Murphy Learns to Farm

Murphy is still a "nibster" as far as we are concerned.  And if you don' t know what a nibster is, try to type the word "monster" and shift your right hand one spot to the left on the keyboard when you type it.  Yes, you get nibster.

At least she is still a cute nibster.  Or, as our good friend Jill would say, "she's stinkin' cute!"  And, of course, Murphy knows it.

We have had other kittens on the farm in prior years.  The Inspector was born here.  The Sandman and Mrranda were both quite young when they made their debuts here.  So, we've been through the process of integrating a new Farm Supervisor more than once.  The downside is that we sometimes forget that EVERYTHING that has been happening this Spring are ENTIRELY NEW to Murphy.

The entire process of prepping beds and planting in them is exciting and worthy of her attention and, of course, "help."  Remember, "help" from Farm Supervisors (aka cats) must always have quotes around it.  Any cat worth its salt would never admit to actually being helpful.  Also, any cat will seek out the praise it deserves for the help it most surely did not give.  Hence... "help."

Murphy has already learned to perch on the back of a farmer who is crawling on the ground for as long as it is convenient (for the cat, not the farmer).  She has also learned to roll NEXT TO, but not ON the row of new plants.  That's actually an excellent skill to have if you don't want the farmers to respond in unfavorable ways.

But, most important, Murphy has found that she likes to hang out with the farmers when they are doing things that do not include running engines.  Tillers and tractors are non-starters with Murphy, and that's the way we like it.

Now, we need to get Murphy to write a blog.  Then she'll be a true Genuine Faux Farm cat.

Mistaken ID

When we first arrived at the Genuine Faux Farm, we had some grand plans as to how we would turn the somewhat barren landscape into something wonderful.  We had good soil, we had the desire and we had the energy to give it a good go.  And, among our earliest projects was an attempt to establish some nice, flowering bushes and perennial natives on the southwest borders of the property.

We put in several small lilacs (each no more than a foot tall) on the corner.  And, to top it off, we added some coneflowers and other natives that we hoped would add some color in front of the lilacs throughout the season.  Now, several years later, the area in front of the lilacs (now ten to fifteen feet tall) is some grasses and three plants that have flowered happily and faithfully every year after their first in this location.

We purchased a variety of native perennial forbs from Ion Exchange and used selected locations for each different kind of plant.  Two or three types of plants went out by the lilacs and we kept track of what we put where.

Or at least we thought we did.

Somehow we have perpetuated our own mythology that these plants are Silky Asters.  Is it possible that we got plants with the wrong tags?  I suppose that's possible.  But it is more likely that we simply just mixed things up, no matter how carefully we tried to keep track.  My hypothesis is that we planted Silky Asters out by the lilacs along with these plants.  These have continued to thrive, and the Silky Asters did not.

I always thought these plants did not really look all that much like an aster - and unlike most asters, it blooms beautifully in the month of May.  Regardless, they seem to grow in nice clumps and hold their own just fine in an area where we do no weeding and no cultivation.  They're just simply given their opportunity to live, bloom and exist in their corner of the world.

Sometimes that's exactly what a plant needs.

I finally managed to get myself out to these plants with a camera during their bloom season.  Every year I have told myself to make sure I get the picture taking done, but I always seem to miss it.  It's not that I don't get to enjoy the flowers every year, it's the fact that the camera doesn't always make the trip at the same time.  You see, I had this idea that I might want to consider getting more "Silky Asters" for the farm - and I wanted to be sure I had identified them correctly before I followed through.

Well, it's a good thing I didn't fully trust the name I have assigned to these fine plant denizens at the Genuine Faux Farm.  I would have been very disappointed if I had ordered Silky Asters and not gotten the same results.

These plants are Eastern Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana) and we could very well have gotten them from Prairie Moon Nursery in Winona at about the same time we picked up other plugs from Ion Exchange.  These are great plants for hummingbirds and butterflies.  Apparently, they taste pretty bad (and is also known as Blue Dogbane), so deer will leave them alone too (if that's a thing for you).

There were a few bracts of flowers that had yet to open, so I managed to hit the Eastern Bluestar at or near their peak flower cycle.  And I got the information I needed to correct a mistaken identity.

Struggles at the Genuine Faux Farm

I was looking forward to the 2023 season at the Genuine Faux Farm - no, really, I was.

This was supposed to be the season that we would be given the opportunity to figure out what we could reasonably do on the farm given our "new realities."  I realize these new realities are not so new anymore since I recently celebrated my third anniversary of taking employment with the Pesticide Action Network.

Those of you who read this blog do not also live my life, so it might help to recap so you can have a hope of understanding what I am trying to say here.  When I took the PAN job in April of 2020, Tammy and I knew it would require that we change the scale of our farming operation.  We were going to go from having me full-time, Tammy part-time and other workers during the summer to just the two of us part-time.  The number of available labor hours was going to be a tiny fraction of what it had been.

Needless to say, that year was a year of transitions as we did our best to figure it all out. It didn't help that the pandemic was adding extra limitations to what we could do and how we could do those things.  We really did NOT expect that the 2020 farming year would be a banner year and we were ready to struggle with some disappointment and changes to our expectations.

The next year was, actually, a bit worse because of my kidney cancer diagnosis and the removal of that kidney in late April of 2021.  More transitions.  More struggles to figure out what was possible and what was reasonable to expect for production at the Genuine Faux Farm.  Then, 2022 came along and it was Tammy's turn to deal with a major surgery - having to have an Achilles tendon reattached in the late Spring.  

In short, we really did not have much of a chance to figure things out either of those two years because we were simply working to get through recovery processes and return to health.

Our stamina for farm work is already much less than it was and our responsibilities for each of our off-farm jobs have grown over the past three years.  Already, the stage was set that we (mostly I) needed to adjust our expectations yet again.  But still, I was looking forward to an opportunity to not ALSO be going through the hard work of recovery at the same time.

Well, guess what?  It turns our that our assessment that the Covid-19 virus would be a bad thing for small-scale, diversified farmers to contract was correct.  Unlike other colds and illnesses, we couldn't just work through it.  And while we are recovering, we still struggle with stamina.  It set us back when we were ill and it isn't letting us catch up after we are supposedly "done with it."

So, here we are in 2023 trying to deal with disappointment that so few things have been done and we're trying to figure out what we can catch up with and what we have to let go.  

The good news is that we did get the onion plants in the ground and the drip lines are set.  This year, we decided to go with single rows so that we can use some different cultivation methods.  So, we have a success.  Here's hoping we can build off of this one so we can get others to go.  The problem is, we usually only have enough in us to accomplish one of these things a day - at a time when we need to be completing a dozen or so of them during each rotation of the Earth.

But that's the way it is and we'll adjust - because that's what we do.  I wonder what I'll see when I look back on the season in November? 

I suspect there will be an onion crop somewhere in there.

Mourning Cloak - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to this week's Memorial weekend edition of Postal History Sunday.  This particular holiday has its roots in an event that was initially called Decoration Day, which originated at the end of the United States Civil War.  The first recognized widely celebrated Decoration Day was held in 1868 and by the late 1800s several states and cities had recognized the holiday.  After World War I, Memorial Day was expanded to remember those who had fallen in all wars.  If you would like to learn more, you can check this Public Broadcasting Systems page.

As I was growing up, Memorial Day was presented to me as a time to remember those who had passed before us, as well as those who had fallen as members of the armed forces.  It was also a time to gather with family and partake of good food in a park.  Over time, as Tammy and I became involved in teaching, Memorial Day weekend became dominated by college and high school graduation ceremonies.  So now, we celebrate those who have successfully completed a stage of their lives even while we contemplate lives that were lived and have come to a close.

Shown above is a printed death announcement for Marie-Victor Chaverot, who died in Saint Alban, France, on June 12, 1865.  The death notice was apparently printed on June 13 according to the printed notation at the bottom and the funeral itself was to be held on the morning of June 15th.

The content of the announcement is not all that different from what we might see in a modern obituary.  The living relatives are listed at the beginning, requesting the recipient's attendance for the funeral ceremony of a 25-year old man who died of an undisclosed illness or injury.  Unlike many obituaries, there are no details provided regarding the life of Marie-Victor.  Instead, the focus is simply on the facts as they pertained to getting to and participating in the ceremony.

 

This item was mailed by folding the sheet of paper (a folded letter sheet) over on itself with the announcement in the center of the fold.  Because this was pre-printed, it could qualify for reduced postage as long as the item was not sealed.  And, sure enough, there is no evidence that any kind of wax or gummed seal had been applied.  This allowed the postal clerks to inspect the contents to be sure no additional personal correspondence was included.  As a result, the item only cost 10 centimes (instead of 20 centimes) to mail.  

The instructions for attendance included a procession to the parish church of St Charles.  The procession itself would travel down the Grande Rue de la Bourse in St Etienne, France.  The map below is part of an 1877 engraving that was attributed to "Atlas National contenant La Geographie de la France et de ses colonies", by F. de La Brugere and Jules Trousset. Published in Paris by Artheme Fayard. 

I was not able to uncover interesting information regarding the Chaverot family - which certainly could have been spelled in various other ways, making the trail harder to follow.  On the other hand, I did find it interesting that the church itself was already deemed insufficient for the demand in St. Etienne.  As early as 1828, there were plans to build a larger church nearby - I am guessing at the Place Marengo shown at the map.  However, the new church was not constructed until the 1910s, eventually being given the designation of a cathedral in 1970.

The black border had meaning

A prominent feature of our first folded letter that contained the death announcement for Marie-Victor Chaverot and the envelope shown above is a black border on the stationery.  These borders can be found in varying widths and are normally printed in black ink.  There are collectors who specialize in postal history items that feature this decoration and they refer to such items as mourning covers.

Shown above is an envelope that was mailed in 1867 from San Francisco, California to Edinburgh, Scotland (North Briton).  The letter was posted on September 10, crossed overland to New York and then traveled over the Atlantic Ocean, arriving at Edinburgh on October 13, a little over one month after the date of mailing.

When we turn the envelope over, we can see that the black border actually includes the fold over and the flap.  Clearly, this letter was not printed matter because there is evidence that the envelope was sealed.  Our other clue is that the postage paid, 24 cents, would have covered the letter rate for mail from the U.S. to Scotland in 1867.  

We can even zoom in and look at the area where the flap was torn to open the envelope.  You might notice that there was an embossed design on the envelope flap that, unfortunately, did not survive the opening all that well.

This time around, there are no contents that come with the envelope.  We can certainly make an educated guess that the contents included an announcement of the death of someone Mr. Walsh in Edinburgh might have known in San Francisco.  But it certainly need not have been limited to the unhappy news of someone's departure from this life.  Correspondence between San Francisco and Edinburgh took enough time that I suspect other news was also included. 

Mourning was big business

A series of web pages that focus on the Victorian Era mourning rituals include a brief discussion on mourning stationery.  It is here that author Alison Petch makes a statement that the width of the border might have something to do with the depth of mourning.  "The closer relation the mourner was, the more mourning costume was prescribed and the longer the period of deep mourning." (Petch from this page)  So, is it possible that these borders reflected the relationship of the sender to the deceased?

The envelope shown above was mailed from France to London, England in 1867.  The 40 centime stamp properly paid the rate for a simple letter between the two nations.  Apparently, George Blackwell did not have a permanent address at that time, so the letter was addressed to the "Post Office" where Mr. Blackwell would have had to go to pick up his mail.

In this case, the black band is certainly much thinner than our previous two items.  Does that mean that the sender of this letter was not currently in "deep mourning?"  Or was it simply the stationery design of choice?  Perhaps others who have studied the protocols of mourning and sending notices would have a better guess than I do.  But, it seems to me that you would use what you have - the width of the border is just what it was.  I suppose one's adherence to protocol had a lot to do with one's affluence.  If you didn't have the money, you didn't necessarily follow all of the protocol.

In the website previously mentioned, Petch suggests that "Victorian mourning costume has always been regarded in terms of gross expenditure and elaborate etiquette, and, according to one source, 'snobbery, social climbing and profits of the mourning industry.' "  Elsewhere, it is suggested that even people with modest means would save funds for proper funerals and mourning.

This time around, the back of the envelope did not carry the border around the edge of the flap.  Instead, it stuck to the edge of the envelope on both the front and back.  This envelope also has an embossed design - this time it is the monogram "A B."  It seems logical to make the assumption that the monogram references a relative of George Blackwell's who sent the letter in the first place.

After a little digging, I found the Blackwell family papers in the Library of Congress and it is likely this envelope was sent by Anna Blackwell (1816-1900) to her youngest sibling, George W. Blackwell (1841-1912).  One document written by Anna is datelined Paris in 1887 and it discusses the changing status of women in France.  You can go to the bottom of page 10 and see the use of "a.b." to close a portion of the writing. 

Apparently, Anna was a well known journalist and newspaper correspondent for forty-two years, based in Paris and, later, Triel, France.  

Mourning covers saw the height of their use during the Victorian period (1837 to early 1900s) and they were part of the business of burying the dead.  However, just because we see an envelope with a black border, qualifying that item as a mourning cover, it does not necessarily follow that the content was limited to a death announcement. 

Certainly a death announcement might include additional news of family and friends, especially when the Atlantic Ocean separated the sender from the recipient (as it does in this case).  We also need to remember that a person who was still observing a period of mourning might feel compelled to announce that fact by placing all correspondence in a mourning envelope until the mourning period was complete.

Often, like the envelope shown above, there are no contents enclosed, so we cannot say one way or another.  We can only make the educated guess that it was likely some of the content was related to someone who had passed on.

 

Would you like to learn more?

If the topic of mourning covers is interesting to you, there is a  Mourning Stamps and Covers Club that focuses on this very topic.  If you take the link to that site, there are a couple of exhibits that display many additional examples of mourning stationery.  There is also a book by Ernest Mosher titled "Mourning Covers: the Cultural and Postal History of Letters Edged in Black" that would be useful to those who would like to dive into the topic much more deeply than I have here.

And that seems like a decent place to stop for the day!  I hope you enjoyed this week's entry.  Have a fine remainder of your day and an excellent week to come.

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Postal History Sunday is published each week at both the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you are interested in prior entries, you can view them, starting with the most recent, at this location.

May Play List

It's the last Saturday of the month, which means it is time for me to share a music playlist for May!  

For those of you who, for whatever reason, have never encountered one of our Genuine Faux Farm playlists, it seems to me that I should share the rules so you know what's going on here.  There are exactly two rules.  First, I pick songs that I am currently enjoying listening to - for whatever reason.  And second, these lists go to eleven.

Sometimes, I just provide a list with minimal explanation.  Other times, I write a little something about each tune.  I do try to provide some variety in style so that, hopefully, each person who reads the blog might find one that they enjoy.  But if you don't find one you like, you can simply go find a tune you do like and listen to that.... and I suppose you can grump that I've got a lousy taste in music.

Just remember, I only offered the list and the opportunity.  It was up to YOU to take it.  If you didn't enjoy it, that's on you.  I'll still be happily listening to the tunes and enjoying them - but maybe not turned all the way up to eleven.

Rise Again - Epica and Apocalyptica

Listen Friend - Above Only

Blind Alley - Fanny

Twenty-Four (our version) - Switchfoot

Awaken Love - Lacey Sturm

Out of the Darkness - Scandroid

Breathe - Darkwater 

Happiness - NeedtoBreathe

Red Hill Mining Town - U2 

If You Find Her - Kerosene Halo

Love Goes On and On - Lindsey Stirling and Amy Lee

Have a great and music-filled day everyone. 

Tainted

As part of my job with Pesticide Action Network, I have been periodically responsible for composing Iowa-based social media posts.  One of my goals during my first year on the job was to exhort my fellow Iowans to vote in the primary elections.  Please note that I was not telling anyone how they should vote - just that we wanted people to participate.

I do, however, think it went without saying that I was representing PAN and was hoping to reach people who want to change things with respect to corporate agriculture and the overuse of pesticides.

A clear statement that is hard to argue against

In my last post encouraging voting, I included an abbreviated version of this quote:

"...if we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform. " *

Read it carefully - then tell me if it applies and if it rings true.  I'll wait here.

What do you think now?  As a representative for PAN in Iowa, I was hopeful I could motivate people to make some changes.  I do, in fact, protest the status quo when it comes to our current agriculture and food systems and the policies our government employs.  I am trying to raise awareness, educate and promote organization for change.  And I do believe part of the process is participating in the election process.  How about you?  Even if you think you're "not political,"  you'll probably agree that this is a logical and straightforward statement that can be widely applied.  We've got to say what we want, work to get others to hear it and perhaps agree on action and then we all have to vote to put people in place to make these things happen.

Guess what?  This statement is ALSO LIKELY true if you do not agree with the things I am promoting.

I was dutiful and put the attribution for the quote in the post.  And, soon after posting, it received some negative feedback that had nothing to do with the content of the quote.  It also had some positive feedback that also had little to do with the content of the post.  The response was driven largely by personal feelings regarding the author.  Or, perhaps it was 'bot response' that was triggered by the individual's name who supplied the quote.  I'll never know which it was for certain - but I do know it was intended to rile people up on the name and not the content of the quote.

How often do we close our eyes and stop our ears because of the source? 

*Who wrote/said this?  Barack Obama

This is NOT Barack Obama.  But, he was said to be truthful. And he had his detractors.

Who said these?
I went and selected some quotes from some recent former Presidents of the United States that I felt were pretty good messages when you look at them without attribution.  Even if you THINK you know who said each of these, I want you to read them and consider the message and what comes to mind for you as you read them.  I realize we are missing the larger context of the surrounding words.  But, we are a culture that seems to like to take short quotes and ascribe them great importance - so let's play along, shall we?

a) “There could be no definition of a successful life that does not include service to others."

b) "People are more impressed by the power of our example rather than the example of our power...” 

c) “Power can be very addictive. And it can be corrosive. And it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power.”

d) "Our future cannot depend on the government alone. The ultimate solutions lie in the attitudes and the actions of the American people."

e) “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

A call to service to others.  A call to set a good example.  A call to stand up to power when it is in the wrong.  And two calls for people to take personal action to make things better.

I selected these, in part, because they are all fairly consistent with other words spoken by each of these presidents.  They certainly do not summarize all of what they stood for or said - to expect that would be ridiculous.  I am also certain we can find plenty of specific examples of each presidency that is not consistent with what was said here.  All I am saying is that I believe each of these are a valid recognition of what these people were about or what they wanted to be - despite all of the inconsistencies each person exhibits. 

So - who said these?
a) George H.W. Bush
b) Bill Clinton
c) George W Bush
d) Joe Biden
e) Barack Obama

And now, I have tainted each of these quotes because I have associated them with a person for whom each of you likely have a strong opinion.  Did (or do you) "hate" Bill? George W? Joe?  Were you a loyal fan of George H.W. or Barack? Are you tempted to howl that the quote I selected is an aberration or that it doesn't mean what I think it means (ah.. Princess Bride, the quotes I can use from that movie!).  If you did, I just made my point.  You discarded a piece of potential wisdom you could have collected and made personal to your betterment so you could be upset.  Well done.

Now stop it.

Sometimes we need to hear things we don't want to hear.

When the source taints the message

First, let me point out that I have my own opinions about each of these people.  But, when push comes to shove, I firmly believe that each of them wanted the best for this nation.  Each of them applied themselves and their staff in an effort to do what they felt was right for the people.  We can disagree with how they went about prioritizing and executing that duty.  We can focus on their blind spots and shortcomings.  Each of them had faults and made mistakes (and as a president, there are rarely small mistakes).  And, each of them accepted that there would be (and should be) criticism.  Why?  Because, if there is no dissent, then we aren't thinking hard enough to find the best solution and we are clearly leaving someone out who needs to be heard.

Two points to make

The whole purpose of this blog post is to (hopefully) make two points.

1.  When we look at an idea, proposal or a statement, we should ponder its merits and what it means for us.  Then, we should consider the source.  Once you consider the source, you get more context as to what the purpose of the words might have been.  After all, with a little bit of editing, Attila the Hun could sound a bit like Ghandi.  Ok... maybe that's an exaggeration.  But, the context of the representative can make it clear as to the purpose of the statement.

The point is still this: dismissing something off-hand because of the source is a good way to miss something important or useful and a certain way to fail to see common ground we might have with those we often disagree with.

2.  When we consider who will represent the things we desire, we need to remember that most people are NOT going to exercise the first point.  Instead, they are going to filter the message based on their feelings for the representative.  Much of the time, I would agree that it would be better to educate people to spend more time trying to understand the points people we disagree with are trying to make - just so we can find that common ground - or so we can find an even better idea.

How I selected quotes

Let me give you full disclosure on what I did here.  I hunted for quotes from some of our most recent presidents by doing a Google search using their name and the word "quotes."  

To make the point, I did a search for James Garfield - just a randomly selected President of the United States and here is quote number 2 on the list I found.

“There are men and women who make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They have the gift of kindness or courage or loyalty or integrity. It really matters very little whether they are behind the wheel of a truck or running a business or bringing up a family. They teach the truth by living it.”

Labeling myself

At this point I am going to give you full disclosure.  My own political falling (or failing if you see it that way) would be labeled as left of center because I tend to believe a key component of governance is to protect and serve the people - in particular those who have the least power and need it most - by providing services, support and proper regulation of the things we use in common.  This means that those who need protection and service the least are those who will find themselves providing a greater proportion of resources to help those who need it.  At present, this places me firmly on the "liberal" side of the ball - while recognizing that there is much to be said about other points of view.  And, I hope you will give me benefit of the doubt that I try to consider each issue without first consulting the "manual for whatever ideological label that seems to fit me."

I believe that most people want to see themselves as helpers and as a positive part of the country.  This is why I prefer to hear multiple points of view and ideas.  We all have value and we need to start acting as if others also have value.  This is why it is important to me that we have people of integrity representing our 'big ideas.'  In this way, we can actually work on the merits of what we propose - and find a better solution because of it (are you seeing a theme here?).

The big finish

So, here is what I took away from some of the quotes I selected:

I hope we can all live successful lives that include service to others. (G.H.W. Bush)
I pray that we learn to understand the power of setting an example (Clinton) and that it motives us to teach the truth by living it. (Garfield)
I want us to call to account those who wield power incorrectly and address inequality and failed justice for those whose circumstances of birth place them in positions where they are abused and oppressed. (G.H.Bush)
And...
Let us be the change that we seek. (Obama)

And let us seek change that comes from the better part of all of us - and do it together.   (Rob Faux)

Chestnut

We have a chestnut tree in our front yard - planted next to the spot where one of our Bur Oaks used to be.  The memory of the oak is a hollowed out stump and a break in the canopy the other oaks still respect - as if the old tree were still around to use that patch of the sky as its personal solar collection area.

The flowers on the chestnut have been visited regularly by a hummingbird or two, which - of course - makes both of us happy.  We planted this tree a few years ago, but we still have not given it a name.  Or maybe, it hasn't bothered to tell us its name yet.

 Having names for things on the farm is often important for me.  Or, more accurately, having the correct name for a thing is important to me.  I have gotten less hung up on this over time because the farm simply gives me other things I need to worry about.  And, if you name it - it's harder to watch it die.  Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of healthy trees, bushes and plants on the farm.  But, we have had enough issues that it kind of wore down the desire to be as attached to the idea of names.

We both recall that we purchased the tree a couple of years ago when we became aware that there had been a breeding and genetic engineering effort to bring back the American Chestnut tree.  And it appears that there may be an attempt to re-forest some areas with this new strain of the American Chestnut.

I admit that I have mixed feelings about this.  But, this is also not a surprise to anyone that knows me.  I appear to have mixed feelings about most everything.

A big part of me would love to see these trees returned to the North American landscape.  I would also love to see American Elms returned to the parkways of our Midwestern towns.  I am saddened by the current losses of ash trees in the United States and I am watching this year as other trees in our area of the world struggle.

I am sad, angry and disappointed that, in each of these cases, humans played a significant role in precipitating these losses.  Dutch Elm Disease was brought in from France with infected logs purchased by a furniture company.  The chestnuts were lost to a blight that was imported by people who wanted to plant Asian chestnut trees.  And, the Emerald Ash Borer probably came across the ocean in wood shipping crates.  In other words, humans are often unkind to nature.

Now, we have groups who are working hard to bring back the chestnut and the elm.  I want to applaud because I miss the elms that I remember.  I want to applaud because I would love to experience the beauty of a chestnut forest.

And I wonder if we actually know what the heck we're doing.
And I wonder what all of the unintended consequences are going to be.

Crazy Maurice (our Weeping Willow) was just telling me yesterday that I think too much.  But, I don't think he really means it quite that way.  Because I often wonder if a big part of our problem is that we don't think enough.

You see, trees have a good deal of time to think, in a very deliberate and thorough way.  While Maurice is likely considered to be 'positively hasty' by many other trees, I suspect he might be reminding me that I flit around the issues quite a bit.

I guess I'll have to think on that for a while.

How to Go Broke Farming

One of the things that drives me a bit nuts is our tendency, as human beings, to treat every existing problem as new and needing novel solutions.  The other is the mistake we make when we discount the knowledge and wisdom of prior generations, closely followed by those of us who believe the old ways were perfect.

The newspaper clipping shown above was published in the June 17, 1927 Farm and Dairy and was put together by the the University of Tennessee Extension Office.  This is not the only example of farming wisdom that has floated around to various communities via social media in recent years.  I have viewed documents from the 1940s, 1870s and, yes, even the 1700s that discuss farming practices that, for some reason, often have been overlooked by those who would farm.

Yes, you heard that right.  For the most part, the way many of our grandparents and great-grandparents (etc etc) farmed was less than optimal.  And it feels like there are plenty of folks out there who are quite happy to maintain that tradition in the present day. The only real constant for generations in the United States has been a general willingness to ignore the principles of land stewardship.

Perhaps the only difference is that people have found a way to still make money despite abusing the land they farm.  If anything, the adjustments that have been made since 1927 have made it difficult to farm well.  Instead, our systems reward the pesticide and synthetic herbicide industries (among other big ag businesses) and place hurdles on anyone who might like engage in being a steward-farmer.

But eventually, things - such as herbicides - will cease to hold the wolf at the door.  The deep, rich soil we have in states like Iowa isn't as deep and rich as it once was and we will be called to pay for our debt to the land.  If we spent more time caring for the land, it would take care of us.  We wouldn't need to rely on the next new and novel solution for pest control, soil fertility and weed control.

I know, it's a radical idea.  And it's been radical for generations.  Perhaps it's time for this to be the mainstream attitude?

Halfa No More - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to this week's edition of Postal History Sunday!  I hope you have had a good week and that you have taken the opportunity to tuck those worries into a cardboard box and bury them under the other boxes you keep there because... well... they're just good boxes.  And you never can have enough good boxes.

This week, we are going to travel to Northeast Africa and time travel back to 1939 where we will encounter the travels of a letter bearing the images of camels on its stamps.  Remember, you can always click on an image to see a larger version of the picture.

Sent from Khartoum, Sudan in 1839 via Egypt by surface mail (boat and land) to Landover, Maryland, I will readily admit that this particular envelope is not the most compelling item if you want to trace its entire route.  Once it gets to Egypt, there are no markings that illustrate how or when it gets to the next step.

However, there are so many other ways that a piece of postal history can hook you and keep your interest.

The Stamps Bring Something to the Table

So many stamp designs over the years feature the faces of royalty or statesmen.  I have heard the joke that early period stamps often feature a bunch of "old, dead guys" more than once.  So, suddenly, you see a series of older stamps that feature camels.  It catches your imagination in a new way - perhaps even transporting you to that place along the Nile River where a postman might actually ride a camel to deliver the mail.

The story of the creation of this design, according to the Stanley Gibbons firm, was that the designer, Captain E.A. Stanton, saw the arrival of the regimental post via camel, instead of the normal riverboat delivery.  This inspired him to create this proposed design for the new stamps of Sudan to be used as the English asserted their control in that region. 

This design was first put in use in 1898 and was still the postage stamp design that saw primary use until the 1950s when Sudan became an independent republic, freeing itself from Egypt and the United Kingdom.  Even then, there were some stamps that retained this design - I guess they knew a good thing when they saw it?

According to philatelic lore (philately is the study and/or collection of postage stamps) the issuance of this stamp led to some religious controversy.  Stamp paper typically had a watermark (go here to learn what a watermark is if you don't know) that was impressed so that it would appear on each postage stamp.  It just so happens that the first issue of the post-rider and camel had watermarks that depicted a stylized rosette featuring a cross.  Much of Sudan was populated by followers of Islam who found this to be objectionable.  The watermark was changed for the 1902 printing of the design to feature a crescent moon and star to avoid further conflict over this issue.

I mention that this is 'philatelic lore' because I have yet to find a direct reference to the "watermark conflict" outside of the hobby.  The earliest reference I have seen thus far is a 1905 paragraph in The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, vol 11.  I do not doubt that even something as small as a watermark could be a touchy issue, considering the tensions in that region at the time.  An excellent summary of the religious context in Sudan from 1898 to 1914 can be found at this link.  Even so, I have to wonder if it was as big of a thing as it is made out to be - after all, there were plenty of other reasons for tension in Sudan.  Perhaps stamp collectors sometimes have an outsized idea as to the influence of stamp designs and paper watermarks?

The stamps on this particular envelope were printed on paper watermarked with a series of the letters "S G" for "Sudan Government."  This paper was used for stamps created from 1927 and into the 1940s.  That makes sense since this was mailed in 1939!

There you are - an example of how the postage stamps on a piece of postal history can take you on a journey that may have little to do with the actual item.  No wonder this hobby can be fun!

The First Half of the Journey

So, the camel stamps got me to consider picking this item up for two dollars.  I always liked those camel post-rider stamps, so why not?  But, the curiosity in me now wanted to figure out how this letter got from Khartoum to Maryland!  The first hint was a poorly struck marking on the back of the envelope.  Since I was not particularly good with Sudanese geography, this took me some time to figure.

The marking reads: Shellal-Halfa TPO 10 JAN 39 No 2

The Shellal-Halfa Traveling Post Office (TPO) connected the Egyptian Sate Railways (El Shallal was the railway station) with the Sudan Government Railways at Wadi Halfa.  This piece of railway was 210 miles in length.  Until July, 1951, all surface mail from Sudan was sorted on the Sudanese TPO (rather than the Egyptian) and these marks usually appear on the back of each mail item.

Well - now I have some ideas as to where this item traveled!

The original  1885 Egypt-Sudan map can be found at this link if you wish to view it at the Library of Congress site.

The map above can give you an idea as to the geography that is dominated by the presence of the River Nile.  For most of the land north of Khartoum, anything outside of the Nile valley is dry, hot desert.  Most settlements were (and are) close to the river as it travels through Sudan and Egypt.

At the time this map was made, the Suez Canal had been in operation for almost 20 years.  Major ports of departure were Alexandria and Port Said for ships on the Mediterranean Sea.  It is interesting to note that Shallal is identified as Egyptian, Wadi Halfa as Nubian and Khartoum as Sudanese.

And, as a bit of foreshadowing, the first dam on the Nile, now known as the Low Dam, but known then as the Assuan Dam, was in place to help control the flood/drought cycle of the Nile in Egypt.  The article cited below gives excellent details on the construction of this first dam.   

The Assuan Dam, Jstor article, H. D. (1913). The Assuan Dam. Journal of the Royal African Society, 12(46), 200-201. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/715871

This dam was initially built from 1899 to 1902 and was raised twice - once in 1907-1912 and again 1929-1933.  So, by the time this letter was mailed, the Low Dam was... ahem... at its highest.  Sorry - I had to. 

You might notice the locks to the West of the dam for boat traffic, the rail line would be to the East and Shallal would be northeast of the dam itself.  Apparently, the old rail station can be visited - for those who want to see something a bit off the normal tourist path.

The map above is taken from the original 1928 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan map found again on the Library of Congress site.  If you look, you can see both the River Nile and the Sudanese rail route from Khartoum to Wadi Halfa.  You should take note that the rail line breaks away from the river at the point the Nile turns back southward.

This railway would be the mail route this letter would have taken in 1939, transferring to Egyptian rail north of the border on its way to Shallal (and the Low Dam) and then Cairo.  From there, I can only guess as to whether the item went to Alexandria or Suez (and then to Port Said).  From that point, we can suppose it went to Brindisi (in Italy), then by land to Ostende (Belgium) and took a ship across the Atlantic from one port or another.  With no additional marks or dates, it is impossible to be sure.

But, I've covered those lands with other items before.  It's the area around the River Nile that is new to me, so it makes sense that I would want to concentrate there anyway!

Halfa No More

My how things have changed.  Wadi Halfa, once so important as a connection between Sudan and Egypt, is no more, covered by the waters (Lake Aswan) created when the High Aswan Dam was put into place in 1971.  This dam is just South of the low dam (by Shallal) and the city of Aswan (Assuon) is in that area now.  

If you look at the Google Earth picture below, you can see the Aswan Dam in the foreground.  The Low Dam is above it in the picture where the two channels of the river meet again.

It is absolutely amazing how descriptions of the new Aswan Dam change when you consider the context of the person(s) looking at it.  The Egyptian peoples north of the dam (and down river) benefit from control over a flood/drought cycle that historically caused problems.  They focus on the positives of hydroelectric power and consistent river navigation and irrigation systems that this huge dam creates for them.  For them, there is a sense of great national pride.

On the other hand, over 100,000 people, mostly Nubians, had to be relocated as Lake Nassar flooded their former homes.  Cultural sites, such as Abu Simel and the Temple of Dakka had to be taken apart and moved to avoid destruction.  The effort to create a new agricultural project (New Halfa) has been cited as a poorly planned effort.  And, environmentalists are not always so sure controlling the Nile has been the best idea.  

And I learned all of this simply because I wanted to find Wadi Halfa on a map and I wanted to find Wadi Halfa on a map because I had a single envelope mailed from Khartoum to Maryland.

It has been said that travel is important to help a person learn and grow.  But, if you can't travel, buy an envelope with camels for two dollars and see where that takes you.  You just might be amazed what you will learn as you take some travels with your mind.

Thank you for joining me yet again for another Postal History Sunday.  If you have questions you would like me to address or topics you might enjoy seeing here, please let me know.  And, until next time - have a great week!

Want to know more about Sudan stamps and postal history?  This site points to several resources. 

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Postal History Sunday is published each week at both the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you are interested in prior entries, you can view them, starting with the most recent, at this location.

Date Night - A Faux Real Story

When a person writes every day for an extended period of time, it certainly can seem very strange to NOT write, even for a few days.  In this case, I missed two or three days last week and this week, this will be the first blog entry since Postal History Sunday.  From the perspective of a reader, I suspect this hasn't been a huge thing since it is likely no one reads this blog EVERY day anyway.

There was a time when getting to double digits for blog entries in a single month was quite the accomplishment.  In fact, some considered that "prolific."  Now that my profession has changed to farming words more than plants, things shifted. 

Still, my eyes are less than fond of screen time as I recover.  So, I went back to 2013 and found a May blog post that amused me and I used that to create today's blog post.  It's sort of a hybrid throwback where I combine old with the new.

How we did "Date Night" at GFF

Before the Genuine Faux Farm became such a big part of our lives, Tammy and I saw Friday as the gateway to the weekend, just as so many people do.  But, once we started this vegetable farm thing, Fridays just didn't mean the same thing they used to.

One early May 'date night'  in 2013 began with a wild flurry to get the truck loaded with vegetables, eggs and plants for our plant sale down at Hansen's Outlet in Cedar Falls.  We were also delivering egg orders and our Spring CSA shares to our Cedar Falls members.  While we were at it, we delivered a few other orders for lettuce and asparagus.  Nearly everyone who placed orders showed up, many plants were purchased and we were able to converse with many wonderful people.

After the sales and deliveries, we reloaded the truck.  We did manage to go somewhere for dinner at that point.  But, we did so with the knowledge that rain was coming *and* we still had to pick and prepare for the Waverly Farmers' Market the next morning.  We ate fairly quickly and rolled home watching the clouds in the West.

Veg cleaning by candlelight

While days in May are long, dark clouds in the west can limit the amount of workable light.  Of course, if you start cleaning your veggies at 9:15 PM, you probably are asking for some problems with available light outside regardless of the weather.  So, we grabbed a trouble light and an extension cord and hung it up in the cleaning area.  Tammy thought it was romantic to be cleaning veggies by 'candlelight.'

Ok, maybe she didn't think it was romantic.  But, it was still part of our Date Night.

To make a long story less long, it started to rain at about 9:30 PM - and our cleaning area was outside.  It's moments like that where we are both amused and a bit irritated by the situation.  

It's better if we emphasize the amused part. 

Always more to it than that

This is, of course, the abbreviated version of Date Night.  I didn't mention the romantic interlude that was putting the hens away and checking on the chicks in the brooder to make sure the temperatures were steady.  Then there was the heavy breathing that was a result of a dash out to the high tunnel to close it down just in case there was wind with those clouds.

We even touched hands once in a while as we passed containers and unpurchased plants out of the truck so we could clean it and then start REPACKING it for the next morning.

Perspective

Over time, we changed how we did things at the Genuine Faux Farm.  We removed farmers' markets (except for Spring plant sales) from our list, which provided us with a new perspective on weekends and, of course, Date Night.  That's not to say there weren't still plenty of opportunities to gaze lovingly into each other's eyes while our hands were thrust into icy water so we could get another thirty pounds of lettuce cleaned and packed for some reason or another.

In the present time, both Tammy and I have off-farm jobs.  My job generally does not require weekend work, and it has not recently resulted in cleaning veggies for a Saturday market late into Friday night.  Yet, we still find our opportunities to spend time together.

Maybe we could clean the hen room out this weekend?  That's me - ever the romantic.

A Special End of Pandemic Postal History Sunday

 Welcome to this week's edition of Postal History Sunday!  This week, we're going to do something ...erm... special, to celebrate (?) the termination of the federal government's emergency declaration for the pandemic.  This makes some sense, since Postal History Sunday was created as an effort to reach out to others during the earlier part of the pandemic.  But, the truth of the matter is this.  Both of us at the Genuine Faux Farm are recovering from our first bout with the virus.  Looking at the computer screen and concentrating are more difficult than usual.  

This week, we're going to make an adjustment to address some of the limitations I find myself with.  We'll go back to our Postal History Sunday roots and simply share a few items, without getting too deep into any one of them.  There is no theme other than these are things I appreciate and enjoy.

An uncommon destination overseas

It makes sense (to me at least) that the first thing I would select bears a 24 cent stamp from the United States 1861 design.  What doesn't make sense is that I would select an item that is complex (given my opening).  Still, we'll save many details for a future Postal History Sunday and make it easier on me.

This letter was mailed at the Clyde, NY, post office on July 19, 1862.  Initially, the sender attempted to mail this letter without paying any postage.  While the postmaster at Clyde felt this was okay to do, the New York Foreign Mail Office did not agree.  They put a marking on the envelope that reads "Returned For Postage" and sent it back to Clyde.  That's when the stamps were applied and a new Clyde postmark dated August 6 was struck on the envelope.

The letter was sent back to New York where they recognized it as paid and put it on a ship on August 9 so it could cross the Atlantic.

The destination of this letter was Madeira Island, located off the northwest coast of Africa.  Madeira was colonized by Portugal in the 1420s and was under their administration in 1862.  Ships from Southampton (England) and Lisbon (Portugal) regularly sailed though on the way west to the Americas.

This letter crossed the Atlantic from New York, arriving in London.  From London, the letter was sent through France and Spain to get to Lisbon, on its way to Madeira.  The recipient was required to pay 80 reis (Portuguese currency) to complete payment of the local postage, which could not be prepaid by the sender.

An interesting Iowa destination

Since I told you there was no particular theme today, I feel like it is perfectly fine for me to move from an 1862 letter from the US to a very uncommon destination to something that has to do with chickens.  Yes, I suppose some of you are going to complain a bit about whiplash with the drastic about-face on the topic.  But, hey, this is what brain fog does to a person.  One moment, they're talking about the the route through Lisbon and the next they're wondering if the Sure Hatch Incubator Company in Fremont, Nebraska sold much product in the early 1900s.

The letter shown above was sent under the 2 cents per ounce rate for internal United States mail.  The destination is South Amana, which is part of the Amana Colonies in Iowa.  South Amana is one of six communities established in 1855 (a seventh, named Homestead, was added in 1861).  The Amanas were established as a communal society populated by Germans who had established a settlement near Buffalo, NY in the 1840s after having left Europe to seek a location where they would have religious freedom for their belief system. 

Image of Sure Hatch Incubator Co (1912) from Nebraska Memories (viewed 5/13/23)

There is, currently, a Surehatch Incubator Company in Missouri that still sells product.  Whether it is the same business (or if that business has shared roots), I do not know.

For those who are curious, we traditionally buy "day-old" chicks for the Genuine Faux Farm from hatcheries.  We have only actively hatched our own poultry once.  It's certainly something we could have done, but you have to draw the line somewhere.  In this case, we decided hatching new birds was on the "other" side of the lines we drew.

Destination London

Sometimes it is important to simply look at an item and appreciate it for what it is.  This 1865 folded business letter was sent from Amsterdam (Holland) to London (England).  There are 15 Dutch cents in postage, properly paying the rate.  The stamps themselves are canceled (marked to avoid their re-use) with the word "Franco" which means "franked" or "postage paid."  I like this item because it is clean, neat, and pretty easy to decipher. 

According to the postmarks, this letter took a couple days in January to get to its destination.  The addressee, Grosscurth and Luboldt, was listed in an 1891 Trade Directory as dealers and importers of bismuth.  The contents of the folded letter may refer to a supply of "crushed" bismuth in Constantinople.  However, the writing is a bit difficult to decipher in places and I wanted to keep things simple, remember?

taken from this location

I was able to find this snippet from the January 8, 1909, London Gazette that announced the dissolution of the partnership of Grosscurth and Luboldt.  I was even able to find an announcement for Mr. Julius Grosscurth's death in 1924 (Dec 23 at age 88).

At the risk of perpetuating an "urban myth," I have read multiple places, that one Nicolas Papaffy was able to perpetuate the fraud of convincing people in the London Exchange to invest in a process whereby he claimed to be able to transform bismuth and aluminum to silver.  As a result, the prices of this metal were, for a time, artificially high, until Papaffy absconded with the money and left the newly founded business in London.  I can trace this story to a particular science text cited by several internet sources, but I have found no contemporary references after a short search.

And that's where I'll stop for the day.  I hope you found something enjoyable in today's entry.

Have a great remainder of your day and a fine week to come.

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Postal History Sunday is published each week at both the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you are interested in prior entries, you can view them, starting with the most recent, at this location.