Columns

The Birdfeeder Campaign

You may know that Great Battles are made up of different “Campaigns” or attempts to get a victory over the other side. WWII had D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, Vietnam had the Ten Offensive; even the Civil War had the Red River Campaign that was snuffed out by our own Confederate Troops in the Battle of Mansfield. Today I offer you the Birdfeeder Campaign following right on the heels of the Attic Campaign that are both victories by me in The Squirrel Wars of Laura Street. Before we break down the tactics by both sides let me give you an update on my improved version of the Baja Shrimp recipe I told you about last week.

DeSoto Extension Agent

‘It is really tragic’: Wildres wipe out income for Louisiana forest landowners”

In west-central Louisiana, where wildfires have ravaged thousands of acres of drought-stricken forests in recent weeks, more has been lost than just trees.

For many people, the towering pines that define the landscape of this rural region represent family inheritances, years of investment and hopes for the future. Growing trees takes a long time, but the cash they bring in when cut is worth the wait.

This summer’s fires have dimmed those prospects for some — adding insult to injury in an area still dealing with storm damage from three years ago.

All my life I’ve looked at people with multiple dogs and thought, why? Why would anyone want twice the shedding, twice the vet costs, twice the mess? Then I bought my first dog, and I discovered just how needy dogs are.

John says dogs have owners and cats have staff. He’s not wrong. Cats live their own lives, granting their owners—uh, excuse me, staff—access during certain windows. No one knows when these windows open, including the cats. But at those magical times the cats allow humans to shower them with attention. But not too much attention.

(Webster’s Dictionary) Caper: to skip or dance around in a playful manner; OR those awful Dog Tick looking lumps in alot of Mediterranean Dishes.

Many of you may remember some older columns of mine where I eliminated Capers or subbed them with olives saying that “I hated them”. Well, I now know that was na ve and ignorant on my part. Shades of when I as a picky eating kid and used to turn my nose up at anything that didn’t look right: Kiwis – nope; Cauliflower – no way; even Strawberry Jam (What?!) – my Aunt had to threaten to spank me if I didn’t at least try a taste.

Labor Day has evolved into backyard cookouts, long weekend getaways and saying goodbye to summer ... But what is the true meaning of Labor Day?

Back in Sept. 5, 1882 the first Labor Day Parade in New York City was a time for workers to call attention to 10-hour workdays, sweatshops where people were working for pennies an hour, children were working for excessive hours under poor conditions. Samuel Gompers, the first President of the American Federation of Labor, who insisted on better pay and better working conditions, insisted that a laborer was more than a mere producing machine. Gompers was a Jewish immigrant who simply wanted a better life for the American worker.

Our dog Sadie found us over eight years ago. We didn’t know we needed a dog until she came along and set us straight. She moved with us to Grand Cane, settling into the small town life more easily than I did. She loved the trips to the farm and all the small town gatherings at our house. Then she met Ruger.

Let me back up a bit. John has never had a puppy. As a kid, Billy and Sue brought home several dogs, but they weren’t puppies. John’s parents had compromised his childhood because they’d never given him the experience of raising a puppy. I assured him he hadn’t missed much—just cleaning up messes, drooling, training the animal to relieve himself in the proper place.

“Honestly, honey, if you’ve raised a child, you’ve done all the things you would have done if you’d raised a puppy.” He wasn’t convinced.

DeSoto Extension Agent

Dos and Don’ts in the Garden During Droughts

It’s beginning to look like fall all around us as plants go into survival mode during this heat wave. Temperatures continue to soar, and the rain is nowhere to be found. Plants have several strategies to survive during droughts and cope with heat stress, both of which are conditions of water scarcity and high temperatures.

You will notice many trees right now with yellowing and browning leaves. Some trees have dropped their leaves altogether. This is survival mode. In addition, heat stress can lead to the browning or scorching of leaf edges and surfaces. This is often due to the disruption of regular cellular processes caused by extreme temperatures.

Si, Senor Maccarones con Queso e Taco – suena muy bien! Pam Bello has this great sounding dish on “My Recipes” this week and I was flirting around with trying it but the cheese sauce part sounded a little daunting to me. Yes, I am sauce challenged. I’ve tried and tried to do scratch sauces and gravies but it just doesn’t happen for me, I mean even when I do my big Thanksgiving spread I always buy 2 cans of turkey gravy.

“Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Ecclesiastes 8:11 NKJV Why is breaking the law so rampant today? Why is there no respect for officers of the law? When I read the above verse and read it again I am convinced that here is the reason we are experiencing lawlessness in our country. Our country’s authority figures have an arrogant attitude toward God and toward the law. Our government is playing favoritism with people that love breaking the law. Politicians give excuses for the actions of the wicked. Perpetrators go free and the victims are left to suffer and live in agony and fear. Government officials and politicians don’t care about civility, about rules of order and the care of fellow citizens.

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine; though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior,” (Habakkuk 3:17-19) The sound like some of the days, which we are living…tough times, hot days. My fig trees are looking bad and may be dead already. My blueberry bushes have turned brown and look dead. I have not been able to get out and water things since my heart surgery. I am feeling better this morning. I go some to the Fitness Center to walk and have a cup of coffee and there see friends. We have had no rain in a long time but God is in control. I will trust Him and honor Him. I go to church on Sunday and preach to the folks there to bring hope and faith in God in these times or any time.