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Post by Clipper on May 14, 2022 14:31:23 GMT -5
Kathy wanted to plant cucumbers so I built a planter 2 feet wide and 8 feet long out of 2x8 lumber, filled it with dirt and planted 4 hills of cucumbers. I then erected the wire fence trellis that I always had in the garden for them to climb on. It is outside the side door where she can see it from the window or pop out there for a fresh cuke.
Then I decided that I am going to plant her favorite butternut squash. I am not going to till up the garden. I am just going to dig up a small spot for each hill and then when they begin to run I am going to mulch the hell out of the area between the hills and put down straw for the squash to lay on.
While I was picking up the seeds for the squash I saw cantaloupe seeds. YUP! I am going to do 4 or 5 hills of those too and do it the same way. I have no intention of doing any weed control other than mulch and straw and if grass or something randomly pops through it I will whack the tops off with the weed eater. Any vines that choose to wander outside the perimeter of the garden plot will either be turned back toward the garden or "pruned" with the lawn mower, haha. I have no intention of spending hours up there weeding, cultivating between rows with the little tiller or having the lad next door weed for me. All I intend to do is plant, water frequently, fertilize a couple times, and wait for the harvest.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on May 14, 2022 16:02:47 GMT -5
I think it will work out perfectly if you apply real think layer of mulch then straw bed around that for the plants to crawl on. Good luck. A green thumb plus the urge to want a veggie garden plus the room to plant one is difficult to refuse.
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Post by BHU on May 14, 2022 19:00:30 GMT -5
I tilled an area for my garden the other day. Tomatoes going in along with some hot cherry peppers, a couple basil plants, maybe some swiss chard, don't know what else. Maybe try my hand at some watermelon if I have room. I'll need another garden hose, the garden will be about 100 feet from the back of our house where the spigot is.
Guy called me back for the fence & is coming next week to look at it & give estimate. It'll be nice when it's up so we don't have to look at that rathole that the cretin behind me is running. Boy I get 'em all.
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Post by Clipper on May 14, 2022 23:54:53 GMT -5
Sounds great. We have a neighbor near us that has a lawn piled with crap on tables with tarps over it, two old Uhaul trucks that haven't run in 5 yrs, and he mows his lawn once a month when it is about knee high. Thank goodness he is far enough up the road that we don't have to look at the mess from our windows.
I would love to grow a wide variety of veggies like I used to. The first few years we lived here I hire a guy with a tiller on his tractor and we planted a garden that was 70'x20'. My greatest joy was taking care of it. Now between my bad back and getting short of breath if I exert myself too much I just can't fight with the tiller or spend hours out in the heat any more. At 75 I just don't have the ability to keep up with it like I used to. Taking care of the yard work is enough to keep me busy.
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Post by BHU on May 15, 2022 8:03:26 GMT -5
Same here. I don't have the stamina that I used to. Could be a combination of being a long term smoker even though I quit 8 years ago & having Covid a weeks back. It's weird because I spent a couple hours between running the tiller & raking out the weeds, etc & it didn't bother me too much. Some days are better then others. Maybe I need to hydrate more because I don't drink enough water. Who knows.
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Post by Clipper on May 15, 2022 11:03:41 GMT -5
It IS weird BHU. I also had a mild case and avoided any serious lung issue at the time and avoided Covid pneumonia, but as time wore on the aftereffects on my lungs as a result has taken a toll. I had a few days of fairly significant shortness of breath but never required hospitalization. I quit smoking in 2004 and never had any serious complications as a result of the smoking. When I was in cardiac rehab after my heart attack I used to spend 40 minutes non-stop on a Nu-Step machine, pumping with my legs and moving the attached levers back and forth with my arms. Now if I walk to the mailbox too quickly I am out of breath after I walk back up the driveway. I used to spend hours doing yard and garden work, on my feet and walking a lot as well as doing the physical tasks. Now I hook my little garden trailer to my lawn tractor, put all the appropriate tools in it along with a small stool to sit on and rest frequently. On the far side of our driveway the land is on a slope. There is a difference in elevation of 15 or 20 feet from road level to the back of our property. In the last year or so if I had to walk down the hill to the garage to get a tool and walk back up again I would be all done and have to rest for 5 or 10 minutes before I could continue working.
I have always been very active physically and it really frustrates the hell out of me that old age and Covid are kicking my ass so badly. The mind has the desire to keep going as I have in years gone by, but the body says "what the hell, are you crazy? Slow down old man!" Never thought I would have to hire a young lad to help with outdoor chores. Never thought I would see the day when I no longer would be walking the banks of a trout stream or walking miles in the woods hunting for deer. I guess we have to resign ourselves to the fact that we are going to be going slower and slower until the day that they close the lid and throw the dirt over our casket.
I get up and thank the Lord for another day, and try to live every day to the fullest. While old age sucks, there is much more to life than to sit back and wait to die. I hope that I drop over with a tool of one sort or another in my hand, doing something I like to do. My prayer is to die while still active and not to end up bedridden or suffering from some long term debilitating disease or condition. I hope I am slapping in my false teeth and hearing aids, grabbing a cane and heading out the door to take care of business for many more years to come. So far I am avoiding the false teeth, but wearing hearing aids. No cane so far, haha.
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Post by BHU on May 15, 2022 15:40:25 GMT -5
I had a stress test about 2 weeks before Covid nailed me. I got thru it fine but quit about 5 minutes before the time was up. The cardiologist looked at everything & said my heart was fine, valves ok, no blockages etc. At 65 I'm lucky. I too had shortness of breath & still have a bit of it & there are days when I feel like crap. I found out about a month ago that I have HBP & the pills my Doc is giving me are kicking my butt & I wonder if that has a part in this. Next appt. I'm telling him to change my script & I'll see what happens.
Hope you feel better & keep the faith.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on May 15, 2022 16:39:58 GMT -5
I take Irbesartan 150 mg once a day, Bisoprolol Fumarate 10mg once a day and Bumetanide 1mg once a day and Amlodipine 10mg once a day
I found out I could not take all of them together because it made me feel lousy so my Doc said to split the time of day for taking them and take the Amlodipine in the afternoon. So I take that one at 4PM and now no longer have issues like I did before.
Bumetanide is a water pill and the only one I can take since I am very allergic to Lasik I take that because the Irbesartan makes my feet swell up.
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Post by BHU on May 15, 2022 17:11:13 GMT -5
I'm taking Amlodipine 5mg a day. My bp isn't tjat high so I don't know why he put me on this stuff. My diastolic is a bit high though, around 80. I probably should start a walking program & see if that helps.
These Dr's think a pill is the answer to everything.
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Post by Clipper on May 15, 2022 18:26:15 GMT -5
That is the truth. I felt crappy enough BEFORE Covid with all the pills. I take Amiodarone to control my heart rate since having the ablation to cure the atrial fibrillation. It took them 7 hours to ablate all the trouble spots in my heart rather than the normal 2 hours or so. It makes me slow in the mornings for a while after I take it, and with exercise my heart rate never gets much higher than 70. Then I take Amlodipine for BP, atorvastatin for cholesterol, plus Eliquis twice a day, terazocin for prostate, and a baby aspirin just for good measure. 5 pills in morning and 4 at night. it is like eating tic tacs twice a day.
Covid just exacerbated the fatigue and fog. Once I get going I seem to do okay but finding the energy to get moving is often a challenge.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on May 16, 2022 10:56:55 GMT -5
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Post by Clipper on Jun 4, 2022 19:42:17 GMT -5
Well, once again the "no garden" has been disregarded. Kathy wanted to buy a nice hanging basket so we went to a local nursery. I ended up buying some tomato plants. Just 4 plants. Two "better boy" plants and two beef steak plants. Just enough to have a few for sandwiches or to cut up in a salad occasionally. Now we have butternut squash, cantaloupe, rhubarb, and 4 tomato plants, and then down near the gate to the backyard I have a raised bed planter that I thought I was planting cucumbers in, but someone switched the tags on the plants. As they grew the leaves got way too large for cucumber plants. Now they have blossomed and it turns out that they are zucchini plants. Too large now for transplanting to the garden so I guess they will just be a pain in the ass all summer, overflowing the planter and running out onto the lawn.
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Post by BHU on Jun 5, 2022 8:41:17 GMT -5
Went to water the garden yesterday & noticed something chewed the tops off two of my Better Boy tomato plants. I only planted 3 of them. It didn't touch my pepper plants etc. I think it's the groundhog that is coming into our yard to eat the clover. And he's coming from that cretin's yard behind us. The same guy that mowed his yard Friday, the 2nd time in I kid you not, 2 years. I may have to break out the Have A Heart trap & relocate that sucker. He was out there this morning having breakfast. The last thing I want to do right now is to build another fence with the cost of materials sky high.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Jun 5, 2022 12:59:31 GMT -5
BHU get a gun and blast that little varmint off the planet
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Post by BHU on Jun 5, 2022 14:07:20 GMT -5
BHU get a gun and blast that little varmint off the planet LOL! I don't think I'll have to resort to that drastic a measure, PB. And I don't want to go to jail. But, thanks for the recommendation.
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