My Garden

Ever since purchasing a house last June (2010) I knew I was going to start a garden.  I remember growing up and always helping my mawmaw sow, water, weed, and harvest.  Of course, harvesting was my favorite part because that always meant a fresh meal.  My favorites included cucumbers soaked in vinegar and salt and pepper, fresh boiled mustard or turnip greens, pan fried eggplant or squash, and the list goes on.  So after getting an itch in my green thumb I immediately began researching; this lead me to pick up the book "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew.

Square Foot Gardening piqued my interest because it touted simple, organized, and clean lines.  So taking a few suggestions from the book and tweeking them to meet my hearts desire, I began with this...

I constructed my square foot garden out of 2"x10" because I wanted a slightly deeper bed than recommended and also I wanted a beefier construction.  Where I did not stray was on the "Mel's Mix" despite how difficult it was to find vermiculite (which wasn't cheep and came in small 1 cubic foot bags).

Since my plan was to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash, I constructed a trellis as the book dictated and it worked out well, well, almost...

I initially used the recommended trellis netting.  I had to replace the netting two times because it became brittle and could be wiped away just like you would a spider's nest.  So I made a slight adjustment and used some green temporary fencing, as such...

This had definitely worked much better than the netting.  I attached it to the frame using zip ties.  Easy peasy!

I still struggle with squirrels but I've decided against throwing the bird netting back over.  It was a pain in the rear to mow around and removing it and re-anchoring the netting once a week stinks.  So I've tried deterring the pests with a garden owl, which apparently does not work.  But so far I am having okay luck and have a few peppers starting to grow, finally.

A lot of the vegetables I planted at the beginning of summer never produced, but I have yet to pull them up and it appears that they might finally do something now that the heat has subsided.  Eggplant is looking promising, the carrots (what's left of them after the squirrels have uprooted most) are taking off, and finally the cauliflower has come to life.

Hopefully in another month or two I will get to talk about picking the first vegetables out of my garden! 

Replenishing the Supplements and Giving Some New Ones a Try

I've been hearing good things about Jack3d, a pre-workout powder, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  I popped in to a GNC to see if they carried the stuff and lo and behold....and I actually made it in on Gold Card week!

Apparently this stuff is one of their best sellers so it's kept under lock-and-key with only one of each flavor on display and the rest hidden behind the counter.  Interesting.  Anyway, while there I decided to pick up some more protein powder since I threw away a bunch of out-of-date stuff.

I'm going with a new brand of protein powder, AP Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60.  I was talked into this one because I was looking for a BCAA supplement and all that was offered came in powder form.  Since there's only so many shakes I can mentally handle in one day, I decided to pick up a protein powder containing a full spectrum BCAA formulation.  The second reason I chose this particular powder was because they didn't carry the brand I was previously using, SEI MAX Protein, which I believe also touted a generous BCAA profile.  And thirdly, another "old" powder that I was using, Syntha-6, also contained BCAAs but in unknown quantities.  Another benefit of the AMP product being touted is the lack of fillers and unnecessary additives that are found in some of the other products.

I'm certain I won't be able to tell a difference between any of these three different protein powders since it's been over 4 years since I've been serious about working out.  Most of my gains, or in this case losses, will be contributed primarily to the fact that I'm going to be consistent in hitting the weights.

Now, all I need to do is execute my plan of going to the gym regularly and not missing a workout, which will only be two a week since I cannot workout legs until the foreseeable future......and I must avoid the calling of the pool on a weight day.

Sometimes Things Just Click

I typically don't have a game plan when I go for a swim.  I usually shoot for 20 laps (2 lengths of the pool per lap), or close to since I usually lose count.  Today was just another day, a lunch time swim.  But it turned out to be a little bit more...


I don't know what clicked but it seemed like I just all of a sudden learned how to glide through the water after each stroke, found my "bouy", and sunk into a nice smoothe rhythm.  I was feeling the water well with my hand/arm and getting really good propulsion every stroke that it was effortless to maintain momentum and avoid sinking the hips and legs.  I guess I was just feeling it today.


As I counted away at the laps I settled on completing the usual 20.  After 20 laps and realizing only 15 minutes had elapsed, I decided to go for 30.  Then I thought "a half-ironman is approximately 33 laps, let me go for 35".  Once I hit 35, I decided "heck, I can do 40, easily".  And so I did.  At the conclusion I was just barely breathing a little more labored but not completely sucking wind which is good because I never really feel spent after a swim.  It felt really good to swim with some minute amount of good technique.  Now let's just hope I can pick right back up where I left off.