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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

A HISTORICAL ANOMALY; AND, DON'T BREAK YOUR BACK!


COMMON MILKWEED

FENCE POST PULLER...

...DON'T BREAK YOUR BACK!

Wednesday, 8:00 AM.  61 degrees F, wind N, light.  The sky is pretty much overcast with black clouds.  The sun tried to peek through earlier but gave up.  The humidity is 82% and the barometer is up some from yesterday, at 30.07".  The day is a tossup, and we have to put some finishing touches on the landscape project and then get to Duluth to pick up daughter-in-law Leslie and grandchild Allison who will be visiting from Texas for a while.
   The common milkweed, Asclepias syriacus, has been blooming for about a week.  The genus is named after the Greek patron of medicine, as many plants in the genus are medicinal.  The species name is a historical anomaly, the Swedish botanist Linne (Linnaeus),  mistakenly thinking the specimen sent him to name came from the Middle East rather than North America.  It is, as most everyone knows, the obligate host for the Monarch Butterfly caterpillar.
   Fence posts are the standard stake support for young trees, and they have to be removed after a few years.  They are invariably very difficult to pull without some mechanical advantage.  I finally got smart and bought this simple little lever device, which works like a charm.  Don't break your back!

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