Musings on a stormy, rainy day after Christmas

So, did everyone have a good Christmas? Was Jesus Christ honored in your home? I hope so!

Well, it is now the day after Christmas, so THAT madness is over with for a good while. I've written a few posts about that the last few weeks, so 'nuff said.

You know, as crazy as most holidays are, you just gotta love the day after ones like Thanksgiving and Christmas that involve lots of food. Leftovers, baby! Leftovers! No real cooking necessary for several days, if done right. Yeehaw!

OK, moving right along. I am not a believer in the whole "global warming" hullabaloo, at least the stuff about man-made "greenhouse" gases destroying our climate. I do believe that climate is cyclical, with long periods of warming and cooling. Shoot, we're probably overdue for an ice age. But, I digress. What I have noticed, as even a hermit like me cannot avoid noticing, is that our winters have been warmer lately. Here it is a few days from New Years Day, and it is in the 50's outside and in the middle of a day-long thunderstorm. Forecast is for four to ten inches of rain between last night and Monday night, seventy-two hours or so, accompanied by record-setting flooding. Yikes!

I tend to follow these things fairly closely, so I was kind of surprised to just now finding out about a new attempt by our Federal Gubmint to circumvent our constitutional rights. This time in the form of a bill proposed ten days ago by Rep. David Cicilline, D-RI, called the "Assault Weapons Ban of 2015". I can't believe I'm just now hearing about this! Normally, something like this would be all OVER social media! But, I guess everyone was too busy posting cute Santa pictures and stuff. Anyway, here's a link to the actual bill.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4269/text

I HOPE it never passes! If it does, what little is left of our country's historic rights will go right down the tubes. Please read this, then contact your local Representatives and demand that they make this abomination go away!

I have had an account on YouTube for quite some time, so that I can subscribe to various channels and comment on videos. About a week ago, I began making and uploading some of my own videos. So far there are only three, because at this point I am just learning how to film stuff and edit the clips into something watchable. But I hope to really start putting up some serious content very very soon. Mostly outdoors-related stuff about camping, so-called "bushcraft", gardening, and the like.

This one features Daisy and Stempy, put together from a couple of short clips on my phone from almost a year ago.

This one features Daisy and Gidget, again from a couple of short phone video clips from this past spring.

And the third is actually a short slideshow of pics from a summer day at the park with the Debster and Tyler. Regular readers will recognize the pics from an older blog post, but in the video I did some editing and added a sound-track. It was a lot of fun.

If you happen to like what you see, I'd appreciate your "thumbs up", your comments, your subscriptions, and even sharing with your friends. Just like this blog, I don't make any money at all, and do it for the sheer pleasure I get from doing it.

One other new thing I have started doing, is a sort of journal or pocket diary, where I am just jotting down ideas, random thoughts, and so forth. I had on hand a mini-composition book, 4-1/2" by 3-1/4" with a few pages ripped out, and have begun with that, just because it was handy. But the more I think about, the better I like the small book. It fits in any pocket, so it's always handy. And, the small size pretty much forces me to be concise. As we all know, given the time and space, I can get pretty darn wordy!

I have other things on my mind, but the Debster doesn't want me airing family dirty laundry. So even though I can say what I want to say as general commentary about life, without naming names, she still has fits. So, I'll that all slide.

Well, I've rambled on for too long as it is. See ya next time!

God bless you all
Ron & the Debster

Weekly round-up

I know, it has been a few weeks since I have posted, but I really need to post more often. There is almost always SOMETHING going on that I could write about. So, if nothing else, I'm going to try to post at least a weekly update of what happened during the week.

So, although this is a "weekly" update, this first time out will be actually a monthly update.

Well, as I mentioned in a previous post, we lost out dog Stempy to cancer back in early May. Daisy, the youngest of our dogs, took his loss very hard. Her playmate suddenly disappeared, and she searched and searched and cried and cried, and then just moped around. Poor thing! We felt so sorry for her, because we were going through the same thing.

Pam to the rescue! My eldest niece called me out of the clear blue towards the end of May. She had this little itty bitty pupy that needed a home, and thought of us. She brought her by the house, and we fell in love with her.

"Gidget" joined our family on May 25. She was only about 7 weeks old; she was born March 31. Weighed maybe 8 ounces or so. Part fox terrier, part chihuahua, part who-knows-what-else. Mostly white, with black head and ears and a couple of black spots on her back. And BIG ears standing straight up. Fox terrier heritage, I believe, showing up there. And so tiny!

Gidget with the Debster, the day after she joined us

We had hoped that an energetic puppy would rejuvenate Daisy, but for the first few days, it was a little touchy. Neither Daisy nor Chelsea wanted anything to do with this little thing, and our cat just stared at her with a "WTH?" expression.

Well, eventually Daisy warmed up to her, and they have become pretty tight. Daisy is back to her playful self again.

Here is a YouTube video of Daisy and Gidget playing in our back yard last week. 

(Sorry, I haven't figured out how to insert a thumbnail image.)

Our garden has gone insane!

We have been harvesting Romaine lettuce, spinach, green onions, and herbs for several weeks already. Just as well, because with all the rain we've gotten the last couple weeks, the tomatoes, cucumber, and zucchini plants have completely overtaken everything else. I'm trying to keep them tied up, but they have still completely smothered the remaining lettuce and onions, and are threatening the pepper plant, spinach, and the herbs.

I harvested one large cucumber earlier this week, and several more will be ready soon, as will some of the zucchini. The tomatoes are loaded down with smallish green fruit, so we should be able to start harvesting them in a week or two.

Well, if nothing else, I have learned some valuable lessons about planning the layout of the garden that I can apply next year when I expand to two full size 4'x8' beds. The tomatoes and squash-type plants will each be completely enclosed in separate cages about 20" in diameter, and the smaller plants will be kept farther away from them. And I think the herbs will be in individual containers rather than the main beds. Live and learn!

Haven't done much at all lately with genealogy. Too many other things have kept my interest. My interest in prepping has led me to re-discover my love of the outdoors, especially bushcraft and survivalism. My personal health issues and physical limitations will limit the extent of what I will be able to actually do. Long backpacking trips are out of the question, at least for the foreseeable future, for example. 

But I can still do some things. Day-trips are always possible, and camping for extended periods as long as I camp near the car and stay reasonably close to the camp and don't try to do too much at once. 

As the weather gets hotter and muggier, I probably won't be doing much. So for now I will concentrate on collecting and maintaining a decent collection of gear, and practicing various skills that I can do mostly at home. Then, when cooler weather returns, I'll be out and about a lot!

This is a Morakniv Mora Classic #3 sheath knife, and a copy of Dave Canterbury's first book. They were very early birthday gifts from the Debster! Gotta love that gal o' mine! She has little interest in the type of camping and outdoors activities that I prefer, but she is very supportive of me anyway. I really don't deserve this wonderful woman. But God has seen fit to put us together, and so I must be the best man I can be, for her if for no other reason.

Well, that's enough for now. We'll talk again soon.

God bless you all!

Ron, and the Debster