alzheimers news-grapes of wrath

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-GRAPES OF WRATH



inside red grapes red wine raspberries and dark chocolate is
a chemical called resveratrol

there is this barrier in the brain
called the blood brain barrier
that keeps chemicals and cells and infections out of the brain
like body guards standing at a gate not letting folks in
that dont need to go in

originally it was thought that the inflammation that triggers
the reaction in the brain that leads to alzheimers
was caused by substances inside the brain
now its thought that immune attackers may be coming from
elsewhere in the body doing some of the inflammation
via a leaking bbb blood brain barrier

wikipedia
eg some folks think that inflammation in our gut
may be one of the sources

a recent study showed that resveratrol increases a substance
called sirtuin 1
which increases another chemical mmp 9 in the spinal fluid
that makes the bbb block immune attacks against the brain
to keep bad things out

folks like me with the double apoe 4 gene
thats associated with the increased risk of developing
alzheimers disease
have a lowered sirtuin level
thus taking resveratrol by us affected folks may help

it appears that immune attackers may be one of or may be
the cause of alzheimers disease

so it seems by taking resveratrol
you may block the attackers
slowing down the onset or projectory of alzheimers disease

so add these foods in your diet
there is a lot of work being done to produce a pure form
of resveratrol that may work better

in the meantime
i am taking it every day
its also on the reversal of cognitive decline protocol that
i am on

plus it gives me another reason to drink a glass of red wine
each evening

it takes 1000 bottles of red wine a day to get enough
resveratrol to have this effect
so i also take the pill



lets put a boot to alzheimers
www.txalz.org/walk

donate and or join my team organicgreendoctor
for the alzheimers texas williamson county walk on september 24th

to join the team you will need to register first
to only donate just hit the donate button

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-the green monster

COUNTRY N NEWS-THE GREEN MONSTER

i knew he was there somewhere
as i could see his damage
he
ate all the leaves off some of my tomato vines
ate all he flowers the potential tomatoes
left a stalk a green one that looked like a tornado
had came through and ripped off all the leaves and flowers
it looked like the vegetation where the oil field has
leaked oil or salt water onto the land
just sticks in the air

i read where you could see them at night if you
have a uv light
it said they can have some florescence
i have tried in the past but it didnt seem to work

they seemed to match a curled up tomato leaf so well
it is hard to see them
they barely move like a sloth i guess
doing tons of destruction

now if you leave them alone
theyll devour most of the tomato plant
and
will turn into this beautiful moth called
the sphinx moth
note there is some confusion online of what the moth looks like
i never watch to see what they turned into

texasbutterflyranch.com

now im a nature loving guy
but im sorry my tomatoes come first

now they start out real small like inchworm size
then they get real big like this one
then even bigger than this
like your worst nightmare

so now enter into the picture
ok i sometimes compromise
the ??cowitch vine
a native vine that grows wild
it has small black fruit with small flowers that
bees go crazy over
i have it transplanted onto my arbor
to provide shade on the west side of the house
since it requires no water or care
it so happens that this tomato worm scientific name
maduca quinquemaculata
also likes to eat the ??cowitch vine

so when i find these dudes
i take them into my palm
with a glove of course

i think
chickens
or
vine

if the tomato worm is lucky
i chose
the vine

life here at the country n is life or death

the organicgreen doctor

broken glass

BROKEN GLASS
this is about two women
who probably dont agree on much if anything
well neither probably like donald trump

yesterday i was watching cnn
the female commentator was outside sitting at the desk
like they do now for some reason
im sure it was hot out there

she i thought wore clothing that might be a little too much
or should i say too little


usmagazine.com
then this morning there was an article about megyn kelly
wearing that spaghetti dress at the rnc
not appropriate the article said
i thought as i looked at her in several pictures
they should have seen that other commentator yesterday

i think she was being attacked for who she was
not what she wore
granted i would have recommended a more conservative outfit

at least half the viewers like it though

now i dont like fox news just like i dont like msnbc
i dont always if ever agree with megyn fox i mean kelly

folks its time for us to move on
im sure if she was a male there would not have been any
naysayers

she was pleasant to look at but not inappropriate i thought
leave her along
we need to move on

then
last night that final glass ceiling got broken

now whether you like her or not
whether you are democratic or republican or independent
you have to acknowledge her
for cracking the glass
maybe even being the first women president


motherjones.com
i personally think we as a nation are ready to accept a women president
i think whether the candidate is male or female
really doesnt matter to folks anymore

its what they believe and what they do or can do thats important
it seems to be that way with both parties

so lets step back
recognize this important milestone in our country
the first women nominated for president

then lets work hard for the candidate we believe in

may the best woman or man win

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-thanks for helping the cause

DEAR MS B-THANKS FOR HELPING THE CAUSE

this week as i and other volunteers were helping an
elderly man get the care he needs for his final days
after spending a long time meeting figuring out all
his history and help develop a plan for him
i had mentioned as we were talking about the final days
of my mother and brother with alzheimers

one of the volunteers asked me as i was leaving
about my family that i had talked about

so i told her they died from alzheimers disease
much like this old gentleman was in his final days
so were they
its just their journey was more gradual
and harder to deal with i think

i also told her about my diagnosis
how
i might have the disease myself
taking medicine aricept (donepezil)
taking lots of supplements
being in a research study on alzheimers disease
awaiting a scan that may give me a final answer to
whether this is the big a or not
ok so i probably told her more than she really wanted to know
but

sometimes if you can put a face
a healthy looking face on a disease
it makes more of an impression on them
than talking about the disease in someone who is in their last days
you they say look so healthy

now
i wear this bracelet from
alzheimers texas
folks ask me about it
i tell them about alzheimers my story etc
oh my they always say
sometimes they like her have tears in their eyes
maybe they will join this fight against this disease

last saturday my wife she came home from visiting out of
state with my granddaughter
ms b

she said
oh look at this photo of ms b
she loved that alzheimers texas bracelet

i want to thank you personally
ms b
for the support you are showing to let everyone know
about this disease

wear this bracelet as much as you want
help us find a cure

the organicgreen doctor

pay it forward

PAY IT FORWARD
i know what that means
i watched the movie
i am not sure ive ever done it before
well not consciously

several days ago
after we finished our organic garden and nursery tour
it was near lunch time
so hb and i were tired hungry and thirsty
so we left the greatest organic nursery ever
the natural gardener
and
drove over to the jack allen restaurant which was nearby
to get rehydrated and fed
and
to talk about
what i had just showed hb the ut grad student
on our tour

see the blog on our tour and garden work
teaching it forward

now i always jump at the chance to eat at jack allens
since the food is always good

so
we sat town at a small table
you know those they will have in a row
at restaurants where you are almost sitting right next
to the next table
almost like sitting at a bar

from the conversations that drifted over
from the couples table
they seemed to be co workers on their lunch break
seemed to have similar political beliefs that i did

we said hi
but after a few minutes we really sort of didnt notice them

so hb and i talked for a long time
when i am around these young folks
i usually ask a lot of questions
since i want to know what they are thinking
what their friends think about things
what their plans are
so i can get a feel of who
our countries future is being handed to

i generally like what i am hearing and seeing
from this age group

as we finished
eating our best veggie sandwich ever with sweet potato fires
up walks our waiter
with this fantastic white chocolate pie with the amy ice cream like
topping
we didnt order that sir
oh
he said
that couple that was sitting next to you
ordered it
and
paid for your lunch

so
now
i know what paying it forward really means

now its my turn

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-they both do good

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THEY BOTH DO GOOD



this symbol above is the old central texas chapter of the alzheimers association
who this last year like other large cities chapters withdrew from the
alzheimers association to become totally independent
austin san diego chicago new york etc
why
all the funds raised use to go to the national association the alzheimers association
which sent some of the funds back to the local level for local use

now as an independent chapter 100% of the funds raised stays locally
eg in the central texas area and can be used for local causes
alzheimers education caregiving classes seminars etc
the percentage of funds use for administrative costs are much much
lower for the alzheimers texas group
a higher percentage goes into research locally in texas now

so
that why i am supporting the
alzheimers texas
all the funds are kept locally
i personally see what they are doing
i feel better knowing my efforts will lead to local uses

now
both of these do good
one is local good
the other is national good
the alzheimers association supports research education lobbying on
a national level

so
i am doing
two of the local alzheimers texas walks
and
one of the alzheimers association walks in another state

not all states have strong local chapters like the central texas one
its been around for over 25 years

there is i think room for both groups
much like the cancer fund raising groups
think american cancer society and susan komen race for cure

what ive noticed looking at the numbers is that
the amount of money raised now for alzheimers will be increasing this year
because there are two different organizations raising money
for the fight against alzheimers

so in summary
locally
i support the texas alzheimers
nationally
i support the alzheimers association



lets put a boot to alzheimers
www.txalz.org/walk

donate and or join my team organicgreendoctor
for the alzheimers texas williamson county walk on september 24th

to join the team you will need to register first
to only donate just hit the donate button

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-teaching it forward

COUNTRY N NEWS-TEACHING IT FORWARD

there are three things that you dont want to ask me about
unless you want to know more than you want to know

its
alzheimers disease
rainwater collection
organic gardening

i will go on and on on these topics

so
i got an email from the daughter of a friend
she was moving back into austin to start
graduate school at ut

she wanted to know more about organic gardening
would i mind if she came out and worked in
my garden before her graduate school started
in late july

i emailed back
of course i dont mind
just bring your ears

now
its hotter than hades around here in texas
so i told her
it will have to be in the morning
when it gets too hot we will have to stop working
in the garden
she agreed to the limitation

so i saved up a lot of my work for the day we would work
in the garden

i started day one
by doing a 4 hour tour

first the boggy creek farm in austin
a city farm in east austin
one of the original organic farms in the area
the owner carol ann stopped her busy morning
talking to us about how she prepped her soil
and took care of it
a lot of education was given by her

as i told the student hb
when you see our place the country n garden
you will find that i do a lot of what she does
i learned from the best

from there we went to the  springdale farm a nearby
organic farm
then
from there
we went to the natural gardener
an organic best in the south plant nursery thats located in austin
the owner john dromgoole is the god of organics
in austin

i easily lectured her on the different plants
showing her the xeric plants that we planted
went through their amazing veggie garden
explaining that what she sees me do in my garden the
next day
was learned talking to their veggie garden expert

we then went inside touring the multiple organic products
that are sold there
also noting these are available at most good nurseries in
this area

so the next day
i decided to do my tomato bed
for my fall tomatoes
two of the tomatoes we were to plant were from cuttings
i took from my spring tomatoes
putting the cuttings directly into 1 gal pots using
the ladybug vortex potting soil
the other ones we bought at the natural gardener the day before
now this time of year the selection is not always good
you just have to take what you can get

so
lecturing as i went
this bed was last years fall crop
we raked off the bed so it was even

we added 4 inches of my organic chicken made compost
we added an organic fertilizer i used ladybugs 8-2-4
we added a dusting of cottonseed meal
we added a soaking of humates and a soaking of molasses
we added a dusting of green sand

the fertilizer provides nitrogen for several weeks gradually
the cottonseed meal provides a quicker access to a nitrogen source
the molasses provides a food source to the bacteria and fungi
that grow in the soil
the humates are the juice that helps this all work better
the green sand provides iron and other minerals into the soil

as we worked i explained maybe in too much detail
why each of things were being used
why the non organic way is not good for the soil
plus its what the natural gardener does to their garden
they know best

then
i buried 5 gallon buckets with holes in the bottom
and
holes 10 inches on the side
to keep the roots when they go deep to have access to water
we also partially filled the buckets with compost
so when they were filled with water
a compost tea would leak down into the roots

then
i taught her how to plant tomatoes
burying them deep into the soil
placing a tbsp of earthworm castings with its nitrogen
and minerals to give the new tomato a big boost
then watering it in well with sea weed
that stimulates root growth

the tomatoes have doubled in size in one week time

a collar of paper was wrapped around the base of the plant
to prevent the cutworm from coming through and
chopping down our new plants

then
this was all covered with a 3 in layer of your leaves
to keep in moisture

since it hotter than hades
we then added this shade cloth which blocks 60% of the
hot suns rays
we will leave this in place until the weather cools off

i think i taught her a lot about organic gardening
she got her hands dirty
yes she took off her gloves some
and
got some dirt under her nails
its good for you you know

we then took a tour of our place
showing her all the native xeric plants that are planted here
all the plantings that have been done
to block the sun
to allow the sun in during the winter when the leaves fall off
our complete rainwater system
our solar system
our honeybees

so
i hope that during these two days
thats she got infected with
the organic gardening bug
maybe the rainwater virus

again
after working with her
i do have hope for the future
we are leaving our earth in good hands

i like the millennials

thanks hb

the organicgreen doctor

snake buster video

SNAKE BUSTER VIDEO
last week i wrote a blog about the snake buster
my former patients-mom and son

now she is a great organic person
raising chickens
doing compost
gardening
being a teacher
one that you would want your child to
be in her class

i love snakes
she doesnt love them like i do
well she is like my wife she
in her approach

watch this video
its what my wife she is like when the snakes get in our coup
see what i have to put up with sometimes

warning
you should go to the bathroom first

i must say this is the funniest video i think i have ever seen
i laughed and laughed and laughed and cried and cried

some of you will feel her pain

watch the video
feel free to share this blog today
its definitely a potential viral video

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-dont visit us

DEAR MS B-DONT VISIT US

ms b
thats what i would say to you
dont visit us
in the summer

one of your aunties who lives in the nice cool climate
where you live
after visiting us in the heat of july
said something like
if god wanted to torture someone
just turn them into a black cow
and
make them live in texas in july

i thought about that yesterday
as i worked outside
at a habitat location
trimming up trees on a new lot
where the next house will be built

now ms b
it was 800am
i worked some early on in the shade of the trees
that i was trimming up
but
i still felt like that black cow out in the pasture
in the hot sun
i sweated so much i was drenched
i drank almost a gallon of water in three hours
i got a little dizzy when i stood up
i started getting chills
i knew that wasnt good
so
i took what i called a mr brewer break
a delightlful 80+ year old former neighbor
who use to mow his grass in the mid afternoon
he would mow for 10 minutes
then take a 10 minute break in the shade

after doing a lengthy mr brewer method break
i soon recovered

so i thought about you
ms b
always living in an environment that ranges from the 50s
to the upper 70s or low 80s
heck people there complain about the heat when it gets
78
most folks there dont even have air conditioning
some dont even have heat
its shorts and flip flop weather all year round
me
i wear a sweat shirt jeans and shoes when im there
i just freeze when im there

yesterday as i sat there thinking of you
i thought
she just cant come visit us in the summer
she would melt
she would have to stay inside
then
i remember
you are a kid
you probably love water
you are tougher

we would introduce you to
the lakes
barton creek pool
blue hole
deep eddy pool
the multiple caverns around here
inside the childrens museum
our hot tub turned way down

our river down by our house
heck i would teach you to skip rocks on the water
the multiple parks here with their shades and water
then
since we make a ton of electricity in the summer with our solar
we would just use it up
on air conditioning to keep the inside climate
the same as where you live

heck
your gma my wife she
does that anyway

heck
come see us in the summer
we will keep you cool
not sure your parents will survive it though
you can leave them there
just
dont bring no black clothes

the organicgreen doctor

no i said i will not

NO I SAID I WILL NOT
i rarely discuss politics with folks
well there are a few that i know that feel differently about politics
than i do
and
we can have decent witty conversations back and forth
with each other
so
that neither of us get offended
in the end
there is not hard feelings

so last week while avoiding any talk of politics
this person out of the blue
asked

are you going to vote for donald trump

i paused started to redirect the conversation
but
i decided to answer them

no i said

why they said

because he made fun of that disabled reporter

how we in america let him get away with this
i dont know


disability and me

no i said
this is why i will not vote for him

i wouldnt want someone who does this as my president

now i have voted in every election since i was eligible to vote
i plan to continue voting as long as i can

even when dementia takes over my brain
i want my wife she to direct my finger to vote
she knows how i feel about things

i dont and havent always voted for major candidates
i have even wrote in folks name before
heck
donald duck got my vote one year
he is my hero you know

so
yes i will vote this year
it wont be for that other non disney donald though

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-willie wont get it

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-WILLIE WONT GET IT



thats what i tell everyone
especially after some recent studies that show that
marijuana may slow down or prevent alzheimers

lucky willie
he has been treating himself for years
hes even been jailed for it
treating himself to prevent alzheimers
what a martyr

so what do you do if you catch grandma
stoking a joint

well after reading the study
i say
keep her supplied
she will know who you are a little longer

it seems the brain makes thc the chemical in marijuana that makes
it make you feel good
the chemicals made in the brain are shall we say
first cousins
the chemicals it appears may slow down or prevent the production
of beta amyloid
the culprit they think that causes alzheimers

these chemicals are called endocannabinoids

so in the lab when they gave the marijuana chemicals
to growing nerve cells that produced beta amyloid
it wasnt produced and they continued living

those that didnt get the weed chemicals they died

so the theory is that using thc chemicals from marijuana
may work to slow down or if started younger
may prevent the disease

oh thats right
there are so many controls on marijuana research
that it is hard to do
at least in the usa

its only grown on a farm controlled by the federal government
its hard to obtain the plants for research
even though as all of us know its readily available
no matter where you live

it will be sad if this stuff does work
and
we cant do the research to find out

hopefully some foreign country is doing it for us
this research mentioned above is being done overseas

thanks guys

now willie we are happy your brain will be around for us
in the future
just hope you voice and lungs hold up
thanks
for pretreating yourself to prevent this horrible disease

i say
no matter what drug it takes to cure or prevent this disease
lets do it
quit putting limits on its research



lets put a boot to alzheimers
www.txalz.org/walk

donate and or join my team organicgreendoctor
for the alzheimers texas williamson county walk on september 24th

to join the team you will need to register first
to only donate just hit the donate button

the organicgreen doctor

snake buster

SNAKE BUSTER

now for you non snake lovers
dont get squeamish here
these are fake snakes i bought to scare off birds from my
porch eaves
they worked for awhile
then the birds got smart

last week a former patient
a fellow chickener
found this big ole rat snake or chicken snake in her coup
she got her teenage son to remove this ole snake
full belly he had with what looked like 3 eggs
what followed was the most absolutely funniest video i have ever seen
i dont have her permission to post it
if i do i will post it later

now my wife she has these battles with a similar
big ole chicken snakes
it usually involves her coming back into the house
all sweaty and shaky
well i cant write what she says

what happens this snake eats the eggs
then his belly is too big to get out of the coop through the
small wire openings
he gets trapped
i usually just shoo him out
or
pick him up and chunk him into the pasture
knowing that
some of what he ate were golf balls left in the coop
they have trouble passing them
its like having to deliver a 25 lb baby

so i usually dont worry about them returning

then we were gone for a week
there was no eggs in the coop
meaning
some snake had a great egg party all week

so
i have returned to my roots
my snake catching roots

when in college i use to catch rattlesnakes in the desert of california
sidewinders southern pacifics mojave greens
now those mojave greens are bad dudes
snake venom dont work on them
their venom is neurotoxic
instead of traveling via the blood
it travels via the nerves
no swelling just bite pain
then
the respiratory muscles get paralyzed
the victim can die sometimes in their sleep

so i used a pvc pipe usually 8 ft long to catch these dudes
my historian brother my roommate at the time
got a little nervous at night having a cage of rattlesnakes
in the house all hissing to get out
he never could sleep those nights

now
this week i decided to go back to roots
made me a snake catcher

so i found this 4 ft piece of 1 inch pvc laying around
i took a piece of clothesline string
looped it through the pvc
so now i got me this snake buster catcher

here i am demonstrating how to catch this water hose snake
then
release it

now if i was catching a rattler i would use an 8 ft pvc

so now i have my snagger
laying on the chair down by the garden and coop
just awaiting
to return to the days of my youth

the snake buster returns

the organicgreen doctor

this ole house

THIS OLE HOUSE

last year i wrote this blog about this young couple shown
in the picture above who built this tiny house
all by themselves

they owned the property a wedding gift from her parents
they had never done carpentry work or painting or you name it
they hadnt done it before

so
the goal was to get in this tiny house
about 650 sq ft
without out any debt when they were finished

well thats what they did
they did almost all the work themselves
after work and on weekends
using friends and relatives for subcontractors
like
electrician ac heat person plumbing etc
cost
nothing
they did all the flooring sheet rock painting some electrical work
some plumbing some architectural drawings etc
all by themselves

now i tried once to do sheet rocking myself having never done it
before
using videos and books to tell me how to do it
it wasnt easy and it wasnt pretty

they did it
stated it was a little trying at first
a small wedge in their marriage
but they persevered through

i must say
it looks like a professional job to me
mine i did
i just covered it up with metal roofing on the wall
to cover my defects
impressed i was at seeing their handiwork

when they did the design they did it themselves
utilizing it looks like every inch of space to make it
efficient

one setback was that a pipe burst and ruined
well almost ruined the floor
but they were able to repair the damage
after it was all dried out

sometimes setbacks in life make for a more
meaningful experience

then from there things went better

they have in this house
a living room dining room kitchen combo
a full bath and half bath
a bed room
a small bedroom or office
space for washer and dryer
anon demand electric heater
two minisplit ac heat units at both ends

total space 640 sq ft
total cost $40,000
total mortgage is zero
all paid with cash
they are dave ramsey fans thats how they did it
water about $10-20 a month
electricity about $20-30 a month
this house i must say feels and looks much bigger
than it is
a well planned designed

i told them
you know
this needs to be on the tiny house shows or diy or hdtv shows

others sure could learn from them

she is a registered nurse
he a plant supervisor
they have little if any debt
they are frugal folks

this is how folks become wealthy
personally
financially
spiritually

we could many of us learn from them

i am proud to claim them as relatives

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-the engine that could

DEAR MS B-THE ENGINE THAT COULD

thats exactly what i thought when i saw that video
of you walking
no
you were running
you went from zero to 60 just like that
holding on then to running
with no in between speed

the engine that could
now maybe your mama or daddy will read this book to you
if not
i will

you just like your dad wouldnt let go
to make that fateful step that makes you realize
you can do that

now we worried about him
would he ever walk
would he be able to do sports
yes
he did both
and
did them well

so like that little engine
choo choo up that hill you went
last time we saw you
holding on
moving swiftly around that table
just barely holding on

heck
i caught you once or twice
letting go
balancing yourself
bent down
picked up your little bunny wabbit

yep
i saw you
didnt know i did did you

you looked around
proud you were


npr.org

then
in that video you were like a drag racer
ramping up your engine
then
zoom off you went
just like that little engine did
when it reached the top of the hill
down
   down
        down the track you went
the wind whipping your face and hair
with
the biggest smile
ive ever seen
now you got a good one

yep
you are an engine that could
you did it

now
your mama and dad dont know it yet
but
their lives just changed

next
climbing out of the crib

ill bring that book next time i visit

the organicgreen granddaddy