A Landscaping Project
Posted at 6:00 AM on January 13, 2010
by Dale Connelly
(44 Comments)
With a mid-January mild wave sweeping the region and a little bit of sunshine making it's way into the afternoon hours statewide. there has been a subtle shifting of the snowy landscape from "icy terrain" towards "sloppy mess". Things will progress a little bit more today and tomorrow if the promised high temperatures materialize. Those glistening, pristine banks of white snow may start to go slushy as our environment gets more textured.
People of a certain age can sympathize. What starts out smooth and beautiful turns rough and weathered before long, so get used to it.
But nothing we're facing can compare in terms of roughness to the surface of Saturn's moon Iapetus.
Here's a photo taken by the Cassini spacecraft last October. This 912 mile diameter moon has been in a few fights, it appears, taking a big one on the chin in that lower center section at roughly the same spot it got hit before. You can see the outline of the older crater to the bottom right of the larger, fresher one. Ouch!
The space scientists say the "dark material" on Iapetus is thought to be "composed of nitrogen-bearing organic compounds called cyanides, hydrated minerals and other carbonaceous minerals." I have no idea what that is. From the look of it, they could have said this moon is made out of freeway snow banks and "car turds", because that's what I think of when I see it. Right now I have a lot of Iapetus caught in the wheel wells of my Subaru.
This moon has an ugly beauty that is attractive and at the same time, demands some attention. Based on comments made on the blog yesterday, I'm taking names of suburbanite volunteers who would like to join me in a mission to cover the place in Kentucky bluegrass, maybe planting a tree in the middle of that crater and filling in around it with some white rock and a nice water feature.
Perhaps we could attract some Space Goats!
If you're not up for that, I'm also looking for volunteers to be guest bloggers on Trial Balloon while I take six days off - February 5th and February 8 - 12. Previous guest bloggers and those who have never done it before are all welcome to apply. Leave a note in the comments or contact me directly at dale@radioheartland.org.
Comments (44)
i think Iapetus has been landscaped already, Dale. by older, retired (should i say?) men who LOVE their lawns and don't like trees because they are hard to mow around. especially when making those diagonal mows - twice across the same space but in different directions and at 90 degree angles to the first swath.
unless all of the green-black is blueberry bushes i don't think goats would like it there.
well, donna and i are always up for a writing challenge!!! so count us in, dale, as potential bloggers.
speaking of a moon's surface, it sure looks like that here in sioux falls--i'm here visiting ailing mom, and stayed with donna last night--just so we could share the show and commenting on the blog this a.m.! also, she makes good coffee...
hi, barb in blackhoof! love the soap!!!!
hi, dale!
Hi, jim, clyde, sherrilee, cynthia, et al....!
kay h not at present in utah
Greetings! Other people's landscaping always looks so nice and I appreciate the clean, groomed look -- but the time, energy and money involved is way more than I ever want to do. And hubby is the same way ...
Dale, you go right ahead and landscape Iapetus -- conquer the wild, rough edges. I'll bring you some iced tea and cookies ...
"Car Turds" Have not heard that one and we do need a name for them. I will use it from now on.
Dale announced Sweet Honey from the Rock is coming to TC. Never heard them live but do love their CD!! There is a female bass voice in their that gives me chills.
Good Morning, RH,
No, no, no. Let's leave that moon alone. It's so homely it's cute.
Yes - Kay is here. She invited herself and you know me - no backbone and I just let her walk all over me. I've had to dine out 2 nights in a row and listen to her blather on and on about beautiful Utah. Did I mention I'm paying her a visit when school gets out??
Thanks all, for the music for my departing daughter yesterday. What a sweet bunch you are!!
Kay requests a crazy quirky song this morning to commemorate our having met on the blog and becoming fast friends for life. Bosom buddies as they say, although only one of us has a bosom.
So...if we plant Kentuckey Bluegrass, will we have to have space horses to keep it at a respectable height? On the other hand, if that's not a problem, how about planting one kudzu vine and let it take over...I bet the space goats would like to try to keep it at bay...so to speak.
Dare I try to match all these clever writers and offer to do a substiute blog? Dale, if there is an opening left...I just thought of a topic....or two..
well, thanks, donna...how typically Midwestern of you to act all sweet and nice to my face and then post that i'm walking all over you....
oh, yeah, cynthia would be a great blogger; so would clyde!!
maybe cactus would be useful on that moon?
OK, I count three volunteers so far for my six guest blogging spots - Kay, Donna and Cynthia in Mahtowa. Anyone else? Clyde?
And Kay and Donna, a more specific suggestion for a song would be helpful. "Quirky" doesn't narrow down the playlist very much.
I'll throw my hat in the ring for guest blogger again -- but let's hear from other folks first!
mad dogs and englishmen?
anything monty python?
throat singers doing barry manilow?
amazijng female bass doing anything?
does that help?
donna has abandoned me now to go to work, supposedly, so she has left me alone with her silly new kitty...
I'd enjoy blogging for you again (but if others who haven't tried want tor have a go, I won't hog a spot).
I think Saturn's moon is charming in that homely Carl Malden sort of way...if it does get landscaped, I'd go the brambles, berries and wild flowers route. Something that looks beautiful and unkempt, something not to be tamed. Just enjoyed. Anything else would do this moon a disservice, I think. Like trying to tame a wild creature.
welcome back to MN, Kay!
song suggestions: anything by the Bobs
Egg and Rock
Waltzing with Bears
yes, the Finnish throatsinging guy doing Inna godda davida (or however that's spelled - sorry)
and do have any songs about dead rats in water buckets? uffda
Good Morning All including Kay in Sioux Falls visiting Donna,
How would we get to that moon to do land scaping? I guess we could have the space goats take us there.
I would rather leave that place alone myself. I don't even like taking care of my own lawn, but I might consider going to that moon to do some vegetable gardening.
Barb in Blackhoof, I tell you, you need some cats for those rats!
Maybe we could hear Monk's "Ugly Beauty" in honor of the moon, since you used that particular oxymoron!
I'd be happy to take a turn blogging again if still needed. I didn't count the responses above.
Have a great day, all!
off topic: rats
actually, Cynthia (and all of you struggling to control your rat problem :-)
i met a woman at the grain elevator who said dachshunds are the real solution. however, i don't want a dog (my two inside kitties would REALLY HATE ME if i did that) so
does anyone want to rent out a dachshund to us for a day in the barns? rent a dachs?
and as for landscaping - i think Jim is right. vegetable gardens would be great. no beets though.
I think this moon should be called Malden, an inspired name.I also think we should send kuduz to Uapetus, and all the other alien flora and fauna invaders--the Australian rabbits, the zebra muscle, Sarah Palin, starlings, killer bees, Carlos, fire ants, walking fish, David Beckham, that stuff that gets on boat motors, etc.
FYI: I did volunteere through Dale's email.
hey, donna, where do you keep your anti-perspirent? btw, i tried the "normalizing" shampoo in the shower, but i don't feel any different yet....
Although I don't have time for landscaping interplanetary moons, I would be willing to dip my toes into the wild and wooly world of guest blogging.
oh, yeah, the moon--the place i sort of want to be even more than Finland! (thx for the python, dale)...
i'm all for a flight to the moon, the first RH-sponsored tour led by Dale Connelly--but i don't want to do yardwork when we get there! want to participate in the low-gravity olympics! have first dale connelly show broadcast from outer space with live audience! and so forth....
(speaking of flights, after visiting mom again in the nursing home, i'll be taking 3 today, from sioux falls to mpls to salt lake city to st. george, UT....leaving donna's house in a shambles behind me....ha ha ha....)
oh, yeah, Barb--LOCK CATS IN THE BARN!!!! who needs a dachshund when you have feline killing machines on hand?
I'll help out with the blog when you are gone, Dale.
kay--what nursing home is your mother in there in SF? My mother was in the Good Samaritan home there for many years.
Clyde in Mankato, was your mom in the one on the hill on Minnesota Avenue? My grandmother volunteered there for many, many years.
No songs in the library about dead rats in water buckets, sorry to say. The closest I could come would be Doris Day's "Que Sera, Sera", and there the rat, the water and the bucket are not mentioned specifically, though their lethal intersection is accepted without question.
Thanks to the volunteer bloggers for February.
Kay, Donna, Cynthia, Joanne, Clyde and Anna were first to get their names in. There will be another opportunity at the end of March - I'll keep a list!
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
by William Carlos Williams
According to Brueghel
when Icarus fell
it was spring
a farmer was ploughing
his field
the whole pagentry
of the year was
awake tingling
near
the edge of the sea
concerned
with itself
sweating in the sun
that melted
the wing's wax
unsignificantly
off the coast
there was
a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning
Mom is spending her end-stage-Alzheimer's journey at Waterford at All Saints--we kids all went to several grades at All Saints elementary school, so that is nice to have mom in that familiar place....
love the poem, clyde; feels apropos...
Elinor--my mother was in a Good Samaritan Home on 38th St., across the street from the SW corner of Augustana College. Did not know until now that there are other GS homes in SF.She died there two years ago this week, now that I think about it.
I have to say that I like the natural topography...
:-)
I used to have a rat problem. Then cats arrived from next door. now I have a cat problem...
Morning Heartlanders... little late today.
I think space horses to Iapetus would be the best, although I'm not ruling out space goats. Reminds me of a book that was one of my daughter's favorites when she was little. Dogs in Space by Nancy Coffelt - there's even a page where dogs in space play hide & seek among the 18 moons of Saturn!
Welcome home to the frozen tundra, Kay!
And thanks to everyone else ponying up quick to guest blog so I don't have to feel guilty for not. Someday I'll be ready, but not in February!
but Cynthia, it's easier to catch a cat to spay or neuter; those rats are sneaky and quick. is there a spay/neuter program for rats, Kay??
my cats would not consider gong near a rat. poor Julius is dying of kidney failure (at 15 years old) and i'm sure a rat would have a big upper hand. Bubba, who is big enough to just sit on a rat, does not deign to mess with such tedious things. his purpose is to find a warm space, curl up and sleep until the next meal (which is provided to him on a silver platter).
Clyde, very lovely poem. was that splash Icarus falling into the sea or the rat falling into the bucket?
fly safely, Kay
Dale, are you going to visit Iapetus on your vacation?
Let's just say I'm glad that I don't have to mow that thing.
Kay, you are in rare form today; :) I also got no results from normalizing shampoo. Safe journey back to Utah, where I wish I were going.
Off topic: Did anyone else see Men Who Stare at Goats (did we already do this here?) - some very funny moments, subtle humor, great cast, and the goats come out OK.
Late getting on board today-odd sort of morning on my particular moon. I think the gravitational pole was shifting.
Looking forward to the guest bloggers as always.
Our cat, Twix delights in catching mice, eating their heads and presenting us with the remainder, but I think she is too elegant go brawling with rats.
Renee, wasn't there something yesterday about planting potatoes as a preparation for lawn development by the old Ukranians in your area.
That is where I think we should start on Iapetus.
Catherine, restoring personal equilibrium
Explain this to me about cats. Every year of my adult life in my old old house, I've had mice in the fall.... until the year I got my cat, 8 years ago. Only twice in all those years have I caught him with an actual mouse (already dead both times) but the mice issue is gone. No mice or evidence of mice anywhere, ever. SO, do we think he is eating all the mice and just getting his face clean before I get up in the morning or do the mice smell the cat in the house and go elsewhere? This mystery is right up there for me, along w/ where do the fingernail clippers go?
Maybe "normalizing" shampoo used consistently just keeps us from going off the deep end ...
sorry, Dale - we've drifted to vermin.
Sherrilee, we "bought the farm" three years before we officially moved out here for good. during that time the mice almost took apart a chenille bedspread upstairs, thread by thread, and moved it downstairs into the drawers of my grandmothers' old sewing machine. then they moved a bunch of bird seed (from the outside feeders, 20 feet from the house) into the sewing machine drawers as well and had (i'm sure) a whole bunch of little mousies. since we moved in, in 2007, we see an occasional mouse - dead or on its way out. i'm sure they smell the cats and stay away. our boys are not very neat when it comes to mice. we've found little mouse livers on the rugs. but mostly they just play them to death. so i think your cat is scaring the mice away (the smart ones).
Kay, is Mina brave enough to take on a rat? i've heard you need a special, very brave cat to be a ratter. mice, lizards, praying mantis, etc. are all easy prey but rats are scary-strong i think.
again, sorry Dale :-)
You use normalizer after you wash your hair with sham poo.
"Let take a cat, and foster him well with milk
And tender flesh and make his couch of silk,
And let him see a mouse go by the wall,
Anon he waveth milk and flesh and all,
And every dainty that is in that house,
Such appetite he hath to eat a mouse."
Chaucer
Cats must have been different 900 years ago.
Clyde -- they have indeed changed. My kitty likes potato chips! Although he does have three different kitty beds around the house.
Our largest cat likes to knock things over just to see them fall. He lives a pampered life in the house and has never seen a mouse, but does enjoy watching the birds by the feeder. Our first cat once brought a live bird in the house, and it looked as though someone had been plucking chickens in the dining room. . Then our very excited terrier got a hold of the corpse, and I never found the body. I don't even like to think about it. I have always been afraid of small birds, I think from the time of was very small and I was sitting by my pug dog who ate our parakeet right before my eyes. That was one proud pug, since she caught the bird in mid air.
Regarding mice, we have Hanta Virus here, and I knew a person who died of it not too long ago. I think I would become completely hysterical if I found one, dead or alive, in my house.
hantavirus in ND?? wow. Cynthia, be thankful you "only" got Lyme Disease. i googled and found that common mice and rats do not carry hantavirus. deer mice do (and others, i suppose).
geez, this is an educational blog.
There have been about three cases here west of the Missouri over the past couple of years. It's sometimes treatable if you catch it soon enough, but it resembles many other viral infections so its hard for medical folks to spot it right away.
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