Table of Contents
- Editor's Comments
- The National Eagle Center
- Humor for Today
- Hummingbird Follow-up
- Protecting Sharp Garden Tools
- Quotes for Today
- Password Picking
- Getting the Most from Breakfast
- Subscribe/Unsubscribe
1) Editor's Comments:
During the Independence Day holiday here in the US last
week, it got us to thinking about the American Bald Eagle. With that
in mind, this week our main article is about the National Eagle Center.
Hope you enjoy it and the other articles for this week.
As always, if you do have questions, suggestions or ideas, do not hesitate
to drop us a note.
Rex Gregor
GreenThumb@rexseedco.com
Tom Krueger
gtt@goalsmint.com
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2) The National Eagle Center:
Wabasha, Minnesota
The National Eagle Center:
Wabasha, Minnesota
 The National
Eagle Center in the United States is located in Wabasha, Minnesota.
It is an unbelievably gorgeous site with an observation deck located along
the Mississippi River where you can easily view the Bald Eagle in flight.
You will have no problem in seeing them with the naked eye, but better
yet, your viewing experience can be enhanced if you have a pair of binoculars.
The Eagle has a wing span of between five and eight feet. The adults
have a dark brown body with a white head and tail, yellow eyes and beak.
The birds become fully mature at around four or five years of age.
In earlier days, you could find the Bald Eagle all across North America
-- unfortunately, you may now only find them predominantly in Alaska,
Canada, and the Pacific Northwest. In Minnesota they commonly breed
in the Northern Lakes region and along the St Croix and Mississippi
Rivers.
The Bald Eagle nests near the edge of rivers and lakes. They like to
winter where there is open water. In Minnesota the best area is around
Wabasha, where the St Croix River empties into the Mississippi. This
open water provides them an area where they can dive and catch fish
in their claws.
The Bald Eagle builds large stick nests on the very top of tall trees.
Unbelievably these nests sometimes will weigh over a ton and are often
six feet in diameter, and will be more than six feet tall. The female
will lay from one to three eggs. Both the male and female will share
in the incubation duties. The young will hatch after about 35 days and
will grow very rapidly until they are ready to leave their nest at about
10 to 12 weeks of age.
The Bald Eagle has been listed on the endangered species list in most
of the United States. In 1995 the Bald Eagle's status was changed to
threatened for the entire United States. In 1999. the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service proposed that the Bald Eagle be removed from the endangered
species list, but as of March of this year (2002) this has not taken
place.
The University of Minnesota and its volunteers, and almost the entire
City of Wabasha, MN has worked very diligently to save this grand bird.
 This is a
picture of Juno, a Minnesota adult female Bald Eagle. She was
hit by a train in Northern Minnesota. Luckily the train's engine crew
saw it happen and stopped the train to recover the injured bird. They
made arrangements to have the Eagle transported to the University of
Minnesota's Raptor Center via Northwest Airlines. The Eagle had
no broken bones but it had suffered severe internal trauma.
The clinic staff and volunteers hand-fed the bird and cared for it
with caring hands for a month while it completed its convalescent period
in a cage. Later she was transferred to an outdoor flight pen for several
weeks of regular flight exercise until the bird was flying well enough
to return to the wild.
Prior to her release, the Eagle was outfitted with a transmitter, enabling
the scientists at the University to monitor it via satellite. People
all around the country have become acquainted with the Eagle known as
"Juno IX."
If you would like to help the Raptor Center in their fantastic efforts,
you may send a donation to:
The Raptor Center
1920 Fitch Ave
St Paul, MN 55108
You may use your Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or
Discover).
You can also contact them via e-mail: raptor@Umn.edu
Next week I'll share with you the great story of "Old Abe,"
the Civil War Eagle.
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3) Humor for Today:
A man was brought to Mercy Hospital, and went in for coronary surgery.
The operation went well, and as the groggy man regained consciousness,
a Sister of Mercy waiting by his bed reassured him.
"Mr. Smith, you're going to be just fine," the nun said,
while patting his hand.
"We do have to know, however, how you intend to pay for your stay
here. Are you covered by insurance?"
"No, I'm not," the man whispered hoarsely.
"Can you pay in cash?"
"I'm afraid I can't, Sister."
Do you have any close relatives, then?"
"Just my sister in New Mexico," replied, "but she's
a spinster nun."
"Nuns are not spinsters, Mr. Smith," the nun replied. "We
are married to God."
"That's right..." the man said with a smile. "So bill
my brother- in-law."
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4) Hummingbird Follow-up:
 Last week
our main article was on hummingbirds (Click
Here for Last Week's Article). Here is a short follow-up.
As you may recall, we included a recipe for creating your own "nectar"
for your hummingbird feeder -- basically using four parts water to one
part white granulated sugar. (Boil the water, remove it from the heat,
and then add the sugar and stir until totally dissolved.)
One thing we didn't mention is that the unused solution could be kept
in the refrigerator - but we'd suggest only storing it for up to a month.
You'd certainly not want to put "nectar" out that would harm
the birds.
You might want to also place the feeder near flowering plants, making
sure it is at a height where you'll have a good view of the birds.
One disadvantage of hummingbird feeders is they also attract ants,
wasps, and bees. Here's a tip we just picked up this week -- apply some
petroleum jelly around the openings. This will make it difficult for
the uninvited guests to indulge themselves at your expense.
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Portraits by Jenny Gregor are joys to be seen and treasures that will
last a lifetime. It is unbeleivable what she can create from informal
snapshots. Create a lasting memory today.
Click on the Image for a
Larger View
Please visit to see for yourself. http://rexseedco.com/jenny
5) Protecting Sharp Garden Tools:
 Nothing
more frustrating than to get in the garden with a dull tool -- you try
to hoe or cultivate and you just can't cut through the soil or vegetation
without a lot of effort. To be truly effective, some garden tools need
to be good and sharp.
It never fails, tools can become dull in a hurry by being tossed around
in the shed or garage, or if they are left to stand on end. Here's a
cheap simple way to protect the working ends of those tools.
If you're like me, you have some old garden hose in the garage. You
hang onto it figuring some day you'll find a good use for it. Well,
this is your lucky day.
Cut a piece of that hose and slit it lengthwise. Simply fit it over
the blade of your hoe or along the bottom of your flat spade. For the
round shovel, work the hose around the edge of the blade and use a piece
of rope or a bungy cord to hold it in place.
This will also help to protect the blade from rust if you happen to
stand them on end in a wet location.
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6) Quotes for Today:
"If God thought nudity was okay, we would have been born naked."
-- Anonymous
"An auctioneer is a man who can sell nothing for something to
a buyer who is looking for something for nothing."
-- Anonymous
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7) Password Picking:
If you're like me, every time you turn around you're visiting another
Internet site where you have to choose a password. Unfortunately, some
people will always use the same password for every site because they
want to remember what it is. I cannot stress enough the danger of doing
this. All it takes is one unscrupulous person to know that password
and to start visiting the same sites as you and they'll be able to log
into your accounts.
Here are some password tips:
- Hard to believe, but never use the same password
twice. As I said, all it takes is for one of your accounts to be compromised,
then all of your accounts are in danger.
- Always write your passwords down, even if you think you can remember
them. Don't know about you, but I have trouble remembering a new password
the next day. It is impossible to keep a couple dozen passwords straight
unless they happen to be sites you visit quite regularly.
- Never leave your passwords lying around. No matter how careful you
are in picking passwords, they aren't secure if you don't protect
them. Some people will post-it notes and plaster them on their monitor.
That might be okay if your monitor is in a secure location, but if
anyone at all can walk into the computer room or office, your passwords
would be at risk.
- Unfortunately, writing passwords down can also be a hassle especially
if you are doing it on scraps of paper. Here is something you might
try. I have a text file that contains all my passwords (including
other important info such software keys). When I need to login somewhere
I just open the file and find the password. Of course, you want to
regularly backup this file to diskette or some other media in case
of a computer failure. This assumes your computer is also secure by
use of a Firewall.
- Change your password from time to time. If you have a password
for a Web site that is very important to you, change the password
more often than usual.
This is not an all inclusive list, either. I have other suggestions
on what makes the best passwords and what makes the worst. But I'll
save those for another time.
Hope you find these suggestions useful.
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8) Getting the Most from Breakfast:
 Today
we get so much more from a bowl of cereal than we did years ago. Why?
Because almost every box is fortified with vitamins and minerals.
Did you know that having a glass of orange juice with that cereal will
enhance the benefit? Apparently the vitamin C in the orange juice will
enhance your body's ability to absorb iron.
You can also substitute other vitamin C rich fruits for the same effect,
such as cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit, and of course, oranges.
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9) Subscribe/Unsubscribe
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Rex Gregor, Editor
GreenThumb@rexseedco.com
Tom Krueger, Publisher
gtt@goalsmint.com
Please feel free to forward The
Green Thumb Times to a friend.
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