Friday, September 4, 2020

Liz Writes Life 9-9-2020

 September 9, 2020

Liz Writes Life

It is so hot and dry, at my house, that even the puncture vines are puny. There are a few plants down the driveway that I missed or that grew after I sprayed them a month ago; and they are not huge like I have seen them be in late summer. The tiny leaves on some of the small struggling plants are reaching for the sky instead of hugging the ground. I have never seen so many wimpy puncture vines. We sure do need rain. Even the vilest of weeds are feeling scorched!

I haven’t mentioned it, but spraying puncture vine is one of my least favorite jobs. Yet, I must give the hardy vine a little respect as it is very intricate with tiny evenly placed leaves, miniature yellow flowers that turn into the dreaded pokey seeds and it spreads into a huge circular spider-type web. I have seen some grow eight-feet wide after thunderstorms! They are amazing and specific-patterned plants that hug the ground and the pokey seed gets transported everywhere!

That’s enough about puncture vines. I’ve seen so many of them that sometimes, when I close my eyes, I see the patterned plant on the inside of my eyelids!

Voles

A big “thank you” goes out to Kitty Mabee, who called to tell me that my mole problem is actually voles. She said voles eat seeds, roots and vegetables. Moles are the insect, grub and earthworm eaters. Kitty has had problems with the voles eating seeds and then carrots and potatoes to the point that she dug down two-feet and put in tiny squared-wire as a protection from the underground tunneling. She also got some younger cats that are doing a good job hunting them down. Kitty also mentioned the voles will come up out of the ground under tomato plants and eat on tomatoes. Oh, gee whiz!

This fits my problem. I believe the voles ate a lot of my seeds even though I had wondered if those seeds just didn’t germinate. I never have problems with pumpkin seeds not growing and, this year, they just didn’t come up and now I realize vole tunnels were right there.

Almost everyone I have talked to this year said they had problems with seeds not germinating or coming up. And those same people have complained about mole tunnels and gopher infestation. Hum, maybe voles are also their problem.

So, what are some other deterrents for voles? Yep, I looked it up on the internet. One blogger said the battery-operated stakes that send out a vibration do not work. OK, good to know. Poisoned gummy worms and Juicy Fruit gum don’t work either.

The blogger said his first course of action is to apply large amounts of a castor oil-based mole and vole repellent in their tunnel areas. It is available in liquid and granular form and imparts a nasty smell to the soil. This is not your human-consumption castor oil, which doesn’t have much smell. Apparently, this repellent will not harm pets or humans. It is the strong smell that is the deterrent, so don’t dilute. Guess, I will look into this deterrent because my old cats are not getting the job done.

Churches

Several articles came out last week about the on-going saga of governments persecuting churches in Southern California. After an L.A. County Superior Court judge issued a decision that allowed the Grace Community Church to meet inside – with masks and social distancing – L.A. County Public Works Dept. issued a 30-day termination notice to the church for the church’s parking lot. The county says the parking lot property belongs to the county. Grace Community Church’s lawyer said the church has peacefully held the property through a lease since 1975 and stated this situation is harassment and abusive by the government.

The church must evacuate the property by Oct. 1, 2020. The county has also challenged the superior court judge’s ruling and a full hearing on the ability for the church to hold indoor services was set for last Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. I will report on the result, when it is published.

Another situation is with a church in Santa Clara County. The North Valley Baptist Church claims the county used spies to infiltrate its indoor religious services and as a result fined the church $10,000 for holding those services, which included singing. Yes, singing is a no-no, according to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Covid-19 virus regulations.

Senior Pastor Jack Treiber posted a facebook video that pleaded with Gov. Newsom asking him to remove the restrictions. He said the congregation is actively trying to help the needy, poor and sick people in its community.

“Instead of paying spies to monitor Christians, why don’t Santa Clara leaders use their resources to tackle the homelessness and violent crime pandemics plaguing the county?” the pastor said.

If I find out more about this situation, I will share it with you. Meanwhile, keep saying your prayers (in church or not, out loud or silent) for relief from all the plagues we are facing! Keep the faith!

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 can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.

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