Bogieblog

Black Thumb

I have never had problems starting seedlings for the vegetable garden - until now anyway. I planted seeds and placed them in the greenhouse the first weekend in April. Most of the onions, leeks and watermelons are up, which is all to the good. Out of 72 plugs planted with tomatoes, only one has begun to sprout (just showed its head Wednesday). None of the peppers have started yet. What is up with that?

Everything was planted using the same bag of seed-starting soil - my favorite, never-let-me-down, Pro-Mix. Every single flower seed sprouted weeks ago, as did the lettuce, spinach and chard. The tomato and pepper seeds were bought this year, unlike the rest which were bought up to 7 years ago. I just don't understand what has happened to the tomatoes and peppers.

After just checking in the greenhouse (about 30 seconds ago), I think I know the problem. The tomatoes and peppers knew that their life was doomed. There is not a single melon or onion left (although the flowers are fine). It seems I must have a mouse in the greenhouse and he couldn't resist the greens and roots I so thoughtfully provided. Even though the peppers and tomatoes are still under a plastic top, so the mouse can't get to them yet, they must have decided to give up even trying to grow instead of being ignobely chomped down by a rodent!

This is all Tory's fault. If he wasn't still gimping about (we are still working on that problem), he would be out there catching the mice before they ever thought about getting close to the house or greenhouse. As Dax would say - Just Damn!

She's Back

Becky, who quit blogging a while ago so I took her link off my sidebar, has returned as Joy in the Morning. Her place has now been reinstated on my links list. Go visit her and welcome her back!

Retirement

I would like to say

HAPPY RETIREMENT

To Cop Car. I'll be at the party in spirit!

Kentucky Derby

The 130th running of the Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Saturday, May 1. The post positions have been drawn, for the 20 horse field (order is horse, jockey, owner, early odds):

1. Limehouse; J. Santos; T. Pletcher 30-1
2. Song of the Sword; N. Arroyo Jr.; J. Pedersen 30-1
3. Lion Heart; M. Smith; P. Biancone 10-1
4. Action This Day; D. Flores; R. Mandella 30-1
5. Wimbledon; J. Bailey; B. Baffert 15-1
6. Friends Lake; R. Migliore; J. Kimmel 15-1
7. Minister Eric; P. Day; R. Mandella 30-1
8. Master David; A. Solis; R. Frankel 12-1
9. St Averil; T. Baze; R. Becerra 30-1
10. Imperialism; K. Desormeaux; K. Mulhall 15-1
11. The Cliff's Edge; S. Sellers; N. Zito 4-1
12. Borrego; V. Espinoza; B. Greely 20-1
13. Birdstone E. Prado N. Zito 50-1
14. Read the Footnotes; R. Albarado; R. Violette 12-1
15. Smarty Jones; S. Elliott; J. Servis 9-2
16. Castledale; J. Valdivia Jr.; J. Mullins 15-1
17. Pollard's Vision; J. Velazquez; T. Pletcher 20-1
18. Tapit;R. Dominguez; M. Dickinson 8-1
19. Pro Prado; J. McKee; R. Holthus 30-1
20. Quintons Gold Rush; C. Nakatani; S. Asmussen 20-1

Kentucky law does not allow jockeys to wear corporate logos on their silks. A group of jockeys have asked a judge to block the state law. Two jockeys, John Velazquez and Jose Santos, have threatened that they may not ride their mounts if the track does not allow them to wear advertising and track officials have threatened to escort the two from the park if they show up with logos on their silks. I find it interesting that these two think that they can stop a Kentucky Derby if they refuse to abide by the law (assuming the judge does not block the law).

"If we will be escorted out of the racetrack, there will be no Kentucky Derby, put it that way," Velazquez said on ESPN's "Cold Pizza."

There are always plenty of jockeys at the races. Sure, owners and trainers may not be happy if they have to make last minute substitutions, but I doubt seriously if the Kentucky Derby will be called off because a couple of jockeys can't stand to play by the rules. Actually, they could hurt themselves more than anything as trainers and owners may decide that these jockeys are not commited to their horses and decide to replace them in the future to someone that they know they can count on.

No Jinx Allowed

I hope I don't jinx anything by putting this down in type: I really want the job that I interviewed for yesterday. The job description given to me reads almost line-for-line like my resume. My potential future boss (PFB) seemed impressed with everything that I have experience with and seemed to like my answers to his questions. The company is growing so there is potential for personal growth - but I could most likely be happy doing the documentation/quality implementation job for a long time.

I've already beaten out the first candidate (or so I was told). There are 2-3 more interviews scheduled for this week, but my PFB says that the resumes don't show as much , or as broad, experience as I have.

I found a short-cut that trims off 5 miles (down to 40 miles) and takes out all city driving to get to the company. All except the last 8.5 miles is along roads that I have travelled to work for years - so they are very familiar. The company's benefits are great - not that I need much, just dental insurance, holidays, a little vacation time and a 401(k) to make me happy (but more is available if I should need it in the future). We work 9 - 9 hour days in a two week time span, so every other weekend we have a 3-day weekend. The people I talked to are very nice. It's in a production environment (which is what I like best). The company is small (55 employees at present - but more to come) and is privately held. And, I would actually get an increase over what I was previously making.

I told both my interviewers that I would really like the position and have sent off follow-up letters saying the same thing. Of course I will have to wait until Monday or so before I hear anything - but I have my fingers crossed.

Tobacco Tax Hike?

The New Hamshire Ways and Means Commitee is looking to "temporarily" raise taxes on tobacco products as a way of raising money to fund schools. First of all, we all know what "temporary tax" means; it means that there will be a temporary furor over it, but people will forget about it - then it will never go back down.

Secondly, existing tobacco taxes (currently at 52 cents/pack) are used for education purposes (not tobacco awareness education, everyday education).

So, myself and WS, who both smoke (not proud of that, it's just a fact), and also have no kids, will spend even more for educating someone else's kids if the measure passes. I don't bitch about paying my fair share of the town's school costs thru property taxes. But if the premise is that everyone should pay for education (which would be why I pay school taxes thru the property tax), then that should mean everyone - not that smokers (or yacht owners or mink coat owners) take up the extra burden when things get tight.

Hopefully Governor Benson will veto the measure. If not, then we all know that his "no tax increases pledge" is only for certain people and not for those that engage in politically incorrect, but legal, activities.

All Over The Place

As I came home from taking care of the cats this morning, I noticed the suet feeder by the driveway is gone. Not just the suet is gone, the whole thing has disappeared. This has never happened before; I've had seed feeders mangled, but nothing has ever messed with the suet feeders. I looked around but couldn't find it. I don't know if that means a bear got it or that a squirrel really wanted to take it home, but I guess I'll have to replace it.

* * * *

It's still dark, wet and gloomy outside. I sure wish the sun would make an appearance!

* * * *

I have an interview today. It will take me longer to go the 45 miles to this company than it would have taken to get to the place 62 miles away. I will also have to deal with lots of city traffic. Of course if I get the job I'll just be so happy to be working that the drive time won't bother me too much (could be worse, could have a 2 hour commute like some other people I know).

* * * *

Tonight I start taking care of horses and cats in addition to the cats I am already taking care of. That will mean that I blog later than usual - but I don't mind if you don't mind.

* * * *

The Wonderful Spouse, his brother and sister-in-law, and some of his friends are going to the Rolling Thunder rally in Washington, DC this year.

And that is pretty much what I have to write about today.

Spider Alive

I found a Rabid Wolf Spider today (no, it's not a Wolf Spider that is rabid, "Rabid" is part of its name). It is normally a forest denizen that dwells in piles of wet, dead leaves and bark. Somehow, it decided our bedroom was the place to hang out.

In all fairness, once it got into the house, the bedroom was probably the closest thing it could get to that almost resembled its normal hiding places. This may come out all garbled, but I'll try to explain.

At night, when we get undressed, we tend to throw our clothes on the floor; mine at the foot of the bed and the Wonderful Spouse's in a heap by the closet. In the morning I normally pick up my clothes and put them in the hamper. WS's clothes stay in a heap by the closet until I gather laundry. In order of your forthcoming questions: Yes - he has a hamper. No - he doesn't use it. No - I refuse to pick up his clothes until laundry time.

I was gathering whites, for a load of laundry, and had picked out everything in the hamper and in WS's "corner". Then I noticed that the top blanket from the bed had slid down so that it was hanging off the foot of the bed with about 8" of it piled on the floor. I figured that if it had been that way for a couple of days, some clothes might have been missed in my daily pick-up. I was right, there was a shirt and a pair of socks there - along with the spider who was hanging out on top of the shirt (smart, it didn't get too near the socks!).

Today's Pet-Sitting Adventure

As I entered the driveway of my latest client, I startled a flock of turkeys. A Tom and 3 hens were wandering about and moved politely out of my way as I drove in. The scooched off about 10 feet away from me, but were just wary, not frightened. They hung out outside the kitchen window so that I could watch them as I made up the food for the kitties.

Lydia, of course, followed me around as I chased Zorro (in slow motion) and finally dragged him out from under the bed for his medication. While under the bed, I startled Tiger. He just looked at me with big green eyes and was happy that I wasn't after him. Maybe Tiger thought I would drag him out from under the bed next - as I took Zorro down to the kitchen, Tiger followed and stayed around while I was putting the food bowls out. He was evidently very curious about me; he was willing for me to get close enough for him to sniff my hand, but didn't want me to touch him. Fair enough, I just let him sniff me several times then he settled down to eat.

I found Sophy under the sofa again - so she is okay which is all I really care about.

The turkeys had moved over towards my truck when I was ready to leave. For some reason it was more scary for someone to come out of the house than it was to have someone drive up as the birds panicked. The Tom and two hens ran to the right and into the field next to the house. The third hen had been on my left and was unwilling to run between me and the truck so she headed to the area under the kitchen window. Once I started out of the driveway, she ran over to the rest of the flock, and everyone settled down.

All-in-all, not a bad start to a cold, wet, dark, gloomy day!

Wintergreen

Have you ever wondered if the myth that Life Saver Wintergreen mints spark if you chew them is true?