Master Landscaping
http://www.masterlandscaping.net

On the North Shore, however, a wide range of soil and climate conditions can add levels of challenge not experienced elsewhere. We went to the experts to get the lowdown on how to get more out of your yard and have fun doing it.

Martin Wouters of local landscaping firm West Coast Home and Property Services sees some common errors when people set about planning their gardens. Martin and partner Glenn Whitted have built a solid reputation with both residential and commercial customers and have seen a lot of gardens in their career.

“People forget to check to see if the plant or shrub can be grown in their area,” says Wouters. “When buying shrubs, make sure you find out what zone you are in and when selecting plants make sure they are acceptable for growing in your zone. People also tend to buy shrubs without checking to see how big they get and eventually their garden becomes overcrowded. Make sure you check the full size it will be at maturity by checking the tag or asking questions at your local garden centre. When selecting annual bedding plants make sure you check the tags again and plant them where recommended (sun shade). So many people plant bedding plants where they don’t belong and end up with a disappointing garden.”

Enhancing soil and growing conditions also requires more than a little digging.

“People tend to over water or over fertilize their garden,” says Wouters. “Just because the soil on top is dry it does not mean your plants or shrubs need water. Dig down a few inches with your fingers to check for proper moisture levels. Too much water will eventually rot the root system and the plant will not grow fully or bloom properly. People also tend to over fertilize. Plants and shrubs only require feeding every 10 to 14 days.”

If you’re thinking of minimizing maintenance by planting a large lawn, think again.

“Homeowners plant more grass than garden thinking that grass is low maintenance. Grass requires cutting weekly and can become a chore or a large financial expense if you have to have it cut by a local lawn cutting service. People wait too long to remove the weeds from the garden, making it a long and unwanted task. It is recommended that you cultivate your garden weekly because if you keep knocking down the young weeds they eventually will be unable to reproduce and will not return.”

As with most aspects of home decorating, trends change and design ideas evolve over time. Here are some of the latest looks and fashions,

“Rock walls, interlocking walls, stamped concrete, paving stone driveways are all very popular in today’s landscapes. They offer a very rich look to your property and blend in well with your garden landscape. Low voltage garden lighting has become popular in all gardens and new landscapes. It offers a wonderful look to your garden and landscape when illuminated in the evening. The lighting requires a small amount of electricity to operate, so they are very cost effective and easy to install. Perennial gardens have also become popular.

Tags: amp, bedding plants, climate conditions, commercial customers, financial expense, fingers, grass, landscape, Landscaping, low maintenance, maturity, moisture levels, north shore, plants, plants and shrubs, proper moisture, reputation, Services, shrub, shrubs, soil, sun shade, weeds, west coast, whitted, wouters
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MERCER ISLAND — At Luther Burbank Park on the island’s northeastern shoulder, spring was doing her best to bid winter a hasty adieu, the flora and fauna busily readying for a farewell soiree. Red flowering currant was begging to unfurl, an Anna’s hummer was doing acrobatic “this is my turf” dives, and kids were racing their training wheels to the monkey bars.

As if on cue, a tree frog began ka-reeking just as Klaus Richter arrived. One of King County’s senior ecologists, with the Department of Water Resources and Parks, he is also one of the foremost authorities on Northwest amphibians — and an expert in the fine art of frog procurement. He was there to give me a tour of wetlands he designed specifically for amphibians, and to catch a Pacific tree frog.

In a pond near you, thousands of small suitors are tuning up their voices for the annual swamp love-in. Though they grow to just 2 inches, their voluble voices make up a well-known spring chorus oft-used in Hollywood movies as nighttime sound backdrop. Our most widespread native amphibians, Pacific tree frogs live in every county in the state and were named the Washington state amphibian last year.

Spring brings change

According to Richter, tree frogs spend most of the year solo, snapping up arthropods — spiders and bugs — with their sticky tongues in woodlands and gardens. Contrary to their name, they stay near the ground hidden in shrubs and grasses, sometimes staking out flower heads as their own “pollinator buffets.”

In early to mid-February, male tree frogs begin migrating to nearby wetlands to establish territories and serenade females out of hiding. The males follow the cues of a bout leader, the lead singer of the loud, two-part advertisement calls used for wooing — generally described as a “rib-it” or “krek-ek.”

“The bout leader is a dominant male sought after by females,” said Richter. “He has the best quality pitch that probably relates to strong health and reproductive fertility.” Males make sounds by inflating a single throat sac that swells to three times their head size.

Females might listen for days before coming to the ponds to choose a mate. As soon as a female draws near her favorite crooner, the male jumps on her back and wraps her in a hug called amplexus (Latin for “embrace”). They may stay conjoined for several hours as she swims through the reeds, but fertilization happens later. After “the hug” the female attaches a quarter-sized gelatinous mass of 10-70 eggs to stems or sticks in shallow water. As the eggs are released, the male fertilizes them. The female leaves the pond within the week, while her mate may stay up to a month, seeking to extend his genetic reach.

Blackbirds sound off

Richter and I followed a path to the edge of the park’s north wetlands, where red-winged blackbirds scolded us from the cattails and cedar waxwings squabbled over last year’s overlooked berries.

In the early 1980s, developers and stormwater managers wanted to use wetlands to reduce stream erosion and store surface runoff. The proposal alarmed ecologists, including Richter, because of the potential impact on wildlife and their habitat — surface runoff can be full of pollutants.

“Wetlands are the kidneys of the landscape,” said Richter. “They cleanse water and provide wildlife habitat. We studied 19 area wetlands to better understand their functions and discovered that each wetland is unique. We cannot protect just a few wetlands and expect to maintain our species. Our main recommendation was to protect wetlands from abnormal water-level fluctuations from developmental runoff.”

Using data from healthy wetlands, Richter sculpted the disturbed wetland at Luther Burbank specifically to attract amphibians and provide optimum breeding habitat, every aspect worried over and executed to be a frog or salamander’s swamp of dreams: Breeding sites were constructed in sunny locations (amphibian eggs develop more quickly in warm water). Deeper pools were created near healthy woodlands making it easier for tadpoles to survive and juveniles to reach cover.

Small peninsulas jut like fingers into the water — greatly expanding the perimeter of the pond edge’s productive zone and protective vegetation. An underwater view would reveal ledges sculpted to meet the picky demands of different amphibian species that prefer to lay their eggs at certain depths.

A faux beaver dam at one end of the pond helps stabilize water-level fluctuations from urban runoff and acts as a buffer between it and a lower pond, which is affected by unnatural water level changes when Lake Washington is raised or lowered. Richter’s studies found that amphibians do fine with natural hydrological changes after winter rains and summer drought, but don’t fare well under imposed changes.

Ethical argument

Our quest continued.

“We should be able to scare them into the pond,” Richter said, hopefully parting sedges and grasses. As if to taunt us, frogs called from across the water where we’d been standing minutes earlier.

“Frogs are an integral part of our wetland ecosystem and extremely beneficial,” Richter said. “But I wonder why we always have to justify protecting animals and plants; we don’t justify Mount Rainier or blue sky. We owe something to this world simply from an ethical standpoint.”

Just as we were turning to leave, I caught a flash of green movement from the corner of one eye. “Frog!” I shouted, and in one wet-kneed lunge, Richter was holding it in his hands. He showed me the green-and-brown splotched male’s characteristic dark-gray throat sac, and as he gently stroked its chest and belly, the sac began to swell and the frog began ka-reeking in his hand. After a minute, he released it into the water, wishing it well on its journey to paternity.
If only everyone could hold a singing frog — it’s like holding the voice of spring in your hand.

Freelance writer Kathryn True, of Vashon Island, is a regular contributor to Northwest Weekend. Contact her through her Web site: www.kathryntrue.com

Tags: amp, developers, drought, fingers, grass, grasses, landscape, low water, plants, pool, rta, shrub, shrubs
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I had hoped to corner Mr Kenworthy for an interview for a garden column, sizing up the best moment to make the request, knowing it would require tact to catch him on camera, preferably in his trademark well-weathered hat.
As made clear at his funeral, John Kenworthy was not a man who liked a fuss and was likely to be cagey about playing the role of a character for a photo call.
No matter that he had a face and wardrobe that might have launched a 1000 cheese ads, nor that he was happy enough to assert to an unsuspecting new acquaintance that he had the OBE the over bloody eighty, that is.
The bluntness went with a keen mind, a retentive memory, and an obliging and sociable nature, but very much on his own home turf and on his own terms.
Not even family have a photo and his funeral hymn sheet featured his beloved rose garden, where enormous standard roses flaunt masses of flowers from anything up to five different coloured grafts.
Roses filled the church with fragrance, while back home down the road the garden wept colour at the roadside, and flourished green and productive out the back.
Even in supposed retirement the Kenworthy Brothers, John and younger brother Keith, cultivated an enormous home garden with enough food for a small army.
Keith, plus sisters Grace Wild and Ruth Elliot-Hogg, agreed brother John might not be too impressed by the idea of an obituary, even disguised as a garden feature.
However, they have been happy to share information about a man born with green fingers, and also a talent for engineering.
T HEY describe an idyllic childhood, growing up in a land of plenty, with unlimited good food from orchards and gardens, from cows, pigs, hens and from fishing.
Children ranged far and wide, along the river, up scrubby gullies and through the neighbouring orchards.
We thought everybody else lived like that, Ruth says.
Everybodys property was our property.
Well, not quite, perhaps.
We knew jolly well we were taking other peoples fruit and whether they had cherries, Grace notes.
In summer their modest Depression-era home would be bursting with relatives.
The girls remember having beds made up in the workshop, and a summer of fun, but the boys were kept busy in the orchard. Extended family was part of their everyday life, as their mother was one of Dumbartons Bloxham family of 18 children.
Their father was absorbed into this clan after emigrating from Yorkshire in 1913 and buying a small orchard next door.
An ambitious young man, he had prepared for orcharding by attending night school, seeking to understand the scientific aspect of horticulture, especially soil deficiencies, and learning Latin in order to understand plant names.
His children describe their father — who never lost his accent — as having quite a personal presence, always being known formally within the community as Mr Kenworthy.
When Dad spoke you got moving, they agree.
But in those days all children just expected to do what they were told while adult males didnt like a fuss, and didnt show overt emotion.
For people of their generation, they were typical, Ruth says.
There were codes of behaviour common to the whole community, and they were Christian-based, whether people went to church or not.
Part of this code was that parents would determine their childrens vocations, and while the girls left home for further education, the boys were destined for orchard work.
Furthermore, John finished school early in the war, just as all the young men of the district were signing up, leaving even less room for a boy to manoeuvre.
Later, Keith, whose progress at school had been handicapped by undiagnosed deafness, joined him.
Orchard work involved a great deal of drudgery, as many tasks were boring and repetitious.
Most work was, in those days. Keith says the boys looked at it sideways, but stuck to it, because they had to.
He has no hesitation in saying that given his time again, he would find something else to do.
Too much work, he says simply.
While John should have been an engineer, his own talents lay in the woodwork line.
The brothers developed their own complementary workshops, but could only pursue these interests in winter.
For if orcharding is hard work today, it was sheer hard labour in the past.
Mechanisation has brought enormous change, Keith says.
Orchardists would be up and down ladders nine months of the year picking lasted from December to May — and until the advent of light-weight steel ladders in the 1970s these were heavy ladders of oregon.
Fruit was double-handled in the transfer from orchard to packhouse, so the introduction of forklifts and bins was a major advance.
Changes in accepted practice doing things just because thats the way it was always done also helped. Rather than ploughing orchards every winter, orchardists discovered grass made it easier to move around, while giving up on frost pots and just accepting whatever the weather delivered eliminated a nasty stinking job. But many of the disadvantages remain.
Anything to do with the weather is fickle, as are fashions in consumer tastes.
In addition, weather patterns have changed, and become more erratic.
There wouldnt be two years the same now, Keith says.
Orchardists always face the pressure of ripening fruit and not enough staff, and labour costs are a huge up-front investment.
The Kenworthys took an active part in the search for new products to utilise unsold ripe fruit, which has seen the orcharding community try everything from pickles to wine, cider and liqueurs.
With neighbour Bruce McGregor they established the juice company Benger Gold.
They were very ignorant, Keith says of the enterprise, but the brand has survived as a premiere taste of Central Otago, though now produced by Alpine Gold in Cromwell.
J OHN put his engineering skills into adapting the juicing machinery for the operation, which was the kind of mechanical challenge he relished.
Entirely self-taught, he upheld the highest standards of a resourceful, do-it-yourself background, a true child of the Depression who would never spend money unnecessarily on a new purchase if he could adapt, fix or make something, be it from his extensive collection of old wringer washing machine parts or materials salvaged from the hydro construction tip.
And ever-ready to help others with mechanical problems.
Neighbour Simon Donaldson, who was taken under the Kenworthy wing when he first showed interest in horticulture at about age 10, said he grew up just taking it for granted if something went wrong with equipment, youd take it across to John, who seemed able to fix everything needed, and quickly.
Were starting to realise just how much he did, he says.
The ability extended to finer tasks too, as required for the precision balance scales on display in the Kenworthy sitting room.
Simon describes his mentor as just a good honest person what you saw was what you got.
And generous with time and advice.
I was interested, and he enjoyed helping someone young.
I started to grow veges on his land, and he spent time with me, especially with tomatoes.
I always consulted him and he helped me fine-tune the pieces I wasnt sure of, like getting the balance with fertilisers.
He was a good all-rounder, it wasnt just veges.
He had a wide knowledge of all sorts of things.
The basis of vege production was intensive soil preparation, using a lot of mulch (the Kenworthy property is dotted with picturesque miniature haystacks awaiting this purpose) which he dug in by shovel before rotary hoeing.
John Kenworthy was especially noted for his grafting skill it was very rare for one of his grafts to die and he willingly showed others the technique.
He also propagated a red delicious apple, and gave it away to friends.
Sadly, theres now no record of the Kenworthy knowledge, although perhaps a snippet of advice could stand as an epitaph to a man who knew how to work the land.
There are no short cuts.

Tags: advent, fingers, grass, money, mulch, soil
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Australian Graham Crowl, 75, and Wellingtons Cliff Turner, 76, are among the oldest competitors in this weeks Golden Oldies world cricket festival being played throughout the southern region.
Crowl, a member of the Australian Cricket Society team, is a nervous interview subject on the boundary at Southland Boys High School.
He keeps glancing out at his team as they try to get an early advantage in their 40-over game against the Tawa Turtles.
%26quot;Ive played since I was 15,%26quot; Crowl said.
%26quot;I made two centuries in finals in Ballarat, played in one A grade winning premiership team. I was always just a steady player.%26quot; Crowl has played in several Golden Oldies tournaments in Australia and New Zealand.
%26quot;You meet some great people, great people.
%26quot;We had a fella playing for us up until last year who was 85.%26quot; Crowl was looking forward to his chance to bowl on the Boys High grass wicket, as well as snaffling a chance at point or gully, although his catching ability isnt what it once was.
%26quot;They either go in or they dont.
All me fingers are buggered, like all cricketers.%26quot; Cliff Turner, 76, a member of the Tawa Turtles team, has participated in 14 masters cricket tournaments including 11 Golden Oldies, a couple of vintage events and an independently run tournament in Buenos Aires.
He kept wicket for more than half a century through the grades with Tawa in Wellington but says he now sticks mainly to umpiring and scoring.
The Turtles have been long-time supporters of Golden Oldies cricket, having first competed in Brisbane in 1988.
While the senior team has amalgamated to form the Northern club, the Tawa side of the club celebrated its 60th anniversary a couple of weeks ago.

Tags: fingers, grass
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IN THE FAKAHATCHEE STRAND, Fla. We’re barely out of our cars before the chorus starts: “I just want to see a ghost orchid!”

The ghost orchid is among the world’s rarest flowers, the star of the popular book “The Orchid Thief” and the movie “Adaptation” and is the biggest lure to the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park in southwest Florida.

The preserve has been the scene of numerous orchid thefts, but park biologist Mike Owen promises to lead our group of orchid enthusiasts within arm’s reach of the delicate plants during a four-hour swamp walk.

Orchids are available even in grocery stores now, but more species of orchids and bromeliads grow wild here than anywhere else in the country. Some species have never made the transition from swamp muck to windowsill pot.

There are 315 ghost orchids scattered across the Fakahatchee’s 85,000 acres, according to Owen. The odds of spotting one aren’t good. They don’t bloom until summer, and without their white flowers they’re likely to blend into the swamp’s lush shades of green and brown.

Nevertheless, we line up behind Owen and set off down a dirt trail. The park offers these Saturday tours during Florida’s November to April dry season, when the orchids are easier to find.

The park lies about 70 miles west of Miami, across the Miccosukee Indian Reservation and a five-mile stretch of road marked with “panther crossing” signs and a roadside stand called the “Skunk Ape Research Headquarters,” the local equivalent of Big Foot hunters. The straight shot across the Tamiami Trail only seems flat; the road is gradually sloping toward sea level.

The Fakahatchee is part of the Everglades ecosystem that streams down from Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Keys. It’s the largest strand swamp in the world: a 19-mile long channel cut 2- to 3-feet deep into a limestone bed over more than 5,000 years.

Low streams called sloughs flow throughout the strand, and Owen is leading us into one recently filled with rainwater.

He raps on two culverts that serve as steps down from the trail. He says he’s trying to scare out any alligators or snakes that might be hiding inside. It’s not entirely clear if he’s trying to scare us we just did see a 4-foot gator sunning in a nearby ditch.

Nothing slithers out, though, so we wade into the cool water. We’re protected from the sun by the canopy of tree growth above us.

A third of the group, six retirees from Ohio, abandons the tour at the water’s edge. One slips while entering the shin-deep water and lands badly on his shoulder. Another park staffer walks them back to their minivan while Owen takes stock of the bromeliads around us.

He tallies the various plant and animal species we encounter during the walk, penciling the names into a yellow, waterproof notebook. His notes document the locations and conditions of endangered plants; some are fighting off exotic weevils, others are growing where previous orchids were stolen. If we come across a ghost orchid, it will get a detailed entry how many roots it has, how high off the ground it is and other remarks on its health.

The walk doesn’t get more difficult after the retirees leave, but it doesn’t get any easier, either. We were offered walking sticks for balance, and Owen keeps the pace slow as we trudge through the water, trying to feel out obstacles with our feet.

Owen doesn’t dwell on what might be in the water, but clinging to a log is a waterbug the length and width of two fingers. It makes me wonder.

We spot our first orchid just a few minutes after losing the retirees. The flat green roots of a ribbon orchid wind around a tree limb above our heads.

Soon a palmful of petals sprouting off a tree branch catch the eye of one woman. “It’s got a beautiful yellow blossom!” she says.

She’s found a blooming orchid that Owen calls the “roller coaster orchid.”

“It’s really called the dingy” he exaggerates spitting into the water “flowered star orchid,” he says. “Don’t call our flowers dingy!”

He freely renames the plants we see if he doesn’t like their common names. A university botanist once told him that common plant names are worthless, so Owen sees no reason to keep calling an orchid dingy if it isn’t. He calls the dingy-flowered star orchid a roller coaster orchid because its curled leaves remind him of an amusement park ride.

He’s trusting our group not to come back and swipe the plants we see. Past visitors have not been so courteous. Owen temporarily stopped taking tours into this particular slough after several orchids went missing.

He’s overjoyed to find tiny helmet and night-scented orchids growing in a blank patch in the moss on a tree the scar of an orchid theft.

Their remote habitat and fear of the unknown protect the orchids that remain from all but the most determined thieves, Owen says.

“People are afraid of swamps. People are afraid of venomous snakes, alligators and water,” he says. “They also don’t like heat, humidity and mosquitoes. That’s what keeps them from taking more.”

After more than three hours in the water, we’ve seen 10 different orchid species on this walk but not the ghost orchid. The closer we get back to the trail, the more wistfully we peer at the trees around us.

Owen’s hands suddenly go up in victory. A thin green ribbon with white dash lines appears to be tied around the rough bark of a pond apple tree.

It’s a young ghost orchid.

We splash through knee-deep water for a look, no longer worried about hazards hidden by the murky, muddy rainwater. We’ve forgotten that the Ohio retiree tripped on a submerged root and dislocated his shoulder. All eyes are on this rarity.

Seeing a live ghost orchid isn’t an experience that can be simulated in plastic, tourist Florida. Orchid nurseries famous in the state for creating new hybrid species from two different orchid plants can’t grow these delicate plants that seem to bloom in mid-air. Ghost orchids restrict themselves to very specific growing conditions, pollinated by just one species of moth. If we don’t see it now, we might never get another chance.

Owen is encouraged to find three active growing tips the shiny ends of the ribbon and deems the plant generally healthy. He’s been watching it since 2003, and guesses it could be another decade before it blooms.

It’s almost sure to be there when the Ohio retirees decide to try the swamp walk again if no one steals it.

Tags: amp, blooms, cool water, fingers, obstacle, plants
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DALLAS — There is a hushed worry among many supporters of Sen. Barack Obama, echoed in conversations from state to state, rally to rally: Will he be safe?

In Colorado, two sisters say they pray daily for his safety. In New Mexico, a daughter says she persuaded her mother to still vote for the Illinois Democrat, even though the mother feared that winning would put him in danger. And at a rally here, a woman expressed worries his message of hope and change — and his race — made him more vulnerable to violence.

“I’ve got the best protection in the world,” said Obama, reprising a line he tells supporters who raise the issue with him. “So stop worrying.”

Yet worry they do, with the spring of 1968 seared into their memories, when the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert Kennedy were assassinated in a span of two months.

Obama has been surrounded by Secret Service agents since May 3, the earliest a candidate has ever been provided protection. (He reluctantly gave in to the insistent urging of Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and others in Congress.) As his rallies have swelled, so has his security, nearly rivaling that given to a sitting president.

Among friends and advisers, danger is something Obama rarely mentions.

“It’s not something that I’m spending time thinking about day to day,” said Obama, who has been given the Secret Service nickname Renegade, a way for agents to quickly identify him. “I think anybody who decides to run for president recognizes that there are some risks involved, just like there are risks in anything.”

Not long ago, his advisers worried that some black voters might not support his candidacy out of a fierce desire to protect him. It was a particular concern in South Carolina, but Obama said he believed the worry was also rooted in “a fear of failure.”

Now that he has won a string of primaries and caucuses and built a coalition of black and white voters, failure would seem to be less of an issue. The fears, however, remain.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, raised concerns in a letter in January to Secret Service officials. Thompson said he wrote the letter without discussing it with Obama, whom he has endorsed.

“His candidacy is so unique to this country and so important that the last thing you would want is for him not to have the opportunity to fulfill the role of a potential presidential nominee,” Thompson said. “It’s out of an abundance of caution that I wrote the letter, rather than keep our fingers crossed and pray.”

Before Obama decided to run, he discussed his safety with his family. His campaign employed a team of private security guards before he was placed under Secret Service protection. Since then, he has grown fond of the agents who surround him, inviting them to watch the Super Bowl at his home in Chicago and playing basketball with them on the days he awaits election results.

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Does this ever happen to anyone else? I’m blowing my hair dry, trying to get my damp locks under key for the day … and then, wouldn’t you know! There goes my cellphone with its unmistakable ringtone. But when I turn off the deafening dryer to see who’s calling … actually, no one is. I’m hearing a “phantom sound.” (It’s OK. You can tell me if I’m losing it.)

In his fascinating book, “Musicophilia,” physician Oliver Sacks writes about “earworms,” catchy little tunes that stick in your brain and nearly drive you crazy. It seems odd sometimes it’s easier to “hear” sounds that aren’t really there more than the real sounds all around us.

In what is probably one of the world’s worst hypothetical questions, I was once asked, “Which would you rather lose … your vision or your hearing?” That’s like asking: Would you rather cut off your right leg or your left? I’d like to keep them both, thank you very much!

The senses are such amazing, precious gifts. Those of us who still retain all five have reason to be thankful every day. I can’t imagine being blind. But I really can’t imagine not being able to hear my husband’s nightly “I love you” or the bright, effervescent giggles of my grandgirls. It’s a good day when I hear the familiar voices of each of my three grown children as they say “Hi Mom!” on the phone.

Hearing is a two-part process. You need a talker and a listener for it to really work. Jesus seemed to be emphasizing the importance of “listening beyond the hearing” when He said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” That phrase, oft repeated in the Gospels, was the equivalent to someone snapping his fingers and saying, “Hey! Pay attention! This is really important!”

I “hear” God when I read the Bible with an attentive heart, which for me, means having a journal and pen ready.

Psalm 19:1-4 describes how the very skies talk about God and His glory that their silent words speak about Him in every language on Earth.

The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world.

A friend who recently took a trip to Hawaii told me she missed the sounds of the ocean, the birds and even the geckos this time. (I didn’t even know geckos could talk except for the cute little guy on the insurance commercial.) Though her hotel was only a block from the ocean, the busy street below with its horns, sirens, big construction projects and blaring night life of music, laughter and shouting all served to drown the voice of nature. The magnificent roaring of the sea was still there, but my friend had to find a quieter place to hear it clearly.

When it comes to hearing God, I’m convinced that too many of us are so used to hearing our “phantom sounds” (such as negative self-talk, worry and doubt) that we miss the reality of His voice as He speaks. Or maybe like my vacationing friend, we may need to seek quiet in order to hear the purest, most powerful words of truth. We need to silence the little-but-loud sounds (think TV ads, or the ding saying “more e-mail just hit the inbox”) in order to hear the big-but-quiet voice of God.

“Grammy and Papa … shhh!!!” my visiting little granddaughter said awhile back. “What is it, Lilia?” we asked. “I hear a song in my head, and it’s my favorite!” she replied.

Like Lilia, I want to be willing to shhh the external noises around me so I can really hear “my favorite” … God’s voice in my heart.

Jodi Detrick serves the Northwest Ministry Network (Assemblies of God) as women’s ministries director. She is also a public speaker, an author and a life coach. Send feedback to %26#102;%26#97;%26#105;%26#116;%26#104;%26#99;%26#111;%26#108;%26#117;%26#109;%26#110;%26#115;%26#64;%26#115;%26#101;%26#97;%26#116;%26#116;%26#108;%26#101;%26#116;%26#105;%26#109;%26#101;%26#115;%26#46;%26#99;%26#111;%26#109;

Tags: amp, busy street, construction project, fingers, minis, rta
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Since its introduction in 1963 by Cincinnati-based Kenner Toys, the Easy Bake Oven has been a staple for several generations of children. The simplicity and effectiveness of its design, using the heat from a light bulb to bake ready-mixed pastries and cakes in its miniature oven, earned Easy Bake Oven a reputation of being one of the top toys every invented. It has also had a major influence on many of today%26#039;s top chefs and many home bakers who got their first domestic experiences using one of the small, colorful ovens.

Replacing the 40-watt light bulb with a 100-watt bulb in 1993, the Easy Bake Oven, now owned by Hasbro can bake cookies, cakes and other pastries in minutes while retaining its appearance. Initially, they were deigned to resemble the traditional oven, and later versions replicated taller ovens and even took on the short, squat appearance of a microwave oven to make them fit better into the more modern looks of today%26#039;s kitchen.

Like many good ideas, changes often do not result in the anticipated success of a product and such is the case with the Easy Bake Oven. Originally, the cooking pan was pushed into the oven through a slot sized to only accept the size of the pan. Once baking was complete, the pan was pushed out through another slot in the rear of the Easy Bake Oven. After making some physical changes, children began getting their hands and fingers tuck in the opening with more than 250 reports of burns from the heat of the single light bulb.

Staying On Track With A Sure Winner

The newer design of the Easy Bake Oven known as the Real Meal Oven, could accept two pans at a time and used a heating element instead of a light bulb. They were also available in gender-neutral colors to be better accepted by girls and boys. Although it won awards for being the best new toy in 2003, the bigger pans making it better suited to different styles of baked desserts, also had larger opening into which little hands could fit.

Even after Hasbro recalled the ovens and offered a retrofitted device to limit the size of the opening, reports still came in of children receiving second and third degree burns. Many parents then went on the hunt for the original version of the Easy Bake Oven, considering them safer to use for their young and budding bakers.

Tags: fingers, reputation
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ISLAMORADA, Florida Keys — The 13th annual Bay Jam music festival is slated for Sunday, April 6, at the TIB Bank of the Keys Amphitheater at Founders Park, mile marker 87 bayside on Plantation Key. Concertgoers can rock to the sounds of an eclectic range of musicians from midday through sunset and into the night from the hammock-like performance center set against the aqua waters of Florida Bay.

Bay Jam’s talent lineup includes popular South Florida bands IKO IKO, Baga Trix, 2nd Chance Band, Philth AKA The Regs, Raford Stark and father-and-son duo David and Nyan Feder.

Feder, who has been part of Bay Jam since its beginnings, remembers which annual event it is by his son’s age. Now 13, Nyan Feder is slated to play alongside his dad in their popular hillbilly flamenco style.

Feder’s CDs include “Waiting For Sara,” “The Reason Why,” “Black Emerald” and “This Time in Between,” which is touted as the ultimate island spa mix. His latest, “Saranade,” is widely applauded by music lovers for its beautiful fingerstyle acoustic guitar work.

In addition to live music, the day’s festivities are to include food and beverage vendors offering cool drinks and island edibles. A highlight of the festival each year is an art show featuring works by local high school students, who benefit from the proceeds of Bay Jam through art and music scholarships.

Doors open at 11 a.m. and Bay Jam is to continue until 9 p.m. Admission is $5 per adult, with kids younger than 12 admitted free.

For more information, contact Island Community Entertainment at (305) 394-2765 or info@keysice.com

To find out about area accommodations, call the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce at (305) 664-4503 or (800) 322-5397, or visit the Florida Keys %26 Key West Web site at

www.fla-keys.com

Tags: amp, fingers, rta
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An apparent compromise has been reached on this session’s contentious debates about Utah’s animal cruelty laws.

Sen. Allen Christensen, R-Ogden, motioned for a bill file to be opened under the topic “animal torture” late in Wednesday afternoon’s Senate floor session, indicating some change or alteration of SB117, an animal cruelty bill he introduced earlier this session. The bill has been widely criticized by animal rights groups as not going far enough to punish abusers and is one of three bills that could update animal cruelty laws in Utah.

After the floor session, Christensen was not available for comment, but Senate Majority Leader Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, said a compromise had been achieved.

“We’ve reached a tentative accommodation between House and Senate leadership,” Bramble said. He indicated that Speaker of the House Rep. Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, brokered the deal and that it involved legislative leaders, advocates on both sides of the issue and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

Curtis said the compromise bill will create a first offense felony provision for a conviction on the charge of torturing a “companion animal,” defined as either a dog or cat. Current Utah code that addresses lesser offenses will remain essentially unchanged. Curtis said simplifying the legislation turned out to be key in finding a middle ground that all parties could agree to.
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“Sometimes you try to get something accomplished … and satisfying everyone involved gets overly complicated,” Curtis said.

Curtis said he and other members of House leadership met with Senate leadership and Huntsman to find a common ground on the issue that has been addressed by two Senate bills and one House bill this session.

Huntsman’s spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, said Wednesday the new bill “is a good move forward on this issue.” Roskelley noted that the governor’s involvement in facilitating the compromise tracks back to his concerns about the legislation.

“This is something the governor does feel is important,” Roskelley said.

In addition to Christensen’s SB117, Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, had introduced SB102, a bill that also created a first offense felony possibility, but included language that concerned agriculture industry representatives. Those two bills squared off in a committee hearing earlier in the session, although Christensen’s bill received a full hearing, and committee approval, while Davis’ bill was left floating in the nether-world of a committee decision not to hear SB102.

Davis also made an attempt to substitute a compromise bill for Christensen’s during Senate floor debate last Thursday, but was unsuccessful. The Senate passed SB117 on a 15-14 vote, with Senate President Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, casting the final and deciding vote.

HB470, sponsored by Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, was introduced on the same day that SB117 squeaked out of the Senate, and was yet another attempt to establish a first offense felony, but appease dissenting interests. Allen’s bill was held in a committee hearing on Monday after concerns were expressed by committee members %26#151; and a representative from the Utah Farm Bureau %26#151; that her proposal could create issues for the Utah agriculture industry.

Gene Baierschmidt from the Utah Humane Society is pleased that a compromise has been reached and has his fingers crossed that it will not run into opposition.

“We see no reason why any faction would fight this bill,” Baierschmidt said. “There shouldn’t be anybody that has a problem.”

Baierschmidt said that, while the new proposed bill is a compromise, it addresses the issue most important to his group and doesn’t weaken current code.

“We like it because if a dog or cat is tortured, it’s a felony on the first offense,” Baierschmidt said. “This bill will bring Utah more in line with laws in other states.”

The new bill is expected to be introduced Thursday in the Senate.

Tags: fingers, rta
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