Page down to something animal or garden-related, if you aren’t interested in this long-winded personal post.

Tonight (around 7 p.m.) is the first time I felt I could see well enough to read my monitor screen without using a magnifying glass. That made it really difficult to email, too, since I couldn’t see what I was typing, or had to type with one hand, and hold the magnifying glass with the other. (I still have the screen set to show larger text. But at least I can read the small text now.)

This is diet-related. I will NOT say that this is related to being a vegan(*). But I will say it generally has to do with either eating garbage for a couple days in a row, or not eating enough. I don’t believe it’s caused by eye-strain or lack of sleep.

This isn’t the first time things had gone foggy on me. Generally when it happens, it lasts just a couple of hours or maybe 4 at the most. It generally follows days where I’ve been too lazy to fix a normal dinner, and end up having a couple of bowls of Cheerios instead. So I thought maybe it had something to do with my blood sugar. And I still suspect it might. A couple of times ago, I went to a doctor who sent me to an ophthalmologist and to a lab for a blood test. My blood level was “fine” — 84, which I would consider on the low side. But that was at least a day after the event. So who knows what it was at the time. Anyway, I ruled out the possibility of being diabetic, but not necessarily ruled out being hypoglycemic. But I still think it’s nutrition-related.

This last event followed days were I didn’t eat much at all. I weighed myself on Monday, and noticed (on my scale, which I didn’t trust to be accurate) that I weighed at least 10 pounds less than I did when I retired. I trusted the scale at work, but don’t have access to it anymore. So the next best thing was to use the one in the hallway at the nursing home, which weighed me only three pounds heavier than my home scale. So I decided that I really have lost weight.

And with General Convention coming up next week, I was motivated to get down at least into the next 10. Wouldn’t you know? The day I broke the barrier was the day I couldn’t see the needle on the scale?!

* So my point is, that even though I attribute the event(s) to poor diet, and not because I’m a vegan, I do want to say that before I was a vegan I could afford to eat poorly, and not have it affect my sight.

This dovetails with comments toward the end of this post from change.org, where someone said they would get dizzy when they tried to go vegan. Others commented on basic nutrition information that the person might not have known. And I can agree with that. But even knowing basic vegan nutrition, doesn’t mean we all actually follow it.

I’ll weigh in on the dizzy argument. The first time I seriously tried to go vegetarian in the late ’70’s, I wouldn’t say that I got dizzy. But I did get light-headed, and always made sure I had my hand on a railing when going up and down stairs.

I was lacto-ovo at the time. So I was getting plenty of protein. But I didn’t know anything about nutrition. And something was definitely missing. That was decades before the Internet, and may have even preceded the birth of PETA. So my idea of going veg was to remove meat from my diet, and not replace it with some other protein source(**). I didn’t know about beans. Maybe I knew they existed, but didn’t know their benefits or how to cook cook them.

When I decided I seriously wanted to go veg in 2000 for good, I specifically asked the only vegetarian I knew (from church, for the sake of the anti-religion AR’s) what I should eat, and which stores I should go to to find it, because I remembered my failed attempt in the late ’70’s.

She had good advice, and I found all that I needed that same day. I have never been dizzy. And I have never been light-headed.

But maybe about 10 times since August, 2003, I have had minor bouts of what I would consider being legally-blind — like being in a really heavy fog or if it was bright, like a lot of whiteness blocking things out. Yesterday, when I was outside, I could see well enough to see the garden and the pets when my friend stopped by. But I couldn’t see the driveway well enough to know if I had to step around any ants.

And the only reasons I never panicked over it were that, it is still a novelty, and either it is temporary, and clears up a couple of hours after I had something like orange juice, or my doctor and people he sent me to confirmed that it wasn’t a diagnosable condition. Since I know it’s due to poor eating habits, it’s something I can control. But this time, it lasted for the better part of two days. I was out driving, and it was fine. But I still couldn’t read fine print.

That is all very intermittent.

But in general, I went for the longest time with “lower GI issues”, too. It depended on what I ate, and how much of it I ate. It seems like I haven’t had problems lately. So I guess I’m eating things that agree with me better — or not eating too much of the offending foods like I did in the past — like a pot of chili or a can of nuts, or a whole onion in whatever in a large helping of, say, spaghetti.

Just a warning. Vegan diets should make a person real regular, which is a good thing. I’m assuming it’s because dairy has the opposite effect.

So the point of this is:

- If you’re planning to go vegan, study up on vegan nutrition and take a look at the vegan food pyramid, and eat a balanced diet, including Vitamin B-12.

- If you’ve been a successful vegan for years or decades, don’t automatically assume that people who tried it are lying or making excuses, when they say they had problems when they tried.

- The other point is that people who want to be vegan because they don’t want to support animal cruelty is that the motivation has to be a commitment to find a way to make it work without having adverse effects.

Google for tri-athletes and firefighters who are examples of extremely physically active people who have found ways to be successful vegans. So it’s a matter of adjusting, and developing healthy eating habits if something isn’t working out.

** A note to churches and others who try to accommodate vegans in their midst: We can’t live on “lettuce and black coffee” alone. It is especially important for longer-term events like retreats and conventions, to be sure that vegan options are balanced and filling. If in doubt, at least offer peanut butter to go with the bread, or some vegetarian baked beans. (When my sister asks if I’d like to go out with them to eat, I say “what could I have?”, and she’d say “a salad”. That isn’t a meal. Sorry. And it isn’t filling. And I’m not going to pay big bucks for something I could eat at home for free.)

P.S. So, going back a couple of days ago, what did I eat?

I can’t remember. But recently I’ve been having berries for breakfast, and a salad for lunch, and a normal vegan dinner. I think when I started to notice that my weight was going down, I ate less because I was on a roll. Maybe I had a couple of pieces of (whole grain) toast with (good quality) peanut butter & (organic) jam that isn’t sweetened with sugar, and spaghetti (as in pasta with sauce, but nothing else). I think that was it. That really isn’t many calories. I think it might have been about 800. That, on top of the previous days probably made me deficient in something. I still think I’m hypoglycemic. (But the only time medical practitioners seem concerned if someone’s blood sugar is too low is if a diabetic has taken too much insulin. If a person isn’t diabetic, they seem to think a low reading is “fine”. 84 was “fine” after a 12 hour fast. But they didn’t check the actual day that I called to make an appointment. It could have been much lower that day.)

I just Googled for “cloudy vision”, and found this on a diabetic message board. (Cloudy is the key symptom, not blurry. But this person’s situation sounds like mine, where it’s rare, and lasts just a short time.) I’ll do whatever I have to do to not become diabetic, and not to end up becoming insulin-dependent — even if it means taking up running, like the “Running for their lives” story I saw on a news show years ago about a Native American tribe in the SW with a higher than average statistic for diabetes since the “convenience age” of the 20th Century, and who beat the odds by taking up running again as their ancestors did.

I didn’t watch this to the end. But I was told that it is not graphic. It’s about fear while awaiting her fate.

There is a special feeling about sparing the life of an animal. Today, I was driving out to the main street to take some boxes to the UPS store. I live on a dead end. The oncoming traffic has a stop sign. I had the right-of-way, so turned the corner before the vehicle that was stopped. There was an unusual-looking bird in the street. I was trying to figure out what kind it was. I thought maybe it was a baby duck. I noticed as I approached, it didn’t fly away. So I stopped the car, close enough that I couldn’t see the bird in front of my hood, and waved the other person around me. I noticed a robin in the neighbor’s yard, who seemed interested. And then I saw the bird that was in the street sort of hop into the grass toward the robin. I decided the bird was a fledgling who wasn’t quite old enough to fly yet, but bigger than the average baby bird. And not only was I glad that I didn’t assume the bird would get out of my way, as birds generally would, but there was a “parental moment”, as I observed what I might consider a sense of relief from the adult robin. It was just a moment in time. And I’m glad I had the right-of-way, because who knows if the other vehicle would have stopped?

I read about the updated documentary at www.change.org. Go to “A Film That Will Change Hearts and Save Lives–And How You Can Help”, and follow the links for more information.

Here’s the trailer:

Trailer for Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home from Tribe of Heart on Vimeo.

I forgot to mention that my nasturtiums & marigolds that I started from seed are blooming as of this week. Not all, but the ones in the ground in the sunniest area.

Also, this morning, I noticed that my oats have oats, and the Top Crop bush beans have some beans.
Those are also in the sunniest area. I planted the general stuff on May 1st. But I may have had to re-seed the beans. I also noticed that the yellow bell pepper plant that I brought in for the winter, and replanted this spring, looks like it has the beginnings of three peppers on it!

And the garlic scapes that I planted last fall, along with the regular cloves, are also growing scapes!

I also ate a few peas while I was out inspecting the garden, and picked things for salad & some turnip greens & Chinese cabbage to cook.

As always, there are edible weed greens amid the things I purposely grew. And I’ve made it a habit to add a couple of nasturtium leaves to my salad each time, because they’re peppery, and add a little zing.

I was observing a large dragonfly that liked the view from one of my tomato stakes. His wings looked furry, at least on the bottom. They were clear with black & white markings. I tried to take pictures. Here’s the best close-up:

Here’s another one that shows how the dragonfly is as large as my dog!….

Later, I saw a smaller metallic turquoise dragonfly, but didn’t have my camera handy.

I did a little half-hearted weeding, and put the “biomass” around some of my potato plants that looked like they could use some additional cover.

Today was beautiful! It was warm in the sun, but really breezy, and no humidity. I think it will get down in the 60’s tonight. (This would be a good night to bake more dog biscuits, if I can get motivated before I get too tired. But that would mean having to do the dishes, and clearing off the counter.)

Click here to watch. The interview starts around minute 26. So you can move the line-marker on the bottom of the video screen, and miss some of the other news stories.

This is about the “War on Dissent” in this country. The lawyer said AETA is being Constitutionally-challenged.

On 6/24, I broadcast alfalfa seeds in the area behind my celeries. I watered them well. It’s been a hot, sunny week. But the area is mostly shaded in the afternoon. I noticed this morning that the alfalfa has already germinated!

I wonder how long it would take, if I planted seeds in the early Spring. I’ll bet longer.

I didn’t just grow a row. I broadcast the seeds in a section that is maybe 5′x3′. So it will be a “mini-field”. I read that it’s a perennial. But I think farmers till it in before they plant something else in the area. (From what I read, I’m guessing they do that, because the roots can grow 20-30 feet long. The benefit of that is that they bring minerals to the surface that other plants can’t reach. They also supposedly break through compacted soil. But I suppose if left indefinitely, they’d end up like weeds.) If alfalfa attracts bees, and acts as a fertilizer, I may grow some around my fruit trees next year.

Google for alfalfa. Besides being forage/feed, and attracting bees, it’s edible, nutritious, medicinal, and also makes a great veganic fertilizer (as tea or as green manure) or addition to the compost pile. Other than the estrogen-like qualities that are good for menopause, but may be of concern in other ways, the only other side-effect I found is that eating too many seeds may affect the red blood cells. So study up on it before you grow it as a health food supplement.

My original onion sets are all really big, and about a third of them have bolted. I’ve read that they should just be used, because they won’t get bulbs.

Today I finally pulled one. (I decided to cut off the root, and replant it, just to see what might happen.)

I didn’t know what to make. I thought about making a soup, or mixing them in with my potatoes. But finally, I decided to make a hummus to eat with Triscuits and a beer.

I had two opened jars of tahini in the refrigerator. I used one in recent months, but noticed today that one had an expiration date of 2002 and the other of 2003. So I decided to open up a “new” jar that I’ve probably had for a couple of years. I also decided that maybe tahini doesn’t go bad, as long as the oil is covering the solid part — like olive oil that has things in the bottle.

Here’s my recipe:

1 can of rinsed garbanzo beans
A couple of table spoons (heaping, not measured) of tahini
Enough water to get it to blend in the blender
1 whole (dried) cayenne pepper from last year’s garden
1 whole bolted “green” onion, chopped (It’s about the size of a leek, not a salad onion.)
Juice from a half lemon

The hummus is a little green, but tastes just fine. In fact, I think it could work well on a sandwich in place of mayonnaise. It probably tastes better than the vegan brands I’ve tried.

(I’m wondering if I could find some garbanzo beans to plant.)

I still have 4 onions from the store that I should use up. So I think the best thing to do with the ones that bolted are to let them stay in the garden until I’m ready to use them.

I’m hoping the more recently planted onion sets won’t bolt. I’ve been careful not to add any additional fertilizer, or to water them much. And now we’re into the long, hot days. So if they work out, I’ll remember that for next year. (I also made sure I chose sets smaller than a dime, which is purported to work better.)

Afterthought: Around this time last year, I was at a farmer’s market, where the local organic farm was selling young “garlics” and garlic scapes. I wondered why the “garlics” looked like they didn’t have cloves. Now I’m thinking they were probably bolted onions. Can’t prove it, though.

I’m supposed to help the gardening group with the grounds on Thursday afternoons. We’re supposed to show up around 3:30. For various reasons, I’ve missed some weeks lately. I looked at AccuWeather earlier this afternoon, and we were supposed to have a thunder storm during the 3:00 hour. If here, it would move to Waukegan within a half hour. Since it takes me 40 minutes to get there, I decided not to go.

It never rained, although the sun was covered by a cloud.

I just looked at AccuWeather’s hourly updates again, and there’s no sign of rain now for the rest of the day.

So, again, don’t you think that AccuWeather might be accurate within an hour or two prior to what they’re forecasting for my zip code?

Yesterday I re-seeded some cantaloupe, old cucumber, and butternut squash seeds. I also tried planting some quinoa & alfalfa in the middle (back) of the celery bed.

I noticed that my peas by the driveway have a lot of flowers on them. There are some pods on the pea plants on the SE edge of the Lasagna Garden. Most of the others aren’t doing much. So I’m thinking that even though they’re cold weather crops, they still like sun. I’m hoping they’ll all be ready to pick within the next couple of weeks.

I noticed that my spinach by the drivway and my Chinese cabbage is bolting. I’ll pick the leaves, and let them go to seed. My old broccoli from last year is also bolting, and in flower. But I’ll cut it back, because I know it will grow normal broccoli once the weather cools off again. It’s been so hot this week, that I was afraid I’d kill the plants if I cut them back right now.

I also noticed that some things are overshadowed in the south half of the big bed, and even the baby celeries are overshadowed by the tomatoes. So I may have to move them. And my catnip and some tomatoes are overshadowed in my “pet garden”. So I may have to transplant them, too.

I took pictures today, to have a record of what’s going on in the areas where things are going on:

Here’s a view of my Square Foot Garden. On the left side, you can see how the ants have taken up residence. On the front right, you can see all the baby cayenne plants. Most of those will need to be transplanted other places. The squares behind them aren’t doing much. I suspect there are still a few reseeded amaranth seedlings in random squares. Even though the fava beans were planted earlier than the rest, the top crop beans in the left front square are already forming beans. They are the first of all my bean plants to have beans dangling. They should be big enough to pick in a couple of days. I’m kind of happy that all the bean plants are relatively short. It seems early, but I probably planted most of them around May 1st. Oh, I think I also have some corn. But not enough. I really think there has to be a critical mass for it to cross-pollinate. So whatever grows will probably get donated to the squirrels again this year. (I re-seeded my corn when it didn’t seem to be coming up the first time. I’m afraid it’s too late now, since it’s supposed to be “knee high by the Fourth of July”. I don’t know what would happen if it would be knee high a few weeks later in July.)

These are my pea plants that have the most flowers. Some have pods. But when the sun shines through them, I can see that the peas in the pods are still too small. Behind them are the spinach plants that are bolting.

There’s a lot of stuff growing in the left half of this bed, including random but edible weeds. The modified Square Foot Garden was a good idea in theory, and still might be, if I’d choose to transplant some tomatoes in the center of the bean squares (as long as the tomatoes would be taller than the beans). But the beans are overshadowing what I planted inside the squares. So I’m not expecting much there, except for beans.

The right side is “mostly” rows of celery. In the bare area toward the back is where I planted some quinoa & alfalfa. The area generally only gets morning sun. So I don’t know if they’ll grow. (And the quinoa was from a health food store, not a seed supplier. So who knows if it was treated in some way that would prevent it from growing?)

The 25 extraneous tomato plants by the street (not pictured) are in various stages of growth. The ones that get the least sun are definitely smaller. I told the lady at the gas station that I’d bring her more, because hers died. I’ll give her the ones that are in the most shade, since I don’t want to keep moving plants around.

I picked over 20 strawberries this morning. This is the first year I had more than about a dozen the whole season, and definitely more than the usual one or two that ripened at the same time. I don’t know if it’s just that I have more plants, or that they’re more mature, if the dirt is more fertilized, or that the nylon window screening really helps keep the critters out. But I’m really surprised that the red ones are still there when I want to pick them.

What I have going on in the strawberry bed should cover my strawberry needs for the next couple of weeks. But I wouldn’t mind having more plants, so that I might actually be able to freeze some for smoothies, etc.

As for my “100 Foot Challenge” locovore pledge to eat at least one homegrown meal per week, if I really wanted to eat lightly (can’t do it all day/night), my strawberries would be my breakfast, and my salad would be my lunch. So that’s two meals out of the day. Not bad, considering that’s all that’s ready to pick so far. (And when I think about what organic strawberries and organic salad mixes cost, I’m probably saving $16.00 on grocery money per week as long as I can pick my own. That $16.00 would cover a few vegan meat substitutes & a loaf of good quality whole grain bread.)

See the comment area on how my alfalfa germinated in less than two days, and comment about growing sprouts.