Taxi!

Taxis in a line

Waiting patiently for their fare.

Drivers standing, looking at each face

Expectantly.

Sometimes the ride can be an adventure.

Taxi rides are often interesting.  It seems most of the drivers are from some country on the other side of the world and driving travelers to their destination is just one point on their own journey to success in a new land.  Newer versions, such as Uber, are often just as likely to be piloted by colorful individuals whose story is one of transition.

I usually try to strike up a conversation with taxi drivers.  Most of them are talkative and willing to engage in conversation.  I surprise a few by guessing their nationality, or by knowing something about their native land.  Apparently the average American traveler is geographically challenged when it comes to points beyond the borders of this great nation.

The photo of waiting camels and their drivers was taken on a trip to Niger in 2009.  It was near the end of our time there and we had taken a boat ride down the Niger river to a village that, like much of the country, looked like it hadn't changed in the last several thousand years.  Our contact in the country had arranged for us to have a camel ride back to our point of departure and the awaiting modern transport.

The sun was already sinking which helped to make the heat slightly more bearable in this region of the Sahel.  The shadows of our plodding mounts stretched long as we wound slowly through fields of millet and occasional patches of thorny brush on the way to our destination.  It was a relaxing, therapeutic ride.

There is something special that connects us to animals who serve us as transportation, as beasts of burden, as means of reducing the toil of labor.  We have lost that in our fortresses of steel and concrete.  Animals -- I'm not talking about the anthropomorphized "fur babies" as some refer to their pets -- connect us to the land and nature in ways that are difficult to achieve otherwise.  They teach us if we will observe them closely.  They help us to understand relationships such as nurturing and community structure and predator vs. prey.

Animals also provide us with food.  Yes, it is part of the way nature was designed.  Life on this planet is structured in an energy pyramid with plants at the base capturing the energy of the sun.  The next level is of herbivores -- those who consume the plants.  Above that are the omnivores who consume both plants and other animals.  Higher still is the first level of carnivores who feast on those below them in the pyramid which finally is topped by the higher level of carnivores who consume even other carnivores who rest lower on the food chain.  Each level is built on those below; it is the natural order.

Every plant, every creature, has a place of service.  That may seem a strange way of describing how all things fit together, but that is the reality.  We -- and I include humans in this -- fill a role in this giant, organic organism that fits together into life.  Life begets life -- even in death.  Energy, which for life, comes almost exclusively from the sun and is only used once, but the matter which combines to make our bodies -- our substance -- is continually recycled.  It is a never-ending journey as long as the sun continues to pour energy into the system.

I still have places to go and things to see and do.  I enjoy this part of the journey and hope I fill it with service to others.  I am anxious to see what's over the horizon.  Taxi!

Investing and Ingenuity

Sometimes you make do with what is available.  I couldn't resist taking a photo of this shovel I spotted on a trip to Niger some years ago.  I've replaced a number of shovel handles through the years, but never had to go find a tree, cut a branch and trim it to fit.  I usually just went to the farm store and bought a handle.  Some people replace the shovel.

I have to applaud the ingenuity of whoever did this.  It was leaning against the wall in a small enclosure where there was a group of young men making mud bricks.  You will notice the wall behind the shovel is made of mud bricks and plastered over to seal it.  Most of the housing in the village where I spotted this was made of the same mud bricks and plaster.  The building materials were primitive, but effective.

I've been involved in a number of startup businesses through the years.  Some burn through cash on the biggest, best and brightest.  Those for which I was responsible for running operated a little differently -- we did our best to get by on ingenuity.  Where possible, we made do with what we had, found an inexpensive way to accomplish the task, or, if it couldn't be avoided, focused our spending on the things that were most critical to growing the business.

I guess my thinking came from both my father and grandfather (maternal).  Both had a knack for figuring out ingenious ways to either build or, substitute something else for what was needed to get things done.  They were the "hands on" type.  They didn't hire someone to change the oil in their pickup, they did it themselves.  Grandpa's barn was a place of repairs.  He had tire-repair tools -- some of which had been made in his shop with a welder and cutting torch -- for patching the tires on the many wheeled trailers, implements and vehicles on his farm.  It didn't make sense to take a tire off and haul it 10 miles one-way to town to have it fixed.  He had a tire patching kit and did it himself.

I wonder today if many new businesses fail because they don't know how to "make do" but, instead act as though they are already successful, spending money on things they could do themselves.  Those are the things "behind the scenes" that are away from the customer eye.  You want your public persona to be polished and professional, but there are always things behind the scenes that don't require the biggest and best -- like the desk and high-dollar artwork on the wall.  If you don't need $5,000 computers, why buy them? Don't sink money into brick-and-mortar until you have to -- rent.  If you don't need a full-time bookkeeper, hire a service.  "Fix your own flats" -- or, replace the handle in your own shovel.

Each situation is different and requires a thoughtful approach.  My point is that if you start a business spending money like a Hollywood Movie Star your chances of failure increase dramatically.  Conserve your resources until they begin to build.  Then, rather than burning through cash, invest back into your business in ways that are meaningful -- that will help it to continue growing.

I remember back in the 90's the primary stockholder of a company I worked for brought his wife, a former beauty queen, with him to see a prototype of a machine my group had been developing.  She was on her knees, looking under the equipment, studying it, trying to understand how it worked and asking great questions.  I'll never forget her comment -- "It's important to see what we are investing in.  I know we are making lots of money but, we don't see much of it; it all goes back into the company!"

It changed my perspective.

Stirrup Deep in Grass

Sometimes I just need some wide open spaces.  This photo was taken a few years back while traveling through a portion of the Canadian River country in the Texas Panhandle.  If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you will see cattle scattered in the distance.

It was early Spring, yet you see a good amount of dried grasses among the greening countryside.  This ranch seems to be well managed and supports a large amount of wildlife along with the cattle.  I often see Pronghorn and Mule Deer when I pass through. 

It is an area once covered with American Bison and was a part of what was formerly the Comancheria -- home to the Comanche Indians.  It is one of the last parts of our country that was "domesticated" by settlers.  It was also a haunt of outlaws that raided the north-bound cattle drives during the late 1800's when The Trail shifted west to the eastern edge of the Panhandle.

Although you don't see it in the photo, this is a high-producing area for oil and gas.  In spite of what appears to be land with "nothing" in it, it helps feed the country, fuel the country, provides a home for wildlife and is visually pleasing to this old eye.  I don't think you can get much more sustainable than this.

In my mind I am horseback with my feet just clearing the grass and trailing west....

Wind, Cattle and Politics

This is one of my favorite photographs of all time.  I have used it before, although it has been a few years.  It was taken near Vega, Texas, at a wind farm.

I suppose it is a favorite because it shows energy and beef side-by-side on the Texas Plains not far from where I was raised.  Texas has long been known for both, although normally it is oil and gas that comes to mind.  These generators sit on the edge of the Canadian River breaks.  If you could look across the river to the north you would see plenty of the oil and gas production.

It is also a favorite because it shows the two enterprises as being complementary.  The land is being used in a sustainable way for cattle grazing on native pasture while the ever-present wind generates electricity that is sent through the power grid to cities far down state.  The last I checked, Texas still leads the nation in wind-generated power.

Those generators are becoming a problem though.  As time passes, that problem will become even bigger.  What do you do with one when it is broken and no longer can be fixed?  There are quite a few beginning to accumulate around the world.  The proponents of wind energy don't acknowledge the problems with it because it isn't in their backyard -- it's in "flyover" country. 

Food production, energy production, mining/extracting of minerals -- all, for the most part, are in "flyover" country.  The people driving for changes in how these things are done are located on the coasts in their elite enclaves of energy-sucking mansions, dining at high-end restaurants and flying around the world in their private jets.  They dictate policy through their manipulation of the political machinery (which includes the press) but don't have to live with the consequences.  They just enjoy the fruits.

There is always room for improvement, but out here in the country we get a lot of things right.  The wind generators in the photo wouldn't exist without large subsidies extracted from the taxpayers of this nation and passed on to already wealthy individuals who invest in the wind-capturing technology.  What we got right is that it didn't really disrupt the production of protein too much as evidenced by the cattle grazing beneath the generators and it brought a portion of those tax dollars out into the countryside in the form of jobs.

I really didn't intend to bring the political aspects into this brief commentary this morning, but it is a fact of life that the "fat cats" in Washington tend to find ways to make life difficult for the rest of us.  It's all about power and money -- it doesn't matter which political party, they're all essentially the same.

Building Bridges

Sometimes getting from here to there can be a real challenge.  The obstacles that challenge us often seem insurmountable -- like the Mississippi River which daunted many westward travelers in the early days of our country.  Now bridges, like the one in the photo we took a few years back, span it in many places and thousands of people cross it daily. (Please disregard the cracked windshield.)

Progress takes Explorers but, it also requires Bridge Builders.  In times of disruptive change, Explorers chart the course, but Bridge Builders turn that vision into reality.  They find ways to overcome the obstacles.  They make certain everyone is able to follow the path until what seemed impossible becomes commonplace.

Today, we need lots of Bridge Builders. 

I came to a place where the land did end;

I looked in deep dismay;

I could see across to the other side

Where the land of promise lay.

Before me was a swollen flood

Of waters deep and brown

Full of broken, tattered dreams

Where it had swept them down.

But, then a man beside me stood

Who saw my fear-filled eyes.

He said, "I will make a way

To where the far shore lies."

He called the people waiting there

To listen to his plan

Then led them in a glorious work

To build a solid span

Across the rushing waters deep

Into the Promised Lands.

Because of his great leadership

A mighty bridge now stands.

Chickens and Evolving Agriculture

Our neighbor's chickens like to come across to our place on their never-ending hunt for bugs.  They do a great job of reducing the grasshopper population in the area where they forage.  There are multiple varieties of the chickens, but I thought these two Plymouth Rock hens made a great photo because of how they blend into the grass.  When they sit still they are difficult to see.

One of the popular movements around the country is for "free-range" chickens.  These definitely fit the category -- at least the survivors.  They like to roam onto the county road occasionally where they sometimes fall victim to an automobile.  They also sometimes succumb to a less-than-totally-domesticated canine that prowls the area.  I'm sure their nests are visited by skunks and other egg-loving predators -- often there is the faint odor of Mephitis mephitis (striped skunk) drifting gently on the breeze.

Free-range, at least for the chickens, isn't all it's made out to be.

I remember as a small child my grandmother raising chickens.  A couple of them usually fell to her hunting skills and became Sunday Dinner (that's what we called a big family lunch in the country).  She could catch, kill, pluck and clean a chicken faster than you would realize what was going on.  It was part of her persona that you didn't want to mess with her.

Chickens have traditionally been woven into the everyday fabric of farm life.  They once graced the yards and barnyards of nearly every farm in the country.  They were a source of eggs, meat and even feathers to be used in stuffing mattresses and pillows.  They also carried tiny little critters (lice) that sometimes infested the heads of youngsters who played in those same yards and barns.  They helped to control insects and snakes and they served as an alarm clock.

I suppose I became "burned out" on chicken when I was growing up.  It was an inexpensive meat then, just as it is now.  Then, because they foraged on their own and required little expense for maintenance.  Now, chicken is inexpensive due to its rapid and very efficient growth in controlled environments.  Carefully selected genetics and modern production practices have made chicken one of the most pervasive sources of protein available in this country.  It just isn't my protein of choice.

I prefer beef.  When asked if I want chicken for a meal, I sometimes find myself involuntarily commenting, "No, thank you.  That stuff is just fowl." -- the double meaning being clear that "fowl" equates to "foul."  I have a friend who is also in the beef business.  The first time I recall giving him a hard time about ordering chicken in a restaurant rather than steak he informed me he occasionally had to do "competitive meat research."  I have to give him credit for a good comeback.

We are blessed in this country to have abundant supplies of meat -- whether chicken, pork or beef.  Modern production practices make it available at an affordable price to virtually everyone.  Can you imagine what it would be like if every home had to raise its own food?  We sometimes hear, or see, chickens in our community, but they aren't pervasive.  What would it be like if every household had a couple of dozen chickens, a milk cow, a hog pen and maybe even a calf being raised for beef along with an acre, or more, of garden to supply vegetables?  When you think about it, there is no way it works so that a large population can be supported.  Modern agricultural methods are necessary to feed the masses.  The back-to-small-mother-earth methods cannot possibly feed enough people.  The "footprint" would be completely unsustainable.  It would require much more land than is currently employed to produce our food.

I certainly understand the sentiment of those who wish for the "more natural" methods of farming used in days long ago, but the numbers just don't work.  I don't have those numbers in front of me but, I have enough exposure to and experience of those methods to know that they are much more labor intensive, require a larger "footprint" and are far less efficient.  Expense and efficiency are inversely related.  Low efficiency equals greater expense.  If cheap and abundant food is desired to feed the masses, modern agricultural methods are the answer.

Now, are there better ways to do things?  Most likely, yes.  Innovation is needed in many areas of food production, but going backward isn't the answer.

Flour, Farming and Food

The flour mill in the photo is a reconstruction from the 1930's built on the site of the first flour mill in Texas, which was constructed by the Spaniards at Mission San Jose around 1794, located in what is now San Antonio.  A small acequia, or canal, brought water from the San Antonio River into a chamber below the one you see here which houses the mill.  The flowing water turned a wheel which drove the mill.  This photo was taken a few years ago when we toured the mission.

This small mill provided flour to the communities which grew around the mission.  It was a part of Spanish efforts to "tame" the Indians by converting them from the use of maize (corn) to wheat for making bread.  It is interesting to me how the influence, to some extent, went the other way.  Today, corn tortillas (a primary form of bread) are preferred by many of the descendants of the Spaniards.

There is archaeological evidence that man has been milling wheat since almost 7,000 B.C.  The earliest mills were simple and the feat was accomplished by rubbing the grain kernels between two stones, or by pounding it with one stone against another.  The Romans are believed to be the first to utilize water power to mill flour around 100 B.C.  The industrial advances of the 19th Century caused rapid changes in milling because of the harnessing of better power sources. The early mill stones could be turned at faster rates and the friction generated too much heat.  Roller mills were adopted in the late 1870's.

The reason for milling grains is the the hard bran, or outer layer, which must be broken in order to access the endosperm which is the part of the kernel that provides the most easily digestible nutrients.  Purified flour has had the bran particles removed by a sifting process that leaves only the endosperm.

Flour milling is one of the greatest time-freeing inventions of mankind.  On a trip to Niger in 2009, I observed the women grinding millet into flour with a wooden mortar and pestle.  They spent a large part of their day just grinding enough flour to make bread for their family.  That bread was cooked in outdoor ovens made of mud bricks.  They spent the entire day working to feed their families with very primitive methods.

Today, we hear many people bashing modern agricultural practices and the way we turn those products into food.  Few of them realize that without those methods, they would be spending their days undergoing backbreaking labor just to eat.  The next time you go into a grocery store, take a few minutes in the bread aisle to view the huge variety of breads that are available to purchase.  As you do so, realize that the labor used to produce them wasn't your own.

I will readily admit that I prefer homemade bread.  I am thankful my wife loves to bake and enjoys bread making.  I am also thankful that we don't have to grow, harvest, thresh and mill the wheat in order to have flour to make that bread.  I appreciate the farmers and food technology that has freed us from those difficult tasks.

Colonization and Spreading Agriculture

Texas contains the sites of a number of old Spanish Missions.  Many of those Missions were also a Presidio, or Fort, in which troops were housed.  The photo above, is a portion of the housing which formed the walls of the enclosure at Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo in what is now San Antonio, taken when we took a trip there a few years ago.

In my mind I hear the rattle of gear and the sounds of conversation as the troops lounged during their few leisure hours.  Most were probably in the shade of the large oak trees during this time of year due to the oppressive heat of the summer.  Their job was to protect the Mission which served as a frontier outpost of the Spanish Empire as they sought to consolidate their claims to vast stretches of North America in their quest for riches.

The Missions were the first sites of European-style agriculture to find its way into the Plains.  Most of the tribes they encountered were hunter-gatherers.  The Missions also introduced cattle, horses, burros and mules. Texas Longhorns are descended from early stock brought to the Americas by the Spaniards.  Escaped draft animals, milk cows and cattle for beef intermixed in the wilds of what is now Mexico and Texas to become what we know as the Longhorn.  The wild Mustangs of the American Southwest are descendants of escaped horses used by early explorers and settlers moving into the region from the south.

The Pueblo Indians of the Southwest learned much of their agriculture, blanket-making and other arts from the Spaniards who introduced sheep and goats to the Continent.  Prior to Spanish Colonization, most of those groups relied heavily on hunting, or gathering seeds.  Corn, beans and squash were likely already grown by some of those tribes, but the knowledge of South American Indians was also brought north by the Spaniards as they carried their slaves, captured from tribes far to the south, along with them.

It is difficult for me to fully imagine the hardships faced by those earliest pioneers into the wilderness of the American Southwest.  They left some mighty tracks across the land, but they are mostly invisible to us today because they are hidden within the commonness of our everyday life -- like ranching, cattle, horses, irrigation, corn, beans, sheep and goats.  Yes, corn and beans were domesticated and utilized first in the Americas by "first Americans", but their utilization on such a wide scale should be attributed to the Spaniards who saw them for what they were -- the true gold of the Americas.  That legacy lives today as American farmers and ranchers feed the world.

A Source of Thorns With Benefits

Sometimes you find yourself in a prickly situation and it seems no matter which way you turn, the consequences will leave a mark.  It's kind of like finding yourself in the middle of a prickly pear thicket on some ranch in the back country of Texas, which is where the photo above was taken.  Some pear thickets can be head high and stretch for what seems like forever.

Anyway, back to the prickly situation -- no, I don't find myself in the middle of one right now, but I ran across this photo and that's what came to mind.  Such situations seem to occur any time there is interaction with people.  In time, feelings inevitably are hurt, or offense is taken over some innocuous remark that may have been misunderstood.  For some reason, those occasions sometimes have no positive solution -- they leave scars in a relationship.

When we see a patch of prickly pear, we see the thorns.  We know that contact with the prolific cactus will leave us digging the tiny, barbed thorns out of our tender flesh.  Each needle-like leaf is designed to quickly detach from the plant and embed itself deeply via the tiny hook on the end of each  small probe.  They work  their way inward until the inflamed flesh festers and tries to isolate them by forming a cyst or, surrounding them with pus.

The thing about prickly pear that we often forget is that they, like other cacti, are nature's reservoir of water in a desert environment.  Each of the succulent pads swells with water which is gathered over a large area by the widely spreading roots that lie just under the surface of the land.  They capture the precious droplets and store them within their own appendages.  Insects, rodents and even larger animals know they can always find life-sustaining moisture in the cacti -- they just have to avoid the thorns.  Ranchers have been known to use flame-throwers to burn the thorns off of cactus so cattle can eat them.  The small fruit which forms at the end of the pads was utilized by native Americans as a food source and even today is often harvested and made into jelly.

There is usually some good that comes out of those prickly situations we find ourselves in, just as there are benefits from the cactus.  When we face those times, we need to think about why they occurred and how they might better have been resolved.  Usually the issue is one of communication.

We humans, in spite of our prolific use of language, are lousy communicators.  That's because we each see the world a little bit differently.  We have our own unique perspective -- lens -- through which we see situations and we rarely truly understand another's viewpoint.  Much of the trouble in this world is a result of that very issue.  Misunderstanding due to differing world views.

I suppose the solution is to invest time in people with the purpose of learning more about their values, their perspectives and their history.  It will provide invaluable clues to common understanding and help to clarify areas of disagreement.  Only then will we be able to resolve those prickly situations effectively.  People are the precious reservoirs of our businesses and our country.  Instead of water, they store knowledge and insight.  Tapping into those storehouses without encountering the thorns is a source of strength and nourishment in what might appear to be a hopeless situation.  Invest in people.

Balancing at the Top of the Food Chain

This guy decided to catch a ride yesterday as we were driving around the pasture with the grandchildren after checking cattle.  I'm not certain, but he seemed to be discussing the population of various insect species upon which he preys and making general commentary on the condition of the grass along with the fact that we need some rain.  He is a fairly good counsel in that his presence is a sign of health in the pasture.  Stocking rates and pasture conditions appeared to be important topics to him.

There are many ways to measure the health of the land on which we live and raise our livestock.  The presence, or absence, of various plant species is one aspect, wildlife that we might see or, which leaves its sign is another, but also the insect populations should be monitored.  I've mentioned before that nature is a balancing act.  It is a balance between prey and predator.  That balance is based on a healthy plant mix which is affected by the soil.  It all works together.

Many, many years ago -- long before my time -- this land was farmed for cotton.  It was plowed in such a way that it was subject to erosion and the thinness of the topsoil and the scars of various washes testify to that past.  The grasses which now cover the land are rebuilding the soil.  We rotate the stock so we can maintain sufficient leaf surface to drive the roots deeply into the soil.  In time, they, along with worms, bugs, bacteria and fungi which inhabit the soil, will build and enrich the land so that it will support even more plant growth.

Cattle are an important part of managing that system.  If allowed to grow unchecked, seasonal grasses, once they have seeded, will die and fall over, shading the ground and inhibiting the growth of grasses that should flourish at other times.  If not harvested, the dry grasses provide fuel for fires which will strip the ground clear and allow weeds to colonize.  Fire can be a useful tool to control the spread of invasive brush species, but if it burns too hot due to an overabundance of fuel, it can be a problem -- especially in this area where heavy rains can cause erosion.

Many people think we should just let the trees take over.  They believe it is the best way to "lock up carbon" for the long term.  I suspect that if managed properly, grasses, with their extensive and deep root systems, can do just as good, if not a better, job of locking carbon into the soil.  Grazing animals, besides providing a nutritious source of protein for omnivores like us, are crucial to managing plant growth to maximize sustainable forage production.  Trees alone, support little wildlife.  There needs to be a mix of forest and pasture. 

Once again, it's all about balance.  The sun provides the energy.  Plants capture it and convert it to complex sugars and carbohydrates.  Grazing animals convert those to protein.  We consume the protein.  I think my little green buddy was explaining all of that to me while he hitched his ride.  He's at the top of the food chain, just like humans.  He seems to be pretty adept at balancing.

The Spider Dance

Every time I walk the woods

I have to break a trail

Even though I take

The same path without fail.

It seems that there's a creature

Whose worldly task must be

To weave a web across my way

Just to torture me.

Spiders, spiders, everywhere;

Some large and some so small

That you must look quite closely

If you would see them at all.

Their artistry with silken thread

Is something to behold,

But stringing them across my path

Is getting kind of old.

Sometimes I can see them

And take a different way

Or, maybe break them with a stick

Used like a sword to slay,

But, there are times they catch me

Right across my face

And thoughts that race there in my mind

Are not so full of grace.

If you could see me as I flail

About there in the wood

You'd wonder what was going on

And think I'd lost my mind for good!

The photo is of a Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) which is common in our area.  

Mills, Music and Movies

It pays to keep your eyes open as you drive around the country.  Not too far from where I live is the small town of Wolfe City.  If you happen to be passing by on Highway 11 you might spot this old building sitting off in the trees on the south side of the road.  The signage on the side (which you can barely see) says, "Texo Feeds."  It appears that it might have been an old feed dealership.  I have never walked out to the building and taken a closer look, but the height of the porch/dock at the larger door appears to be about right for a wagon loading dock.  I can just imagine an old farm wagon, pulled by mules, being loaded with bags of oats, or other feed.

Texo Feeds is interesting because it is associated with "Light Crust Flour."  If you happen to be north of Fort Worth on I-820 around I-35, you will see a large concrete grain terminal on the BNSF railroad tracks off in the distance.  On the side are printed the words, "Home of Light Crust Flour and Texo Feeds."  It is the old Burris Mill which was originally dedicated in 1936.  It is great advertisement for the small, but fast-growing city of Saginaw.*

Light Crust Flour was known far and wide because they also had a radio station which featured the "Light Crust Dough Boys."  The band was made up of Bob Wills, Herman Arnspiger and Milton Brown.  They later became the Texas Playboys and Bob Wills brought Texas Swing music to the world.

The Governor of Texas from 1939 to 1941 was W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel.  He later became a U.S. Senator in the controversial 1941 race in which he defeated Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson.  O'Daniel had previously been an official at the Burris Mill prior to being fired in 1935 after a series of disputes.  It was then that he formed his own band called the Hillbilly Boys and his own flour company.

Although their name more closely resembles that of the Foggy Mountain Boys, known for Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, the band from the hit film "O Brother, Where Art Thou," the Soggy Bottom Boys, is loosely based on the Hillbilly Boys band of "Pappy" O'Daniel who entertained likely voters in his quest for political office.  Although based in Mississippi, you may recall that the Governor in the hit movie was also named Pappy O'Daniel, who bolstered his popularity by offering a pardon to the members of the Soggy Bottom Boys.

I suppose my post this morning is a bit circuitous in nature, but there are plenty of dots to be connected.  There is a lot of interesting history just waiting to be discovered; it's almost covered up by trees and a bit out-of-the-way, but it's out there if you just look.

* Light Crust Flour

** O Brother Where Art Thou?

Productivity and Potential

Out in our pastures we have several different types of soil.  Some of it is thin and some of it is much deeper.  Some is clay-based and some of it has a lot of sand.  In the creek bottoms there is a lot of silt that has built up over the years and is fairly deep.  The photo is of a patch of native Bermuda grass that caught my eye yesterday.  It is in an area that is fairly flat, but sloping slightly toward a pond.  I should have captured a photo of some of the nearby areas that don't look this way, but instead, I was drawn to this patch of grass that is virtually flawless.

It has been "rested."  There have been no cattle on it for a couple of months and it is seeded out.  It is weedless as far as I can tell.  It is not extremely tall and "rank" like some Bermuda can get.  It is just right.

It made me think of people.

I thought of people in the context of the grass.  Some people are rooted in good soil -- they were "raised right" as the folks where I grew up like to say.  Their roots are sunk deeply into a heritage that provides an advantage for them to grow and prosper.  As they do so -- as they flourish -- they are able to keep out the weeds that rob moisture and nutrients.  They remain strong.

I also thought of people in the context of the soil.  Some people are nourishing -- they lend strength to others.  Some are shallow and with little substance.  Some are hard and treat others in ways that are harmful.  Some are full of "weeds" that rob them of the joys of life.  I guess I'm reminded of the Biblical parable of the seeds and different types of soils.

Soil can be built up over time.  Weeds can be controlled by pulling or, spraying.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we don't have to be stuck in the circumstances we may find ourselves in.  Growing up disadvantaged doesn't mean you have to remain that way.  I know plenty of people who started with all the advantages you can imagine that went the other direction.  Unlike with the grasses growing in our pasture, we can improve ourselves and we can improve our circumstances.  We can work to dig out the weeds that rob us of our productivity and our joy.  By nurturing those things that we can, we can build ourselves -- just as a growing plant helps to build new soil.

My thoughts this morning may be poorly stated, but perhaps they can be deciphered from this brief commentary.  I hope everyone who reads this will allow good things to take root in them and that they will invest the effort to nurture those good things so they produce even more.  Whatever talents or, resources may be available to you, don't waste them.  Build with them and let them build you.

Release and Renewal

Then, at the end of my walk

I came to the place

Where the waters meet the land,

Incessantly moving

In their restless quest

To reduce it to sand.

It was a place of peace

And the sound of birds

Permeated the light breeze,

Wafting scents of salt air,

Replacing the heat of day

With coolness of night.

Without shoes I paced

The damp, fine grains,

Soothing the tiredness

Which drained into the

Surging waters lapping

About my feet.

Cares, unwinding from

My shoulders and my heart,

Fell unbidden into

The frothy waves

To be carried away

And devoured.

Release became

Renewal.

Sometimes we just need to get away to a place that allows us to forget the cares of the day and the burdens of work.  We need to be renewed.  I'm not a fan of a hot sandy beach with the sun beating down, but to me, there is nothing more relaxing than walking along the shore as evening approaches, or early on a cool morning when there are few people about.  Very rarely have I had such experiences because I have lived my life far from the ocean, but the few I have are anchored in my mind in such a way that I can call them up and remember the peaceful feeling.

(Photo taken at Marco Island, Florida, a few years ago.) 

Vision Requires a Compass

When there are no tracks to show the way

How do you find the trail?

Do you just set out and hope for the best

Or, is that the way to fail?

First you decide where you wish to go

Then keep your compass true

On the path you would take across uncharted seas

To places bold and new.

(Photo taken off Portland Head on the Coast of Maine a few years back.)

Some Things Last

Monument Rocks, on the Smoky Hill River in Kansas, is a little off the beaten path today, but it was once an important marker for travelers headed west.  The formations are also known as the Chalk Pyramids.  They are made of Niobrara Chalk and are the remains of an ancient seabed formed during the Cretaceous Period.  I made a side-trip to them a number of years ago and was happy that I did.  They are an interesting remnant of a time long ago.

I was browsing through old photographs on my computer and came across these.  They made me think about how some things, and some people, manage to weather the onslaught of time much better than others.  These have managed to stand for roughly 80 million years.  I don't think I will make it that long.

These formations make me think of the things that endure no matter what fad may come and go -- things like integrity and honesty.  They are anchors to which we can hold fast -- or, be held fast -- in times of storm.  When all else fails, they remain.

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.  Do every thing in love." -- 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Focus and Squirrels

Have you ever noticed that when you really want to focus on something important, a dozen distractions seem to pop up out of nowhere?  A good friend of mine describes it as, "Oh, look, there's a squirrel!"  I know where he gets that descriptive comment; he's a dog lover and nothing can change the focus of a dog faster than the sudden appearance of a squirrel.

I like squirrels.  I also like distractions when I'm in the middle of some boring task that has lulled my mind into a semi-stupor that causes my eyes to go into auto-close mode.  There are times though, when a distraction is the last thing I need because I am in hot pursuit of some brilliant thought that is running like crazy and if I don't stay on its trail it will get away from me.

Redbone Hounds are probably my favorite dog.  They can focus about as well as any creature I have ever seen.  If one has a scent in their nose their head will be down, tail up and they will be loping along the faint trail of volatile chemicals wafting just above the surface that only they can smell.  When that happens, look out truck because they will run right in front of you without so much as looking up.  We lost one that way.  I suppose focus can have its downside.

For me, the best way to get time to focus on a problem that requires it, is to instill the discipline of no e-mail distraction, no phone distraction, door closed, "KEEP OUT" sign that creates a momentary sanctuary of self-imposed isolation.  That's hard to do in the business world.  Sometimes it is necessary, but it is something that shouldn't be abused.  I also am a firm believer in accessibility.  Being available and open to the needs of others is an extremely important aspect of being effective in the world.  There must be balance.

I know the CEO/Owner of a substantial company who is highly accessible.  He frequently answers the phone if everyone else in the office is busy.  He freely gives out his cell phone number.  He isn't much on chit-chat, but he is accessible for business; however, there are times he will close his door and tell the receptionist to hold all calls.  It usually isn't for long, but if he needs focus-time, he will do it.  Then, of course, he spends the next however-long-it-takes returning all of the calls he missed.  I have never known him to not return a call.  Those two attributes are part of his success formula.  He does occasionally "chase squirrels."  He loves airplanes and helicopters and owns a few.  If you want to get him "off subject" just bring up flying.

As in so many things, I relate my work life back to nature.  It's all about balance.  Sometimes we need to focus, but there are other times...."Look!  There's a squirrel!"

Teamwork is Learned

We all know that teamwork is important.  When a team is functioning as it should, it is a thing of beauty.  Each member knows what their job is and performs it flawlessly in conjunction with other members of the team.  A team may consist of several, or it might just be two individuals that work well together like this pair of Redbone Coonhounds.

I don't recall what these two were focused on when this photo was made, but I suspect it was an opossum.  There was one that lived in a thicket of trees just across the fence you see in the background.  The hounds would raise a ruckus whenever it made an appearance -- unless they were in stalking mode such as in this photo.  Then they would go silent, muscles tense, poised to pounce at the first opportunity.

One day as I worked from my home office, the noise of their frustration made it difficult for me to concentrate on the project on which I was working.  I walked out back and found the opossum hissing at them from the top of the fence.  I decided to end the stalemate and found a stick with which to knock the snarling varmint from his perch.  When he hit the ground, the dogs pounced -- one to the head, the other to the middle -- and the stalemate ended.

The way the dogs worked together was a thing of beauty.

I'm sure there will be people who take offence to the fact I aided the dogs in their quest to end the earthly sojourn of this tick-eating marsupial.  To them I would argue that I only sped the inevitable.  Those dogs were bent on making it happen if they had to learn how to climb that fence to complete the task.

For a number of years I spent a good deal of time on the road making sales calls.  We had a primary vendor whose Rep worked closely with me to build the business since we were introducing new technology into a somewhat reluctantly accepting industry.  Over time, we became a very effective team.  We learned to work together, much like those two hounds.  We each learned to utilize the other's strengths to offset our own areas of "less polish" -- I refuse to use the word weakness in this case, because we each were learning to strengthen those areas by adapting the techniques of the other.

We made a good team.

We all need to build teams -- relationships -- in which each knows their role and fills it in concert with the other(s). 

Small Steps

Sometimes you just have to admire the neighbor's...ahem...uh...fences.  Yeah, their fences.

Of course, it sometimes takes really good fences to keep in the livestock.  It's a trade off, I suppose.  Oh, and his pasture looks to be in good shape too!

There are cattlemen, there are grass farmers, mechanical whizzes and occasionally, truly good ranchers that seem to put it all together.  It doesn't usually work that way, though.

I shouldn't be talking.  There are plenty of opportunities for improvement on our place -- like my gates.  It seems no matter how hard I work at it, I can't keep the gates hanging straight.  Maybe I should blame it on the soil.  We have a clay pan underlying our pastures and it tends to swell and shrink depending on moisture and heat.  When the ground moves, so do fence posts.  It means constant adjusting, or in time, some gates will drag and some will rise up.  It's a never-ending battle.

I've been told my brace posts are too close.  I've also been told they are too far away.  I just ignore it and let them be until it gets so bad I have to deal with the problem.  Really, that's not quite true; I am constantly working on things and the improvements show.  I just take it in little bites -- one small thing at a time.

My fences really aren't that bad; they just aren't quite perfect.  They remind me that I'm not either, but I'm working on it -- a little at a time.

We all have areas where we need to improve.  When we recognize them, we need to begin the process of correcting them.  Small, incremental steps are usually the best approach. 

It's a Balancing Act

We have a couple of ponds on our place that were built to catch water for the cattle.  They were already there when we bought the place.  One was dug much more recent than the other.  The photo of what I believe to be a juvenile Snowy Egret was taken at what we call the Old Pond.  It is surrounded by much more growth of tall grasses and a few trees than the New Pond.

Note how muddy the water appears to be.  This is because the cattle like to wade down into it to cool off.

We provide separate sources of cool clean water for the cattle in water troughs hooked to the county water supply.  We believe it is important for the cattle to have access to clean water at all times, although their nature is such that they will drink muddy water.  Their digestive system is designed to handle it.  The problem is that they can pick up diseases from the water -- either parasitic or, bacterial -- because feral hogs and other wildlife also will drink from those same water sources.

This particular pond is surrounded by many acres of grassland which provides a good filter for most of the water running into it.  It is filled with frogs, turtles and fish.  One thing the cattle do is to eat many of the plants that would choke the pond.  They wade along the edge eating the succulent water weeds which tend to spread across the surface.  As you can see from the photo, though, there is still plenty of healthy plant growth along the edge which is critical to wildlife.  It provides shelter as well as a filter for things that might wash into the pond during a rain.

We love to see the wildlife on our small place.  I think most people in agriculture do too.  Grazing animals are part of a balanced ecosystem.  They harvest the grasses and convert them to protein.  Without them, the danger of fire would be high when those grasses dry each season and become highly combustible fuel.  Grazing animals also help to maintain open spaces in areas that would otherwise become forest.  Those open spaces are critical to wildlife.  They provide diversity in plant species as well as create "edge" along the margins which is where wild animals are often found.

Most people don't realize that the environment around us is a system that needs balance.  We can't "preserve" the environment -- we can only work with it.  It fluctuates seasonally and annually in the natural processes that swing pendulum-like in a continual movement toward that balance.  The presence of the Egret in our pond is gratifying because it is an indicator that there is health in the land that can support such creatures.  That health is a part of sustainability.  It is only one aspect, but it is a positive indicator.

Hang In There

Sometimes a photograph doesn't really need much explanation.  I suppose it seems a strange subject in a way, but I was impressed by the tenaciousness of this tree and couldn't resist memorializing the image.  Notice how the roots on the side next to the water are stubs.  Debris brought down by raging torrents in time of flood have severed those roots and left nothing but knobby remains.  Yet still the tree clings to the bank and its roots penetrate the soil and hold it in place.

Those same roots also help to stabilize the bank and keep it from caving into the waters as they rush by.  Rather than allowing that precious resource, built over hundreds of years, to be washed away and turned into silt as it mixes with plant detritus before being deposited somewhere down stream, that soil remains in place to nourish plants that provide food for the wildlife harbored there.  This tree literally gives root to an entire community.

I know a few people like this tree.  They have been battered and torn by life, yet still they hang on.  They anchor families and sometimes entire communities because of their tenaciousness.  In this year of floods across the Midwest there are many farmers who would fit that category.  In spite of the rushing waters that stripped the soil and covered the land with debris, delaying planting long past the optimum, they have persevered in their quest -- no, their calling -- to grow food for the world.

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." -- 1 Corinthians 15:58

Make Hay While You Can

Cut it.

Dry it.

Rake it.

Bale it.

Round bales.

Square bales.

Horse hay.

Cow hay.

Hot summer day.

Dust in the air.

Sweet scent of grass.

It's that time of year.

Make hay while you can --

There's rain a comin'.

Sales Gymnastics

Sometimes surprises drop in on you at the most inopportune times.  It happens at home, in business and life in general.  Just when you think everything is under control something pops up that says, "Nope.  It ain't that easy!"

A few years back I was clearing some brush away from a barbed-wire fence that kept the cattle from wandering down into a creek that crossed our place.  The creek was deep and had steep banks, but there were places where the cattle could get down into it and find their way out a watergap to the neighbors.  I don't really like cattle standing in the creek -- I don't think it is the best way to treat our water resources -- and I certainly don't like them straying, so we put in a fence to keep them out.

The creek was bordered by a band of trees and brush that acted as a filter zone for water running into it and served as a wildlife sanctuary.  Many times I flushed a number of deer from there.  We made sure the fence was deer friendly.  Keeping the Greenbriar, honeysuckle and other vines from climbing on the wires required regular attention.

Growing up in the Plains country of the southern Texas Panhandle, I was unfamiliar with some of the denizens of the woods of northeast Texas.  One of them that I never imagined existed was a little tree-climbing snake called the Rough Greensnake (Opheodrys aestivus).  They blend in splendidly with the vines and leaves and are rarely seen -- unless they happen to drop down on your shoulder as you are clearing vines off of a fence.  Fortunately, my heart was in good enough shape to take the shock.  My gymnastic response was enough to send him flying onto the nearby wire where he silently wrapped himself and looked at me like, "What's the big deal?"

Once my heart had slowed back to normal and I realized it was just a harmless critter whose abode I was disturbing, I went on about the business of clearing the fence.  I left our little green friend to find his way back to a more comfortable shady spot.  My level of vigilance for his kin was raised considerably after the encounter.

For some reason, this morning, I relate that encounter to things that happen in sales.  It seems to never fail that even with deep preparation and planning, the unexpected has a way of showing up at the worst possible time.  It tends to throw less seasoned sales people off of their stride and causes them to falter and fumble.  There really is no way to plan for such things, it is a matter of learning to control our reaction.

Me jumping around like I was being attacked by Ninjas wasn't the right reaction for the slender green visitor to my shoulder; calmness would have been better.  They are harmless reptiles and all I had to do was gently pick it up and place it back in a more suitable location.  That is also the best response to the surprises that jump up in a sales call.  Take them calmly, smile if appropriate, or commiserate if necessary and then set them into their proper place.

Sometimes it means you start over, but usually it is just another obstacle that needs handled.  Controlling ones own reaction to surprises is something that comes with experience.  It comes faster, though, when you go in expecting something unplanned.  Part of mental preparation is to expect the unexpected.

Dust-covered Memories

Flour-fine dust floats in the air from my quiet footsteps into this space where the smell of horses and manure once dominated.  The glory days are gone and the stalls are empty.  Dried clumps scattered along the way indicate a bovine presence has recently partaken of the shade which once sheltered more stately beasts.

My mind drifts to sweat-soaked saddle blankets and creaking leather sliding off the slick back of a four-legged friend in need of a curry comb scratching to ease the itching hide after hours under a heavy load bent on searching out the cows who didn't want to be found.  The gentle nicker conveys impatience to be rolling in the dust instead of standing patiently while the necessary is accomplished.  It is the same dust.  The same smell.

Gnawed ancient pine, sagging hinges, the faint scent of mouse droppings and loose feathers from the sparrows and swallows and pigeons that nest in the rafters steal the image and turn it to regret for days past and unfilled dreams.  A yellow jacket, walking circles around some invisible attraction, draws my attention and remembered burning, swelling, reddened welts in times past bid caution against the gold and yellow winged demons of childhood nightmares.

Allergies -- to the dust and dander and pollen and yes, the venom of the yellow jacket were my nemesis, yet still I pursued.  Love and passion overcomes all enemies.

A cockle burr, ungerminated and half covered by the fine dust, brings memories of hoof knives cutting into the tangled mats while a stamping hoof signaled it was time to be done with this.  Slack reins, lowered head, thumps in time to my steps and the rattle of the chain against the rock-hard wood of the gate signals the day is done.

The stiffened skeleton of an old set of reins hangs from a nail -- spliced together with a couple of slits and end-through-end ran through each other -- a cowboy patch in a pinch. Dried and cracked.  No longer useful.  Age and white speckles of bird droppings turned Appaloosa instead of the supple, weak coffee and fresh smell of their working days.  More sadness.

I think of Grandpa and his horses.  Bugger Red.  Bonnie B.  Ginger.  Joe.  A dusty barn and a wall of tack.  I was a wanna be, he was the real deal.

Do You Hear the Grasshopper?

I wonder how many miles I ran as a kid chasing grasshoppers, trying to catch them?  It was like a sport to me.  Maybe that's a little crazy, but I was fascinated with them and enjoyed the challenge.

I've baited quite a few fish hooks with grasshoppers.  There are different theories as to the best way to hook them; do you slide it under the pronotum, that shield-looking thing on their neck or, do you stab them through the thorax just in front of the back legs?  Then, do you let them float on the surface, or do you use a weight that causes them to sink?  I've caught fish with every one of those techniques.

My grandchildren like to chase them too.  Usually, it is for the purpose of baiting a hook, but one granddaughter in particular just likes to catch them and might come up with a handful.  I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't end up in some biological field some day.  If it isn't bugs in her hands it is flowers.

I remember a television show from many years ago called Kung Fu*, starring David Carradine.  In the series, Caine has flashbacks to his childhood training where Master Po calls him "Grasshopper."  That is what I remember most about the series.  I searched the Internet and found why -- it comes from a scene in the pilot series of a conversation between Master and student:

Master Po: Close your eyes. What do you hear?
Young Caine: I hear the water, I hear the birds.
Po: Do you hear your own heartbeat?
Caine: No.
Po: Do you hear the grasshopper which is at your feet?
Caine: Old man, how is it that you hear these things?
Po: Young man, how is it that you do not?

Now, as a rancher, grasshoppers are a nuisance.  They eat the grass that I want available for the cows.  I wonder how many grasshoppers it takes to eat as much as a cow?  Grandpa always told me 5 jackrabbits ate as much as a cow.  Oh, well.  I just know they can swarm across a pasture and strip the leaves from the grass, leaving hard stems which are not particularly palatable or, nutritious.

There is much to be learned about the role of grasshoppers in the environment.  Historically, we have looked at them simply as a pest because our primary concern is with massive outbreaks that devastate large swaths of plant life.  Now, we are learning they play a critical part in nutrient cycling and the control of certain plant species that might take over an area otherwise.  They also are an important food source for wildlife.  Some folks even think they could be a food source for people.  I have eaten chocolate-covered grasshopper before; I wasn't impressed.  It was a little crunchy and reminded me too much of it being a, well, grasshopper.  In spite of their nuisance value, they fit into an ecological system in ways that we don't fully understand.  

Chemical control has been the primary way we combat major outbreaks of the flying hoppers.  It apparently isn't very effective or, we wouldn't have to repeat the process every few years.  Monoculture agriculture may be one factor that contributes to those outbreaks.  Strip-cropping might help to break the continuity of plant species and mitigate some of the impact.  Deny the food source and break the outbreak.  Most things have management solutions rather than the more drastic reactive measures normally taken.  Prevention is always preferred over dealing with crisis.

It reminds me of Franklin-Covey Time Management -- spend time on the "important" and much of the "critical" goes away....

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_(TV_series)

A Little Cow Science in a Poem

There are some things in nature

That are marvelous to see;

When you truly think of them

Astounded you will be.

Take a cow for instance,

How she wanders on four feet,

Just harvesting the grasses

When she wants something to eat.

Her tongue is long and rough

And perfect for the chore

Of gathering her sustenance

And going back for more.

It passes to her rumen

Where it is broken down

In a place so full of microbes

That really go to town

Breaking down the fibers

In this fermentation vat,

Releasing fatty acids

Where the nutrients are at.

And she has this strange reticulum

That looks like honey-comb

Where heavy objects lodge

Instead of passing on.

If you've seen her chew her cud

As she lies there in rest

It's because she's breaking up the lumps

And then she'll re-ingest.

And yes, microbial action

That is breaking down the grass

Produces lots of methane

And carbon dioxide she must pass.

Then passing from the rumen

The feed just marches on

Into what's called Omassum

Named for its many folds

That provides surface for extraction

Of the nutrient-laden juice.

Then into the Abomassum

Where it finds further use

From what is found in what once

Was grasses, leaves and weeds

And maybe here and there

The grains of all ripening seeds.

In the Abomassum, like your stomach,

There are acids and enzymes

That further break the feed right down

And I'm running out of rhymes

But, we'll keep going 'cause

It's interesting to see

How this mobile fermentation vat

Is made especially

For taking energy that's captured

In the leaves of growing plants

That came from the sunshine

Which excited chloroplasts

Which manufactured sugars

And other carbohydrates

From molecules within the air and soil

That end up on our plate

As something quite nutritious

And more tasty than a leaf;

And nothing beats the smell and taste

Of freshly grilled beef!

Chemical Trails, Snakes and Agriculture

The photo is of a Speckled Kingsnake (Lampropeltis holbrooki) taken in one of our pastures a few years ago.  Most people have a strong aversion to snakes.  Their immediate reaction is to kill them without thought about how they are often beneficial.  The Speckled Kingsnake is known for killing and feeding on other snakes and their eggs.  They are best known for attacking and eating Rattlesnakes.

After the posts of the last few days, I thought snakes would be a great followup, since I have been talking about chemical signals in nature.  Snakes tongues are used to gather chemical signals from the air around them.  They flick in-and-out gathering air samples which are laden with the chemical trails of plants and animals in the vicinity.  The chemicals are deposited onto the floor of the mouth.  From there they are sensed by the Jacobson's Organ in the roof of the mouth which converts the different chemicals into electrical signals that are then transmitted to the brain.  Those signals identify the source of the chemicals and allow the snake to follow them to prey, or to avoid things such as humans.

The fact that the snake's tongue is forked is important.  Each of the tips gathers chemicals from the air and deposits them in separate areas of the mouth.  By quantifying the amount of chemical sampled by each tip, the snake can determine direction of the source of the signal based on which tip carried the greater or, lesser amount.  It allows them to zero in quickly on their target.

Chemical processes -- reactions -- cause electrons to move.  The movement of electrons is what we call electricity.  Nature uses electrochemistry continuously as a means of communicating various signals and processes from one point to another.

As technology allows us to become better at sensing the chemical and electrical processes occurring constantly in nature, we will be able to target areas needing fertilizer, or water, or help fighting insect, bacterial, or fungal infection with very high specificity.  Imagine a "mechanical" snake wandering through the field of ripening tomatoes.  It's "tongue" is flicking in-and-out, sampling the air when suddenly it detects an early infection of tomato blight in a few plants.  It converts those signals into an electrical impulse which informs its "brain" of the problem which it then relays to a computer designed to monitor for such alarms.  The computer then dispatches a robot to the area where it scans the diseased plants and is able to either remove the few infected leaves, or take more drastic action depending on a set of decision parameters programmed into it.

Science is kind of cool if you ask me....

Birds, Agriculture and Chemical Signals

Yesterday, it was butterflies, today, it is birds.  I enjoy watching birds.  The photo above is of a Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus).  It was taken in our backyard a few years back.

Wrens are insectivores -- they eat bugs.  They are beneficial to us because of that fact.  They are common throughout the eastern part of Texas and across the southeastern United States.  Notice the long beak with the slight curve; it is built specially for taking it's prey.

Birds that feed primarily on seeds usually have a short, thick beak that is better able to crack open the hard kernels.  They are beneficial too because they spread seeds -- those that require passage through the alimentary canal which scarifies them and breaks the outer layer so they can germinate and grow.  But, seed-eating (granivory) birds also are often seen as a nuisance.  Starlings are a prime example in that they are often seen in huge flocks that land in fields of ripening grain and take a share of the harvest.  They will also raid feed troughs to eat the grains that are part of many livestock feeds and leave behind their feces which may contain harmful pathogens that infect the animals.  One of those diseases is coccidiosis which can cause internal hemorrhaging and death.

In agriculture we have a love/hate relationship with birds.  The methods used to control some of the nuisance species are detrimental to the beneficial species.

A couple of days ago when I wrote about The IoT and the IoN, I mentioned chemical signals being passed through the mycellium of fungi.  Yesterday, when talking about butterflies, I mentioned chemicals being passed into the butterfly from the flowers on which it fed.  The anti-GMO folks won't like this approach, but perhaps there is a way to add a chemical signal to feed grains that would make them repellent to the granivory birds which can be so destructive.  It might alleviate the need for chemical controls.  Just thinking....