Bill Maher anti-pharma rant...
"Someone has to stand up and say that the answer isn't another pill -- the answer is spinach."
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
A lesson in ants
We have ants in our field. Red ones, and lots of them. Millions of them. Crawling around in enormous (at least to me) ant hills. I've been watching them, sometimes taking a shovel to them and creating mass ant hysteria. But they always rebuild. I don't like the ants. They don't look like they do anything useful to me, so I got on the Google this morning to learn how to get rid of them. I went to the CSU Extension website, which I should add is enormously helpful to people with small acreage. Instead of learning how to rid myself of ants, I found this little tidbit:
Q. What is the best way to get rid of large ant piles in a pasture?
A. The piles are probably from harvester ants, which play a critical role in recycling nutrients in rangeland ecosystems. They play a role in turning over the soils and allowing enhanced infiltration of water, so they should not be eliminated. And even if they were treated for control, they would probably return.
Another insect I am just going to have to learn to live and work with :)
Q. What is the best way to get rid of large ant piles in a pasture?
A. The piles are probably from harvester ants, which play a critical role in recycling nutrients in rangeland ecosystems. They play a role in turning over the soils and allowing enhanced infiltration of water, so they should not be eliminated. And even if they were treated for control, they would probably return.
Another insect I am just going to have to learn to live and work with :)
Friday, April 15, 2011
Our Big Day!!
Our first irrigation day, I mean.
It was yesterday. Although we didn't have a lot of notice. We noticed our neighbors getting water Wednesday, but hadn't heard anything from Don Ditchrider (that's what I have him in my phone as) about when it was going to be our turn. So I call him and get the ol' "oh I was just going to call you..." Oooookay. A little more notice would have been nice so that Kelly could take the day off and stomp around in the mud with me, but now we know for next time.
We opened our gate in the water box at 8 in the AM. 3 shares means 24 hours of water, so our gate has most likely been closed now.
As Kelly put it, directing the water is like herding cats. (If you have ever easily herded a cat, you don't get what I am saying here). Like everything else, this was a learning experience, and I thought it was another fun one. I kind of feel like we have accomplished something. This time last year we were setting up a 5 x 8 foot garden in the backyard of our rental home. Now we live on 5 acres of land with irrigation and room for a HUGE garden.
Spring has arrived, and everything feels like it is coming together nicely :)
It was yesterday. Although we didn't have a lot of notice. We noticed our neighbors getting water Wednesday, but hadn't heard anything from Don Ditchrider (that's what I have him in my phone as) about when it was going to be our turn. So I call him and get the ol' "oh I was just going to call you..." Oooookay. A little more notice would have been nice so that Kelly could take the day off and stomp around in the mud with me, but now we know for next time.
We opened our gate in the water box at 8 in the AM. 3 shares means 24 hours of water, so our gate has most likely been closed now.
As Kelly put it, directing the water is like herding cats. (If you have ever easily herded a cat, you don't get what I am saying here). Like everything else, this was a learning experience, and I thought it was another fun one. I kind of feel like we have accomplished something. This time last year we were setting up a 5 x 8 foot garden in the backyard of our rental home. Now we live on 5 acres of land with irrigation and room for a HUGE garden.
Spring has arrived, and everything feels like it is coming together nicely :)
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