Trace Oswald

I don't know if you have Tractor Supply there, but here, they have guinea fowl sometimes and can order them when they don't have them in stock.

I think there are many groups and societies around the world that are thriving while having little to no knowledge of the "humanities".  I think that was even more true in the past.  For examples close to home right now, look to the Amish and Mennonite communities.  They actively keep from learning about other cultures.  They remove themselves as much as possible from the secular world.  I would say that is part of the reason they don't suffer from many of the ills of modern society.  My personal view is no, none of those things is very important to a successful and happy society.

The tree is dead, it just doesn't know it yet :)  I've had trees do that too.  The spring after I ringed them, they leafed out and looked like they were fine.  They died shortly after.  I have no idea where they store the energy to leaf out after being ringed like that, but I have seen it too.

I'm from WI too, so I've been following this case.  It is indeed a tragedy, and nothing I can say will change how you feel.  I would just urge you to try to keep in mind that the entire incident seems to have been caused initially by one bad actor.  The father of the girl reacted without thinking and in a rage, which can be understood after what happened to his child.  If that sounds like I am excusing him, that is in no way my intention.  I can just understand the rage I would feel if someone did that to my little girl and then was out walking around with his family, apparently just going on with his life.  I can even understanding him taking his own life, if that is what happened, after the rage passed and he saw the enormity of what he did, and saw the results of his actions.

I guess the only point I have to make after this terrible thing happened is this:  I would try to see that yes, really terrible things happen, but I don't think that means our society is in a shambles and everything is awful.  I believe, truly and sincerely, that most people are good and kind and try to do the right thing and live their lives caring about others.  The sheer magnitude of awful events like this make them stand out so greatly in part because they are relatively rare.  The news has stories like this every day, but the number of people committing horrific acts is still tiny in comparison to the literal millions of people just living their lives to the best of their abilities and not hurting others.  This was a horrible event and it undoubtedly ruined a number of lives, but I hope you can find a way to see that this doesn't mean the world and most people in it are horrible.  My thoughts are with the people involved and in your community.  I hope you can heal from this.

Reminds me of this:

Ac Baker wrote:Could it be spring sunflower, arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), an important food & medicine plant for Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northish West of Turtle Island?

I agree with this.

I have a complete mosh of chickens.  All different breeds, including my own cross breeds.  A year or two ago, my lady decided she would like some Olive Eggers.  We were in Tractor Supply and they just happened to have a new shipment of Olive Eggers!  Woohoo!  Little did we know, they were actually mismarked Light Brahmas.  So, I have 6 of them.  I have to agree with you, they are wonderful birds.  We have one that escapes the run area every day.  And I do mean every day.  I still don't know how she does it.  Regardless, she just spends time walking around the yard.  We have one chicken that I'm rehabbing.  She has some kind of problem with her legs, and chickens being chickens, decided she should be killed for it, and so they all attacked her.   She is isolated now and also lives in the yard and has her own sleeping space.  The Light Brahma that escapes visits nicely with the little crippled chicken, spending time lying in the sun with her, eating together, pretty much just co-existing.  When the Brahma sees me in the yard, she comes strolling over to me and leads me back to the run door and waits patiently until I let her back in with the others.  She hangs out with them until she tires of it and then lets herself back out.  She spends part of her day in a dog shelter I built in a kennel that isn't currently occupied.  That's also where she lays her eggs.  Every night when I go out to put the crippled chicken away, she comes running over to me to be put back in the run so she can go into the coop with the others.  If I get out there a little later than her bedtime, I go pick her up from the dog shelter and carry her back to the coop.  I don't know if I would say they are the ultimate breed, there are many that I really like, but they are definitely great birds and I don't think a person could go wrong with them.  

I have a lot of wood chips.  I want to break them down into soil as quickly as possible, knowing full well it is going to take quite a bit of time.  I ordered winecap mushroom spores to inoculate the pile, but I don't know the best way to do it.  The directions say to spread the spores around, and then add another 2 or 3 inches of chips over the spores.  Does it have to be done this way?  Does anyone know a better way?  Can I mix the spores with water and just dump them in, counting on the water to carry the spores down in?  Ideas?