring of fence around the (small, 5 yo) cherry tree. The deer can reach over a 4' tall fence, but the branches of the tree are a couple feet inside the fence, so they can't reach. There is no room for them to jump inside, so they can only stay outside and drool. And go nibble on the really old wild apple trees, which they can't do enough damage to to hurt them.

(have hazelnuts, but the squirrels always strip them clean the day before I plan to pick them...)

Yup. Squirrels got all mine too. Then the Japanese Beetles killed the trees. That's why I hate JBs and catch them during their season to give to the chickens.

 

[Sally PB]

Speaking of Japanese Beetles...

JB season is July and August. I was still finding them in September. This picture is from OCTOBER 7th! and I saw one yesterday. Die, scum, die!!!

 

[WthrLady]

As a RN, I can tell you that you can get used to wearing a mask to the point where you don't even think about it. It was always part of my job for certain situations, so wearing a mask during Covid was not a big deal for me.



I had not considered that with sand. But I am using paper shreds for the past 2+ years. No dust with paper shreds. Still have to contend with chicken dander, of course.



Probably makes great compost as well.



During Covid craziness, I hardly went anywhere because I did not have to go anywhere. Saved some gas money as well. But I'm an old guy and kind of a hermit, I guess. I only went into town maybe once every 2 months and then late at night or early in the morning when there were fewer people.

Covid only hit 3 people in my extended family. But one died. I was in that age group that was more vulnerable, so I did not mind staying home and avoiding the crowds. I felt sorry for the young people and children. Tough times for lots of people.



Well, you do get enough air wearing a mask, of course, we do it all the time in healthcare, but having a panic attack can leave you short of breath with or without wearing a mask. I'm just glad that we don't have to wear masks anymore for everyday life.

I am a (mostly retired) RN, but at the end of the Covid lockdown in my town, about 95% of the patients with Covid symptoms in our local hospital were people who refused to take the vaccines. Vaccinated people were still getting Covid, but the symptoms were much milder and did not require hospitalization.

At least, if you wear a mask while cleaning out the coop, you can always step outside and take off the mask if you start to feel a panic attack coming on. Wearing a mask to protect your lungs is the better option if you can make it work.

Glad you can manage.
You don't know me personally, or my medical issues. So I'll leave it at that.
---
Back to gardening.
Cold snap, but still not below freezing.
I'd like to dig more horseradish and get it in the freezer.
Im still waiting for the grape vines to drop their leaves so I can rake the beds and close the gate for the winter.
Only .25 inches of rain last week. That puts us 20+ inches behind for the year. (Calendar year, not hydro)

 

[Dadanga]

Cold snap, but still not below freezing.
I'd like to dig more horseradish and get it in the freezer.
Im still waiting for the grape vines to drop their leaves so I can rake the beds and close the gate for the winter.
Only .25 inches of rain last week. That puts us 20+ inches behind for the year. (Calendar year, not hydro)

I am kinda curious as to what summer has in store as Perth last year wasn't really hit with a peak day. Just felt like weeks of high 30s nothing too severe. As much as I'm glad the cold is gone, its days like today that makes me miss it.