Teary eyed gem-in-i

One of my horoscopes was as follows:  

Gemini: All that sugar will finally kill you this week when it falls from the top shelf and cracks the back of your head straight open.  -- The Onion

I had kind of assumed the sugar would do me in by rotting the teeth out of my skull; a much slower, peaceful (and enjoyed) passing. Or, perhaps, making me so wound up that my head simply spins off.  So, I've decided to keep my head UP so that perhaps my spine can absorb most of the hit so that I will only get a mild or major concussion, not the end. A messy end, to boot.

Another horoscope read as follows:

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Is there a message you've wanted to deliver for
a long time but haven't been able to? Are you bursting with thoughts or
feelings that you've been longing to express but can't find the right way
to do so? Have you spent months carrying around a poignant truth that
you have felt wasn't ripe enough to be revealed? If your answer to any of
those questions is yes, I believe the time will soon be at hand to make a
move. But it's important that you're not impulsive or melodramatic as you
initiate your breakthrough communications. For best results, be full of
grace and balance.  -- Free Will(y) Astrology

That's a lot of pressure, so I've decided that the time is not right now, although it may just be soon. Ya see, I am impulsive and melodramatic. So I'll wait until those tendencies are not the deciders..."soon" could be a year from now. Who knows...until then, please go fly a kite.

Its In Our Hands, It Always Was

A new arrival said apologetically to Chao-chu: "I have come here empty-handed."

     Chao-chu said: "Lay it down, then!"

     "Since I have brought nothing with me, what can I lay down?" asked the visitor.

     "Then go on carrying it!" said the Master.

Earthway

 Esty Mae helped her pops shell some Maine Yellow Eye beans. She got the hang of it after a few tries and stayed focused for over a half hour. That's pretty good for a two year old. A title for this picture could be "Beanie Baby."

 We hatched some praying mantises inside so we could see them better, and then we placed them and their oothecas, which literally means egg cover/container, in the various gardens. With a good eye (or a click to embiggen) you can see plenty of the little insects that M.C. Escher used in one of my favorites of his work: Dream (Mantis Religiosa) 1935.

Thanks to Georgetown University for this one, which is where the engraving resides. In fact, it was the first print that Escher sold in the United States.

 The Wolpertinger garlic is doin' dandy. I've tried to keep up with the weeds but the darn plants just keep on growing. No spray, no way. A little recap on my trials with row spacing and garlic: all of the garlic in double rows with about 9 inches between each clove and about 12 inches between rows grew bigger and faster than the triple rows of the same spacing. Go figure. Some of the pros I've seen grow this ancient crop (we are talkin' many many thousands of years) in single rows! One day, when I get my own land, one row will be the way to g(r)o(w)!

 Summertime makes me want to chop it all off and compost the nitrogen-rich mop-head.

Suenos dulces.

More than one way

Useful information for some: I recently got a new cellular phone and wondered if I could transfer my contacts in any way. The lady I talked to (in India?) said "Oh yes, there is. You can manually transfer each contact, one by one." That answer had been my solution in the past, but I didn't enjoy it...so, a few searches on the webernet and I found the ticket: using Bluetooth, something that I had never used up until now....this worked for an LG phone. It took a little over one minute to complete the information transfer. Sweet.