April 2012 Newsletter

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