Macon County Chronicle - Opinion / Blogs

A great crop of garlic graces the garden shed. Tied in bunches and hung from nails in the rafters, it creates quit a sensation. Although the sight is on to behold, especially for garlic lovers, the aroma really stands out.

Each clove of garlic, sown in the fall, makes a bulb. They are planted six inches apart in rows 18 inches wide. A thick hay mulch is laid on over them immediately.

It was October when we planted the garlic patch, but I usually get them in during September. The beds received a healthy dose of compost and the soil was well pulverized. Only the biggest cloves from the best bulbs are used for seed, which insures the biggest and best harvest.

By July, we try to hang up the hoes and make much use of mulch. The benefits of mulching are similar to hoeing; it controls weeds and conserves moisture. But mulch has the added asset of bringing carbon into the garden.

During the Civil Rights years, a first-grade white girl met a black girl on school’s first day. Because of segregation, the white girl had not associated with black people. But things changed, and integration made both little girls afraid. When the white girl returned home after that historic day, she told her mother that she sat next to a black girl in school. Her mother was tensed, anticipating the worst. She asked her little girl what happened. The child said, “We were both so scared that we held hands all day.” The problems of our day would move toward resolution if we could learn from these little girls and hold hands rather than making fists.

Why is it that we throw rocks at each other? A few centuries before Christ, a Greek philosopher named Dion used an insightful image to teach a great truth. Here is the image as quoted by Dion in Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 14^th edition, page 104: “Though boys throw stones at frogs in sport, the frogs do not die in sport, but in earnest.”

Here is the scene, visualize it. Boys are playing on the bank of a pond when suddenly they spot some frogs on a cluster of lily pads. They immediately fill their hands with rocks, taking aim at the frogs. Some dive for safety. Others are hit and die a painful death.

Farms are for people. Soils, plants and animals all play their role in agriculture, but the human social aspect is at the heart of it. The farm offers a safe place to live in freedom, experience nature and develop responsibility. The welfare system which takes care of some people’s needs was not necessary in a farm economy. Farms are the real welfare.

Before I wrote the word “welfare” I had to look it up in the dictionary. It has certain negative connotations, but this is what Webster’s says; Welfare 1. The exemption from misfortune, sickness, calamity, or evil, the enjoyment of health and the common blessings of life; prosperity; happiness; well-being. 2. A blessing.

“I have a mountain of credit card debt,” one man told another.

“I have lost my job. My car is being repossessed and our house is in foreclosure, but I am not worried about it,” exclaimed his friend. “I’ve hired a professional worrier. He does all my worrying for me, and that way I don’t have to think about it.”

“That’s fantastic! How much does your professional worrier charge for his services?

“$50,000 a year,” he replied.

“$50,000 a year! Where are you going to get that kind of money?”

“I don’t know,” came the reply. “That’s his worry.”

(Contributed by Mike Benson; found online.)

Most of us can’t say, “I don’t worry,” for we do. But according to Jesus, worry is senseless: “ Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” –Mathew 6:2

The subsoiler breaks up the hard packed soil that lies beneath the surface. It’s shaft is two feet long and the shoe is two inches wide. When I decided to try to reclaim the flood damage fields, subsoiling seemed appropriate.

First of all I had to remove rocks, fill in holes and even out the land. Driveways got graveled and rock piles were formed. We picked up sticks, and logs, and sis a bit of fence repair. The soil was hard.

The following human interest story is about the struggles and hopes of Danny McCaleb. I had Danny in school at RBS High School during the late 70s and into 1980. He was a joy to be around, and that hasn’t changed. Danny grew up, like most of us, in the 50s and 60s, without many material goods, but he never stopped reaching for the stars.

There has been a lot of hoeing going on around here. Miles of rows have been planted, and the inevitable weeds are sprouting along with the crops. It is important to loosen up the earth next to the emerging seedlings so they can breathe.

Short chipping motions cut the soil up and a quick pull though the chipped soil shatters the small clumps. I like it a little moist so the penetration is easier, but it can’t be wet because it will form clods rather than break apart.

I try never to get into fights with ugly people because they have nothing to lose. The truth always engenders wrath in the hearts of the ill-informed and the dishonest. This is the case because of men’s negative response to the truth. The same truth that makes some angry, blesses others. It just depends upon how truth is received. The three statements below are true, regardless of man’s response to them:

The greatest danger facing Americans is the intellectual zealot – sometimes called a “progressive” in the political arena – who seeks to establish a new international order.

I have always believed that the United States is the greatest nation upon earth and has no reason to be annexed to the rest of the world to survive. Those who want a new international order want a world government and a world religion, plus the right to make decisions for the rest of us, whom they view as incapable of making our own decisions.

Plowing and harrowing leaves the soil fully pulverized, soft and fluffy. Even after a rainstorm the tilthe will remain loose and mellow. If it gets hard, the organic matter is too low and there is nothing to fluff up. If the percentage of organic matter is high (4 to %%), a lack of biological activity is indicated.

No person or group has ever worn the badge of hypocrisy with greater pride than the Pharisees and Sadducees of the New Testament times. They managed to “corner the market” on this despicable inconsistency. They worked overtime to keep their pet sin alive. Most people couldn’t stand to see them coming, much less to grace their presence. They were both tolerated and despised.

Oh really? Do people go as they are to eat out? Do people go as they are to their physician? Do people go as they are to meet some prominent politician? How come a politician is more important than God?

A harrow is the implement we use after plowing to break up clods, level the field and prepare a seedbed. There are several different kinds of harrows. Which one to use depends on the soil type, and the specific goal to be accomplished, and what you have.

Farmers gamble. I’ve known that one day the Long hungry would rise up into our lower garden. For 14 years we have been blessed. No, I wasn’t surprised, or even sad, when four feet of water rushed over the carrots and peas.

It was beautiful, with class three rapids, waves jumping several feet, and the powerful roar. It was simply awesome. The cave filled up to the second shelves, and I thought of all the times the floor was full of lettuce, cucumbers and green beans.

We feel grateful and lucky. No one was hurt, and it is only the beginning of May. In another week I would have had another acre planted that would have been destroyed. All of my seeds are safe and dry in the cabin.

A preacher began his sermon by saying, “Brethren and sisters, here you are, coming to pray for rain. I’d just like to ask you one question. Where are your umbrellas?”

Today’s Americans, including some who have embraced Christianity, could very well be asked, “Where is your faith?”

I found the following little poem in my files (the author is unknown).

Doubt sees the obstacles –

Faith sees the way!

Doubt sees the darkest night –

Faith sees the day!

Doubt dreads to take a step –

Faith soars on high!

Doubt questions, “Who believes?”

Faith answers, “I.”

The above shows us the difference between doubt and faith. Some doubt whether America will survive as a nation. Well, that depends, doesn’t it? Here is the answer: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord...” (Psalm 33:12)

One would have to have his head in the sand not to take note of how much the news media slants stories. If you are pro-abortion, you are called pro-choice. If you are pro-life, and I am, you are called anti-abortion. Then the unborn baby is called a fetus. Abortion is called a medical procedure. As far as the truth is concerned, the news media is worthless. The news media is liberal, and stops just short of lying in reporting the news. Slanting the news is their game.

April is the month of planting the spring garden. Onions go in first, and then potatoes. These are the two crops that the king’s deer don’t eat, so we don’t have to plant them inside the deer fence. All other vegetables and fruits can be destroyed if unprotected.