Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Pat Meadows <pat@meadows.pair.com>]

On Thu, 11 May 2006 23:47:08 -0500, you wrote:

>Pat,  perhaps a little at a time you could incorporate ideas about gardening 
>for people with disabilities.
>You already know Margaret : ) 
>http://www.margaretlauterbach.com/handicapped_gardening.htm

Yes, I know Margaret.  


>    BTW, I know you've already said you don't have access to downed wood but 
>perhaps you could ask around to see if a friend would give you some.  My 
>raised beds out of culled trees and hurricane debris work fairly well.  I 
>wonder if someone has a rotten firewood pile that they don't know what to do 
>with.  I've used partially rotten logs for the sides when I had nothing 
>else.  You could ask on your local Freecycle list and see if anyone would 
>look out for wood or bed materials for you.

I could.  I hadn't thought about Freecycle (I'm on two
lists, our county and the one west of us).

>  Sibes don't bark but they do howl so at one 
>time we set a sprinkler pointed directly at their night time kennel and we'd 
>sneak out and turn it on when they set off howling.   They got to the point 
>where they'd stop when they heard us open the door but still would START to 
>howl so we had to really sneak quietly and persevere.  They don't howl 
>anymore.

Our collie (like all rough collies and shelties - but maybe
not border collies, I don't know) just expresses himself by
barking.  He barks when he's happy.  He barks when our two
dogs play together.  He barks when he is [Defending His
Family and Home From The Evil HayTruck].  Then after he has
[Chased the Evil HayTruck Away], he barks in triumph: 'I
have successfully defended my family again!'  He's really a
sweet, sweet dog.  :)

Lots of people with dogs say that they can train them never
to bark.  But then you tell them that you have a collie: and
then they say 'Oh, a collie: forget it!'  We NEVER let him
bark long and he'll stop when I tell him to.  But there is a
certain amount of barking that cannot be helped.  

Both ours are rescues; this collie and our other dog, who is
(probably) half German Shepherd and half golden retriever.
She is not a barker - she only barks appropriately (when
someone or some animal enters our property).  

They are both *very good* dogs.  Both had really bad
circumstances in their youth (we got them both as young
adults).  They would have been *fantastically wonderful*
dogs if we had brought them up.

>   I'm lucky in that my newest and right next door neighbor is a gardener. 
>I don't believe he cares about sustainability or organic but since his back 
>yard reeked for two weeks of fairly putrid cow manure I can bet he won't 
>complain about my rare fish emulsion smells wafting his way : )
>
No, I don't think you need to worry much about that!  :)

Pat
-- 
Gardening in northern Pennsylvania.  

Eat local food, change the world for the better!