Opinions

By this time of year, our gardens are usually thriving and we are in harvest mode. Our veggies are full grown and putting on delicious fruits for us to enjoy. Unfortunately, we aren’t the only ones that love this season. Insects are out in full force in our gardens and landscape. Here are the top four pests you will likely see in your landscape and how to deal with them.

I have a neighbor who is in his 80s and several years ago he planted a grove of walnut trees. Now that is faith and foresight. I am sure he is not planning on reaping the benefits of those walnut trees unless he has somehow found the fountain of youth. The trees have done quite well, and they have grown very fast for walnut trees but at a conservative guess I will say they are 50, 60 maybe even 100 years away from someone gaining economically from them. That is a crop that requires a great deal of patience.

A good friend of mine recently moved back to her hometown. She had lived here 20 years or so, in a good-sized house with 160 acres more or less, a couple sheds, a pole barn, another barn, etc., etc. It was not something she wanted to do. There were mitigating circumstances beyond her control to lead her to believe this was what she needed to do, so, she set about doing it.

I am a proud American and I thank God (literally) that I live a rural area, free from the problems we are seeing in the urban cities that have been governed by Democrats for decades. My biggest concern, however, is that the radical left propaganda has been spreading like a cancer throughout our country, perpetuated by Democrat politicians, the mainstream media, academia, and others that like to disguise their lust for power with policies and programs that pretend to protect people from risk or harm. Such actions (many over time) have eroded our freedoms set forth in the U.S. Constitution, taken away liberty, rewritten or erased our history, divided our nation, and left us unsafe and unprotected from criminals and foreign adversaries.

Since we have been blessed with abundant moisture throughout much of north central Kansas, many of our crops are looking great including crops that will be made into silage for livestock. Now that August is here it soon will be a time where producers will be busy with silage harvest.

Do you need a second chance with your garden this year? Lucky for you, fall is an excellent time for gardening in Kansas.

I did something new. Something I’ve never done before. Something I knew nothing about when I jumped right into it. Something I’m still not sure how I’m going to execute.

Spending time at a pool has always been an integral part of summer for my little family. My kids have participated in swim lessons every summer since they were born. From participating in the “mommy and me” lessons offered by a local YMCA, to group lessons at a nearby community pool, my two children have spent many of their summer days looking forward to a refreshing break from the Kansas heat by jumping into a pool.