In Driest California

The alternative title to this post should be drought-shaming because that’s what I am about to do.  Folks in  my hometown are under orders to cut their water consumption by 1/3 of the level used in 2011.  Trees and shrubs may be watered twice a week according to a set schedule but lawns are to be left to their own devices.  You can see the stress of conditions every where you look.

Penalties for round one of non-compliance is a $25 fee in a household’s two month bill.  A second round of non-compliance raises the fee to $50.  There are water police who patrol for runoff and they also issue fines.  In short, community measures are in place to conserve water.

My family is doing their best to conserve water , though it’s awfully difficult to cut back that much if you’ve always been careful of consumption, which we generally have.    Around town, you can see evidence of folks who are doing their best to avoid watering their yards.  Some folks have even undertaken drought-friendly landscaping, as seen here.

And here, where artificial turf fills in limited space and provides the illusion of lush grass.

But some folks have clearly ignored the instructions all together.  They embrace the fee and water at their leisure.

And so you have folks who’ve followed instructions, taken care, and have yards struggling in the heat.

And in the same neighborhood are people who are clearly not worried about fines, let alone taking up their share of responsible water management.  Sometimes, the guilty parties live right next door to those who are following the rules.  You’d think that would make for awkward neighborhood block parties.

There are plenty of folks who have planted grass that is far too water-demanding for the arid and hot climate that prevails in the San Joaquin Valley.

This the part of drought-stricken California that you hear about the most; the area where agricultural fields lie fallow and some communities have no water left.  It would seem some of the folks who live here aren’t worried about the changing climate’s water shortages.  More troubling than that is my sense that the burden of this drought isn’t being borne by a community in solidarity.

Weekly Garden Update: In Dryer Climes edition

I’m in California so this week there is no weekly picture of my New Jersey garden.  Instead, I stepped into the backyard at my parent’s place and checked out my dad’s garden.  He’s the person who taught me to love gardening and so I always enjoy seeing his patch of garden. The squash is looking terrific.

The drought has taken its toll in this part of California but my dad conserves water carefully so that he can nourish his plants.  He’s uses a drip irrigation system to maximize water efficiency.  

Round one of tomato harvest is complete (the growing season around here is easily double what I enjoy in New Jersey) and a second crop of tomatoes will be set out shortly.  

In the meantime, the lime trees are ready to harvest.  I plan to bring some of these home with me.

The basil looks terrific.

The owl warns away critters in search of a juicy snack.

It's always nice to see my dad's garden.  He taught me how to grow things and his garden is a reminder of all the things I love about cultivating plants.

Book Champion

I recently finished a rather weighty book —— Hillary Mantel’s A Place of Greater Safety.  The book was more than 700 pages; by any account a long read.  Using history as its background, the novel constructs the story behind the friendship of French Revolution leaders Robespierre, Desmoulins, and Danton.  Since the end is well-known (anyone for the guillotine?) it’s remarkable the degree to which Mantel maintains the reader’s hope for a better ending.

I am a relentless reader at all times of the year, but especially in the summer when I have so much more time to have my nose in a book.  I’m bemused at how proud I am for having read such a long book.  I felt the same way when I read Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy.  It’s like I’m involved in some sort reading contest and those 749 pages are going to give me the edge to claim the Summer Reading Book Prize.

There is no contest and I didn’t write the many pages; I simply read them.  Alas, old notions of achievement die hard.  And a good book is a lovely thing.

"It's Time to Start Drinking, Grandma": Live Blogging the GOP Debate

The Backstory: I'm visiting family, the people responsible for making me a Democrat, and of course we're watching the Republican debate.  In this case, I mean the FOX news contest between the top
10, not the kiddie table 7.  My mom is going to take a drink of wine every time one of the candidates says something stupid and JT has suggested that she start the drinking now.

10:45
Debate is nearly over but, more to the point, I'm done with these jackals.  Kasich, Rubio are the winners.  Trump was Trump, which is to say mean and stupid.  Walker, Paul, and Bush rambled. Christie, Huckabee, and Cruz were also-rans.  Carson was the least adept. This debate damaged him. And none of them are ready for prime time and Hillary Clinton.

10:43
Huckabee says the military is not a social experiment and so forget transgendered soldiers.  I guess he forgot about desegregation of the armed services.

10:42
Scott Walker is gonna fight in Syria and Ukraine. So that's great.

10:41
Carson distinctly unimpressive. Wouldn't vote for him and probably wouldn't let him near my neurological system either.

10:38
Ted Cruz woke up and says we have abandoned our allies.  Which allies?

10:36
Wait...."Straight Outta Compton" ad during GOP debate?

10:34
Social issues went fast.  Foreign policy is next.

10:30
Kasich has a gay friend.  Got it.

10:26
Trump is comparing himself to Reagan.  Oh man.  Trump is also really incoherent at this point. Maybe he's playing a GOP debate drinking game.

10:25
And now they are eager to end rape and health of the mother exemptions to abortion bans.  Sheesh.

10:23
Everyone eager to defund Planned Parenthood.

10:18
Finally a topic they agree on: Iran is evil.  Social issues are next.  Bring on the lady-hating and gay-bashing!

10:17
Ted Cruz has been sent to bed.

10:14
When candidates say "we need to repeal and replace Obamacare" I wonder what kind of replacement they envision.

10:10
And Trump gets the bankruptcy questions. Awesome. And he's just mean when challenged.  In a nutshell, he promises to use the chapter laws to declare the U.S. bankrupt.  And just like that, we fuck over our creditors and crater our economy. Bonus!

10:09
Will someone tell Huckabee that the government actually belongs to the people?

10:07
Realizing that none of these dudes is going to say that black lives matter.

10:05
Uncle M: "I listen to these questions and ask why anybody would vote for any of these guys." Checkmate.

10:03
Jeb Bush asked how he plans to get us to 4% growth.  He'll do it with "lifted spirits and high expectations."  So that's a good plan; solid on the foundations.  I'm in.

10:00
When Kasich explains that he balanced the budget is the 90s, I notice that he doesn't mention that he did it with President Bill Clinton.

9:59
Now shifting to the take-a-shot-at-Hillary Clinton round of questions.

9:52
Hey, Dr. Carson, isn't a proportional tithe-based tax system also known as a progressive tax system? Asking for a friend.

9:49
Scott Walker was on break but he's back to insult Hillary Clinton. That's the one thing they agree upon: she is the devil.

9:47
Trump says insurance companies are making a fortune so he wants a private insurance system. Whaaaaat?  Then he insults Rand Paul which is pleasing.

9:45
The ISIS answers are confusing and boring.  The 15 year olds have tapped out of the debate.

9:40
Is Ben Carson still on the stage?  Uncle M says the second round of questions is best characterized as "fight, fight, fight."

9:38
I know it's petty but I really hate Rand Paul's voice.

9:37
Christie gets bonus points for the emotional invocation of September 11.  And by bonus points, I mean cringe-worthy.

9:35
Ted Cruz, a member of the U.S. Senate, calls Congress "the Washington cartel." Awesome.

9:32
My son: "Hold up. Does Trump really want to build a wall on the border?"  When we confirm that is exactly what he wants, the 15 year olds shake their heads.

9:30
The Sassafras Family reluctantly concludes that Fox News is asking decent questions.

9:25
Bush is actually reasonably moderate on immigration, at least as his party goes.  Here comes Trump on the immigration question...he thinks that the issue has only started to matter since he started talking about it.  Which, umm, is false.  Gonna take a drink.

9:20
Since when is John Kasich the voice of reason?  This shit is scary.

9:18
Props to Huckabee for the "Supreme Court isn't a Supreme being" line.  Heartening to hear that he believes in the 5th and 14th amendments, even if he intends to use it for diminishing the rights of American women.

9:16
Christie defends the New Jersey miracle by lying about everything....taxes, job growth, balanced budget...the whole deal.

9:15
Uncle M, my brother-in-law,  feels like the first round of debate questions is based on the principle that "you guys suck."

9:11
Trump looks like a man who just sucked on a lemon while Megan Kelly is asking for his feminist creds.  Turns out Trump isn't afraid to be "politically incorrect."  Also, he just called America losers.

9:09
Jeb Bush is taking a question on dynastic politics and he says not to worry, he'll work hard to get the job.  Fine, but the way he tilts his head is tiresome.

Well-Worn

I have a friend, C, an artist by trade and inclination, who makes the most beautiful pictures of things worn by time.  Her view of a piece of rusted metal or the surface of an aged building causes me to re-think what I see, to search for the beauty and vitality among the worn surfaces in my world.  So it is that I made this picture of the stone steps and the wall that surrounds the Pry House, a preserved building at Antietam Battlefield in Maryland.  

The Pry farmhouse was the center of a vital farm and both the family’s home and barn became a field hospital in the midst of the Antietam battle.  Here, Union forces tended their wounded and rested in the aftermath of the battle.  It was the fall of 1863 and while they mended, the troops consumed the year’s harvest.  The Pry farm went from being a relatively well-off family of Union supporters to a family literally eaten out of house and home.  They did make a claim for the Union to pay the costs incurred by the family but their request for $2500 went unanswered by federal bureaucrats.  The Pry family never did recover from the damages incurred during the war and after it concluded, the Pry family packed up and left for a farm in Tennessee, where they sought a fresh start.

The story of the Pry family is fascinating to me not because it was particularly special —— plenty of families lost everything to the Civil War —— but because their very common tale is preserved in the form a quiet farmhouse that was witness to a momentous battle and stands today to remind us of the the stories of our past.

Uneven Path

This sign is not messing around.  You've been warned.

Weekly Garden Update: August 3

Later this week, JT and I will head out to California to visit family, relax in the pool, and eat delicious Mexican food.  The garden stays home, hard at work to generate tomatoes, basil, and flower blooms for our greedy enjoyment.

I’ve taken to sprinkling my zinnia seedlings with hot pepper spray in the hopes that the bunnies will snack less and I will have some bouquets to enjoy.  Though I didn’t think I needed another lesson in garden patience, it would seem that I getting one anyway.

Circular Firing Squad: 2016 edition

In the aftermath of the 2012 election and its endless rounds of primary debates, the Republican party determined that in 2016 they would avoid the circular firing squad that election’s primary debate season entailed.  Instead of endless candidate debates featuring every jackal who was a declared Republican presidential candidate, they would set a public opinion poll requirement for debate participation.  After some back and forth, they set the bar at the top 10 candidates, meaning that the top 10 candidates in national polls would be invited to participate in the 2016 election debates.

Fair enough.

Back when the rules were set, it seemed like a reasonable approach.  The chances of more than 10 serious candidates seemed slim.  This top 10 strategy expected to limit internal sniping and backbiting and lend itself to a serious discussion of the nation’s issues.  Missing from this discussion was the established knowledge of political scientists: early polls are generally name recognition measures and are typically useless when it comes to determining who will emerge as a party’s nominee.  That piece of knowledge turns out to be very important.

Republican candidate debates start this month, more than 14 months before the election.  In keeping with the rules set a few years back, of the 17 candidates (well, 17 as of this writing) only the top 10 polling candidates will be involved.  A system that seemed to make sense has instead created a perverse incentive.  To attract early polling numbers, standing that is essential for continued debate participation, a candidate needs to attract attention.  And what attracts attention the most is over-the-top words and behavior.

With Donald Trump and his ridiculous rhetoric now coming in number 1, the bar for candidates has been set.  And the bar demands attracting media attention.  Full stop.  We all agree that Trump has virtually no serious candidate creds but every time he says something the mainstream media trips over itself to report the inanity……hateful attacks on undocumented immigrants, boneheaded claims about his ability to manage the economy, attacks on John McCain’s bravery as a veteran…..nothing is beyond Trump’s reach and therefore the media’s attention.  The remaining candidates strain to achieve the Trump standard: to the sounds of metal rock, Rand Paul takes a chainsaw to the tax code and releases a video for our enjoyment.  Lindsay Graham films himself destroying his cell phone, an act seemingly necessary after Trump told the world his phone number.   Chris Christie deploys his patented Jersey charm, insulting those who ask questions while he’s on the campaign trail.

The Republican debate rules have created candidates who are Saturday Night Live parodies of serious candidates.  As a Democratic voter, I’ll confess that I am somewhat entertained by the ridiculous race to buffoonery that GOP rules have stimulated.  But as a citizen who believes that honest political discourse is a real and important obligation of elections in a democratic nation, I’m horrified by Republican candidates who offer a healthcare platform of repealing ACA in favor of “something terrific.” Thanks, Mr. Trump, but I want a few more details on what “terrific” looks like.

Genuine electoral competition is necessary to sustain the republic.   I find myself wondering if a single Republican candidate can rise out of this morass to fashion an idea-based campaign to compete against the Democratic candidate.  As I’m not a Republican and unlikely to vote for that party’s candidate, this doesn’t matter for me as a voter, but it does matter to me as a citizen.   I have long-standing belief that we get the government we deserve, the outcome of our civic engagement as a nation.  It frightens me that current Republican presidential crop may be exactly what we deserve.    As for me, I want better for my nation.

August 1: Peach Tree

I suppose that I could have waited until today to share the news of my big peach tree harvest but I was too excited about my first harvest to delay the news.  Now that the harvest is complete, my hard-working peach tree has earned the right to soak up the sun and relax.

The last week of July was very hot and we seem to have entered a patch of dry weather.  If the lack of rain continues, I’ll need to give the peach tree a big drink.  

As is nearly always the case come August, the summer is starting to droop along its edges.  Heat and limited rainstorms can do that.  Though the peach tree harvest is complete, there are plenty of other things yet to be harvested before the summer growing season is complete.  I plan to to enjoy every bit of the summer that remains even as I am grateful for what it’s given me thus far.

Call for You

At Harper’s Ferry National Park in West Virginia, the 1980s are waiting for your call.