April 2012 Newsletter
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11
Inside this
issue:
Photos from the
Garden
2
Coming Events 3
Victory Garden 4
Field Trip 6
A Walk on the
Wild Side
7
Be Happy! 7
Book Review 8
We Need You! 8
Last Word 9
...for discerning weeders April, 2012
DON’T FORGET!
You have to log your
hours onto the VMS
system!
LET’S GO BIRDING Part 1 by Linda Meyers
It’s Spring and you’ve always wanted to
learn about bird watching. There are lots
of benefits to this wonderful and rather
inexpensive hobby. Besides just being
great fun for the whole family, you will
learn more about the natural beauty of our
area, enjoy many spectacular creatures,
and benefit from the fresh air and exer-
cise. For us older folks these sensory
workouts will also help to develop better
visual and hearing acuity, and generally we
will become much more observant than the
average person. Florida has the 5th largest number of different bird species in the
US. With practice and patience you will become a tuned-in and very appreciative nature
watcher.
The only equipment you will need to get started are binoculars and a field guide, and you
can begin watching right in your own back yard! Good binoculars play an important role
in the enjoyment of birding, last thing you want are headaches induced by blurred images,
double vision and eye strain. A fairly good quality pair of binoculars can be purchased for
around $100, you can always upgrade later as your experience grows. Make sure the mag-
nification is at least 7-power, and the second number which is the diameter of the lens is 4
to 5 times larger than the power number - for example “7 X 35” or “8 X 40.” Choose a pair
that are comfortable to carry and hold steady, you don’t want them to be too heavy. Other
key things to look for are: make sure the barrels are flexible but don’t slip or fall, look for
color-coating to reduce internal glare, make sure they “fit your face” comfortably and the
eyepieces are aligned so the image is clear. If you wear eyeglasses or sunglasses your bin-
oculars should have rubber eye cups that twist up and down or fold back, so that you can
put your eyeglasses up close to the eyepiece. You will want to be able to focus on an object
as close as 15 feet away, or as far as 2 blocks away with clarity and minimal image distor-
tion.
Now practice using your binoculars. Adjust each lens separately so they accommodate
the differing strengths of your two eyes. Spend time developing hand-eye coordination by
first spotting a bird with your naked eye and then lift the binoculars to your eyes without
taking your eye off the bird. Practice by setting your binoculars to focus on an object about
30 feet away. Next look for birds at that average distance and follow them around a while,
lowering and lifting your binoculars every so often. Practice focusing your binoculars in
and out as you watch what the birds are doing. Before you know it you will be able to spot
and focus like a pro. Continued on next page
22
BIRDING continued
Next you will want to get a good field guide to help you accurately identify the birds. A wide
variety of field guides are available, including those for certain regions of the country, as well
as individual states or specific groups of birds. As a beginner birder consider a comprehen-
sive guide when choosing your first guide book. It is recommended to start with a guide that
displays paintings of birds rather than photographs. Paintings will include all distinguishing
features called “field marks” that help with the bird’s identification. Due to lighting and po-
sitioning of the birds, photographic guides often are unable to show all the field marks but
can be a good companion reference, especially when studying a bird’s shape.
Four of the most popular comprehensive guides available are:
1. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Sixth Edition 2010,
Roger Tory Peterson
2. Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America 2005, Kenn Kaufman
3. National Geographic Field Guide to the birds of North America, Fifth Edition 2006, Jon L. Dunn and Jonathan Alderfer
4. The Sibley Guide to Birds, First Edition 2000, David Allen Sibley
Once you get your guide, read through the introduction and familiarize yourself with the location of some of the common
birds you recognize. Field guides have an order or system that determines where different birds are located in the book. A
majority of guides are organized by a “phylogenetic order.” Birds having similar physical appearances will be found togeth-
er in the book. Most guides covering Eastern North America will contain 400-450 species, grouped by genera, then into
different families, and then grouped into different orders. For the beginner the most logical classification level to focus on
is the “family” of birds. Spend time learning how your guide is organized and the way it groups families of birds. Learning
the general shape, size and appearance of the different families, will help you develop the powers of observation that char-
acterize a good birder. Birds having similar physical appearances will be found close together in a field guide. It will be
helpful to divide your guide into four sections using tags or sticky notes. The first quarter contains the families of large wa-
ter birds, the second quarter the large land birds ending with woodpeckers, the last two quarters will contain the small land
birds, commonly called the passerines or perching birds. Your goal is to locate and identify birds quickly and with the least
amount of frustration.
You are now ready to sit out in the back yard or go to your local park and enjoy getting better acquainted with the wonder-
ful feathered creatures that are welcoming the Spring.
Next month we will learn about identifying birds. Also, you may want to check out the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society
which meets in Niceville. Their website is: http://choctawhatcheeaudubon.org
Source of information: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Bird Watching Basics written by Jim Cox, revised
2010 by Mark and Selena Kiser
PHOTOS FROM THE GARDEN
On the left, a friendly frog who visited Carol Rose’s
pond. On the right, grapefruit blooming in Karen
Harper’s garden.
Do you have pictures you’d like to share of your gar-
den? Send them in! We’d love to see them!
33
Seminar
How to Grow Tomatoes in Florida
April 6th
9am to 12noon
Extension Office
Crestview
APRIL FIELD TRIP!
CONTACT STACEY TO
RESERVE YOUR SPOT!
SPACE IS LIMITED SO
HURRY!
April 26th @ Mobile
with a tour of 5 Rivers in
Mobile and then a boat
ride. Lunch in Fairhope
44
VICTORY GARDENS Early History and WWI by Karen Harper
It's England in the 17th century and the drumbeat of war
is being heard as the citizenry prepares for a possible inva-
sion by Spain. A man named Richard Gardner
(appropriately enough) produces a book called Victory Gar-
den, encouraging cities to provide for their residents
through home gardening with this advice: “...if any citie or
towne should be besieged with the enemy, what better pro-
vision for the greatest number of people can be than every
garden to be sufficiently planted with carrots?" Thus was
born the concept of self-sufficiency during times of dire
need, through simple grass roots gardening efforts, a con-
cept that has seen America and Europe through the ravages
of two great wars and may someday be needed again to sal-
vage our way of life if war, population growth, climate
change and other as yet unforeseen circumstances cause
massive disruption in the global food supply.
Fast forward 300 years from Mr. Gardner's day and the
planet is engulfed in WWI, the Great War, the largest war
the world had ever known. It was the first time in history
that more countries were at war with each other than were
at peace. Canada joined
the war with the Allied
forces when it began in
the summer of 1914.
America remained neu-
tral for three years and
then her hand was
forced when a German
submarine attacked and sank the luxury liner, Lusitania, in
the spring of 1917. Throughout the war, Europe had serious
problems getting sufficient food for its population. All the
farmers in Europe had gone off to war during the summer
of 1914, leaving their crops ripening in the fields, some nev-
er to be harvested. Since that time, much of the land in Eu-
rope had fallen into the war zone, making it impossible to
farm. There was no meat to be found and, in England,
dairy products were so restricted that a doctor needed to
certify that it was necessary for the recipient's health. In
some cities, bread was in such short supply that, many
days, it was not available. Food shipments to Europe were
threatened by German submarines that lurked and men-
aced beneath the seas. It fell to North America to help
meet the burden of providing food for the 120,000,000
people in the countries of the Allied Forces. And so the
U.S., though it had not yet joined the war, had to cut con-
sumption greatly as well. Prices increased for foods such as
butter, eggs, and coffee. There were meatless and wheatless
days to try to cut consumption of highly valued food prod-
ucts. The situation grew increasingly dire.
Victory gardens to the
rescue! Also called war
gardens, liberty gardens or
'food gardens for defense',
these were vegetable, fruit
and herb gardens planted
at private residences and
public parks in the U.S.,
United Kingdom, Canada
and Australia during the
great World Wars, to re-
duce the pressure on the
public food supply brought
on by the war effort. In
addition to indirectly aiding the war effort these gardens
were also considered a civil "morale booster" — in that gar-
deners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor
and rewarded by the produce grown. This made victory
gardens an important part of daily life on the home front.
Having seen the nation's Allies suffer with food shortages,
civic and political leaders wanted to prepare this country
for hard times. They also wanted to keep both troop and
citizen morale high by cultivating a sense of patriotic self-
sufficiency. Efforts were understandably concentrated in
larger cities since the more rural areas regularly relied on
gardening for sustenance. Through a publicity campaign of
posters, slogans and pamphlets ("Our food is fighting,"
“Will you have a part in victory?,” “Every war garden a
peace plant,” “Can the Kaiser,” “Sow the Seeds of Victory,”
and “Put the slacker land to work”), the U.S. War Depart-
ment convinced residents on the home front that the pro-
duce from their gardens would help to lower the price of
vegetables needed by the Department to feed the troops,
thus saving money that could be
spent elsewhere on the military.
Both government and private enti-
ties (including businesses, civic
groups and schools) promoted gar-
dening as a civic virtue. It was often
noted that none other than Thomas
Jefferson had seen a direct relation-
ship between gardening and good
citizenship. Continued on next page
55
VICTORY continued by Karen Harper
As he once commented: “Cultivators of the earth are the most
valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most inde-
pendent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country
and wedded to it's liberty and interests by the most lasting
bands" (23 August 1785).
Thus, for a year prior to and throughout America's involvement
in WWI, gardeners were encouraged to grow, store and preserve
food using canning and drying techniques. In March 1917,
Charles Lathrop Pack organized the National War Garden Com-
mission which was comprised of civic and business leaders, and
launched the war garden campaign. The commission strove “to
arouse the patriots of America to the importance of putting all
idle land to work, to teach them how to do it, and to educate
them to conserve by canning and drying all food that they could
not use while fresh.” Pack vigorously promoted his vision that
the supply of food could be greatly increased without the use of
land and manpower already engaged in agriculture, and without
the significant use of transportation facilities that were needed
for the war effort. And America responded. Vegetable gardens
were established in a variety of places--from front yards to va-
cant lots to the White House. The campaign promoted the culti-
vation of available private and public lands, resulting in over five
million gardens and food production exceeding $1.2 billion by
the end of the war. Pack wrote a book in 1918 titled The War
Garden Victorious and it is a fascinating contemporary account
of how the Victory Garden effort was mounted and how it met
the tremendous need for more food production so that the Army
could be fed without the rest of the population starving as a re-
sult. According to Pack, the U.S. Army of 4,000,000 men re-
quired an annual quantity of 46,704,000 pounds of butter,
48,000,000 cans of corned beef, 48,000,000 cans of corned
beef hash, 96,000,000 cans of beef, 115,200,000 pounds of cof-
fee, 144,000,000 pounds of sugar, 288,000,000 pounds of ba-
con, 1,104,000,000 pounds of frozen beef, and 1,800,000,000
pounds of flour. It was also very necessary for America on an
ongoing basis to export large quantities of food to Europe, where
farm lands continued fallow and unproductive as they were dev-
astated by the war. The full text of Pack's book can be found at
this website: http://www.earthlypursuits.com/WarGarV/
WarGardTitle.htm
President Woodrow Wilson called for “every American to con-
tribute in the war to establish democracy and human rights.” In
a proclamation, the President said to Americans, “Everyone who
creates or cultivates a garden helps…This is the time for America
to correct her unpardonable fault of wastefulness and extrava-
gance.” The US Department of Agriculture formed a committee
on pubic information to help plant “a million new backyard and
vacant lot gardens.” Victory gardens would not only feed Ameri-
cans so that more food could be sent abroad, but also there
would be savings in fuel, transportation and middleman jobs- all
to help with the war effort. Rationing was a way of life, neces-
sary because foods high in calories such as butter, meat, cheese,
eggs and grains were sent to feed the troops fighting in Europe.
Victory Gardens helped ease
the privations of rationing.
Schools and children were an
important part of the effort and
those gardening efforts were
under the auspices of the U.S.
School Garden Army, estab-
lished within the United States
Bureau of Education (which at
that time was part of the De-
partment of the Interior). Serv-
ing under President Woodrow
Wilson, P.P. Claxton, the Unit-
ed States Commissioner of Ed-
ucation, approached the under-
taking with a broad vision.
Under his guidance the School
Garden Army mobilized and swung into action under the direct
leadership of J.H. Francis. In a letter to the Secretary of the De-
partment dated February 25, 1918, Wilson expressed the hope
that “this spring every school will have a regiment in the Volun-
teer War Garden Army. “ More information about the U.S.
School Garden Army can be found at: http://
www.earthlypursuits.com/WarGarV/WarGard8.htm. A field
manual was published, detailing how the USSGA was to be orga-
nized, including the administration staff and their salaries. It
seems that even in those days every program required a certain
amount of government overhead! The program guidelines are
believed to be the first time any kind of national curriculum was
developed for the U.S. public school system.
The scale of the war gardening effort during WWI was enor-
mous and had far-reaching benefits. In Dallas in 1918 there were
20,000 gardens that produced over 17,500 cans of vegetables in
just a few weeks. The town of Marian, Indiana had just 29,000
people and 14,081 gardens- thus almost ever other person in
Marian had a garden! Nationwide there were 3 million garden
plots in 1917, according to the National War Garden Commis-
sion. In 1918, that number increased to 5,285,000 plots. Plots
were cultivated intensely. Over 528.5 million pounds of produce
were harvested that year.
When the war ended in 1919, the war garden effort dropped off,
but many people kept their gardens and would use them again in
the victory garden movement of the second World War.
Between the wars, school gardens kept the concept of garden-
ing as a form of patriotic self-sufficiency. There was also a fair
amount of urban gardening during the Depression, with many
people seeking to relearn homesteading skills in order to sur-
vive.
Next month, Victory Gardens in WWII and beyond!
66
FIELD TRIP
The last field trip to Dave Gordon’s property, from all accounts, was amazing, gorgeous and is definitely on the list for
perhaps several repeats. After a scenic detour into Alabama (yes, Stacey you were told on) and our intrepid Joe Michetti
tracking down our errant travelers...everyone arrived and enjoyed the trip immensely! Special thanks to Jane Mont-
gomery for providing the photos. To see all of the photos go to http://jalbum.net/a/1149232/
77
A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
By Linda Meyers
Strange as this Spring has been, it has arrived. Short as the
season is in our area, I don’t think anywhere else could top
the beautiful blooming trees, shrubs and flowers that we
get to enjoy in the Panhandle. Spring activities among our
diverse wildlife are also in full swing. Here are just a few
that you may see.
Birds
Bobwhite quail nest now through Septem-
ber.
Migrant warblers concentrate on coasts after
cold fronts.
Watch for hummingbirds feeding on blooms of columbine,
buckeye, and others.
Grosbeaks, warblers, tanagers, orioles, and thrashers begin
returning to north America.
Mammals
Black bears begin moving after winter’s inac-
tivity.
Long-tailed weasels, minks, and river otters
will be born April through May.
Endangered Gray Bats return to Florida
caves to raise young.
Amphibians
Pine Barrens tree frogs begin calling.
(Found in Florida only in the Panhandle,
usually within 100 yards of breeding
sites. Breeds in hillside seepage bogs.)
Reptiles
Most Florida snakes begin mating rituals.
Beginning of Sea Turtle nesting season on Florida beaches.
Alligators begin moving about, seeking new territories and
mates.
Fish
The cobia migration is in full swing in the Panhandle.
Insects
Plant extra parsley for black swallowtail butterfly larvae to
eat.
BE HAPPY! PLAY IN THE DIRT!
By Marg Stewart
We all enjoy working in our gardens.
And even on those frustrating days
when the weeds seem to be winning
and the insects are irritating, we still
like being out there.
It may be more than just our enjoy-
ment of nature and plants in general
that is helping our mood. It could be
caused by a lowly bacteria Mycobacte-
rium vaccae. That’s right, bacteria.
Don’t go running for the sani-wipes
just yet. This little organism increases
serotonin and norepinephrine levels
in the brain and acts like an antide-
pressant once it gets into your system.
Discovered during research for a
treatment for lung cancer, Dr. Mary
O’Brien at the Royal Marsden Hospi-
tal in London discovered that patients
inoculated with M. vaccae not only
had a boost to their immune system
but also improved “emotional health,
vitality, and general cognitive func-
tion.”
Thank you Ed Smith for sharing this
article. To read the rest go to http://
shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/mood
-boosting-bacteria-found-dirt-
213800904.html
Ed. Note: Now when my other half
asks why I get so dirty I tell him that
it’s not dirt....it’s happy dust!!!!
88
When I was a kid, I was fascinated when my grandmother
made a chocolate cake using Coke®. She had found the rec-
ipe in the farmer’s almanac (unknown year). My mother
found this book and gave it to me for Christmas. Classic
Cooking with Coca-Cola by Elizabeth Candler Graham and
Ralph Roberts.
Mrs. Graham just happens to be the great-great-
granddaughter of Asa Griggs Candler, the founder of Coca-
Cola. She started out just trying to get some family history
together and ended up amassing an amazing array of reci-
pes that utilize Coke® products!
In the introduction you get information on the products
themselves, what they contain (no not the secret formula)
and a brief history of Coke® itself. That part of the book is
fascinating in itself, but the recipes!
Chapters are broken down into sections including every-
thing from soup to nuts (try pouring salted peanuts into a
bottle of Coke®). I also found it fascinating that the other
Coke® products, Mi-
nute-Maid® to name
one, are included.
So grab a Coke®,
this book and start
cooking! I’ve tried
quite a few of these
recipes and can attest
to their ease and
yummy factor!
BOOK REVIEW by Marg Stewart
WE NEED YOU!
Nursery—The nursery needs help. There are plants that need to be divided, up-potted and taken care of. You don’t
have to be there EVERY Friday but even once a month would be a help. Stop in and lend a hand!
Speaker’s Bureau—Currently our President is handling this but we need a dedicated person to handle this. The job
would entail (1) You’re the one that the requests for speaker would come to. (2) Upon receiving a request, email the
membership or specific master gardeners (you’ll have the updated resource list) (3) You then give the master garden-
er who agrees to do the speaking all the contact information. You can also simply telephone folks. Easy job that can be
done from home.
Outreach—Les is doing a great job but he will need help to set-up, tear down, transport and man any of the events
we do. Make sure that you sign up to help.
Extension Landscape—Yes, we are getting a new building but we aren’t there yet. When there is a scheduled work
day (usually once a month) try and put in even one hour. All we are doing is maintaining the landscape until we move
into the new building.
Fund raising—we have a committee but there are a lot of folks who have some personal commitments that limit
what they can do. Have an idea? Keep in mind, you don’t have to be the one to run the fund-raiser! We have enough
volunteers that we can pull off amazing things when we work together!
In other words, folks, we need some HELP!
The best way to garden is to put on a wide-brimmed straw hat and some old clothes. And with a hoe in
one hand and a cold drink in the other, tell someone else where to dig.
~ Texas Bix Bender
99
Your member site:
www.ocmgamembers.org
The Foundation for the Gator
Nation.....An equal opportunity
institution.
LAST WORD Marg Stewart
Have pictures or an idea for
an article?
Send it in!
Articles and pictures are
always welcome.
Funny how some thoughts or ideas
get started. Late last year I noticed a
plant growing in the expansion joint
just outside of my garage door. It
amused me so I let it go just to see
what would happen. In spite of never
being watered, a few freezes and living
in a very hostile environment, this
little vinca has bloomed several times
and is still going strong. To me that is
the picture of determination.
Contrast that with a carpenter bee in
my back yard.
Every morning I
go out and there
he lays on the
patio, exhaust-
ed, stunned and
who knows
what else. Why?
Because he/she
is determined to
create a nest in
the soffit...the
vinyl soffit of
my house. As I
sit at my desk I
can hear the tap, tap, tap of his/her
efforts. All day long, tap, tap, tap nev-
er getting anywhere but determined
nonetheless.
So is that really determination or is it
just plain stubborn hard-headedness?
That bee really wants a home and
there is plenty of yummy fencing and
who knows what else out there, but
no, the vinyl soffit is where he/she
wants to be.
I decided to look up the word
‘determination’ and after sifting
through 7 definitions (yup, 7 for just
one word) I settled on determina-
tion—firm or fixed intention to
achieve a desired end. Miriam Web-
ster Keep in mind that definition says
nothing of the sanity of the intention
nor the ultimate success that will be
achieved. Just a firm or fixed inten-
tion to achieve.
From my point of view, the bee has a
mental problem. He/she is beating
himself up, day after day and not ac-
complishing anything. The vinca on
the other hand, has accomplished
what it set out to do.
How often do we do the same thing?
We are determined to do something
and keep at it, even when we know
darned well that it just isn’t going to
happen. Why?
Why do we beat
ourselves up like
the bee?
Instead of futility
is it more like
hope? I mean, the
bee MAY just suc-
ceed (although
unlikely) but he
might. That plant
we’re determined
to get to grow,
year after year,
this just MIGHT
be the year that it finally works.
This MAY be the month that I actual-
ly get organized and stay organized. If
I try just one more time...that may be
the key to success?
How does the old saying go? “If at
first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
Notice that it doesn’t say “try again.”
It’s “try, try again.”
When you get asked why you’re still
trying to do something, remember,
determination isn’t always seen as
being sane or logical. This might just
be the time that it works! Don’t let a
set-back or failure dim your determi-
nation—try, try again. You just never
know when you will succeed like the
vinca. Even if you’ve spent a while
beating your head against the wall in
order to get there.
Marg Stewart—Editor
Shari Farrell, Karen Harper
and
Linda Meyers—Co-Editors
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