Exploring Mt. Vernon

If you ever go, don't miss the unintentionally hysterical informative film hosted by Pat Sajeck in costume.  

First thing I saw outside was this endangered ram with a HUGE gaping wound around his horn that was at least 4" long, 1/2" wide and deep down to the muscle. It didn't look fresh either, since his eye was super swollen & hurting him.  He kept rubbing it on the other sheep, like "Please help me".  I have a feeling there's massive infection going on all the way around the horn and into the eye. Made dickish costumed guide call livestock caretaker, 'cuz I'm like that.

Name of this plant escapes me, but it added a lot of color to the upper garden's post-harvest bareness

 Where did that America go?  How far we've strayed.

 "The love of my country will be the ruling influence of my conduct."

Again... How far we've strayed.  I bristle when a-holes like the guy on my flight tell me I'm not patriotic because I support #OccupyWallStreet / #OccupyTogether. I LOVE MY COUNTRY, & yes, I'd die for it. Parcels of land in Alexandria were sold in a way that ensured the less well off had a chance to own land too.  Where did that America go?  I'm fighting for the fairness, compassion, peace, sustainability & basic human rights that made up the spirit of our original laws. Corruption & greed has perverted & twisted the interpretation of our founding fathers' words, & we need to take our country back.

What would George Washington think of Monsanto?  What would he think about the destruction of America's bread basket via pesticides, herbicides, & genetically modified crops that cause illness & hunger?  What would he do to a company that knowingly poisons Americans & contaminates our crop diversity so that future Americans will starve? What would he think of gm seed contracts & terminator seed technology that enslaves farmers today?  He'd hang them all for treason.

 

 

  George Washington was a sustainable ag pioneer.  Imagine the number of seasons of trial & error it must have taken to get the right combo of ingredients for fertilizing in his micro-climate. Our founding fathers blazed this trail for us already, and we need to get back to this way of thinking.  Unfortunately, big ag buys up nutrients & the disappearance of fish all over the world will make it hard to do so.  It's all connected... The fish in the ocean are important to the farmers on land growing grains, etc...  Earth's very thin, fragile biosphere is on the brink of being wrecked beyond the point where we can reverse the damage.  It's beginning to snowball.  We're almost at the point where a complete stop to all destructive practices won't help.  Our decline has almost taken on a life of its own. If you like to eat, you better OCCUPY.

The Mt. Vernon mansion would be completely rotted away if it weren't for a group of patriotic local ladies who banned together to save it.  The roof was falling in & had to be propped up with the masts of abandoned ships.  The site is privately owned by the women's group today.  

 Purple hyacinth beans!  I have these growing in the front yard in San Jose.  "They" say the immature pods are okay to eat, but the big ones are toxic, so not sure why they grow them here.  Most plants left in the garden & farm were left to produce seed.  I had never seen an okra flower.  It kind of looks like hibiscus or yarrow.  Okra was a lot taller than I thought it would be too.

Adorable, affectionate ram that LOVED being scratched behind the ears.  He'd lean in for good measure.  This is where my iphone camera ceased working.  I had a photo of him leaning into my hand, but won't come up.  Sigh.  Had to buy disposable camera at Arlington.

Gardener action!

Wheat grown for demonstration only.  They let it rot in piles everywhere.  Seems a shame to waste it.  They should at least share it as seed.  Stole a handful.

Tobacco

 I had never seen cotton plants close up.  Had to steal some cotton wool with seeds.  Will see if I can get it to grow in NOLA, along with the peanut, wheat, the black walnut I stole from the Capital, and the acorn I took from Arlington Cemetary.  

  Black sheep breaks away from the pack of white sheep to blaze his own trail.  My kind of sheep.

 George & Martha Washington's tomb.  We said the pledge & laid a wreath before taking our photos.

 A man dressed as a slave demonstrated plowing with oxen & showed me heritage chickens GW encouraged slaves to raise for themselves.

From here we went to Christ Church in Alexandria, Arlington Cemetery, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, WWII Memorial & (empty) reflecting pool.  Photos of those spots are on disposable camera.  Coming soon.  Have lots to say about that.