Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
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At this time of year most people in the media look back on the prior year and comment on the “top stories” of the year, at least from their perspective. That has always sounded more to me like trying to find something to report on because there isn’t anything new to talk about. Everything slows down around the holidays. I’m going to take a different direction. This past year brought about several actions from the Left that will directly affect our lives, mine and yours, whether you’re on the Left or the Right, or even if you refuse to take a...
Food dyes have been used to artificially color foods for several decades. Primarily it's a marketing scheme used to make commercial foods more appealing to the consumer thus enticing them to buy. During processing, foods lose color and storage can also cause color loss. Dyes are used to make the foods appear fresher than they actually are. Even meats may be treated with food dye (coloring) to give an appearance of freshness. Food dyes provide absolutely no nutritional value and some may be...
Did you ever think that spices in your cupboard could be the key to a much healthier life? For thousands of years spices have been used for a wide variety of reasons. Some spices are used to preserve food. Some are used for flavor. Some are used for both. Maybe not known to our ancestors is that many of those spices are also good for our general health. Whether they knew or not, maybe, just maybe, spices were the reason that many of the health conditions that seem to be so prevalent today were a...
As I write this article it's pretty cold outside, about 6 degrees below zero. By the time it goes to print it's supposed to be in the 40's. So goes Christmas in Wyoming. Cold or warm, we have one constant. What symbol says, "Christmas" to more people than the Christmas tree. Since I don't play the political correctness game I'll call it what it is, a Christmas tree. Be it live or artificial, green or another color, frosted or plain, it's still a Christmas tree. Some of my most vivid Christmas...
I’ve been confused about cryptocurrency ever since I heard Glenn Beck pushing Bitcoin several years ago. It’s never made since to me. My frame of reference is that in order to be an investment an item has to be tangible, something a person can hold in their hand. Cryptocurrency only exists in a computer, because someone says its there. Then I questioned cybersecurity. Any computer system, any program, can be hacked. I remember the CEO of Oracle bragging that Oracle was “hack-proof” and offering $1 million to anyone who could hack it. It was...
This year seems to have just zipped by without ever slowing down. It's hard to imagine that it's already December and Christmas is just around the corner. Even though I started writing about the plants of Christmas a few weeks ago, the time of year just sunk in. I don't know if I've been that busy or if maybe it's just old age. Could be a combination of both, I guess. Regardless, I still find myself stopping to reflect on Christmas when I was growing up. This week I thought of poinsettias. Mind...
This Christmas is more poignant than most for me. I have a nephew just entering the Air Force and facing his first Christmas away from home. It's caused me to think back to when I went to basic training so long ago. I left just before Thanksgiving so I missed two holidays. Since I was a little older than most trainees it wasn't as bad for me but I recall the distress that so many of the others felt. They were all fresh out of high school and most were pretty homesick. This is only one of many...
America was founded mostly by Christians seeking religious freedom. This was taught to every school child in the 60’s and 70’s. The message blurred in the 80’s. Now our youth are taught that America was founded by conquerors wanting to subdue the native people and take their land. Barak Hussein Obama is noted for saying there is nothing exceptional about the United States, then bowing down to other world leaders. Joe Biden often derides our country and does his best to drive our name into the mud. Nothing could be less true. In the early years... Full story
Deck the halls with boughs of holly...Fa La La La La. My granddaughter has been singing that Christmas classic for the last three weeks or so. This is a wonderful time of year in our household and music of all sorts fills the air from sunup until long after sundown. If it isn't on the stereo then somebody is singing. Linda is decking the halls now only our holly is artificial. I grew up with real holly because it was so plentiful. Holly is one of the more recognizable plants of the winter and... Full story
The 2022 annual 4H Awards Banquet was a night of friends, fun, games and, above all, a time to honor the achievements of 4H members and leaders from all over Laramie County. The highlight of the night, at least for me, was to hear all the awards from the Hillsdale Tiptoppers 4H club. The Tiptoppers are primarily made up of youth from the Hillsdale and Burns area. I've judged several of these members and have enjoyed watching them grow over the years. Kelle Hawes and Jessica Allred are the adult... Full story
After the Nov 8th elections, Democrats were quick to commence their victory dance. They declared victory over Republicans even though the House of Representatives is now under Republican control. It’s been a few weeks now and they’re still singing and dancing around the bonfire of a nation in flames, proclaiming how the American people have chosen the Leftist path. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor after I saw the brazenness of their proclamations. The next day word reached the American public of mass layoffs from large corporations. Ama...
We're entering a special time of year as Christmas approaches. Snow on the ground and a crispness in the air that seems to buzz with excitement and anticipation. The hustle and bustle of shoppers; many with a joyous "Merry Christmas" to the clerks in the stores and a smile for others. We hear the tinkle of coins as people drop their spare change into the Salvation Army kettles. I do miss the ringing bells and the shouts of "Merry Christmas that used to surround the bell ringers. Everyone seemed...
“The GOP no more. Only varying degrees of Democrats.” Chris Salcedo, Newsmax, Nov 14, 2022 The elections are over and the highly anticipated “Red Tsunami” didn’t happen. Bill Sniffen was right when he called it a “Red Trickle”. Everyone expected the Red Tsunami, including liberal talk show hosts and Democrat strategists. Even Biden was worried. Skyrocketing inflation, supply chain shortages, soaring energy costs, enough Fentanyl coming into the country to kill every man, woman and child because of Democrat border policies, rampant crime...
One of the more important holidays of the year occurs this week...Thanksgiving Day. Started by a proclamation by President George Washington in 1789, this day was intended to be a national day of thanksgiving for the bounty God had given to our nation. It was only celebrated intermittently until President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it a federal holiday in 1863. One of the things President Lincoln was thankful for was the "the blessings of fruitful fields". Americans are known around the world...
Now that the harvest is over and the potatoes have all been dug, what do you do with your bounty? This year I harvested 700 pounds of potatoes from 350 plants. When I planted last June I anticipated 5 pounds of potatoes per plant. But that was without doing any research on what the yield should really be. After checking into it I found that I should only expect one and a half pounds per plant. Since I got two pounds I guess it turned out better than average. But that's still a lot of potatoes....
The Laramie County Republican Party held its annual Veterans' Appreciation Breakfast on Saturday, November 5th. Each year they select at least one veteran to honor for their service. One of the selectees this year was Merlin Otto Marquart from Pine Bluffs. Otto was born in Strues Farm, Nebraska on December 9, 1939 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1958. He was discharged in 1961 to attend college at Midwestern University where he completed a degree in education. He taught school in Colorado...
For the last few years nurseries ran out of seeds, shrubs, trees and nearly everything else we need to plant our gardens in the spring. Even more surprising, they ran out early in the season. It wasn't only the local nurseries either. Everyone, nationwide, ran out. Even the big national suppliers. Some stocks weren't replenished for the current year. I don't know what the real cause is. It seems like people are still blaming COVID but I don't believe that. At least not anymore. Maybe nurseries...
Catherine Wissner announced last week that she will be retiring on June 30, 2023. Not only is Laramie County losing a gem but this entire region is losing one of our best resources for horticultural knowledge. Wissner has been the Laramie County Horticulturalist for the past 14 years and has been a valuable resource and friend in all of my horticultural endeavors. But her work isn't limited to Laramie County. Although her jurisdiction is local, her reach has been international. She works...
Move over, Charlie Brown! There's a new great pumpkin in town. And a new state record. Andy Corbin of Cheyenne broke his own state record this year with a mammoth 1,854 pound pumpkin. In 2019, Corbin broke the state record with a pumpkin weighing in at 1,491 pounds. That's after he set the record in 2015 with a pumpkin weighing 1,268 pounds. Corbin takes growing pumpkins seriously. That's a pretty "smashing" record for a backyard gardener. Harold Stinchcomb is a friendly rival of Corbin's and...
If you haven't finished your harvest by now I'm sure you're close. I finally got the potatoes in and the garlic planted but I'm leaving the squash on the vines as long as possible. I was nearly six weeks late planting so they still need more time to ripen. If I can get two more weeks without a hard frost I think they'll come in okay. While I'm waiting I'll start planning what I'll grow next year. For the last couple of years the nurseries ran out of seed early and I don't see any reason to...
Once the harvest is finished, fall and winter brings our attention to planning for the following year. If your plans include building a hoop house or greenhouse to extend your growing season, this is a good time to at least get the prep work done. Growing vegetables in Wyoming is a constant struggle and frustration at best. At worst it feels impossible at times. At the same time, it's an undertaking well worth the effort. Two of the major factors that make growing vegetables in Wyoming so...
I've tried growing watermelons and didn't do well. They were tasty but very small. Really not even large enough for a serving for one person. So when I heard about the giant watermelons Tim and Alisha Michaud were growing, I have to admit I was skeptical. You see, watermelons aren't supposed to grow here, at least not the big ones. But, at the same time, it had my curiosity aroused. Most people know Alisha as the Director of the Senior Center in Pine Bluffs, which is how I first met her, too. I...
I think that most of us know that good nutrition is vital to our health. But did you also know that eating certain foods can reduce the risk of certain diseases and other health problems? In today's society it seems like people are eating more for convenience than for their health and well-being. Are we really too busy to do more than just fill our bellies with snacks and prepared or processed foods? For me, a little preparation is well worth the benefits. The obvious fact is that foods have...
I hope the drought we've been in for the past year has brought the importance of water and water conservation to the forefront of everyone's mind. I know farmers and ranchers are reeling from the impact it's had on them. Short pastures, or no pasture, wheat that didn't fill out, ponds that have dried up and less water for irrigation have all contributed to the added hardships they've endured that haven't reached the rest of us yet. But it will. Those hardships will cause livestock herds to be...
The ballot for the General Election in November will look a little different this year. There will be two Constitutional Amendments that voters need to decide on. It always scares me when the legislature, or Congress for that matter, proposes Constitutional amendments. I ask myself who will benefit from the amendments. Is it the citizens, the government, or particular individuals? Sometimes the answer is obvious but often it’s obfuscated and you have to dig to find the solution to the question. This time we have both. The text of the a...