Oh, Otto

Those of you who know me and know my dog (s), know that for the most part they are spoiled rotten. With the possible exception of the amount of time they spend with me, their lives are (or were for those no longer around) pretty good. My current dog is, of course, the best dog in the world. But, there is one exception. He likes to whine, a lot. This morning he was being a little whiny, so I thought I'd give him a nice juicy bone to chew - a real live bone from a (previously) real live animal. Here's what I got as a thank you as I sat trying to read a New Yorker article POST bone (yes, the bone is lying feet from him, completely ignored). Be sure to have your volume up, they lose their impact without volume).

It's True

It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's True.

So yesterday I learned that everyone may not be as fascinated with my hedge project as I am. How is that possible?? (okay, I knew that, I was just ignoring it) But I also learned that I have a very young reader of which I was unaware. A reader who gets tired of the same old snail and the same old hedge. So, in honor, of my new found fan club amongst the younger crowd, I thought I'd post a few pictures of True from this summer on the North Cascade Trip.

It seems True does some great animal impressions. You've already seen True as a bird, or maybe superman. But, that pales in comparison to his penguin imitation.

A little costume help from mom.

Ready, set....... wait, i just want to stand here and look extra cute.

Go penguins go!

Oops, distraction.

Well, dad's got it anyhow.

The 2010 Hedgehog Massacre

For 8 weekends now I have been out trimming, pruning, battling, cursing, and basically in hand to hand combat with my hedge. And every weekend, I not only have trimmed, pruned, battled, and cursed, but I have painstakingly cleaned up afterwards - making sure (mostly for sanity sake) that I only cut as much as I could stuff in the yard waste bin. Saturday I did the regular but I felt so very close to the end, that I thought today I would just pop out and finish up! Imagine my excitment at the thought of finishing such an onerous task!

Why doesn't she clean up this crap in the yard?

Then, something terrible happened. As I got closer and closer to the end, the hedge started to multiple. I am sure you think I am exaggerating for effect, but it's true. It was like one of those creepy science fiction movies where the vines start growing and entangling and eventually swoop someone up. As I neared the finish, the hedge got thicker and thicker, there were more and more branches and it expanded. Until finally, my theory that has kept me going so far, that if I just cut one branch at a time I'll power through, vanished without a trace, and I abandoned hope.

If this doesn't look like a science fiction horror film, I don't know what does.

I am not sure it is actually possible to finish this project. There is the ever increasing tail end which I still have to overcome. But, there are other issues too. In the middle, there are house tall trees of hedge that are in the green space. I'm pretty sure someone with a chain saw will need to forge into the green space to remove those. Until those are gone, my view will remain forever obscured.

House tall hedge, right out side the window, so sad.

But, let's be positive for a minute. Virtually all the hedge within my yard is trimmed until it is practically nude. And within a week or two, all the hedge crap will be cleared from my yard. So, there's that.

DONE! Except for a couple annoying stragglers I can't quite reach.

Whole Paycheck

Really, must I?

I've eaten fairly well for a long time. I've always worried about organic vs non organic products. Shopped at coops. Tried to buy locally produced small business items. And all of this is expensive. But, as I learn more about food and stop and think about everything I am putting in my body, I'm stepping up my game in more and more food groups and the expenses seem to mount. For example, the happy animals. Happy animals are much more expensive than unhappy animals. And then I start thinking, well, not only do I need free range, but organic too. And then I start looking at what the animal is actually eating. And every step I take, is another expense level.

Lately, I have been thinking about my accessory items - nuts and oils mostly. Fat items are where animals and plants store their toxins. So, it seems you need to be extra careful about the fats you eat. That means organic nuts and butter that's from the same happy free ranging organic cows that I would eat meat from. I made myself scrutinize the butter packages the other day, and ended up buying a half pound of butter that cost more than the pound I usually buy. (I have to say it's MIGHTY TASTY!) Oils too, should be organic. And then you have to worry about oil oxidation because that's BAD. So ideally you should buy smaller amounts because that stuff isn't supposed to sit around. When does it end?

And then, one can start to worry about the whole omega 3 vs omega 6 thing. It seems Americans get way way way too much omega 6 oils in their diets. And it's really important to get omega 3s. You can get omega 3 from things like happy cows. Eggs from chickens that have been running around eating happy food (yes, not only to the animals have to be happy, they have to eat happy food). Macadamia nuts, those are good sources of omega 3s, but have you ever checked out the prices on those puppies. Lord.

Anyhow, the more I learn, the more I seem to make myself spend. But, hopefully, it will make me a happy organic free range animal, even in the poor house!