Infrared photo by Dick Wanner

     Visit this tree if you ever get to Penn State's Southeast Area Research Center near Landisville. This wounded locust is beautifully isolated and hard to miss.

    Speaking of Landisville, the center hosted a mini-field day this morning devoted to the subject of nitrogen management. How to keep it in your soil, how to get the most value from it, how to measure the effectiveness of your N application, whether in the form of manure, granules or liquid.  A surprise to me was that manure loses 20% its nitrogen in the first hour after it's spread on the surface. Also news to me was the value of aerial photography as a tool for nutrient management. There'll be a story about the event in the September 3 (September? Already?) edition of Lancaster Farming, both in print and online.

     Why I'll always be careful where I pitch my tent. Or maybe I'll just stay in the lodge. http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/brown-bear-attack/269tm7de