I do not want to be a rose

I do not wish to be pale pink



I'm not really a rose fan. They are lovely as cut flowers and all, but there are others I prefer. And as part of a flower garden, they require a lot of effort and pesticides and rose food and such that in my opinion is really not worth it. However, the mint green 50s style house Adam and I are renting has a whole bunch of roses.

And now that I am basically responsible for these roses I feel like I should do my best to take care of them-mostly because I am afraid the old lady who lived here all her life would likely haunt us if I let them die. Which left me with a dilemma- how do I get rid of aphids and black spot without using pesticides? Surprisingly, it was inexpensive and super easy. I found these recipes on a website about organic gardening:

Against aphids and whiteflies:Garlic Oil Spray

10-15 cloves of minced garlic
2 tbsp. mineral oil
600 ml water
1 tsp. liquid dish soap
Soak garlic in mineral oil for 24 hours. Strain garlic out and add 600 ml water and 1 tsp. liquid dish soap. Mix thoroughly and spray rose plants with the solution. This solution will also kill spider mites and whiteflies.

Fungicide for Mildew and Black Spot
1 tsp. baking soda
1 liter water
1 tsp. soap flakes (I used organic goat soap given to me by one of my clients)
Dissolve baking soda in 1 liter of warm water.
Add soap flakes to help solution cling to leaves. Remove infected leaves from plant and then spray top and bottom of remaining leaf surfaces to control spread of the disease.

Only apply these sprays every 5-7 days.

Both of these sprays worked really well after just one application! You may be asking yourself why I care about not using pesticides- I have lots of reasons, but here's one of them. Mostly I just don't believe in screwing with the environment so I can look at pretty flowers. Try it out and let me know what you think.

the same things you're missing could get you into something else

It's been busy in the Equine Field Service office! Or more correctly, in the giant diesel Chevy that is my mobile office. Why, you ask? It's foal season! Here are some of the kid things I've been dealing with recently:

All currently happy and healthy! Doesn't get much better than that!

In other news, Adam and I are spending my last weekend off before 7 or so weeks of work/on call in Carmel. And now a job for you, loyal readers: any favorite places to visit/restaurants that can't be missed/hiking trails/scenic views that you recommend?

It'll take your God filled soul, and fill it with devils and dust

I really liked this opinion piece in the NY times about the Civil War. Why the Civil War you ask? This past Tuesday was the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War at Ft. Sumter. And in this time of polarizing politics I believe in learning from our mistakes.

I also think that as soon as I finish Moby Dick, I'll tackle the Complete Civil War.

In other news, I have a meeting with my faculty advisor about my NMS grant proposal today! Excited to get this thing off the ground, and more importantly, off my to-do list.

ready steady go!

Is going to her head





So...all geared up for a thrilling night of grant-writing.

Chammomile tea...check!

Inspiring music courtesy of the Empire Records Soundtrack...check!

23 papers about neonatal maladustment syndrome and de novo synthesis of neurohormones meticulously read and cross-referenced and filed..........oh crap.

I vaguely remember them being in the back seat of may car. I am on call tonight so I drove the field service truck home.

Strong feelings of self-loathing...check plus.

I don't see nothing new, but I feel a lot of change

Something new I'm trying. Click me, I go with the title.

So... as I attempt to re-start (resurrect?) this failure of a blog, I ask to myself "Self, what's the point?"...

I really don't know. This is not a knitting blog (shoutout to knit-tastic cousin Annie). I do not craft. I don't cook particularly well. I am not devoted to any small children. The only thing that I am really any good at is veterinary medicine, and I think UC Davis could potentially fire me if I talk too much about my individual patients. (I will, however, say that I floated 3 mules' teeth today. For info on floating, see this video of someone else doing it). Though I have quite strong political/environmental convictions, I'm not very good at expressing them (thank you last 4 years of reading scientific papers and medical textbooks).

I do, however, like stuff. I mean I like the hell out of some stuff. And I usually have an internal soundtrack. Today's soundtrack was brought to you by the Traveling Wilburys, a supergroup comprised of Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison.

As for stuff I like: I really like this great band Among the Oak and Ash. Very Appalachia/folksy/Americana. The frontman is Josh Joplin. Check them out on the Mountain Stage on NPR. A note to my Republican readers: you will not turn into a socialist by watching a Mountain Stage broadcast. I can personally guarantee no liberal overtures in this concert.

I'm also really really liking my new LL Bean boots. I am firmly of the belief that cold feel are bad for the soul. Until recently, however, I was NOT of the belief that Northern California turned into a 6-inch-deep-mud-pit-puddle-ridden-crap-fest that could penetrate my poor beloved Ariat leather cowboy boots in under17 seconds. Everyone who spends any time outside should get these, they are amazing and warm and comfy. Here's a link to them featured in another blog I like, except this girl makes them part of a cute outfit. Order a size down.

Hope all 2 of my readers like the new format/theme.

I'm a long time traveling away from home

It's been a difficult 6 months. New place, new job, new friends (and old friends who have trouble with time zone math). New expectations. Apparently when I accepted my residency I was supposed to magically acquire a boatload of knowledge. This did not happen for me, so I am currently struggling through giant textbooks with bible thin pages and feeling like I'm running to stand still.

As always though, I am still finding time to read novels. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski and "the Magicians" by Lev Grossman were both particularly good. Warning: "the Magicians" was quite gritty. Don't believe the review that compares it to Harry Potter- it's way more "Catcher in the Rye".

It's also been a particularly hard time for the family. It's strange calling it "family" when it's just the two of us. I try to put things into perspective and remember all I'm thankful for (dogs, Adam, Ellen for weeding the garden and helping me clean when that seemed so very important to me for some reason, everyone who came to the memorial service, sunsets on the sacramento river delta, foals). And I know when I see my dad again, it will be in a place like this:

which is far, far better than a wheel chair. But it's hard to stay in perspective all the time.

trying to re-start this whole thing. will do my best. stay tuned for updates.