About The Madison County journal. (Hull, Ga.) 1989-current | View Entire Issue (May 28, 2025)
PAGE 4A - THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2025 Opinions ‘Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost onmipotent." Henry Ward Beecher Landlubber Armadillos Hello, neighbors. Were that I was a sailor, I would be able to regale you with tales of a different life, words and words and words to describe beauteous elements from mindftil living among the waves. However, I have little experience afloat, save for (extremely) amateur surfing on yearly trips with Lee and family to Cocoa Beach. Mostly that consists of Lee and Bobby and I flopping, flailing, and floundering as we paddle and struggle ever-enthusiasti- cally onwards against the surf. We succeed about three or four times a day. No, instead my experi ences with Life lie largely on land. In my best estima tion, you are probably in the same, well, boat as me when it comes to day-to- day, month-to-month, year- after-year living. Tides and trade winds and currents have little to do with mov ing us forward through our days. My singular experi ence away from firmament, off-shore, with nary a bit of tree-line in sight left me astounded by the water’s deeply-jeweled color. I wrote about it a couple of summers ago—a color new to my eyes and my spirit. Fulfilling, yes, but also empty and, oddly, vacuous: there was too much of it and not enough of anything else. Despite my best efforts, the seascape’s sameness shortened my appreciation of it. Meanwhile, back on solid ground, I am able to explore an endless fascination with the land that surrounds me— the hills, trees, fields, clouds, sky I see every day. Should the constant contact with the same scenery not serve to By Travis Moak dull one’s awareness of and thankftilness for it? It could, easily. Distractions are everywhere: tasks, deadlines, chores, errands, do-do-do, worry-worry-worry, hurry-hur- ry-hurry. Zip by one pastoral setting as quickly as another, and, easily enough, the destination turns the hills’ rolling beauty into a blurred flatness akin to the boundless water’s empty expanse. Yet, Time, working in rare form as an ally, brought a recent change to hurried travels: the bridge is out. An inconvenience for many, more so even, than I would imagine based on the severely decreased amount of traffic through nearly all hours of the day. A boon for me, though: mornings—quieter; afternoons—quieter; evenings—qui eter. I often return to my house from Ila Elementary via Old Ila and Chandler Farm roads, with the final mile or two on Rogers Mill at a much slower pace lately thanks to the bridge’s impairment. Being able to stroll down the road below the speed limit is a dream come true, my little blue hot rod so out of place at 35 miles per hour. And, even better, I get to travel other paths through the countryside, crest other hills, dip through other hollers. There is real joy in that endeavor. To see it not as a has sle takes only the smallest change to my mindset: ahh, look here at this old wooden fence, or, what a great, wild expanse of grass and trees there. The added miles make me thankful rather than disgruntled. Passing under trees, sailing by yards, coasting through farmland typically not on my route, not quite so familiar to me, makes me grate ful for the opportunity to be among it. My heart is set to wards enjoyment, thankful for the extra time with the land I love. It is not forgettable, flat as the water, but rather vibrant and alive, always available to the mindftil eye. The bridge is out—what an opportunity. My hope is that you enjoy the detour. Thank you for making my life better, fields and fences. Mindftilly yours, Travis. I think by now everybody knows about these little boogers. However, they have not been around here for very long. In my early years there weren’t any armadillos in north Georgia. The first documented sighting of them in the US was in Texas in the mid 1800’s, when they be gan to come up from Mexico. They don’t swim well so people probably brought them to Texas. The second geographi cal sighting of these was in Florida in the early 1900s. Now they didn’t swim over to Florida from Texas. The reports are that circuses had them and some escaped from a zoo in the 1930s. They were also observed escaping from cattle cars that came to Florida from Texas. It is a little-known fact that there are over twenty variet ies of these little mammals, which live in Central and South America. There is only one variety that has made to the United States. That is the By Charlie Snelling TAT1 ’ 1 1 9 What s going on in the garden? By Joe Costyn You know how sometimes you get an idea that seems to just light up your imagination. You want to get started right away! And then reality starts to slowly happen, but you are still convinced that this is a good idea. A window box was my latest exciting idea. They look so col orful and beautiful in all the travel photos and gardening articles. My wife’s best friend has a birthday soon, she likes flow ers, I like to build things, and it would be a timely thing to write about. Great idea! — isn’t it? I need this thing to look just like the ones in travel photos minutes after I fin ish it, so I bought some very nice plants that were full and big from Madison County Hardware. The bill was big too — $80 - and I didn’t even have any pres sure-treated wood to build a box yet. The next day I got lucky. I found some fence boards that were too ugly for a fence, but I saw that I could put the ugly side fac ing inward next to the dirt, and they sold them to me for only 50 ceach! It was looking very promising. Could it almost be time to call Southern Living magazine so they could feature my win dow box? How long could it take to build a simple box one foot by four feet? Not long at all to build a simple / ugly one, but building a good-looking box is tak ¬ ing considerably longer. My wife thinks it should be “nice” and match her house. (I not so silently groan) After about eight hours working, it is finished. I found a sale on good potting soil for only $2.50 a large bag. I lined the box with plastic for future wood protection and drilled four half inch holes for drain age. I am planning to use two different kinds of ornamental sweet potato, sun coleus, red salvia, and several plants that I haven’t used before but they seem to have the right growth habits. It doesn’t matter that much what you use because just having some healthy plants in bloom in a planter box looks good and happy. Just try it. If you have a planter box or two, or even some other random con tainers with blooming plants in them, it won’t be long before you start getting compliments. My wife and I took all the stuff over to her friend Sherry’s house, and I planted it up. I mixed in six tablespoons of that pricey six month slow-release fertilizer, because anything that gets lots of water can lose lots of fertility along with that water. I thought that it turned out pretty good. Now I realize that many people don’t have lots of extra hours to build a plant er box. I have good news for you! It is the absolute cheapest and lowest-effort way to have containers growing flow- Flowers planted in soil bag. Finished flower box filled with plants. ers or your favorite vegetables. It is not pretty, but it is effective. Go buy a bag of good quality potting soil. Cut the top open neatly. Bang the bag down very finnly several times making a flat bot tom. Next step, carefully roll the plastic down several times to create a stiffer rim. Stop about an inch from the soil. Plant your flower or vegetable in the soil. Now comes the exacting drainage technology. Poke a few holes at the bottom so excess water can get out. You are done! If you really want to get fancy, try this. Starting about four inches from the bottom, cut maybe two slits about three inches long four inches from the bottom. Move up eight inches and cut two more slits. Carefully put a plant into each slit. If the dirt comes out too much, plug it up with wet paper towels or pine straw or whatever you have that works. Water the bag thoroughly. Only water when the soil on top starts looking dryish. A month later this old plastic bag will be almost in visible because the entire bag will be cov ered up with beautiful leaves and flowers. Plant several bags to complete the pic ture. The bag will last until the fall, and after frost, just empty the whole bag out where you need enriched soil to improve your yard. All this, and you have spent only $2.50 for the bag of soil! There is one more thing to consider. If you put the bag directly on a wood deck, it will leave pennanent ugly stains. Good luck! little Nine-Banded model that you now see everywhere. Today they are pretty much in all the southeastern states in the lower forty-eight, with very few in the northern states. I don’t think they have made it to Hawaii, Alaska or Canada. They don’t fair well in the cold. The name is Spanish meaning “little armored one” due to the lines of armored plates on its back. This little suit of armor serves the armadillo well against predators. This is made up of overlapping dermal bones covered with scales. The Aztec’s name for these strange creatures inter prets as “turtle rabbit.” Makes sense to me! They are a very unique creature. One of the reasons they can survive so well is their gestation qualities. They can store fertilized eggs for prolonged periods of time until it is time for attachment and development. They also sleep in burrows for up to sixteen hours per day and usually only come out at night to feed. They are very powerful diggers, which is obvious to anyone who has had them invade their yards. Their legs are very strong. When frightened they can jump straight up as high as three feet as if they were spring-loaded. I guess cats don’t have a monopoly on this survival ma neuver. Once, when I was camping on Cumberland Island, off the coast of Georgia at St. Mary’s, I cornered one in an opening while hiking. When he sulled up at my approach, I got the bright idea that I would pin him down and exam ine him. I put my hand down on his back and attempted to hold him down. He immediately jumped up and tried to escape. Once again, I hemmed him up and this time, I pushed him down with all my weight. That little booger picked me up and took off again. They are wicked strong! I backed off. I later learned from some research on these rascals that you don’t ever want to put your bare hands on one. They can easily cut your hands with their sharp scales. They also carry some very harmful strains of bacteria, one of which causes the horrible disease known as Hassen’s disease, a.k.a. Leprosy. Tell everybody you know! Don’t touch an armadillo. In South America they are actually a game animal that is prepared and consumed by humans. Not so much in North America. There is documentation of them being eaten in the great depression in the 1930s. They were known as “Hoover pigs!” I don’t care what you say, that ain’t pork. I have been to a few wild-game suppers in my time and seen some strange critters served. I don’t ever remember there being any armadillo on the menu. The state animal in Texas used to be the long-homed steer. That is not the case anymore. You guessed it! In 1981, by executive decree, the state animal for Texas be came the Nine Banded Armadillo. Don’t tell that to any University of Texas alumni. “Hook’um horns!” I mean, what kind of two finger gesture could you make that re sembles an armadillo? Federal spending They are not all little. The biggest species in South America weighs up to 180 pounds and is six feet long. If you hit one of those it would not be known as “road-kill.” I think we would coin a new phrase called “car-kill!” The smallest ones are known as the Pink Fairy. They are kind’a cute, at six inches long and about two pounds with “pink” armor. They don’t bother people other than their digging in your yard. If they know you are there, they are going in the other direction. In the South we affectionately know them as “possum on the half-shell.” No matter what you call them or how you feel about them, they are now a part of our lives and they are here to stay! Dear Editor: I’ve been watching with interest the America First policies of Presi dent Donald Trump and have noticed some things that don’t add up (at least for taxpayers): • We have accepted refugees from South Africa (source: US Embassy) while our citizens remain subject to inflation, high grocery and health- care prices, and no relief in the form of DOGE checks, which we were promised (source: USA Today, April 30, 2025). • We are paying El Salvador $6 million to house immigrants that were formerly living here (source: Reuters, March 15, 2025) while many American citizens can’t afford to pay their bills due to increased costs in most consumer product cat egories. • We will be paying for President Trump’s military birthday parade next month (source: AP, May 1, 2025), while we struggle to make ends meet. • The extension of the 2017 tax cuts will primarily benefit house holds earning $320,000 or more per year. Lower-income earners will be disproportionately funding those tax cuts for higher earners (source: Cen ter on Budget and Policy Priorities, February 28, 2025). I hope that local citizens and tax payers are thinking about Trump’s policies and questioning the validity of those that fall outside his stated objectives (i.e., America First, cut ting spending). Remember that our representatives are supposed to be working for us, and we can let them know how we feel by contacting them directly (source: usa.gov). Sincerely, Jennifer Ivey Danielsville The Madison County Journal Danielsville, Madison County Georgia 30633 Merged with The Danielsville Monitor and The Comer News, January 2006 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. MIKE BUFFINGTON, Go-publisher SCOTT BUFFINGTON Go-publisher CALEB ROLLINS Editor Subscriptions: $45/year —$40/seniors POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: THE MADISON COUNTY JOURNAL PO Box 908 Jefferson, Ga. 30549 The Official Legal Organ of Madison County, Georgia-Periodicals postage paid at Danielsville, Georgia 30633 (USPS 011-097, ISSN 1074987X)
