tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26766654524379498872024-03-06T12:03:06.819-08:00The Deliberate Agrarian 2.0One Man's Ruminations Continue...Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-6498387822418958922019-06-23T07:59:00.002-07:002019-06-23T08:01:08.885-07:00Herrick Kimball Is Now Blogging At Heavenstretch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEPSHwCB1NWbcSeVu79oFi9RGDdPj1UFmenzx8ebw0cIWQp3-2moQInjRlTl-2GS4OEgus3eF74dzI_6Xwc-aEtxe5oqydyLYP4y37MIS4LUBiZQ4nFjugFCwvI6qhf6qs1J8vqZ7HYc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.47.02+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEPSHwCB1NWbcSeVu79oFi9RGDdPj1UFmenzx8ebw0cIWQp3-2moQInjRlTl-2GS4OEgus3eF74dzI_6Xwc-aEtxe5oqydyLYP4y37MIS4LUBiZQ4nFjugFCwvI6qhf6qs1J8vqZ7HYc/s640/Screen+Shot+2019-06-23+at+9.47.02+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dateline: 23 June 2019</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I've blogged on this Blogger format for 14 years. Blogger was a good place for me for most of those years. But it has become so problematic that I've been forced leave. My new blogging home is now at WordPress. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Seeing as I had to move to a new blogging format, I've taken the opportunity to create a new blog name. <a href="https://heavenstretch.wordpress.com/">Heavenstretch</a> is now my place on the web. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Barring any unforeseen circumstances, <a href="https://heavenstretch.wordpress.com/">Heavenstretch</a> will be my "<i>last</i> blog and testament." </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Please stop on over and see what <a href="https://heavenstretch.wordpress.com/">Heavenstretch</a> is all about...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-70697312132851815032019-03-24T07:24:00.002-07:002019-03-24T07:24:22.062-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dateline: 24 March 2019</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please Note: This is a cross post from my new blog,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://thedeliberateamerican.blogspot.com/">The Deliberate American</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMtHdPYdLkdw_d0C2zRfjzC8VjuXb6xMExZdYtoTOnjwEjQ52EHojr7enJWUk6rDw_PXS02DaHQ82ZsMEZV8rA_z7i_MzO6eHSFc6ldz4LlMP6hFWH7GDWWhro2cyT1KMg7lkcz0WJLk/s1600/IMG_2238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMtHdPYdLkdw_d0C2zRfjzC8VjuXb6xMExZdYtoTOnjwEjQ52EHojr7enJWUk6rDw_PXS02DaHQ82ZsMEZV8rA_z7i_MzO6eHSFc6ldz4LlMP6hFWH7GDWWhro2cyT1KMg7lkcz0WJLk/s640/IMG_2238.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">(click on photos to see larger views)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">—</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Rick L. in Wisconsin recently sent me the following e-mails and photos. As you might imagine, I'm so pleased to see this kind of feedback on my gardening system. Thank you, Rick, for allowing me to share your comments and photos here. I find them powerfully inspiring, and I'm sure everyone who comes to this page will too!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho72w59avO2U5e-R1ZkxA9HDbxfLgxUaJvcG0nlD7kvWhLb47Vv0WQM7KivH0YoVFyUVJL9iPDxnWvSBbjnrhztn_51PbBtNRo590zsyIpfM-8BKprH8EVhVUUZmCwUBFt5-Q0GvSzHgI/s1600/IMG_2242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho72w59avO2U5e-R1ZkxA9HDbxfLgxUaJvcG0nlD7kvWhLb47Vv0WQM7KivH0YoVFyUVJL9iPDxnWvSBbjnrhztn_51PbBtNRo590zsyIpfM-8BKprH8EVhVUUZmCwUBFt5-Q0GvSzHgI/s640/IMG_2242.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Rick's First E-mail...</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Hi Herrick,</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>We have emailed back and forth a few times. Last spring I bought your Mini-Beds on Plastic Reports 1 & 2. I also bought Report #3 last week. I have read all three reports more than once. I want to thank you for the mini-bed gardening system.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>I, like you, resisted using plastic in my gardens until four, or five years ago. I started using the Dewitt fabric with holes burned in it for carrots and onions. It worked pretty good. Your Mini-Beds on Plastic Reports made so much sense and reduced weeding that I went whole hog with it.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>I have two gardens. My upper garden is near the house. It is about 36’ X 40’ and I grow tomatoes, broccoli, green beans, cabbage, carrots, herbs, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce and peppers in it. This is the garden I converted to a mini-bed garden. I have 67 beds in this garden. My pole bean cattle panel trellis are the only beds that are not standard 30” X 30” beds. See attached picture.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>My lower garden is more traditional and is about 30’ X 60’ in size. I grow potatoes, onions, sweet corn, dry beans and garlic. Last summer I planted eight mini-beds of strawberries down there. I converted about one third of this garden to mini-beds for garlic and strawberries. The strawberries did great until the deer got in to them around mid-October. They really munched them down to just the crown and a few sprigs left on each plant. I didn’t know deer liked strawberry plants so much. I don’t know if they will make it through our winter, but I mulched them good, so time will tell.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>I have to tell you my wife and I were more than pleased and impressed at how the mini-beds performed. We had a few things fail for one reason, or another, but it wasn’t because of the mini-beds. We had the best peppers we have ever grown last year. I put four pepper plants to a bed. Just recently I have read that you should plant peppers so the plant leaves touch when they are mature. Supposedly it increases the yield. I don’t know if that is true, or not, but last year our peppers produced like crazy. When the frost finally killed them and I pulled the plants, I had some peppers with one inch diameter stems. I’ve never had peppers plants like that before. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the mini-beds.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Our zucchini, cucumbers produced like crazy and lasted two, or three weeks longer than they usually do. Our tomatoes didn’t do the greatest, but we had plenty to eat fresh and canned enough to get us through the winter. Tri-planted carrots did good. Everything pretty much did better, or a lot better than the traditional row planting and mulching that we used to do and there was a lot less weeding work. That is a major plus to me.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>We have quack grass here and it seems I’m battling that through out the whole gardening season. Not last year. I didn’t have any quack grass come up in the mini-beds. In the lower garden where I planted strawberries in July, I just had the area covered with plastic and the mini-bed frames pinned down. When I cut the plastic and cracked the soil in the beds, I did find a lot of quack grass rhizomes, but they were dry and appeared dead. They did not grow in the beds.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>I could go on, and on, but I’m going to stop here. We are looking forward to a great gardening season with our mini-beds. I’ve attached a few pictures of my mini-bed garden from last year. I have many more pictures, but I think these show it the best.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHc13uVGuh6g4YhBkqyfHzVkIjNb0_k8XGfgCH_H5pIv3cDV8e7IqXdhr5WW4_YaRWk418EBr3-BxN0nv8A2G1T0Lnt1n2q0LAzU2Az7BYlC3AJNP0s16aoNk-Ab2unTDupviypYTbdhg/s1600/IMG_2229+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHc13uVGuh6g4YhBkqyfHzVkIjNb0_k8XGfgCH_H5pIv3cDV8e7IqXdhr5WW4_YaRWk418EBr3-BxN0nv8A2G1T0Lnt1n2q0LAzU2Az7BYlC3AJNP0s16aoNk-Ab2unTDupviypYTbdhg/s640/IMG_2229+2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuD6k-3qPrG2urlTSrUC70gGIXPUSfGp6l-tyad8JZ8Rw7JTd8WKQNRNrhOQLLrcMIO8VNSToqFhoIVVrWcuk8TMD8FXkvEwcEv0Me994QWpzXyl1-0AM0xlB9ZFJUVNlDsuoI38DMiss/s1600/IMG_2213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuD6k-3qPrG2urlTSrUC70gGIXPUSfGp6l-tyad8JZ8Rw7JTd8WKQNRNrhOQLLrcMIO8VNSToqFhoIVVrWcuk8TMD8FXkvEwcEv0Me994QWpzXyl1-0AM0xlB9ZFJUVNlDsuoI38DMiss/s640/IMG_2213.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It was obvious to me that Rick was a serious, long-time gardener. I was curious to know just how long. His reply...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>How long have I been growing my own food? Well, the short answer would be, 44 years that my wife and I have been active, avid gardeners. </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>My wife and I were married in 1971. I was active duty military at the time. I was discharged in 1975 and we have had a garden every year since. Sometimes not such a great garden, but we always got a fair amount of food out of them. Now our gardens feed us close to year around. When I go grocery shopping it’s mostly for dairy products (milk, yogurt, etc.) and meat. We have chickens, so we have our own eggs.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>The other answer would be most of my life. My parents and grandparents had gardens as far back as I can remember. While I wasn’t involved very much with planting, or preserving the harvest when I was a child, they got me involved in weeding as soon as they could. Ha! Ha! So I have been eating home grown vegetables most of my life.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Now I start my own seeds every year. I marvel at the miracle of a tiny seed growing in to a healthy, vigorous plant and producing food for us to eat. I never thought much about that before I started growing my own plants from seed.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>I’ve sent a few more photos. Every thing was grown in mini-beds.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWFOq9dLmmEril9LhLyDmBb0-aYLopOODr_mbiU_Kj-P9nFcKiCIzgPsS7ECBhyphenhyphenjVuqgSvtJRhgAXpp0XJbRAEqx2dnKhYC95Cl9vdQ87hONX5UHXPXQL2Ij-P2eyY-nq_AJUEpJiwmhU/s1600/IMG_2296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWFOq9dLmmEril9LhLyDmBb0-aYLopOODr_mbiU_Kj-P9nFcKiCIzgPsS7ECBhyphenhyphenjVuqgSvtJRhgAXpp0XJbRAEqx2dnKhYC95Cl9vdQ87hONX5UHXPXQL2Ij-P2eyY-nq_AJUEpJiwmhU/s640/IMG_2296.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzRk-GWpHiggUYL6tD90JdqRBe2kDM6MJIMFyKlSwQ5f2gwUzAb5EtrQMJkUo9xY-PPtkdH4WDXMCAkp3q0wPtVBO4vNKf8kSQNuyP0gzWdAt_Cy7FtGCcDgOc3cO4gBAgXceEr3kv8w/s1600/IMG_2248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzRk-GWpHiggUYL6tD90JdqRBe2kDM6MJIMFyKlSwQ5f2gwUzAb5EtrQMJkUo9xY-PPtkdH4WDXMCAkp3q0wPtVBO4vNKf8kSQNuyP0gzWdAt_Cy7FtGCcDgOc3cO4gBAgXceEr3kv8w/s640/IMG_2248.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Hmmm... that's a real nice Whizbang Garden Tote in that last picture (<a href="https://whizbanggardening.blogspot.com/">Click Here</a> for how-to instructions). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Here's a photo of Rick, at the end of the growing season, with one of those amazing, thick-stem, Minibed-grown pepper plants he mentioned in his first e-mail (it looks more like a small tree trunk!)...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBotn-Nhx5umWOJIbUNdy1xvrRWQfQjVdl2C5XOVdRmEPyLFEtkxOyVF_oBuIIoLtxFvBKMWtJMQ4paX-AMCgh9XTXRVoPYTfepYAutZSpBYlxInAHtMNh0rvn8pWT7_mW_SjfZacLrg8/s1600/IMG_2284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBotn-Nhx5umWOJIbUNdy1xvrRWQfQjVdl2C5XOVdRmEPyLFEtkxOyVF_oBuIIoLtxFvBKMWtJMQ4paX-AMCgh9XTXRVoPYTfepYAutZSpBYlxInAHtMNh0rvn8pWT7_mW_SjfZacLrg8/s640/IMG_2284.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">###</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">If you are not familiar with my Minibed gardening system, full details are in my <i>2019 Minibed Gardening Trilogy Report</i>. <a href="https://www.planetwhizbang.com/gardening">Click Here</a> to learn more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-38026605465791300872019-02-28T05:16:00.002-08:002019-02-28T05:16:56.744-08:00Illinois Becky's Inspiring Minibed Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Dateline: 28 February 2019</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Please note: This is a cross post from </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">my new blog, </span><a href="https://thedeliberateamerican.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The Deliberate American</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRIYVvoMUwwUoqBTwaWbBUUaikXvoTrmJLBQytIO_QYjmhEGCG-JYFyD5qY3fyPBRerfuYbFh5tuAHYXLArBGZtVBzuXMoZhPMOr2E-ocN8cSouZ8H3pZkvwnXNzfqjkFa4dTWW_Zzck/s1600/IMG_20180619_092031-EFFECTS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRIYVvoMUwwUoqBTwaWbBUUaikXvoTrmJLBQytIO_QYjmhEGCG-JYFyD5qY3fyPBRerfuYbFh5tuAHYXLArBGZtVBzuXMoZhPMOr2E-ocN8cSouZ8H3pZkvwnXNzfqjkFa4dTWW_Zzck/s640/IMG_20180619_092031-EFFECTS.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Becky's Minibed Garden in 2018</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It was late in 2016 when, after decades of trying so many other gardening methods, I developed a new </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">system </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">for gardening. At first, I called it Minibeds-on-Plastic. I now call it Minibed Gardening.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">At first glance, Minibed gardening doesn't look like anything all that unique. The casual observer would only see plastic mulch and some small beds. So, what's the big deal?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Well, the big deal is in how the beds are laid out and managed. I call it <i>high-culture</i>. High culture is all about focused attention on the health of the soil, and providing optimum conditions for plants to thrive. There's a lot more to it than meets the eye.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For the past two years I have had a Minibed experimental garden. I have put my initial ideas into practice. I've seen them prove to be sound, productive, and profoundly satisfying.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But what is even more satisfying to me is seeing others take the Minibed gardening idea and put it to good use. Such is the case with the garden in the photo above. Becky M. lives in northern Illinois, about an hour southwest of Chicago (zone 5). She sent me that beautiful photo above with the following comment...</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"I bought your garden book and the first update and last year I converted my garden to minibeds. Wow. I had a few bumps along the road and I learned from them but for the most part, my 45 mini-beds were a huge success. I'm 66 with bad knees and the weeding my traditional row garden required almost made me give up gardening completely. I'm so glad I got your book and took the plunge!"</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Becky's Minibed garden puts my garden to shame. Here are a couple more pictures from her first year of Minibed gardening (you can click on the pictures to see enlarged views)...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZRKtdrTRGPNuybVTtSPhkk-QZ54-bMsojCyGmVnPm_vdnIM-vOlFVKx2vH0zqCxRDs-Yia5NgQQvFRfxtobM7F-1Rn6Hd1aCo2_jMUwuXNs3383dGc36uG-gbJS7t4h-jOIbpgOsgr4/s1600/IMG_20180619_092008.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZRKtdrTRGPNuybVTtSPhkk-QZ54-bMsojCyGmVnPm_vdnIM-vOlFVKx2vH0zqCxRDs-Yia5NgQQvFRfxtobM7F-1Rn6Hd1aCo2_jMUwuXNs3383dGc36uG-gbJS7t4h-jOIbpgOsgr4/s640/IMG_20180619_092008.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXDieB4H9zgLKCp4pPdUd5Kawv0k5Z7wpNIhkZYlVce9ONVSFRe5pboTKuTaX2tTbNXHRRia4fnOQCrWVH1hJH5a6A74i_FITkYJkOGqylVqW9p2r36oEMb8ZY2zzPM0zQ5CZxoobPeI/s1600/download_20181031_121759.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXDieB4H9zgLKCp4pPdUd5Kawv0k5Z7wpNIhkZYlVce9ONVSFRe5pboTKuTaX2tTbNXHRRia4fnOQCrWVH1hJH5a6A74i_FITkYJkOGqylVqW9p2r36oEMb8ZY2zzPM0zQ5CZxoobPeI/s640/download_20181031_121759.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Here are some "before" photos of the same garden in the spring, after getting the plastic and Minibed frames in place...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRN3tgx1nf4MEYkt-HHRGWQ223jO1POX5fOP3eI4X3Hr8aEZPO5eySWC5IRwn0s9_wsFeMXL1VnjQSz8zNXQ5yH3N0Y5Yxbbu-ZiPzjYU_n7p92N0BVbR5_QcR639RJc1ym3xzhx84MU4/s1600/IMG_20180331_100242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRN3tgx1nf4MEYkt-HHRGWQ223jO1POX5fOP3eI4X3Hr8aEZPO5eySWC5IRwn0s9_wsFeMXL1VnjQSz8zNXQ5yH3N0Y5Yxbbu-ZiPzjYU_n7p92N0BVbR5_QcR639RJc1ym3xzhx84MU4/s640/IMG_20180331_100242.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbpM1RAUYnoZ4uH96DB6-mQRJNKvkeNZ0e-Q4sV59ARZFbRrjchIJg9NCuyM954LL142heRkdYzs4nhlWpcM-QvUWjCJI8BdHdhfaX2lIqWjs652tyomvFVZ1aPBRy9pYQvzzlnoinTn0/s1600/IMG_20180331_100221+copy+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbpM1RAUYnoZ4uH96DB6-mQRJNKvkeNZ0e-Q4sV59ARZFbRrjchIJg9NCuyM954LL142heRkdYzs4nhlWpcM-QvUWjCJI8BdHdhfaX2lIqWjs652tyomvFVZ1aPBRy9pYQvzzlnoinTn0/s640/IMG_20180331_100221+copy+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And here's a final photo from Becky...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZKJ-S61Wh2XGsBViZ67154jwiU3EjZxOzEBtJoZJLlXPM1_rINsrojgHm9DVcGrMtLvhO2HbiEDTM9eDB1MIDe-3FMn_OvoLyRmLu2PwsjzgGccjq25mUDBswqPjqyY6zSPu49z1_bg/s1600/IMG_20181001_102934_960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZKJ-S61Wh2XGsBViZ67154jwiU3EjZxOzEBtJoZJLlXPM1_rINsrojgHm9DVcGrMtLvhO2HbiEDTM9eDB1MIDe-3FMn_OvoLyRmLu2PwsjzgGccjq25mUDBswqPjqyY6zSPu49z1_bg/s640/IMG_20181001_102934_960.jpg" width="512" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> Now, if all of that doesn't inspire you to get gardening this spring, I don't know what will. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The way I look at it, gardening is one of the most positive and productive things you can do in a world full of such craziness and uncertainty. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">###</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">With your Minibed gardening success and satisfaction in mind I have recently (just </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">yesterday) put together a new Minibed gardening resource...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EgBTDJa9GbklwS8NY07T-8rNqB1WM22AWuXEgByPi-FwJpBHuB5X8qQGTmhLmpFnP4HS3WaBdoTlbgkIh6_ZP5vuwt0IvvOhN2mNbsnK-NIOBKuYeYMuF25AV-R-77vs5kohA_dE-WY/s1600/Working+Cover+new+bord.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EgBTDJa9GbklwS8NY07T-8rNqB1WM22AWuXEgByPi-FwJpBHuB5X8qQGTmhLmpFnP4HS3WaBdoTlbgkIh6_ZP5vuwt0IvvOhN2mNbsnK-NIOBKuYeYMuF25AV-R-77vs5kohA_dE-WY/s640/Working+Cover+new+bord.jpeg" width="491" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Minibed Gardening Trilogy is a collection of my yearly Minibed gardening reports (2017-2019). It has 130 pages and 250 photos. It explains the history, the theory, and the best practices of my Minibed gardening system. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This new resource is formatted as a pdf download. The price is $17.95. <span style="color: red;">But I have put it on sale until March 16 for only $12.95</span>. </span><a href="https://www.e-junkie.com/i/yhlr" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Click Here to order</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If you want to learn more about the Minibed gardening system before purchasing the Trilogy, <a href="https://minibedsonplastic.blogspot.com/">Click Here</a> to go to the Minibed Gardening web site.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">###</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">NOTE: If you have purchased the previous yearly reports from me, you already have the first two thirds of this trilogy, and you should have received and e-mail with information about purchasing just the 30-page 2019 Minibed Gardening update (priced at $2.95). If you did not get the e-mail, contact me at <a href="mailto:herrick@planetwhizbang.com">herrick@planetwhizbang.com</a> and I'll send you the details.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<br />
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-64918699250106888412018-11-18T05:08:00.002-08:002018-11-18T05:08:21.204-08:00Government Cheese, Aunt Ruth's Equities, AndThat Virgil Caine Song<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Please Note: The following is a cross-post from my new blog, <a href="https://thedeliberateamerican.blogspot.com/">The Deliberate American</a>. Please stop on over sometime and check it out. Thank you.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WKP6dyHOcpawOFmgIRS9Clui41lI2SNSFnsUBr0Nfy1axvFyRoirkiNLxQq_95a1i65zuuWcUyc339-gblFVjD3F1p7OVNkjx3msqFU7TzxpkEZi2AVe5ExXQgFZhxY-wtsjWK930cI/s1600/8611dd47025abf46f13a47680d0dde90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="1366" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WKP6dyHOcpawOFmgIRS9Clui41lI2SNSFnsUBr0Nfy1axvFyRoirkiNLxQq_95a1i65zuuWcUyc339-gblFVjD3F1p7OVNkjx3msqFU7TzxpkEZi2AVe5ExXQgFZhxY-wtsjWK930cI/s640/8611dd47025abf46f13a47680d0dde90.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I remember the day my parents came home from town with a bunch of free food from the government. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I was 12 years old. It was 1970. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">There were a couple big bricks of yellow cheese, and powdered milk, and white rice, and some other things I don't recollect. The cheese was pretty good, but the powdered milk wasn't. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The food was for poor people. It was "welfare" food. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I didn't like knowing that my parents were poor. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">We were poor because my stepfather had experienced a serious health setback. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">He didn't look or act sick to me. I saw him as a fit, hard-working Marine veteran. But he wasn't as fit as he looked because he went into the VA hospital for surgery. A couple weeks later he came home a different person. He was so pale and weak and helpless that only with my mother's help could he get up the four steps into our house. He was only 39 years old. I remember it well. It was a shock to my senses.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">My stepfather had been the manager of an industrial laundry in Syracuse, NY. But when he went into the hospital, the company let him go. I don't know exactly how long he was out of work but it was long enough to be an economic hardship. Thus, the government food.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhjVBs0nv_QgY-9vU5zqhrHSFrMYQSL0klvL6ryiuOHHyIYJ0x0VMgeLGtTJtm4MowuwkiycsuKIoK9eBYrpu6pUW6jmjkcMnRZKk3m82VHUEdqWb66WZqeO_2NC5z1VlJ6WWZY4kLBQ/s1600/image-placeholder-title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhjVBs0nv_QgY-9vU5zqhrHSFrMYQSL0klvL6ryiuOHHyIYJ0x0VMgeLGtTJtm4MowuwkiycsuKIoK9eBYrpu6pUW6jmjkcMnRZKk3m82VHUEdqWb66WZqeO_2NC5z1VlJ6WWZY4kLBQ/s640/image-placeholder-title.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I'm sure my parents didn't like taking that free government food. To my knowledge, they never did again. And I suspect that is how they came to sell Aunt Ruth's stocks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Aunt Ruth was one of only two living relatives my stepfather had. She was his mother's sister and she lived in California. Aunt Ruth had no children. I met her once, when she came to visit some years earlier. She was a pleasant, white-haired, old lady. Aunt Ruth died a couple years before my stepfather went into the hospital. She left him some stocks in her will.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">We started getting mail in big envelopes from different companies. They contained colorful photos and financial details. Marathon Oil and Phelps Dodge were two I remember. They were blue-chip stocks from long-established companies. Aunt Ruth had invested her money wisely.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Back in those times, the daily newspapers had a couple of pages reporting how each and every stock was doing. I was such a nerd back then that I made graphs and charted the daily progress of several stocks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In time, my stepfather recovered and got back to work. I noticed that the information from the various stock companies stopped coming in the mail. I asked why. My stepfather told me he sold the stocks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I've always thought that selling those stocks was like selling the seed corn. Between 1970 and 2011 (when my stepfather died) the average annual return on stocks was around 10%. One dollar in the stock market in 1970 grew to be worth around $50 in 2011.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In retrospect, selling Aunt Ruth's stocks might not have been the smartest thing to do, but it was the responsible thing to do. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">My stepfather had a family to support, and he was down on his luck.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Unfortunately, my stepfather struggled with one serious health crisis after another for the rest of his days. Finances were always tight. My parents were always struggling to keep the bills paid. There were periods of time when the bill collectors called. Our phone service was shut off once for awhile. My parents would manage to save some money, and then another health and financial crisis would come.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">My stepfather worked well past retirement age, because he had to. And when he died (my mother had died a few years earlier), his estate amounted to a small amount in a checking account, along with the contents of his house.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">That's a sad story, but it's not an uncommon story, and it's not a bad story. In fact, it's actually a good story. That's because my stepfather was a remarkable example of a responsible man. He was a diligent and hard worker who sacrificed for his family. I can't recall him ever wasting money, or spending a lot of money on something special for himself. No boats, no fancy cars, no expensive hobbies, nothing like that—it was all about providing for those he loved. And, at times, I saw my parents being generous towards others with money they really couldn't afford to be generous with.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Life dealt my stepfather one cruel blow after another, but he took the blows and he fought back to the best of his ability. He did the best he could against difficult odds. I admire him greatly for the example he was to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">###</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">That phrase, "selling the seed corn," got me to thinking about the song, <i>The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down</i>. The YouTube video below shows Levon Helm singing the song, while playing the drums. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jREUrbGGrgM" width="560"></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I can't play a musical instrument, and I can't sing, but Levon Helm can do both at once. It's a fine song and a remarkable performance by a very talented man.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">So, anyway, there is a place in that song where Levon sings: "You can't raise the cane back up when it's in the feed."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I always thought those words had something to do with using up the seed corn. But I have recently learned that I have long misheard the lyrics.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">He is actually singing: "You can't raise a Caine back up when it's in defeat." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">He is referring to Virgil Caine (who served on the Danville Train).</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-12005346154803855202018-11-10T11:51:00.001-08:002018-11-11T04:22:23.632-08:00I've Started A New Blog!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWBfVYCs9tswbDHjrEV1KenDp7oBu-1afBpuC6QD16N8VtJRmIS0vQ6GWB5crjXd6fPZd4ZNIc-6GzYNpJ2ukYx5bc32QMemUc6bdNXTemy1lCQPLGL1xRaB2OKzWh2T-0CC4_VH9Xng/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-10+at+2.08.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1233" data-original-width="1600" height="491" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWBfVYCs9tswbDHjrEV1KenDp7oBu-1afBpuC6QD16N8VtJRmIS0vQ6GWB5crjXd6fPZd4ZNIc-6GzYNpJ2ukYx5bc32QMemUc6bdNXTemy1lCQPLGL1xRaB2OKzWh2T-0CC4_VH9Xng/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-10+at+2.08.22+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My wife says that is not a good picture of me. But it projects a message. The narrowed eyes are all about focus and determination. The serious face is, well, it's all about seriousness. Such things are necessary when you start a new blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If you have been a long-time reader of my online writings, I know what you're thinking...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Another blog?! What's wrong with this one? Or the one before this? And how come you left the first one anyway— the one that so many people used to read? I never really understood that.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The answer is...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I'm restless. I'm searching for my best social media niche. The Deliberate <i>American</i> seems right at this time. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Please note that it is The Deliberate <i>American</i>, not Agrarian. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Don't worry... I'm still a solid and deliberate agrarian. That will never change. And I expect to have some agrarian-themed posts on the new blog. But I'm pivoting to a few things I've mostly avoided in the past.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For example, I will not shy away from political discourse. Political ideology is, after all, a key part of what it means to be an American. A <i>Deliberate American</i> is, in part, an American who embraces and celebrates fundamental right thinking about "the American Experiment," as embodied in our founding documents.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I plan to post one blog every day. Or maybe a couple. They will be relatively short posts. I invite you to stop on by and sign up to get notified of each new post. Or just stop by daily, as you think about it. Perhaps during your morning cup of coffee. Here's the link: </span><span style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://thedeliberateamerican.blogspot.com/">The Deliberate American</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">P.S. This blog, and my two previous blogs will remain online, as long as Blogger supports them. I have no backup or archive of any of my internet writings. Hopefully, the WayBack machine has been storing them away!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">P.P.S. And if I feel the urge to post a long, thoughtful, essay on some subject, I'll probably post it right here, then link to it from the new blog, which will have shorter posts</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Thank you for your understanding. I'll see you at <a href="https://thedeliberateamerican.blogspot.com/">The Deliberate American</a>....</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-54940553742325845342018-09-28T10:37:00.000-07:002018-09-29T19:15:56.776-07:00Alexander Solzhenitsyn's TakeOn The Brett KavanaughConfirmation Hearing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dateline: 28 September 2018</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuj2Q2YUv06X2wYBbCGuGEn8TRKJ9Py-3p5mUWOOjYgKAjRSAQDDA2KKv3FJEz09V8C8jGcFjhRwOsFhH9MKohv8rYLIUBXvIgVGgXjwQdm_wF95GpTGrJT4XxAZudLjnlA_LB3M43gs/s1600/information_items_436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="647" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuj2Q2YUv06X2wYBbCGuGEn8TRKJ9Py-3p5mUWOOjYgKAjRSAQDDA2KKv3FJEz09V8C8jGcFjhRwOsFhH9MKohv8rYLIUBXvIgVGgXjwQdm_wF95GpTGrJT4XxAZudLjnlA_LB3M43gs/s320/information_items_436.jpg" width="269" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEVWqBIo-GLFelbcnIXg_TkPQmlHvC2Tvdlmqyca6vDYJ-ZV2lumKio5oP1UnT1Njd9s9UoWpKhyphenhyphen-de2dV_-ksjZ2w7YhKaXc5oNpuy1NdbrZs0vHcw9UtHW0slteEfrG8HLoh-sp3WU/s1600/brett-kavanaugh-ap-mt-180921_hpMain_4_4x3_992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="552" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEVWqBIo-GLFelbcnIXg_TkPQmlHvC2Tvdlmqyca6vDYJ-ZV2lumKio5oP1UnT1Njd9s9UoWpKhyphenhyphen-de2dV_-ksjZ2w7YhKaXc5oNpuy1NdbrZs0vHcw9UtHW0slteEfrG8HLoh-sp3WU/s320/brett-kavanaugh-ap-mt-180921_hpMain_4_4x3_992.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Were he still in this realm, Alexander Solzhenitsyn would surely have found the recent Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearing of particular interest.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Solzhenitsyn had, after all, seen this sort of thing before. Not the 21st century American version, but the early 19th Century Soviet, Bolshevik, Marxist version. Not only had he seen it, he had experienced it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The experience should have killed him, like it did so many of his countrymen. But it didn't kill him. Instead, he hung on for years. He survived. And when the time was right, he fought back with a literary and truth-speaking ferocity that knocked the Leviathan Soviet system on it's heels.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">No one person, more than Alexander Solzhenitsyn, did as much to destroy the Soviet system. Ronald Reagan gets a lot of credit for the fall of the Soviet Union, but Solzhenitsyn did the heavy lifting, and he paid a hard personal price.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Which brings me to Brett Kavanaugh, a man of rare personal accomplishment, public service, and <i>sterling character. </i>Literally hundreds of people have attested to his sterling character, many having known him for decades. </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But Brett Kavanaugh has one very serious problem. He is not a Leftist. Were he such, he would have been confirmed to the Supreme Court by now, without any significant objections.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the early 1900s, as the Bolsheviks were taking political control of Russia, with the hollow promise of their Marxist utopia, those who did not believe and conform to the Marxist tripe, were routinely arrested and sent to gulag prison camps throughout the country. Or, in many instances, they were summarily killed.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">An <i>accusation</i> of some wrongdoing was all that was needed. Corroboration with an accusation was helpful, but it really wasn't necessary. Once you were accused, you had to prove your innocence. The burden of proof was not on accusers, but on the accused. You were assumed guilty until you proved your innocence.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Millions</i> of law-abiding citizens in the Soviet Union were accused of crimes and sent to the gulags with little to no evidence or corroboration. Their "crime" was that they did not conform to the political correctness of their day, which was Marxist-Communism. </span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In America today, with the growing popularity of Marxist ideology on the political Left, those who do not fall in line with the Leftist causes are regarded as enemies of the Left. As such, they must not not be allowed to speak freely, or to hold positions of influence and power in government. </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">The direct opposite of a Leftist is a Conservative. We on the Conservative side of the political spectrum don't conform to speech and thought control mechanisms (like political correctness). We see the logical disconnects and enormous dangers in Neo-Marxism. We know the lessons of history and refuse to be indoctrinated by the Leftist media manipulators, the Leftist academics, and the Leftist cultural engineers. As such, we are pretty much the only hindrance to the Neo-Marxist agenda. We are those who, if the radical Leftists achieve their goals, will be herded into the gulags, or simply and unceremoniously executed.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">So, in the minds of the Leftists, Brett Kavanaugh's biggest crime is that he is not one of them. The Leftist-fueled character assassination and media circus surrounding his confirmation is really a fairly mild Marxist response. They are capable of so much worse.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the Soviet Union of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's day, police would come to your house, or your place of work, or stop you on the street, and take you away for questioning. Often, your family would never see you again. You would appear before an unelected Marxist bureaucrat who would, in due time, provide you with a written confession to sign.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If you refused, you would be tortured. Sleep deprivation was an "easy" torture. But they had other ways, some deviously creative, and far more effective. Resisting was of no use. </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Political, bureaucratic power is a magnet for psychopaths. Such people rise to the top in a Marxist system. They are necessary, and they are rewarded.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In Solzhenitsyn's case, he was sentenced to the Soviet gulag<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>prison system for penning a mild joke, critical of Stalin, in a personal letter to a friend. In his instance, there was a bit of evidence. But the ironic thing was that Solzhenitsyn was a well-indoctrinated and devoted Marxist (as well as an atheist— all good Marxists are atheists). He was a high ranking military officer and decorated war hero. It was WW 2, and the Russians were fighting the Germans on the Western Front.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Solzhenitsyn was called back from the front lines and imprisoned for the next 8 years. He nearly died in prison. Millions of Russian citizens died in the gulags. Their so-called <i>crimes </i>varied, but multitudes of them were there because of unproven accusations or mere suspicions. Few had honest trials. A trial was, after all, not needed with a signed confession.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">All of this is chronicled in Solzhenitsyn's powerful book,<i> The Gulag Archipelago</i>. It is a Red Pill book. Read it and you will see reality behind the facade. It is a disgusting, terrifying, dystopian expose of Marxism. Put aside the modern zombie and horror fiction novels and read <i>The Gulag Archipelago</i> if you want a real scare.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">America in 2018 is under attack from within and without by Neo-Marxist revolutionaries, just like Russia prior to the Revolution of 1917. They are seemingly nice people... as long as you go along with their Leftist agenda. </span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If you don't conform, if you stand in their way, if you are a stumbling block to their plans, the Leftists will morph into monsters intent on destroying you. They will stop at nothing to advance their cause. Their desired end justifies any means.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">They may be a minority at the upper levels of the cause, but they are a well-entrenched and fully committed minority. The foot soldiers of this revolution are patsies; they are tools controlled by the deviously cunning, well funded higher-ups.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">So it is that Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation is a bellwether event. The Marxist Leftists have made so much progress in recent years. Now they are losing ground. Their gains will be seriously jeopardized by a more Conservative justice on the Supreme Court. The character and qualifications of the Justice mean nothing to them. Ideology is everything. His confirmation must be stopped. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Solzyhenitsyn would have seen this all too clearly. Before he died in 2008 he warned that America was following in the same path as Russia prior to the October Revolution of 1917. That's when the Bolsheviks took over. That's when the Soviet nightmare began.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God help us all.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 22.0px; font: 20.0px Georgia; color: #121212; -<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" id=":dh.21" tabindex="-1" role="menuitem" aria-haspopup="true" style="background: yellow;">webkit</span>-text-stroke: #121212}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 22.0px; font: 20.0px Georgia; color: #121212; -<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" id=":dh.22" tabindex="-1" role="menuitem" aria-haspopup="true" style="background: yellow;">webkit</span>-text-stroke: #121212; min-height: 22.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-61983431761117593302018-05-20T17:55:00.000-07:002018-05-20T17:56:36.815-07:00Snap-Back Farm Hats From The 70s And 80s Are Worth Big Money!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO90bbzIn7Ezm9W72L4xwzWmH8uofPqm75-zpZk17kJ2FBbc8IX6oNxFPaEVfRyZipQq8RbH5r1FGdn-X2TNeYvu57KvS4GZWY6fKhZldd_-hDMNs8mDGYYEUvAEa81Ppi_BVRjcN8fP8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-04-20+at+7.11.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="1600" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO90bbzIn7Ezm9W72L4xwzWmH8uofPqm75-zpZk17kJ2FBbc8IX6oNxFPaEVfRyZipQq8RbH5r1FGdn-X2TNeYvu57KvS4GZWY6fKhZldd_-hDMNs8mDGYYEUvAEa81Ppi_BVRjcN8fP8/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-04-20+at+7.11.06+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">(click the picture to see a larger view)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">The screen shot above shows a common John Deere hat from the 1980s that recently sold on Ebay for a whopping $880. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I remember people wearing that exact hat back then. My father-in-law wore a John Deere hat just like this one...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesMZ4sm2SmxbK-lMJxJZH-z77gsBmEz5r3At72V9o_JB8p6cMY-45h1AtAx9L38B4IJGBeknfjJ60ebSRkEYVGClba2hUrO7bLBgS28oAakDTfnjNkHo0ae6KHI8GIZDGew9GB46idVI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-04-20+at+7.04.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1600" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesMZ4sm2SmxbK-lMJxJZH-z77gsBmEz5r3At72V9o_JB8p6cMY-45h1AtAx9L38B4IJGBeknfjJ60ebSRkEYVGClba2hUrO7bLBgS28oAakDTfnjNkHo0ae6KHI8GIZDGew9GB46idVI/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-04-20+at+7.04.01+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">You'll notice that one sold for only $455. I think he got it free when he bought a JD lawnmower.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It's not just John Deere hats. This relatively plain hat from Henderson, NC, brought $288...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Hu0u-mKCYr39YE7t-S3SJobumJAuZRy5l1huGikRW_VjUt2qyQ8ZgNDxYjdw69E6Qh2dP4xMe1XIU2Ouywjix3GtVKLdKhd31NtAudN4N3XwNxbXcta5KzCD9tkD1X5fOqBMydLNMJg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-04-20+at+7.07.19+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1600" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Hu0u-mKCYr39YE7t-S3SJobumJAuZRy5l1huGikRW_VjUt2qyQ8ZgNDxYjdw69E6Qh2dP4xMe1XIU2Ouywjix3GtVKLdKhd31NtAudN4N3XwNxbXcta5KzCD9tkD1X5fOqBMydLNMJg/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-04-20+at+7.07.19+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span id="goog_265180817"></span><span id="goog_265180818"></span>Did you realize these hats are worth so much money? Here's another from a farm association...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVo4r1avy2Z4aQ8PiIt-c2bo59bGqNya7MzP1yQbB6yipLIHVj-qCLYMh5v_pZ1IggFEUuj5zcplJ9E3Fc6EtgAuRfIdd4QIqJyWdQPeUXD3APlQ-N6vA3HERUJEJp5MuZxUSO05GP5M/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-04-20+at+7.09.05+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1600" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVo4r1avy2Z4aQ8PiIt-c2bo59bGqNya7MzP1yQbB6yipLIHVj-qCLYMh5v_pZ1IggFEUuj5zcplJ9E3Fc6EtgAuRfIdd4QIqJyWdQPeUXD3APlQ-N6vA3HERUJEJp5MuZxUSO05GP5M/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-04-20+at+7.09.05+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">$375 for that hat! These kinds of hats were once ubiquitous. Just about every rural man in every rural community in America wore them. They were often given away for free. Now they are worth hundreds of dollars. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Here's another recent top seller...</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEe_7s_kTFzhBL1FwqavAPht415Z8s1yQaKkfUFTnGv3-aZ_SJDoIDAp-LgaflHbW6bFSiTJQMtE9M3ULM29AJnek-qGYf5ISRQAAKtiEvmX7AIOTaMdZek-l1FEtt5f5slqt8GzO1kM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-04-20+at+7.05.09+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="1600" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEe_7s_kTFzhBL1FwqavAPht415Z8s1yQaKkfUFTnGv3-aZ_SJDoIDAp-LgaflHbW6bFSiTJQMtE9M3ULM29AJnek-qGYf5ISRQAAKtiEvmX7AIOTaMdZek-l1FEtt5f5slqt8GzO1kM/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-04-20+at+7.05.09+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Who spends eight hundred bucks for a cheap old hat like that? I don't get it. But I sure do wish I had a few of them to sell!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Just imagine... if we who lived back in the 1970s and 1980s had known those old hats would one day be worth so much money today... well, just imagine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I wonder what is commonly available and inexpensive today that will be worth BIG MONEY thirty years from now? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I'll be 90 in 30 years. I might make it that far. Any suggestions?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-57210251053835713282018-05-08T03:31:00.002-07:002018-05-08T03:31:48.886-07:00My New House AdditionPart 4(Forming The Footings)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c1xNww86ywI" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-40478177983528069882018-05-08T03:29:00.002-07:002018-05-08T03:29:35.412-07:00My New House AdditionPart 3(Excavation)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k6CXLS7JZAw" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-50442999452982564582018-05-05T03:27:00.001-07:002018-05-08T03:27:34.231-07:00My New House AdditionPart 2(Moving The Big Propane Tank)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K3vqyQNud7I" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-60699704758202798912018-04-29T05:50:00.000-07:002018-04-29T05:50:16.680-07:00My New House AdditionPart 1(Site Preparation)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rg0S0lVPc0U" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-56108826590059436252018-04-27T05:23:00.001-07:002018-04-27T05:35:45.696-07:00I'm On Day 5 of The Whole30 Diet... Ain't So Bad!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PMZNrE8TMng" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">At my wife's urging, I have embarked on the <a href="https://whole30.com/downloads/official-whole30-program-rules.pdf">Whole30 diet</a>. We are doing it together. Marlene has been through the Whole30 diet before. She lost weight and she felt better.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It certainly wouldn't hurt me to lose a few pounds, but it is the the health-maintaining and health-improving aspects of this diet that appeal to me more than anything. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">At 60 years of age, I am healthy. Or, I should say, I am healthy as far as a know. I have not been to a doctor for decades. I have not had a physical exam since I was 18 years old. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">But I am feeling the effects of my age. There is a decline in vitality, and my capacity for physical work seems greatly diminished. There are little aches and pains; little concerns that come and go. And I am seeing people all around me (my age and younger) dealing with serious health afflictions. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Being mindful of what I eat, and how I take care of the body God has entrusted to me (for awhile) is just being responsible. I feel convicted that I need to be more responsible.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">There are so many <a href="https://whole30.com/testimonials/">amazing testimonials</a> of improved health with this diet that it deserves more attention. We have a friend who has lost 80 pounds and has experienced remarkable healing in her body as a result of this diet. She is not just following it for 30 days. She is on a Whole365. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I am now five days into the diet. At this point, according to the calendar below, I'm supposed to be feeling a little cranky. But I'm not. So far, so good. In the words of Rocky Balboa, <i>"Ain't so bad!"</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6iUcWrmUe6anTMz_Lan63kVw-bpLb2dDhHMEHH1buOb-eAMPdf1DC31OKQYOvxlncd0Wrg0Anq62QuSo8lrxqneousX3mREGjXHJwV5gAe_muipSOFRSM5fD_CXwCqy61scx-DaGsOQ/s1600/sarah-pavan-whole-30-1050x811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1050" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6iUcWrmUe6anTMz_Lan63kVw-bpLb2dDhHMEHH1buOb-eAMPdf1DC31OKQYOvxlncd0Wrg0Anq62QuSo8lrxqneousX3mREGjXHJwV5gAe_muipSOFRSM5fD_CXwCqy61scx-DaGsOQ/s640/sarah-pavan-whole-30-1050x811.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It helps immensely that my wife is something of an expert on this diet, having read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544609719/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=whizbook-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0544609719&linkId=dae4eb5aaaffcab3ad8b47a33e55643e">the book</a>, and much more. And she is willing to invest the time in preparing the right foods. Marlene tells me what I can and can not eat. She is my Whole30 coach. And we're in this together.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Speaking of the right foods, Whole30 can be reduced to the following...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">No sugar.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">No soy.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">No dairy.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">No grains.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">No legumes (including peanut butter).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">No bad fats.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">No alcohol.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">We eat three meals a day. Each meal has a protein (eggs or meat), a good fat (ghee, avocado oil, coconut oil, olives, or avocado), lots of vegetables. Fruit is allowed, but not fruit juices. Snacking between meals is frowned on.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">You can eat all you want of the approved foods at each meal.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">If you have read my <a href="http://minibedsonplastic.blogspot.com/2018/02/maximum-satisfaction-vegetable.html">Minibed Gardening Report</a>, you know that Marlene and I started roasting vegetables last year (when she was on the Whole30 diet). This may be the best part of the diet. We are now huge fans of oven roasted vegetables, breakfast, lunch and supper!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DDnHnPGki5ENvabcGYGgtoQXGgo63vXOrwbdcenFxln_XmKJ7iWlk8e-Wv5cuXVzx_UfeyyoQBOibW6qU889ArkcQmWxaIC1VBS5EliAQzv5JOUm08FaGbe9qWReYszvSEjCF4dqN5I/s1600/IMG_2675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1280" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DDnHnPGki5ENvabcGYGgtoQXGgo63vXOrwbdcenFxln_XmKJ7iWlk8e-Wv5cuXVzx_UfeyyoQBOibW6qU889ArkcQmWxaIC1VBS5EliAQzv5JOUm08FaGbe9qWReYszvSEjCF4dqN5I/s640/IMG_2675.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The hardest part of Whole 30 for me (so far) is the coffee. Although coffee is allowed in moderation (before noon), sweetener is not.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">For the past six years I have treated myself to a morning cup of what I call "special coffee." It is a mix of coffee, heavy cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, and coconut oil. In recent months I started adding a pinch of diatomaceous earth. I whizz the mixture to a satisfying froth in a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O9CIQVU/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=whizbook-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00O9CIQVU&linkId=bb9fefa779732fba0c2db573f1a41a47">Magic Bullet</a>. It is soooo good!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Black coffee is not so good. But my mother always drank her coffee black. It can be done. <i>"Ain't so bad!"</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">According to the Whole30 calendar (see above) "The Hardest Days" are ahead of me. But 11 days from now, I get "Tiger Blood." I'm not exactly sure what tiger blood means, but I think it is a good thing. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-80553328167530375642018-04-26T15:02:00.002-07:002018-04-26T15:10:46.093-07:00Eight Potato Varieties in Minibeds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSambsYOiK41fw8j40WALGWgwP5LvkvewvBWSnGJKCNwo5EBWacdIQeM_uVU8Q-fotl-SBgBaMR3nXZZ-b3TpcXGQIhj3g5gsngjQk0Xr9Tec4BIqzzIDsgmWMxT6ComKdXFJDOC5CHgU/s1600/IMG_3635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSambsYOiK41fw8j40WALGWgwP5LvkvewvBWSnGJKCNwo5EBWacdIQeM_uVU8Q-fotl-SBgBaMR3nXZZ-b3TpcXGQIhj3g5gsngjQk0Xr9Tec4BIqzzIDsgmWMxT6ComKdXFJDOC5CHgU/s640/IMG_3635.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is the Purple and Red Trial Collection <br />from <a href="https://www.mainepotatolady.com/productcart/pc/home.asp">Maine Potato Lady</a>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I'm pleased to report that I have finally started planting my garden. This year, pretty much all of my garden will be grown in Minibeds. 78% less weeding, no watering, no rototilling, and focused, high culture in manageable, 6-square foot beds worked very well last year. My wife says it was the best garden I ever grew, and I've been growing gardens for the 37 years of our marriage. 2018 will be year #2 with the <a href="http://minibedsonplastic.blogspot.com/2018/02/maximum-satisfaction-vegetable.html">Minibed Experimental Garden</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">But my results growing potatoes in minibeds last year was only partially satisfying. Although my Onaway potato minibed was a superstar (see <a href="https://youtu.be/YokNK2jC5Us">ThisYouTube Video</a>), the others were not. This year I'm anxious to see if I can improve my yield, while experimenting with some new potato varieties.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Now, mind you, Minibeds are not suited for growing a winter's supply of spuds. They are, however, ideal for growing some potatoes for fresh eating through the summer, and they are ideal for trialing some new varieties. After all, part of the joy of gardening is trying new varieties.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It is with trialing potatoes in mind that <a href="https://www.mainepotatolady.com/productcart/pc/home.asp">Maine Potato Lady</a> offers a Purple and Red Trial Collection of seed potatoes. Five seed potatoes of six varieties, as you can see in the photo above (click the photo for a closer look).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">And <a href="http://www.woodprairie.com/">Wood Prairie Farm</a> up in Bridgewater, Maine has their <i>Potato Experimenter's Special</i>. This year I opted to try two varieties of fingerling potatoes from Wood Prairie...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0jMShTLfewtCUGoMQtQZxohRu4lffL9qV1F5HFdgy3W0QsoIORdk3NQSL6JDRE82qi0xNVhYF9zViQ21b7k8jtBlTBE8kv40zcYJlHXEFCSF4QB6z1M_FDTFYX5ZuDWIvdlM0jPhIbQ/s1600/IMG_3633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0jMShTLfewtCUGoMQtQZxohRu4lffL9qV1F5HFdgy3W0QsoIORdk3NQSL6JDRE82qi0xNVhYF9zViQ21b7k8jtBlTBE8kv40zcYJlHXEFCSF4QB6z1M_FDTFYX5ZuDWIvdlM0jPhIbQ/s640/IMG_3633.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">All the seed potatoes got here over a week ago. I put them in a warmish spot and they started to sprout, which is a desirable result. Seeing the sprouts allowed me to position the tubers just right for growth (sprouts up).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I planted all the potatoes whole. The larger ones were planted four to a bed, near the center, about 8" apart, as this next picture shows...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQeLr3A8eDp-6wTproc_I21xy14YEcvdapOGnd3einKE4ISVuh63zLV_U9qZhxqatkDNrI16FMgsUyQEWHtI-EjVI8CaWoWboNMfg6oh5yM22XzQS2RspfqXLTeZTciyk5SVT-1Q2pXs/s1600/IMG_3637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQeLr3A8eDp-6wTproc_I21xy14YEcvdapOGnd3einKE4ISVuh63zLV_U9qZhxqatkDNrI16FMgsUyQEWHtI-EjVI8CaWoWboNMfg6oh5yM22XzQS2RspfqXLTeZTciyk5SVT-1Q2pXs/s640/IMG_3637.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">They are 4" to 5" deep. I filled them with a couple inches of soil. I'll fill the depressions in more as the plants emerge and grow.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Then I covered each bed with a cloche. A <a href="http://uplandgardener.blogspot.com/2017/05/making-whizbang-solar-pyramids-most.html">Whizbang Solar Pyramid cloche</a>. I think that Onaway Minibed did as well as it did last year because I cloched it right after planting. Here's a photo of my garden after planting potatoes today...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWtFQQiBzcAfLQMT6KDFB_Lz3FN9F2dmx2wO5OUs51HsyNQTOQtEp2__6cNidbpzEOfGR-utz2zEke1foGUXY6v1-qb94hST8sfVlNtIXeUgH05oDpp9lj4ankC5bQmwoo6h8wvV96dw/s1600/IMG_3645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWtFQQiBzcAfLQMT6KDFB_Lz3FN9F2dmx2wO5OUs51HsyNQTOQtEp2__6cNidbpzEOfGR-utz2zEke1foGUXY6v1-qb94hST8sfVlNtIXeUgH05oDpp9lj4ankC5bQmwoo6h8wvV96dw/s640/IMG_3645.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The 10 cloched Minibeds that you see are all planted to potatoes—8 different varieties. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I have some Kennebeck and Yukon Gold potatoes yet to plant. They will go into rows outside the Minibed garden.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It was overcast, cool and dreary outdoors today, but I feel good about having those potatoes planted. I also planted parsnips, parsley, beets, and Romaine Lettuce.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">How is your garden coming along?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-81080753064657550282018-04-21T03:01:00.000-07:002018-04-21T11:37:14.678-07:00Waiting For Spring<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSXTacdIe0cWscbAHf7fFPvxE3Q0HcZwXX9jkOhVGPOrxCJNnijAf4pfzoQBpK2cDhVW_etOllywY4aYVk1DI3TM9meEocgZZWVvnf4b4wF1tyh81h3JEB0Tjrc_B0co8trbKvWz4b_rU/s1600/IMG_3471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSXTacdIe0cWscbAHf7fFPvxE3Q0HcZwXX9jkOhVGPOrxCJNnijAf4pfzoQBpK2cDhVW_etOllywY4aYVk1DI3TM9meEocgZZWVvnf4b4wF1tyh81h3JEB0Tjrc_B0co8trbKvWz4b_rU/s640/IMG_3471.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Snow and cold are persisting here. I've been dealing with an annoying cough for two weeks. but it is waning. Not much new to report. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If you watched my <a href="https://youtu.be/mryNHDOc0RI">Clear Dawn Onion Experiment</a> video on YouTube four weeks ago, here's what the onions look like today...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSwNshvHFpp9OYvKPyO8DuGiyErMTh33rPz9jHf0w33MPxuZTam6bWPtrjAvBEP4w5nIg-ZEUKxhnygq7beTmsRPcguLR3grZr9x2x3WVJ-bMDmpMghApjqLGALeGY-Ru6W16OYSwwjI/s1600/IMG_3490.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1464" data-original-width="1600" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSwNshvHFpp9OYvKPyO8DuGiyErMTh33rPz9jHf0w33MPxuZTam6bWPtrjAvBEP4w5nIg-ZEUKxhnygq7beTmsRPcguLR3grZr9x2x3WVJ-bMDmpMghApjqLGALeGY-Ru6W16OYSwwjI/s640/IMG_3490.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The little peat pots were not providing the growing plants with enough root space, so I filled some toilet paper tubes with potting soil (mixed with a little alfalfa meal) and set the peat pots into the top. They fit just right, and the onion plants perked right up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It's supposed to warm up next week. I hope to get the onions planted soon. And there is much more to do.... once it warms up!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-49648449277760575422018-04-14T10:14:00.000-07:002018-04-14T10:14:04.518-07:00Planet Jr. FactoryIn 1955<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1Bwbjsvg-UU" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">The short video above provides a rare look into the old S.L. Allen factory in Philadelphia, which I mentioned (and showed a photo of) in <a href="https://thedeliberateagrarian2.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-planet-jr-museum-and-planet-jr-book.html">Yesterday's Blog Post</a>. It shows not only Flexible Flyer sleds being made, but Planet Jr. planters, and walk-behind tractors too. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">The company even made snow skis.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">The film provides a historical glimpse into a bygone era. America was once a country full of people who made things and, for the most part, made things to last (planned obsolescence was surely not something that S.L. Allen believed in). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">I think that hands-on work-making-things is the next best thing to hands-on-work-growing-things. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">But now, most Americans don't grow or make much of anything with their hands. They sit at cubicles and "work" on keyboards. Or they push buttons on machines and watch the machines do the work that humans once had more of a hand in doing.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">The bottom line is that we all do what we have to do to provide for ourselves and our families in the techno-culture we live in. But there is surely a richness and satisfaction in life that comes with hand-work, and creativity outside of the modern paradigm.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">If we can't find this satisfaction in our daily livelihood, we can at least pursue it at home, on our own time. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">But the culture we live in seeks to dominate and consume our spare time with an endless stream of entertainment, amusements, and techno-gadgetry. Such things are a cheap substitute for actually doing something constructive and creative.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">I hope I'm wrong, but I sense that many of the younger generation today are missing out on this important aspect of life.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Probably every older generation going back to the earliest days of the industrial revolution have thought and said the same thing of the younger generation.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-66777429919396301482018-04-13T14:56:00.001-07:002018-04-14T10:14:38.072-07:00The Planet Jr. Museum...And A Planet Jr. Book In The Works<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa25v_0dykDoL9KeY8oP8jrHpbQBSzxWR6cZMe4cX9D8s8SxzpJ_NhiGifT4caB0VGI1XaWdAvX-6f9FO7mcLoBa3BzKTLY-gfwDKSV9DFENRj4dP6RQlzBNT9YPTwL3ZhqnLfPepvQA/s1600/S.L.+Allen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1326" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa25v_0dykDoL9KeY8oP8jrHpbQBSzxWR6cZMe4cX9D8s8SxzpJ_NhiGifT4caB0VGI1XaWdAvX-6f9FO7mcLoBa3BzKTLY-gfwDKSV9DFENRj4dP6RQlzBNT9YPTwL3ZhqnLfPepvQA/s640/S.L.+Allen.png" width="530" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">S.L. Allen and his wife, Sarah, in 1901<br /><a href="http://oldphotosfound.blogspot.com/2015/12/allen-samuel-and-sarah.html">(photo link)</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I've written about Samuel Leeds Allen in the past. He's the man who started the Planet Jr. company. <a href="http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2015/02/samuel-leeds-allen-and-planet-jr-name.html">This Essay In Particular </a>is one I like because I shared some of the "Precepts of Samuel L. Allen," and they are very good precepts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I admire Samuel L. Allen for his character, his inventiveness and for building a company that was known for treating its workers very well. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Allen's unusual <i>Planet Jr.</i> name and logo was the inspiration for my equally unusual <i>Planet Whizbang</i> name and logo, which came about after I invented a wheel hoe design back in May of 2009. <a href="http://whizbangnotes.blogspot.com/2014/01/whats-deal-with-funky-looking-beet-logo.html">I Tell The Story Of The Logo Here</a>. And you can learn all about my <a href="https://planetwhizbang.blogspot.com/">Planet Whizbang Wheel Hoe Here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Since I first wrote about Planet Jr. and S.L. Allen back in 2009, interest in his company and the Planet Jr. line of tools has grown considerably. Planet Jr. wheel hoes, seeders, and ephemera can fetch big prices on Ebay.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The old Planet Jr. catalogs, in particular, are sought-after collectibles. I myself sell PDF downloads of the <a href="http://agriphemera.blogspot.com/2015/02/1898-planet-jr-tool-catalog.html">1898 Catalog</a> and the <a href="http://agriphemera.blogspot.com/2017/03/1942-planet-jr-agricultural-implements.html">1941 Catalog</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0T529c7YtgH7cDOkULcdTQpBTUCrPgujmXYOGMcuFov7qy8CSgwAR1UbqiAbTh_bU0ejH2C96CseF1rc0SShCKyW_UMwA659OxePma15Owzw-1NIpmdtCSBDqLQWccuXxWTsl3psqSo/s1600/planet+jr+catalog+1898+Agriphemera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1028" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0T529c7YtgH7cDOkULcdTQpBTUCrPgujmXYOGMcuFov7qy8CSgwAR1UbqiAbTh_bU0ejH2C96CseF1rc0SShCKyW_UMwA659OxePma15Owzw-1NIpmdtCSBDqLQWccuXxWTsl3psqSo/s640/planet+jr+catalog+1898+Agriphemera.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Last year, someone named S. L. Allen, IV purchased a PDF copy of one of my catalogs. I couldn't believe my eyes. S.L. Allen purchased a copy of a <i>Planet Jr</i>. catalog from me? I had to write this person.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It turns out that Mr. Allen is a direct descendent of <i>the </i>S.L. Allen of Planet Jr. fame. I told him that he has a great family heritage.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Then, a few weeks back, I wrote Mr. Allen with a question. I have long wondered if there is a <i>Planet Jr.</i> museum. I had heard that the Brandywine museum had a <i>Planet Jr.</i> display, but I couldn't see where that was the case online. If anyone would know of such a museum, surely it would be S.L. Allen the fourth! He replied as follows...</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Sadly, I don't know of any one museum that has a very broad collection of great great grandfather's equipment. There is a nice Flexible Flyer sled display in the Moorestown Library and I know of a very early Planet seeder in a different New Jersey museum but for the most part no one has dedicated a display of any large size to the bulk of the 99 years of the company. The references you mention to the Brandywine museum I believe came from comments from my aunt Penny. But while chasing down that lead I found that while there is still something called the Brandywine museum, it is not in the same state as the one originally referenced and it is an art museum, not one housing farm equipment. </span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The state of NJ also had a collection that was run by one of the colleges in the midstate, but that museum closed some years back and they reportedly gave all of the equipment back to whomever leant it in the first place.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Thus, I'm sorry to say, there is no <i>Planet Jr.</i> museum. But there are a lot of serious collectors out there who are gathering old <i>Planet Jr.</i> tools. Perhaps one day it will happen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In the meantime, I'm pleased to report that the great, great grandson of S.L. Allen is working on a book...</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">On a related note, I am personally trying to gather as much data as I can in the hopes of putting out a Planet Jr. book. I hope for it to be similar to Joan Palacia's Flexible Flyer book, but I'm still collecting, scanning and collating at this point. And while I personally own a fairly sizeable collection, I know of at least 4 people each of whom have collections that dwarf my own. One fellow has close to 50 different Planet Jr tractors, another has several hundred seeders, etc. It is my hope to work with them to help me with images for the book. I suspect I'm over a year away from completing the research though- I still need to scan several hundred more parts lists, manuals, ledgers and catalogs to have the base from which I begin the real work!</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A lot of people are not aware that <i>Planet Jr.</i> made motorized, walk-behind tractors with all kinds of implements. <a href="http://wagnerfarmsny.com/planet-jr-farming/">Check Out This Link</a> to learn about a guy who is farming with restored Planet Jr. walk-behind tractors. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbX6hGS1_mCFVbqxTJlRD1zoKU7e2NNNiPnnKzvScApiPBUliJ0ilCzIrD7g_ggC2g97A51hbC3pVjIH6PPxTatO4Fk9ea2-eQcoM9dGZUiDvM_1axE7PWIKUJKV8qvK7PWOC6yTRnahw/s1600/IMG_9292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="1060" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbX6hGS1_mCFVbqxTJlRD1zoKU7e2NNNiPnnKzvScApiPBUliJ0ilCzIrD7g_ggC2g97A51hbC3pVjIH6PPxTatO4Fk9ea2-eQcoM9dGZUiDvM_1axE7PWIKUJKV8qvK7PWOC6yTRnahw/s640/IMG_9292.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">If you are interested in the history of Planet Jr. and the company that produced Planet Jr. tools, be sure to check out <a href="https://hiddencityphila.org/2016/02/flexible-flyer-factory-glides-into-obscurity/">This Story about the old S.L Allen Factory in Philadelphia</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWYKdER5C_NKd7n65b0OEZJQZyMHp8o3Wfg_wgrV6Xa9oBJgPZh8YT39rF84bM0Zs4dm4BzEpE9AIg3ghxSvzUlDKzVnU5kUao-um0f1322HdHkaQE4a7MQoUZqFbhOKlcDldvvTuTps/s1600/IMG_6228-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWYKdER5C_NKd7n65b0OEZJQZyMHp8o3Wfg_wgrV6Xa9oBJgPZh8YT39rF84bM0Zs4dm4BzEpE9AIg3ghxSvzUlDKzVnU5kUao-um0f1322HdHkaQE4a7MQoUZqFbhOKlcDldvvTuTps/s640/IMG_6228-001.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Fortunately, the remarkable home that S.L. Allen built in 1894 is in better shape than the factory. You can learn more about it <a href="http://www.lsmnj.org/media/breidenhart-castle-jerseyman.pdf">At This Link</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0P73iDAMjCOgLxIKCF5FIwWJdH4UHKVOfq1YjqYpgSxjTM082tiY5dDen8N9tf8R1hlgxe_1l8sir2klNqkCn-rHBfFnWeJn7kD6j8IP4Z3_Ex9HmfYTJfRaysxGs-LE9QVEOouA0t4w/s1600/lcel-breidenhart-castle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="420" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0P73iDAMjCOgLxIKCF5FIwWJdH4UHKVOfq1YjqYpgSxjTM082tiY5dDen8N9tf8R1hlgxe_1l8sir2klNqkCn-rHBfFnWeJn7kD6j8IP4Z3_Ex9HmfYTJfRaysxGs-LE9QVEOouA0t4w/s640/lcel-breidenhart-castle.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Lacking a museum to visit, I'm really looking forward to Mr. Allen's <i>Planet Jr.</i> book. I'll be purchasing a copy, for sure. And I'll let you know all about it here when the time comes.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">###</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheDeliberateAgrarian20&loc=en_US">Subscribe to The Deliberate Agrarian 2.0 by Email</a></span>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-91437247942342348782018-04-09T18:40:00.000-07:002018-04-09T18:40:02.086-07:00Pound Dog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zoj-PrwKY3w" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-85565283133697896442018-04-04T06:33:00.000-07:002018-04-04T06:33:22.068-07:00Speaking of Maple SyrupAnd Communists<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z07EhM8cC-g" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I'm sorry to see that the frog has been boiled in Quebec, Canada. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://business.financialpost.com/features/how-a-maple-syrup-rebellion-is-growing-in-quebec">Maple Syrup Rebellion</a> tells the sad story of government tyranny over independent maple syrup producers. Translation... </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>"You must join the collective, Comrade. You have no choice in this matter. After all, it is for your own good. If you do not play by our rules, we will destroy you." </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-47730417415163854422018-04-02T17:29:00.000-07:002018-04-02T17:29:56.092-07:00Cousin HerbertOutsmarted The Commies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfsIG9EDMDMbkjjt3ku0gi3AUmmBJbc4Xuly7ZBs5flTJx27ofIn3qQPHKbKlNNF-_JyHHykuwvAmTDtaXhpZVNTH11-Ur8x8IFrJL8j8SqK5j3e3Jobs0mYflPq-Fd2rgfsG07yBoi9U/s1600/pic+18187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1304" data-original-width="1600" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfsIG9EDMDMbkjjt3ku0gi3AUmmBJbc4Xuly7ZBs5flTJx27ofIn3qQPHKbKlNNF-_JyHHykuwvAmTDtaXhpZVNTH11-Ur8x8IFrJL8j8SqK5j3e3Jobs0mYflPq-Fd2rgfsG07yBoi9U/s640/pic+18187.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I recently came across a February, 1992 copy of Yankee magazine that my mother had saved. On the front cover, as you can see above, she wrote "Keep this. Page 52. Herbert Philbrick." Page 52 and 53 of the article are pictured here...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiz7Jpwtqw70pBuf4ihOsl3v6PkWKGDQYTQvsxdErN0CxgCaLH9CSog6cQu3RvlBPfDG-Jh2JrPy8WTaWV6jk52eau3cQ9GrCSEyLA2JjOgc3qKTHoritUhzMSXintyMop3Sf4x03pus/s1600/pic+18186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="1600" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiz7Jpwtqw70pBuf4ihOsl3v6PkWKGDQYTQvsxdErN0CxgCaLH9CSog6cQu3RvlBPfDG-Jh2JrPy8WTaWV6jk52eau3cQ9GrCSEyLA2JjOgc3qKTHoritUhzMSXintyMop3Sf4x03pus/s640/pic+18186.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My mother's maiden name was Philbrick. She told me that Herbert Philbrick was a relative. I think she knew the genealogical connection (some sort of cousin). Herbert Philbrick was famous for infiltrating organized Communist activities in the United States (as the article excerpt below explains).</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">People these days look back at the "Red Scare" of the late 1940s and 1950s and think of Senator Joe McCarthy's claims that Communists had infiltrated American politics, as well as other influential cultural institutions, like universities and the media. McCarthy's Senate investigation into Communist activities is most often portrayed as a witch hunt that ruined the careers of many innocent Americans.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A new word, McCarthyism, came into the dictionaries shortly thereafter: <i>"The practice of making accusations of disloyalty, especially of pro-Communist activity, in many instances unsupported by proof or based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence."</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What gets lost in the recounting of American history is the fact that Communists were, in fact, well organized and actively working in American politics and culture during that time. Herbert Philbrick understood this because he was one of them. Here's how the article begins...</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">His name today sounds vaguely familiar, an echo from nearly half a century ago, a time when fear of Communism gripped America. From 1940 to 1949 Herbert A. Philbrick led three lives. In one of them, he lived in the suburbs of Boston, taught Sunday school at the neighborhood Baptist church, worked as a press agent for the New England office of Paramount Pictures. In a second, secret life he was a dedicated Communist conspirator who attended cell meetings in Beacon Hill, demonstrated against the government, and was twice arrested. His third and most secret life ended on April 6, 1949.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the spring of that year federal authorities charged 11 top American Communists with conspiring to advocate the forcible overthrow of the U.S. government, a violation of the Smith Act. The trial in Manhattan's Federal Court quickly became one of the most controversial in American history.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">On the tenth day of the trial the prosecution called 33-year-old Herb Philbrick to the witness stand. He was dressed in a a suit with a red-white-and-blue tie, and he told the packed courtroom he had been a member of the Communist Party. Then he stunned the defendants. "During the entire nine years of my activities," he said, "I have been continuously in touch with the FBI."</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Philbrick was the government's star witness. He told how he had been trained to blow up Boston bridges and railroads and disrupt communications lines. The jury found the defendants guilty.</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The article explains that Herbert Philbrick was encouraged to start the Cambridge Youth Council. He thought the purpose of the organization was to help kids, but those who encouraged him used it as a Communist front. When he realized what was happening, he went to the FBI. Philbrick is quoted in the article...</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"As time went on during the nine years, as I advanced to higher levels in the party, I became aware of the absolute evil of this thing."</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Here's another excerpt from the article...</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Philbrick reached the inner circle of one of the most important cells of the New England branch of the Communist Party. Meeting on Beacon Hill to discuss tactics and strategy, he worked face to face with some of the people he was later to accuse in court. "You should have seen their faces when I stepped up to the witness stand," he says, "I thought they were going to have heart attacks."</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And another excerpt...</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Communists are professionals at duping people. Our State Department people, on the other hand, are amateurs. Put an amateur boxer into a ring with a professional prizefighter. Now this amateur may be a splendid fellow, love his mother, and go to church every Sunday. But if he gets into the ring with the professional, he's going to get his block knocked off, and that's what's happening."</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And, this last quote...</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000; -<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" id=":dh.22" tabindex="-1" role="menuitem" aria-haspopup="true" style="background: yellow;">webkit</span>-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000; -<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" id=":dh.23" tabindex="-1" role="menuitem" aria-haspopup="true" style="background: yellow;">webkit</span>-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 12.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="s1"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"According to the best estimates I've seen, about 1,000 avowed Marxists are teaching in schools and colleges today and some of them are so hateful. Their message is 'Hate America.' We keep track. I have people— for example, recently the Marxists had a weeklong conference at a Big Ten university. I can tell you everyone who was there, and what was said, and what they decided. Marxists can teach, but not me. I was banned by many universities. Maybe due to McCarthy's excesses, there's a great suspicion and fear of anyone who is anti-Communist. McCarthy damaged us with his bumbling. But he was basically right. Still, people think we're nuts and screwballs."</span></span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Nuts and screwballs? For being concerned about subversive Marxist activists in America? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Well, I must say, the media manipulators have done an amazing job (since McCarthy) of marginalizing any American who is concerned about any organized, subversive threat to our nation. The mainstream media are the the prizefighters that Herbert Philbrick spoke of in the above quote. And average Americans are total amateurs in the ring.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Americans no longer need to understand real history and true facts in order to come to their own conclusions. The media will interpret these things for us and tell us what our opinions should be. That's the way it works. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And now, 26 years after that <i>Yankee</i> article was published, I'll bet there are considerably more than 1,000 Marxists teaching in the schools and universities of North America. Marxism has become fashionable. College campuses are now dominated by masses of duped fellow travelers and useful idiots. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Cousin Herbert died in 1993 at 78 years of age. I never knew him, but I sure do miss him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I'd like to think that there are a few Herbert Philbricks out there, infiltrating the subversive Marxist cells in America today. But I'm not optimistic about that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This is Herbert Philbrick...</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oB_0MSKnAMk" width="560"></iframe></div>
</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-84938726404136010992018-04-01T14:30:00.000-07:002018-04-01T14:30:28.578-07:00Maple Syrup Success<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lU7V3G68VBE" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
</div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-66742222144154474422018-03-31T06:21:00.000-07:002018-03-31T07:54:13.712-07:00Farewell ToHoward's Gouges<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 12.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXT1KVDX15XI32f5flUDkxGkGsTk3s5jKX41A5fCBTldDOTXmVyNDybD2f-UL4szlAbbti2Iz8g59pugez86_6mgBotvy1_ceVaYCaP3N-wvCYYyNk3f7ERy3wKHC-K56xD0j_Jp3pPYs/s1600/IMG_3131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1291" data-original-width="1600" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXT1KVDX15XI32f5flUDkxGkGsTk3s5jKX41A5fCBTldDOTXmVyNDybD2f-UL4szlAbbti2Iz8g59pugez86_6mgBotvy1_ceVaYCaP3N-wvCYYyNk3f7ERy3wKHC-K56xD0j_Jp3pPYs/s640/IMG_3131.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Two years ago I had an e-mail exchange with <a href="http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2009/03/christian-agrarian-writings-of-howard.html">Howard King</a>. In the course of our discussion, he sent me a photo of a wood dough bowl he had carved. I was impressed, and I told him I had always wanted to carve a dough bowl myself. Howard replied that he had most of the tools I needed and was looking to sell them. I said I would buy them.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Howard told me exactly what tools he had to sell and the price he wanted to get. I hadn't really looked into the price of such tools and was surprised at how expensive they were. But when I did an internet search, I found that the price he wanted was not out of line. I ended up paying $600 for seven different carving tools.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">After acquiring those implements, the only tool I lacked for carving my own dough bowl was an appropriate broad hatchet. For another $150 (or so) I could buy a decent hatchet online. Two or three times that would get me a more serious, top-shelf carving hatchet. But, considering what I had already spent, I decided to hold off on the hatchet. I didn't have the time to be carving a bowl then anyway. It would be a future project. So, Howard's carving tools went up on a shelf in my shop, and they have been there ever since.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">That is, they were on the shelf until last week. That's when I reasoned with myself that I would probably never get around to carving a dough bowl, and I might better sell those tools. It's a lean time of year, and I really do need to do some purging in order to to better organize my small workshop.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Among Howards's tools were three unique, and somewhat rare gouges (pictured at the top of this page). When I first got them, I noticed that they had my initials on them. It hadn't occurred to me that Howard and I have the same initials of HK. But the initials were actually forged into the metal of the tools, and they were the maker's mark of Hans Karlsson, a man from Sweden.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWdtPZ4tZ22K4LqMvjHqyh7FificU7wbKDMN1X_hy2l2Ef24JS_6NYFklEXC_z2DDZmbqrVn8V6uHOPkM3ssJqmFKpbopker_Lyn7FaQGlH7QdKeh71wrNtMRcDGDPC3mG4JPBI366nk/s1600/IMG_2895.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1487" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWdtPZ4tZ22K4LqMvjHqyh7FificU7wbKDMN1X_hy2l2Ef24JS_6NYFklEXC_z2DDZmbqrVn8V6uHOPkM3ssJqmFKpbopker_Lyn7FaQGlH7QdKeh71wrNtMRcDGDPC3mG4JPBI366nk/s400/IMG_2895.jpg" width="371" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The HK</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Hans Karlsson is famous for making the finest carving tools in the world. Karlsson's hand-forged tools are so famous, and in such short supply, that you can't buy them. </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the US, you have to get on a waiting list to buy Karlsson's tools from a single seller, and the list is no longer taking names. Evidently,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>there are more people who want to purchase Karlsson's tools than there will ever be tools to sell. Even the online European sellers of HK carving tools are all sold out.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So, I listed all of Howard's tools on Ebay, hoping that I might recoup my initial cost, as well as the Ebay fees and PayPal transaction fees. The three HK gouges were listed in the auction format.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There was a lot of interest in the gouges. Over 40 watchers on each one. The auction ended last night. Those three hand tools fetched enough to recoup my original cost, along with selling fees. And there was some extra left over. So, in the end, spending $600 on the tools a couple years ago wasn't as crazy and fiscally foolish of me as I had thought it was at the time.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I'm relieved at the outcome of this story, and I'm perfectly okay with not making a dough bowl. But I have also long wanted to make a twig coffee table. The nice thing about twig furniture is that it requires only basic (and cheap) tools. A hand saw. A knife. A drill.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">Stay tuned for the HK twig coffee table. Someday...</span></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">And, in the meantime, keep watch for HK tools. Perhaps someday you will see a Hans Karlsson chisel for sale at a flea market. Wouldn't that be something!</span></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<br /></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-91830653520464309082018-03-30T06:06:00.002-07:002018-03-30T06:14:16.956-07:00The Philbrick Farm Today<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWjoLZb1aG0Y-JIOrBjCiXl42Zf5BW9-n4kXJhup0spl10Idl8iLgFoMJFotPmgn6V3eOQ2SkqsKg_XdrvZoT4HQsG3QLiUj2rW0ckQ9HNBE5hFe6KVeZcxOMHcVjsfuwl7BZqHYQUoY/s1600/29354460_865901556915873_7818396232259415337_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWjoLZb1aG0Y-JIOrBjCiXl42Zf5BW9-n4kXJhup0spl10Idl8iLgFoMJFotPmgn6V3eOQ2SkqsKg_XdrvZoT4HQsG3QLiUj2rW0ckQ9HNBE5hFe6KVeZcxOMHcVjsfuwl7BZqHYQUoY/s640/29354460_865901556915873_7818396232259415337_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I woke up today to find that my Aunt Carolyn shared the above photo to my Facebook page. I have a Facebook presence only for maintaining contact with family and local friends. I don't like much of what Facebook does, but I stay for things like the picture above.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I need to mention that the photo was taken by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/508977902608242/photos/a.509189412587091.1073741828.508977902608242/865901556915873/?type=3&theater">Paul Cyr</a>. Click his name to see his Facebook page, and his amazing photos from northern Maine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">That farm in the picture is on Forrest Avenue Road in Fort Fairfield, Maine, near the town of Easton border. My grandparents, Percy and Gertrude Philbrick, lived there. My grandfather was a potato farmer his whole life. Not a prosperous one, but he managed to keep the farm and support his family, which was no small thing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I don't think Percy ever travelled outside the state of Maine, except to Canada, which was only a few miles from his farm. Perhaps my own penchant to stay put is inherited from him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">My mother, Mary, born in 1936, was the youngest in a family of... maybe nine. Or was it eleven? I just can't remember offhand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The Philbrick farm was bought by an Amish family years ago. It was the first Amish family to settle in that area. They have put a large addition on the house, and greatly expanded the outbuildings. The only outbuilding that was there back in the day was the red-roofed barn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I mentioned this farm in <a href="http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/">my old Deliberate Agrarian blog</a> a few times. I think it was Lynn Bartlett who commented back then that her grandparent's farm had been replaced with a casino. Ugh! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">But isn't that an apt metaphor for the decline of America... From small, hard-working family farms to big casinos, with all their artificiality, and the allure of easy money, not to mention increasing spiritual poverty.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Well, I'm thankful that I was able to know my grandparents and that place. Such good memories are there. I think back on some of those memories in a couple chapters in this book...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNeKp3OMgmmOPSFyil6ol8NE9rhx3oX7XuNZiayPErGymaA7su6iRSL2NNMcthDoMam8Z8D3YDvboxaLzqlda98MIvmxOb2PnzCiGFQ8SaKmUNtUmw4n_mqKnNa94uryi6eB2S_3eSsY/s1600/Deliberate+Agrarian+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1029" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNeKp3OMgmmOPSFyil6ol8NE9rhx3oX7XuNZiayPErGymaA7su6iRSL2NNMcthDoMam8Z8D3YDvboxaLzqlda98MIvmxOb2PnzCiGFQ8SaKmUNtUmw4n_mqKnNa94uryi6eB2S_3eSsY/s640/Deliberate+Agrarian+front.jpg" width="410" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">That is my grandfather and me, circa 1960. The book is available as a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0972656472/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=whizbook-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0972656472&linkId=2ab0d0fc8ec5880d8600dbcb1c4ee8e4">paperback</a> or inexpensive <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J532CC2/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=whizbook-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00J532CC2&linkId=2dc8f0780630cbd81d540d7a3c83136d">e-book</a> at Amazon.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-32655005644550444722018-03-29T05:08:00.000-07:002018-03-29T06:56:54.080-07:00Solzhenitsyn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwCcJWpotyphEgB7q31lGu_SqQS4nuL-j6YpizfmSQpEihhd3kTydVSMR1jtUSa1T-10v235leEN4swpGtKEpmt26A-4SFNX4yknGx2MFM2q-iF8sVPcsos88okmZ_T3uOJ0Fodw74p8/s1600/as.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="742" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwCcJWpotyphEgB7q31lGu_SqQS4nuL-j6YpizfmSQpEihhd3kTydVSMR1jtUSa1T-10v235leEN4swpGtKEpmt26A-4SFNX4yknGx2MFM2q-iF8sVPcsos88okmZ_T3uOJ0Fodw74p8/s640/as.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Peterson">Jordan Peterson</a> frequently recommends that people read Alexander Solzhenitsyn's <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061253804/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=whizbook-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0061253804&linkId=f60ebed56331f44aee902fed3e36b695">The Gulag Archipelago</a>. Many people consider the book to be the most significant piece of literature produced in the 20th century. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>The Gulag Archipelago</i> was published in 1973, against the efforts of the Soviets to prevent it. They arrested and tortured Solzhenitsyn's typist (an elderly woman) until she revealed where the manuscript was. After they released her, she committed suicide. At one point the KGB attempted to assassinate Solzhenitsyn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The book was a bombshell when it was published. It laid bare the human atrocities of Soviet Communism. It told the truth about <i>millions</i> of Russians who were murdered or enslaved, and died in the prison camps. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Solzhenitsyn wrote from his own experience and from the experiences of other innocents who were falsely accused of crimes, forced to sign confessions, and sent into the archipelago of gulags throughout Russia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>The Gulag Archipelago </i>stopped all the European and American communist efforts dead in their tracks (but didn't kill them for good). It exposed Marxism as the morally depraved and dangerous ideology it is. It soon led to the downfall of the Soviet Union and its grip on Russia. The book was that powerful, and Solzhenitsyn was a remarkably brave man.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I am reading <i>The Gulag Archipelago </i>now. The writing is not hard to understand, but the realities of the gulag system are hard to deal with. The depravity of human psychopathy taken to its extreme is always hard to digest. I do not read fiction horror, and this book is non-fiction horror. As such, it is worse. But I feel compelled to read this book because it tells the truth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I am also reading the biography, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1586174967/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=whizbook-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1586174967&linkId=923b6419a1fcbe29ca45aba171da7b74">Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile</a>. I am enjoying the book very much (almost done with it) because it not only tells the life story of Solzhenitsyn, it reveals his journey from Soviet-indoctrinated atheist to Christian, and it is the Christian Solzhenitsyn that stands resolutely against the brutal Soviet empire. Many of his closest friends desert him when he reveals his deep Christian faith, but still he stands.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Solzhenitsyn is the ultimate example of speaking truth to power. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The biography also explains Solzhenitsyn's disdain for the West. He recognized that the West was morally weak, and socially vulnerable. He resisted the political ideology of Right and Left politics. He didn't toe the line in either camp. Both the Right and Left despised him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Solzhenitsyn's political beliefs were surprisingly Jeffersonian. He rejected the economic and social fruit of materialism and industrialization. He believed in decentralized government. He advocated private land ownership, and a return to some form of Russian peasantry, like the Soviet system had so effectively destroyed. He advocated responsible stewardship of the land and natural resources. I dare say he was very much a Christian agrarian.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The media almost always misrepresented what he said. They reported his comments out of context. They twisted his words to mean things that he never meant them to mean. He eventually stopped talking to the media. He would speak to the world through his books.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I hope to say more about Alexander Solzhenitsyn in future blog posts here. He was a truly remarkable man. Jordan Peterson is correct in recommending <i>The Gulag Archipelago</i>. Solzhenitsyn has much to teach us—lessons he learned the hard way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4_FfsuUbEPmkt0OndP0vTP6_mpt2uCuUd3ssnouRYuvsOMSzGWS-sPoNZU-S5xuWD9h8Cx5kBcf0HB_6dNlKXIwbgn80Ej0S8xDKXSsc8_8BxWDZqiMvKeatSAQuA-X-UiPSNtTeN6w/s1600/Untitled+179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="1012" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4_FfsuUbEPmkt0OndP0vTP6_mpt2uCuUd3ssnouRYuvsOMSzGWS-sPoNZU-S5xuWD9h8Cx5kBcf0HB_6dNlKXIwbgn80Ej0S8xDKXSsc8_8BxWDZqiMvKeatSAQuA-X-UiPSNtTeN6w/s640/Untitled+179.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-32244424275844264632018-03-28T05:07:00.000-07:002018-03-28T05:07:37.327-07:00"The Windshield Phenomenon"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6SF1kw9FiuFjcpcS-SIfyURlelqJ5zTSEKL-vcYmFIbQ_OjGpJ3XGDxlzmh5uWgwmwwpjRbyyN0yCDYDO-KRgztTnTaA1HO3h00VVYS3bra92lFCXIodPcJPKxKFxGMYoGkX6Kdko8E/s1600/cs_70512N_Hoverfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="699" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6SF1kw9FiuFjcpcS-SIfyURlelqJ5zTSEKL-vcYmFIbQ_OjGpJ3XGDxlzmh5uWgwmwwpjRbyyN0yCDYDO-KRgztTnTaA1HO3h00VVYS3bra92lFCXIodPcJPKxKFxGMYoGkX6Kdko8E/s640/cs_70512N_Hoverfly.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The hover fly is one insect I'm always glad to see in my garden. </span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">There isn't a doubt in my mind that <i>far more</i> bugs of all kinds ended up getting stuck to the windshields, headlights and front grills of automobiles when I was a kid. <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/where-have-all-insects-gone">This Article</a> discusses the loss of insects, and begins as follows...</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Entomologists call it the windshield phenomenon. "If you talk to people, they have a gut feeling. They remember how insects used to smash on your windscreen," says Wolfgang Wägele, director of the Leibniz Institute for Animal Biodiversity in Bonn, Germany. Today, drivers spend less time scraping and scrubbing. "I'm a very data-driven person," says Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation in Portland, Oregon. "But it is a visceral reaction when you realize you don't see that mess anymore."</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Some people argue that cars today are more aerodynamic and therefore less deadly to insects. But Black says his pride and joy as a teenager in Nebraska was his 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1—with some pretty sleek lines. "I used to have to wash my car all the time. It was always covered with insects." Lately, Martin Sorg, an entomologist here, has seen the opposite: "I drive a Land Rover, with the aerodynamics of a refrigerator, and these days it stays clean."</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Have you noticed the windshield phenomenon? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676665452437949887.post-56466819695735081852018-03-27T03:46:00.000-07:002018-03-27T10:09:20.644-07:00Back Into Public Service<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfLC0w1f3ty2ZYO82BrofQaLOY5UTE2Y9-zAC2h25zXEBnoqHmyLmtv03BvMROIcEnypcehnvXDLFCeNf8E1F7uVgId_vyYITX5aDkzX684k2UHW7oXhuWathgbxr3b-Xgus6Hgru3lU/s1600/IMG_1780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="1600" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfLC0w1f3ty2ZYO82BrofQaLOY5UTE2Y9-zAC2h25zXEBnoqHmyLmtv03BvMROIcEnypcehnvXDLFCeNf8E1F7uVgId_vyYITX5aDkzX684k2UHW7oXhuWathgbxr3b-Xgus6Hgru3lU/s640/IMG_1780.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I was an elected councilman in my town (Sempronius, New York) for 18 years. Last November I decided not to run for re-election. But last night the Board asked me if I would serve out the term of another board member who recently passed away. I said yes, of course. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The man I replaced was a retired dairy farmer who had been on the Board more years than me. He was a great guy. But four months to the day after being diagnosed with cancer, he was gone. Our monthly Board meetings won't be the same without him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">So, I was officially "retired" from public service for a little less than three months. Truth be told, I'm glad to be back. But I'm sorry it had to be under such circumstances.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The picture above is of Marlene and me last year. We're sitting where the town board sits for their meetings. But that's not in my town. We're in the board room for the town of Clay, New York, which is a suburb of Syracuse.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Under the table directly in front of us, within easy reach, is a red "panic button." Press the button and the police will be there in no time flat. Such things have become prudent in the culture we live in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In my small, relatively poor, rural town, the Board sits around an inexpensive, six-foot-long table, in second-hand chairs, in a very plain room, and there is no panic button. We keep it real simple.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Last summer I was at the gas station in town and saw our County Legislator, who I've known for years. He told me he was going to retire, and he asked me if I would be interested in taking his place. He told me he thought I would be a good person for the job. That was nice of him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">But I have no interest in serving in any higher capacity than my local town. Then I would be thought of more as a politician, and I wouldn't want that. The best politics is local, and on the local level, it's really more "public service" than it is politics. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdVdd6kONmtS600kNTUKFpuJ6sN0T52kViGlFYRZc7WbqcpuAmEuGQIpxxiVe8Zzhj7tPTXJmW8HHmpVqR_Xm-rAopCmNHei7ATyHshwhgCks2IKSQOMusBzRxZGLxLV0JsBK6Lat8PM/s1600/IMG_1782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdVdd6kONmtS600kNTUKFpuJ6sN0T52kViGlFYRZc7WbqcpuAmEuGQIpxxiVe8Zzhj7tPTXJmW8HHmpVqR_Xm-rAopCmNHei7ATyHshwhgCks2IKSQOMusBzRxZGLxLV0JsBK6Lat8PM/s640/IMG_1782.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com4