Culling....

Whoooo-ey! Love a sunny, misty morning knowing the day will be a warm day. You know when you have an edge on things once you get the weeds under control by making the condition undesirable for them to live among the green grasses. A little squirt of the weed killer stuff here and there will surely and gradually ensure more room for other grasses to come in and grow behind them. I had to yank and pull a few stubborn weeds, too. And that means more people will be able to appreciate a greener lawn. Less competition for grass and allow it to grow healthy and green. I tell ya, yellow dandelions aren't that pretty but some people think so.

Gnarly weeds, not good.

A green grassy and luscious lawn, very cool and inviting.

Kind of how I feel now seeing less weeds out there meaning more for me to enjoy and many others to come in and discuss what's on our mind when it comes to blogging. Less weeds mean less competition and chance to grow and thrive. And more things to share online, too.  One squirt or one weed pull at a time, and before you know it those pesky weeds are gone. You know, adios! Vaya con dios! Goodbye weeds. And all that stuff. That's what many deaf students had to learn when it came to gardening inside a greenhouse at Oregon School for the Deaf.

The six-week program will end Friday, but the work won’t end there. Students started fall crops in seed blocks, two-inch-square soil pats filled with nutrient-rich compost, soil and cocoa. The seedlings will be kept safe in a donated greenhouse that the students put together late last week. The larger garden will be blanketed by a cover-crop come fall.

Master Gardeners volunteer at the garden and guide students in everything they need to know about gardening.

“Everybody supports,” Blake said. Donations have ranged from money to supplies to time helping weed or plant.

The harvest is handed over to Food Share, where it is distributed to hungry families and food banks in Marion and Polk counties.

Food Share is associated with 20 gardens in the Salem-Keizer area. These gardens produce over 20 acres of fruits and vegetables.

And the students get paid while learning the arts of gardening. Pretty cool. Speaking of gardening. I just got back from The Dalles, Oregon from my aunt's massive cherry farm that grow the delicious Rainier and Black cherries. My daughters and I managed to pick two buckets full of cherries. I estimate we gathered about 35 lbs worth of cherries in about 30 to 40 minutes. Checking at my nearby grocery store they were selling Rainier cherries at $5 bucks a pound and the black cherries at $2 a pound. I have about an equal amount of both kinds of cherries which turned out to be an equivalent $120 dollars worth of cherries. All bagged (12 large ziplock bags) and refrigerated right now. Will give some of the bags away to friends and relatives. Cold and delicious! And, my aunt also gave me a nice tour of her large and spacious greenhouse showing me her vegetables she's growing.

Very Special People Hate Crime

This whole hate crime thing is getting a bit out of hand here. Some are trying to make some money off it and get recognition for it by twisting certain words that do not reflect reality accurately. What's more, people are now tacking qualifiers to the words "hate crime" just because they think they really are "special people" and that they deserve the world's sympathy. What's even worse is for obnoxious people to attack other people by calling their opinions or disagreements as a "hate speech" and even go so far as to call it as a "hate crime." Very special people they are indeed. Amazingly tone deaf to this whole thing when it is just a simple opinion and nothing more. No crime was committed. Yet some people have the uncanny ability to take someone's strong but valid opinion and immediately call it a "hate crime." They go about assuming things about a perons's opinion but won't contact the person to ask for clarifications first, which would've saved a lot of headaches in the first place instead of getting all huffy about it. But calling a bunch of truly special people as "retards" or "tards" is not a nice thing to say, either. It is not their fault if they are placed in a special school so they can learn how to become independent. I'm sure these very special people still deserve some modicum of respect from each of us. Yet, I have been accused on a few ocassions when other special people called my blogs or opinions as a "hate speech." But my blogs were never about hate but making a point based on my perspective and experience. Sometimes the ball drops even further when the truly special people come out of the woodwork and call my opinions or comments as a "hate crime." Boggles the mind.

Well, isn't that special?