Wasps!

It has been a season for wasps!  Have you noticed more of them around?  Areas in Europe have experienced an increase in wasp populations (and complaints) of more than 200% !  I'll be looking into some of the potential causes, and I'll let you know if this is something we can expect more of in the coming years.

Here is one of the biggest nests I've ever seen.  I found it on my property just a few weeks ago.

I'm going to use it as a pinata at the next visit from the grandkids.  That will be a holiday to remember!

Now, if I can just figure out how to slip the candy in past these guys....

MUSHROOMS!!

It's the season for mushrooms and their hunters! 

Poetry Monday - Pests!

The Western Thatching Ants

A pest that keeps growing, but is controlled by mowing.

Don’t let these ants in your pants, as they will make you rant.

These mean little red clowns build tall thatch mounds.

If they build their mounds next to small trees, it will be the demise of the greenery.

On a farm, these ants do much harm and hopefully will not get into your barn.

To stop their flow, you need natural control.

Fire and mow helps to stem the flow, but bad chemicals are the only control.

You may think ants aren’t that bad, but when you get rid of them you feel very glad.

The western thatching ant is well known to Oregon farmers.  Their large mounds dot many of our pastures.  However, when they build close to crops, they become a big nuisance. They destroy young trees and bushes, and the only hope is eradication.  I'm against most forms of poison, but with these guys, it's the best hope. 

Here are two sights that give a bit more info:

Bug Guide - Close up photos of thatching ant

Pest Control discussion for thatching ant (scroll down mid-way thru page)

Cranberry Liqueur

Oh, this one will keep you smiling!  It's especially great for holiday parties.  Actually, when you drink it, any day becomes a holiday AND a party!  And, with the cranberries, you can talk yourself into believing it's healthy.  Three jiggers of antioxidants, please...

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 (12 oz.) pkg. fresh cranberries
3 cups vodka

1.      Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan, cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, and cool completely.
2.      Place cranberries in a food processor, process until finely chopped.  Combine sugar mixture and cranberries in a large bowl, stir in vodka.  Mix well.
3.      Pour the vodka mixture into clean jars, secure with lids.  Let stand 3 weeks in a cool, dark place, shaking every other day.
4.      Strain the cranberry mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a bowl, and discard solids.  Carefully pour liqueur into clean bottles or jars.  Yield 4 ½ cups.

Note:  Liqueur can be stored refrigerated or at room temperature for up to a year.

Friday Fun!

Bandon Police Report

Two of my favorites from this week's police report:

8:08 pm, complaint about a man in a wheelchair creating a traffic hazard by riding down the center of Eighth Street.  Unable to locate.  

My wife points out that it was a male driver.  I point out that he sped off before the police got there.   This is how I imagine him...

1:46 am, suspicious conditions at...caller reports that a neighbor is fearful of being stabbed by two suspects; victim left house for the night.

For the night?!!?  For the NIGHT????   I'd give it at least a few days.  Maybe a week.  Are the suspects related to the caller?  This could make the holidays VERY awkward...

Now,  for something more exciting...

Enzymes

Enzymes fit good in rhymes
 as most humans have no clue how good they are for you.
Your body can use about 3,000 enzymes, but in these times
       the enzymes are hard to find.
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze your lives.
No proteins to catalyze means you cannot metabolize.
Your body can make some enzymes but your diet mostly supplies it.
Cells need enzymes to make them complete but heat to enzymes is not neat.
Greater than 103 degrees
        is not good for the enzymes in me.
If your body gets too hot for too long a time, your life is on the line - there go your enzymes.
If your food is heat-processed
       for enzymes this is not best.
Pasteurization is the process of this nation.
The heat puts enzymes through strife -
        it denatures the proteins that maintain life.
So if you drink processed pasteurized apple juice, you need to be a better sleuth.
Apple flavored sugar water does not keep the doctor away.  You need another way.
Cold processed or vacuum filtered drinks are fine,
         they kept their enzymes and now they're mine.
So the moral of this rhyme is your enzymes are needed to keep you fine.

P.S.  I love enzymes.  I really, really do.   If you want to learn to love them as much as I, I highly recommend the book ENZYMES, THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE by D. A. Lopez, R.M. Williams, and K. Miehlke (MDs).   You can get it on Amazon for $3.86 (at least, as of today's date).  My copy is dog-eared and marked up.  If that doesn't tell you how much fun I am, nothing will.   

Organic Apple Juice With Healthy Enzymes!

If you want good quality, great tasting, apple juice, try this method.  It's healthier and delicious-ier!

Apples are Coming!

Seems like only yesterday (hmmm...it was...) that we were picking blueberries.   The cranberries are itchin' to be harvested, and now the darn apples are demanding they be picked, too! 

It's an abundance of riches, and one that I won't complain about!  Over the next few weeks, I'll be adding some great recipes - cider, pie, and anything else that comes to mind. But now, it's time for me to go correct my wife in how she's picking the apples.  That clunking sound you hear will be her bucket against the side of my head!