Apropos of Lilo's quotes for today, here's an email I received: "I was visiting my son and daughter-in-law last night, when I asked if I could borrow a newspaper. 'This is the 21st Century, old man', he said, 'we don't waste money on newspapers. Here, you can borrow my I-Pod.' I can tell you, that friggin fly never knew what hit it . . .that I-Pad thing is not working well, either."

shastensis, According to Dr. Bob Zybach of Oregon the old growth in the Northwest was comparable to today's old growth over a century ago in the settlement era. He studied fire history in the state of Oregon and believes most of the trees were second growth when the white man came. Zybach has said reports of Douglas fir in excess of 300 feet are mostly stories that cannot be documented, and he has said that the city of Vancouver BC was a prairie before the white man came. I think his views are the minority opinion. He was a reforestation contractor for 20 years, so I value his input. Most estimates I have seen suggest between 70 and 90% of the biggest and oldest Douglas fir forests have been logged in the past 130 years. In some places like Southern Vancouver Island up to 99% of old growth fir is said to be gone. One need only look at the hundreds of old logging photos of giant fir and cedar to get an idea of how large the lowland forests once grew, and in places like present day Seattle, and Vancouver BC. To deny all of this pretty much tells me one would have to be a lobbyist for the timber industry, but that is just my gut feeling.

Hello Marshall, Brandan and others, Thanks for your interest in Whole Systems Ag and I am glad you enjoyed Dr B's paper. I think it's one of the best I've seen on oaks. Yes, I've visited the Santa Barbara museum many times when my family was living in Thousand Oaks. The botanic garden was a particularly nice attraction because, at the time, I was doing a lot of work with native plants. I checked out the PGI and that looks like a kind of Jungian place. I had a big interest in that stripe of psychology at that time too. At present, my work on the farm and with the tasks in front of my nose keep me from the more academic pursuits I once enjoyed. The garden at Pacifica sounds like a wonderful endeavor. Indeed, I'd be delighted if you should come for a visit. I seldom leave the farm so one time is about as good as another. It's easy to find just 6 miles or so north of the San Joaquin River on Highway 41 toward Yosemite. Send me a personal email at daddyoat@netptc.net and I'll return detailed directions.

February - Shirley (In progress) March - Sharon April - May - Margaret June - Shirley July - Carol August - Melinda September - Jeanne October - Annie November - Maryanne December - Sheri Jayeanne will not be able to host the month of April so if anyone is interested LMK. Winners for Februarys swap. Christine-Lily Whistler (received) Annie-Lily Muscadet (received) Melinda-Lily Chill Out (sending in March) Sheri our BINGO winner- Sharon our Love Story winner- Sheri and Sharon I will list some Lilies I have ordered and you tell me which Lily you would like for your prize. The shipment will arrive in March so I will mail when I receive them. Lilies to choose from: Black Out Tiny Padhye Vermeer Dizzy Hot Line Giraffe Red Dutch Salmon Star We had a wonderful time this week-end. We love for everyone in our small immediate family going on our mini vacation with us. We took the tour on the Titanic and it was great. Makes me want to watch the movie again. Friday and Saturday night the ladies went to the movies and saw Endless Love and Monument Men. We shopped so much we had to go to the late late shows. Such fun we got back to the cabins at 12:30 each night. Funny but I'm still not tired from the lack of sleep I got. Night all, Shirley