John Wolfram

Nicole Alderman wrote:I love writing in medieval calligraphy...and I can't even read most of those! Maybe I just lack skill? But, I have a feeling I'm not the only one. One big reason people want kids to learn cursive is for them to read historical documents. But, if we're aiming for that, shouldn't we also teach them to read medieval calligraphy? Or, maybe we should realize that learning cursive might become a skill that historians learn, and not everyone knows. I still think it's really valuable, but I don't think it's the end of the world if someone can't read or write it. It's a skill, and we don't all have the same skills.

Indeed, about a hundred or so years ago the ability to  speak/read Latin and ancient Greek was the mark of being "educated." While it's great that some people can still do those things, it's also wonderful that most people spend their limited education hours in other areas.

The most important thing is to pick the right trees. Are there any major pests or diseases in your area that you need to watch out for? Cedar Apple Rust, Fireblight, and Japanese Beetles are probably the most impactful in my area. Choosing trees with resistance to those makes things much easier.  Also, be sure to know your ripening schedule ahead of time. Having one month where everything is ripe, followed by 11 months of nothing, would be sad. Finally, see what your neighbors have.  I stopped planting apple trees a while ago because there are so many people with apple trees nearby who want to get rid of the fruit.

I've got a small bucket of no-show socks that are exclusively used with lightweight sneakers in the summer. That's the only time I've found them to be good.

I'm at a ridiculous number. Probably about 50 at my house and another 1,300 out at the orchard with another 500 on order for planting in 2025.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Is your property line clearly marked as "private property?" Maybe somebody thinks they are preventing private mischief on public land. People get strange notions sometimes.

I doubt it's do-gooders thinking that they are preventing mischief on public land. The traps are engraved with "Property of [Orchard Name] Orchard"  and there are row after row of mulched trees (i.e., it looks like an orchard). See below.

So far, the trap chained to the tree is still there. It's been about 24 hours, and based on the tracks left in the snow somebody walked by it with their dog, and the trap was not touched.

Anne Miller wrote:

James Bridger wrote:BTW, tagging your traps is likely a legal requirement where you live, and can help in catching thieves.

The traps might be removed by the authoritative.  
I hope you find an answer and let us know who it was and how you stopped it.

I wish it was the authorities taking the traps, that would be an easy fix. Unfortunately, there are two main reasons I doubt that it is conservation officers taking the traps. First, my property is registered with the state and has a year-round trapping permit from the department of natural resources. Second, it's only ever been one trap that disappears at a time. Usually I have 5-6 traps out at the property so I'd expect a government official who took one trap to walk around a bit and find at least a few of the other traps.

Jay Angler wrote:John, are you sure it's 2-legged vermin and not 4 legged? Coons have moved a friend's live traps before - and figured out how to release them! Coons could smell a hidden trap.  That is where a trail cam would be useful! Unfortunately, if your guess is accurate, the cams would disappear also!

I'm sure it was 2-legged vermin. Several traps have disappeared without a trace. If it was racoons moving them I would have found at least some of the them on the 10-acre property. I have had traps damaged by racoons, but if those get moved at all it's usually only a few feet.

As a test, I tried chaining a trap to a tree in a spot I expect a lot of 2-legged vermin. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

My 10 acres of land is right next to a big box store (like a Target) and is also overrun with rabbits that like to chew on my recently planted trees. Trapping the rabbits has greatly helped reduce their numbers, but now I'm running into problems with 2-legged vermin stealing the traps. I've tried hiding the traps, but they still disappear. I engraved my property's name on about four different spots on the traps, but they still keep getting stolen, so I'm wondering if anyone has any good ideas as to how to secure the traps?

Right now, I'm thinking about digging a hole about 3 feet deep, filling the hole with concrete and then putting a metal bar in concrete. The wire mesh cage trap would then be placed over the bar, and a lock would prevent the trap from being removed from the bar. Here's what AI thinks it would look like.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to improve this design? Considering the traps are only $15-20 each, I'd rather not spend more than the price of the trap on security for them.

Just to make things even more confusing, some of the things being called toxins in this thread may actually be essential micronutrients.

Even arsenic, the poison of choice for many fictional murderers, is now close to qualifying as a micronutrient in animals. It seems that arsenic has a role in the metabolism of the amino acid methionine and in gene silencing (Uthus, 2003). Other work suggests that it has a positive interaction with the more important micronutrient selenium (Zeng et al, 2005).

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2246629/

Well, do you enjoy editing videos? To make decent videos on YouTube you'll spend most of your time editing them.