I’m Just Curious: Scoliosis

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by Debbie Walker

My poor old beat up, well-used dictionary tells me scoliosis’ definition is a lateral curvature of the spine. I believe in most cases it is fixable these days. Doctors are able to say “this is what it is and this is how we fix it.”
Other than the definition of scoliosis nothing else here is technical, just a personal experience. I had never heard of it ‘til it hit my family 12 years ago. Both situations of it had positive outcomes. One was more severe than the other.

The story goes like this: my granddaughter and her friend were walking in front of their mothers at the soccer field. The girls had on crop tops and hippy huggy pants. The other mother asked my daughter, “what is wrong with Tristin’s hip?” She pointed out to her that there was a big difference from the left to the right side, waist on the right side was very curved and the left one was straight, no curve.

To make a long story short that question made a huge difference in Tristin’s life. Surgeon explained the process for repair in Tristin’s case. She required a major surgery with a six-inch steel rod with six screws. Ken’s grandson Mark several years later was diagnosed with scoliosis. His, they were able to correct with a brace worn at night time. Their conditions were very different degrees of one problem.

They caught Mark’s before it got really bad; it was caught in an exam for school. Evidently that is how it is supposed to happen. However, for Tristin it didn’t happen that way. Her curvature was moving rather fast and included a twist of the spine happening as well.

It would take a surgery and 10 months of wearing a turtle shell brace 24 hours a day. Just 10 months, not the 12 that was predicted.

All is well, both kids are walking tall and straight, no distortion as would have been years ago.

Scoliosis is a scary word. Check it out in your family. It is not something talked about much. It is something not to be ignored. After Tristin’s surgery we discovered one reason they did the surgery right away was because it was already affecting her breathing. It happened gradually so it wasn’t noticed at the time.

Go ahead, take the chance and ask the question, ask if the child in your family was checked for it. I saw Dr. [André] Nadeau’s ad in our last paper and wanted to make sure people are clear on what it is.

Thanks for reading! Hope it is helpful or better yet not a necessary thing. And as usual I’m Just Curious. Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com sub. line: Scoliosis.

PLATTER PERSPECTIVE: Connie Francis

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by  Peter Cates

Connie Francis

The Exciting Connie Francis; MGM E3761, 12-inch mono LP of an album with a stereo edition, recorded 1959.

Now 77 but still active, Connie Francis is a living legend in pop music. Her 1957 megahit, the lovely Bert Kalmar/Harry Ruby Who’s Sorry Now, was one truly fine song, made extra special by CF’s totally sincere rendition, even if a tad smothered by sentimentality. That year, American Bandstand featured her lip-singing it and, as a six year old, I remember wishing, just momentarily, that she would adopt me as her little boy on a single mom basis – LOL!!!

Connie Francis

Connie Francis

BTW, with respect to Kalmar and Ruby, the 1950 Fred Astaire and Red Skelton musical biopic, Three Little Words, also from MGM (Hmm, interesting coincidence), and about the two songwriters, had a very stirring and expressively different performance of WSN by Gloria De Haven, very much in the Peggy Lee/Julie London tradition.

Exciting is a set of 12 very classic pop standards – Time After Time; Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen’s Come Rain/Come Shine; a very personal favorite, There Will Never Be Another You; Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, of which my copy of the late Karen Chandler’s early ‘50s Coral 45 is the gold standard; That’s All; All By Myself, etc. She performs with heartfelt expression but her timing and phrasing is sometimes leaving me wanting something more, an elusive nuance and magic that such balladeers as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme and Doris Day had aplenty. But I really liked her singing of Time After Time. And the arrangements of the gifted Ray Ellis, like those beautiful ones for many of the Johnny Mathis late ‘50s hits, enhanced the album.

For me personally, the worst record she may have released – and one of the top ten worst in recording history, was the 1963 Brylcream Sing Along with Connie. First, it was an insult to the finest Sing Along group then popular, namely Mitch Miller’s. Secondly, the arrangements were hokey, cornballish and, most obviously, a rush job of rush jobs, much like most Christmas albums and TV specials. Thirdly, the Brylcream commercials flooded the American Bandstand. And finally, those little dabs made men’s hair greasier and grosser – forget pursue, the gals would all avoid ya!

The album would also impact the 1963 Christmas of the greater Cates family groups in the vicinity – the price for the record, when first released, was $1 when one purchased a tube of the ointment. Within a week, the price was down to ten cents without the required extortion.

A most “thrifty,’ well-to-do relative whose anonymity shall be honored in this instance, like the other sleeping dogs, bought a pile of the 10 centers and flooded every household with a copy as his way of good will to all men and women. Even after 30 years, no other copies of a record flooding the rubbish sales and Goodwills would be in such mint plus condition.

However, the story doesn’t end there. Rare record shops had their copies priced at 20 bucks and more by the mid ‘80s.

The singer’s life would be shattered by two horrific events. In 1974, a rapist would bust into her room at a New Jersey motel and brutally assault her, never to be found to this day. In 1981, her brother was murdered by two Mafia hitmen.

But her ability to move on and bless so many both here and abroad is only one of the reasons she is so worthy of honor for her life’s work.

Several selections, maybe the whole album, can be heard on YouTube, while prices on the Amazon page start at $4.39 for LP and $6.80 for CD.

 

SOLON & BEYOND, Week of November 10, 2016

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Solon and Beyondby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

Every year Eleanor Pooler, 4-H leader of the Solon Pine Tree 4-H Club, has invited me (and now Lief) to the Family Supper held at the Solon Masonic Hall. This year, as always, she told me about it early and I wrote the date down and told her we would be there. A little before six o’clock that night our phone rang and it was Eleanor (the time for the meal was 5:30 p.m.) and she still wanted us to come up to it! We rushed around and ignored speed limits as we didn’t want to be too late, and they had waited for us to get there before sitting down to eat! Now isn’t that a very nice and thoughtful thing to do!? My only excuse for forgetting about the supper is that I have been right out straight, working on cleaning out my house and getting ready for the craft fair last Saturday. The supper was very good, and then the awards and money the members received from exhibiting at the fairs were passed out.

The Solon Pine Tree 4-H Club received the Outstanding Club Award. Several of the members were absent that night because of something else going on, but there are 13 members this year. All of the members received certificates of recognition for their record sheets. Cooper Dellarma received outstanding county award in arts and crafts, Michaela Mardon received a county award in photography. Wendy Currier received a outstanding volunteer award. Lief and I appreciate being asked to attend this annual Family Night Supper, thank you very much.

Recently Eleanor Pooler and husband Rance attended the 125th anniversary of O.E.S. in Maine at Point Lookout, in Northport. There were over 200 people present for the meal and entertainment.

On Saturday, November 12, a complete turkey dinner will be served at the Embden Community Building at 5 p.m., donations will be accepted.

Just got interrupted by one of the many political telephone calls these days ….. I will be so-soo-so glad when this election is over with!

There will be a country jam/open mic at the Embden Community Building on Sunday, November 13, from 1 – 4 p.m. Thanks to Carol Dolan, this information about up coming events is much appreciated, I haven’t printed the events coming up in December at this time, but will in a later column.

Had lots of fun last Saturday at the North Anson Snowmobile Craft Fair. Amanda and I shared a table, Lief also helped. Many people stopped by to visit and purchase our hand made items. Lief and I displayed some of our paintings that were for sale.

The afternoon ended with another problem though. My plan was to go to Connie Hopkins’ funeral at the Solon Congregational Church at 2 o’clock, and so since the craft fair didn’t end until 3 p.m., I was going to have to leave early, but Amanda stayed until the end and I rode back to Solon to the funeral with Mary and Dave. Then, after the funeral, I accompanied Dave and Mary up to Bingham for the burial. As we were riding along I got a desperate phone call from Lief saying he got locked out of our house, without his hat and coat on, (he thought maybe I had my keys with me, but I didn’t!) After the burial, I rode home with Mary and Dave, and Lief had managed to get the garage door up just enough so that Mary could squeeze under it to get into the garage and open the door so Lief could get in the house and get warmed up. Much love and thanks go to my daughter for saving the day. I’m hoping that was the last adventure we will have for awhile.

And so for Percy’s memoir: from Ralph Waldo Emerson; Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterdays.

It’s tree time! Plant your trees now for success

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Emily Catesby  Emily Cates

Many folks are surprised to learn that autumn is a good time for planting trees. Once a good frost has arrived and trees drop their leaves, it’s a sign that “Tree Time” has begun! To make this event a success, let’s keep a few things in mind. The following suggestions apply not only to trees, but also to shrubs, vines, and other hardy plants.

Good planting candidates should be dormant, young, and small enough to move without too much bother. (A larger-sized plant will easier to move if it was root-pruned last season by a sharp spade plunged into the radius of soil around it.) Try to get as many roots as reasonably possible. If the roots must be pruned, cut away areas that are damaged in the process, and remember to proportionately trim branches from the top of the tree.page7pict1

All right, now it’s time to plant, preferably into an already-prepared, rock-free, planting hole which was dug with more than enough room for the roots. Special emphasis should be placed on the width of the planting hole, with enough vertical depth to accommodate an equal depth to which the plant resided previously. Be sure to work loose any compacted areas in the hole. Grafted specimens can be planted with the graft at or under soil level if it is desirable for the scion to form its own roots.

Careful placement of the tree and backfilling of the soil is done best when the roots are evenly spread out. If a root does not fit, do not bend it back towards the tree. Either proportionately prune the root and top, or widen the planting hole. A huge success factor is the amount of water added at this time. Don’t be afraid to make a soupy mess, the tree will love you for it! As the soil is backfilled, water adequately to the point of saturation.

Gently wiggle the tree back and forth to get rid of air bubbles. Pack the soil down gently when finished backfilling, and add a nice, thick layer of mulch to keep weeds at bay and to conserve moisture. Old rotted hay or aged sawdust are good choices. Whatever is used, it should be pulled away from the base of the tree. Hold off on fertilizers at this time, but be sure to keep the soil around the tree well-watered, to the point of saturation.

Check every day or two by poking around the soil, adding enough moisture, doing so until the ground freezes.

This is perhaps the most important aspect of fall planting. After all, this is the moisture that will carry the plant through from freeze to thaw.

To help prevent sunscald from the winter sun, apply a coat of interior latex paint applied from the base to several inches above the snow-line. Wrapping smaller trees, shrubs, and vines with a collar of tin foil (removed in Springtime) will accomplish this and also deter uninvited four-footed, furry guests from munching away all our hard work. While we’re at it, let’s make sure to mark our plants so that the snow plow driver or Aunt Maybelle sees them.

Now it’s tea time! What better way to plant a tree than with a spot of tea?

I’m Just Curious: Customer service

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by Debbie Walker

Customer service is just one of my interests. I’ve even attended a few seminars over the years. I love that stuff.
Many times I have been on either side of that counter. I’ve had all kinds of experiences, some good, some not so good.

One thing I do know is the basics of customer service are quite uncomplicated. Most everyone wants to be acknowledged. It’s really very easy. You simply have eye contact with the customer and either tell them you will be right with them or you signal them with your index finger held up, most people understand that as “Just a minute.” I can’t tell you how much grief that can save in customer service by just giving that little attention.

Twice in the past week I have stood at a service counter for several minutes each. Clerks were on the phone and assisting other people. One was “chatting” with a co-worker. “Chatting” when a customer is being ignored is a big no-no. The clerks all ignored the fact that I was standing there. That little bit of eye contact and a smile acknowledging that I was there would have made a big difference in how I was feeling.

Oh yeah, and customer service is anyone who is being paid for their services rather by the hour, by commission or maybe by the treatment. It includes clerks in a store or even doctors. It’s all customer service. It’s because of these people waiting that you even have a position.

It’s really too bad that all offices and stores don’t do some training on customer service. What little bit it would cost them; they wouldn’t even notice, however, their customers/clients would notice.

One evening in a grocery store a little old lady in line just ahead of me asked the clerk to read her something on a label. That extremely rude clerk started ranting off to that woman about how she wasn’t hired to baby-sit people or read to them. I read it to her myself. As she left the cashier started running her mouth about “these old people.” With every word out of her mouth I was seeing a darker shade of red. I know she wanted my agreement, however, what she got was “I hope if you make it to her age all you find for assistance is someone like yourself.” After I finished checking out I had a chat with the store manager.

Having worked on front line registers and a variety of other customer service positions I know there are people who will try your patience. Stores and offices would be wise to do some of this training. If the company doesn’t offer it, train yourself, there are books. It will help you live longer.

We’re all in a hurry these days. Sometimes we forget we are not the only ones in this hurry-up life. It would be nice if we could all slow down a bit and be more compassionate towards others.

Sometimes folks start out on schedule but wind up waiting until noon for their appointment scheduled at 10 a.m.

That’s just rude. If you have that type of situation talk with whomever does the scheduling and ask them what time you could schedule your next appointment to avoid a two-hour wait. If we don’t speak up these types of things will continue to happen. Don’t be nasty, just communicate. If everyone did this maybe we would see a change.

Okay, so I’m sure you get the idea. There are good and not so good on both sides of the counter. It really only takes common sense and courtesy to make everyone calmer. It has to start somewhere, let it start with each of us.

I’m just curious how far a little common sense and courtesy can take us into a Merry Christmas. It is getting closer!!!

Please contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com sub: Customer service.

Secrets for garlic growing success: Make your garden into a royal palace for this queen of herbs

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Emily CatesGARDEN WORKS
by  Emily Cates

Attention garlic lovers, now until the freeze is the time when you should be planting. If you have as much affection for this beloved stinking rose as I do, then you’ll want to read on for some helpful advice including cultivar selection, obtaining planting stock, site preparation, planting, and post-planting care.

page12pict1First, though, let’s find out which cultivars we like. Garlic is usually divided into groups having stiff stalks (hardnecks) or soft, pliable stalks (softnecks). Within these groups are several subgroups of many named cultivars.

Generally, hardnecks- especially those in the Rocambole group (Spanish Roja, Phillips, Stewart’s)- are valued for their exquisite flavors. Softnecks, on the other hand, (Kettle River Giant, Red Toch) tend to excel in storage and make beautiful braids. In a search to obtain suitable cultivars for our gardens and tastes, look for those with desirable qualities such as cold hardiness, storage abilities, and culinary attributes. In my opinion, the most tried-and-true, beginner-friendly hardnecks that are easiest to grow and obtain planting stock for are the ones called German Extra Hardy, and Music. I would also recommend a softneck, known as Inchelium Red.

Where can we find planting stock? FEDCO and Johnny’s are local companies that carry the aforementioned cultivars. Once you get a garlic patch established, save your own bulbs and keep your own strain going year after year. It’s always a good idea to make sure our planting stock is from the best of the best if possible, and free of disease and mechanical injury. Garlic that was harvested too late will have split bulb wrappers, but should be just fine for planting stock (and possibly more affordable).

Where should we plant our garlic? It’s optimal to give garlic the highest place of honor in the garden: a plot with the very best soil and full sun. Give them the royal treatment! At the end of every September, dig and grub out the weeds in the beds, paying extra attention to extracting as many roots and rhizomes as possible. (I’ve found this to be most effective when done by hand – just think of it as a free gym membership…and good business for your chiropractor…) Then go through with a spading fork and turn the soil, adding compost and/or manure, and amendments such as azomite and clean wood ashes. Now it’s ready to plant!

Next, separate the individual cloves from the bulb and plant each clove about 9 inches apart, pointy-side up with the point an inch or two under soil level. They can be in single rows or staggered in beds. Labels and a map are crucial if more than one named garlic is planted. After planting, cover the planting with a nice, thick mulch of straw. Farm animal bedding works really well, too, especially if it’s from goats. Speaking of animals – if there’s no fence around the garden, it might be a good idea to lay down some welded-wire fencing on top of the mulch. The garlic will grow through this while being protected from scratching, digging, and chomping critters who like garlic as much as we do.

In the meantime, we’re done for now until Springtime. Whew, it was invigorating work – and worth it, too!

IF WALLS COULD TALK, Week of November 3, 2016

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Katie Ouilette Wallsby Katie Ouilette

WALLS, were you surprised to have snow ‘spitting’ in Madison yesterday? Well, it is going to be Winter, if we are ready or not, you know! In fact, faithful readers, Lew and I and Cousin ‘Skeet’ visited with Cousin Ernald and Mal on the weekend and, you guessed it, there was snow on all the mountains as we headed to Maine from Grantham, New Hampshire, on Sunday! So our Maine Weatherman, no matter what TV station is telling it, says ‘snow’ is on the way, but let’s hope for rain first, as this drought is needed for our very dry land. Yes, I wonder if the predicted rain will really be beautiful white snow in ‘Solon and Beyond’?

WALLS, please tell folks about learning a lot about apples yesterday, when Heather Davis, co-ownerr of Cayford’s Orchards near Skowhegan was guest on Keeping Pace on Beeline Channel 11. Fascinating, for sure! Y’know, WALLS, you sure did do listeners a huge favor by bringing all that information to folks.

Speaking of bringing information to your faithful readers, WALLS, surely you have noticed the big new barn behind East Madison’s Historical Association’s Museum. They are next to the East Madison Fire Station and what a great job the volunteers have done. Yes, whenever folks drive to East Madison, they will see that the Farm and Farmland Museum now has a roof. Those men who have worked so diligently say the building will be completed by Christmas.

WALLS, you seem to be letting faithful readers know the latest news with this column. There was a meeting at the Lakewood Golf Course Clubhouse about the new movement that concerns making faithful readers aware of the effort to make folks in the communities along U..S. Route 201 realize the possibilities that await those who are very talented in the arts and other cultures in the entire Area. Y’know, faithful readers, Maine does have so much talent in so many ways, whether painting on canvas, making beautiful pieces of ceramics, or, yes, playing or singing wonderful music. WALLS, this will be the perfect time to tell faithful readers that Amber Lambke, is the person who brought new life to our old Somerset County Jail by introducing our Grist Mill to folks again. Yes, for sure there are those who remember the train’s pulling up to Watson’s Grist Mill, in Skowhegan, and delivering ‘Skowhegan grown wheat’ to Massachusetts and beyond. Yes, Amber was a feature in DownEast Magazine recently.

WALLS, you have so much to tell our faithful readers this week. Surely, you will make them proud of be able to say, ‘I’m from Maine and glad of it.”

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Singer: Dottie West; Composer: Sir William Walton; Author: Charles Dickens

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Peter Cates

by  Peter Cates

 

Dottie West
A Legend in My Time; RCA Camden CAS-2454; 12-inch stereo vinyl LP; released 1971 and consisting of nine selections from 2 previous LPs from 1965 and 1967.

Dottie West

Dottie West

Dottie West (1932-1991) recorded upwards of 28 albums for RCA alone between 1965 and 1975, many with the Jordannaires and the arrangements of Chet Atkins. She had a particular gift for cutting to the agony and ecstasy of a given song, especially when it was the high caliber writing of Don Gibson, Dallas Frazier, Willie Nelson, Mickey Newbury, etc., examples of which are featured here. As stated above, a sampler album but a very enjoyable one.

Copies available from the Amazon site starting at five dollars for the lp and eight for a cd reissue containing both this and her 1965 Sound of Country Music.

Walton
Belshazzar’s Feast; Coronation Te Deum; Sir Georg Solti conducting the London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra; Benjamin Luxon, baritone; Ralph Downes, organ; London OS26525, 12-inch vinyl stereo LP, recorded March, 1977.

Sir William Walton (1902-1983) was one of England’s foremost 20th century composers and first achieved fame with Belshaz zar’s Feast at the very young age of 29 in 1931. This oratorio, a term describing a work for choir and orchestra with a Bib­lical subject as its theme, is probably the most scorching, high-spirited and, in its quieter moments, atmospheric, if not creepy example of the genre, light years different from Handel’s Messiah.

Sir Walter Walton

Sir Walter Walton

The subject draws on the years in Babylonian captivity of the Jews, the evil of Belshazzar the king and the depraved feast that he holds for his court, climaxing in God’s destruction of everyone – there is a passage depicting the hand from out of nowhere scrawling the miraculous writing on the wall – “Mene mene tekel upharsin, thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting !” – just before God’s wrath against these folks is totally vented.

A later, shorter work included on the record is the 1953 Coronation Te Deum, specially composed for the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II. Walton paid numerous visits to Westminster Abbey to check out every possible corner for the best projection of the music. Although not a masterwork, it has a listenable festive majesty .

Solti conducted performances of both works with power, zest and beauty, clarifying and negotiating Belshazzar’s tricky rhythms with suave effect.

CD editions of this recording start at $7.50 on the Amazon site while the LPs begin at $4.89.

Charles Dickens
Barnaby Rudge

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Barnaby Rudge, along with Tale of Two Cities, are the only Dickens novels I have read from cover to cover. Having made this statement, I intend no sort of contempt for his formidable storytelling gifts but merely to convey that too many other activities obstruct my intentions to enjoy the several unread volumes on my shelves.

Written in 1841 when Dickens was only 29, its several hundred pages are a depiction of an assembly of good and bad characters in London during the Gordon anti-Catholic riots of 1780. It has engaging sub-plots of compelling interest and a sinister Dennis the Hangman who loves to editorialize on both the meaningful and humorous implications of his work, praising the gallows as a very practical and most civilized tool of true justice.

SOLON & BEYOND, Week of November 3, 2016

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Solon and Beyondby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

The annual Holly Shop Craft Fair at the North Anson Congregational Church will be held on November 12 from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

And now for the adventure that happened to us in Rangeley on our vacation there a week ago. Lief loves shrimp, and especially shrimp on a stick, which is served at an establishment in Rangeley. We decided to go to this place on the Friday before we returned home for supper. When we got near the place, a parking spot was hard to find. As we finally were parking we noticed a cop coming out of the building, and my thought was whether I really wanted to go in there, but we did.

We were met right at the door the minute we walked in by one of the loud party goers, and his first words to Lief were, “You have a lovely young lady with you tonight.” He was obviously either high on drugs or alcohol or both, I didn’t pay attention to anything else he was saying to Lief, but was looking over the noisy gathering in front of us. All of a sudden I saw Lief start to go through this raucous bunch and couldn’t believe my eyes when he drew off and punched a guy on the shoulder, that was standing across the room. My immediate thought was, this could get nasty…and so I sent a quick prayer heavenward and marched into the fray! I grabbed the back of Lief’s jacket and dragged him back toward the door. Was shaking pretty bad by that time, and there was an empty table, so we sat down. The first thing I said to Lief was, “Why did you do that?” And his reply was “The guy told me to do it!”

One of the things I love about Lief is his great sense of humor, but he took it to a new level that night! And no, we didn’t sit there very long, but left and found another calmer place to have a meal. Will we go back again for Lief’s shrimp on a stick, definitely, but not on a Friday night! (I let Lief edit this and he said it was OK to send it but you can ask him for his version when you see him!)

I will laugh even harder the next time someone says to me, “What can you possibly find to do in Rangeley for a week?” (So many have asked that question!) But we do other odd things as well, like we did this time, it was much calmer and we laughed a lot! We sat for two hours beside a moose waller (mud hole where moose have been) on the road between Stratton and Rangeley hoping to have a moose come out so we could get a picture of it. Finally, when it was getting along toward dark, with no success, we traveled back to Rangeley.

After reading the above, you all must know how desperate I am for your news, please do contact me (soon) with your goings on.

And hope you will enjoy Percy’s memoir, he has used this one before, but I feel it is worth repeating! “There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” (words by Albert Einstein.) Hope all of you reading this believe in miracles!

Noisy, plentiful acorns; obscure beech nuts

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by Roland D. Hallee

While preparing breakfast last Saturday, I glanced out the kitchen window towards my recently cleaned up garden plot. While looking around I noticed some movement, and commented to my wife: “I think I have a title for a new country song, ‘There’s a squirrel in the compost pile.’”

I’m not sure how that translates to pickup trucks, bass boats and lost loves, but I’m sure it has a place in there somewhere.

Anyway, that prompted me to ask myself what could be in the compost that would interest a squirrel. After all, it has nothing more than plant stems, vines from squashes and various roots and stalks.

There were a few tiny, fledgling fruits from these items that didn’t have a chance to mature, but that would be it.

Then my mind rewound to the recently closed down camp, and the food sources out there. Nearby there is a large oak tree and a mature, but fairly young beech tree. Most of you have probably heard acorns when they fall from the trees, and land on something substantive. They sound like gunfire, exploding bombs or branches falling. They make quite a loud noise. The presence of Beech nuts, on the other hand, are hardly even noticeable.

Wildlife that consume acorns as an important part of their diets includes birds, such as jays, pigeons, some ducks and several species of woodpeckers. Small mammals include mice, squirrels and several other rodents – ahh, squirrels. Large mammals include pigs, bears, and deer. Acorns are in high demand.

Acorns are attractive to animals because they are large and efficiently consumed or cached. They are rich in nutrients and contain large amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fats, as well as calcium, phosphorus and potassium, and the vitamin niacin.

Acorns are too heavy for wind dispersal, so the spreading of the seed is dependent on animals like the squirrels who cache the nuts for future use. Squirrels scatter-hoard the acorns in a variety of locations in which it is possible for them to germinate and thrive. On occasion, the odd acorn may be lost, or the squirrel may die before consuming all the acorns it has stored. A small number of acorns may germinate and survive, producing the next generation of oak trees.

As far as us humans go, acorns have frequently been used as a coffee substitute. The Confederates in the American Civil War and the Germans during World War II, which were cut off from coffee supplies by Union and Allied blockades respectively, are particularly notable past instances of this use of acorns.

Either Martha or Stewart on my porch railing, after rummaging through my compost pile, waiting for its annual allotment of chestnuts which I have not yet put out. Photo by Roland Hallee

Either Martha or Stewart on my porch railing, after rummaging through my compost pile, waiting for its annual allotment of chestnuts which I have not yet put out.
Photo by Roland Hallee

As far as the beech nuts go, again going back to camp and the beech tree near our site, there doesn’t seem to be much activity by squirrels in the area of the tree. Of course, the beech nut seems to defy gravity. It is a small nut with soft-spined husks. Although it is high in tannin content, they are bitter. The nut can be extracted by peeling back the husk, but your fingers may hurt dealing with the spines.

Maybe that is why they are not that attractive to squirrels.

Nowhere in all my research did I find any reference to wildlife that feast on the beech nut.

Beech trees are better known for other things than producing a source of food. The Beech bark is extremely thin and scars easily. Carvings, such as lovers’ initials, remain because the beech tree is unable to heal itself.

On a different note, slats of Beech wood are washed in a caustic soda to leach out any flavor and is used in the bottom of fermentation tanks for Budweiser beer. This allows a surface for the yeast to settle, so that it doesn’t pile up too deep. Beech is also used to smoke Westphalian ham, various sausages and some cheeses.

The American beech tree occurs only in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. It is believed that it was found coast to coast prior to the Ice Age. Now they can only be found east of the Great Plains. You will rarely find the beech tree in developed areas unless it is a left over of a forest that was cut for land development.

The beech tree is also temperamental. Some trees never produce nuts while others only spawn edible nuts in certain years.

So what was that squirrel – I could not discern whether it was Martha or Stewart, my two resident rodents – looking for that day? Probably just window shopping.