Sunday, April 14, 2013

Monthly Recommendations: April 2013

The Memory Palace -  Obscure stories from history told by Nate DiMeo, a man with a very fine voice and a gift for words. Now part of the Maximum Fun network of podcasts.

Shareable.net - A community committed to sharing. Enough said.

Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to a More Meaningful Life by Massimo Pigliucci - "...the relationship between science and philosophy in guiding our lives is complex, but surely one way to understand sci-phi is to let philosophy (informed by science) guide us in principle, and to use science (steered by philosophy) as our best bet for implementing those principles." Yes, I know it's cliche to say, but this book really changed my life.


Sunday, April 07, 2013

Raccoon vs. Onions

A little while back, I planted some onion seeds in a plastic salad container. As the onion seeds began to sprout, I placed the container outside by my front door so that the little seedlings could get plenty of sun and eventually be ready to transplant in a yet to be determined location. After they had been outside for a few days, I observed that something had been digging in them. At first it wasn't anything major - just a couple small holes. I assumed it was a squirrel. No big deal. I would just bury the holes back in and go about my day. I wasn't too worried about it because it didn't seem overly intrusive. Then one day I noticed more digging than usual and decided I should do something about it. I found a piece of chicken wire and placed it over the top of the planter. The next morning, to my horror, the digging had advanced to a new extreme. The chicken wire had been shoved aside and what had previously been small, isolated holes had become one giant hole extending across the entire planter. I decided that what I was dealing with wasn't just a playful squirrel but most likely a menacing raccoon (especially since the deed seemed to be occurring at night). Frustrated, I dug out what I could of the onions, transplanted them into a smaller container, and placed them in a safer location, hopefully to never be bothered again. Unfortunately this means that what I had envisioned as a bumper crop of onions in the fall will now just be a meager harvest at best. This time, in the battle of Raccoon vs. Onions, Raccoon wins. Such is the life of a gardener and his constant battle against nature.

 
To read more of my adventures in the plant world, please visit: www.awkwardbotany.com