Back on the farm

I got back late yesterday from seeing Dad in the hospital in Okeechobee where he seems to be stabilizing....a lot of uncertainty despite his great vital signs. Please put his full and rapid recovery in your prayers.

Yesterday about an hour before I left Dad's house I spotted from about 150 feet away an oddly behaving bird that displayed red when it flapped its wings....I had on my computer glasses so the image was fuzzy. I put on my usual glasses then approached the bird as it rummaged in the weeds around Dad's burn pile...I got maybe 25 feet from it. It was very much a ground dwelling bird...maybe 2/3 the size of a robin, the tops of the wings and body a drab greyish beige. The tail seemed short, the wings were short and rounded, and occasionally it would flap a little BRIEFLY to move to new weeds.....the UNDERSIDE of the outer 1/3 to 1/2 of the wings was a reddish cinnamon-brown color. I didn't get a good look at the beak but it seemed a normal bird beak at a glance. I saw no head crest or neck rings or anything. It poked around in the dirt and weeds maybe 20 seconds then flew into a nearby cedar tree.I have NO idea where to even begin to look in my bird books...any ideas?

Iodine supplementation has done WONDERS for so many friends I've turned onto it plus folks I've met here and there. I've read repeatedly that many/most other developed nations have an RDA of iodine 83-100 times higher than our govt's RDA....maybe to keep us tired and complacent and ill and "needing" high profit medical intervention?


Me and folks I know are REALLY liking the long podded Vignas like the 'Asparagus Bean' on the Ferry Morse seed rack...pods are tender and sweet and stringless even when 18-20 inches long! So I am phasing out here volunteer seedlings of the 'Clay' Vigna I've grown for years and have given students and folks at the Sustainable Living Conference since those pods remain tender only to 5-6 inches. Mary Jo found a variant in the Taste of Asia portion of Ferry Morse seeds called 'Bean Long Zi 28-2' that makes 26 inch long pods!! I figure if I grow ONLY these super vigorous long podded types cross pollinations will be academic vs. their getting pollinated by the short pod type. I will planting more of these all along my chicken barrier fencing once/if the rains kick in.

John