Preparing your garden for the Spring: pruning your Roses

There is nothing quite like the site of nice healthy Roses in Spring and Summer. To get those healthy Roses in late Winter or early Spring with a good pruning and clean up of  the area.

Supplies needed:  Before you start work on your Roses their are  few items you should have with you. A good pair leather or heavy cloth gloves to protect your hands from thorns, a pair of long-handle pruning shears (loppers), a pair of short-handle pruning shears (preferably ratcheting), a rake, a wheel barrow or wagon, and either a bottle of glue or nail polish.

Now that you have your supplies you are ready to start getting your Roses ready for the growing season. When you begin here is a handy acronym that will help you remember the order the order of the process. It is P.R.U.N.E.

P:  This stands for preparation. Your preparation cut will be to bring all of the Rose canes to 30" or waist height. This will make it easier to see down into the Roses.

R:  This stands for removal. You want to eliminate all of the dead, diseased, and cross canes. This is important to make sure you have the healthiest canes.

U:  This stands for understanding your Roses. If you have the type of Rose suited for a long-stem you will want to keep fewer canes. If you have more of a bush variety then you will want more canes. This is also the step where you will be making you final pruning cuts of taking out any excess canes and cutting the remaining ones to between 16" and 24". Now, when you make your final cuts you want to make them at a 45 degree angle about one-quarter inch above a outward-facing bud. Once you make the cut you will need to use your glue or polish to seal the end of the Rose cane so boring insects can't get in and kill the plants.

N:  This stands for nothing left behind. This where you will need your rake to get all of the debris out from amidst the Roses. Be careful not to damage the base of the Rose plant when you are raking the debris. Then load all of the debris and discarded canes into your wheelbarrow to haul away.

E:  This stands for enjoy your Roses. Now that you have finished all your tasks all that is left to do is sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor as your Roses provide you with plenty of blooms..

Happy 48th Anniversary Apollo 8

It was 48 years ago today, Dec 21, that the Kennedy Space Center in Florida roared to life with the liftoff of the Apollo 8 craft. It was shortly after 7:00 am EST (4:00 am PST) that the whole nation was treated to the sight of three brave astronauts as they waited in the Apollo 8 command module, that sat on top of a 110 foot tall Saturn V rocket, as we listened to the countdown to launch. The viewers all held their breath as they heard 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...liftoff. Then there was a cheer as the engines came to life, at 7:51 am EST (4:51 am PST), and carried the rocket into space. For the next three days viewers eagerly watched as these brave men journeyed to the moon where they would go into a lunar orbit.

On Dec 24 (Christmas Eve), 1968 they reach their objective when they took up a lunar orbit. For the next 20 hours they would make 10 orbits of the Moon. Approximately million television viewers watched as we were able to see the lunar surface for the first time and what the Earth looked like as viewed from space. On that evening we were also treated to the voices of our astronauts as they read the first 10 verses of the book of Genesis from the Bible. The three astronauts took turns reading one verse for each orbit. Once that of the mission was over they started the 3 day journey back to Earth.

For the next three days we held our breath and watched as these men rocketed back to Earth. On Dec 27, 1968 at 10:51 am EST (7:51am PST) we were able to let that breath out as the Apollo 8 command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. From there the command module would be recovered by the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. The astronauts would have to wait 43 minutes before frogmen from the USS Yorktown would reach the module to bring them the crew and capsule on board. The three men were then welcomed back to Earth and taken back to dry land. That year Colonel Frank Borman, Major William A Anders, and Captain James A Lovell were honored as Time “Men of the Year”.

Apollo 8 was the second time that Frank Borman and James Lovell were partnered on a space mission. The two were also paired for the Gemini 7 mission were they would perform the first orbital rendezvous. In that mission they would link with the Gemini 7 craft that was launched into Earth's orbit 14 days earlier. After both missions James A Lovell would go on to command the infamous Apollo 13 mission that was never able to fulfill its mission of landing on the moon. Frank Borman retired from NASA after the Apollo 8 mission. William A Anders would be named as part of the back-up crew for Apollo 11 but never go on another mission.

Today we lost one of the great ones

Today; December 8, 2016; is a day of remembrance as we reflect back on the life of one of the truly great Americans; former Marine, Astronaut, and United States Senator John Glenn. Mr. Glenn passed away after battling an undisclosed illness that had hospitalized him twice in the last month. He had honorably served his country for almost 6 decades out of his 95 years of life.

Mr. Glenn began our country in 1942 when, as my Americans, heard the call to service after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Even though he had enlisted in the United States Army Air Corp it was the United States Navy that took him for flight training. Near the end of his flight training he transferred to the United States Marines where, in 1943, he was assigned to the VMF-353 squadron where he flew transport. Being a man of action he transferred to the VMF-155 squadron where he flew 59 combat mission in the south Pacific. After World War II his service continued fling patrol mission in the Pacific and then as a flight instructor. In the Korean war Mr. Glenn service two term of duty where he flew 95 combat mission.

After his service in two wars Mr. Glenn became a test pilot taking new military jets to their breaking-point. On July 16, 1957 he earned his 5^th distinguished fling cross when he made the first supersonic transcontinental flight. At the time of the flight he set a record time of 3 hours and 23 minutes from California to New York.

In 1958 Mr. Glenn began the third phase of his career when NASA (National Aeronautic and Space Agency) put out the call for astronauts. He applied for the new agency along with 507 other military test pilots. Early the following year he found out that he had made the final cut and was introduced to the rest of the country as one of the “Mercury Seven” astronauts. On February 20, 1962 he became the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth in the Friendship 7 capsule. Two years after that historic flight Mr. Glenn announced his retirement from NASA to start a career in politics. The following year he also retired from the United States Marines with the rank of Colonel.

After a few setbacks Mr. Glenn started his political career in 1974 when he won his first term as an United States Senator for the state of Ohio. In 1984, during his second term as Senator, he made an unsuccessful run for the Presidency. He then returned to the floor of the Senate where he won two more terms before NASA came calling once again. In 1998 he became the first United States Senator to go into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery. He left politics when his term expired in January of 1999.

Four steps you should take to Winterize your garden

It has been a plenty of work but a productive year in the garden. We started in early Spring months with weeding, adding nutrients, and aerating garden. Then we planned out what to grow and purchase all of the plants and seeds. Finally, it was time to plot out where every would go and get it planted.

In the later Spring months and throughout the Summer there was plenty of weeding, water, fertilizing, and pruning. In the early Fall months we were finally to benefit from all of that hard work as harvest time came around. Now that most (if not all) of the plants are dead and Winter is approaching there is still plenty of work to be done be the frost comes:

1. Getting rid of all the dead plants, weeds, and other debris will both reduce our preparation work next Spring and help keep down the spread of fungal diseases caused by decaying plant matter.
2. Dig up and re-pot all of your perennials to store them for the Winter. Remember to keep them moist during storage.
3. Once you cleaned up the garden, add some fertilizer, mulch, and/or compost to replenish the nutrients in the soil, and turn it all into the garden.
4. Cover the garden with landscape cloth, plastic, or paper to keep down weed growth.

It was a wild one in the west

Last night's Sunday night match-up between the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks was the most bizarre game of the NFL season. It was only the third game in the history of the NFL to end in a 6-6 tie. Yes, you read that right a 6-6 tie between the two titans of the west. That the game ended in a tie is not as strangest as how got to that point.

The first quarter of the game set the tempo as Seattle's defense hand their hands full with the Cardinals high powered offense but managed not to break. On the other side of the ball the Arizona defense was making quick work of Seattle's banged up an sluggish offense. The quarter ended with no score but the Cardinals were marching to Seattle's end zone.

The second quarter started with the Cardinals driving down to Seattle's 21 yard line before being stopped. They would attempt a field-goal only to have Seattle's Bobby Wagner hurdle the line to block the kick attempt. After the blocked field-goal Seattle was only able to advance the ball to their own 44 before having to punt the ball back to the Cardinals. Starting at their own 11 yard-line the Cardinals drove down the field and were stopped at Seattle's 28 yard-line. This time the field-goal attempt worked to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. After the kick-off the Seahawks were not able to advance the ball very far before punting once again. The Cardinals made their way down the field but were stopped on Seattle's 32 yard-line as time ran out in the half.

The Seattle Seahawks started the second half of the game with a good drive that was stalled with penalties that put them in a hole too big to overcome. The Cardinals put together a great drive only to turn the ball over on downs as the Seahawks stopped them in the red zone. The rest of the third quarter ended up being a back-and-forth slug-fest. The quarter ended with the Cardinals still leading 3-0.

Much of the fourth quarter was again a back-and-forth game with the defenses keeping the to short gains. With just under 5 minutes left in the game the Seahawks blocked a punt at the Carinals 38 yard-line. The Seahawks offense was only able to advance the ball to the 22 before having to settle for a field-goal to tie the game. The last 4 ½ minutes were more back-and-forth play and the game ended tied at 3.

Overtime started with the Cardinals receiving the ball and marching down the field before having to settle for a field-goal. The Seahawks took the ball and marched down the field before being forced to settle for a game tying field-goal. With time still remaining in the overtime quarter the Cardinals once again marched down the field only to have their kicker hit the in a failed field1-goal attempt. The Seahawks then put on their most impressive offensive drive. On a 2^nd & 10 at Arizona's 10 yard-line the Seahawks opted to kick a field-goal only to have Stephen Hauschka hook it wide to the left. The Cardinals took over and ran out the final few seconds for a 6-6 tie.  

Orbital Science makes a triumphant return to space flight

Yesterday, Oct 17, was the first time in almost two years that the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia's Wallop Island was the sight of an Orbital Science's Antares rocket. On top of the rocket was a unmanned Cygnus craft filled with more than 2 and a half ton of supplies destined for the ISS (International Space Station). The mission would first for Orbital Science since the October 2014 explosion of an Antares rocket shortly after lift-off.

At 7:45 pm ET (4:45 pm PT) the ground crew on Wallop Island and those watching the live feed were thrilled at the sight of the engines roaring to life. There was cheering as the rocket lifted-off and started its accent. Within seconds much of the northern half of the east coast was able to witness the sight of the rocket as it soared into the stratosphere.

A few minutes after launch the Antares rocket broke into a low Earth orbit where it would separate with the Cygnus craft that would continue on its mission to the ISS. It will take 5 and a days for the Cygnus craft to rendezvous with the ISS where it will then be captured by the stations robotic grappling arm and brought in to dock. Then over the next few weeks the crew of the ISS will unload the 5,000+ pounds of supplies. Once the craft has been unloaded it will then be filled back up with 3,000 pounds of trash before it is released to fall back to Earth.

The Seahawks beat the 49ers to go 2-1

Yesterday, Sept 25, the Seattle Seahawks showed that they are still one of the elite teams in the NFL as they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 37-18. The game though was not as close as the score would indicate. The Seahawks thoroughly dominated the game from the opening kick off to the final whistle.

The first quarter started with Seattle receiving after the 49ers won the coin toss and elected to defer, On the first play from their own 25 yard line quarterback Russell Wilson threw an incompletion to running-back Christian Michael Sr. On the next play Mr. Wilson looked back to form as he completed a 34 yard bomb to wide-receiver Doug Baldwin. Mr. Michael followed up with a 41 yard run into the end zone for a touchdown. The three play drive only took 34 seconds off of the clock and was capped off with an extra point kick by Steven Hauschka to give the Seahawks a 7-0 lead.

Mr. Hauschka kicked off and the football went through the end zone for a touchback. The 49ers went to work from their own 25 yard line. They where soon forced to punt though as the Seahawks defense limited the to only 7 yards. The punt gave the Seahawks the ball at their own 30 yard line where they went to work on their drive. The second did not nearly go as fast. It took the Seahawks 14 plays, of a mixture of passes and runs, to come up to a second touchdown for the Seahawks. An extra point kick by Steven Hauschka gave the Seahawks a 14-0 lead with just over 4 minutes left in the first quarter. The two teams both had drives that ended in punts as the first quarter expired.

The second quarter started with the 49ers having ball. They were held to a small gain before once again punting to the Seahawks. On the 4^th play of the drive receiver Jimmy Graham fumbled a 9 yard pass. The 49ers came up with the fumble for a 1^st & 10 at Seattle's 30 yard line. The 49ers were held to just an 8 yard gain and had to kick a field goal to make it a 14-3 game.

After the kick-off and a 19 yard return by Paul Richardson, Seattle started their drive at their 27 yard line. 4 plays later the drive ended with an 18 yard pass to Jimmy Graham for a touchdown. An extra point by Steven Hauschka gave Seattle a 21-3 lead.

After the ensuing kick-off the 49ers went to work once again. This time they put together an impressive drive that stalled at Seattle's 35 yard-line. The 49ers tried a field-goal but came up short. The Seahawks took over at their own 43 yard-line. They drove down the field before stalling out at the 15 yard-line of the 49ers. Steven Hauschka kicked a field-goal to give Seattle a 24-3 lead with just over a minute left in the half. That would be the last score of the half after the next drive of the 49ers once again ended with a punt.

The 49ers started off the second half of the game. The drive was quickly stalled to force the 49ers to punt. The Seahawks did not fair much better as they had to punt. The 49ers were again held to a short gain and would punt the ball back to Seattle. Tyler Lockett had a marvelous 62 yard return to give Seattle a 1^st & 10 at the 49ers' 26 yard-line. The Seahawks drive fizzled out at the 14 yard-line where Steven Hauschka kicked a field-goal to make it 27-3.

The 49ers next drive would end at their own 27 yard-line when Bobby Wagner intercepted the ball. Trevone Boykin took over for Russell Wilson after a knee injury. He lead the team down the field before the drive stalled on the 49ers' 4 yard-line. Steven Hauschka kicked a field-goal to give Seattle a 30-3 lead.

Another 3 & out by the 49ersgave the ball back to Seattle. 3^rd quarter woul come to an end with Seattle marching down the field. Shortly after the 4^th quarter started Doug Baldwin caught a pass from Trevone Boykin for a touch-down. An extra point by Steven Hauschka gave Seattle a 37-3 lead.

After the kick-off, the 49ers would come to life as they marched down the field. Their 11 play drive would take the into the end-zone for their first touch-down. A Phil Dawson extra point would cut Seattle's lead to 37-10.

After the kick-off Trevone Boykin would have the Seahawks marching down the field until an interception at mid-field would give the ball back to the 49ers. It would take the 49ers 8 plays to drive 48 yards for a touch-down. A 2 point conversion would cut Seattle's lead to 37-18 with just under a minute to go in the game.

Russell Wilson & Trevone Boykin would combine to complete 22 passes for 308 yards with 2 touch-downs and an interception. Doug Baldwin had 146 yards on 8 receptions and scored a touch-down. Jimmy Graham ended with 100 yards on 6 receptions and scored a touch-down. Christian Michael ended with 106 yards rushing and scored the first 2 touch-downs of his career.