The Five W's and H

 Hello Friends,

Back in the day, we learned how to report a story with the Five W's and H.

A recent article in our Barron News Shield, Wednesday, March 16, 2022 grabbed my attention, the headline, Moths are a danger in Barron County.

As a gardener and having a business selling fresh cut flowers, I  am well aware of pests to our gardens, shrubs and trees. I also am well aware of the poisons that are used to kill these pests. The poisons are what I want to know about. 

The below article shared with me in four paragraphs how the DANGEROUS moth in Barron County got a name change. Yep, that is right, four paragraphs to let me know that previous name of the moth "gypsy moth"  was removed due to its use of derogatory term for the Romani people.

Right.. that is fine with me. Change the name of the moth.

BUT... where is the information regarding WHAT is going to be used in the spray to kill off the dangerous moth? What are the ingredients?

When? When will my area be sprayed?

Where? Where are you spraying?

What? What is in the spray? 

Do we need to keep our pets inside during the spray campaign? Young children, older adults, those who have respiratory problems?

Target of spray campaign.

 The article did provide a ten word long site to type in to find more information. When I typed it in my computer, triple checking that I had all of the ten words correct it said..

 PAGE NOT FOUND!

And by the way, the new name for the dangerous moth is spongy moth, which refers to the moths sponge - like egg masses.

March Article for the Cameron Chronicle

 

Hello Friends,

Here is my latest article for the Cameron Chronicle..  

"The Little Paper With Personality."

Seed Starting 101

 

Seed Starting 101

By Carla TePaske of Cameron WI ~ The Little Garden That Could

There is nothing more rewarding than starting your own seeds. The thought of that little seed, growing into a seedling, planting it out in the garden and later harvesting from it, truly is a rewarding feeling.

I will be sharing a few tips for a successful seed starting season.

You will need seed trays, leak-proof bottom flats that support the trays, seed starting mix, clear dome lids or plastic wrap and a sunny window.

Step 1. Moisten your seed starting mix until it is thoroughly damp but not dripping wet.

Step 2. Fill seed trays or pots to the top with soil. Tap them as you fill so that the soil settles and there are no air pockets.

Step 3. Label the tray or pot with the name of the variety you plan to sow and the date planted.

Step 4. Make a shallow hole in each cell using a pencil or chopstick. A general rule is to plant the seed twice as deep as its longest side.

Step 5. Drop 1 seed into your hole.

Step 6. Cover newly sown seeds with a dusting of seed starting mix. Be careful not to bury the seeds too deep. Lightly mist the soil.

Step 7. Set in a sunny window and cover the trays with a clear dome or plastic wrap.

Step 8. Check seedlings daily and water as the soil appears dry, which can be every day or two. When the soil starts to become dry, add water to the bottom of the leak-proof tray, the seedlings will soak up the water from below.

Step 9. Check the trays daily. Once 50% to 75% of the seeds have sprouted, remove the domes or plastic wrap.

Step 10. Check seedlings daily for water. Seedlings can dry out very quickly in a warm sunny window.

Step 11. If seedlings begin to outgrow their trays/pots before you are ready to plant them outside, repot them into larger containers.

Step 12. It is important to harden off young plants before putting them out into the garden. Your plants can be shocked by the sudden change of temperature. To harden off, set trays in a sheltered spot outside, increase the amount of time they are out each day, starting with 2 to 3 hours, then increasing the time outside slowly over the course of a week or two.

 

Joy List Monday

 Joy List Monday

♥ a weekly ritual ♥

a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties and graces that make life magical and to set aside time for gratitude each day

 

♥ Spring Sun

 

 

♥ A Wedding Invitation

 

 

♥ Reuben Pizza for St. Patrick's Day

 

♥ Sunset and the spires of a local church

 

♥ Baking cookies for a care package sent to my sons

 

 Wishing you a beautiful week full of the little things that make you smile.

 ♥

We Built This City "kitchen" on Rock and Roll ~ it is the Hodgepodge!

 

Somebunny needs a treat!

Hello Friends,

It is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge!

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.  

Click here to join the fun! 

 1. It's March 15th and as the saying goes-"Beware the Ides of March". Have you read or studied much Shakespeare? I have not. Do you have a favorite Shakespeare play? I do not. How do you feel about a Caesar salad? I say, "YUM".

 2. Have you ever been to Rome? No. If so what do you love about the city? If not, any desire to go?Rome is not at the top of my list to visit.

3. What's your favorite place to 'roam'? 

The Shores of Lake Superior

 4. Do you like pizza? Yes!! Thick or thin crust? Thin Crust for me! Red sauce-white sauce-other? Red Sauce!! Your favorite toppings? Pepperoni, black and green olives, mushrooms, peppers and onions. How do you feel about pineapple on a pizza? I do enjoy a Hawaiian Pizza.

 5.  'Rome wasn't built in a day'...tell us how this expression applies to something in your home-life-job currently (or recently)? 

We are working on our kitchen project. It is about 85% complete. This weekend we will have another good chunk completed. It is looking fantastic and I am excited to share it with you all soon.

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our son was recently robbed. He had his National Guard duffel bag and boots stolen from his car. The robbery, the feeling of having your personal items taken and dealing with a criminal report all has been stressful. 

No matter how old your children, when bad things happen to them, your heart hurts.

He is a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien. I wrote out some of my favorite J.R.R. Tolkien quotes and mailed them to him. Here are a few of my favorites..

"But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer."

"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens."

"You have been chosen and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have."

When Crime Hits Home

 

The Web of Crime Hits Small Town America

Hello Friends,

Have any of you been robbed?

Do you ever feel the same after?

Your personal items stolen, your notes, your written thoughts, your gear.. taken.. not to be seen again.

Sadly, this happened to our military son this past weekend. His car was broken into and the thieves took his National Guard Duffel bag. It is a big deal. He has his gear in the duffel bag, gear that keeps him safe during drill and times of deployment.

Going on the Defense

  I do not have much more to say regarding this situation, but that is makes me sad and sick to my stomach for many reasons.

As I sign off today, I look to my  friends for counsel.  How to feel safe? The robbery did not even happen to me, but my defense is up.

♥

Carla 

Looking back at 2021 ~ Wisconsin Farm Technology Days

 Hi Friends,

Today I am sharing another of our adventures that I did not get around to post in 2021. We attended Wisconsin Farm Technology Days at Huntsinger Farms, Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Huntsinger Farms is the WORLDS biggest horseradish grower-producer, right here in Wisconsin. I am a fan of eating horseradish and I wanted to learn more about how it is grown and processed.

If you have the Silver Spring brand at your local market, you are enjoying horseradish grown and processed in Wisconsin.

Farm Technology Days also featured, the Nellie Holsteins Dairy, Ferguson's Apple Orchard and Chippewa Valley Bean.

Heading into Farm Technology Days

It is been dubbed the Super Bowl of agriculture for the state of Wisconsin.

You will notice the "fog" or "haze" in my photos, it is smoke from the wildfires that were burning in Northern Minnesota for most of our 2021 summer.

 

Horseradish plants and the machine used to harvest horseradish.

 

 

Q: What do people need to know about your approach to horseradish and the recipe today?

A:We grow the (horseradish) root, clean it, grind it and mix with vinegar and salt. The same way my great - grandfather did. The recipe is the same.

Q: Where do you see the biggest market or appetite for horseradish?

A: The biggest market for horseradish is in New York. Second is Philadelphia for highest consumption. There are other big markets in Florida, southern California and Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Baltimore and there's a big market in Chicago. It is very popular for Passover too.

 

I was interested in speaking with the owners and growers of Ferguson's Orchards because of the new way they are growing apples.

 

 

Chippewa Valley Bean 

You had the opportunity to see all the variety of bean plants and dried beans.

 

Off Road Time 

We had the opportunity to test drive different styles of UTV's on a fun obstacle course.

We enjoyed learning about salmon farming and lettuce farming done all together... aquaponics. And Wisconsin has the largest aquaponics facility in the world, Superior Fresh.

Gouda Cheese

Colby Cheese

Hereford Cattle to Horses

It was all at Farm Technology Days!

Energy too!  

Below I am sitting in a Tesla.

 While we were looking at all the electric cars one of the Energy People came over to ask if we had any questions. I asked him "yes, in your opinion, Sir, what is the best way to harness energy for our nation?"

He looked like me like I was some kind of CRAZY person. Then he whispered, "why do you want to know and who are you?"

I answered,"I am a concerned American Citizen."

He was rather floored, and pulled us away from the rest of the crowd. We had a heart to heart talk. We discussed the February power outages in Texas with the iced wind turbines, solar panels, to brownouts in California and how we are going to supply enough electricity for all in America to own an electric car.

 He worked in the energy business for over 40 years and worked in the Soviet Union for some of that time. I did get his opinion, and I felt rather happy with myself, because I already knew the answer.

We enjoyed a delicious Everything from Wisconsin Sandwich with creamy AppleWood Horseradish to end our day at Farm Technology Days.

Happy March and it is the Hodgepodge!

 

Dreaming of green.. we are still under lots of snow.

Hi Friends, it is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

Here we go! 

 1. Somehow it's March? Is it coming in like a lion where you live? Tell us one fun thing on your March calendar.  

In Northwest Wisconsin it is hard to ever say if it is coming like a lamb or lion. Today the sun is shining, there is a slight breeze and it is 34 degrees..  some would say, 34 degrees coming in like a lamb.. are you crazy.. but you see I live in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Weather is something that likes to keep us Wisconsin folk on our toes.. because it very well could snow and blow and I will be buried under 8 inches of heavy wet snow on March 31.

We hope to finish our kitchen project in the month of March. 

 2. In what way(s) do you 'march to the beat of your own drum'? 

 I research both sides of current events.

 I do not let celebrities or sport stars tell me how to think or what is best for me. 

 3. The Hodgepodge lands on Dr. Seuss Day (March 2nd). Do you like eggs? How about ham? Share a favorite quote from one of his books. 

 Yes, to eggs.

Yes, to ham.

 Today you are you! That is truer than true. There is no one alive who is you-er than you!

Dr. Seuss

 4. Have you read Little Women? How about Alice in Wonderland? Did you love them, like them, feel just eh about them? Why is this question in the Hodgepodge today? 

Yes and Yes. I liked both. I enjoyed discussing Alice in Wonderland with my boys.

I do not know the reason for the question.. looking forward to knowing why.

 5. How do you meal plan? How often do you shop for groceries? One homemade meal that was on your menu last week or is on your menu this week?

I sit down with the weekly calendar with my husband each Sunday evening. We look at what we have planned for the days of the week and plan our meals around the happenings of the days ahead.

We usually do shopping every-other week.

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green peas and cranberry sauce ( this cranberry sauce was homemade using homegrown cranberries from my sisters cranberry farm), all I can say is YUM.

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold 

when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade." 

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

 

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! Share this Quote Dr. Seuss
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/dr-seuss-quotes

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! Share this Quote Dr. Seuss
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/dr-seuss-quotes

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! Share this Quote Dr. Seuss
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/dr-seuss-quotes