One Way Or Another (Previously Posted)

Tainted milk, lead paint on toys and now drywall from China. Who said anything about military might. A much better way to conquer a foe seems to involve an exchange of money. We send China money and they send us products that either kill, maim or require large expenditures of money to protect ourselves from them. Our consignment stores will no longer be allowed to sell used toys because they aren't able to afford to test each toy to declare them lead free. Consumers will have to pay top dollar for new toys that have been tested by a larger government regulatory agency. I don't know why I haven't heard about this story on the national news, but in our local community homeowners have had to move out of their homes because of a putrid odor and failed metal devices. It seems the cause of both of these is drywall from China. The sulfur compounds in the drywall cause copper piping to turn black and also to erode metal. Air conditioning units fail, parts (evaporator coils for example) are replaced, fail again, are replaced and fail again. Electrical wiring is also subject to this extreme failure. No one knows the long term health effects from the stench and the resulting respiratory distress. I guess sooner or later many government agencies are going to be involved in analyzing and describing all the effects of the drywall. Who knows what the cost of that will be. I suggest that we purchase all the drywall that China can produce and build houses in Iraq. At least then there will be weapons of mass destruction there.

The first sentence of an article in our local paper is "It's been a bad week to be a tractor in Manatee County." For real! I don't know anyone who has ever been a tractor.

I Promise I'll Be Good! (Previously Posted)

US District Judge Droney called Ronald Ferguson's "case a tragedy, especially for Ronald Ferguson." "We will never know why such a good man did such a bad thing." He had just been convicted of stealing more than $500,000,000. Maybe the judge just missed the point of the trial. He did order him to jail for 2 years and to pay back $200,000. That should teach him a lesson and all those others who would swindle innocent investors.

Sauerkraut Anyone? (Previously Posted)

Our local paper reported that Matthew Ruben was arrested for throwing a sandwich at his girlfriend. Wonder what kind?

Darwin Proved Wrong In Parrish, Florida (Previously Posted)

This actually happened in my community. Victim asked suspect if victim could sleep in car while parked at a residence. Victim goes to sleep. Suspect wakes victim up, demands money and states he has gun but did not show it. Victim ignores suspect. Suspect goes to trunk grabs shovel, strikes victim. Victim runs away. I am not sure who is to be pitied more - victim, suspect, or reporter who wrote this stupid article. I mean if you are going to detail a crime at least tell me whose car it was, whose residence, how long did the victim sleep and why if someone wakes you up and says he has a gun and wants money and then leaves and goes to the trunk, pulls out his keys and opens the trunk haven't you run away!

And Back To The Rare Fruit Growing (Previously Posted)

In the paper today was an article about oranges that I am sure my many readers are glad will bring me back to the purpose of my blog and that is talking about growing rare fruit. Many interesting orange (the fruit, not the color) facts were included in the article. It takes 47 citrus leaves to grow an orange. The life span of an average leaf is 2.5 years. If the leaves are too small to offer much help in growing they are "mouse ears". An orange tree that has few leaves is one that you can throw a cat through.
This is orange season here in Florida and I have many different varieties growing - hamlin orange, rhone red valencia orange, blood orange, semi-sweet orange, lee tangerine, orlando tangelo, dancy tangerine, ponkin tangerine, honey murcott tangerine, robinson tangerine, clementine, 2 unknown, 1 dead pineapple orange, a naval orange patio tree, and my favorite the page orange. The page is a cross between the minneola tangelo and the clementine mandarin. It was released in October of 1963. It is at its prime in November and should be easily pealed. Mine is perfect in mid-December this year. It has never been easy to peal. The skin holds tight to the fruit and by the time it is pealed you are a juicy mess. I prefer eating them right by the tree so I can leave my mess there. The page is only recommended for small plantings. The fruit can be small (see the tennis ball photo) and the quality is dependent on soil conditions. It is not recommended for planting in Texas or California.
Citrus can take a good amount of cold weather. Blood oranges need the cold to show their blood red color. The deadly threshold for citrus is a mark below 28 degrees for 4 or more hours. Growers have done away with smudge pots and fires for the most part in protecting their orchards. They spray a fine mist of water from a micro-jet at the base of the tree. The relatively warmer water gives just enough heat to create a bubble of safety.
The page orange is very sweet and extremely juicy. Its small size is just right for a quick snack. It has no seeds.

The Cost Of Free Trade (Previously Posted)

Apparently the cost of "free" trade is more than $430,000. This is the amount that Charlie Crist (the gov. of Florida) and his entourage spent on a 12 day trade mission to Europe. The good? thing is that the governors expenses were covered by the business executives that were also on the trip. Some of the executives were real estate agents, aviation industry execs, lawyers, lobbyists and some execs representing the sugar industry who are involved in negotiations to sell land to the state for $1.75 billion. Expenses included a London hotel suite for more than $2100 a night, a Paris suite at $1,385 a night, first class air travel at $8000 for a round trip, room service and minibar tabs of more than $1300, an upgraded ticket from $193 to $457 on a train so he could check in faster and wait in an executive lounge and $320 on fans to keep him cool while giving speeches. There were 65 executives on the trip, so each one paid $461.68 for Crist's expenses of $30,000. Crist's fiance and her sister went on the trip also and I don't know if their expenses are included in the $30,000 or if they were considered executives and therefore split his cost. Taxpayers did pay for more than 24 people to accompany Crist. These included a photographer, a spokeswoman, 4 aides, 2 agency heads and 9 bodyguards. Those who have travelled in foreign lands know that there are no police or private security agencies in those lands. More than 1/3 of the taxpayer expenses was spent by the bodyguards. Crist defended the trip by saying, "I think it's important to promote free trade."

Ride 'Em Cowboy (Previously Posted)

I saw the world's best bumper sticker on a truck at the Tractor Supply store yesterday. "A cowgirl wants more than an 8 second ride"