SERVING HENDRICKS COUNTY SINCE 1847
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Hunting Maintenance During the Summer By Mike E. Neilson We welcome the voice of Mike Neilson, longtime Danville High School teacher and longtime hunting enthusiast. He’s shared his hunting experience in book form with Class Dismissed: I’m Going Hunting! (2004); We’re Gonna Need More Arrows!: Hunting Adventurs Around the Country and Around the World (2009); and Pig Tails and Other Hunting Adventures (2014) Part IV If you are going afield for more than just a day hunt, consider getting and maintaining spare chargers for phones or GPS. If you have these already, it might be a good idea to check the charge to be sure they are at full capacity. If you like to carry a camera afield be sure you have a backup battery and if it takes cards, keep a blank one ready. Murphy’s law undoubtable will kick in as you pose your trophy for that perfect shot and the battery is dead or the data card is full. Check the straps to your climbing/ fall restraints. This only takes a few minutes and is a potential life saver. Hopefully, you will never have to use one but if you do, you absolutely cannot afford to have them fail. You are falling already, do not add insult to injury by having this vital piece of equipment falter. I know many folks swear at them as well as by them. But please check them at least once a year. Finally, if you do not use one, please consider this as a necessary item for hunting from most elevated stands. Keep your skinning and gutting knives sharp. Just pull them out of their sheaths and test the edge. If the blades are sharp, put them back and hope you get the chance to put them to work later, if not, give them a quick touch up. If you have teenage daughters, sharpen the knives in front of their dates (it’s a dad thing). If you have ever field dressed game, fish, or fowl with a dull knife, you know what I’m talking about. Not only do you have to work harder, but you stand a better chance of injuring yourself. Treestand maintenance. I can’t say enough about checking straps, rachets and the stand itself. I pull my stands out of the woods after each season. During the summer months and just before I put them up for the fall, I do a visual inspection of the metal, looking for fatigue, broken parts, missing bolts and pieces. If you keep your stands in the woods all year, the same advice applies, especially straps. I don’t know why mice and squirrels delight in chewing straps, but you absolutely don’t want to get climbing up and have the straps break. Again, straps are cheap compared to the potential consequences. It also never hurts to carry a spare rachet strap in your pack in the event the vermin (either 2 legged or 4) decide to damage or remove your straps. The same advice goes for tree steps, climbing stands, or climbing sticks, lock-on stands or homemade stands. A bit of checking prior to putting them out in the field is a cheap insurance policy that your hunts will stay as safe as possible. ______________________________________________
The Republican
Voices
We offer Voices as a place to share a story, a memory, an idea, a comment, a criticism, or a solution. Contributors must include name, address & phone number.
Exploring Hendricks County
By Jackie Horn Jackie Horn and her husband, John, transplanted from Warsaw to Plainfield to be near family. They have two children and nine grandchildren. An Advanced Indiana Master Naturalist, Jackie is a retired substitute teacher who continues to teach (and learn) about all things outdoors. John is a retired CNC programmer and the photographer on the team. The Horns enjoy traveling, walking, hiking, kayaking, and bicycling.
A Jewel of a Wildflower I love spring wildflowers. I like the way Nature teases us with a bit of warm weather and a few tiny Spring Beauties and then, BOOM! The meadows and woods explode with color as different flowers all bloom at once. Summer wildflowers are a bit less dramatic but just as lovely. Right now I’m enjoying Black-eyed Susans, Ironweed, and Queen Anne’s Lace but my favorite is just beginning to flower…. Jewelweed. Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is related to the Impatiens sold as annuals in plastic packages at garden centers. If you think those are pretty, a stand of Jewelweed will knock your socks off! Jewelweed boasts bright orange flowers topping dense green foliage as tall as five feet. It grows in thick stands so rather than a single pretty flower, there is a bank of vibrant blooms. A favorite of bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, Jewelweed won’t be found in a sunny meadow. It prefers shady, moist areas such as along wooded creek beds. This makes the flowers more stunning as a spike of color in the shadows. Not only is Jewelweed beautiful, but it’s also useful. The plant has medicinal properties. I’ve been told if applied to nettles or poison ivy, the sap from crushed stems will relieve the itch or sting almost immediately. (I have never tried this remedy and have no desire to roll in stinging nettles to test it.) Jewelweed has antifungal properties and Native American medicine utilizes the plant for skin irritations and athlete’s foot treatment. When ingested, the plant can be used for mild digestive disorders. Besides the gorgeous color and medicinal uses, Jewelweed is entertaining. They’re “touch-me-nots” or “poppers”. The fruit looks like a tiny bean. Gently pluck the pod and hold it in your hand and as it warms, it pops scattering seeds. If the fruit is ripe, it really can’t be picked without discharging. I can’t tell you how long we’ve stood in a patch of Jewelweed searching for seed pods, carefully pulling them from the plant and laughing as the seeds explode. Another wonderful characteristic of Jewelweed is its long blooming period. Most wildflowers bloom only a short time. Jewelweed, an annual (it only lives one season) begins flowering in July and continues until the first hard frost kills it off usually in October. Remember all those exploding seeds? Next year the stand will be back thanks to self-seeding. August is a great time to escape into a cool woods for a leisurely walk in the shade. If there happens to be a creek to wade, even better. Top it off with a patch of Jewelweed and it doesn’t get any better. The key is to enjoy the beauty around us ... and to pluck the seed pods gently. ______________________________________________
Thursday, July 29, 2021
ASK MR. TRAFFIC By Chet Skwarcan, PE, President/ Founder of Traffic Engineering, Inc. Chet@TrafficEngineering.com
We received word from Mr. Traffic that with an increase in business and serveral new endeavors in the works, he will cease his weekly column for The Republican. Of course, this sounds like an excuse one would make up while stuck on a round-about and unable to remember the rules for exiting. In any case, we thank Mr. T for his contributions, which were enjoyed by our readers and even our staff! [Mr. T - Have you tried the allemand left maneuver? Whatever you do, don’t do si do. You’ll end up in either Poughkeepsie or Lake Erie.] ______________________________________________
ALLEN’S CORNER
ON THE MUSIC SCENE By Allen Kiger
Last week I said that live music is back. And it is back, right here in Danville, with Grammy-winning musicians The Kentucky Headhunters, on Saturday, August 7th at Ellis Park! I recently had the opportunity to talk to Richard Young of The Kentucky Headhunters and about how excited he and the group are to be back out performing for the fans. According to Richard, during COVID the band wrote and recorded a new album which is set to be released this October. In talking with Richard, I asked him what the fans should expect on August 7th when The Kentucky Headhunters perform in Danville at the new amphitheater at Ellis Park. Richard was so excited talking about how they will play their big hits like “Dumas Walker,” “Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine,” and “Oh Lonesome Me” as well as entertaining with lesser known hits that fans will also remember. Richard wants to see Ellis Park packed full of fans when the band rolls into town on August 7th. Opening the show for The Kentucky Headhunters is local favorite band, Cornfield Mafia. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Cornfield Mafia will take the stage at 7 p.m. followed by The Kentucky Headhunters at 7:45 p.m. Great live music and low admission prices (child under 12 free with each paid adult), makes this the perfect family-friendly, summer evening destination. To listen to my full interview with Richard Young, make sure to tune into WYRZ 98.9 FM on Sunday, August 1st at 11 a.m. ______________________________________________
A Note From Bee Today we have so many TV programs we can choose to watch. It surely runs into the hundreds. Why do so many people we know have such a hard time finding programs to watch. In our case we e-mail our friends the names of programs we find acceptable to watch. We do not find using the F...word or worse, sexual behavior, drug use, or violence add anything or make for a more enjoyable program. These type of programs would have to watched while children were in bed. Yes, we can watch PBS, documentaries, and Hallmark which are totally acceptable and do but we do want some variety. A friend who is a retired librarian told me books also have to have these things which are unacceptable to be published. So there really is no answer to the problem. Just keep doing what we are doing. Bee Jones ______________________________________________
A Squirrel About Town By Archy “How was the Fair?” was Archy’s greeting. “Too long,” I answered. “And too short.” The squirrel nodded in understanding. “You saw ghosts, didn’t you?” Archy always seems to know what I’ve been thinking. “Yes,” I told him. “In a way. Every time I saw a former 4-H member, I saw every photo I took of them. Cleaning the stalls, carrying water, sleeping on a bale of straw. I saw them in the show ring the first time they were in front of a judge. I saw their smiles when they were handed their first ribbon.” “Quite understandable. You know, they say you take a piece of the soul when you take a photograph of someone,” the squirrel explained. “And you keep those pieces in your soul.” He was right. I was carrying around 15 years of memories from this Fairgrounds. “It’s because you focus on them,” Archy said. “When you focus, they stay with you. Funny the way the mind works, isn’t it?” The squirrel, as usual, was right. ___________________________________________ The books that help you the most are those which make you think the most. The hardest way of learning is by easy reading; every man that tries it finds it so. But a great book that comes from a great thinker, — it is a ship of thought, deep freighted with truth, with beauty too. Theodore Parker
