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A Weekend Getaway in Cleveland National Forest and Mount Laguna

We took a much needed break from all things work related this weekend up at mount Laguna nestled in the Cleveland National Forest. It was brisk and windy and absolutely gorgeous. The trails that wound around completely dried up lakes looked like grizzly country and it was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Mount Laguna_Cleveland National Forest_01
Trail map of Cleveland National Forest

I had an extremely rough week at work. Very bad, yet expected, news that had left me in a tail spin. I’ll spare you the details as there are many things in the works now as a result that I am not ready to announce publicly. I’ll just say that the winds of change are blowing at my back.

I found myself feeling melancholy and stoic and pooped and demoralized the last few days. But as fate would have it, arrangements had already been made to get the hell out of Dodge. So off we went. Just a simple two day car camping trip that proved to be exactly what I needed.

I’m keeping this post brief as I am breaking the rules right now of doing nothing constructive this weekend. I just wanted to share some of the photos with you wonderful people as I could use all the love and support I can gather right now and you guys are just so damn groovy and always cheer me up. So here’s a grip of photos…

That’s it folks. Apparently I thought it best to not take any photos of the first day/night and opted instead on imbibing in libations of the whisky and scotch variety. So even if I had taken photos, I’m sure they would not be appropriate here. I will say this though, having six inches of down and wool blankets in the tent during last nights chilly weather made for a cozy way to sleep off any chance of a hangover so I rose early this morning to fry bacon and ply myself with coffee.

These are all from todays hike. It was a wintery day that I don’t get much of here in SoCal. I found it suit my mood perfectly and took as many chances as I could to sneak off to sit and think and then not think at all. Just watch the trees sway in cool winds and the stretches of grasslands to whip and swirl as cheeks grew rosy and heavy hearts were lifted to matters beyond timeclockery and meetings and parking and traffic and shitty news.

Now I find myself warm and cozy with only the slightest hint of dread. Seeing the late Sunday clock move ever forward, marching towards my inevitable Monday doom. Much love, dear reader, for all your support and kind words. You bolster my sorrows and keep me chugging along. When this all blows over, we should all go camping together.

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The True Evil Empire is Monsanto and They are Trying to Kill the World. Join the Rebel Alliance!

Dear reader. Kind reader. Gentle reader. I am so sorry to do this to you, but I am about to go off the rails from my normal posts. I adamantly try to avoid politics or anything too controversial on Mind Your Dirt. I usually try to be approachable in order to reach the widest audience. My goals have always been three-fold: to learn/teach, to inspire and to amuse.

Today, I will be abandoning this goal. I’m throwing it all out the window and I hope that you can bear with me and perhaps even, one day, forgive me. Afterwards I will return to our normal programming. And as a sign of good will, I made certain to make the feature image above hilariously entertaining. At least it is to me. The entire time I created it, I was laughing maniacally. I really crack me up. I sooo get me. When this all blows over, I and I should move in together and make out a bunch. Replacing Darth Vader’s head with that of Monsanto’s CEO, Hugh Grant, tickled me tremendously. But nothing cracked me up as much as sticking Piper’s head on Princess Leia. I digress.

That said, I am about to go on a rant the likes of which you have not seen from me. There might even be a curse word or two! I have always been angry with Monsanto and companies of its ilk (like Dow Chemicals), but I saw something recently that really pushed me too far. I’ll explain below what that something is, but first let’s all get acquainted with Monsanto, shall we? I know that by now, you have all heard something about this company. I know that you know about GMOs and pesticides. You’ve formed your opinions already. But if you’re here, or are one of my regular readers (wassup guys), then chances are your opinions and mine are very similar.

I want to go a little deeper than that however. For herein lies well over a century of the purest evil, manipulation and widespread global murder the likes of which is seldom seen.

Like all great stories, it’s best to start in the beginning…

Mind Your Dirt is Mad at Monsanto 04_James as Lord Vader

Part One: The Dark Lord Emerges:

The company was founded in 1901 by John Francis Queeny, a member of the Knights of Malta and the original Grumpy Cat. He was a thirty-year pharmaceutical veteran. Below is a photo of Queeny at the age of twelve with his pet kitty, Darth Mittens. The powers of The Dark Side had aged him well beyond his years.

Mind Your Dirt is Mad at Monsanto 02_John Francis Queeny the Grumpy Cat
John Francis Queeny, the original grumpy cat.

Continue reading “The True Evil Empire is Monsanto and They are Trying to Kill the World. Join the Rebel Alliance!”

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Night of the Living Jasmine

[in the voice of Vincent Price]

From dark and chilly depths of fetid yet well fertilized and mulched dirt, the beast reaches deeply into the abyss in search of evil nutrients and minerals of ill intent. Its sickly sweet scent fills the air mockingly, as a warning of what horrors await the gentle passers by. With icy tendrils reaching to the heavens that will no longer accept it, the cold grip seizes all that tread near.

Not only a grip to grasp maidens hair or heroes well coiffed mustaches, these skeletal fingers seek something more profound; your very soul. Move verily and hastily to safe quarters, dear traveler, for ye are beyond the safety of home and hearth!

The jasmine is among us!! For tonight belongs to it. The night of the living jasmine!! Mwahahaha!!

Just in time for Halloween, I have a tale of pure gardening horror and danger. But as with all tales, one must begin…well…in the beginning.

My plan was of noble and simple origins. To sweeten the air entering my bedroom with delicious jasmine flowers. Here in California, the winds are almost always blowing from the West to the East off of the ocean. When I was house hunting I brought along my trusty compass to make certain that sun and wind will be positioned to my favor. So, if I plant a jasmine vine by my back door where the breezes always waft into the house, I’d have my own natural air freshener. Genius right? Yes, yes it is.

What I failed to anticipate was how viney vines are. I began training this vine properly, but as it rose up columns it began to get away from me as I had nowhere to secure it above the columns. I thought I’d tackle that issue as it arose. Well, dear reader, it has risen!

And then some! It began reaching out in all directions to the point that I couldn’t exit the house without getting a face full of reaching tendrils. Some of them tipped with creepy crawly things! I had a friend record a typical day for me to show you. Here I am passing by the vine…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEsT50D0pcc?rel=0&showinfo=0&w=640&h=360]

As you can see, something needed to be done! My thanks to Craig T. Nelson for coming over to help me out. And a special wag of the finger to Taylor for not chipping in and cuddling with that weird little blonde girl! Bad Taylor! Coward!!
Continue reading “Night of the Living Jasmine”