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EPISODE 37ROBERT ROOT’S EXPERIENCE WITh LYME DISEASE – TICKS

EPISODE  379     ROBERT ROOT’S EXPERIENCE WITH LYME DISEASE = TICKS


SUMMERTIME AND THE NATURAL WORLD IS INVITING.





I love daisies…wild flowers in general.  I also love looking for Monarch Butterflies.  As do you.  Be careful…CAREFUL!



black legged tick – sometimes carrier of lyme disease -If deer are present then ticks are present.



black legged female tick swollen with blood

Photo of two nymphal blacklegged ticks on a hiking boot.
two ticks on a hiking boot…massive enlarged photo to show how tiny ticks can be




JUNE 28, 2021

LETTER TO ROBERT ROOT FRM ALAN SKEOCH

Hi Rooter,

I feel duty bound to write an episode on Lyme Disease  as many of
my stories involve outdoor activity …. sometimes but not many in long grass.
Your story is very important.  A cautionary tale since many people long for
a chance to get outdoors.  Chasing butterflies maybe.  Be careful.

A few years ago a good friend of mine got Lyme disease from a tick bite when
he walked through long grass on a hiking trail near Ancaster Ontario.  He did not
notice the tic.   It bit him, sucked some of his blood then dropped off.  Infected him. Rooter
had no idea he was infected with Lyme Disease so carried on normally until the
full impact of the disease struck.  It was devastating.  Best said in his own
words.   A clear warning to avoid long grass.  Easy to say.  Hard to do.




ROBERT ROOT’S STORY

    
Sunday afternoon August 22nd 2004 My wife and I went for a walk near The Hermitage in Ancaster. 
I left the trail and went into the long grass to get to the pinnacle of a hill we were climbing.  A day later a bulls eye rash
appeared on my left ankle and both ankles were badly swollen.  I lay down and put my feet up and my heart felt like it
was being flooded as lymphatic fluid poured into my heart from my legs.  The next day I saw my doctor and he put me
on an antibiotic and Lasix ( a dewatering pill ).  4X a day I put my feet up to drain the fluid.  The lymphatic system
was badly affected.  I had to stay around the house with my legs propped up and cancelled other activities.
I sang in a quartet at church but had to cancel that on the 29th and stay lying with my feet up. 
On the 30th I went to my doctor again and he gave me more antibiotics.  This was a very symmetrical disease.
When my left armpit was inflamed my right arm pit was too.  Swelling in my left wrist coincided with swelling of the right wrist.
When I first lay down my heart felt flooded as the great thoracic duct poured lymph into the auricle of the heart.  Wednesday
Sept 1st I saw my doctor again and received a third round of antibiotics for 7 days.   I stayed home the weekend of
Sept 5th and rested with my feet up.  Friday Sept 10th I washed the car.  I was now getting more active but still spent a good
part of each day with my legs up.  Sept 16th I went to choir practice and Sept 18th I attended My son Wesley’s STAG at
Woodbine racetrack but had to go to the car and prop my legs up to drain for a while. 
Sept. 29th my doctor prescribed support hose for me and to this day 17 years later I have to wear support hose and put
my legs up during the day.   I am one of the “Lucky ones” because my doctor got me the correct antibiotics right away.

Many people who contract Lyme Disease and don’t get the correct treatment right away suffer permanent organ
damage and have lifelong disabilities.

My doctor is a frontier doctor.  He has been treating farmers for a good part of his life.  One year he got the record for
the most home visits in a year.  He initially thought I had spider bites but he did diagnose the correct antibiotic.  Hallelujah!

We still check for ticks and occasionally find them on us even if we are not out in long grass.





CAUTION

Being outdoors after the Covid 19 isolation can be wonderful.  But be careful.
Long years ago when I worked in Southern Ireland I noticed many cattle herds
carried ticks on their snouts.  I had never heard of ticks until then.  Our work involved
crossing and criss crossing Irish fields…climbing over stone fences with lots of long grasses.

     Pushing our way through gorse and bracken…dense.

  So each
night I carefully examined my body for ticks. Especially my legs.  Never found one
fortunately.   Irish ticks were ugly but did not carry Lyme disease then but they do now..  In North
America the situation was dangerous. 

You would not want to get Lyme Disease as my good friend Bob Root has explained.

Marjorie picked a tick from Woody our Labrador last week.  No joke.

alan skeoch
june 2021


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EPISODE 378 STONE SILO CIRCA 1870-1880: WHERE DID THEY GET THE STONES?

EPISODE 378    STONE SILO CIRCA 1870-1880: WHERE DID THEY GET THE STONES?


alan skeoch
June 2021

This stone silo has stood here since Angus McLean built it in the 1870’s.  ( McLean-Saunders-MacLeod-Skeoch, Skeoch, Con…owners)
Take a close look.  Not one stone is uniform.  Sizes and shapes are never replicated.  It looks unstable yet the silo is now over 
150 years old.  An unusual piece of Scottish stonemasons art.

Angus McLean had to use whatever was available.  And in Erin Township, Wellington County,
Ontario stones were always available.  They still are.  Each year a new crop of stones is pushed 
to the surface.  “That’s my best crop.”
 





Stone are available if we decide to make the silo higher.   One factor is missing.  The skill to take rounded irregular stones
of all sizes  and put them together in such a way that they will stand for 150 years.  Angus McLean died a long time ago.




Enthusiastic stone pickers.


Piled on a stone boat.



Hauled oto a designated spot for the stone pile.  Then unloaded.   There were always snakes ready to take up residence in
the stone pile.

Why was this rocky land given or sold to Scottish migrants in the 19th century?  Simple answer.  Scotland is
full of stone fields.   The land agents figured Scots would like stone fields.  And they did.  Stone houses were 
a specialty as was the stone house built on the Skeoch farm near Fergus.  Like the silo , it is still standing.











































































































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EPISODE 376 STRAWBERRIES (and whipped cream…yum yum)



Begin forwarded message:


From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>
Subject: Strawberries
Date: June 28, 2021 at 8:37:52 AM EDT
To: Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>


EPISODE 376      STRAWBERRIES

alan skeoch
June 2021

Yesterday I sent an episode implying that the future of  farming is rather bleak for
small time operators.  Today I would like to correct that.  Why?  Because today
we dropped into a tiny farm…perhaps an acre of productive land.  The parking lot
is bigger than the field.   Yet the production is fantastic.  And the price matches
the production.  These berries come from the cooler of a strawberry farm
just a mile or so west of Georgetown…follow he signs on the Fifth Line. NO time
for us to hand pick,  The field had about 20 pickers already.

Bring money.   Marjorie bought this flat of fresh berries for $42.  Expensive!
Yes.  Cheaper if you pick your own and get them weighed.   But these
berries are the best…big and sweet and ready for big dollops of whipped cream.

There is a crowd picking these berries at this very moment.  I an hesitant
telling you where it is located.   But I will.  Turn on to the Fifth line north
of highway 401 or drive north on Trafalgar Road…look for a hand lettered
strawberry sign…make a left turn a mile or so north on Trafalgar.  Look for the signs.

First picture is all green.  Second picture adds lots of red.












Sent from my iPhone


Posted on

Fwd: EPISODE 376 THE FACE OF MODERN AGRICULTURE….2021



Begin forwarded message:


From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>
Subject: EPISODE 376 THE FACE OF MODERN AGRICULTURE – ANTHONY ACRES….2021
Date: June 26, 2021 at 3:08:23 PM EDT


EPISODE 376    THE FACE OF MODERN AGRICULTURE – ANTHONY ACRES – 2021



alan skeoch
June 2021





CORPORATE FARMING:  STRIKING A DEAL WITH ANTHONY ACRES


There are still 100 acre farms here and there in Southern Ontario. Winaries for instance.  They must be economically worthwhile.  But the face
of modern agriculture is increasingly changing in scale.  That is not really news.   Just a drive in the countryside presents lots
of evidence.  Empty old bank barns and oversized tractors. We meet the new machines of agriculture every time we drive to the farm.  Imagine the investment necessary for
corporate farming like Anthony Acres.   How could they  make a profit.  Thousands of acres are necessary.   Anthony Acres rents thousands
of acres.  Most of their Land is rented not owned.   

Our two sons and partner Nick own a farm with about 60 to 70 acres of cropland.  They are not farmers.   Andrew dropped in to
the home farm of Anthony Acres which is just a short distance from their farm.  fifth line, Limehouse, Ontario.  The meeting was a good one.   Perhaps I can
put the conversation in dialogue form.  (My words)

“Hi, we own the old McLean – Saunders – McLeod farm up the road and wonder
whether you are interested in leasing the cropland before the weeds take over.”
“Might be interested but I’ll have to take a look first.”
“Now?”
“Yes…good a time as any…if land is good we can get a cover crop in fast.”

(Visit to farm)


“Let’s strike a deal…we need a three year lease at least…and will pay $90 an acre yearly…about 60 acres.”
“That will help pay the property taxes…for sure.”
“Should cover about 75% of the cost.”
“We  want to keep one field and the barnyard.”
“Fine.”
“I overheard a conversation once that claimed rented land was just being mined…corn, year after year,
until the land was exhausted.  Hate to think of that.”
“That’s pure hearsay…not true.  We care for the land.  No till agriculture…always keep the top soil covered
…cover crops like clover…nitrogen fixing.  We improve the soil.  Crop rotation…corn, soybeans, wnter wheat…
top soil never gets exposed to wind.”
“Did you notice the stones?”
“I did.”
“Won’t they be a problem?”
“Lots of the land around here is stony…ancient ice sheets 10,000 year ago pushed and ground stones as the ice
age advanced.  Then, when the ice retreated, the land was strewn with rocks.”
“One of my dad’s uncles ruined his Massey Ferguson combine when one rock got into the cylinder…bent it all to hell.”
“We are super careful.   I will send in a rock picker to go over all your fields before planting time.”
“Rock picker?”
“Tractor with steel forks…gets all the big rocks.  Where do you want them dumped…we’ll send one of the boys
up here next week.   Fields will be safe for combines after that.””
“But the  rocks get pushed up every year by the frost.”
“Then we’ll do another picking.  Part of the business.”

“Did you noice the old stone silo>?”
“Sure did.  Not many of those around.  Made out of the stones gathered by the Mclean family in the 1870’s.  Never saw
one before.”
“Used for Sileage, I think…Chopped up corn….stalks and all…fine dining for cattle n winter.””
“Yes. Some people think our silos are used that way.  Not true…our steel silos are filled with shelled corn….moved around with elevators to 
get the kernels dry.   Eliminate any chance of mould.    No relation to your fieldstone silo.  Better get a roof on it if you can.”

“All those machines must set you back a fortune…all John Deere except for the tractor trailers …”
“That’s why we need a lot of land…thousands of acres.”

(Unspoken thought:  “One of those tractors with attachments would cost a small fortune.
If Anthony Acres tried to buy all the land they needed the business would not be viable.  Renting, however, made good sense.)





NOTE:   BELOW IS A SHORT EXCERPT FROM ANTHONY ACRES WEB PAGE


Where and how we operate

Anthony Acres Ltd is a Canadian company operating in Southern Ontario within a large region from the Greater Toronto Area in the south, to the Dundalk Highlands in the north, from Guelph in the west to Caledon in the east. This area, inclusive of the Regions and Counties of Halton, Peel, Wellington and Dufferin, represents some of the best farmland in all of Canada.
By means of Best Management Practices and Precision Agriculture, Anthony Acres Ltd is dedicated to conserving, preserving, protecting and improving the farmland and the environment in which we work.
We are vertically integrated, with all facets of the business being done in-house.
This includes:
  • crop marketing and sales
  • agronomy
  • seed cleaning and treating
  • field cropping and crop protection product application
  • equipment maintenance
  • trucking
  • cropland improvement and protection.
We have 2 elevating, drying and storage facilities, one in the Greater Toronto Area and on the border of Wellington County and Dufferin County.


Posted on

EPISODE 375 1957 THUNDERBIRD ON HOIST…PINK1

EPISODE 375    1957 THUNDERBIRD ON HOIST…PINK


alan skeoch
June 2021



I am not much of a car enthusiast but this car got my attention.
All I could see from the passenger seat where we got gas at $1.32.9 cents
a litre was the back tail light.  Unusual. Jutted out and had a fin.

“Marjorie look at that car up on the house.  Odd!”
“It’s a 1957 model.”
“”How would you know that?””
“Says so on the licence.”
“Oh!”
“What is it?”
“Man pumping gas says its a 1957 Thunderbird.”
“Pink”
“Those were the years…the 1950’s…when cars were not bland…turquoise and white…or pink like this.”
“Our old 53 Meteor was Double Brown…others were bright red and white.”
“Same colours as popsicles.”

“Ask if I can go into the workshop.”
“He says you can.”

NOTE   A lot more could be said about 1957.  I think my Uncle Frank Freeman still had
a team of horses for instance.

“Wasn’t there a cosmetic company that gave away pink cars to its best salespeople.?  Mary Kay, I believe.”

alan skeoch

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EPISODE 374 GYPSY MOTH CATERPILLARS…THOUSANDS OF THEM JUNE 2021



EPISODE 374      GYPSY MOTH CATERPILLARS…THOUSANDS OF THEM   JUNE 2021

alan skeoch
June 2021



MARJORIE SKEOCH GOES TO WAR

“ALAN,  we are under attack…can’t you do something.”
“Attack?”
“Thousands…tens of thousands of them…moving down the street…denuding the neighbourhood.”
“What can I do?”
“At the very least you can join me in stamping on them…I have killed hundreds…my shoes are slippery
with their crushed flesh.”
“Good for you, meeting them head on as they come down the street.”
“I think they have killed Hubert Lack’s great oaks…and the oaks next to 
him have been stripped bare.”:
“Ancient trees…100, perhaps 200 years old…stripped…get out here and help.”
“We have the only oak that has survived.”
“They will get it too…unless you start stamping  on them”
“You are fighting a losing war, Marjorie.”
“I am not.”
“They have outflanked you…invading through the grass…hard to spot.”
“Our tree…save our tree…stop your damn talking.””
“Need helicopter spraying…not done this year.”
“Get the wrap around burlap with glue impregnated insulation…seems to stop them a bit.”
“Thousands got over the glue…put defence up too late.””
“What do you want me to do, Marjorie?”
“Go get my other shoes…get my rubber boots…help stamping on them.”

“Did you know they are dangerous to humans?”
“No.”
“Yes, if you get those little feathery stickles in your arm a rash will happen.”
“Danger to kids?.”
“You bet…especially if a child eats one. Serious”
“Damn…there is one coming up my pant leg.”

“Shake the shrubs…they drop down on filament parachutes.”

“Alan, get my flanks…I am dealing with the main onslaught…you get
the sneaky little devils in the grass.”
“Too many, Marjorie.””
“Coward!”
“I read somewhere that the oak trees are strong enough to survive…to set out
new leaves when the Gypsy Moths leave the caterpillar stage.”
“Now isn’t that just like you…to read a book while we are under attack.
You do not deserve to have our magnificent oak.”
“The neighbours are up in arms…calling Stephen Dasko, our councillor.”
“What is he going to do?”
“Next year there will be helicopter spraying.”
“Will there be any trees to spray?
“I think the oaks will recover.”
“Time will tell.  Meanwhile go get my rubber boots…stamping time now.”

NOTE: Helicopter spraying of insecticide does some good but not much.
If insecticide is too strong it will kill too many good bugs…and birds.
The Gypsy moth has been winning the war with property owners
since the Moth first got loose in the 1880’s in Massachusetts.  Some
Gypsy moths, from Europe, escaped from an American laboratory.   Sounds
chillingly familiar to the Covid 19 virus, dos it not?





There have been many reports of children getting rashes from Gypsy moth caterpillars in the recent weeks. Is it dangerous? What are the symptoms and what should you do if you think your child has contracted it? We break down the fast facts to these questions and more below.
  • This rash is typically contracted through direct contact with the gypsy caterpillar or moth (pictured below). If they are found in high numbers, however, their setae (tiny hairs) can travel through the wind or fabric (such as towels, clothing, etc.) causing the same reaction. Additionally, their setae can be found in soil, tree bark, and silk cocoons causing reactions months after.
  • Symptoms include mild to moderate stinging or pain accompanied by welts, vesicles (small, fluid-filled sacs), raised red bumps, and patches of red, scaly skin.
  • These symptoms appear within minutes or hours after contact and last anywhere from one to several days.
  • Contact with mucous membranes (for example, a child putting a caterpillar in their mouth) can cause more serious reactions such as shortness of breath, conjunctivitis, difficulty swallowing, and hay fever.
  • Treatment typically only requires the removal of visible embedded setae. Any that can’t be removed loosen themselves over the next several days.
  • Pain from skin reactions usually subsides within a few hours but can also be medicated with over the counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
If you think your child has come into contact with Gypsy Moth setae, pediatrician Stacey Maslow advises: “Try to remove the hairs as best you can and treat with pain relievers as needed. If any of the more serious side effects start to occur, like shortness of breath, contact your doctor.”

Campbellford & District Horticultural Society

June 13 at 6:19 PM

“The crazed panic over LLD (Gypsy) Moth continues!! It is too late to spray, despite many companies still offering this service or selling the spray. 

Not every caterpillar, moth and butterfly is an LLD moth (see below for some native lookalikes). 

Its gross, but temporary. Leaves will grow back. Focus on keeping your trees healthy with a good soaking of water if there isn’t a good rain, and feed the soil in the dripline of the tree(s)with a thin layer of good compost or other natural fertilizer (not chemical fertilizer, they can screw up the good soil microbes). 

When you see the fuzzy, cream-coloured eggs masses on bark in a few weeks from now, scrape off as many as you can into soapy water to reduce next year’s crop. They are cyclic in population and will peak then crash within the next couple of years.”







Government Spraying of Insecticide


Yes, the Government might spray for Gypsy Moths, and they may even do your property. However, they may not spray enough or use an insecticide that is very effective. This may may not be all bad. If they sprayed something more potent they might kill all the desirable preditor insects such as ladybugs, praying mantis and lacewings, as-well-as other beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies, and even birds and toads. 

Besides, the Government has been spraying Gypsy Moths for over a hundred years, and the moths are still with us and spreading. See our “Fighting The Gypsy Moths” section.

If you want to your property to be protected you might have to join the fight. 

Things That Individual Property Owners Can do Themselves


1. Duct tape and tanglefoot
2. Burlap folded strips
3. Burlap strips sprayed with insecticide
4. Gypsy moth traps
5. Search for and destroy egg masses 
6. Aid the spread of virus fatal to gypsy moths
7. Encourage birds to visit your property
8. Hire a professional exterminator to spray from the ground



Origin of Gypsy Moths in the United States



This section provides information about how gypsy moths came to the United States.






E. Leopold Trouvelot

E. Leopold Trouvelot


Gypsy Moth History


The gypsy moth was brought to North America from France by Mr. E. Leopold Trouvelot. His purpose was to breed hybrid silkworms that would be hardier than the Chinese species and that could be used to establish a silk industry in the United States. By 1865 he had a million caterpillars feeding under protective netting at his home in Medford Massachussets. In 1869 some of them escaped and were apparently scattered by a windstorm. 

By 1881 the gypsy moth caterpillars had become so common in the neighborhood of Trouvelot’s old home, that the villagers in Medford considered them a local nuisance.

The population of gypsy moth caterpillar exploded during the spring of 1889. The year before had been a good one for insects, and gypsy moths had flourished and laid record numbers of eggs. Hatching in April and May of 1889, millions of gypsy moth caterpillars stripped leaves from trees yard after yard and street after street in Medford. Caterpillars covered tree trunks, fences, and sides of houses.

Gypsy moth spread map

Gypsy moth spread map
University of Wisconsin


From this unfortunate start in Medford Massachussets, gypsy moths have now spread to many other portions of the United States 

From 1892 to 1900 gypsy moths were confined to the extreme eastern portion of the State of Massachusetts.

By 1914 they had spread to New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

By 1941 they were in Northeastern Pennsylvania and in extreme eastern New York State.

By 1981 they were all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

They have now spread to many other states, including Michigan and Wisconsin, as shown on the map on the right.

Gypsy Moths are now also in Virginia, West Virginia and Oregon. How did they get to Oregon? It is believed that they hitchhiked on a car or truck.

They continue to spread. 

Follow this link to see efforts over the years to rid the country of Gypsy Moths: Gypsy Moth Wars

Posted on

EPISODE 373 THE DEATH OF POISONOUS PARSNIP PLANT JUNE 2021

EPISODE 373     THE DEATH OF POISONOUS PARSNIP PLANT    JUNE 2021


alan skeoch
June 2021




Were we overcautious?  That thought occurred to me as I waited for Andrew to arrive
with his jump suit and rubber gloves…and a lethal knife to cut the  throat of
the poison parsnip which had overtaken the perennial garden.  Seemed to
me that the plant had been growing elsewhere with minimal attention.

Then I took another look at the injuries the wild parsnip did to exposed flesh.
Huge gross fluid filled blisters.   The chemical that oozed from the wild parsnip 
is the same or very similar to the chemical oozes from giant hogweed. Capable
of causing blindness and even death.

Andrew arrived.  Dressed in coveralls… no exposed flesh;  Like a skilled  butcher
he slit the throat of the parsnip and carefully stuffed all of the plant into a large
plastic bag.   “we could just leave here and lt the sun look it but better for uou
to put it in the garbage.”  Then he was gone.   I could have done that myself.

The root was large…a parsnip.  Apparently  the root is edible.   Should I open
the bag and get the root.  Boil the parsnip up into some kind of parsnip soup?
Then serve it to friends?     

Hold on!   I will throw the plastic bag on Brad Schneller’s lawn!   He likes parsnips.




Posted on

EPISODE 373 POISONOUS PARSNIP … DO NOT TOUCH …extreme danger

EPISODE 373     POISONOUS PARSNIP  – EXPLOSIVE GROWTH…DEADLY PLANT…LOOKS LIKE QUEEN ANNE’S LACE


Alan skeoch
June 19, 2021



“Alan, look what grew in the perennial garden.  Is it a flower or a weed?”
“Not sure…looks sort of like Queen Anne’s Lace but twice the size.”
“Should we pull i out or let it flower?”
Quite stunning to look at.”
“Are you sure it is not Hogweed…the killer of the fence row.”
“Don’t touch it just in case.   Hogweed sap can make a person blind…even kill.”
“Too small for Hogweed.”
“Give Andrew a call.”

“Tempted to pull it out…to cut it at the base.”
“Do not do a bloody thing.”
“The plant grew fast…seems it was so small and now it is 3 feet high and getting higher.”
“Scares me.”
“Give Andrew a call now.”
“I will need pictures…”
“Pictures?   PICTURES!!!”
“Give Andrew a call now.”


“ANDREW,  There is a STRANGE plant growing in centre of the garden…looks
like Queen Anne’s lace but bigger and greener.”
“Do not touch it Dad…get away.”
“Why?”
“”Wild Parsnip..for sure…sap will burn your skin…REALLY BAD…GET AWAY FROM IT.”
“But the plant is in the centre of the perennial garden.”
“I will get it tomorrow…need to be careful…gloves, mask, long pants…need to
dig up the wild parsnip roots as we’ll.”
“Marjorie is worried about her perennials.”
“Danger, dad…real danger…the sap can torture…”

How did it get here?    Wild parsnip loves disturbed ground.  Gardens..road shoulders…hiking trails.




EVIDENCE…NO JOKING MATTER…LOOK AT THE BLISTER WHEN THIS LADY
ACCIDENTALLY FELL INTO SOME POISONOUS PARSNIP.  DO NOT TOUCH THE PLANT
WITH BARE SKIN…TAKE PRECAUTIONS .

alan skeoch




At first, Murphy said she

At first, Murphy said she “didn’t think anything of it.” (Charlotte Murphy)

WARNING: ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES

A Vermont woman who received the equivalent of second-degree chemical burns to her legs after falling into a wild parsnip plant is warning others about the dangers of the seemingly harmless herbage.

Around the first of July, Charlotte Murphy, of Essex, Vermont, was traveling to the southern part of the state for her internship with a local artist. When she stopped on the side of the road, she lost her footing and fell into the plant, breaking it, causing the sap from the wild parsnip plant to come in contact with her bare legs.


Posted on

EPISODE 372 meeting of the castlefield institute June 17, 2021 (John Ricker presiding)

EPISODE 372    MEETING OF THE CASTLEFIELD INSTITUTE  JUNE 17, 2021  JOHN RICKER PRESIDING


alan skeoch
june 17, 2021




This is John Wardle…creator and manager of the relatively unknown Castlefield Institute, an organization
that discusses and makes suggestions concerning world events some of which threaten our very existence.

Most of the time, however, we just enjoy each others company   We laugh a lot which is a good sign.
And every one seems to have an opinion some of which are astounding…i.e. brilliant.  Many are just
plain silly.   Silly and delightful.  We have a good time.

alan



And this is John Ricker in whose honour the Castlefield Institute was created.  John Ricker has suggested to John Wardle a disparate assembly of 
people to join him in monthly discussions.






“Mmmmmmmmmmmm!”   (read below to understand the Mmmmmmmmmm!)



Posted on

EPISODE 372 THIS EUCLID DUMP TRUCK MAKES OUR VAN LOOK LIKE A DINKY TOY…COAL MINING CONTROVERSY 1990’S OHIO




EPISODE 371   STRIP MINING IN OHIO


alan skeoch
June 2021

See if you can find Andrew in this picture.   Behind the Euclid are heaps of rubble that was once a dense and beautiful
Caledonian forest.   Why destroy the forests of Central Ohio?  Imagine the scale of destruction this Euclid could wreak.
A few loads like this and our farm in Southern Ontario would cease to exist.   Can you guess the economic justification
of using these Euclids?   What is being sought under the Osage Orange groves?  Under the Shagbark Hickory trees?
Under the top soil?  Under the subsoil?



Mining is not pretty.  Strip mining is especialy ugly….extremely so.

We had good friends in central Ohio back in the 1990’s and spent several 

 week-ends driving down to their farm outside Zanesville.   To us it was
a new world in many ways…sometimes a startling new world.

For instance Osage Orange trees thrived and in the fall dropped bushels
of aromatic smelling warted fruit the size of baseballs.  The Osage Orange
trees, however, were not so pleasant as they were covered in spikes the size
of hypodermic needles.

Perhaps the most startling thing  however was not the work of nature.
It was the opposite.  Beneath the lovely forested hills of southern Ohio
are seams of coal. Layered parallel to the ground.  These seams vary from
60 to 120 feet below the ground…technically called overburden.

To get access to these seams of coal it is easier to strip the hills of
their trees, shrubs, plant life with bulldozers.    Then use gigantic
scoop shovels that, in the 1990’s, were bigger than some apartment
buildings.

The  damage done to the hills and valleys of southern Ohio
by these strip coal mining operations is hard to describe.  Best
seen visually in the picture of one Euclid dump truck that is so
large that it makes our truck look like a Dinky Toy.

After strip mining is complete the coal companies are obligated
to put top soil back but the end result robs central Ohio of
its former beauty.

alan skeoch
June 2021

When is it economic to strip mine in Ohio?
  • Generally it is economic to strip mine when there is a 20:1 ratio of overburden-to-coal seam, meaning, for example that a three-foot coal seam can be surface mined economically when the overburden is up to 60 feet. However, at some surface mines in Ohio, highwalls of up to 200 feet high remain where five-foot-coal seams have been extracted.


Just a few pictures below.






In the 1990s, a new form of surface mining,mountaintop removal, became more common. This more invasive method provides access to coal that would’ve been left behind by traditional strip mining. In recent years, tensions over mountaintop removal have risen between those wanting to boost the state’s diminishing coal industry and activists wanting to protect the environment.



wiki-wyoming-coal-mine.png



One final thought:  WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR CIVILIZATION WHEN WE HAVE CONSUMED ALL THE COAL AND
OIL DEPOSITS?