I woke up around 4 this morning with cramps in my legs. My heart was racing. I was awakened during one of those escaping dreams. Trying to get away and trying to move my legs so they would stop cramping. I got up to walk around and smelled something different in the house.
Coco wanted outside and I really smelled it there. It was a sort of sweet and acidic smell. Nothing familiar to it comes to mind. My heart was racing. Probably because of the dream.
I came in the house and smelled the same thing, faintly. So I decided to turn off the air conditioner.
And all of this made me wonder yet again, are there toxins being released into the environment that couldn't be released during the day time when more people would notice it?
There have been times when during the wee hours, I've smelled what seemed like pesticides. And there have been other times when there was a strong scent of burning plastic in the air.
Since there is a huge lab a few miles away and a landfill a little further away, putting these together as a sort of hmmmm.
I decided not to try to go back to sleep and made my bed and turned on the remainder of some coffee we had with company yesterday. A rare treat, I don't drink it often anymore.
And as I watched the sun begin to lighten the sky and peek its way through the fullness of green framed by my windows I started thinking, there are a few things I haven't seen this year.
For the past ten years I've been noticing an increasingly lower number of spiders. Wolf spiders in particular but all kinds of spiders have become fewer and fewer. And no toads or ladybugs at all this year. There used to be these wonderfully cherry red ladybugs. And then suddenly there were orange ones and these seemed to bite. They were everywhere. But I haven't seen any this year. Not a one.
And then we got these beetles that were burrowing under the barks of the trees, especially the elm and ash trees. And by last summer's end, these skinless trees were scattered everywhere. They quickly died and the shells of their former glory were left to stand as a stark reminder that our environment is fragile.
I remember always seeing Wolf spiders outside. And there would always be a few in the basement. I was never keen on them being in the house. And over the past few years I have noticed their decline. But this year I haven't even seen one of them. No ladybugs, red or orange, either. And no long earthworms after the rain. We have had so much rain this year. And it dawned on me, ten years ago when it rained, earth worms would cover the driveway. Some were quite long. Like baby snakes; some a foot long, maybe even a little longer. And this year, with so much rain it just struck me, I haven't seen any.
The birds have been having all kinds of fun flicking through the remnants of my leafy beds in the yard after a rain. And when I did my planting this year I did see earthworms. But no long wigglers or wigglers or any kind on my driveway or on the pathway to my front door either. Nary a one.
The geese have dwindled down so I can't remember the last time I saw a flock of them gather and form a "W" in the sky. I have only seen a very few Bluejays in the past ten years. And fewer fruit brown bats and crows every year.
I haven't got any answers. These are just observations.
I have been experimenting with my flower and ornamental bushes and trees planting beds. When I was a young girl my grandmother, whose family were poor dirt farmers, used to teach me how to pick certain areas of the hill and throw vegetable ends and berries in sunny spots and of course, coffee grounds in another spot so we would have lots of Tiger Lilies and earthworms when we wanted to go fishing.
Keeping with this idea I decided to do the same thing. Whenever I had a really great tasting (with seeds thank you very much) piece of fruit or a vegetable, I'd throw the ends of it or the last mushy berries in another sunny area and see what happened. My front yard has huge areas of strawberries everywhere and now I have two very healthy blackberry bushes. I'm going to relocated them to a nice sunny area in the fall and place rocks around them so they don't take over the yard. I love the idea of having a large berry patch to give the birds a place to hide from predators. And to have fresh berries, warmed by the sun, what could be better?
Now I've got potatoes growing and sprawling out in one area and zucini and yellow squash, carrots and onion and garlic in other areas. I decided not to harvest anything this year and see what comes up naturally next spring. I love the idea of mixing things up. Doing some intentional planting along with some random, let's see what happens kind of edibles in with my flowers and flowering bushes and trees.
My goal is to have a front yard filled with berry bushes, strawberries, veggies and my next project is to get some cherry trees going.
Instead of mowing the lawn I'd rather weed and use herbs and berries as ground coverings and watch other crops take on a life of their own. I guess you can take the farmer out of the country but you can't take the country out of the farmer. Here I am, once again, developing and encouraging an organic farm to flourish on this plot of land.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Recall Results August 9, 2011
WASHINGTON -- Democrats won two Wisconsin state Senate seats in Tuesday's dramatic recall elections, but they fell short of the three needed to take the majority away from Republicans.
Six incumbent GOP state senators were forced to defend their seats on Tuesday in historic recall elections. The efforts to change the makeup of the state Senate came after Republicans passed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) controversial measure stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights.
Even though Democrats weren't able to take back one of the chambers of the legislature, they touted the fact that voters ousted two incumbent Republicans as a major victory.
"The fact we've accomplished as much in six months as had been achieved in the 85 years since recalls were put in the Wisconsin state Constitution is a stunning rebuke to Scott Walker's extreme attacks on middle class working families," said Kelly Steele, spokesman for the labor-backed coalition We Are Wisconsin.
"On Tuesday night, Wisconsin spoke loud and clear with the recall of two entrenched Republicans. ... The fact of the matter remains, that, fighting on Republican turf, we have begun the work of stopping the Scott Walker agenda," said Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate in a statement.
State Sen. Tim Cullen (D-Janesville) told The Huffington Post earlier on Tuesday that losing two seats would be a "wake-up call to Republicans."
"It creates a 17-16 Senate," he explained. "That means they have no margin of error. They've got to have legislation that all 17 Republicans, without exception, are for."
The first three wins of the night were good news for Republicans: Sens. Robert Cowles (R-Allouez), Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls) and Luther Olsen (R-Ripon) all held on to their seats.
"I think the voters in northwest Wisconsin and in the 10th Senate district have spoken once again to recognize that Wisconsin's on the right track, they want us to get our fiscal track in order, and they want us to grow jobs," said Harsdorf in a post-win interview with WQOW in Eau Claire. "And they recognize the reforms that we've passed are beginning to work, and we have led the nation in changing how government operates."
Democratic challenger Jennifer Shilling then beat incumbent state Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse), who was considered the most vulnerable candidate because of the large Democratic presence in his district.
In one of the most interesting races of the night, Democrat Jessica King beat state Sen. Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac). It was déjà vu for the voters in the district: In 2008, King and Hopper also ran against each other, but in that contest, Hopper beat his opponent by just 163 votes.
The final race of the night wasn't called until after midnight, due in part to late results from Waukesha County, whose clerk, Kathy Nickolaus, botched the results in the state Supreme Court race in April. State Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) managed to hold on to her seat.
Tate accused Nickolaus -- who has a long history of errors -- of "tampering with the results," although he later backed down and said the party "will not pursue questions of irregularities."
It's unlikely that Tuesday's results will stamp out Democratic enthusiasm for recalling Walker when he becomes eligible in January. Additionally, next year will bring a new round of lawmakers who weren't eligible for recall this year.
Assembly Minority Leader Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) said it will be interesting to watch not only how Walker reacts to losing two GOP members in the state Senate, but where the citizens of Wisconsin take the movement next.
"I keep reminding people, it wasn't the legislature that started these recalls," said Barca. "These were people across the state who just showed up in throngs and were very upset with the policies that were trying to roll back the clock on Wisconsin values -- 50 years of collective bargaining, 40 years with the University of Wisconsin system, 30 years of women's health, 70 years of environmental policies like recycling and clean water. This is a citizens' movement, not a politicians' movement."
After the election results came in, Walker put out a statement saying that it was "clear the voters also want us to work together to grow jobs and improve our state."
"With that in mind, earlier this evening I reached out to the leadership of both the Republicans and Democrats in the Assembly and State Senate. I shared with them that I believe we can work together to grow jobs and improve our state. In the days ahead I look forward to working with legislators of all parties to grow jobs for Wisconsin and move our state forward," he said.
Three Democrats -- part of the "Wisconsin 14" who left the state for 21 days in order to delay their GOP colleagues from pushing through the bill -- also faced recall elections.
State Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) handily won his reelection on July 19. Sens. Jim Holperin (D-Conover) and Robert Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) will face off against their challengers next week.
"I'm out doing the same things I've done every day for the past four or five months," said Holperin on Tuesday afternoon, "and that's attending community events and going door to door, and participating in various civic organizations' meetings about the race."
Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt said that while there is always a significant focus on elections -- and labor certainly invested heavily to win -- the results won't change the labor movement's focus.
"We're trying to build an economy that works for working families, that gives people the right to collectively bargain, that gives people the right to have a fair system of shared sacrifice, shared prosperity, and so on and so forth," he said. "So we will continue to organize, we will continue to build a coalition, whether we win or lose. It would be silly to win the election and figure, well, we're done."
Six incumbent GOP state senators were forced to defend their seats on Tuesday in historic recall elections. The efforts to change the makeup of the state Senate came after Republicans passed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) controversial measure stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights.
Even though Democrats weren't able to take back one of the chambers of the legislature, they touted the fact that voters ousted two incumbent Republicans as a major victory.
"The fact we've accomplished as much in six months as had been achieved in the 85 years since recalls were put in the Wisconsin state Constitution is a stunning rebuke to Scott Walker's extreme attacks on middle class working families," said Kelly Steele, spokesman for the labor-backed coalition We Are Wisconsin.
"On Tuesday night, Wisconsin spoke loud and clear with the recall of two entrenched Republicans. ... The fact of the matter remains, that, fighting on Republican turf, we have begun the work of stopping the Scott Walker agenda," said Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate in a statement.
State Sen. Tim Cullen (D-Janesville) told The Huffington Post earlier on Tuesday that losing two seats would be a "wake-up call to Republicans."
"It creates a 17-16 Senate," he explained. "That means they have no margin of error. They've got to have legislation that all 17 Republicans, without exception, are for."
The first three wins of the night were good news for Republicans: Sens. Robert Cowles (R-Allouez), Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls) and Luther Olsen (R-Ripon) all held on to their seats.
"I think the voters in northwest Wisconsin and in the 10th Senate district have spoken once again to recognize that Wisconsin's on the right track, they want us to get our fiscal track in order, and they want us to grow jobs," said Harsdorf in a post-win interview with WQOW in Eau Claire. "And they recognize the reforms that we've passed are beginning to work, and we have led the nation in changing how government operates."
Democratic challenger Jennifer Shilling then beat incumbent state Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse), who was considered the most vulnerable candidate because of the large Democratic presence in his district.
In one of the most interesting races of the night, Democrat Jessica King beat state Sen. Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac). It was déjà vu for the voters in the district: In 2008, King and Hopper also ran against each other, but in that contest, Hopper beat his opponent by just 163 votes.
The final race of the night wasn't called until after midnight, due in part to late results from Waukesha County, whose clerk, Kathy Nickolaus, botched the results in the state Supreme Court race in April. State Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) managed to hold on to her seat.
Tate accused Nickolaus -- who has a long history of errors -- of "tampering with the results," although he later backed down and said the party "will not pursue questions of irregularities."
It's unlikely that Tuesday's results will stamp out Democratic enthusiasm for recalling Walker when he becomes eligible in January. Additionally, next year will bring a new round of lawmakers who weren't eligible for recall this year.
Assembly Minority Leader Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) said it will be interesting to watch not only how Walker reacts to losing two GOP members in the state Senate, but where the citizens of Wisconsin take the movement next.
"I keep reminding people, it wasn't the legislature that started these recalls," said Barca. "These were people across the state who just showed up in throngs and were very upset with the policies that were trying to roll back the clock on Wisconsin values -- 50 years of collective bargaining, 40 years with the University of Wisconsin system, 30 years of women's health, 70 years of environmental policies like recycling and clean water. This is a citizens' movement, not a politicians' movement."
After the election results came in, Walker put out a statement saying that it was "clear the voters also want us to work together to grow jobs and improve our state."
"With that in mind, earlier this evening I reached out to the leadership of both the Republicans and Democrats in the Assembly and State Senate. I shared with them that I believe we can work together to grow jobs and improve our state. In the days ahead I look forward to working with legislators of all parties to grow jobs for Wisconsin and move our state forward," he said.
Three Democrats -- part of the "Wisconsin 14" who left the state for 21 days in order to delay their GOP colleagues from pushing through the bill -- also faced recall elections.
State Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) handily won his reelection on July 19. Sens. Jim Holperin (D-Conover) and Robert Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) will face off against their challengers next week.
"I'm out doing the same things I've done every day for the past four or five months," said Holperin on Tuesday afternoon, "and that's attending community events and going door to door, and participating in various civic organizations' meetings about the race."
Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt said that while there is always a significant focus on elections -- and labor certainly invested heavily to win -- the results won't change the labor movement's focus.
"We're trying to build an economy that works for working families, that gives people the right to collectively bargain, that gives people the right to have a fair system of shared sacrifice, shared prosperity, and so on and so forth," he said. "So we will continue to organize, we will continue to build a coalition, whether we win or lose. It would be silly to win the election and figure, well, we're done."
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