Monthly Archives: April 2019

Preparing for lobbying

Posted on April 30, 2019 by JohnMatel

Spent the day preparing for our visits to congress tomorrow. Our job is to talk about forestry and conservation issue with Congressional staff. I have done this three times before. I know it is unfashionable to say so, but most … Continue reading →

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The Senkaku paradox: Risking great power war over small stakes

Posted on April 29, 2019 by JohnMatel

The Senkaku paradox refers to something unimportant causing a major war, as all sides escalate until it all gets out of hand. That is the World War I scenario. Nobody got what they thought, much less what they wanted. I … Continue reading →

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Working in college

Posted on April 28, 2019 by JohnMatel

My Story Worth Question – Did you work in college? I cannot say I worked my way through college, but I did work all the way through college. I put it this way working was necessary but not sufficient to … Continue reading →

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Susan & Ronald Moyers – Tree Farmers of the Year 2019

Posted on April 27, 2019 by JohnMatel

My note on Virginia’s Tree Farmer of the Year Meeting Ronald and Susan Moyers and touring their Highland County Tree Farm, along with their daughter Missy was a true joy. Their enthusiasm for tree farming is palpable and infectious. The … Continue reading →

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Water & mud on Diamond Grove

Posted on April 25, 2019 by JohnMatel

I went to look over the Diamond Grove place. Flooding has knocked down bridges. My road was closed off, thankfully the block was just past the gate to our farms. It rained a lot and moved a lot of mud. … Continue reading →

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Prickly pear and the rattlesnake master

Posted on April 24, 2019 by JohnMatel

When you think cactus, you rarely think Virginia, but the prickly pear is native to southeastern piney forests and part of the longleaf ecology. Trees are more than wood and forests are more than trees is well illustrated by a … Continue reading →

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Three great teachers & a bottle of Coca-Cola

Posted on April 21, 2019 by JohnMatel

Who had the most positive influence on you as a child? This week’s Story Worth. Of course, I would name my parents as the most positive influence on my life, and the gang of friends I grew up with shaped … Continue reading →

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Heart of Europe

Posted on April 20, 2019 by JohnMatel

Americans do not know much about the history of Central Europe, this despite that fact that a majority of Americans have at least some ancestry in the Holy Roman Empire or the lands run by princes of the Empire. Let … Continue reading →

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Nature Conservancy

Posted on April 18, 2019 by JohnMatel

Warm day today. We walked over to Open Road for supper and a couple beers. Alex came along. But boozing is normal for us. The less usual part of our day was our breakfast at Virginia Nature Conservancy (TNC), shown … Continue reading →

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Almost spring

Posted on April 17, 2019 by JohnMatel

We are pushing spring a little. We drank our beer outside, it was still a little chilly. My other pictures are from Highland County. I went up to look at a tree farm there. Spring is even less far along … Continue reading →

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