Twitter Tantrum

Here's a real brain dump from last evening if you can wrap your mind around it.

Click on the Absurdity for a Closer Look

Once you get past the notion that the good Reverend Jeffress preaches that Mormons belong to a cult and Jews are doomed to hell someone should set the president straight. 

Democrats (alone) cannot impeach him.  He can only be removed if two-thirds of the Senate votes to convict him.  Insofar as a minimum of twenty 20 Republicans would need to join the forty-five Democrats and a couple of Independents - his getting booted out of office would truthfully be quite bipartisan.

To cast this outcome as resulting in civil conflict is really childish. 

Which explains the Twitter Tantrum. 

Making popcorn... 

Birds of a Feather....

.....flock together.

Large batches of white crowned sparrows and fox sparrows picking-around in the grass of the yard beginning in the last few days.  These diminutive little birds nest and raise their broods in the northern reaches of Canada.  They're on their way south for the winter and we're looking forward to seeing more of them in the days and weeks to come.

Saw a solitary monarch yesterday.  It might have been the last one.  First bow-hunting sit on Saturday.  Autumn is most definitely in the air.

And it can STOP RAINING any time now.

Stay-tuned......

The Worm Begins to Turn

Today on the Sunday morning talking heads Stephen Miller - senior adviser to the president - complained about leakers who seek to destroy the president. 

If I don’t invite the right people the meeting will leak, if I don’t say the right thing they’ll go to the Hill, Miller protested in his appearance on Fox News.  They’ve been doing this continuously for nearly three years.   

 

 

Aside from the obvious fact that this POTUS inspires minimal loyalty Miller continued with this trial balloon:  The president is the whistle-blower here.  We have to focus on the real scandal, which is three years of deep state sabotage.  

There you have it.  The narrative today has been changed again.  The newest iteration is that of the president being martyred at the hands of the deep state. 

Tomorrow I am adding to my stock of Merlot and popcorn.  As the new week dawns I am sure we will either learn more or be introduced to yet another narrative and the associated excuses. 

 

 

Stay-tuned……. 

Agua Libre

I got a couple of these from an acquaintance. 

Yup, boxed water.  

As a kid rowing-up most milk was packaged like this.  My orange juice and countless other products continue to be packaged the same. This is what is known as an aseptic carton.  It’s an old-school technology and the attraction is the notion that boxed water is better than water contained in plastic. 

It is true that paperboard is renewable and biodegradable, plastic is made from fossil fuels, smaller carbon footprint, yada- yada.  Better packaging – better planet.  I think you get the drift.  

This is clever marketing for sure but is it a better choice?   

Think about it - single-use water containers are quite wasteful of raw materials and energy, no matter what they’re made of. Moreover, they’re completely unnecessary except in emergency situations.  That’s because for most everyone in America we have exceedingly inexpensive and clean water straight from the tap.  I drink good, old tap water from a insulated cup or reusable water bottle.

Better idea – better planet.

More Observations From the Natural World

In keeping with my retirement vow to pay attention to what is occurring in the natural world - from one of our walks there is this. 

New England aster is blooming-up a storm of color. 

Monarchs that emerge as adults after about the third week in August will migrate and not reproduce. If I had to hazard a guess the adults I've observed on a daily basis are a combination of migrants and the last of the locals to emerge as adults.   

One additional observation is that we’re about the break the rainfall record for September. I’ve never seen it so wet this time of year. If only the butterflies ate mosquitoes…..

Friday Music

From 1965 this song by the Beatles peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It is the first song by this group that has nothing to do with lover or romance.  John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison sing the song in perfect three-part harmony – tricky business as it summarized in the interview.  Incidentally, the lead guitar solo was performed in unison by Harrison and Lennon on a pair of Fender Stratocasters.  

Nowhere Man…

Observations From the Natural World

Finalized repairs yesterday on a couple of elevated deer stands and scouted some portable blind locations.
 



On the return trip I figured I would mark a handful of oak seedlings that have materialized in a wildlife opening. I was thinking that if I marked them I might carefully brush the opening after it dried-out or the ground froze. Little did I know there were so many little oaks.

I ran out of pin flags.

Now the tentative plan is to ‘tube’ some of the better seedling specimens and mark as many more as we can identify.

click on images to enlarge

I know we cannot locate all of them but it may be useful to revisit them next spring/summer to quantify the survivors of mice, rabbits and deer browse.

It’s encouraging to note that the tiny oaks we planted two and a half decades ago are propagating.



Bonus was a ginormous patch of bottle gentian. Maybe even two species. 

The bottom line is any brushing of the opening is on hold.

My retirement vow to pay closer attention to the natural world around me is spinning-off some dividends.

Cheers!

Theater of the Absurd

The drama coming out of Washington is an abject lesson of how a culpable individual makes every effort to alter the narrative when jammed-up.  Instead of coming clean it is somehow about someone else.  Conversely, virtuous individuals - maliciously accused of wrong-doing - don’t engage in this sort of behavior.  They have no reason and do not profit from lame evasions.  Look no further than liars like Nixon, Clinton, and et.al. 

Several days ago it was about Joe and Hunter Biden’s corruption in Ukraine.  Two days ago it was about generalized corruption in Ukraine.  Yesterday it was about insufficient EU funding of Ukraine’s defense against Putin’s territorial ambitions.  Today may bring another narrative.  We’ll see. 

I’m clear-eyed enough to understand the nature of Eastern European corruption and even though I am a simple tree farmer I’m smart enough to know that if there was sufficient evidence of corruption on the part of the Bidens it would be an exceedingly small matter to have Bill Barr and the Department of Justice open an investigation and act-upon the matter.  Last time I looked that's not happened.  Nevertheless, the sycophants and enablers repeatedly retreat to that narrative.  You'd think all the fuss and spectacle is worthy of an Oscar.

So what to do about the drama?  In my view do exactly as I suggested in my post from last week Thursday.  The Democrats have been led down a rabbit hole asking for a phone transcript.  Trump and Giuliani purposefully redirected attention to the subject of a transcript because they know it will only reveal ambiguous language and prove to be inconclusive.  Predictably they will claim vindication.   
The only thing that matters amid all the smoke and mirrors is the Whistleblower complaint itself.  Everything else is pure speculation - a dramatic plot line in the theater of the absurd.  Ostensibly, the whistleblower claims there was a 'promise to a foreign leader'.  Consider the notion that the ‘promise’ was not to the president of Ukraine – perhaps it was a promise to Putin.  Wouldn't that be interesting? 
 
Obtain a copy of the complaint or immunize the complainant and compel their testimony before congress.  Cut to the chase and be done with the damn drama.

Nine Important Facts

Found on the interweb is this treatise on the wisdom that comes with age...

 

If you're having trouble reading this click on the image to enlarge

Sunset

Old Sol has now shifted from directly due-east towards south.

Autumn has arrived.

Tonight's sunset......

click on image to enlarge

 

Guess the Critter

Two critters are included in this trail camera photo.

click on the image to find it

Can you identify them both?

Fruit of the Vine

Things are winding-down for the garden. 

Fifteen Kakai pumpkins await the opportunity to offer-up their delicious, hull-less seeds.  Five melons and four acorn squash.

Not bad.

Ode to the Tomato

It is the end of the tomato season - as you know I performed a salvage harvest a week ago.  Most of those tomatoes found their way into these five quart jars processed for future use in juices, sauces or whatever. 

The other day Jill and I enjoyed a beauteous ripe slice of beefsteak on artisan bread, fresh mozzarella, balsamic vinegar from the Door County Olive Oil Company.  Outstanding!  Come February someone might commit a crime to obtain fresh tomatoes as fine as these.  Of course, tomatoes like these are simply unattainable in February in our hemisphere.  Crime averted.

There remains a box of green tomatoes that continue to ripen in the garage so we're going to string this season of tomato joy until the very last one is enjoyed.

Friday Music

According to the interweb this is a traditional American song has been variously described as a Christian folk hymn, an African-American spiritual, an Appalachian song, and a gospel song. The exact origin of the song is unknown. Research suggests that it was composed by an African-American slave.  In any event, this A Capella version of Down to the River to Pray is rather cool.  Considering the venue…

Tweet of the Absurd

I’m just a simple tree farmer but I do not think that executive privilege extends to criminal or treasonous actions.  

So, in the interest of putting an end to the drama perhaps the House should simply summon the whistle blower, grant them immunity and invite this person to share in a public hearing whatever is the substance of their complaint. 

Reveal what is behind the curtain so we can move on. 

If the tweet is taken at face value the President has nothing to hide.  No reason to lie.  Not a thing to fear.

Moonrise

A couple of nights ago I let the girls out one last time to do their business before bedtime and noticed the moonrise to the east.

Is there a face in that cloud formation?

Or not?

Reason to be Hopeful

If you have nothing better to do some day take a drive along the western shore of Lake Michigan from Kenosha County to Door County.  It’s easy as you can stay on a four-lane highway for the entire stretch. 

If you are observant you will see large swaths of dead trees.  On either side of I-43 in Ozaukee County you will note that a considerable portion of the visible forest is either dead or dying.  The destruction is horrifying in southeastern Wisconsin and is becoming more evident in Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Kewaunee and Door Counties. 

This is the handiwork of the emerald ash borer – an insect native to Asia that was discovered in southeastern Michigan in May of 2002.  It likely traveled here in the wood of a packing crate and in short order Michigan and Ontario became ground zero to this destructive insect.  Like the radiating ripples formed when a stone is cast into a pond the invader continues to expand its range.  The host for this killer are native ash trees.  And because ash in North America did not co-evolve with the borer these trees have no natural defense or resistance.  

Around here ash makes-up a sizeable component of the forest canopy.  It is well-suited to the heavy clay soils and thrives in the wetter bottomlands where it is a dominant species.  Green, black and white ash replaced much of the elm that died several generations ago.  You cannot miss the dead ash trees in and around Sturgeon Bay.  And in the vicinity of where I live I’ve noticed some sick-looking ash, crown die-back, bark flaking and woodpecker activity.  The ash is dying. 

It is easy to become discouraged by the grim notion of large woodlots of dead trees and the impact-upon all of the critters and resident landowners that make their home here.  The direct impact upon Jill and me is mitigated to some degree by the composition of our woods.  Because we planted most of it – it happens to be diversified.  Just like building a stock portfolio when you start a forest from scratch you plant an excess of a larger variety so as to account for mortality and not concentrate your bets.  Nevertheless, there is no getting around the reality that we also have a sizeable number of ash.  Some was  already here and thousands more were planted.  Most all of it carries a death sentence. 

As a consequence my retirement will include dropping trees, bucking logs and an endless supply of stove wood along with plenty of fresh air and exercise.  That is heartening.  There are additional reasons to be encouraged.  For starters it is not unusual to find elm still growing around here.  They are few and far between and it doesn’t get very large before it dies.  Strangely-enough not every last elm was killed so it persists in small numbers.  Maybe the ash will follow suit. 

There is also encouragement to be taken from the fact that trees planted decades-ago are propagating.  If I walk our woods I’ll find numerous small tamarack and spruce cropping-up in the understory.  If the deer don’t eat them all maybe enough of them will eventually fill-in where the ash die.  Forests have a way of healing after-all. 

And this year we’re finding tiny swamp white oaks growing all over the place including our yard.

I certainly didn’t plant them – some critter did.   The oaks we planted several decades ago were no larger than the tiny trees pictured above.  Since then they have become mature oaks and are now producing these.   

Click on images for a closer look

From acorns grow mighty oaks. 

Witnessing this natural regeneration is reason to feel encouraged.  So if your glass is half-full – you raise a toast to sustainable forestry.

Cheers! 

Woody Invasive

File this under the Law of Unintended Consequences.  Meet Elaeagnus umbellate – autumn olive. 

This tree is native to China, Japan and Korea that made its way to the United States in 1830. In the 1950s it was widely promoted as a great way to provide wildlife habitat and erosion control in environmentally disturbed areas.  While it is true that it did provide habitat and food for wildlife – it soon became clear that the plant was highly invasive as a consequence of the ginormous numbers of fruits that when consumed by birds widely disperses the seeds.  As it spreads this species displaces other more desirable native trees and shrubs.  

Like many other non-native plants this bugger leafs-out early in the spring and retains its foliage late into the fall.  So I knew where it was and have been contemplating how to deal with it. 

I had a vision of cutting it down and painting the stump with a toxic herbicide.  However, I have recently discovered that mechanical removal might be a tool worth using.  Using the loader on the tractor I simply uprooted it and yanked it from the ground.  There it is in the photo above. 

I’ll monitor the location to determine if any of it grows back.  I should add that it was very satisfying to dig it up.  Didn’t even get my hands dirty.

Living with Labs

This is my old dog - Girlfriend.  She is so old that she is somewhere in her mid-nineties in large breed Labrador retriever years.  In polite deference to her advanced age we sometimes call her the Dowager Retriever.

click on image for a closer look



Nevertheless, she enjoys her walks, mixing-it up with her younger niece and short upland bird hunts here at home.

And she continues to take time to stop and smell the black-eyed susans....

Manure Management

Four months ago I published my observations and impressions of a manure management practice that is becoming more common around here – namely liquid manure soil injection.  That post is a good primer and background for what was to come as I have learned much more about this injection process of nutrient management. 

One of the primary benefits is a reduction in odor.  Getting the manure off the soil surface and into the ground goes a long way in maintaining neighborly relations.  Liquid manure injection also reduces the loss of nitrogen as a consequence of volatilization. This means more of the nutrient being made available to the crop.  This reduces or eliminates the need for the purchase of commercial fertilizer.   

Injection – contrasted with splashing the manure over the surface and returning to till it in – also reduces the risk soil erosion and runoff (well contamination). This additionally makes it compatible with no-till planting preserving more of the soil organic matter. 

The injection equipment I observed being used consisted of tractor-mounted injector with a draghose system delivering the product.  Just like this... 

click on images for a closer look

Liquefied manure is supplied by a caravan of semi-tanker trucks.  Since you’re not driving the truck onto the field to inject the manure this reduces the risk of soil compaction and saves transportation costs attributable to labor and fuel. 

Last July I had an opportunity to watch the process in action - immediately across the road from where we live.  

It took about 30 minutes to stage and assemble the distribution equipment at the roadside. What followed was a parade of semi-tankers. 

After the initial queue of tankers was emptied of their odiferous contents they returned at regular intervals – only moments apart – to refresh the pump tank. 

These tankers are called nurse trucks and have roughly a 6800 gallon capacity.  They can discharge their load in about a minute. 

They were a constant presence throughout the day – so many that we lost count.

This technique of shallow manure injection has features and benefits well-suited to Door County's soils and karst geology. It also saves money.  It is a fascinating form of waste management to my eyes and a veritable ocean of cow shit to move. 

Who knew?      

Changing of the Seasons

You know it is hunting season when this shows-up in the cooler at the local grocery.

Yup.  Big Buck Hunter Special Edition Busch Light.

In stylish blaze orange cans.

Prosit!

Friday Moon and Music

In 2019 the September full moon is called the Harvest Moon. 

The Harvest moon can occur in either September or October because it coincides with an astronomical event – the autumnal equinox. The full Moon that occurs nearest to the equinox (September 22 or 23 depending-upon your time zone) takes on the name Harvest Moon rather than its traditional name – the Full Corn Moon or Barley Moon.  The name comes from this moon’s ability to shine light when it is needed the most – to bring in the harvest.  In the Northern Hemisphere and in our time zone the Harvest Moon rises tonight.

You can learn more here.

And enjoy Neil Young...   

Full-Circle Life Cycle

WisDOT manages the state Car-Killed Deer (CKD) Program, a system to remove dead whitetail deer from the roadside of state highways in Wisconsin. 

'Roadside disposal' is the only option available in rural areas.  So when I found this little guy on our road yesterday morning I picked it up and moved it to the ditch.  Nature will dispose of it.  

I was struck – however – by the diminutive size of this fawn.  It was the smallest fawn I have ever laid eyes on this late in the year.  My Labs are larger.  Momma must’ve been a late bred doe for sure. 

In any event, a couple of America’s majestic national birds showed-up today to claim it.  

Rain Rain Go Away

Things have been awfully wet this season.  Total rainfall since April 1 has been about 22.5 inches (1.5 inches in just the last 24 hours) for a total of 6 more inches than last year.  This is within the normal five year range. 

What is interesting is the number of hours of rain - 560 total hours give-or-take.  Ordinarily it rains about 7% of the time while this year it has been raining about 15% of the time.  While total rainfall is within normal limits the casual observer is left with the impression of more than normal rain as a consequence of the length of rain events.  And it stays wetter for longer periods of time.

It has also been cooler of late with overnight lows in the fifties.  The end result of all of this is that the garden has been unable to properly dry-out.  Anecdotally, I haven't had an opportunity for more than a month to engage the rototiller in the garden.  The soil is too sticky.  Moreover, the trails here at the Platz have locations with standing water in them.  The ponds are full to the brim and Silver Creek is running at full-bore.  The upshot if all of this is that conditions are too damp.

The net effect is that crop losses have occurred.  About two-thirds of the onions succumbed to root rot and had to be discarded.  The jury is still out as to whether or not the surviving onions curing in the shed will make it.  Monday I pulled all the tomato plants.  Both plants and fruit were suffering from cool wet conditions.  Tomatoes can easily handle wet - if you can accumulate some warm days in the 70s and hopefully in the 80s.  That ain't happening.  My salvage harvest included a mix of ripe, semi-ripe and green tomatoes.

At least they are now safe in the warmer and drier garage.  I fear for the potatoes.  

Current conditions notwithstanding it has been a good gardening year.  From all outward appearances there is a robust crop of pumpkins that will yield their tasty, hull-less seeds before too long.  Been a while since that's happened.
Green peppers and carrots in abundance.

In the aftermath of President Trump's signing of an executive order putting him in charge of the weather - if you like science you can learn more here about how universities monitor weather conditions here on the peninsula.

 Vive le Jardin Magnifique!
   

September 11 Remembered

Eighteen years ago I was driving to the office listening to WHAD’s Tom Clark interview someone in New York City.  The interview was punctuated by the interviewee in New York noting that first responders had been dispatched following initial reports of a small plane crashing into one of the World Trade Center towers. 

Arriving at the day job I found Mike had live coverage of the smoking tower on the television in his office. Details were sketchy.  As we speculated upon the crazy notion of how someone could possibly fly into a skyscraper the second plane crashed into the other tower - a commercial airliner.  We knew then that it was no small aircraft that struck the first.  That tower collapsed and we watched until the second structure fell. 

On several occasions I’ve enjoyed opportunities to tour the towers. This photo was snapped on the observation deck. I have some photos of Connie Chung doing a live broadcast from the CNN studio.  I’ve even dined at the 107th floor Windows on the World restaurant. 

That day almost two decades-ago was a seriously bad day.  Strange how all of the details remain so fresh in the present day. 




So as we reflect-upon the solemnity of this anniversary let us not forget that that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi Arabia citizens.  Dozens of well-connected Saudis had fled the United States on chartered flights in the days after 9/11.  The House of Saud is notoriously loathsome collection of individuals.  As evidence of its odious persistence consider the recent gruesome murder and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

Ask if you would include the royal family among your friends.....

Nice Location

Recently I was out bush-hogging trails and as I chopped a single, quarter-mile path directly east-west in the middle of the property I stumbled-across this idyllic clearing in the forest.

click on image tor a closer look



It was clear of many larger, mature trees and was populated with small saplings and dominated by gray-headed coneflowers.  Covered in chaff, dust and debris it was so cool and inviting I stopped to throttle-back the tractor to take it in and snap a handful of pictures.  I thought - what a peaceful, isolated and serene place. 

I had probably been thru here before but never took the opportunity to check it out in detail.  Self-absorbed I likely was.  There had to be an explanation for the naturally occurring clearing in a reforested piece of land.  Soil type perhaps that favored grasses and forbs over trees perhaps?

Upon further reflection it occurred to me that this would be an excellent location for a bow hunting blind....

A New Discovery

In keeping with my retirement vow of paying closer attention to the natural world that surrounds me I stumbled-upon this stunning flower returning from the daily walk with the girls.

Meet Lobelia siphilitica – Great Blue Lobelia – a member of the bellflower family.   

Characterized by bright, dark blue flowers that appear in late summer and early fall - lobelia often grows in colonies located in wet prairies, openings in forest bottomland, soggy meadows, marshes, edges of ponds, creeks, swamps or wet pastures. 

We stumbled-upon this patch growing on the north edge of our backyard rain garden.  We didn’t plant it so Jill suggested that it found its way here by means of traveling on duck feet.  Plenty of damp clay soil here – perfect.    

The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract bumblebees, ruby-throated hummingbirds and large butterflies.  Deer avoid it as a consequence of the foliage containing toxic alkaloids that can cause a reaction similar to nicotine poisoning.  

What an attractive bonus wildflower this is.

click on images for a closer look