Pesticide Labels: What we ignore (but shouldn't)

 

I’ve spent more time than most reading the use labels on pesticides. I can tell you that it has nothing to do with a riveting plotline or excellent character development.  Instead, it is because of where we live (Iowa) and what we do here (small-scale, diversified farm).   

No, we have not decided to use pesticides on our farm – but that would have been a better reason for us to spend time reading these labels.  That would have meant that we were researching a tool that we thought we might use.  It would mean that we were intent on following those instructions and that we were considering the possible harm we might cause by using them.

Instead, I find myself reading the labels because our farm is susceptible to many of the chemicals that are applied to the neighboring row crop fields.  We aren't always entirely sure that applicators read these labels carefully, and if they do, it feels like too many of them seem to misunderstand or ignore whatever is inconvenient for them to follow.

These chemicals are poisons and are dangerous if not managed correctly.  For that matter, they can be dangerous even if they are managed properly.  Shouldn’t that be enough to encourage a little reading and a healthy dose of caution?

The hazards are real

Shown above is one of the chemicals that was used on a field near our farm in 2018.  It was applied with other pesticides on a day when the wind was strong and coming our direction.  Once I determined the product, I looked up the use label.  Since a big part of my job as a grower of food has me spending time outside, I think it makes sense that I want to avoid being coated with any product that has First Aid warnings if it gets in my eyes, if I breathe it in, or if it gets on my skin or clothing.

Did the applicator, on this particular day, do anything to make sure any of the workers in our fields were not exposed to this chemical?  No, they did not – but we made it our responsibility once they started spraying.  I did not have confidence that they had read the use label themselves.

And what about collateral damage?

One important responsibility that comes with any potentially dangerous tool is to use it in a way that ensures it does its job without collateral damage.  

For example, many agricultural chemicals are known to cause problems if they enter the water system.  If you don't think this matters to you, consider this tidbit about my home state: 20% of Iowa's drinking water comes from surface water.  While much of the rest comes from various aquifers, they too can be impacted by chemical run-off.  If it is not enough for you that allowing run-off harms other living (but non-human) beings, then maybe knowing it can get into our drinking water would be enough to encourage a person to be careful with pesticides.  

The label for the pesticide used on this particular day made it clear that it should not be applied prior to a rainfall within 48 hours.  It rained that night.  I don’t think they met the suggested period for dry weather.

When is it safe for me to be where pesticides were sprayed?

Most pesticides not meant for residential use have an Agricultural Use Requirements section.  This is typically where information is kept that could be important to you even if you do not use these chemicals yourself.

There is a 24-hour "do not enter" period for workers/humans for the pesticide applied on this windy day (you can find it in the middle of the text of the image above).  This is called the Restricted Entry Interval (REI).  If the chemical goes 'off-target,' that increases the "Do Not Enter" zone to the drift area.  If you find that you are in a drift zone, you need to remove yourself from that area if at all possible for this period of time.  And, yes, that could include your home.

Applicators should be aware of who may be in the drift zone and they need to:

1. Cease application if they witness people in the spray zone

2. Inform anyone who might enter the spray zone that they need to stay out and give them information about the chemicals used.

Sadly, it has been our experience that if an applicator was willing to apply a chemical in conditions that were not optimal, they were just as unwilling to let us know that we should vacate the area until the REI period was cleared.  And, we have rarely witnessed an applicator stopping once they have started if they see people nearby.

Defend yourself by knowing proper conditions for applications

Pesticide labels provide specific guidance for proper weather conditions at the point of application.  Most pesticides have limits for wind velocity and many put restrictions on temperatures at the time of application.  There is often guidance for everything from sprayer nozzle types to how long you have to wait before you harvest and consume a crop that has been sprayed with a given pesticide – this is called a setback period.

Setback periods for food products often require that you look through a multi-page document that will include the number of days after application before the food crop is deemed safe to eat.  These setbacks can be anywhere from 48 hours to a month (or more) depending on the crop.  And, if that crop is not listed, that means the pesticide shouldn’t be used on that crop at all.

We had snap beans in the drift area that were going to be ripe for harvest in seven to ten days.  If you look at the setback period shown above, we had to wait for thirty days before it was safe to harvest and provide to our customers.  That crop was a loss for us because they were going to be ripe and ready to harvest well before the setback period was completed.

There is more to this puzzle than just the current crops in the ground.  Herbicides that are applied can impact future crops because these chemicals linger in the soil (this is known as carry-over).  In our case, we knew that the products being sprayed were herbicides.  Their purpose is to kill or prevent the germination of anything except the cash crop currently in the field.  Now that our ground had chemical residue on it, we had to consider whether we would have to deal with carry-over effects in future crops.

Our green bean and pea crops were among those we lost in 2018 to this chemical trespass.  That meant we had to accept that loss and look at the possible options for our next crop in that spot.  Unfortunately for us, the remaining growing season was too short for any of the options listed.   And, if you look at the portion of the label above, you will see that we had to consider what we could plant in that area during the next growing season as well.

The perspective of a food producer

I am a grower of safe, good-tasting foods for our customers.  I read pesticide labels frequently, even though I do not intend to use them.  Pesticides are dangerous even if they are used properly.  And I do not understand why so many of us are willing to accept uses that result in what amounts to chemical trespass?

We believe part of the problem is that others do not understand exactly WHY chemical drift is a problem for farms like ours.  First and foremost, it is a FOOD SAFETY ISSUE.

Some might say, "hey, the leaves on your cucumbers had spots on them, but the fruit look fine."  The implication is that we are over-reacting and that we should just continue as if nothing happened.  That's all fine until someone gets ill, I suppose.  But, you tell me, should we ignore it and give everyone cucumbers that we know have pesticide residue on them – and that pesticide is not rated for use on cucumbers?  If someone has a reaction, who is responsible?  That would be me, the grower of the food product.

Second, and at least as important is that it is a PERSONAL SAFETY ISSUE.

These chemicals were not created with the intent that workers meander around in the fog of the spray without protective equipment on.  That should also be true for the family living on the edge of town next to a soybean field, and for me and the young workers we often employ.

Third, it is an ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE.

That environment includes any surrounding crops, such as our peas and cucumbers.  It includes the waterways and natural areas.  It includes your garden and your yard and the nearby stand of trees.

What makes me most upset about pesticide use is the fact that they are used nonchalantly.  Too many people seem to believe that if you didn't see anyone get violently ill immediately during/after the point of spray, it must all be ok?

Well, it is not ok.  

Change is needed and we need everyone on board.  You can start by becoming aware of what exactly is on the use label so you can talk intelligently about the risks and the responsibility that come with pesticide use.  This is one path of many toward becoming aware of the real costs of pesticides so we can move away from our unhealthy reliance on them.

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This was recently published on Pesticide Action Network's Ground Truth blog.

Wasps Get a Bad Rap

Common Thread-wasted Wasp

 

Some Northern Paper Wasps built a nest in the open metal pipe that is part of the door entry to Valhalla (one of our high tunnels).  For the most part, I was able to enter and depart the high tunnel without an issue and I was hoping that we could make it through their normal cycle without my taking any actions against them. 

Northern Paper Wasps on Goldenrod

That might seem strange to many of you... In fact, it seems a little strange to me.  Why in the world would I WANT to tolerate an insect that could sting me (and others) multiple times if it felt I was threatening its nest?  I can tell you, from experience, that those stings hurt.  And, in prior years, when we had more people on the farm that could get stung, I would be more aggressive to remove a nest in a location like this.

Most of us are raised to fear (and aggressively remove) anything that is wasp-like from our surroundings.  I know my first reaction has been, for most of my life, to want to do that very same thing.  Yet, I am here to tell you that we all need to adjust that attitude.

First of all, I can tell you, also from experience, that most Paper Wasps tolerate quite a bit before they get aggressive - though some nests seem to feature more and less aggressive tendencies.  And, there are things I could have done this year to prevent them from deciding the entry way of the high tunnel was a good place to make a home.  Unfortunately, the cap I put on this particular pipe had degraded over time and the opening presented itself to them.  So, there I was - having to decide what to do about it.

I also know that many wasps are excellent beneficial predators.  In particular Northern Paper Wasps are known to predate on various caterpillars that can make growing certain crops difficult if they are not controlled.

But, did you know that the wasps, including the Northern Paper Wasp, are also beneficial pollinators in our landscape?

I didn't.  Until Tammy and I noticed them on some Goldenrod during a recent escape from the farm.  These wasps were clearly on the Goldenrod for the Goldenrod.  They were not hunting and they were very intent on the plant itself.

Another Common Thread-wasted Wasp

These were not the only wasps we saw on the Goldenrod.  We also noticed some very thin wasps that we later found to be named Common Thread-waisted Wasps.  Thread-wasted wasps (there are several types) are solitary, predators and their young are often parasitic.  A Common Thread-wasted Wasp will paralyze prey and bring it back so their larvae can feed until they mature. Adults will predate on smaller insects and they will also feed on pollen.  So, the critters we saw on the Goldenrod could possibly have the opportunity to hunt AND take a drink of pollen!

Thread-wasted wasps have stingers, so if you decided you wanted to force it to do so, it could sting you.  Step on one with bare feet, you'll get stung.  Try to hold one and prevent it from leaving, you could get stung.  But, otherwise, they aren't interested in you and they don't really see you as a threat (or food).  And that's true for most wasps (believe it or not).

Surprisingly Cool Pollinators

I have already linked an article by Hooks and Espindola titled "Wasps, Surprisingly Cool Pollinators."  But, it is an excellent article that can give you a fairly quick introduction to what wasps do in our world.  According to the authors there exist hundreds of thousands of wasp species in the world.  Of them, nearly 850 species are social wasps - meaning they form colony or family units, like the Northern Paper Wasp.  Others are classified as solitary wasps, which are featured on this University of Minnesota page (which we'll mention again later).

"[W]asps are interested in flower blossoms mostly as a nectar source, and not as a source of proteins (from pollen). Nevertheless, some wasp species are able pollen vectors, and many play a crucial role as specialist pollinators. Some may be classified as excellent pollinators and in certain systems are much more efficient at pollination than their fuzzy-haired bee cousins." from Hooks & Espindola

Wasps tend to favor white and yellow colored flowers that have shallow flowers with readily accessible nectar because they typically don't have the mouth parts to reach the nectar in deeper flowers.  That certainly describes the Goldenrod plant.  Some wasps have become specialized pollinators that are critical for the survival of certain wild plants.  In fact, some orchids mimic the scent and appearance of the female wasp of certain species, attracting the males - and thus promoting their own pollination as the male wasp visits multiple flowers.

Not Every Wasp is a Yellowjacket

I think it is safe to say that the vast majority of people are both unable and unwilling to differentiate between one wasp-like insect and another.  Most people will be exposed to the Yellowjacket simply because it is a generalist when it comes to diet.  To put it bluntly, it will eat many of the things we like to eat.  Fruit, ice cream...   And Yellowjackets, another social insect, will aggressively protect their nests and they are more likely to sting partly because they cross paths more often with humans.

Even so, Yellowjackets, being generalists, can also be useful pollinators and predators.  But, there are a few problems here.  First, most people, as I said, think every wasp is the same thing as a Yellowjacket.  In fact, many folks incorrectly identify these as bees, making it worse.  If you do a search on Yellowjackets, you will find the sites that appear first are all for pest control companies. 

It isn't easy to identify different flying insects, especially if you don't take time to learn and practice.  I am, by no means, an expert myself.  But, here is a decent resource to see the difference between Yellowjacks, Paper Wasps and Bald-faced Hornets (all social wasps).  I am a bit conflicted by this particular article because, while it tries to remind us that these are all beneficial insects, much of it spends time on how to "control" them.

Why?  Well, that's because most people are scared to death of them.  And maybe it's because the Yellowjacket hasn't exactly taken on the role of the spokeswasp that it should?

On the other hand, some recent research is showing that Paper Wasps can actually recognize the face of other Paper Wasps, differentiating members of a social group (and those that might not fall within that group).  How cool is that?

And then, there are all of the website out there that perpetuate myths and misinformation.  I found one site, that I left before I thought to collect the web address, that showed a Northern Paper Wasp and identified it as a Yellowjacket.  Even the University of Minnesota page I cited earlier shows what I think is a Northern Paper Wasp as a "typical solitary wasp."   If you were paying attention earlier, you might remember that the Northern Paper Wasp is a social wasp.

I can only hope everything I write in this blog is accurate.  If I miss on something, please let me know and I'll do my best to verify and make it right.

So, who is this? 

I am not too proud to ask for help either.  I caught this cool picture of another insect that appears (to me) to be a wasp, hovering over a leaf.  At bottom left is a bumble bee.  Can anyone help me identify who this flying insect is?  Am I correct that it is a wasp?

Thanks for reading!  I hope you enjoyed learning something new and I also hope you might consider giving our wasp friends a chance to show you that they aren't quite as scary as we've built them up to be.

The Path to You

If you could go back - if you could go back to any point of time in your life and change something that you regret.  Or if you could go back and take an opportunity that you missed.  Or if you could take a time machine and give your previous self a warning or a piece of advice.

What would you do?  When would you go?  How would you rather have things end up?

It's a common question and a common fantasy.  If I could go back and just change that, everything would be so much better.  I wouldn't have this stain on my soul.  I wouldn't have missed this chance.  I'd be richer.  I'd be more successful.  It would be better.

I was asked this question once, in a classroom in which I was the instructor.  Would you change some of the decisions you have made in your life if you could go back and make them again?

It wasn't a question I was prepared for because that wasn't exactly on topic.  And yet, it was a very good question, because it actually could be used to bring about some useful learning that was actually very much ON topic.  

I don't remember exactly what I said that day, but I do recall the basic idea of much of what I said.

Would I go back and make a change if I could? Would I if I could find an event that, for me, was so awful or an event that was pivotal, leading me to one of the darkest moments in my life - and a change by me could possibly remove the pain and maybe even make things better?

Perhaps I would be tempted.  But, then I hope I would remember.

The path I have taken to this day, has led me to this.  The path I have taken to this day has made me who I am.  The path I have taken up to this point, has led me to you.

You Can't Get There From Here - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to Postal History Sunday, featured weekly on the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you take this link, you can view every edition of Postal History Sunday, starting with this one (the most recent always shows up at the top).  

Everyone is welcome here!  Are you just curious, but not really looking to become a postal historian yourself?  Grab a favorite beverage and have a seat!  Are you curious, but you are a renowned expert in some specialized area of postal history?  There's a spot for you in that chair right there.  And look!  There are some fuzzy slippers if you would like to wear them.  

The thing that brings us all together here is curiosity and an interest in learning. 

Our featured item 

My, doesn't that sound formal and everything? (Our featured item)  Well, don't let that fool you - we're pretty relaxed when it comes to Postal History Sunday.  There will NOT be a test at the end.  You will NOT be required to share your favorite part of today's post.  I, on the other hand, will do my best to make this interesting and enjoyable - so here we go!

I often find that the best way to start is to look at what the cover has to show us first.  Once we do that, we can try to figure what it all means.  Maybe there is an interesting story that goes along with the piece of paper?

This is a smaller envelope that was mailed in Louisville, Kentucky (US) on December 11, 1940 according to the round postmark.  There are no contents in the envelope.  There are two US postage stamps, each denominated as representing 15 cents in postage paid.  So, the sender must have expected the cost to send a letter to the addressee in Paris, France to be 30 cents.

There are two purple markings easily visible on the front of the cover.  One reads "Return to Sender, Service Suspended" and the other says "Retour a l'envoyeur relations postales interrompues."  Translated, this means "return to sender, interrupted postal relations."  There is also a piece of tape on the right and a very hard to see, football-shaped marking at the right as well.

The back of the cover (we call envelopes or sheets of paper that held the contents of the mail a cover), shows us a bit more about the tape, which has the word "controle" printed on it.  There are some Christmas seals from the year 1940 holding the envelope's flap down.  And there are two more markings.  One is a couple of circles with a "P" in the center.  Another is a box with a patriotic slogan at the bottom.  And the third is that football shaped marking again.

Identifying things that are different from the norm

Many of us can probably come to a few conclusions based on what we see on this envelope.  But the easiest for those of us who grew up celebrating Christian holidays is that this letter probably held a Christmas card or Christmas message.  The shape of the envelope is right for just such a card.  The postmark date of December 11 lines up pretty well for someone trying to get the card to their acquaintance in France prior to December 25.  And, the Christmas Seals tend to... um... seal the deal on that line of thinking.

As a postal historian, I am attracted to two things:

1. items that clearly show the normal, most common results for mail handling
2. items that clearly show that things didn't go the way they normally do

Ok,ok.  You got me.  You could make the argument that this means I am interested in everything.  But, bear with me for a second.  

I like to find items that very clearly show me how things would NORMALLY look and then I can compare and contrast them to things that have something different going on.  This helps me to isolate the exception and learn about what is different on a piece of postal history.

Surface mail from US to Switzerland : 5 cents first ounce from Oct 1, 1907 - Oct 31, 1953

Here is a good example of a "normal" mail item in the 1930s from the United States to Switzerland.  There is a 5 cent postage stamp to pay the postage rate for a simple letter (a letter that did not weigh more than one ounce).  There is a postmark for Jackson, Michigan showing the date and time it was mailed.  There is also a cancellation marking on the postage stamp to prevent someone from trying to reuse it on a future piece of mail.  There are no additional markings on the back.

This is my example of what would be a fairly normal piece of mail.  Now we can make some comparisons with our featured item.

Difference #1 - Surface Mail vs Air Mail

Our first difference has to do with the amount of postage.  Thirty cents is quite a bit more to be paying to send a bit of mail from the US to France.  To explain this, there are two options that are most likely.  First, this could be a heavier letter that weighed more than one ounce.  And second, the extra postage could be paying for some sort of additional service.  

Since I find it doubtful that a Christmas card and maybe a piece of paper or two with a letter would weigh more than one ounce, I'll go with the second choice.

Because I happen to know that air mail services were becoming increasingly available to the general public, that becomes my first guess.  It turns out that airmail to a European destination at the time was 30 cents per 1/2 ounce.  This rate was effective from April 28, 1939 until October 31, 1946.

I think we have a winner!

Surface mail is just what it sounds like.  The mail is carried by vehicles that travel on the surfaces of the earth (waterways, railways and roads).  These routes were already well established and the costs to the postal services around the world was much less.  Air mail, on the other hand, was still pretty new and routes were still being established.

This item is discussed in more detail in this Postal History Sunday

Case in point, here is an envelope that commemorates the first flight of Foreign Air Mail (FAM) route number 18 mailed on May 20, 1939 - just a year and a half prior to our featured envelope.  Our featured item could very well have flown this very route, but we need to remember that World War II had begun and it is possible routes were in flux at this time.

Costs for airmail services were still much higher than surface mail, and there was no way air mail service was going to carry the volume of mail that surface mail carriers could.  So, it makes sense that the postage was significantly higher.  If you wanted a plane to carry this letter from here to there (and get there faster), you had to be willing to pay for that service.

Difference #2 - Censorship of Mail

The piece of tape at the left that says "Controle" and the football shaped marking are illustrating something else that is different with our featured item.  This envelope was opened by censors to check the contents and make sure sensitive information could not be gleaned from them.  After the item was checked, the envelope was resealed with the censor tape (controle) and the football shaped marking was applied to provide tracking as to where the letter was opened.

The football shape marking, if it were clearer, would read "Ouvert par les Autorites de Controle" or "Opened by the control authorities."  This marking was applied in Marseille, France - where this letter was opened and viewed.  It was common practice to reseal the item with the censor tape first and then apply a handstamp such that it was partially on the tape and partially on the original envelope/cover.  The whole point was to show that the envelope was not searched again by someone after the censors had taken a look.

Here is another example of a World War II era envelope that was also opened by a censor.  I believe this one was processed by the British.  Once again, there is a printed tape that is used to reseal the envelope.  A handstamp marking was placed on the front so that it is both on the tape and the envelope.

I am admittedly NOT an expert in mail censorship in general or during World War II, but there are many who study these areas.  This site at postalcensorship.com includes many examples of censored mail that you can view if you would like. And, if you would like to read about the formation of the censorship services in the US during World War II, this Master's Thesis by Alvin McDaniel, Jr. might be of interest to you.

Difference #3 - this letter was returned

On June 14, 1940, Germany took control of Paris (where this letter was headed in December).  A significant part of the population evacuated the city and mail services were interrupted to occupied France.  A new, semi-autonomous government for 'unoccupied France' was established with its headquarters in Vichy in July.  Mail sent to the occupied portion of France would be directed to Vichy-France, but there was no way to exchange mail with German-occupied France.  Essentially, mail for the occupied zone simply built up in Vichy France until...

In September of 1941, by order of the occupying authorities (Germany), mails were formally suspended to occupied France.  All of the mail built up waiting for a chance to be sent forward was returned to their origins.  Estimates at the time suggested between 100,000 and 180,000 pieces of letter mail were returned to the United States between September 17 and October 1 in 1941 - of which this is one such item!

The New York Times, on September 19, 1941 printed a copy of an announcement notifying the public that this mail was being returned.  And, of course, stamp collectors paid even more attention than much of the public.

from Western Stamp Collector, Oct 1, 1941

Want to learn more?  Well, you're in luck!  There is a nice two-part article by Lawrence Sherman that can be viewed here (part I) and here (part II).  In fact, I was alerted to the snipping you see above in the Sherman piece.  You may also enjoy this article that talks about the resumption of mail service in 1944 by Louis Fiset.

Difference #4 - There are Christmas seals

The original idea of selling Christmas Seals to raise funds to deal with tuberculosis (TB) appears to have surfaced in Denmark in 1904.  In 1907, Emily Bissell (American Red Cross) designed their first Christmas seal with the intent of funding an experimental TB hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.  In the present day, the American Lung Association continues to sell these seals each year (with a different design each year).

There was a problem with some people putting these seals on the front (address) side of mail.  In fact, there were instances of persons attempting to use a seal as a substitute for postage.  This article by John Hotcher, discusses the postal rule that prohibited their use on the front (address side) in 1911 - only to have that regulation removed later on.

Didn't you miss something?

What me?  Did I miss something? 

Well, of course I did.  This is me illustrating to everyone reading this that there is always more a person can learn if they want to.  Each topic above can be explored in great depth (air mail, mail censorship, returned letters and charity seals).  In fact, there are people who have expertise and knowledge of each that far exceeds my own.  But this does not prevent me from working on my best understanding with the information and resources available to me and sharing what I have discovered with you.

So, what did I not discuss?  How about this marking?

I cannot tell you with any certainty what this marking indicates or why it was applied to the back of this cover. Of course, I can make educated guesses based on my experience looking at many other covers - including others that went to France in 1940/41.  But rather than guess, I will leave the question open.  Maybe someone who reads this week's Postal History Sunday will make me (and eventually you) that much wiser.

Have a fine remainder of your day and a good week to come!

Reserved Parking

 

Because Tammy had surgery on her Achilles tendon, she became the recipient of a temporary tag for handicapped parking.  I know she was less than thrilled to need it, but the truth is - she is in a position where it is necessary.  The good news is that all signs point to her not needing it for long at all.

Typically, the two of us - maybe me more than her - tend to select parking spots that are further away from the entrance of places we go to.  Actually, it's a running joke that I often take a spot that is exactly the furthest from the entrance as you can get.

In any event, we've started noticing things about accessibility more than we have in the past.  Though, to be fair, Tammy frequently works to advocate for issues dealing with access, so this is not entirely new.  But, when you, personally, need a little extra help, you tend to notice it even more!

So, we were down by the Mississippi River almost two weeks ago now.  There was a road to a boat ramp that we decided to explore.  And, sure enough, there was a sign pointing to handicap access parking....... sort of?

This sign must have been rotated because it was pointing right at the water.

Hey!  Hey you!  If you've got a handicap parking tag you can just drive your vehicle RIGHT INTO THE WATER.  Then you'll have the easiest access possible to the Mighty Mississippi!  

Yessir!  Pull right in and float on out.  Make sure you got your waterwings inflated and your swimsuit on.

And... oh.  Yeah.  Your vehicle should probably be disposable too.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

A Touch of QWERTY

I have had a week full of busy office days after taking a week off from my Pesticide Action Network job.  Now, don't get me wrong.  This wasn't exactly a full week long vacation because we only spent a couple of nights away from the farm.  Part of the deal was we both needed to step away from jobs so we could spend some time actually doing things on the farm.  So, yeah, it was a vacation from the salary earning jobs, if you will - and it was wonderful.

Upon returning to the PAN job, I found I had a bit more energy for it - something I had been lacking for a while.  But, I also found my email inboxes full (both for the farm and PAN) and there were a host of things I needed to do and LOTS and LOTS of correspondence that needed me to reply.

So, I've doing a significant amount of typing.  After a flurry of email responses and a stint editing someone else's document I started to realize exactly how fast I was typing.  And, I gave myself a minute to feel grateful that my Mom taught me how to be a touch typist at a young age.

We had a manual typewriter at home that also doubled as an exercise machine for your hands and fingers.  Each key would cause a metal arm to swing towards the paper.  As it approached, the typewriter would raise the ink ribbon up so that it was between the top of that arm and the paper.  The trick was to strike each key sharply enough that it would impress some ink onto the paper.

The innards of our typewriter would have looked a bit like the one shown below.
 

Of course, Mom wanted each of us to learn how to be a "touch typist."  In other words, we learned where the "home row" was and we taught our hands to know where all of the keys on the keyboard were without looking down (other than to check at the beginning that we had placed our hands correctly over that home row).

Over time, I got to be pretty good with typing.  But, our typewriter had a few issues.  One of them was the fact that we didn't get a new ribbon very often so I sometimes had to stop and wind the ribbon forward past sections that didn't have much left to them.  The other was that if you got going too fast, you could end up with a tangle of those arms all jumbled up part way between their resting place and the paper.  Then you would have to spend time UNjumbling the mess before you could start again.

And, let's not talk about what you had to do if you DID make a mistake.

But, hey!  It was motivation to get really, REALLY good at typing.

At the time I was attending junior high they were still teaching typing classes and everyone had to take it.  The typewriters were newer and were (gasp) electric.  That meant you didn't have to muscle each key to the paper.  It also meant you got fewer ...er... jumblings of the keys.  Which meant you could type faster.  And, of course, they measured your progress by giving you tests to determine the words per minute you could type.

After the teacher reminded me that I did not have to pound the daylight out of the keys as I selected them, I started hitting speeds in the 80 words per minute range and made it to the 90s before class was over.  I was curious, so I took a typing test at this site just to see where I would land now.  And, that's when I remembered that typing tests require that you translate something from another source to your brain and then to the paper (or screen) as you type.

I'm um... not used to that.  After all, most of my typing starts with stuff in my brain that I put onto the screen.

My first attempt was miserable because I didn't realize a couple things.  First, single spaces after periods (that's a case where my training failed me).  Second, once you are off by one character with this typing test, everything that follows will be an ERROR.  Ooops.

Armed with that knowledge, I gave it another try and landed at 71 words per minute and 98% accuracy.  Ok.  I can handle that.

A Dvorak typewriter keyboard layout - from this NPR page viewed 8/25/22

I remember the confusion my siblings and I had when we were introduced to the QWERTY keyboard that was the boon for all well-trained touch typists and the bane of everyone else.  Why in the world were the letters OUT OF ORDER?  Who decided that asdfghjkl; should be the "home row?"  I mean, at least the darned numbers were in order - but what was with the rest of them?  Speaking of jumbled messes!

This interesting article on the NPR website actually talks about some of the alternative keyboard layouts that some have argued would be better.  For example, the Dvorak keyboard layout shown above places the letters that comprise 70% of the most commonly used letters on that home row, rather than asdfghjkl;. 

It is clear to me that the proponents for the Dvorak keyboard have never typed on a typewriter where you had to slam each key with enough force to make the floor shake.  I gotta tell you.  If you have to use your pinky finger as often as you would on the Dvorak keyboard, you'd be crying to go back to QWERTY as soon as you possibly could.

Or you'd just join the group of people who use your two index fingers and "hunt and peck" your way through life. 

Well, all right.  I'll grant you that the "a" is in the same place.  It's that darned "s" that would have gotten me.  And, why in the world would you put the "x" where your strongest fingers would be and the "v" and "l" where the weakest ones are?  

The article shows another alternative called the Colemak design... and I might concede on that one except for one thing. I'm already a touch typist on the QWERTY keyboard, why would I even entertain the idea of a different keyboard design?  

Um.  I wouldn't.  But, I might consider celebrating National Typewriter Day - it's on June 23 next year.

And now you know.  Have a great rest of your day!

Being Positive Ain't Easy

It's easy to be angry.  It's not hard to get upset when you see people being mean, cruel and thoughtless.  It is way too simple to find fault with someone else or someone else's idea, especially when you were not inclined to think that way in the first place.  Heck, it's also pretty common to get a bit jealous when someone else either beats you to the punch with an idea you like or they actually get that project you tried years ago (and failed) to work.  

It is remarkably difficult to focus on good things when it feels like there is so much to be unhappy about.   Simply put - being positive ain't easy.

This blog opened up with a photo that I really think is pretty neat.  The skies are gorgeous.  And, the backlit sunflower plant just adds a neat contrast to the whole thing.  I've been walking past this particular sunflower (and a few others) every morning and every evening as I do the farm chores.  For good measure, I might go by it at other times of the day too.

Here is what I've caught myself thinking or feeling as I walked by this plant during the days prior to our "brief escape" from the farm and our jobs. 

• I've been sad because I see some of the flowers wilting, and I concentrate on how short the period is for these plants to look fabulous each season.
• I've been disappointed because we did not plant as many sunflowers this year as we did last year.
• I've dwelt on my own failure to identify a workable plan for the 2022 growing season and execute it sufficiently.
• I wondered when I would actually let myself stop and really admire this plant in particular, because I was just too busy.

I thought that last one during the evening chores, on a day just prior to that brief escape I mentioned.  I actually recognized at that moment what I was doing and I stopped.

I turned around.

I walked back to the house and grabbed the camera.

And I recorded a moment where I recognized beauty.   I recorded a moment where I saw things differently.  I recorded a moment - where I realized I was... kind of pleased with myself.

And with the sunflowers on the farm.

And with how well Tammy and I have been able to navigate this year's difficulties - including recognizing and acting on the need to just get away, if only briefly.

Then I took this picture of some artwork and a nice card that we have received over the last year or so from some of our young friends.  And, I realized I needed to relearn something that these neat kids seem to know better than those of us who call ourselves adults do.

So, I wrote a kind note to a person I only know in passing because I heard their father had passed away.

I wrote a note to Tammy and mailed it to her because... I wanted to.

I answered someone's question in an online group that everyone else seemed to be ignoring - and did so with kindness and respect (at least as well as I knew how).

I stopped myself from writing a blog post that focused on things that weren't going well in the world and I wrote something that promoted curiosity for nature and learning new things.

I thanked someone for holding the door open for me and then I held another door open for someone else not long after that.... and they thanked me.

Now I nod and murmur a thank you to this particular sunflower plant for its perspective against the dramatic skies that got me to adjust my thinking - every time I go by.

• We learned that someone dealing with long Covid was able to finally find a procedure that brought relief and we celebrate this healing.
• The Barn Swallows at the farm have reached numbers we have not experienced since 2007 - and we were able to watch last evening as they wheeled about the skies of the farm.  And the dragonflies darted around, hoping the Barn Swallows wouldn't try them out for tastiness.
• The small batch of watermelons we planted this year are ripening and we've already tasted one and found it quite good.  This is the first time in a few years we've had watermelon on the farm.
• We have frozen corn, beans, peas, asparagus, broccoli and blueberries so we will have them through the rest of the year and we've canned peaches too!
  
• Our pear tree finally... yes finally... produced a nice batch of fruit.  And we actually got around to harvesting before they fell and were eaten by various critters that do such things.
  

Yes.  Being positive ain't easy.  It requires work.  It's difficult.  Especially when you want the good things to have real depth and meaning, rather than a surface coating of sugar that masks the bitterness.  For that to happen, we have to accept that plans don't go as expected, people can become ill or injured, we're often too busy to see good things around us, and sunflowers fade with time.  Even while we recognize that bad things happen and even good things can make us have mixed feelings, these imperfections make these things real for us.

 

What's Next at GFF?

I was trying to find some August pictures to share in today's Genuine Faux Farm blog post and I realized something.  August is a month where we have traditionally done poorly with our photo taking.  In fact, most the years where we have some decent August pictures are the ones when we hosted some sort of event or field day and someone other than us took them.  The photo above is one of the few exceptions to that rule (from 2016).

This year's growing season at our farm has been the most inconsequential of any year we've been at the farm.  I can't even say that we've done a very good job of growing much of anything.  Yes, we've had some wonderful green beans and we're pulling in some great potatoes.  So, I suppose I shouldn't be quite so down on what we've been doing - especially when we've started to pull in some ripe tomatoes too.

But, when I see pictures like this one, I can't help having to fight all sorts of conflicting feelings.

In 2016, we had, if I recall correctly, about five or six hundred tomato plants and three or four 200-foot rows of different kinds of basil in this field.  Everything was nicely mulched, tomatoes were caged and irrigation lines were run.

Now, I remember clearly that there were plenty of issues during the 2016 growing season, so this is not one of those moments where time has erased all of the bad stuff.  What IS happening is that I am dealing with a mix of feelings that run the gamut from regret and loss to relief and gratitude.  I can't help but feel disappointed in myself that we have grown the small fraction of the produce as compared to most years on the farm. On the other hand, I am relieved that we aren't because we've had more than enough to be getting on with this year.

Neither of us could have predicted exactly how disruptive something like Achilles tendon surgery was going to be.  I think we both knew earlier in the year that there was going to be a disruption of some sort because of it.  And, I am certain we made the right choices for timing.  After all, it would have been miserable for Tammy to have to continue her work teaching while having to scoot around on one leg.  This way, we could deal with the early post-surgery recovery at home.

But, it did mean the farm took a backseat.

So, I need to get over my disappointment and/or guilt about a farm year that kind of... wasn't.  We made the right choice.  And we still had some broiler chickens, laying hens and turkeys this year (in fact we still have layers and turkeys).  There is produce - it's just not at the level we're used to.

So, we are working on accepting this year for what it was and we're starting to look forward to what's next for the farm.

What's next at that farm?

We do have some unfinished business for 2022 to deal with first.  We do have the aforementioned chickens and turkeys to continue to care for.  We will have a harvest of winter squash and we need to finish the potatoes.  The garlic needs to be cleaned (and the seed garlic planted) yet this fall.  There are a few melons and watermelons to harvest and some pumpkins.  And there will be more tomatoes, beans and peppers.

We are hopeful to plant some fall crops, like lettuce and spinach - and there is always excess beyond what we can eat there.

But, what about 2023?  What's the plan?

The answer right now is - we don't know.

We are establishing a younger hen flock this fall, so we should have eggs for the foreseeable future.  We intend on continuing to maintain and grow in and around our two high tunnel buildings (Eden and Valhalla).  But, will we back off of growing anything in larger amounts? 

Can we back off of growing anything in larger amounts?  (that may be the better question)

Would we like to take another crack at growing a couple of crops for seed production and Seed Savers?

The reality is this.  As long as we live at this location, we are going to want to do something with either food crops or poultry.  We're just having a hard time deciding two things.

1. How much is doable without getting overwhelmed with what we do here and our two jobs ... and life, in general?  How much energy can we give to this?

2. Knowing we will need to continue to step back from some of what we have done, what will be the things we will allow ourselves to focus on in 2023?   Will we decide that we might enjoy setting up to raise starter veggie plants and selling those in the spring, but back off of food crop sales?  Will we want to focus on seed production and leave food crop production to our own use (plus the normal extra that is going to happen with us)?  How much poultry are we going to raise?  Or will we back off to a small, personal laying flock and skip a year of meat bird production all together?

Regardless of what we do decide, I can tell you that there will be plenty to do.  There always is.

Costs of Doing Business - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to Postal History Sunday, featured weekly on the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you take this link, you can view every edition of Postal History Sunday, starting with this one (the most recent always shows up at the top).

This week, we are going to feature several pieces of mail that, unless you are looking at them carefully, look to be very similar.  Each and every folded letter is part of the same correspondence between Dutton & Townsend in New York and Jose Esteban Gomez in Cadiz, Spain.  Every single one of the items I will share in this blog features the 24 cent 1861 postage stamp I favor and, in each case, that stamp paid enough postage for the letter to find its way to Cadiz - even though there were times when Gomez had to pay more postage for the privilege of receiving the correspondence.

Different Rates - Same Route

In 1864, the year in which this letter was mailed, Spain was one of the locations in the world where the United States did not have a direct postal agreement to exchange mail.  That meant that correspondents would have to rely on intermediary postal services to get the job done.  In this case, the options were the postal services in the United Kingdom and France.  And since these letters were all destined for Cadiz, the route for each letter ended up being pretty much the same - even though there were multiple postage rate options (which we will talk about later in this Postal History Sunday).

This business letter traveled from New York to Queenstown, Ireland and then to London.  From London, the letter traveled through France, passing through Paris, on its way to the shared border with Spain.  There were two primary border crossings where France and Spain exchanged mail, one in the west at Irun and the other in the east at La Junquera.  Other crossings were limited to local mail.

Since our letters are all destined to Cadiz, and the eastern crossing would be for destinations primarily in Eastern Spain and the Catalan region, we can make a fairly good assumption that each of these went through Irun.

A rough rendering of the route to Cadiz

As a quick geography refresher, I supply you with the map above that shows the route this letter most likely took as it left London, entered France (at Calais) and then went to the western end of the border shared by France and Spain.  Bayonne would be one of the closest communities on the French side and Irun would be the companion Spanish community.  For those who are curious, the eastern exchange would have Le Perthus on the French side of the border and La Junquera on the Spanish side.

What was in that letter?

Dutton & Townsend of New York sent many business letters to Gomez over a period of ten or so years.  Many of the items available to collectors have had at least some of the contents removed.  However, I am lucky to have one that appears to be fully intact (this belongs to the folded letter shown at the beginning of this blog).

"No. 70 Beaver Street, New York December 23, 1864

Dear Sir, 

Your esteemed favor of September 28th last was duly received and its contents duly considered.  We are glad to learn that we shall probably gain something by the interest you have retained for us in your last sales of our staves.

We have again concluded to try your market with a cargo of staves from your opinion expressed that you could probably sell them on arrival so to compensate us.  We have accordingly chartered and loaded the Brig Mattapony of Bath, Captain S.G.Wyman, and she is now on her way to you having sailed yesterday 22 instant."

The context at the opening of this business letter tells us that this is not the first letter in this correspondence.  It sounds like Gomez may have contacted Dutton & Townsend and suggested that he could serve as a broker for their staves in Cadiz.  Prior offerings had gone well, so a new shipment with a range of product (different size and types of staves) was already on its way.

"These staves are of the very best quality of their several kinds and we think you will say on seeing them that the cargo is as fine a one as ever you have received....  This cargo we have caused to be insured here both against marine loss and rebel pirates.  So that in case of loss you will please have the necessary documents sent to us to collect the insurance..."

In late 1864 to early 1865, the threat of Confederate privateers was minimal.  Early enthusiasm for privateering had waned greatly when those private vessels who managed to capture a merchant vessel couldn't get to a Confederate court to collect their reward.  Why take the risk when the award was uncertain?

Even so, Dutton & Townsend indicated that they had acquired insurance for their cargo.  The potential of this account was apparently lucrative enough that it was worth adding this price to the cost of doing business.

What was Dutton & Townsend?

The letter content provides us with a place of business in New York City, which gives us the opportunity to explore a bit further.

Trow's New York City Directory, May 1, 1865

Trow's New York City Directory confirms for us that Dutton & Townsend held office space at 70 Beaver Street and that the business dealt in "staves and heading."  We also learn here that the two persons headlining this business are Edward H. Dutton and John P. Townsend.

Beyond that, it is interesting to me that the only reference of substance I have been able to find (thus far) for Dutton & Townsend has to do with a prior business named Sherman & Romaine.  This business, headed by Isaac Sherman and Benjamin F. Romaine, was established in New York City in 1853 when these two purchased the rough stave business of a William Dennistoun.  According to the source I cite below (*), this was the largest rough stave business in the United States, shipping out as many as 14 million staves in a year.  This volume was enough to take up at least some of the cargo hold for as many as 1000 ships annually.

John P Townsend was a clerk who eventually earned an interest in the business, but when Romaine died, two businesses were spun off of the original in 1862.  One of the two was Dutton & Townsend and the other was Sherman & Wibert.  The latter business ended in 1866, while the former appears to have gone on for much longer.

* Portrait Gallery of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York: Catalogue and Biographical Sketches,  compiled by George Wilson, Press of the Chamber of Commerce, New York, 1890, p. 209.

Cooper with barrel - mid 1800s from Library of Congress (DAG no. 1196)

Rough wooden staves were the raw material needed for the construction of barrels by coopers worldwide.  Headings were the boards that were used to construct the top and bottoms of these barrels (hence a business that sold "staves and headings").  According to this site (Roots Web), most barrels require from 24 to 36 staves to make the body.  Wooden barrels were used to ship and store a wide range of products, including wine, oil and other liquids.  The image below comes from the American Oil and Gas Historical Society, which explains why the 42 gallon barrel became the standard for oil production (an interesting read if you are so inclined).

I have been unable to learn anything about Jose Esteban Gomez, but given the location, it is entirely possible that he sold much of this material to cooperages that built barrels for the wine industry that was fairly strong in the Sherry and Malaga regions in southern Spain at that time.

Mail Options from the U.S. to Spain

Both Dutton & Townsend and Gomez were not too concerned about pinching pennies when it came to postage.  Nearly every point in time during this ten year period there were options to get a letter mailed for less than 24 cents.  It seems that Dutton & Townsend, just always put a 24 cent stamp on the letter, knowing that it would be enough to handle any of the available options for mailing.  They wrote off extra postage as a cost of doing business.

While the route was pretty much the same, there were actually several postal rate options if a person wanted to send a letter from the United States to Spain.

1. Prepay to Spanish border via French Mail

21 cents per 1/4 ounce to Spanish border - April 1857 to December 1869

This letter was mailed in Boston on August 2, 1865 to Gomez in Cadiz.  Apparently, someone with the Dutton & Townsend business was traveling and still corresponding with clients.   The 24 cent stamp overpaid this rate by three cents, but it did the job and got the letter to the border of Spain.  The recipient, however, still needed to pay 4 reales to receive the letter to cover the Spanish portion of the postage.

The biggest piece of evidence that this item was sent using the French mails are the black, circular markings near the postage stamp.  They read "Et Unis Serv 14 Aout 65."  The boxed "P.D." marking is also an indicator to us that this was sent via the French Mail agreement.

The biggest disadvantage of this rate was that it was by the quarter ounce (or 7.5 grams).  It was not hard to have a heavier letter that weighed more than that, but less than a half ounce (which was the weight unit for another mailing rate option).  So, only very light letters would cost less than the 24 cents Dutton and Townsend seemed content to pay.

2. Prepay to destination via British Mail

22 cents per 1/4 ounce to destination - January 1868 - December 1869

The second option was not available until 1868, but it also had added the benefit that that the letter would be prepaid all the way to the recipient.  In this case, the 24 cent stamp overpaid the rate by only 2 cents AND Senor Gomez was not required to pay extra money for the privilege of getting the next invoice or business correspondence from Dutton & Townsend.

Once again, this rate was by the quarter ounce.  If a letter was just a little bit heavier, it would require 44 cents, which was apparently something Dutton & Townsend wanted to avoid.  Perhaps they had many sheets of 24 cent stamps they wanted to use up?

3. Pay only what you must to get the letter to the British, let Gomez pay the rest.

21 cents per 1/2 ounce via American Packet to British Mails - October 1858 to December 1867

This brings us back to our first letter.  This one was definitely heavier than the two prior items and would have cost 42 or 44 cents respectively using those rates.  So, instead of doing that, Dutton and Townsend sent this via a provision known as the British Open Mails.

The basic premise of British Open Mails was that the sender only needed to pay for any mail service required to get the item TO the British postal system.  In this case, it cost 5 cents to get this letter to the ship (City of Cork) that would cross the Atlantic.  And, since that ship was under contract with the United States, that had to be paid for as well (16 cents).  That gives us a grand total of 21 cents due to get this item to the British.

Once again, Dutton and Townsend overpaid the postage by three cents, but they were able to send a heavier letter without having to put another stamp on it.  Gomez, on the other hand, may not have been as happy with this because 8 reales were collected from him when the letter was picked up.  An unpaid letter from England cost 4 reales per 1/4 ounce (approximately).  This item weighed more than 1/4 ounce and no more than 1/2 ounce, so 8 reales was the calculated postage due.

So, the total postage paid for the letter was 21 cents (for the US) and 8 reales (for everything else).

5 cents per 1/2 ounce via British Packet to British Mails - October 1858 to December 1867

But, what happened if a ship crossing the Atlantic was under contract with the British?  The only postage a person would need to pay in order to use the British Open Mails was the 5 cents required to get the item to that ship while it was in an American port!

Surely Dutton & Townsend would decide this represented too great a loss and it would invest in a few five cent postage stamps for this situation?  Apparently not!  Sometimes a cost of business is acceptable if the trade-off provides sufficient convenience.  We can not argue that Dutton & Townsend were unaware of the shipping schedules, because each letter identifies the ship of departure the letter was intended to take.  We have to conclude that an overpay of nineteen cents apparently did not mean much for this business's bottom line. 

In every case, there was extra postage paid that was not used.  Gomez usually had to pay some of the postage (with the notable exception of the 22 cent rate via Britain).  The account must have been lucrative enough that neither party cared to spend the extra energy to save a few pennies on either end.  Though I have to admit that Gomez had fewer options at his disposal.  If he wanted to read the letter, he had to pay for it.  

In fact, some of the letters from this correspondence also show that duplicate letters were often mailed (the word "duplicate" is a docket).  This could be simply a reminder to pay for a shipment or it was, perhaps, an additional 'insurance' for possible loss at sea.

Whatever the reasons or the logic, I suspect both parties just accepted postage (and the overpayments) as a "cost of doing business."

10 cents per 1/2 ounce paid to England - January 1868 to December 1869

But, I've still got one more of these up my sleeve!  Here's an 1869 item from the correspondence with another 24 cent stamp to pay the postage.  The British Open Mail cost was now a ten cent flat rate, it did not matter which ship carried the letter across the Atlantic.  

This is the same period of time when the 22 cent rate per 1/4 ounce was in effect to pay the letter to destination, so we might be tempted to ask why this letter didn't use that rate?  Well, apparently, the letter weighed more than 1/4 ounce, so it went using a postage rate that the 24 cent stamp could cover.

The postage rate for an unpaid letter in Spain, from England, must have decreased, so only 4 reales were collected from Senor Gomez this time around.  I have yet to track down that specific information, so if someone has it, I would appreciate hearing from you!

Bonus Material

Back of the folded letter shown above.

Several of the folded letters, but not all, show an interesting marking on the back.  This oval marking appears in black ink and bears the word "Lista."  The purpose of this was to indicate that the letter was held at the post office and it was advertised in the newspaper as being available for pick up by Gomez.

In prior Postal History Sunday entries, you might remember some discussion that not all letters were delivered by a carrier to the person at their address.  Some letters were kept at the post office and awaited the arrival of the recipient (or someone representing them) to come and pick up their mail.  Many post offices would also advertise that letters were available for pick up after they had been in the office for a certain period of time.  Each postal system had different procedures, but many in the 1860s required that the recipient pay an additional fee for letters that had to be advertised.

Is it possible that Jose Esteban Gomez had to pay even a bit more for his letters?  If someone knows the regulations for advertised letters in Spain during this time frame, feel free to contact me.

The last cover I wanted to show today is another British Open Mail item where the 5 cent postage stamp paid the 21 cents required to get the item to England.  This letter is dated October 7, 1863, showing us that the Gomez correspondence with Dutton & Townsend had origins prior to the first letter in our post.

Thanks for reading and your feedback

Some of you might have been saying, at some point during this Postal History Sunday, "didn't Rob do something on this in a prior entry?"  If you did, good for you!  I took a first pass on this topic in May of 2021, not long after I underwent surgery to have a kidney removed.  And, ever since then, I've felt like I had not provided the full attention it deserved.  On the other hand, if this is all new to you - ignore that last bit!

Either way, this is a story that has plenty of complexity and even more that could be explored in the future.  And that, my friends, is part of what motivates me to continue with Postal History Sunday.  There is so much more to learn and so much learning to share.

After last week's entry titled Quarantine!, I received several kind words from people who read and enjoyed that entry.  I found that gratifying as I felt that it was one of my better efforts in this series that has now passed the two year mark of weekly writings.

I would also like to reiterate that I do encourage feedback of all sorts, including constructive criticism, appropriate corrections, and suggestions for resources or directions to continue investigating a given story.

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