Our local farmers/consumers bulletin has lots of ads for horse manure from folks all over the state. Many of the ads list it as free but some I've seen asking $5 to $15 a truck load for it. Usually those who charge money for it will load it for you or at least help you load it. Some have heavy equipment and others do it by hand. Just depends on how much work you wanna' do and how far you have to drive to get there. Personally I wouldn't bat an eye at $5 or $10 a load for them to do it quickly with a loader and save me one half of the labor involved. Problem is the places offering that service are at least an hour drive from here. So instead I opt for the place 10 minutes away that I can have for free if I shovel it all myself. It's a trade-off. Danielle

Some of the cones are serotinous and remain on the tree unopened for years. I have even seen unopened cones encased in wood that has grown around them when looking at cut jack pines. Fire will open the cones and lots of seeds will grow on the bare soil with little competition from other plants. Some of the cones are not serotinous and open during the second season and release seeds. These cones often remain on the trees for some time after the seeds are released. It is interesting to gather some of the tightly closed cones, wrap them in newspaper and light them on fire (in a safe area, of course). As the paper burns away, you can see some of the cones opening and releasing seeds. It's a great way to keep students' interest during a class! Stands of jack pine in Michigan have been managed for 30-40 years to provide habitat for Kirtland's Warlblers, small birds that nest only on the ground under young jack pines. The population of this federally endangered species has risen dramatically since the management started....a great success story for this jack pine loving bird. Here is a link that might be useful: Jack Pine management for Kirtland's Warblers

Sorry to hear about your trouble, Larry. I've received nothing fishy from you. I've had my email taken over a couple of times. My Facebook account, too. I was apparently stranded in London with the kids on a last-minute vacation. Yeah, that's something I'd do. Heh. We have Macs and have not had any viruses since making the switch several years ago. I'm a complete computer moron so it has to be pure luck that I've not yet caught one of the rare Mac viruses. I hear they're getting more common. Oh, I did have my debit card number stolen a couple of years back. The bank caught it and was very good about it. I guess I'd been buying up several hundred dollars in fancy underwear in Norway or something and they thought that might be a bit odd for me. Like old age, the internet is not for sissies, huh? Diane

I have to redeem myself. After I made the negative comment on the Aarunku glass cutter, I decided to write the company. I got a reply from the owner to tell me how to use it and it worked beautifully! I was putting too much pressure on it. Here are his instructions "Try using a very light score, and make sure you wheel is pointed straight ahead. With the larger cutting head we use, it is not necessary to use a lot o pressure. If you run your finger over the score line and you can see little flakes of glass on it, then you are pressing too hard. Remember, a light score." Just had to share this.