PLOWSHARE THURSDAY – COMPANIONS.

The thing I am most grateful for in our gardening endeavors today is that we learned how to use “companion planting” to our benefit!

Those that may not have heard of this before: It is the method of planting that puts one or more plants next to each other, to naturally protect and strengthen them.

What this means is very simple:

  • Plant carrots with tomatoes.

carrots n tomatoes

  • Plant dill with just about everything.

dill-in-gh.jpg

  • Plant marigolds with just about everything.

marigolds

  • Oh, and when possible, leave a place totally natural – untouched!

wild plant area

The last one is a HUGE secret that we found out about last year.

The fire three years ago set us back on all of our normal routines.  The biggest damage occurred on the land and gardens.  To have something, anything, for harvest in the fall of 2014; we chose to let parts of the farm and gardens go natural.

Then in 2015, we were still trying to get a handle on things, and I was still doing surgeries.  Since I am the main person working on the farm and gardens, I was in no shape to keep up with it all (and we only garden on about 5 of our 20 acres.).

It was summer of 2016 when it came time to finally tame the whole area.  We have one long field that is about 100-feet wide by about 200-feet long.  It is the length of the whole main area of our farm.  Nothing is growing in there except weeds and wild grasses.  The chickens loved roaming around in there after bugs and worms.  The problem by mid-summer is that we could not see the chickens in the tall grasses anymore – HUGE DANGER FOR CHICKEN FARMERS!

Even though we had not seen or heard a coyote or fox in a couple of years, we did not want to take the chance.  Thus the major mowing finally began.  My sister was smart!  Out of the fire funds, we managed to purchase a John Deere Riding Mower – best investment ever!!

I put on my pretty sun hat (not – but it works- ha ha), doused myself with sun screen and bug repellant started the monster up and away I went.  What fun it actually was!  I could get pretty close to things so we would only have to push-mow a few spots when I was done.

When I got to the long field, I went around the first corner, and a praying mantis landed on my arm!  I stopped mowing, caught it with my hand and put it into the greenhouse.  It took me about 3 hours that first day to clear that long field (normal is only about 1 hour), due to the friendly critters!

We then realized that the corner where we had a pile of old wooden posts had attracted a bunch of bad bugs, which then attracted a bunch of good bugs – viola – natural pest controls!

We used to trim up everything thinking that this would keep the nasties away – nope, the best we ever did was to leave the woodsy area alone.  Most of the long field gets mowed now, but a large section with the wood gets left untouched.

Companion planting works in the same manner.  You plant things next to each other to deter the bad bugs and naturally attract the good bugs.  I even let the dill in the greenhouse run amok this summer.  It is over five-feet tall.  Has seed heads the size of basketballs, and attracts the aphids.  I have no clue why they love the dill more than all else, but they do.

I can now plant dill in succession and simply cut down and bad the old buggy stuff and throw it in the trash.  The plastic bags will suck out the air and kill them, or they will be moved to the dump when the trash guy comes.

I can still find a bit on my food plants – but not as much and it is easy to take care of with wash or wiping.

Hope this helps – happy gardening!

(If you enjoyed this bit of humor, please feel free to visit my latest blog: Life Lessons Lived  to get more laughter in your life!)

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IS THIS WAY COOL OR WHAT?

I was around for the last big one but was not so close to its path of observance before.  The total solar eclipse!  Here in Colorado, it is supposed to be a spectacular show this time around.

I think this is a really cool thing, and I hope that all of the schools (especially the younger grades) will allow the students to watch it.  My grandson will be starting third grade on Monday – the day of the eclipse.  I do know that a bunch of schools have purchased the special glasses for the students and they do have plans to have them attend the event.

solar eclipse

This bit of trivia came across my email this morning:

What Folklore Tells Us About Eclipses

It was so interesting that I just wanted to share it with you.  I especially liked how the NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller described it:  “The sky starts to get cool and dark, a couple minutes before totality. And all of your instincts, all of a sudden, start to freak out. Something’s going wrong. . . . There’s this deep basic panic that sets in as the whole world changes in a way it’s not supposed to. All of a sudden it feels like you’re standing on another planet.”
Now, how cool is that?!?  Too bad it’s not falling on a Friday the 13th as well!  We could all then turn into freakazoids – LOL!

I love folklore, old wives’ tales, and any other bits of trivia from the past.  The best part about them all now is that if you spend some time on the net, you can find out how, where, and when most of them came to be.

My mother (and her side of the family) were notorious for this stuff.

  • Bad news comes in 3’s
  • Drop a spoon and company is coming
  • If your nose itches, you will kiss a fool (ya, done that one too many times!)
  • If your right ear is ringing, someone is talking good about you.
  • If your left ear is ringing, someone is talking bad about you.

These and so many more were a huge part of my growing up.  I also remember her and my Aunts and some of their friends all gathering for séance.  As kids growing up in the 1960’s, this was way cool.  Mind you that NONE of the men participated (no imagination, LOL).  I remember that a year before she died, her sister came to visit.  Mom insisted that we had to visit her Psychic.  I do not remember her name, but I will never forget the trip.

I was never much of a believer in all this, but it was fun to do never-the-less.  Sissy (mom’s sister/my aunt) went first.  Then mom.  Then me.  Now, from my own experiences with all this, they NEVER tell you bad news.  Warnings or omens but they were always vague.  This visit was not vague.

She invited me into her private room and closed the door behind us – normal.

She then took my hand and said:“Prepare yourself, your mother will not live another year.” WHAT????!!!!

Totally threw me for a loop!  She went on to say that I am the strong one in the family and I will help the others to get through it all.

DAMN – that darn woman was right!

Roughly ten months later mom died in my arms.

-WOW-

The trip was two months before mom went into her final surgery.  Her cancer had been reduced to a small node on her liver.  They performed a new freezing procedure on her that ended up freezing a major part of her liver.  Nothing further to do.  February of the following year she was gone.

I am a more “logical” mind person so to me she may have seen the signs that mom was pale.  Looked tired, and maybe, in their visit, mom had shared her ill feelings.  But, for this Psychic to flat out tell me this was astounding!

I still trust in science.  I do know for a fact that there is a reason for everything.  But I am humble enough to believe that there are some things in the universe that you just cannot explain in simple terms.  I do not ever want to know the meaning of life as you would ask from God.  I chose to believe that I was put here to help others.  I love to make people laugh – at me, at themselves, at life in general.  So, if this little story of mine gave you a bit of a giggle, my work here is done!

Have a nice day!

(Oh, and enjoy the eclipse!)

(If you enjoyed this bit of humor, please feel free to visit my latest blog: Life Lessons Lived  to get more laughter in your life!)

IS THIS WAY COOL OR WHAT?
I was around for the last big one but was not so close to its path of observance before. The total solar eclipse! Here in Colorado, it is supposed to be a spectacular show this time around.
I think this is a really cool thing, and I hope that all of the schools (especially the younger grades) will allow the students to watch it. My grandson will be starting third grade on Monday – the day of the eclipse. I do know that a bunch of schools have purchased the special glasses for the students and they do have plans to have them attend the event.

This bit of trivia came across my email this morning:
What Folklore Tells Us About Eclipses
It was so interesting that I just wanted to share it with you. I especially liked how the NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller described it: “The sky starts to get cool and dark, a couple minutes before totality. And all of your instincts, all of a sudden, start to freak out. Something’s going wrong. . . . There’s this deep basic panic that sets in as the whole world changes in a way it’s not supposed to. All of a sudden it feels like you’re standing on another planet.”

Now, how cool is that?!? Too bad it’s not falling on a Friday the 13th as well! We could all then turn into freakazoids – LOL!
I love folklore, old wives’ tales, and any other bits of trivia from the past. The best part about them all now is that if you spend some time on the net, you can find out how, where, and when most of them came to be.
My mother (and her side of the family) were notorious for this stuff.
• Bad news comes in 3’s
• Drop a spoon and company is coming
• If your nose itches, you will kiss a fool (ya, done that one too many times!)
• If your right ear is ringing, someone is talking good about you.
• If your left ear is ringing, someone is talking bad about you.
These and so many more were a huge part of my growing up. I also remember her and my Aunts and some of their friends all gathering for séance. As kids growing up in the 1960’s, this was way cool. Mind you that NONE of the men participated (no imagination, LOL). I remember that a year before she died, her sister came to visit. Mom insisted that we had to visit her Psychic. I do not remember her name, but I will never forget the trip.
I was never much of a believer in all this, but it was fun to do never-the-less. Sissy (mom’s sister/my aunt) went first. Then mom. Then me. Now, from my own experiences with all this, they NEVER tell you bad news. Warnings or omens but they were always vague. This visit was not vague.
She invited me into her private room and closed the door behind us – normal.
She then took my hand and said:

Prepare yourself, your mother will not live another year.” WHAT????!!!!

Totally threw me for a loop! She went on to say that I am the strong one in the family and I will help the others to get through it all.
DAMN – that darn woman was right!
Roughly ten months later mom died in my arms.

-WOW-

The trip was two months before mom went into her final surgery. Her cancer had been reduced to a small node on her liver. They performed a new freezing procedure on her that ended up freezing a major part of her liver. Nothing further to do. February of the following year she was gone.
I am a more “logical” mind person so to me she may have seen the signs that mom was pale. Looked tired, and maybe, in their visit, mom had shared her ill feelings. But, for this Psychic to flat out tell me this was astounding!
I still trust in science. I do know for a fact that there is a reason for everything. But I am humble enough to believe that there are some things in the universe that you just cannot explain in simple terms. I do not ever want to know the meaning of life as you would ask from God. I chose to believe that I was put here to help others. I love to make people laugh – at me, at themselves, at life in general. So, if this little story of mine gave you a bit of a giggle, my work here is done!

Have a nice day!

goofy smile face (Oh, and enjoy the eclipse!)

(If you enjoyed this bit of humor, please feel free to visit my latest blog: Life Lessons Lived to get more laughter in your life!)
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I NOW REALIZE THERE ARE ONLY 2 SEASONS!

I used to have the normal four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Well, not anymore. At least, not since I took custody of my 8-year old Grandson. My new “two” seasons are just:

SCHOOL SEASON

go to recess when

– AND –
FOOD SEASON

School season is obvious to anyone that is a parent or guardian. When the kids go back to school, I have so much more time for “me” activities. The only bummer is that never seems to be enough time! My biggest problem is that we live in the country, but my grandson cannot ride the bus (older kids picking on him).  This means I must take and pick him up.  If he were on the bus that would give me at least one more hour of “me” time and I would not have to drop-and-run.

The “food season” is different. It starts about January with seed/plant selections. We go through all of our saved seeds, plot planning preps, and start designing what we would like where this growing year.

Once selections are made and purchased (as needed), then comes the seed starting – end of January to first of March. This includes figuring out where to put all of them as they grow. Starting is always in trays – easy!

Then they start getting big (sometimes too fast for us to keep up) and need to be transplanted. This is the next decision…

  • Pots for repotting
    • Newspaper,
    • Cardboard, etc.
  • Pots for repurposing – plant to be removed before going in ground.

Once every one gets big enough and weather (which is another tricky situation) permits, it’s time to move everyone (notice how I call my plants “everyone”!?) to their permanent home. Outside gardens, front yard, greenhouse, trellis or special garden helpers required? That’s just some of the decisions that need to be resolved.
Right now everyone is starting to put out “food” which means we now have to start processing. Wouldn’t you know that the most important parts of the food season also seem to fall in the off-school season!

  • We have time now for picking and eating.
    • Picking and freezing.
      • Picking and eating more.
        • Picking and dehydrating.
          • Picking and eating more.

(I’m sure you get the picture here! If I do not process it fast enough, it gets eaten before I can store it – LOL!)

Soon we will have to break out the “big-guns” and get the pressure canner and hot water bath set up running. By the time that starts, the kid should be back in school. Oh, but the Holidays are just around the corner, and I only have a fraction of the gifts made – grrr!
Somewhere in all this mess of the two seasons, I manage to find time to write (like now), knit, crochet, make cards, sew. Now I have picked up a couple of new crafts to add to my confusion – beading and punch needle (ahhh – more Christmas gifts to give – wooo hooo!!).

Since the grandson is just as important to me as the food season is, I guess I will just have to deal! Happily, I hope (FYI – I am listening to Christmas music while I am writing this – I am such a sicko!)

christmas therapy

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WHEN TROUBLE COMES IN THREES WHAT CAN YOU DO?

I started this post but got too wordy. So, instead, I am going to tell you a story.

Once upon a time, there was a young, old woman who loved to garden. She loved the seeds, the starts, the transplanting and even the weeding.

This young, old woman was so into her gardens that she did not mind if a bee landed on her to say hi or rest. It did not make her flinch to come across a spider the size of a silver dollar while working away. Even the surprise toad or snake did not deter her from her daily visits to the natural beauty.
lady and a bee
Then one week she had the terrible three’s visit her.
First: She ran into the turkey door latch and severely bruised her upper arm (which just happened to be right by her first major surgery: Reverse rotator cuff replacement).

Second: She tripped over the mat by the front yard garden gate and fell on her left side ribs. This caused her to take her breath away, and she was very sore, but still able to go on.

Then, late Friday afternoon that week the terrible third struck. While humming one of her favorite songs and weeding the front yard patio, she heard a buzzing sound by her right ear. The dreaded black biting flies had been around all afternoon, but she would put on a bit more bug repellant, and they would leave her alone. She believed it was just another fly, so she raised her hand to shew it away. Little did she realize at that moment she was irritating a wasp!

The monster stung her right by her right ear – on the face. She again did not flinch as she assumed it was the black fly. The evening went on as a normal Friday game night, but she realized that the right side of her face was very hot and kind of itchy.
On Saturday morning, she realized that her right eye seemed a bit blocked. Taking her normal morning trip to the bathroom, she glanced into the mirror and was shocked! The whole right side of her face was swollen. She now realized that it was not a black fly that stunk her – it was her old nemesis the wasp!

Then by Sunday morning, the swelling was growing across her face. Having been stung many times before (mind you there was NEVER a serious allergic reaction – EVER!) she simply took some aspirin, grabbed an ice pack and proceeded to place it on and off her face all the rest of that day.

Monday morning came, and the swelling was still getting worse, so she decided she had better visit her local hospital ER. Upon arriving and being all checked in, the doctor prescribed prednisone – 20 mg which is a type of steroid. She immediately went to her friendly pharmacy and filled the prescription. As soon as she got back into her car, she took the first pill.

Later Monday afternoon her head felt as if it was on fire. She was heating up but chilled, and everything (including her hair) had a burning itch which she was told not to scratch. That night she felt flu-like symptoms: Fever, chills, and a possible need to throw up.

Tuesday morning, she was the size of a party balloon! The swelling was not going down but seemed to be getting worse. Her eyes were so swollen she could not even see her beloved computer to write her thoughts. She took the 2nd pill.

balloon head

Wednesday was, even more, worse than Tuesday, but she took the 3rd of the four pills. Completely miserable, she could not sleep that night. Luckily the ER Doctor did tell her to schedule a follow-up appointment with her regular Doctor within 4-days. She had done so and was to see her doctor on the next morning.

Thursday morning came, and she did NOT take the last pill (by now it had dawned on her that the steroid and she were not in agreement!) and headed off to her doctor.
Once the Doctor took one look at her she knew – this was some type of allergic attack. Her Doctor proceeded to call over to her Pharmacist an order of Claritin and Zantac (prescription level) and over-the-counter Benadryl.

The young, old woman got safely back home and immediately started the routine of meds. By that same evening the burning, itching all over her head had ceased! Saturday morning she would see out of the left eye, but it was still fairly swollen. It took a full 10-days for all the bad steroid reaction to mellow out.

The moral of this young, old woman’s story:

Use the damn head nets you bought three years ago stupid!
(See Plow Share Thursday for more info.)

alergy pic 1 6-10    alergy pic 2 6-15

alergy-pic-3-6-17.jpg    alergy pic 4 6-26 all better

All better!

FFF-FRIDAY – WOO HOO!!! Have you seen the signs?

It’s time to prepare! 

Have you seen the signs? 

There are many out there: (please do NOT click on the links until the very end-thank you.)

Cicadapocalypse: What you need to know.

Snakes found hunting in packs.

These two were just in today’s email information.  Then there are the other signs:

What is a supermoon?

Are you ready? 

Are you prepared?

Are you ready to handle the worst signs yet?  Hold on to your butts:

  died fighting  (Tried posting this at the edges of my gardens as a warning sign for our birds…this is what I got in return:

ckn kickn leaves

Then I received a sign from the rooster:

ck terror human

I really got worried when they ganged up on me and employed music to terrorize me:

ckn bach bach

 

When all else failed they came at me with this:

best hen house

FINALLY – I saw the signs!  Not happy about them – ok, and a bit scared, but definitely not happy!  Dang chickens.

 

DO YOU STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES?

Bad news.  Bad news.  Then more bad news.  I AM SOOO TIRED OF BAD NEWS!  I have started a new self-help campaign…seek out good news!  Here is one that I came across this week:

Love the smell of spring? Here’s where the season’s odors come from.

It was kind of sad and disgusting.  So I choose to turn it into a good thing.

I like to learn the scientific reason for the smells that I love (which was key to the above article), but I prefer my reasoning…it is because of my past.  Here are some examples:

A fresh cut hay field: This one catches me at the second it hits my nose (and it’s a big nose) and instantly throws me back to the 80-acre farm I grew up on.  It’s spring, and we have started the first of several cuttings to create bales for the winter ahead.  This follows with the families joining to bale the hay.  Kids playing in the hay, the fields, and with the horses.  Parents would gather in the shade of the large garage we had or maybe in the back yard covered with huge trees.  Fresh squeezed lemonade, sun tea, and beer were the drinks of choice (Oh, and the water for the kids always came from the hose.  We had a well with great tasting water!).

new mown hay

The air after the first big spring rain:  Once again I am flung back in time to kids with little plastic (yep plastic, not rubber – that was for city kids!) boots.  They were very floopy (is that a word?  Pronounced like soupy.) so we never bothered to wear any socks with them.  The puddles we splashed in would throw the water up and over the top of the boot, and our feet would float.  This made it even more fun because as you went running up on a puddle, your slippery foot would slide sideways and cause you to fall into the puddle instead of just splashing – laughter all around!

flowers in spring rain

Pine trees, rosemary, evergreens:  These smells are sort of the same and all lead to the same thing – CHRISTMAS!  I have had a few bad ones, but most of my Christmas’s were crammed with wonderful memories!  Once again all about family and friends all smiling, laughing, and sharing. (FYI: This smell always makes me feel better if I am sad or depressed.)

Fresh baked bread:  Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh baked (or baking) bread?  It never has a chance to completely cool in our house!  As soon as it’s touchable, we slice it up, butter, and eat it!  This one does not go back to my childhood, but it does include family.  Mom hated to cook.  Dad loved to cook.  I just do not remember any baking specifics (except Christmas cookies) until I moved in with my sister – she’s a bake-a-holic!  One of her specialties that I swear I can smell clear out in the barn is her bread.  She loves to make a variety of them and is always looking for a new recipe.  I have resolved myself to the fact that I will never be skinny.  I can blame it on genes, surgeries, no time for exercise – whatever- but I know the real reason is that I cannot keep my hands off her homemade bread – yum!!!

d star bread (This is one of her creations!)

With all the surgeries I have been through, I wondered what would be the worst to lose: sight, hearing, smell, touch?  I have already lost part of my hearing (major ear infection as a kid) and some ability to touch.  Getting older the eyesight fades (can sometimes be corrected), but I think the loss of smell would break my heart!  It is the one sense that can reincarnate good times no matter where I am in life.

Yep, when it comes to smells that float up my nose, happiness resides there not science.  I will continue to breathe deep and suck in all the fun fond memories that I can, while I can!

upclose dog nose

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WHY?

I have found the answer to the world’s oldest question.

WHY DID…

chicken 1

THE CHICKEN…

chicken 6

CROSS…

chicken 2

THE ROAD?

chicken 5

To run over and steal all the wonderful worms from my gardens as I work!

chicken 3

Hiding behind the garlic grasses will not save you from my wrath bird!

chicken 4

I swear if you girls were not laying 6+ eggs a day you would be freezer meat! (I still have about a dozen other birds you know?!?  And they are staying OUT of my gardens!)

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Friday fun: WHO NEEDS A GUARD DOG?

I was wondering around the trees and bushes to the south yesterday.  I needed to see if I should water anyone just in case the storm scheduled to today (it came) missed us again.  I was not paying attention to where I was walking because I was checking the base of the plants when “OUCH” – SOMETHING STABBED ME!  Not a poke but a nasty stab.  This was the culprit:

5-1-17 thorns on locust tree

I purposely left this picture larger than most, just to try to impress upon you the length and effectiveness of our locust tree spikes (the minimum length of these spiky behemoths is three inches).  Yep, this monster has gotten very dangerous indeed!

If I ever run out of yarn, sewing, or darning needles; these suckers would be perfect!  They are as strong as steel, sharper than a knife, and more vicious than a guard dog.

Somehow in the next few days, I need to figure out how to get near it to do some trimming.  Pretty sure I will at least need body armor.  We used to have a long-handled hand saw to do things like this, but my grandson decided to try jousting with it – and lost.

One of my grand delusions is to have a huge four-foot-thick castle wall around our property (because too many people find us to be the Colorado Information/Gas Station/Potty Stop Center).  Now I think I will try to grab some suckers off this beastie and try to root start them.  Wonder if a huge hedge of them, totally surrounding our property, would keep the uninvited out?  Hmm, something fun to ponder this Friday!

Aubrey 2

(Hee, hee – next best thing to Aubrey 2 – LOL)

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HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THIS?

Today’s Friday funny is very simple.  Just click on the link.  It will take you to YouTube.  This is one that I have never seen or heard before.  Please share if you have and if you can remember where/why!  Also let me know if you laughed as hard as I did?

 

Kremit The Frog – Piggy Got Back

 

Hope you enjoy your Friday Fun Day!!

HOW LONG SHOULD A PROJECT TAKE?

I don’t think there is any single easy answer to this question.  Then again, maybe it’s just me because I have so many things going on at the same time.

  1. Knitting
    1. More hats for my Etsy shop (also scarves and jewelry)
    2. Personal requests – shawls, throws, and the occasional baby things.
    3. My creations:

4-17-17 my entralac creation

  1. Gardening
    1. Cleaning and prepping plots inside and out of the greenhouse.
    2. Keeping chickens from ripping out my new transplants and seeds.

dancing chickens

(Yes – my birds do the chicken dance every time they tear up a plot-grrr!)

  1. Writing
    1. Helberg farm stories blog
    2. Etsy shop – Rachellenacreations – blog and shop updates
    3. Rlh Creative Virtual Assistant – Yep, new job for me so more time to squeeze in a day (can you say IDIOT?? – but you have to say it really loud!)
    4. Other creative writing jobs – copywriter, author, nut-bag in a pen addiction (this one is the worst to keep up with…it’s all those wild ideas floating around in my head.).

When is a body to find time for the standard day-to-day projects?

  • Cooking
  • Cleaning
  • Shopping
  • Farm chores
  • Extra seasonal farm chores
  • Specialty projects (like setting up new plots)

They are all never ending.  So my question goes out to all of you – How long should a project take?

When I have the help of my co-farmer/sister; a simple project can be done in a day or a weekend.  When my Grandson is preoccupied, I can get minor projects done (cooking, cleaning – at least a little, etc.).

nathan hiding

I have a yarn addiction that must feed, or it gets ugly!

cat n yarn

The gardens cannot be left attended for a day without the weeds full-on assault on all my hard work.

scary weed

Where does one project end and the next begin?  Is it the same for everyone?  Am I the only whack-job that has to have several things going on at the same time, all the time?

Do not even start that “list” thingy with me!  I have tried every list and method out there.  Read the blogs.  Listen to the podcasts, and watched the webinars – bah humbug!  You can’t tell me that the people that create all that “helpful list stuff” are completely in control and on top of all their projects?  They must have some help, or they live in a box.  Some days I think it would be great to live in a Tiny House just to have my own quiet little space to thing…and of course, work on a project.

tiny home

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