And this is why you came.....

All of my life, the years and the months and the days of it, all of my life I've acted upon a stage. I've walked the boards, and not known why, it just is. Tomorrow is always up ahead, and today, well today just is. And I speak my lines as you do yours.

We are all born to a role that will last until our moment is over. And it seems so long and it feels so short before that moment is arrived at and the crossing is done.

And it is not the length of the journey, but how well it is spent that counts for all. To feel each moment, the crackle of it and the crinkle, the quiet and the loud of it, the stopping and the going, these are what counts for all.

So live your life, in the fullness of love, in the warmth of joy, and say words that will reach out to those around you, that will colour their play, their lives with the same peace and happiness that you would choose for your own.

And feel, to the very marrow of your bones, the rush of it, the life of it, the humming and the vibrating of it.
And feel the rising up to meet the wonder of it. And sink into the depth of it and know that this is why you came.

This moment when you reach out and softly touch the cheek of someone you love,
And know, that this is why you came.

Not My Words Today.....

Today you will be treated to the words of someone else. Words that will give you the true picture of the end of one line in "Big Ag". As you read, remember, that the events mentioned, are all for your benefit. You and the 99% of this countries population who have trouble looking a brocolli in the face.

They die piece by piece : Investigation reveals rampant cruelty in industrial slaughterhouses


by Joby Warrick Washington Post Staff Writer

PASCO, Wash.

slaughter house investigation cattle

It takes 25 minutes to turn a live steer into steak at the modern slaughterhouse where Ramon Moreno works. For 20 years, his post was “second-legger,” a job that entails cutting hocks off carcasses as they whirl past at a rate of 309 an hour.

The cattle were supposed to be dead before they got to Moreno. But too often they weren’t.

“They blink. They make noises,” he said softly. “The head moves, the eyes are wide and looking around.” Still Moreno would cut. On bad days, he says, dozens of animals reached his station clearly alive and conscious. Some would survive as far as the tail cutter, the belly ripper, the hide puller. “They die,” said Moreno, “piece by piece.”

Under a 23-year-old federal law, slaughtered cattle and hogs first must be “stunned” — rendered insensible to pain — with a blow to the head or an electric shock. But at overtaxed plants, the law is sometimes broken, with cruel consequences for animals as well as workers. Enforcement records, interviews, videos and worker affidavits describe repeated violations of the Humane Slaughter Act at dozens of slaughterhouses, ranging from the smallest, custom butcheries to modern, automated es-tablishments such as the sprawling IBP Inc. plant here where Moreno works.

“In plants all over the United States, this happens on a daily basis,” said Lester Friedlander, a veterinarian and formerly chief government inspector at a Pennsylvania hamburger plant. “I’ve seen it happen. And I’ve talked to other veterinarians. They feel it’s out of control.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees the treatment of animals in meat plants, but enforcement of the law varies dramatically. While a few plants have been forced to halt pro-duction for a few hours because of al-leged animal cruelty, such sanctions are rare.

For example, the government took no action against a Texas beef company that was cited 22 times in 1998 for violations that included chopping hooves off live cattle. In another case, agency supervisors failed to take action on multiple complaints of animal cruelty at a Florida beef plant and fired an animal health technician for reporting the problems. The dismissal letter sent to the technician, Tim Walker, said his dislosure had “irreparably damaged” the agency’s relations with the packing plant.

“I complained to everyone — I said, ‘Lookit, they’re skinning live cows in there,’ “ Walker said. “Always it was the same answer: ‘We know it’s true. But there’s nothing we can do about it.’ ”

In the past three years, a new meat inspection system that shifted responsibility to industry has made it harder to catch and report cruelty problems, some federal inspectors say. Under the new system, implemented in 1998, the agency no longer tracks the number of humane-slaughter violations its inspectors find each year.

Some inspectors are so frustrated they’re asking outsiders for help: The inspectors’ union joined with the Humane Farming Association last spring and urged Washington state authori-ties to crack down on alleged animal abuse at the IBP plant in Pasco. In a statement, IBP said problems described by workers in its Washington state plant “do not accurately represent the way we operate our plants. We take the issue of proper livestock handling very seriously.”

But the union complained that new government policies and faster production speeds at the plant had “significantly hampered our ability to ensure compliance.”

“Privatization of meat inspection has meant a quiet death to the already meager enforcement of the Humane Slaughter Act,” said Gail Eisnitz of the Humane Farming Association, a group that advocates better treatment of farm animals. “USDA isn’t simply relinquishing its humane-slaughter oversight to the meat industry, but is — without the knowledge and consent of Congress — abandoning this function altogether.”

The USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service, which is responsible for meat inspection, says it has not relaxed its oversight. In January, the agency ordered a review of 100 slaughterhouses. An FSIS memo reminded its 7,600 inspectors they had an “obligation to ensure compliance” with humane-handling laws.

The review comes as pressure grows on both industry and regulators to improve conditions for the 155 million cattle, hogs, horses and sheep slaughtered each year. McDonald’s and Burger King have been subject to boycotts by animal rights groups protesting mistreatment of livestock.

As a result, two years ago McDonald’s began requiring suppliers to abide by the American Meat Institute’s Good Management Practices for Animal Handling and Stunning. The company also began conducting annual audits of meat plants. Industry groups acknowledge that sloppy killing has tangible consequences for consumers as well as company profits. Fear and pain cause animals to produce hormones that damage meat and cost companies tens of millions of dollars a year in discarded product, according to industry estimates. Industry officials say they also recognize an ethical imperative to treat animals with compassion.

Clearly, not all plants have gotten the message.

A Post computer analysis of government records found 527 violations of humane-handling regulations from 1996 to 1997, the last years for which complete records were available. The offenses range from overcrowded stockyards to incidents in which live animals were cut, skinned or scalded. Through the Freedom of Information Act, The Post obtained documents from 28 plants that had high numbers of offenses or had drawn penalties for violating humane-handling laws. The Post also interviewed dozens of current and former federal meat inspectors and slaughterhouse workers. A reporter reviewed affidavits and secret video recordings made inside two plants.

Among the findings:

* One Texas plant, Supreme Beef Packers in Ladonia, had 22 violations in six months. During one inspection, federal officials found nine live cattle dangling from an overhead chain. But managers at the plant, which an-nounced last fall it was ceasing opera-tions, resisted USDA warnings, saying its practices were no different than oth-ers in the industry. “Other plants are not subject to such extensive scrutiny of their stunning activities,” the plant complained in a 1997 letter to the USDA.
* Government inspectors halted production for a day at the Calhoun Packing Co. beef plant in Palestine, Tex., after inspectors saw cattle being improperly stunned. “They were still conscious and had good reflexes,” B.V. Swamy, a veterinarian and senior USDA official at the plant, wrote. The shift supervisor “allowed the cattle to be hung anyway.” IBP, which owned the plant at the time, contested the findings but “took steps to resolve the situation,” including installing video equipment and increasing training, a spokesman said. IBP has since sold the plant.
* At the Farmers Livestock Cooperative processing plant in Hawaii, inspectors documented 14 humane-slaughter violations in as many months. Records from 1997 and 1998 describe hogs that were walking and squealing after being stunned as many as four times. In a memo to USDA, the company said it fired the stunner and increased monitoring of the slaughter process.
* At an Excel Corp. beef plant in Fort Morgan, Colo., production was halted for a day in 1998 after workers allegedly cut off the leg of a live cow whose limbs had become wedged in a piece of machinery. In imposing the sanction, U.S. inspectors cited a string of violations in the previous two years, including the cutting and skinning of live cattle. The company, responding to one such charge, contended that it was normal for animals to blink and arch their backs after being stunned, and such “muscular reaction” can occur up to six hours after death. “None of these reactions indicate the animal is still alive,” the company wrote to USDA.
* Hogs, unlike cattle, are dunked in tanks of hot water after they are stunned to soften the hides for skinning. As a result, a botched slaughter condemns some hogs to being scalded and drowned. Secret videotape from an Iowa pork plant [provided by the Humane Farming Association] shows hogs squealing and kicking as they are being lowered into the water. USDA documents and interviews with inspectors and plant workers attributed many of the problems to poor training, faulty or poorly maintained equipment or excessive production speeds.

Those problems were identified five years ago in an industry-wide audit by Temple Grandin, an assistant professor with Colorado State University’s animal sciences department. . . .
In the early 1990s, Grandin developed the first objective standards for treatment of animals in slaughterhouses, which were adopted by the American Meat Institute. Her initial, USDA-funded survey in 1996 was one of the first attempts to grade slaughter plants. One finding was a high failure rate among beef plants that use stunning devices known as “captive-bolt” guns. Of the plants surveyed, only 36 percent earned a rating of “acceptable” or better, meaning cattle were knocked unconscious with a single blow at least 95 percent of the time.

Grandin now conducts annual surveys as a consultant for the American Meat Institute and McDonald’s Corp. She maintains that the past four years have brought dramatic improvements. Based on the data collected by McDonald’s auditors, the portion of beef plants scoring “acceptable” or better climbed to 90 percent in 1999. Some workers and inspectors are skeptical of the McDonald’s numbers, and Grandin said the industry’s performance dropped slightly last year after auditors stopped giving notice of some inspections.

Grandin said high production speeds can trigger problems when people and equipment are pushed beyond their capacity. From a typical kill rate of 50 cattle an hour in the early 1900s, production speeds rose dramatically in the 1980s. They now approach 400 per hour in the newest plants. “It’s like the ‘I Love Lucy’ episode in the chocolate factory,” she said. “You can speed up a job and speed up a job, and after a while you get to a point where performance doesn’t simply decline — it crashes.”
When that happens, it’s not only animals that suffer. Improperly stunned animals contribute to worker injuries in an industry that already has the nation’s highest rate of job-related injuries and illnesses — about 27 percent a year. At some plants, “dead” animals have inflicted so many broken limbs and teeth that workers wear chest pads and hockey masks.

“The live cows cause a lot of injuries,” said Martin Fuentes, an IBP worker whose arm was kicked and shattered by a dying cow. “The line is never stopped simply because an animal is alive.”

A Brutal Harvest
At IBP’s Pasco complex, the making of the American hamburger starts in a noisy, blood-spattered chamber shielded from view by a stainless steel wall. Here, live cattle emerge from a narrow chute to be dispatched in a process known as “knocking” or “stunning.” On most days the chamber is manned by a pair of Mexican immigrants who speak little English and earn about $9 an hour for killing up to 2,050 head per shift.

The tool of choice is the captive-bolt gun, which fires a retractable metal rod into the steer’s forehead. An effective stunning requires a precision shot, which workers must deliver hundreds of times daily to balky, frightened animals that frequently weigh 1,000 pounds or more. Within 12 seconds of entering the chamber, the fallen steer is shackled to a moving chain to be bled and butchered by other workers in a fast-moving production line.

The hitch, IBP workers say, is that some “stunned” cattle wake up. “If you put a knife into the cow, it’s going to make a noise: It says, ‘Moo!’” said Moreno, the former second-legger, who began working in the stockyard last year. “They move the head and the eyes and the leg like the cow wants to walk.”

After a blow to the head, an unconscious animal may kick or twitch by reflex. But a videotape, made secretly by IBP workers and reviewed by veterinarians for The Post, depicts cattle that clearly are alive and conscious after being stunned.

Some cattle, dangling by a leg from the plant’s overhead chain, twist and arch their backs as though trying to right themselves. Close-ups show blinking reflexes, an unmistakable sign of a conscious brain.
The video, parts of which were aired by Seattle television station KING last spring, shows injured cattle being trampled. In one graphic scene, workers give a steer electric shocks by jamming a battery-powered prod into its mouth.

More than 20 workers signed affidavits alleging that the violations shown on tape are commonplace and that supervisors are aware of them. The sworn statements and videos were prepared with help from the Humane Farming Association. Some workers had taken part in a 1999 strike over what they said were excessive plant production speeds.

“I’ve seen thousands and thousands of cows go through the slaughter process alive,” IBP veteran Fuentes, the worker who was injured while working on live cattle, said in an affi-davit. “The cows can get seven minutes down the line and still be alive. I’ve been in the side-puller where they’re still alive. All the hide is stripped out down the neck there.”

IBP, the nation’s top beef processor, denounced as an “appalling aberration” the problems captured on the tape. It suggested the events may have been staged . . . .
“Like many other people, we were very upset over the hidden camera video,” the company said. “We do not in any way condone some of the livestock handling that was shown.”

After the [Humane Farming Asso-ciation] video surfaced, IBP increased worker training and installed cameras in the slaughter area. The company also questioned workers and offered a reward for information leading to identification of those responsible for the video. One worker said IBP pressured him to sign a statement denying that he had seen live cattle on the line.

“I knew that what I wrote wasn’t true,” said the worker, who did not want to be identified for fear of losing his job. “Cows still go alive every day. When cows go alive, it’s because they don’t give me time to kill them.”

Independent assessments of the workers’ claims have been inconclusive. Washington state officials launched a probe in May that included an unannounced plant inspection. The investigators say they were detained outside the facility for an hour while their identities were checked. They saw no acts of animal cruelty once permitted inside.



Grandin also inspected IBP’s plant, at the company’s request; that inspection was announced. Although she observed no live cattle being butchered, she concluded that the plant’s older-style equipment was “overloaded.” Grandin reviewed parts of the workers’ videotape and said there was no mistaking what she saw.

“There were fully alive beef on that rail,” Grandin said.

Inconsistent Enforcement
Preventing this kind of suffering is officially a top priority for the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service. By law, a humane-slaughter violation is among a handful of offenses that can result in an immediate halt in production — and cost a meatpacker hundreds or even thousands of dollars per idle minute. In reality, many inspectors describe humane slaughter as a blind spot: Inspectors’ regular duties rarely take them to the chambers where stunning occurs. Inconsistencies in enforcement, training and record-keeping hamper the agency’s ability to identify problems.

The meat inspectors’ union, in its petition last spring to Washington state’s attorney general, contended that federal agents are “often prevented from carrying out” the mandate against animal cruelty. Among the obstacles inspectors face are “dramatic increases in production speeds, lack of support from supervisors in plants and district offices . . . new inspection policies which significantly reduce our enforcement authority, and little to no access to the areas of the plants where animals are killed,” stated the petition by the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals.

Barbara Masters, the agency’s director of slaughter operations, told meat industry executives in February she didn’t know if the number of violations was up or down, though she believed most plants were complying with the law. “We encourage the district offices to monitor trends,” she said. “The fact that we haven’t heard anything suggests there are no trends.” But some inspectors see little evidence the agency is interested in hearing about problems. Under the new inspection system, the USDA stopped tracking the number of violations and dropped all mentions of humane slaughter from its list of rotating tasks for inspectors.

The agency says it expects its watchdogs to enforce the law anyway. Many inspectors still do, though some occasionally wonder if it’s worth the trouble.

“It always ends up in argument: Instead of re-stunning the animal, you spend 20 minutes just talking about it,” said Colorado meat inspector Gary Dahl, sharing his private views. “Yes, the animal will be dead in a few minutes anyway. But why not let him die with dignity?”

“The industry’s self-inspections are meaningless. They’re designed to lull Americans into a false sense of security about what goes on inside slaughterhouses.”

Winter AGAIN! Ahhhh!

So what to say except winter is back, or maybe it just got here! At this point I really can't say for sure but the photo above is what it looked like yesterday morning when we got up. Surprisingly it didn't seem that cold unless you caught a huge gust of wind that happened to be fully loaded with the dry powdery snow that was making interesting drifts right across my path to the horses.

This winter I'm feeding round bales for a few weeks and of course I've got about 75 squares in the barn. Testing the waters so to speak as we never fed the big round bales in BC and so I wasn't sure how long a big one would last for Ambra and Sierra. As a result, rather than bringing the girls in each night, I've left them out in their shelter with continuous food. The one drawback to this is that I have to bring water out to them at least three times a day. Not bad when the sun is shining but really the pits if you just got out of bed and you'd rather curl up with your book and a coffee. But, they have to drink and so out I go....

Are You a Bleeding Heart?

I used to frequent various forums and get involved in the discussions there. I liked them because it was possible to share ideas or dispute the ideas of others but in a format where I felt less vulnerable. If the other party was getting too aggressive, it was easy to just step back from the whole thing until I could come up with an answer for them. Or to take a break until I could simmer down. I remember one that was for people interested in horses, the disciplines, training methods, care of and all that sort of thing. It was about that time that I became aware of the brutalities of rodeos and after spending some time investigating and learning about this "traditional" entertainment, I began discussing the pros and cons on the horse forum. And at the same time, discussing the pending legislation in the States regarding closing down the horse slaughterhouses. As you may have already guessed, I am not in favor of rodeos and I was in favor of closing down those slaughterhouses. But these are not the points of this blog, not today. And in case you are disappointed, a discussion of these particular issues will come on another day.

No, today I want to talk about something that came up in the course of those prior conversations, the label that was thrown at me, "bleeding heart". As I read the reply to one of my statements, the poster was accusing me of being a bleeding heart. Strangely enough, in that first moment, I felt greatly offended. And therein lies the beauty of these forums because rather than just flying off the handle and reacting out of my moral indignation, I had the time to consider my reply, to weigh my words and to examine the label. As I pondered what my reply should be, I realised that being called a bleeding heart is a compliment of the purest kind, even if it is not intended that way. It implies a heart so tender that the suffering of others is as your own and engenders a desire to help relieve that suffering. From insult to blessing in an instant. And if I recall correctly, my reply was pretty simple and I said "at least it shows that I have one".

Feelings? Should we dismiss them as we make our decisions, or should we look to them to see what truth might be cradled in the midst of them? When we are aware of a tremendous aversion to something rising up within our hearts, is it wise to push them aside and take that critical step that lies before us, or are they a warning that maybe we need to rethink our next move? And how does God communicate with us? Very few of us have gotten a UPS delivery, signed for at the door, with a return address of "Heaven", and upon opening it, see the words, "Dear Henry, You've been trying to decide what to do in your life, and as your Creator, I would like to point you in this direction....". And no emails from on high! Ahh, but we have our feelings. The feelings and awareness and ability to think and know..... feelings that are a gift because they give flavor to our lives and even help us decide what to do next. Could these feelings be the means for a Universe, a Creator, a Source Of All That Is, an Alpha and Omega, to speak to us?

A willingness to accept that impulses and emotional states (feelings) could be an actual communication might be tempered with a fear that one is making a decision based on an irrational reaction to a given situation. But there is a test. Simple and to the point. Ask the question, "What would Love do?" And if you are standing in the presence of suffering, and you struggle with what your next action should be, and if the answer to that question is lend a hand and pick up the fallen, then you know that your feelings are the conduit of communication that we all seek. And if you are confronted with an event that the status quo (whoever your "status quo" is) condemns, and there is an element of joy there, ask what Love would do and if you are moved to smile in that moment, then you know and can feel safe in sharing in the joy.

The best thing in the world that you can be is a bleeding heart. It's like a direct line to Hope.

Have a lovely day folks, because somewhere in the world, the sun is shining.

Peace and love,
Debby

Do you think they really care?

H1N1, vaccinations, pandemic, we're gonna die, we're gonna die!!! 2009 will be remembered for many things and the threat of global death by disease is one of them. It will also be remembered by many as a pivotal moment in the level of trust that they held for their governments and for world health organizations that up til now, they've believed really cared about us, about our children, our children's children....

A few weeks ago, I chatted with Aunt Sarah and while it started out as a talk about homegrown potatoes versus store bought, we soon moved to discussion about flu vaccinations, H1N1 in particular. Uncle David and Aunt Sarah, and Don and I, had, quite seperately, made the decision that we would not take the chance on being vaccinated. And night after night, on the news we all listened to reports about the lineups, the urgency of being innoculated and reports on government supplies of the vaccines.

What we didn't hear, was about the ties that the World Health Organization had to big pharmaceutical companies. We didn't hear about the millions of dollars changing hands between individuals on the WHO board and the drug companies, or the urging of the corporations to get the WHO to pressure the governments of the world to cave to a false fear of world pandemic. The fact that the Health Committee of European Union Parliament has in the past month, unanimously passed a resolution calling for an inquiry into the influence by Big Pharma's on the WHO lends credence to the notion that your health is very often the furthest thing from the minds of those in charge.

Just in case you are interested in reading a little more on the issue of WHO and Big Pharma scandals, here are two sites that can give you some more info:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16667
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/23/Journalist-Accuses-WHO-of-Plan-to-Commit-Mass-Murder.aspx

I used to roll my eyes when Don would talk conspiracy theories and then I would leave the room. But honestly, in the last couple years, I've shifted over to the other side. I now believe that governments around the world are interested in one thing only and that is staying in power, and they will do whatever it takes to stay there, (does the phrase "squeaky wheel gets the grease" ring any bells?). The only way that our modern culture differs from the fuedal days of medieval Europe is that we've changed from wearing velvets and laces and puffy pants and shirts, to "power" suits and ties. But there is still the same buying and selling of favours, marrying daughters (or promises) off to supporters, and protection of those in power so that they will in turn protect you should their fortunes and yours change. Officials are looking the other way and holding out their hands at the same time.

But my friends, it is what it is and your losing sleep at night because the status quo is impossible to fight, will serve no purpose. Within the given parameters of this reality, we are all able to make the decisions that will guide the course of our lives. To make those choices with a true awareness of what is and where you wish to go is the only requirement. Your life is yours to create, just do so with understanding and knowledge. Have a very nice day!

Only Four Hours.......

The sun was shining today, clear blue skies and not too cold. Now though, bundled in my barn jacket, worn old gloves on my hands the cold is deepening, and I realize that I am looking at the last full moon of the year. In the deepening blue twilight, the tall fir trees that stand at the edge of the forest behind our field are a dark line and behind them, the moon glows full and golden. Ambra and Sierra have heard the screen door slam and are coming in to their gates, knowing that in the next few minutes, they'll come in for their buckets of feed and a drink of warm water. I can hear their hooves crunching on the snow even from this distance. There is a comforting sameness in this routine of ours. They need me and trust me and I like it, and I'm pleased to be able to care for them even when its cold, even when their breath turns to thick layers of frost on the insides of the barn windows.

The last full moon of this year, the last time I bring them in this year, the last time I write in this blog this year, the last time....So many lasts, but what one thing have I learned that I can take forward into the new year that is only four hours away? I think the best thing that I've realized this year is that we all make of our lives, just what we want them to be. It's our willingness to see the best in situations and people, that will cause those "bests" to be revealed to us and by us. If I determinedly look for the failings of others or try to see only how I've been hurt by the world, then that becomes my experience. I used to know a young lady when she was only a child, and the thing I will always remember about her is that the moment she walked into the room, she was everyones friend, young or old, because that is how she saw them, as friends that she just hadn't met yet. She lived a special truth even though she likely didn't realize it and that is, that your life will be what you make it be, what your thoughts and actions bring into being.

I used to worry a lot about everything. Even when things were working out the way we wanted them to, I worried about when they might change and what would I do then. A very hard way to live a life, because I forgot to revel in, to enjoy the moments as they came along and instead strained to see the point in time that the dreaded change would begin. But in this past year, I've finally been able to put that old habit away and not only that, but started to understand that everyone else, whether they know it or not, are actively engaged in making their lives turn out just the way they want them to be. We all give lip-service to wanting to be happy and have lots of love around us, to sustain and support us in the difficult times of life, but all too often, we're betrayed by our actions. If we truly wanted to be surrounded by love, why do we push it away when it comes in the form of concern or questions or offered guidance. If we truly want to be surrounded by love, why do we dig our heels in and hang on instead to one moment of irritation or insult as if choosing it instead because that is the precious commodity?

As I've come to realize that each of us is solely responsible for our own lives, it has taken a burden off of my shoulders. I can only do so much to make the next person happy and as long as I give them the kindness and respect that I would appreciate receiving, everything else in their lives is up to them. The choices that they have made, the things that they've said or done, the directions that they've taken have put them exactly where they are, where they want to be. If they are happy and feel love all around them, it is because they've said kind words, extended a helping hand, turned the other cheek at times.....and if they feel forgotten, or lonely, then it is because they failed to say the kind words, or extend the helping hand, or held onto hurt feelings....

For you who spend sleepless nights agonizing over how to help someones life be better, give them kindness and love and then close your eyes. They are where they want to be, for right now. For you who try to work out ways to advise without seeming to, instead, just give them love and kindness, and leave the door open for when they come back to feel one more time, that tender warmth. Because for now, they are where they want to be. And look forward with hope, to a time when they will be decide that change is needed and when that happens, their choices will make it so.

In the meantime, I have decided that I want a life of serenity, love, and quiet joy. In order to make of my life, what I want, I try to speak words of loving kindness, to see the good in all, spend time in quiet meditation, and stop frequently to just inhale the moment and take joy in its fragrance. Happy New Year!

Patience, more patience, and try again....

The fan on the wood stove is whirring, Diesel is laying close by, basking on the warmth of the brick hearth and Max is wandering around looking a bit bored. And I just finished emptying my camera of half a years worth of photos. It's so easy to take them, the put the camera away and when you finally do transfer them over to the computer, you discover just how quickly time has passed. So while we are all caught in the deep freeze of winter, I thought what better time to look at vegetable garden pictures.

As you will have noticed, the first photo is my summer hold out geranium. Even though there is snow on the ground outside, my geranium doesn't want to quit. It's actually a beautiful jewel of color, there on the windowsill. And even in the evening, when it is dark outside, and the light over the sink is on, from the outside it glows even more brilliantly. The single glorious reminder of a summer gone.....

As for the rest of the photos, two of them were taken early in the season. If you look carefully, you can see the tiny green Tiny Tim (or maybe they were Sweet 100's) tomatoes on the little short vines. And then there is the photo that shows my tomatoes ripening and some red as well as the lovely green peppers. I think that the plastic mulch around them really helped considerably. But one other thing that you'll notice is that even though the tomatoes are ripening and the green peppers are looking to be a nice size, the plants are small, very small. That is because we had so much rain and cloud cover through the summer, that things couldn't really get going. And I was not the only one noticing the problem. Others too complained that their gardens were slow, slow, slow. Even though we had a fairly warm summer, there was just not enough sunlight. Sort of like trying to grow a garden in the shade and we all know that won't work.

But I will try again next summer. Some changes that I plan on making are raised beds and for the peppers and tomatoes, some more permanent type of tunnel or cloche system, as well as the plastic mulch again to keep the soil warm. I've also decided that successive plantings don't work as well here on the eastcoast as they do in BC. With the soil only getting warm into June, there doesn't seem to be enough time for that method and so I will just go ahead and plant once.

Gardens are another of lifes opportunities to learn lessons of patience and more patience. And what works this year, might not work so well next because the weather is different. But regardless of the curveballs of changing weather patterns, I will keep on trying, because when it works even a little, it is so worthwhile.

Enjoy your memories of summer, the memories that you and your family are making this holiday season and enjoy some special moment this day.