I'm going to pea all over this blockchain! Pun intended ;))

The shock, sadness, and stress of the recent turmoil here has unnerved investors and content-creators alike. It's time, at least on my little corner of Blurt, for something else.

As you can see, my pea plants have enjoyed the spring here in Western Canada. Last year, winter gave way directly to scorching summer heat (which killed 1000+ people in my region)... so we are happy to get a little rain this May and June.

Peas galore. These aren't the "eat the pods and everything" type, so most of these will be allowed to swell up with tasty sweet peas over the next few days.

I look forward to cooking and mashing some for my 4-month-old daughter! It will be one of her first solid foods. With the baby formula shortage getting even worse now, we are working on ways of accelerating her transition from bottles to solids. We have enough formula to last her another month or two, and then hopefully she will be able to take in enough nutrients and calories via cereals, steamed veggies, fruits, etc. It's pretty sad to have to worry about not being able to feed newborn babies, in Canada, in 2022! Yet here we are, that is the reality of the situation. I feel badly for babies even younger than she is, with several months of required formula ahead of them.

(Note: Not all mothers can produce enough breastmilk to feed the baby. Surgeries, radiation, medications, etc affect milk production. "Just breastfeed!" is not an option for some. Before modern times, babies simply died of starvation in these cases. Up until a few decades ago, we had "wet nurses", lactating women who could rescue these babies. But now, we have formula. It's really the only option other than death for many babies, including my little daughter. Most human newborns can't digest milk from other mammals until they are closer to a year old, so that's not really an option in most cases either. So please, hold your "don't you know that breastmilk is best?!" insensitive comments. Yes, we know. @MediKatie had major cancer, radiation, and surgeries as a child. She simply can't produce enough, no matter how hard she tries. Formula isn't better than nature, but my daughter is alive because of it. The worldwide shortage is a very serious matter and I hope it is resolved before too much more damage to the next generation is done.)

Up top, a ton of new flowers coming on. Next week is supposed to be hot, so that might put an end to the fun. Peas like it cool.

An underrated flower, the pea.

Here's my orache (aka mountain spinach) doing quite well. It has a few bugs on the tips, but when the heat comes on they will probably disappear. I prefer not using pesticides. I have about 6 of these red (actually more like green/purple) oraches.

Garlic scapes! Pretty much the garlic's penis. Each bulb sends out one of these, at exactly this time of year, for reproduction. But they don't NEED scapes to reproduce, because the bulbs themselves are self-propagating down in the soil. These scapes are just another option, for sexual reproduction (using flowers and wind-pollination). They're tender and packed with garlic flavour. If you're lucky, sometimes you can find them at shops and markets at this time of year. I'm even luckier, I can snip them off plants just outside my door.

I have about 100 garlics this year, and at least half will be large and healthy enough to produce scapes, so this is about 1/4 of my crop. See the last photo on this post for the destination of these tasty scapes!

My 2 cannabis seedlings. They're not very big, and they need transplanting, but they're relatively healthy and quite hardy. I think I'll put them into the main garden soon, let them really take off. They'll enjoy the coming heat.

Potatoes are doing well. This is the main patch, but I have a side patch around the corner, and another handful spread around in spots on the back lawn which will be the fall crop.

Finally, there's supper! Broc, cauli, shallots, and mushrooms from the shop. Fresh green beans from the farmers market. And garlic scapes from the back yard! It was fantastic with a ginger teriyaki sauce, over basmati rice.

#letsgrowblurt

There are good people on Blurt. I've met a few of them. We're kind of a bunch of misfits and miscreants, but hey, we have a lot of good qualities. Many people here are resilient, intelligent, and principled. That's a great start. We can get through the crap that's going on here, if we make the right choices. And if this place can't be salvaged, we can fairly easily build a new place, using what we learned here. A few good investors, a handful of solid content-creators, and a small transparent team of admins (with clear roles and compensation) would be enough. But for now, I am holding tight (not buying or selling any BLURT) and hoping our collective wisdom can guide us through this dark time.

Grow in peace.
DRutter