Shade Tree Wisdom 10/23/09

Boy, the jacket really felt good this morning when the air was bracing and the sky was clear. Finally, some October weather, welcome indeed. And I celebrated by extending my walk a bit.

I see the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston will open a refrigerated storage facility to offer some competition to Miami for the business of importing flowers and other perishable cargo including fish, fruit, and vegetables. One advantage Houston has is that the Federal agency for inspecting and fumigating imports is next door to the new storage facility. They feel this is a real ‘selling point’ because it moves imports to stores faster. We shall see.

Meanwhile, there is a small Lumber Company in northwest Houston that specializes in salvaging trees for furniture and other special building material. They take trees – and there are many great hardwoods, oak, pecan, cypress, cedar, cottonwoods in the area. When they fall, or need to be removed, the company takes them and mills them into wide planks for high-end meeting tables, benches, beds, and such. When word got around they started selling wood to woodworkers. The Company takes urban trees. Most companies do not like to take such trees, because they are more likely to have nails, bits of wire, or bullets imbedded in them, and that breaks saw blades. Architects also use such special wood in their designing. Such wood ages, and adds character to a home or piece of furniture. So the company is flourishing. I wish them well.

Some welcome rain fell, but the record-keepers tell us we are still some 5 inches behind the normal fall for the year. Never satisfied, are they.

And finally this bit. Invasive plants, like the giant salvania, are wreaking havoc on the waters of East Texas. Recently, a duck hunter scouting river bottoms for hunting sites found an oxbow lake and the surrounding shallows wetlands covered by a mass of floating plants he did not recognize. The plant had carpeted much of the prime waterfowl habitat – shallow, backwater areas. He contacted the head of the Parks and Wildlife Department, and he identified the giant salvania. The clot of salvania is poised to be carried into Sam Rayburn, one of the State's finest freshwater fisheries and a major economic force in the area. The threat is real.

Education, and perhaps strictly enforcing major fines on careless boaters who spread the plant by carrying sprigs of the plant stuck to their trailers or boat motors, will preserve the waters, and finally overcome this plague.

So, is there hope? Yes, the Bible offers hope always. “The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day after day uttereth speech, night after night showeth forth knowledge, There is no speech, or language where their voice is not heard.” Psalm 19, 1-3. Bless His Holy Name.

GPD 10/23/09