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Post by FrostyTurnip on Jun 6, 2023 16:01:25 GMT -6
YASSS!!! HalleluYah!!
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jun 6, 2023 17:45:21 GMT -6
Amen.
I think I just need to keep reporting the rain.
Yesterday morning we awakened to another two tenths of an inch in the rain gauge. We hadn’t heard it in the night, but the ground was definitely wet.
This afternoon we had a surprise shower and got three more tenths.
At some point I’ll need to check my ollas and fill them, but for now the plants are just getting their water from these frequent showers. They and I are loving it.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jun 7, 2023 6:51:13 GMT -6
Chrysanthemum,
That is wonderful news! Rain at night, and overcast skies with showers during the days too! What a combination! I've noticed over the decades that all the watering in the world cannot equate to even one cloudy day and a little rainfall. I'm not quite sure what the difference is, but there is a huge difference!
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Post by FrostyTurnip on Jun 7, 2023 6:58:47 GMT -6
Wonderful, isn’t it Chrys? Yesterday we received a heavy downpour for about 15 minutes accompanied with wind as the front moved by. It lightly rained for another 30 and then cleared. I choked back tears until I just let them out. I did’t realize how stressed I had become. I got good rest last night.
I’ve been pushing my own physical boundaries with cautious in the sweltering humidity every day trying to get caught up, mulching the potatoes, mowing for mulch, digging out tree roots, weeding the areas where there is insufficient mulch, tilling, transplanting, starting seeds and picking cabbage worms, saving seeds and all the things I’ve never done all at once. Even my tomatoes died (2nd batch) from neglect. Meanwhile, I was watching the soil dry up and wondering where I’d have time to actually water. The bean trellis had not been planted. I realized my complacency was the moisture issue.
I’m having electrolyte issues? I’ve been inhaling potato chips like crazy. And scarfing down powdered magnesium. After that, I have an appetite for real food. I have a doc appt Friday. See if my kidneys need help.
After the rains, I loaded the trellis up with all my Zesty Zelma beans, the remainder of my Cooper’s Running Beans and I filled in the gaps with some Cherokee Yellow Wax bean. Then, I pulled Bermuda and weeds from the gloriously wet soil and erected the old wind mill and seeded out Alabama Black Eyed Butter beans at its feet. My hips hurt and my legs stop working properly at certain points, so I was sitting and crawling. I was covered in mud up to my chest when I came back in.
In addition, we have new neighbors. They are nice as far as the world goes, ya know? At least they’re sober minded and do not show any signs of abusive nature. So, I’ve been cutting tree limbs from theirs and ours and offered to burn their brush for them as they haven’t a way to deal with it as much as I do. (They had a stack of brush that I asked if I could pick up for them. You’d be amazed how angry people get when you do stuff like that without asking first. It turned into them creating a massive pile of brush as they were encouraged to trim more. I must move it by truck the short distance and all that.) But it’s all good. I’ll get to mow their yard for mulch as they’re not living in it and I’ve met them. They don’t know it,but this rain will cause them to turn right around and mow again but they’re all the way over in Edmond.
Sorry to be so windy. First time I’ve had to actually think in a while. Because of the cooler weather, I’m not in a rush to beat that noon sun.
The wild black eyed Susan’s are up and beginning to open up their flower buds. It’s summer.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jun 7, 2023 17:51:02 GMT -6
I’m so glad to hear that you got some rain, too, Frosty. Sometimes it’s hard to avoid working oneself to hard when everything seems to have to be done at the same time. I’m glad you had a little time to slow down this morning. Take care of yourself, please, as well as of your garden.
The black-eyed Susans sound fun and cheerful. Enjoy.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jun 7, 2023 19:10:03 GMT -6
Frosty,
Please don't hurt yourself in the heat, that can get serious fast ... I got my kidneys in trouble a few years ago by working in the hot sun too much and not drinking enough water. Ever since I had that stroke 25 years ago, it has been hard for me to know when to quit, so I had to set boundaries for myself.
George suggested to never just take a 'sip' of water. He said, "If ever you are thirsty enough to take a sip, chug a whole 8 ounces of water instead."
That was kind of hard to do at first, but now that I've gotten used to it, I make it a point to drink a full 8-ounce cup of water every time I want a sip.
That, along with setting a work limit, determined by how much water I consume, has kept me out of kidney trouble for a few years now. I take three bottles of water with me to the garden; when the third bottle is empty, I just call it quits for the day whether I'm finished or not.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Jun 7, 2023 20:37:53 GMT -6
heavyhitterokra, Very sad to say, every year we lose a few college kids to the heat. They go hiking and are just not prepared for the heat and rapid dehydration that this climate engenders.
I almost never expose anything but my hands to the sun. I wear long sleeve T-shirts of fluorescent yellow or orange (the fluorescent dyes convert UV to other, harmless light frequencies). Only the backs of my hands get tan, my fingers are always curled around the water nozzle. I wear a tan ball cap with ear flaps that even cover my neck and keep them wet as I'm watering (it helps cool my head and adds weight to the ear flaps so the wind doesn't blow them off my ears). Our water is sources from community wells that go deeper than 300 feet to the aquifer - sometimes there is measurable arsenic in the water (though below federal safety levels), I've always purified any water I ingest directly, either reverse osmosis or de-ionization, sometimes both. I have a small dedicated ice-making machine that I keep filled with purified water and use several gallons of ice per day, chilling my water and other drinks with pure water ice. It seems to help. I find I drink about 2 or more gallons of water per day, not counting the ice.
Some friends of mine own and operate a plant nursery in the heart of downtown Tucson. Their nursery site had an ancient well located there. A few hundred years ago, when the well was initially dug, it was dug 30 feet deep, to the water table -at that time; they had it redug (to put it back into use), and it now needed to go down 300 feet to reach water.
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Post by macmex on Jun 8, 2023 5:56:38 GMT -6
Taking precaution is so very important in our conditions. Tucson, I learn something from you almost every couple of days! I didn't know about the fluorescent colors converting UV light to less harmful frequencies.
Frosty, "I've been there and done that" with pushing it in the heat. Be careful. I remember some years ago, trying to push through and finish weeding the last four tomato plants in a row. It was so hot and humid that I could barely see, due to the sweat pouring down my face. I pushed and finished, but when I straightened up I saw red spots and experienced vertigo. It frightened me, as I realized I was alone and that if I had passed out in that heat I might have succumbed to it. That was when I added to my 8 (or 16) oz rule and told myself that whenever I feel like I need a sip of water I will go sit in the shade and drink my large drink before returning to the task. This slows me down a lot but I believe it's prudent.
Tuesday I managed to get out in the garden with my tractor and the sub soiling plow Ron loaned me. I've struggled with the big one bottom plow I own. I have some spatial issues and struggle to get it on the three point hitch. Additionally, that plow weighs about 200' and is challenging to position. Ron's sub soiling plow only weighs about 80 lb. I can more easily handle it.
I've already plowed twice this year but every time I've had stuff come up that keeps me from actually planting. The garden looked like a jungle, yet with almost nothing I wanted growing in it. Anyway, I got it plowed with that little plow. Now, I need to plant. Perhaps this weekend I'll get a chance,... if nothing comes up.
Drinking water is a "learned thing." I remember when I thought I couldn't drink more than a few sips, unless it was flavored. This put weight on me and also limited my liquid intake. My youngest daughter, who was in the Army, taught me a lot about drinking water. Now, when I first get up in the morning I fill a 16 oz tumbler with straight water and drain it before I have a cup of coffee. I've gotten to the point where I find about as much satisfaction with the water as I do with the coffee. One of my brothers, and his wife, have been visiting us this week. They've taken us to a restaurant twice. Each time, when we order drinks, I ask for water. It's cheaper and it's better for me than anything else they serve. I found it amusing the other day, as we left a restaurant and I caught myself thinking, "Boy, that was good water!"
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Post by Tucson Grower on Jun 8, 2023 7:27:12 GMT -6
When I go out to eat, which used to be more often when mom and Diane were still with me, I have several glasses of iced water with my meal. I always squeeze the equivalent of about 3 or 4 lemons into each glass and I don't let the waiter add any water to dilute it, until I've finished each glass.
I do this, mostly because I'm prone to uric acid kidney stones. Since this type of kidney stone is acidic, they are dissolved away by the alkalinity created when our bodies metabolize citric acid. Anti-intuitive, since citric acid, is acidic, you'd think it would have the opposite affect on acidic kidney stones. At home I have a lemon tree, but it seldom bears lemons, so I have natural citric acid and add a pinch to each quart of water I drink. It's been almost 20 years since I had kidney stone problems.
Whenever I think about lemons, it reminds me of my daughter. When she was 2 y.o. we were at a restaurant, she picked up a lemon wedge and just started eating it out of its rind. I guess some children know what's good to eat.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jun 8, 2023 14:03:46 GMT -6
Tucson,
Thanks, for the tip about fluorescent-colored long-sleeve shirts. I didn't know they converted UV light.
Skin cancer runs in my family on my Mom's side. My Mom died of melanoma when she was only 36 years old. My Grandma on my Mom's side also had skin cancer, but she lived into her 90s. unfortunately, she had lost most of her nose by then, most of her upper lip, and quite a bit of her cheek by that time. The poor, dear, lady had no teeth and her tongue was exposed most of the time by the lack of flesh, so I take extra precautions in the sun too.
I wear long sleeve shirts, no matter what time of year if I'm outside for more than just a few minutes. I shop second-hand stores, looking for long sleeve white shirts year 'round, as they don't last long working in the woods or in the garden. I can usually find them for about $3.00 each.
Because I've always been skinny and I've always worn long sleeve shirts in summer, (even while swimming) I've had people tell me more than once that they thought I was a drug addict, trying to hide needle tracks before they got to know me better. I guess wearing long sleeves in the middle of a hot day kind of makes me stand out in a crowd, because several people have asked me over the years, "How can you stand that?"
Actually, once you get a good sweat going, a long sleeve shirt will keep you quite a bit cooler in hot weather than a short sleeve shirt will because of transfer evaporation.
I also keep a little pump spray bottle of 91% rubbing alcohol hanging in the truck at all times. 91% alcohol will melt the frost off of my windshield in winter, plus, If I get too hot, I just sit down in the shade and spray that on my neck, inside my hat, and on my wrists. It evaporates so quickly that if sprayed on a digital thermometer, it will lower the reading by 20° within a few seconds.
I've never seen rubbing alcohol sold in a spray bottle before, so I'm all the time saving old Windex bottles and whatnot to put rubbing alcohol into. To me, that's a whole lot easier than using a cotton ball to apply it. It just seems like common sense to me that it would come from the store in a pump bottle, but I guess no else one thinks that way.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Jun 8, 2023 15:32:15 GMT -6
Definition of fluorescence: the property of absorbing light of short wavelength (such as UV) and emitting light of longer wavelength.
It's how fluorescent lights work. They contain a small amount of mercury, and the inside of the tubes are coated with a blend of fluorescent minerals. When an electric current flows through the vaporized mercury, it emits UV light, which is converted to other frequencies by the fluorescent coating.
Down here our UV exposure usually runs around 11.
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Post by FrostyTurnip on Jun 9, 2023 0:15:36 GMT -6
Really good stuff!! Thank you, my friends. It’s good warning, advice and knowledge. The fluorescent: Didn’t know that!
In a bid to save gas today I dropped my son off to work, picked up woodchips and then hit the food bank. Too much. I was sitting atop a rather large pile of wood chips shoveling them into the bed of the truck at about a quarter til noon beneath pure sunshine. Too hot. The weather is actually beautiful, but it’s too hot to work in. I brought liquids but forgot the thermos with ice.
Stillwater has the best water!! And the food bank fills a water cooler with it. That bank today was standing room only. I made my way over to the cooler and found a spot to stand so I could slowly drink it a couple paper cups at a time. I probably drank a half gallon while waiting. That place was busier than I’ve ever seen. I opted for the grab and go, so I could get home sooner where I basically mated a horizontal position beneath a window unit and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon.
I haven’t any a/c in the kitchen and the chicks demand the brooder lamp, so I’m not cooking very much. Feel sorry for the fam. LOL
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jun 9, 2023 17:06:10 GMT -6
These were our conditions here, today at 3:00 pm.
Fair, Sunny, 95°F, 47% Humidity. Heat Index 101°F
It was blazing hot here today because of the humidity. Frosty, I'm sure glad you found a place under the window to get a break from it all!
Frosty, and Woodeye, If what I just now saw on radar makes it all the way to your region from Texas before it plays out, you all might be in for a toad strangling frog soaker tonight!
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Post by macmex on Jun 9, 2023 17:22:11 GMT -6
I came home from work today before noon, since we had the vet coming out. Spent some time working in the garden and, yes, it was HOT! I wore my fluorescent orange, long sleeved sun shirt, which my son and daughter-in-law had gotten me. I am not generally a fan of fluorescent but if it's better for sun, then I'll use it.
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Post by FrostyTurnip on Jun 9, 2023 21:39:29 GMT -6
These were our conditions here, today at 3:00 pm.
Fair, Sunny, 95°F, 47% Humidity. Heat Index 101°F
It was blazing hot here today because of the humidity. Frosty, I'm sure glad you found a place under the window to get a break from it all!
Frosty, and Woodeye, If what I just now saw on radar makes it all the way to your region from Texas before it plays out, you all might be in for a toad strangling frog soaker tonight! Yessir. I just got in from pulling the sheafs onto the porch. Potatoes are heavily mulched. Corn is chest high and thirsty again. Bring it!
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