January 1, 2016
By Donna L. Watkins
"I always prefer to believe the best of everybody, it saves so much trouble." ~~ Rudyard Kipling
Happy New Year!
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| Donna At Monticello Estate |
For the New Year, my prayer for you is:
May you celebrate your uniqueness, enjoy God's goodness, and look forward to the plans, purposes, and blessings He holds for you as He fulfills the desires of your heart.
Much love, many hugs and a basketful of blessings!
Tidbit - Preserving Wildlife - The Chinese billionaire, Jack Ma, China's richest man and noted conservationist, plans to turn Brandon Reserve in the Adirondack Mountains into a wildlife sanctuary. This will protect its timber and water from logging and mining operations. The $28 million dollar bid for 28,000 acres of pristine, American wilderness is an exciting purchase for Mr. Ma and the natural wilderness and all it contains. View the video about this tract of land.
Because of its resistance to decay, industries sprang up throughout the region to use wood from the American Chestnut for posts, poles, piling, railroad ties, and split-rail fences. Its straight-grained wood was ideal for building log cabins, furniture, and caskets. Split-rail fences made from the American Chestnut can still be found along country roads throughout the northeast United States and the southern Appalachians. (Source: appalachianwoods.com)
The fruit that fell to the ground was an important cash crop. Families raked up chestnuts by the bushels and took wagon loads of them to sell in nearby towns. The people even cooked the chestnuts for their own use. The bark and wood were rich in tannic acid which provided tannins for use in the tanning of leather. More than half of the vegetable tannin used by the American leather industry at the turn of the century came from the American Chestnut. So important was the American Chestnut in the southern Appalachians that some of the major timber operations became subsidiaries of leather companies which were organized to harvest other species for lumber on land bought to insure supplies of chestnut tannin extract. In addition, the American Chestnut was a graceful shade tree found in city squares and on the rural homestead. (Source: appalachianwoods.com)
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| View Enlarged Image American Chestnut Restoration Project |
This tree, and other survivors, are immune to the disease, so it's DNA could help the American Chestnut Foundation with its 6,000 volunteers to develop a fungus-resistant tree to be reintroduced into the wild. A team from the University of Maine found the tree during an aerial search. Chestnut trees flower at this time of year when no other trees do in Maine, so they’re easy to spot from the air with their white blossoms. Read more here. We visited one of the American Chestnut Restoration Projects on a field trip and got to take a few pictures. It was in Nelson County, Virginia, a county that I'm sure looks like heaven - at least as much as earthly eyes can imagine heaven. I have been following the research and plantings since then.
Pets - Previously, the military working dogs were ineligible for military transport home to the United States. Soldiers who wanted to adopt their canine colleagues had an extremely difficult time getting them back to America. The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act changes that giving the dogs’ military handlers first choice of adopting them. The new law requires that military working dogs be returned to USA soil when they retire, which can make a huge difference to the veterans who need to overcome wartime trauma and readjust to civilian life. Read the whole story here.
Birds - My aunt in Pennsylvania told me that she's not seeing all the birds that she usually does in winter. It's been warm there. I have noticed the same thing here. We have loads of "resident birds" visiting the feeders, but it seems we don't have the large flocks of birds that are our winter guests. I rarely see a Dark-eyed Junco and even the White-throated Sparrows seem to be less than when they first arrived. No Pine Siskins this year and I've not even seen the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that killed our holly trees and firethorn bushes over the years of his girdling them. Do you see any less birds this winter than you normally do? Leave your comments at the bottom of this post.
Tidbit - Postal Rate Increase - The U.S. Postal Service has proposed a postage rate increase for select mail classes and services in 2016, pending approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). If approved by the PRC, the new postage rates will start on Sunday, January 17, 2016. The Priority Mail Express service will see an average increase of 15.6% in postage rates next year. Check out the highlights on the upcoming rate changes.
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| Print I Bought With Birthday Money in 1996 Titled "He Is Our Peace" |
The lion’s new designation gives American officials the ability to ban the importation of any hunting trophies, such as lion skins, that would be brought back into the country. The importation of live lions also can be regulated under the new legal status. Read more here about this law.
Another Good News Story is about Animal Defenders International working with police in Colombia and Peru, where animal acts are now illegal , to shut down 10 circuses which will free 33 lions. They have been sent to the 12,000-acre Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary in South Africa’s Limpopo province. Read more here.
Animal Defenders International has been working hard to shut down circuses everywhere. What people see when attending a circus is not what's going on behind the scenes to provide it. On another humanitarian airlift of 25 lions, called Operation Lion Ark, included construction of a specially-built 80-acre enclosure at The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. Up until now, all these lions have known is deplorable conditions, neglect and abuse. The cats, including three cubs, were nursed back to health before their long journey to the United States. Read more here.
Investments by the comune and private bodies, as well as co-operation between local business, has given Furore a well-marketed range of enterprises to welcome the visitor: restaurants, pizzerie, and accommodation ranging from farm-based agriturismo to a five-star hotel and spa. The most attractive thing about this village-non-village is its beautiful setting: the olive trees, the grapevines on terraces going up the mountainside, the bowers of lemons with nets stretched between poles, and more colorful eye candy scenes. Read more.
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| View Enlarged Image Donna at Crabtree Falls, Nelson County, VA View More Blue Ridge Mountain Photos |
Crabtree Falls is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Virginia, and certainly the tallest. It is commonly referred to as the tallest waterfall in the East, but his is a mistake because it's actually a series of waterfalls, all beautiful and tall but not one distinct drop. Crabtree Creek flows from Crabtree Meadows up by the Blue Ridge Parkway before plunging 1,080 feet to the Tye River.
Waterfalls seem to bring introspection about life. So peaceful. Everything just flowing by, no time for bad circumstances to keep the ripples in our lives. We can purify our troubles and wash them all down the river as we realize that our earthly time is so short compared to the eternity of bliss we will be living in Heaven. Until then .... dream about what you want your life on earth to be like .... and make them come true!
May You Be Blessed With a Peaceful and Joy-filled New Year!
P.S. See anything in here that might help somebody you know? Please share!
Here's a link to the online version of this newsletter.
If you simply want to copy and paste the link into an email, here it is:
www.thenatureinus.com/2016/01/the-nature-in-us-newsletter-1116.html
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