herbiejuan

Well my demo shade house bit the dust. We had a string of storms pass through Friday afternoon with VERY strong gusts and sideways rain. I checked the site Saturday and the whole thing had collapsed. It missed the beds of lettuce I had started so it wasn't a total loss but now I have to decide to replace or upgrade...such perplexing problems eh? Sigh...

I smoked while in High School and pretty much walked away from it upon joining our favorite cult. I never got paranoid, rarely experienced the giggles and really enjoyed the muchies... The only time I got close to being in trouble with the law was when me n my friend got pulled over by the CHP for driving too slow on the coastal highway moments after finishing up a nice bowl of the stuff. Our windows were up n Gus looked at me and asked me what he should do, I said roll down the window n give the man your license :o well as you can imagine there was this thick cloud of smoke wafting out the window right into the cops face. We knew we were busted and were really surprised when he let us go with a ticket for driving too slow! I think he may have wished us a good evening. If I am not mistaken it is the largest cash crop grown in the US which gives us a clue about 1) its popularity and 2) the futility of this so called war on drugs. I say legalize it and spend that drug interdiction resources to combat the drugs that cause significant harm like meth crack and alcohol.

Sevin Dust...yuck! Try handpicking them or use Bacillus thuringiensis, aka dipel dust

WG those oblong fruits are indeed the okra southerners relish.

Oh David have you seen the Smokies lately? Its for sale, $25,000 and up for a (small) slice of heaven. It's slowly being divided up by inverstors and developers or held by long term investors like timber companies but it looks good, almost like I remember as a WOW in 75 if you can block out the trucks noise and lights.

Hey D! I was aboot to say that ;) How you doing? I am fine, about graduated and almost qualified fer something, gotta find a job, that sucks. During the winter we get alot of snowbird traffic, they come through in HUGE FREAKING RV Busses heading to Florida sometimes in convoys of two or three. They are on an adreneline rush passing through here as they have just navigated the Smokey Mountains and have reached the straightway of the Georgia Peidmont region, the last hurdle they faced before they stick their black socked feet into the warm gulf waters of Florida. I have some of their migration movements and techniques on tape if your interested ;)

Dot first ya got to learn the language. Canada has been part of the great white north for sometime and they have not caught up with the latest southern catch phrases. They say aboot instead of about and sadly have a a perverted fondness for snow. Lots and lots of snow. However if you are willing to wait 20 yrs for year round summer (or a knee replacement) you may be in luck. I have my eye on a little piece up there nestled on a lake. I thihk it's aboot 45k, one day maybe a vacation spot.

WG I've a 1/4 acre in tomatos, basil, beans and melons and lettuce (yes you can grow lettuce in the summer) in a 10" x 10" shade house. In Georgia its so dry the Okiefenokie swamp caught fire but my stuff kept growing thanks to some deeply mulched topsoil that hat the University put together for my growers school project. I'm working up a fall rotation that'll include organic strawberry starts and winter grown tomatos both of which will be grown in the greenhouse. I've got somewhere like 125 tomato plants 30 or 40 melons and prolly 50 basils most of which will go to the farmers market or marketing network, whats left over will be donated to the local food bank. I should tell you about my shadehouse. It is made from a 10' X 10' carport frame ordered through Harbor Frieght. it is "framed" with 2x6's (skids and end framing) the top is covered with shade cloth and the sides with bird proof netting. This winter I will take off the shade cloth and netting and replace it with plastic sheeting to convert it to a greenhouse for winter production. I've got a 1/3 hp fan and thermostat to ventilate it and I've run drip irrigation to water. All told I have $800 in the building and can reasonable expect to make my costs plus a profit this year. If any of you are interested there is a book called Four Season Harvest written by an assosiate of mine Eliot Coleman. He's a market farmer, meaning he makes his living growing food for the local Conneticut markets. He started out working around 20 acres but has since reduced his acreage considerably. I won't tell you what he makes per acre because you won't believe it but he has spent the last 20 yrs refining his techniques and marketing strategy. Anyways the book, yes I did mention a book...Four Season Harvest will show you how to grow good healthy food for your family year round no matter where you live. You just need to come up with the land. Land...that is a topic in and of itself. Some G'spotters don't own land they should check out http://www.communitygarden.org/links.php for community gardens or http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm for your local farmers market. OH before I forget if you are bothered by bugs, dismayed by drought, puzzled by predators or considering gathering a gaggle of grass feed geese to gather greater income from your small acreage I suggest you check out Attra.Org. It contains sustainable ag information geared for the small acreage producer. Most of this stuff is scalable so if you are considering getting a goat or having a chicken tractor this website has some very good information. I'm including 600 pages of their work as the cornerstone of my next class.

I was probably 12 when I got paid to weed and water for a few neighbors and the good nuns of nativity paid me to help organise their school. I think they were looking for an excuse to kill me as once they got me up on a ladder it fell and I broke two fingers!

Hey Lori Happy Birthday Dear!

Excie SSSister I hope your day was a happy juan. I ate a healthy burrito and drank some tequila. It was a good day. Hope yours was too.

Thank you thank you :) It was a good day, I spent the morning with several pals and some of the afternoon (till nap time) with my daughter and grandkid. Classes are going well, it looks like I'll graduate with honors and life is good. We're having a *big meeting* Wed to discuss a variety of ongoing projects, I'll know then if I am funded or if I'm gonna have to look for a 'real job'. I'm more inclined to build my existing business and run for mayor than do that ;) Thanks again for the well wishes, Excie, as always hope your day was fine too. 'materman

I wish... I played a part and planned a few plays but I can't get you a job but there are jobs here fueled in part by regional and national chian store expansion. Ride the wave Dot go west young girl! Carrollton has a thriving square, thanks in a large part to Criag. There are many local businesses that are thriving due to local support and it seems we are in a flux of figuring out what to do with this severe water shortage and worrysome food and fuel supply issues.

Dot I live just west of you and I'd suggest looking that direction if your looking to make a move to an affordable and relatively safe and crime free area. I'm not sure what you are looking for but in west georgia we have a one house per 4 acre limit so if you can aford the 15k per acre entry price (and the house) you will find yourself in a decent neighborhood with decent schools and low insurance rates. Jobs are plentiful, just pick your specialty.

Rottie I understand your reasoning behind buying a tazar, I'd like one too as an attachment to my gun so I have a choice when confronting problematic persons asides lethal force. It is my belief (and experience) that when you take the gloves off, no matter if its a tazer or a 45 your reality has changed to a dangerous degree and a person in that situation should be well prepared for the consequences.

Rottie Girl, forego tha tazar and get yourself a gun. I recommend a .45. This will not only increase your confidence when in uncomfortable situations but will also allow you to extract yourself from situations that could otherwise be somewhat overwhelming for kith and kin.

I saw those same similarities and I got chills too, we dodged the big one folks that is the fricking honest truth. M Craig was Vic's disciple, so were alot of other men. I feel each of them saw things that were incongrous with Christian beliefs but for the most part were willing to accept this abberant christian behavior as an opportunity for them to learn grace and move the word. I think what misled them all was the idea of grace as a be all do all covering device that negates the cost of sin, such is not so dear friend it merely covers it and passes it on to the next generation.

I watched it and it reminded me alot of twi's mindset and culture. There were a few years, most notably from '94-'04 that I felt twi was heading in that direction. Thankfully your common sense prevailed and that didn't happen. :)

Roy keep on posting You are a keen sight in a clouded world. M

I hope this birthday opens up new adventures for you M

Roy inspite of the preponderance of G'spotter's benign neglect of your issues and our apparant indifference to your concerns I assure you we are looking into these matters with renewed vigor and hope to publish a thoroughly vetted document shortly detailing the results of our study with recomendations for the future. In the mean time welcome bro you are among friends. M Oh wait this isn't the political forum.... Never mind :) Peace and Blessings One and All M

Yr 2027 I thank you for being here, you have provided me with many moments of deep thought and inspiration, not to mention the intrigue you provoked within this community. I applaud your efforts even tho I disagree with your pov sometimes. M

Lots of thanks here folks :)

Happy Birthday (and anniversery) Greasespotters I am quite sure I missed more than one of your birthdays but I wanted to wish you one anyway Me

Shoot Dot that sucks big time and I very sympathize with you, the gang problem is scary serious and knowing you are near enuf to me for me to be concerned makes it twice as apparant something needs to be done. It looks like this problem is being left up to ordinary citizens to deal with, good luck. Asides from the Lucky 7's program in California which seems nore suited to running off the problem than dealing with it, there are few answers. My first suggestion is to form a low key focus group of the folks who got their car windows busted, learn who they are and what skills/education/experience they have or can bring to the table be aware of your surroundings and who is in it when you meet, coffee in Athens may be a good idea at this point since you have been singled out. Locate a church that is willing to provide development assistance (again quietly) and look through grants.gov for ideas on what our government is currently funding in terms of gang related programs. Personally I am in favor of the Lucky 7's concept provided the participants were required to stay in one place, it's hard to keep up with gangsters when they can move from city to city or state to state. I am doing some basic studywork on gangs as part of my college experience, Mellissa a fellow grad student is the head of a local latino action group, she laughed when I mentioned latino gangs in carroll county, she said they were more victims than criminals I had a quiet laugh as I thought to myself yes today they are but it is that victimhood that will eventually lead them into cultural assimilation or gangsterhood and the odds are there are more reasons to exploit our weaknesses than to work the system like the rest of us dumb funks.