I transplanted eight fruit trees yesterday. Part of the mystery of why nothing has done well there was partially explained by my running into Black Walnut roots 8" under the ground. I wasn't expecting that. The trunk of the closest Black Walnut was 65' away and the drip-line was 40' away.
In a perfect world, I would get a Ditch-Witch and rip a trench to cut the roots and then let them rot in place. While I was at it, I could add drain-tile to make the two-track running at the base of the slope firmer during wet periods.
The good news is that I was planting persimmons which some people say have some tolerance to Black Walnut toxicity.
It felt good to get some points on the board in terms of filling blank spots in the orchard.
Civic duty done
I voted straight-ticket except for the Sheriff. He was running as a Democrat and he has done a fine job balancing "protecting the public" and "respecting the Constitutional rights of the accused".
The State Supreme Court candidates are "non-partisan" and I voted for the two, non-woke candidates.
Shingles vaccine
I plan to get the second shingles vaccination later today. The word-on-the-street is that the second shot can be very painful with fever, muscle pain and a very sore injection site.
I had two coworkers get shingles. I think both of them missed four weeks of work due to the pain.
Given the side-effects of the shot, I will get that after I finish tagging along on the house inspection at the house SB and HH are thinking of buying. One of the things that I think SB does very well is to ask intelligent questions. She intends to be there for the entire inspection and will ask the inspector "What should I do to get the most value out of your work?" and "I need a list of major system that you think might have a 1-in-3 chance, or greater, of needing replacement in the next five years".
Good luck re the 2nd shingles shot. ("Shingrix"?) I had the two of them about 5 years ago. No one wants shingles but we especially don't want it, the older we get. I know of a couple of 60-somethings who got it and had nerve damage and other badness in addition to pain and unpleasantness.
ReplyDeleteTom from East Tennessee
SB is asking EXCELLENT questions.
ReplyDeleteShingles is no joke from everything I have heard. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteA good home inspectors is an investment. If not already on the list, worth asking things like "evidence of water damage patched over" and "places where work might have been done without permit".
I am not inherently a straight ticket sort of fellow, although given the world I tend to run that way.
Key word being "Good" - unfortunately lots of home inspectors have no building experience outside a one week course.
DeleteI am not inherently straight ticket either, but I usually end up that way.
The most challenging for me to learn were the local non partisan offices. I leaned on a friend who is better connected and who I know considers his answers.
Jonathan
It's been years since I took my second shingles vaccination. I don't remember the second shot being worse than the first, or having any lasting effects. Of course, this was before Covid, so I have no idea if it's the same vaccine.
ReplyDeleteI have found that ivermectin stops shingles fast. Take the COVID dose daily for a week, it'll be done before the week is over.
ReplyDeleteAfter my wife got shingles 2 years ago, I immediately got the Shingrix. No side effects.
ReplyDeleteMy wife is still suffering, and I mean suffering, from post herpetic neuralgia. We are seeking surgical intervention, cutting the damaged painful nerve branch.
Ed Bonderenka
DeleteI got both shots several years ago and I didn't have a negative reaction to it. My first wife got shingles at thirty and I learned all i wanted to know about it from a second hand view. Don't want to get any closer than that.
ReplyDeleteMy husband got shingles 3 years ago, and still has post herpetic neuralgia. The shingles pain had him on the floor daily, moaning and nearly crying. The pain was intense. A few friends have had it too, still have pain years later.
ReplyDeleteSouthern NH
Dr. Aguila
Deletehttps://www.totalpainsolutions.net/
402-370-9515
Ed B
Thanks for the info. Convincing my husband to pursue treatment is, lately, a tough sell. He’s had other health problems, and seems to prefer simple maintenance at this point.
DeleteSNH
Had shingles a while back. My wife is a nurse, so she recognized it. Got a prescription for Valtrex. My wife remembers me feeling better within a day of starting the 5 day regimen.
ReplyDeleteI had shingles 30 yrs ago, at age 36. Mighty painful. I'm still undecided about whether to take the vaccine... my former(fired) physician was really pushing it.
ReplyDeleteAs a budding plant propagator at age 8, I planted some pomegranates that I had rooted from cuttings at my grandparents' home... about 30 ft from a black walnut growing next to the smokehouse. They languished for 35 years, until my parents(now living in that home) had to install a new septic leach field, and trenched between the BW and the poms, which then literally exploded into production.
My first Shingles shot gave me zero reaction. The second one made the injection site get red, swell up a bunch, and felt like I had a spike driven in my arm,
ReplyDeleteOther than that, it wasn't bad....
I had shingles in my twenties. I am not sure if it is one of those things you never get a second time. I suppose it must be, otherwise there would not be much point in an inoculation, so that puts me into the good seats at this stadium.
ReplyDeleteI got the double vaccination about three years ago. Something like six months between shot, but neither of them caused me a bit of trouble.
ReplyDelete