July 2021 - 20

NOTES FROM THE FARM
Stand-up tree planter works; keep a list for doctor
JERRY MILLS
Mills Apple Farm
jerry@millsapplefarm.com
if any of those men are the orchard
owner's family members or ordinary
workers. Just sayin'.
Don't be a Typhoid Mary. Mary
Cold spring weather thinned the
crop. Granny Smith, in particular, ended
up with king flowers fruiting and all
secondary flowers dead. Hard to tell if it
was the lack of bees or the cold. Cherries
froze by the cluster.
Tool of the month: My body has
decided it does not like to bend over or
sit low, making working near the ground
difficult. However, if you are going to
plant seedlings by hand, that is what you
have to do ... unless you have a handy
dandy, stand-up tree planter for very
small trees.
It works well, but in the time it took
to figure it out and make it, I could have
planted the whole patch with a tractormounted
tree planter.
Spraying safety: In traveling around
the state, I sometimes see men spraying
orchards, driving old, open tractors, and
wearing simple cloth face protection
instead of respirators. Makes me wonder
Mallon was a silent carrier of typhoid
fever. She had no symptoms herself,
but she was infectious. She worked as a
cook in Chicago and infected 53 people
with the disease before she was forcibly
isolated. Two died.
One hundred years ago, quarantine
was about the only way to keep diseases
from spreading, but Mary refused to stay
at home.
Now, in our day, every unvaccinated
person is a potential COVID-19 Mary.
I would not want to be the person who
infected my parents, spouse or children,
or anyone else for that matter, especially
if they died.
Science does not yet know what the
long-term effects of the disease will be,
but it does not look good. Even though
many people had mild cases and recovered
quickly, that does not mean they were not
damaged in the process. It is just too early
to know what will happen as they age or
are infected with something else.
My family and I got the shots because
we do not want to contend with it later,
and certainly do not want to infect
A hand-held small tree planter in use at
Mills Apple Farm in Marine, Illinois. Inventor
Jerry Mills said the device holds the tree in
place while dirt is filled in the hole around
it, without having to bend over or sit on the
ground. By placing a weed barrier around
the seedling, herbicide will not have to be
used for weed control. Patent pending.
Photo: Jerry Mills
others. Nor do we want to wait for herd
immunity, which means some will die
and some won't. I would die with my
health problems.
If vaccination is not for you, how about
your family, friends and workers? Are
you willing to let them take their chances
despite warnings from every respected
authority? What is your reasoning? What
is your sense of values? All you have to do
is pay attention to the news to see what
is happening around the world: half a
million dead here at home, half a million
in Brazil. Who knows what the total will
be in India, maybe a million.
I don't like to keep harping on this, but
I hate to see smart people making dumb
decisions.
How to prepare for a visit to your
doctor: Are you nervous in your doctor's
office? I am. My mind often goes blank.
The remedy, write a narrative listing
your symptoms, as well as any other
concerns. This saves him time and
guarantees that he knows about other
things that may be bothering you. Since
insurance companies limit most routine
doctor visits to fifteen minutes, it pays to
be prepared. Doctors do not have time
to search you for mystery illnesses unless
you tell them.
Slumber romances: The other
morning Marilyn asked if I remembered
talking in my sleep.
Me: " No. What did I say? "
Her: " I will always love you. "
Me: " Next time that happens, see if you
can get a name and address, will you? " VGN
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July 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2021
