More Shades of Lavender

I'd better have something yellow by the end of this week or I'm going to burn everyone out on shades of purple! I was hoping to get some shots of the newly opened Daffodils today, but a powerful low pressure system literally BLEW through the state today and winds were fierce until after sundown. I did see the Daffodils waving at me in the wind though...

These are two varieties of the 'Giant Dutch' crocus, which are later blooming species (but not by much!) than the Snow Crocus and much larger (at least in crocus terms!). I can't remember what the first variety (the lavender one) is called, but the second flower I know is called 'Pickwick.' (Always easy to remember due to the Dickens reference.)

We have some others blooming currently (including some gorgeous white ones) that I hope to shoot before they're done, but the last few days have been so windy and/or gloomy I haven't gotten to them yet. Anyway, Fernymoss took these on 13 April, 2008 during his photographic garden inspection.

In other bulby news ... we think the 'Crown Imperial' Fritillarias are breaking through, and we think we'll know for sure later this week. The Hyacinths are up and looking all 'Alien-y' ... squill are popping up all over and a few of the Globe Alliums are also up ... seems like there's something new to discover every day. Too bad I don't have the time to inspect every day ... seems that lately all the nice days during the week are work days and I don't always get out at that point in the day. We'll get in the groove more regularly once the chilly days are gone for the season. Ack, so much clean up still to be done!

Purple Crocus IB Bonanza

Lately we've had more crocus than you can shake a lens at popping up all over the place! These three shots are more of those Fernymoss took on Sunday during his photographic tour around the front gardens. It seems these guys are really coming into their own this year (they were planted in 2005) and staking out nice little clumps here and there in the main garden and along the sidewalk.

We're really liking the colour combinations I somehow achieved when I planted these particular bulbs ... nice combos of purple, white, and yellow all mixed together. As I recall I had several bags of specific bulbs, plus a mix of coulours and I just dumped them all together and set about planting 3-4 bulbs per hole all over the place on the North Woodland Garden side of the house. Last year wasn't a good one for them due to that unexpected very cold snap we had. They bloomed only briefly and then beat a hasty retreat until this year, where they are really shining now!

These shots are two different clumps with varying numbers of flowers currently blooming ... I think the first one really shows off the fantastic range of variations within a single variety, from the soft gradations of colours to the bold veinyness of others. And as for those buttery yellows, I'm just in love with those delectably creamy blooms ... they have the brightness of most crocus, but with much subtler gradations. If you look closely at the interior of the yellow one in the second shot, the IBs almost look like those of a tiny tulip! Oh, and there's a bonus bug pic we discovered when going over these photos ... can you find it? Fernymoss thinks it looks like a very small Lacewing up close ... good news, as we alway welcome them in our garden, due to their propensity to dispense with less desirable insect pests. Besides we think they're really pretty with their delicate almost transparent wings .... I guess this week is now officially Crocus Week at Casa IVG, so stay tuned for even more!

Photos taken by Fernymoss on 13 April 2008 using the S700 in ' Flower Scene Position.'

Very Unsettling ... Indeed Disturbing!

I ran across this article tonight while browsing my Yahoo news modules ... somehow the headline of Sludge Tested as Lead Poisoning Fix just caught my eye so I had to read it out of curiosity ... I do encourage you to read the entire article, but the skinny on it is that basically a government program in Maryland has been duping lower income (mostly African American) families into being guinea pigs in an experiment to use industrial and sewage sludge as a sort of 'neutralizer' of lead. Just take a look at the first couple of paragraphs here:

Scientists using federal grants spread fertilizer made from human and industrial wastes on yards in poor, black neighborhoods to test whether it might protect children from lead poisoning in the soil. Families were assured the sludge was safe and were never told about any harmful ingredients.

Nine low-income families in Baltimore row houses agreed to let researchers till the sewage sludge into their yards and plant new grass. In exchange, they were given food coupons as well as the free lawns as part of a study published in 2005 and funded by the Housing and Urban Development Department.

Yes, it gets worse ... just read on. And it's not unique to Baltimore, as these almost Mengelian experiments were also conducted in other low-income predominantly black areas such as E. St. Louis, IL. All, apparently, carried out without the clear informed consent of the families who agreed to put themselves and their children at potential risk, just for a "new lawn" and some food coupons. Despicable.

And lest you think I jumped too quickly to make the Mengele comparison, it appears that the Maryland Court of Appeals already went there well before I even read this article:

The Maryland Court of Appeals likened the study to Nazi medical research on concentration camp prisoners, the U.S. government's 40-year Tuskegee study that denied treatment for syphilis to black men in order to study the illness and Japan's use of "plague bombs" in World War II to infect and study entire villages.

That's the Alphonso Jackson HUD administration in action for you. Fortunately that particular scumball has finally been forced out and his last day at the government teat is this Friday. But as with most of the scandals that have emerged over the past seven and a half years (!) it's going to be a long time cleaning up after these thugs.

I think a lot of those people who were so quick to condemn the Rev Jeremiah Wright's comments from the pulpit as the ravings of an angry black man need to do some serious back-pedaling now. With revelations like this, it's increasingly hard to dismiss our government's more nefarious projects, carried out ostensibly in our names. Shameful, shameful, shameful ...

Siberian Squill

I've been grousing and fretting a lot lately because I've just not been seeing the Squill yet, though I knew they'd be popping up eventually ... I've just been impatient I guess ... and with the chilly weather of the past week or so with its drizzle, rain, snow and general dreariness I wanted my Spring Blues! So here's to the first of this year's Siberian Squill, captured so naturally and stunningly by Fernymoss on 13 April, 2008.

This little clump seems to have migrated a bit from a larger colony in the same area, as I can't recall planting any near the tulips in this particular spot, though they are naturalized nearby. That's another really nice feature about these early little charmers ... they tend to spread and move around any sunny area where they're planted. Given enough time, they establish themselves in beautiful drifts of blue and though they naturalize readily (and happily!) they are never aggressive and I can't imagine anyone but the harshest flower hater not wanting as many s/he can get in the garden or lawn, whichever may be the case. It'll be a long time before we ever consider them beyond capacity!

First Hibiscus of 2008: Erin Rachel

It's got to be a true sign of Spring for real this time! Erin Rachel has ended her long winter rest from blooming and finally opened her first flower this weekend! You might remember this stunner from a few posts I did last year, and in particular a great Trifecta shot from last July.

Erin didn't seem to take well to indoor dwelling at the beginning of the winter and dropped most of her leaves in protest, despite being in one of the sunniest spots we have in the house at the base of the stairs. She's definitely one of those high light plants who basically refuse to bloom until the light is intense enough and lasts longer ... so I've been encouraged more the last two months as she's bulked up on the leaves again and started to put on small buds, some of which, unfortunately dropped off before they developed much. Such is indoor life for a tropical hibiscus unless its humidity and light requirements are met more successfully than we were able to provide this past winter.

Though her first flower this year is significantly smaller than they will be once she's happily back outside again, it was a most welcome 'Hellooo!' to go downstairs yesterday morning and see this electrically bright bloom at the base of the stairs! Especially on a day when outside it was once again back to snow, rain and clouds all day ... Even with the lack of sun, I took this shot in natural light! Ah the emerging wonders from the S700 ... the more I use it, the more I'm impressed and less intimidated by its prowess. I just used the 'Flower' scene position with its built in macro settings and needless to say, I was really pleased with the results! Your thoughts ...?

Oh yeah, the previous 'Pink Wave' post was a detail of a portion of this flower ... if you look closely, I'm sure you'll find where it is in the larger context of the bloom ...

Riding the Big Pink Wave ...

Just a fun shot and preview of sorts for tomorrow's post ... Here's a big pink wave bordering on peachy good textures ... For an under the weather friend (aren't we all again at this point?) ... you know who you are, Olivia! Thought you might enjoy some positively pinky vibes this weekend.

Hope you shake that bug soon!

Pepa

Too Funny ...

It seems that much has been made of ABC News' recent acquisition of those videos taken during Wal Mart company functions and board meetings. Apparently Wal Mart contracted with the company to make these videos dating from the 1970s to 2006, when Wal Mart unexpectedtly severed their contract with the company (based in Kansas). Now, ABC News has posted several of them online and is making quite the splash with this little coup. Karma's a vengeful bitch, eh?

Now, in a deliciously ironic turn of events, Flagler Productions (producers of the videos) has put the entire library of videos up for sale ... And of course, Wal Mart is none too happy about this. It appears the range of the videos is vast ... from prancing employees in drag, to Sam Walton's admission about the company's failure to fairly promote women (for which they are currently defendants in a class action suit), to video of Hillary Clinton's time on the Wal Mart Board of Directors, when she was curiously silent about their Union Busting tactics during her tenure on the Board and as the then Arkansas Governor's First Lady. Yes, this is the same "champion of rights for the working person" Hillary Clinton currently running for president. (See video of HRC here.)

When Corporate Hypocrisy comes to America and runs for President it will be dressed in a pantsuit purchased at Wal Mart. (Apologies to Sinclair Lewis, whether he really said this or not.)

Shades of Purple Haze

These are some of the many shades of purple popping up around the garden over the last week ... I just love the many variations of purple the crocuses offer, often mixed with one of my other favorite colors, yellow. That's the best of both worlds for me, and when you can get a dynamic tricolor variety such as the one pictured in this post, I'm beyond delighted!

Of course there are the Dutch "Giant" Crocus (some of which were featured previously here) that display much deeper hues of purple, and some even have dramatic veining in the petals (pictures forthcoming) that just have to be seen to be believed. Some are already up and ready to bloom, but the weather has been rather chilly and rainy the past few days and the forecast only predicts more of the same (rain and perhaps more snow) for the next several days and through the weekend. So who knows when I'll be able to get some good shots of them, as they've pretty much "closed up shop" the last couple of days. Though I've been disappointed with the overall lack of sun of late, as well as the chillier temperatures, I did decide that one upside to this was that it will probably prolong the crocus bloom time, keeping them ready but not overly enthusiastic about blooming just yet. At least I was lucky enough to get these shots late last Friday afternoon to hold me over until I can get out and take some more. Stay tuned for more to come ...

Photos taken 4 April, 2008 with the S700 ...

How Dare We Be Optimistic?

We've all been complaining a lot lately (not unjustifiably) about this past winter's seemingly interminable succession of snow, rain, ice, snow, ice storms ... not to mention how it just dragged on and on ...

We've observed in the nearly 10 years we've gardened at this house, that our winters have gotten increasingly erratic and just downright weird. We'd get one really harsh, cold and snowy winter that killed perennials, then one with hardly any snow and the premature appearance of spring bulbs. And, last year, in December I was worrying that the daffodils would be trying to come up ... Last March we also had a precocious early spring warming that set everything in motion, then three weeks of sub-freezing, downright cold conditions. That's what zapped a great deal of last year's tulips, daffodils, fritillarias and other bulbs. And, as one who spent his formative years in Iowa (before my prodigal son phase), winters just aren't what I remember being the norm as I was growing up.

How anyone can deny the growing climate crisis we're experiencing is beyond this simple gardener's comprehension. The climate is changing, and by all indications, we're only seeing the initial effects on the local level at this point, probably because that is only what we know most intimately. As Al Gore demonstrated so dramatically in An Inconvenient Truth, the global effects are already ominously apparent. And alarming recent reports about break away parts of the Antarctic ice shelf (one the size of Manhattan!) only serve to bolster scientists' and Gore's arguments. A couple of years ago, when I was researching something for the blog, I found this link to the Arbor Day Foundation's animation of Hardiness Zone Changes since 1990 to 2006. It bears witness to what we've seen personally, here in our little corner of the world. Folks, this is real. It's happening now, and it will affect not only us, but those who come after us ... as if we didn't have enough trumped up reasons for war and conquest already, can catastrophic weather changes make it even worse? I fear the educated answer must be yes.

Then....

How Dare We Be Optimistic?

This is the titular theme of Al Gore's recent presentation to the TED (Technology Entertainment Design) Foundation in March, 2008. As he showed in An Inconvenient Truth, Al is no mere prophet of doom, he's also an apostle of optimism who believes in the innate goodness of humans to recognize a problem and to seek its solution. Yes, he is sounding the alarm bells to try to wake people up, and though the task ahead of us is daunting, he offers a multitude of small ways to bring about positive change on a personal level. Whether it be changing all light bulbs to compact fluorescents (have you done that yet? You should ... you'll save money!) to adopting more carbon neutral practices in our daily lives, recent Nobel Prize winner Al Gore remains on the forefront of this crucial issue. You need to listen to him tell it like it is ... it's alternately alarming and inspiring, passionate and informative.

We're all going to have to change the way we think and live our everyday lives, no matter what . Whether we choose the optimistic path and work to effect positive changes to alleviate the problem or that of passive participant, it's ultimately up to us. I'm not as sure as Al is that we're up to the task, but I'm hopeful that were on the cusp of a sea change of political and generational change in our thinking.

Note on the video linked above: this talk lasts about 25-30 minutes, with a brief Q/A exchange at the end.

Chilly Crocus and A Farewell to Snow(?)

This shot was taken.after the most recent snow on 3 April, 2008. We're hoping this is the last of it we will get this Spring, but there are no sure guarantees in the often fickle climate here in Iowa. The first year I lived here (1994) I recall it snowing as late as early May, with lows in the 40's lasting into June ... we're just keeping all appendages crossed that a repeat of last year's disastrous cold snap is not in the offing. I don't think our Spring bulbs could take another extended spell like that one, not to mention that it virtually destroyed our normally colorful Spring bulb show.

Though it's supposed to go down to about 32/0 tonight, nights like that shouldn't affect things too much, but we sure hope it doesn't become ingrained pattern over the critical course of this month! Some comfortably coolish type weather really would be to our advantage for a while, to give us the chance to mass sow some early spring seeds we'd like to get out, namely a bunch of Larkspur, Foxglove and Rudbeckias. Perhaps a few of the pink poppies as well, but we usually don't even bother with those or calendula because they seem to do quite well left to their own devices. I think we might also consider sowing some Convolvulus tricolor as well, because we never seem to get that in soon enough, and we always end up wanting more than we get!

Galanthus Forever! (I wish...)

Some more shots of Snowdrops ... in the snow this time, albeit briefly! I took the first shot Friday late afternoon, when the sun was literally pouring through the flowers out front (such as the crocus in the previous post) on a really nice spring day ... whereas Fernymoss took the second shot just the previous day when we got that surprise snow. Though the second environment is how we usually expect to see the Snowdrops emerge (which usually happens in February, not late March!) ... eager harbingers of spring, bearing promises of crocus soon to come ...

Though I didn't get out to take some more shots today (household tasks got in the way), I did take a quick tour around the back yard and front gardens to see how things are progressing ... still no signs of the big Hyacinths, the Crown Imperials or the Siberian Squill, but there are lots of crocus, tulips, Daffodils, Chionodoxa and Spanish Squill breaking ground. It won't be much longer, that is, if the weather cooperates!

Olivia asked me recently if the Dragon Arum had broken ground yet, to which I of course had to answer Not yet... If I recall correctly (I should check the archives on this), it broke through in late April or Early May last year, and was in full bloom a month later. We're hoping that this year (its third) it may actually be able to muster up more than one bloom, though even if it's just one (as last year) we'll be more than happy. We're planning on adding one or two more of these spectacular oddities in the fall, if all goes well ... we'd love to incorporate some more Arums into the scheme of things, but I think we'll need to take stock of the landscape after everything is up here to see if there is enough room. They're somewhat pricey bulbs to plant, but well worth the results they offer!

If you're interested in planting some interesting bulbs, I'll conclude by linking to two resources we have used (to great satisfaction) for purchasing bulbs online.

The first, McClure-Zimmerman bulbs has a fantastic selection ranging from the more common bulbs (tulips, crocus, etc.) to more esoteric collectors' items such as a wealth of Fritillaria species and of course, Arums.

Van Bourgondien bulbs and plants was the original source for the Dragon Arum, as well as that half bushel of daffodils we planted several years ago. They have competitive prices, a great selection and best of all, they ship exactly when you're ready to plant, so you can order in June (usually with a significant discount) and they'll arrive right about when you're ready to plant. They usually also include a freebie or two with larger orders (we got a couple of Iris from them last time) and don't charge your card until they ship (in case that's a concern). --End of shameless plug-- But I'm often asked where one can get certain things they've seen on the blog, and these are two sources we consider reliable, high quality purveyor of bulbs.

Snow Crocus, Indeed!

As the saying goes, What a difference a day makes! These shots of our purple "Giant" crocus in the bulb bed out front were taken late afternoon yesterday and today ... under obviously different weather and light conditions! What a difference, indeed ...

Yesterday we got about 1.5 in of snow (not counting the rain and sleet earlier) and these trusty, hardy crocus were keeping the shop closed for the day ... who could blame them? But bring out the sun on a warm day (it got up to 59) and it's a wholly different world among the crocus, and a lot brighter too!

I took the top shot at about 5:15 (CDT), just after work when the sun came out in earnest (after appearing off and on during the day) and I had to take the new S700 out for another spin. I was really pleased with most of the shots I got, many of which will soon be appearing here ... I can see I've still got a ton of learning to do with this camera! The S700 has a lot of what Fuji calls "scene positions" geared toward certain subjects and lighting conditions, as well as an automatic super macro setting. I'm going to experiment, of course, but I think I may end up using this setting a lot ....

Fernymoss took the other two shots yesterday at about 5:45 (CDT), just as the day's snow was beginning to melt already. The second shot not only centers on the rich purple of the crocus, but also provides a good perspective of the (original) bulb bed out front. The third gives us a slightly closer view and really draws attention to the water droplets and snow.

Now I'm really beginning to get excited about the arrival of the flowers, as well as the new S700, which you can be sure will be getting lots of use as the seasons progress. (We'll see where my learning curve has gone by fall!)

Snowy Miniature Iris

These ultra diminutive and lovely miniature Iris are extremely transitory bloomers (a flower may last up to three days at best) and don't seem to last long in the larger garden scheme of things either. But when they do deign to appear among the other spring bulbs, they sure manage to steal the show from the crocus, even if briefly.

We originally planted about twenty or so bulbs about six or seven years ago, and the two or three that come up in the back corner garden are the only survivors. In the other areas where we had them planted, they came up for a couple of years and then vanished, so we kind of wrote them off as short lived. So we're always pleasantly surprised when they do make an appearance! They are truly gems among the early spring bloomers ...

I'm beginning to think we should perhaps give them another chance and plant some more in the fall ... we're already dreaming of planting as many crocus as we can afford, along with two or three more Dragon Arums, as well as more snowdrops. We think we can find lots of spaces for small bulbs like these (in the yard and parking), whereas honestly, we probably won't have the oomph or ambition to undertake another couple hundred tulips and daffodils like we did in 2005! That was a huge undertaking of planting some 200 tulips, 200 daffodils, 100 Spanish Squill, 50 Muscari and numerous other smaller bulbs (including some crocus previously featured here). Neither of us is ready to do that again any time soon, but on the other hand we just can't get enough of these spring beauties ....

As you can see, there's snow on the ground and flower. Today started off gloomy, with occasional rain, then went downhill from there ... by early afternoon it was a cold, steady rain that eventually progressed into full on snow showers in earnest, accumulating quickly on the yard and garden, but sparing the streets and sidewalks. (We'd love to put that snow shovel away!) Hello, weather! Take the hint from the flowers and get this Spring rolling along ....

Photos taken 3 April, 2008 by Fernymoss, using the new Fuji S700. This photo was reduced by about half from its original size to make it manageable for posting ...

Shades of Yellow!

I stopped by Olivia's place earlier and discovered she beat me to the yellow factor for the day. Not that I had to counter or compete or anything, but I've had these shots in the can (so to speak) for a few days, but just haven't gotten them up yet. (Something about the arrival of the S700 slowed me down...)

Anyway, here are some more examples of the early "snow" crocus we have planted in various spots around the yard and garden. The first shot is a small clump of what I call "Butter Crocus" for obvious reasons ... they were part of a mix we planted back in 2005 during the massive bulb planting. These particular ones are along the sidewalk, along with some Grape Hyacinths and Spanish Squill ... at this point only the crocus are blooming but the Grape Hyacinths are up, and the Squill will come along a bit later (they're one of the last bulbs to bloom in the spring).

The second shot is the same variety that I first posted recently ... Golden Snow Crocus is what I call them, because I've long since forgotten the specific variety. This humble little clump is apparently the same variety, only it has moved out into the yard a bit, actually a good distance from the parent bulbs. I'm always delighted to discover little clumps of flowers that have moved around in the garden (can't wait for the Siberian Squill to show up soon!). To me, that's a sure sign they're doing well and like growing here. Good!

Finally, some more of the "Golden" variety planted in the original bulb bed, which is now filling in rapidly with more emerging crocus (including some of the Dutch Giants), daffodils and tulips. These aren't far from the Snowdrops I posted the other day, just to provide a bit of context. Even though the weather has been a bit on the too chilly side the last few days (especially Monday), things are still breaking ground and getting ready for their spring début ... I noticed that the two plantings I have of the dwarf tulips (in the big boulder bed) are already up as well ... still no sign of the big Hyacinths though ... hope to see those soon!

Photos taken with the Fuji 2650 on 29 March, 2008.

P.S. I just got my copy of Sweeney Todd today (along with my 2GB memory card for the S700) and we watched it in awe tonight. Wow, whatta musical! Of course I think Tim Burton has always had that in him (think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), but he really pushed the proverbial envelope in this one! Definitely not for the squeamish, but it's bloody good fun with an impeccable cast led by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat and Ali G) even has a short, but incredibly fun turn as a poisonously unctuous rival barber. Alan Rickman (Prof. Snape from the Harry Potter films) also really shines as the villain who instigates the whole revenge plot enacted by Sweeney. If you're a fan of either Burton or Stephen Sondheim, you won't be disappointed by this film ... great singing, a little dancing, and a lot of gore. What more could you ask for?

Pensive Lurker

More experimentation with the S700, as I start to get a little more comfortable with it ... I think the learning curve is going to be a challenge for while, but so far I'm having fun in my spare moments.

This is a shot I took of Rolly "lurking" in the hallway today, just outside my home office door. Both versions are cropped from the original, though by both of us. Fernymoss went for the more contextual frame, whereas I was looking to achieve a purely profile look.

Even though I was experimenting a bit, the idea behind this shot was to capture Rolly in his "lurking" mode ... for those who may not know him, Rolly is a regal dog's dog in his "twilight time" of life ... he turned 16 last November, and he has his good days and bad days now. At this point, he's pretty much deaf and has some difficulty with making his back legs do what he tells them to do ... But on the positive side, he's still interested in what's going on (when he's not snoozing, which he does a lot, lol) and has an appetite that would put a puppy to shame. He does a lot of "lurking" these days, peering around doorways and just generally making sure he knows what's going on around him ... he's always been able to stare down the most resolute and usually win. We used to refer to him jokingly as "Ole Laser Eye" when he would stare us down from the other room ... these days though, we fondly call him "Lurky" when we see him peering around corners ... from the kitchen, into the bedroom, from the dining room ... making it really hard to imagine what's going through his mind.

He sure can strike a pensive pose though, can't he?

Photo taken 1 April, 2008 with the S700. There's a good degree of zoom on this one, and in the natural light setting.

New Cam On the Block

Well folks, the bigger, badder Fuji S700 arrived today, and as I noted in the previous post, I'm just getting familiar with its most basic features! But I don't want to spend this quick post rattling off all its prowess ... in fact I'd rather sing the praises of its older and smaller cousin the Finepix 2650.

The 2650 was my introduction to digital photography and it has done some amazing work for me over the past five years. For a mere P&S of 2 measly mega pixels, it has outperformed a lot of other cameras I've seen, thus making me a confirmed fan of Fuji cameras.

This little camera has really been a trooper over the years, and has survived bad weather of all sorts, drops and many other adverse conditions with nary a complaint. To be honest, I'm a bit wistful to put it aside in semi-retirement ... This was the camera that finally brought the joys of profligate photography to me, because up until the point I got the 2650, I had always thought of photography as something that was just too expensive for my admittedly modest means. This little camera blew that notion right out of my head and opened up a whole new world of experimentation with what I could do with a good quality basic digital camera. It has taken literally thousands of (mostly good to amazing) shots of all sorts of subjects, but has really excelled in macro mode capturing the diverse flowers we have planted all over the garden. This blog is a testimonial to what it can do, because everything here was taken with the 2650 since the very beginning.

As you can see in these photos, neither camera is really big, and even the S700, though larger, is relatively compact (thus the smell phone prop up for comparison). As for the 2650, I'm not sure right now what I'll do with it ... I could sell it for a fraction of what it cost, or I could pass it on to another novice photographer (what I'd prefer) who wants to get a start in the digital realm. Admittedly, it has gotten a bit quirky in its "old age," but I think it still has a lot of life in it for the right person ... then again I might just hang on to it and use it in situations where I care less about the fancy features and just want to take snapshots ... I'm truly undecided at this point, because this little guy has been way too good to me over the years, and I have a somewhat emotional attachment to it.

I guess you never forget your first digital camera, eh? I'll always think fondly of the 2650, no matter what! (Want to guess which camera took which pic?)

Purple Crocus

I thought I'd turn attention tonight to some of the other crocus just getting going out front (these are in the original bulb bed). I don't know the proper name of this particular variety because, like many of the original bulbs we planted, they were part of a mix. But whatever they are, I always look forward to these particular ones to step in and deliciously complement the masses of yellow we have elsewhere in the bed.

As I've said in previous posts, these recent pictures are but the first of the crocus to bloom this year, and there are a lot more just breaking the ground at this point. And as soon as we can get through this odd stretch of one or two nice days, then three or four dreary, chilly days, then we should start seeing even more members of the bulb community start strutting their stuff out front!

Photos taken 29, March 2008 with the Fuji Finepix 2650

At this point I should note that I'll be transitioning from the trusty 2650 to a brand new Fuji S700 that just arrived today. The 2650 has served me admirably over the past five years, but I've eventually outgrown it, and lately it has been acting bit on the eccentric side, so I decided that with an imminent tax refund, I could finally afford something better. And after having played with the S700 a bit after work today, I can already see that I have a much more powerful and flexible camera on my hands ... once I figure out how everything works! At any rate, you'll start seeing its work here soon ...

Galanthus Encore

We're still seeing some new snowdrops popping up in places, though in another week or two, they'll have likely disappeared until next year ... such is the garden fate of one of its earliest late winter arrivals. But we do treasure them for their brief reign over the still messy garden littered with leaf cover, from which they have little problem (if any) just punching their way through when they're ready!

These two little clumps are near the front of our original bulb bed we started out front years ago, and if we can get ambitious enough this season, we'd like to to totally overhaul it and build it up. But it all remains to be seen, because this particular bed is just loaded with small bulbs (crocus and galanthus), tulips and daffodils and a few stray fritillarias. In the first shot, if you look closely you can see even more crocus poking through the leaves on their way to their place in the newly warming Spring sun.

I consider the second shot a fortuitous mise en scène of these little plants emerging from their winter den ... I can almost see the nest where they spent their winter's nap below them, and it's as if they all woke up at different times and are arising from the darkness where they slept .... But alas, their waking period is oh too brief, and they'll soon hibernate again until the right moment again next Spring. To me, that's one of the most magical aspects of the spring bulbs ... they provide so much beauty and wonderment during their relatively brief appearances, only to vanish until the following year. When I think about it, it's a lot like Morel season ... it's brief, sweet and oh so delicious, but oh so short ... always leaving us wanting more.

Photos taken 29 March, 2008
Fuji Finepix 2650 -- soon to be replaced by the bigger, badder Fuji S700!
More to come ...

A Start on the Front Garden

Here's a shot taken of the front bed after we'd had enough of three hours of intensive work cleaning up out front on Saturday. It still looks pretty barren and brown right now, but if you're willing to spend the time examining it, you'll see there's a lot coming up here, especially the spring bulbs! How many can you pick out from this shot?

At least the snow is finally gone (we hope) and the greening of Casa IVG has finally begun this cycle. Keep this view in mind, as I'll update it periodically as the season progresses ... barring any harsh returns to winter, it's looking to be a spectacular spring show this year!

Life Stirs in the Post Winter Detritus

I discovered this fuzzy little guy Saturday afternoon while clearing out a bunch of last year's growth in the front garden. This woolly bear caterpillar, aka 'Isabella Tiger Moth' or Pyrrharctia isabella, was just snoozing undercover until I disturbed his long winter's nap. At first he was all curled up until I fired up the camera and then he apparently figured he'd been 'outed' so to speak. So I was lucky enough to get three quick shots as he headed off to better protection ... I deliberately left a bunch of leaf cover there for him to finish his winter's nap, because it's hard for me to resist these fuzzy little caterpillars I remember fondly from my childhood, when I used to delight in letting them crawl over my hand.

According to the Wiki entry, they're pretty benign caterpillars, dining primarily on grass and weeds, so I said, hey! Send me a couple hundred of them in the front garden, and they'll help get rid of some of the pests we have to deal with every year! I'm just glad they apparently don't target ornamentals ... so the more the merrier I say. The moth they eventually metamorphose into isn't particularly spectacular, but now that I've seen one (see Wiki), I recognize that we always have a lot of them around in the summer months when they lay their eggs, which then hatch into these caterpillars in late summer. Apparently they spend the winter hiding out in the caterpillar form, and then proceed with the rest of their transformation in spring. So, as far as we're concerned, this little guy is given free rein to dine to his heart's content in the front garden until ready to go through the inevitable change ... And when we see the Tiger Moths in the garden later in the summer, I'm sure we'll wonder which one of them was the little guy I so rudely woke up in the spring!

A Rude Reminder

We awoke early this morning to a surprising sound ... thunder! At the time I thought, oh, that rain that was supposed to come through finally made it here, then I laid back for a bit (it was well before the alarm would be going off), pulled the covers up a bit and snuggled back in with Pepa. Then the second round of thunder came through ... what had been some initial rumbles that woke me had now turned into some rip snorters that managed to rattle the windows as I heard a noisy rain coming down outside. After a pleasant, sunny high of 55 on Wednesday, it seemed to be just a comforting return of early Spring thunderstorms, something we always look forward to in this season.

Then, as it always does, the alarm went off and after the usual ritual of hitting the snooze button a few times, I got up to go downstairs, take Pepa and Rolly out and get my first cup of coffee (man, do I love that programmable KitchenAid coffee maker!). As I opened the window shades on my way I had a rude reminder that winter doesn't seem done with us yet! There was snow and accumulated sleet (and perhaps even a bit of small hail) in the drive and the ground was quickly becoming covered with a light layer of snow! UGH, I thought ... just when things had been looking more spring-like of late, here it was again. Needless to say, that realization didn't exactly put me in the cheeriest mood to start the day. It was one of those late winter, early Spring days filled with grey skies and chilly temperatures (I think it eventually made it up to about 35F) when you just want to stay in bed and ignore the nasty weather outside, but such was not my lot (as it always is!).

One of those days when something was constantly coming down ... sleet, rain, snow and no sun to be seen. Those kinds of days when I would love to just be a dog for the day and spend my time curled up in a warm blanket snoozing away the hours. Well, Pepa and Rolly certainly had that kind of day, making me somewhat envious that I couldn't just go back to bed and take a nap. By the end of the afternoon, the snow intensified significantly, right about rush hour (as it frequently does) and from about 4:00 to 7:00 we had a dandy snow going on outside. Fortunately, it wasn't accumulating much on the streets or sidewalks and only the grassy areas let on that it had been snowing today. The brave early bulbs (snowdrops and crocus) were definitely taking today off, and the crocus in particular had closed up tightly, hoping for better days to come, I'm sure.

I suppose it had to happen. There's a bit of folk wisdom here in Des Moines, that during the state high school basketball tournaments (which actually happened earlier this month) the tradition is for one last blizzardly blast of snow to arrive. Well, we thought we had dodged the bullet this year (after all we did end up having the 5th snowiest winter on record), but Mother Nature decided to remind us that warmer weather and sunshine are still on the horizon ... oh so out of immediate reach, yet inevitable. Just. Not. Today. But soon! Believe me, we are sooo ready for that day!

So, I didn't achieve my dog's life fantasy after all, but at least our furry loves (thx Olivia for the term) were able to profit from it. I took the picture of Pepa (above) late last night as she was happily snoozing away in her new favorite chair (the blanket is a big draw for her). I think a lot of us say we envy the dog's life for its relaxed and carefree pace. But it's worth considering that our perceptions of what it must be like may not necessarily coincide with our dogs' perceptions. And as if we needed more proof, I'll conclude by including a link to a wonderful short film that Olivia sent me last weekend. It's called Dog Years, and is an instructive reminder of what our furry loves might be thinking. Check it out, it's a good little film. Maybe I would have felt this way today if I had had my dog's life fantasy after all.

Late Afternoon Crocus Glow

This little patch of Golden Snow Crocus has been happily naturalizing over the past two or three years, the result of me having had a few extras who needed a home when we planted them a few years ago ... so I just popped them into some of the grass along the sidewalk and just let them go. I think I only originally planted two or three bulbs and now look at them! So far this Spring I've noticed that the crocus already up and blooming have definitely increased their areal coverage since last year, precisely what we intended all along. And if I had my way, I'd buy hundreds of these tough little bulbs and let them take over the entire yard, along with the Siberian Squill (yet to appear), hoping to eventually carpet the everything with a bright spring show of gold and blue ... ah, a guy can dream can't he?

Stay tuned for more crocus to come ... I noticed today that the first of the purples have opened, but by the time I got out in late afternoon, they had closed up shop for the day, just as these golden ones were in the process of closing when I finally got out at about 5:30 or so ... finally, the benefit of the longer days (and daylight savings time) is starting to pay dividends!

Photo taken 25 March, 2008

Yippee! The Snowdrops Finally Appear!

We've been waiting for over a month now to see the Snowdrops emerge ... telling ourselves that this is the latest we've ever seen them ... Well, I was curious about last year's arrival date, so I went back to the archives and found this post. Looks like we were getting impatient last year too! But, after what has seemed to be an interminable winter, the Galanthus elwesii have finally broken ground ... now we know that winter is on its inevitable way out ....

These photos show a nice little patch that has been naturalizing in the back corner garden, along with the yellow crocus featured in the previous post. We're of the mind that you can never have too many Snowdrops or Crocus in the garden ... they both naturalize freely in the garden and don't mind breaking through the winter dead vegetation and leaf cover, oftentimes literally spearing their way through to announce themselves, and with that the definitive arrival of the Spring bulb season.

I was out this afternoon after work getting some late day shots of some of the crocus out front and I noticed that lots of other bulbs are breaking ground ... tulips, daffodils and even more crocus are on their way to join the show! I'll be featuring them here (as usual) as they come into bloom, so there's lots more to look forward to in the next few weeks ...

Photos taken 21 March, 2008

Whispers of Spring (Finally!)

With the snow at last receding with this more than welcome (hopefully not brief) respite from winter, things are (finally) starting to pop up in the yard and garden! We've been done with snow for quite some time and have been waiting impatiently for these little guys to break ground. And with the warmer temperatures for a few days at a time recently, the snow cover is almost gone and the gems of spring are kicking off the annual cycle in the garden.

So here you have the first crocus to emerge at Casa IVG this spring ... not even open yet but already brightening the landscape and spirits in this house and garden. Soon the other (early and giant) crocus will burst on the scene, along with the Siberian Squill, Glory of the Snow, Hyacinths, Tulips and Daffodils and more ... Signs like these are really what seal the end of winter (proper) for me, and I'm sure many other gardeners ... I know of at least a (large) few right now ....

Photos taken 20 March, 2008 at about 5:15 p.m. CDT

More to come ...

Wisconsin Primary Musings

We're back in the deep freeze again tonight, with temperatures forecast to go down to -5 to -10 degrees (F), with windchills approaching the -20 to -30 range. Ah, February in Iowa ... nothing like it (unless you're my buddy NDD in ND who's reporting even nastier cold, so he gets the bragging rights), although that's a dubious distinction at best!

Anyway ...

Political junkie that I am, of course I was glued to MSNBC tonight for their coverage of the Wisconsin primary. Not just because I'm intensely engaged in this nomination battle (I now have a designated 'horse in this race'), but because I spent eight years of my life in graduate school in one of our finest upper midwest deep freeze states. The people of Wisconsin are great folks ... typical friendly hard-working Upper Midwesterners who are generally open-minded and trending even more progressive in recent years. (However, let's not forget it's the home state of both 'Fighting Bob' LaFollette, the legendary early 20th century Progressive, but also one of the most ignominious Senators of the 20th century, the loathsome Joe McCarthy. As an aside, one of my goals in life is to make a pilgrimage to his grave and piss copiously on it. I know, that's a bit disrespectful, but that's a minor punishment for the damage he inflicted on this country in the 1950's.)

As it stands as of this writing, with 97% of precincts reporting, Obama leads Clinton with a 17% margin ... 58% to 41%. Yes, it's a clearly defined win, but I'd go a bit further and even say that Obama handed Clinton her ass tonight. Now, you might object by saying 'Oh it was just 17%, that's no blowout, but it is a win,' which is what I expect will soon be the spin from the Clinton campaign (just like that pronouncement about 'insignificant states' last week). No, I'm not basing my judgment on the hard numbers of primary results reported alone, because when you look at the internals of the exit polls, some remarkable numbers begin to emerge.

I know exit polls are much maligned by many, but they do provide some valuable indicators about the candidates if you take the time to read the internals and look at the numbers. I just spent some time looking at the internals that MSNBC has so kindly provided. If you take the time to work through them all, you can only conclude that Obama clearly has the edge in broad appeal among this year's electorate. If we can even dare say that the people have spoken this year, it's clear that they're shouting OBAMA! Granted, I've had my doubts about him all along, but at this point in the race, I still feel he's the clear choice among Democrats. We need to win this year. Otherwise, I fear our fragile 'Democracy' is doomed with all the erosion of basic rights and constitutional violations perpetrated by the Cheney/Shrub administration. I've felt for several years that a Clinton nomination was the best way for the ReSkunklicans to steal another election, and frankly, I'm having none of it.

A couple of side notes from Obama's speech tonight:
He promises to close Guantánamo.
He promises to restore Habeus Corpus.

That's good enough for me.

Ok, about those internals ...
(Overall percentage of voters/Clinton/Obama/"Uninstructed")
Obama is split 50-50 among women.

Male	42	31	67	0
Female	58	50	50	0

Obama takes the White Male vote 63% to 34%

White men	37	34	63	0
White women	50	52	47	0
Black men	4	-	-	-
Black women	4	-	-	-
Latino men	2	-	-	-
Latino women	2	-	-	-
All other races	1	-	-	-

Obama takes the overall White vote 54% to 45%

White	87	45	54	0
Black	8	8	91	0
Hispanic / Latino	4	-	-	-
Asian	1	-	-	-
Other	0	-	-	-

(No surprise) Obama takes the black vote 91% to 8%

Clinton takes the over 65 vote handily 58% to 41%, but that hardly seems like a surprise to me. Maybe her new ads need to emphasize the 'blue hairs for Hillary!' stat?

18-24	9	26	73	1
25-29	7	26	66	-
30-39	12	37	63	-
40-49	21	39	61	0
50-64	31	44	55	0
65 or over	20	58	41	-

In all income brackets from $15,000 to 150,000, Obama takes them all handily.

Under $15,000	7	-	-	-
$15,000 - $29,999	12	46	52	-
$30,000 - $49,999	21	44	56	-
$50,000 - $74,999	25	42	57	-
$75,000 - $99,999	15	34	64	1
$100,000 - $149,999	13	35	65	-
$150,000 - $199,999	4	-	-	-
$200,000 or more	3	-	-	-

In all education brackets, Obama again takes them all.

Did not complete high school	4	-	-	-
High school graduate	24	47	51	0
Some college or associate degree	31	40	60	-
College graduate	23	41	59	0
Postgraduate study	19	36	61	0

Among College Non-College educated, Obama also wins hands down.

No college degree	58	43	56	0
College graduate	42	39	60	0

With regard to political leanings, Obama also wins the day. Pay particular attention to those who self-identify themselves as 'Somewhat Conservative':

Very liberal	16	40	56	0
Somewhat liberal	30	42	56	0
Moderate	40	41	58	0
Somewhat conservative	11	38	62	-
Very conservative	3	-	-	-

Only with regard to the Catholic vote does Obama split even with Clinton.

Protestant	23	41	59	-
Catholic	39	50	50	0
Mormon / LDS	0	-	-	-
Other Christian	18	33	66	-
Jewish	1	-	-	-
Muslim	0	-	-	-
Something else	7	-	-	-
None	12	36	61	0

And in the issues cited by voters as most important, Obama clearly bitch slaps Clinton.

The economy	45	41	57	0
The war in Iraq	26	39	60	0
Health care	26	46	54	-

As for the "Change" theme, Obama clearly has the upper hand (is this a surprise to anyone?)

Can bring about needed change	54	22	77	0
Cares about people like me	16	43	55	-
Has the right experience	22	95	5	-
Has the best chance to win in November	7	-	-	-

There's a lot more interesting results in these internals, but these were some of the demographics I found the most revealing in the Wisconsin primary. When you get down to the stats on who voted for whom, the results are pretty apparent, so I'll just skip those. Follow the link if you're really interested.

My conclusion about the Wisconsin primary? For a white bread upper Midwest state, these results are pretty impressive. If Obama's momentum keeps winning the day, I'm cautiously optimistic we have a historic winner on our hands. I guess we'll get a better idea come March 4, particularly in Ohio and (le maudit!) Texas.

I, for one, am hoping that dynastic politics loses big time this year. I used to greatly admire the Clintons, but this campaign has brought out their worst tendencies. Their time is past. Face up to it Bill and Hillary. Either go out gracefully and with a little bit of class or be consigned to the lake of fire and go down in flames!

I Still Miss Molly Ivins

I wanted to post something tonight because the itch to write has returned a bit recently and needs to be scratched. But, being (putting it mildly) disheartened by our continuing string of snow and ice storms, I wasn't coming up with much.

Happily, as I was re-organizing my bookmarks tonight (almost as chaotic as the house in general!), I ran across a link to a 'posthumous' column by probably my all time favorite political commentator, Molly Ivins (who alas, died in January, 2007). For those of you who might not be familiar with her writing, she was the longtime editor of Texas Observer, many books, perhaps most notably Shrub (wherein she tried to warn the nation) ... widely syndicated in various publications around the country, and she also had a considerable presence online. If you have the slightest populist or progressive political leanings, it's likely you've read Molly. So, if you have read her, you know already what a brilliant brew she could concoct, full of acerbic humour, incisive political analysis, yet tempered with an unending well of warmth and pure humanity. If I could ever write as concisely and powerfully as Molly, I'd let myself believe I had truly accomplished something remarkable.

So, back to that 'posthumous column.' A few weeks ago while chatting with NDD, he passed this link along (yay!), which I now want to share with you, in case you're interested ... Here are the first three paragraphs:

I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.

Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges.

The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning, so now I have to re-learn it. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times. There are times a country is so tired of bull that only the truth can provide relief.

Link to the full column here.

In what I envision as an ideal, politically aware world, I'd like for any undecided Democratic (or leaning) voters in states yet to vote (Wisconsin I'm thinking of you, for obvious nostalgic reasons! Go Madison! I know you can!) to read her last missive, which (apparently was written before the 2006 elections) presents her cogent, clearly delineated argument about who you should not cast your vote. And with our present choices narrowed down to two choices (FSM bless you, John Edwards, Chris Dodd and Dennis Kucinich!), time is running short to make the right decision this year.

As I size it up (in my humble, political junkie way) now, the only chance we still have for the potential of a truly transformational shift in our political landscape is to cast the die with Barack Obama. And he does appear to be on a winning streak lately, and I've been cheering him on, now that I no longer have the Edwards choice .... I knew that this year would be tumultuous and most likely nasty.

It's not over yet, and in fact it's relatively early in the 'game.' We have a lot of ugliness yet to face before the big day in November. But I do hope that by putting Obama out front as the nominee, we might still have some reason for cautious optimism.

As I've said frequently to Fernymoss since the Caucus in January, if you imagine Obama next to McCain --even knowing nothing about them-- who would you tend to want to vote for? As Jon Stewart might opine ... between bat-shit crazy old warmonger guy and energetic younger black dude? To me, the choice is a no-brainer.

I bet if Molly were still around she'd take Obama to task, but still give him a big benefit of the doubt. Hope I got that right, Molly. If not, bitch slap me from the beyond!

Of Leather and Sleeping Dogs ...

Constant flux in our living room configuration is now again at play at Casa IVG. In fact the whole house is in flux, as my job is going to a virtual office, so I have to be set up at home to do everything I did in the office ... it's been a bit daunting and I'm nowhere near done or happy with the space at present. But it's progressing --hey we have a wireless network set up now, even though it's incomplete one computer for a few days more-- and another week or so, it should be in more than workable shape.

So, what did I have to go out and do? The second picture explains that quite well without words.

Some of our nicest pieces of furniture have come from World Market (dining table, a CD cabinet and the media armoire and the other leather recliner 'Bruno.') ... so this recent sale was a bit hard to resist, seeing that we needed a new good chair anyway. (You might remember the other flux time when we were getting rid of all the old hand me down furniture ... we're not done yet and that loveseat is soon history!) Anyway, this new one -- 'Tosca,' companion to good old 'Bruno' that I got a few years ago -- is a fantastically comfy recliner, well worth its sale price.

Now, I know some people drop by to see the occasional shots of the dogs (usually snoozing these days), so the first picture is probably of greater interest ... Pepa took an almost immediate liking to the piece of foam packing material and proceeded to claim it for the night, snoozing happily. As always it's difficult to catch her in her absolute cutest moments (the camera's never handy!), this one shows pretty well how she and Rolly spent most of their Saturday night.

Oh yeah, another 6" of snow and some ice and slush came in overnight, so that's how Fernymoss spent most of the day digging us out of the latest big snow. So here we are again, with over a foot of snow cover ... don't think we'll see the snowdrops much before March now unless things warm up drastically, which is certainly not in the short term forecast. Nor the crocus ... nor the squill ... we're done with this winter! I guess it's still not done with us ....

Super Snowy Tuesday in Iowa

Well, wasn't Super Tuesday exciting? Not only did we have a slam bang (depends on your point of view, of course) night of Primary returns, we had the biggest snow of the winter so far here.

Official reports from the airport and local TV cited amounts ranging from 9" to 11" depending on the area of the city. Fernymoss, who spent most of his day off shoveling, estimates it's more on the 11-12" range at our house. And just looking out the windows tends to confirm that. From our living room windows on the north (the Woodland Garden area) the snow had drifted so high it almost reached the windows.

In the front garden (these shots were taken just to the left of our front steps) it had quite artistically arranged itself into cute little Coneflower caps (which Fernymoss captured during one of his stints shoveling). The snow was also piled so high and deep on the hollies that he needed to go knock the snow off, lest we have some branches break again, like they did during the big ice storm last March (the one that did in the truck, if you'll recall).

I've spent the last two days home sick with a nasty cold that came on Monday night and confirmed itself yesterday. I'd been able to stave off (via Zicam) the last couple of bugs, but this one was determined to make me miserable. And it did. Let's hope its residence is brief, because the coughing and sneezing has been wearing me out!

Nothing like a double whammy snowstorm and a cold to make one yearn even more for the temperate days of spring yet to come. The only consolation is that the bulbs won't get excited too soon about emerging this year, like they did last year ...

Endorsement from the Dead

I was particularly encouraged and amused to see this endorsement for Obama mentioned in The Nation yesterday by Ari Melber. And in the interests of full disclosure, I've been a long time Deadhead myself, though in recent years I've tended to listen to them less (the loss of Jerry Garcia in 1995 has a lot to do with that), they still remain one of the seminal rock bands in my life. I grew up with them rather late in the 1970's, but I followed them enthusiastically throughout the 1980's, attending all concerts I was near until about 1988, when I was finishing my PhD dissertation (which, unfortunately consumed most of my time for some odd reason).

No matter what you may think (or have thought) of the Grateful Dead, for them to come out at this time (granted it's only Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Billy Kreutzman and Bob Weir) is something that plays of value to this greying ex-hippie. I suspect it will have some marginal impact in California (at least in the Bay area) and that can only be a good thing. Anything that can help Obama whittle away at the Clintons' (the plural is deliberate) lead is encouraging.

To my knowledge, they have never endorsed a political candidate for President, and for the remaining (living) band members to do so now, seems to me to be a positive signal for a great number of potentially 'apolitical' voters to take pause. Maybe I'm ascribing too much to this, but I do think it will help galvanize some younger voters (who came too late to the party) to abandon the bongs for one day, load up their Ipods with US Blues and head out to vote. I doubt there's polling that could truly measure such a metric, but in my more optimistic moments, I'd like to think so.

So, I'm more than pleased that The Dead has come out and endorsed the last best hope for change in the Democratic Party and are throwing their support behind Barack Obama. Of course it remains to be seen whether their 'one time' reunion Monday night will have a real impact on the race in California, I want to believe that it will be yet another cog in the disparate elements of the Progressive community that will help propel Obama to the nomination. Of course we may be eventually disappointed in how it may all turn out in the general election, but for me, it is a more hopeful voter position than what we are faced with at this point. But I do think that Obama can bring more (yes, younger) voters into play this year than Clinton can, and faced with the options of John McCain (aka, Panderbear), can the electorate be that stupid in choosing the status quo? Yeah, I know it's happened before ... but this time around, when I have heard usual Republican voters express enthusiasm about Obama, can we really risk taking this chance? I'm not sure at this point, but I'm willing to give it a chance. Jeebus on the cross we had the idiocy to nominate John Kerry in 2004!

So... let's go full bore and go behind Obama now and take our chances between the flip-flopper panderbears Romney and McCain and 'let's all be a oh shucks Hucksterbee theocratic demolish the church/state barrier' and go for broke. I'm sorry, but the Hillary folks leave me cold. I didn't like how things worked out in the 1990's, so let's let this 'inexperienced' guy (BS alert!) give us our best shot against more war, more corruption and more redistribution of the wealth to the already filthy rich a decent chance! Go back to your sinecure in the Senate, Hillary and spare us the pandering and triangulation! I can tolerate you there (just barely), but at least we may have dodged the dynastic nature of what you and Bill (I used to like you, Bubba) are foisting off on us now.

We will see how it all turns out soon, but I'm hoping for the end of dynastic politics, no matter how it may turn out in the fall. I'd rather lose running Barack Obama (as much as I'd hate such a loss!) than the inevitable loss with a Clinton nominee. Ack, those were tough words to type, but it's the way I see it right now.