We are very familiar with car accidents and we have seen them since moving vehicles have been around us. But, some of the worst accidents occurred before there were any real "rules of the road". During the 1920's a drivers license was not needed in most states. There were no signs, signals, or traffic enforcement, and in many cases the roads were filled with ruts and at times, filled with holes. It was the wild west when it came to driving and life was risky, not just for drivers, but for pedestrians as well. The combination of inexpensive cars, (The model T Ford was less than $300), and poorly maintained roads, uneducated drivers, and speeds approaching 40 mile per hour, was the perfect combination for some really bad accidents. But, when I look at the photos I see the lack of any protection for the occupants. There are sharp corners of metal, non-shatterproof glass, and potential for being thrown out of the vehicle. The well-known term for these cars was "Tin Lizzy" and they were designed for fast production and not safety. While we have come a long way in safety, the driver is still the problem. Now it is texting and other distractions that seem ubiquitous. In either case, the only winners are the body shop and the lawyers! Photos from the National Photo Archive from Washington, DC.
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If you have a hummingbird feeder you are most likely attracting ants as well as the hummingbirds. Placing a solution of sugar and water outside is very much like asking for ants to visit. But, the ants have a bad habit of entering the feeder and drowning, and that leaves all of the little bodies littering the sugar solution. And although it is easy to clean and replace the solution, it begins to be a waste of money to keep replacing the sugar solution. I have always been an advocate of synergy when it comes to letting nature control it's own destiny and sometime it works well and at other times it requires some intervention. The photo on the right shows a suet feeder suspended near the hummingbird feeder. I have several woodpeckers, both Hairy and Downy, that visit the suet frequently year around and they have an interesting habit. They first land on the tree, climb up and down, and in the process eat ants traveling toward the hummingbird feeder. And although ants are their favorite food, the number of ants are greater than the woodpeckers ability to get them all. So, they fly to the suet and feed on the seeds. But this year I have found a really good way to stop the ants from getting to the sugar solution. And it is simply by using duct tape! Here are the photos: I simply used a 1/2 inch diameter piece of PVC pipe with an end cap and wound some duct tape around the pipe with the sticky side out. The feeder is hanging from a coat hanger and when the ants get to the sticky duct tape, they get their feet stuck. Problem solved! When the tape becomes weathered and less sticky I will just add another layer. I am sure that you could also use a good double-sided tape or any tape with a good adhesive. Now the woodpeckers are happy, I'm happy, and the ants are baffled. Life is good again...
Glass has been manufactured for generations, and in fact, radioactive glass was known as far back as 79 A.D. The earliest examples were found in tiles in early Roman cities. But, there is nothing to fear as the radioactivity is just barely above that of background radiation.
From the mid 1850’s until the 1940’s, uranium glass was manufactured and sold as both decorative and food glassware. The source of the uranium, mostly in the form of oxides, became unavailable as the US entered into the cold war when making bombs was more of a priority than making dishes. Uranium glass can be anywhere between a light yellow to green, depending on the oxidation state of the metal ions. The tube in the photos is one that I have and is about three inches long and is a standard color of uranium glass. Some glass may also have other colorants. The most typical color is that of the tube in the above left photo and is almost the color of Vaseline, which is one of the names applied to this fascinating glass. But, the most significant feature of uranium glass is that it fluoresces under the influence of ultraviolet (black light) as in photo on the right. There is a great site with some nice examples of uranium glass. You can see them on the WebEcoist site here. This is the time of the year in many parts of the country when all types of insects and other creepy crawly things become more noticeable. The warm weather starts a cycle and ants in particular can be a nuisance and sometimes destructive. Although there are over 10,000 different kinds of ants, the ones that cause some of the greatest problems are carpenter ants. Ants belong to the order Hymenoptera, and the carpenter ants are known as Camponotus Pensylvanicus, or black carpenter ants. The most striking feature of these ants is their size. They tend to be much larger than other ants commonly found in and around the home. And, there is a great deal of confusion when these ants are compared to termites. Despite the fact that carpenter ants are frequently found in wood and wood structures, they do not eat wood. And, termites do eat wood! They have the ability to convert cellulose into a manageable food source. Carpenter ants use wood as a nesting site and prefer wood that has a moisture content between 12% and 15%. And, although that seems like a restrictive limitation, they will adapt to much more humid conditions. The reason that they have earned the name carpenter ants has to do with the way in which they make the wood structure a nest. They tend to build galleries and trails within the wood, generally with the grain, and keep the galleries and paths neat and clean. They make entry into a home by finding wooden parts of the home that are in contact with the ground and hence, subject to moisture and rot. But, they can also gain entry where dead tree branches contact the home. Because they are neat and clean, they move sawdust and dead parts of other carpenter ants into side galleries or move it outside of the nest and make piles of wood and ant debris. The correct term for these accumulations is frass. It can be an indicator of ant activity but they can leave the frass in side galleries designated for waste. Carpenter ants are omnivores and will forage both in the home, and outside looking for food. Like other ants, they leave pheromone trails to communicate with the ants from their colony. One interesting fact about these ants is that they can typically travel as far as 100 yards to find food. That is the distance of a football field! I have been asked several times for a good source of information about carpenter ants and I finally found a complete guide to identification, habitat, location, and removal. The source is the University of Minnesota Extension service here. (Photos from the West Virginia University extension service).
Although it is only mid-April here in New Hampshire, it is time to plan for gardening. We generally will not plant until Memorial Day weekend, but it is time to order the seeds, think about where to plant, and what to plant. Additionally, we have to consider how to plant! What? You dig up the soil, put in the seeds or plants in and water and fertilize. Done! Well, not exactly. If you have followed this page for the past two years you will remember that I am a strong advocate for container gardening, in Earthbox type containers and all of the home made variations. I have done several posts and find it a great way to garden with minimal work. I also have two raised beds and again, the effort is less than working the soil. And, with the use of potting mix rather than loam, the results are better. But, like most gardening enthusiasts, I am always ready to learn new procedures and techniques. And in this case, it is the use of straw bales to act as the soil and the support for the plants. The bale simply acts like a plant container and with fertilizer and water, the plants grow as they would in a raised bed or a container. But, there are caveats! And, to me it seems like the caveats are considerable. But, rather than rewrite the information, there are two useful links to follow: The first is from West Virginia University that covers the entire process including what crops can be grown here. The second is from The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction, Colorado, that has a view from an actual experimenter here. I have time to try one bale but I am still considering the risk/reward possibilities. But, I would appreciate any comments about the concept and potential value to our readers. Time to dig! Each spring, or vernal equinox. we celebrate what has been called the moveable feast. This includes Easter and Passover. The dates for the equinox, (when day and night are equal in the northern hemisphere), have changed over the years beginning with Julius Caesar in 45 BC. He had fixed the date of the equinox at March 25th, but that began to drift as the calendar did not fit the universe. But, that was corrected by Pope Gregory XIII with what we now know as the Gregorian calendar. But, for many of us it is the end of winter and time for outside activities. Just in time before we all go crazy! Image courtesy of Dover Publications.
Each time I do a post entry I try to include a photograph or illustration to highlight the subject. And, for the majority of my posts I do my own photography or illustration. But, there are times when I really need something more professional or the subject is not easy for me to photograph. For example, if I wanted to do a post on dung beetles, I would be lost! I do not have dung beetles or easy access to these insects. So, I have to look around for a public domain source as I really could not justify paying for a commercial photo. Two sources that I have mentioned before are WPClipart, and Dover Publications. But, I can always use more material to find suitable images. I have known for a long time that a good source of both videos and images is the US government. And, for the vast majority of material that has been funded by taxpayers, it is quite probably in the public domain which means that there is not a copyright and can be used freely. But there is a caveat to be aware of when using these images. The government sometimes pays for images to be used in publications but the image remains in the photographers control and may be copyrighted. So a little digging may be necessary to find out if it is truly in the public domain. Having said all of that, I did find a United States Department of Agriculture site, the Agricultural Research Service, (ARS), that seems to be totally in the public domain. There are about 2,000 images of flowers, insects, and a lot more here. But, if you use any of these photos it would be a common courtesy to credit the photographer when that information is available. The lead photo here is of orchids and anthuriums, by Scott Bauer. These images are available in several resolutions and some are quite spectacular. Happy hunting! This is a guest post from snoman8 and covers the basic procedure for successfully growing mushrooms at home. The text has an added slideshow to support the process and is very clear. But, as always, comments are welcome and my thanks to snoman8 for his effort. Ken. If you have considered growing mushrooms at home it should be pretty easy right? You sprinkle some spores into some dirt and turn out the lights and voila! Well a little research on the internet quickly dashes this hope. The initial inoculation of the spores requires a completely sterile environment and the use of many laboratory best practices, making this prospect a bit daunting for average person. Fortunately there are folks that have done the laboratory work for us so we can sprinkle the spores in some dirt and shut off the lights (more or less). There are several companies that prepare all the materials for the home cultivation of mushrooms and combine them into a kit with simple instructions. This project is easy and would lend itself to parent/child joint exercise. The kit for this post came from Mushroom Adventures and has everything we need to successfully grow several crops of Mushrooms. The mushroom growing kit contains all the necessary components to grow several crops of mushrooms over an 8 to 12 week period of time. The mushroom compost has already been prepared and inoculated with the white colored mushroom mycelium (A moldy looking fungus) at the mushroom farm. In the box you will find a bag of dry peat moss called casing and a large bag of compost. The compost has the spores already mixed in. The quantity and size of the mushrooms will be directly impacted by the amount of water used in the casing preparation and the temperature of the growing environment. The entire surface of the compost needs to be scratched to a depth of about ½” (13mm). Take approximately ½ to 1 Cup (120ml to 240ml) of this loosened casing and add to the bag of peat moss and add 40 oz (1.82 L) water and let it sit until thoroughly absorbed (15 min or so). Spread the wetted casing/compost evenly over the compost. To finish the preparation, mist or sprinkle 1 Cup (240ml) of water onto the compost and scratch surface again to about ¾” (19 mm). This roughness creates a nice environment for the young mushrooms to form. Place your kit, open, in a location away from direct sunlight that is between 60 and 74 deg F (15.5 to 23 Deg C) Optimum conditions vary by variety so consult your instructions for detail. Lightly mist the compost daily with a spray bottle. The equivalent of morning dew is adequate. Do not allow the compost to dry out. In 7 to 14 days you will start to see little buttons develop. In 17 to 21 days you are ready to harvest your first crop. To pick your mushrooms rotate them a complete turn in place and slowly pull them out of the casing, trying not to disturb the adjacent mushrooms. Do not cut the mushrooms. You can expect 2 to 3 more crops over the coming weeks. Add ½ C (240 ml) of water after each harvest and continue to mist daily. You can now enjoy the fruits of your labor. I like Sautéed Mushrooms, Onions and Peppers over Brown Rice. Once your kit is exhausted you can simply add it to your compost pile. Enjoy! No, the photo of the artwork is not Saint Valentine but that of Geoffrey Chaucer. Why this portrait for a day of romance and love? It is a part of the evolution of a day that has changed dramatically since Saint Valentine, the religious story, begins. Very little is really known about the man who was a Roman Saint. What? The Romans had Saints? Indeed, and this Saint may have been actually two different Saints. But this post is not about history; it is about the evolution of the day itself. For the historical Saint, see the Wikipedia entry here. The connection that was made from religion to romantic love began in the high middle ages with Chaucer who died in 1400. It was the age of courtly love and involved the expression of lovers giving each other flowers, confectionery items, and greeting cards. But, as with any day in the year, some history remains a part of the day meant for romantic love. One such event was the Valentine's Massacre of February 14th,1929. Six gangsters were murdered in Chicago and the shooting involved Al Capone and the South Side Italians, and Bugs Moran and the North Side Irish. So much for the American melting pot theory and political correctness! So today we have greeting cards that cost $5 or more, candy in the shape of a heart, and jewelery. We all know that kiss begins with Kay! But, I thought it appropriate to go back to a simpler time in the 1920's and 1930's, when the cards were just one simple piece, and said it all. Enjoy the great images from Dover Publications free sample photos of a time gone by... Carrots are one of the vegetables that are truly ubiquitous. They are available all year long, taste good, and they are reasonably priced. But, it is also interesting that they come in so many packages and sizes. The photo on the right is from the US Department of Agriculture and shows white, yellow, purple, and of course, orange. But, when I was shopping recently, I saw the carrot in my photo on the right that is over a foot long and weighs in at over one pound! I did not know that these were readily available until I found this monster. The carrots in the middle are standard size, and the left are "baby" carrots that are manufactured to be small by mechanical methods. Another convenience food!
Carrots belong to the family, Umbelliferae, that also includes celery, parsley, cilantro, cumin, and poisonous hemlock. Thankfully, carrots are not poisonous and have great nutrition value. But, carrots are more nutritious when cooked rather than eaten raw. The cell walls are tightly connected and the nutrients can not be digested easily when raw. Best cooked by steaming whole and then being cut preserves the nutrients without them being leached out. For a great number of very interesting facts, I have included a link to swampyacresfarm here. As Bugs would say, "Whats up doc"? |
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