Slice it and Dice it

I gotta tell ya, the veggies from the garden taste awesome this year. Several jars of pickles are in progress. The rain keeps falling over areas other than Grand Forks this summer. Some severe weather in the region recently. Read the Grand Forks Herald

Did you know that I shot a 46 on the back nine of Kings Walk? I nearly ended the round with a birdie birdie, but I choked the birdie putt after losing my focus just a bit. I don't know how those pros do it!

Hot Hot Hot... Dry Dry Dry

It's been hot and dry this summer. This is the hottest, dryest one in my five summers here. My garden is doing well. I've had to really water frequently to keep the plants from wilting in the heat. I've enjoyed the lack of mosquitoes. I've done some creative things around the house, too. I made an agility jump for Molly (my lab mix) to try. She likes it. I did Basic Agility with her over the winter. Next time, we'll try the Intermediate. It gives her a good workout.

So, the heat. Some people love it. The farmers would like some rain, and I wouldn't mind some myself.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

So why is it that John Rocker got 28 games and a $20,000 fine (later reduced to 14 games and $500) for offering his opinion concerning the diversity of the occupants of a New York subway but Ozzie Guillen only gets a fine for calling a sports journalist a perjorative name?

Tiger Woods is not a robot. He can't just show up on the PGA tour after that long a layoff. Not only did he recently lose his father to cancer, the first event he plays is the US Open on the weekend of Father's Day. And in New York to boot.

Speaking of golf, I broke 100 this year. If I could avoid the disaster holes (quad-bogeys), I'll start doing it quite often.

My garden is doing okay so far. It's been very dry, so the soil is starting to dry out and harden. I guess I'll have to use my new hose a lot this summer. I just predicted a warm, dry July-September for my climate outlook today. Maybe that means that just the opposite will happen (HA HA!). You never know!

UND has decided to move to Division 1 athletics. I think this is a big mistake. I don't know if there's enough money to cover the cost of traveling. Only the hockey teams have been D1, and I don't see the baseball, swim or tennis teams EVER being anywhere close to competitive. But what do I know? I'm not from here so I probably don't "get it"... <----- SARCASM, in case you couldn't tell.

The US soccer team should just avoid Europe like the plague. No victories! How does freakin' Australia make it to the knockout round? All I can say is Group E was very tough. Certainly no freebies! I wish I could be in Deutschland right now and experience it. Oh well, maybe I can go to Europe one of these days.

Garden Work

Today, I planted most of my garden. I have 8 cucumbers (4 pickling) and 1 pumpkin in the front bed. I put a new Spruce tree seedling out front to replace the old one. It didn't look good after being buried in snow all winter.

I put 4 Early Girl tomato plants and 4 Sweet Million tomato plants (cherry size fruits) in the back with the strawberries. Also in the back are 8 corn plants that I planted from seed about 2 weeks ago and a Sugar Baby Watermelon. I still have 1 corn plant and 9 green bean plants in cups (from 2 weeks ago as well). I used my 4 planters for 4 more Sweet Million plants. The two geraniums (original and transplant) are blooming downstairs. The low this morning was 30 F, so my patience was rewarded this year. The front yard thermo reported a min of 28.6 F.

I'm not overly impressed with the Lawn Patch, but it is early. I should know this week if it will work or not.