Mustafabey pear

Mustafabey pears are ripe.

Mustafabey is an unusual pear.  It is highly regarded in the near mid-East and the Balkan regions.  It has several other names as each region claims it for their own.  From the USDA Accession Area Query tool:

Klementinka (PI 392320).-A small, early ripening pear from Bulgaria. Local Bulgarian variety of unknown parentage, imported to U.S. from Kustendil, Bulgaria, in 1974 as PI 392320. One of the parents of Ubileen Gift. Possibly identical to Arganche from Macedonia and Mustafabey from Turkey. Fruit: small - 41g. Skin: greenish to yellow-green with red color on sunny side. Ripens July 5-12. Keeping 4-6 days. Flesh: soft, sweet, texture bad. Tree: vigorous, large, very productive - 200 to 250 kg per tree. Resistant to winter cold and spring frost.

I have one branch of Mustafabey.  It is on the left side of the photo.

Photo taken from the same location but with zoom.

Surprise!

Resilience
Orchards are generally insect pollinated.  Honeybee populations survive in the upper mid-West by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, that is, the constant replenishment of hives by bees from outside sources.  Hive losses of 40%-to-70% annually are not uncommon.

Native pollinators can take up the slack but they cannot be concentrated the way honeybees can.

One strategy that makes native pollinators more effective is to move pollen sources closer to the target pollen receivers.  You cannot move them any closer than by grafting a branch of pollen source into each tree.

Then, instead of relying on the statistical improbability that a native bee will tickle a pollen source in the canopy of one tree and then fly across one or two barren, grassy lanes to spread pollen on the target, you are exploiting the bee's tendency to simply jet over to the next, closest flower.  The pollinator never needs to leave the canopy.

Key points

• The pollen source must produce flowers every year
• The pollen source must produce abundant pollen.  That usually means many flowers....most reliably found on smaller fruited types.
• The pollen source must not be a reservoir for diseases.  Mustafabey has very clean foliage.
• The bloom time must match up with the target varieties.

1987 data from Oregon, European pear cultivars, Julian date of full bloom.

1988 data from Oregon.  European pear cultivars, Julian date of full bloom.

The actual Julian dates were left off because that will vary depending on your location.  The key point is that Mustafabey's bloom (depicted by the photo of the pear) is near or slightly after peak bloom for most cultivars.

ERJ endorses "Safe Spaces"

Trees on left side of photo are approximately 50' west of the building.  I am sure the little seedlings looked like they were a mile away from the house when they were first planted.

The brown trees on the left side of this photo are approximately 50' south of the building.

Obviously, a person planting a windbreak is going to plant it upwind of the building they wish to shelter.  The owner is often constrained by the size of his lot with regard to where he can plant the trees.

Evergreens are an obvious choice because they do a great job breaking the wind during the coldest months of the year.

Spruce trees are generally preferred because they do not drop their bottom branches while pine trees tend to be "self-pruning".

Of the spruce trees, Colorado Blue Spruce is often considered the most ornamental.

They are dying in droves
Higher elevations in the state of Colorado alternates between hot-and-dry and cool-and-moist.  Furthermore, populations of trees are separated from others of their species by dry south facing slopes and valleys that are inhospitable to spruce trees.  Colorado Blue Spruce thrives in Colorado.

It does well in the mid-West...for a while.  And then they die, becoming 50' tall, pitch soaked bundles of tinder.

Image from HERE

From the Prepare for Wildfire website:
Zone 1 extends 30 feet* out from buildings, structures, decks, etc.

• Remove all dead plants, grass and weeds (vegetation).
• Remove dead or dry leaves and pine needles from your yard, roof and rain gutters.
• Trim trees regularly to keep branches a minimum of 10 feet from other trees.
• Remove branches that hang over your roof and keep dead branches 10 feet away from your chimney.
• Relocate wood piles into Zone 2.
• Remove or prune flammable plants and shrubs near windows.
• Remove vegetation and items that could catch fire from around and under decks.
• Create a separation between trees, shrubs and items that could catch fire, such as patio furniture, wood piles, swing sets, etc.

The goal is to use space to reduce the likelihood of the fire getting into the canopy.  It is no accident that they chose an evergreen for the illustration.

Zone 2 extends 100 feet out from buildings, structures, decks, etc.

• Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches.
• Create horizontal spacing between shrubs and trees. (See diagram)
• Create vertical spacing between grass, shrubs and trees. (See diagram)
• Remove fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones, and small branches. However, they may be permitted to a depth of 3 inches.

 Clearly, these dead spruce trees are an accident waiting to happen.  They branch all the way to the ground.  Their branches interlace.  They are fifty feet from the building.

The upside is that the roofs are steep and unlikely to collect dead needles even if the wind (which generally comes from the west-southwest) blows them onto the roof.  Also, this house does not have eve-troughs which can collect tinder.  Furthermore, the yard is very well maintained.

I talked with a fire-fighter and he said that property can be replaced.  While I agree, I loath seeing unaddressed hazard.  Sometimes the smoke alarms don't go off in time (CO got the residents).  Sometimes the residents are elderly and not very mobile.  Sometimes fire-fighters are killed or injured in fires.

So, in my humble opinion, removing conifers (evergreens with needles) that are within 100 feet of your house is a smart move.  You might be OK with them a little bit closer on the sides that are leeward of your house when considering the prevailing winds, but don't let them hang over the structure.

Where do you think the embers from Billy and Darlene's bonfire are likely to end up if they land on your roof.  Yup, sure enough, they are going to roll right into those drifts of pine-straw.

How do solar panels impact the cost of re-roofing?

I am not trying to be a kill-joy, but I am curious about how the complexity of roof-top solar panels impacts the cost of re-roofing.

Nearly all of the houses around here have asphalt shingles although steel roofs are becoming more popular for re-roofing.  Asphalt shingles have a service life of 20-to-30 years if the roof is properly vented.  Solar panels are usually considered to have a 25 year service life.  I suppose one could try to synchronize their life-cycles, but what about the building owner who puts solar panels on a ten or fifteen year old roof?

Just wondering.

Cheese is the most shoplifted grocery item worldwide

According to the radio cheese is C.R.A.V.E.D.

Cheese meets the following criteria

Cheese is Concealable.  It is relatively compact for its value compared to disposable diapers or cans of baby formula.  Nor is it is not fragile like light bulbs.

Cheese is Removable.  It is easier to transport from the premises than solar panels or 52" flat screen TVs.

Cheese is Accessible.  Cheese is rarely separated from the buying public by locked glass cases (watches) or behind the counter (liquor).

Cheese is Valuable.  Cheese is flavor.  Cheese is calorie dense.  Good cheese is one of the most expensive food items (per unit weight) and it does not demand refrigeration nor does it leak body fluids down your leg.

Cheese is Enjoyable.  MMMmmmmm!  Cheese is bacon without the streaks.  Even if you cannot fence the stolen goods you can enjoy it yourself.  The same cannot be said for caviar or certain other luxury goods.

Cheese is Disposable.  No barcodes.  No serial numbers.  A large market who will gladly pay cash to get a great discount.  And the evidence gets eaten.

The primary problem with Socialism

I once worked for a large corporation.  In case this raw fact eluded you, large economic enterprises (businesses) are planned economies just like communist and socialist paradises.  From this, I infer that I can learn much about potential weaknesses of the second two by studying the first.

This corporation decided that there is always one best way to do any task and that the best person to define that task was the person who does it every day.  So they went to the person working on the line, in many cases a person who did not speak English as their first language, and directed them to write, step-by-step, everything they did.  And they were suppose to illustrate the instruction book.  And they were supposed to perform the time-and-motion studies.  And they were supposed to analyze the optimum logistical flow and re-order levels. And....

The corporation had created the industrial utopia.  The only problem was that only one production worker in twenty was capable of doing even one of those tasks.

The primary problem with Socialism is that for it to work in the long term it demands that 90% of the citizens be as altruistic as Mother Teresa (1-in-a-10,000)

Demonstrate the industry of a beaver (1-in-10)

Possess the self-denial of a religious zealot (1-in-100,000)

Have the absolute trust in authority of a child (1-in-3)

Multiplying these SWAGs together suggests that one person in every thirty billion will possess all of these qualities.  That is four times the current population of the world. 

Looking at the conundrum from the other direction, what economic system could possibly fail if 90% of the citizens demonstrated those attributes?  Wouldn't they all be utopias?

Socialism is not so much an economic system as it is a fantasy about a population of Über-humans.

Sucking dust

Suppose you were a blogger and your goal was to publish at least one essay a day.

Nearly all human endeavors are subject to ebbs and flows.  I decided to not "save" essays.  I would puke them out into cyber-space as they were written and risk the day when I ran out of things to say.

What do you do when the barrel is nearly empty?

Easy.  You cheat!

Mrs ERJ and I were sitting in a cafe eating.  A gentleman sat down at the table next to us.  He did not have a companion.  We had a tiny bit of polite chit-chat before the food showed up.

He finished first and beckoned for his bill.

I turned and asked him, "George, I need to ask you for a favor?"

He said, "Joe, what do you need?"

I told him, "I need a topic for today's blog."

His eyes lit up.  He is a fellow writer.  More accurately, he is a real writer...published and everything.

His advice was to write about...when the words don't come.  When the words do not spew forth and cheerfully fill the screen with glorious abandon.

His preferred technique is to empty his brain, to let go.  This technique works because mind never stops working.  If there is a mental "block" then it can only stifle output when it is firmly anchored in place.  Emptying the mind untethers the block so it can float away.  The words may sneak in as whispers but you will be able to hear them.  Once heard, the voice gets louder.

Another technique is to "Fake it until you Make it".  Just start writing.  Be prepared to throw away 90% of your words.  Somewhere in those 2000 words is a great 200 (or 500) word essay.

A third technique is similar to FIUYMI.  I call it getting on the bicycle.  Suppose you are astraddle a bicycle halfway up the hill.  Your goal is to ride the bicycle over the hill.  We quickly learn that it is more effective to start riding the bicycle before pointing it in the direction we want to go even if it means riding away from our goal at the beginning.  

Sometimes the essay that falls onto the page is different than the one you originally envisioned.  It is like working on a project when the pre-work takes four times longer than the actual job.  Maybe the core of the essay you thought you were going to write ends up being one or two sentences of the essay you did write.

And you can always cheat and ask random strangers what is on their mind.

Blogging is a very forgiving medium.  You can go elsewhere if I make you angry or bore you.  It takes no money out of my pocket if I publish an essay that is off-beat or unusual.

Working on the Malibu

I was working on the Malibu today.  The big items from earlier in the summer sucked the folding money right out of my budget so I am working on smaller items that don't cost much.

I want to get the Malibu ready for Belladonna to take back to school and not have to worry about it failing.

Today's item was to get the Auxiliary Power Outlets functional.  Ok, ok...cigarette lighters to us older folks.

Bella uses one solely to charge her phone.

I bought a new one at the local parts place for about $7 but it had 1/4 inch "spade" terminals which were different than the factory terminals.

Having experience with crimp-on terminals (and no joy), I consulted with one of my friends who is an expert.  He makes his living selling, installing and repairing central vacuum systems and lighting systems.

I spent the big dollar for this tool, $17.  It only does one thing, crimp-on terminals, but it does it very, very well.  The handles are 8" long and stout.  The jaws line up and don't flex.

He told me that the only crimper that ever worked for him had male/female details that crushed the terminal-wire into a "C" shape.  Those details are circled in red in the photo shown above.  Furthermore, he told me to ignore the package which suggested that one set of details (the ones to the left of the red circle) should be used for terminals with insulating sleeves on them.  He uses the male/female on EVERYTHING.

I followed his advice.  I bought a tool similar to the one he showed me.  One of her Auxiliary Power Outlets is now functional and she is happy.  Maybe tomorrow I will tackle the second one.