Kakahead

Very big thanks go out to our daughter for calling us this past Monday night.  My lovely girlfriend (wife) and I were watching the idiot box in the bedroom.  It was about 9:30 PM when the phone rang. 

“Dad!?!?!” she blurted when I answered the phone.  “THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ARE OUT!!”  

“Oh wow!!” I said and, to my wife’s bewilderment, I zoomed from the bedroom to the back door.  “HOLY  WAZOOKA!!”  I said as I gazed at the beautifully lit sky.  “OK,” she said, “I gotta call Andrea now.”   I quickly dialed our son… but alas it went to voicemail. 

Last time I remember a similar spectacle was during the summer of 1972, when dinosaurs roamed the earth.  My beautiful girlfriend and I were watching the submarine races one lovely summer night at Hodag Park in metropolitan Rhinelander, Wisconsin.  And yes, I still am completely smitten by my beautiful girlfriend.  Same lovely girl I was smooching in those days… but the added bonus is that we’re married now.

Anyway, the northern lights were all aglow that night, at first dazzling us with all different colors:  red, blue, purple, green, and various morphing of all combined.  The show “settled down” after a bit.  However, I distinctly remember luminous feathery green waves of light wafting way up above us throughout the night sky into the wee hours.

The show from this past Monday was much more brief, at least in these parts.  Lasted maybe 20 to 30 minutes after our daughter called.  According to my brief search on Google, though, this particular display was seen over 20 states, and as far south as Alabama!!  Very unusual.   It’s even a bit rare to see them here in lower Michigan, but we do see them from time to time.

The following day I was at our local McDonalds picking up an order for a friend (yes, really for a friend).  Tuesday night is “Women’s Group” night, with my lovely bride hosting for October.  Split pea soup was on the menu at our house.   When I told our dear friend what was on the menu her reaction was “BLECHH!!”   Last time I checked, I am not a woman, and therefore not welcome at the Women’s Group meeting.  So, my mission was to get our dear friend a burger so she could forego the pea soup; then skedaddle.  After I paid I asked the young lady, “did you see the Northern Lights last night??  They were awesome!”  “No,” she answered, “I don’t know what that is.” 

Sheesh!!  I thought to myself, “OK lady… do you even know where NORTH is??”

After I delivered the McDonalds, Musky Da Husky and I had a “boys’ night out” at Mr. Quick; a local hamburger joint.  I ate inside, and reserved a cheeseburger for Da Husky.  As I finished up, I thought I’d try my “northern lights” question again. 

“Any of you see the northern lights last night?” 

One of the young ladies piped up, “No!!  Were they out??”

“Yeah… it was awesome.  You know what they are?”

“Ummm yeah… Aurora Borealis, right?” 

I breathed an inaudible sigh of relief.  “Yes!!  I asked this young lady at McDonalds and she had no clue.”  I was commiserating about this with a friend at work and we both lamented the lacking education of our young people.  “However,” he said, “when asked ‘who lives in a pineapple under the sea?’  the immediate response is, ‘SPONGE BOB!!’ “

Oh well… take a gander at some the pictures captured from the display on Monday night.  Just click —-> here.   But come back for the video! 

No northern lights, but these guys are definitely from outer space…

Well it’s that time of year again. “Benefits Enrollment,” they call it in corporate speak. Our annual benefits meeting informed us all that the pension plan is being phased out; and medical benefits will cost us more. We haven’t had a raise in 4 years and that probably won’t change. However, the Upper Crust seems to make sure their pockets are nicely lined with 6-figure bonuses. This is not unique to the company I work for, it’s become common all over the corporate world.

Small wonder there are world wide “Occupy” demonstrations!

Lots of folks are all buzzing about and grimacing from the changes. Nobody loves change, including me. However, I’m getting a little better at keeping the negative fire storms out of my head. Being annoyed is one thing; but my magnifying mind can, if let loose, really run with a grudge that ends up being harmful to me.

I’ve been thinking out loud to groups of friends about all this work stuff. They are very good at reminding me to stay grateful and just try to do the next right thing. Bless them… they’re probably getting a bit weary of my rants when I start spouting off about all the injustice at work and elsewhere. They’ve heard it before, and before that, and before that. Yet, they seem to love me anyway! Not sure how anyone else works it all out; but I need to vent to someone who understands when I’m hurting inside. The way it works for me is to vent until I get tired of hearing it myself. Fortunately, I’ve become aware that if I allow anger and resentment to fester in my heart, I’m basically working on poisoning myself. Being livid about things over which I have no control is about as effective as eating a poison pill and expecting someone else to die.

I do have choices here of course. I could quit my job. Boy would that show them or what?? Umm, no it wouldn’t. Nothing would change except my ability to pay bills and buy food. So what’s the alternative? Find another job! Well, hey, not much out there that pays very well. OK smartypants (I’m thinking out loud in writing here), now what do you do?

I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do!! I’m gonna continue to work at the job and try to be happy! So there!! I’m going to try to avoid dipping into the poison pot with my peers when they start sniping about corporate dysfunction. After all, the only thing I have any control over is how I react to all these “wonderful” things that are changing at my workplace.

When my serenity alarm goes off, I need to remind myself to run through my “gratitude list.” I am healthy and I have the love of a beautiful woman. She even let me marry her! We have cars that work, a nice home, plenty to eat. We have loving relationships with our offspring, relatives and friends. Life really is good at our house.

No poison for me thanks. I need to make gratitude my attitude. Sometimes it takes a bit of work to pull it off, but life is much more peaceful when I succeed.

Can you tell I’m practicing?

I can’t help but think of Louie Armstrong’s “Wonderful World” when I need an attitude adjustment. Here’s one of his recordings with a very nice photo collage someone put together for youtube.

Although summer is my favorite time of year, autumn rates a very close second when I consider what’s happening in the garden.  Most of the warm weather crops have been frosted to death now; so the remaining harvest is, in large part, greens. 

My beautiful girlfriend and I got hooked on greens as a result of living in Dixie while I was in the Air Force.  Southerners do love their greens:  collards, turnip greens, beet greens, mustard greens…   We tried all of them and were smitten pretty much instantly.  Greens of one variety or another have been a staple in our garden ever since. They are easy to grow and packed with nutrition.  And of course, while we are eating our greens, we sing the Greens Eating Song: 

Greens!!  Greens!! They’re good for your heart!!

The more you eat ‘em the more you’re smart!!

The more you’re smart, the better you feel,

So eat  your greens with every meal!!

(And eat clam chowder to make them louder!!)

Well maybe that’s not how the song goes…

Anyway, greens are one of the most versatile vegetables for the simple fact that you can eat them just as soon as they start growing; and continue to harvest right up through winter.  I garden intensively; meaning I grow a lot of food in a small space.  I often purposely sow seeds for collards or kale a bit too thickly and thin them out as they germinate.  The remaining seedlings are then allowed to grow a bit more, and I continue to harvest by thinning as the plants grow.  The sprouts and / or young plants are a wonderful addition to any almost any dish, salad and stir-fry to name just two.   Just snip off the roots, rinse a bit, and toss them into whatever you like.  I’ve even been known to use them as a substitute for lettuce on a sandwich. 

Eventually my beds of greens will be thinned so there’s about a foot between plants.  Many of them will thrive throughout the entire gardening season.   I often plant root crops in the beds with the greens.   Here’s an example, click the image for a better view.

Swiss chard and beets

Again, this allows me to grow more food in a smaller space.   The combination of leafy vegetables and root crops keeps weeds at bay while the vegetables thrive.  Beds are also a good habitat for toads, spiders, and other beneficial creatures who keep pest insect damage to a minimum.

Swiss chard tastes very similar to spinach. However, spinach will “bolt” and go to seed in the heat of summer while chard will produce right up to winter. It’s frost hardy, but after the temp falls below 20 degrees F for awhile it will die.  Therefore, the Swiss chard has to be completely harvested before the weather stays bitter cold.  Kale and collards, though, will survive the entire winter.  These two are among our favorites.  They’re good, hearty fare at the table either by themselves or mixed up in other dishes.  The flavor is pretty strong in summer but mellows nicely when the cool weather comes.  And besides, aren’t they just plain pretty?  Again, click on the pictures for a larger view.

Beautiful Kale

We Do Love Our Collards

On more than one occasion I’ve picked collards or kale, and also kohlrabi out of the snow.  Although they  appear to be dead in the garden they’re still green.  When brought inside the effectiveness of their natural antifreeze shows up as they magically “come to life.”  A good snow cover is welcome in the kale and collard beds, because snow protects their leaves from getting wind burn during the cold winter weather. 

However, I’ve learned the hard way that it’s a good idea to mark where the beds are with some long sticks.  It’s no fun shoveling snow around looking for your greens!

Now HERE’S a guy who always loved his greens…

Another great creative soul has left our midst and journeyed into the Great Beyond.  As most everyone knows, Steve Jobs finally succumbed to cancer after a brilliant worldly career. His creative drive sparked Apple Computers and Pixar, but I’m not going to be so bold as to profess I can tell even a fraction of his story. 

October, November, and December are months that I for one can’t help but equate with loss.  Our good friend Lew left this world 3 years ago this month.  Goodness how time flies, yet drags along.  Last night, HBO broadcast the first part of a new film about George Harrison, who left in November of 2001.  And then of course John Lennon was literally shot into heaven in December of 1980.  I mention these not to glorify any of them; but one cannot help but reflect when someone you love deeply and / or has affected your life passes on.

This is supposed to be an installment of “Happy Friday!!!,” so I won’t go dabbling into any morose analyses of all this life and death stuff.  No, I think I will just make this short an sweet, so to speak.

However I would like to close with the thought that grief is an expression of love.   And love for friends, family, Mother Nature, and our fellow creatures (all creatures) is, in my mind anyway, the most valuable and indeed  the most powerful force in the universe.

OK, enough of such babbling… here’s a little stroll down memory lane.