Tomatoes in the snow; CAT hacked by Russian love columnist; charismatic mini-fauna.
It’s a good bet that washing your car increases the chance of rain. In the same vein, early planting of tomatoes virtually assures snow.
Usually cautious in this regard, I walked on the wild side yesterday, April 29, and planted a three-ft.-tall grape tomato, one of many that had hatched in my vermicomposting bin over the winter. I went out every half-hour or so, today, to knock off the snow.
The sun is out again, I think the plant looks refreshed. Ready for its new life outdoors. Enjoying the breezes! Time will tell.
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Today I came across a story on our website I could not recall ever having edited… and obviously no one else had, either. It was titled “Used to do Something Wrong And My Girlfriend Is Aggrieved With Me,” with David Habben’s byline. The work of Habben, a Utah artist, was featured on our cover years ago. Digging deeper, I found on our website a dozen advice columns pertaining to Russian dating and mail order brides that he’d written… or probably not.
I remain puzzled. Do Russians not have dogs to walk and gardens to plant? How bored are they?
At any rate, we took down the stories, and you will no longer be able to learn how to “Save Your Name on Singles Online dating services firms services For Getting Mingled.”
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Pollen piles up like snowdrifts in the gutter; wafts through open windows; drifts, sometimes races, through the air at all altitudes, like rush hour in a space village. It’s time for nettles, the neti pot and other allergy remedies.
It’s a theme in my life right now, pollen. I mean, pollination—pollinators and pollinator plants—have been occupying my thoughts of late, as we plan the 8th annual Bee Fest: A Celebration of Pollination (June 16—see back cover), formerly known as Slow Food Utah’s Honey Bee Festival.
Of course we’ll honor that charismatic little critter, the panda bear of the insect world. Right now I’m engrossed in The Beekeeper’s Lament, a book about the beekeeping industry from the inside, by Colorado journalist Hannah Nordhaus. Honey bee health is a labyrinthian house of cards.
Thank goodness they’re not the only pollinators on the planet. We’ll celebrate the efforts of native bees, butterflies and other pollinators as well. Join us. And bring the kids.
Greta deJong is CATALYST’s editor & publisher.