norma johnson conservation center

Trying to do the Right Thing

     First off I would like to mention that I have started carving again and will offer up some photos of work I have done, or will be doing as part of my volunteer work as part of my requirement for sentencing consideration prior to my trial for possession of marijuana. Yes folks I am a pot head and was busted but have pleaded not guilty but will probably be railroaded due to lack of an attorney which according to my income was not provided in this instance. Also the trial will be a bench trial, as they don’t have jury trials for possession anymore. So much for constitutional rights as I believe a trial in front of my peers would show I was not guilty according to all standards as I was targeted without probable cause by law enforcement authorities running a sting operation.

    None the less I will do what I can to preserve my innocence but on the misfortune of being found guilty I intend to have a plan B in action to prevent the serious side of the restrictions placed on me from coming into effect.  I have found a place I can volunteer and do what I do best to help the community and was offered a deal by the prosecutor in the event I am found guilty and that involves 24 hrs. of community service and a clean drug screen.  The place is the Norma Johnson Conservation Center on St. Rt. 39, outside of Dover, Ohio. I originally wanted to go back to where the originally ticketed me and offered to clean up the area and bag trash, including among other things baggies, underwear, soft drink cans and bottles scattered everywhere, and they being Division of Wildlife said that they could not credit me anytime for the work I would do, but I was welcome to go ahead and do it otherwise. Unfortunately I cannot do that, and I am under a time constraint to achieve my credited volunteer hours so I had to find other work I felt would justify my time and utilize my talents. Too bad for the Dundee Falls area, as the area in its condition would only lend itself to more vandalism and degradation of resources.

     I met with one of the administrators and will begin carving for them a series of different carvings I will share with you over the coming days and I will also offer up more information as to their park and what it has to offer, to inform the public more. I took a hike yesterday and explored some and listened to what they wanted as far as how I could help them improve the visitor’s park experience and we settled on some initial projects and will go from there. I will be carving alone but supervised by the maintenance man to assure my complete time is fulfilled and I will not sacrifice quality as I am looking forward to doing the best I can.  Also outside the blog photos and the people that follow me I have no intentions of signing the work or profiting anyway from what I have done. Instead I am just using this one instance to make others more aware of the park and its generosity and facilities in helping me to overcome a problem. Here is a link to their official site: Norma Johnson Conservation Center

    It is a hidden treasure in its infancy and through the years will hopefully evolve into an asset for the county and stand as a tribute to the principles of conservation. What little I contribute will be minor and hopefully I will contribute more than what is prescribed by me as I won’t leave any project unfinished due to having my time fulfilled. I also would like to contribute beyond this one time as I believe in volunteering and giving back to society in things you believe in.

    Before years ago I received from the same agency that ran this facility a commendation in the form of an award for outstanding volunteer work that I had performed for them years ago. also when carving before at a loggers festival they approached me and asked if I would be willing to volunteer for them then and that is what led me to seek them out and see if we could not find some common ground to allow me to work out my volunteer hours with them. I have had a really good success working with them before and learned quite a bit and they offered me plenty of opportunities to explore new avenues of conservation that was not open to many at the time. It had an impact on my thinking and still does when it comes to conservation of resources.

      Anyhow I will attempt to inform all of you as I learn more about the resources and history of the facility as I go along. Maybe it may become an area that you the reader may want to visit in the future and utilize especially in the fall at times like this when leaves are in their peak and walking in nature is quite enjoyable and healthy. 

hey bro's get this!

An Overzealous Public Relations Expert, Trying to do a Job

Know what I mean “bro”

     Recently while planting trees I had the experience of meeting a public relations expert who was totally clueless when it came to public relations and talking to young people and by listening to him I thought he surely should be, as well all of us were members of one big family unit, and it was his job to remind us of that.

      It’s not so much that were not a family but instead his use of the slang word “bro” was a bit over the top and at times seemed to be as if he was talking down to us and doing the opposite of what I am sure he intended to do. It was “bro” you need to turn here, as he was talking to the young bus driver of which  I am sure wasn’t part of his family and had never sat down to dinner next to him , and it was hey “bros”, we are gathered here together to volunteer and I appreciate your help in a bold boisterous manner. I know for a fact I had never met this man before and knew right away that if I did I would have immediately reminded him that he was not part of my immediate family, as my family is quite different from him in lots of ways.

    My family would be quick to tell you to f--- off when trying to use street slang to impress them. It may take a little while to rough their edges enough to let you surely know that we do not share any family resemblance or lineage that would suggest that we have anything in common. Now we may include you into our fold but this would be by our invitation only and after you had proved yourself worthy. And not that we are anything special to include or exclude anyone but instead to just know who our real family is and again the story behind each and every one of those members we sometimes care deeply about or can’t wait to bad mouth. But surely no stranger is going to stand around and just worm his way into our confidence by throwing out a few slang words.

      As a public relations liaison man I give him an F, as yes he was talking to a bunch of college students but still he was talking down to them as if he was inviting himself to be one of them assuming they didn’t know any better,  or for the fact that I didn’t know better as he was speaking to all of us at any given time and assuming that we all have a street background when probably 50 percent of the volunteers had a mixed background and some were assuredly more professional than he was.

    I’m afraid he would have been more professional in his job if he would have taken the time to get involved in the project and provided us with a more needed background of information about why it was important to be there that day, and talk to us as if we had some intelligence and that we were not all street wise. Heck I still have problems figuring out today’s  sign language. Ours was quite simple in my time as it usually amounted to one finger in the middle of your hand straight up, indicating your displeasure with someone or sometimes for the fun of it as if they actually were your “bro” and could handle it, or as I would signal to this guy or should have, at the thought of him being part of my family.

some paths are better shared

My Trip Home- a Few Ironies

 view from the lodge at Burr Oak 

    After arriving back at the main headquarters for Wayne National forest and planting trees, I had along with me a lunch I had prepared and was planning to eat on the jobsite, as that was part of what they suggested to bring along with you in the event you volunteered. Well it was over with before I had a chance to work up an appetite and so I decided to take advantage of a picnic table and a stroll around their grounds to see what it was all about and if I could find some interesting tidbits of information to share with you.

main facility at Wayne National park 

     The building and grounds there are quite impressive And it is a green building in the sense it appears to have solar panels that are taking up the majority of the roof as well they had some interesting plantings,  and an old fire tower  with an interesting sign on it . The sign was warning sign saying that levels of radio wave transmission were too high for human consumption, and to avoid the area within the 8 foot high fence that surrounded the base of the fire tower that had apparently been moved there Its vantage point in the bottom of a valley adjacent to the facility would never be sufficient to see anything, let alone a fire. Apparently this old fire tower was being used as a communications post for their cell phone communications or the sign was a scare tactic designed to keep unwanted peoples from climbing over the fence and climbing the tower. I guess it’s better than just a plain old keep the heck out, at least more creative.

the fire tower

     Although the grounds was a nice place to visit and apparently would cost into the millions of taxpayer dollars used to support it , it had no public toilets on the outside of the building, and the doors were locked after we left to plant trees for them. Yes they had a Port- a- Jon at the site but I was waiting to return to the main office building to relieve myself and was frustrated, as well as several other volunteers, that the building was locked as they had no official Saturday hours and there was no outside facilities to accommodate even the traveler let alone volunteers, who had helped them achieve their goals. Good old government spending as those that work their evidently take care of themselves and forget the taxpayers and supporters that make it happen.

    I ate my lunch under a really nice pavilion and relaxed but soon had to hurry off to find me a restroom. This too was an experience as it had a sign I found quite amusing as apparently they had a problem between customers trying to decide which receptacle to urinate in. Anyhow I thought I would share this sign with you as it shows possibly a reason the federal government in their wisdom decided it was in their best interest not to include public toilets at their multimillion dollar tax financed facility.

view from Burr Oak lodge

     From their I headed east on St. Rt. 78 through parts of Wayne National forest and although the leaves had fallen in places, splotches of late autumn color announced new and dramatic views that took my breath away in places. At one point I turned and headed to Burr Oak Reservoir having passed that way before in late autumn, and having a chance to see more invited me to change the route this time and view the lodge area as usually the views from the lodge are the best in Ohio parks having visited several of them. Burr Oak didn’t let me down as I stood on the back of the lodge and looked down over the hill to the lake and the painted hillsides and only wished I was spending more time there taking in the beauty that overwhelmed me. The lodge was modest and not particularly exciting in architectural splendor but its situation on the hillside and its accommodation inside gave it a rustic splendor that beckoned one to return and enjoy again.

view from vantage point at entrance

      To my amazement upon entering the park I was also greeted by a heritage festival that was ongoing and part of the reason I viewed the lodge after talking to some folks there. There was pottery and home grown woodworking with rustic materials that gave me some ideas. Beans and ham cooking over a wood fire with the smells and smoke of autumn were lending itself to an overall festive mood enhanced by a local country band and a hayride for free. I took advantage of all, and strolled through the area and climbed on a hayride and was soon touring the grounds at Burr Oak as we visited cottage sites I had at one time considered coming to visit and only wish I did. A lady and her husband on the ride told me that cabin number 9 had the best view and that a cup of coffee on a brisk fall morning sitting on the back of the screened in patio was about what life was all about, as squirrels danced in the yard and solitude and peacefulness only lent itself to soothe a tired old soul and renew your faith in life and wanting to see and experience more of the same. She also reminded me they had Putt-Putt golf for free that day, and that they were playing the Wizard of Oz in the main lodge at seven that evening and it was free for all to see as part of the celebration of their fall festival.

    That was my third irony I experienced that day, as when walking around I notice there was a chainsaw carver, of which I have limited experience, and then there was the park itself as I had been to Burr Oak before and promised myself to return someday here, over 3 years ago, only not to this particular place. I who played the Tin man in the Wizard of Oz, and who has a Tin man statue at the end of my drive should show up, or pass a place I visited before and that they would be playing the Wizard of Oz, only beckons me to return again. It was almost too ironic to see and experience all this, and wasn’t expected on a per chance visit. I toured the boat ramp area and stopped at a vantage point and took more pictures as I continued on out St. Rt. 78 for more breath taking gorgeous views from the hilltops of southern Ohio and it only encouraged me to pull over, but the road was too narrow and curvy to pull over take in all that was to be seen for miles on end of lavishing beauty. This state route is breathtaking and somewhat dangerous but should be on your list of must do things, to see and as you appreciate what lies in our own back yard so to speak. Only ride along don’t drive.

rustic furniture

     But my trip wasn’t over as I finally came to Malta on the Muskingum River and went north along the river to take in more of Ohio’s scenic beauty that awaits us at the roads edge. I scouted for fishing cabins and property I would want to buy as I drove along once again as I had done in the past wishing and hoping to fulfill a dream of sitting lazily by the river sketching, painting, or just plain doing nothing, but sleeping in the shade under a hammock on a hot summer afternoon letting the smells and the aura of the river ensconce my soul, and to re energize my inner rhythms of creativeness, as I let the river roll on by absorbing and collecting the wasted energy of life as it rolls on out to the ocean  and deposits it only to return again in a cycle of life.

       I too , returned again to my home place in some ways tired but still somewhat fulfilled considering all I had seen and did in a mere short 10 hours’ time and over 315 miles of driving, that at one point had me in West Virginia as I let the Map Quest pick my route there. Twice I crossed over the Ohio river and yet I safely landed back home. Life is good. Only wish I had someone to share it with, but I do have pictures.

saving the american chestnut , one tree at a time in wayne national forest

Tree Planting at Wayne National Forest

Here the representative from the American chestnut association is showing us their suggested method placing trees in hole and what is expected. 

     Last Saturday I had the opportunity to again do some volunteer tree planting only this time it was at Wayne National Forest at Nelsonville, Ohio. Nelsonville is about 6 miles north of Athens Ohio, and Ohio University and close to Hocking state university, both premiere colleges. Hocking state is known for its forestry program and provided students as well as buses and transportation to take us out to the planting site after we were registered and received some pertinent safety information from the U.S. Foresters regarding our planting at their site.

    We were planting American chestnuts which were bred to be blight resistant after crossing native America chestnuts with Chinese chestnuts that are blight resistant, being bred together in an elaborate crossing regime that yielded the special trees that we planted on Saturday. There was control trees of just American chestnut and as well Chinese varieties also mixed in to use as reference when evaluating the performance of the newly transplanted trees. Specifically they were looking for blight resistant capability as well as nuts being formed and overall performance of tree to maturity stage including overall growth. 

    The trees arrived in long elongated pots and were transferred to the site with a crawler tractor with tracks to navigate the steep terrain. We had to hike to the top of a sandy knob where they had pre- drilled the holes for the trees with an auger. We were planting 750 trees and had approximately 75 volunteers plus forestry staff of about 10.   the soil appeared to be a sandy clay for the most part and this site was picked as it was a tornado devastation area and also for its soil characteristics, although it wasn’t considered ideal as chestnuts, as they prefer a sandy soil to branch their root systems, this was the best site as it was mid-range in elevation on the hill, and this is favorable to American chestnuts in a natural setting.

 The tracked vehicle used to transport seedlings and tools to planting site. 

      We were divided into groups of three and issued safety equipment and specific jobs, as trees were all numbered. A specific planting style and a deer tube were placed over the new sapling to hopefully protect it from ground moles and deer. Tags were displayed on outside of the tube so information on type and variety as well location and planting sequence could be easily observed for some time or as along as tubes were being used to protect young trees. A stake was place along the side of the tube and both tube and tags were tied to a stake to assure stability of seedling and tube for some time from the weather or a variety of reasons that may hurt young seedlings. Eventually they will follow up with herbicide around the base of the young seedlings to control weed growth, something I am not fond of, but then this is not my game.

      Representatives from the American chestnut foundation in Maryland and Department of Forestry foresters went through the planting procedures and each member of our three man team’s individual duties, along with safety tips like no swinging shovels, or throwing trees at one another, and we were finally off to the races. 

before planting

    Planting American chestnuts is much like planting any other tree and that is to hold and identify the crown or the part where the soil ends and the tree begin at its base above the root line, and you hold that point between two fingers on one hand while covering roots with soil. Their pots were approximately a foot long and three inches in diameter and the roots were bound, after removing the tree from the plastic pot.  It was necessary to loosen the tree roots with one hand while firmly grasping the tree at the soil line. After loosening roots then place soil around the roots making sure you had a homogenous mixture of soil taking some from here and there blending and thoroughly compacting the soil around the root and breaking clods as necessary till soil is level again around the base of the tree and no roots are showing. Then we would take a  deer shield about 4 feet long, and in a spiraling motion spin onto tree assuring all branches are carefully tucked in and then push the tube’s soil end into the  ground lightly and place more soil at the base of deer guard. A stake was placed adjacent to the deer guard and ties were used in knockouts at side of deer tube to insert tie and wrap around stake firmly holding guard and tree in upright position. This system seems to work very well and tube would enhance growth much like a greenhouse would and would protect young seedlings from being inadvertently run over or destroyed by a variety of means including freezing and varmints. I planted the seedlings and a helper Jill would place the tube and use the stake driver to drive the stake firmly into the hole. She had to wear safety goggles and a hard hat as she was using tools. The third person in our crew placed the trees in the proper order in the hole, and it wasn’t long till we finished our row of 28, and then moved over to help others with theirs as we quickly went through our trees.

augured hole

    We took time and made sure we did as good a job as we could, and as well the foresters would check our work to make sure we were doing well in following directions. Within an hour after we started, we were finished and heading back to the bus and back to our cars at the Wayne National Forest main office building.  

      I pushed further for more information about American chestnuts as the foresters and the representative from the American Chestnut Association were not really sharing much in terms of history of the American chestnut and its demise. The American chestnut suffered from blight in the 1930’s to the 1940’s and by the 50’s the American chestnut was about wiped out as a tree. Due to the fact the trees don’t rot much they stood sometimes for years in forests and worms and bugs would infest the dead logs and created the wormy chestnut we see today in limited quantities. The one characteristic of the American chestnut is its ability to resist rot and was prized as a lumber source for that reason. As well it also provided a food source for squirrels and deer as well a variety of wildlife. The American chestnut was more of a lumber tree, whereas the Chinese variety had more nuts and limbs lowering its ability to be used as a lumber source.

tubes and stakes around trees that are hidden from view 

    After the blight hit, a few American trees were found and seed was recovered allowing horticulturists to cross with the Chinese variety and in the process saved a few trees through breeding and now they have bred enough to allow this program to commence at this location in Nelsonville Ohio. These trees are some of the first American Chestnuts to be planted and are very rare as they have no history as to how exactly these trees will do and they won’t for the next seven years assuming they all live.

    This whole experience was interesting and it was different from the first volunteer tree planting I had went to as conditions and goal of planting was much different. Before we were planting several varieties designed to exist on arid reclaimed strip mine lands with what they expect to be close to a sixty percent survival rate so areas were overplanted to assure there would sufficient coverage in all areas. Pines as well as hardwood trees, black locust, and others specifically designed to be planted in reclaimed strip mine lands were placed in ripped up clay hardpan. We would use a froe I think it was called, kind of a special spade that you would jam into the soil and push it forward then place the seedling in the gap behind where you pushed it forward. Then you pull the spade out leaving the tree in the hole. You would tamp around it.

a ham shot of volunteer from Hocking Tech and trees already planted in background

     Here all holes were augured with a tractor and trees were hand placed, and soil was loosened from the auguring process. Deer tubes and stakes were employed as compared to the strip mines, it was more important to give every advantage to the young seedlings. The personnel were less informative despite trying to make it a teaching session for various colleges. I had previously done work with the Soil Conservation Service and was aware of a government attitude and it seemed as if being a leader was all most of these guys ever did. Trying to find lessons of how to do things properly by showing us exactly what they wanted was not very evident , at times you wondered if they had ever planted any trees themselves and their conversation always distanced themselves from that fact also.

      What’s more the least they could have done was bought some lousy donuts to hand out to all the great volunteer help they received and no doubt saved their carcasses from actually performing the labor necessary to get the job done. As big as their office building was, I am sure somewhere in there was a box of donuts they hoarded for themselves. The strip mine guys provided their volunteers with a ten foot long sub sandwich from subway as well pizza, and would not let you leave till you had consumed your fair share, and your shoulder hurt from being patted on the back telling you how important you were.

      All in all, I was responsible for planting approximately fifty trees although I had help but it was a hands on with all of those seedlings. This along with other trees I have planted this year will bring me close to my tree a day for a year goal I have.  

     Tomorrow I will talk more about my trip on an overall basis and also about my recent bee inspection and how they appear to be doing heading intro winter. 

Part 2- Disturbing trends in agriculture

Part 2 Disturbing Trends in Agriculture

       Part 2 -Has to deal with marketing strategies being used by farmers to manipulate the grain market price and fleecing Americans out of tax money while reducing the quality of this year’s grain and in the end showing Americans that indeed farmers as a whole are trending into some very scary areas of supporting their bottom line.

     This arises out of a record harvest and falling corn prices and a program of support for farmers earning less than 750,000 gross dollars on their income. This could easily be the 80 percent of farmers, as farmers now limit their income and start up new LLC ventures to just be able to have these price supports available to them. The federal crop insurance was developed to allow farmers who fell below that 750,000 per year gross income, an insurance for their crop losses in the event of a catastrophic decrease in their farm revenue to conditions like to much rain, hail, and other natural occurrences that would occur making their chances of getting a healthy crop and a fair price almost impossible due to unforeseen circumstances beyond their control.

     Instead this has become a back door for government handouts as farmers have learned how to manipulate the local government agencies to pay even when crops are flush and no real reason beside low prices can be seen as a deterrent to removing their crops from the field in a harvest year. This year can be a prime example of government bailing them out in a bountiful year of harvest. A record year of producing corn has dropped the current price of corn from a high of 5.40/ bushel to a present trading price of 3.65 / bushel. The difference reflects a bountiful harvest and limited sales to support this harvest. They say this is the breakeven price for most farmers to just get their money and time back and for others this loss of profit is calling for them to dip into the crop insurance to get their profits they think they deserve at the taxpayers’ expense by leaving their crops in the field and not harvesting. Hoping that time and weather will significantly reduce its value getting the Federally supported crop insurance to step in and pay for damages when in the end they will still harvest and sell to livestock feedlots and others and the deteriorated product will still end up in the system or shipped overseas to other unaware customers.

     I know of a local dairy farmer with considerable holdings who does this on a regular basis as he has other ventures outside of his dairy business to support him and regularly takes advantage of the crop insurance payouts by simply leaving his corn crop in the field till the payments are made, and in the spring before planting, harvest his crop and collects his insurance then feeds his cattle the damaged grain and collect his insurance payment legally, although at any given time with his ability to make it happen, could have easily taken the grain off at any time.

     If the opposite was to happen and If the market price was high I am sure he would have been the first person in line at the elevator to assure he was able to sell his product at that high price. This program as it is run is not perfect, and I doubt you will ever find a government program that is or that someone cannot manipulate but the bottom line it affects consumers who have to eat the 70 percent genetically modified garbage they produce and then have tax money they paid support farmers who are less than honest in their dealings for this reason, then have the garbage in an even worse condition still end up in the system of producing food they need to sustain themselves. I also believe that it should be limited to 100,000 net income for any family operation that collects this money. One hundred thousand is a sufficient amount of money to have, to adequately support a family and also buy seed etc. for the coming year to continually produce and still live comfortably.

    A possible scenario where this would happen would be for corn to drop to the price of 3.65 / bushel as it does now from a high of 5.40 / bushel; the farmer leaves his crop in the field and receives his crop insurance boosting his price back up to almost 5 dollars / bushel after his adjustments are made for the deteriorated crop, and then he harvests and either sends the product to market or feeds it to livestock and still gains. When the product should have been destroyed and the nutrients returned to the field. As one would with brush hogging making sure the claimant only received his insurance compensation.

    Small farmers instead of getting direct financial help in the way of this crop insurance, are encouraged to join others in this back handed system of government handouts where figures are manipulated to provide false price supports. This whole scenario reminds me of the Grapes of Wrath and in the novel Steinbeck describes peach farmers with migrant workers starving outside their fences, set fire to a recently picked peach crop rather than feed it to those that were hungry. We’re not without hunger here in the United States and when we have a call for children learning to read and write as in the “ No child left behind.” We also should have a call so that no person goes to bed hungry in the United States as charity is best served when our own homeless and those less fortunate in our own backyard have plenty to eat and a roof over their head. Both things Americans can accomplish but seem to have no interest in doing so as the problem still exists.  

      Small farmers should have direct support in payments for their products produced as a deterrent to large Agra- businesses trying to fix prices and increase their earnings. We need small farmers as a defensive posturing to protect us in times of war to be available also if a crisis in agricultural production should occur. Say for instance blight from genetically modified corn that would affect over 70 percent of our production of corn. I think small farmers should fill that niche of having true varieties and organically grown healthy foods to make available to the market. Also I believe we need to change the certification structure of organic definition to include a lot more naturally grown products as long as they don’t include GMO’s and pesticide and chemical use on fields where the product is produced.

      Also I believe we need to produce locally and help reduce our dependence on the transportation industry to get food products on our table. We don’t need Washington state apples when Sunny Slopes orchard in Dalton, Ohio does an excellent job of producing and having available any apple we should ever need at a shorter distance. We can grow head lettuce and even pineapple in right conditions as I have one growing now in my greenhouse. Trucking in produce from faraway places increases the cost and exposes our vulnerability to shortages while contributing to higher CO2 levels. We need to strive to grow more locally and of things we have never tried before in an efficient way. This will increase employment opportunities on a local level while reducing our energy and food dependence while producing healthier foods.

     These are all my opinions and open to discussion anytime. Respond via readers’ comments on this page,  or directly to my email at kdavis3051@yahoo.com.. I look forward to hearing reader comments, and will respond to all about your concerns discretely.   

     

lets let dow chemical and monsanto serve you corn flakes this morning

Disturbing Trends in Agriculture

Babe using conventional tillage on back 40

 

   Being a farmer with experience and education and being aware of issues affecting our well-being , I am concerned of late with the disturbing direction I am seeing in modern agriculture moving as of lately, in an effort to maximize profits while endangering the consumer as a whole, as well our ecosystem and our drinking water.

    Another part of the commercialization of agriculture has to do with marketing strategies and the raping of the American taxpayer in an effort to improve their bottom line during a boom year of harvest. Both subjects I will address specifically today as I discuss their merits or lack of, in a two part series I intend to start with today.

Part 1,  2,4-d approval as an herbicide and its use

     It is my understanding that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has approved the return of the chemical 2,4-D a chemical known to have caused cancer and was used as a primary defoliant in the Agent Orange when mixed with diesel fuel and applied to foliage to strip foliage of its leaves and render everything lifeless in its wake. Servicemen who worked with this defoliant in Vietnam ended up with a host of problems including lesions and cancer as a result of using this particular chemical combination. This was also used at the time in our crop fields as herbicide control on our fields to control the growth of weeds. It was eventually banned but it is my understanding it is being approved again as a control mechanism when used in conjunction with genetically modified corn developed by Dow Chemical Corporation in 13 states including here in the state of Ohio as a means of confronting weeds that have built up a resistance to Monsanto GMO corn and its use of the product Roundup, also a weed control herbicide typically used in most corn fields in our area now without any real knowledge of its use or how harmful it is to us, although there are suspicions there are problems with both, but we are powerless to stop its use presently.

      This is an herbicide that has known residual properties and can build up in the soil as its chemical bonds do not deteriorate within any reasonable time. This will eventually end up in our food supply and then in our water systems and our bodies will accumulate this cancer causing chemical combination to start increasing our chances of contracting cancer. Let alone what cell damage may result from the use of genetically modified corn in our diets, as it affects us also. Farmers may apply it directly to the fields beside your rural house and it could drift into your own food and water supply without any warning it is even there. This can further affect our honeybee population and as well butterflies and other wildlife in the area where it is sprayed. Again farmers are not required to notify you of any herbicide or pesticide application in your general area and bee keepers are encouraged that once you see spraying occur on farms adjacent to your apiary to shut in your bees as farmers will not be responsible for your bee’s health. This is disturbing to the point of being too protective of farmers.

     Farers of today want to establish themselves as limited liability corporations to prevent far reaching liability designed to prevent the wholesale action of judgments against their personal worth.  This is fine if they want to be treated as business in agriculture then they should have to provide information to neighbors just as chemical companies should have available to any neighbor or person working for them in the form of MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) data safety sheets, fully describing the chemicals they are using and the health effects of such as it relates to the use of the product. Also control needs to be executed in the form of notification of application to all neighbors in advance of application and total amount of product will be limited to acreage affected and recorded with local government ag agency for future reference. Soils samples need to be taken and tested to assure no buildup of chemicals or pesticide is present. Currently none of this is being done and farmers have proclaimed a need to be exempt from this as it would pose an undue hardship.

old grain mills at Magnolia Mill

     Cancer is a hardship as well as poor water quality and declining bee populations are also considerations consumers and neighbors of farmers, as well as quality of product produced which we eat directly. Where are the public rights and why this is necessary anyhow? It wasn’t till well after the Second World War spraying became a regular practice and then they were using DDT as a  major pesticide in an effort to test human vulnerability through chemical analysis. This was a major no-no in terms of human acceptability leading to cancer and chromosomal damage and was eventually banned from use as it also built up in our system and caused major environmental damage. It was supposed to be the answer to farmer’s problems of pest control. The trouble was it was going to kill the same consumers it was supposed to help feed. This is the same with what they are wanting to do now with 2,4, -D , and the GMO corn they intend to market to farmers next year. This has been fast tracked through the EPA and its approval department and they claim it is perfectly safe.

     Perfectly safe is an organic method of tilling with a cultivator and accepting what loss you may have to controlling weed growth. Weeds can also be controlled by preventing farmers from continually planting corn and crop rotation. This along with traditional varieties of non –GMO corn as they have in Europe where GMO corn and other GMO grains are banned will result in a more healthy product which will yield farmers more money for their product if given the chance to compete with GMO’s and in the long run will result in higher water quality for surrounding areas as well allow bees to reestablish themselves naturally and increase pollination of other crops. We used to only use cultivators as the primary method of controlling weed growth and need to return to conventional tillage despite lower crop yields and increased energy costs. Our lives are more important than chemical company profits.
    Here is the corresponding yahoo news link:Critics of Dow herbicide ingredient sue U.S. EPA over approval - Yahoo News

     This is the end of part 1 of my series of two parts regarding my problems with modern agriculture as it exists today. Next I will discuss our federal program of subsidies in the form of crop insurance and modern trend of farmers to capitalize on the program and increase fraud and abuse of the system while being perfectly legal in doing so. 

still have no takers

I am Still Going On Saturday

previous tree planting in youngstown area

    So if you want to go i still have no one interested in going along. It doesn't bother me and I imagine the early time I have to leave to get there on time undoubtedly figures into any plans on going along and seeing how our tax dollars are spent. This last statement is in regards to it being a national park and how they operate and that they would even have to ask for volunteers in the first place is questionable.  

    Still i think it is a unique opportunity to see a bit of our own state and its beauty up close and personal and be part of an attempt to do good thing for American Chestnuts and for wildlife if they are eventually able to benefit from the nuts produced. As well information will be gleaned from this adventure in planting to see if it is viable to try and plant chestnuts in other areas of Ohio where the American Chestnut was eradicated by disease. 

    Would like to have at least one person ride along but is no big deal and will write on my experiences as well as provide pictures to support anything of interest i see, so if you would may be considering it ,Still give me a call and lets see if we can work out something. 2345213984

     Dress warm or appropriate for outdoor trekking and bring a sack lunch .

saving earth one tree at a time

Headed to Nelsonville and Wayne National Park on Saturday Oct. 25

      Anyhow this is to plant chestnut trees that are blight resistant supposedly for our area, And to assist foresters in their effort to re-establish these nut trees that used to be a major food source in our area for the wildlife here, These trees are practically extinct from our area so this should be interesting to see if they can be re-established with any success. The reason i'm putting this out here is to see if anyone up to a total of three people who promise not to eat beans the night before to ride along with me and help volunteer for a good cause. I plan on leaving early from my house around 6 am to make the 2 and half hour trip to Nelsonville and hopefully arrive there before nine o clock.
      I have done this before on strip mine lands and found it to be an interesting and rewarding experience but the circumstances and tree planting techniques should be different as these are containerized plantings with soil around them to assure a good start as opposed to to when i planted on a strip mine using tree whips that were bare rooted and had only about a 60 percent survival rate.
     Will probably grab some breakfast at Mc Donalds along the way and then eat a brown bag lunch at the site which you must bring along with your water needs, and then I plan on stopping for supper sometime around 4 on the trip home. I will include a link from the national park as well you can click on their directions tab and enter Canton as starting point to see the path we will be taking. I am open to suggestions as to how we can return to get full advantage of car trip. Anyhow i am hoping even one  person would be interested in riding along and helping save our Earth one tree at a time. You can contact me on facebook or at kdavis3051@yahoo.com or call me at 2345213984, and leave a message and I will try and return your call promptly so we can make plans.

pic of volunteers in strip mine planting

   

     If you would rather drive yourself and are still open to doing some good for the environment , by all means, contact the park and make your own arrangements and i will be glad to see you there.


     Link for the National Park is:Test Planting for th... on Saturday

on the road again

Fast Food Trash and Road Kill

     Have you ever noticed what the majority of trash is that accumulates alongside our roads is and who is responsible for this happening? I have as I visually take inventory of what is laying there and why. Dead animals top my list of wonders first, then trash as things we could see less of. And we are all responsible to a degree to reduce both in one way or another.

    First, if it is dead animals, we just need to be more vigilant of being aware that wild animals share our environment as well as we do. At first, before humans came around there was no roads and animal wander freely as it is their nature to do so, in search of food or on migratory travels. Still they were the original inhabitants of this area way before white man or Indians had a chance to thrust their civilization upon them and use them first as a source of food and later as an obstacle on a roadway, destined to be smeared in a greasy ball of hair all over our roadways.

    We can’t save every deer or coon that decides to cross our roadway in front of our vehicle but we can seriously reduce that number by being more observant and paying attention while driving and upon seeing an animal, take time to slow up and make sure you avoid them. This is a simple thing to do. I have done my very best to avoid killing anything on the roads and hope everyone out there does the same. But looking at the roads here lately it seems as if we are not doing so well. Also we need to contact ODOT- Ohio Department of Transportation and other local road agencies to assure dead animals are removed to prevent animals like coons and possums from foraging on carcasses.

      We spread salt on our roads and encourage animals like deer and groundhogs to forage on the grasses alongside the road to provide needed salt in their diets, this foraging in turn increases the likelihood that these same animals will be hit. We need the salt and I understand it is ODOT policy to not clean up carcasses from roadways anymore. We need to change this policy as I really have a hard time understanding just how our tax dollars are being spent as I see less and less of ODOT workers doing much of anything including mowing alongside the roads. Picking up dead carcasses isn’t very pretty but it was done in the past and was part of their job description. Avoiding them is always the best option. Also coming into hunting season we must be aware that deer will be moving and especially more so as farmers prepare to harvest grain from fields and hunters drive deer from forests onto roadways. We need to be especially vigilant in making sure we are practicing defensive driving as you really don’t need an accident.

     Pets are another source of animals that are drawn to the roadways in search of a meal and again you may not like the idea of Fido munching down on some flat groundhog and heading home to kiss you, but it is their nature to have variety of foods in their diets. Cats are usually just crossing a road in search of company or were dropped off by less than scrupulous people who avoid any responsibility for anything. It still happens though. Squirrels are just plain nuts and like to dance in front of cars as if to taunt you. Still if seen do your best to avoid them. I am not advocating getting into a wreck to avoid them but if seeing any animal in or alongside the road, do your best to just slow up and avoid them as you never know when they are going to jump in front of you.

     My next pet peeve is the trash we conveniently throw from our car as we have fewer and fewer options to remove our waste properly besides carrying it home to dispose of. In the first place I feel every township and county should have a requirement of every restaurant that provides takeout dinners or food of any kind to have a trash can available in their parking lot to dispose of trash. These people are making a profit off the trash they develop and have a responsibility to reduce the amount alongside the roads. In our county we have a litter prevention officer who spends his time ticketing truck drivers for anything but trash. This officer needs to refocus his efforts on just ticketing trash offenders as the time he spends alongside the road hassling commercial drivers, would be better spent searching and understanding where the trash that accumulates alongside our roads is coming from. This means getting out of the vehicle and actually picking up trash to find a name and try to prosecute offenders. If it is fast food trash then he needs to check the restaurant it came from to assure they have proper trash receptacles in place.

     Another option would be to increase the fine for disposing of trash in unapproved receptacles. If you have an old couch or a bunch deer innards you want to throw in some out of the way place alongside a road somewhere , then you should be fined heavily, and we need to have a go to person we can call and assure he will follow up on complaints of illegal dumping of trash and body parts. This is where the litter officer comes in and it should be his duty to respond to any complaints directly. A fine of 2000 dollars, or do fifty hours of community service specifically picking up trash would surely make people think twice before throwing anything out their window, and may keep our roadways much cleaner.

     We will always have those people who feel they are above the law and they are special enough that this wouldn’t apply to them. We all have a responsibility to keep our neighborhoods clean, from the people who generate trash like the fast food restaurants to the end users like ourselves. We need to be vigilant about making sure that we are doing all we can to stop this practice of cleaning our cars while driving down the road. It may be your house someone dumps a pile at next time. Another pet peeve of mine is the open container law and feel it also should be scrapped. People who drink and drive will still do it regardless of that law; the only problem with it is that people will dispose of their cans and bottles to avoid being prosecuted on having an open container in the car.

    I am not advocating any type of drinking behavior but do notice there are by far more beer cans and bottles disposed of alongside roads as a result of this law. Maybe the beer manufacturers need to code their product to see if we can better trace where it came from to get an idea of who the offenders are and stop them from disposing in the first place. Not sure how we would do it, but I am sure there is way. This would also help in detecting who the offenders are that are driving drunk illegally, and allow the authorities to keep a closer eye on them. Maybe make it requirement that in order to sell liquor for takeout, you must have a photo of each consumer purchasing along with a special code recorded for each sale. This would make consumers of alcohol products more responsible for their trash. After all, how hard is it to wait till you are home, or at a safe location with trash receptacles, before consuming your alcohol. The code be random and generated at the facility manufacturing the product and when distributed would result in a uniqueness only to the area where it is consumed. This would allow an officer to have a picture of the person buying the product, and a time and place where it was bought, and aid them in finding out who as ultimately responsible for the trash illegally disposed of. Maybe a copy of the license would also be used to purchase the alcohol to assure they were of age when purchasing the product, and would be recorded at the place it was purchased for later use in identifying the person responsible.  

     I am sure the alcohol manufacturers would have a fit over this one; as well a good portion of the consumers would see it as a violation of their rights. But for the most part they are doing it right now, without anyone being aware of it. We just haven’t applied he technology available. When you head into a gas station or minute mart and purchase your alcohol you are already on camera being taped in case you decide to flash a 45. The next step would be to have a double image where the camera would also record a copy of your license and the code on the product being bought. This would only be used where it is necessary for law enforcement to retrieve information for illegally disposing of containers and in cases of impaired driving. I am not saying this is the answer, but it is a solution to the problem to make disposing of alcoholic containers and as well pop cans and bottles in a more responsible way. Pop cans and bottles could be purchased by minors without identification but with the coding could be traced back to the original sale point making identification easier. If nothing else  we could always just let the people think there is a way to trace the waste generated and I am sure the majority would comply if they thought they could be punished, and the fine was high enough to deter them from doing so. .

      We as a people just need to look at our options and I am sure we could find a solution to make our environment a much cleaner place than it is. We need to transition from a disposable society to one that is reusing and recycling our consumables. Packaging needs to be reduced and our use of landfills as a solution to our waste problems also needs to be reduced and a lot of it starts with you the consumer, and being responsible for what you purchase and use. As well by letting others know that we are all in this together, to make our world a much better place to live.  

all we need is love

Was Thinking About Love?

photographer unknown 

    This is going to be a touchy subject, or the lack of love will be.  Currently single and free to explore all the different avenues of life without hurting, or bothering someone’s feelings as I explore the subject of love in trying to answer why we do care for one another. Questions like; would we be better off without love in our life? Does having a partner in love with you, make you weaker than the average person, or stronger? Is love a given trait of all animals, only humans express it much more? Finally would the world be better off without love? I plan on starting with a definition of love from my own feelings about it. I am hardly an expert, having been in and out of relationships and still searching for that one person to share my life with, if it is to be so. Still I am entitled to have feelings about the subject. Now you can hear it from a chronically single person, my version of what the fuss is all about.

     My definition of love: love is a longing of your soul to be spiritually connected on a higher level to another person to whom you are attracted. This isn’t the same kind of love you share with family, but instead a love that unconditionally accepts the faults and limitations of the person to whom you are connected mentally, and share a bond with, that is mutually expressed by that person to whom your affection is intended, and is not limited by time, but in essence, enhanced as you go along in the years, knowing that bond will go unbroken. I thought I found that a couple of times but life showed me otherwise.   

    Are we better off without love in our life? Tough question as I think about it. There are positive attributes to both sides as well as negative. I seem to be more productive in a spiritual way; being allowed to have the freedom to say what I would like about things without fear of having a partner look down on me and criticize my position as if what I might say will affect both of us. It’s not as if I am going to blaspheme the human race as I still have to deal with people on some level and have a responsibility to act as if I am somewhat human and have feelings and try not to hurt anyone else’s at the same time. Yet being in love with a person as a couple requires you to share your feelings, and what I say or do reflects on both of us as a couple. So in some ways I could say being with someone tends to tone down my feelings or how I react to things in life.  I don’t want what I do to reflect unkindly on the affections expressed towards myself by my partner so I restrict myself.

      Decisions about your joined life are usually made together and changes the course of your life. When you have a family this also alters the scenario as you now have more to consider. So in essence yes love changes everything and will alter your life’s decisions, where as being single you only have yourself to please, and that alone can sometimes be hard and lonely, or as easy as saying you really don’t care.

      If mothers or fathers never shared their love for their kids and if after being born, and we were never showed anything more than the basics of survival and were left alone to make it in the world would the human race exist as it does  today without some kind of camaraderie? I doubt it as I feel that human’s existence is a result of socialization of a species as we learn from our mistakes and share our misfortunes with one another, and learn because we care for own.  Those who don’t care are labeled as misfits of society, murderers and child molesters top this category of shunned peoples. Our laws of society share our respect for life and love as opposed to having a greedy self-worth with no respect for mankind. Our society has flourished over the years much better than other animals that also show the same compassion for their own. We are not alone as a species in sharing love. Time after time of observing nature I have noticed how animals use that same socialization to teach their own young the skills necessary to survive a full life. It’s just that deer’s haven’t figured out the car thing yet. But then, it is our infringement on their environment that has changed things.

      The human society has allowed us to have dwellings and to be able to utilize our natural resources to grow our own food as well as take of other animals all we need and more in sport killing, to the point of encouraging the extinction of other species to satisfy our own demands, as well as threaten our own existence from over utilization of resources to feed and comfort us.  

     Our desire to perpetuate the species is locked into a love thing, if we didn’t care for the opposite sex how would we procreate our existence? There has to be attraction to the opposite sex to make this world happen as it is. Although we have homosexuality in other species it is only humans that have figured out how to procreate in ours. This is a result of our technical prowess, and is only available to humans, but it still requires having a sperm and an egg unite in traditional ways which they’re still dependent on.

    Would we better off without love in one form or another having a maternal love or affection for one another? That would be a scary mass produced scenario of madness. Instead of natural selection we would have an orgy of the species where incest and rape for self-gratification and mass murder as parents would eat their young or breed them to maintain themselves in existence. There would be no limit as to what may happen without some kind love and respect for one another. Natural selection and evolution of the species would result in whole species being wiped out due to incest without some kind variety in life. Inbreeding would result and malformations would be plenty. Time has proven from extinction of species that there has to be variety in a species to adapt to the environment, without maternal guidance and care to show young ones what is right and wrong then this would be a sorry life. This is result of both parents sharing some kind of attraction for one another and their young in all species if it is only to perpetuate the species and allowing the young to grow.

     We all need love and respect to a degree to live a satisfied life. It is our personal interpretation of such that drives your life today. If you feel used and alone it is because you don’t have enough love in your life. If you are happy and single you have all the love you need. Trying to maintain any level in between is always a problem. For humans it is worse, as being the social animal we are, we tend to share to much with the wrong person and not enough with the right, and sadly to say the internet is sometimes making it worse as it cuts down the face time in some instances and leaves couples lonely. So if you are feeling a little left out and alone, then get the heck off of here and tell that someone you care about how much you love them in person, and share your feelings. Maybe I should have done that more often. But then again what do I know?

that damn baler

Allis Chalmers 60 inch Round Baler Plus Memories

Above is the one piece of farm equipment that was probably not the most well thought of marvels of modern engineering there is.  In fact I imagine it has probably at one point or another been referred to as that damn AC round baler more often than anything, and even worse by our family as well, as I can attest.

      Mom and I were driving around the area looking at the fall foliage and decided to grab a bite to eat and headed to the Carroll County fairgrounds to sit and eat in their parking lot. Unbeknownst to us was the fact that our visit also coincided with an event for which they were preparing, and that was the Antique Farm Equipment show this weekend. Numerous tractors were already on display and Mom and I were able to drive the car around and check out the farm equipment. Both Mom and I noticed right off the AC round baler hereafter referred to as the damn baler in reference to my story today. If all the swear words I have ever heard in reference to this damn baler could magically stick to the side of its gleaming orange paintjob, it would be so well hidden from view that no one person could ever tell it was a baler, but instead maybe a mound of four letter words that would probably work as well as that damn baler did, But we muddled along with the damn baler till we found something better.

     If the damn baler could tell tales it may have told one of the time of when it had regularly screwed up, just minutes after I had just left the field and my Grandpa.  I was five years old, as he handed me the grease gun and sent me to the house. We had just ridden the tractor, a Ford 8N to the top of the hill.  Grandpa would let me drive as I sat on the edge of the seat in front of him, and I would steer the tractor as he watched over me. But while using the damn baler it was important that I not be around as it wasn’t the safest environment, as I will relate to you.

     This baler would produce these foot and a half to two foot round bales, five feet long, and was supposed to automatically kick them out as you raced around the field.  You will note the aerodynamic design complete with a wind spoiler, which instead of reducing draft and providing down pressure to prevent tire slipping, instead was more commonly used as a rain or sunshield while working on the damn baler. It was to the point that when we would use it before we replaced with a more modern baler, we would have to have 3 people to run it. You needed to have 2 dog trippers as they were called, and a tractor driver. The machine was worn out by that time.

      It wasn’t nearly as bad the day when Grandpa was using it many years earlier, as again I had just left the field and started to head back down over the hill past the barn to the house at least a quarter mile, to a half mile away from the house and left Grandpa alone in the field with the damn baler when something went wrong as usual with the damn baler. After a few cuss words I would imagine, Grandpa set the brake on the tractor, as the tractor with the baler attached was on a small incline. He dismounted the tractor to see what the problem was in the rear of the baler, as once again one dog had not tripped,(metal device used to spur the baler to the next movement in its cycle of making bales), when he noticed the tractor and baler were suddenly moving downhill uncontrolled.

      Grandpa ran from the back of the damn baler to the tractor to climb up on the platform to help sit in the seat and control the tractor when his feet slipped and he fell in front of the large rear tire of the tractor and slid underneath the tractor, as the tractor tire rolled right up over his chest barely missing his head and crushing his chest at the same time breaking 13 ribs, all the while hooked up to the damn baler which was tagging along behind the tractor. What the tires on the tractor didn’t do to try and kill my Grandpa, the damn baler was following behind to once and for all finish. Unfortunately for the damn baler it wasn’t allowed to finish that day as it ran out of hillside to roll down. Instead, both the tractor and baler were in a little valley and if Grandpa would have done nothing it would have stopped anyhow. One doesn’t know this when trying to make quick decisions. A brake lock on the tractor failed and caused the whole thing, but it was the damn balers fault in the first place.

     Grandpa lay on the ground under the tongue of the baler, until he found enough strength to finally, twist his body and pull himself to his feet, and head to the house in the searing heat on foot, as he wasn’t able to climb on the tractor and he wouldn’t have been able to unhook the baler if he could have driven the tractor. Instead he followed my tracks and limped the quarter to a half mile it took to get there, barely able to stand without intense pain.  As he rounded the turn by the barn, I was in the yard playing and noticed him and ran to him. Before I got there he went down on one knee and yelled the best he could for me to run and get Mom which I did.

     She hurried him off to the hospital and he was there a couple of weeks mending and while there suffered pneumonia, and was in bad shape but eventually recovered and returned home. I remember seeing his chest naked as he prepared for a shower one night shortly after the incident, and I could see clearly on his chest the bruised lug marks, where the rear tractor tire ran up over him, how close it was to his neck and could only imagine how lucky this man was.

    We kept the baler and the tractor and used them for a while afterwards till we were able to find a more suitable replacement. All the while we stuck more swear words on it since it never performed any better and only worse, and as I looked at this baler today , I could see it was still baling memories for me to keep and share for a later date, as that is kinda what balers do.

     Considering how dangerous this machine was, we were lucky no one ever was hurt while running it, except Grandpa. The round baler I have now makes one bale for every fifty that the damn baler produced. I do all the work myself and the bales produce less waste. The idea at that time with the damn baler was to leave the bales in the field and just graze your cattle in the hayfield. Though if the cows didn’t eat the hay bales completely, as was often the case, then it would cause you problems next year mowing the hay.

   

why worry about ebola?

Ebola- Should We Care More?

doubt if this will be much use against anything but honeybees

     I am not a health expert and warn you ahead of time these are purely my thoughts on the disease and how it affects me. Then again the CDC- Center for Disease Control and their expert staff seem to be a bit wishy washy in setting guidelines and informing the public, instead we have to glean what we need to know from the newswires, and infer the rest. Personally I am going to take some safeguards to prevent my exposure to this disease. I have a fair understanding of medical procedures and the protocol involved with a disease such as this. Has the CDC up to this point taken the right steps in my opinion and can they do more? I will attempt to answer these questions and define the steps I am going to take to avoid the disease.

     Ebola seems to be a disease we are still learning from, and until we know all the answers I feel we need to take preventative steps to assure the majority of the population here in the United States and other areas affected by the disease have a chance of defeating it in its tracks. My understanding is that it can only be passed to another human through direct contact with fluids from an infected patient. People have normally been infected through direct contact with vomit and sputum from an infected patient, also this could also be from direct contact with blood. Blood loss doesn’t always appear as a major symptom of Ebola in some patients. Somehow a person must come in contact with the bodily fluids to become a victim to the disease according to the CDC. Protocol suggests that isolating the disease and confining the patients, and implementing a no contact order requiring full face masks, respirators, and full body suit along with decontamination procedures to assure the disease stays in place with the host patient, and anyone that has a prior history of contact, or care of the patient afflicted with the Ebola disease. This is going to be an expensive disease from the standpoint of what it costs in assuring the care staff remains unaffected by the disease they are trying to treat.

     My problem is the person who was treating the first patient who entered the United States and has died as a result of that disease. Were the safety procedures in place adequate to provide the care needed safely for the care giver to also protect themselves from that same disease? Apparently not. Had it been, the disease would have stopped at the host person and not transferred to the care giver. The CDC claims that the hospital failed to follow protocol without any real investigation before pointing fingers. Is it possible the standards set are not adequate? I would say they must not be, as I doubt the caregiver in this instance understood the severity of the disease and without fail sure would have followed protocol understanding the consequences to them. Who wants to die in such an apparent ugly way?  

    I feel that it may be an incorrect filter on the masks to limit air drops excreted by the host patient, or the droplet are allowed to accumulate on the filter face, or was it exposure to the eyes, where the disease could also enter another body quite readily. Was the patient restrained, and if not was their convulsions and body wrenching allowed to expose the care giver to a breach of their safety equipment. A possible tear in the suit or the face shield ripped off by the sick patient allowing the care giver to be exposed to fluids. Still considering all the protocol involving isolation procedures we must be looking at an exceptionally viral disease where we can afford to take no chances.

     Also wondering if the fact that Africans have lived in the presence of the disease for quite a while and may have built some immunity up to the particular strain , where as we in the United States have no immunity to it as we have no known occurrence of the disease in the U.S. prior to the Dallas case. I am wondering if we who live in this sterile environment we have created would not be more susceptible to the disease than any African national from the area affected by Ebola. Should we take additional steps to assure our safety?

    Personally I am going to find out all I can about this disease from a multitude of sources hoping to glean information from wherever including non-traditional sources like survival sites as you never know what is true and what isn’t. I think there is an air transmission of the disease and that the CDC is downplaying that possibility. Trying to not stir controversy and prevent panic as people who fly in planes would be especially vulnerable to being a recipient of the disease. This would require a certain perfect storm of events but as in the case of the care giver being susceptible despite all the safety precautions, I would say that being in a confined space and sharing the air with a contagious person would be enough to trigger that perfect storm of events.

    You can do as you please but I personally refuse to fly until all this is sorted out. Although the CDC is monitoring any person who came in contact with the Dallas man, these same people have subsequently been in contact with others. I also refuse to visit the Dallas area, and will probably restrict travel altogether for a while, or at least thirty days to see how many more cases come to light as we are still in the early stages of this outbreak, and would suggest anyone else to do the same especially by air travel regardless of where I live in the U.S..  It is a small inconvenience to ask of all, but may be necessary to stop the spread of Ebola. Why take a chance on something even our government isn’t sure of yet as their story is constantly changing, only to the worse possible scenario.

    To think that we are safe and that everything will be fine is kind of like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand to avoid seeing the threat that is out there. It’s too late once you have Ebola to hope for a positive treatment where you live and you will be fine. This could easily overwhelm our local hospitals and I am afraid to say, we may see an exodus of hospital personnel who would know better than anyone else, they are going to be on the frontline to also be infected and may just say the heck with that and quit . This would result in a tragic shortage of personnel to keep a handle on the outbreak.

      So in summing up what I think we all should do to help prevent the disease in five easy steps to assure we remain safe here in our part of the country:

1.      Avoid travelling in airplanes with shared ventilation systems.

2.      Avoid travelling to areas of known infection

3.      Keep yourself informed by a variety of sources. Don’t rely on one news source to provide an unbiased reporting of the spread of Ebola as a disease.

4.      Be suspicious of any signs of disease appearing in those you come in contact with, if you know they are travelling by air or visiting affected areas.

5.      If we can make thirty days without any new occurrence of the disease we may be safe here in the U.S. otherwise be vigilant in keeping yourself informed of how Ebola is progressing here at home.

     I am not writing this as a scare tactic, instead would hope that I make people aware of a really severe threat to our health here at home. We have the ability to prevent or arrest this disease in its early stages by being aware individually of what it means to the safety of all. I just ask you consider what I have said and maybe it may make a difference in our little part of our world.