the dirty six

THE DIRTY SIX
this morning i was going to write about
two dirty words
if you hear a politician say them
vouchers and privatization

loosers
they dont mean well for us the medicare aged group
and
future medicare recipients
uh thats all of you
its going to cost us a lot of money out of our pockets

winners
drug companies insurance companies lobbyists
no swamp draining going on here

all i can say about these dirty two words
is
dont let them do it

it has nothing to do with which political party you support
if we arent careful we will end up like those folks below
sick

what caught my eye this morning
was a report that 3 folks died and several was sickened from
eating a thanksgiving meal at a veterans hall in san francisco
a charity meal that gave a little too much to the eaters

then
i ran across this from the consumer guru
clark howard

there is a lawyer that has made his living over the years
on food poisoning cases
to the tune of 600 million dollars+

so he generated a list of 6 foods he wont eat
since they have generated most of his income over the years

here they are

now first let me say
my wife she is the queen of leftovers
i have to keep a close eye on our frig
looking for growths on our food that could be used
to make an antibiotic
like penicillin mold
once i ate it and cured my strep throat

many a time over the years i have found
deep back in the frig
some unidentifiable substance in a container
oh i say
wasnt that the leftovers from thanksgiving
its now the ides of march time

sorry sweetie

here are the ones the lawyer will not eat

1   rare meat
uncooked meat can yield e coli or salmonella
also parasites

2   raw oysters
not a problem for me i wont eat them
it seems global warming has caused the oceans to be warmer
yielding more bacteria and viruses in the oyster
plus there is more sewage in the water

3   raw sprouts
there have many outbreaks from these mostly e  coli and salmonella

4   precut prewashed veggies and fruits
the more folks that handle these the higher risk of contamination
avoid them
remember the prewashed organic spinach contamination a few years
ago that made so many sick
if you buy prewash just pretend it says
you just gotta wash em good

5   unpasteurized milk and juices
these thing are pasteurized for a reason
thats not an issue with me since i dont ever drink either of these

6   uncooked eggs
can you say cookie dough
even sunny side up eggs
well that used to be my favorite not anymore
results
salmonella

now i am sure some of you will poo-poo
no pun intended
this list
but
remember this guy has made millions and millions of dollars
off these infections
he knows
he wont eat any of these

so i went back over the list
i dont think ill get sick from these
since
i dont eat raw meat or raw oysters
i dont eat precut veggies or foods
besides the risk of contamination they cost a lot more to buy
i dont eat raw sprouts
i dont drink milk or juices
i dont eat uncooked eggs

the only thing i have to worry about
keep an eye out for
is
my wife shes refrigerator stews

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-farmher

DEAR MS B-FARMHER

ms b
there is a tv channel that we get on our dish tv
called
rftdtv

it is one of the channels that i upgraded to a higher level
just to get it

why
we watch two shows
california bountiful
texas country reporter

now the california bountiful is all about
agriculture in california
gardening cooking raising animals making cheeses
farmers markets lots of agriculture cooking etc
restaurants many we have gone to on our visits
to california

ms b two weeks ago
on the tail end of a dvred california bountiful
there was a new tv show called
farmher
farmher
why did they misspell it like that

so
i found a show and watched it
now its on my regular dvr shows

it is a show about women in agriculture

there is something about a young girl young student
who is involved in agriculture in some way
commonly in the form of ffa in the schools
even in urban schools they have these programs

having to be responsible for the care of an animal
a garden
promoting it like they do with
animal shows and with farmer markets to sell the produce
or
like some do donate the veggies to a needy group

there is this character building that occurs
that cant seem to be gained being a cheerleader
being an athlete being in the band etc

maybe its the tie to the land
that
well its sort of i think incorporated somehow into our
dna

i have lots of nephews and nieces now great ones
that have been involved in the ag programs in schools
or
in some form of agriculture at home

its well its made them a better person
they appreciate i think things more

so i recently watched a farmher program
which is about females who are involved in agriculture
in some way

this last episode a young adult a college ag graduate
and her husband raise cattle to sell as breed stock
raise grains
raise their own hay for feed
she does a blog about her experiences
but also blogs about fashion stuff that seems to be
clicking with rural women who are in ag
and
some not in ag

so i guess ms b
you already have a duck and a rabbit
granted they well they are real to you
but
now
dont read this
they are just stuffed animals

i would like to see you go dig in the dirt
scratch around
plant something
let it grow
eat it
then
do it all over again

so ms b
hoping to rub some ag exposure into your life
here is your
christmas present


twenga.com

go for it

the organicgreen doctor

a strong man

A STRONG MAN

i know
i know
its all about winning
thats all that matters anymore in college football

i am sure that most of you have a favorite college football team
you want them to win
you expect them to win
if not
clear house is what i expect many of you to say

get a new coach

now
my two sons played sports all the way through
elementary
middle school
high school

they had some good coaches
some bad coaches

there are a few that even today
they still talk about them
how much they were liked

if my sons were playing college football today
i would have wanted them to play for
ex texas coach
charlie strong

i wouldnt even care if they won any games
he truly prepares guys for the real world

he had these 5 core principles
that he stucked to
it wasnt talk
it was real

this last week as the inevitable was about to happen
you have to win to keep your job
especially when you are paid $5 million a year

you could see in the players eyes
many were crying after the final game
the whole team showed up for his final press conference
what you could see was
love in their eyes
for a man
who made them do whats right
what any parent would want their college student do
do whats right
you see
he made sure they did it

off the top of my head
i can only remember one event where players did something
that got them arrested
they were gone the next week

now there was a time a player got a dwi
he was disciplined accordingly

when you hear the players
hear their parents
especially the single moms who were hoping
for a father figure for their kids
well
they got it with charlie strong

you follow his rules or you are gone
they went to study hall even late at night
he would show up to make sure they were there
he made them sit in front of the class
no skipping classes were accepted

no abusing women
no guns
all of his players were on course to graduate

oh
he cleared out his first year 9 players
mostly starters for violating his rules
that
plus he was left with players that werent highly rated
by those high school football gurus
so
he had to recruit hard real hard
he was getting there
doing things right
but
well
you gotta win
thats the rule
but
some lucky coach that follows him
will have a loaded team
full of future nfl players
as
charlie strong said
i baked the cake
now the new coach just has to put on the icing

there are a lot of schools that could benefit from his approach
one comes to mind
ill just say it
baylor
they need someone to come in and clear house
of all the whole department
administators coaches some players
and
start over
like
well not quite like texas since they werent as bad as baylor
to clean the stench out of their athletic department
so
it can be a department that you would expect from
a religious a baptist school

yea
baylor should hire charlie strong
he may not be able to win for awhile
but
clean it out he will

you are a good man
charlie strong

the organicgreen doctor

its worth it

ITS WORTH IT

way back in the unrelenting humid heat of july
hb the ut grad student and i prepared this bed
in my organic garden for planting my six fall tomatoes

yes you have to think ahead when gardening
i kept the tomatoes protected early on
with solar screening to keep away the oppressive heat
watered them with some drip irrigation
combining it with deep watering underground

for this bed i used buried 5 gallon buckets between
each tomato
with holes drilled on the bottom and up above ground
to allow the water to get deep into the soil

i chose to not stake them but leave them growing on
the ground
so it would be easier to cover them up this fall

we fought off lots of grasshoppers
and
too much rain
at one point
but
as i looked forward to this upcoming week
there was that
first freeze warning for the hill countries

so
i told my wife she
its time

so
i went out and picked
all my eggplants
all my okra
went into the freezer and pulled out our frozen purple hull peas
dumped the chopped eggplants and chopped okra
into a crockpot with the peas

adding my pea bean recipe
ms dash seasoning salt crushed black pepper butter olive oil
chopped garlic chopped onion chopped poblano pepper
a can of diced fire roasted tomatoes was added
the concoction was cooked for several hours
added a pan of my wife shes cast iron skillet cornbread to the meal
it doesnt get better than that
most of the ingredients were from our garden
eggplant peas okra garlic onions poblano

then
we harvested all of the tomatoes
well the biggest ones

the smaller ones got left on the vines
hoping that by adding the white row cover
maybe just maybe they would survive to grow larger
time will tell

i know i have lost all my fall tomatoes before from freezing
i was determined to not let that happen this time

im glad we covered them up well
since this weekend we got below 28 degrees here
at the country n

so far i have been afraid to peak under the row cover
at the tomatoes and peppers
to see if they survived the freeze
maybe today i will

so we took all these green tomatoes
probably close to
well we didnt count them
but lets say 50-100 of these medium sized green tomatoes
wrapped each one in newspaper
dropped them in this box
we also picked a few peppers bell banana jalapeno poblano

in a few weeks they will be the most delicious organic tomatoes
much better than what is in the stores now

here is one that was almost ripe
it will be eaten today four days after it was picked
it is a tycon tomato

thanks to hb for planting these

my wife she and i want to wish everyone
a happy thanksgiving

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-you can help find a cure

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-YOU CAN HELP FIND A CURE

when i started writing this blog on my story
i wanted to write about what i am thinking and feeling
about my situation
here is one of those times

several weeks ago i got a phone call from
the director of the alzheimers center at
ut southwestern medical school in dallas
she said
the national institute of health magazine called
nih medlineplus magazine
is doing an article on clinical trials for different diseases
and
wants to do a paragraph on participants in the
different disease clinical trials
like hiv asthma sickle cell alzheimers etc

they wanted us to recommend someone to feature
who is in clinical trials for alzheimers disease

she said she instantly thought of well
me

so i was put in contact with the folks at the magazine
i had to dig up an old photo
the one above
to be featured in the magazines section
called
clinical trials participants

then they wrote a small paragraph on me and the other
folks featured in this section

so here is the link to the section
clinical trials participants
scan down to the third one

now ive seen this one several times
but for some reason
when i looked at my picture and read the paragraph today
a short and simple one that captures the essence
of my involvement
i got almost overwhelmed
its like this sudden wave of realization overcame me

its the same i got the next morning after i was diagnosed
when i wrote my blog that day 
a thank you note to my patients

sometimes i get going so much with all the volunteer stuff
i do
i just dont stop and take it all in
but
its times like this when it all really sinks in

ok yes i cried several times when i reread this article
thought about where ive been and where i am headed

i guess the reason i agreed to be in the magazine
is that hopefully somewhere in the usa
some person will run across this blog today
maybe run across the nih medlineplus magazine article
on clinical trials
and
maybe just maybe
they will volunteer to be in a clinical trial on alzheimers
the trial that finally finds a cure a treatment
for this horrible disease

we need your help to find a cure
we need volunteers

go to
clinicaltrials.gov

type in the disease you are interested in
click on the state you are interested in
up comes all the clinical trials
both recent and future
that need volunteers

then
do it

thanks to all of you for the support over the last 6 years

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-sounds not good

COUNTRY N NEWS-SOUNDS NOT GOOD

this week after reading this article
i walked into my garden
looking at all the produce i am growing
soon to be eaten or frozen for later use
i was thinking
no way
no way do i have to worry about any of this happening
here at the
country n

i bought chemical not contaminated
best you could get
garden soil when i started my gardens
then
i used my own compost that i make myself
well
my chickens make it for me

so i know there is not bad stuff in my soil
plus
i only use organic products in my garden

so anything inside that 600 square foot compound
i know whats in it
so
when i eat this produce
i know that it doesnt have any of this bad stuff
in it

what bad stuff you may ask
glyphosate
or
brand name
roundup

i guess the disturbing thing is that glyphosate has been
found in the urine and breast milk of breastfeeding moms
well
it seems a us study didnt find any
but european studies have
high rates
the us study
ok
so some of the lab was done by monsanto
some by a wink wink independent lab

did you know that there is an allowable level of glyphosate
ie round up
in our drinking water
no not mine but yours

no not the country n drinking water
its glyphosate or round up free
it seems there arent spraying it in the skies yet
oh
wait i think they are arent they
thats how they get it on the crops

well
at least thats happening a long way from here
like maybe 50 miles away

so what happens is
seeds are grown that are glyphosate resistant
as the plant grows
the crops are then sprayed with that stuff
killing all the weeds
and
maybe us
but they are just doing it gradually

there is a thing called
acceptable daily intake or adi of glyphosates established
by the fda
oh excuse me
that doesnt quite sound right
shouldnt the number be
0 thats ZERO

as you feed your kids
heres some food levels that are high
cheerios   doritos   oreos   honey cheerios   ritz crackers
special k maybe it should be renamed special g or special r

these are just some of the products listed in the article
i read about this
there are lots more also

liver and kidney disease has been found in animals exposed
to this stuff
wonder what it would do to a baby or a kid

oh
its also found in baby food and honey

so
this should make those of you who have babies
and young kids
uncomfortable
real uncomfortable

we always have an extra place at our table
if
you would like to drink glyphosate free or roundup free
rainwater
remember its allowed in your drinking water
and
eat
glyphosate free or roundup free food
from our
organic country n garden

the organicgreen doctor

a dirty word

A DIRTY WORD
there are these words
that when you see them spoken by
politicians
you had better run for cover
you
by you
i mean us the common folks

it doesnt matter
if you are democratic or republican or independent or whatever
if you are one of us common folks
you are about to lose

so this week i have been seeing one of these words
being bantered about
whenever i hear it or read it
i get this chill up and down my spine
i shiver and shake all over
i reach into my pocket
grab my billfold real tight
as
i know the attack is coming
the attack
on me
and
us the common folks
on our
billfolds

so the word i hearing is
its so hard for me to write this
ill do it backwards
makes me feel better

it is
ezitavirp


for the purpose of this bog today
lets just call it the p word
no
not that one

so i am hearing from the politicians
lets p word medicare and social security

ok you heard the p word
who is going to lose
yep
us common folks

who will win
when they p word medicare and social security
lets see
for medicare that would be
insurance companies absolutely drug companies
probably lawyers to cover all
the common folks medical bills bankruptcies

now
i pay close to $450 a month for my medicare a and b
my medicare supplement f
my cheaper medicare part d

so i have my medical bills well covered
my medicare deductibles are covered
my copays are covered
my immunizations are covered
my labs and xrays are covered
as long as i and my doctor follow the rules

plus i know if i have a non approved service
im stuck with that bill
eg
if i have the amyvid pet scan for the bad beta amyloid
its a non covered service
so out comes my checkbook to pay for it

otherwise
what i have covers my care
except for my drugs
since i am all on generic drugs
i chose a higher copay deductible drug plan
to protect me if i get put on a real costly drug
like
when i stuck that dang agave thorn in my eye
ate that deductible right up in one day
or
if when the new alzheimers drug comes out one day
i will be able to use my drug plan to help with
some of the costs then

if you p word medicare
that will change
deductibles
high ones
copays
uncovered services
denials denials for care
remember now some drug company some insurance company
has to make a big profit
yes a big profit
off
us the common folks

now to social security
we
the common folks
so many of us depend on social security to survive
many
of us common folks
depend on social security for most of our funds when we retire
some
of us common folks
thats all we have

so who will gain if they p word the social security
think about it
yep
you got it
bankers investment companies wall street
im sure lawyers since they always seem to win

oh
dont forget those politicians that can line their
coffers with those lobbying donations from those
folks above
they all do it both democrats and republicans

now
i have paid 50 years into social security
i would hate to think that money was controlled by those
folks who are all for
p wording social security

i can only compare it to the school teachers
well now they the teachers always seem to get screwed in the deals

many eg here in texas lose most of their social security
eg
my wife she would make more money when she retires
if she had never ever gone into teaching
from her social security
yes she has paid in her share so have i
normally if she hadnt worked
she would get half mine since its more than what she has paid
in herself
then when i die she would get all mine
now she gets very little of it

then
at the schools they have 403 b plans and 457 plans
supposedly so teachers can add to them to cover the
social security gap
now luckily for her we were in a financial position to
dump money into those to compensate for the loss
of her social security that she paid for and i paid
for with our social security taxes for 50 years

now the choices in these 403 b plans and 457 plans
some are real real bad choices
the ones that win on these are the same ones who
will win if they pword social security
now luckily for her i knew enough to weed through
and find ones that were ok
most dont do that or cant do it

i always get sick at my stomach when i go to the benefits
meetings and hear those pitches from those who sell those
products
well
it like listening to politicians when they sell the pword idea
for
social security and medicare
i get that same sick feeling in my stomach

why
when a politician stands up to announce
they want to p word medicare and social security
why
do they always smile

well
i think we all know why
right

my warning
whether you voted for hillary or donald or whomever
dont let them do it
since
you and i
thats the common folks
are
well
we are about to get screwed like the what has happened to the
teachers

dont let them do it please

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-break it

DEAR MS B-BREAK IT


now ms b
dont worry i am not talking about any habits
like
pacifiers
bottles
potty training
so
dont get upset

its in the long run something that is more important
to at least half of the folks in our country

its that glass ceiling that is yet to be broken
theres governors mayors representatives senators cabinet members
but
still that one ceiling is not broken yet

now ms b
it seems according to some
that women make much better senators than men
why
well i think its from being a mother and a female
you well you learn to compromise
im sure you gma and mom know about that
well
your gma says im not good at that

now last week a lot of women thought that ceiling
was finally going to be broken
well it sort of was since most americans
maybe by as much as 2 million when the final votes are counted
wanted that ceiling to be broken
but
theres this thing called the electoral college that
yes you got it ms b
old white men set up so that the common man didnt
get to really decide who got president
yes i know i am an old white man
but i am also a common man

you need to put that one on your bucket list to fix someday

otherwise
that ceiling would have been broken this month this year
like when the first catholic or the first southerner or the
first black president got elected

well this one didnt fall last week
the first women president

now it takes a generation to cultivate someone
to become president
so someone in your age group is out there now
being on the path to
break that ceiling

you know
this may be the time in our countrys history when
a women president is needed the most

who do we turn to usually when things go wrong
when we are kids
thats right
we run to our mothers

we all know that
we all feel that
so
maybe its instinctive in us
for
it to be better if we have a women president

so ms b
i want you to start reading your history books
your civic books your sociology books your psychology books
your law books to start the prep work

so that by the time you get there
you will have all the tools you need
to
break that final glass ceiling

the organicgreen doctor

my thoughts

MY THOUGHTS

friends can be friends and stay that way
despite not agreeing on things like
politics and religion
one of my best friends of 35 years doesnt agree with
me on politics and religion
we do agree though on the cowboys and longhorns
we just dont ever go there
on politics and religion
i think thats why we have remained good friends over the years

the same goes with many of my relatives

i started blocking folks on facebook
not the ones that say things that i dont agree with
yes on politics and religion
but
if things get nasty
even if its things that i agree with

i actually find some of the folks who agree with my views
more offensive then the other side
yes i blocked some of you on both sides
and
will continue to do so

i have voted in 13 presidential elections
my candidate won 5 of them
i have voted for 3 different parties over the years
but my views on politics havent changed much though
i even wrote in one candidate in one election

in at least two of those elections
one of the candidates got the most votes
the other candidate got the electoral votes

in one of those races
had the most popular vote candidate won
we would have still had 9/11
we would still probably gone to afghanistan
but
we probably never would have ended up in iraq
the mess that has cost us billions and billions of dollars
lots of personal loss permanent damage to lots of folks
who are americans
it brought us isis

i guess i am saying i dont like the electoral college
we dont really vote for a person
we are voting for an electoral person to go to a location
and
well they are suppose to vote for whoever wins the popular
vote
but it doesnt have to happen that way
they dont always do it that way
theres no real bad penalty to vote wrong

i guess im like trump on this one
it seems a rigged system

the electoral college was really set up
since the starters of our country
really didnt trust the common man
thats us folks
to select the president of the united states

maybe its time we let the popular vote decide the next president
i think we the people know who should be president

why did the election end up like it did
the core republicans voted
the core democrats voted
then those left are the ones that swing back and forth

in 2008 and 2012 they voted for obama
but
what made the difference in those rust belt states
wisconsin michigan pennsylvania ohio and north carolina
was
those obama voters who didnt show up
but mainly
those white obama voters who voted for trump

thats where the election was won
the icing the topping that pushed over the cake
was not racism
it was something else

thats what trump tapped into
change
it was change folks

the other thing that when history looks back
remember history always tells the truth
is
that the fbi directors letters also pushed voters
those obama voters many of them
in the other direction
i think they said
enough is enough

so was there racism sexism antireligionism that was involved
in the election
absolutely
this folks may be what really destroys our country

but the final straw that broke hillarys back
was the obama voters and the fbi director

so
what can you do if you arent happy

well folks trump is your president
you will have to deal with it for at least 4 years

i hope he realizes that the majority
of americans
did not want him for president

i think in these presidential elections
it should be that way
since if it is an overwhelming number who vote for one candidate
thats when the system can really be overran
like
eg when nixon won

if you arent happy
you can

protest like the millennials the people of color gays
nonchristian religions maybe old folks-think medicare and social security-
who are at risk for being disenfranchised over the next 4 years
you can just feel their anxiety
it oozes from the tv when you watch them march
i dont think these are going away

no matter which side you are on
you should stop and talk to some of these folks
i have
i understand why they march
they could be the next civil rights movement

i have no problem with protests
i have walked in marches over the years
the viet nam war marches got us out of viet nam
it got johnson to drop out of the presidential race
it allowed nixon to win
along the way america was ripped apart

the civil rights marches
that blemish on our american history-racism
we have all seen those films of all the atrocities that occurred
some of us saw them in person
but
the marches got some rights and protections for people of color

so this is one way we can evoke change
is to protest
hopefully peacefully
it is protected by the constitution

in two years
if you want change then become involve
vote
change up the make up of congress
just ask obama how hard it is to get things done
when the other party has control of congress
if you dont want change
well you need to do the same thing
vote stay involved

then
in 4 years
you need to get a better candidate than the other side
if trump does bad then it will be easier
if he does good then it will be harder
people dont like to change the president if things are going good

then
if you dont like the electoral system
then change it
good luck on that one
its hard to do
almost impossible

remember
the next election
im afraid
will still probably come down to
those obama voters
now
trump voters
who really were the ones that decided finally this election

oh the other thing
please dont start that next presidential election in two years
i dont think we can all survive another one like this one

i know my wife she and i cant

the organicgreen doctor

its a healing day

ITS A HEALING DAY
this morning our dogs were abarking all night
it seems the coyotes were ahowling all night
the dogs bark as the coyotes howl

i staggered out of bed much earlier than i wanted to
i was thinking i need a lot of coffee this morning
then
as i looked out our large window on our 2nd story bedroom
there in the western sky
was this bright orange moon
stunning and beautiful

then i got my coffee
turned on my computer
opened my email
there
the annual email from my historian brother
announcing it is veteran day today
listing then all the family members who served in the military
but as a historian he also adds historical information on the person
who served and some historical information on the wars themselves

as i started looking over the list and reading all the historical information
i realized
this is a healing day for all of us
remember half of us feel bad this week and the other half feel real good

we need a day like today
when we can all join together
to honor our vets
but
also to come together as one country

so lets all pause today
enjoy this day of unity
i am afraid that it may not last long
but
lets enjoy it

here are our family vets
several relatives fought in the civil war on both sides
several realtives fought in ww1
my moms brother was wounded fighting in the pacific during ww2
he had permanent injuries
a parents cousin was killed in ww2 at iwo jima
my three brothers served in the army and air force and air force
all during the vietnam war era
all three are now retired

two brotherinlaws seved in the military
one in the army
the other in the air force

my nephew served in the navy and retired
my great nephew served in the marines in iraq
a nieces husband served in the national guard

so our family served and we remember them today
for their service

it makes us realize what decisions our politicians make
can affect our lives forever

i as do many of you hope for peace
so those who serve do so in peacetime service

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-plant one

DEAR MS B-PLANT ONE

now ms b
here in texas we always have to be different
but in this case
its for a good reason

now the national arbour day is in april
however
in texas april thats not a good time to plant a tree
its just before the hot summer starts
now a tree will do ok if you are real good about taking care
of it if planted at that time

so
in texas
texas arbour day was friday november 4th 2016

why
thats the best time to plant a tree here in texas

why
its cooler
its not as dry usually
the roots have a chance to grow for months before
the most stressful time for a tree around here
the hotter than heck summer

so
if you live around here
plant a tree now
its the best time

if you live where we do here in the central texas area
go look at this booklet
available online
called
grow green native and adapted landscape plants
an earthwise guide for texas

i would suggest if its not in that booklet
dont plant it
eg
a magnolia tree aint in there
why
it likes a  lot of water and deeper soil and acid soil
it will usually struggle around here

the shrub azalea aint in there
why
it likes real acid soil
that aint available around here
plant it and you will be disappointed

 so ms b
as you look around our country n
you wont find a tree or shrub not in this booklet that i have planted
except
i did bring back a hickory tree from arkansas 15 years ago
from my parents yard
that shouldnt grow around here
but with tender aggressive care
it has grown well
but i realize it may struggle one day as it gets older

heres some of my trees i planted and why

monterey white oak or mexcian white oak
i have planted 6 total
they are mostly evergreen and are resistance to the oak wilt
that is killing the red oaks and live oaks around here
the white oak provides a lot of shade and provides visual block
from the highway

huisache
i know some ranchers dont like it
but
it provides a shade on the eastern side of our house in the summer
which blocks the hot morning sun
but
it looses its lacy leaves in the winter to let the warm winter sun in
plus
it has beautiful yellow flowers in the springtime for bees

texas persimmon and texas plum
they are native fruit producers that provide food for birds
we dont eat the fruit but we could

a juniper tree or cedar as we call it
it is evergreen
on the east side and north side it provides a block to that northern wind
that can get so cold when a northener comes in
they also provide a visual block between us and our neighbor
and
a noise
and
a visual block from the highway

flame sumac
a native that provides us with a beautiful red color in the fall
the blooms on it is a true bee magnet
the seeds provide food for the birds

texas orchid
a native that when it blooms provides perfume that can
be smelled all over our property

burr oak
the biggest of the oaks
we have 2 of these
they will eventually one day completely take over
our front yard
they provide much needed shade for the yard and house
in the summer
they provide big oak leaves for mulching and compost
they since they lose their leaves
let in sunlight onto the southern side of our house

red oaks
now i didnt buy these
they were given to me
so i planted them
i dont like them to plant in the yard
since many that are sold in the big box places
are not native to texas
they grow real slow real slow
eg my burr oak planted the same time as the donated red oaks
is 30 ft tall while the red oaks are around 7-10 ft tall
plus
the red oak are susceptible to the oak wilt

so ms b
these are some of my trees i have planted
so if 1 tree each november is the number to plant each year
i got enough planted around here to get me to a hundred

so ms b
unless someone gets real chainsaw happy around here
i have left a legacy of trees here at the county n
that will be here for generations
providing
shade
food for animals
letting in warm sunlight in the winter
provide leaves for mulch and compost
sucking carbon dioxide out of the air
pushing more oxygen into the air

ms b
i swear when i step outside
i seem to just breathe in that extra oxygen
making my brain much sharper

ms b
plant a tree
start your on legacy
help
save the world

the organicgreen doctor

be sure and do it

BE SURE AND DO IT

as i wrote last week
i decided to go ahead and vote
im glad i did since i think the polls are going to be real
busy tomorrow
especially
in states like new hampshire where they dont have
early voting

sorry
that doesnt quite seem right now does it
no early voting
now we voted mid week mid morning
zoom in and zoom out
it was over before we knew it

i just punched it
do you want to vote for the   xyz   party
yes so i swung that fingermaggidy thing on the machine
around until it hit that spot
clicked
vote
done
in and out in less than 5 minutes
no other ballot items were on there
clean as a whistle voting

now
this morning
after watching panels on several different new channels
some slanted one way
some slanted the other
some in the middle

i told my wife she
you know that valium i had left over from my ruptured
disk several years
i plan on taking them today and tomorrow
keeping my self all stoned for two days
ill just wake up wednesday morning
to see what
the final answer is

i do know that we all no matter what side we are on
have to have some deep deep soul searching
we have to all work together to solve these problems

medicare social security has to be addressed

a health care plan that has no holes in its nets
i havent been shy about supporting medicare for all

get rid of the money in the elections
now only humans can be counted as humans
not organizations
get rid of citizens united
its used by both sides

immigration status of all those here has to be settled
an effective immigration policy has to be established
and administered

i am sorry but there is a thing called climate change
its real
what we dump on to whats happening only makes it worse
it has to be addressed

the racial divide has to be addressed by all
it will be the cancer that kills us

we cant solve the worlds political problems
we need to be careful what we get involved in
look at what the middle east wars have done to us
trillions of dollars spent over there
life time commitment to the vets damaged there
that will cost billions over the next 50-60 years

jobs certain jobs will never return to the us
they are all gone now
replaced by foreign countries
replaced by machines
new jobs more than before need to be created

our infrastructure is crumbling
it needs fixing

new taxes need to be assessed
like gasoline taxes
higher rates on the wealthy folks not less
less deductions

there are a lot of things that need fixing
it will only happen if both sides work together

i am hoping
this will be like when you were a kid
when you and your siblings
got in a knockdown drag out fight
then
the next day you make up
and
play together

we need to be like kid siblings starting on wednesday
no matter who wins

if you havent voted
you if you dont have no right to say anything about
the political system
only those of us who voted
earned that right

VOTE

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-yes i know about it

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-YES I KNOW ABOUT IT

thats what i told them yesterday
when several people contacted me
about this story that was on nbcs today show
with dr bredesen from ucla

all the links about this protocol are on the above link

first
let me stop here
if you are a sibling of mine
i have encouraged all of you to get on this regimen
a cousin of mine
a nephew or niece of  mine
a great niece or great nephew of  mine
a son of mine
or
if you have someone in your family with alzheimers disease
stop
take the time to read the above article
click on the two videos
especially the first one
the second is on the study i am being considered for
then
jump on board
do all these healthy things i mention below
even if you dont take any of the supplements

your brain will be the better for it
then
go back and read and watch the videos again

remember those of us who have the diease
have nothing to lose by trying it

yes
i said to those who contacted me
i know all about it

you
see
i have been on the bredesen protocol for several months now
ever since it was published 2 years ago in the magazine
aging


he has a 36 point approach to slow down cognitive decline
his study was on only 10 people with different amounts
of memory loss
from barely noticeable to full blown moderate alzheimers disease
the protocol only worked on 9 out of 10 folks
the one with moderate alzheimers disease showed no change

this goes along with what we know about this disease
by the time you reach this stage
you may have reached the point of no return

two of the folks were professionals
one a lawyer
the other a physician
both were at the point where they were going to have to
discontinue their profession
however
after being on the protocol for awhile several months
their memories improved to the point where they
were able to continue their careers

i looked at the protocol carefully
all 36 things
i realized that i was already doing the majority of them
so was everyone else who was taking good care of themselves
physically mentally spiritually

it did encourage me to check my hormone levels which were ok
my b12 which was way too low
as was my vitamin d3 levels
my homocysteine level it was way too high
all easily corrected with over the counter medicines

there were two items i couldnt do
omega 3 fish oil and coconut oil since it worsened my indigestion

the others i tolerated ok

so along with this protocol
again most of it is healthy stuff i needed to do better on
and
adding the aricept (donepezil)
my memory returned to a normal level last year
and
i think based on how i felt i did on my memory test two weeks ago
has remained there

was it the protocol
yes i think so
which parts
i think a lot had to do with correcting my abnormal levels of vitamins
and
doing all the healthy things i should have been better at doing
like
controlling my blood pressure my cholesterol
maintaining a normal weight
exercising regularly i was habitating it doing lots of gardening
doing ranch work
improved my sleep back to normal levels
learned to relax i think the aricept does that somewhat
i have no palpable stress
i am happy
i do stop and look inside frequently even when working in the yard
i stay active mentally doing this blog interacting with folks a lot here
and in real life and read books and lots of news articles and
medical articles
i eat a mind diet and am as i say a 90% vegetarian
i drink a glass of red wine a day
i dont use tobacco

so all those things are on the protocol
along with several supplements many of you recognize
like turmeric acid resveratrol coq 10 balance b 100 etc

so add all this up
yes i guess i am on dr bredesens protocol
most i was already doing
i contnue to take aricept (donepezil) to slow down symptoms
i plan to continue all this
even
if i get on the new treatment study with the new experimetal alzheimers drug
aducanumab
which is discussed in the second video

dr bredesen plans to do a much larger study at cleveland clinic
on a much larger group of folks
to look closer as to whether this protocol really works
whether in the long run whether it stops the disease
or just delays things for a long period of time

he also is commercializing it some
which i have no problem with i guess

my opinion
like aricept (donepezil)
i think it just delays the symptoms for a period of time
hopefully a long time
but
this disease will end up winning in the end
but
gaining some more time sure is worth it all

ms b i might make it to your high school graduation afterall

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-garden stories

COUNTRY N NEWS-GARDEN STORIES

several years ago
when touring the natural gardener in austin
i ran into the owner the organic guru john dromgoole
we stopped and talked to him for a few minutes

when i looked up
i noticed we were standing under this vine that
i had not seen before
it had yellow flowers on it
whats that i asked
john said oh its a butterfly vine

why is it called that i asked

well he said look closely at these seedlings
they look like butterflies dont they
these are frequently used in decorations

well i see why i said

so i planted one at our house
its sort of wax and waned over the years
but

this year it exploded into these yellow flowers

which turned into these little butterflies when the flowers dry up

they do look like butterflies dont they

out i went to the garden

this little ladybug was doing its work on our okra

we have used okra in as many recipes as we can think of
i have used a ton of them just grilling them with other veggies
also i have added them to beans and have done an
okra tomato dish in the crockpot
but
my standby when we are out of things to cook
is to dunk them into quart pickling jars with pickling juice
in the refrigerator
having now pickled okra out the ying yang

a few years ago we had the best fall tomatoes ever
we had a late freeze almost not into mid december
which allowed the tomatoes to grow and grow

we are hoping for another crop like these this year
thanks hannah

here is the bed a few weeks ago

here are a few that are much much bigger today

now if i can just keep my wife she from picking them
for fried green tomatoes

we planted all our cole crops like broccoli and cabbage
swiss chard kale bok choy spinach and lettuce
we harvested our first lettuce crop last week
soon we hope to have a regular weekly crop of lettuce and spinach
i plant a small section every 2 weeks so we should have these
until late spring
we shear them a few inches off the ground leaving a stub
so lettuce spinach swiss chard bok choy will regrow more

also when we harvest our cabbage and broccoli
we let them regrow so we reharvest smaller heads of each
well into the spring

our carrots and beets and english peas are also growing

this is the best time to garden around here
especially since our winters are getting warmer
it just takes keeping a close eye on the weather
covering them with a warm row cover
when the temperatures drop too much

bon appetit

the organicgreen doctor

gonna do it

GONNA DO IT
i know i said i was going to wait until the last day
but
something has happened to change my mind

we love to vote at our local voting place
its at a small community
at a small community center which use to be the old
high school gym
it seems and feels so country old school down to earth
when you go in there
to vote

its the essence we enjoy


however
i will be voting early today
in fact by the time some of you read this blog today
i will have already voted
done
over with

there is nothing anyone can say or do
there is nothing that can happen in the next week
im sure there will be more surprises left
that will or would have changed my mind
on how i will vote

i am sure that most of you are in the same boat
how can anyone not know how they are going to vote
i say
if you dont know how you will vote by now
then
dont vote

i saw an article this morning
that we should all look at
especially if you are a republican voter

our country can not survive if one party becomes
the overall dominant party

if only millennials were voting the democrats would win
over 400 electoral votes
if only nonwhite voters voted the democrats would win
every state in the union
if only women voters voted the democrats would win
over 450 electoral votes
if only men voters voted the republicans would win
if only white voters voted the republicans would win

however
over half the population are female
the millennials are the largest group of any age group
sorry baby boomers
the majority of voters will soon be nonwhite

this none of us can change

hopefully the republicans can look deep inside themselves
if they dont
they could be our whig party


Nature Vol. 537, No. 7618; pp7-128 (Image: Nature)

the reason i decided to vote early
is that i got a phone call yesterday
from the alzheimers center
saying that i had passed the first hurdle for getting into the
aducanumab study
click here to read about it
where i would receive an infusion if i dont get the placebo
that will remove the bad beta amyloid from my brain

this drug is the most promising drug that is being researched
that shows promise for curing this disease
or
at least slowing it down

next i have to go back up to dallas to have
240 ml of blood removed   its like donating a unit of blood
get interviewed by the neurologist heading up the study
get examined by him
have more memory tests

have an mri

have a amyvid pet scan that shows if i have bad beta amyloid
in the brain

i have to pass each step to go to the next one
if i pass the last one then
im in

im gonna do it

so i voted early to clear my schedule for all this testing
i want it all done asap

the organicgreen doctor