Dealing with Heat During the Summer in Your Garden
With record high temperatures, recently gardens are facing tremendous challenges. According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, before you plant any new plants this summer, be sure that your beds are in good shape. Add several inches of organic matter, such as shredded pine bark, peat or rice hulls, to your beds to help the soil absorb and store water. Raised beds are a must for drought resistant plants since they cannot tolerate...
Yellow Flowers in the Pasture
Yellow flowers in the pasture As our cold days are moving out, we start seeing the flowering of many weeds turning into yellow flowers. As I was starting my working week, several friends and producers ask me about “this little yellow flower that grows everywhere”. Diligently, I went into finding of such as pesky flower and found not one but several weeds flowering with yellow blooms in the countryside. From the many yellowing flowers...
CATS. BIRDS, AND YELLOWSTONE by Eddie Trapp
For hundreds of years humans have had to deal with stray cats. Some are tamed and become pets. Others roam the streets, carrying disease and killing birds. Granted, they help by killing rats and mice, but the war between bird lovers and cat lovers continues. A house cat that is running wild is referred to as a feral cat. Anything that is supposed to be domesticated but reverts to the wild is considered feral. Nowhere does the war rage...
Dandelions – Mario Villarino
One of the most important roles of extension education is to retrieve and share scientific knowledge recent or historical. My role as a county agent is to share with our community pertinent information in a timely manner. Because scientific knowledge created by extension services is not own by anyone, this information is considered unbiased and trustworthy, and since Extension does not benefit economically from selling...
SIX DOLLAR STEAK, MARCH 12, 2015 by Eddie Trapp
SIX DOLLAR STEAK MARCH 12, 2015 Tina Love reports from Kensing that Monday, March 2, a group (technically a sounder) of about forty hogs were near a herd of cattle. Two of the larger hogs were fighting a cow while others tried to get her calf. Tina saw the hogs and quickly stopped her pickup, turning the hogs’ attention away from the cow and calf. Ronal Kennemer came by and shot, scaring the sounder off...
Energy and Plant Development
Energy is in constant debate because we as a culture and society have created our surroundings dependent of energy. Most of our housing, offices and building codes are meant to satisfy safety and personal appeal, not energy efficiency. One very effective way to harness energy is using plants, probably the most effective biological energy collector systems today. However, even plants require light and heat to propagate from seeds. A...
Dogs at the Manger, January 1, 2015, Number 1364
The madstone article from a few weeks ago is still bringing comments. Following is a response from Pattie Pettigrew in Houston. I’m going to write it straight from her letter. “My grandpa, Tom Hooten, and his brother, Leemie?, (Klondike Hootens) were on a load of hay and saw a bull they knew was rabid from his actions. They knew he would gore the horses to death so Uncle Leemie got on the horses and rode away while Grandpa distracted...
WILD HOGS IN SCOUT CAMP JULY 10, 2014, # 1340
Did anyone besides me get their days mixed up this July 4 weekend? Seemed like I was a day off one way or the other half the time. Most communities celebrated with activities including fireworks. Charleston had an all-day volleyball tournament then unbelievable fireworks after dark. There were hundreds on the Charleston Square. Thanks for our great country and let’s hope she stays strong. From my ledger in 1986. (Scoutmaster Marion...
