Albin news Oct 4, 2010

Albin News Readers,

A huge thank you to Bette Lu Lerwick (Mother Lerwick) for submitting the Albin News for me the last two weeks. Megan and I are back from our trip through the Midwest. It was really quite a trip, just to see the American heartland at harvest time. I never knew soy beans can get 4-5 ft tall and dryland corn can produce over 250 bushels per acre! We stayed several days with my sister Koral and husband Shawn then continued on east on I-70 to about the middle of Missouri. We spent some time there seeing friends and family at a church convention like the one in Chugwater. We got to talk to a lot of people who spent time with Uncle Ken Lerwick while he was in the ministry work there. On the way home, we looped south through Kansas before hitting I-80 again for sprint back.  The whole time we got to stay with friends and family, always on farms or in little towns.  We were waiting for a coal train to slowly roll through some backwoods town in Missouri and I couldn't help think "this is America."

This week in community news, Tim Malm returned home to Albin! Here's the latest from Dixie:

3 John 1:4  I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

I sang this song at Tim's graduation here in Albin and also at the State Finals Rodeo Church (Tim's sr. year and Beth's jr. year) and this verse speaks of the most important part of the song.  It is "Find Your Wings" by Mark Harris

It's only for a moment you are mine to hold
The plans that Heaven has for you will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I'll pray for all that you might do
But most of all I'll want to know you're walking in the truth
And if I've never told you I want you to know
That as I watch you grow...

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage to dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots and help you find your wings

May passion be the wind that leads you through your days
May conviction keep you strong and guide you on your way
May there be many moments that make your  life so sweet
But more than memories....

(chorus)
It's not living if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off but I'll cheer as you fly
(chorus)

Now talk about only in God's timing--looking back at my 2009 calendar..I sang this three times a few days before and after what would now be one year before the accident (June 6, 2010).  Look back through the words and there were many memories (rodeos, State Champion Calf Roper, National Reserve Champion Calf Roper, College rodeos, etc.) and the second line talking of the plans will all too soon unfold...but the strength of the whole journey has been in knowing that Tim knows the Lord and has a personal relationship with Him and that he is 'walking' in the truth. Our prayer from the beginning is that many, especially Tim's friends will have begun their walk or will begin their walk soon, plus let Tim know when they see him.

Tim has had much patience with his parents these past two days...has slept fairly well and is ready to begin therapies to so he can get back to work!  We took him to see his horses then to our outside working chutes to watch the family work some calves, hear the calves, smell the familiar smells, and he did well.  He had two steaks at noon!  We ask you continue to pray for all the planning with the therapists this week along with all the adjustments of home.  It is really good to be home!  Thank you again for your encouragement and prayers.  Until next Sunday... Howard and Dixie 

There is a landowner conference entitled “Protecting Your Land and Living with Oil & Gas” scheduled October 11 in Chugwater from 7-9 pm. It will be at the Chugwater Community Center and will cover such topics as negotiating an agreement to protect your rights as a landowner, and negotiating an agreement to protect your land and water. It is being sponsored by a group of the Wyoming conservation districts. More information can be found by calling your local conservation district. The Laramie County Conservation District's number is 772-2600.

Deer season opened Friday and antelope season has been open for over a week now. I'd like to hear some hunting stories if anyone is brave enough to submit one. Albin has some great deer and upland game bird hunting if you know where to look.

The Albin elementary was gracious enough to let me talk to the different classes despite being in dirty work clothes. The kindergartners were learning about the calendar and what makes up a basic sentence. Nikki Palma said she learned about mathmatical patterns. In first grade, Hunter Munson said they were learning about days of the week and weather descriptions. In math, Eliott Anderson said he learned about subtracting and Andrew Loya mentioned adding. Leslie Gutierrez said they learned what the verb “amble” meant. In second grade, the kids were learning “robust” vocab words such as “exercise” and “announcement.” Math lessens included rounding, counting forwards and backwards, counting by fives, and odd and even numbers. The third and fourth graders were also learning math patterns, but had much more complex patterns. Carter Kirkbride said he was learning to write an informational paragraph and Jonathan Vrtako told about multiplication tables. The fifth and sixth graders were writing biographies about someone who made a difference. They were also learning the difference between simple and compound sentences, and they seemed interested in writing the school news themselves. I don't know why not! There's nothing like practical application. The sixth graders were also beginning to learn algebra in math.

Local Master Gardner Ann Sanchez had this to say about extending the growing season:

This week I’ve been harvesting tomatoes, squash, raspberries, and huckleberries. It’s been marvelous to have such a long growing season, especially for tomato and raspberry production. The raspberries I’m growing are called Carolines. They are fall bearing variety. Each year when the frost arrives there are many berries that are formed, but not ripe. This year I’m going to try to protect them from the cold weather by using a temporary fence as a structure and wind break, plus a frost blanket called Reemay. Reemay protects tender plants down to 27 degrees if there is no wind. It might be a waste of time, but it will be a challenge to keep the plants going. If it works, the mouth watering flavor of juicy red raspberries will be the reward.

Jarrene Randall also submitting this article on pruning written by horticulturist Del Hemsath:

Fall is a good time to remove the old and diseased vegetation from gardens and flower beds. Residue management is important for disease and insect control. As we clean our beds, it is easy to see what branches need to be removed from shrubbery and trees. While we are outside and doing all of the cleanup, might as well do some pruning to get ahead of the work In the spring – STOP! Let's think about this a little bit. Pruning is necessary to keep plants healthy and looking good, but there is a correct time to prune those plants. The plant responds to the removal of branches through a process that causes the plant to actually produce more growth to replace that which has been removed. So if the new growth begins in the fall after one has pruned then the cold temperatures come along and kill the new sprout growth because it has not had a chance to harden before winter. When spring comes around, you then have more growth to remove because of winter kill and you have just created more work for yourself. Some plants might be weakened so much from the fall pruning that the desirable plant died as well. So now you need to replace the plant, another oops.

So, how does one know when to properly prune plants? There are some general rules that will work, the first one is to look at the plants that need to be pruned and decide if the plant is tree or shrub. If it is, do not prune in the fall until after a killing frost has occurred. This stops the growth of the established plant, kills the harmful disease organisms that can infest a pruning wound and also speeds recovery in the spring as the plant wakes up from winter and realizes that part of its structure is gone. The plant will be triggered to compensate for the loss of branches, but in a more controlled way. Pruning of trees can be done just about any time except in the fall month of August and September because the tree is susceptible to rotting diseases infesting the wounds from fungi floating in the air.

Shrubs can be pruned after they have bloomed. One can prune before they bloom but one will lose any blossoms that were formed the previous year. It is best not to prune fall blooming shrubs in the fall until a killing frost has stopped growth. If one prunes too early, the newly formed stems are susceptible to rodent or rabbit damage during the winter and those branches will need to be removed in the spring. Again, pruning shrubs in the fall stimulates new growth and this can actually attract feeders to the tender growth during the winter. I am sure that everyone remembers the winter of 2009-10 and the high drifts that formed a roadway for rabbits to feed on the trees and shrubs far up into the upper stems and branches.

The other perennials found in landscapes can be cleaned up as the vegetation dies. Even some of those perennials will be stimulated to produce new growth so you need to be careful with those as well. On some perennials, it would be best to wait until the ground temperature has dropped in order to prevent new growth. Roses can be a stickler for pruning as well. The best rule to follow is to wait until spring to prune roses because of rabbit damage or disease problems. If you have roses that you protect during the winter with shelters, pruning is necessary to get the plant inside the protective cover, but remember that you are protecting any new growth with the cover, so damage is more controlled.

Remember asking that question during biology or plant physiology class – "Why do I need to know this?" It comes back to haunt you doesn't  it?

If one takes a little time to just think about the plant you are pruning and how the plant is going to react, you can determine if you are pruning at the correct time.

In Ag news local farmers are pretty much through dry bean harvest and starting corn harvest. It seems like a long time since we were combining corn during deer season but I remember it happening once back in the 90s. It makes me feel like a old duffer to say it like that. The point is it's a very early corn harvest.

I'm sure you've all noticed that we haven't got a rain in this area since about the first of August. This is a stark contrast to the last two falls Driving back across Nebraska, I noticed it starts to get really brown at about Sidney. The latest USDA crop progress report said that wheat emergence was behind the five year average in Montana, Kansas, and Nebraska. According to the Oct, 4 report, only 18% of Nebraska's winter wheat has emerged. The same report say the last five years' average for Nebraska is 25%. Kansas is the heavy weight and reported 12% emergence as compared to 24% on the five year average. This is bullish news for the wheat market.

Since the corn is nearly ready to harvest, there's not much point in continuing to report the GDUs. However, the difference between 2009 and 2010 is so remarkable, it's worth looking at again. The GDUs for 2009 and 2010, May 15 – Oct 4 (baseline 50 deg F) are 1922.0 and 2330.5! That's a 21.3 % increase over last year. We went from below average heat units all last year and one of the coldest April's on record to way about average heat units all summer and fall. As a realist I can see there's no way to out-guess the weather or the markets. As a farmer, I know there's no way to around trying to do so!

Last but no least, the fill-in Albin News reporter ruffled some feathers with this comment from last week's column: “In 2nd grade Mrs. Trevillyan is working on the long 'e' sound.  After she gets it learned, she will teach the students.” Apparently this wasn't a comment on Mrs. Trevillyan's character or teaching abilities but an attempt to use humor to spice up the Albin news. Who hasn't done that? Bette Lu apologizes and says she enjoyed getting to visit with the teachers, staff, and students the last two weeks. She also said Mrs. Trevillyan came across to her as a very proficient teacher.

Submit news to montedl@hotmail.com or 307-224-4466.