Garden On Steroids

Don't really know where to begin talking about the garden this year, it's been proceding at ludicrous speed!

Here are the highlights;

Already harvested bulb onions (though I confess I started them in six packs a couple weeks before going into the ground).

My Bhut Jolokias are three foot tall, three foot diameter, and already outgrew a five gallon bucket--they're in a ten gallon now.

Harvested my bucket grown Yukon Gold potatoes already.

Four kinds of mint--chocolate, pineapple, apple, and spearmint.

Stevia--for the first time, going to try and use some to make juice. Thought about wine, but don't know if it will work, has anyone tried by chance?

Everything is at least two weeks ahead this year too, I'm going to try a second crop of super sugar snap peas, radishes, and mayber even new potatoes.....we'll see.

Try and get some new pics up soon.

Garden on!

VT State Parking It!

Been major slacking in the blog dept.....working on it, but busy, and no internet @ house.
Anyways, been gardening like a mad man, and lovin life.

But hey, my newest favorite thing to do this summer--Vermont state parking it!

Honeymooned in VT state parks a couple years back. Maidstone SP in the kingdom, and Coolidge SP in south-central VT. Had a great time, but hadn't gotten back into the swing of it till this summer.

Discovered it was a great way to get away for a couple days, and bring the dog along too! Been to Half Moon SP for a weekend, frequently @ Grand Isle SP (did you know there's one in Louisiana too?), and headed to Gifford Woods SP this next. Nothing like peace, quiet, campfires, and cast iron skillets.

Well, hope everyone else is enjoying the great summer weather this year also!

Spring Gardening

Think this is the earliest I've gotten the garden uncovered. Raked off/out all the leaves and dead plants from last year. Looks much nicer now. Air got into the soil and dried it out a bit.

Have to add some amendments and get it rototilled. Some sand/decomposed seaweed mix, and some compost. Last year it was peat moss that was added. Heay clay soil is fun to work with. Be awhile still before I can plant. Lake Chanplain is still around 36-39 degrees. Still a chance of a killing frost for a month.

Could probably get away with putting some rutabaga seeds in the ground now, but don't want to push it. Don't care that much about having rutabagas sooner than fall anyways.

Note To Deb Markowitz--2010 Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate

The debate last night between all the democratic candidates wasn't too bad. I must say many of the answers were thoughtful, and some quite on the mark. All around everyone did well, though I thought Senator Bartlett did impress me the most and Senator Schumlin the least.

However, last nights debate in person must have been quite different in Barre than for the viewers at home. They were treated to a real spectacle.

Poor Deb Markowitz had a light right in front of her, and boy was it bright. Just about made the pink top she was wearing glow. Made her eyes look beady, and gave her a reflective face. It was downright scary at points.

I felt bad that I found the whole situation comical. It was just a perfect storm, the bright colors she was wearing, the bright light too close, and the camera that was right in front of her.

A Peek-A-Boo Buck!!

After twenty years of Vermont's annual rifle deer season, I finally got one this year. A four point, hundred and twenty pound trophy, a long time in the making. It was weird on two levels; actually getting one, and getting it the opening morning. It ended my season the earliest ever!

I started my morning about an hour and a half before dawn. It was a twenty minute walk into my stand, and I startled a whole flock of roosting turkeys along the way, when I walked under them. Startled me pretty good too at first!

Got to the stand, climbed up and got myself harnessed in. All situated and waiting about an hour before shooting time. Leaves plenty of time for things to calm down and all. So I hoped.

The sun came up and wildlife was everywhere! Owls made their last hoots, flocks of geese flew over. The turkeys I disturbed on the way in came walking by behind me, as well as another flock in a far off field that were talking up a storm. A Pileated woodpecker flew by, and one very fat squirrel ran up the tree across from me. About then the crows started landing in the corn field next to me, and within a couple minutes must've numbered a couple hundred. The noise was astounding!

About then rustling leaves behind me alerted me to something behind me. I saw two deer go run into the field and then cut back into the woods. I got my scope up, and the first one was bald, no horns. Second one was coming right at me, and stopped dead behind a large maple tree at twenty-five yards. I was leaned right up against the tree, looking through the scope as he peeked from around his tree. All I could see was the main beam, with what looked like maybe a nub?? Darn, a spike.....but still, he wouldn't come out from behind the tree.

Ten minutes went by of this, until he shifted his weight to his other leg. When he did, he turned his head and I saw the second horn on the main beam. I put the crosshairs on his vitals and dropped him. After a hour drag out, I got it checked in, and had it hanging.

Best Shotless Hunt Ever

Went out duck hunting the other morning, it was a very foggy day, and calm. Warm though, not a bad day overall. After I got the dekes set, about 10 min before shooting time, I had two otters swim by the blind at about a hundred yards. They were diving for clams and then coming up and swimming on their backs.

About a half hour later a very large bird of prey appeared overhead out of the fog. The wingspan was huge, I knew it was an eagle instantly. It was so foggy the white head of the adult was invisible in the fog, and it looked like there was a headless bird flying around!

Another twenty minutes passed, and out from the fog beyond the decoys appeared a Canada goose. But even in the fog something wasn't quite right, the beak was too long, and the neck too short. It came to about forty yards beyond my furthest decoys and I realized it was a Loon. Made a few more passes by the dekes, and dissappeared back out into the fog.

I ended the day with two drake Mallards landing out of range, a Goldeneye flying very high overhead, and two more unidentifieds that I got to circle back once. All in all not a bad day. Wish I'd had the camera though!

Mill River Falls State Something

Can you think of a place along Vermont's town of Georgias' shore where it’s forested and there are no cottages in sight? A place seemingly unspoiled by development where waterfalls lead to the shore of Lake Champlain . Somewhere you can stand in the shadows of tall trees while wetting your fishing line. I can, quite simply Mill River Falls is a natural paradise.

In the hundreds of times I’ve driven by it, I never really thought that much about the place. It was just always this bridge over the road that a bunch of people parked around. Occasionally I’d see a fishermen scoot across the road with a pole and bucket. It’s a relatively small area that contains a lake floodplain ecosystem, old river oxbows, mature trees, and about 1800 feet of shoreline. The Lake Champlain Land Trust press packet quotes Rod Vallee of Georgia as saying that “ Mill River Falls is one of the most important natural areas left in Georgia . ”Thanks to the diligent work of the LCLT and Georgia Conservation Commission the public will always be able to access this site.

Future generations will forever be able to access this property as it is one of Vermont ’s newest additions to the list of state lands. “We had discussions with Anna Neville about conserving her property stretching back seven years before she generously donated her land to us in 2003,” states Chris Boget, assistant director of LCLT. He continues, “We retained a conservation easement and donated the land to the State of Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.” The Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation website lists the 35 acre parcel as Mill River Falls State Forest .

The area provides more than permanent recreational opportunities for paddlers, hikers, fishermen, and hunters on Lake Champlain . It is habitat for many different creatures at different times of the year. Mill River is one of only a few places where Steelhead, or lake dwelling Rainbow Trout, are known to spawn. Four rare plant and three rare fish species call the Mill River Falls home. Large dead snags provide nest sites for wood ducks and mergansers. The marshes in spring are productive fish spawning and feeding areas. Mill River Falls is abundant with wildlife habitat.

When I first visited the place, two fathers had spread their kids out on the banks with fishing poles. Rock Bass and Pumpkinseed were biting today, the crappie action hot the day before. I rounded a corner in the trail to see fresh deer tracks, and was overwhelmed by the bird calls in the canopy above. It seems the place has enough to please everyone, except for parking.Right now everyone has to pull off on Mill River Road or next to the bridge. The LCLT website says that a sign and better parking are in the works.

Access is a bit hidden, one has to walk a bit down the Pines Road a couple yards to access the trailhead on the right. What a splendid place for a short stroll it makes. Apparently the only question remaining with the property is what to call it. The LCLT lists it as a natural area on it’s website. Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Forest, Parks, and Recreation lists it on their website as a state forest. I figured I’d ask whether it will be a state forest, park, or natural area. The folks at FPR told me to get in touch with their forester, the people at LCLT referred me to the same person. So I got in touch with Gary Sawyer the State Lands Stewardship Forester who said, “I don’t know what designation the Mill River Falls parcel will receive.” With natural beauty abound, Mill River Falls will forever remain publicly accessible, whether it be state forest, park, or natural area.

Carleton's Prize or Arnold's Mystery?

So for those that don't know there is a very small (about an acre or two at best) island in Lake Champlain off the southern tip of the town of South Hero. It rises vertically from waters edge up sheer cliffs to a 30 foot plateau. Called Carleton's Prize, it sits between two larger islands, Stave, and Providence. Its been so named since the revolutionary war when the Governeur Generale of Canada, Sir Guy Carleton brought it to notoriety.

As local lore goes the morning after Benedict Arnold escaped from behind Valcour Island with what was left of his small fleet, it was very foggy on Lake Champlain. Not believing the Americans could have slipped by them in the dark (which they did), the British patrolled to the north and east searching. In the heavy fog they sighted a ship and summarily lined up and pounded it with their cannons. Of course once you begin firing blackpowder you can't see what you're shooting at.

After a half hour to hour of not being fired back at, either a breeze came up or the fog burned off. It was then the British realized they had not been firing on a ship.This distraction is what allowed Arnold to escape to the shores of Addison county where he then proceeded to burn his fleet to prevent capture. Local lore goes further to say that local Islanders felled logs and floated them out and were then hoisted on the small island to look like masts. I dismiss this as there is no way anyone on the islands could have been in contact with Arnold's fleet, or known their plan to escape.

The problem is only one book I've ever read about Arnold or the Revolutionary war confirms this. No less than a dozen others completely fail to mention "Carleton's Prize". They all say the British fleet sailed down the lake after Arnolds fleet. Talk about a project for Art Cohn and the others down at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. All we need to do is find a few cannonballs to confirm the story. To think, Lake Champlain has kept this mystery to herself even to this day.

Moose Bog and Trout River, Adventures With Dill

So for some odd reason I got to thinking about all the times I'd been to Moose Bog up in Ferdinand. It's my favorite kettle bog, which is basically a pond that has a floating mat of sphagnum moss around its edges. The middle is the open water of the pond. These are actually one of the least safe type of bogs because of lack of tree roots throughout. I'll never forget the first time here, it was a college field trip for natural history of Vermont and the pitcher plants had turned purple from the frost.

There was also this guy in class whose name was Dill, and he was from New Jersey. Dill was a good guy, but a notorious clutz. Our prof. gave us all a lecture on bog safety, encouraged us to go explore. He gave one stern warning though. "Don't go out to the edge of the bog and start jumping up and down." Those of us who had bog trotted before knew bogs were spongy, and we could bounce a little bit to make plants nearby quake as well. A kettle bog is a bit different in that, when you walk out to the edge and bounce, it creates waves along the edge of the sphagnum moss. I was right in the middle of trying to take a picture of an otter swimming across the pond when all of a sudden I heard a shout, and then yelling.

I turned to my left to see a group of students rushing toward the edge of the bog. Yep, Dill had disregarded our prof's warning. Went right out to the edge, and jumped up and down. The howling was Dill, who had broke through the mat of sphagnum, and was in the bog literally up to his armpits. There was much cussing involved as everyone had to take pictures, before pulling him out. Soaking wet, and smelling very bad, Dill was blessed with his own seat in the van on the way home.

Now, same natural history of Vermont class, different field trip. This time our prof. had taken us to Montgomery to sample invertebrates in Trout River. It was before the bridge was damaged in the flood, and posted signs went up everywhere. This was my first time here, and I had heard great things about the river. Pretty easy task, those with rubber boots turn over rocks, while everyone else sits downstream with sampling nets waiting in the current. I had never realized how much life there really is under the rocks, so this was a real eye-opener.

This trip is also when I began to take an interest in fly-fishing.It was late October, but the weather was cold and breezy. Our prof. advised us to be careful, as the rocks along the edge are slippery. Yep, you guessed it. No sooner had the words come out of his mouth when a loud splash came from from the back of the group. Followed by a couple more splashes as Dill struggled to get back up.

This probably should've ended the excursion, as nobody wanted to deal with hypothermia setting in. A quick survey revealed between everyone we had enough dry clothes at the van for Dill to change into. Instead of heading back, Dill already wet, stumbled down the middle kicking things up as he went along. We emptied our nets into sample jars and skeedaddled, out of there quicker and with more samples than we probably would've had otherwise.

Vermont: Paradise For Rockhounds

For such a small geographical state, Vermont has a very complex bedrock geology. As such, a very diverse mineral and stone industry arose in Vermont as economic deposits were worked throughout the state. The sheer diversity of resources that have been extracted from within the earth in the Green Mountain state is astounding. The following is the best I can help with affixing a mineral resource to a certain geography. By no means is it all inclusive, but is helpful in finding your own samples.Serpentine is supposedly a good luck rock. Found in Lowell, and Eden, Vermont, it is a dark green rock, sometimes called green marble or verde antique. It is related to the minerals that are found in asbestos, mined here beneath Belvidere Mountain. There are defunct copper mines in Corinth, Vermont. This was where a majority of the North’s copper came from during the civil war.There is one farmers field in Barton, Vermont which yields amethyst crystals, but no one knows whose. Barre, Vermont is still known for its thriving granite industry. The Rock of Ages quarry is internationally known. Ludlow, Vermont is home to talc that they use to make Johnson and Johnson baby powder. 80% of J&J talcum powder is from Vermont. Plymouth, Vermont was the scene of a brief gold rush after the one in California. The farmers decided instead of prospecting they could make more money going back to being farmers. This town also has garnets in some bedrock. Garnets form 1600 feet straight down where there is greatly increased heat and pressure.Proctor, Vermont is known for its white marble, which continues to be extracted today. Fair Haven and Castleton, Vermont have many slate deposits, especially around Lake Bomoseen. Button Bay State Park, in Vergennes, Vermont is famous for its clay concretions called “buttons” and fossils. Charlotte and Shelburne, Vermont have deposits of so-called Zebra Marble. Really a black slatey shale with white veins of calcite, sometimes called picture rocks. This is because of their tendency as the rock is worn over time to reveal “pictures”. All one needs is imagination, and time. Stowe, Vermont has a rock formation ironically called "stowe formation" that has huge inclusions of fools gold (iron pyrite) which is present in a graphitic phyllite. Colchester, Vermont is the home of our only Jasper mine. Red stone with metallic hematite in cracks and fissures throughout.Milton, Vermont has Dolostone, which was quarried on the right of the last turn before the straightaway to Sandbar State Park. Most of the stone removed was used to fill the causeway between Milton and the Islands. South Hero, Vermont has fossils such as those at Lessors Quarry owned by UVM. Grand Isle, Vermont has an old railroad grade that goes through it where coal can be found where it fell off a rail car. Same for many other locales in Vermont.Isle La Motte, Vermont is the home of the Fisk Quarry. This is where the black marble in radio city music hall comes from. Swanton, Vermont is home to a particular type of Red Dolostone commonly called red marble. The one and only quarry has been the subject of recent fraud activity.

The Lake Carmi Bog, A Black Spruce Woodland Bog

Bogs are a wetland, kind of like a floating sponge. Sphagnum moss is what makes up the sponge and provides a place for flowering plants and trees to spread roots. I’ve heard #’s of acres for the Carmi bog’s size between 160 and 230 acres. A bog is a type of peatland. Peatlands form where decomposition is slow and typically moss (peat) accumulates.
New layers of moss, shrubs, and trees grow where other plants have died and been pushed further down underwater into the peat. The bog is a sterile environment where no bacteria grows and nothing breaks down because of the acidity of the water. The sphagnum moss in the bog gets its nutrients from rainfall, which it replaces with hydrogen ions giving the water its acidity.
The Lake Carmi Bog was formed in a shallow bay of the lake after the last ice age 10,000 years ago. The bog at Lake Carmi is a state natural area, and is classified as a black spruce woodland bog. Named for the dominant older growth vegetation, these trees inhabit cold air drainage sites like the bog, and our highest peaks, such as the krummholz on Mount Mansfield. The discoloration of the water in bogs is tannins that together with the acidity preserve most anything that goes into a bog.
Ancient peoples have been found preserved in Europe, and a book from 1000 AD was recently discovered in Ireland. Peat harvested from bogs is used as fuel in Ireland still, and to fire electrical plants in Russia. The Canadians drain and chop bogs to be sold in the USA as peat moss for the horticulture industry. The reason that a woodland bog is the safest to walk in, is there are so many trees and shrubs that have overlapping root systems to support the weight.
In the Lake Carmi bog are carnivorous pitcher plants. Because the bog is so nutrient poor, this plant has adapted to feeding on bugs to get the energy it needs to produce flowers. Two berries also in this bog, are high bush blueberry, and small cranberry. The two tree species are Black Spruce (looks like x-mas tree) and Tamarack. There is also heath, rhodora, Labrador tea, sheep laurel, bog rosemary, and hares tail cotton grass.
Major threats to the bog both relate to a changing water table. If a beaver were to dam and flood the bog it would alter the environment. If the bog were drained, or water level to drop, it is at risk of fire as the dried peat will smolder. One of a peatlands most important functions is to store rainfall and slowly release water into the watershed. There has been recent work with using peat lands to treat wastewater.

Note:

Going to pull some of my favorite posts from my defunct blog in case they look familiar to anyone. Back from 07-08.

Get them all in one place, and may delete the blog after that, we'll see.

Hottest Peppers in the WORLD!!

So I managed to grow some Bhut Jolokia's in containers this year. The "ghost" pepper from India that's something like a million scoville units. Got the seeds off e-bay last spring, supposedly so hot, one drop in chili will make it unable to be consumed by the average person.

My goal was to keep the seeds of the earliest peppers so I can breed a shorter season variety for here in VT. The hope anyways. A perfect pepper, a little goes a long way, and I can dry the blemished peppers to use for hot pepper soap sprays on bugs next year.

After suffering from severe blosson drop, I repeatedly hit them with blossom set spray, which worked like a charm. Finally they came into it..... Doing well though, as good as the habanero's and red savina's anyways! Not bad for way north of where they're native to.

Micro Food Plots

So I went out in the woods the other day with an iron rake and some seeds. I had gotten a bunch of seed from X-mas tree shops this spring when it was half price, and had turnips and lettuce left over. Had myself a micro food plotting adventure.

So I walked around the woods and field edges in a circle a hundred to two hundred yards around my treestand. I raked over anthills and dropped some seeds. I raked back dead branches and leaves, and dropped seeds. I finished up walking inbetween the rows of a nearby corn field raking up soil and dropping seeds.

The deer were pretty thick in the area anyways, but I'm pretty confident now. I was planning on using the stand for rifle season, but am thinking about a strong presence during bow season. This might be the year for a deer with horns!!

LATE BLIGHT!

Finally happened, seemed like it was inevitable. My garden got the late blight that's been going around Grand Isle County. Sprayed them with "organic" copper spray, delayed a bit.

Reverse Legislation Allowing Longer Trucks On Route 2!!

I think all Islanders should be severely disappointed with the recent passage of legislation allowing larger tractor trailers to now use Route 2 through the islands. First, who had the idea to use Grand Isle County as a means for large trucks to bypass the weigh stations north on I-89? Did this start from the governor, his staff, or a legislator? Secondly who felt that it should not be made public to the residents of Grand Isle County before it made it into legislation? Thirdly was there any debate of this issue before passage of this legislation?

An extra seven feet on a trailer may not seem like a big deal, but it is. That is extra weight and storage space. Depending on the load being transported, seven extra feet can be a lot more weight bearing down on Route 2. It’s not in that great of shape right now, and more, larger, heavier trucks will only lead to more deteriorated conditions. Did the state allocate more money and time to be spent maintaining Route 2 as a result of this bill’s passage?

Route 2 through the Islands has very narrow shoulders and many chokepoints where it is the only north and south road connecting the towns together. Can you imagine an accident on the Sandbar, Drawbridge, Birdland, or North Hero/Alburg bridge blocking traffic for hours upon hours for cleanup and container transfer? Or having to backtrack around St. Albans to get home or to work by the interstate? Even worse, in summers with the high traffic volumes and use of the sides of the road by bicyclists, pedestrians, horseriders, or fishermen, this is an almost certain recipe for human roadkill. Did the state budget for more money for local responders and law enforcement as a result of this bills passage, or does the burden fall on our shoulders?

Then there’s the amount of extra space that these trailers will have to transport materials. Not really a big deal if god forbid an accident does occur and an extra seven feet of baby diapers goes flying all over Route 2 right? But what if instead it’s hazardous materials, even as seemingly benign as fluorescent light bulbs being transported? Thats an extra seven feet of mercury phosphate powder and broken bulbs that our volunteer emergency personnel will be exposed too, have to work around, and potentially get into Lake Champlain as contaminants. What if something worse is being transported?

We should all be severely disappointed that this legislation made it past, or was snuck by Representatives Johnson, Trombley, and Senator Mazza. This is the very kind of thing we send them to Montpelier to watch out for and keep us informed about. I hope for their future careers as representatives of our Islands community, they did not know about this beforehand. I encourage all Grand Isle County residents to contact their representation and the Governor, and demand that they immediately begin working to reverse this legislation, and make it their priority for the 2010 legislative session. If they continue to fail Grand Isle County, remember in November.

Here's What I've Got Growing On....

....In the garden.

Actually I've got two veggie gardens going on. One traditionally planted in rows at my grandfathers house, the other is raised beds intensively planted at my house.

Tomatoes; Golden Jubilee, Dr. Wyche's, Free Tibet's, Black Prince, Sungold, Strawberry Husk
Hot Peppers; Cherry Bomb, Jalapeno, Habanero, Red Savina Habanero, Bhut Jolokia (first try)
Italia and Black Beauty for Sweet Peppers. String beans in yellow, green and purple. Sweet, Lime and Lemon Basils. Okra, Dill, Sage, Lavender, and Mammoth Sunflower. Super sugar snap peas.
Turnips, Radishes (almost gone by), Nantes Coreless carrots, Parsnips, Three types of heirloom Zucchini, Swiss Chard, Bunching onions, Red, White, and Yellow Onions. Black seeded simpson lettuce, and two salad mixes, Italian and French. A couple of sugar baby watermelons, and a vine peach for good measure.
Lastly I have some horseradish and yukon gold potatoes in five gallon buckets. These have done amazingly well.

Been super busy staying on top of the weeding, top-dressing with fresh compost, and keeping the soil turned up. The work is paying off though. The Tomato plants are knee high and flowering, the sunflowers are waist high. In spite of the almost two inches above average of rain for the month of June, things are proceeding well. Looks to be a lot of freezing, canning, and dehydrating coming up soon!

Almost Forgot....Horse Poop and Roads!!

To The Editor,

I had some interesting events occur in succession a couple days ago and it really got me thinking. I met a person riding their horse down the side of Route 2, so I slowed down till I was past, and kept on my way. Didn't really think about it until I counted six piles of horse poop on the side of the road in one trip to Isle La Motte. The kicker was the following night when I walked past a bulletin board at a local store on which someone had posted a notice saying it was the law to slow down for horses, and photocopied text from some Vermont Statute.

I must admit I was ignorant of this law before. I slowed down out of respect and not wanting to be the cause of somebody being bucked and hurt. I never understood why someone would choose to ride on the road with a horse when there's so many other places. I guess I've always thought of horses as for riding on trails and in fields if they weren't being used for work or competitive events. It must be hard to ride horses though with so much land posted to horse-riders, hunters and everyone alike.

Still, those piles of horse poop really got me thinking. It wasn't just because they have the potential to spread the seeds of invasive plants, or be vectors of disease. I'm a bicyclist in addition to being a motorist, and those piles of poop take up a good portion of the bike lane. The reality is you have four choices on a bike; swerve left into traffic, swerve right and risk the ditch, try to jump the pile, or plow right though. Not really a lot of options, but the question is, why should a bicyclist have to choose?

So I found horse manure catchers for sale online, they go by all sorts of names. They use them for horse drawn carriages, and events like parades, fairs, birthday parties, etc. They were a bit pricey ranging from fifty all the way up to eighty-five dollars. More spendy than I thought but worth the price to help keep Island cyclists from risk. Would those horse riders who choose to share the roads with motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists please consider purchasing some? You're friends and neighbors in the islands would sure appreciate it.

Anyone Like Free Stickers??

I know I haven't sat down and written for awhile, just haven't really had time......soon though!
Been going full tilt now that Spring is here, getting all the gardening done. Weather has just been SOOO difficult. Almost frost the AM of June 1!!

So got a juicy something to hold everyone over for a bit.

Not all these e-mails work, but copy them inot an e-mail list and send away. Ask something liek if they send out stickers? Above all be polite, but like 3/4 of them will send some your way. Probably about 1/4 will ask for a SASE, but who cares, you'll be inundated by the rest!!
info@spyoptic.com; info@armadaskis.com; info@lineskis.com; stickerbitch@4frnt.com; customerserv@obermeyer.com; pfortier@nordicausa.com; chris@meatheadfilms.com; feedback@giro.com; info@686.com; marketing@freeskier.com; connect@bernunlimited.com; info@sector9.com; info@joystickskiing.com; info@highsocietyfreeride.com; Info@shredoptics.com; info@powgloves.com; customerservice@kombiltd.com; customer_service@gordini.ca; info@empireattire.com; info@crankbrothers.com; info@ipath.com; info@dragonalliance.com; sunice@ashworthinc.com; info@amplid.com; info@surfaceskis.com; prostaff@untracked.com; xcinfo@fischerskis.com; orage@coalision.com; nikestore@custhelp.com; custserv@levelusa.net; jeff@theory-3.com; shylo@descenteus.com; tnf_consumerservices@vfc.com; info@empireattire.com; info@armadaskis.com; info@foesracing.com; jhanhauser@foxracingshox.com; info@oakley.com; info@khscanada.com; monsterenergyinfo@hansons.com; info@seshinbike.com; guyl@sugio.ca; info@rydereyewear.com; info@staitlinecomponents.com; info@bansheebikes.com; jmarceau@whitelightningco.com; pman@salsacycles.com; info@fullspeedahead.com; usa@rohloff.com; info@spyder.com; info@spyoptic.com; kenda@kenda.com; paulac@ellsworthbikes.com; webmaster@camelbak.com; mail2infomanager@brodiebikes.com; sales@elementbike.com; customerservice@specialized.com; custserv@cannondale.com; info@dmrbikes.com; info@arrowracing.com; info@dakine.com; cs@billabong-usa.com; bikesuppot@scottusa.com; psmith@ritcheylogic.com; info@westbeach.com; info@voleurz.com; info@metoliusclimbing.com; services@evolvesports.com; custserv@fiveten.com; info@alohahemp.com; infoeurope@armadaskis.com; info@awalaan.com; info@bellowsskateboards.com; info@billabong.tm.fr; avner@bluehouseskis.com; info@capitasnowboarding.com; itlinfo@fourstardist.ch; infobox@ridecwb.com; store@d-structure.com; contact@dvsshoes.com; info@dynastar.net; stickers@echeadwear.com; info@elementskateboards.com; info@factionskis.com; services@fenchurch.com; xcinfo@fischerskis.com; info@fulltiltboots.com; info@getboards.com; european_feedback@giro.com; info.europe@burton.at; contact@lakai.com; apeman@lineskis.com; markerusaguru@gmail.com; info@mspfilms.com; contact@matixclothing.com; info@movementskis.com; info@ninthward.com; info@oneill.com; ashley@powder.com; Kevin.Back@primedia.com; INFO@STUSSY.COM; info@surfaceskis.com; sales@sweetprotection.com; internationalorders@tactics.com; cs@technine.com; info@vans.eu; epondel@pondel.com; rwhetstone@pondel.com; Sandie@voltec.com; infovz@vonzipper.fr; jessie.cohen@wesc.com; info@whiteout.biz

Spring Is Here, Busy, Busy!!

Wow, this month flew by! Been hunting Wild leeks and fiddleheads, in addition to trying to get a garden going. Tried some trout fishing (no luck), did a bunch of Bullhead fishing (lots of luck).

Spring has sprung! The grass has turned green, the bloodroot are blooming, the trillium are almost there. The crabapples outside the office at work have leafed out, and are about a week from blooming, and tomorrow a bunch of camoflaged hunters take to the woods in search of turkeys.

I love spring. I'll write more soon, got some interesting stuff going in the garden this year (a sneak preview; the two hottest peppers in the world!!).