Farm News 08-20-06
Sunday morning, after chores, 70°
Tomatoes
Somehow, we ended up with a nice crop of beautiful tomatoes. The earliest ones all had blossom end rot, which is common in unusually hot weather. Then, despite daily temperatures of over 100° they began producing nice big tomatoes. They required one dusting of Sevin when the blister beetles attacked and a few horn-worms chewed on them until we picked them off and fed them to the ducks. Now the ducks have decided that if tomato horn-worms are tasty then tomatoes must be tasty, also, and are eating tomatoes.
This was not a year for green beans, a fairly rare sort of year. It's not just green beans, none of the beans are setting a crop this year. The neighbor's soybeans keep blooming but don't set beans. Too hot.
The Irish potatoes didn't do very well but the Sweet Potatoes look great. Of course, we haven't dug them yet so we don't know what is under the surface.
Generally, it hasn't been a very good year for vegetable gardening.
Back on the Road, Again
My Number 1 Grandson arrived on Friday. On Monday we are leaving for a trip through Nebraska and South Dakota. I haven't finished writing about the trip to the Continental Divide and I'm starting on another. Such is the condition of the modern world.
Book Report: Remembering Hypatia
by Brian Trent
Construction of the library of Alexandria was started in the 4th century B.C. and the library was in use early in the 3rd century B.C. It wasn't just a library, but more like a modern university, with a large museum, a zoo, laboratories, classrooms for up to 5,000 students, and offices for scholars. Alexandria was a Greek city, founded by Alexander the Great, with a population that was primarily Greek, although there were large Hebrew, Egyptian, and Persian communities.
For 800 years it served as the major repository of written materials in the world, holding not only the writings of scientists, but also the earliest versions of the New Testament, ancient Persian writings, some Chinese astronomical records, and ancient Egyptian histories. It held the original writings of Eratosthenes, who was named as head librarian in 236 B.C., and who showed that the earth was round and measured its size. It contained works which documented the function of the heart in blood circulation, works that showed that the earth and planets orbited the sun and accurately calculated the distances to the sun and moon, and the earliest copies of Homer's writings.
Hypatia was the last librarian of Alexandria. She was reported to be a brilliant, beautiful, and virtuous woman, dedicated to knowledge and understanding. She died when the library was sacked and burned by a mob led by Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria. She was taken to the Caesarion, the principal church of Alexandria, laid on the altar, and skinned alive. That day is now considered to be the beginning of the dark ages. A thousand years would pass before mankind began to reclaim the knowledge that was destroyed in Alexandria.
Remembering Hypatia is a novel about the events leading up to that day. Although it contains many disconcerting anachronisms (references to tomatoes, for instance, which wouldn't make it out of the Americas until 1,000 years later), it does a good job of telling the story. Until Trent's book the only biographical novel about those events was Hypatia, by Charles Kingsley, which might be more historically accurate.
The story of Hypatia and the burning of the library are relevant to those of us who live in Kansas today. Cyril is reported to have said, “What will they do with mathematics, count the number of days of eternity while burning in hell?” Kansas is currently besieged by clergy who preach hatred and scorn knowledge. I don't think we are in any danger of entering another 1,000 year age of darkness, but neither did the scholars of Alexandria.
Cyril, by the way, is now St. Cyril, still recognized as a saint for his work in Christianizing Alexandria.
Scientific American Weighs In on Drugs and Mystical Experiences
See Magical Mushroom Tour, p.36, Scientific American, September, 2003.
A study has shown that two months after taking psilocybin, the active ingredient in the blue mushrooms, 79% of the subjects reported moderately or greatly increased well-being or life satisfaction, whatever that means. Warning: psilocybin mushrooms are not the ones with yellow to red patches on the caps, those are Fly Agaric and can be very poisonous.
Thank You
Thank you very much for your expressions of sympathy for the loss of Trusty. My hand is healing nicely with only a little swelling and tenderness left. I'm finally done with the antibiotics; Clindamycin leaves the nastiest taste imaginable in your mouth.
Tessie, the old Westie who used to guard the place, is too deaf and too blind to be much of a guard any more, she needs an assistant. This time I'm going to hunt for another small female terrier of some sort. Terriers were bred for years to be barn guards and, if you find a good one, it's hard to find anything better.
Tomatoes
Somehow, we ended up with a nice crop of beautiful tomatoes. The earliest ones all had blossom end rot, which is common in unusually hot weather. Then, despite daily temperatures of over 100° they began producing nice big tomatoes. They required one dusting of Sevin when the blister beetles attacked and a few horn-worms chewed on them until we picked them off and fed them to the ducks. Now the ducks have decided that if tomato horn-worms are tasty then tomatoes must be tasty, also, and are eating tomatoes.
This was not a year for green beans, a fairly rare sort of year. It's not just green beans, none of the beans are setting a crop this year. The neighbor's soybeans keep blooming but don't set beans. Too hot.
The Irish potatoes didn't do very well but the Sweet Potatoes look great. Of course, we haven't dug them yet so we don't know what is under the surface.
Generally, it hasn't been a very good year for vegetable gardening.
Back on the Road, Again
My Number 1 Grandson arrived on Friday. On Monday we are leaving for a trip through Nebraska and South Dakota. I haven't finished writing about the trip to the Continental Divide and I'm starting on another. Such is the condition of the modern world.
Book Report: Remembering Hypatia
by Brian Trent
Construction of the library of Alexandria was started in the 4th century B.C. and the library was in use early in the 3rd century B.C. It wasn't just a library, but more like a modern university, with a large museum, a zoo, laboratories, classrooms for up to 5,000 students, and offices for scholars. Alexandria was a Greek city, founded by Alexander the Great, with a population that was primarily Greek, although there were large Hebrew, Egyptian, and Persian communities.
For 800 years it served as the major repository of written materials in the world, holding not only the writings of scientists, but also the earliest versions of the New Testament, ancient Persian writings, some Chinese astronomical records, and ancient Egyptian histories. It held the original writings of Eratosthenes, who was named as head librarian in 236 B.C., and who showed that the earth was round and measured its size. It contained works which documented the function of the heart in blood circulation, works that showed that the earth and planets orbited the sun and accurately calculated the distances to the sun and moon, and the earliest copies of Homer's writings.
Hypatia was the last librarian of Alexandria. She was reported to be a brilliant, beautiful, and virtuous woman, dedicated to knowledge and understanding. She died when the library was sacked and burned by a mob led by Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria. She was taken to the Caesarion, the principal church of Alexandria, laid on the altar, and skinned alive. That day is now considered to be the beginning of the dark ages. A thousand years would pass before mankind began to reclaim the knowledge that was destroyed in Alexandria.
Remembering Hypatia is a novel about the events leading up to that day. Although it contains many disconcerting anachronisms (references to tomatoes, for instance, which wouldn't make it out of the Americas until 1,000 years later), it does a good job of telling the story. Until Trent's book the only biographical novel about those events was Hypatia, by Charles Kingsley, which might be more historically accurate.
The story of Hypatia and the burning of the library are relevant to those of us who live in Kansas today. Cyril is reported to have said, “What will they do with mathematics, count the number of days of eternity while burning in hell?” Kansas is currently besieged by clergy who preach hatred and scorn knowledge. I don't think we are in any danger of entering another 1,000 year age of darkness, but neither did the scholars of Alexandria.
Cyril, by the way, is now St. Cyril, still recognized as a saint for his work in Christianizing Alexandria.
Scientific American Weighs In on Drugs and Mystical Experiences
See Magical Mushroom Tour, p.36, Scientific American, September, 2003.
A study has shown that two months after taking psilocybin, the active ingredient in the blue mushrooms, 79% of the subjects reported moderately or greatly increased well-being or life satisfaction, whatever that means. Warning: psilocybin mushrooms are not the ones with yellow to red patches on the caps, those are Fly Agaric and can be very poisonous.
Thank You
Thank you very much for your expressions of sympathy for the loss of Trusty. My hand is healing nicely with only a little swelling and tenderness left. I'm finally done with the antibiotics; Clindamycin leaves the nastiest taste imaginable in your mouth.
Tessie, the old Westie who used to guard the place, is too deaf and too blind to be much of a guard any more, she needs an assistant. This time I'm going to hunt for another small female terrier of some sort. Terriers were bred for years to be barn guards and, if you find a good one, it's hard to find anything better.
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posted by The Geezer at 12:02 PM
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