pond prep for winter . spring garden for summer
When the cold comes back - otherwise known as all the plans of mice and men. A little bit cold in Melbourne a lot of cold coming in Illinois.
The cold came back yesterday morning : 5C (41F). Here in Melbourne it has slowly been getting colder - but it is spring I hear you say. Why yes it is. Spring is a tricky beast.
Next week I hope it will begin to warm up.
But in the mean-time every day of cold weather puts our hope for Christmas Day tomatoes and zuchinni back a few days
In fact our temps here this week are very similar to the temperatures in Illinois. John and I have been talking about when he should put the heater in the fish pond, checking the bubbler - maybe get another one and double the bubbles? Making sure there is always a hole in the ice when it begins. Stopping fish food when the water hits 50. But he will get a late warm up too. It always happens.
I wish I could just pop over to help him winterize the farm. But Chicago. Chicago is scary. Yeah.
Life is actually really, really like the weather. Full of ups and downs. Full of changes and surprises and days and days of ordinary sat alongside extraordinarily awful.
You just never know what is just around the corner.
Comfort food helps. Learning to garden, cook and eat frugally helps too. This recipe is in my last post.
Speaking of what is around the corner. What is in life’s scroll.
Be careful of rage bait. Not everything we are seeing in our scroll is true.
I frequently run a reverse-image search on what I see here, often shared from utube shorts or TikTok - to investigate authenticity. Especially in relation to Chicago. I cannot afford to waste my rage on this stuff. My rage is precious. It is fuel. I need to have control of it.
Ironically a quick screen shot of the image or the text and a pass with chat gpt or another form of search helps me get these images in perspective.
Be suspicious always.
Use a search prompt something like this:
Perform a reverse-image search on this picture and find its earliest appearance online, its source and whether it has been digitally altered or AI generated. Include fact check or reliable media references if available.
You can also add, and I frequently do because I like to learn:
If it’s AI-generated, identify the tell-tale visual cues.
If it’s a real photograph, list the verified photographer, agency, date, and context.
We all need to learn this stuff if we are to give credit where credit is due.
Use your tools. Use your brain. Usually AI is pretty easy to spot. How do they walk? Is the light right, does the light match the shadows. What are their eyes doing? If it is perfectly framed - how. Is this credible. Who took the shot. Is this for the gullible.
And it’s actually quite fun. Doing the deep dive. Chasing down the truth.
And be frugal with Chat GPT or Perplexity or most of the others: Theycare useful tools but💧 One ChatGPT question uses about 500 ml 2 cups of our precious water mostly for data-center cooling while a Google search uses around 125 ml or ½ cup. Every single time. These are averages - there are variables - the efficiency of the data storage building and the weather, etc.
But a useful tool.
writes more about how to tell a fake AI influenced image on his tech page.
And.
I am so sorry to say that my research has verified that they have demolished part of the White House - they say they are building a monstrous casino style ballroom twice it’s size beside it. (I could feel this coming when they cut down the trees to ‘relocate ‘ them). They knocked the wing down without congressional approval (well congress has been disbanded and sent home so that was easy) or planning approval. Or permission from the historic buildings trust. But those images are real.
The story behind it may not be real because no one has seen any real plans. The blue prints. The architects work. What exactly they are building there.
What’s the bet they don’t build a ballroom - all we have seen is the same pretty pictures. What’s the bet that this is just rage bait so we don’t see arms and warships being moved to off the coast of Venezuela. And the explosions at sea, as they blow up little boats.
And we have readers from Venezuela right here at The Kitchens Garden. Who we care for. Are they in harms way?
And. It will take years to build and dress a ballroom of that size and by law this administration will be gone in two years. So. Things don’t add up. The numbers don’t add up. The cost is exorbitant. The size makes no sense. All my research with my ordinary tools brings up questions.
Anyway - back to the good that lives right beside the horror - back to the garden.
Good morning. The parsnips are growing fast now. They love this cool weather. ⬇️ They should be ready to turn into baby food soon. The carrots are germinating. The aubergine and basil are sulking because of the returned cold. The tomatoes are stalled but the potatoes and peas and chives and herbs are growing really well.
Beans. Like most of the garden the beans have drifted down into a holding pattern but fear not I tell them the warmth will come.
KitKat.
The flowers for pollinators are growing well even though we had ferocious winds the other day that knocked the hollyhocks and those stupid monster poppies to the ground. I stood them all back up, dug them back in and propped them up with cairns of little stones and wished them the best! They have recovered but are not pretty.
Yes, bees do like roses. A bit. They prefer the plain old fashioned ones where it is easy to get to the pollen. So I am fairly sure they are flying straight over these roses to the lavender’s. Of which there are many.
And here is your reward for getting this far.
The whole back fence - which is almost due a rebuild - has a whole crop of sunflowers growing along it. That might be interesting right?
I have an apple tree going into the back left corner. There is an apple tree in the neighbours yard just behind the fence so they can share pollen and grow lots of apples for the neighbourhood.
This is what I mean about gardeners living in the future. You may see a straggly little garden but I see the overflowing abundance of two months from now and even two years from now! 😂 I don’t even see the ugly bits.
You have a lovely day!
Celi
PS
Obviously the image is of Jude not Ann! 😃
I once again thank you paid subscribers - you are feeding rescue pigs and planting trees!
Also if you are in Chicago please offer to help walk kids to school. I have had reports from my teacher friend of kids being kidnapped by ICE walking to and from school. Zip tying children. So please help mind those children. We are hoping the approaching Chicago winter will help curtail their activities.
Sorry - I did not mean to end on a sad note. But - this is life presently. The dichotomy of it.
And I hear baby! My writing time is up.
C
KitKat is beautiful. And I'd never even thought about wintering a pond...
My fave phrase from this is "I cannot afford to waste my rage on this stuff." I'm going to use that myself very regularly.
Thanks for the useful information about reverse-imaging. I don't get too caught up in that social media stuff as my default position is not to believe unless it comes through the news, and even then I apply filters.
It's so important to antidote it with nurturing the earth and ourselves, and sharing as much good news as we can (like your marvellous garden) and positive things happening in communities. In my latest seasons newsletter, instead of railing again imported commercial out-of-season Halloween, I shared community spring festivals across Aotearoa. People loved it & feel inspired to create their own.