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June 28, 2007 - Birds squirrel it away22A • The Suffolk Times • June 28, 2007 Suffolk Ti— photo by k ar, :,:! :4,,A, i;,, ,,�1. 1 ,',Mi Ilk'1 ,1- pI -i,ins I,)'aiu Stout,, ni ,ql Left: We have always had chickens that supply the family with fresh eggs. Here you see some of them roosting in the henhouse. Above: For years we have raised cows so we know where our meat comes from. Here you see a new addition to our pasture. Birds squirrel it away Everything has its time to blossom — even the pesky plantain, with its big leaves, tries to establish itself in our lawns and gardens, or wherever the wind has blown its seeds. These and the dandelions keep the perfectionist, who can't stand either of them, scurry- ing around with weed killer in hopes of eliminating them. But alas — the perfectionist's fix is only temporary. These invaders have, through the evo- lution of time, perfected a system that puts them in a class that can't be beat. Try to get rid of them and you'll soon see them back. So what's a person to do? You can keep on using your weed killer and get all shook up because when you zap one plant others soon pop up to take its place or you can do as I do and just mow and pay little attention to them. Getting rid of dandelions and plantain and other weeds is like trying to stop my wild cherry tree from dropping its dried -up fruit on the lawn, making it look a bit messy. In time the pits will be carried away by the mice of the woodland, where they will store them in some tree cav- ity or, better yet, in one of my bird boxes. Every spring when I go around and clean out my boxes I find them full of cherry pits that the mice have stored there. Right now the cherries are ripe and birds are coming and going from this tree of delight. Some eat their fill right there: others fly off with a hefty supply of cherries in their jowls to their spe- cial storage bin for consumption later. Robins, cardinals, red - winged black- birds, grackles, chickadees, cedar wax- wings and a host of others will feed in the cherry tree until the last dead -ripe cherry is gone. Years ago, this carrying of fruits or nuts away was a ON very important part of re- establishing woodlands after the glacier passed through. As the glacier receded, it left a stark -naked land with little vegetation. Now a bird, say a blue jay, carries an acorn in its jowls and, in storing it with his precious nuts, one is dropped. It's in a difficult spot to retrieve, so it's left there. Time goes by, the seasons change and the acorn sprouts and grows into a healthy oak tree that has an abundance of acorns, some of which grow into trees, which multiply when the birds and animals move in, move more nuts and fruit pits — and a forest is born. We have to re- member these transitions weren't done in just a few years. We're talking about thousands of years and then some. It's well established that birds and animals store food for the days when there is little about. Over the years our family has done somewhat the same thing in that we had a garden and orchard and grew our own vegetables and fruits. Then we would can and freeze them and make jams and jellies and store them away. In that way we not only had food when the cold winter canine and fresh produce was not available but we knew what we were eating and were sure there had been no sprays used on them. As time went on and the deer moved in, we no lon- ger put up our own fruits and vegetables. Today, with refrigeration and fast travel, we can be buying vegetables and fruits from almost anywhere in the world within days of when they were harvested, whether that be in Argentina, Chile, China, you name it. How can we know what has been used on this produce, since it comes from so far away? At one time people more or less accepted what was given to them at the marketplace, but today the public is waking up and asking tough questions. Have pesticides been used responsibly on the produce I'm buying? How do I know if this prod- Focus NATURE by Paul Stoutenburgh 6 't uct marked organically grown has re- ally been? Today, when products come from overseas, there is no way of telling what pesticides were used or what additives have been injected into pro- duce. Without some means of inspec- tion, the public is taking someone's word as to what was used in the grow- ing of the product. I remember when, after years of effort, the pesticide DDT was banned in America. Sounds good, but there was nothing to prevent it from being sold overseas. So products could be drenched in DDT coming from over- seas and we would never know it. What we do today is get our veg- etables and fruits from our wonderful local farm stands, which in some cas- es offer organically grown produce as well. We also have raised our own cows and chickens over the years In this way we can be assured that our meat has not been injected with anything and that the pasture hasn't been sprayed with anything. We usually have one cow ready for the freezer and then another one ready to take over the back pasture. This all pro- vides us with good meat and eggs to go along with our locally grown fruits and vegetables. Left: Our little orchard once produced an abundance of apples and peaches, until the deer took over. We enjoyed the fruit fresh as well as canned and fro- zen. Right: Years ago, we did a lot of canning and freezing of fruits and vegetables from our garden, and made jams and jellies. Today we do little processing because of the deer devastation. Suffolk Times • June 28, 2007 s(juirre V Everything has its time to blossom — even the pesky plantain, with its bid leaves; tries to establish itself in our lawns and gardens, or wherever the wind has blown its seeds. These and the dandelions keep the perfectionist, who can't stand either of them, scurry ing around with weed killer in hopes of eliminating them. But alas — the perfectionist's fix is only temporary. These invaders have, through the evo- lution of time, perfected a system that puts them in a class that can't be beat. Try to get rid of them and you'll soon see them back. So what's a person to do? You can keep on using your weed killer and ge all shook up because when you zap one plant others soon pop up to take its _place or you can do as I do and just mow and pay little attention to them. Getting rid of dandelions and plantain and other weeds is like trying to stop my wild cherry tree from dropping its dried -up fruit on the lawn, making it look a bit messy. In time the pits will be carried away by the mice of the woodland, where they will store them in some tree cav- ity or, better yet, in one of my bird boxes. Every spring when I go around and clean out my boxes I find them full of cherry pits that the mice have 13 Lr A d it awa Focus ON NATURE by Paul Stoutenburgh _a _ I tt ignt now the cherries are ripe an birds are coming and going from this tree of delight. Some eat their fill righ there; others fly off with a hefty suppl, of cherries in their jowls to their spe- cial storage bin for consumption later. Robins, cardinals, red - winged black- birds, grackles, chickadees, cedar wax- wings and a host of others will feed in he cherry tree until the last dead -ripe cherry is gone. Years ago, this carrying of fruits or nuts away was a very important part of re- establishing woodlands after the glacier passed through. As the glacier receded, it left a stark -naked land with little vegetation. Now a bird, say a blue jay, carries an acorn in its jowls and, in storing it with his precious nuts one is dropped. It's in a difficult spot to retrieve, so it's left there. Time goes by, the seasons change and the acorn sprouts and grows into a healthy oak tree that has an abundance of acorns, some of which grow into trees, which multiply when the birds and animals move in, move more nuts and fruit nits Suffolk Times photos by Paul Stoutenburgh eft: We have always had chickens that supply the family with fresh eggs. ere you see some of them roosting in the henhouse. Above: For years we ave raised cows so we know where our meat comes from. Here you see a ew addition to our pasture. Fo�us on Nature .r Focus on Nature Focus on Nature Birds squirrel it away by Paul Stoutenburgh Everything has its time to blossom — even the pesky plantain, with its big leaves, tries to establish itself in our lawns and gardens, or wherever the wind has blown its seeds. These and the dandelions keep the perfectionist, who can't stand either of them, scurrying around with weed killer in hopes of eliminating them. But alas — the perfectionist's fix is only temporary. These invaders have, through the evolution of time, perfected a system that puts them in a class that can't be beat. Try to get rid of them and you'll soon see them back. So what's a person to do? You can keep on using your weed killer and get all shook up because when you zap one plant others soon pop up to take its place or you can do as I do and just mow and pay little attention to them. Getting rid of dandelions and plantain and other weeds is like trying to stop my wild cherry tree from dropping its dried -up fruit on the lawn, making it look a bit messy. Page 1 of 2 We have always had chickens that supply the family with fresh eggs. Here you see some of them roosting in the henhouse. Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh In time the pits will be carried away by the mice of the woodland, where they will store them in some tree cavity or, better yet, in one of my bird boxes. Every spring when I go around and clean out my boxes I find them full of cherry pits that the mice have stored there. Right now the cherries are ripe and birds are coming and going from this tree of delight. Some eat their fill right there; others fly off with a hefty supply of cherries in their jowls to their special storage bin for consumption later. Robins, cardinals, red - winged blackbirds, grackles, chickadees, cedar waxwings and a host of others will feed in the cherry tree until the last dead - ripe cherry is gone. Years ago, this carrying of fruits or nuts away was a very important part of re- establishing woodlands after the glacier passed through. As the glacier receded, it left a stark -naked land with little vegetation. Now a bird, say a blue jay, carries an acorn in its jowls and, in storing it with his precious nuts, one is dropped. It's in a difficult spot to retrieve, so its left there. Time goes by, the seasons change and the acorn sprouts and grows into a healthy oak tree that has an abundance of acorns, some of which grow into trees, which multiply when the birds and animals move in, move more nuts and fruit pits — and a forest is born. We have to remember these transitions weren't done in just a few years. We're talking about thousands of years and then some. It's well established that birds and animals store food for the days when there is little about. Over the years our family has done somewhat the same thing in that we had a garden and orchard and grew our own vegetables and fruits. Then we would can and freeze them and make jams and jellies and store them away. For years we have raised cows so we know where our meat comes from. Here you see a new addition to our pasture. Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh In that way we not only had food when the cold winter came and fresh produce was not available but we knew what we were eating and were sure there had been no sprays used on them. As time went on and the deer moved in, we no longer put up our own fruits and vegetables. Today, with refrigeration and fast travel, we can be buying vegetables and fruits http: // access. timesreview. com /content _printstory.php? link= http %3A %2F %2Fwww2.times... 6/28/2007 't Focus on Nature from almost anywhere in the world within days of when they were harvested, whether that be in Argentina, Chile, China, you name it. How can we know what has been used on this produce, since it comes from so far away? At one time people more or less accepted what was given to them at the marketplace, but today the public is waking up and asking tough questions. Have pesticides been used responsibly on the produce I'm buying? How do I know if this product marked organically grown has really been? Today, when products come from overseas, there is no way of telling what pesticides were used or what additives have been injected into produce. Without some means of inspection, the public is taking someone's word as to what was used in the growing of the product. I remember when, after years of effort, the pesticide DDT was banned in America. Sounds good, but there was nothing to prevent it from being sold overseas. So products could be drenched in DDT coming from overseas and we would never know it. What we do today is get our vegetables and fruits from our wonderful local farm stands, which in some cases offer organically grown produce as well. We also have raised our own cows and chickens over the years. In this way we can be assured that our meat has not been injected with anything and that the pasture hasn't been sprayed with anything. We usually have one cow ready for the freezer and then another one ready to take over the back pasture. This all provides us with good meat and eggs to go along with our locally grown fruits and vegetables. Our little orchard once produced an abundance of apples and peaches, until the deer took over. We enjoyed the fruit fresh as well as canned and frozen. Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh Page 2 of 2 Years ago, we did a lot of canning and freezing of fruits and vegetables from our garden, and made jams and jellies. Today we do little processing because of the deer devastation. Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh http: / /access.timesreview. comlcontent _printstory.php ?link= http %3A %2F %2Fwww2.times... 6/28/2007 nn o � c o ca v a o a� a = m c _ ca v� ca .a 3 3 � T s12 i fA �m o c ca E 0 mM 3E L a� R > o o wo m � ,a o o E = o N 41 Qi U > M > 0'0 a c ca ' N C M d� ao CL M Q •N a� ai ca = c ca Mr M c M - o d0 � o �a o o— c aoo 41 0 3 > •� o .a M� �M9) o i o 0 ff; �N — and a forest is born. We have to re- I member these transitions weren't done in just a few years. We're talking about thousands of years and then some. It's well established that birds and — animals store f— oo for the clays when there is little about. Over the years our family has done somewhat the same thing in that we had a garden and orchard and grew our own vegetables and fruits. Then we would can and freeze them and make jams and jellies and store them away. In that way we not only had food when the cold winter came and fresh produce was not available but we knew what we were eating and were sure there had been no sprays used on them. As time went on and the deer moved in, we no lon- ger put up our own fruits and vegetables. Today, with refrigeration and fast travel, we can be buying vegetables and fruits from almost anywhere in the world within days of when they were harvested, whether that be in Argentina, Chile, China, you name it. How can we know what has been used on this produce, since it comes from so far away? At one time people more or less accepted what was given to them at the marketplace, but today the public is waking up and asking tough questions. Have pesticides been used responsibly on the produce I'm buying? How do I know if this prod- uct marked organically grown has re- ally been? Today, when products come from overseas, there is no way of telling what pesticides were used or what additives have been injected into pro- duce. Without some means of inspec- tion, the public is taking someone's word as to what was used in the grow- ing of the product. I remember when, after years of effort, the pesticide DDT was banned in America. Sounds good, but there was nothing to prevent it from being sold overseas. So products could be drenched in DDT coming from over- seas and we would never know it. What we do today is get our veg- etables and fruits from our wonderful local farm stands, which in some cas- es offer organically grown produce as well. We also have raised our own cows and chickens over the years. In this way we can be assured that our meat has not been injected with anything and that the pasture hasn't been sprayed with anything. We usually have one cow ready for the freezer and then another one ready to take ever the back pasture. This all pro- vides us with good meat and eggs to ;o along with our locally grown fruits