Cat House

Rocco in motion

Guess what Rocco’s getting for Christmas? Yep, his very own cat house.

Oni found this in some catalogue he was perusing yesterday.

This is the only outdoor cat shelter with an integrated heater that keeps felines warm and comfy in cool temperatures. A removable 20-watt heater beneath the floor of the shelter generates radiant heat that warms the floor yet is not hot to human touch. The floor is waterproof and lined with 1 1/2" of soft foam, providing a comfortable, dry surface for cats to lounge. The house is made of durable 600-denier nylon with a waterproof vinyl backing. Plastic flaps on the front and rear prevent heat from escaping yet allow cats to come and go as they please. The gambrel roof overhangs all four sides of the structure, keeping cats dry during rain showers. Plugs into AC with 6' cord. For cats up to 25 lbs. Assembles easily without tools.

Naturally we’d like to get three -- one for each of our not-so-feral-yet-disinclined-to-come-indoors herd of cat BUT, they ain’t cheap. Plus, Rocco’s become quite territorial. He gave Gaston a good swat last night for the crime of...of...dunno. Possibly Gaston was whinging on about something or other. Probably he just had the absolute audacity to have copped a pat offa me. All pats belong to Rocco now. Duh and of course.

Our former Feral King who was always quite firm about maintaining the boundaries of his prodigious personal space, MUST now be in constant contact with me. He winds around my legs, pushes his poor battered head into my shins. If I’m sitting on the porch floor, he crawls under my knees or sits at my left hip and, boy howdy, if I stop skritching behind his ears, cease with the caresses even for a sec, he bumps my hand. ‘HEY, WTF? Let’s have some cuddle action here, K?!’

Saint Jen wants to get one for her Rosie. Now, Rosie’s an indoor beastie but, in winter, she is ALWAYS cold. Rosie sits by the heating vents all day, only moving to join Jen in bed. She sleeps under the covers, laminated to Jen’s side, complaining anytime Jen has the balls-on temerity to shift in any way.

Rosie’s an old girl now -- she gets her way.

Strange Doings

Strange doings on Facebook recently and I can’t quite figure out what to make of it. Found in my inbox was this:

John Dolt
Hi, Compliments my dear and how's life? saw your pretty profile and wish we could be friends and probably know each other well. John

See, I should’ve known RIGHT here that the dude was looking for a girlfriend as opposed to a plain old, doesn’t-matter-what-gender-you-rock friend. The ‘pretty profile’ business is a dead give away.
Why didn’t I ignore and delete? Eh, I guess I’m always looking for new stories and readers. So, I replied with this:

Hi John,
Tell me more about you. I'm, pretty much, an open book -- see my blog Donna-TellMeAStory
cheers, Donna

See? I was distant yet welcoming at the same time. Cool?

Not cool enough.

John Dolt
Hi Donna,
Thanks for your response. I am John Dolt from Huddersfield West Yorkshire United Kingdom. I was in search of an old colleague of mine before i came across your profile picture. Am 5.8m tall, a marine engineer by profession and i work as the engine unit control supervisor in my ship. I am very happy to meet you and would also like to know more about you like your hobbies, likes and your kind of person. I will waiting for your response.

The next hint as to what this fellow is after and it not being in line with my path -- ‘am 5.8m tall.’ 'the fuck I care how tall my friends are?

Still, I’m after a story so, silly me, I ignore that clue and push on.

What does a marine engineer do? And are you always on ship -- that is, do you live on the ship versus on land?
I'm a painter and sometime ceramic artist, print industry worker bee, blissfully married, deaf broad. I live just outside Boston, Massachusetts. I'm also a storyteller.
And a reader -- currently finishing up Robin Sloan's 'Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore.' What do you enjoy reading?

 Yes, again with the blog pushing. I’m insufferable but devastatingly cute. Right?!

John Dolt
I work as the Duty Engineer on board in my ship and i always stay stand by in the ECR control unit to monitors all kinds of parameters such as level, temperature, pressure of my ship so as to ensure a normal engine system.
Normally i work 8 hours shift everyday because we have still got 4 other duty engineers on board too so its always on a shift bases. Actually i have been single single since almost 2 years now, my job always keep me so busy and besides i was married before but i lost my wife Evelyn after giving birth to my only daughter Laura, she is 4 years and stays with my old mum in London.
I like taking walks, sitting at the beach, vacations and watching movies and more especially visiting my mum whenever am in London. I have actually worked with my company for 3 years now and i always go on 2 months offshore and 2 months onshore so once i finish my trip to Australia, i will be having a long holiday of 3 months since i didn't go off last holiday.
So how are you doing?and nice to hear from you too.

‘taking walks, sitting at the beach, vacations and watching movies’ yup, we’re in prime dating site cliche-dom now and NO mention of what books he reads and I have only a vague idea as to what a duty engineer is.

Also too, anyone else catch that math error? He says that his daughter is four years old, his wife died in childbirth but he’s been single for just two years. ??????????????????????????

Again, I responded. I really HATE being the one to say ‘piss off’ so I mentioned The Amazing Bob and his recent heart issues. My thought was that folks who’re looking for the big hearts and thongs infused L, will be put off by:
a) discussion of MY HUSBAND
b) nasty and def unromantic health issues.

What did you do before working on the ship.
So sorry to hear of your wife's passing.
I'm doing reasonably well though struggling with my husband's heart issues at present. He'll begin cardiac rehab soon and, hopefully, this will obviate more open heart surgery. (he's already had quad bypass).

I was wrong once again.

John Dolt
Hi Donna,
Thanks for your message and i really admire your kind of woman and i will want to be close to you. Am in my cabin getting ready to resume duties in the control room in my ship. Presently my ship is sailing to Australia for a delivery at the Barracouta Gas Field in Bass Strait Central Pacific in Australia, we are carrying 900,000 hydrocarbon pipeline systems and fittings to the Australian oil rig in the Central Pacific.
I got your message with happiness and relief because i truly believe that with trust,love and understanding we can make ourselves happier in this beautiful world of ours.You are very beautiful and charming in your pics, i must confess that you are caring and i really want to be close to your heart. I know I have made the right choice in proclaiming my feelings for you.
I have no fears and no regrets and I live for the day we'll be together for the first time. I don't see distance as a huddle to our happiness my dear because i wanna meet you in real live.
I attach here with some of Laura and my mum's pictures. Write me soon. Take care

The hell? This got out of whack really fast.

Hi Michael,
I believe you've gotten an erroneous idea here. I'm an older, deaf, VERY happily married person with a full life.
I hope you find the companion you're looking for but, that ain't me.
Sorry, Donna

That's straightforward and unequivocal, right?

John Dolt
Hello Donna,
Thanks for your message and how are you doing today? I do appreciate your kindness. i hope you are fine today. I will be resuming my duties in the next 1 hour, today my ship has approached the Indian Pacific Region and in 2 days will have a stop over in India Port of Bengal for some maintenance work in our engine sections and lub service before we will sail off again.

I hope you have a day full of radiance: that the morning might be clear, that the afternoon keeps on with its brightness and that the night might give us the best hours of our lives. Starting a day is a difficult moment, but do not despair because you are strong and capable. Stay calm, because everything is going to be ok. Everything is going to turn out just fine.

Here's my satellite mobile number in case you wish to call me +44xxxxxxxxxx, +44yyyyyyyyyyy or we can talk on Skype if you have.
Take care

OK, maybe he got it -- there’s less of the ‘we’re going to walk off into the sunset together’ yak-yak here but still, it’s clear that he’s NOT read my notes. I’m deaf you wanker! That means me and the blower aren’t on speaking terms anymore. Capiche?

It was only after this last bit that I realized that this was either some elaborate Nigerian email on quaaludes sort of a scam OR the dude's taking the wide shot, the Matrix method of hunting for a mate.

If the latter, he wasn't doing more than skimming his received responses -- just plugging in Romantic Courting Missive Response with minor edits/additions.

Still, that tactic has got to be successful eventually.

Nelson Mandela -- Bringing It All Back Home

July 18, 1918 - December 5, 2013

If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man.

I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.

Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.

I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days.

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/nelson_mandela.html#j2smjkmJOWzd4zcp.99

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living

It always seems impossible until it is done.

Hugh Masekela -- Bring Him Back Home, Nelson Mandela

Maggie's Farm -- Bob Dylan

Creauture From the Shrunk Lagoon

Never thought I’d be the lifelong shrinkage type.

Don’t you have to be Woody Allen levels of neurotic for that? 

Or have some big fat issue with a name -- like Bipolar Disorder?

Mebbe you need to be famously, tragically unstable, like Marilyn Monroe?

“The nicest thing for me is sleep, then at least I can dream.”

How ‘bout a combo of Nixonian paranoia and insecurity?

Or simply be all one percenter kinds of rich because therapy’s expensive, indulgent shit. Right?

No, no, no, no and not necessarily.

This all began after my first surgery at the not so tender yet still sorta delicate age of 23. Being diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 was a real blow. My cousin Carmel (who chose to die instead of fight the Nf2) was all ‘Don’t tell Stan or any beau -- they’ll leave!’

Yeah, beautiful -- I’m totes unlovable now and will die alone, painfully and possibly in a gutter OR in my parents small, backward, Western Pennsylvania town. Same thing (in my mind, at the time, it surely was).

Stan and I did split up and he did leave while I was in hospital BUT, truly, we should have broken up months earlier. His timing just sucked Creature From the Black Lagoon wang.

Where this left our now half bald, scarred hero (me!) is here -- not knowing what the future held but feeling certain it wasn’t gonna be pretty. The present sure as fuck wasn’t nice. I lived in a dark, basement apartment behind Fenway Park. All my friends had been Stan’s buds so *poof* gone (or so I’d erroneously imagined). The print shop where I worked had been sold so I was soon to be out of a gig which meant my health insurance was gone too -- which meant that I'd be holding the bag for tens of thousands of buckos for that recent bit of scalpel magic. And, the capper, I was gonna lose all my hearing (at the very least) and there was no way to know when that would happen. It could be tomorrow or next year. I never imagined I’d have two more decades of hearing.

The point here (you just knew I’d get to it, didn’t you?), I was a mess. I couldn’t stop crying. Seriously, I’d be on the Red Line, heading home from work, and the water works would commence. It was pretty uncontrollable. Dunno who suggested it but I found a shrink through the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.  Payment was on a sliding scale so I was able to pay what I could afford, which wasn’t bloody much.

At first I couldn’t speak. I brought in drawings and told the wonderful lady ‘this is how I feel.’ We’d go from there.

Therapy and painting were my tools for battling out of that very dark, sad pit.

So, why do I still shrink? I’ve got The Amazing Bob, Saint Jen, the always calm Oni, my wonderful Helen, tremendous sister Celeste as well as a mega huge ton of other pals who’ll listen and help me work through the Okefenokee Swamp of my emotions.

Why?

It helps to talk through shit with an impartial other -- someone without a dog in the fight, so to speak. Yes, yes, yezzzz, I can do a lot of the hard work on my own BUT talking it all though with Janice isn’t just helpful -- it’s calming and focusing. Oh yeah, and she's wicked prescient too. She doesn't tell me what to think, feel or do. Nope, she referees my brain's warring factions and shines a light on the big hot mess.

Some folks go for a massage once a month, sit in a sauna a few times a week, hit the shooting range, golf, climb rocks, watch TV, dance. I talk to a woman who really isn’t much of a stranger anymore.

Whatever works.

Pics and Poetry Wednesday

Juliana's very flattering drawing of me

Madison's hands. BRILLIANT! I'm gonna frame this.

It is:
unter der Woche, milieu de la semaine, di metà settimana, hafta ortası

 

AKA Hump Day.

 

It can't be just me, the first week after a four day weekend is killer. So let's have some pics and poetry to alter and illuminate our times, eh?  

 

Song for Baby-O, Unborn by Diane DiPrima

Sweetheart

when you break thru

you’ll find

a poet here

not quite what one would choose.

I won’t promise

you’ll never go hungry

or that you won’t be sad

Bob's heart, drawn by his heart dude, Doc Drachman (colorized by yours truly)

on this gutted

breaking

globe

but I can show you

baby

enough to love

to break your heart

forever

A snippet The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski (the rest at the link)

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.

know them.

Reluctance by Robert Frost

Out through the fields and the woods

   And over the walls I have wended;

I have climbed the hills of view

   And looked at the world, and descended;

I have come by the highway home,

   And lo, it is ended.

The leaves are all dead on the ground,

   Save those that the oak is keeping

To ravel them one by one

   And let them go scraping and creeping

Out over the crusted snow,

   When others are sleeping.

 

And the dead leaves lie huddled and still,

   No longer blown hither and thither;

The last lone aster is gone;

   The flowers of the witch hazel wither;

The heart is still aching to seek,

   But the feet question ‘Whither?’

 

Ah, when to the heart of man

   Was it ever less than a treason

To go with the drift of things,

   To yield with a grace to reason,

And bow and accept the end

   Of a love or a season?

 

Incivility

Taking the Count -- Eakins

When did everyone turn into Mini Me versions of Rush Limbaugh and his ilk? When did name calling, callous insults and other assorted bully boy/girl behaviors become acceptable, the norm even?

I spoke of the company I worked for before my current, fab gig, where the manager seemed to feel that condescension and assuming the worst about a person were real, primo, winning and productive methods for managing his team.

Eh, not so much, man.

Silly me, I think that my non-work milieus will be free of this kind of fucked up shit but noooooo.

On my Facebook page the coarseness, the dissing usually comes from my acquaintances who claim Jesus as their personal savior and role model. These folk don’t seem to understand that they’re being blazingly, insulting rude -- discourteous to the max and back. They truly don’t seem to grok why their vile pronouncements are met with heavy duty indignation and scorn. After all, they seem to feel they’re just speaking the ‘TRUTH’ and that makes their ill advised, fact free, Tea Party denunciations of my very existence AOK.

Right? WRONG!

 Sadly, they seem to have done a profoundly selective reading of their god’s teachings, totes missing Matthew 25:40:

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Luke 6:35:

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.

oh yeah and Matthew 5:9 too:

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

But what do I know -- I’m an evil, left wing agnostic!

Saint Sebastion -- El Greco

What I want to know is this -- do these folks really think they’re making a great case for their brand of judgmental and exclusionist religion? Do they believe their god’s all pleased as punch with their attacks or are they just trying to set themselves up as martyrs because, ya know, Saint Sebastian totally rocked!

So, then -- I should be safe from the slings and arrows of outrageous bullyboy/girl-dom while perusing my fav left wings blogs, eh?

Once again, not so much.

I was following one particular blog -- left wing definitely but also a practical bunch who understood that real, lasting change/progress, takes time, a shit ton of effort and a solid, deep understanding of the opposition. We can’t undo the damage of the Bush administrations in one swell foop with one Magic Pony president. Want more progressives in government? Start electing them at the lowest levels and work up. Even if Nader could’ve gotten elected he never would have been able to get anything done. Like minded congress-critters, LOADS of them, are imperative.


But I digress...

This was a smallish group blog written by a band of friends. I thought they were friends anyway. One of the writers, at some point, became a born again Firebagger. When met with anyone who disagreed, she would immediately fall into full blown righteous, wild insult mode. Contrast? Diversity? Respectful debate? Nah, that’s for pansies apparently.

She did this with her fellow bloggers and with us the reading public, thus displaying a complete obtuseness on how to:
a) validly support an argument
b) convince unbelievers of the wisdom of your POV
c) build and maintain an intelligent, engaged audience.

I got it though -- she was looking for fans not discussion. I don’t know if she was shown the gate but I do know that she killed her previous good reputation. She moved on, blogging on another well respected small site for a time and then started her own (which, I believe, faded away).

What was she after, besides fans? Was she, like my ‘right wing’ martyr wannabes, overly enamored of Saint Joan?

December 1st World AIDs Day – a message from Brenda and Ananda Centre

World AIDs Day was yesterday.

What is World AIDS Day?
World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.

This guest post is by the most awesome Brenda Rock. *****************************************************
We’ve come such a long way since the early ‘80s, when AIDS came onto the scene, killing many and frightening more. There was so little known at that time. Scary times for those who had the disease and those who loved them. It was through the hard work and advocacy of many people that we discovered HIV, learned how to prevent its transmission, and how to hold it in check.
Today, HIV is a chronic illness, but some of the fear still remains. There are still people, thankfully, working tirelessly to eliminate stigma just as there are those working to find a vaccine and a cure. Still more are working to make the lives of people living with HIV better in whatever ways they can. Some of these are massage therapists like me.
Massage therapy is not a cure. It’s not even a treatment. But it can help HIV+ individuals live happier, healthier lives:

● Massage can help alleviate peripheral neuropathy (tingling, numbness, and pain in the feet and legs), a side effect of antiretroviral therapy. Staying on a regular treatment regimen is paramount if you have HIV, so whatever makes that process easier is worthwhile.
● Massage can help with anxiety and depression, both common in people living with HIV. Mental illness is not to be taken lightly, and is one of the more common reasons that people find it difficult to take care of themselves.
● Massage can be a positive experience in your own body. When you have a chronic illness of any kind, it’s easy to feel constantly at war with yourself. A massage is a time when you and your body get to be on the same team for a little while.
● Massage is a time to connect through touch. For all the good information out there about HIV/AIDS, there are still plenty of ridiculous myths about how it is transmitted. This often manifests itself as a lack of everyday touch, which is especially devastating to people who have lost their intimate partners.

So let me state this very clearly:
You will never be turned away from my massage table due to your HIV status. When you have secondary issues that mean that massage would be harmful to either you or me, I will let you know specifically what they are, so that you are not left in the dark. If you find yourself with a condition I am not trained to work with, I will do my best to find you another massage therapist who is.

Your HIV status is private. I will not tell your partner, your mother, your employer, your doctor, or your best friend, unless you specifically ask me to, in writing. If you would like copies of any records or notes I keep about our sessions together, you are welcome to them. But they are not for others’ eyes.

How you contracted HIV is none of my business. Unless it’s something that affects your health in other ways (like current drug use), it has no impact on your massage. But if you do decide to share, I will not judge you.

December 1 is World AIDS Day.


This month, whoever you are, take a little time to learn about what’s been discovered about HIV since you first heard of it all those years ago. We now know about different strains of HIV, and how our bodies react differently to each. We know how to prevent mother-to-child transmission, and how serodiscordant couples (couples in which only one partner is HIV+) can safely conceive children together. And we know that the support of friends, neighbors, family, and loved ones is one of the key factors in the health and wellbeing of people with HIV.


This post is just one small action I’m taking to help everyone with HIV feel more welcome in Ananda Centre.

Crossposted at Ananda Center Blog
*****************************************

Brenda Rock’s a massage therapist, Hatha yoga teacher. wonderful friend of mine AND she’s the founder of Ananda Centre, Massage and Yoga Therapy in Slane Co. Meath, Ireland just 47 kilometers north of Dublin.

Brenda is trained and experienced in the following modalities; Deep Tissue Massage, Holistic Massage, Pregnancy Massage and On-Site Chair Massage. Brenda has also qualified in ‘Massage for People Living with Cancer’ with renowned Oncology Massage Therapist, Gayle MacDonald. This, she says, adds an even richer element to her already rewarding work.

Read more about Brenda and Ananda Centre here.

Consider This

If you’re going to buy a tree to decorate your home during the holidays -- say, a Scots Pine, Blue Spruce, White Fir or, for the non-traditionalists amongst us, a Christmas Palm or, better yet, a Bismark Palm -- please consider a live tree.
I don’t mean a chopped down tree versus an artificial one. No, I mean a green, wonderfully smelly thing with a root ball.

Why buy a tree to be planted later?

From ACTrees, Alliance for Community Trees :
* Trees give us oxygen, clean the air, and filter airborne pollutants.
* Trees conserve energy.  Just three strategically placed trees can decrease utility bills     by 50%.
* Urban trees in the U.S. remove 711,000 tons of air pollution annually, at a value of $3.8 billion.
* Trees and vegetation can raise property values up to 37%.
* Trees can reduce annual storm water runoff by 2% — 7%.
* The net cooling effect of a healthy tree is equivalent to 10 room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.
* Trees clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides and other pollutants.
* Trees shade cars and parking lots, reducing ozone emissions from vehicles.
* Trees filter airborne pollutants and reduce the conditions that cause asthma and other respiratory problems.
* Get trees. Get healthy.  Children and youth living in greener neighborhoods have lower body mass index.
* Trees reduce noise pollution by absorbing sounds.
* Urban trees in the U.S. store 700 million tons of carbon valued at $14 billion with an annual carbon sequestration rate of 22.8 million tons per year valued at $460 million annually.
* Trees provide habitat for hundreds of species.

This isn't hard.

Look, here are some instructions from, can ya believe it, Better Homes and Gardens:

Dig a hole before the ground freezes. Fill it temporarily with mulch.
1. If you want a Christmas tree that can live in your yard, buy a ball-and-burlap or container tree. You can keep it indoors for 7 to 10 days if you give it a cool spot near a window. Choose a manageable size; root balls are heavy. 

Choose a mild day to plant the tree.
2. In cold-winter climates, dig the planting hole in late fall, before the ground freezes. Make it twice as wide as the root ball will be. Then, fill the hole with mulch and protect the excavated soil with a tarp. When you buy the tree, place it in a garage or a shed for a few days to adjust to the warmer air. Display it in a watertight tub and place ice cubes on top of the root ball as needed to keep roots barely moist and cool. 

Protect your tree with a wind screen during its first winter.
3. After Christmas, acclimate the tree to cooler air by placing it back in the garage or shed for a few days. On a mild day, place the tree into the hole. Remove the burlap. Backfill with excavated soil and tamp gently. Water deeply, then mulch heavily. In harsh climates, evergreens are vulnerable to wind damage during their first winter. Protect your tree with a screen such as the one shown, which is made with old pallets and draperies.

Trees best suited for your area? If you’re in the Northeast -- a Fraser fir. In the Northwest -- a Douglas fir. Southwest -- an Arizona cypress. And, in the Southeast, a Virginia pine.

More tips and info from This Old House.  Go read the whole thing, this is just a snippet.

To get the best selection, head to the nursery around Thanksgiving—well ahead of the late-December rush. Most nurseries will tag your specimen and hold it for you until it's time to bring it home. To figure out how big a tree you can handle, measure the ceiling height in the room where you plan to put it. Factor in the size of the tree plus its root ball, as well as the height of an ornament on top and whether the container sits off the ground. Also, check the tree's projected growth to make sure it won't get too big for the space you're considering in your yard.

Most of us have room for another tree in our yards, even if just one. For those who don’t or who live in apartment buildings, talk to friends and family. Back when I lived in a small Brighton apartment, I had chums who lived in Exurbistan -- they were always happy to adopt my trees. I’ll bet you have friends like that too.

In LA? Contact Million Trees LA. Here are some places and contact info if you're in Arizona.
You can contact the Nature Conservancy -- ask them for ideas.
The National Wildlife Foundation has a program called Trees for Wildlife -- ask them for thoughts too.

Look, we’ve just got this one world. Give it a nice prezzy and plant a tree.