Aruba

Aruba
aloe factory
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall--confucius

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." anon

A man is but the product of his thoughts--what he thinks, he becomes. Gandhi


I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
but still I can do something;
and because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do something that I can do. edward everett hale
Donna Hart
Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims -- laws that make misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, exploiting defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children. What will you have to say on Judgment Day, when Doomsday arrives out of the blue? Who will you get to help you? What good will your money do you? (Isaiah 10:1-3, The Message)

There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad w/radiance. william sharp

I think no matter how old or infirm I may become, I will always plant a large garden in the spring. Who can resist the feelings of hope and joy that one gets from participating in nature's rebirth? edward giobbi

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. marcel proust

I am only one, but still I am one.I cannot do everything,but still I can do something;and because I cannot do everything,I will not refuse to do something that I can do. edward everett hale




Monday, April 4, 2016

april 2016

visited oscar 4-4-2016 before vacation and got info for christina about wedding gift chest.  it was made by the man living south of uncle max who worked for a woodshop in oxford.  oscar thought he died about 2 years ago.  i believe max told me he had to sell his personal tools sometime after 2007 when the family ran into financial problems.  chest is the walnut plus oak trim and the walnut was cut from the hill area on the south side of bristol rd west of the old circus ranch in 1946.  oscar thinks grandpa bought the trees to cut.  wood was milled on walker rd w/their sawmill.  i knew that a log got away when they were cutting the trees down and rolled downhill but i didn't remember anyone saying that oscar was lifting the log on the john deere (no water in the left tire) and as he turned the tractor to load it maybe on the truck the tractor tilted and went over, the log rolling downhill. (i think max told me he had to run to not get hit by the log.)  i think a gear or loader shift was behind oscar on the left but he couldn't reach back to it fast enough.  oscar got thrown into a thistle bush.  i asked how they righted the tractor and he said w/the truck.

oscar then related a sawmill incident on walker road.  he rode the 'carriage' on the mill to move the spacer over after each slice.  it jumped the track and he was heading toward the blade w/his knees.  he said the blade was probably 12-15 inches above the log but he was able to put his knees on the log and go over backwards. he told grandpa floyd that was the last time he'd ride it like he had been doing for about a year.  they bought a log setter so someone could stay on the ground and shift the blade from there

floyd sold sawmill--didn't tell al until someone came for it and sold the oil pull tractor when someone flew over the land, spotted the tractor, offered to buy it for scrap, and he sold it for 250.  they came and cut it up.  (after wwII)  said he needed money to go out to chesaning.

grandpa's house was rough hewn logs with pine boards as subflooring and walls and the 2 x 4s were really that size, not like today's size.  flooring was angled (visible in 2 unfinished closets)


michigan farm news march 30 edition p3. article by jake ferris professor emeritus w/the dept of ag, food and resource economics at MSU: "the byproducts of mandatory labeling of GE foods are as follows: 1-US food prices will increase 2-the environment will be harmed 3-efforts to enhance economic development in poor countries will be held back 4-the promise of GE to help feed another 2 billion people on this earth will be diminished.....Mandatory labeling of GE food would not only be tragic, but, in my judgement, also outrageous."
painted doubles hellebore--perennial
durban canna --for garden and containers

 to attract hummingbirds:  early bloomers = bleeding heart, columbines, coral bells, iris
                                         summer = daylilies, penstemon, garden phlox, bee balm, salvia, cardinal flower
                                         fall = liatris, coneflower
                                         add = clematis, native honeysuckle

 moon garden:  moths, native bees, bats like white and pale flowers w/intense fragrance and lots of nectar
try honeysuckle, columbine, amsonia blue star
plants with silver and grey foliage = lavender, woolly lambs' ears, horned poppy, sea kale, helichrysum, , santolina, silver blade evening primrose, pussy toes, sage

after finding a wild turkey nest in the raspberries:

Breed first, nest later

Copulation or breeding must first take place for hens to produce fertile eggs.
The timing of breeding is determined by the female turkey and researchers are now learning that physical conditioning may have a greater influence on reproduction. Reserachers believe a hen is not suited to take on the rigors of nesting unless physically in a condition to do so. Therefore, poor conditioning caused by poor nutrition can be blamed for late nesting.

The nesting period

It takes hens about two weeks to lay a full complement of nine to 13 eggs. Hens will only visit the nesting site long enough to deposit her egg for the day. The rest of her time will be spent elsewhere feeding and roosting.
At the end of the laying period, incubation starts. During this time, the hen puts herself in danger to stay on the nest day and night for about 28 days. She needs to bulk up prior to nesting and may take a brief recess period around mid-day to feed on protein-packed insects.

Little is known about how hens select their nesting sites, but as a general rule hens prefer:

  • Nesting cover within 30 meters of an opening of suitable brood habitat, such as a road shoulder, trail, field, food plot, utility right of way, forest canopy gap or other openings
  • Nest sites with considerable lateral cover and light overhead cover such as tree limbs, briars, vines, broom sedge or other vegetation
  • Nest sites which provide hens good visibility of predators when she raises her head and also good concealment of her body and nest when at rest

Predator problems

Before hatching, nests are in danger of foxes, skunks, bobcats, raccoons, opossums, coyotes, crows, hogs, dogs and some snakes. After hatching, avian predators, such as hawks and owls also threaten poult lives.
Various studies indicate 10 to 40 percent of nests successfully hatch. Then, only about 25 percent of hatching poults will make it beyond four weeks.
 The good news is despite huge predation losses each year. Most areas seem to produce enough surviving young to replenish annual losses. Excluding weather events beyond man’s control, improving brood and nesting habitats can increase the number of young that survive each year.

How you can help:

  1. If your landscape is dominated by old growth hardwood forests, consider a light thinning of low wildlife value trees because with more brood and nesting habitat, predators can’t concentrate their search habits.
  2. On pine sites, practice thinning and prescribed-burn tactics because research indicates that turkeys favor nesting in open canopy pine sites burned during the previous year’s burning season. 
— Jimmy Stafford


                                     
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