You should always wear gloves when working in the garden, not just to lessen your chances of a blister here or there, or a splinter, but you never know what might be lurking around under that rock or log you’re about to lift.  While rearranging our herb gardens yesterday and moving rocks around in the process I picked up the largest of one corner in order to make a new garden on the other side.  I walked about ten feet with the rock and flipped it over in the psot where I wanted it and noticed two plump black spiders on the underside.  At first getting a closer look I realized I had never encountered these spiders before and went to grab something to contain them.  When I returned, the smaller of the two had gotten away but I managed to get the larger of the two into a ziplock bag.  I looked around and finally found the other one scurrying underneath the rock again and put him into his own bag realizing that what I may have found were indeed Black Widow spiders.   After getting them both into the bags I looked on their bellies to find the red hourglass defining detail.

Male Black Widow Spider (click to enlarge)

Female Black Widow Spider (click to enlarge)

At this point I am sure most would be ready to kill them, but while I don’t want them inhabiting my gardens I felt no need to crush them.  I looked for more, after putting my gloves on, and found no egg sac.   I need some type of natural, organic remedy for their locating in my oregano.   I don’t think I want those in my marinara.

Today I took them on a trip to a secluded creek and released them, the male a good distance from the female but only after telling him, “She’s not worth it, man.  Just walk away.”  Yeah, I talk to bugs.

Today is Earth Day and millions of people are thinking of ways, if just for one day, to make their lives better for the environment.   The best thing that one can do is to go vegan.  The animals raised in the U.S. alone are contributing more greenhouse gases to our environment than the vehicles we drive everyday!   The land we use to raise cattle could be used ten time more efficently to raise grain to feed millions more people!  Ammonia from factory farms is a major air pollutant.   The list of reasons why going vegan is better for our world is endless.  If everyone went vegetarian for one day 100 billion gallons of water could be saved, 70 million gallons of gas would be saved,  3 million acres of land would be saved.

There is not one single thing more important to our environment than our diet.  If only for this one day, go vegan!

“I’m a vegetarian but I eat fish.”

“I’m a vegan, but I eat beef for the protein.”

Those are two of the most inane comments I have heard.  Follow me closely on this, if you eat animal flesh you are NOT a vegetarian.  If you eat animal flesh or any animal product you are not vegan.  Calling yourself such when the term is false is just a ploy to make yourself look like you have a desire to belong to a group that you don’t.

Don’t get confused, I don’t care what you eat as you shouldn’t care what I eat but to call yourself something that clearly doesn’t apply just makes you look foolish ,and yes, I do laugh at you after I walk away when you make one of those statements.  If you want to eat fish and no other animal derived meat that is fine and your choice, just don’t apply the term “vegetarian” to your diet.  If you want to eschew all forms of animal products except animal derived cheese from your diet don’t call yourself vegan, you’re not one.

I’ll go as far to apply the same to those who eat cheese filled with animal rennet, you’re not a vegetarian.  Some will disagree, fine, but to eat the stomach scrapings of a calf/lamb/etc. is not in the definition of vegetarian.  That’s not arguable.

So to those who want to engage in a discussion of how you have been vegan for so many years and how you eat chicken once a week just for the “variety”, don’t engage in a discussion of how you are vegan, because you’re not.