When Kate Blogs

The Happiest Place on Earth is one of my favourite places. But it’s also a place where parenting is more important than ever. Why? Because even though everyone acts like they aren’t watching your parenting skills, they are.

Having children at Disneyland can be stressful for parents who aren’t adept at anticipating their child’s needs. You know, the basics: clean, full, happy, energetic or the way we see them: dirty, hungry, crying & mid-tantrum on the way to crash.

Parent anticipation is lost if the parent is too focused on their iPhone or conversation with other adults. Granted you want to have fun too. But it’s not fun for anyone if your child isn’t having fun, that's why you're there.

For Example: If a child doesn’t want to go on a ride like the Haunted Mansion, don’t make them, don’t talk them into it. A crying child doesn’t enhance the ride experience for anyone, trust me.

Remember Disneyland really is for the kids; your kids and the kid in you. Be aware of their needs before it’s too late. Are they hungry? Are they clean? Are they doing age-appropriate rides? Then everyone in your group and everyone around you will have a better time!

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Save the Farmers! Save the Humans!

Driving up I-5 in California, travelers watch swirling dust as it moves along the ground by the roadside on what was once fertile farmland.

For the traveler the several hundred mile stretch of highway is dull and brown with barren land and the remains of orchards. The dead dark branches reach for the sky.

For the farm families the current situation is devastating. A broken economy, broken industry and even broken families are the result of broken promises as the water that once fed this land was turned off.

Signs along the road state 'Congress created a Dust Bowl' and 'No Water = No Jobs'.

What's the story? Why would Congress devastate a region and an industry?

It's all about a small fish in the Sacramento Delta that isn't breeding fast enough. The Smelt became endangered. Rather than seeking to relocate the fish or help it find additional breeding grounds, Congress upheld the decision to stop all irrigation to Central California Farms.

Is this bothering anyone? An even bigger story is that there is little to no coverage of this issue in over a year. Why is there no media coverage since the water has been turned off?

The farmers unnecessarily join the ranks of the unemployed. Fewer farm, transportation and food service workers are needed in an already struggling economy.

What are the numbers?

Estimated impact of stopping food production on thousands of acres is difficult to calculate. Of course all the consumers are paying higher food prices. Additionally, direct adverse economic impact adds more than 5,000 to unemployment lines with a calculable ripple effect of close to 20,000.

I'm not anti-fish. I'm not anti-environment. I'm also not anti-farmer nor anti-food for humans. In the larger picture do we as a society value a small inedible fish more than thousands upon thousands of people?

Save the fish but not at the expense of the farms and farmers. Humans need food too!

Save the Farmers! Save the Humans!

More information:

http://goodsensepolitics.blogspot.com/2010/12/fish-study-that-turned-california-into.html

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2012/02/house-can-prevent-big-green%E2%80%99s-california-dust-bowl/321401

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/20/its-farmers-vs-fish-for-california-water/

Friday, May 18, 2012

Pansies

Pansies, in the family of Viola or Violaceae, are hardy bedding biennial plants. Growing to an average of six to nine inches tall, the flowers are easily recognizable even if you don’t know their name.

The hardy pansy grows around the globe with the growing season determined by the variation in daily temperature. Pansies are the most beautiful when daily temperatures range is between 60s (highs) and 40s (overnight lows).

Pansies grow quickly from seed and fill in areas within a month or two. When transplanting the bedding plants there will be a shock period of approximately one week. After which the plants will spread to their full width in three to four weeks. Water pansies weekly and plan for regular pinching/pruning of the spent flowers to continue the bloom throughout the season.