Archive for September 2008

Alone or lonely? There is a difference

Sep 30th, 2008 | By Fritz Nordengren

Thomas Sander, in his Social Capitol blog, has a great link to a book and Boston Globe interview with the author of a new book on loneliness in America.  The book, written by John Cacioppo, is titled Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection . The blog makes this highlight points about the
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Gardening question: Cucumbers

Sep 29th, 2008 | By Fritz Nordengren

Why won’t my cucumber plants produce fruits?
You may just need to be patient. Cucumbers, like squash, pumpkins, watermelons, cantaloupes, and many other plants, produce male and female flowers separately on the same plant. They often begin producing male flowers several weeks before the females appear. The males make pollen and are necessary, but they do
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Accidental orchard yields fall apples

Sep 27th, 2008 | By Fritz Nordengren
Accidental orchard yields fall apples

While walking Two Mile Ranch today, I worked my way to the far east fence, then walked the county, grade B (as in “barely graded”) road that is the south border of the ranch.  I know I’ve walked this road every week that I’ve lived here, but I must not have done this often in
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Five things you should know about living in solitude

Sep 25th, 2008 | By Fritz Nordengren
Five things you should know about living in solitude

Our friends over at Wise Bread post they wish to redefine retirement.  They write (formatting theirs)
Retirement [ri-tahyuhr-muhnt]: The act of retiring or the state of being retired; removal or withdrawal from service, office, or business.
You go to school.
You get a good job/career.
You work for forty years or so.
In the meantime, you find a soul
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Gardening Question: Fruit tree production

Sep 22nd, 2008 | By Fritz Nordengren

Why does my cherry tree bear wonderful fruit one year and nothing the next?
As a general rule, a fruit tree’s production depends on the overall health of the tree, its environment, its fruiting habit, the variety, the rootstock, adequate pollination, and good cultural practices. If just one of these conditions is off, the annual yield
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Autumn 2008

Sep 21st, 2008 | By Fritz Nordengren
Autumn 2008

September 22 marks the autumnal equinox – the beginning of fall or autumn, depending on where you grew up.
There are several ideas of autumn: there is the astronomical notion, the time when the sun is aligned over the equator, typically on the 22 or 23rd of September each year.  There is the meterological autumn, which
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Discovering your voice

Sep 18th, 2008 | By Fritz Nordengren
Discovering your voice

As a media producer, I’ve spent a great deal of time helping other creative people “find their voice”.  I work to refine my own as well, but finding your voice is a freeing moment in creativity.  It’s the moment when, as a scholar, as a photographer, as a designer, and an author, you find the
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Radar Love? Here’s a software tool for weather radar

Sep 14th, 2008 | By Fritz Nordengren
Radar Love? Here’s a software tool for weather radar

We’ve got a thing that’s called radar love
We’ve got a wave in the air, radar love.
-  Radar Love  – Golden Earring (Hay and Kooymans)
If you live in an partially off grid farm, or you dont have a television or get poor reception, keeping an eye on the weather can be a challenge.  But if you
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My kingdom for a shed?

Sep 13th, 2008 | By Fritz Nordengren

Rather than trading up, or building on, some home owners are staying put and adding a detached shed-as-living-space solution. Many farms have sheds for a number of animal uses that could be re-purposed into an office, craft room, study, or teen bedroom. Suddenly, the open lots of opportunities for living spaces as you review potential
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The Cabin at Two Mile Ranch

Sep 11th, 2008 | By Fritz Nordengren
The Cabin at Two Mile Ranch

Living small is not everyone’s dream, but it is mine.
The cabin at Two Mile Ranch could be considered a contradiction in that is is both large and small. It is built in the style of a dogtrot home and bisected with a 16 x 44 foot deck. If it were a rectangle and enclosed, the
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