Farm News 08-06-06
Sunday morning, after chores, 83°
Corn on the Cob
Tuesday evening we ate the first of this year's sweet corn crop. Ah! Delicious! It was Peaches and Cream, a bi-color variety with white kernels sprinkled among the predominate yellow kernels.
The first planting of sweet corn failed to germinate, so this is actually the second planting. We have had to water the corn a few times but, perhaps because of the weather, there are no ear worms or smut, a blue-gray fungus that attacks the ears.
My favorite variety of sweet corn is Silver Queen, a very old variety with white kernels. Silver Queen is a relatively long season corn, so if we had planted both Peaches and Cream and Silver Queen at the same time, the Silver Queen wouldn't be ready until fifteen days or so after the Peaches and Cream.
Spanish Fly Invaders
Blister Beetles are members of the family Meloidae, a bunch of nasty critters that cause blisters if you try to handle them. They are the source of cantharides, commonly known as Spanish Fly. They multiply at an amazing rate and love to eat red flowers.
We have had an explosion of the Blister Beetle population this year. The started on the tomatoes and then moved to the Hosta Lilies. By the time we noticed them that had almost defoliated the Hostas. A light dusting with Sevin killed them off. Good riddance.
How to Reach the Continental Divide
From northeast Kansas the quickest way to reach the continental divide is to get on I-70 and drive west for about 600 miles. I have done that a few times and can't recommend it as being a pleasant way to reach the continental divide. Some people think that time is money, even when on vacation, and thus take that route. Besides, there isn't anything to see in Kansas, is there?
I picked up John, an unemployed geezer, in Lawrence, got on the Kansas Turnpike heading southwest, and drove to Cassoday, a city of 127 souls. Cassoday is known as the Prairie Chicken Capitol, but we never saw a one. Nor did we see any of the 127 residents of Cassoday.
From Cassoday we drove east on N.E. 150th Road, a county road paved with gravel but with a relatively smooth surface. It was possible to drive 50 mph without tearing the tires off the car, so, at 40-50 mph, we drove into the heart of the Flint Hills.
The southern border of Chase County, the subject of Prairy Erth, by William Least Heat moon, is a couple of miles north of 150th Road. Cassoday is in Butler County and about 6 miles east of Cassoday we entered Greenwood County. This is tall grass prairie, although the grass seldom has the opportunity to grow tall anymore. Before cattle and horses came to these hills the grasses could grow up to eight feet high. Fires would sweep across the prairies and clear out all the trees and shrubs. Today the grasses are kept grazed down to less than a foot high in most places so that you no longer have to stand up on the back of a horse to see where you are going, but it is still treeless.
Ten miles east of Cassoday we passed the village of Teterville, population zero. There are no people living there, nor are there any visible indications that anyone has ever lived there. My kind of town.
About eleven miles east of Cassoday we crested a small rise and one of the great views of the Flint Hills appeared. The road in front of us sloped down into the East Branch of Fall River valley, a descent of a hundred feet or more. The far side of the valley was five or six miles away, and winding through the bottom was the East Branch of Fall River, only the protective border of trees visible. Not a single building intruded on the view.
So far, we hadn't seen a single Upland Sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda. They used to say of the Flint Hills, “An Upland Plover on every fence post.” (The Upland Sandpiper used to be called the Upland Plover.) The call of the Upland Sandpiper is a wonderful strange wolf whistle. We stopped every few miles and listened for a while, but never heard one call. I guess that is what happens when tall grass prairie is consistently grazed down to short grass.
About a mile east of Teterville, and a mile short of East Branch of Fall River, we came to the first cross-roads and turned south toward Lapland. Lapland, like Teterville, has neither residents nor any signs of former residency. If we had turned north we would eventually, after almost 50 miles, have come to Matfield Green, a village with 32 actual residents. To the south, though, Lapland was the only place marked on the map.
The 'map', by the way, is the DeLorme Kansas Atlas and Gazetteer, a 60 page book of detailed topographic maps. DeLorme publishes similar books for most states. About the only thing better are the USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles. The USGS maps do not necessarily contain more detail, but the are larger, easier to read, and have room for writing notes on the maps.
A few miles south of Lapland we came to the first 'low water bridge'. A low water bridge is actually a ford. The road dips down to a paved (hopefully) stretch over which the waterway flows. If the water level is low it is safe to cross. If the water level is high it is best to wait for a few days. The waterway is Oleson Creek, a dry, rocky channel that carries water only after a rain. No trees line it, just grass. The rocks are all tan Flint Hills limestone.
Two miles south we turned back east on a township road, rough, rutted, lightly graveled, with grass growing in the middle. After a half mile or so we came to another low water bridge, this one crossing the East Fork of Fall River. Again, the crossing was dry. A mile beyond this we came to a cross roads with another township road and turned south. Less than a mile later we were at the Hawthorne Ranch, a beautiful spot worthy of its isolation.
At the ranch we picked up Dave, also an unemployed geezer, who is devoting his time to making the ranch beautiful. He is making good progress. There are five Barn Swallow nests on the front porch, four of them started on their second brood of the year. The Bald Eagles nesting by the pond had already hatched and fledged their young and winged their way to Canada for the summer fishing and duck hunting. Dozens of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds ignore the feeders to feast on the nectar produced by masses of Scarlet Trumpet Vine.
We left at 1:20 pm, and slowly wound our way south and west on unpaved township and county roads, crossing the West Fork of Fall River on a real bridge, to finally reach US-54 six or seven miles west of Eureka. We followed US-54 west to El Dorado where we turned off onto K-254, which we took west through Towanda and Kechi to K-96, north of Wichita. On K-96 we went north west in the valley of the Arkansas River past Maize, Mt. Hope, Haven, Yoder, Elmer, Cropper's Corner, Hutchinson, Yaggy, and Nickerson.
At Nickerson we spotted a herd of camels, another herd of zebras, and a large number of ostriches. The wildlife in this part of Kansas is amazing.
A ways past Nickerson we turned west on County Road 80 and went past McVay's Corner and Kilbourn's Corner, where the road turned into a well worn trail through soft sand. After ten miles or more of sand the roads hardened and we entered Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, a large tract of marshlands and grassy sand dunes. We saw Ibis, whose beaks curve down, and Avocets, whose beaks curve up. Ducks, Herons, Stilts, and Sandpipers abounded, along with amazing numbers of White-tailed Deer.
We finally left Quivira and went north on soft, sandy county roads to Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area where we saw more of the same wildlife as at Quivira, but in lesser numbers. North of Cheyenne Bottoms we came to K-4, which we took west through Hoisington, Boyd Station, Brownell and Ransom, where we stopped for fuel.
Here we began climbing up out of the Arkansas River Lowlands and onto the High Plains. We passed Arnold, Utica, Shields, and Healy, the landscape becoming flatter and drier with every mile. K-4 ended at US-83 and we turned north, traveling 45 miles to the next town, Oakley, where we stopped for a snack.
We had driven 365 miles from the Hawthorne Ranch, had a great trip, and were ready to cover some miles for a while.
We turned onto I-70 and headed west at 75 mph. Two hundred and eighty six miles later, at 1:20 in the morning, we were in Longmont, Colorado, at Raymond's house. Raymond is also unemployed, by the way. We were not yet at the Continental Divide, but we were almost close enough to see it. We had traveled 651 miles that day. It was time for the unemployed geezers to go to bed.
Book Report: Freakonomics
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
This is an interesting book that doesn't seem to go anywhere. It is full of fascinating accounts of chains of research and reasoning that produce conclusions such as Roe v. Wade resulted in a significant reduction in crime. It wasn't an attempt to justify abortion, it was simply a very clear, careful examination of the data.
If there is a point to the book, it seems to be that snap judgments based on prior biases do not necessarily yield truth. Careful science, along with ethical goals, should always be considered when making decisions about public policy
A Reader Writes
Corn on the Cob
Tuesday evening we ate the first of this year's sweet corn crop. Ah! Delicious! It was Peaches and Cream, a bi-color variety with white kernels sprinkled among the predominate yellow kernels.
The first planting of sweet corn failed to germinate, so this is actually the second planting. We have had to water the corn a few times but, perhaps because of the weather, there are no ear worms or smut, a blue-gray fungus that attacks the ears.
My favorite variety of sweet corn is Silver Queen, a very old variety with white kernels. Silver Queen is a relatively long season corn, so if we had planted both Peaches and Cream and Silver Queen at the same time, the Silver Queen wouldn't be ready until fifteen days or so after the Peaches and Cream.
Spanish Fly Invaders
Blister Beetles are members of the family Meloidae, a bunch of nasty critters that cause blisters if you try to handle them. They are the source of cantharides, commonly known as Spanish Fly. They multiply at an amazing rate and love to eat red flowers.
We have had an explosion of the Blister Beetle population this year. The started on the tomatoes and then moved to the Hosta Lilies. By the time we noticed them that had almost defoliated the Hostas. A light dusting with Sevin killed them off. Good riddance.
How to Reach the Continental Divide
From northeast Kansas the quickest way to reach the continental divide is to get on I-70 and drive west for about 600 miles. I have done that a few times and can't recommend it as being a pleasant way to reach the continental divide. Some people think that time is money, even when on vacation, and thus take that route. Besides, there isn't anything to see in Kansas, is there?
I picked up John, an unemployed geezer, in Lawrence, got on the Kansas Turnpike heading southwest, and drove to Cassoday, a city of 127 souls. Cassoday is known as the Prairie Chicken Capitol, but we never saw a one. Nor did we see any of the 127 residents of Cassoday.
From Cassoday we drove east on N.E. 150th Road, a county road paved with gravel but with a relatively smooth surface. It was possible to drive 50 mph without tearing the tires off the car, so, at 40-50 mph, we drove into the heart of the Flint Hills.
The southern border of Chase County, the subject of Prairy Erth, by William Least Heat moon, is a couple of miles north of 150th Road. Cassoday is in Butler County and about 6 miles east of Cassoday we entered Greenwood County. This is tall grass prairie, although the grass seldom has the opportunity to grow tall anymore. Before cattle and horses came to these hills the grasses could grow up to eight feet high. Fires would sweep across the prairies and clear out all the trees and shrubs. Today the grasses are kept grazed down to less than a foot high in most places so that you no longer have to stand up on the back of a horse to see where you are going, but it is still treeless.
Ten miles east of Cassoday we passed the village of Teterville, population zero. There are no people living there, nor are there any visible indications that anyone has ever lived there. My kind of town.
About eleven miles east of Cassoday we crested a small rise and one of the great views of the Flint Hills appeared. The road in front of us sloped down into the East Branch of Fall River valley, a descent of a hundred feet or more. The far side of the valley was five or six miles away, and winding through the bottom was the East Branch of Fall River, only the protective border of trees visible. Not a single building intruded on the view.
So far, we hadn't seen a single Upland Sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda. They used to say of the Flint Hills, “An Upland Plover on every fence post.” (The Upland Sandpiper used to be called the Upland Plover.) The call of the Upland Sandpiper is a wonderful strange wolf whistle. We stopped every few miles and listened for a while, but never heard one call. I guess that is what happens when tall grass prairie is consistently grazed down to short grass.
About a mile east of Teterville, and a mile short of East Branch of Fall River, we came to the first cross-roads and turned south toward Lapland. Lapland, like Teterville, has neither residents nor any signs of former residency. If we had turned north we would eventually, after almost 50 miles, have come to Matfield Green, a village with 32 actual residents. To the south, though, Lapland was the only place marked on the map.
The 'map', by the way, is the DeLorme Kansas Atlas and Gazetteer, a 60 page book of detailed topographic maps. DeLorme publishes similar books for most states. About the only thing better are the USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles. The USGS maps do not necessarily contain more detail, but the are larger, easier to read, and have room for writing notes on the maps.
A few miles south of Lapland we came to the first 'low water bridge'. A low water bridge is actually a ford. The road dips down to a paved (hopefully) stretch over which the waterway flows. If the water level is low it is safe to cross. If the water level is high it is best to wait for a few days. The waterway is Oleson Creek, a dry, rocky channel that carries water only after a rain. No trees line it, just grass. The rocks are all tan Flint Hills limestone.
Two miles south we turned back east on a township road, rough, rutted, lightly graveled, with grass growing in the middle. After a half mile or so we came to another low water bridge, this one crossing the East Fork of Fall River. Again, the crossing was dry. A mile beyond this we came to a cross roads with another township road and turned south. Less than a mile later we were at the Hawthorne Ranch, a beautiful spot worthy of its isolation.
At the ranch we picked up Dave, also an unemployed geezer, who is devoting his time to making the ranch beautiful. He is making good progress. There are five Barn Swallow nests on the front porch, four of them started on their second brood of the year. The Bald Eagles nesting by the pond had already hatched and fledged their young and winged their way to Canada for the summer fishing and duck hunting. Dozens of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds ignore the feeders to feast on the nectar produced by masses of Scarlet Trumpet Vine.
We left at 1:20 pm, and slowly wound our way south and west on unpaved township and county roads, crossing the West Fork of Fall River on a real bridge, to finally reach US-54 six or seven miles west of Eureka. We followed US-54 west to El Dorado where we turned off onto K-254, which we took west through Towanda and Kechi to K-96, north of Wichita. On K-96 we went north west in the valley of the Arkansas River past Maize, Mt. Hope, Haven, Yoder, Elmer, Cropper's Corner, Hutchinson, Yaggy, and Nickerson.
At Nickerson we spotted a herd of camels, another herd of zebras, and a large number of ostriches. The wildlife in this part of Kansas is amazing.
A ways past Nickerson we turned west on County Road 80 and went past McVay's Corner and Kilbourn's Corner, where the road turned into a well worn trail through soft sand. After ten miles or more of sand the roads hardened and we entered Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, a large tract of marshlands and grassy sand dunes. We saw Ibis, whose beaks curve down, and Avocets, whose beaks curve up. Ducks, Herons, Stilts, and Sandpipers abounded, along with amazing numbers of White-tailed Deer.
We finally left Quivira and went north on soft, sandy county roads to Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area where we saw more of the same wildlife as at Quivira, but in lesser numbers. North of Cheyenne Bottoms we came to K-4, which we took west through Hoisington, Boyd Station, Brownell and Ransom, where we stopped for fuel.
Here we began climbing up out of the Arkansas River Lowlands and onto the High Plains. We passed Arnold, Utica, Shields, and Healy, the landscape becoming flatter and drier with every mile. K-4 ended at US-83 and we turned north, traveling 45 miles to the next town, Oakley, where we stopped for a snack.
We had driven 365 miles from the Hawthorne Ranch, had a great trip, and were ready to cover some miles for a while.
We turned onto I-70 and headed west at 75 mph. Two hundred and eighty six miles later, at 1:20 in the morning, we were in Longmont, Colorado, at Raymond's house. Raymond is also unemployed, by the way. We were not yet at the Continental Divide, but we were almost close enough to see it. We had traveled 651 miles that day. It was time for the unemployed geezers to go to bed.
Book Report: Freakonomics
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
This is an interesting book that doesn't seem to go anywhere. It is full of fascinating accounts of chains of research and reasoning that produce conclusions such as Roe v. Wade resulted in a significant reduction in crime. It wasn't an attempt to justify abortion, it was simply a very clear, careful examination of the data.
If there is a point to the book, it seems to be that snap judgments based on prior biases do not necessarily yield truth. Careful science, along with ethical goals, should always be considered when making decisions about public policy
A Reader Writes
I was a researcher on/with some similar compounds [LSD, Ditran, Yohimbine, JB-132, and others], in ’67, at the Missouri Institute of Psychiatry [Univ.of Mo. funded], and so became very familiar with the ‘literature’ [scientific AND popular] on these things, and only want to dispute the part of this article that asserts that “there is no adequate language” to adequately describe these experiences - I want to dispute it because accepting that assertion continues the “mystification” of these experiences.A good point. Drugs don't make you see God, but they can put you in states where you might be convinced that you are seeing God. (By the way, She has green hair.)
They ARE difficult to talk about in language that does NOT lapse into mystical or excessively scientific/hard to understand, BUT, if you are interested, the place to go is the work of Stan Grof. The experiences with these compounds, that experiencers have trouble finding words for, are what Grof calls COEXES - systems of condensed experience - very ‘compact’ complexes of memory traces. I’ll admit, the explanation comes CLOSE to being difficult, as you have to pick up a little understanding of something that comes CLOSE to Jungian psychology, but that may just be Grof training; but, I DO think he makes the experiences UNDERSTANDABLE.
posted by The Geezer at 9:17 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home