Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

This is so true is so many instances, I live in the country and I love each morning hearing the birds and looking out my back door to nothing but trees and woods. My daughter however is a city girl, she can only stay with me a short time and she gets homesick for the sounds of the city. When I visit her all I ever hear is sirens, traffic noise, and people noise. Last week my daughter and I went shopping and I love to shop in antique stores, she is absolutely not a antique kind of person. She ask me why would you want something someone else has owned and used. Each antique I own has a story,even if they are a lie. The best way to sell me an antique is tell me a story about the piece and then I want to own the story and the piece. During our shopping trip last week I bought a old painting on wood. The painting is a English hunting scene complete with the hunting dog. It is a time long forgotten but alive in this painting. Shop the antique stores and find lots of wonderful things.

Swine Flu Symtoms Described

In this video, Dr. Joe Bresee, with CDC's Influenza Division, describes the symptoms of swine flu and warning signs to look for that indicate the need for urgent medical attention.



For further informational video's check out the CDC's Youtube Page.

Veggie of the Week...CARROTS

Eating carrots will improve your eyesight.....NO!

Carrots protect military secrets...YES!

Straight from the "Gee-Wiz" Catagory comes this week's Veggie...one that gives your salad zing, & helped win the war for the allies...THE CARROT!

You've heard it before, eating carrots can improve your night vision...sounds plausable... baseless, but plausable. Most never questioned it, but who came up with this tidbit of occular advice?

I'm guessing it was someone who worked for this guy...
(Hint:...that's former Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain)


OK, so like Bug's Bunny, you're asking "What's up Doc?", for that, check out the story from the myth busting website, Snopes.com


Now that you're well armed with that piece of vegetable trivia, howbout' catching some great tips on cultivating some lovely roots for your very own. Check out all the great garden tips about carrots from gardenersnet.com


And keeping with the Veggie of the Week Tradition, here's Jarred from Stone Soup Farms, who shows you how to add carrots to your garden...

Horry County SC Wildfire battle rages on...

The map at left depicts the area currently effected by wildfires that have scorched more than 19,000 acres, and have caused more than 2500 people to evacuate.

With no rain on the immediate forecast, fire officals are hesitant to speculate how soon the largest wildfire to hit the region in over 30 years may be put under control.

Myrtle Beach NBC TV Station WMBF has this report...



UPDATE: (11:00AM EST)
The Horry County Information Office has released this map showing current hotspots,(as of 2AM) The 10AM News Conference had officials stating that approx. 50% of the wildfire is contained, but with forecasts of winds increasing in the area conditions may still change for the worse.

Current damage estimates are at $8.2M; Fire 50 percent contained, but expected to strengthen and threaten Poplar community on S.C. 90.
Here's additional information from Myrtle Beach Local Newspaper, The Sun News...

Veggie of the Week...TOMATOES

Oh yes! The Rock Star of the veggie world! A favorite garden crop, tomatoes are this weeks featured veggie. Absolutely, the tomato is the number one planted crop in discerning backyard gardens everywhere. Looking through the garden center at your favorite big box store... except for ornamental shrubbery, tomato plants are the biggest cash crop to expand a Lowe's or Home Depot's profit margin. Easy to plant, cultivate, and ACCESSORIZE. Grab some wire trellis or Rapid-Grow tomato sticks while you choose between picking between Beefsteak or Bigger Boy varieties.

A member of the nightshade family of plants, tomatoes were subject to suspicion. Once called "Wolf Apples", it was once thought to be poisonous. And there's still debate in botanical circles as to whether it is a fruit or vegetable. All that aside, the tomato has become a delicious favorite at the dinner table with countless uses.

I'm featuring a geocities website... "How to grow tomatoes" since it's simple, stuffed with links, articles, and tons of tips & info.

For those who like video's, Melissa Allman tells it like it is with the best southern "Ax-sent"...

Veggie of the week... The POTATO

Today we feature a hardy & versatile friend in the garden & in the kitchen. A friend that's easy to nurture, & equally easy to harvest & prepare for the table. Presenting...The POTATO!

Once banned by the medieval church as "the devils plant", the potato has since become a worldwide celebrity, known far & wide for it's great nutritional value...just ask the Irish...that country practically lived on potato's, and almost died when a blight occurred on it's crop.


There'd be no, (or just not that many) Irish Cops in NYC if it wasn't for the potato famine.

Today, it's a tuber common in all kitchens...want to know more? Check out all the info mahalo.com has on how to cultivate a close relationship with your friend, the potato.

Composting...it's a dirty job

OK, here's the dirt...(pun intended)...on composting.

I can't help it, I just gotta put a giggle in all this. Composting ain't one of the most sexy of topics...in fact it's literally worm dirt. But I gotta tell ya, if you want to grow a garden and your dirt is pretty poor...you're only gonna grow a bunch weeds without buying bags of topsoil...Costly......or composting a pile of the err...stuff.

Composting done right will turn your household kitchen & yard waste into nutrient-rich soil. Add a little moisture, a little air, some worms, and voila!...potting soil better n' store bought. Plus, you'll never run out of live bait (worms) for fishing.

Don't take my word for it...check out what the good folks at www.enviromom.com have to say on the subject.



And if that ain't enough dirt-digging, here's a great website that can really get you knee-deep in the pile.