Dayton "Dirt" - February 21, 2014

Carol Zeh, retired school teacher, volunteer at the Metro Parks, history buff, avid bird watcher . . . will give tomorrow’s seminar on “Birds, Bees and Everything in Between” which will provide a connection of birds and various pollinators in our landscape and the wider natural world. Carol’s expertise is the result as her love of all aspects of the natural world and her serious study thereof after she retired from teaching. No doubt the birds have had a rough time finding adequate food this winter so that Carol’s insight into proper bird feeding and other recommendations for our feathered friends will be invaluable. I find it interesting that the Audubon Society turned the killing of birds for sport into the counting of birds around the turn from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. So ironic is that while the Audubon Society is known for its work in the protection of bird species that James Audubon actually killed numerous birds in order to study them and paint them. Tomorrow also is the birthday of the father of our country George Washington. While George is well-known as the first President of the United States and General of the Continental Army that defeated the British Crown, less is known about his farm, Mt. Vernon and his activities to insure its success. In various writings it’s clear that he yearned for the country gentleman life at Mt. Vernon but his love of country and sense of duty kept him away from Mt. Vernon until his retirement from the presidency in which he died only a few years afterward. It would have been interesting to see what developments would have resulted from some of his farming experiments but fortunately for us, he was too busy helping his country instead of pursuing his own personal interests. ~Tom