Memorial Day Weekend

Its been a busy weekend: Ty's graduation, shopping for plants at High Country Gardens, getting ready for tomorrow's evening get-together. For me, definitely not a morning-bear, getting up for the nephew's 9:00 AM graduation was a horrible way to start the weekend. But luckily, he graduates from high school only once.

Then, on the way back down to Albuquerque, we stopped at High Country Gardens so Caro could pick up some plants. The photo is of me in their green house by the petunias. Of course, buying plants means having to eventually plant them. So much of today was spent digging holes. Terrance was out and about, so he survived his little adventure in the swimming pool last weekend. Caro did the bulk of the work, but I'm a little sore in the back from digging and some heavy lifting.

Had time to tidy up some of the bonsai, especially a couple of the tropicals. The ginkgo is doing very well despite some critter trying to excavate a burrow in its pot. The little fern-like ground cover adds a nice touch.

Monday we're having eight or so friends over for bon bowl--our version of a Vietnamese noodle salad. Lettuce, cucumber, green onion, cilantro, basil, bean sprouts, and a pile of capellini topped with grilled shrimp and pieces of spring roll. Don't forget to sprinkle liberally with chopped peanuts. The sauce is noteworthy (from Sunset Magazine years ago):

3/4 c rice wine vinegar
1/2 c soy sauce
3 T sugar
2 T sesame oil
2 T minced fresh ginger
2 cloves minced garlic
1-2 t red chili powder

Albuquerque Bonsai Exhibit

The Albuquerque Bonsai Club will have a display of bonsai, viewing stones, and accent plants at the Albuquerque Botanic Gardens over the Mothers Day weekend. BTW, Schlepp will be taking his turn as docent and guardian of the bonsai from noon until 3 PM Sunday.

Evolution

It came as a shock during the Republican Presidential Candidates Debate, not only that three of ten candidates do not believe in evolution, but that the question of evolution is a one to be asked. Even more astounding is that the answer is still open for debate among the Republican Party. A fourth candidate (McCain) has accepted speaking engagements from the Discovery Institute (the intelligent design think tank). We have a President who claims that the jury is still out on the theory of evolution. (The three who identified themselves as not believing in the theory of evolution were Sen. Sam Brownback, Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Rep. Tom Tancredo. Curiously, a number of MSM outlets did not name names.)

This state of affairs represents a profound disregard for scientific knowledge, a serious lack of understanding of the scientific method, and a prodigious statement of anti-intellectualism at the very highest levels of U.S. government. No wonder our response to global warming has been held back for seven years. No wonder we have ideological recipes to justify the invasion of Iraq and then more ideology to design a failed solution.

What ever happened to plain old critical thinking?

(Truth in Blogging Disclaimer: Schlepp has a PhD in Biology.)