Veterans Day

Veteran's Day

Tragically, the events at Fort Hood last week, are a bloody reminder of the dangers and sacrifices faced by our military. The gruesome carnage unfolded a few weeks before one of America's most important days of remembrance. Veterans Day is Wednesday, November 11th.

Originally, the day was known as Armistice Day to mark the ending of World War 1. In 1954, under President Dwight Eisenhower and following action by the US Congress, the day was re-named Veterans Day to remember all of our veterans who fought to preserve our freedoms and liberty.

In many communities, it is a special day with memorial services, communal dinners, even parades. In some, it is the day when in a solemn ceremony the flags placed on graves during Memorial Day are burned.

In many communities, veterans organizations such as the American legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) are named after the first person from that region who was killed in action. In Union City, a small community in rural northwestern Pennsylvania, the American Legion Post, #237, is named after Lynn LeBarron, a 19 year old private, who was killed in France during World War 1.

The LeBarron Post is one of the largest and most active in a five county area. Hung on the interior walls are many photos of local service men and women, including a picture and a letter written by Lynn LeBarron. It's a likely scenario in towns and cities everywhere.

And there are many forgotten and nameless who sacrificed their lives or lived out their lives crippled and maimed. Older cemeteries with faded graves still decorated with planted heirloom flowers from another era are full of stories and sacrifice.

Wednesday is an important day to stop and reflect and then, do something.

Holiday Mailings to Our Troops

Nov. 13 -Parcel Post to military APO/FPO addresses.
Dec. 4 -First-Class cards and letters or Priority Mail to military APO AE ZIP 093 addresses.
Dec. 11 -First-Class cards and letters or Priority Mail to all other military APO/FPO addresses.
Dec. 18-Express Mail Military Service to all military APO/FPO addresses except APO ZIP 093.
Dec. 4 -Priority Mail and First-Class Mail to Africa and Central or South America International Mail locations.
Dec. 11 -Priority Mail and First-Class Mail to all other International Mail locations.
Dec. 12-Express Mail International to Africa and Central and South America.
Dec. 17 -Express Mail International to all other countries (except Canada, Dec. 18).
Dec. 19-Global Express Guaranteed to all countries (except Canada, Dec. 20

H1N1 Stay Up to Date:


Plant an Oak Tree


Oaks are majestic trees which symbolize strength. This year, the acorn crop is very heavy in some areas. It's easy to take a couple and plant them and grow your own oak tree. Why pay expensive prices at nurseries and big box stores?
Take the acorn and simply push it into the ground, just under the surface, where you want it to grow. Be sure to mark the spot. The acorn should sprout at the onset of warm spring weather.
The acorn can also be placed in a container with drainage holes and placed outside to endure the winter. It helps to cover the pot with screening or mesh to prevent a hungry critter from enjoying a mid-winter meal.
The growing seedling should be transplanted soon after it begins to grow in the pot. They develop are rather long tap root quickly. Once transplanted for the first year or two, I use tomato cages to protect the seedling from rabbits and deer. An oak seedling is a delicacy for some critters.
There are many different species of oak which can be identified either from the bark or the leaves. For wildlife, many chose to plant the valuable white oak, but a red oak is also a valuable wildlife food source and a majestic tree. For more information on how to grow an oak tree for free, click here.


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Send a Card attend a worthy benefit
This has been checked through Snopes and has been posted on Facebook by a number of different people. Noah Biorkman, five years old, has stage IV neuroblastoma. His family is planning on an early Christmas sometime in mid November. Noah wants Christmas cards. Cards would be appreciated: Noah Biorkman, 1141 Fountain View Circle, South Lyon, MI 48178
Locally there are two individual benefits at Mound Grove; onefor Dan “Mrytle” Merski, who is suffering from Crohn's disease; and another for JonPaul Sandusky, who was killed in a tragic automobile accident last week. Merski's benefit is November 21st at Mound Grove; Sandusky's benefit will be November 22.


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Save Money: the Autumn Clean -Up

Garden Clean-Up

Spring clean-ups get a lot of attention. Autumn clean-ups sometimes fall by the wayside. Healthy and money saving vegetable gardens are often pushed to the bottom of the “to do things” as winter begins to knock on the back door. But September and October are the perfect season for garden cleanliness to begin to take care of some of the problems of growing 2009.

Garden cleanliness is a key to an improved 2010 vegetable harvest. Three of the most common tomato blights, the nightmares of 2009, can overwinter. Vegetable blights, along with slugs and snails had a great year, with the abundant moisture and cool temperatures. Fall is pay back time for these fellas.

The three most common blights are Early Blight, Septoria Blight and the Late Blight. All three are caused by different fungi and all three can winter over and create problems next year. For information on how to identify a particular blight, click, here.

The fungus spores can live on in the winter in weeds and old tomato vines. Fatal late blight, a disease which infects both tomatoes and potatoes, normally need live plant material to live. It can winter over in potatoes missed when digging the harvest.

Burn all dead or dying tomato vines and rotten fruit or bag it in plastic, let it cook in the sun for several days and throw in the trash. Re-check the potato patch. To be on the safe side, burn or properly get rid of all vegetable plants that appear to be infected. Remember not to compost any of this material.

The blight fungus spores can also live in the weeds. Clear them out as well. Slugs and snails like to hide under boards, pots and other garden junk. Clean it -up, take away the hiding spots. Overturning the soil exposes their eggs to birds and to harsh weather conditions.


Winter cover crops can be planted. They help the soil, protect good soil microbes and suppress weeds. Mustard greens are one often unnoticed choice for fall planting. Other options, depending on the first frost dates, are: oats, buckwheat, winter rye or wheat.

Plan to rotate crops next year. Nightshade plants such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplants should be located in another garden area.

Compost makes for healthy soil and healthy soil makes for healthier plants. The autumn months are a good time to renew composting efforts. Yard cleanliness, like raking leaves and the grass clippings from the last mowing are gold for the compost pile along with kitchen scraps. By next spring the compost should be mature enough to use as a soil additive or as mulch.

Mulch is important to help prevent water splashing up on the plants which could splash blight disease spores on the plants. Besides, a good mulch cover helps to control the weeds and will help retain soil moisture

An autumn afternoon clean-up in the garden can solve future blight problems, gets ride of some snails and slugs and can improve the soil. “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” applies to the vegetable garden as well as us and hospitals, restaurants and restrooms and the like, and don't forget, the environment. Save money with a fall clean-up.

Buy a Book

Books make good gifts and winter reading. Buy from your local independent book store. Click on the ad below. How about a book on good organic gardening practices? Or books published by Sam Hossler or contributor Vincent di Fondi?



Other Fall Stuff

Fall is a great time for projects. Acorns are plentiful. Start your own oak tree; your oak tree can last hundreds of years. Pine cones are dropping and luckily the squirrels are doing a lot of work stacking the cones on the ground in piles called a cache. It's easy pickings.



The pine cones can be used for fire starters for the wood stove or fireplace, bird feeders, and winter decorations.

While the leaves get all the attention, the many wildflowers are putting on the best free garden show in town.

H1N1

Flu season is just about here, Get informed by clicking the ad below for the latest updates and information.


Crawford County Grange

September 18-19 Grange food booth at the Crawford Fairgrounds during the annual Horse Sale.
Scholarship application for college students available, deadline November 1st.
Hayfield chicken-b-que October 4th at noon, take outs available. Great food.

For the Heck of It:

Goldenrods, now blooming with purple asters are good food and some of the last meals for the insects. Goldenrods, at one time, were considered a source of domestic rubber production. Read more, here.

A strain of the fungus, Phytophthora infestans, responsible for the Great Irish Tomato Famine in the mid- 1800's is the late blight fungus causing headaches this season.

The late blight virus is not harmful to human health, nor are the others harmful.


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