JOHNSON COUNTY— In a post-career life there is never a day off. I’m okay with that because days become a time to see the world through a new lens during and between existential errands.
Pepper Harvest
After morning chores, I drove to the CSA to pick two bushels of bell peppers for freezing. Next, I went to the orchard and picked two dozen apples. I wanted some Wolf River and there were plenty on the trees. I also picked Jonathan, Jonafree, Gala, Haralson, Kandil Sinap and Marshall’s McIntosh. I picked up a half dozen apple cider donuts and a half gallon of fresh cider. Next I stopped at the newly opened Casey’s General Store on Highway One. It had opened for the first time that morning. From there, I went to the newspaper office to report that it was open, and that the current store would be cutting back from 24 hours per day.
Cemetery Pump
I took some photos of the band stand, the cemetery, the Mexican restaurant on Main Street, and of the Bangkok peppers in our garden. It was a tour of the local, and I relished each moment before getting back to work.
Today is the first day of early voting in Iowa, and political field organizers are trying to bank votes. The Democrats seem better at it than the Republicans, but the latter now recognize it is a thing. Most likely I will vote early, but there is more learning to do before I do. A level of participation in our government that matters, so some energy spent researching the candidates and issues is time well spent.
Now on with today’s priorities in this too short life on the plains.
LAKE MACBRIDE— To supply all the tomatoes a household needs, I planted a large tomato patch with eleven or twelve varieties, and two different cages. In all, there were 36 plantings, some with two seedlings in them. I used short cages leftover from previous years, and new ones cut from four-foot wire fencing. The whole plot was mulched deeply with grass clippings.
The endeavor was an unqualified success, and now it’s time to analyze, think and learn.
First Tomato Planting
The seeds came from a couple of sources.
Leftover from last season were Acer and Best Boy. They produced well, however, they matured late. By the time they were ready, the end of the season was upon us, and our tomato needs largely met. Acer is a slicer, the seeds purchased at a grocery store (I think). There are better ones to use going forward.
Best Boy was also leftover from last season, and intended for canning whole. When we organized our canned goods, it became clear we have enough canned tomatoes from last summer to make it another year, so they weren’t needed for the intended purpose. Olivade and Monica are plum tomatoes purchased through Johnny’s Selected Seeds. They will replace the Best Boys going forward.
The organic Beefsteak seeds were purchased at a home center, and they have traditionally been our favorite. They too didn’t ripen until late in the season, and while we used some, a lot went to compost when bugs got into them.
Second Tomato Planting
Having a variety of small tomatoes was a joy this year. I planted Cherry, Gold Nugget, Sweet Olive Grape, and Black Cherry. The seed packets were leftover from last season and from Johnny’s. They came in early and were great for salads, snacking and pasta dishes. We froze some whole as an experiment, and look forward to seeing how they eat once thawed later in the year. One seedling of unknown variety was provided by our CSA. The Black Cherry plants grew very tall. Next season, they should be planted in one of the four-foot cages.
Rose and Italian were our early maturing slicers. They were also purchased through Johnny’s, and the Italian seeds were at a reduced price. If they are offered again, both will be purchased for next season. The Italian did well with short cages, and the Rose would do better in four-foot cages. I bought an extra roll of four-foot wire, so some of the old cages can be retired or used for other crops.
Upon reflection, tomatoes are best used fresh, either in the kitchen, or given away as gifts to those who don’t grow their own. Likewise, they are welcome at the food pantry until there is a glut. Fresh tomatoes are an essential part of why we garden, and most of the focus in using them is fresh.
My thinking about canned tomatoes changed. For making pasta sauces, chili and soup, plum tomatoes are the best product to use. Seeded thoroughly, cut in half, and then cold processed, I put up about a dozen quarts which weren’t really needed, although the abundance led me there. They will serve most needs.
I had been canning diced tomatoes, but any application that calls for them could use halved plums, so diced will fall from my repertory. That is, unless there is an abundance of slicers, which is what I used to make canned diced tomatoes. We’ll see how it goes.
A favorite canned product is hot sauce, but like with plain tomatoes, there is an abundance in the pantry ready for use from previous years. I have a gallon fresh in the refrigerator, and there is an abundance of hot peppers for making more, but at some point one has to stop.
There is never a shortage of juice as a byproduct of canning. I’ll continue to can it as it is produced, and any remainders will go to that end as the season finishes.
Growing tomatoes is a highlight of garden life. By using my sketch booklet and keeping track, I have been able to learn what works and what doesn’t— part of a gardener’s outlook in daily living, with lessons to our broader sustainability. Despite all the negative press this year, the tomato crop was excellent.
LAKE MACBRIDE— It is hard not to engage in the news from outside Big Grove Township. U.S. and partner states are bombing Syria, the United Nations is taking up the expiration of the Kyoto accord, and more than 100 world leaders will address security issues at the U.N. It has already been a busy week.
Today, the U.N. Climate Summit 2014 convenes on an optimistic note:
Climate change is not a far-off problem. It is happening now and is having very real consequences on people’s lives. Climate change is disrupting national economies, costing us dearly today and even more tomorrow. But there is a growing recognition that affordable, scalable solutions are available now that will enable us all to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies.
There is a sense that change is in the air. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited world leaders, from government, finance, business, and civil society to Climate Summit 2014 this 23 September to galvanize and catalyze climate action. He has asked these leaders to bring bold announcements and actions to the Summit that will reduce emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and mobilize political will for a meaningful legal agreement in 2015. Climate Summit 2014 provides a unique opportunity for leaders to champion an ambitious vision, anchored in action that will enable a meaningful global agreement in 2015.
While many states recognize the validity of what Ban Ki-moon has said, in the U.S., a positive outcome in the form of a binding and meaningful legal agreement seems unlikely. Even if some of us are pessimistic about U.S. participation, it will be worth our attention today and in coming days, to see what the Climate Summit produces. It is noteworthy that President Obama will be trying to get a resolution on counterterrorism passed by the U.N. Security Council rather than making any bold announcements on mitigating the causes of global warming.
In the universe of a single life, there can be hope. So that’s how I will spend this day on earth. Believing that we can sustain our lives in peace despite so much evidence to the contrary.
LAKE MACBRIDE— I gave the speech on nuclear abolition, representing Physicians for Social Responsibility, without notes.
If the issues around nuclear abolition are not part of me now, they may never be. While fretting a bit beforehand about what to say, my five minutes on stage at the Iowa City Pedestrian mall on Sept. 21 went well without notes.
I made three points.
The nuclear explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki are those we all know about. What is less considered is the more than 2,000 test explosions that killed thousands and sickened millions. I referred to the radioactive fallout from the Nevada test site that drifted and fell over Iowa, contaminating our soil. I spoke about President Obama’s commitment to submit the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification. It was a promise made in Prague in 2009, and still not kept.
President Obama will chair the United Nations Security Council this week, with the hope of passing a resolution regarding counterterrorism. The five nuclear club members on the security council won’t be debating nuclear weapons, but should. Obama had bicameral support for pursuit of the Islamic State in the U.S. Congress last week, and now he is rolling it out to the world.
Finally, when we consider our biggest problems, Islamic State, Al Qaeda, Yemen, the Ebola virus, South Sudan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, Palestine and Israel, the drought in California, and others, nuclear weapons won’t help solve them. Since we don’t need nuclear weapons for our biggest problems, let’s get rid of them, I concluded.
It was a cool, crisp day leading into the autumnal equinox. While the actions of the aging crowd may not get done what should regarding abolition, it was good to see so many friends and try once again.
BIG GROVE— Early voting for the Nov. 4 general election begins on Sept. 25, and I’m in no hurry. I’m also willing to bet that I’ve given more thought to the entire ballot than most voters in the precinct.
The top of the ticket is easy, with votes for Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack almost foreordained. Given the views of their competition, there is no contest.
We were sick of Terry Branstad the last time he gave up the governorship. He has done nothing to endear us enough to vote to retain him in office. There are four other gubernatorial candidates, and the only reasonable alternative is a vote for Jack Hatch and Monica Vernon, the Democratic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor.
Tom Miller for attorney general and Mike Fitzgerald for state treasurer are solid and expected to win. Based on everything they do for the state, they merit our vote. I particularly appreciate Miller’s help during the 2012 campaign I managed, and Fitzgerald’s College Savings Iowa, which made a significant contribution to college affordability in our household.
Brad Anderson will get my vote for secretary of state. I met him, I like him, and going backward to Paul Pate or the minor party candidates would be the wrong direction. Secretary of state is an important job, and making life easier for small businesses and including as many voters as possible in elections represents what should be the foundation of our society. It hasn’t been that way under the current Republican’s tenure.
The other statewide races need study. I’m not sure what qualities to seek in a state auditor, and while I lean toward Democrat Jonathan Niederbach, and will likely vote for him, I’m not quite ready to say yes.
Secretary of Agriculture is a key race in our household, and the Democrats fielded a candidate with weak credentials in Sherrie Taha. I met Bill Northey and have heard him speak several times. I don’t feel a need to vote the strait ticket, and this is a race where I might vote for the Republican. Jury is still out on that.
State Senator Bob Dvorsky is running unopposed, and I have been communicating with him about the needs of our precinct, especially with regard to Lake Macbride, since we moved to Big Grove two decades ago. Another easy vote, even if there were a challenger. The same holds true for the court house races: Tom Kriz for treasurer, Janet Lyness for county attorney, and Kim Painter for recorder are all running unopposed, and I know and support them.
For state representative in House District 73, there are two candidates, Democrat David Johnson and Republican incumbent Bobby Kaufmann. Since I waged a campaign to defeat each of them in 2012, neither represents my best option. How I decide to vote won’t be discussed here or anywhere else in public.
There is a three-way race for two seats on the county board of supervisors, with incumbent Janelle Rettig, Mike Carberry and John Etheredge on the ballot. My votes will go to Rettig and Carberry. Although I’ve gotten to know Republican Etheredge better during his term, he is likely to be the burr that gets sanded off in the wood shop that is this heavily Democratic county.
I am one of three township trustees and one position is on the ballot after the resignation of long-time trustee Elmer Vanourney, and subsequent appointment of Dewayne Klouda to replace him. Klouda will get my write-in vote since he failed to file in time. Ryan Hajek is on the ballot for clerk, and was appointed when Klouda moved to trustee. He is interested in the work of the trustees, and will get my vote.
Figuring out the rest of the ballot is more difficult.
The other non-partisan offices? Who knows? There are five candidates for five positions on the ag extension council, and one supposes that if they are interested enough to get on the ballot, why stop them? Same with the single candidate to fill a two-year term. Soil and water commission has two candidates for two positions. Judicial retention in the court of appeals, District 6 District Court and District 6 District Associate? Again, who knows? They had to file for retention, so at least we know they want it that much. This is always a puzzler unless there is some controversy.
There are two ballot issues, the Local Option Sales Tax, and the county court house bond issue. I don’t support increasing sales tax, and once the ballot is printed, I’ll see what my choices are. I will vote for the court house bonding, and there is almost no public opposition to moving forward with it, so hopefully it gains the 60 percent required.
What I’m saying here is that voting early is good for the top of the ticket, but can be bad for down-ticket candidates and issues. Understanding as much as possible before we vote is important. If that means waiting until election day, then so be it.
Many eyes will be fixed upon the discussion of climate change during the debate that begins Sept. 24 at the United Nations 69th General Assembly.
There is another topic of interest to the peace and justice movement.
President Obama is expected to preside over the U.N. Security Council meeting and a discussion of counterterrorism. He will have a draft resolution in hand for consideration and debate by the council. ThinkProgress covered the story:
Specifically the meeting will cover the phenomenon of foreign fighters traveling to conflict zones and joining terrorist organizations, as seen in the surge in foreigners joining ranks with such groups as Jahbat al-Nusra in Syria. “Certainly the problem of terrorists traveling to foreign conflicts is not new, but the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters has become even more acute,” a U.S. Mission to the U.N. official told ThinkProgress when asked about the meeting. “The Internet and social media have given terrorist groups unprecedented new ways to promote their hateful ideology and inspire recruits. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq have highlighted this threat, with an estimated 12,000 foreign terrorist fighters joining that conflict.”
As part of its Campaign Nonviolence, Pace e Bene has organized a series of nonviolent actions to take place concurrent with the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council meeting, including one in Iowa City on Sept. 21.
“To launch this movement, over 100 nonviolent actions will take place Sept. 21-27 in cities and states across the U.S. and beyond, taking a stand against all violence and calling for concrete first steps toward peace, economic justice, healing the earth, and mainstreaming active nonviolence,” according to the campaign website. “These first steps include: an international treaty for swift, verifiable action to reverse climate change and taking nonviolent action for a culture of peace; ending the military drone program; establishing a $15 minimum wage for all; K-12 nonviolence education everywhere; and practicing nonviolence toward ourselves, toward all others, and toward the planet.”
Blog for Iowa contributor and local peace activist Ed Flaherty sent this invitation along:
Please join us on Sunday, Sept. 21, at 4 p.m. on the Pedestrian Mall in Iowa City for the first Campaign Nonviolence event. There will be many organizations involved, including Veterans for Peace, PEACE Iowa, Dancers for Universal Peace, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and several faith groups. Come help us celebrate the ways of non-harming towards self, others and our world.”
Campaign Nonviolence Order of Events:
Welcome (Dorothy Whiston)
Opening Song (Blowing in the Wind)
John Ivens (Veterans for Peace)
Rabbi Jeff Portman (Agudas Achim)
Barbara Schlacter (100 Grannies for a Livable Future)
Gospel Explosion Ministry
Paul Deaton (Physicians for Social Responsibility)
Yasur AbuDagga (Iowa City Mosque)
Ed Flaherty (PEACE Iowa)
Virginia Melroy (Dancers for Universal Peace)
Mary Kay Kusner (Ghandi prayer)
Kerry Batteau (Native American Blessing of the Four Directions)
“Peace, Salem, Shalom”
LAKE MACBRIDE— After nine hours, the yard work came to a halt. There was a lot more that could have been done—picking up grass clippings for mulch, trimming trees and bushes, taking down the second tomato patch—but nine was all I could do.
I left the hot and sweet peppers to grow, and the kale, but that was it. It is time to call it a year for the garden. Between the CSA and our garden, there is no shortage of food in our house. Now comes the processing before it goes to compost.
The pears were starting to go bad, so I salvaged what was good and added an equal weight of apples—McIntosh, Song of September, Blondie, Cortland, Haralson and Jonamac. I was a little short, so I picked enough Red Delicious from the tree in the yard to fill out the weight and made a sauce with the whole lot. The pears sweetened it so no sweetener was needed. It made three quarts and tasted great.
Serrano Peppers
Hot peppers are in abundance this year. Dehydrated halves of jalapenos were ready to bag and eventually be turned into a powder. I replaced them with whole Serranos to see if they would dehydrate to make pepper flakes. The rest of the abundance is in zip top bags in the refrigerator awaiting disposition.
I picked what was good in the tomato patches yielding two full trays. They all produced well, more than we need. With the fresh and canned tomatoes, we will last until next August.
This morning I made soup using kale, celery, carrots, onion, canned diced tomatoes, soup stock, bay leaves and dried chervil. I added a quarter cup of pearled barley. The home grown celery tastes like no store bought celery does, and next year I expect to grow more.
There is so much kale a lot will be composted. Some went to the library friends, and the rest is in large garbage bags in the refrigerator taking up space. Eventually it will all find a home.
This afternoon I put the garage back together and returned the automobiles inside. I need another day in the yard, but am not sure when next that will be possible. It’s back to all of my part time jobs for now, hoping ends will meet at the end of the month. One thing is sure, we’ll have plenty to eat.
From sunrise until sunset I made a retreat, preparing for winter.
Preparing for the Day PredawnThe Door is OpenFirst Tracks in the DewSunriseFog Burning OffFoot TracksMoving the Cars Out of the GarageVariegated LeavesWork GlovesFormer Tomato PatchJohn Deere TractorSerrano PeppersFirst Red Delicious Apple
After a shift at the warehouse, I stopped at the orchard to get Honeycrisp apples. Contrary to what one sees in the mega market, they are seasonal, and the season is short. We hadn’t had enough.
The orchard staff was busy with a tour group, so I went straight to the display near the cooler in the sales barn. Sad remainders, absent of value besides pressing into cider, I ventured into the orchard wearing my white shirt, black slacks and blue shoes from the warehouse.
I had directed hundreds of people to the Honeycrisp groves the last two Saturdays. It was uncertain whether any could be found, but following my own advice, I looked near the trunk of the trees and was not disappointed. I picked eight pounds from two trees in a few minutes.
As I headed back, past the pumpkin patch, across the creek and up the hill, it was invigorating to be out in the orchard where ideas meet reality and bear fruit.
Journey Home 
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