environment
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During his July 8 speech on the environment, the president mentioned his administration’s fight with “toxic algae” in Florida 50 miles from his Mar-a-Lago resort. Bruce Hrobak, a bait and tackle shop owner in Port St. Lucie, Fla. gave a testimonial at the event about the great job he thought the federal government did to… Read more
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I stood outside in early morning darkness where there was a refreshing yet decidedly warm breeze. The overnight low was 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m not sure if that’s warm enough to hinder apple production but scientists believe at some point failure to cool adequately at night does impact taste and texture. They don’t fully understand… Read more
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Each time I walk on the state park trail there are different wildflowers in bloom. Today’s offering was some of my favorites. After returning from the day’s exercise, I mowed the front yard and couldn’t make out the line where the back yard started. Grass apparently wasn’t tall or thick enough to need cutting so… Read more
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On a fine summer day conditions were perfect to harvest hay and garlic. My CSA friends recruited volunteers to bring in the garlic and across the county farmers were baling hay in large round and small rectangular bales. On Independence Day farmers came to town to buy cultivators, salt blocks, pumps, feed, big pedestal fans,… Read more
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The combination of advancing age and a world heated by human-made global warming has me looking for ways to cope. When temperatures are forecast above 90 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity I get my outside work done early then head into the house. I keep the thermostat at 83 degrees so as not to use… Read more
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With recent moves to reduce the number of government advisory panels, overturn the Obama administration’s clean power plan, and increase the speed with which logging permits are approved in national forests, the Trump administration plows the field of deregulation in a way libertarians and conservatives could previously only dream about. They have gone too far.… Read more
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I caught a break between thunder storms. Friday I donned my wax jacket and rubber boots and went to the garden to harvest kale in a light drizzle. The leaves were ready to pick and I wanted to get a regular shipment to someone. It was a big harvest and what I didn’t give away… Read more
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I walked due east from the garden along the utility easement to access a 25-acre stand of woods at the point where deer enter. Deer are a constant presence in the neighborhood, especially during apple season, and I try to live in harmony with them by understanding what they will and won’t eat, and by… Read more
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About 11:15 a.m. I left the garden and drove Ely Blacktop to 76th Street and headed West to Cedar Hall on the main campus of Kirkwood Community College where presidential candidate Marianne Williamson joined State Senator Rob Hogg in a “climate conversation.” Since I would be returning to the garden after the event, I wore… Read more
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I returned nine empty seedling trays to the farm Sunday morning before my soil blocking shift. The empty trays reflected clear weather and dry enough soil for planting. I had been worried seedlings would get root bound. I think I made it into the ground in time. I hope so. The last three days have… Read more
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