More of God's Little Acre

I am very excited about the progress the yard has made already - this is the back right corner - which is now the herb garden and a massive improvement over the previous arrangement.

The herb garden has several types of basil, oregano, rosemary, fennel, and a few pepper plants.

Above is the entire area leading up to the herb garden which is the back. I have the turtle pond, an area to lay out, and my grill. It is a perfect area to just relax out in the sun with my lounger and a book.

The amazing zuccinis are already starting to produce. I'm going to be out of town for two days and they will be perfect for picking when I get back! Squash are one of my very favorite veggies and I am always happy that zucs produce so proficiently.

Just one of the HOT PEPPERS I have growing in the beds. I have an entire half a bed dedicated to hot peppers. I'm serious when I say I have not found one yet that is too hot for me.

Last here, but certainly not least - the Roma tomatoes. I have three Roma plants and they are all loaded with clusters of rapidly growing, meaty tomatoes. I also have six Better Boy tomato plants. I'm gonna be eating healthy this summer.

God's Little Acre

I have not been around much and the pictures below are the reason why. I did not do a good job in taking pictures completely before, so some work has already been done (one of the beds laid out in the background)

Above are the dirt piles and back left side of the yard. I built up two garden beds back there and the results are in a later picture.


This is the back right corner - that became the herb garden.



Here are the squash - I already have zuccinis almost ready for harvest. And here is the back right corner with beds in place and the squash, peppers and tomatoes planted. I have already harvested some peppers. Now I'm waiting for the grass to grow back in.

Music Review: Sound Opinions

My alarm goes off at 5:00 a.m. every day. I don’t normally crawl out of bed then, but that is when Morning edition begins on my local National Public Radio station and I want to hear the news. I do not change the setting for the weekends because after years of waking at 5:00 a.m., my body is going to do it whether I se the alarm or not – still my paranoia keeps me worried that I won’t remember to change the setting for Monday and work.

I never said I was always logical.

On weekends, though, I do normally turn the radio off for the first cycle.

That was until recently.

On Sunday mornings, KUT (my local station) has started carrying a syndicated show from Chicago Public Radio called “Sound Opinions.” The first few weeks, I rolled over as usual and turned it off.

But I kept hearing music I liked an had not heard before.

So I started listening and each week I have discovered something new about music. I do not always like the music or agree with the opinions, but more often than not, I learn something. The co-hosts are of my generation and have a musical background more that of my friends when it comes to contemporary music. The iTunes library on my newest laptop is beginning to reflect the music I’ve been hearing on the show.

Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot are music critics for the major Chicago newspapers. They have varied tastes when it comes to music, but I have not found myself siding with one more than the other. Their interviews always catch my attention as they interview some of the legends of the music business. I always discover connections that I never knew existed before listening to the show. Some of the interviews are with people I have admired for years, but never had a name to connect to the accomplishments. Some of the interviews are with completely new people.

That comes back to the reason I enjoy them so much – I learn something new each week. I am a better music fan because of them.

The show is available in podcast at: http://www.soundopinions.org/audio.html

I encourage you to give them a shot. I have yet to listen to a show without coming across some new tidbit that fascinated me.