High Cost of Healthcare

According to the Office of Management and Budget - when Medicare was signed into law by President Johnson in 1965 it was projected that the annual cost of Medicare in 1990 (25 years in the future) would be $12 billion.

Just a short decade later (1975) the actual cost of Medicare was $13 billion.

By the time 1990 rolled-around the cost had risen to $98 billion - more than 8 times as large as the original 1965 forecast.

News You Can Use

The final bill in terms of the death toll and economic loss is still being calculated after massive earthquakes hit Haiti and Chile this year. It will far outweigh the 15,000 people who died or went missing as a result of natural and man-made catastrophes in 2009.

Last year the total losses from catastrophes hit $62 billion, of which only $26 billion was covered by insurance, according to Swiss Re. (The insurance firm considers events "catastrophes" if insured claims, total economic losses or casualties exceed a certain threshold). Insured natural catastrophes accounted for $22 billion and man-made disasters $4 billion.

The most disastrous year for insurance companies was 2005. Insurance losses totaled some $117 billion after Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita struck America. Hurricane Katrina alone claimed 1,836 lives and resulted in insured losses of some $71 billion.

Learn more about the insurance price tag of major catastrophes around globe.

Source: The Economist

The Man Drawer

Some men have a manbag that they use to tote their stuff around.

I don't have such a thing.

However, The Frau has allotted me one drawer in the china cabinet for me to toss and/or collect important junk.

The contents presently includes (but is not limited to) three varieties of ammo, a couple of flashlights, three knives, GPS device, digital camera, pedometer, a couple of pistol clips, boot laces, assorted hand warmers, four two-way radios, a battery charger, tree nuts, hunting/fishing licenses and a chapstick.

Having a Bad Day?

Just about the time you think you're having a bad day you find out someone else is having a worse one.

Smile For The Trail Cam

The old Wildview digital trail camera finally gave it up.

No amount of fresh batteries, reformatted disks or kind words could revive it. It is dead.

No complaints here.

Actually - I take that back. It gobbled alkaline C-Cells like they were going out of style. Especially in cold weather conditions. Nonetheless, I got quite few years of continuous use out my original forty dollar investment. Not counting all the batteries.

A new digital trail camera has entered service.

It's a Moultrie GameSpyi50. Complete with 5.0 megapixels of resolution, a 1 gig SD memory card, a laser for aiming the sucker and infrared flash. It is powered by six D-Cell batteries (cheaper than C-Cells) and is noted for its extended battery life.

It will date and time stamp each picture along with the temperature and moon phase.

As long as it takes good pictures and nobody swipes it I'll be satisfied.

Stay tuned...

Guess The Critter

Sometimes the best way to identify the critters that have been hanging around is to study what they leave behind.

Their nests, their tracks or the damage they do. And their scat.

Like this.

I've never seen scat like this before.

Anyone know who left it?

A Taxing Issue

Tax Foundation recently publised a report on "nonpayers" - people whose exemptions, deductions and credits wiped out any federal income tax due.

A record 51.6 million tax filers had no income tax liability in 2008 - or 36.3 percent of the 142 million tax returns filed.

I dunno. I just filed my taxes and wrote a big fat check to Uncle Sam.

Maybe I need a new tax guy.

You can read the entire report here.

Kentucky Violates NCAA Rules

Kentucky Violated NCAA Rules While Recruiting Basketball-Playing Dog

Mouse in the House

Been cleaning-out nest boxes.

Forty seven of them to be exact.

Nesting season is just around the corner and I want to be sure that the boxes have been cleaned of all of the old nesting material, any dead birds or other junk.

Spring housekeeping.

Some of the boxes have been occupied over the winter and up to the present time by these guys.

The first sign that they might be living in your bird box is when your sniffer detects the strong smell of urine.

This is the most common mouse in Wisconsin and the most widespread rodent in North America.

Peromyscus maniculatus.

Since it's at the bottom of the food chain it is an important food source for owls, fox, hawks and coyotes.

They're not very aggressive and are easily handled. They’re actually sort of playful.

And they don’t bite.

The bad news is that they are a host for the very dangerous hantavirus - which can cause Hantaviral Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) in humans.

You can be exposed to hantavirus by means of inhaling debris from a nest.

HPS starts out pretty much like the ordinary flu – fatigue, fever, chills, aches and nausea. Before too long it can lead to – shortness of breath, reduction of oxygen (hypoxia or hypoxemia) and a buildup of carbon dioxide (hypercarbia) and acid (acidemia) in your blood, respiratory insufficiency (shock) or failure, buildup of fluid in your lungs (pulmonary edema), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), arrhythmia and multiorgan failure.

Any signs like this and you should see your doctor.

When cleaning out a Deer Mouse nest from a nest box I guess I better do more than just hold my breath, eh? That little guy could kill you.

Blech.

Everything's Greening-up

Well - not everything. Just a few things.

This is strange.

I planted this food plot in August of last year with a combination of rape and turnip. And they're annuals.

Wouldn't you know it - it's greening-up rather nicely.
I don't know if this is just excess seed that over-wintered and has germinated or if the plants themselves survived the hard freeze.

My guess is the former and not the latter.

This is a bonus plot. That's not such a bad thing. Some early green forage for the critters.

And if they don't get it all I'll have some early turnip greens and roots before everyone else.

Talk'n Turkey

Up early and padded into the kitchen to turn-on the coffee.

Across the road in the plowed field to the south was a flock of at least forty turkeys.

Gasp!

There they were - strutting their stuff for the ladies in the morning sunshine. A target-rich environment for this old turkey hunter.

Why is it never like this during hunting season?

(Photo courtesy of NWTF)

Spring Redux

I am not mistaken.

Just stepped-in from the porch and the call is not to be confused with anything else...

The Wood frog has thawed-out and is croaking.

Their call is not unlike a duck quack or chuckle. In-fact a couple of nights-ago I chalked it up to ducks quacking in the pond.

Guess what.

No ducks in the big pond tonight.

Just wood frogs.

First day of spring was yesterday you know...

Ahhh. Spring!

Spring has rapidly ramped-up its arrival.

I observed a handful of White-breasted Nuthatches this afternoon with their characteristic whi-whi-whi-whi call. An amusing bird as they move down a tree trunk headfirst.

Chickadees, Cardinals, Robins, and more Red-winged Blackbirds and Meadowlarks.

There was a pair of Pintail ducks on the big pond resting for a spell before winging their way further north.

Let the dog out last night before turning-in and I could've sworn I heard a spring peeper.

Maybe I was mistaken.

Maybe not.

Anybody Irish?

On March 17, 2010, the world celebrated St. Patrick's Day.

Among the many celebrations, New York had its parade, Chicago had its green-dyed river and the White House had the Shamrock Ceremony.

Ireland, though, has been celebrating for more than 1,000 years. The holiday celebrates St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, on the anniversary of the day believed to be his death.

Shamrocks, a symbol of Ireland, were believed to be used by St. Patrick to explain the Holy Trinity.

Celebrated during the Christian season of Lent, it is believed that Irish families would traditionally attend mass in the morning, lift the Lenten prohibition against eating meat and celebrate in the afternoon.

Whether Irish or not, many wear green to help celebrate this Irish tradition.

Gunshot

Is that automatic weapons fire?

Nah. Select fire - I'm thinking. A lot of it too.
.
Sometimes when the wind is just right the sound from the Gardner Rifle Club will carry as far as the farm.

I swear - in past years I've heard automatic weapons fire. I figure maybe it's law enforcement training.

Whatever is going-on it sure is a profligate expenditure of ammo.

While out pruning I came across this damage in the picture to the left.

This would be from yours truly woodcock hunting last fall.

Fire Pit

Fire ring at the ancestral campsite.

If you poke around in there you'll find some rusted tins.

The contents of which - sardines and smoked oysters - were consumed over a bottle or two of red wine. More than a few times.

Around the fire.

Back in the day this is where we hung our hats.

Tenting, cooking over the fire or a Coleman stove and using a makeshift crapper in the woods.

Just the other day the Frau suggested we pack a couple of brewskis and light a fire in the fire pit.

Just like the old days....

Engineering Marvel of the Day

A modern marvel of engineering is nearing completion and will reshape the image of one of our nation's most famous symbols.

Phase 4 of the Hoover Dam Bridge Project is complete.

The project is on schedule to reshape the way travelers move to and from Nevada and Arizona.

U.S. 93 uses the top of Hoover Dam to cross the Colorado River. U.S. Highway 93 is the major commercial corridor between the states of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah; it is also on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) route between Mexico and Canada.

The traffic congestion caused by the inadequacy of the existing highway across the dam imposes a serious economic burden on the states of Arizona, Nevada and Utah. The traffic volumes, combined with the sharp curves on U.S. 93 in the vicinity of Hoover Dam, create a potentially dangerous situation. A major catastrophe could occur, involving innocent bystanders, millions of dollars in property damage to the dam and its facilities, contamination of the waters of Lake Mead or the Colorado River, and interruption of the power and water supply for people in the Southwest.

Arizona Central article

Visualization of Hoover Dam Bridge

Video footage of bridge construction

Dead and Buried

Spruce trees were on the agenda last week. Including some really old spruce trees in Sweden.

Since then it has occurred to me that I should say something about the even older spruce trees in Wisconsin. They may be deader than a door nail but they are definitely older. There is a buried glacial forest just south of here.

Two Creeks Buried Forest State Natural Area is part of the Wisconsin State Natural Areas Program and a unit of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. Approximately 25 acres in size it lies in the northeast corner of Manitowoc County on the Lake Michigan shoreline just north of Two Creeks. I’ve ridden my bicycle past this location countless times.

Anyway, the soil strata along the shoreline contain the remains of a forest buried in glacial till.

Carbon dating of the buried forest’s remains traces it to 11,850 years Before Present.

Big deal Swamp Gas. Why is this important?

For starters the dating of the buried forest fixes the time frame of glacial advances and retreats during Wisconsin’s last glaciations.

The lowest layer of glacial till was deposited by an earlier glaciation. During a warming interval this glacier retreated. The intervening period was sufficiently long enough for forests to establish themselves. Conifers including pine, spruce and hemlock thrived. As the climate cooled again the glaciers once again advanced. Lake Michigan’s drainage was disrupted by the ice sheets and the forest was buried under additional glacial till.

Additionally, 12,000 years-or-so may seem like a long time. And it would be in human terms. However it is barely a fraction of second in geologic terms.

Funny how the earth cooled and warmed seemingly all by itself.

Mud Season

With the appearance of the first Red-winged Blackbird spring has officially arrived and mud season has manifested itself in all its glory.

Everything is thawing-out
.
The ice has left the small pond behind the house while the big pond north near Silver Creek is still frozen and ice covered.

Not that this makes any difference as geese and cranes are hanging-about its frozen fringes.

The creek is running full-bore.

However - while setting out to do some chores yesterday - the crossing was flooded by an assemblage of flotsam and jetsam blocking and diverting the flow of our navigable stream.

Navigable stream - you say?

Yes - a navigable stream.

We were thinking we better go fetch the canoe really quick and float it in our stream before it returned to its normally dry state. But I digress.

With some rakes and grub hoes the Frau and I managed to remove all sorts of debris from the inlets of a couple of ancient culverts buried beneath the stream crossing.

Girlfriend personally fetched and dragged the log in the picture above from the water.

The flooding abated and the crossing was made without incident.

Spring Has Sprung

It's official.

My personal barometer of the arrival of spring confirms it.

Spotted the first Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus of the season this morning.

Spring has arrived.

Not Just for Toothpicks Anymore

The Norway Spruce is one of the fastest growing and tallest spruces in Wisconsin. It is the dominant tree in the Fatherland's Black Forest region.

It is also an important wood for the manufacture of paper because it has long wood fibers which bind together to make a strong product.

The spruce is utilized for other purposes ranging from general construction work and crates to highly specialized uses in wooden aircraft and many musical instruments, including guitars, mandolins, cellos, violins and piano soundboards.

The Wright brother’s first aircraft was built of spruce – same for Howard Hugh’s Spruce Goose.

Toothpicks are manufactured from this tree too.

Spruces are cultivated over vast areas for these purposes.

They are popular ornamental trees which is why you will find them in yards, cemeteries and for sale as Christmas trees.

Scientists have found a cluster of Norway Spruce in the mountains in western Sweden, nicknamed Old Tjikko - which at an age of 9,550 years are claimed to be the world's oldest known living trees.

The even-aged stand in the picture is eleven years-old.

Dog Tired

There is nothing better than a high-energy breed of dog completely conked-out.

Several days in a row of tearing around in the woods can have that effect on a dog that has more energy then sense.

Same for me.

Although I don't make puppy yips and twitch in my sleep.

At least I don't think I do.

Mousing

How's that for plump little snack?

My constant companion - Girlfriend - never misses an opportunity to head-out in the woods with me.

I work and she recreates.

She gets to roll in all manner of disgusting stuff, dine on deer poop and an occasional bunny part leftover from some other predator's kill.

The best part is mousing.

Yep. Labrador retrievers are better mousers than your average cat. And Girlfriend is better at it than most Labs.

As evidence of this consider the fresh rodent morsel I managed to extricate from her mouth.

For her it's just a pinch between the cheek and gums...

Abandoned Home

More work on the woods.

Corrective pruning of oaks and walnut and spraying of gypsy moth egg masses.

Countless bird nests to be found from last year.

Funny. You can hardly locate these during the nesting season - but they're all over the dang place after all the leaves have fallen.

Locavore

Locavore - Someone who eats foods from their local or regional foodshed or a determined radius from their home (commonly either 100 or 250 miles, depending on location).

100 to 250 miles?

Lessee. Baked goods, meat and cheese all produced in the neighborhood. Those eggs come from a near-by farmer..

They arrived nestled in a carton with a note that says the following:

One Dozen Ungraded, All Natural Free-Range Eggs. Thank you for buying locally and choosing our eggs! Our hens are pastured, fed a natural diet and live in a stress-free environment. Ideal conditions for them mean the highest quality food for you.

(The expiration date is penned by hand).

I dined upon venison this weekend harvested less than a half mile from the house. Accompanied by vegetables from my garden

I must be an extreme locavore. Maybe even a radical.

County Fair

I've been thinking about the County Fair recently.

Sure. It's a far way off. Nonetheless, I've been thinking about entering some baked goods. Maybe the ancestral cranberry bread.

Or maybe my homemade applesauce, pie filling or a couple of varieties of pickles.

We'll have to see.

The County Fair has been held on a sixty acre parcel in Sturgeon Bay since 1908. John Miles County Park. Named after Mr. Fair himself.

For a period of time the fair was postponed.

Yep. During WWII there was no County Fair.

Instead - the park hosted a crowd of German POWs housed in three large dormitory buildings near the grandstand. The remaining buildings were used for storing shipbuilding materials for the war effort.

The German POWs worked on local farms.

Today the park hosts all sorts of activities year-round - 4-H. AmVets, Lions Club - you name it. Dirt rack racing at Thunder Hill Raceway too.

Drill Baby Drill

Offshore oil drilling has come a long way in a little over a century. Very simple submerged oil wells began to appear in the United States in the late 1800s, but were crude and simple in design and execution. It wasn't until the late 1930s that the ability to drill through columns of water and access oil reserves that were farther offshore began to take hold.

This progression away from land continued. In 1947, Kerr-McGee built the world's first offshore oil well that was completely out of sight of land. The platform was constructed in 20 feet of water and was able to drill 15 feet into the seabed off the coast of Louisiana.

Today, the offshore drilling industry has progressed to mind-numbing proportions. This year Shell will begin operation of the Perdido oil rig, a massive unit that is as tall as the Eiffel Tower. Operating in ultra-deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Perdido spar will float on the surface in nearly 8,000 ft of water and is capable of producing as much as 130,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The spar will be secured in place by nine chain and polyester rope mooring lines, spanning an area of the seafloor roughly the size of downtown Houston. On the seafloor, 22 wells, each extending more than 14,000 ft from the surface and into the mud and rock beneath the vast Alaminos Canyon, will be linked to the Perdido spar above.

Learn more about the evolution of offshore drilling.

Having a Bad Day?

Just about the time you think you're having a bad day - you find out someone is having a worse one than you.

Oh the humanity....

Apartment For Sale

Call me uncultured but doesn't the decorating look a tad flamboyant?

Don't take my word for it though. Scroll through the photos in the online listing. With the exception of the library/den and the can you'd think this was home to a Girly King.

For a cool $13,950,000 it could all be yours.

Rush Limbaugh has put it up for sale.

Fun With Statistics

According to the Office of Management and Budget, during the first 186 years of our nation’s history (i.e., the period from 1789-1974 when records began being kept) the USA spent $3.8 trillion in aggregate.

The total of projected government outlays during the current 2010 fiscal year is $3.7 trillion.

March Deer Informational Meetings

I received the following email late today...

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will be hosting 38 meetings between March 8 and March 18, providing information about local deer management units, and upcoming deer management projects. The meetings are open to all who have interest in the state's deer herd.
More information about the meetings is currently available on the DNR website: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=211#art1.

This is a terrific opportunity to listen and voice your questions and opinions.

See you there.

Serious Congressional Committee Meeting Interrupted By Filming of Congressional Reality Show