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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