Listen to Michael Pollan

He says, "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

For a long time, scientists have studied the world around us to provide answers for the common man about things that affect us all. As the generations roll past, the answers always seem to bring up new questions and new avenues of study.
Particularly active fields of study that most people find interesting because they affect our daily lives are medicine, agriculture and human behaviour. A good portion of us are also fascinated by astronomy and geology.
Scientific fields of study are now as diverse as human interests and what is true in one place may not hold true in another. This is certainly true in agriculture where environment, culture and politics play a role in what can and will happen to any given crop.
It is important to remember that agriculture is related to, but not identical to the food industry. "Excuse me," you say? Agriculture is the industry that grows raw food products. The food industry takes what the farmers produce and prepare it for sale and consumption.
It is a huge mistake to think that Canadian agriculture is the same as the US agriculture. Heck, we have different regulations between provinces and states within both those countries. To quote California regulations on a Canadian issue is dangerous because they are not the same. Nor is the culture and political system.
The other thing to remember is that every change that's taken place over the decades in agriculture was an attempt to feed a growing population. Agriculture exists to produce things people can eat. Also, agriculture still seeks to use every part of what it produces whether that means as food, fodder, fertilizer, fuel or medicine.
The food industry is a marketing platform for value added agricultural products. It is driven by consumer demand; which operates on emotion. The emotion that works best on humans is fear; in particular, fear for our loved ones. The food industry exploits this very well and, because food is a basic necessity of life and the building blocks of our health, we scare easily.
The food industry has always dictated much of what the agriculture industry produces for the simple fact that farmers need to make a living. So they grow what the food industry pays top dollar to buy. The food industry delivers to consumers the products they buy most. This is why consumers get a say in what stores sell. (On a personal note, I will say that some basic ingredients no longer make it to grocery store shelves because not enough people buy them.) 

I believe that the organic agriculture industry started as a backlash to what some viewed as an alarming move in food production to the use of chemicals to improve crop yields and quality. This particular piece of agricultural innovation grabbed center stage and all other aspects of agricultural research seem to go unnoticed by the public. We talk about this at Farming Smarter because, in fact, GMOs and chemicals are actually a small part of growing a crop. They are tools. It's like asking to see the screwdriver the carpenter used to build your house and deciding on that one thing that the house is garbage.
This takes us back to the scientists working hard to answer still troubling questions around food security on earth. One of the things I heard Joe Schwarcz say today is that organic farmers can spray a crop with Bacillus thuringiensis; the bacterium that produces crystals protein (cry proteins), which are toxic to many species of insects (http://www.bt.ucsd.edu/what_is_bt.html ) because it is a naturally sourced product. They mine it.
However, when scientists use Bt protein in transgenic crops, people freak out. So if you don't like the idea of the gene that promotes the production of Bt in your corn, why are you okay with someone spraying Bt all over your corn and calling it organic? I think that's a valid question.

 A couple of decades ago, I read On Food And Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee. In it I learned that the controversy (that was loud at the time) around nitrates and nitrites in preserved meats was a ridiculous furor over misinformation. It seems that some scientist figured out that the reason saltpetre preserved foods was because it contains nitrates and nitrites. Therefore, they figured out how to isolate nitrates and nitrites from saltpetre and could then use these preservatives much more judiciously and in much smaller quantities than ever before. However, because most people did not know what they were and some elements of the marketing community could use that to their advantage, we had the uproar over nitrates and nitrites.
This is what we see in modern controversy. Scientists find the active ingredient, find a way to isolate it and use it in smaller amounts than ever before and people freak out because they know what saltpetre is, but not nitrates.
Marketing is a very tricky industry. I've noticed “Gluten Free” on product labels now on things that never had gluten in them. Or “natural” on products that clearly are not. Anyone over 40 for sure can think of something to add here. Marketers sell us stuff using fear, pride and envy or by pulling our heart strings. But, marketing in the digital age is very subtle and comes in the form of celebrity endorsements and manufactured experts. Have you heard a about wasp nests in vaginas? I mean you're smarter than that right?
Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you to just trust the scientists because even they will tell you not to stop questioning everything. By gar, it's what drives them to do what they do. I am going to suggest though that you also question the information, the source, the credentials and the motivations behind everything you hear. 
 We live in an increasingly complex world and we are discovering increasingly complex things about it daily. So, as Joe also said, life is full of risks and it will never be completely safe ( I would add or easy to understand). We make decisions every time we eat and the only way to live life without taking some chances is to not live at all.
Remember that the science will keep learning new things too. There will always be new things to consider, new things that spark questions and technological advances that sound scary to us because we don't understand. It is no longer possible to understand everything around us. 

Now more than ever, we're making choices daily and hoping they are not going to harm us. Cell phones, food, air, water, vaccines, and more ad nauseum. Our modern society has much to understand and none of us can be an expert in everything that touches our lives. We have to have trust and faith.
That's not easy in a world where humans have been known to do many things in the name of riches that were decidedly NOT good for their fellow man. But if you find yourself believing that every single person that works in agriculture cares more about money than growing quality crops, you might want to relax a little. 

Regardless of the farming method, if you eat unprocessed food, wash it and prepare it properly, you can eat whatever you want. But if you're buying food you can just microwave and eat, stop blaming the farmers for your health problems!

A Whole New Yard to Shape

Late Aug. 2015, I moved into this little house in north Lethbridge. It was a big move. New town, new home, new job and new circumstances. I didn't have a lot of time to get to know the yard or do anything to it.
This summer, I discovered the place needs shade! Lots of shade. The grass in back was more weeds than grass and that's not exaggerating.

From the back of the yard - raspberry patch, weed patch and walk

The back of the house faces south west and bakes all afternoon in the sun. On those days when the temp hits 32C, the house heats up like an oven.
The house itself, really isn't worth spending $1,000s on to correct that from the inside, so YARD WORK!


First, I thought I'd just plant some shrubs and perennials. Then I found out that many fruit trees are short and so can go under power lines.
WHOO HOO!

So, I bought some and installed them.

The reason the grass looks dead is because I'm killing it.

Installed shrubs and a plum tree. 

While I knew I had to wait for growth, I began to notice that when we sat outside, we sat on the grass in front of the garage because it was too hot on the patio by the house. That led me to think about how a patio is a heat sink right up against the house too. That may be fine in winter, but not a Lethbridge summer. Also, we were avoiding it, so clearly, it was in the wrong place.
I hired a landscaper to do the heavy lifting and now it looks like this.

 

The bonus here is that the new tree is 1) a cherry tree, 2) in line with the peak of the house and 3) positioned between the wires that go from electric pole to house and house to garage.

The Uh Oh is that I have a whole bunch of open dirt. So, potatoes and squash will be abundant at my house next fall. :) 

Now the backyard has
a plum tree positioned to shade the back door,
a cherry tree positioned to shade the tallest part of the house
a lilac positioned for the wind to blow its scent in the back window

2 high bush cranberry bushes BECAUSE I CAN
the old raspberry patch
the strawberry rhubarb patch
and flower beds taking shape all around the perimeter of the yard.

The front yard got some new plants too. There is a pear tree in the front yard and some shrubs for the same reason. I need the shade and because I can. Mmmmm pears.

The shrubs are a bit hard to see here,
but you can see the squash plants
around their bases.

Taking in the orphans

This is what they looked like when they arrived at my house.
This is after an initial bath at the shops

Last Monday, June 20, I went out to the research site to help with some of the work. We started with lunch in the shops where the sound of kittens mewing was overwhelming. I knew there were kittens, but I didn't know the story of the kittens.

They are very young orphans. They can't feed themselves or get into the adult litter box. When I saw them, rather than wanting to cuddle them, I wanted to walk away quickly. They were filthy and clearly not going to make it without major intervention.

Over lunch, I found out most of the staff were concerned, but didn't know what to do for them. I'm no expert, but figured I could do better than that situation. After lunch, Dawne and I bought syringes to feed them and bathed them, but we didn't have warm water. So it was a quick dip to get the worst off so we could hold them to feed them. They seemed strong enough, but clearly needed mothering.
So, I brought them home. 

Kenzie trying to top up hungry kittens.

Now lucky for me, but not so much her, Kenzie is staying with me right now. She's on the kitten day shift by default; which I acknowledge is unfair to foist 3 kittens on anyone, but Kenzie is a trouper and kind and hasn't shot me yet.



We made the kitten formula Shirley from Lethbridge No Kill Animal Association (NOKA) taught me last fall and set about feeding them... often. By around 9 pm we figured we had them full and gave them a thorough bath. Because they're so small, Kenzie got out her blow dryer and I cuddled them while she waved it over them. They looked blissful for the first time at that point. All fell asleep and stayed that way over night.


They seemed to be doing well and getting stronger until Thursday. It was a hot day and by evening, the little orange guy was a limp rag. He kept trying to crawl into a corner to die. The little grey guy wasn't much better. Oddly, little blackie, the runt was doing fine.
We called in emergency medical help from NOKA. This is the group I worked with last fall.

I'm tempted to call him Fred for some
reason, but I should probably check with
my brother Fred before I do that.

Sue came by and gave little orangey water under the skin or a subcutaneous water injection. He didn't look much better when she left and grey was a bit of a sorry sight too. She checked them all over, guessed their age at 3 weeks and wished us luck. I was so grateful she had come. 
None of us expected to see little orangey alive by morning and little grey didn't look like he'd make it much longer. 
I prayed. For the record, I can count the number of times I've prayed in my life. I remember them all. I save prayers for times when I really mean it.
Then around 9 pm, little orange guy came bouncing out of the kitten room and hopping across the floor like nothing had happened earlier! So Kenzie sat for the next couple of hours and dribbled water into little grey.

Friday morning, I opened the door to the kitten room not sure who would be alive. All 3 little fur balls came trotting toward me mewing for breakfast. So I fed them, but made them all take 2cc water before I gave them milk.
Friday night, Shirley came by and fixed us all up. She gave us 10cc syringes that the kittens can suck on easily, she gave us nutrient rich kitten formula and the kittens a clean bill of health. 
Since then they have done really well. They are eating, sleeping, using the litter box and playing with each other. Before, they cried all the time because they were never quite full and weren't defecating well (you have to help them at this age - Yeah!).

So, we'll see from here. They are still very, very young to be without a mom. Shirley says she's raised lots of orphans and there's no reason these guys shouldn't make it. Everybody pray now and Kenzie and I will do our best at this end. 

Apples

I’m reading a book right now by Bill Bryson called At Home, A Short History of Private Life. I’m not quite halfway through. The book is about human habitations and how they’ve changed over the centuries and why. For example, when he talks about the cellar, we learn the history of cement among other things. 

It’s an interesting book if you like random information about human history. What strikes me though is that all the world conquering that takes place even today is only about one thing. Did you guess oil? You’re wrong. It’s all about food.

The history of the modern world, in fact human existence, has always been about finding or growing more food. Slavery, exploration, colonies, war, science, community – all these things build from the bottom of Maslow’s famous pyramid.

Jared Diamond writes fascinating, if somewhat difficult to read, books about human development. I live in the First World, so I get to operate at the top of that pyramid. Diamond will tell you that humanity didn’t even know about the top of the pyramid until we had cities large enough to support people who didn’t have to spend all day, every day working on those bottom two rungs.

Also, because I live in the First World, I am back on the very bottom rung looking at food. Listen to what Caleb Harper says about apples in the first minute of this TED Talk.

He mentions that the average age of an apple in a US grocery store is 11 months old. Then he tells us how “they” preserve the apples to make this possible.

Not too long ago, I saw a video of someone pouring boiling water over a fresh apple and collecting the water in a clear bowl underneath. The water distinctly showed wax floating on top. I had noticed that the water had wax in it before she started though, so I was skeptical about the severity of the problem.

But, this was something I felt I could repeat at home. So, I did. My bowl of water didn’t have nearly the amount of wax as hers, but look at the apple! It was the same as the one beside it before the boiling water trick.

Don’t ever tell me not to peel my fruit, Ever, again. Because people will tell you that peeling is wasteful and the bulk of nutrition is in the rind of anything. So is the bulk of whatever the food industry did. (I could write a whole other blog about terminology such as the Food Industry)

This is likely a First World problem (as the kids like to say), but that could be because fresh fruit in winter is a First World problem. It’s why our ancestors learned how to preserve food in the first place. Even when I grow my own food, I can’t keep it fresh between harvests.

So, we’ve bred fruit that can travel and come up with ways to keep it looking fresh 11 months after it’s picked.

We did the same thing somehow with chickens to have fresh eggs all year round too. Think about that for a second. Birds don’t lay eggs year round in the wild now do they? 

I’ve got that song from the musical Oliver Twist running in my head, Food, Glorious Food 

I have a life-long relationship with food preparation. I made my first bread when I was 12 and I’m one of the few people I know that still makes almost all my own bread. I cooked professionally for years.

Here’s what worries me about where we are with food today. If you live in a city in a northern climate, you are not food secure. To survive a breakdown in our food system, you need a stash that will last at least a year and you need to know how to grow food, look after animals or hunt and have the equipment and knowledge to preserve food. Otherwise, you’re hooped. 

Meanwhile, everyone is up in arms over GMOs. So, are GMOs bad?

I have no idea and, frankly, don’t care. Because we have much bigger problems to tackle than singling out one way we’ve changed our food over the past 100 years.

Peas in the field

And look at what Caleb Harper thinks we should do! I’m pretty sure the soil microbiologists would knock a few holes in his idea in seconds! How do you support the human micro biome by feeding it food that has never met the planet’s micro biome? Hmmmm

Food security is a basic need and a hugely complex modern issue. But maybe I just think so because I like to cook and garden.

I mean look what the younglings are into https://www.soylent.com/

Could be my age. Remember this?

Getting my Ducts in a Row

Holy Jumpin' Jiminy Gee-hoe-saphat!
Maglockland Puick!
Sheep Shit and Bulls Balls

People, clean your ducts and change your furnace filters. No wonder I was sick. And so were my visitors. Talk about, "Welcome to my nightmare." 

See this?

This is a furnace vent clogged with dust...
sure... let's call it dust.

  This is what it looks like now that Brad from Lethbridge Duct Cleaning took care of that.

He went through all the ducts and cold air returns. He explained to me that most of what came out of the works went into the large vacuum attached to the furnace.

Sheepshit

But he showed me this small ball of dust etc that landed on the plates. Don't make me explain that. Just accept that this is the tip of the iceberg removed from my duct work today. Shown here for illustration of the kinds of... of... stuff(?) hiding in the duct work.
Brad did mention that the previous owners (you mean someone in the past 100 years?) must have had a cat because he could have reconstructed one with the contents of the big vacuum.


Then he opened up the furnace to inspect, clean and repair it if necessary. I spent $17 on a thermocouple and $20 on filter cloth (I'll get to that). Here is what my motor looked like when Brad first removed the door.

 Those grey lumps at the front are dust clumps from the pipes that came out during cleaning. He shined that motor up and made sure the antique furnace won't quit on me due to lack of maintenance.
Antique you say?

In case you don't know this, all forced air furnaces have filters you're supposed to change regularly especially in winter when they are running. Modern (as in post war) (okay, I'm exaggerating) furnaces have these easy-peasy cardboard and fiberglass filters that you pull out with one hand and slide in a new one.

Not this puppy.

I didn't take a photo, but this furnace has a basket filter. Let me explain. There is a piece of wire fencing material (or something like) with made to order clasping bars that come apart.
You take the clasping bars apart, cut a piece of fiberglass cloth to size and put the whole thing back together.
The cloth we removed from that basket was twice the thickness it started out as and black. You could see where it had been white.
I changed the cloth myself and was mighty proud 'til Brad tsk, tsked me and told me I failed miserably. Such a sweetie that Brad. But, he had a point; I put the cloth on the wrong side of the fence so to speak. I'm very glad he stuck around long enough to make sure I got that right.

I can't tell you how great it feels to know that all that crap is out of my house. I suspect my indoor air quality just went up a billion fold. AND I opened a kitchen cupboard this afternoon when I got home from work and felt a warm breeze on my hand! This had not happened before and I open that cupboard 10 times a day. You would think that at some point in the past month, I would have felt that warm breeze coming from the floor vent.

not quite done, but looking good

The icing on the cake to this day is...
I also got a new front door!

Then I went into work and got a pumpkin from the garden. This was a banner day AND I got to sleep in. Sigh, it's been a great day and I give thanks to all the people who made that happen.
Thank you Brad.
Thank you Stephen & Sharol
Thank you Jamie

Thank you, Thank you,
Thank you.
My life is blessed.

Quiet House

TS Elliot

I had to let them go.

I feel like I need a do over. 

It was all too much - too soon.
New city; new house; new job; new solitude; new everything. 

Somehow it all triggered a massive inflammation reaction that began to spiral out of control and life became very challenging. 

The cats knew. It made Torts and Todd jittery. The kittens are still too young to be anything but goofy, so they carried on growing, learning to climb, jump, wrassel and scarf large quantities of food.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Some were more cooperative
than others

We took portraits while Kristi, Kaylin and Peyton were here. Whom, by the way, saved me through this. Kaylin in particular loved up those kittens. Although, Peyton, Kristi and Marty were almost, but ever so slightly less, in love with all of them.
They went to a new foster home tonight - the whole pack of them. I believe they will be fine.
I miss them, but I also feel as though I'm coming out of a fog and there is light ahead. 

J K Rowling - Ollie

Thanks for following along those of you that did. This blog will probably turn back into my thoughts around a new life in Lethbridge and what that looks like from inside my head. 

Agatha Christie
Christifur Clawumbus

Louisa May Alcott - Callie

I write about my life. I began when I was about 10 and still have writings that go back to about 20 years old - after the fire that took everything I owned when I was 20.
So, I will write. Please come read.

T&T - BFFs

Kitten Food is Popular

Tuesday, I introduced the kittens to wet food. 

Peaking out from under
the scratching ramp

Torts and Todd LOVE it! The kittens also seem to enjoy it when they get the chance. They are learning to use a litter box. We've even had some success with that.
They are getting mighty frisky and it's endlessly amusing to watch them learn to run, jump and climb. Although...

Watch me kids! I'm outta here.

I can see the kitten barrier is good for about another 2 or 3 days and then we're done for as far as containment goes.
The kittens are about to take over the sun room. 
I'm just not comfortable with them having the run of the house. It may be a small house, but they're smaller. 

If I've learned anything from former cats it is that cats go wherever they please. Also, I don't want to risk them getting through the trap door to the basement if I have to do laundry.



One orange guy seems to love me. He comes bouncing to me
whenever I go into the kitten room and climbs my leg if I don't pick him up. 
Today, he even braved the vacuum to be near me!

Meanwhile, the two tortoise shells and the other orange guy hid behind the box and were actually shaking with fear. 
  

I thought introducing them to the sound of a vacuum might be helpful, but maybe that's what cats are really afraid of because I've never found them to be afraid of water.


The poor little black one took refuge at the top of the scratch ramp where he found himself stranded and alone.

I put all the fraidy cats in the box so I could finish vacuuming with my brave boy hanging from my pant leg.


 

my brave boy

What is that thing she keeps pointing at us?
OW! My eyes!

Torts and Todd are snuggling lots now that she takes time away from the kittens. They sit and rub heads and groom or drape themselves over each other. 




As for me, I'm struggling with a major rash outbreak for the past week or so. As much as I'm enjoying the kittens, I may not last much longer.
I don't think they are the source of my problem, but I also don't think it's helping to have 7 cats in the house. 

The boys, of course.

I'm not ready to give up on them yet, but I had to put that out there for the folks who want to follow this through. 
I moved to Lethbridge to start a new chapter in my life. I have priorities to make that work and this is making me feel like I'm allergic to Lethbridge. I'm going to have the duct work cleaned in this house and I'm in the market for some natural fibre clothing if anyone has any tips for that. I'm in a full blown reaction and it's making life less than charming.
Wish me luck because my house is about to be crawling with kittens!

The girls scheming, of course.
"I'm telling you Mable there's a way out and
I'm going to find it!"