Kay, I forgot to mention, you can ADD a plant yourself to PlantFiles, if it's not there already. 'Fire Balls'--was that what you were trying to add to your journal? I forget exactly precisely how, but isn't there a button or screen somewhere that says "add a plant to PlantFiles?"
Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners #18
Hi again. I'm interested in finding out how Amargia's, or anybody else's, raised beds are built. I suppose that's changed over time, but I'm looking for as much info/experience as I can find, as I am just starting to build mine. I garden from my knees, or sitting alongside something. I can't sit on the ground, although I can get up from it. So, just wondering.
Also, I'm in the Pacific NW, with its lovely clay clay clay soil and many worms (yay!).
Thanks,
Turtle
The lasagna method Carrie mentioned is a good way to create low raised beds. (Hi, Carrie! We're a 4-computer household again so I'm back.) Lasagna beds are a lazy gardener's dream. They take such a little amount of work. I'm in my mid-20's and have no arthritis or anything like that, but I'm very low energy because of thyroid problems and chronic anemia. I'm always looking for lazy ways to grow food. The downside of lasagna gardens is they take time to compost down and are only about 18" high. That's okay with me because I prefer to work sitting on a cushion on the ground and I have more time than energy.
Jim is in his early 50's with serious back problems and chronic pain, he likes to work sitting down, if possible. He has scrounged all sorts of super sized containers that allow him to work sitting down in his W/c or a lawn chair that is light enough to move easy, but sturdy enough to hold his bulk. The high-rise beds are made of everything from spa-size bathtubs, the drums of washers and clothes dryers, old barbeque grills and even a refrigerator. Kay dresses the finds up with ornamental concrete work and I paint them. Jim's garden space is busy looking, but too funky and artsy to resemble a junkyard.
MK is virtually blind and suffers from too many birthdays, as she puts it. Defined edges on beds is her major concern. That way she doesn't accidently step in them. She likes me to put hardscape or perennial plants around my low beds. She has osteo-arthritis that primarily affects her knees and hips. She is in good physical condition for someone her age and incredibly stubborn. Those qualities make it possible for her to do almost anything in the garden if she has her walker nearby to help her get up and down. Jim's sitting beds and hanging pots are her favs though. Also, she has created pots atop post for the shady areas so she can garden standing up. A container has to be very large to go in sunny locations here because they dry out so fast.
I'll post some photos of some of the sitting and standing beds later when the smell has faded a little. Creating fertile soil organically can be a smelly business.
Photo: Guess what Jim and Kay are doing today? (The pic is of my pick-up bed filled to over-flowering with barnyard fertilizer, IO1. Missed you all! Nadine, the Frog Queen
P.S.: They better clean out my truck bed when they are finished!
This message was edited Apr 10, 2014 2:28 PM
Nadine! I've missed you. Do we get to see cute pictures of Armagia creations, now?
Today it is really nice, 83*, sunny but not really hot (unless you're working or in the direct sun).
Thanks, Kb! Salinazation caused by high water is a big problem on the Gulf Coast, but Amargia is too far inland to be directly affected. In one respect, the west coast's water and salinazation problems are of equal concern to me because of how much food producing land is at risk there. I believe we could survive without the fresh winter food from CA and Mexico, but it isn't something I ever want to know for sure.
I'm looking forward to a field full of vetiver grass!
Turtles, we have hi-rise and low-rise garden beds made from naturally rot resistant, untreated lumber. The affordable choice here is cedar, It might be redwood in your region. The bed frames will hold together about 8-10 years in our humid climate. The new pressure treated lumber is said by experts to be safe for garden beds and there is a lumber treated with boric acid, if you can locate an affordable source. The new plastic composite woods are a good option also. I stick with untreated lumber for edible plants because so many of the people eating from Amargia's garden have existing health issues. (Most doctors think my blindness resulted from my mother's exposure to farm chemicals so I may be a little hyper-vigilant.) There are some edible raised bed materials virtually everyone considers bad choices. Railroad cross ties and old telephone poles because of the creosote and marine grade lumber because it is still treated with arsenic.
My favorite choice for building a raised bed for edibles is concrete blocks. I like being able to sit on the blocks while I tend the bed. If I'm only going up one blocks width, I don't always bother with mortar. Be aware though, if you are sitting on unmortared blocks and they shift, your backside can get pinched. We have a menagerie of old tires re-purposed as planters for ornamental beds. Some are enormous at about 6' across while others are small enough to fit a hanging basket frame. They are painted in wild colors, finished to resemble stone or terra cotta and a few are left unpainted and made to resemble old, black iron kettles. We are always coming up with new ways to use old tires in unique ways. They are free for the taking and we get to feel environmentally responsible for having fun with them. Can't beat that! To make good looking tire planters you really need a jigsaw and a person experienced in using said saw, however.
I've seen some gorgeous raised beds made with man-made stone and bricks, but I have no personal experience with those. I created one natural stone bed and will never do a second one. Whew! That was WORK!
Photo #1: There are pots available from the nursery large enough to qualify as raised beds. The pottery types are out of my price range, but there are some more affordable ones in giant sizes made of resin. Check out the 'Bird Song' kale in the center of this plant combo. Love that plant!!!
Photo #2: The concrete edging cracked on the refrigerator bed when I moved it and I haven't got around to repairing it, but here is an old picture when it was in the w/c accessible garden. I have it planted with carrots and radishes in its current location. It still functions fine. It just doesn't look its best.
Photo #3: I emptied the spa tub planter of normal garden soil so Nadi could turn it into a bog garden and outdoor habitat for her baby frog friends. (We even re-purpose re-purposed items around here. :-) Guess what Nadine was doing today? :-) I'm sure she will post a pic of the tub in its new incarnation, but here it is in its old role as Jim's raised bed.
Photo #4: Aloe vera in tiered t ire planter. This one is small so I can move it inside for the winter. Aloe vera is only hardy to about 42 degrees. I'm working on one that starts with a 6' tire at the base.
A just-for-fun pic. 'Dolly Parton' is my favorite rose of the moment. The fragrance is more like a blended rose-based perfume than a classic rose fragrance. This rose manages to be dramatic and elegant simultaneously. My only issue is it's a hybrid tea. How well it will hold up to the rigors of high summer remains to be seen . mk*
This message was edited Apr 10, 2014 8:15 PM
Wowee! Thank you for all the info, both of you. I am planning to do raised beds since I can't stay upright if sitting on the ground. I walk around on my knees a lot, though, so I'm thinking a little under waist high. I'm glad you mentioned sitting on the edge too. And it'll be cedar.
Here's a question: do you-all not worry about chemicals from planting in tires? I don't know if I can get them for free since I hadn't considered them. Yours look great though, and I can operate most shop tools, so that's a plus.
I have a mish-mash of limitations, so hearing about lots of possibilities is sure helpful. Oh, and do you use cardboard at the bottom of your raised beds? My native soil is clay.
Thank you again. Go tadpoles go.
Turtle
Armagia, thanks for all those lovely pictures. I think I've seen most of them before, but that doesn't mean I don't love to see all of them again. I particularly admire the fridge! Sorry it got cracked :(.
I forgot to say that I am always stunned into silence (!) at the beautifully finished projects that you-all take on. In a way it brings possibilities - pipe dreams - back down to earth. And who could say better about a garden?
T.
lol. "Down to Earth". Good one!
Removing sod is very hard work, especially compared to laying down a layer of cardboard and newspaper. Besides, if you do the latter, you get to feel all warm and fuzzy and green because you kept boxes and old paper out of landfills.
As for whether growing edibles in tires is safe, the two oldest, active gardeners I know both use tires for growing potatoes. The older of the two men is in his 90's and credits his health and longevity to eating a sweet potato every day of his adult life, except for when he was in the Army during WWII. As long as I can remember, he grew his sweet potatoes in tire rings. With the sidewalls cut off the tires, it was so easy to harvest I could do it for him when I was a little girl. He put grass clippings and old hay against the sides of the tires in summer to keep them from getting too hot in the sun. We do that too for the tires we don't paint.
Jim's putting the last bit of insulation in the walls of my micro-house and putting in a new electrical outlet. Yay, I'm so happy I'll wash the truck myself tomorrow. Well, I'll spray the bed with the pressure washer, then take it through the automatic car wash anyway. (Nadi)
http://tennzen.blogspot.com/2009/05/ask-tennzen-is-it-safe-to-grow-veggies.html
Glad you liked that one :~)
I'm not going to argue with longevity. It's funny that you mentioned removing sod though, because that is what I'm famous for. Crawling along with my 6 inch Japanese-style gardening knife, building berms. That was at the last house though. Here I've gotta fix the porch before I can dig into the yard. Someday. But the area on the other side from the porch is shaping up. I laid out paths last year, and I've made all the paths around the veggies to w/c code. As of tonight it looks like we're going to try using flattened rounds of cedar, if that makes any sense. Enough to sit on, not too much to reach over.
Oh, as far as the sod underneath, most of it has been covered for the three years since I rescued (bought) the property. My snakes love me, for providing homes, and I love snakes, so there you go. I've never seen so many garter snakes n all my put together life.
I want to try one of those knives. Sod busting is the garden job I most dread. I use a sharpened spade and that is hard on my knees. Perhaps I should try a different method.
My GD likes snakes. She will occasionally handle them to allow the children to touch and get a close look at them. She didn't get that from me. I'm not that comfortable with the scaly creatures I share the garden with. Snakes and I have learned to live and let live. I can't see them, but I move slowly in the garden giving them plenty of time to get out of my way which I've learned they will do if they have a chance.
It's a minor repair on the fridge planter, Carrie. There wasn't enough space in Jim's Old Soldiers Garden for both the tub and fridge planters. I gave him his choice. I was surprised he chose the fridge. Because of the way the spa tub angles out from the base, it is possible to sit in the w.c with legs under the rim like a table top planter. I thought he would prefer that, but he likes the solidity of the fridge planter and the fact he can sit in one place and reach the whole thing. Well, that and he can plant Spring vegetables in it very successfully. The double walls and insulation protect plants from the worst of fickle Spring weather.
Jim added a large tropical hibiscus, a red version of 'President' to his Old Soldiers Garden. I can't quite make a mental picture of the combination of a hibiscus, a fig and a rutia as close neighbors. Jim and his birds like the combination though and that is what's important. The hummingbird feeder is on the other side of the walkway hanging in a glossy privet. The arrangement allows Jim to sit on the deck and have a good view of song and hummingbird antics. We have other figs to provide us with fruit. This one is for the birds. It also makes a nice view from the kitchen window Nadi says. The buds on the hibiscus aren't open yet, but Nadi was laughing at the hummers investigating the new plant. She said she had never seen a hummer sit still so long. mk*
I think you'd like the knife; I can get by with it as my only tool, well, until I need pruners. And I find it much more energy efficient than a spade sharpened or not. The one I have has a 6 inch blade so it's a piece of cake to take out that depth of sod. Actually, it is rather like cutting cake, big square servings of wormy goodness.
Handy having a GD to do the snake handling, though you didn't say she was actually near you. The adult snakes a around here don't react to me at all unless I block their sun. But the tiny one with the 3/16 inch head? Oh it wanted me to think it was fierce! Can snakes snarl? That's what it made me think of. I retreated. Laughing, poor dear thing.
The refrigerator thing is brilliant for the spring veg. I hope you can fix it.
I wish we had a bird feeder for hummingbirds, We could have; it wouldn't be too much work and I think it's the right area down here. (I always think twice about buying more gadgets that other people have to use for me.
I think I understand what you mean, Carrie. Kay stopped drinking coffee for a while because making coffee herself, blind and first thing in the morning before her meds kicked in was just too much hassle. She's usually up before anyone else so she wouldn't ask for help. Well, duh. I can grind coffee before I go to bed at night and set up the coffee maker so all she has to do is push a button in the morning. It is worth my time. An un-caffeinated Kay in the a.m. is a grumpy Kay in the a.m. If you say what you want, there may be a hassle-free way for loved ones and caretakers to help you get it.
A Dr. JB's hummingbird feeder is pricier than others, but it is incredibly easy to take care of. The bottle is wide-mouthed and the base is dishwasher safe. Filling and cleaning a hummer's feeder is the only work to maintaining one and if you have the right feeder, those jobs are simple. If I had to choose between a hummingbird feeder and a houseplant, I'd go for the hummingbird feeder. It is easier to maintain and you get more bang for your buck. Well, okay, houseplants are nicer in Winter.
Jim surprised us all with a new greenhouse for Amargia. It's a twin-walled Poly-Tex that he found on sale. Kay laughs that his new found love for tender echeverias probably has more to do with the purchase. I wish he had discovered echeveria's a long time ago. Tender plants take up yards of my kitchen counter space in Winter. Gr-r-r. (I'm Queen of the Kitchen, as well as the Frogs.) ;-)Nadi
I'm Queen of my children, and that's about it. ^_^ There is a coffee maker (I think by Cuisinart) which you preload with beans and set like an alarm clock, and it will grind and brew it for you. That's the only appliance I can think of I might like someday. I don't have the extra kitchen counter space, though.
Ray keeps wanting to buy me a Keurig (is that the name?) single cup brewer and a soda water carbonater and things he does not understand but thinks I would like. I do like my seltzer (but out of a recyclable can) and I like my fresh ground coffee. I don't want a different flavor of coffee every day and I don't even need flavored seltzer. I love my $10-20 grinder (also works for spices and baby food) and my $15 French press. (That's what I learned to call it. Not every body calls it that.)
I wish somebody would surprise me with a greenhouse!!!! (After surprising me with a shiny new house etc. etc.) (How about a sports car with manual transmission with space for an electric wheelchair? That's what I really want.) Armagia's new greenhouse sounds splendid! Good work, Jim!
Most of the blind people I know can make good coffee without making a mess. That leads me to conclude the problem really isn't my eyes. The cuisinart coffee maker sounds like my kind of kitchen gadget
My sister gave me a magnetic stove. I use that for what little cooking I do. Unlike the coffee maker, it's idiot proof. No matter where on the cooking surface the pan is placed, it heats up beneath the pan and nowhere else. I would have to try very hard to burn myself using it. The downside is a magnetic stove only works with steel pans. I had to buy new pans because what I had was copper bottomed
I'll read Cooking Without Looking and Jim can read the Wheelchair Chef this winter when we have time… just in case the Kitchen Queen decides to abdicate.
It's a rainy and chilly day. Flood watches are in effect again. I can see why people who don't quite get the difference between weather and climate doubt global warming. The phrase "Climate change" is not as confusing.
The cool season vegetables have enjoyed our prolonged Spring and we are enjoying salads from the garden. Fruit is already set on the trees and bushes. The unseasonable chill shouldn't be a problem. Mr. Ruby-throated was smarter than I thought. He is currently guarding an open hibiscus blossom. I thought it would be at least another week before the buds opened.
Ah, it has stopped raining and the sun is peeking out. I'll put a few more glad and freesia bulbs in the ground while I have a chance. mk*
Ha! The person who does the cooking in my house (not I) is famous for turning on the wrong burner.
So, where is everybody?
Hi Carrie
Hi 13. Do you want to list your name on this thread? Oh my goodness, you're at the top of the list. I am so embarrassed!
I'll give you an out -- my avatar is new :~)
No worries!
Turtle
Lol. I wasn't paying ANY Attention to your avatar. Just to the 13Turtles part. Now, of course, I remember someone asking you if you actually had 13 turtles, and typing you as first on that list and so on, but when you showed up on the Insomniac thread the other day night, I was sure I had never met you before. I sure showed myself, by putting you on that list. Irrefutable evidence that I knew who you were on Dec. 21 2013, at least. I'm a loser!
ROFL. Oh I can so identify!
*high five*
This message was edited Apr 28, 2014 4:34 PM
Welcome to the 50+ Club, Carrie. It's a humbling stage of life. From observing Jim, I'd say Tramadol and insomnia magnify the TMB memory issues. (TMB=Too Many Birthdays.) Some days Jim can troubleshoot a complex computer problem with ease and other days he can't remember the names of the most common plants in the garden.
I have no excuse aside from TMB, but on one particularly bad day I couldn’t recall my children’s ages. My daughters teased me about my memory lapse mercilessly for a time by introducing themselves with all their vital statistics whenever they called. On a day when I had exceptionally good mental clarity, I decided to call them and introduce myself. “Hello, this is your mother. The person who labored 20 hours to bring you into the world, changed your dirty diapers, wiped the drool off your chin…… They never mentioned my memory lapse again after that.
Jim has been sleeping well and thinking sharp lately which is why we haven’t been around. He decided to clean up all the computers in the house and re-install. All of Nadi's work related programs and docs have been removed from my computer. I have the new ZoomText keyboard installed that goes with the ZT audio and magnification program. It will make using ZoomText much easier in the long run, but I'm still in the process of learning to use it.
Warm weather has finally arrived. Amargia runs about two weeks behind the surrounding area and Spring was slow to arrive here in general. The bridal wreath spirea bloomed finally, but it wasn't the show stopping display it usually is. It didn't bloom at all last year so I'M' counting my blessings. Jim is pushing again to replace most of the spirea with a shrub possessing multi-season appeal that doesn’t require yearly pruning. If he can come up with such a shrub, I’m open to the idea even though I dread the work involved in making the change. I suspect he will find a way to slip in more of his beloved blueberries. Tomatoes are in the ground at last. Baby fruits of all kinds are in the gardens. I was pleasantly surprised to find immature fruit on the Owari Satsuma mandarin and we will have to thin fruit severely from one peach tree. It can’t possibly bring so many fruit to maturity. The carrots have been a pleasant surprise also. We’ve never had real success growing carrots in the past, but we kept trying because that is a favorite vegetable for all of us. This year’s crop looks good. The excessive rains hit with a double punch. The readily available moisture meant weeds grew fast and dense while the constant rain kept us from working outside. Weeds are taking over! This week it is all about catching up on the weeding and getting ready for the RU.
Eeek! Flash flood warnings again tonight. Better go see what I can do to minimize erosion damage.
mk*
Photos: It may look weedy, but it smells great. Roses and honeysuckle. The last pic is one I took at Buds and Blooms, my favorite local nursery. I like the variegated English box combination. (Jim)
Is that the Japanese kind of honeysuckle, which I certainly assumed was a native, but it isn't. If I ever get around to writing about honeysuckle, I may come to you for that photo. Doesn't look weedy to me! It looks glorious!!!
Kay, we call that CRS syndrome, for Can't Remember Stuff. I've probably had it since my first kid was born. That's why Google and Wikipedia are so popular!
Oh, but Carrie and Kay, people with more birthdays live longer!!!
...quotes another member of the 50+ club, aka Turtle ... who also frequents the Insomniac thread
Definitely true. Hello, Turtle!
Waving back as I chuckle!
LOL. Can't argue with that statement, Turtle.
It looks like the Choctawhatchee River will crest at 22', that's 3 ft. above flood stage, but not enough to be an immediate threat to Amargia. The river rose to 37' in 1994, that put the waters at our door. Hale storms are my major concern at the moment. Some major highways and many backroads are flooded. We will just be sitting tight for a while and hope nothing happens to our internet connection. mk*
Duh, I’m sorry, Carrie. Yes, that is Japanese honeysuckle in the photo and you are welcome to it. I also have a woodbine honeysuckle photo in Plantfiles, if you need that. It just isn’t fair that the most fragrant honeysuckle is Lonicera japonica. It’s a wicked weed for us. It is so common and pervasive; there is no hope of eradicating it. It takes a couple of days every year hacking away with a machete just to keep it from taking over the woodlands.
Nadi is experimenting with recipes to use the blooms. She’s working from a forsythia syrup recipe making adjustments. The berries of many Lonicera are edible, but not L. japonica….unless you are a bird. I assume that is how the vines got back into areas I was certain were free of root pieces.
There is now supposedly a non-invasive version of sweet autumn clematis that hasn’t lost any of the fragrance. I guess that means there is hope for a garden worthy Lonicera japonica.
I dart outside and weed between rain storms. The soggy ground makes weeding easier. Every cloud has a silver lining and all that. ;) mk*
Our L. japonica (in Boston) traveled 10-15 ft underground to find a new spot to emerge, weedier than ever, Our first one is a common one, like "Orange" then we have a few named, less weedy varieties. (Scensation and Pink Lemonade.)
We discovered a problem with having a wheelchair accessible house. We are now accessible to crawlies, as well as wheelers. Tater-dog alerted us to a big snake curled up by the front door. MK’s belief that snakes don’t bother people who don’t bother them must be valid. She was in and out the front door several times before the dogs decided to go outside with her. She must have passed inches from it at least five times without incident. It was a gopher snake. They aren’t venomous and this one definitely wasn’t aggressive. I think it had crawled a long way to find high and dry ground and was tired. After Kay got the dogs inside, but before Jim had collected everything he needed to capture it, I had a chance to watch it. It looked sluggish. Once, it opened its mouth incredibly wide, and then closed it in a way that looked just like a yawn. Do snakes yawn? That’s sure what it looked like.
I think I’ll rig some kind of snake-proof barrier at the bottom of the ramp. There are some enormous rattlesnakes living in the north woods that might have the same idea as Mr. Gopher Snake and they aren’t as laid back as Mr. GS. I was proud of Fenny. I think she has finally learned her lesson. She ran to get Jim instead of trying to take on the snake herself. It took the loss of one of her toes to snakebite and almost dying, but she’s finally learned to leave snakes to the humans. Tate has always been smarter about snakes. She stays out of striking range and barks, and barks, and barks.
I don't think gopher snakes even have fangs, but coiled up beside the welcome mat is a bit much. Jim insisted it was a bull snake, but I trust Nadi's ID more. I believe bull snakes are gopher snakes western cousins and most of Jim's snake experience comes from New Mexico.
Glad to hear you are okay, Susan. We may need to check into bog gardening. How are your tomatoes faring?
Is the 'Pink Lemonade' honeysuckle fragrant in your experience, Carrie? I've never encountered that one. mk*
No, Kay, I haven't noticed it being fragrant. That's what we were looking for, which is why we bought 'Scensational'. I don't notice that being particularly fragrant either. But neither of them is as voracious as L. japonica. We haven't been all that nice to the newer cultivars, being so wary that they would act like L. japonica, but they've always been shy and reclusive.
Actually, Kay, according to Plantfiles I said "Scentsational" is said to be especially fragrant. No picture, but there isn't one for 'Scentsation' either, and being 500+ miles away, I don't even know if the poor honeysuckle is still alive. I do know we put ot on a trellis, and the trellis kept falling over. Scentsation and Scentsational are different, though. Strange to pick a name so similar, although some people can't resist a pun.
Jim and MK went to the RU, but I twisted my ankle and had to stay home. I was still able to take part vicariously. Jim brought the food I said I would bring and the people who took part sent me plants home via Jim and MK. I now have some totally rad plants for my bog garden and a butterfly bush for my purple themed garden.
Jim and MK left this morning claiming they weren't going to get any plants for themselves. Just eat and socialize a little. Yeah. Uh-huh. I’d say they came home with fifteen or twenty plants! MK swears it was Papa Jim who snagged most of them. I think she is telling the truth! What I saw did look like plants Jim would choose. Succulents and plants with funky foliage. MK freely admitted to the new jasmine, two little daturas and something labeled ‘Cashmere Bouquet.” Once upon a time, Jim’s doing garden related things with MK was like when he watched “chick flicks” with her. It was something he endured in order to spend quality time in her company. I don’t believe that is the case now. Papa Jim has become a plantophile in his own right. The flora still plays a supporting role to the fauna, in my case. If I get totally sucked into botany, it will be the carnivorous plants that get me. Did I mention I got a new pitcher plant today? (*^▽^*)
With a ramp on every house we live in, the one thing we have boticed is stuff rolling in, either mud or leaves or dirt clay whatever.
Hey! I just noticed it says “Bedford” after your name, Carrie. So you are fully moved in to the new apartment?
We didn’t have the usual list of suspects at the RU. The weather and life in general has been tossing out unpleasant surprises. There were still an abundance of plants. I felt a little guilty coming home with so many new green babies. Amargia’s offerings were lean this year. Then, I thought of how the plants I came home with would multiply and could be made available at future swamps and my guilt eased. The new greenhouse will allow me to share more next year. Whatever works? Lol.
There were several plant equivalents of “the little black dress” available that I couldn’t pass up. Things like straight English ivy aren’t easy to come by at nurseries. It looks good in a hanging basket around the holidays with a few cute accessories.
Buying fragrant plants at the nursery is a gamble. After being disappointed by a mock orange I bought, I vowed I would only buy perennials for the fragrance garden if they were in bloom so I could sniff them first. The mock orange (English dogwood) I bought was a beauty, but it had no scent to speak of. It’s odd how high fragrance and rampant growth seem to go hand-in-hand. I guess it is the half wild kind of mock orange found around old homesteads I need.
I was watching the movie “Dinner with a Perfect Stranger” at church this afternoon when my optic pressure suddenly shot up and the headaches started. I had to come home, but I saw enough that I would recommend it as a book. I think you would like it, Susan, if you haven’t read it already. I couldn’t find it through BARD, but Audible Books has it as a download. mk*