Central Ohio News, Opinion or Whatever

This Fall was especially pretty!

Posted on 11/26/2018 | Comments Off

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The Fall colors this year were especially pretty – at least in central Ohio. Some of my neighbors’ trees were spectacular as well as some of my own shrubs. We had more rain this year so that may have contributed to the vibrant color.

My large ornamental grasses made a dynamic display with the plumes turning a dark rust then exploded with cottony white plumes. I leave the large grasses (there are 6) in place as long as I can, but then around the end of November I cut them down.

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If I leave them through the winter they make a horrible mess as the dead blades blow all over the yard. They are impossible to rake and must be picked up by hand one by one. I drive my Jeep Cherokee into the back yard, fold up the back seat then stuff them in. I then take them to Price Organic Farm so they can be recycled into mulch. I’ve found this is much easier than stuffing them into the paper leaf bags. The plants have grown so large that this year I’ll need to do two trips since I can only stuff in three at a time.

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I have a large Callery Pear in the back yard that hangs onto its leaves until early December. It drops LOTS of leaves that are the type that must be cleaned up because they don’t disintegrate but rather smother whatever is underneath them. We had a “reasonably nice” day on Sunday so I did the first cleanup of the leaves. Like many dogs, Murph likes to sit in the piles of leaves. Now that he’s old (14½) he no longer jumps or runs through them – just sits. He matches the colors of the leaves so it’s sometimes hard to see him. Instead of “Where’s Waldo” it’s “Where’s Murph“.

We had high winds, rain and some snow today, so the Pear dropped a bunch more leaves. Now I have to find another “nice” day to clean up the leaves, cut down the other three grasses, then mow one last time. Then I’ll decorate for Christmas!

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Posted in Central Ohio, Delaware County, Landscape

Tagged Fall clean-up, Ornamental grasses, Price Organic Farm

#DemocratsAreDangerous

Posted on 11/03/2018 | Comments Off

The past couple months there has been a frequently used hashtag on Twitter. It is #DemocratsAreDangerous. We’ve all seen their antics to physically and verbally assault Conservatives. Their despicable displays during the Kavanaugh Hearings were insane. Their hatred of Conservatives, Republicans or “anything associated with Trump” indicates they have a BAD case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS)!

Last month I went to a local GOP store to get some yard signs. The guy unlocked the door so I could enter then relocked it after I was inside. He said they’ve “had problems” with Democrats busting in. This was in a typically RED suburb which surprised me that destructive Dems would do this. It’s a few feet from a Home Depot store. These antics don’t usually happen in nice suburbs in the Midwest.

When I put the signs in my yard I placed them close to the house rather than near the sidewalk. One of the signs was a WOMEN FOR TRUMP sign that I had from the Trump Rally held here in August. To put it in the ground I used shipping tape to anchor two stakes to the back of it. My street is a side street in my subdivision so traffic is only fellow neighbors.

The Women/Trump sign lasted a week when someone tried to destroy it. (other signs were not disturbed). They tried to tear it up but the shipping tape was stronger than they were. When the sign wouldn’t totally tear they apparently tried to stomp to crush it. I can’t imagine that somebody has SO much hate that even seeing a small sign drove them crazy!

I’ve repaired the torn sign and placed a lot more shipping tape around the edges to make it untearable. I’ve also put it in another spot and set up my trail camera in an obscure place. We’ll see if it lasts to Nov 6 or if some deranged liberal has a fit of rage again!

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Posted in Central Ohio, Commentary, Delaware County, Politics

Tagged #DemocratsAreDangerous, @OhioGOP, Women For Trump

Don Jr & Kim Guilfoyle visit Delaware OH

Posted on 10/31/2018 | Comments Off

Recently Donald Trump Jr and Kimberly Guilfoyle visited a nearby shooting range to provide support for Troy Balderson who is running for the 12th District US House of Representatives. I received email notice of the event from both Buckeye Firearms Assoc and Blackwing Shooting Center. Of course, I had to go to meet them.

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With a smaller venue than the HUUGE Trump Rally in Lewis Center, it was much easier to get up close.

The event began with speeches by both Don Jr and Ms Guilfoyle. Even though a number of Secret Service guys were around, the outdoor gun range was still being used. Thus there were shotgun blasts throughout the speeches. (Responsible gun owners are safe to be around!)

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I’m pretty sure I was being watched by the Secret Service guy as I got closer to Don Jr. 🙂 I was also standing almost shoulder-to-shoulder with another SS guy to my left. You know you can’t trust the elderly grandmas!

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While I didn’t get a photo with Don Jr, I did get one with Kimberly. She’s the pretty one in the photo! Then they took a group photo of the attendees.

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Posted in 2nd Amendment, Central Ohio, Delaware County, Delaware Ohio, Politics

Tagged Blackwing Shooting Center, Donald Trump Jr, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Troy Balderson

Great Squirrel-Proof feeders

Posted on 08/29/2018 | Comments Off

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Last fall I bought my first “squirrel-proof” bird feeder – a Brome Standard. It’s rather small but a good size for the expensive No-Mess seed from Wild Birds Unlimited that I put in it. The feeder has a center post that is adjustable to increase/decrease the weight of birds that can use the feeder without the ports being shut off. That’s very effective for keeping the nasty grackles and starlings away. I use a seed catcher below the feeder to minimize waste. The Doves are good at cleaning up the fallen seed. This feeder has done a good job at stopping the squirrels.

My main feeder was a wooden hopper style that hung on a high shepherd’s hook with a squirrel baffle below. The squirrels easily jumped on top of the baffle, then climbed up the pole to the feeder. They would empty it in a day!

So I began researching the various larger styles of “squirrel-proof” feeders. Surprisingly several of them were dangerous to birds – even causing their death – because they got their heads or feet trapped by the moving parts if heavier birds or squirrel jumped on the feeder. I checked out the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus which seemed to be effective without worry of hurting the birds. It can be hung freely from a tree limb or installed on a special pole system.

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I opted to buy Wild Birds Unlimited version of the Brome system – made by Brome for WBU. Brome doesn’t sell the poles but WBU does. That way I was assured the poles would be the right size for the feeder. I added the seed tray to prevent mess underneath and allow birds to feed on the tray. The little red cup holds mealy worms.

The gray squirrels can jump from the ground up to the seed tray, but when they pull down on the circular perch, the port holes close. So far they can only eat the seed that birds flip out of the port holes. If I were a taller person I would

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have bought another pole extension to raise the height of the tray, but reaching the feeder to lift it off the pole to fill is currently at my maximum reach. So the gray squirrel wins! Red squirrel haven’t been on the feeder at all.

I’ve had to play around with the weight adjustment pole since there are 6 feeding ports. When 4 or more finches sit on the perch, it tends to be enough weight to partially close the ports. So far the birds seem to love the new system and took to it very quickly. Finches, sparrows, chickadees, titmouse, Downy woodpeckers, cardinals, red-chested woodpeckers have all been at the feeder. They seem to enjoy not having to share with the squirrels.

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This system is NOT inexpensive but I think it will eventually be a cost savings. Where the hopper feeder would be empty in a day, this feeder has needed filled only once a week! YAY!!

HAPPY BIRDS … HAPPY LIFE!

Don’t feel too sorry for the squirrels. They still have their unshelled peanut box!

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Posted in Central Ohio, Critters, Delaware County, Landscape

Tagged Brome bird feeders, Brome Squirrel Buster Plus, Wild Birds Unlimited

12th District Election Results by County

Posted on 08/15/2018 | Comments Off

On August 7 Ohioans in the 12th District voted for a House Representative to replace Pat Tiberi who resigned in January. We first voted in May’s Primary according to whichever Party ticket we wanted. Republicans and Democrats each had numerous candidates for their ticket.

The Republican Primary winner was Troy Balderson. The Democrat Primary winner was Danny O’Connor. These two would compete again in the August 7 election to determine which one would serve until January 2019, thus completing Tiberi’s term. This special election was the only thing on the ballot in August. So we went to the polls, checked in, then clicked one or the other’s name and hit SUBMIT button. In and out in just a few minutes.

In November’s mid-term election, we’ll once again have to vote for a 12th District Representative to serve for two years starting in January 2019. So we’ll be again choosing between Balderson and O’Connor. Because of that voters may not have bothered to vote August 7.

There are 3 complete counties and portions of 4 counties in the 12th District. Six of the counties are mostly rural: Delaware, Licking, Morrow, Muskingum, Marion, Richland. Of course, Franklin County is metro city. Balderson easily won all 6 of the rural counties. O’Connor only won the small section in Franklin County. In total, Balderson received 101,574 votes (50.2%) and O’Connor received 99,820 votes (49.3%). A Green Party candidate received 0.6% of votes.

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The results remind me of the 2016 Presidential Election where most of the U.S. is red but the population centers in New York and California are blue. That’s why the Electoral College is important in order to give people in less populated areas an equal say in government. Too bad we don’t have an electoral college for counties!

The above results are the “Unofficial” count. The absentee ballots and provisional ballots are to be counted and total results verified by August 24. There have been rumors around about dead people voting and of course, comments about fraud in Franklin County. Secretary of State Jon Husted addresses that in this SOS Article. It’s informative!

It’s possible that one candidate could win the August election but the other candidate could win in November. I’ve read some reports that said 90% of the Dems voted but only 40% of Republicans did. With much more at stake in November’s election, the Republicans are expected to come out in force. In November, Ohio will vote for a new Governor, and a strong U.S. Senate challenger, Rep Jim Renacci, trying to unseat long-time Senator Sherrod Brown. And of course, we’ll again vote on the person to be a House Representative for the 12th District.

So get ready and grab your popcorn!

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Aug 24 UPDATE: The final tally is in and Troy Balderson has won the election with 104,328 votes to Danny O’Connor’s 102,648.

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Posted in Central Ohio, Commentary, Delaware County, Franklin County, Politics

Tagged Danny O'Connor, Democrats, Ohio 12th District August 2018 Election, Republicans, Secretary of State Jon Husted, Troy Balderson, Troy Balderson wins Aug 7 election

Trump Rally in Lewis Center

Posted on 08/07/2018 | Comments Off

I finally checked off a Bucket List item. Saturday I got to see a U.S. President! President Trump came to a local school a few miles from my home. So, of course, I had to go! One of my granddaughters joined me. It was a hot day with heat index in low 90s.

The doors were to open at 3:30 with the President appearing at 6:30. We arrived at 11:00 to begin standing in the queue. A gal in front of us counted the number of people in front of us. She counted 120. (Today I read in a local paper that officials estimated 11,000 were ultimately in line.) We were in the line until sometime around 3:30 when we FINALLY got into the cool school after going through the TSA security check! The heat was brutal!

This media photo shows the extent of the line later in the afternoon. We were on the opposite side of the building so had no idea the line was this long.

During the 4-1/2 hours in line we shared fun conversation, umbrellas for shade, and eventually ice packs which quickly melted. Two gals drove over from Dayton. Another gal drove from New Holland. A senior couple were from Westerville. And two early 20s boys drove down from Mansfield. All were excited to be at a “TRUMP RALLY”!

There were gobs of vendors selling #MAGA hats, Trump shirts, Trump buttons, and of course #CNNsucks shirts and buttons. There was a life-size cardboard Trump that we could take a photo with. Of course, local politicians were there to ‘be seen’ and hopefully gain some support for their campaigns.

Once we passed the TSA check, we went into the gym to pick our spot. There are people that direct you where to stand or sit. We chose to sit. I’ve stood at a rally before and know that I’m too short to see over taller people holding their cameras in the air. We got great seats up the bleachers but directly across from the podium. IT WAS GOOD TO SIT!

A neighbor texted me that he saw me on TV. A local station panned the audience then zoomed in on the area where we sat.

Then we waited …….. As the gym filled up the temperature increased as the crowd increased. It wasn’t as bad as outside but it eventually got pretty miserable. (I later chatted with a neighbor who is a fireman/EMT and he said there were between 20-30 emergency runs for people.) To cap it off, the President’s plane was late so he didn’t arrive until 7:15.

Finally President Trump is on stage

The whole day was quite an experience. Lots of nice, polite, friendly folks having a great time waiting to see our President. Aside from seeing the President in person, I also saw Rep Jim Jordan – who got two standing O’s; Rep Jim Renacci (running for Senate); AG Mike Dewine (running for Gov); and even Press Secy Sarah Sanders! One final testament to Conservative-minded people was that we weren’t allowed to take our shade umbrellas in the school so everybody just dropped them in a spot on the ground. I thought I’d have to buy a new one. When we left the event, all our umbrellas were still in the pile. No one had stole them! I was impressed. #OhioProud

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Posted in Central Ohio, Commentary, Delaware County, Lewis Center Ohio, Politics

Tagged #OhioProud, Lewis Center, President Trump, Trump Rally