Risky Business

Recent comparisons made between some American states' finances and those of Greece are exaggerated; however, credit-default-swap (CDS) spreads, which measure investors' expectations of default, are wider for some American states than for some of the eurozone's other peripheral economies.

On June 17th the cost of insuring Illinois' bonds against default hit a record high, rising above that of California, America's largest municipal borrower. Both are considered riskier than Portugal's debt. New York and Michigan are higher than Ireland's.

Like euro-zone members, American states may not declare bankruptcy and cannot be sued by creditors. And like many European governments, legislators are reluctant to impose the pain necessary to close budget deficits.

See just how the financial markets are pricing the financial troubles of these selected states and countries.

Source: The Economist

If Only the Dead Could Talk

Continuing with the virtual cemetery tour by bicycle I present you with a pair of graves marking the resting place of Civil War veterans.

As appears to be the case with most grave markers of this era no dates are provided.

However a web search is quite revealing.


Samuel Churches enlisted in the Army of the Potomac in September of 1861. In September of 1863 he was transferred to the National Reserve Corps due to a hernia. He was discharged in October of 1864 with the rank of Private.

Near as I can tell he was born in England in 1839 and immigrated to the states in 1851.

He married Ada L. - nineteen years his junior - on May 27, 1883.

He was still living at the ripe old age of 81 when the national census was taken in 1920.







John Brown enlisted in August of 1864 and was discharged in June of 1865 due to a hernia.

What's with the hernias?

John's discharge records indicate his rank as a Private. His grave marker says Corporal.

What could be the cause of the discrepancy?

John Brown was born in Connecticut in 1846.

Rest in peace fellas. It has been my pleasure to become acquainted with you.

Click on images to enlarge

Say Cheese

Getting plenty of critter pictures on the game camera. Turkey, doe and a velvet buck.

Nonetheless - when Girlfriend and I went to fetch the memory card yesterday we noticed that the LCD readout on the cam was garbled.

Sure - it's taking pictures - but there is no way to determine the number of pictures taken, the battery life remaining or how to set the mode.

It has lost its brain.

I stopped at Cabela's and they tell me they have only a 60 day return policy on cameras like this and that I have to return it to the manufacturer for servicing.

Humpf!

How's that for spending a few bucks more on your high-tech, scouting technology.

I'm told Moultrie has a good reputation for standing behind their products.

Stay tuned. click on images to enlarge

If Only The Dead Could Talk

I was out riding my bike looking for cool cemeteries.

I know that sounds creepy but there is much to be learned by respectfully inspecting the resting places of the dead.

Here's a tombstone I stumbled-across. A massive slab of Door County dolostone marking the resting place of one of the peninsula's former sheriffs.

Learn about the interesting story of Hollis “Baldy” Bridenhagen's successor here.

Click on image to enlarge

Making Hay

There is an old saying about making hay while the sun shines. What with all of the rain lately - when there is a stretch of a couple or three days of sunny weather making hay is the first order of business.

While I don't particularly mind the smell of manure being spread on the fields - I don't necessarily like it.

Nothing beats the smell of freshly cut hay though.

The air is thick with it.

Sweet and earthy.

Friday Morning Music

I'm a sucker for blues, alternative country and female artists.

Start your weekend with the soulful lyrics from this song written and performed by Patti Griffin...

Flatlander Credit

Josh Barro at RealClearMarkets draws attention to Illinois’ severe credit crisis.

Illinois has overtaken California as the worst credit risk among American states.

As of Monday, the credit default swap spread for Illinois general obligation bonds climbed to 313 basis points for a five-year contract — meaning a bondholder must pay over 3% of the bond’s face value per year to be insured against default.

That’s a higher price than for all but seven sovereign entities tracked by CMA, and slightly higher than California, whose five-year CDS spread sits at 293. Investors rate Illinois’s debt as slightly riskier than Iceland’s or Latvia’s, but not quite as big a gamble as Iraq’s.

Read more about it here.

Heed the Warning

This was spotted on along the peninsula's northern coastline.

I really don't have much to add.

This signage says it all.

Smuggler's Den

West Africa has become an attractive trade route for Latin America's cocaine smugglers in recent years. On June 8, 4,400 pounds of the stuff (with an estimated street value of over $1 billion) were seized in The Gambia.

While cocaine use in America has fallen by 50 percent over the last two decades, some European countries have seen consumption rates double or triple. Aided by its corruptible police and flimsy money-laundering laws, up to 330,600 pounds of cocaine are estimated to pass through the region a year.

In 2006, 36 percent of the cocaine carriers caught in one network of European airports had come from west Africa. In 2008 this had dropped to 17 percent. Whether this reflects a drop in trade or the traffickers' increasing skill in avoiding capture is unclear.

Learn more about this alarming relationship between West Africa and Europe.

Source: The Economist

Stopping to Smell the Flowers

Hieracium aurantiacum

Orange Hawkweed.

Technically a non-native. This is an import from Eurasia - an alpine plant.

It is also called the Devil's Paintbrush as its single stem is topped with a red orange color resembling a paint brush.

It's now naturalized all over North American and all over the Platz.

Smile for the Trail Camera

Young buck sporting his red summer coat and a growing set of antlers.

Lawnmower Beer

After a sweaty afternoon of working in the vast garden there are some who say that it is the time to indulge in a lawnmower beer.

Yes. I said lawnmower beer.

The implication is that something as banal as a Busch Light - when served icy cold on an exceedingly hot day - can be acceptable.

At the Platz we believe in serving an icy-cold, Czech Pils.

In a glass.

We're civilized you know.

Mothra

Gypsy moth doesn't seem to be as bad as we expected earlier this spring.

It is pandemic - but not to be found in large quantities.

Leaves that look ragged and eaten like this are a sure giveaway that the pest has been happily munching on the tree's foliage.

You cannot kill them all. All you can hope to do is suppress them.

Death to the invader.

Stopping to Smell the Flowers

Chrysanthemum leucanhemum

Technically a non-native. It's a European import.

Also called the Common Daisy. The Ox-eye Daisy contains tyrehrum - a chemical that repels insects and s used in organic pesticides.

It is a nice garden plant that you'll find growing all over the Platz.

We use a spray of these to decorate the dinner table or the cocktail tables on the porch.

Better Living Through Chemicals

A couple of weeks ago I sprayed an infestation of four-seeded vetch with a low dose of a selective herbicide.

After a couple of weeks it is looking pretty wilted and starting to brown.

That's the good news.

The bad news is I missed a spot or two and found more of it thriving in another part of the yard.

Three more gallons of spot spraying ought to do it-in.

Death to the invader.

Stopping to Smell the Flowers

Hieracium kalmii

One of seven species of hawkweed that grows in Wisconsin.

Technically a non-native.

The flowers close at night and on cloudy days.

The common name - Hawkweed - came from the mistaken belief that hawks ate the flowers to improve their vision.

Steel Bridge Songfest 2010

This is the sixth year of Door County's Steel Bridge Songfest - a four day music venue that celebrates the Historic Sturgeon Bay Bridge and the value of Historic Preservation.

SBSF takes its all-original music to the streets, to the night clubs and bars up and down the peninsula and into the Construction Zone of singer/songwriters.

Great food. Better beer - Capital Brewery was the solo beer vendor - and outstanding music.

The Frau, Girlfriend and I spent the better part of an entire day taking it all in.

If you are a Labrador Retriever like Girlfriend there is nothing better.

You get to howl when everyone applauds the performers.

Everyone wants to stop and say hello and scratch your ears or rub your belly.

And the Cowboy Kettle Korn man is there.

That means there is an inexhaustible supply of freshly-popped corn dropped all over the street.

Click on any of the following pictures to enlarge.

Zero

I paid $1.72 for this 10 oz. bottle of Lipton Pureleaf Iced Tea at a convenience store.

Yes. It was good.

Nonetheless I discovered I paid for absolutely nothing.

Calories 0

Total Fat 0

Sodium 0

Total Carb. 0

Protein 0

Don't take my word for it though. The proof is here.

I figure .05 for the bottle and another .02 for the contents. Shipping and transportation are likely higher than that. The balance would be profit to the manufacture and mark-up to the distributor and convenience store operator.

See that picture of the cute little tree frog near the base of the bottle?

That is Lipton's evidence of their commitment to the Rain Forest Alliance. At least 50% of my tea came from leaves grown from Rain forest Alliance Certified™ Farms.

I suppose I paid for something.

I have been made to feel like I have single-handedly saved the rain forest.

Sheesh...

Fishing Wisdom

My buddy Sid says - Good things come to those who bait.

Like this perfectly nice eater walleye.

Annoying

This little frog - about the size of a half-dollar - has a big voice.

What it does is cling to the glass of the bedroom window and call all evening.

It is amazing the racket it can make. Crowoak!

More than a couple of them and it's deafening.

BS

Paying attention to the fiasco in the Gulf of Mexico?

My daughter and son-in-law and his extended family live there. I've spent time at their fish camp in Grand Isle, LA.

First Katrina.

Then the Great Recession.

BP's oil spill may just finish them-off.

There is no more fishing.

There is no more crabbing.

There is no more oystering.

There is no more shrimping.

Everyone living down there is mad as hell.

Here's an email the kids sent me the other day -

I thought you may find this interesting. The BP claims office in Mobile was just moved to a strip mall literally around the corner from our place. They constructed a huge metal fence around it and the police are out there at all times. Apparently they were receiving bomb threats.

Read more about it here.

Walking on Water

Place: Indian Point. Catfish Lake. Eagle River Chain.

Observed: A very odd phenomenon. A pair of loons chasing each other across the water.

Yes - they were literally running across the water - one ahead of the other.

They gave the boat a wide detour - circled back and did it all over again. Then ran across the lake from sight.

With only a little bit of digging I found out that this performance is done by loons to chase other birds away. It splashes the water with its wings and kicks its feet so quickly that it is actually walking on the water.

Learn more about it here.

Better Living Through Chemicals

What? More chemicals? Are you nuts?

No. It's just that if you are going to control pests it is best to do so earlier - rather than later when your pests have grown to humongous proportions and require measures like firearrms.

Truthfully - I make every attempt to use only organic-approved pesticides on my produce.

I want you to know that the crack gardeners here at the Platz are pragmatists. We are not absolutists.

It is written that apple trees should be sprayed with a foliar application six to eight times a year. That is what is done with the orchard apples that you purchase at the grocery.

Me? I'm lucky if I spray my apple trees twice a year.

Mostly because I forget

Nonetheless, earlier this week since I had the spray equipment out I swapped-out a hand-held spray wand for a six foot applicator on a backpack sprayer and mixed-up a couple of gallons of Bonide to spray my apples.

As I suspected - the apple crop will be shy this year.

A vigorous tree but a cold and rainy spring resulted in fewer pollinators. The crab apple-sized apples are sparse indeed.

News You Can Use

HT - The Tax Foundation's Tax Policy Blog.

Click on image to enlarge

Which Will It Be?

Time to think about those religious beliefs...

Christian Groups: Biblical Armageddon Must Be Taught Alongside Global Warming

News You Can Use

The $700 billion TARP legislation (Troubled Asset Relief Program) that was signed into law by
President George Bush on 10/03/08 included $245 billion that was paid to US banks. This was the start of a series of initiatives to strengthen market stability, improve the strength of financial institutions, and enhance market liquidity.

As of March 2010 - $168 billion of the $245 billion (or 69%) has been repaid by the banks.

(source: TARP).

Saturday Morning Music

With all due respect to the late Freddy Mercury and the rest of Queen.

Better Living Through Chemicals

My Frau says to me - Something is eating my roses. Can you please fix it? Maybe spray them so that it stops. After-all, I had them all caged and protected during the winter so the rabbits would't eat them you know.

I have just the fix.

Carbaryl. Another wonder product courtesy of Bayer CropScience.

Four ounces of liquid concentrate mixed in a backpack sprayer with three gallons of water.

All of that for a few rose bushes?

No. Of course not.

I sprayed the oaks, tamarack and birch in the yard and surrounding area. It's turning-out to be a bad year for gypsy moth.

Gone Fishing

Better Living Through Chemicals

Last year I discovered a really bad infestation of four-seeded vetch.

It had crowded-out (and subsequently killed) a dozen or so saplings that I had so carefully planted by hand to the west of the house.

It was right under my damn nose.

That's the culprit to the left.

It grows in a dense mat-like formation virtually carpeting the ground to a depth of six to eight inches. It smothers everything in its path that isn't tall enough to rise above the invader.

It's growing vigorously again and that makes it vulnerable to something in my vast arsenal of chemical warfare agents.

Transline.

Yes. This product from Dow AgroSciences is one of those wonderful compounds that is deadly to noxious weeds but will not harm most trees.

I prepared twelve gallons of spray mix - including a surfactant (Silco) and nuked the vetch.

I applied a slightly lower dosage than the label called-for to see what happens. Less is always best.
I'll report later on results.

Edit - As of Wednesday afternoon the vetch was already looking rather sickly and wilted.

Death to the invader.

More On the Garden

Feeling pretty smug.

The BAG is planted and I used the last onion from the 2009 garden last night to make venison fajitas.

I still have some 2009 vintage Red Pontiac spuds on the crisper of the garage beer fridge.

It's not only amazing but quite satisfying to be living-off your own produce.

The hops vine on the rock wall is growing daily. I mean inches a day.

If I had some chickens, a couple of pigs, a goat or two, a field of barley and a good strain of lager yeast from the Fatherland I might just become self-sufficient.