Celebrating Independence Day

By Jay Backer, Chair, Senate District 12 Republicans

Two hundred forty-seven years ago, in 1776, after affixing his signature to the Declaration of Independence, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail, explaining the significance of what he and the founding fathers had done.

In his letter, he stated, “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this Continent to the other from this time forward forever more.”

One year later, in 1777, the first official 4th of July celebration was held in Philadelphia. Ever since, Americans have celebrated our country’s independence exactly as predicted by John Adams.

This year, as we celebrate, let us express our thanks that we are a nation of hope, opportunity and peace. Let us never forget the sacrifices so many have made to keep our country free.

Happy 4th of July! Stand tall and be proud to be a citizen of this great nation. God bless America!

Pasture management during drought conditions

Good grass grows good cows. So how do you grow grass during drought? The best time to plan for drought is in the years before it happens by keeping your forages and pastures in good condition. There is as much root structure underground as there is leaf structure above ground. The more root structure the better resilience to drought and faster recovery after drought. Typical management, often is to open all the pasture gates and let livestock remove as much leaf material as desired. A better management plan would be to confine livestock to one area and supplement feed harvested or purchased feed stocks.

When weather conditions improve the remaining pastures will recover much faster and animals can be rotated through them. Depending on how long supplement feed has taken place you may need to reseed only one paddock instead of the entire pasture. This sacrifice area should not be grazed as heavily in near future to allow forages and root structures to rebuild and fortify themselves.

Generally cool season grasses (brome, timothy, orchard grass) should not be grazed shorter than 4 inches, and warm season grasses (Swithgrass, Indian grass, Bluestem) should not be grazed shorter than 6 inches. These minimum guidelines should maintain the function of the plants and soils.

For more assistance to design and build resiliancey into your livestock operation please contact your local NRCS office at 320732-6618 ext. 3

Parkinson’s Support Group

The Long Prairie Area Parkinson’s Support Group will meet July 5th at 2 p.m. (date changed due to 4th of July) at the CentraCare West Campus Board Room.

Anyone with Parkinson’s, spouses, caregivers or support people are invited.

Speakers will be Sandy and Gary Roerick. Sandy has had Parkinson’s for 7+ years. Together Sandy and Gary started a Parkinson’s Support group in Bemidji.

Stress & Sleep

Stress is your body’s response to a challenge or demand. Everyone experiences stress, which can be triggered by a range of events, from small daily hassles to major changes like a divorce or job loss. The stress response includes physical components like an elevated heart rate and blood pressure, thoughts and personal beliefs about the stressful event, and emotions, including fear and anger.

What to do if you have trouble sleeping

Sleep is often sacrificed when you’re overwhelmed with stress. You may experience insomnia because of discomfort, stress from personal concerns, or side effects from your medications. If you can’t sleep, try these tips:

• Establish a regular sleep schedule: go to bed and get up at the same time every day.

• Keep your bedroom dark and quiet.

• Use your bedroom for sleeping only. Don’t work or watch TV in your bedroom.

• Avoid napping too much during the day. At the same time, remember to balance activity with periods of rest.

• If you feel nervous or anxious, talk to your spouse, partner or a trusted friend. Get your troubles off your mind.

• Listen to relaxing music.

• Don’t rely on sleeping pills. They can be harmful when taken with other medications. Use them only if recommended for a brief period by your healthcare provider if other nonmedication methods don’t work.

• If you can’t sleep, get up and do something relaxing until you feel tired. Don’t stay in bed worrying about when you’re going to fall asleep.

• Avoid caffeine.

IMMEDIATE OPENINGS!

Pondview Estates

Independent Senior Housing ∙ Albany

• Beautiful 1 Bed/1 Bath Apartments

• Low-Income / Rent Subsidized

• Must be 62 years or older

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Pondview is located just 20 minutes West of St. Cloud

Sponsored by the Swanville Lions Club

A Parrot Funny

A guy received a parrot as a gift. The parrot was gorgeous, but it had a bad attitude and a filthy vocabulary. Every word out of its beak was rude, foul, and profane. The guy spent months trying to change the bird's attitude: speaking only polite words, treating the bird gently, playing soft music, etc. Nothing seemed to "clean up" the bird's outlook or vocabulary.

Finally, the guy got fed up and yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. He shook the parrot; it got angrier, louder, and even ruder. In desperation, he grabbed the bird and threw it into the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, the guy quickly opened the freezer.

The parrot calmly stepped out and said, "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate behavior and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my bad attitude and unforgivable vocabulary."

The guy was stunned! Before he could reply, the bird asked carefully, "Might I ask what the chicken did?"

Stop at the Swanville Senior Center for some Ice Cream, Sundaes, Home Made Bars, Lemonade, Coffee, and Grab Bags!

Saturday, July

Chicken

Bingo