KeyWee's Blog

MG Class #13 ~ The TEST .........
Nov 16, 2007 | 4:10 AM PST

In two words ............ I passed!!!!

Whew ~ what a relief, I was sooooo nervous.  But not only did I pass, I ACED it!!  Yay, me.   Now trust me, I will probably not remember half of what I had to know to pass this thing, but the point is that my brain still works ~ who knew? 

The exam was about 10 pages, 120 questions ~ but you were allowed to skip questions if you were unsure.  There were some extra credit questions at the end, but since most of these were (?) KY Sports related (I think they were supposed to be a joke) I didn't know any of them.  Basketball coaches???  Please ............

So to those of you who held on to those good thoughts for me and this test, a big THANK YOU for your confidence.  All in all, I am SO glad I took this class, held out to the bitter end, and made it through the exam.  Don't you think I'm a better person for it??

MG Class #12 ~ Research
Nov 10, 2007 | 10:10 AM PST

Well who woulda thunk it??!  The illustrious State of Kentucky does a pretty durn good job of attempting to keep everyone informed, IF you know where to look.  This state's college of agriculture website is an endless wealth of information, not only for the horticulturists and master gardeners among us, but for the simple Joe Gardener just searching for answers.  I have to admit, I was pretty impressed.

So now, if someone asks me a question and I don't have the answer (more often than not), I know exactly where to tell them to go.  So if anyone cares to take a peek, it's www.ca.uky.edu.  The information there will be most pertinent to the west Kentucky zone, soil chemistry, weather conditions, etc.  There is also a comprehensive weather link that is practically minute-by-minute.  Pretty cool.

All of this makes me wonder just HOW in the heck anyone gets along without the internet anymore?  Is it bizarre behavior that I check certain favorite sites FIRST thing in the morning ~ sometimes even BEFORE coffee.  Heavens, what kind of lunacy is that??!  Please understand, I am FAR from being a technical or electronic wizard of any description, but I simply have WAY too much fun on here.

Ok ~ I hijacked myownself.  If you have nothing better to do this week, please, please, PLEASE send up a good thought for me for Thursday's Master Gardener final exam.  Methinks I am making much too big of a deal of this but test-taking has fallen way down on my you-have-got-to-do-this list.  At my age, it's very hard to pretend to be a pimply, scrawny, test-anxious teenager again.  Same chance as me sqeezing into hip huggers and a tube top.

 

MG Class #11 ~ Soils
Nov 2, 2007 | 11:36 AM PST

And soil chemistry ~ probably one of the most important classes of all in the series.  If you know your soil composition and what is has and what it lacks, you are definitely in business.  Plants need nutrients to grow, thrive and repel pests and disease.  Bottom line ~ get your soil tested.   Have I had my soil tested?  No.  Will I have it tested now?  Yes.  This little step can make all the difference in how your plants will perform.

OK ~ I am off of my soapbox for the week.  Now can I bend your ears about this week's news?  Gonna make this S&S (short and sweet).  We had to say a final goodbye to our red doberman (Toby) this week.  And at the age of only eight years, this was a really "sucky" thing to have to do (for lack of a better word ~ that's how we feel).  Her back legs have been bad for a few years due to some torn and irreparable tendons.  Well, last Friday night she did it again (that dang stray cat led her on).  Spent all last weekend trying to haul her 97 pounds around ~ she had all she could do to get up.  The saddest thing I have ever seen was her out in the yard, laying on the lawn because she KNEW the steps were just too much for her.  Needless to say, Monday's visit to the vet was all bad news ~ nothing to be done.  What's more, the vet said that Toby was hiding the worst of the pain as only dogs can do.  Mark took her in, so when I got home from work ~ no Toby. 

Dang ~ sucky.