Newspaper Page Text
Page 10 - Wednesday, December 13, 2023
The Sylvania Times
thesy lvaniatimes .com
The
FarmWife
at
Two Pennies
Farm
Nancy Baker
The Best
Laid Plans
Recently, I
heard an older
gentleman tell
me the story of
the Night before
Christmas with
a little twist.
You see, this
story was about fishing. I liked it so much, I
wanted to share it with you.
I want to wish you and yours a very Merry
Christmas. May all your fishing dreams come
true!
Twas the night before Christmas, when all
'cross the water
Not a creature was stirring, not even my
daughter;
The rods were all geared up with fresh line and
plastics,
In hopes that a big bass trips the light fantastic.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Billy Bass danced in their
heads;
And mamma in her camo gown, and I in my
fidori,
Had just sat down to watch A Christmas Story.
When out in the lake there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the lounger to see what was the
matter.
Away to the garage I dashed like a runner
I backed out the boat and started to gun her.
The moonlight showed the remains of a ripple
The excitement had me frozen, almost to a
cripple,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a gaint greenback I had been waiting for
all year.
Like a little old angler, so quiet and quick,
I reached in the box and got the Ugly Stick.
More rapid than eagles my cast how it flew,
Only to get a nibble or two.
Now, St. Croix! Now Daiwa! Now, Pradco and
Plano!
On Crawlers! On Spinners! On Divers and
Senko
To the top of the water! To the bottom and all!
Now cast away! Cast away! Cast away all!"
As bats to the light like wild hurricane fly,
The Big One's silhouette mounts to the sky,
So up went my rod as I set the hook,
Surprised that a few cranks was all it took.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard a small sound
But no other creature was even around.
As I drew in my catch, and extracted the bait,
That bass said, "What's up? My name is Nate."
He was dressed all in scales, from his mouth
to his tail,
See JACK page 11
Hubs woke me up early one morning this
week, an endeavor not undertaken lightly.
But he knows exactly how to do so safely.
He said, “I need you to get up and come in
the kitchen. There’s a bird in there.” You
see, he had been making breakfast at the
kitchen island when a wren landed on it
with a thud then fluttered off who knows
where.
I shook myself awake and asked Hubs
to please get the bug net. Once I had
caught the poor creature and put him in
a box, it was time to figure out what had
happened and what to do next. Whatever
was going to happen today it would not be
the Christmas baking I had planned.
We have been battling flies all summer.
The kitchen door, being 120 years old,
doesn’t close tightly and flies just come in
through the gaps. I would never resort to
sticky fly traps outside because birds can
get stuck in them, but I thought I was safe
enough using one in the kitchen. The door
had blown open that morning and a wren
had flown in and gotten stuck on the trap.
He managed to unstick himself, but he left
his tail and most of his wing feathers on
the trap.
Upon examining him I was relieved to
find that that his skin was not tom, and he
wasn’t bleeding. But lacking his tail and
wing feathers he couldn’t fly, so I couldn’t
just pop him back outside.
I called a bird rehabber I know. She
lives too far for me to take him in, but she
gave me good advice on cleaning him up
and feeding him. And she told me it would
take two weeks for him to regrow his tail
and three weeks for his wing feathers.
Ugh! I had planned on spending the
day baking, not nursing a cute little bird.
But it was my fault he had gotten injured,
so I was responsible for taking care of
him. Hubs brought the birdcage I keep in
reserve down from the attic and we set up
a bird hospital in our bathroom where we
could easily keep an eye on him.
Wrens are insectivores, but during
the winter they do visit bird feeders. We
had the songbird seed mix we put in the
feeders, and while this would hold him for
a while, I felt he would regrow his feathers
quicker if he had some solid protein in his
diet. So, Hubs ran up to the local farm
supply to get some live insects. They
didn’t have any. But did you know that
now you can buy canned mealworms and
crickets?
A quick Google search finds that wrens
are also partial to peanut butter and suet. I
grabbed some little dishes to set up a wren
food buffet and dealt out peanut butter and
See FARM page 11
FARM BUREAU SEEKS
ENTRIES FOR 2024
MIDDLE SCHOOL & HIGH SCHOOL
ART CONTESTS
By Beth Reddick,
Special Contributor
for
Tin Times
Are you a middle school or high school student who likes
to draw? If so, then enter the 2024 Georgia Farm Bureau
Middle School Bookmark or High School Art Contests for
the chance to win some great cash prizes!
The Georgia Fami Bureau (GFB) Middle School Bookmark
Contest is open to all public, private and home-schooled
6th, 7th and 8th-grade students statewide. The 10 GFB
district winners of the bookmark contest will receive $100
each and compete for the state prize of $150. The winner of
the Screven County Farm Bureau Middle School Bookmark
Contest will receive $50.
The GFB High School Art Contest is open to all public,
private and home-schooled students in 9th through 12th
grades. The 10 GFB district art contest winners will receive
a cash prize of $100. The 10 GFB district art contest
winners will compete for the state prize of $250 cash. The
winner of the Screven County Farm Bureau High School
Art Contest will receive $50.
Middle school students will be given a blank bookmark
and asked to draw a picture that depicts some aspect of
Georgia agriculture. Students may use crayons, markers
or colored pencils to create their bookmark that illustrates
agriculture.
High schoolers entering the art contest should draw a
scene depicting Georgia agriculture. Artwork submitted in
the high school art contest must be on 8.5 x 11-inch white
paper and should be created in the colors black, white and
gray. Contestants may use a variety of media to create
their artwork including graphite, charcoal, pastel, chalk,
colored pencil, pen-and-ink, ballpoint pen or mixed media
appropriate for printing.
Artwork entered in both contests will be judged on 1) how
well the artwork represents modem agriculture found in the
artist’s county or Georgia and 2) artistic merit.
Students may enter either contest in the county in which
they live or attend school but not both counties. To enter
either contest, students should contact their county Farm
Bureau for an official entry form and complete contest
rales. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Previous state
winners are not eligible for either contest.
Interested students or teachers should contact the Screven
County Farm Bureau for an official entry form and contest
rules at 912-564-7891. All entries must be received at the
Screven County Farm Bureau office by February 16, 2024.
All entries must be officially submitted by the Screven
County Farm Bureau to the Georgia Farm Bureau contest.
All artwork submitted in both contests must be original and
becomes the property of Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) once
submitted. GFB may use artwork from both contests on
various products distributed or sold by the organization to
promote agriculture.
Between the crops Georgia farmers grow and the jobs
agriculture creates to harvest, process and transport these
crops, agriculture contributed $73.2 billion to Georgia’s
economy in 2021, according to the UGA College of
Agricultural & Environmental Sciences.
For more information about the contests contact your
county Farm Bureau office at 912-564-7891 or visit www.
gfb.ag/contests .
Students and teachers may visit https://gfb.ag/video
to view a video about Georgia agriculture and gfb.
ag/UGA23agsnapshots to access info about Georgia
agriculture.
“The purpose of the F arm Bureau Middle School Bookmark
and High School Art Contests is to encourage students to
creatively explore Georgia agriculture and increase their
knowledge of the contributions it makes to our lives,”
said Screven County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee
Chairman Wendy Boyd. “By asking the students to
participate in these contests, we are giving them a chance
to learn about the wide variety of crops and livestock
produced in Georgia such as, poultry, beef cattle, dairy,
cotton, peanuts, timber, pecans, blueberries and many other
fruits and vegetables.”
The Screven County Farm Bureau Middle School Bookmark
and High School Art Contest winners will be entered in the
Georgia Farm Bureau 7th District competition.
Founded in 1937, Georgia Farm Bureau is the state’s
largest general farm organization. Its volunteer members
participate in local, state and national activities to promote
agriculture to their non-farming neighbors. GFB also
advocates for Georgia farmers and rural communities on
legislative issues. GFB offers its members a wide variety
of benefits, including insurance, but enrollment in any of
the member benefits is optional and not a requirement for
membership.
Picture Above: Olivia Durden of Dodge County was the
artist of this entry last year.
YOUR ALL AROUND PRINT SHOP
Brinson’s Tree &
Stump Removal
Brian Brinson: 706-526-8686
Locally Owned & Operated
Licensed & Insured
THE POLAR EXPRE.
'TJKT'T’Y"
HER OF COMMERCE
Reindeer
Call: (478) 982-5595
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staff . 53
Frida
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