The Storm of the Century

I went from zero homework in public school in 5th grade to significant amounts in private school in 6th grade. I didn't even really understand the concept of homework until 7th grade, which is why I nearly failed 6th grade! My kids have a reasonable amount of homework, at least from my point of view. Actually, my 7th grader is not challenged by school anymore, or her challenges are more social than academic. My 11th grader has never really understood homework, although she tests well. But she's smart and funny, and not too bad to hang out with.

And Pirl, that's the way they show the pretty lady on TV doing it, although of course she manages to clean the entire kitchen with one paper towel.

xxx,Carrie

I can't do the whole kitchen with one paper towel but I do use it until it's worn out.

Bill Mahre says some problems are so big they need government involvement. We weren't going to win WWII by individual initiative, and we can't fix the environment as individuals either. It takes both.

Dave47 - you are so right! This is the topic of my disseration! Even good, well intentioned people have real difficulty adjusting their lifestyles when the whole social structure is geared to individualism (as in transportation) and consumerism.

Even those with the most options - DINKs (double-income, no kids) usually fail to take the environmentally preferable alternative. Let's face it - having stuff is very seductive.

I love this thread and I check it often, but the title throws me off! Maybe we could change the name? Start a new thread? Merge with Andy's Musings?

xxx, Carrie

I can't believe the picture on the very first post.... and it was not even a month ago!!!! thank God snow is a thing of the past .... at least until next winter!!!!!!

Tomorrow is May 1st - hurray - we made it!

yes we did it!!!!!!

Phew! The growing season is here!

Wow! Great picture - looks like baby dinosaurs hatching - or something.

great picture!!!!!

Hi Boojum!!!!! how are you?????

How do you people get those pictures in focus??? I know I can't! Great shot, boojum!

Yes, the growing season is upon us with a vengeance. All kinds of plants have migrated, to places we hadn't initially expected them, and spread, into places we had just finished clearing out last fall. Nature certainly does abhor a vacuum. Daylilies are growing out of the sidewalk (!) and and a forget-me-not leapt across a path to the (formerly) strictly grass side. I would have liked to see that jump! The flowering almond, that has always looked like a stick, is covered with little magenta buds! I had doubts whether in this era of Global Climate Change, we would have a real spring. I'd say the bulbs are a little less than one hoped, because of the January heat wave, but everything else seems happy and alive.

xxx, Carrie

Hi Kassia,
I'm good. How did your mini roses winter over? Mine just made it into the ground before they died!!
Lots of things are sprouting here, too. Here's my double bloodroot.

My new Cum Laude daffodils.

And a hellebore. BTW, I have a close up lens on my camera.

Star Magnolia's gone wild too.

Close up.

Nice pictures boojum!

boojum - nice pics. You do a great job with a camera. I have never seen a double bloodroot before. Is it a wildflower or a hybrid? We have just the single wildflowers around here. Would you mind if I made a copy of the photo to show my neighbor. She photographs wildflowers and she would love to see the double bloodroot if she hasn't already. Her yard is full of single bloodroot.

I don't know for sure but it probably is a hybrid. Anyone know? Here's another rare one I inherited that you can show your neighbor. I don't know what it's called.

I don't know what it's called, but I love it and the blood root. I have to see about adding the blood root to my yard. Beautiful pictures.

Thanks!

boojum - haven't seen my neighbor yet but I got a photo of some of her bloodroot.

Another shot of the bloodroot. That blurry thing on one of the petals is a bee or my lack of photography skills!!

Yup! That's the single.

boojum - just showed my neighbor the double bloodroot and she had never seen one but knew what it was right away. She loved it!! She thinks the flower in post # 3456750 is also a bloodroot. It had more petals than usual but the center, shape of the petals, and the leaves around them led her to believe it might be some form of a bloodroot. grammyphoeb

I love that double bloodroot! I need to put that one on my "gotta have" list.
Here's a nice bright and cheery annual I picked up.

Nice! Very cheery, indeed.
I'll hafta write a note to my friend who gave me the european ginger that this rare bloodroot snuck into. She might know what it's called.

pixie - I bought the exact same one! Looks great with purple.

boojum - does the mysterious flower close up at night and open during the day like bloodroot, have single leaf and flower on single stem, and is the stem filled with reddish liquid - characteristics of bloodroot. You could always send the photo over to plant identification and see if someone can help ID the flower. grammyphoeb

Grammy, I've always known it is a bloodroot (all of the description above), but the variety of a semi-double is what I'm trying to find out about. I'll let you know.

Edited to say: Thanks for the suggestion of the ID forum. I will try the folks who gave it to me first.

This message was edited May 4, 2007 9:10 PM

Catching up. The digression into the environmental stuff is exactly what is discussed regularly on Sustainable Alternatives. A few comments. Seandor, addressing the issues you mentioned, like the infrastructure, sounds all well and good and of course should be done. However, it's not a question of not spending enough $$. It's that there is so much waste, fraud, inefficiency, etc., involved in all government tasks. You guys up there with the Big Dig should know that better than anyone. Remember all the tolls we pay on roads and bridges were supposed to pay for the maintenance! It's not the spending - it's the value. For example, we spend more per kid on education than just about everyone yet we trail many third world countries in results. Too many unnecessary things / people / costs, etc., permanently ingrained.

On the paper towels - if the landfills were filled exclusively with paper towels we'd be in great shape! As for diapers, I am guilty on that one. The gross factor and the time factor (both parents working) made using cloth diapers a non-starter. I am fanatic about efficiency and waste. My kids are well trained about turning things off and not wasting energy or water. I switched to cf bulbs as soon as I bought my house 11 years ago. Now with the pellet stove and solar roof, I can finally make a dent in the utility area.

Here are the results from the 2006 corruption index.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781359.html

It would seem we should let the Finns control government finances and spending :-)

Yes, but that's only the corruption component. Inefficiency, fraud, nepotism, laziness, etc., are just a few more.

I found out from Jan and Marty (joe pye weed iris hybridizers that the bloodroot that ended up here in the European ginger that they gave me is a wildflower from Tennessee and they have always referred to it as the Tennessee form of bloodroot having many more petals. And they stay open longer than the New England bloodroot. So they are species and indigenous to Tennessee.

I found out from Jan and Marty (joe pye weed iris hybridizers) that the bloodroot that ended up here in the European ginger that they gave me is a wildflower from Tennessee and they have always referred to it as the Tennessee form of bloodroot having many more petals. And they stay open longer than the New England bloodroot. So they are species and indigenous to Tennessee.

Edited to say, sorry about the repeat!!

This message was edited May 6, 2007 5:59 PM

Victor - what happened to Yankee-know how? American ingenuity and achievement is reknowned. Can you pinpoint a time when this slipped away? Or have things always been like this in America?

It's still there! We lead the world in innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. But it is NOT found in the government, but in the private sector.

But Victor, it doesn't take a big govt. program to raise the mileage requirements on cars or to give incentives for renewable energy research or to give tax breaks for your solar panels. I don't think this can be solved unless their is both a personal and a governmental response.

While creativity is alive and well, it is coming from smaller companies. The big companies are cutting edge in developing hedge funds, outsourcing jobs, establishing off-shore headquarters, mergers and acquisitions, in short, everything but production.

Dave, I never said there is no place for government. I am not one of these libertarian / anarchist nuts. I was responding specifically to Seandor's post about funding infrastructure projects, etc. Government is necessary to do those things that individuals and the private sector cannot / will not do. This includes establishing standards that you mentioned. Private industry will only do things voluntarily that improve the bottom line. If they could legally dump known toxins, they still would! I have contacted a number of politicians asking them to increase the solar incentives. I'd like to see the speed limit brought back to 55. Of course people will still exceed but probably at a lower speed since the penalty increases in proportion to how much the speed limit is exceeded.

On your second point, there is a lot to that, but it's a reflection of the reality of a global economy. Large American companies are competing with other large companies from all over the world. So if your competition is using cheap Chinese labor for example, do you 'make a point' and continue to use U.S. labor?? You will be out of business pretty quickly and everyone in the company will lose his / her job, as opposed to only those whose jobs would have been outsourced. Look at the U.S. auto industry. This is a genie that is not gonna be put back in the bottle. Large companies are still innovating - they are just not producing 'stuff' here. But yes, smaller companies are the powerhouse of our economy. Until they get big and play like the big boys (like Google) or get bought by them.