Tag: Sustainability

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Living in Society Sustainability

Memorial Day 2025

Oakland Cemetery on Memorial Day

Editor’s Note: This post from 2011 expresses my feelings about Memorial Day better than anything I could write today.

A soldier feels a sense of connection to his country that is like few other things. That connection is to current events, but to the lives of past soldiers as well. Being a soldier can be a form of living history.

When I left the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry, and the Robert E. Lee Barracks in Mainz-Gonsenheim, Germany, I returned my service revolver to the arms room and never looked back. It was with a sense of duty, family tradition, and adventure that I had entered the post-Vietnam Army. My enlistment was finished, I resigned my commission, and like many soldiers turned civilian, my main interest was in getting back to “normal,” whatever that was.

A soldier’s connection to country includes being a part of living history. For example, many of us are familiar with Lieutenant General George Patton from the movie starring George C. Scott. When I stood at Patton’s grave in the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial there was a personal connection. I learned a history I had not known. He died in a car accident after the war and his life seemed visceral, real…he was one of us. His actual life story, considered among the American soldiers laid to rest in Luxembourg, was real in a way no movie ever could be.

Words seem inadequate to describe the feeling I had when visiting the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-Mer in France. I was traveling with some friends from Iowa and we went to Omaha Beach and the Pointe-du-Hoc, where the United States Army Ranger Assault Group scaled the 100 foot cliff under enemy fire. It is hard to believe the courage it took for these men to make the assault that was D-Day. The remains of 9,287 Americans are buried at Normandy. What moved me was that so many grave markers indicated deaths within such a short period, buried at the site of the battle. The lives of these men embody the notion of devotion to country.

The Andersonville, Georgia National Cemetery is where some Civil War dead are buried. This cemetery is active with veterans and their dependents continuing to be interred there. Andersonville is a part of our history that is often forgotten. Some 45,000 Union soldiers were confined at Camp Sumter during its 14 month existence. More than 13,000 of them died “from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, and exposure to the elements.” It was an ignoble death for a soldier and emblematic is the large number of graves marked “unknown” at Andersonville. It saddens us that citizens activated to serve the cause of preserving the union ended up this way. It seems like such a waste in an era when we have knowledge that proper public health procedures and basic sanitation could have prevented many of these deaths.

A friend of mine in Davenport kept the bullet that killed a relative during the Civil War on a “whatnot” in her living room. It was a constant reminder of the sacrifices servicemen and women make when they put on a uniform. It is also a reminder that defense of the common good is no abstraction.

On this Memorial Day, it is worth the effort to consider those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and pay them respect. People and organizations are decorating cemeteries with American flags, reminding us that military service is not about images and speeches. It is about the decision individuals make that there is something more important than themselves and that from time to time it is worth giving one’s life to defend the common good.

~ First published on May 29, 2011 on Blog for Iowa.

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Kitchen Garden

Two Days in a Row

Spring flowers along the trail.

Taking time from writing my autobiography is not a clean break. While I’m digging in a garden plot or walking on the trail, my mind is consumed by how to pull everything together and bring the work to a close. Up to the time we moved back to Iowa in 1993, a chronological narrative seemed appropriate. Beginning here, in this place that was a vacant lot when we arrived, life got complex to an extent a time-based narrative doesn’t really capture those 32 years. There was no single narrative.

Thanks to another low-wind, warmish, and dry day I had time to myself to consider the bigger picture of what I am writing. That and get the next big plot turned over. Well, by the time I finished this, I had turned it over with a spade:

Plot No. 3 spaded.

I read Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes by Leah Litman this week. She points out how the U.S. Supreme Court takes more and more power unto itself without substantial resistance from the other two branches of government. While today the president is ignoring some of their decisions, whether there has been a Democrat or Republican as president, the Supreme Court is calling the shots in society through jurisprudence, according to Litman. (Major questions doctrine = good grief!) The attention hound of a president distracts from this very real center of power among the six Republican-appointed justices. If you are following the U.S. Government in 2025, consider picking up a copy and reading it. It informs what is going on in the news in real time. Few books I know are like that.

Today is the fire fighters’ breakfast at the fire station. The menu is simple, but not vegan or particularly vegetarian. I’ll go for my annual dose of pancakes and orange juice. I expect to encounter many I know so it’s not so much about the food. It’s about joining together as a community. We need that now more than ever.

Editor’s Note: I’m still on short posts while I focus on the garden. I have three main plots to go to call it planted. Wish me luck!

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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.

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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

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
Living in Society

Medicaid and Trail Walking

Trail walking.

Saw this family on the trail Tuesday morning. Spring is definitely here!

Our family was discussing whether or not to stock up on things we commonly use like toilet paper, dried pasta, canned beans, rice, tomato sauce, water and coffee. I hear there may be shortages due to the president’s trade policies. The way we provision in normal times is to constantly have a buffer of pantry items on hand in case we can’t get to the store for a couple of weeks. We didn’t go crazy, yet we won’t run out of toilet tissue or pasta any time soon.

The Congress delayed markup of the reconciliation bill until next week. Bits and pieces are becoming known with the biggest question being what they will do with Medicaid. I wrote Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks Tuesday afternoon:

I urge you to avoid changing Medicaid using the reconciliation process. Everyone knows Medicaid reforms are needed. Any changes in Medicaid should be accomplished in regular order in a bipartisan manner. Thank you for reading my email.

At 3:04 p.m. the same day her office responded as follows:

Dear Mr. Deaton,
Thank you for contacting me to express your support for Medicaid. Views from fellow Iowans help inform and guide me in Congress, so I greatly appreciate your insight and opinion.

As a physician and former Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, I understand the crucial role healthcare plays in our lives. I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to ensure that state Medicaid programs have the resources they need to help people in need while ensuring the long-term financial viability of this necessary healthcare program.

To that end, I have been working on legislation that will strengthen and streamline Medicaid, such as:

  • H.R. 1019, the Medicaid Program Improvement Act, which would improve the accuracy and reliability of address information for Medicaid beneficiaries, ensuring seamless access to healthcare services while reducing the chances of people being enrolled in multiple state Medicaid programs.
  • H.R. 1509, the Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act, which would streamline the process for out-of-state pediatric care providers to enroll in another state’s Medicaid program to reduce care delays, while also safeguarding important program integrity measures.

In Congress, I will continue fighting to ensure Iowans have quality access to healthcare. 

Thank you again for contacting me. If there is anything I can do to be of assistance, or if you would like to receive my e-newsletter, please visit MillerMeeks.house.gov. You can also follow me on Facebook at facebook.com/RepMMM and on Twitter @RepMMM. Again, I thank you for your opinion and look forward to serving you. Please do not hesitate to contact my office in the future.

She didn’t really address my concern, yet at least someone in their office noted my email. Not holding my breath about “regular order.” Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what kind of partisan cuts Republicans will make when the markup is finished.

I may need another walk along the state park trail.

Categories
Environment

Lilac Season Ends Soon

Lilac flowers on May 5, 2025.

There is a golden spring season from the appearance of first buds to full leafing out of deciduous trees, flowers, and bushes. Later in May, insects descend upon us and start spoiling the pure beauty of trees especially, but every living plant in our yard. A gardener does the best they can to keep them away from the good stuff. The fragrance and beauty of lilacs is a fleeting spring pleasure.

Spring shows us where nature is if we have the eyes and mind to see it. Our Autumn Blaze maple tree was damaged in the 2020 derecho, and the years since then have taken their toll.The bark is shedding around the main trunk, and there are cracks in the trunk where the derecho twisted the tree around in high winds. I suppose insects crawled into the cracks. The tree can sense something is wrong and this spring grew many more seeds than used to be normal. Their presence indicates the trauma of the derecho and that something is wrong so it needs to propagate. While I may have to climb up on the roof to clean the windblown seeds out of the gutter, the true meaning is that the time left for this tree is limited.

Autumn Blaze Maple tree with seeds on May 5, 2025.

I planted two Green Ash trees before the Emerald Ash Borer was known in popular media to be a threat. The first one succumbed last year and the second did not leaf out this spring. I examined the tree trunks and branches and the tell-tale boring holes where the insects enter underneath the bark are evident everywhere. Luckily the trees are small enough I can remove them myself.

We enjoy the lilac flowers while we can. They are truly a spring blessing.

Lilac flowers on May 5, 2025.
Categories
Kitchen Garden

Greenhouse is Up!

Greenhouse on May 4, 2025

Over the weekend I assembled the greenhouse, moved trays of seedlings from inside the house, and transplanted tomato starts from channel trays into full-sized blocks. I feel I am way behind on the garden, yet things are moving.

The first day outside is always dicey for the seedlings. It is plenty warm, but the direct sunlight can be strong on them. Lettuce is wilting a bit. I make sure the trays are well watered and cross my fingers, hoping they will recover overnight. I’ll have a better idea how everything went at sunrise this morning after ambient overnight temperatures were in the 40s.

The tray of cruciferous vegetables, kale and collards, is ready to go into the ground. The plot is cleared so I just need to turn it over, fertilize, till the ground, lay down sheets of garden cloth and plant. “Just” is doing a lot of work in this paragraph.

While I enjoy watching seeds grow into vegetables and fruit, I have been less enthusiastic about the garden this year. I plan to cut back by two plots, leaving five. When time allows, the plot by the compost bins will be converted into some kind of storage. In time, I may put up a shed for garden tools. I plan to take better care of the plots that are in production.

I am hoping to get a crop, yet also cut back on the number of varieties. I grow what I can use in the kitchen-garden rather than production of the most produce possible for its own sake. It has me looking at things differently. Any more, I put up tomato sauce and pickles in canning jars and freeze leafy green vegetables to use until the following season. If I have a big garlic or basil crop, I make pesto and freeze pureed garlic and olive oil.

I had a pain in my left hip for the last couple of weeks. Today, I relented and took two ibuprofen after breakfast. It worked. I was able to get through a four-hour shift of loading the greenhouse. I don’t like taking pain medication, but after today’s experience, I might do so again. I find it is a gardener’s friend.

Categories
Sustainability

Apples in Full Bloom

Crimson Crisp apple tree, April 25, 2025.

This year should be a good year for apples and pears. Every tree has a lot of blooms, including the two newly planted “replacement” trees. Some days it’s good to just view this fleeting event during which we pray for frost to hold off, pollination to occur, and a bountiful crop.

Red Delicious and Earliblaze apple trees
Red Delicious
Close up Red Delicious blooms
More Red Delicious