Chlorpyrifos

Chlorpyrifos (Roundup) was invented by the Nazis as a nerve agent. It was used to kill people.

It is still killing people only now it is killing our children because the EPA under tRump's order (after he received a million dollar donation from Dow Chemical) lifted the ban earlier put in place by a real president - Obama -.....

chlorpyrifos, which is present in MANY insecticides in addition to Roundup is being sprayed on our fruits and vegetables. This chemical causes irreversible brain damage in children which is the reason many countries have banned it, including Europe. Not our country though because you know, that million dollars from Dow to the criminal piece of shit donald j. tRump who really gives not one fuck about this country or its kids.

California has also banned this chemical,you know California the only state in our union which has so far displayed intelligence, integrity, and the grit to fight the cancer known as the republican party with its leader donald j. tRump.

"Accidental Overdose"

Not when you've got this in your system:

"Kennedy Hill had acute methadone, diazepam, nordiazepam, fluoxetine, norfluoxetine and ethanol toxicity in her system at the time of death, according to the toxicology results revealed in the death certificate."

But of course they're Catholic.... 

Perhaps it's time to take a look at a very cosseted family in terms of how she could have been helped, should have been helped.  I fear their past experience with familial mental illness is too much sheltering.  

Jail

I did spend a night in jail once.. it was a little town in Oklahoma, just over the Texas panhandle. My boyfriend at the time, his name was Mike, we were both sixteen, we were on our way to the drag races in Oklahoma. Drag races were big in that part of the world, and indeed in Cheyenne there were drag races every weekend which we always attended.  We weren't arrested, the cops just saw the license plate (Wyoming), thought we looked a little young and pulled us over.  Now this was Oklahoma and they have pretty heavy accents down there. The officer kept asking us "do you folks know where you are?"  We kept saying yes because we thought he was asking if WE knew where we were.  Turns out "you folks" were actually our parents.

Anyway, they stuck us both in jail since they probably didn't have anywhere else to put us, separate cells of course.  Filthy, two-inch thick mattress, no blanket, no pillow.  They called our parents and his folks drove down to get us next day.  I didn't get in trouble, mom just asked me what we were doing and I told her, driving to Oklahoma for the drag races. She mentioned how she thought that could be a little dangerous for people our age and next time please tell her before I decide to make any journeys like that. 

I never got in trouble for anything when I was a kid, mostly because seriously I didn't do anything wrong.  Well, when I was eight I stole a candy bar out of the grocery store in Lake City. Mom asked me where I got it because I stupidly left it on my dresser and she knew I had no money. I told her. I was driven to the grocery store, made to stand in the checkout line, tell the clerk what I had done, give her the candy bar AND a quarter (my next week's allowance) to pay for it.  Quite possibly the most humiliating day of my life to that point. Result though, I never stole another thing in my life. 

Why didn't I just lie to her and say someone gave it to me? Well, in my mind even way back then lying was about the second worst thing next to murder.  I figured anyone who would lie would do anything and time has proven that to be a very astute observation. 

Okay, So There's This Tree

It is located at the far left end of the back yard and so over the summer I have watched this thing grow. Last year it was a twig.  I sit on my steps listening to the birds, checking out the garden and the tree.... for some reason this year it decided to grow like gangbusters.... now over twenty feet tall with some branches reaching out at least thirty feet I'd guess, thankfully mostly on the neighbor's side.  This is a maple of some kind and really a pretty tree; however, it was starting to shade my yard... particularly the large Hisbiscus growing on the left side of my yard and a smaller evergreen in the extreme back left.

Now I'm fuming because the neighbors don't pay any attention to their yard so probably haven't even noticed their tree.  Now I'm scheming how to reach over the fence and cut off some of the more offensive shading branches when they're not home.  I did in fact over a couple weeks manage to lop off several branches without disrupting the shape, endangering the health of the tree, or being noticed by the neighbors, and I was pretty proud of myself for how stealthy I was at doing it. 

So yesterday I happened to be in the far back left side of the yard transplanting something and while down close to the ground I glanced to the right.... the tree, the damn offender, is growing snug up against the fence, but it's on my side of the fence.

VAPING

My neighbor vapes. Of course I didn't know what that thing was the first time I saw it over a year ago.... just thought it was some new way to smoke that didn't exactly look like smoking. Had no further curiosity about it as once you get to my age and have encountered so much "new" stuff people suddenly become enamored with it is nothing more than boring.

One thing I have known and understood for a very long time is that water, particularly warm water that has encountered anything organic is the greatest environment for bacteria to grow in known to man.  That info is so old school I am flabbergasted by the big surprise so many people seem to have at the "sudden" really deadly illnesses they are are coming down with after vaping for a while.  Hey, you are sucking in old moldy water and that's going directly to your lungs.  No big surprise there.  It's old, really old science.

Dear Universe

Please make peanut butter cups taste like over-cooked broccoli.

Thank you.

It's standing on the edge of a cliff, not being able to look down. Can't get too close to the edge, it sucks all the air out of you.

That's the closest I can get to describing how it feels to watch your child die.

Triple EEE Mosquito Death

So what are wise men doing?  Why spraying more tons of pesticides all over the earth, air, water....  No doubt most of us will be a long time dead before they realize once again how very stupid this is....

Pesticides of course kill everything so I'm pretty sure they wiped out every predator of these mosquitoes a long time ago.... wasps, spiders, birds, bats.... you name it, they've killed it.

But of course big ag has been wiping out vast colonies of beneficial insects for years in their quest to make sure not one single piece of produce has a bruise or bug on it.

Years from now, they will suddenly "realize" if they had just left nature alone, man would never have been the sole cause of these kinds of disasters.  When you think you're better than Mother Nature, you pay.  But wow, those poison companies are making money hand over fist.... they are stacking it up so fast I doubt they have time to get it into their offshore accounts. They have donated so much to politicians they've been given permission to use even more deadly poisons, spray it from airplanes, murder every living thing, including people.

My grandmother, one of the world's great gardeners but I may be prejudice never put a drop of poison in her garden, neither have I. I plant herbs and flowers to attract beneficial insects, feed the birds, leave piles of brush for helpers to hide in, know that bats come out at dusk scooping up vast quantities of bugs... it's their job.

But man again, in his relentless drive to prove himself knower of all things has not read or understood the words of wisdom from such as Rachel Carson or John Muir...no, the only thing man knows is kill.  Such stupidity is impossible to understand, more impossible to forgive.

dogs in crates

Anyone who thinks it's okay to keep dogs in crates, EVER, has got shit for brains. Please don't get a dog, get a stuffed animal.  The only time dogs belong in cages is when you're taking them to the vet. A dog is part of the family, not something you stuff in a crate so it doesn't get your furniture dirty.

This stuffing dogs in crates for hours is relatively new, no doubt started by people who sell crates.  Dogs do not belong in cages, or chained up in the backyard.  If a dog isn't part of your family, I repeat, get a stuffed fluffy plush animal. You don't deserve a dog.

Good God CNN, what happened to your brain?

Just read a "federal report i.e. tRump's buddies in the power business" on CNN saying to keep your home between 78 and 85 degrees.  Sure,if you want to make sure you and your kids catch every cold and flu that comes along. Helps tRump's buddies in the pharm industry too - all those sniffles, colds, and flu - sure does.

Even 78 is way too warm for a home.... keep your home between 67, and maybe 70 if it's REALLY cold outside.... heat encourages the growth of everything from mold to respiratory distress to sleepy brains and sloth.  But boy, it sure helps the power companies!

You will be healthier if you maintain lower temps in your home...if you are chilly, put on a sweatshirt or a sweater.  Hard to believe that some people still think cold weather, even cold damp weather makes you catch colds and flus...bullshit... viruses do that and they grow best in heat.  Even bacterial infections thrive in heat.

Here in Lancaster PA the winter temps can get down to zero and often do.... my indoor thermometer never goes above 70 and that's rare, it's usually set at 68.

Well hell

I forgot to make a "bucket list."   I guess starting over at age six is out.

Went Marlin fishing early 20's... big exciting activity, unless of course you're the Marlin.  Caught a big ole Swordfish, beautiful fighter, bright blue colors in the sun.  Bruises up and down my legs, the fight was worth it. For me. Not so much for the Swordfish.  His body turned grey once he was mounted on the side of the boat.... they stuffed him and put his colors back.  Not so exciting after all...regretted it the moment he died.  For my entertainment.

So soon old, so late smart.. had a friend who used to say that..too bad I was too dumb to listen.  Killing wildlife, killing any life is unnecessary... that includes cattle, hogs, sheep, chickens, fish or any other living breathing organism we kill for a taste on the tongue...and that's all it's for because human beings have no requirement for meat, dairy, or eggs...NONE.

Went vegan three or four years ago, never been healthier. Am off ALL medications with exception of thyroid. No more high blood pressure, high cholesterol, acid reflux, restless leg syndrome. No more.

On another note, worried about climate change or just mouthing the words?  Animal agriculture is the single biggest contributor to climate change... millions of acres of forest, jungle, desert land have been destroyed, are being destroyed in the name of grazing animals.  Millions upon millions of gallons of water lost to animal agriculture.  What would the animals do? Well, if we stopped breeding them, they'd live normal life spans, just like we do.

If I had one bit of advice after decades of living, it would be "go vegan and do it now."

https://commons.commondreams.org/t/alarming-explosion-of-toxic-pesticide-use-causing-insect-apocalypse-in-united-states-study/66533/8

Supposedly

Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in his cell last night.

And if you believe that it was suicide, I have TWO bridges I want to sell you..... 

Hey, you want to see a bunch of real stupid people ?

Tune into ANY tRump rally.... look at them. 

Those people, every one of them, is too stupid to pour pee out of a boot.

That's why he became a republican... he said so himself.

tRump's NRA domestic terrorists etch more murders on their bedposts

Has tRump tweeted his thoughts and prayers yet? Has he come up with the way he's going to blame Obama for the domestic terrorists tRump inspired?  Obama banned gun sales to the mentally ill -  tRump reversed that ban as one of his first make amerika great again gifts to the NRA.

How to Achieve a Perfect Driving Record

Got my first driver's license at the usual age of 16. It was January and I was living in Cheyenne, Wyoming with my mom and my uncles L.C. and Bill. 

Uncle Bill and L.C. - They teased me mercilessly from the time I was two until well, they never stopped. They took me out in the snow and ice that is always Cheyenne in January and taught me to drive.  The only time they stopped laughing was when they were telling me what to do. 

I paid attention because the one other thing I knew about them was that they loved me unconditionally since the day I was born.

• Pay attention to driving, NOTHING else- know what is in front of you, beside you, behind you at all times.
• Maintain a car's length for every ten MPH between your car and the car in front of you. If someone wants to pass, let them. Stay in the right lane unless passing and really, why pass? If you have to though make sure the road is clear many car lengths ahead. Never pass in rain, snow, sleet, fog.
• Always signal when passing, changing lanes, turning, pulling out of a parking space.
• When driving on snow or ice, NEVER stomp on the brakes. If you must stop or slow, tap the brakes gently. You should be traveling between 5 and 10 miles below the limit under those conditions in any event. 
• Never accelerate on snow or ice. Slow and steady does it.
• Pull to the right and stop if you see or hear lights and/or sirens coming from either direction.

Those lessons gave me - so far - 56 years of driving with no accidents and no moving violations.  I'd say Uncle L.C. and Bill did a damn fine job.

NRA

How you going to spin this one you fucking treasonous, filthy murdering bastards?  How you going to spin it?  

Get Moscow Mitch, give him enough money, he'll push anything through!

WEIRD

No one wants to be old

but everyone wants to get old.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/29/us/earth-overshoot-day-trnd/index.html

Dems are going on vacation

This is the worst possible time for the House of Representatives to take SIX WEEKS OFF!

tRump won't be taking vacation... he'll be wreaking all the damage he can on this country and its people who aren't rich, white, and powerful.

I have written Pelosi to suggest she cancel the August recess as I believe it is incredibly short-sighted and indifferent to the dangers tRump has done and will continue to do.  Blindly stupid to turn off the lights and walk out the door!



and shit, I spilled orange juice all over my keyboard..

tRump is a Fascist Tyrant

He has destroyed, is destroying, everything that made this country America and will continue to do so as long as we allow him to sit in our White House. He has neither love nor respect for this country nor any of its People

“...That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness...”

The Declaration On Independence,  July 4, 1776

Equifax

So here's your two choices if you want a "settlement" from Equifax for them having fucked up and made your data - ALL of it - available to every tom and dickless harry in the universe:

1.  Six months of free credit monitoring from the top three credit reporting agencies.... or Maybe it's three months.

OR

2. Cash payment of a massive $125 but ONLY if you've had credit monitoring for six months.

If you want more money you'd better have proof you've been harmed, copies of documents and other forms of proof that you've been harmed and all the work you've gone through to get if fixed.  And of course all is first dependent on the court's ruling in December. With the courts packed with republican trumpees now... not looking good.

Credit reporting agencies have the ability to destroy your life, and they've destroyed plenty.  Ever try to get something corrected on a credit report?  Good luck... better not plan on a life once you get started with them, life as you know it is over.

Mueller

Nope, didn't watch it today.... republicans tried to make Mueller look wrong... it's their only job. They will fail because they are on the wrong side of history. 

Be aware.  Republicans are going to pull lots of crap as the election gets close... lots of it.  And that includes russian interference in our voting booths, our media, our policies.

tRump knows he's going to be arrested the instant he's out of the oval office...  it's going to get ugly, uglier than it is now.

He has accomplished ZERO for this country and even less for its people.  He is steeped in evil and corruption so vile it defies description.

As for his "supporters," they display only their appalling ignorance. Republicans in congress all bought. Every one of them, only the price changes depending on what it takes to turn an already corrupted human being to a vile caricature of swamp stink.

No bees, no butterflies, no lady bugs, no praying mantis, no lace wings, very very few lightning bugs.  After 60+ years of gardening, this will be  my last garden. FUCK MONSANTO, BAYER, DOW, SYNGENTA. FUCK THEM ALL!  MURDERERS!

Mom

My mom would have been 94 tomorrow, July 20.... I would give everything I have for ten more minutes with her. I miss her more than any other ... more than I ever thought I could miss anyone. None of the fights or arguments are remembered, only the laughter, the good sound advice she gave, never heavy-handed, always tempered with reason...don't do drugs. With the exception of MJ in the 70's when I was an adult, I never did. Never touched a beer in high school when "everyone else was doing it." And when I entered my teenage years... "don't fall for boys who say they love you, or tell you how beautiful you are...teenage boys have one thing on their minds. One thing." I was a virgin when I got married... at least the first time 😁 My mom was flawed, all moms are, we fought at times, made each other cry... but she never lied to me, even when the news was bad. I didn't cherish her enough when she was here... I hope she hears me now. Take heed.

Have always loved fresh squeezed orange juice

When I was a kid my mom would  make fresh squeezed orange juice... yeah it didn't come out of a can, bottle, or freezer section of the grocery store....  she bought oranges, squeezed them by hand, blended them... delicious!

Did the same thing for my kids when they were little... by then they were already used to the store-bought orange juice.... didn't like the stuff I squeezed and blended !   Pathetic.

Homemade orange juice is labor and time intensive... people get used to a little less than quality to save time.... examine that for a bit.... "saving time" is not possible. It can only be used, but that's how we get indoctrinated to accept less.

Well that didn't last long

The cross-stitch project is over.... now have so much arthritis pain in my hands and neck that I can barely move.... can probably give the kit away on Freecycle, but will do that later... now I have to stay down with the heating pad.  Didn't realize it would affect the neck and shoulders so much but no doubt from the head bent forward position taken when cross stitching.  Neck and shoulders are the only other place I have arthritis besides the thumbs and wrists. 

Looks like it's going to be difficult to find something to do that won't end up with me being immobile with pain.  Did take a 500 mg Naproxen but that's as far as I'll go with the meds... too hard on the tummy.

Guess I'll start cleaning up the garden tomorrow.... a bit early but as there are no pollinators my squash hasn't set any fruit, the tomato plants have produced very little fruit, and the flowering plants are thin and shabby.  Sunflowers did okay - at least the Goldfinches got something to eat.  As I have been gardening for over sixty years this is a huge blow.... thinking next year I'll do nothing....

I can't be the only one who writes and calls congress about the disaster that  Monsanto, Dow, Bayer and Syngenta are bringing to our planet. Can I?  People are still using Roundup in their yards... unfathomable to me.  Even if they don't bother with research, surely they can't have missed the several hundred million dollars in fines Monsanto has had to pay so far for lying about the dangers of Roundup... people working in the fields are coming down with cancer. How oblivious does a person have to be to just not KNOW that pouring poison on the earth, filling the air with it, poisoning all our waterways is sheer idiocy? I mean, is it that fucking important to have "perfect" produce?? The planet is dying. 

Have Started What Appears to be a Lifelong Project

Have started my first very large cross-stitch.... it has taken me two hours to NOT quite complete one square... there are 506 squares. One square is approximately one inch by one inch.

Ah well.  Not quite as painful for the hands as crocheting/knitting, but close. If I complete it, WHEN I complete the project will be quite beautiful.

It has been close to six and a half years since I have done anything I considered purposeful on this earth..... that was my work with Old Dog Haven.

Ah, science has discovered what many parents already knew!

"Science"  has has long known that homes with pets in them produce children with stronger immune systems.

I could have told them that years ago.  Want to vastly increase your children's chance of not having allergies?  Fill your house with pets, plants, and stop sweeping up every speck of dust.

Early exposure to allergens produces defenses against them.  No exposure to allergens weakens the immune system.

But hey, I'm not a scientist.... none of four kids ever had allergies.  I have been around dogs and cats since birth - I've never had allergies and I have a very strong immune system. Ditto my parents and their parents.


One study (and there are more):  http://healthland.time.com/2012/07/09/study-why-dogs-and-cats-make-babies-healthier/

A Bit of a Corollary to Previous Post

What might be viewed as a plus by many is that there appear to be way fewer wasps this summer, I've seen maybe two so far. Wasps have always come to drink from the buckets of water I put out, and no doubt consume any mosquito larvae they find...  Well, I have seen one mosquito so far this summer.  And Lancaster in the summer, particularly in yards like mine full of vegetation and many sources of still water is a paradise for mosquitoes.  None this year, no mosquitoes and no larvae in any of the six containers of water outside, three in front, three in back for any creature who needs a drink. I do not use pesticides of any kind, never have, never will. Where are the wasps, where are the spiders?

No spiders, not one this year, though there must be some as I have walked through a long strand of web on more than one occasion. But no spun webs. Not one spider, indoors or out.

What I do have in abundance, far greater abundance than any other year, are flies and ants. Both are a natural prey of both wasps and spiders.

There is only my own front and back yards to measure by, both of which are full of vegetation tall and short, vegetables, flowers, small trees so I don't know what others may be observing.  This lack of insect life is alarming to me, almost scary.

Nature has the ability to keep itself in balance. Man has the ability to upset that balance, even destroy it.  I wonder why he is allowed to do so.

"Pull one thing in Nature..."

Every day in summer I search my garden looking for signs of caterpillars, bees, butterflies, Lady Bugs, Praying Mantis, Lacewings, any small creature put on earth to do a job, a job for which they are eminently qualified. This year there are none, not one.

In massive fields growing our food they spray millions of tons of insecticides and herbicides every single year, and the dust continues on to cities, towns, rivers, lakes. That poison kills not only "bad" bugs, it kills the good ones. It kills not only bugs, it kills birds, bats, and every beneficial insect and animal life that depends on them for food - all vital, all necessary, all magical parts of an ecosystem designed by Nature to be perfect.

And to add to that insult,  Roundup and other poisons are sold for home owners who are too lazy or too stupid to pull weeds or encourage natural predators - aka birds, snakes, lizards, bats to their yards, instead preferring to kill those small beasts lest they be drawn for a moment away from their cell phones, video games, "reality" TV, game shows, sporting events.  Science has taken a back seat, and believe me, it is intentional by our government and major corporations... keep the people entertained and anything can be done to them with little opposition. And those who do protest will be labeled as "radicals,"  "enemies of the people," "crackpots."

""When we try to pick out anything by itself we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe."  ~John Muir

Things Made of Stone

Things made of wood, even things made of brick, steel, and stone -

They all disappear in time.

But plastic, plastic never goes away, not ever.  Not plastic cups, nor Styrofoam, not utensils or straws,  not plastic clips holding the end of plastic bread bags, nor the tiny plastic inserts in everything electronic, or your container of pills, or plastic food wrap, containers, jewelry and shoes; nor the plastic in cigarette filters...yes, there is plastic even in those. And though plastic may appear to disintegrate, it doesn't, it simply gets ground by abrasion, washed out to rivers, lakes, oceans ending in the stomachs of whales, dolphins, all manner of sea life, including birds. And all that life dies because their bellies are full of plastic, not one single nourishing bit of food.

Why on God's earth would man ever allow the travesty, the evil of plastic to be produced when there clearly was never an "exit strategy," a method or plan for disposal? And now that the evil of plastic is so widely understood why does man allow it to continue to be produced in massive quantities?  Technology exists to replace ALL uses for plastic.  

What on earth goes on in the minds of intelligent beings, in the minds of compassionate beings who care about this planet and all life on it to allow the continued production of billions of tons of plastic - all of which will remain long after all life on this planet has died?