SERVING HENDRICKS COUNTY SINCE 1847
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Exploring Hendricks County
By Jackie Horn
The Republican
Thursday, October 7, 2021
Voices
other insects such as aphids which are attracted to yellow. Another thought is the red leaves on the ground decay and the anthocyanins, which are toxic, are absorbed into the soil. The toxins ward other tree species from growing too near and using up the available resources. While I find all that fascinating, I’m really just about the beauty of the trees decked in their fall foliage. Besides driving around looking at the scenery, there are plenty of fun, cheap or FREE activities this month to celebrate fall. Danville has its annual scarecrow display from now until the end of the month on the courthouse square. Pick up your favorite treat and enjoy a stroll to check out this year’s entries. Nehemiah Ranch Fall Harvest Days are Saturdays, October 9 and 16 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM. They offer hayrides, music, bonfire, hotdogs, s’mores, and pumpkins for the kids. The ranch, located at 1420 N CR600 E in Avon, suggests a $5 donation but there is no charge. Contact them at (317) 840-7115 for more information or questions.
MASTERING THE HOUSE Tim Paino
Owner/Inspector Heartland HouseMaster
useful tips for homeowners
McCloud Nature Park is listed among the Top Ten Fall Foliage Spots in Indiana.
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Falling for Fall
Fall is officially here. Along with the actual date, a cold rain came and dropped the temperature overnight. John and I took the kayaks to our daughter’s place in Virginia. We won’t be using them here anymore this year. With luck, we’ll be able to get to paddle a few more times before the season changes there. My chrysanthemums are blooming and a few leaves have already fallen in the yard. Soon the leaves will cover my summer gardening failures The family enjoyed exploring the Prairie Maze at McCloud Nature Park last year. The maze is open now until October 25. and I can look forward to doing better next year. ____________________________________________________ I LOVE Fall. It is my favorite season of the year. I wilt in the summer heat and humidity and look forward to McCloud Nature Park in North Salem is finalizing plans the cooler temperatures autumn brings. I prefer wearing for their Fall Color Festival on October 16 from 10:00 AM sweaters and jeans. My hair behaves and doesn’t stick to – 3:00 PM. McCloud is consistently in the Top 10 Places my head. And food! I can bake again without needing for Fall Foliage on the Visit Indiana website. Besides the to crank the air conditioner. Soup, chili, cider, and apple 232 acres of gorgeous trees, they will have activities incrisp, I could go on and on and never mention Pump- cluding archery and atlatl (spear throwing), yard games, kin Spice anything. While I like the greens of summer, a make ‘n take craft project, scavenger hunt, apple cider I revel in the glowing oranges, reds, and yellows of fall. demonstrations, and food and craft vendors. The Prairie Raking, tromping, and shuffling through fallen leaves… Maze is open daily through October 25. In our old hometown, I had a “Favorite Tree”. It’s The smell of mown grass is nice but the aroma of burning a beautifully shaped maple tree situated on the edge of a leaves can’t be beat. This brings up the burning question, (Not “to bag or cornfield that turns a brilliant orange every year. I haven’t burn”) why do leaves change color in autumn? As a kid, yet found a tree to proclaim “Favorite” here in Hendricks I was told it was because of the colder temperatures. Not County, but I’ll enjoy the search. With so many to choose so, it seems. It has to do with the amount of sunlight. As from, I need to get busy. Any nominations? the amount of daylight diminishes, the chlorophyll which ______________________________________________ gives leaves their green color also decreases. The absence Jackie Horn and her husband, John, transplanted from of green allows the yellow and oranges which were there Warsaw to Plainfield to be near family. An Advanced Indiall along, show. Why red is a question that scientists are ana Master Naturalist, Jackie is a retired substitute teacher still trying to explain. The tree has to produce anthocyan- who continues to teach (and learn) about all things outin, a chemical to make the color. Why waste energy on doors. John is a retired CNC programmer and the photogproducing color for a dying leaf? One theory is the red rapher on the team. The Horns enjoy traveling, walking, color evolved to attract beneficial insects or to warn off hiking, kayaking, and bicycling.
Your Mental Health By Chase Cotton The Willow Center 317-852-3690
Fight – Flight – Freeze: Stress and the Brain
Imagine you are hiking in the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee. As you round the corner on the path, you see an adorable black-bear cub scamper across into the bushes 10 yards ahead of you. Then, from behind, you hear the unmistakable grumble and rustle that can only belong to one creature: mama bear. Here you are enjoying your hike, and you have found yourself suddenly in-between a mama bear and her little cub. How do you feel, and what will you do? Most of us, when faced with this sort of present danger (or potential danger), will have an immediately elevated heart rate, clammy skin, escalated breathing, and might start to sweat. Then, our brain will cause us to react in one of three ways: Fight, Flight, or Freeze. • Fight: Fists clenched and jaw tight, some of our brains prepare us to fight back as hard as we can against the threat. • Flight: Primed and ready to run, some of our brains prepare us to flee as fast as we can from the threat. • Freeze: Trapped and hopeless, some of our brains prepare us to endure the harm of the threat through absolute stillness and non-reaction. Whichever response you experience, your brain is automatically doing its best to protect you from painful experiences by releasing cortisol and adrenaline into your bloodstream, which prepares your body to do what it needs to do to survive. This is an incredible, native gift that is hardwired into our psyche. However, when overstimulated, it can cause us problems. Consider our hiking scenario again, only let’s say we make it home alive. But, when we get home, the mama bear has beat us there and is ready to strike. The stress hits us again. Then, when we get inside our house, the mama bear has some how gotten in there before we did and is ready to strike again. More stress and more pain. Then, everyday when we get home from work or school, the mama bear is there to hurt us again, and again, and again. Do you see the metaphor? This bear example represents a chronically abusive situation. Each time the abuse is inflicted upon a person, their brain will trigger the fight-flight-freeze response and release the survival hormones, whether or not the person being abused is actually able to escape the situation. This chronic stress is remembered by the body and brain as “trauma.” Perhaps a less serious, but still painful situation that the bear represents would be chronic stress at work. Everyday
when you get to the office, you have to face that difficult colleague or intimidating project. Even this chronic stress is remembered as trauma. The more trauma we experience, the more toxic this fight-flight-freeze hormone response becomes to our health, often times leading to higher rates of mental illness, heart disease, cancer, and other health problems later in life. So, how do we avoid toxic stress? The two most research-supported ways are to avoid or heal your triggers, and to develop healthy coping skills. This means getting out of the abusive situation, or away from the abusive person, with help. This could mean finding a less stressful job. Or, depending on the situation’s context, it means learning how to channel your stress into healthy skills like exercise, creative outlets, and connecting with trusted loved ones or a counselor. If you or a loved one is in a chronically stressful situation right now, The Willow Center would love to help. ______________________________________________
A Note From Bee Last week I wrote about the kindness of strangers. This week I am going to write about the kindness of our friends. Our 18-year-old daughter Leigh Anne had been sick for about two months. Our GP had given her all kinds of tests but could not come up with a diagnosis. She decided to send her to an infectious disease doctor. He diagnosed her immediately. She had an infection in her mitral valve. He told her he was admitting her to the hospital. It was that serious. He hoped that by treating the infection with antibiotics surgery would not be necessary. The valve was too damaged. Surgery was necessary. This was 35 years ago when Aids was rampant and blood tests were not always accurate. We decided we wanted direct donations. We would need 8 pints of blood. It’s one thing to ask a friend for a favor but to ask for their blood. I felt very awkward doing this but our friends were very gracious. The usual response was “where do I go and at one time.” I could not give them a time immediately. The blood bank did not give me that information until the afternoon before surgery. We got all the blood we needed. We also asked all our friends for prayers for a successful surgery and recovery. With the combination of a great surgeon, directly donated blood, and prayers she had a successful surgery and has led a healthy life for the past 35 years. ______________________________________________
Lawns – Ready for Spring What is a house guy doing talking about grass? Street appeal of the home starts at the curb. Those who like a well-maintained home typically also care for their yards. As we enter Fall, the last thing on most of our minds is Spring and working in the yard. You may be thinking of leaves turning colors, putting the mower away for the season, or checking on the snow blower. We are not thinking about a plush green lawn next year. The fact is, now is the time we need to be thinking about next years thick green grass. I f you only fertilize your lawn once in a season, the Fall may be the most important time. Like a bear getting ready for a long winter’s hibernation, our lawns need to store food to be ready to “spring” into action once warm weather returns. With less daylight hours our lawns begin to slow the leaf growth and the fall fertilizer goes to the roots to help spread and green back up in the spring. It is most likely too late to plant grass seed with too few warm weeks left this year, but helping those roots grow will help fill in some of those bare spots next year. That stored food will help give us a healthier yard in the Spring. The fertilizer typically sold in the Fall here in Indiana will have a slow-release nitrogen designed to aid in root growth. When you read the fertilizer bag, they have three numbers such as 32-0-10. We want a high first number with lower second and third numbers. The larger first number is the slow-release nitrogen (N) followed by the smaller numbers for phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Stay on top of removing the leaves from the lawn. The grass still needs the sun to keep the photosynthesis process going to aid in root growth. A heavy leaf cover shades the sun and allows fungi growth and other diseases damaging to the plant. If you mulch the leaves to add nutrients to the ground rather than removing them, make sure the mulch isn’t heavy and blanketing the grass blades. Many mature lawns become dense, the soil hard and no longer absorbs moisture and nutrients. Aerating is best done in the fall. The optimum time would be before you fertilize and about a month prior to frost. This will give the roots time to grow and prepare for new grass in the Spring. Aerating typically only needs done every two or three years on mature lawns. If you have an irrigation system, the amount of watering should be reduced with the reduction of daytime sun light. Again, we don’t want conditions promoting fungi growth. The length of the final cut is also important. Grass too long is vulnerable to fungi like snow mold. Cut it too short and you can stunt root growth. Most cold weather grasses should be cut after the first heavy frost to about 1 ½ to 2 inches in length. A little work this Fall will give you a head start for a great looking yard next Spring. ______________________________________________
A Squirrel About Town By Archy You seldom see a squirrel lost in thought, but that’s how I found Archy last Sunday. “Penny for your thoughts,” I said. “You’ll need more than that,” the squirrel said. “I’m at the peak of gathering.” I thought he meant gathering nuts, but he quickly corrected me. “It’s the time of year for gathering thoughts,” he said. “Winter is coming, you know.” A nice metaphor, I thought to myself. I was soon informed otherwise. “We squirrels always gather thoughts in the fall, in addition to gathering nuts,” he patiently explained. “We need both to keep our strength up during the bleak midwinter,” he said, making use of a phrase from Christina Rossetti. “It’s a shame most humans don’t keep a store of thoughts for contemplation,” the squirrel said, with a slightly condescending tone. “They fill their heads with social media, none of which will warm them against the cold or comfort them in during the long nights.” I suddenly realized what he was saying. All the lines of poetry I’ve memorized, all the quotations jotted down - they were a real source of sustenance for me. I could go back to them whenever I needed a bit of light or hope. “Tell your people to stock up. Read a book, write your thoughts, fill your life with useful words. It’s a sumptuous repast that will always leave you satisfied,” Archy said. Again, the squirrel was right.
