Can this really be spring?

Ok, this can't really be spring. Yesterday we worked the whole day in the mid 70's and today it is a balmy 44. At least we are starting to get some rain. My update today will be garden, politics, and education. First the important things.

The garden is quickly starting to move in the real part of the season. As you can see from the picture, a lot of brown dirt. But there is more. There is the first broccoli and brussel sprouts that are planted. Tried to purchase some on Friday but had a well meaning garden shop tell me that it was 2-3 weeks too early. He did not want to disappoint me. Seem that relationship should be the other way around, is the customer still right even when they are wrong? Thought long and hard about it Friday night over another wonderful meal at Vita Restaurant in Green Bay. Bottom line, a well placed phone call on Saturday could turn up an alternate source.

Turns out that I was able to find some plants. Put in three (3) Jade E Cross brussel sprouts plants and three (3) Premium Crop broccoli plants. Seems that Stein Garden Center in Bellevue was certainly keeping the customer in mind. Got there right about 8 am and the store was empty. The plants looked great, nice and fresh. The person doing the checkout said the truck dropped them on Friday night. Happy, happy, happy. If you looked under the 6 coverings in the picture, you would see the new arrivals all tucked in and beginning a new life in my garden.

The plantings from last week have still not shown their little heads. It was cool when we put them in and I actually had to water the spinach, lettuce and beets. Today we are getting a pretty steady drizzle, cool but not cold. We are predicted to get some warmer weather later in the week. That coupled with the new moisture will certainly push things along quickly.

As for the rest of the garden, the asparagus and raspberry beds are just starting to break dormancy. I expect that the rain along with some warmer temps will push things right along in the next few weeks. Soon, we will be eating fresh asparagus. I can't wait. I will make sure to put some good pictures in as we start to see some action.

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Political Commentary
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The stock market showed some modest upticks last week continuing for a sixth week to show signs of a "recovery". If you listen hard enough you might even believe the prognosticators and call it a recovery or just the visible part of a dead cat bounce. Don't know which one it is but I do know that we are still in for a lot of change.

I still am not of the opinion that President Obama has the firmest of grips on the plan that he can label as his. There continue to be a lot action being taken on a lots of fronts. The two that I still think bear the most watching are the stress tests that banks will have taken and the nationalized auto manufacturing industry. Both still have a lot of definitional content to be completed on them. Time will tell, but I am still hopeful for Ford to make it through the mess.

Will there be banks that fail? I think the answer has to be yes. Right now the government is stuck somewhere in the middle of the credibility field. All banks are not created equal. If they were, we would not be in the position that we are. This question also continues the debate around paying TARP money back. If DC is not going to actively nationalize the banks (I never think they intended that) then TARP money can, and should, be paid back. Move on, let the strong survive. Let the herd be thinned. We've done this once before, let's get it done.

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Education
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Now, for my little rant of the week.

The education system is broken and in dire need of repair. Funding priorities for k-12 in Wisconsin have become so convoluted that it takes someone a fair sight smarter than me to rationalize it on a going basis. At our present rate, we will have so many unfunded mandates that it will be impossible for even the financially strong districts to survive. Right now, Mr. Doyle is using the slight of hand to make the budget whole, but the reality is the cookie jars are all empty, the IOU's are getting old (and potentially worthless), and the loanshark that he used to shore up this year's budget (the Feds) have put a whole bunch of nasty restrictions on the money. Not a pleasant way to look at it.

Don't even get me started about the whole university game.


Well, it has taken me on and off most of the afternoon to get this finished. It will be a busy week, but I do expect that we will be able to get through it and look next week end in the face.

Hope you like, we'll be back soon.
Bill

Tilling the soil, a restaurant review, and planting

No ranting, at least not right now. Too many positive things about the garden.

Yesterday I actually got the chance to get the Mantis tiller fired up and ran it through the raised beds in the garden. Wow, I was surprised at how friable the soil was and the impact the shredded leaves made to it this year. All of the beds were tilled and raked smooth. There was not one bed that was too wet to work. Cold, you bet they were but the ground was ready to go. Also took a moment to manually fluff the leaf mulch on the asparagus and garlic. Nice to see those little shoots of green poking their arms up. It must be spring.

Saturday looks like a day for planting.

First though one needs to take in the proper nourishment to sustain ones soul, mind, and body. Off to VITA, a neat new experience in raw vegan. Yes, a lot cutting edge for Green Bay but in the thoughts of this rookie, a definite you must go back and hit it a second (and third...) time kind of place. Bianca White may be on to something here. Mary and I had the Thai Curry soup and other than a suggestion that the avocado could have been chopped instead of a slice, a certain thumbs up. We each had a different pizza, flatbread with nutbutter and other toppings. Fennel, onion, and cherry tomato along with spices made mine a wow. Mary had the Hawaiin with mango, tomato and sprouts and while sharing between us, I think she wanted to keep the whole thing. Each plate came with 3 large pieces and this card-carrying carnivore was pleasantly full.

We did get into the desert menu with Lemon Poppyseed cheesecake and lavendar ice cream. Yes, both were great, non-dairy and eye opening. Wonder what they could come up with in the spirit of a Key Lime pie?

Going back? You bet.

Now, back to our regular programming.

Saturday saw the first seeds go in the ground. Beets, spinach, lettuce, and two varieties of edible pod peas. Too cold, I really don't think so. Even if we get erratic germination, it will still result in edible greens by the middle of May. Planted about 1/2 of the bed which leaves another planting to be done around 4.24. Maybe by that time we are also getting ready for brassica.

Weather is supposed to stay fairly warm tomorrow (~50) so we should be seeing some additional soild warming. Monday is predicted for rain and it most likely will be cold. Welcome to Wisconsin.

Stay warm, stay dry, remember that spring is almost here. Until next week.

Bill