Ramsey County

August 6, 2007

Howdy!!!

Well it has finally happened, I have finished my water project in the back yard.  I still have plants and shrubs to plant around the entire yard and water feature but the water part is now “DONE”.  It is very rewarding to see a project come to its completion, whether it be my project, a yard project, the cows moved from one pasture to another across miles of crops and not destroy any crops or harvest a field of wheat that your grandfather told you was the best piece of land on this side of the Mississippi.  Satisfaction is very rewarding upon a completed project.  This weather is something else as well.  No chance of rain and get an inch and just when harvest is ready to get into full swing a chance of rain nearly everyday this week.  It is time to get back to something normal “what ever that is”. 

It is such a fun time of year watching the combines roll through the fields of all colors and eating that fresh produce from the local gardens.  The combines rolling makes me think of a reminder to all of us and that is during the harvest season please take extra precaution for those implements moving down the country roads.  As equipment gets bigger more room is needed to move around and sometimes getting by one on the highway can be frustrating but most producers do a very good job of watching for traffic and then finding that place to pull over.  A LOT of our roads are kept up very good throughout the county but those shoulders are very soft from all the high water areas pushing against them.

Crickets in my house????

I have been getting phone calls about crickets in my house.  Most of the crickets are called field crickets and are about ½-3/4 in long and are dark brown to black. They have rounded wings that almost cover their body.  An old wise tale says that field crickets can determine degrees Fahrenheit by taking the number of chirps in 15 seconds then adding 40.   Well I do not know if that is factual but what ever we can do to take away the misery of those chirping little rascals during the evening hours. 

Field crickets are commonly found in fields, pastures, along roadsides, and in yards where they feed on a variety of plants. They also are known to feed on dead or weakened insects, including other crickets. Field crickets are strongly attracted to light. When indoors, they can feed on fabric, such as cotton, linen, silk, and wool. They tend to feed on material soiled by food or perspiration. Damage to these fabrics is more likely when large numbers of crickets are present.

524 4th Ave NE #5, 2nd Floor Ramsey County Courthouse
Devils Lake  ND  58301
701-662-7027
email - ramsey@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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