All posts by ruthsoaper

The War On Weeds

Gardening, Reflections, Weeding,

In any war it is important to have a strategy and that includes the gardener’s “War On Weeds”. I don’t think it is possibly to have a garden that is perpetually weed free, so I don’t know that it is possible to truly win the war. I am going to share some tips, though, that might help you win some of the battles.

The Plan Of Attack

We have learned over the years that pulling weeds when the soil is moist is the best approach. When the soil is dry the roots are reaching deep into the earth searching for water. This makes digging them difficult and pulling them next to impossible. When the soil is moist the roots are relaxed and can be pulled out much easier. Weeding in the morning when the soil is moist or after a rain will make your work much easier.

Keep Your Enemy In Check

Most plants will reproduce by forming flowers or seed heads. In order to keep the plants from multiplying (often exponentially) remove the weed before it forms flowers or goes to seed.

Know Your Enemy

Being able to identify the type of weed and how it grows can be most helpful in ridding it permanently from your garden. Plants that are annuals and are pulled or cut before they go to seed should be gone for good. Other plants that are biennial (taking two years to mature) or perennial (come back every year) will need to have their entire root removed otherwise they will continue to grow back. Some perennial’s, like Canadian thistle and sow thistle, have roots systems that run horizontally under ground. When the shoot/plant is pulled and detached from the horizontal root it will, in a quest for survival, send up several more shoots. (A loosing battle.) However cutting the shoot/plant at ground level will deprive it of the ability to perform photosynthesis. That particular shoot may grow back and need to be cut another time or two before the plant (root) dies.

In the past we have had much success in getting rid of thistles from lawn or field areas by mowing the area throughout the summer. This year as I weed my prayer garden I am on a mission to eradicate thistles, so I am cutting them with the intention of coming back once a week to cut any that are starting to grow back. Wish me luck!

Happy gardening! 🙂

Colors of Spring

Reflections, spring,

Each year the first color we see in the spring is yellow.

Then as spring progresses and the yellow flowers fade away we see a lot of purple.

When we landscaped the berm that boarders our pond we planted forsythia bushes alternated with lilacs. Once the forsythia is finished blossoming the lilacs begin. On a breezy day the lilac fragrance fills the air.

The lush green of the trees evokes a feeling of peace and harmony.

The daffodils that ushered in spring have been replaced by Iris’s, chive blossoms and salvia.

The dandelion blossoms turned to puff balls that were scattered by the wind. They have been replaced by white clover that will offer the bees a bountiful food source throughout the summer.

These are but a few of the delightful changes I have observed in the past week.

Thanks for visiting. 🙂

Do you have a favorite spring flower?

5 Years With WordPress

Reflections
Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!
You registered with WordPress.com 5 years ago.
Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging.

I received this message from WordPress on Saturday. It’s hard for me to believe that I have been blogging for 5 years. It’s even harder to believe that after 5 years WordPress is changing the rules. To their credit I was given fair warning that these changes were coming and I have had adequate time to learn how to use the new editor. I just haven’t!

I guess the problem is that I don’t like change. I subscribe to the philosophy of “if it’s not broken don’t fix it”. I still use a flip phone and I don’t text; I take pictures with a camera; I still write checks to pay my bills; and I prefer to use a map or have written directions to get where I’m going. You might think I will be offended if you call me old fashion. I won’t. I will take that as a compliment.

For me the WordPress classic editor worked fine. I personally had no complaints, but I suppose when you are trying to please hundreds of thousands, perhaps more, (I really have no idea how many people use WordPress) there will certainly be people wanting something more, new or different.

This is my first post using the new editor. It is pretty basic and there is much more to learn. As much as I don’t like having to learn to use the new program, it is a choice I will make because blogging is important to me. You may not notice a difference in the appearance of the blog, and since I do not blog on a regular schedule you might not even realize that it is taking me longer to create a post. As I go through this leaning process if you do notice differences please bear with me as the support of my readers is what encourages me to keep blogging.

My hope is that it will come easy and I will continue to enjoy blogging as much as I have in the past. If that is the case perhaps WordPress and I will celebrate many more anniversaries.

Thanks for reading. It means a lot! 🙂

55 Things # 22 – Dirt Don’t Hurt

55 Things, Gardening, Reflections

Click here to learn more about my “55 Things” and here to view previous posts in this series.

Gardening season is upon us, and yes, we have been busy playing in the dirt. Tilling and planting began nearly two weeks ago. My husband planted potatoes and cabbage after the threat of frost and freezing temperatures was presumably over. He has since, in between rain days, planted tomatoes, eggplant, squash and pumpkins, sunflowers and buckwheat. There are still seeds to go in the ground but we are off to a good start.

Weeding has also begun. I spent some time pulling weeds in the asparagus patch and about three hours on Wednesday weeding the garlic bed. Weeding the Prayer Garden is next on my list.

The contrary among you may argue that the title of this post,  Dirt Don’t Hurt, is misleading because there are ways that dirt can be harmful to us. That I will concede. Now that I’ve got you here though I would like to share some ways that dirt may therapeutic.

Grounding or Earthing

Grounding or earthing refers to the simple act of placing our bare feet on the natural ground, such as dirt, sand or grass. By doing that, we are in direct contact with the Earth. While the proposed science behind it is explained in this article some of the heath benefits are said to be reduced inflammation, reduce stress, improve mood, reduced pain. Personally I don’t care how it works I just know that it feels good to go barefoot in the cool green grass or on a sand beach.

Antidepressant Microbes In Soil

A while back a Rory, a fellow blogger included this interesting article in his gardening series. The article explains that “The soil microbe mycobacterium vaccae has been found to mirror the effect on neurons in the brain that drugs like Prozac can provide, but without side effects.” It also suggests that the benefits may be gained either topically by having your hands in the soil or by inhaling it while working in the garden.

All this time I’ve been using the term “garden  therapy” I never thought that there may be some science behind it I just knew that I find working in the garden enjoyable and I feel good when I do it.

Bacillus Subtilis Probiotic

It was right around the time I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease that I began including probiotics in my diet daily. Largely I was doing this by eating and drinking fermented foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, and kombucha. There did seem to be a connection between my poor digestion and some of the other symptoms of the PD, and probiotics did have some positive effects.

Bacillus subtilis is a probiotic that is derived from the soil and as this article explains is able to endure extreme conditions such as heat, dryness, humidity and acidity. It is said to improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, suppress harmful pathogens, strengthen the mucosal biofilm and enhance the growth of other probiotic strains.

Several months ago my husband came across  this information which describes studies being done on bacillus subtilis in relationship to PD and positive results that are being seen. This got my attention. This particular strain of probiotic is not one that is included in the many probiotic supplements that I found on the store shelves. I did find one blend at a nutrition store that contained it but beyond that it is easier to find online.

I have been taking bacillus subtilis supplements for a few months now and have noticed several benefits to my health.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to “Play in the Dirt” this summer. 🙂

From Coping to Managing

Parkinson's Disease, Reflections

I have read a lot of articles lately about how people are coping during the pandemic crises and even had some conversations with family members about it. Today I’d like to share my thoughts on the topic. While the terms coping and managing are often used synonymously they are two very different things.

The following story is how I came to that realization.

It was probably two months after first being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease before I said the words “I have Parkinson’s disease”. Up until that point I was in, what I thought of as, a healthy state of denial. I would say things like “I have been diagnosed with…” or “they tell me I have…” but I was not ready to own it. I guess that was my way of coping.

I remember clearly the day I finally said the words “I have Parkinson’s disease”.  I was alone in the house (I wasn’t  ready to say those words to anyone else) standing at the kitchen sink washing some dishes thinking about what was happening to me. Then I said the words out loud “I have Parkinson’s”. As soon as I said it the voice in my head, God’s voice, said “Yah, you got this.” Then I said, “Yah, I’ve got this. It doesn’t have me. I have it.”

It was then that I remembered that I am the manager of my life. Regardless of the circumstances that come my way, I still get to make decisions about how I respond to them. You might remember from my first post about Parkinson’s disease that I’m not in this alone. I have a wonderful team to support me, but ultimately I am the manager of my life.

My message to you today is, if you find yourself struggling to cope with a situation (COVID 19 or other) remind yourself that you are the manger of your life. Take control, make good decisions for yourself, your family and others around you. Do not let the situation control you – you’ve got this!

Breathe Deep and Carry On!