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Living in Society

Four Weeks Until Summer

Iris with raindrops.

Some years the garden has been in by now. Not this year. Weather is the main culprit causing delay. When it does clear up, there will be some long days of digging, tilling, planting, and mulching. I’m ready, more or less. The greenhouse is full, and supplies are on hand. Once I get going, my experience will help it go quickly. With four weeks of spring remaining, there is plenty of time.

One of my daily reads is Heather Cox Richardson’s “Letters from an American.” I usually read it within a few minutes of it hitting my inbox. She wrote:

I have not been able to stop thinking today of the significance of the timing of the Republicans’ push for this bill, and what it says about how dramatically the U.S. has changed in the past 60 years. (Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson, May 21, 2025).

Those 60 years are the main part of my life. I’m old enough to remember the 1950s, and the changes made in the country by Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson. During the postwar industrial boom we lived a life close to the means of production yet never considered ourselves to be poor. That all the public parts of my life seem now to be changing is unsettling. I haven’t been sleeping through the night for a long time. The last two days, House Republicans have been debating and passing the budget, giving me something in which to engage in the wee hours. I streamed it before I got out of bed.

The reconciliation is not over by any means. It has to clear the U.S. Senate and then the two chambers must reach agreed language before a final vote and sending it to the president. If today is any indication, Republicans are willing to jack up the debt and deficit to a level that will invoke their Paygo Rule. That means forced cuts in Medicare of up to $500 billion, among other things. For those of us on Medicare it could get rough. The cuts in Medicaid and nutrition programs are directly part of the bill.

My position on this budget reconciliation is if we can’t afford tax cuts, they should not be part of it. Republicans have a history, going back to Ronald Reagan, of increasing our national debt and the budget deficit. By any measure, they are out of control with the budget that passed the House this morning.

I woke up to Cousin Al on the radio when I lived at Fort Benning, Georgia. Each day, across the line in Alabama, he played Christy Lane’s hit song, “One Day at a Time.” Good advice in 1976. Good advice today.

Categories
Living in Society

Trail Walking in 2025

Trail walking in a light rain.

Wednesday morning brought more rain. The good news is we need rain, and it is forecast to end by early morning. I hope to try out the new mower in the garden if it’s dry enough. I’m way behind in the garden now, so we’ll plant what we can.

I went trail walking in the early morning mist for my health. If I can get my heart beating fast enough, for long enough, it is adequate exercise for a person like me. I don’t tire of photographing what I see, so this familiar part of the trail stood out today.

Editor’s Note: Another short post so I can spend time elsewhere. Thanks for reading.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Rainy Day Offering

Raindrops on the Driveway

It was raining Monday morning so I drove to Monticello to pick up two 50-pound bags of garden fertilizer. It’s the same locally composted chicken manure I’ve been using since working on the farms, called Healthy Grow 2-4-3. I tried other types of fertilizer and the granulated format makes application easy. I don’t do the science of testing soil pH and selecting an appropriate fertilizer. Basically, I am doing monkey work by mimicking what successful vegetable growers have done at farms where I worked. The yield and quality of produce improved after I began using this fertilizer.

When I arrived at the warehouse, no one was around. I called ahead to determine if they had what I wanted. The trip is 35.3 miles one-way and I didn’t want to make it for nothing. When no person picked up the phone, I went anyway, taking a chance someone would be there. The main building was wide open, so I looked around. I walked through the office and warehouse and found no one. Despite about 20 vehicles in the lot, only two employees were there across the yard where a truck was being loaded. A driver was in his cab picking up a truckload of fertilizer. He asked me what I wanted and I told him. He said they would take care of it.

The office person loaded the truck, made necessary bills of lading, and dispatched the driver. He said it was their busiest day of the year and that he would get my fertilizer. Eventually another office person arrived and did my paperwork while the first loaded the two bags in the back seat of my car. I enjoy this annual pilgrimage to Monticello. What could be better on a rainy day?

It rained all day Monday and the forecast Tuesday was more of the same. The electric mower arrived Monday, so I’ll get that ready for use when the rain lets up. It was a concession to the fact I am aging, and can’t drive the John Deere on the steep side of the road without increased risk of a flip over. With the proper tool, it should be a safer mowing experience.

When it rains I am concerned about the downspouts from the roof getting clogged and flooding the window well on the east side of the house. With all the maple tree seeds flying around, it has gotten clogged previously. When I return from trail walking, I am sure to inspect the roof from the driveway to assess the amount of fallen seeds. Looks like everything went through the downspout so far. As I age, I try to avoid climbing up a ladder to clean the gutters. So far, I am down to once or twice per year. Would like to get that down to zero yet good help is hard to find.

Our community well was out of commission on Monday, which means I got out the large Rubbermaid drinking water container and placed it next to the kitchen sink for handwashing. I also got a gallon jug of store-bought drinking water to use in cooking and for coffee. We tried to use as little water as possible so we didn’t drain the lines. If the community does drain them, there is a public health procedure to follow to make sure unwanted bacteria doesn’t get into the lines and therefore into our vulnerable, unwitting bodies.

As I write on Tuesday morning, my main worries are getting out on the trail between rain showers for a walk. There are plenty of indoor chores to do, including a larger than usual amount of dishes for cleaning because of the water shortage. We actually need the rain, even if I’d rather get the rest of our garden in first.

Not sure what I will do the rest of Tuesday. There is plenty of work, so it will boil down to the most pressing chores. Rainy day or not, answering the question “what’s most important in our lives” is a constant activity. One we should relish while we can answer it.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Iris

Iris

Some days all we can muster is a photo of a familiar flower.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Weather for Gardening

Volunteer flowers in the yard.

My electric lawn mower was delayed in shipment. Instead of arriving today, it will be tomorrow. I attempted mowing the garden plot using a trimmer, but it doesn’t get the job done. I will clear off the weed barriers to reuse and be ready when the mower does arrive. I need to think a bit before planting this large plot, anyway.

Toward the west will be cucumbers and summer squash. That much is decided. There are green beans for direct seeding, so there will be a row of those. I need to put celery somewhere. I have chard plants started but not in the ground. The hot peppers and tomatoes aren’t big enough to transplant. I guess I will walk the ground, then walk in the greenhouse and the solution will become obvious.

Below the plastic weed barrier is a life seldom seen. Bugs, ultra-soft earth, evidence of rodents and worms everywhere. Starts of plants went nowhere because of a lack of light. The soil made me sneeze as I unintentionally breathed it in. The weather has been perfect for gardening. Except for a quick trip to town to get a lottery ticket, I was at it all day. I was immersed in it. It was spring, as good as it gets.

Categories
Writing

Iris in Bloom

Iris in bloom

This photo does no justice to the color of the Iris, yet it is close. So I try.

It was hella windy the last two days. Forecast was gusts up to 50 m.p.h. Friday night, so I brought seedlings and the portable greenhouse into the garage for shelter. Today looks better.

Happy Sunday!

Editor’s Note: Another short post while I focus on the garden. Thanks for sticking with me.

Categories
Living in Society

Answer, No Answer

Zestar! apples forming. This variety will be first to ripen.

At the bottom of our public library home page it says, “This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of Iowa.”

I wrote my Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks on March 31 after the staff of the Institute of Museum and Library Services was put on leave, in part,

I’m writing to express my disappointment that the president intends to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) “to the maximum extent of the law,” via executive order. As you know, the Congress created IMLS and, by law, only the Congress can dissolve this federal agency. As a resident of your district, I don’t understand how the executive branch can intervene in a congressionally created agency, cancel grants, and in effect put it out of business. Please explain.

She responded today, in part:

As you may know, on March 14th, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14217, which closed 7 agencies, including IMLS, to the maximum extent applicable by law. The staff of IMLS were put on leave on March 31st, 2025. As always, my office and I are in constant contact with officials in the administration to see how any changes to federal agencies affect Iowans.

Bad date format aside, she stated what I stated in my original letter, declining to explain a dang thing. It seems pretty clear to people like me who use our public library that if funding from IMLS goes away, we will have to find another way to provide the important services for which federal money pays.

Another day in the dumbing down of America.

Editor’s Note: This is another in a series of short posts to enable me to get the garden planted in May. Despite the setbacks described yesterday, gardening goes on.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Setbacks

Lake Macbride, May 15, 2025.

I couldn’t sleep on Wednesday night so I read José Andrés’ new book Change the Recipe: Because You Can’t Build a Better World Without Breaking Some Eggs. It was a quick read and I was up all night doing it. Of interest was he discussed his interactions with President Biden over the Hamas-Israel War. He described World Central Kitchen in Ukraine and, of course, many of the now famous past operations during which they fed people. I like Andrés for his approach of standing on the ground and talking to people when he’s doing something, as opposed to waiting for committees to decide. It wasn’t a deep book, but I knew little about his origin story before reading it. I’m tired but better for the book.

There have been setbacks in the garden. The riding lawn mower developed electrical problems and will be at the shop for as many as three weeks. It sees heavy use clearing weed growth in the garden so I’ll have to do it by hand until the new electric mower I ordered arrives on Sunday. I need a push-style mower anyway because the ditch in front of the house is very steep and I’m getting too old to survive if the riding mower flips over while I’m mowing.

We are experiencing high humidity that began late Wednesday. Today it was 87 degrees Fahrenheit and very humid. Late afternoon it became windy. I know when to stay out of the garden, so I don’t pass out. Hopefully tomorrow I can get back to work. I can also finish planting the first plots.

One day at a time.

Editor’s Note: Another short post while I focus on the garden. Thanks for sticking with me.

Categories
Living in Society

Action is Picking Up

Trail walking on May 14, 2025.

The U.S. House Budget Committee announced all the pieces of the budget reconciliation bill passed out of their respective committees. They will combine them and hold a single markup session on Friday, May 16.

Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson said he is working to ensure the demise of the final bill in the Senate. His beef is not mine. He believes the bill does not do enough to cut spending.

Here is what I sent to Rep. Miller-Meeks:

I object to extending the 2017 tax cuts. Estimates are it would increase the federal deficit by trillions of dollars, requiring raising the debt ceiling.  It makes no sense to do this.
I urge you to vote no on the reconciliation bill.
Regards, Paul Deaton

Bread on the water…

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Bringing Focus

Maple tree seeds.

Maple trees have been releasing seeds for about a week. They are everywhere. As mentioned, I think the abundance is because the Autumn Blaze maple is dying and in one last effort at procreation is releasing them. We will hate to lose that beautiful tree.

Another short post today about competing demands for my time.

To get a garden planted I need to focus on that. I have a large garden and only a fraction is planted. I have been turning down other commitments to organize things. Specifically, Women’s March, Indivisible, National Education Association, Veterans for Peace, the county Democratic Party, and others have asked for a part of my time. I have to say no more than yes until the garden is planted.

Partly, as I age, I am slowing down. By the end of a six-hour garden shift, I am achy and worn out. I persevere yet have to manage my time, energy and pain to stay on track to get the right things planted at the right time. Thank goodness there is ibuprofen.

After a walk on the trail, I’ll be back at it. There is always something that needs doing.