April 29, 2020
Liz Writes Life
Ammo
Good news for those who need to purchase ammunition. In a
recent court victory, background checks are not needed to purchase ammunition.
The California Gun Owners, California & Pistol Assoc.,
won a lawsuit challenging California’s Prop 63 ammunition sales restrictions,
which resulted in an injunction issued against the state that prevents
California from enforcing the law while the case continues to be litigated.
Prop 63 became law, along with a handful of other gun laws, in 2016.
According to a press release by the California Rifle &
Pistol Assoc., the mass of those new laws took effect in two phases. On July 1,
2018, direct purchase and shipments of ammunition became prohibited without
going through a licensed vendor. Then on July 1, 2019, background checks for
all ammo transactions were required. Interestingly enough, the technology failed
miserably and denied many Californians their Constitutional rights.
The injunction was issued April 23, 2020. Chuck Michel, President
and General Counsel of the CRPA, said: “In truth, red tape and the state’s
disastrous database errors made it impossible for hundreds of thousands of
law-abiding Californians to purchase ammunition for sport or self-defense. The
Court found that the flimsy reasons offered by the government to justify these
Constitutional infringements were woefully inadequate.”
CRPA expects the state to appeal the ruling, but for right
now some Second Amendment restrictions have been restored. I am not sure if
this also affects the ability to purchase ammo on-line or out-of-state.
Old song new again
There is a heart-warming story coming out of the United
Kingdom. Captain Tom Moore will celebrate his 100th birthday,
tomorrow, April 30, 2020 and he has just achieved several other amazing
milestones. The first feat was to raise 28 million pounds for those serving
during the Covid-19 pandemic by walking laps around his garden lot. In a video,
where he is honored by Britain’s own military soldiers standing at attention,
he walks at a pretty good clip although he does use a walker. And, his stature (wearing
his uniform) is also quite erect.
On April 6, 2020, Capt. Moore’s original goal was to raise
1,000 pounds before his 100th birthday by walking 100 laps around his
garden with the donated funds going to the National Health Service staff’s
needs. He also joined social media “Twitter” on the same day, where he announced
and detailed his daily 10 laps. The word got out about the Captain’s project
and he quickly raised more funds than expected. So, he kept on walking.
His other feat came after he recently recorded the 1945 hit
song, “You’ll never walk alone” with famous singer, Michael Ball, and the NHS
Voices of Care Choir. The song went viral on-line, to the top -- and now Capt.
Tom Moore is the oldest person to top the UK’s music chart. Because he is turning
100 tomorrow, he may hold this achievement for a long time. The video can be
found on youtube.com and well worth watching.
Capt. Moore served in the 8th Battalion, Duke of
Wellington’s Regiment, starting in the Second World War and is still serving
his country during this Covid-19 pandemic. Way to go Capt. Tom!
Garden
It is rare for me to even think of planting tomato plants in
April, but I plan on it this week. Yes, I know, I know, I am always cautioning
gardeners to not get excited and plant too early. So, I may have to eat my
words – this year!
Because of this drought and consistent warm temps, I have
been checking several weather stations that forecast into the future. Will May
be as warm and frost-free as these forecasts claim? Yep, that is the question.
AccuWeather is the one I rely on the most, because it uses a Mt. Shasta
station. The City of Mount Shasta is at 3,586 feet elevation and I am at about
3,100 here by Callahan. I have found the predicted Mt. Shasta’s freezes or
frosts, in spring and fall, to be about the same as at my place. Sometimes, I
am actually a few degrees cooler.
Well, in checking AccuWeather, it looks like there will be a
few times, when it might get down to the mid-30s next month. No predicted
freezes! It claims the first few nights of May (this weekend) and then again
around May 13 and 14 will have cooler days and mid-30 degree early-mornings. This
is definitely a very different year than what I consider “normal,” if there is
such a thing as normal!
Typically, I expect to cover the tomatoes, on some nights, during
May and into June. But, I really think it will stay mild, although I will be
prepared with boxes and other coverings. Last year, I did plant the garden the
first week of May, which was a change of nearly 20 years of planting at the end
of May; and it survived several light frosts.
For years, in the 1970s to 1990s, my dad, and others, planted
on rodeo weekend, so this is not something new.
I am still getting the soil in the rows ready (need to add
manure), so it will be the first week of May when I hope to plant cucumbers,
carrots, zucchini, cantaloupe, green beans, pumpkins, pepper plants and corn.
Darn tiny mallow weeds were already growing in the lettuces
and spinach. Took a good look at them on Friday evening and went to work doing
the intricate weeding. Almost needed tweezers!
Then, I decided to transplant the volunteer onions. Several
were over a foot-tall, but were growing where I want to plant corn. Five were growing
double. I was able to split them, not breaking-off the roots. The biggest job
was soaking the soil, before I planted them. The soil was so dry, I felt like a
little kid making mud. Ended-up with 15 onions transplanted successfully.
The rhubarb had grown so huge that I harvested about 20
pounds from the biggest one. I was pleased that I didn’t over-pick and it is already
filling-in. Gave most away, but did make a batch of Jello strawberry jam using
rhubarb. Yum!
It does feel good to be out in the garden digging and
planning where and when to plant – hoping to make the right decisions. Happy
gardening everyone!
Rodeo postponed
Because of the Covid-19 virus pandemic, the Etna Pleasure
Park Rodeo has been postponed (or canceled) according to its website. This
would have been the 73rd annual rodeo held the first Sunday of May,
starting back in 1947.
Liz
Bowen began writing ranch and farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She
is a native of Siskiyou County and lives near Callahan. Columns from the past
year can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.
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