Lots of Trees are still in Danger

Neglected Trees have weak Roots

A walk about after the rain ceased disclosed some very interesting facts. large, very old trees must be cared for or removed. After careful examination of several downed trees, it became evident that these trees should have been removed long ago. The heavy snow and ice had weakened shallow roots damaged by insects. The shallow, insect damaged roots could not hold the massive 40' foot trees upright. The ground was too wet. Most of the trees that fell came up from the ground by the shallow roots.

A massive tree in my backyard fell one July when there was no wind, not even a gentle breeze. It did terrible damage to my neigbor's yards and houses three yards across. Luckily, it fell away from my house. There was insect damage in what I thought was one tree with three trunks. It was really 3 trees growing close together. I was concerned that the 2 remaining trees would fall on my house, so I paid the enormous amount of money it cost to remove them. It would have cost a lot more if they had fell, maybe even loss of life.
More attention should be paid to the trees that help our environment. If anyone cared to really look at the roots of the fallen trees that caused so much damage in the area, they would find what I did. The trees were sickly and should have been removed long ago. The roots were very small and insect ridden, rotted away. There was no way they could have held up against the high winds. Some of them may even have fallen without wind.


This is disturbing since there were two deaths in a neighboring town. Some of these trees fell in parks where our children play.

Too much water for the Earth to Drink

Stocking Up

Preparing for winter is not only something that squirrels do. People have been known to stock up on occasion also. Everyone has not always had a freezer to pack away food. Before freezers were invented,affordable, or popular, enterprising survivors had other ways of preparing for the lean months. Farm families canned vegetables and fruits in mason jars. They cured pork and beef for consumption during the winter months. Root cellars were stocked with sweet potatoes, white potatoes, turnips, radishes, carrots and other root crops. Corn was dried, shelled from the cob and pounded into corn meal and grits. Before the first frost all remaining tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers and other lingers on were gathered and pickled into a tangy sweet mixture called chow chow that was served as a side dish for the entire winter.

Whenever there is a threat of bad weather the supermarkets are filled to the brim with shoppers who are stocking up. The place is abuzz with talk of not being caught without the staples in the house. Canned goods and packaged goods sell out fast.

I stock up on salmon. I buy over a hundred dollars worth of the smaller cheap ones. According to the experts the smaller younger ones contain less mercury while still supplying the essential omega 3,6 and 9 fatty acids. The young fish is washed and cut into meal size pieces. The salmon is seasoned and frozen. Lunches and dinners are much healthier and easier when these packets are simply removed from the freezer and baked in a preheated oven with sweet potatoes. Planning for delicious, low salt meals is a cinch, because it is already well marinated in healthy herbs and spices.

A Noreaster is drenching New Jersey

The crocus in the front yard are beginning to peep up through the straw colored grass. Daffodils are boasting fat yellow buds ready to pop open. The ground is heaving up around the mums. Torrential rains have finally melted the great mounds of snow that seemed never ready to leave.

Trees are down all over the place. Power lines tangle in with tree limbs. Shoprite has refrigeration trucks in the rear of the store. No frozen food is available inside. The pharmacy is closed, because terminals are down. Cash registers are being powered by generators. Traffic lights are non functional.

It is amazing that drivers are actually being courteous to each other. The land is in a state of emergency and the ground has had to much to drink. Water ten feet deep in some areas. My basement is dry. The sump pump is working. We have power.

Don't Like Raw Almonds, Make a Smoothie

Almonds have been called a heart healthy food by many Doctors. It has been suggested that one eat a handful of raw almonds everyday. Some people prefer the toasted honey coated version of almonds that were previously served as a "light snack" on airlines. It has been suggested that all of the vital nutrients below have been cooked out by heat when roasted and that almonds shoud be consumed raw.

Almonds are high in vitamin B and protein. One cup of shelled almonds contains 26 grams of protein, 77 grams of fat, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 332 milligrams of calcium and small amounts of vitamins B1,B2, iron and niacin.

The vitamix food processor and mixer has become irreplaceable in heart healthy kitchens. It makes the best smoothie out of most anything. It even makes the raw almond a tasty treat when processed with banannas.

Almond Bananna Smoothie
1 cup raw almonds
2 large banannas (the bananna substitutes for sugar so add to your taste)
1/2 cup of soy milk (rice, or skim milk may also be used. I am lactose intolerant)
4 large frozen strawberries (optional)

Put the soy milk into the mixer first. It makes blending easier. Add the almonds and blend on high speed until they are basically liquid. Add the strawberries and blend until they are thoroughly blended. Pour in a glass and garnish with a sprig of fresh peppermint. Some of the smoothie may be poured into frozen ice pop molds and frozen for later. It makes a great pop that replaces ice cream.

It is Almost Planting Time In The Northeast

In the the North, the ground is frozen and not ready for planting until mid March or later. Planting of cold crops like cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, kale, collard greens, carrots, potatoes etc. may be done outside as soon as the ground can be worked. Frost will not hurt these plants. For the following plants, I buy seedlings at the nursery that have been grown in greenhouses and plant in Mid May. Depending on the weather in April or early May I purchase seedlings for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, broccoli, cabbage and strawberries. Some plants germinate and grow quickly in the warm ground so I plant by seed after danger of frost. These plants include cucumbers, green beans, lima beans, carrots all varieties of squash, and okra. Geenerally, it is important to have all plants in the ground by the 15th of May.
If you live in a Northern location, it is time to purchase your seed and begin planting indoors now if you are planting cool crops. There is a colored coded guide found on the backs of almost all seed packets. This guide suggests when to plant that particular produce in certain areas. True farmers begin planning gardens while the ground is still frozen. Seedlings are growing at this very moment under greenhouse covers. The healthy seedlings that we purchase and set out are already growing in flats.
It is much cheaper to grow vegetables from seed. In some parts of the country the growing season is not long enough to make this feasible. In that case plants are sown in greenhouses and indoors in pots under lights and planted outside when the weather and warmth of the ground allows. My parents grew everything from seed, because the planting season began in early March and sometimes February. Sometimes the beds were covered with plastic sheets to give the seeds the much need warmth necessary to germinate. Most Farmers used the Farmer's Almanac and planted on the Moon.

Cold crops cannot stand the heat of the summer and are usually harvested or mulched heavily before the harsh summer heat.
Cool Season Crops – The planting time is nearly here in the north…if planting seeds…start them inside now, otherwise purchase seedlings in your local nursery.
Cabbage: start inside and plant outside when danger of severe frost is over. It likes cool weather
Spinach, lettuce, kale, mustard greens: Sow directly outside as early in spring as possible.
Brussel sprouts and collard greens are late crops and are sweetened by a light frost. Southern farmers did not begin to eat collards until it had been touched by a light frost. It is much more palatable. Farmers seldom removed leaves from and established plant and cooked that way. The entire plant was harvested after being hit by a frost. The collards touched by frost cook faster, are lighter green in color when cooked and have a sweeter taste. Broccoli is sometimes considered a two season crop and is planted in succession. One is planted in early spring (seeds sown inside in green house flats) as soon as the ground can be worked and is harvested in the summer months.
Broccoli does not like hot summers. The second planting is done directly in the garden after danger of severe frost. Kale is considered an all season crop and is not harmed by frost or the cold. We sometimes harvested it in the snow. We also dug into the softening ground to find carrots that had been missed in earlier harvests.
Plan your gardening now. Decide what you are going to plant by seed and what you will plant as seedlings. You have to get ahead of the weather. You might even want to find a copy of the Farmer’s Almanac.