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Rainy Thursday Morning .......

It's been raining steadily here all morning.

The Wife has left me here Babysitting a little 8 week old kid.

Nancy, Granny McRicktus Airhead Commie Pelosi, AKA "Sphincter of the House" is happy that Arlen- "Don't let the door hit you in the Ass"- Specter has come to the Dark Side.

Now she won't have to Explain Process.

"Specter's switch will give Democrats 60 caucus members in the Senate (assuming Al Franken wins his legal battle in Minnesota). That is enough votes to end debate on a bill and overcome Republican filibusters.

"Very exciting, very exciting for the American people, because now we can get things done without explaining process," Pelosi told CNN's Candy Crowley".

That Commie Bitch makes my brain ache.

Hat Tip to Chris Horton

Gratuitous Thursday Morning Picture-

More on a Garden for Surly ......
As promised, I'm gonna do a bit more on helping, Surly get going with a garden.

I'll give ya the standard disclaimer again - This is what has worked for me. There are as many ways to garden as there are Gardeners. Do what works for you and be happy.

I received an indignant email about my advice that one could use a little 10-10-10 fertilizer on a new garden of crappy soil to get a jump start on things.

This person thought I was all about being "Totally Organic". All things being equal, I go the basic organic route when I can. I don't have any problem with adding some non-organic fertilizer. Nitrogen is Nitrogen. If it uses a bit of petrol to make - Oh well.

I take the practical view that if it takes a bit of that to get you going and keep you in the game, so be it.

A 5 pound box of Miracle Grow will last you darn near forever if you just have a small place getting started and you can use the balance on your houseplants.

There is the option of making an organic tea type fertilizer. This works and works well. But for someone just getting started it may be a bit to much like work.

This is supposed to fun, remember?

When it comes to bugs in the garden I try to use the least toxic thing. Seven Dust is about it.

I have a recipe or 2 for making your own non-toxic bug spray, but I've never tried them yet. I'll try it if needed.

I honestly don't know a lot about most Chemical Bug Sprays because I don't use them. Never have.

I do know that a lot of insecticides are only a few basic molecules away from Nerve Gas and that's always kept me from wanting to keep that crap around the house.

I honestly don't know enough about this type of thing to give you an informed opinion.

I do know that I've never needed to find out.

Other than one year when I had Potato Beetles so bad I thought I was gonna go nuts, I don't generally lose enough to worry about it.

I'm not selling anything so I don't have to worry about there being a few spots on things or a worm in an apple or Peach.

We just cut out any bad parts and use things as they are. Most of the time it's not a problem

As I've mentioned here before, I like Roundup and consider it my friend. It's a great labor saving thing and I don't have any problem with using it.

I don't use it on beds in the garden & I don't grow Roundup ready Beans. I use it to keep fence rows clear and neaten up the place.
That's it. So I'm not a strict organic guy.

I think that if you continue to improve your soil by adding Humus and compost it'll get better and the plants will do better overall so you won't need most anything else.

I am trying to learn about Fruit Tree management in a spray free manner. I know that dormant oil spray & sticky traps work and so does Tanglefoot spread around the trunk of the tree.

I really need to get more involved with this stuff as some of my trees have taken it in the shorts from various Borers and other wormy little shit bugs.
I've been increasing the size of the Orchard and need to get ahead of the curve on how to keep the trees healthy without spraying the shit out of things.


That's what's nice about gardening. You can't stop learning. There is just to much to know and to many ways of doing things.

The web is a wonderful resource. There are a million places with info out there.
Take advantage of it.

These garden posts for Surly have been very superficial. Just enough to get started. There's just to much for me to write about in detail.

I am always available to answer questions if needed. Hell, if you have enough money, I'll even make house calls. It'll take a lot of money. Just so you know.

So unless I hear otherwise from Surly, that's about it on this topic.
I'll still bore the hell out of you with pictures of my cheesy ass projects and what not.

Speaking of -
The older Guinea Hens have begun to lay eggs.That's 3 Chicken eggs and the 2 in front are Guinea eggs.






Here's another shot of the Peony bush.









That's it for today, kids!

On April 21st, I had the great pleasure of running with my father in his first Boston Marathon. This race was on his “bucket list”, so I was pleased to be able to host/pace him for one of my favorite big city marathons (this was my fifth). We had a weekend packed full of the best of Boston, from pubs to Red Sox baseball to the marathon itself. Male bonding at its best! My Dad ended up having a strong race, finishing with a smile and a beer. I couldn’t have been more proud of him.

It’s not every day you get to be there for one of your Dad’s “firsts”, despite the fact that he has been there for nearly all of mine. I was especially looking forward to this opportunity after becoming a father myself two and a half years ago. I now understand that when parents look at their children, they simultaneously see them at every age from birth to the present day. That’s nearly four decades worth when he sets his eyes on me! It takes a long time for most sons to understand this (me amongst them), and we too often spend years with no appreciation of the unique individual behind the towering role and responsibility of fatherhood. The Boston Marathon, which journeys through the streets of Boston where he went to college in the 60’s, was the perfect shared experience to learn more about him, both as a father and a person.

I hopped a red eye to Boston after the Ruth Anderson 50k, showing up just in time for breakfast at the Paramount and a walk through the Boston Commons. My legs felt pretty good (considering), and the plentiful Starbucks, Dunkin Doughnuts, and brisk air kept me upright as we made our way to the Expo. My Dad was pretty jazzed about the race, and loved seeing hundreds of people in Boston Marathon gear, filling the streets with languages from around the world. Despite living in Cambridge for years, he had never made the occasion to check out the Boston Marathon or go to a game at Fenway Park. The next 24 hours would take care of both of those, pronto.


The Expo was insanely crowded, so we picked up our bib numbers and just stopped by the Injinji booth to say hi. We decided to pass on the Boston shwag (the bright yellow is VERY bright this year) being quite content with the adidas CoolMax participant shirt. I bought some 2XU compression calf tights to try out after getting repeated recommendations to do so if I was racing multiple times in a weekend. I figured they would be good for warmth at a minimum, which could be crucial for a race day predicted to be in the low 40’s and windy.



We escaped the Expo to head to Fenway Park for a Red Sox game, where we huddled in the cold and sipped our beers while the Red Sox beat the Orioles 2-0. After a beer-induced nap we had dinner at the Pasta Feed, and hit the sack early for the big day. I enjoyed seeing my Dad nervous for the race – he’s rarely nervous for anything! I was just the opposite. In fact, I had been so lax I had forgotten to pack running shorts so I was going to have to do with some tennis shorts borrowed from my Dad. Doh!


The next morning was cold (40 degrees) with a biting breeze. We jumped on the buses with plenty of extra gear, noting that the long wait before the race would be the toughest part of the day. I shared my secrets to staying warm at the Athlete Village (hint – there are pre-race massages INSIDE if you look for them), and we enjoyed massages before heading down to corral #18. We slammed a couple of Vespas before warming up to run.



I could have sworn we stopped at every port-o-potty along the way…running with a well-hydrated 67-year-old had more pee stops than a sorority van on the way back from a barn dance. But we found our spots in the corral just in time for the gun to go off.




I was feeling pretty bad ass with my blue bib #1454, until I realized nobody in corral #18 gave a hoot. Everyone we met was here to have a good time, run for a loved one, raise awareness for their charity, and in general was having way too much fun to be worried about their number. My Dad was hoping for a sub-4 hour finish, but I kept trying to convince him to just have a good time and end the race with a smile. I would hate to see him finish and be “disappointed”. But when the gun went off, my Dad started weaving through the crowd like a snake on a mission.

I did my best to keep him in sight, talking casually with the runners around me. I couldn’t help but brag to everyone about my 67-year-old Dad cruising the Boston Marathon. I was so proud of him! Between my yapping and his weaving, I wasn’t able to run alongside of him until the Ashland Tower at mile 4. He had a good pace going and was hydrating well, but all the side to side work was burning calories. We spoke about the mixed blessing of having so many runners on the road – it’s tough to keep a goal pace, but a blessing to have an excuse to hold some reserves on a downhill start.


One thing we definitely agreed on was the supporting crowds were fantastic! Per usual, they were 3-4 people deep at all times cheering on everyone. Anytime you needed a power boost, you could just swoop to the side and get 20-30 high fives. My Dad just kept saying “amazing!” over and over again.


At Natick (mile 10), the runners began to space out more and we had enough room to pick up the pace to a 7:45 min/mile. My Dad was making up all of his time on the downhills, per his usual strategy. When the flats or hills came, he distracted me with stories of partying, exploring, summer jobs, etc. during his college days. It was wonderful to hear all of these stories that I hadn’t heard before. More so than ever, I was getting a full picture of the young Larry Dunlap. Sounds like quite a troublemaker. ;-)


At mile 11, the familiar sounds of the scream tunnel filled the air. The Wellesley girls were out in full force, complete with “kiss me, I’m smart” signs and encouraging waves to come into their arms. My Dad started with some high fives, but soon enough two girls grabbed him and planted a kiss on his cheek. I fell in for my kiss as well, and returned the favor. We had a good laugh, particularly at the short balding European guy who was kissing his way down the line like an Italian wedding reception. My Dad said “I haven’t kissed a Wellesley girl since 1964”, much to the delight of the runners around us, and launched into another story. For the next two miles, we glided effortlessly on the lipstick-traced kisses of Wellesley girls of both yesterday and today .




Just past mile 15, my Dad began to slow. Thank God for the Powerbar aid station that got us handfuls of gels in any flavor we desired. I found the Double Latte to be particularly tasty, and we shared a boost of caffeine that pushed us into the Newton hills.


Heartbreak Hill came and went, and my Dad just shrugged his shoulders. Was that it? Not much of a challenge for an accomplished mountain climber and trail runner, even at age 67. But he had plenty of pats on the back for the runners around us. I looked for the Hash House Harrier beer stand, but couldn’t find it this year. Instead they were handing out oxygen in the form of “personal oxygen devices”. Pretty crazy! I took a few drags, and it felt like a nice little boost. Guess I’ll have to wait for the finish for that brewsky.



We hit Boston College at mile 21, where both my Dad and my camera started blinking red lights. He leaned into the downhill, but once he hit the flats he looked at me and said “I’m running on pure will at this point”. But his will was strong, and he kept his leg turnover high while keeping me in sight just a dozen yards ahead of him. He was still doing a great job of hydrating and taking in Gatorade, never walking for more than a few steps, so I knew he was going to make it without an embarrassing dehydration “blowout”. But could we make it under 4 hours? We certainly had banked some time, but there would be no margin for walk breaks.


At mile 23, he broke through his psychological barriers and picked up the pace again. He passed right by me, clocked sub 8-minute miles as we passed mile 25. Not even the runner in the pink tutu carrying a Corona could slow him down!



Before we knew it, we had turned the corner onto Boylston and were headed down the home stretch. He accelerated again, picking off another 20 runners before crossing the finish line with a smile in 3:45:30 for 11,827th place. He passed almost 7,000 runners! I came in right behind him in 11,828th. So he had not only run a 3:45, almost come in the first half of all runners, but he beat me fair and square. ;-)


We wrapped ourselves in mylar, got the finisher medals, and quickly made our way to a pub for a celebratory burger and Sam Adams. I just couldn’t help but stare at him in awe of what he had just accomplished. A 3:45 at age 67?!? Age adjusted, that is a sub-3 hour finish. And here he was, smiling away, sipping down a beer with no issues. It was nothing short of heroic. I got the overwhelming feeling that I am nowhere near tapping my genetic potential.

After dinner, I had to quickly gather my stuff and head off to the airport to speak at a conference the next morning (a “cats in the cradle” moment for sure), leaving my Dad to contemplate the ice bath in the hotel room. In a few short words, I struggled to tell him how proud I was and what a great experience this had been, stumbling in that way that men do when sharing deep emotions. But I recognized the look on his face, one I had seen so many times before in my life for so many “firsts”, expressing more than words could say. With a hug and firm handshake, I headed off to the airport with the finisher medal around my neck.


The Boston Marathon is already packed full of great personal memories, but I knew instantly when crossing the finish line with my father that this how I would remember this race forever. I’m sure I told the story 50 times before I even made it to my seat on the plane. I’ve already told it 500 times to Sophie in the last week, and how her Grandpa once beat me at the Boston Marathon, one of the greatest races of all time. I suspect I will tell it 50,000 more times the next time I come to Boston. I may need to drag my Dad along again to share the duties. He did run a BQ time again, after all. ;-)

Congratulations, Dad. I’m super proud of you!

Love, SD

Headline of the Week .....
Either the Editors wern't paying attention or someone has a great sense of humor.

Either way this MSNBC Headline scores from 3 point range.

"Sex-Doll Threesome Man Gets Off"

I didn't even finish the story of some creep and his 2 blowup dolls in the parking lot of the Publix.

This kinda stuff is what makes having an internet connection worthwhile.

The Boss just called and it looks like I'm gonna go make a few extra hours today. See ya later.

Gratuitous Picture for Tuesday Morning-
Keeping with the headlines funny theme.

Proud of All You Bitter Clingers Out There ....
Say Uncle had a link to this story today.

Gotta love this shit - USA Buys Enough Guns in 3 Months to Outfit the Entire Chinese and Indian Army

"In just 3 months Americans bought enough guns to outfit the entire Chinese and Indian army’s combined. You also bought 1,529,635,000 rounds of ammunition in just the month of December 2008. Yeah that is right, that is Billion with a “B”. This is an evaluation of overall firearms and ammunition purchases based on low end numbers per Federal NIC instacheck data base. The numbers presented are only PART of the overall numbers of arms and ammunition that have been sold. The actual numbers are much higher."

Think about that.

In only three months.

One and a half BILLION rounds in December alone.

That must mean something. You figure it out.

Monday Night Picture -
Click to embiggen

More Monday Stuff .......
Even with all the wood still not cut and stacked to dry I feel pretty good. I don't usually get a hell of a lot done on Mondays after working the weekends so today was good.

The nice warm weather probably had some thing to do with that.

I see the farmers out trying to get things prepped before the rain gets here. They'll be working the fields under the lights till the rain hits later.

Legalized gambling. I have a lot of respect for farmers. They have to plan a year in advance, without any idea what the market or the weather is gonna be like and just do it.

God love 'em.

If you have a bad year in the garden because of a flood, etc, you're not likely to starve or go broke. Not so for farmers.

I transplanted some Strawberries last Friday. The old Berry patch had become a mess after the long neglect of not gardening. There were still a few plants that have been hanging on though. These plants also have wonderful tasting berries so I transplanted them into two of the new 4x12' beds I built last year.



There's one of the happy little Berry plants there.

A lot of them are putting out blossoms now, but I'm gonna pinch them off to encourage more growth and runners.

Hopefully, I'll have a whole new bed prepped for them next year and can transplant them again and get berries then.

The Asparagus bed hasn't done to well this year. Not sure if the cold weather is to blame or what. That's another project for this Summer. Getting a bed prepped for more Asparagus, too.

I've got a butt load of seed that I'm starting for transplanting in the Fall. Assuming that I have the bed prepped. Hopefully, in 3 years I'll have a 50' bed of Asparagus.

Check out how things are doing in the HoopHouse -




Boy, those Maters like it in there. They're about 3' high now.

It's gonna take me awhile to figure out how to best utilize the HoopHouse, but I'm already leaning towards, Spring should be for transplants and Fall should be for season extension. If you already have experience with this kinda thing, go ahead and say, "Well Duh".
Or better yet. Drop me a comment and point me in the right direction.
Comments are good and always appreciated.




Here's some more HoopHouse pictures.

Lettuce - Spinach - Radishes- Big ass clump of Lettuce.


Here's a bunch of transplants waiting to happen.
Peppers, Cukes and Melons. Both Watermelons and Muskmelons.



I've really enjoyed this HoopHouse so far.
Not knowing anything about what I'm doing only adds to the, "Oh Wow" factor.

It's good to be out learning new things.

I see nothing but good things from this.

OK. Enough for today.
More on the Garden for Surly tomorrow.

Gratuitous Monday Night Picture ...


Peony. Opened today, but will be gone in a day or two.

What's Happening Around Here on a Late April Monday............
Spring has finally arrived for a day or so. It was almost 90 degrees out today. Being that this is Indiana, we could have snow yet. One never knows this time of year.

It's been a very cold and gloomy Spring up till just the last week. We were still getting down into the 30's every night just a week ago. But the warm weather has really gotten things get going.

I was worried that the Taters and Peas were not gonna sprout. Fortunately, the Peas broke through a few days ago and I saw that the Taters are busting loose today.


Here's one of the 3 beds I have in Peas. Approximately 4x16'

Here's a Tater just starting to peek through. This makes YerUnk very happy. They've been in the ground for almost 5 weeks. It only took a week of decent weather and night time temps above 45 to get 'em going.






I've been Lumberjacking some more, too. Dropped 3 trees last Friday and got them almost all cut up and cleaned up today.


Here's some of what's still laying around on the ground. I should have gotten it all cleaned up and stacked. Did I mention it was almost 90 degrees today?

Yeah, I just ran out of gas. No, not the chainsaws. They had gas. I'm the one that ran out of gas.

I should have taken a picture of the pile of slash that's been created from just a few trees. Maybe later.

Maybe a night shot when it gets torched sometime later would be better.

I'm gonna break this up into another post as I seem to have problems with posts that have too many pictures.

A Couple of Things to Read .........
Being the weekend, I'm off at work doing battle with the Zombie Hordes.
Here's a couple of things to read.
First one is an article on this Mexican Flu outbreak.

Mexico’s Calderon Declares Emergency Amid Swine Flu Outbreak

This is gonna be bad for YerUnk no matter how it pans out. The media is going to have the Zombies cranked up into a lather in a few more days and the ER will be packed full of people who have no need to be there, demanding that we "DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!"

Worse, if there's only one Illegal Wetback around who's carrying that shit, all those dumbasses are going to be setting themselves up as victims.
Thus compounding the problem.

It's ok though. Janet Napolitano, head of the DHS says crossing the border isn't really illegal. Tell that to my Widow if this shit should be anywhere near the 1918 style Flu.

One quote from the article -
"The first case was seen in Mexico on April 13. The outbreak coincided with the President Barack Obama’s trip to Mexico City on April 16. Obama was received at Mexico’s anthropology museum in Mexico City by Felipe Solis, a distinguished archeologist who died the following day from symptoms similar to flu, Reforma newspaper reported. The newspaper didn’t confirm if Solis had swine flu or not."

Think about that a bit. YerUnk and most EMS personnel are just hosed.

Next. Go read this -
"A little note to the people of the US from some GI"

This was posted over at the We The Armed Forum.

Draw your own conclusions.

Gotta run.

Surly's Big Garden Adventure....
That's kinda what it is. An adventure.
When I start new things I get all fired up and motivated to go whole hog. Usually driving everyone around me to distraction.

Hey, it's just the way I am. At least you're not here under the same roof so be happy.

We we're working on, Surly's Garden yesterday and figured out a couple of things.

One thing to remember about this. You can do it in whatever way you like. Odds are it will turn out well and you will be pleased and have some way better than store bought food.

And way cheaper too.

There are a lot of other reasons to do this too. But food is a good motivator on it's own.

Chris Left a comment on the last post about using Straw or Hay Bales for a bed. This is an excellent idea that I'd forgotten about. I've never done it so I forget about things like that.

There is an added bonus, too. Those bales are gonna break down and form compost eventually. And as I have had all my kids trained to say - "Compost is your friend.

We'll get to that in a second. There are a couple of ways to use bales. Hay or Straw, doesn't matter.
You can use them as the outside perimeter, which I think is how Chris meant it. This is a low budget starter till you find something to make a permenant bed.

I remember an old article in, Mother Earth News, before they became a huge, "Oh my God! We're all gonna die!!", Global Warming, propaganda rag. Back when they we're much more useful for real, everyday ideas.

Anyway, this guy took bales of straw and made a solid block of them.
Took what good soil he had, added some compost to it and made a growing surface in 5 gallon bucket sized piles right on top.. He then planted his Tomatoes in the dirt and let 'er rip. Took 2-3 years and the bales rotted down, improving the crappy soil underneath.

Doesn't sound like it's too feasible for Surly, but I toss that out for others who may read this.

And if you have ideas? Please sound off. What I'm saying here is only how I do things. Definitely NOT, the Gospel according to Unk.
Keep that in mind. There are a zillion ways to garden. Most of the time, they all work.
Sometimes, nothing works well.
Weather, Bugs or Critters can play hell on things. Just the way it goes.

Like I told, Surly, those years where everything goes right? Rare. And you remember them.
It's great when it happens, but not what you can count on all the time.

Since Surly isn't Homesteading on the plains 100 years ago, if he doesn't have a great year his kids don't starve in March.

Major bonus points for that.

So let's go back to his Crappy Soil problem.
What to do? You can import some. Which, if you're building raised beds and have a small area, you'll almost have to do. There are exceptions, but not if your soil just sucks.

Options? You can import as small amount as you can get by with and start there. This is assuming raised beds. You can till a flat area and add a little fertilizer and go from there too. No Soil cost.
A little 10-10-10 fertilizer is cheap and you can get started for very little.. Scale is the only thing that will change that.

And for a lot of folks, this is ok. I've done it several times in several places.

But when taking the long view?

Say it Kids - "Compost is your friend!"

If you take the time and put in the work, you can make almost any soil better.
Time is the big thing.
If you add enough Humus to any soil it will get better. And better and better.
Your plants will be healthier.
They'll grow better.
They'll resist pests and disease better.
You"ll like it.

Remember this. Most of us can't come up with enough compost right off the bat to make a big difference.

Even if you have Horses, Cows, or like me, chickens, all that crap needs to break down and be usable first.

And that takes time.

Google up "Making Compost" and I'm sure you'll get a zillion methods and descriptions to follow.
I'm pretty sure that most of them should work. You can get real motivated and make compost a bit faster. Maybe those ads for 2 week compost from the Tumbler work. I quit trying a long time ago.

Go ahead and do that Google search. Pay attention to what to use and what not to use in your pile.

Surly doesn't have the option I do.
I give the Chickens and Guinea Hens just about everything most folks will put in the compost pile. They turn it into compost for me. It still takes awhile though.

Get used to that idea.

I was fanatical about making the "Perfect" compost pile for awhile.
Then I realized, it all broke down eventually anyway.
So I started just throwing things in the pile and not worrying about it.

Then I just started tossing it right on the garden and letting it rot there.
Worked just as good as far as I could tell.

Again, I believe in, No, I damn near demand that you make and use compost in one form or another if you're going to garden.
I'm not gonna spend all day telling you how to build that perfect pile. I don't think it matters. As long as it gets on the garden, composted or not, it's gonna help.

The Chinese have been using Nightshade as compost for centuries.
Nightshade is composted human poop, BTW.

It must work. There's a BILLION plus of them.

So much for that old saying - "Eat shit and die".

Yeah, Apparently it doesn't work that way.

Matters not. The bottom line is you can take crappy dirt and turn it into good soil if you work at it.

Have a friend with horses -AND- a front loader on his tractor?
Do what you have to do to get hooked up with that source.
Six pack, twelve pack, Oh hell, whatever. You can always brush your teeth later.

OK. Whatever works for you. (Send your wife if you have to).

Part II - Any organic matter you throw on your beds is first - MULCH.
It'll become compost later, but it has a very valuable job till then.

Just like compost - "Mulch is your friend."
Especially with raised beds.
One of the good things about raised beds is the improved drainage. It really helps - Until the weather gets hot and it doesn't rain for three weeks.

Then your beds get as dry as a popcorn fart and your plants wither up and look like some kid Sally Strothers is pitching for on the National Geographic Channel.
"Unless you help....Blah, Blah, Blah"
Same effect, but not so bad as long as those kids aren't in your neighborhood.
I'm sure Mulch ain't too high on the old priority list if that's the case. Be glad you're not wherever Sally's at.

Mulch has many virtues that are important.
It keeps the soil from drying out and water available to your plants.
It keeps the roots cool in really hot weather.
It becomes compost as it does all this.

And most important?
It keeps the weeds down!

I don't know about you, but I hate weeding. Mulch, piled on thick will smother the bulk of the weeds. This makes the whole gardening thing so much more enjoyable. That it is so good for things only makes it better.

Straw and hay are both great mulches. Except you generally have to buy them.
Grass clippings work wonderful. Be careful not to put then right up close to your Tomatoes at first. They get pretty hot the first week or so and can harm plants. They break down quick and give a Nitrogen boost to your plants too.

So if you bag your grass and set it on the curb to be hauled off? DIE HERETIC!!!

OK, that may be a bit harsh.
One of the best and most overlooked sources of milch is Leaves.
Most of us have trees around. Trees drop leaves every Fall.
We rake 'em up and either Bag them or burn them right?

DIE HERETIC!!!

You run the mower over them and save them.
That's like money in the bank for the garden.

Save them. Period.
Bag 'em. Rake them into a big pile and put a tarp over them so you don't lose them. Cruise the streets after dark and steal the ones that other Dumb asses put on the curb.
This works with grass clippings too. (Make friends with people who bag there grass. As long as they don't spray a bunch of shit on them. We'll get into that Monday or Tuesday.)

Whatever it takes.
You want to save leaves. You're crazy if you don't. Did you kick back the leaves in a heavy forest and look? I'm not even gonna tell ya. Just go look.

OK. Let's review.
Site Selection. Lots of Sun is Good!

If you're going to make raised beds, find something to make them out of or get containers of some kind.

If your soil sucks, you may have to spring for a little soil or compost. Maybe both.

Compost is your Friend! Make it somehow but remember it takes awhile.

Mulch is your friend! You almost can't get too much mulch. I really doubt that it's possible. Unless you're using concrete mix.

That's enough for tonight.
If you guys knew how slow I type you'd know what a labor this is.
Mom always told me to take typing in High School.

Gratuitous Picture for a Friday Night -
I'm pretty sure this isn't how the Trojans did it.

Another Link Addition .....
I added Chris Horton's Mindful Musings to the linkage under the "Gun Blogs and what not" category.
Smart guy and it seems he's back to regular posting now.

He left a good point in the comments regarding the Garden for Surly that I'll hit on latter.

It's an absolutely beautiful morning here in Southern Indiana and I have to decide between getting on the lawn mower or getting on the BigBluePlasticMotorcycle.

Maybe if I get my ass outside and cut some grass now, I can ride this afternoon.

That's a thought.

Gratuitous Picture for this Morning -
one of the coolest bikes ever.
V-8 Guzzi with Dustbin Fairing.

Look Out! He's Got a Garden!!!!!
Well, not yet.

In the comments below, The Surly One expressed a wish that I do some more gardening posts. Like the rest of us, He's on a tight budget and wants to do as much as he can on the cheap.

This is always an admirable idea. Even more so now as the cost of food continues to climb. It ain't coming back down either, it's gonna get worse. So it's smart of him to be thinking ahead.

I'm addressing this stuff to him, but anyone could benefit from having a garden. So if you have questions about things, ask.

I haven't seen his new place yet so I can't make any specific recommendations here. But going on what he told me about his soil, it basically sucks. That's what happens when they build a new house nowadays. They clear off the building site and strip most of the top soil away doing it. You get a new house with crappy soil and have to buy the soil back.

Remember that if you plan on building or buy a house that's less than 20 years old.

He communicated that he would like to use raised beds to avoid tilling, and keep it manageable. You can make them look quite tidy and fit in most anywhere with any kind of landscape. I really like them for most things.

So, where do we start?
Site selection I suppose. You're gonna want a place that gets, at a minimum of 7-8 hours of sunlight. That's not really enough, but if that's all you have then try it. You want as much Sunlight as you can get so make that your first priority when locating the garden. Move the swingset or clothesline if you have to. Most things just won't grow well with less than 8 hours of sun. The more, the better.
Try to keep your layout oriented in a North to South direction. I have no idea why I forgot this when building mine. It's not a critical thing, but it will make it easier to get good sun on things with out shading them later on.

Depending on how much room you have, leave room for expansion later. You can have beds tucked into spots all over the yard if it fits your design or just fits what you have. I find it easier to have stuff as close together as practical, just so you don't spend all day walking from place to place. One of the benefits of gardening is the quiet time out there, if you're a fat ass, lay it out so you have to walk. I look for efficiency personally. You still get that quiet time, but you can utilize it better.

Surly has a problem of crappy dirt and not wanting to buy a dump truck full of soil. The good news is he's only talking about a single small bed this year. He suggested an area only 2x8'. That's pretty small and I think he'd be better off going 4x12, but that's ok.

First things first. What are we gonna use for building a raised bed? Some folks don't use anything. Just mound it up and go. I tried that and didn't find it worked to well with my inner Teutonic sense of orderliness. The soil gets spread around and it messy.

You want a box of some kind. Here's where your creativity comes in. I've used all kind of things. I recommend having one at least 8" deep.

Concrete blocks - They're cheap. You can almost always find people who will give them to you for free if you ask. Seems like everyone has a stack of them behind the garage.
They work well, but they aren't the prettiest thing. I've got 3 beds now made from blocks, but they ain't nothing fancy.

You can buy lumber, but that's expensive.

Scrap and scrounge time. Scrap pallets can be taken apart and they're another freebie. Most businesses have 2-3 leaning against the outside walls asking to be given away.

Where Surly lives, he should be looking for Dunage Lumber the Truckers use. It's usually 4x4 and hardwood. (Ask Cuzzin Ricky.) Sure, it'll breakdown in 4-5 years, but big deal it's friggen organic. That's a plus in the long run. Besides, it gives you 4-5 years to find something else.

I saw a hell of a nice bed made form red clay field tile set on end. That was a freebie too. He got a whole truck load for hauling them away. Looked nice too.
Scrap steel, Big rocks, Hell, even small trees cut down and stacked, log cabin style. You name it. This is where the creative part comes in.

Surly only wants to grow a couple of Maters, Peppers, Onions and some Herbs for now. Maybe he'll re-read the Tater post I wrote awhile back and opt for some of those too.

Soil is gonna be a problem if you don't have any of your own and need to build a bed.

So, what to do? One idea is to buy some bags of soil at Home Depot and plant directly in them. Yeah, lay them on the ground where you plan to make your garden later and slice a hole in them and plant a tomato or 2 in each one. You'll need a little (Very little) fertilizer, but that's it.

Don't laugh, It works.

It's just another form of "Container Gardening". That's where I'm going here anyway. You can grow lots of things in containers and containers are limited only by what you'll use. Containers also give you the option of moving your plants if you don't have a good sunny spot. I personally wouldn't, "Take my plants for a walk" everyday. But if that's all you can do and are willing, Go for it.

At the end of the season, you can dump the bags into the bed you finally got together and be started for next year.

So, where we at so far?

We need a good site with plenty of Sun. Something to make beds from. Or containers to grow in. And a little dirt to get started.

We decided that buying a dump truck load of soil is NFG, but you're gonna have to buy a little for now. I'd spring 30-40 bucks for a pickup truck load of GOOD soil for starters. You can buy a few bags of composted manure for 2.99 each to help it and not be in for to much.

You CAN go and dig soil yourself if you know someone who'll let you and has a source. That would be great.

The soil problem is gonna be your biggest expense, even if you just buy a few bags and plant things in them. That's gonna continue to be a problem if you expand things, too.

You can help by making good soil. Tomorrow we'll see about, Compost.

Gratuitous Picture for this Evening -
Fertile Soil for Plowing.

Dream Interpretation Anyone ????

I had a dream that Keith Olberman pulled up on the road while I was out in the garden. He was driving an old 67-68 vintage four door Chrysler or Dodge, maybe a Monaco. A big old lead sled, anyway.

Had a suit and tie on like you always see him. Except that when I walked up to the car, he wasn't wearing pants.
Striped Boxers.
And those funny things that hold your socks up.

And he had a Big White Cochin Hen sitting on his lap.
Looked something like this one -

That's about all I remember, except it was weird as shit.

They say dreams mean things, but I'll be damned if I know what this could possibly mean.




Gratuitous Picture of the Day -
Keeping with the Chicken Theme.

An event for this "News Bash" at Spot.us

Host:
Spot.us
Type:
Causes - Fundraiser
Network:
Global
Start Time:
Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 9:00am
End Time:
Friday, May 1, 2009 at 2:00pm
Location:
New Delhi Restaurant
Street:
160 Ellis Street, SF 94102
City/Town:
San Francisco, CA
Phone:
5103840788
Email:
kara@spot.us

Bali is one of the best place, interesting, and most favorite and popullar place in indonesia for category tourist destination. Bali is also very famous in the world and has many tourist come to the Bali.

Interesting place to visit in Bali Indonesia

Last Saturday, I had the great pleasure of joining 75 ultrarunners for the annual Ruth Anderson 50k/50m/100k in San Francisco, CA, put on by Rajeev Patel and the Bay Area Ultrarunners. Although I was supposed to be taking it easy to save some for the Boston Marathon two days later, the perfect blend of great running weather and flawless volunteer support pulled me to an unexpected PR for the 50k! It was a great day for all.

The Ruth Anderson 50k/50m/100k honors ultrarunning veteran Ruth Anderson, a true pioneer for ultrarunning and masters sports both on and off the field (see my backgrounder from 2006). It's a 4.47-mile loop course where you can pick your distance as you go. I was here for the 50k, in hopes to get a checkpoint on my aerobic training and perhaps pick up a few PA/USATF points. The Boston Marathon was just two days away, so I hoped to retain the sense to stick to the 50k!




A foggy morning greeted 75 of us as we walked down to the starting line, but none of us were cold thanks to the awesome RA-emblazed Moeben sleeves in the shwag bag. Race Director Rajeev Patel propped himself up on a fence and rallied us together, giving special kudos to the volunteers who make this event so special. With a few last words of encouragement, he sent us off into the fog to make our first of 7, 11, or 15 loops (aka, the longest right hand turn you'll ever make).



Two runners went off like banshees, including course record holder Tim O'Rourke hot on the tails of his 3:19 from 2003. I paced with Jean Pommier and Michael Kanning, both of whom were going for the 100k today. Jean was representing the RhoMobile team, who had a strong showing at this race. 17-year-old Michael Kanning was eager to better his age group record at the 100k distance, and enjoying the fact that 13-year-old Jodie Huerta was making him feel like an old timer. It was good to catch up with these guys and see how their season was going. We passed though the halfway aid station, then ran three abreast on the empty bike lane. Before we knew it, we had finished the first loop (the first loop is a bit short) in 29 minutes.


I took a cup of water and picked up the pace, leaving the wise-pacing 100k runners behind. My goal for this race was to warm up on the first lap, then see how long I could hold a 7 minute/mile pace while keeping my heart rate under 150 beats per minute. I had been training a lot in this range, thanks to the work up at the Stanford Performance Lab a few months ago that let me know this was the top end of my aerobic pace. I have spent many-a-morning locked into this pace/heart rate while Netflix movies kept my attention. If I was on track with my training, I should be able to hold this pace for 20 miles without a spike in my heart rate.


The air was nice and cool on this lap, and neighborhood dogs were out everywhere walking their people. I stuck to water at the aid stations, knowing my Vespa was working its magic and keeping my caloric needs low. I ran along with Michael Roberts (training for the Seattle Marathon), and then with Todd Hayes for a bit. My stride found cruise control quickly, and I finished lap 2 in just over 30 minutes (a bit ahead of 7 min/mile). Def Leppard's "Animal" was stuck in my head, so no need for an iPod. That is, until I've sung the chorus 100 times and need a change. ;-)


On lap 3, I began to catch some of the other runners. One of the best things about a loop course is you get to see everyone - those faster than you, those slower than you - and cheer them on. There was a consensus of fun, particularly as the dragon boats came out onto the lake and started their cheering and racing. I kept the cruise control on, finishing lap 3 in 30 minutes and change again. Right on time, and my heart rate still hanging in the mid-140's.


On lap 4, I shed my sleeves and gloves and grabbed my iPod for some relief from Def Leppard (thank you, Bob Marley!). The crowds were out in full force now, filling the bike path with dogs, bikes, and friends. They left us to the dirt trail along the side, which was the softest and safest route. I sucked down a Hammer Gel on this lap, sticking to water at each of the aid stations. I finished the lap in 30 minutes and change once again, just on a 7 min/mile pace. I guess that treadmill work has been helpful!



On lap 5, I saw a ton of runners having a good day. I passed Grant Carboni, who I suspect will be an age group contender for PA/USATF because he can go longer than most of us weekend after weekend. His lovely wife, Leslie, was also cruising along. Sean Lang was doing his part for RhoMobile in the 100k, going fast with his trademark smile and saying I was going fast! Joe Sweeney was shirtless and enjoying every minute, with Charles Blakeney not too far behind. Chikara Omine came by the other way, out for a jog in his neighborhood before hitting a 5k on Sunday. Reshu Jain and Vivek Kumar were sharing stories and laughing aloud while cranking out 50 miles. The ever-smiling Chihping Fu, the only guy taking more pictures than me (and better ones at that!). Each one gave me a smile as I went by, and I finished the lap in 31 minutes with a heart rate of 145 bps. Still on track!


Lap 6 was where I figured I would slow down, being that it's around mile 21-25. But a quick shot of Hammer Gel, some sunscreen, and a little 80's funk music kept me cruising right along. As I came around the first corner, Tim O'Rourke was walking on his way back saying something about calf cramps. I slowed to make sure he was okay, but he just waved me on and said to keep charging. I drank some extra water at the aid station, and my bladder was giving me the 10-minute warning. I kept an eye out for a port-o-potty with a short line, but didn't see one. What I did see was the #2 guy blowing up and walking to the side of the road. It looked like something right out of NASCAR, with steam pouring off of him as he slowed to a stop. I gave him a pat on the back as I went by, wondering if that meant I was in first place. I finished the lap in 30 minutes and change, and the heart rate was...142 bps?!? Wow! Then let's keep it up!


Rajeev shouted out "Dunlap! You're gonna win this thing!", confirming I was in first as I went into the last lap. I let Stan Jensen and the others know where #2 was, and soon saw Tim O'Rourke who was hollering and cheering me on. What a great guy! I switched the tunes to some Sevendust, and leaned forward to increase my pace a bit, knowing I was going to have to stop for a bio-break. I did my best to go quickly, then eased into the 7-min miles again. Just when I started to break down a bit, I caught up to Adam Blum, RhoMobile Team Captain. He saw I was faltering a bit so he picked up the pace so I could hang onto him, and kept me entertained with jokes, stories, and techie nerd stuff. He pulled me right into the finish, where I hit my watch and crossed the finish line.

Holy cow. 31 consecutive 7-minute miles for a time of 3:37:22. The fastest and most consistent race of my life, and I felt great at the finish! What the heck just happened?!? I was supposed to be holding back for the love of Peet! Rajeev let me know it was an age group course record as well, and we laughed about how bad ass it sounded that I had to take a quick photo with my award and then leave early to catch a red eye to Boston. But I didn't fell bad ass at all, just lucky to have shared a great day running with friends.

I changed my clothes, grabbed a brewsky, and headed back to the start to cheer the other runners on. 58-year-old Todd Hayes came in 2nd place in a remarkable 3:55, setting an age group course record. Soon after him, Jean Pommier finished in 3:59, struggling with asthma and calling it a day (he's the only guy I know who could weeze his way to a sub-4 hour 50k). Leslie Carboni won the Women's division in 5:45. I would later find out that Joe Swenson (9:21) and Wendy George (12:14) won the 100k, and Sean Lang (7:24) and Jean Suyenaga (9:25) won the 50-mile. I should note that 13-year-old Jodie Huerta finished in 7:46, setting a new age group course record as well.


As I sat on the plane to Boston, I was still scratching my head singing that song from The Producers - "where did we go right?". I guess some days it just all comes together. I hoped the same karma would come together for my Dad's first Boston Marathon on Monday, or at least enough to find the finish with a smile. As I looked through the pictures from the race, I realized I still got more satisfaction from 31+ smiling faces than 31 perfect miles. Maybe somewhere in that feeling is the real secret to a PR.

Off to Boston!

- SD