Just a Recorder

When someone tries to tell you that what you do isn't really worthwhile, just show them this video and say, "And a recorder isn't a real instrument."

No one can be you better than you can.  You are in competition with nobody other than your past and future selves.  

Play the recorder (or do what you do) and be satisfied with your own progress - because you know the effort you put into it.  It doesn't have to be a virtuoso performance for a paying audience and it certainly doesn't need to be perfect.  The faults and flaws that happen are part of the beauty of the whole.  I am certain Maurice Steger, the performer in the video above, might take note of some mistakes in this performance, but I did not detect them.  After all, if he made mistakes, he made them boldly and he made them with the integrity of one who has worked hard to produce the best music he can make.

Maybe you aren't the kind of person that wants to play the fast and furious peace in a major key.  Maybe you are like Bolette Roed and you prefer to play a different type of recorder in a minor key.  And, maybe you like to start as part of the crowd, until suddenly, you find that you are in the spotlight - and you find that people actually enjoy what you do.

Be you - and be you well.

And maybe let yourself take a moment and realize that the recorder is beautiful.

Vanity

When you work with words as much as I do, it only seems to come naturally that I also like to play with words.  The good news is that Tammy is ALSO willing to play that game - most of the time.

We took a needed break and stayed away from the farm briefly as we visited the Yellow River State Forest last week.  Sometimes, you just need to get away so you can reset yourself for all of the things you know you need to do.  And, I've noticed that when I get a reset like this, my willingness to play with words seems to go up.

The place we stayed had labels on all of the light switches so you could have a chance to select the correct one for the desired effect.  But, I couldn't help myself.  As soon as I flicked on this particular switch I said, fairly loudly, "I LOOK FABULOUS!"  Then I switched off the light and said, "Oh, never mind."

If you don't get it, let me refer you to the picture that opens the blog one more time.  Read the label.  then re-read the paragraph above.  Still don't get it?  Well, maybe today is not your day to play with words.

Then, there was the tree that ate the direction sign for the snowmobile trail.  

Ok, I fully understand how trees grow around things.  We've got a tree that's growing around an old gate on our farm.  The process started before we even moved here and there really is no reason to work to remove it.  The tree WANTS to absorb that stake and who are we to take it away?

But, still, I am a bit confused by the "how" of this particular situation.  I mean, trees don't just open up their bark and take a bite of things.  It is a slow process.  How did this arrow sign get angled in so that the tree even started to grow around it?  It begs the question, "Does this tree actually have an agenda and it doesn't want us to know what is over in the direction this arrow is pointing?"

And, yes, we also wanted to take a moment and give you all proof that we did take some time to visit Paint Creek.  Here's a farmer selfie. 

And, yes, we were smiling when we took the photo.

One Year - Still Lopsided

Well, here we are.  One year ago today, a bunch of people in hospital scrubs tied me down to a bed and rolled me, kicking and screaming, into an operating room so they could fish around in my gut to find out if I had a left kidney they could dissect.  Yep, one year and that kidney is still missing from my left side.  I guess I am still a bit lop-sided.

Ok.  I suppose I should be serious for a moment - if that is at all possible.  A tumor had been found, cancer had been diagnosed and the kidney had to go.  So, it went - on April 28, 2021.

One of the few things that is similar this year is the forsythia bush near the southwest corner of the house is in bloom.  Otherwise, the progress of Spring is a couple weeks behind where we were last year.  And, happily, my one year check-up came back with a clean-bill, as far as cancer is concerned.

As sort of a "throwback Thursday" post, I thought I'd look back at last year's struggle with the surgery and all that surrounded it with the perspective gained after a year post-surgery.  At the least, it might amuse me - and maybe be interesting to some of you?

One week before surgery, I wrote :

The recovery time that follows is bound to be frustrating as I realize I will be unable to do many of the things I am used to doing on the farm in the month of May.  So, we're trying to do everything we can to prepare - and we're trying to do everything else that we feel we want to have done before surgery too.

It's not possible and we know it.

So, we will do what we always do.  We will come to the realization that some things will get done and others will not.  Our goals will shrink each day as we identify things we hoped to do that are no longer feasible.  I'll berate myself for the half hour I spent with my eyes closed in a chair because I felt tired at midday.  I'll question my efficiency and my choices for the tasks I elected to do.  And, hopefully, I'll find myself in that special zone that lasts for two to three days and things on the task list get done, one after the other.

Sometimes, when we look into the future, we actually get it right...

Yes, I was almost constantly frustrated as I went through recovery.  And, yes, as the days moved forward and the surgery loomed ever closer, our goals were reduced by necessity.  But, happily, I was able to put on a very big push and many things got done.

A few weeks AFTER the surgery, I reflected on all of the falsehoods we like to tell ourselves about recovery from injuries, illness, or surgery:

There was no way we could get ahead of everything before the surgery - even if we did give it a valiant effort.

I wasn't really able to enjoy reading or most other quiet activities I like for the first two weeks after surgery.  In fact, I would NOT call that period of time restful.  Instead, it was a lot of work. And, it mostly just exercised my tolerance for delayed gratification.  Now that I can read, etc, I have to get back to work.  So... never mind.


And no.  Most of the world kept on walking as I tied my shoe.  Now I'm trying to double-step to catch back up.

When we tell another person to "be nice to themselves" and "take time to recover," it always sounds so pleasant.  The fact of the matter is this:  It is TRUE that we need to take time to recover and we need to give ourselves permission to do so.  But, it is NOT necessarily true that the process is at all nice, or at all relaxing, or... frankly... at all desirable (other than the hope that full recovery will eventually be reached).

Maybe we need to say things like, "give yourself permission to focus only on the work that comes with healing."  Or, "it's okay to feel frustrated or a bit down while you are recovering, but don't give up!" And, "remind yourself that is okay to ask for help, even if you really don't want it sometimes."

Recovery for the first day or so after the surgery was played out in fifteen minute increments.

• Fifteen minutes in the chair in the recovery room.
• Fifteen minutes standing in the recovery room.  
• Fifteen minutes pacing in the room, dragging all of the various post-surgery accoutrements with me.  
• Fifteen minutes in the chair with my head back, thinking, I have to sleep.
• Waking up and thinking, "HA! I got some sleep!"
• Then looking at the clock and seeing...
• yep, 15 minutes had passed.

I would like to tell myself that this will never happen again, but I suspect that we all will have times in our lives where this is the way things will go.  Fifteen minutes of survival, followed by fifteen minutes of survival.. and none of it terribly pleasant.  At least I had the promise that this was very unlikely to be permanent - and that was very important to me.

And, of course, I got to go through the whole process of celebrating things that we take for granted most days in our lives.  Finally sleeping in my own bed after a few days in a recliner.  Actually sleeping for MORE than fifteen minutes.  Walking out to Crazy Maurice the willow tree and back.  I mean - I actually "celebrated" having a bowel movement for goodness sake!  But it was all PROGRESS.  And I was gifted with that progress on a regular basis - and for that I am grateful.

And, looking back, I am humbled by the help provided by friends and the well-wishes sent through the mail.  All of these things were critical components of what I think could be called a "rapid recovery period" even if I constantly chafed at what I felt was a terribly slow process.

For weeks afterward I continued to struggle to regain my concentration and energy levels.  Last year, at the end of May, I tried to put in words what it was like:

Let me explain just a little more.  This tired is a special kind of tired that people who have had similar surgeries might understand.  The brain just kind of ... refuses... to do more.  In a little bit, it will just flip a switch and I'll be asleep.  That's pretty odd for me, as I am typically a light sleeper and it usually takes a while to wind down so I can sleep.

This is something I no longer must deal with, thank goodness.  But, it actually took me several months (maybe as much as a half year) before I could say I hadn't felt that way recently.  Sure, I can get tired and fall to sleep quickly now.  But, it's not the same thing as the kind of tired I was attempting to explain here.  This was a tired where there was no choice in the matter.  I was done and my brain and body weren't having any more of whatever I was doing.  If I didn't get to a place where I could rest, it would all shut down and I would be resting wherever it was that I WAS at that moment.

And, through it all, Tammy was the ultimate Guardian Dragon.  I suspect she felt as tired - or more tired - than I did through it all.

But, this year, we don't have to do that sort of thing - at least we're not planning on it!  And, today, I'm going to leave you with the thoughts that I wrote on the day prior to surgery - to be published on the day of surgery:

I hope you will be well.  Be kind to each other.  Remember to stop and greet the flowers when they dress up for you.  Nod a greeting to the bees as they pass you by on their way to work.  Skritch a cat and provide them with taxi service if they ask and you are able.  Patiently listen to a tree as it takes the time to use all of the words it needs to describe something to you.  Really listen to some music or to a bird sing.  Watch the sunrise or the sunset.  Do what you do with integrity and show empathy for others.  Work hard and take care of yourself.  Learn something new.  Share something you enjoy with someone else.  Listen carefully and think well.

And, be the voice that tells someone else that they are loved.

Avian Flu the Coop

I remember 2015, the last time we dealt with a major avian flu outbreak in Iowa, when over 30 million poultry were "culled" in this state alone.  Now, here we are in 2022 and we're dealing with avian influenza once again.  Since we have been asked by many people about this situation, I thought it might be useful to put a post out there that addresses the issue.

But first, let me make a few things clear:

1. There have been ZERO cases of this strain crossing over and infecting humans. 
2. Any bird could have the virus, but it seems to be more dangerous for larger birds (raptors, waterfowl and poultry).
3. Poultry are extremely likely to to become very ill and die from this disease if they contract it.
4. Crowding will increase the likelihood of spread for the virus.

I started with the CDC's most recent report because they are monitoring the disease from the perspective of its potential to cross-over and infect humans.  Again, there are no reports of cross-over to humans.  And, frankly, most people aren't going to be in any sort of situation where the transfer is likely.

For better information from the farmer perspective, I went to the USDA.  As of April 25, the numbers were as follows:

• 150 Commercial flocks have confirmed outbreaks
• 80 Backyard flocks have confirmed outbreaks
• 31.66 million birds have been culled, of which over 13 million have been in Iowa.
• Flocks in 29 states have been confirmed to have HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza)
  

The most recent HPAI outbreak in Iowa has been right here in Bremer County, where a commercial turkey flock of 29,000 was identified on April 21.

So, if you're wondering how close to home this hits - there you go. 

The good news? As the season warms, avian influenza has a much harder time surviving and being transmitted.  Of course, we've had a slow Spring, which has only extended the period for infections.  I think it is safe to say that we are moving towards the downward side of the curve. But, we're just not there yet.

Part of the problem? Commercial flocks.

 

There certainly have been some reports of illness in small "backyard flocks" because - simply put - poultry are poultry.  If a virus can infect poultry and be dangerous to them, it does not check first to see if they are in an overly large confinement operation.  Also, it is the nature of poultry to "flock," which implies close proximity - especially when they sleep.  We can give our hens a room that provides 50 square feet per bird and they'll all sleep in the same area.  However, it is still safe to say that almost all of the population loss for poultry will come from the larger operations with their enforced high-density environments.

 

Remember, one of the reasons we are hyper-vigilant about bird flu in Iowa has little to do with the health of the people in the state - and it certainly isn't because of small producers like the Genuine Faux Farm.  Instead, it has to do with protecting these giant confinements that think it makes sense to refer to 5.3 million birds as a "flock."  And, of course, 99+% of the birds reported to have been terminated because of or by this disease come from those flocks.

 

This is why egg prices have increased in the grocery store. According to the USDA, "the average ad price increased sharply, up $1.24 to $2.71 per dozen, its highest level since the depths of the 2015 HPAI outbreaks."

This is one of the reasons I continue to push the idea that people, like you, should continue to source their food from local growers who raise poultry and other foods on a smaller scale.  If more people were consistent in purchasing from small-scale, diversified farms, you would find two things would happen over time.

1. prices would stabilize, even during periods of adversity
2. losses of flocks - which will happen in this world - would not be quite as catastrophic as the "flock" of 5.3 million hens in Buena Vista county.

And, as far as price stability is concerned - farms like ours prefer to set a price that gives us a reasonable margin to cover our expenses and run with it.  There is no benefit to us or you if we bounce our prices up and down in response to supply and demand.  This is food we're talking about - playing games with pricing is not appropriate. 

But, when monetary profits are the focus of the food industry rather than the production of healthy, quality food, we set our food system up for failure when difficult times happen.  And, we think we need reports like the one I referenced above from the USDA.  No, really.  Take the link and try to read and make sense of that report.  Now, ask me, or another operator with a smaller flock how we price our eggs.  I suspect it will make much more sense.  

 

I guess I would RATHER have a report that analyzes whether we are actually FEEDING people well enough than one that gets deep into supply and demand analysis.

 

And, before you start making noise about people who will lose their jobs if we don't have these large egg producers, consider what would happen if we could put a bunch of the workers on reasonably sized chunks of land, gave them backyard sized flocks, and then paid them the proper price per dozen that would pay for the expenses required to produce excellent eggs.

And our wild birds?

The news on the avian flu has continued to move its focus from poultry flocks to wild birds in recent weeks.  Why?  I suspect people are tired of hearing about the large poultry flocks and HPAI - it's only people like us who raise poultry that are watching carefully at this point.  Or - maybe you are when you see the prices in the grocery store.

Some experts are encouraging individuals to take down their bird feeders and put away their bird baths for a while.  The logic is similar to the reason for closing bars and restaurants during the Covid pandemic.  However, I trust the Cornell Lab's All About Birds site when it comes to providing the best guidance in this situation.  I strongly recommend that you take the link I provide here and review what they have to say - there is plenty of practical information for each of us.

If you like to feed songbirds AND you don't raise poultry, go right ahead.  Leave those feeders up.  Smaller birds are less likely to carry HPAI, though they are not immune.  The site suggests you should clean bird baths and feeders regularly - but they suggest you do that all the time to prevent the spread of a wide range of avian disease. 

On the other hand, if you raise poultry, it IS possible that a songbird could carry HPAI to your flock.  So, if you, or a neighbor have a poultry flock, you may want to determine what level of risk you are willing to accept.

At present, the concern for wild birds is focusing more on our raptors and waterfowl, with several hundred reports of dead birds that have tested positive.

map Apr 25, 2022 from this CDC page

And the GFF flock?

So far, all is well with the birds at the Genuine Faux Farm.  We continue to treat them as well as we are able and they have shown no signs of illness and are producing well.

The decisions we have made with respect to protecting our flocks has been as follows:

1. food and water inside the building

This prevents small birds from being tempted to congregate around these places with our poultry.  In general, it is unlikely that they will attempt to go into the coop, which is a part of a larger building.

2. the birds have daily access to pasture

We feel that the overall health of our flock is improved by access to pasture area.  We are willing to take the small risk that an infected songbird might interact with our flock and possibly result in the loss of all our birds.  For the most part, we do not have much concern that there will be exposure to waterfowl at our farm.  And, exposure to a raptor is usually brief (and fatal) for one bird at a time.

And, yes, we do things to discourage predation by raptors. 

In short, our risk/benefit analysis tells us that confinement is not a measure we are willing to take.  The benefit right now for them getting outdoors is greater than the risk we run.

3. visitors won't enter the poultry rooms or pastures

We can pay attention to what we're doing and avoid tracking in things on our person, but that goes out the window as we add people to the equation.  So, we're sorry folks, but there won't be any visitors to see chicks this year.  We know some of you like to bring kids to the farm so they can see a baby hen or a turklet.  I guess we're just going to have a good enough year at GFF that we are willing to make a go of it in 2023 too - then you all can come see chicks.

4. just be a responsible flock manager

Let's just put this out there one more time to make ourselves clear.  The loss of our flock would be bad.  We would hate to see the birds suffer.  We like our eggs and poultry meat.  We like getting quality eggs and poultry meat to our customers and we do like the bit of income it gives us.

So, we do what we always do to try and provide them with the healthiest environment we can and we manage risks of disease in ways that match the scale and importance of our operation for the farm's well-being.

But, if the virus should somehow find them, recovery will be far easier for us and our small flocks.  Will it hurt us financially?  Of course it will. Will it be a blow to our own mental health and well-being.  Yes.  

And I still say I like the odds that the management of our small flocks will bring them through this event just fine - just as many, many other small farms will also succeed in 2022.

Pepper and Tomato Recipes

 

Fresh Pico

2 pounds tomatoes (meaty tomatoes = less watery salsa)
2 large onions
5 cloves garlic
8 sweet peppers (variety of colors and flavors improves the salsa)
6 mild to hot peppers (or more to taste)
2-3T chicken broth powder
1T salt (or more to taste – let sit for an hour before adding more)
1T oregano
Cilantro (1/4 cup - optional)

Dice all ingredients and mix in glass bowl. Store covered in refrigerator (keeps about a week) or freeze in small bags or containers for use in cooking.

Here's the deal, people - pico for you and pico for me will likely have a completely different balance of peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic - and whatever else.  We love to have a wide variety of our heirloom peppers and tomatoes in our pico.  Go with the balance, taste and texture that works for you.

---

Cool Cucumber Salsa
• 2 medium cucumbers - peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (12 ounce) package tortilla chips
In a medium bowl, stir together the cucumbers, tomatoes, green pepper, jalapeno pepper, onion, garlic, lime juice, parsley, cilantro, dill, and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Stuffed Red Bell Peppers
Ingredients :
2-3 Red Bell Peppers, cleaned and sliced in half(lengthwise)
1/2 cup onion(chopped up)
1-2 cups of sliced mushrooms
Seeds of Change 7 grain Pilaf or other seasoned rice mix like "wild blend"
Shredded Cheddar

Cook the 7 grain Pilaf or other rice mixture. While that is cooking, sauté the onions and mushroom together in some butter until softened & slightly browned, salt and pepper if desired. Add this to the finished pilaf. Fill the red peppers with the pilaf/onion/mushroom mix and load the top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and peppers have slightly softened-- about 20 min.
Serve with a fresh spinach salad(with the cheddar sesame sticks on top)

  

Stuffed Beaver Dam Peppers

• l lb hamburger, cooked and drained
• 1 c cooked rice
• 1/4 c shredded cheese
• 1 med tomato, diced
• 6-8 Beaver Dam peppers
• salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste

Mix stuffing ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut off tops of Beaver Dam peppers and remove seeds. Stuff hamburger mixture into peppers. Place peppers in a greased 9x13" cake pan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 35 minutes.

Substitution: 2.5 c black beans for hamburger.

Note: Easy meal. Beaver Dams rate 2 to 3 out of 5 on the heat scale - we can't really predict where each fruit will land. Hotter with seeds and hotter towards the tip of the pepper.

Refrigerator Pickles – Fast and Easy!

6 c. sliced cucumbers
1 T salt
1 onion, chopped
1 small/medium green pepper
1 c. sugar
1 c. vinegar

Mix salt and cucumbers. Let sit for 15 minutes. Add rest of ingredients. Stir to mix. Let sit overnight in the refrigerator, covered. The pickles will look too dry at first. Don’t fear – they will have plenty of liquid by the next day.

Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Butternut Squash with Chipotle Sauce

1 butternut squash, cut into 1” chunks
1 large yellow onion, cut into chunks
2 red peppers, cut into chunks
2-3 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil
2-3 chipotle peppers in sauce OR 2 tablespoons chipotle sauce (more if necessary)
1 tablespoon honey
5 tablespoons white vinegar 

 ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, onion, and red peppers with oil in roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes. While vegetables are roasting, chop chipotle peppers into small pieces (if using the peppers). Whisk together chipotle peppers (and/or chipotle sauce), vinegar, and honey. Remove pan from oven and coat vegetable mixture with sauce. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until squash is cooked, but still firm. Remove from oven and add chopped cilantro.

This dish can be served hot with warm tortillas, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole or it can be served cold as a salad.

note: a chipotle pepper is a smoke-dried hot pepper - typically a chili type.

Walking There - For the First Time

It has been a slow Spring in northeast Iowa this year, but the signs that things are changing are becoming more and more obvious.  Crazy Maurice, the willow tree, is sporting the bright yellow stems that precedes bloom and green leaves.  The forsythia just erupted with their yellow blooms on the farm a couple of days ago and there are some Pasque flowers blooming here as well.

Tammy and I are hoping to continue being purposeful in our efforts to visit the beautiful places that are not really all that far from the Genuine Faux Farm.  Last Fall, we made sure to visit Backbone and Malanaphy.  But so far this year, we haven't done much.  I suppose it is partly due to the weather.  But, I think it mostly has to do with how we feel we are managing all of the things we need to do from day to day.  Or more accurately, how we feel that we are failing to manage all the things...

Happily, we managed to take ourselves on a short "get away" to Paint Creek and the Yellow River Forest.  We have been there before, but the area covers enough ground that we were able to go places in the forest that we have not visited.  We couldn't "walk there again," because we hadn't walked there before!
 

There are some really nice overlooks in the Paint Creek section of the Yellow River Forest.  One of which is fairly easy to get to if walking is not something you are able to do much of.  Others require a little hiking, but that was fine with us.  Although, we both will have to admit that we're a bit out of shape for this sort of thing.  I guess we'd better do this more often then!

As you can see, the forest is still waiting a bit to green up.  We saw plenty of evidence of swelling buds, so it won't take much for scenes like this to change dramatically.  It's almost tempting to take a drive up in the very near future just to see it as the landscape alters its ornamentation.

While I probably should have known this, it was interesting for me to take note of the variety of forest management practices being used in this state forest.  The area we walked in was being managed to be an oak savanna.  I was aware of the oak savanna restoration in western Iowa's Loess Hills, but I should not have been surprised to find efforts to create this sort of habitat in the Yellow River Forest too.  The predominant trees in this section were oak and shagbark hickory - and we did see a fair number of woodpeckers, especially Red-headed Woodpeckers.  That alone is a pretty good indicator that the forest management for the area is on target.

There were also areas that have been, or are being, replanted.  I suspect there will be even more of this in the near future given the significant number of ash trees that are showing signs that they have been compromised by the Emerald Ash Borer.  

I admit that the part of me that wishes for more wild areas bristles a little bit about the nice, straight rows of trees.  On the other hand, I fully understand how rows make management so much easier.  After all, that's what we do on our farm too.  So, it's a matter of give and take, I guess.  Part of the management goal of the Yellow River State Forest is to maintain several types of habitat.  This is great - but it underscores how much of the REST of the state we have removed from available habitat so it could be tilled for corn and soybeans.

Suddenly, we have to cram all of the wide range of habitats that were once in the state (or could be in Iowa) into a small corner - just so we have some of it somewhere.  I know, this is a cynical look at a wonderful area, so I'll back off of my indignation and return to my appreciation for the beauty of nature.

We were able to see a wide range of bird species, including a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (first time for either of us to see one clearly - only ten feet away).  We were able to observe two eagles that must have been near their nest and we got some good looks at Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.   All in all, it was a good visit with nature - and we would like to walk there again.

We were also able to enjoy some of Paint Creek that actually lies outside of the state forest area because the place we stayed was not far from the banks of this stream.  It was pleasant to listen to the constant discussion the stream had with the rocks and creek-banks - all while various birds called to each other, working to establish this year's territorial boundaries.  The the sun fell behind the ridge at the end of the day, the birds settled down a bit and the frogs began to tune their voices for the evening concert.

All in all, it was a good day.  Even the robins agreed as they sang the melody to the frog's background vocals.

Steam Boat - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to the 88th entry of the weekly Postal History Sunday writing that appears on the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  This is the place where I share a hobby I enjoy with anyone who might have interest - whether it is a passing fancy or you get as much enjoyment from postal history as I do.

Any hobby or specialty can seem a bit ridiculous to those who do not already appreciate it.  Do you want to roll your eyes when your second cousin, twice removed, wants to tell you ALL of the details of their plans for deer hunting this fall - right down to layout of the land around the deer-stand and the contents of the cooler full of food they will take with them?  Or maybe you have a younger brother who will show your girlfriend every baseball card he owns on the weekend you introduce her to the rest of the family.

Well, prepare to roll your eyes!

Ok.  Ok.  You can just not read this if you don't want to.  Much more freedom here.  And, I will also endeavor to keep it at least mildly interesting...

Here it is - an item that has been in my collection for a while that I think is REALLY cool.  

Much of my collection consists of envelopes mailed in the 1860s from the United States to other countries.  These envelopes show the use of the 24 cent postage stamp issued in 1861 to various destinations.  And, yes - there it is! A 24 cent stamp at the top left of the envelope.  Yay!

Now - an envelope sent to England using a 24 cent stamp at this time is NOT uncommon.  After all, it cost 24 cents to send a letter to England from the US.  So, you would be forgiven if you looked at this and said, "Yeah Rob.  Looks like ALL the other ones you've shown me <roll of eyes>."

But, remember, you CAN escape if you want to.  But, if you are curious as to why I like this particular envelope - read on!

Things you don't see all the time

One thing I appreciate about this item is the Detroit exchange marking.  For those who don't remember, I discussed the purpose of exchange markings a couple of weeks ago (in case you are interested).  For mail being sent from the United States to the United Kingdom in the 1860s, most exchange markings were applied at the New York foreign mail office (about 65% of known 24-cent covers).  Another 18% are from Boston and 8% from Philadelphia.  That leaves about 9% for the remaining offices.  So, when I find a nice, clean marking for Detroit, Chicago or Portland - I tend to celebrate a little bit.

If you think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense.  Most of the trans-Atlantic mail steamers (ships) left the port of New York.  And, the majority of mail to other countries in the 1860s came from the states in the more populace northeastern states.  Detroit, according to my research, accounts for between 1 and 2 percent of all 24 cent covers - which aligns with the mail traffic we could expect through that exchange office.

The 24-cent design of the 1861 series of US postage stamps is known for its range of colors (or shades).  Stamp collectors try to acquire some of the most recognizable shades for their collection and they have names like red lilac, violet, lilac, gray, and steel blue.  What you see is a "steel blue" shade of the 24-cent stamp, which is one of the colors people often seek as it is less common than most of the lilac and gray shades.

I focus on the postal history portion and I don't really spend as much time on the colors of the different 24 cent stamps - but that doesn't mean I can't be happy if I do happen to have a few of the rarer stamp shades, right? 

For those who might be curious, here are some representative examples of the different shades.  Yes, I know, the difference is not always readily apparent.  And, because the stamp ink used at the time was often highly fugitive, it means the color can change in appearance over time.  But, that's something for another day.

One of the reasons we can be relatively certain that this particular stamp is a steel blue would be the December 1861 date of use for this cover.  For the most part, steel blue stamps were used up by the time we get to the middle of 1862.

Anyway, the whole point here is that there is a reason for a philatelist (stamp collector) to be pleased with the cover because most pieces of postal history with a 24 cent stamp are NOT a steel blue shade.

But the real reason I think this cover is cool is....

Some time ago, I showed this to an individual who looked at me, with a puzzled frown, and asked me why someone would have a hand stamp that would read "I Am Soap."  I was a bit taken aback by that because... well, I had already gone through the process of figuring out what this thing said.  Plus... I had a little help from others (thank you Steve Taylor) to point me in the right direction.  Imagine my surprise when someone else came to this conclusion in an online forum more recently!

I look at this now and chuckle about the "I am soap" marking every time.

If this postal marking were perfectly struck it would look something like this.

In my opinion, this cover becomes extra special because there is a story that can be told when we see that one partial marking on the envelope.

The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 ushered in the development of steamship services on the Great Lakes.  By the time we get to 1862, when this letter was mailed, there were numerous steam services that carried passengers and cargo from port to port, including cities like Detroit.  If you would like more information about the History of the Great Lakes, a book by J.B. Mansfield can provide plenty to dig in to.  If you want an easier read, you can try this work by Theodore J Karamanski titled Great Lakes Navigation and Navigational Aides : A Historical Context.  Or the History of Great Lakes Navigation by John W. Larson, which provided me with this excellent illustration of the water level differences that had to be dealt with as canals and channels were built to allow travel from lake to lake.

While this is all neat and interesting.  Well, ok.  I think it is neat and interesting.  It's ok if you don't.  I am more interested in the postal history aspect that goes along with the steamboat marking.

Captains of Great Lakes steamers could be given a properly paid letter to be mailed at the post office once the boat had landed.  This is not terribly unlike the service many modern hotels provide - accepting letters from their customers which they then pass on to the mail carrier when the mail carrier arrives.  

The ship's captain and the ship itself were NOT part of the US postal service, but they WERE entitled to compensation for their services at this time.  The captain (or his representative) would take the letters given to them by passengers to the post office (in this case, Detroit) and the post office would pay 2 cents per letter to the captain of the ship for this service.  The "Steamboat" marking would be put on each letter received, which told the destination US post office that they should collect 2 cents from the recipient to compensate the post office for money they paid the ship's captain.

In other words, the postage stamp for 24 cents did not cover the 2 cent fee, it only covered the postage needed to mail something from the US to England at the time.  The postal service was 'out' the 2 cents until the recipient of the letter paid the fee.

Now we have a problem.  This letter LEFT the US postal service and was delivered in England.  The British Post weren't going to collect 2 cents and return it to the United States as they had nothing in their postal agreement to do so!  So, the postal service lost the 2 cents given to the captain for this letter.  

You see, most of the old envelopes from this time period that show a 'steamboat' marking like this one were mailed to a US destination, not a foreign destination.  I just happened to be able to get an oddball that did not fit the mechanism to pay a ship's captain for a service.

And there you are - reasons for you to roll your eyes and for me to be happy.  What more could we ask for? 

But wait!  There's more!

Let me remind you of the front of this cover and let's look at the address panel:

J. Rule Daniell Esq, Polstrong near Camborne, Cornwall, England.

Since we have the ability to use various online map tools to help locate remote (to me) places of the world, I often like to do a little bit of searching just to see what I can find.  In this case, I did not exactly find a town named "Polstrong" near Camborne in Cornwall - as I actually expected I would.  Instead, I found that Polstrong was more of a house or land-holding that originates in the 1700s.  

You can find Polstrong Farm just to the right of center on the map above.  This map was part of a website that provides locations for houses and buildings in England that have been classified as having some historical significance.  A few minutes looking at satellite images provides us with a birds-eye view of current day Polstrong farm, which I show below.

I took note of this because there are some high tunnels towards the center top of the image shown below.  Since we use high tunnels for some of our growing at the Genuine Faux Farm, it makes sense that I might find this to be an interesting personal connection.

According to House and Heritage, the Polstrong house was owned by John Rule Daniell (1840-1911) in the 1860s, and he was part of the law firm Daniell and Thomas in nearby Camborne.  And, with a little searching, we find evidence that J. Rule Daniell did apply to become an attorney in 1864.

If you look closely at the address on the envelope, you will see that it is addressed to J. Rule Daniell, Esq.  The "Esq" (Esquire) part quite often referenced a person in the law profession.  Since he would only have been 21 in 1861, we might be right in suggesting this was getting ahead of oneself a little.  After all, we now have some evidence that he applied to be admitted as an attorney in 1864, a couple of years after this envelope was addressed and sent.  But, there appears to be plenty of questionable use of that title, if the evidence of addresses on envelopes in the 1860s is enough to judge by.

Sadly, there are no contents in this envelope and we have no way of knowing who wrote this letter on a Great Lakes Steamship.  It could have been a family member who was traveling in the United States and Canada.  If their house and land was an indicator, the family had the money for travel.

But, take note.  The letter was posted on December 5 in Detroit.  Navigation on the Great Lakes typically began shutting down in December as the weather got colder and the water kind of became a bit "stiff" - making it difficult for steamships to go hither and yon!  

You know, I've always wanted to say "hither and yon" in a Postal History Sunday.  And you got to witness it today.  Aren't you lucky?

This source (Statistics and Information Relative to the Trade of Buffalo), shows us that it was normal for the port at Buffalo to shut down in mid-December in the 1860s.  Even if Detroit could stay open longer, there might not have been many other ports to go to much later in the month.  I bring this up because it certainly calls into question whether someone was traveling for pleasure on the Great Lakes during this time of year.  I am guessing we'll never know - but it sure is fun to speculate.

Thank you for joining me for Postal History Sunday. I hope you have a great day and a wonderful week to come!

Do You Want to Feel Needed?

Sometimes you hear things in passing that get you to thinking, even if what you heard was out of context and not meant for you specifically.  Not too long ago I heard someone as I passed by.. or they passed by.. say a phrase that I've heard others say and maybe I've even thought or said it myself.

"I just want to feel needed."

I think we all get it in some way or another.  "I just want to feel needed" is a plea that says, "Please, someone, tell me that I have value and that you see that value."  It's a natural feeling.  It's normal to want to see evidence that others "see you" and recognize your presence and your... necessity... in this world.

And, before I go to far, let me say this.  You are needed.  The place you hold in this world is made for you and it is up to you how you operate in that space.  I recognize that many spaces are far more difficult to be in than others - but it is still your space and I see you there.  Thank you for being you and being who you are.

But, let's not take this desire to be needed thing too far.  If we predicate our own happiness on being "needed" in every space that we enter, we are likely to be very disappointed and VERY unhappy.

I remember how hard I worked at one of my early jobs out of college.  I worked all sorts of unpaid overtime.  I never said "no" when I was asked if I could do something, even with short notice.  I was doing everything I could to reach that point where I was the necessary cog for the machine that was the place I worked.  I was certain that, eventually, others would recognize my critical value to the organization and things would be ... good ... once that happened.

I worked so hard that I got sick.  I missed some work time.  So, I cut back my hours, realizing that I had to balance my life a bit better.  And, I got my recognition - in the form of a "concern that I was not working as many hours" as I had before.  There wasn't really any concern for me, as a person.  Just that I did not seem to want to be working as slavishly for this place as I had before I fell ill.

To make a long story less long, I eventually left that place of work.  Despite my absence, they eventually did finish the project I had been working on too.  They did NOT really "need" me to accomplish what was done.  That doesn't mean my contributions had no value.  In fact, looking back, I am sure they did.  If I were never involved they would have gotten somewhere - just like they did with my involvement.  The "somewhere" might have been different, but "somewhere" would have been reached.

Not everyone is motivated in the same way I am, but enough people are.  We want to show others that we are useful, that we are valuable, that we can accomplish and do good things on behalf of those we work for.  We have a tendency to discard much of ourselves in that quest to show that we are an important and critical resource.  But, we do so without recognizing that we may be asking to be needed in the wrong places and in the wrong ways.

After all, that business I worked for?  It had been active for decades before I came along and it continues to do its thing to this day.  My presence certainly was NOT needed for it to continue to exist and do what it did/does.  

I needed to change my goal from being "the necessary cog" in the machine to a "useful cog."  Instead of wanting to feel needed, I have learn that I actually needed to be helpful... in whatever it was I hoped to be doing.  That meant I needed to keep myself healthy so I could consistently be a positive member of the team.  An over-worked, burnt out individual is going to break down and become less than helpful eventually.

So, do you want to be needed?  Well, you are.  Because you're the only you we've got!  But instead of trying to make the case that we are needed - needed more than anyone else - maybe we should all make the case to ourselves that we need to be helpful.  And, we have to recognize that we cannot be helpful if we are not also caring for ourselves.

Do you want to feel needed?  Well, you are!  I need you to be helpful.  I need you to be kind.  I need you to do the best you can in whatever you do.  And, I need you to find ways to keep learning to be the best you that you can be.

Have a good remainder of your day, and thank you for joining me on the blog today.

More Summer Squash and Zucchini Recipes

 

I was NOT kidding when I wrote, back in January, that we accumulated a very large number of recipes that could feature summer squash and zucchini!

Our old website had a large number of them - and we even had brochures that we handed out to help people figure out how they could use the plethora of summer squash and zucchini that often comes our way during the summer and early fall months.

Well, here is the second installment - enjoy!  Wait... I said second installment as if there might be more?  Stay tuned, it just might happen.

Summer Squash Dish

• 2 lbs squash and/or zucchini, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed, sliced
• 1 large tomato, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1/2 yellow onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• olive oil
• 5 or 6 slices of jack or cheddar cheese
• basil, dry or chopped fresh
• salt and pepper

Put onion, squash, bell pepper into large saucepan with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Use high heat to brown the vegetables slightly. Sprinkle with basil as you brown. Remove from heat once slightly browned, add cheese and cover the pan.

In separate pan, cook tomatoes at medium high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes to rest of vegetables and stir. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

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Summer Squash Casserole

2 ½ cups cooked summer squash
¾ cup of stuffing mix or bread crumbs
2 eggs
2 TBS melted butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 TBS chopped onion
1 tsp black pepper

Cook the squash. Peel off the skins (unless you’re using really young, tender squash). Mix the squash up in the blender. Don’t run it into soup. You want some chunks in the mix.
Pour the squash in a bowl and mix in all the other ingredients. The order doesn’t really matter. Stir well.
Put in a baking pan (about 9 inches round or square). Bake at 375 degrees for a half hour or until the top is lightly browned.

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Summer Squash Casserole II

5-6 summer squash
3/4 stick butter
1 1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tbsp. white wine
Bread crumbs

Boil sliced summer squash. Drain and add butter, cheddar cheese, sour cream, onion, Parmesan cheese and wine. Mix completely. Pour into casserole baking dish. Top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Serves 8-10.

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Summer Squash Casserole III
• 2 pounds squash thickly sliced (7 cups)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 10 3/4 ounce can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix (about 1/2 of 8 ounce package)
Cook squash with onion in boiling salt water for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain well. Combine soup and sour cream. Stir in shredded carrot. Fold in drained squash and onion. Melt butter; toss with stuffing mix. Spread half of the stuffing in a 12 x 8 x 2-inch baking dish. Spoon vegetable mixture on top. Sprinkle with remaining stuffing mixture. Bake at 350° until heated through, 25 to 30 minutes.
Serves 6.

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Summer Squash Dish II

• 4 medium yellow summer squash
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
• 2 hard cooked eggs, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup buttered cracker crumbs or soft break crumbs

Cook sliced squash in small amount of boiling, salted water for 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain. Saute' onion in margarine until tender. Combine squash, onion, butter, chopped egg, cheese in a 1 quart casserole. Top with buttered crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.

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Garlic Vegetables
This is a summer squash and zucchini recipe with garlic and peppers and other ingredients.
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup scallions, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 medium yellow summer squash sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
• 1 medium zucchini sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add paprika and stir thoroughly. Add scallions and garlic; saute for 2 minutes. Add all other ingredients, partially cover and sauté over medium low heat for 15 to 17 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

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Pasta Primavera
4 c. broccoli florets, blanched
2 peppers (red, yellow and/or green), seeded and chopped
2 med. zucchini, sliced thin
2 yellow summer squash, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 c. fresh or frozen peas
3/4 c. fresh parsley
4 tbsp. fresh basil leaves
3 tbsp. chicken bouillon
1 lb. penne (or other pasta shape)
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (optional)

Spray a skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add broccoli, chopped peppers, zucchini, squash and garlic to skillet. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and peas and sauté for 2 minutes more. Place parsley, basil leaves and chicken bouillon in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until parsley is finely chopped. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Add parsley mixture and vegetables and toss well. Top with grated cheese if desired.

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Sausage Stuffed Zucchini
2 tablespoons of oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 medium or 2 very large squash, prepared for filling (reserve pulp)
1/2 pound of bulk sausage
1 cup of fresh bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon of thyme
1/2 teaspoon of tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in skillet and sauté onion, garlic, and reserved zucchini pulp until onion is soft. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up, until it loses its pink color. Remove from heat to bowl and mix in bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, thyme, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Fill the shells and bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes until heated through. Serves 6.

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Chocolate Zucchini Cake
½ cup butter or margarine
1 ¾ cups white sugar
1 egg
½ cup oil
1 tsp lemon juice in ½ cup milk to sour it
2 to 3 cups grated zucchini (1 average size, not peeled)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
¼ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, oil, milk and vanilla and blend well. Fold in zucchini. Mix together all the dry ingredients except chocolate chips. Blend into the wet mix until all the powder is moist. Add chocolate
chips and fold in well. Pour into a greased bundt pan or a 9 X 13 pan. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. For bundt, let cool 10 minutes in pan then turn out on a rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool.

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Zucchini Chocolate Cake (alternate recipe)

3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. oil
1/2 c. milk
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 c. grated zucchini
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. cocoa

Mix all ingredients. Pour into greased 9x13 inch cake pan. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees.

A League of Their Own - Postal History Sunday

Welcome!  You've just stumbled upon (or intentionally visited) this week's entry of Postal History Sunday, hosted every week on the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  Everyone is welcome to join me while I share things I learn as I explore a hobby I enjoy. 

Let's take those troubles and set them aside for a time.  In fact, let me suggest you pretend that those troubles are really important as you set them aside and make sure to tell the cat to leave them alone.  I am fairly certain that any friendly feline will be bound and determined to sit on, sleep on, and play with them.  They'll probably end up under the fridge, and you'll never see those worrisome things again.

This week on PHS, we're going to steal the title from an excellent baseball movie and use it to transport you back to the 1850s in southern Europe.

What you see presented here is a folded letter sheet that was mailed from Firenze (Florence), Tuscany (Italy) in 1855.  At the time, Firenze was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (1569-1859, with a short break in the Napoleonic period).  The destination for this letter was Rome, which was part of the Papal States.

If you would like a moment to get yourself acquainted with the "lay of the land" during that period, feel free to click on the map below for a larger image.

This cover qualifies as a letter to a foreign destination because Tuscany and the Papal States, while both in Italy and identifying as Italian, were not governed by the same entities.  Each had their own postal services.  They set their own postage rates, had different monetary units, and issued their own postage stamps.

Since we are talking about mail in the 1850s, it would make sense for us to ask what sort of postal treaty was in effect to determine how mail would be handled between Tuscany and the Papal States at the time.  Typically, these agreements were bilateral in nature.  But, it turns out that Austria and many of the Italian States shared an agreement that is often referred to as the Austro-Italian Postal League.

The Austro-Italian League

It might be helpful to remember that Austria was the Austrian Empire under Habsburg control (1804-1867) and encompassed a much broader area than the current borders of that nation suggests.  In addition to the regions shown on the map below, the persons in power in the Italian states of Modena, Parma and Tuscany were also part of the Habsburg line.  Thus, there was certainly an interest in keeping these connections strong by supporting efficient lines of communication.

If you view the map shown above, you might even notice that Austria laid claim to a significant portion of northern Italy, primarily the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.  All of this area operated under a Austria's internal mail system, even though some areas, like Lombardy-Venetia, were semi-autonomous.

But, when it came to mail between the Austrian Empire and Modena, Parma, and Tuscany, there would have to be a treaty outlining how mail would be exchanged.  The interesting thing about the agreement that Austria pushed for was that the postal convention did more than arrange for mail between each of these states and the Austrian Empire - it actually included procedures for mail between each of these states as well.  Thus making it a league of nations with a common mail exchange agreement.

Tuscany entered into the postal arrangement on April 1, 1851.  Parma and Modena joined on June 1 of the following year (1852).  And, interestingly enough, the Papal States, then covering central Italy, also agreed to exchange mail with Austria and these other states under this convention (Oct 1, 1852).

This league, along with the German-Austrian Postal Union, were precursors to the global mail agreement nations use today (the Universal Postal Union - since 1878).

How postage rates were calculated

Since the Austrian Empire was in the position of power, it should not be surprising that the rate structure followed their own internal rate structure.  The required postage was determined by a combination of weight and distance traveled.  The weight was determined by Austrian loth (effectively 17.5 grams) and the distance was measured by the Austrian meilen (or lega), with each meilen equal to about 7.5 km.  

Rather than use more words, let me just illustrate how the rates worked with examples.

1. Distances up to 10 Austrian meilen

Above is a folded letter from Ferrara, then in the Papal States and on the border with the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.  Mantova, a city that we have actually featured in a previous Postal History Sunday, was considered to be within this first distance (even if current online map tools tell us it takes about 88 km to travel between the two).  

This letter is a simple letter, meaning it did not weigh more than one Austrian loth.  But, the Papal States did not use the loth as their weight of measurement, they used the Papal ounce, which was broken down into 24 denari - and one denari was 1.18 grams.  According to the agreement, the Papal States would rate their letters per 15 denari, which actually was a bit heavier than the Austrian loth.  But, what's a quarter gram among friends?

The postage required was 2 bajocchi per 15 denari - and a 2 baj postage stamp was applied to the bottom left of this cover.

This folded letter was mailed in Ferrara on January 14 and received in Mantova (Mantua) on January 15.  

This seems like a good time to remind everyone that the postal services of the time were often very sensitive regarding their reputation for timely service.  As a result, we often see postal markings that attempt to explain what might be considered a delay of the mail.

In this case, it would not be unusual for something mailed in Ferrara to arrive at Mantova the same day.  That means people in Mantova might actually get kind of upset if something from their friend or business partner did NOT arrive on the same day.  However, this item must have been sent via a late mail train or coach.  Hence, the letter arrived too late for a carrier delivery in Mantova on the 14th.  The receiving post office in Mantova made certain to make that entirely clear by including this marking "ARRta DI NOTTE" (arrival at night) on the back.

This occurred at a time when many cities, such as Mantova, actually sent carriers out for multiple deliveries each day.  People took rapid mail seriously in the 1850s!

Hey!  They didn't have cell-phones.  This was as close to texting as they could get.

2. distances over 10 meilen and no more than 20 meilen

Here is a letter that was mailed from Bologna, in the Papal States on July 9, 1857, to Mantova.  This letter arrived on July 10 early enough to be delivered with the first distribution of the mail.  However, unlike the first letter, there is no marking stating that this item arrived at night.  Why?  Well, it was perfectly normal for items traveling this distance to arrive the next day (and not the same day).  So, there was no reason to provide a marking to explain a perceived delay.

The extra distance required more postage according the Austro-Italian agreement.  Five bajocchi were required for every 15 denari for items that traveled over 10 meilen, but no more than 20 meilen.  Sure enough, a 5 baj stamp was applied at the top left of this folded letter.

3. distances over 20 meilen

For our last example from the Papal States, I offer up this item that was mailed from Rome all the way to Vienna, Austria.  Twenty meilen would have been 150 km and the distance between Rome and Vienna is clearly much greater than that (over 1000 km).  The rate for mail for the longest distances was 8 bajocchi per 15 denari - and an eight baj stamp is applied at the top left to pay that postage for this letter.

Mail from other members of the union

The letter above was mailed form Vienna, Austria on August 20, 1858 to Florence (Firenze), Tuscany - arriving there on August 24.  Like the last letter, this item definitely traveled more than 20 meilen to get to its destination, which means it required the highest rate per Austrian loth.  In this case, it took 9 kreuzer in postage to pay for the service. 

Below is a table that summarizes how postage was calculated.

Letter Rates to Oct 31, 1858

League member	< =10 meilen	>10 and <=20	>20
Austria	3 kreuzer	6 kr	9 rk
Lombardy-Venetia	15 centesimi	30 ctsm	45 ctsm
Modena	15 centesimi	25 ctsm	40 ctsm
Papal States	2 bajocchi	5 baj	8 baj
Parma	15 centesimi	25 ctsm	40 ctsm
Tuscany	2 crazie	4 cr	6 cr

There are actually FIVE different monetary units being shown in this table.  Three are obvious with the Austrian kreuzer, Papal State bajocchi and Tuscan crazie.  The centesimi in Lombardy-Venetia actually had a different value than the centesimi in Modena and Parma.  Material I have read by a few different Italian postal historians indicate the difference by referring to the Austrian lira (Lombardy-Venetia) and the Italian lira (Parma and Modena).  

I'll happily bow to whatever words they want to use as long as I can have a chance to keep things straight!

Back to where we started

It seems I have this tendency to show you a postal history item and then I go off on a tangent so that I can eventually come back to the original item.  I hope that you find this to be either helpful or amusing rather than a constant irritant because - I doubt this is a habit that will go away any time soon!

Now that we have seen a postal table, I suspect most of us could - given a chance - figure out why there is a 6 crazie stamp placed at the top left of this folded letter from Florence, Tuscany, to Rome in the Papal States.  The distance between the two is well over 20 meilen (150 km), so this would fall under the 6 crazie rate for distance.  Tuscany's weight units were similar to the Papal States, so this would have weighed no more than 15 denari (17.75 grams).

The Tuscan postal service used this marking to indicate to the Papal States postal service that they considered the letter paid to the destination.  In other words, this was an alert to the postal clerk in Rome that processed the letter as they took it out of the mailbag.  The receiving postal clerk in Rome then proceeded to apply the dark diagonal slash of ink that starts at the bottom left and goes up to the middle of the envelope.  This was how the Roman postal clerk marked the letter to show that they agreed that it was paid in full.

Now the postal carrier knew they did not have to collect any further postage from the recipient.

The other interesting thing about this particular piece of mail is shown below:

There are two slits in this letter.  One is at the right and the image of that slit is enhanced so you can see it better in the image above.  The other slit is just to the right of the "PD" marking.  These slits were cut into the mail so that it could be fumigated or disinfected.  

Tuscany had been suffering from the effects of the cholera pandemic in 1854 and 1855 and there was certainly much debate about the methods used for containing the disease.  The science of the time had pretty much shown that disinfection of mail was not going to help, but governments wanted to be seen as doing something about the problem.

For those who might have interest, there is an interesting paper by Michael Stolberg that discusses the different lines of thought regarding the cholera outbreak in Tuscany at that time.

And, for those who would like to learn more about Italian postal history during this time period, I recommend Lire, Soldi, Crazie, Grana e Bajocchi by Mario Mentaschi.  The book is written in Italian, but I understand a booklet with English text has since become available.

Thanks for joining me for Postal History Sunday.  Have a great day and wonderful week to come!