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The Booby Prize for Packaging Waste goes to O2.

We became fed up with the coverage of the Vodafone mobile broadband modem, we had become quite frustrated with the intermittent coverage that we had changed over to O2 and got one of their little modems instead. I have to admit that we are very satisfied with the coverage and glad that we changed.

Recently we needed another modem for a guest that was staying and for my use when I travel by myself that we unlocked it the unused vodafone modem and ordered an O2 mobile modem sim card to use with it instead.

Yesterday a small box came in the post and we wondered what it could be, we weren’t expecting anything, we hadn’t ordered anything big enough for a box.

Imagine our surprise on opening it…..

We have had a few beautiful days of sun, light winds and starry clear nights. This week in August every year there are amazing night skies with shooting stars (Perseids) in the northern sky. Check out the Astronomy Ireland website for more details.

If you are blessed with clear skies then you owe it to yourself to go out at night, bring a rug, wear a warm hat and settle into your favourite deck chair to watch the show. If you have binoculars they may add to the fun however I often find it less frustrating to just gaze upwards and let the magic unfold.

I don’t think that I will get to see any stars tonight as we had a day of rain, all day…

I decided to make use of the rain to wash the outdoor bathtub so I put the plug in this morning to allow it to fill. After a few hours I went out to check on progress. Imagine my surprise to find two fine frogs swimming about in the tub…

Here is a close up of one of the swimmers, handsome fella isn’t he?

We have had a much better summer than in the last few years. There has been lost of sun and a generous amount of rain so the growth has been very lush.

The grass has grown so quickly that we were nearly overgrown! The rushes on some of our land is waist high and has been uncut for a few years. The ground has been too wet for the last few years to allow a tractor on to it, the wheels would have caused too much damage to the land.

Recently we have had the excitement of getting a walk-behind grass cutter and we have been like two kids excitedly cutting the grass and raking it. Feeling the wet cut grass under my bare feet reminds me of childhood summers in hayfields, counting frogs, drinking cold tea from glass bottles and jumping over the freshly cut hay.

In honour of the amazing growth that we have seen this summer I have freshened the look of the blog a little. I hope you like it, it’s all my own work!

Anyone who reads this blog regularily knows how much I hate Monsanto and the products that they have put on the market.

I have great difficulty accepting the contrast of Michele Obama growing organic veggies in the White House gardens while hubby Barack places pro-Monsanto and pro-GM people in the FDA and USDA.

It’s like having the bank robbers oversee the governing body for banking – actually that has happened too if you take a close look at Irish banking, oh dear, that was a bad example, however I hope you know what I mean….

I don’t know about you however I sure would not like my food to be sprayed with toxins. If you live and vote in the USA here is a list of the people who are pushing the widespread use of Roundup. Perhaps you live in the constituency of some of these politicians and could let them know how unhappy you are about their stand on toxic pesticides and herbicides…

Seventy-five House members ask USDA to approve Roundup Ready alfalfa planting despite the fact that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has yet to be finished.

A letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack from 75 Members of Congress asks that farmers be allowed to plant Roundup Ready alfalfa (RRA) in the fall 2010 planting season.

The June 21, 2010, decision by the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a nationwide ban on the cultivation of biotech alfalfa, but remanded the case back to the District Court. Depending on the District Court’s decision, USDA can then decide what interim measures can be implemented while the agency completes its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The letter points out that the USDA’s draft EIS concluded that there is “no significant impact on the human environment due to granting non-regulated status to Roundup Ready alfalfa.” A partial deregulation would allow farmers to plant their inventoried RRA seed this fall while the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) completes its final environmental impact study.

Under the leadership of Reps. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), Wally Herger (R-Calif.) and Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), the letter was signed by 75 Members of Congress including House Ag Committee Chair Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) along with 25 additional Agriculture Committee Members.
Representatives
Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) and seventy-five members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asking the USDA to partially deregulate Roundup Ready alfalfa (RRA) and allow fall 2010 planting.

The letter was signed by

Representatives:

Bobby Bright Bright, Bobby, Alabama, 2nd

, Marion Berry Berry, Marion, Arkansas, 1st
,, Mike Ross Ross, Mike, Arkansas, 4th
, John Boozman Boozman, John, Arkansas, 3rd

Dennis Cardoza Cardoza, Dennis, California, 18th
Kevin McCarthy McCarthy, Kevin, California, 22nd
, Jim Costa Costa, Jim, California, 20th
, Tom McClintock McClintock, Tom, California, 4th
Devin Nunes Nunes, Devin, California, 21st
, Wally Herger Herger, Wally, California, 2nd

Mike Coffman Coffman, Mike, Colorado, 6th
, John Salazar Salazar, John T., Colorado, 3rd
, Doug Lamborn Lamborn, Doug, Colorado, 5th

Joe Courtney Courtney, Joe, Connecticut, 2nd

Allen Boyd Boyd, Allen, Florida, 2nd
, Tom Rooney Rooney, Tom, Florida, 16th

Jack Kingston Kingston, Jack, Georgia, 1st
, David Scott Scott, David, Georgia, 13th

, Walt Minnick Minnick, Walt, Idaho, 1st
, Mike Simpson Simpson, Mike, Idaho, 2nd

Phil Hare Hare, Phil, Illinois, 17th
, Aaron Schock Schock, Aaron, Illinois, 18th
, John Shimkus Shimkus, John, Illinois, 19th

, Brad Ellsworth Ellsworth, Brad, Indiana, 8th

Bruce Braley Braley, Bruce L., Iowa, 1st
Tom Latham Latham, Tom, Iowa, 4th
, Leonard Boswell Boswell, Leonard, Iowa, 3rd
, Steve King King, Steve, Iowa, 5th
, David Loebsack Loebsack, David, Iowa, 2nd

Representatives Lynn Jenkins R-Kansas
, Jerry Moran Moran, Jerry, Kansas, 1st
, Todd Tiahrt Tiahrt, Todd, Kansas, 4th

Charlie Melancon Melancon, Charlie, Louisiana, 3rd

Dave Camp Camp, Dave, Michigan, 4th

Collin Peterson Peterson, Collin C., Minnesota, 7th
, Erik Paulsen Paulsen, Erik, Minnesota, 3rd
John Kline Kline, John, Minnesota, 2nd
, Michelle Bachmann Bachmann, Michele, Minnesota, 6th

, Bennie Thompson Thompson, Bennie G., Mississippi, 2nd

, Sam Graves Graves, Sam, Missouri, 6th
, Roy Blunt Blunt, Roy, Missouri 7th
, Jo Ann Emerson Emerson, Jo Ann, Missouri, 8th
, Todd Akin Akin, Todd, Missouri, 2nd,
Blaine Leutkemeyer Luetkemeyer, Blaine, Missouri, 9th
, Russ Carnahan Carnahan, Russ, Missouri, 3rd
, William Lacy Clay Clay Jr., William “Lacy”, Missouri, 1st

Adrian Smith Smith, Adrian, Nebraska, 3rd

, Harry Teague Teague, Harry, New Mexico, 2nd

Chris Lee Lee, Christopher J., New York, 26th
, Scott Murphy Murphy, Scott, New York, 20th

Howard Coble. Coble, Howard, North Carolina, 6th
, Larry Kissell Kissell, Larry, North Carolina, 8th
Mike McIntyre McIntyre, Mike, North Carolina, 7th

Earl Pomeroy Pomeroy, Earl, North Dakota

Patrick Tiberi Tiberi, Pat, Ohio, 12th *
Jean Schmidt Schmidt, Jean, Ohio, 2nd *
John Boehner Boehner, John A., Ohio, 8th *
Bob Latta Latta, Robert E., Ohio, 5th *
Steve Austria Austria, Steve, Ohio, 7th *

Frank Lucas Lucas, Frank, Oklahoma, 3rd

Greg Walden Walden, Greg, Oregon, 2nd

, Glen Thompson Thompson, Glenn W., Pennsylvania, 5th
Tim Holden Holden, Tim, Pennsylvania, 17th
Chris Carney Carney, Christopher P., Pennsylvania, 10th
Joe Pitts Pitts, Joseph R., Pennsylvania, 16th

, Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie, South Dakota,

, Phil Roe Roe, Phil, Tennessee, 1st
,Blackburn Martha Blackburn, Marsha, Tennessee 7th**********

Mac Thornberry Thornberry, Mac, Texas, 13th
, Joe Barton Barton, Joe, Texas, 6th
, Randy Neugebauer Neugebauer, Randy, Texas, 19th
, Mike Conaway Conaway, K. Michael, Texas, 11th

Bob Goodlatte Goodlatte, Bob, Virginia, 6th

Cathy McMorris-Rodgers McMorris Rodgers, Cathy, Washington, 5th

Tom Petri Petri, Thomas, Wisconsin, 6th

I am every day amazed by the loveliness that is around me here on the hill. How lucky am I to live here?