It's come to this

I hate having to moderate comments, but I also hate getting comment spam. Someone (or more than one) has been leaving foreign-language comments for months now, mostly on Fridays. But there were two yesterday and I guess that put me over the top.

I don't get a lot of comments, and I look forward to the ones I do get. Except for the ones from China, Japan or Korea – I don't know the language.

So comment moderation is on. Fortunately, I'll be able to approve comments pretty quickly, thanks to the BlackBerry.

Since I've gotten this phone, I'm only online on my desktop computer for about an hour a day. I get up in the morning, fire up the tower, read/print/delete and turn it off. But the BB keeps my e-mail coming all day long. It's just on a tiny screen instead of a 22-inch flatscreen monitor.

I. Love. This. Phone.

I love having a camera that fits in my pocket. I send garden pictures to my dad and my oldest granddaughter almost every day. Dad is very interested in my gardening efforts (and will be visiting soon to see it in person!), and my granddaughter was here last month helping me weed it. There was very little to harvest when she was here, so she loves seeing what kind of progress it's made.

Like beets, for instance. In addition to the boatload of greens I was given (they're all cleaned, blanched and frozen, finally), I also have a row of Chioggas. We ate a few last month, but I harvested most of the rest of the row yesterday and sent this picture to her. She was astonished and impressed. She's also watching the pumpkins and corn and tomatoes and beans and … you get the idea.

If I were lugging the Rebel around, I'd certainly be getting better images, but I'd have to transfer them from the media card to the computer, edit them, resize them and then create an e-mail to send them. The BB takes the shots, asks me how I want to share them and then sends them off, all from the middle of the garden.

LOVE IT!

But I don't love comments I have to translate. So if you (I'm looking at you, Asian commenter) are reading this and you want to comment, say it in English. Or even French (I'm not bilingual, but I do know a little French). You'll have a much better chance of having your comment published.

One more photo. I snagged this one last night on the way home from my volunteer gig at the prison. In fact, the prison might be at the end of that rainbow. The inmates were in a grateful mood last night; many of them have come to the conclusion that their sentences have saved their lives. It's hard to argue with that, considering the lives they used to lead. I know I'm grateful for the opportunity to share an hour a week with them. They certainly give me lots to think about. And lots for which to be grateful.

Like my new cell phone! Heh.