Home Made Garden Posts

A fron came off of one of the coconut palms the other day during a heavy wind. I have been trying to decide what type of support to use when I transplant my vanilla orchid. (Yes...the same plant that can produce vanilla pods.)

This morning, as I was moving the downed fron, I got to thinking that I could put at least part of it to good use.

So.....I cut off either end of the fron, leaving the center stem at the length that I desired. Then, I cut the leaves from the stem.  Sealing the 2 cut ends, the stem is now ready to use as a plant support. Because I cut this one long, I will be using it for my allspice tree, replacing the shorter supports. (Replacment in progress in last photo.)

Oops....just heard another fron go down in the wind. This one will be for the vanilla orchid!

Don't You Just LOVE This Coop?

I couldn't resist posting one of my favorite chicken coops. Yes, it is actually a float in the Easter parade at Magic Kingdom, but who wouldn't love it in their yard filled with the little cluckers?

New Hatchlings

Some photos I took of a few hatchlings, but not the type you think. EPCOT has a small, enclosed butterfly garden on site for the Flower and Garden Show, and it is so interesting to see the various stages.

One of the photos shows a butterfly in the process of hatching.  Can you find him?

Old Book

This is when dumpster diving pays off! I picked up a stack of very old books from the garbage.  They must not have been in there long, as they were still very near the top.

I gave an old medical book that was in the pile to a friend who is a nurse practitioner.  Another was a very early 1900s copy of House of the Seven Gables which still had a handwritten homework paper in it from the 1920's. Another was a youth's book from the 1870's. Some little kid wrote a letter to Roy Rogers inside of the cover which is quite a mystery as to why.

Finally, the book Old Christmas. I did a little research on it, and found it to be a first edition of the first American printing! And, while it does have value, I fell in love with the book, and it will go on my shelf.

I'll add that, when I saw the pile of old books, I just scooped them up and looked at them later in the day. As I love old books, when I see them being discarded, I just grab them, knowing what I don't want, friends and family will.

With this pile, it was none too soon, however, as not 5 minutes after I grabbed them, the skies let loose and it poured. Only a few minutes later, and these books would have been soaked and lost!

FYI: NAIS

If, as a consumer, you're not already familiar with the National Animal Identification System, I encourage you to please do so now, and help your local farmer fight this program. A good start is http://NONAIS.org and from there you can find many, many other links in the margins.

Presented new as a program for "food safety", NAIS is anything but, as the program stops at the door of the big slaughterhouses and processors, the very places where most food contamination happens. Through premise id, it also turns the farmer from owner of his farm to merely a stakeholder. In fact, if passed, you will most likely lose some of the farms that you now purchase from.

Similar programs are already in effect in Australia and the UK. While the various government offices will state that the programs are working wonderfully, the farmers will tell you a much different story.

Please, read up, talk to your local farmers, contact your politicians. Attend a "listening session" in your area. Help to put the brakes on this program before it is too late.