Most of us would like to think that we have a right to personal privacy, but the evidence would suggest otherwise. Consider for a moment how many surveillance cameras have captured your image. And if you are in a car, your license plate can be imaged and identified. In addition, facial recognition software can identify you as well. So, if you go into a store your image will be captured, and when you buy something, it may have an RFID tag. (Radio Frequency ID) to track you purchases.  And if you use a credit card, the information may be secure, but there is no certainty.
Now, lets think about what happens when you connect to the internet. Every time you connect to a site, a record of that visit is recorded with your IP address. The site can attach tracking cookies, send your information to other sites, and in some cases can attach adware, malware, and possible viruses. If you have an email account, it is probably scanning your mail for what Google calls contextual technology. A robot looks for words that it can use to place an advertisement for you to buy an associated product. That is the way "free" email sites make money. So what happens when you use a credit card or share other personal data? Even if it is a secure site, it may not be at all.
Now, I am not trying to spread paranoia, but it should be evident that we all have lost our anonymity as soon as we let our computer wander into the  ether. Lets hope that we don't lose any more of ourselves.

Woodchucks, also known as Groundhogs and Whistle pigs, are fairly common almost everywhere. But for the gardener, they are the worst nightmare as far as garden pests are concerned. I have always had the philosophical view that it is fine to share some of my garden with some pests and critters. But Woodchucks are simply destructive and eat everything in sight! They climb fences, dig under walls, and their single goal is to drive gardeners crazy. I have literally built fortresses against them to no avail. Well this year it is different! I bought a trap and with some broccoli , lured this one into the trap before breeding season. They have as many as four offspring and the family can take out all flowers and vegetables. This one has gone to "a better place"!

Here in Northern New England it is still too early to plant vegetables, but it it is a good time to plan. The photo in post 1 was taken at the end of last June to show what is possible with containers of both traditional and self watering varieties. Since I began building self watering containers, I have received many questions about how to construct them from friends and neighbors. The link below is a good start but it may be difficult to see how they work in practice. I found a Youtube video that is really basic and visually shows how the containers work. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_cyj7I_JFk. This is a very helpful way to understand how easy it really can be with almost any container. If you have question, please use the comments section and I will try to answer them based on quite a bit of time using these types of containers. More posts to follow.

Odds 'n Ends is a collection of topics of general interest and appeal to as many readers as possible. My first post is on container gardening and the benefits of "growing your own" vegetables. There is a great feeling of accomplishment in planting seeds and watching them grow into good, fresh, food. Container gardening is a very effective use of limited space and requires a minimum of care. I use a mix of self watering, and traditional watering methods. In both kinds of containers I use potting mix and not potting soil or loam. It is reusable, free of contamination, and transports water well. The self watering containers hold water in the bottom and the water travels up to the plant by capillarity. The advantage is that watering can be done less frequently and the slight disadvantage is that the containers require some construction. For a good overview, Google has several good designs. See: http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm. The designs are very adaptable and only your imagination limits their construction. But, there is nothing wrong with using just about any container that is more traditional in nature. Next post will cover more information and some thoughts about gardening in containers.