A Bobwhite's Greeting

One of the beautiful things that comes from paying attention to the world around you is that you gain a sense of what is normally there.  Once you have that sense of the typical, or the normal, or the most common, you gain the power of recognizing new things.  Or, if you are lucky, even slightly different things.

Or the call of a Northern Bobwhite, a bird that we have never heard or seen on the farm before.

I first noticed their call while I was working in the office on Friday (with the windows open of course).  I was concentrating on what I was doing, not just sitting around wishing I was doing something else and letting anything and everything distract me.  Somehow, part of my brain recognized that something different was making its voice known and realized, fairly quickly, that this was a new bird call for me at the Genuine Faux Farm.

It is possible I've heard this bird before - but that was probably a time years ago when my birdsong recognition was much less than it is now.  Happily, I also have access to the Merlin app that showed me, much to my delight, that this was, indeed, a Bobwhite.

It is not uncommon for a new bird to stop by our farm and then be gone the next day.  In fact, we had a Wood Thrush sing happily at our farm for exactly ONE day.  So, we were delighted to hear the Bobwhites again on Saturday.  Then we saw them running around the northern portion of our farm.  On my way out to bring the chickens some food, I noticed one bird foraging near our compost piles and I snapped a quick (and blurry) picture with my phone.  I figured that was going to be my prize shot to prove to myself that we actually were seeing a Northern Bobwhite.

Eventually, I went to get the camera in the off chance that I would have a better opportunity.  Then this happened.

A little call and response between two different Northern Bobwhite on the farm.  That was pretty cool.  Then I slowly eased my way around the tree and bush at the right of the video until I could see the bird that was singing - and I took a photo that I could blow up so you could see our new little friend.

This bird stopped it's signature "bob? bob WHITE!" call once it understood it was seen.  About all it managed for a while was a quiet "bob?" and then silence.

It did not leave and simply went about preening.  In fact, a few of these birds walked into Valhalla (our larger high tunnel) while Tammy was in there picking beans.  She actually had to escort them out of the building and was only a few feet from them as she did so.

While these are neat little birds, we are really pleased by their presence because their numbers have been in sharp decline, despite the fact that they can have two or three broods a year of young.  The main cause of their decline is the removal of habitat.

Well, I guess our farm has become friendlier for Northern Bobwhite.  

I can live with that.

Forward! - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to Postal History Sunday!  

I feel like I've been saying this a lot lately, but I've had another busy week.  But, here we are with another PHS for everyone to read.  This week, I'm going to go with a shorter entry that is actually going to lead to next week's PHS!  A series!  So, let's get started, shall we?

A week ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Great American Stamp Show in Cleveland.  While I was there, I enjoyed looking through many pieces of postal history and I was able to identify some that I wanted to add to my own collection.  And, of course, I selected many of these items simply because I could already see that they would work well in a Postal History Sunday!

Today, I wanted to work on the theme of mail that is sent to one location, but the recipient has moved on - for whatever reason.  If the new location of the recipient is known, that letter could be forwarded to the next location.  

But, the rules for forwarding changed over time.  During the 1860s, the period I study the most, there were some definite changes with respect to forwarded mail.

Forwarded mail - the recipient pays at delivery

Shown above is a letter that was likely mailed in September of 1863 or 1864, clearly during the US Civil War, from Hamilton, Ohio.  The original destination was in Cleveland, but the letter was forwarded to Elyria, Ohio.  The cost to mail a letter inside the United States was 3 cents per one half ounce and a three cent stamp paid the cost to mail the letter from Hamilton to Cleveland.  However, forwarding was not free - and three more cents were needed to send the letter from Cleveland to Elyria.

That's where the "Due 3" marking comes in.  Applied in Cleveland, this marking let the postmaster in Elyria know that Mrs. Col. Lionel Sheldon would need to pay three cents when she, or her representative (I.L.Cole) received the letter.

The US Postal Regulations in effect at the time gave instructions in Section 55 for forwarding mail stating that "It is proper to forward a letter when duly requested ... If it has been delivered according to its address, and then forwarded, it must be charged with additional postage ... [which] may be paid either at the forwarding office or the office of delivery."

What we cannot be certain of with respect to this letter is whether the "request" to forward this letter came after it was delivered to Horace Kelley, Esq. or if there was a request on record with the Cleveland postmaster that they were honoring.  And, as far as the postal service was concerned, that didn't really matter.  Either way, the letter was sent on its way on September 5, only one day after it was originally posted in Hamilton.  Either Kelley was very efficient with the request to forward after having the letter placed in his hands or there was already forwarding instructions on file.  I tend to believe the latter if I had to choose.

Forwarding pre-paid

Here's an example where the cost of forwarding a letter was already paid.  Reverend Mr. Willard (Samuel G. Willard) must have arranged for his mail to be forwarded to Burlington, Vermont, care of Rev E. Mix.  In doing so, he appears to have either prepaid or arranged for mail forwarding to be placed on his account by his instructions.  The result was that the Willimantic postmaster applied a second three cent stamp on mail to be forwarded to Rev Willard so it would be paid to the new destination.

Rev Samuel Willard served as a Congregationalist Minister in Willimantic, Connecticut, from November 5, 1849, until September 2, 1868 - a fairly long tenure.  The Congregationalist church makes the claim as the first "place of worship"  established in Willimantic, dedicating a church building in 1828.

This letter, sent from Milford, Connecticut, in July of 1865, would have come at a time when Willard was well established in the First Congregationalist Church of Willimantic.  He might have been visiting his fellow minister, Eldridge Mix, who served at the First Congregationalist Church in Burlington. 

While this letter has no contents remaining in the envelope, we can construct a bit more about it based on the dockets written sideways on the left side of the element.  The docket provides notes for Rev. Willard that the letter was from a Dr. Chas Jewett and was received on July 20, 1865.  That lines up nicely with the Milford July 18 and Willimantic July 19 postmarks.  Willard apparently responded to the letter the next day and also sent a letter to a Rev E.H. Pratt that must have dealt with a related matter.

And then, the rules changed

So, we come to this letter that was mailed on Jun 28, 1866 from Madison, Wisconsin, to Dubuque, Iowa.  The letter was forwarded on from Dubuque on July 9 to Washington, D.C. There is no additional stamp and there is no "due" marking to be seen on this folded letter.  However, if you look at the top left, you will see the words "Forwarded" and "Free."

So, let's give the easy part first.  According to an Act of Congress on June 12, 1866, letters were to be forwarded without additional postage cost.  This new regulation was to take effect on July 1 of that same year.  So, while the letter was initially mailed and likely arrived in Dubuque before the first of July, it was not forwarded until after the first.  So, it qualified for free forwarding.

However, if ALL prepaid mail was to be forwarded for free, why did the Dubuque postal clerk find it necessary to include the extra markings that read "Forwarded" and "Free?"  Isn't that a bit redundant?  

I actually have a possible explanation for this, believe it or not.  On July 24, 1861, a change in the postal laws stated that prepaid letters to soldiers in the service of the United States would be forwarded for free - likely recognizing that said soldiers were going to move around at the behest of the government, so it didn't seem right to charge them additional postage to get their letters.  Therefore, post offices were probably used to pulling out handstamps for free forwarding to alert clerks at the destination office that this special rule applied.

In other words, it was no longer necessary to make the special distinction for letters forwarded to soldiers.  But that doesn't mean the postal clerks were going to break procedures that had become habit that easily.   

Hey... how many of you still write the wrong year on things during the month of January?  For me, it's actually more like February or March when I finally get with the program.  So, I can sympathize.

A teaser for next week

This folded letter actually had contents.  And you know what that means - there's potential for more story!

So, next week, we are actually going to explore both the first and the third items from today's article from their social history perspectives.  The letter shown above is written by a Justice of the Peace on behalf of Mrs. Joseph Cooper, who is looking for her husband - part of the 7th Iowa Cavalry.

Thank you for joining me this week, and I hope to see you next week.  Have a great remainder of your day and a fine week to come!

The GFF August 2023 Playlist

 

It is time for a new music playlist on the Genuine Faux Farm blog.  Once again, my choice of when to do a new playlist is pretty arbitrary.  But I have been able to do one nearly every month for a while.  If you are curious about others, you can go here.

Classic Crime - Lost Magic

I first "discovered" Classic Crime when I stumbled on their Phoenix album some undisclosed (and probably forgotten) number of years ago.  If you wanted to introduce yourself to this group, that is probably their best work.  So, it was a good choice for me to start with and to encourage me to watch for new recordings.

Well, they just released a new one.  And, it has some of the feel of Phoenix, without being terribly redundant.  

Sinead O'Connor - Mandinka

Let me first admit that I never was a huge Sinead fan.  It has nothing to do with talent and more to do with what I preferred listening to at the time they were at their creative peak.  I certainly had no objection if Sinead's music was played by others or in restaurants or other public places.

Sadly, for me, it took her premature death to encourage me to take a moment and rediscover (or maybe discover) some of her work for myself.

 

Plini - Homemade Cities

Sometimes you discover music by happenstance.  In this case, I was looking for something else and here this was.  I've always appreciated electric guitar compositions.  Sometimes I just want to hear the music and not worry about vocals and lyrics.

Plini reminds me of a group named Fourth Estate - which is a group we stumbled upon at a Summer music festival years ago (before the farm).

Dave Beegle - Classical Gas

Since I brought up Fourth Estate, how about sharing some of his beautiful sound and composition with this rendition of Classical Gas.  Now imagine somebody playing top notch electric guitar in a side tent with a full band - unannounced.  As people walked by, they were drawn into the tent just to see what was going on.

And once they were in, they did not leave until the playing was over.

Emperor's New Groove

No, it's not a song.  And this is MY list, not yours.  So you can't complain.

Ok, you can complain.  But it won't matter because I'm not changing it.

Sometimes when Tammy and I need a laugh, we'll start quoting this passage at each other.  Not always in the correct order.  It doesn't matter.  We're having fun.

Black Violin - Showoff

It's true, I prefer cello to violin.  I am sure it has something to do with the fact that my sweetie has played cello.  Perhaps it had something to do with ME playing cello.  Or maybe it's just because cello is a superior instrument.

But, yeah.  I suppose I can do some violin.  I like the way these guys are mixing musical styles and still showing off some serious classical playing skills.  This is an accessible flashy example, but there are some other tunes I like better that I might share next time around.

2Cellos - I Will Wait

Two violins and now two cellos.  Sometimes when instrumentalists cover a popular tune, it seems like they are trying too hard.  This rendition of I Will Wait works pretty well and almost makes me feel as if they aren't covering an existing tune.

NRBQ - Rats in My Room

Sometimes you just have to have a little fun with the music.  This is fun.  I'm just going to leave it at that and you can listen.

77's - I'm Gonna Run to the City of Refuge

One of the problems that I have with using Youtube to share music is that you can't guarantee that you will find a tune there.  And, on top of that, when you find it, it is often NOT endorsed by the musicians - or, more to the point - they don't get much benefit by having the tune available there.

I was looking for other songs by the 77s and didn't find the ones I was looking for.  But, they have an extensive library with very good songs, so I don't feel like it's a problem to go with my fifth or sixth choice.

Mark Heard - I Always Do

Mark Heard was an amazing song writer who featured insightful lyrics.  I find myself having new insights every time I listen to his songs, even if they are ones I've known for many years.  Even better, the lyrical meanings allow me to expand my own understanding based on my lived experience.  

Good stuff lyrically, even if this is not a fully produced version of this song.

Hoi Polloi - Rest Tonight

Here's a group and a song both Tammy and I have enjoyed for a long time.  It's a treat to see a recent live version and it's nice to share it here.

And there you go.  This list goes to eleven!

Gentle Reminder at Dusk

It's been a very long week.  No.  It's been a very long series of weeks for everyone at the Genuine Faux Farm.  Even Murphy, the youngest Farm Supervisor (aka cat), has had some stressful moments - which is saying something.

Crops on the farm are ripening, as they do in August.  And they are clamoring for our attention.  Over the past week we have brought in, with the help of some fine people, somewhere in the neighborhood of 86 pounds of green beans (and we're not done yet).  We've canned peaches and we're getting anxious to freeze beans,broccoli and corn, process tomatoes, and do our best to get excess produce to others.

The broiler chicks are just about ready to go out on pasture and the henlets are about ready for us to let them out on the pasture outside of their room.  But, we've got to get the pastures ready first - of course.  And that's not all of the farm stuff.

Meanwhile, we both have jobs that are needing us to be twice our normal selves right now.  Both for different (and similar) reasons.

It's all enough to bring about a serious ugly mood if we let it.

Then I went out to do the chores after we made our veg and egg deliveries for the week.  And the hens were dawdling around again, not wanting to go in.  This was the LAST outdoor chore before I could go inside for the day and the sun was already below the horizon.

Rather than getting mad about the hens.  I decided to just absorb what was going on around me at the moment.  I didn't have anything else to do but wait for the birds... and see, feel, and hear the beautiful world I get to live in.

 

Perhaps Crazy Maurice and his tree friends arranged this moment for me?  Or maybe this moment has just been waiting for me to notice it.  

It's a gentle reminder to breathe.  Live.  Appreciate.

And, look at that, the last chicken was in once I panned the camera back around at the end of the video.

Now I could go in, gift firmly in hand.

Culinary Corner: From Cucumber Cooler to Sandwiches

We're entering peak garden harvest season for everyone out there who has a garden (and our farm is seeing a lot of things coming in now).  So, I thought we could share a throwback post from 2015 with some ideas you could use for some Summer food goodness.  Of course, I've edited the post so it is updated because... well, I can.

--------------------

Basil Lemonade
We actually brought basil lemonade to our CSA distributions on and off over the years so people could try it.  We had a recipe there for interested persons to take a picture of it, but then we thought we'd get it out on the blog in case that didn't work for you!

Making the Syrup

• 2 cups basil
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar

(or you can double this with 4 cups of each)
Boil the syrup ingredients together for about one hour.  Let cool and then strain out the basil.  You can store the syrup in the refrigerator if you do not intend on using it all immediately.

Making the Lemonade

• 1 cup lemon juice
• 2 cups basil syrup
• 5 cups of water

Stir the ingredients together and add ice for a refreshing twist on lemonade!

Cucumber Cooler
We also had this refreshing drink available to taste test at our distributions periodically!

• 1 cucumber
• 1 qt cold water
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• pinch of salt
• ice cubes
• additional cucumber (sliced in rounds)

Partially peel the cucumber and slice off the ends.  Cut into 1 inch cubes and puree in a blender or food processor for one minute.  Strain the juice into a large pitcher, using a spoon to press out as much juice as possible. Add honey, lime juice and salt to the pitcher and stir well.  Finish with ice & cucumber slices.

Let me also refer you to this 2015 post on dealing with the bounty of the season.  If you've looked at it already - great.  If not, take the word of several of our CSA members who told us that the post was timely and useful.  And, if you have now read that post, you won't be surprised if we tell you that stir fries and frittatas are not uncommon for us at the farm.

Stir Fry to the Rescue

The great thing about stir fries is the ability we have to put wide range of veggies into them and then we have an equally wide range of things we can put the stir fry ON!  We'll be starting to dig potatoes, so putting the stir fry on a baked potato is something we are known to do.  We also use various types of pasta and rice as bases for our stir fries.

Here is one example of a base for a stir fry that we might do:

Swiss Chard with Garlic

• 3 pounds Swiss chard (about 2 large bunches)
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Tear Swiss chard leaves from thick white stalks and coarsely chop leaves, reserving stalks. In a large saucepan or kettle of boiling salted water simmer stalks until tender, 5 to 10 minutes, and drain in a colander. Chard may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead, stalks cooled completely and leaves and stalks chilled separately in sealable plastic bags. 

Mince garlic. In a large skillet heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook garlic, stirring, 30 seconds. Add leaves in 2 batches, tossing to coat with oil and stirring after each addition, and cook until leaves are wilted. Add stalks and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Season chard with salt and pepper. Makes 6 servings. Gourmet March 1998

We realize that this doesn't use up a whole bunch of produce.  But, it illustrates a couple of things.  First, you could split preparation time for when you are able to do things.  Tammy, in fact, actually does not boil the chard before using it in a stir fry and we have no problem with that.  But, it gives you a way to have the chard ready to go in advance if you want.

What this recipe does is give you a basic start on a stir fry with swiss chard (for example).  It is not hard to cut up some zucchini, onion, summer squash and pepper and put them in the pan with the garlic.  I might suggest cooking the garlic for a little bit first, then add the harder items and finish with the greens.  The more volume you add to the pan, the more you time you might need to cook it. As you add to your stir fry, you will be amazed by how much produce can be used in one dish!

The Foil Packet on the Grill is Grate... er Great.

If you are grilling something for dinner, add a nice big foil packet of veggies to the items on the grill.  Depending on the veggies and amount your are grilling you may want to put them on prior to the meat (assuming you are grilling meat as well) so they have a chance to cook sufficiently.

Touchstone Gold beets

We have had great success with golden beets, potatoes, summer squash, zucchini, kohlrabi, cucumbers (yes, cucumbers), carrots, eggplant, peppers, onions and other items in foil packets. 

The really great thing about this?  You could make a foil packet for each person in the family.  Do you have someone who absolutely cannot swallow a carrot?  Well, they can put their selection of cut up produce into their packet.  They can opt to add spicing, olive oil, etc as they wish.  Seal the packet up, put it on the grill and remember which packet belongs to each person.

S stands for Simple and Sandwich
A sandwich does not have to be 75% meat, 15% bread, 5% condiments and one small slice of lettuce.  When you have quality produce available, much of it should be fair game for sandwich making.  The two of us and our crew regularly enjoyed the ability to add fresh heirloom tomatoes, peppers and lettuce to our sandwiches.  Often, the tomatoes are so good that we find ourselves stacking more tomato than meat on the bread!

If you like a bit more of a crunch on your sandwich than a few chunks of pepper might provide, you can try some slices of cucumber or a thin slice of kohlrabi.  And, don't forget a little onion!  But, if raw onion doesn't do it for you, cut part of an onion up and caramelize it.  This can be a nice treat to add to your sandwiches.  If you want to get a bit more exotic, caramelize the onion with some chunks of eggplant (cut to whatever size seems to work with you and your family).

We have found that a nice leaf or two of chinese cabbage is mild enough that it works very well as a lettuce substitute.  Or, if you like the taste of kale or chard raw, they will work just fine for you on a sandwich.

Enjoy the fresh produce and have a little fun trying some new things!
The most important thing is that you should take a moment and let yourself enjoy the season of fresh produce.  That season is a mere fraction of the entire year, so don't let the bounty detract from the opportunity you have right now to enjoy veggies at their peak!

Seconds

The Barn Swallow chicks are showing their faces much more prominently over the last couple of days in the granary.  Their space is getting a bit crowded and I suspect they will find themselves fledging very soon.  This is the second brood of the summer at the farm, which is fairly typical for the Barn Swallows that call the Genuine Faux Farm home for the warmer months.  What isn't typical is the fairly large number of chicks.  We usually see four, sometimes three, but very rarely five.

According to Audubon, Barn Swallows can have as lay as many as seven eggs in a brood, with the potential for seven chicks.  After seeing the jostling in this nest, I have no idea how seven little birds would have any hope of staying in the nest.

If you look closely, you might notice that the size of the chicks vary, with the smallest at the back left.  I didn't have time to research it, but I can speculate that there could be two reasons for this.  One, many birds do not lay all of their eggs at the same time.  If they are anything like our chickens, they might lay one egg a day over a period of five or six days to form the brood.  Between the age difference and the fact that the chicks compete with each other for food from the parents... there are good reasons for some looking more fit than others.

Barn Swallow eggs hatch about two weeks after they are laid and the chicks are ready to leave the next about three weeks later.  That's pretty darned quick, so it stands to reason that even 24 hours could result in a huge difference in the development of a young bird.  It won't be long before we have large numbers of birds wheeling about our farm again before they all head South.

Anyway, since our second group of Barn Swallow chicks are looking at flying soon, that got me to noticing some other Summer "seconds" on the farm.

Clematis flowers are typically a feature in May or June at the farm.  After they drop the petals from their Spring/early Summer bloom, the plants seem to fade into the background of the perennial garden.  The leaves are green, but not terribly eye catching.  And the plants store up energy for next year's bloom.

Well, things were so dry early in the year that this particular clematis plant must have felt a bit cheated and it still had a bloom left to give.  It just didn't feel that it had enough energy and water until August to push this one open.  So, it's a "second" bloom.  

Just one flower.  Unexpected and unlooked for.  But I took notice of it and I gave it the attention it deserved.

I do hope that the plant has a better year next year so it can get its business done in the time it would prefer.  But I don't mind seeing a flower out of season either.

 

Here is a different kind of "second."  Surprise Lilies (or Naked Ladies) are a different kind of plant.  They send up thick bunches of leaves in the late Spring to early Summer, but they do not flower.  Instead, the leaves die back and there is little to no evidence of the plant in July.

Until....

August arrives and these plants send up stalks with these delicate lily flowers.  Surprise!

It's a second growth that comes after you think the plant has done its bit for the year.  It's a wonderful reminder that there are so many ways in this world where plants, animals... and even people... can be successful.  It isn't required that all of the other flowers understand this kind of success either.

 

We have noticed that some of our bushes as giving us some half-hearted blooms now as well.  The Mock Orange opened a single, lonely flower at the top of a stem.  The Wiegala have a few flowers here and there that the Japanese Beetles love to turn into ragged messes soon after they open.  And, some of the clover we mowed down to encourage a second bloom about four to six weeks ago are now showing us a new bloom that the bumblebees and honeybees are taking notice of.

Spring may be the time for firsts, but don't ignore the "seconds" that August brings us.  They are often less noticeable because there is so much more green growth in our landscape now than there is when leaves are just opening on trees and plants are just pushing up out of the ground.  

Take a moment to search for the unexpected and to enjoy the chicks in the nest before they learn to fly on their own.  And you can take that last statement whatever way you want, because second meanings have value too.

Walking Near Cuyahoga

The two of us took some time away from the farm - in the middle of Summer.  That, in itself, is quite a feat.  Perhaps I'll take the time to write a little bit about what it took to leave the farm and hope to come back with all of the poultry, cats and plants still alive!  But, that is not today's topic.  Instead, I thought I'd show a few pictures of some of the places we walked while we visited Cleveland for a few days.

But, let me first ask you this - did you know that there is a National Park just south of Cleveland in Ohio?   Well, there is one.  The Cuyahoga Valley National Park celebrates natural areas and regional history.  But, in my mind, I equate this with a comeback for a river system that was once noted for extreme pollution that led to it actually catching on fire not once, but multiple times.

The photo above is Bridal Veil Falls in the Bedford Reservation, which I believe is not formally a part of the park, but is adjacent.  I am afraid I never did quite get a feel for what exactly was included and what was not because Cuyahoga National Park is very much an "urban park" because it is surrounding by urban areas.

We took our time walking the Ledges Trail during one morning of our stay and then had a quick walk to view Bridal Veil Falls during the other.  It was pleasant walking in the shade of a mature forest and feeling the cool moist air amongst the rocks that give this trail its name.  And, of course, the camera came out to play too.

I've got a whole host of interesting pictures that I hope to share with those who might like to learn with me.  The issue will be finding the time to do the viewing, learning and sharing.  

For now I'll just say that we enjoyed our walks.  They weren't "walk there agains," instead they were "walk there for the first time."  We enjoyed it enough that we might, indeed, walk there again.

Thanks for taking a moment to visit the blog.  Have a great day everyone!

Three Years - Postal History Sunday

Well everyone, we made it.  Welcome to the third anniversary edition of Postal History Sunday - also known as the 156th entry of the weekly series.  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.   

This week's post is a celebration.  I thought I would share things in the "threes" today to symbolically represent three years of posts.  But before I get started, let me remind you that Postal History Sunday is written to be accessible to anyone who has interest.  There are readers who have expertise in various areas of postal history and others who simply appreciate learning something new, but are not otherwise inclined to dig into the subject.   All of you are welcome and I hope you find something to enjoy.

Let's start with the question, "which three Postal History Sunday's come to mind when someone asks you for blogs you most enjoyed writing?"

Three PHS I enjoyed writing

These were posted in bakeries with suggested guidelines for bread prices.

The Price of Bread is an earlier Postal History Sunday (April 2021) that has a great deal going for it.  First of all, the item that started my interest on the topic didn't look terribly special on the outside, but the contents (shown above) really grabbed my attention.  

This paper was posted in bakeries to show that they were following voluntary price guidelines for bread that were established by the government and based on the price of the grains used to bake bread.  Voluntary price controls was a fairly new situation in France and free trade for bakers was established in France in mid-1863.  Prior to that, there were taxe officielle that set prices for bread and these controls were actually a tool that was used to maintain the peace in France.

Discovery of this item led me to search for other examples and I took great delight in exploring the topic of official and unofficial price controls for bread.  This post is an excellent example of starting with the postal history and using it to explore the social history connected to it.

A triple rate letter from the United States to France

The first one is an example of my writing about an area in postal history (and social history) with which I had less familiarity.  The next one is an illustration of a PHS that features materials and a topic area I know extremely well.  Let's Send a Letter to France (Oct 2022) represents an effort where I feel as if I was able to find some of the best words to explain a relatively complex topic - mail from the United States to France in the 1860s.   

This time around, the focus for me was entirely on word choice, topic ordering and illustrations.  I did not have to also manage a research process at the same time I was navigating the writing of the blog.  I can truly say that this blog was a joy to write because it was a celebration of years of learning and accumulated experience that I had an opportunity to share with anyone who felt like reading it.   

My third example of an article I really enjoyed writing is the offering titled Did Garibaldi Delay the Mail? (Nov 2022) that featured an exploration of the cover shown above.  This particular cover has been a long-term puzzle for me as I have sought the best explanation for why it doesn't seem to follow the patterns shown by other covers from the US to Rome during the same time period.

This particular entry afforded me a chance to put into words where my research had taken me.  The effort of trying to explain the problem and present the surrounding information was incredibly valuable to me as I continued to dig into the problems presented by this cover.  The conclusions I share there may not be my absolute final solution, but I feel much better about those conclusions after the effort required to write this Postal History Sunday.

Three tidbits I take ridiculous amounts of pleasure in having discovered them for a Postal History Sunday

There is an island near Bingen where an old tower still stands - and it bears the name Mäuseturm - which is translated as "the Mouse Tower."  This name may actually be a alteration of the name based on a High German word that made reference to this being a watchtower.

In the present day, is known for its connection to a legend that features the Archbishop of Mentz who treated the peasantry cruelly, murdering many of the poor to prevent them from eating too much of the food that was in short supply.  Archbishop Hatto fled to this tower to escape an army of mice, who pursued him there - he was then devoured by the mice as God's judgement for his wicked ways.

This little piece of information in Dominoes (Jan 2022) has become my "go-to" odd fact when someone asks me for an example of strange things I have discovered as I research Postal History Sunday entries, but it's not the only one.

To give you a bit of background, my Bachelor's Degree is in Mathematics and Computer Science.  So, imagine my geeky delight when I discovered that the recipient of the letter featured in Foolish Desire (Feb 2023), Erastus DeForest, is credited with the initial discovery of the chi-square distribution (for those who know some statistics).  Four of his papers (published from 1866 to 1871) are listed in this Catalog of Scientific Papers compiled by the Royal Society of London 1877 (vol VII). 

And finally, one more factoid that I still take delight in learning as I researched Night Flight (Apr 2023).

Postmaster General Harry S New indicated that the US Post Office was aware that night flying was going to be necessary in his 1923 Report of the Postmaster General, signalling a new trans-Continental schedule that included night flying to begin on July 1, 1924.  Beacon lights were installed along the route from Chicago to Cheyenne, Wyoming every three miles to guide the pilots in the section of the route scheduled to be flown at night.  

If you have ever been in the country and well away from towns or cities, you might have an idea how dark it can get.  Now imagine trying to fly a plane at night without any light to guide you.

Three covers I actually acquired because I wanted to write a Postal History Sunday about them

As a rule, I have always had an attraction to items that I think will have an interesting story to tell.  But, I will readily admit that I have added a couple of items to my own collection because I wanted to research and write a Postal History Sunday about it.  The great news about that is, a great story doesn't necessarily require a huge price tag!

Shown above is an example of an item that attracted my attention because of the potential story I could uncover.  The key is the part of the address that reads "Friends Ambulance Unit" (FAU) and I was able to write the PHS entry titled Friends in Need (May 2022).  While I actually acquired this before I was writing Postal History Sunday, I did pick it up because I saw the potential.  

J.R. Little was among those involved in the FAU from its very beginning, and he coordinated acquiring and delivering resources to the FAU across the English Channel providing care for the wounded in World War I.  An old envelope providing a window into a much bigger story is something I really enjoy.

Unlike the first cover, the one shown above was picked up specifically because I wanted to write a Postal History Sunday about it.  And, in fact, it only took me a couple of weeks to accomplish that task.  

Quarantine! (Aug 2022) is an article where I was able to do some detective work to ascertain that the writer was Dr. John Swinburne, who was appointed to the post of Health Officer for the Port of New York in March of 1864 - one month prior to the sending of this particular letter.  The Health Officer was responsible for the Quarantine Station and the processes of quarantining and dealing with persons arriving at the port who were suffering from infectious disease.

Then there is this flashy item that had a connection to my home state and the railroad company that I saw frequently as it maintained a schedule through my home town as I grew up.  It was very inexpensive, but the personal connection motivated me to purchase it and hunt down the story behind it.

Trains of Thought (Dec 2022) was refreshing because it was simply fun.  It's a good example of the balance I am hoping I can manage to maintain over time with Postal History Sunday.  Sometimes it can be enjoyable to really get into the details of postal history (rates, routes, etc) and other times it's better to keep the topic lighter.  Remember, I am hoping people with all levels of interest in postal history can find something to enjoy here.

The three most popular Postal History Sundays

I have had people ask me periodically how much traffic Postal History Sunday gets.  My answer is that online metrics have real limitations when it comes to translating visits to actual readership levels.  But, you can get a sense for overall trends and which articles have gotten the most attention.

According to the metrics supplied by Blogger, here are the three most visited Postal History Sunday entries!

1. Up, Up and Away
2. Business, Madness and Social Betterment
3. Thurn and Taxis

These are all entries from 2021, which does not mean there were more readers at that time than there is now.  Remember, once an article is published, it is available to be read from that point on.  So, it makes sense that older posts have more visits - especially if there are links from newer Postal History Sundays (or other places on the internet) that point to them.

Three items I am looking forward to writing about

Today's Postal History Sunday is not just about what has been, it is also about what we hope will be in the future.  I have several topics I hope to write about in the future - assuming I can find the time and energy to follow through.  I thought I would share three items I hope to write about soon.

Here's an envelope that carried seeds through the mail from the James J.H. Gregory seed company in (probably) 1870.  My personal connection to growing vegetables and farming, combined with my affinity for postal history, makes this an excellent target.  I've combined farming topics with postal history a few times with some success.  So, it feels like it is about time to keep things balanced by going that direction again soon.

Here's another one that is very different from the normal Postal History Sunday.  Anyone who has been a collector from childhood - and it doesn't matter what that collection is - will have some soft spots for items that caught their eye when they were younger.  For example, many kids find it easier to be attracted to stamps featuring animals instead of those that illustrate historical figures or events.

The giraffe in the stamp shown above is part of a series I remember appreciating when I was younger.  So, it's pretty neat to have an envelope that used one of those stamps to pay the postage.

And, of course, there needs to be at least one 24-cent 1861 item in here.  The cover shown above, in combination with a couple of other covers, provides an opportunity for a great story that I have been working on for some time.  But, like so many stories of this sort, it's going to take some time to get it right.  But, we'll get there one day - and hopefully you'll be there to enjoy it, just as I'll enjoy writing it.

Thank you so much for joining me today.  We'll be back to a more "normal" PHS next week.  But, until then I hope you have a fine remainder of your day and an excellent week to come.

Some bonus material

Tammy and I spent the last few days in Cleveland, Ohio to attend the Great American Stamp Show, sponsored by the APS (American Philatelic Society).  This show is held yearly and is the largest conference / bourse style gathering in the United States.  

I had the opportunity to speak with several other people who enjoy philately (stamp collecting) and postal history and was honored to receive several compliments for Postal History Sunday.  One of the most common compliments was that, while I did not write specifically about the parts of the hobby they focus on, they still found PHS to be entertaining, accessible, and even useful.  One person told me that they knew that, even if they knew nothing about the topic going in, I would not abandon them in the process of exploring it.

Thank you all for your kind words and the support it gives me.  Keep the questions, suggestions and corrections coming.  Feel free to tell me if something wasn't clear and I'll certainly try to explain things in another way.

There were many exhibits at the show.  In fact, there were so many that there was no way a person could easily find the time to enjoy them all.  However, I identified a couple that I wanted to explore a bit more deeply, including the fine exhibit about the Grand Trunk Railway by James Allen. This exhibit shows items for a rail line that interests me because some of my postal history from the 1860s relied on it to get from place to place.

I also had the pleasure of talking with Mark Thompson about his Women of the Black Heritage Series exhibit.  Mark received a gold award for the first time with his exhibit and he is to be congratulated for his efforts.  Each woman featured on these postage stamps has the equivalent of a Postal History Sunday article in this exhibit and I applaud him for his careful work in honoring these outstanding people.

And a big thank you to Chip Gliedman for the personalized "tour" of his Postal History Map of the United States.  It's a gleeful approach to collecting and sharing postal history items in a way that could resonate with most anyone.  His idea?  Find a really neat piece of postal history from each state in the nation and put them in their place on a map.  Everything from a cover partially burned in the crash of the Hindenburg to an item with connections to the Choctaw Nation.

And that's all I've got this week.  I hope to see you again next week for Postal History Sunday.

It Doesn't Always Take Much

Not every seed lands where there is rich, deep soil.  Sometimes they land in a place where the odds are very much against future success.  And yet, sometimes the seed finds that there is just enough.  Enough to begin to grow and find its way in a world that isn't giving it much to go on.

Sometimes a young tree has to innovate if its going to grow.  Or maybe this one was an Ent that sat down on a rock and has yet to stir from its spot. 

Trees can be pretty amazing - and it's pretty enjoyable to see how they make things work with what they have available to them.  It's a good lesson in persistence and adaptability.

PAN Iowa News

I thought this would be a good time to share the Iowa Newsletter that I author periodically for Pesticide Action Network.  If you live in Iowa and would like to receive these, along with alerts and our Ground Truth blog in your email, you can join PAN here.  This gives you a quick look into some of the things I do as a part of my off-farm job.

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When we first moved to the place that has become the Genuine Faux Farm, the first neighbor to approach us was an older woman who “only lived a half-mile or so away.” She brought cookies and invited us over for dinner when we were ready. It was a kind offer that we were, honestly, a bit startled, but still grateful, to receive. You see, in all of our other places of residence, we had not been welcomed by a neighbor – so we did not expect anything different this time around.

While we did not spend a great deal of time over the years with Ruth and her husband, Loren, we did do our best to be good neighbors to them, even when the farm and jobs made it difficult to carve out the time. This is the model we would like to be reality in rural Iowa all of the time. Neighbors welcoming and helping neighbors.

Today, Ruth’s grandson lives in the house down the road and we’re pleased to say that we also get along just fine. He recently gave us the “no spray” sign shown above that belonged to a mutual acquaintance named Sparky. Sparky approached us during our first year of farming when they learned we intended to follow organic practices and encouraged us to be strong advocates.

You might notice that it does all sorts of things to be “loud.” Exclamation points!! Capital letters! Underlining the word “NO!” Bright colors and even a neat little trick with a pair of eyes.

Sometimes, those of us who wish to raise food or work with the land in a way that is not reliant on chemicals find ourselves needing to be loud, even if we don’t like being loud. Otherwise, it feels like too many folks seem to believe it is okay if they infringe on the practices of growing that we are dedicating ourselves to following. In fact, we can sometimes become downright unpleasant if we find ourselves having to try to defend the small parcels of land we steward over and over and over again, with no discernible changes in behavior that might indicate we’ve been heard at all.

Sparky and his friend, Kent, were vocal and, sometimes, bitter, about pesticide drift and misapplication. Kent spoke passionately against the “aerial terrorists” that were becoming far more common in Iowa in the years just prior to his premature death in 2010. He and Sparky both encouraged us to hold our ground and do what we needed to do.

In the present day, we find ourselves with two legacies that we have agreed to follow. We believe in doing our best to be good, and considerate, neighbors. And, while we are not the same kind of loud as those before us, we still do what we can to get people to listen and consider better alternatives to chemical-based food production systems.

If you would like to learn about ways we are “being loud” at PAN, read on!

Thank you for being willing to consider my thoughts and words. Be well,

Rob Faux
PAN’s Communications Manager
Owner/Operator, Genuine Faux Farm, Tripoli, IA

PAN’s website has a new look

If you haven’t visited our website recently, I would like to invite you to do so.  The Communications Team at PAN, which includes yours truly, are pleased with the results.  The resources that people value are easier to find and we will use the new design to provide more dynamic content that we can all use to make a difference as we do our best to “be loud” when it comes to our stand for agroecology and against chemical-based, corporate farming and food production.

We appreciate your feedback, including if you identify a problem with our website.  Please feel free to contact us through the various access points you can find while you visit.

Being louder…visually

Perhaps you have already noticed if you are on some of the various social media platforms, but PAN has been producing more original content that combines excellent artwork by Mikhaila Markham with writing support by the Communications Team.  One of our recent efforts has a specific relevance to Iowa.

We would like to encourage you to like and share these images to reach a wider audience so we can be louder when we speak about things that matter to us all.  We can be found on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Other things on my mind

It is still also possible to “be loud” with the written word.  Even though this year’s Pollinator Week is in the rear-view mirror, pollinators have been very much on my mind recently.  I thoroughly enjoyed doing an exploration of different pollinators that we often fail to appreciate.  I didn’t stop there, also considering the role lawn diversity could have in supporting these pollinator populations in our world.

 

If we truly want to support pollinators in Iowa, we need to reconsider the use of seed treated with neonicotinoid pesticides.  At the very least, the loophole that allows these treatments to remain unregulated needs to be closed.  Perhaps we can take some ideas from recent legislation in Minnesota to inform future work here as we seek to be a bit louder about the possibilities of a better, and healthier, future in our state.

A Ridiculously Good Game

In the Summer, we sometimes start the day off (after chores) with a bird game (Wingspan) and we often end the day with a bird game throughout the year.  I've written about it before, but if you don't recall this is a chance for Tammy and I to remember that we are not completely defined by our workplaces or the farm.  Instead, we are defined by the birds that we play in our three habitats!

Ok, no.  That's not really why we play the game regularly.  Well, the first part is - we are reminding ourselves that we are allowed to spend some time together doing something we enjoy.  It doesn't all have to be about getting feed to birds, irrigating crops, prepping syllabi, preparing for webinars and all of that other stuff we so often find ourselves doing.

Sometimes it's about getting both a Chihuahuan Raven and a Kildeer early in the game and finding a way to parlay that into 173 points.

Let's just say that it was a busy (and fun) game for both of us.  Even if Tammy is a bit sad about losing when she finished with 133 points.

For those who do not know the game, we regularly land in the 85 to 110 point range.  To exceed 120 is considered a very good game.  130+ is a rare exceptional game.

173 is.... ridiculous.  And we both know it.

Now, before you think the wrong thing, you should know that I also own the lowest score for this game too - and it's ... ahem... a little over 100 points lower than this one.  Apparently, my style of play is much more volatile than Tammy's is.

But, we both still enjoy playing and we tend to split the wins evenly.  

Though I might want to bask just a little bit longer after this one.

Supporting Pollinators with Lawn Diversity

I realized I had fallen behind in sharing some of my Pesticide Action Network writing that is published on their website.  This is one of those cases where I started the thought process on our farm blog and then refined it for a broader audience.  This way you get to see both!  This was published on June 22 in PAN's News and Analysis on the website.

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Pollinator Week happens once each year and I always hope to write one or two articles for PAN to get the word out that we can and must support our pollinators. But, as a steward of a small-scale, diversified farm, I can’t afford to think about pollinators for one week. I think about them year-round.

In late April and early May, the grassy areas on our farm were dotted purple with Common Violets, especially under the oak trees and by our smaller high tunnels (a hoop house where we grow vegetables). These little lawn jewels bloom longer in years when we aren’t having our ninth driest May on record. Seeing them got me thinking about how strange it is that we have allowed ourselves to be convinced that less life is better in the outdoor spaces around us, that a “well-maintained” lawn is preferable to a diverse landscape that provides food for our pollinators.

Clover, dandelions, and violets – oh my!

I remember spending a fair amount of time outside and on the ground when I was a kid so I could look at clover, dandelions and violets. My siblings and I even bought into the May Day idea of collecting some of the early spring flowers and putting them into baskets. The only difficulty was figuring out which houses would appreciate finding one of those little baskets at their door after we put them there, knocked – and ran away.

Not everyone saw the beauty in a small, sometimes bedraggled, bouquet of flowers. It’s kind of a shame that so many people didn’t, really.

Violets are an indicator of healthy diversity

If you were (or still are) one of those children who took some amount of delight in picking a few Common Violets, you would know that each flower appears atop its own stem that comes from the top of the root ball. There are no leaves, or other flowers, that share the stem. This means they are perfect for miniature flower art projects.

Every so often, I have found violets that are white, which seems like a conflict of interest or something. Aren’t violets supposed to be . . . violet? Well it turns out that is true, except when they’re white, or maybe even yellow. While yellow violets are a different species, the Common Violet can sometimes have white coloration. We had a couple of plants that featured mostly white flowers down by the high tunnel last year, but I did not see them this year.

Yes, I noticed that they weren’t there. Yes, I went looking for them. And, yes, I missed them.

Some people herald violets for their potential as a foraged food in natural landscapes. Both the leaves and flowers are edible, though I will admit that I prefer observing them to eating them myself. On the other hand, there is another camp that sees violets as a nasty weed to be controlled. After all, you wouldn’t want a slightly different texture and a little color to become part of our urban landscape!

At least some lawn care sites provide a little balance, citing the Common Violet’s beauty and potential as a food item – before telling you how to kill them with herbicides.

Dandelions welcome

Perhaps you don’t think it’s odd to look for violets, but you do think I am at least a little strange for enjoying a nice, healthy bloom of dandelions. But maybe you would change your mind if you noticed the bumblebees bumbling their way around the flowers during their early season flights.

Isn’t it strange how we have somehow decided that clover, dandelions and violets are all undesirables in our lawns and grassy areas? It is documented that Europeans brought dandelions with them as both a food and medicine. Some sources make the claim that dandelions were introduced to North America by the Puritans in the 1600s, though the actual introduction to the continent is a bit less certain.

We wanted dandelions in our lives until we started listening to the sales pitch that they should be killed. Especially if we spent the money for products promoted by the pesticide and synthetic herbicide industries.

From a soil health perspective, we like the way the deep taproots of the dandelion loosen and aerate the soil. We feel that these same roots bring nutrients up from deeper soil layers so they can be used by other plants. And, because they draw most of their moisture and food from a deeper soil layer, they often don’t compete with our food crops, so they aren’t a bad weed for a vegetable farm.

We can relearn that clover isn’t bad

And then there is the clover. Prior to the 1960s, clover was a regular part of lawn seed mixes until the herbicide industry began selling the idea that grass, and only one kind of grass, should be welcome in a “well-maintained” lawn. I still remember that barefoot children always took note of where the clover was so they didn’t accidentally step on a bee and get stung! Now, barefoot children stay off the lawn because it’s been recently sprayed with pesticides.

Give me more clover, more violets and even more dandelions. Certainly, there will be places on our farm where we remove some in favor of other plants. But as far as weeds go, these three are our friends. And, they, along with other flowering plants, provide a long season of food for our pollinators.