The Bookworm Sez

The paw prints were enormous.

That was your first thought when you saw them on the ground. Someone in the neighborhood just got a new dog the size of a horse. Is it close to Halloween? Or there’s a Sasquatch in the ‘hood. Or maybe, as in the new book “Fuzz” by Mary Roach, you share the block with something that could eat you. So what kind of criminals are we look-

Murder, theft, assault, destruction of ing at here, Your Honor? property. It happens all the time between us and nature. But as Mary Roach discovered, there’s a reason it’s called wildlife: toothed-and-clawed scofflaws don’t always get caught and they rarely see jail time. Take bears, for example. Roach attended WHART classes in British Columbia, where mutilated mannequins help officials learn how to determine bear bites from wolf bites from scavenger nibbles. In Aspen, she learned that bears are really good at gently breaking into houses to find food but they’re not the only guilty parties: we humans are partially culpable in the bears’ snack-pilfering habits. Elephants, as she learned, aren’t the long-lashed, big-eared snugglers from the movies. In India, they can be destructive to crops and vengeful to people, especially if they have grudges or are in musth. In that case, elephants have been seen stepping on villagers and tearing them limb-from-limb — though, because people there consider pachyderms as deities, the killers are rarely, if ever, treated negatively for their actions. That’s not quite the case with leopards in the Middle Himalaya, where the animals have killed hundreds of people through the years by seizing them from behind. Incredibly, it’s not until the third attack that anything’s done to stop the cat-astrophe. In India, macaque monkeys live to “harass people.” Cougars can attack you (but they rarely do). Trees can become a “danger.” Deer, dromedaries, all dangerous.

THE BOOKWORM SEZ By Terri Schlichenmeyer

“Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law” by Mary Roach c.2021, W.W. Norton & Company $26.95 / $35.95 Canada 308 pages

Even mice can kill but yeah, there’s a trapp for that. You can’t pet a bison. No selfies with a bear or moose. Leopard territory is off-limits. Please don’t feed the animals, so what can you do? You can laugh and learn by reading “Fuzz.” Make no mistake, though: while author Mary Roach has a sneak-upon-you sense of humor that will make you snort, what she shares with readers is serious stuff. As proof, she offers tales of animals doing things that humans would be arrested for doing and, like humans, this stuff can be bloody. It can be stomach-churning. It can be fascinating because Roach takes readers around the world with experts who know, sometimes first-hand, about the real habits of these creatures that seem so familiar. Reading that, seeing why elephant handlers are paid more, learning about “ridiculously lovable” attackers and furry light-fingered extortionists, shows that unlawful ursas exist, camels can act like criminals, and sometimes, nothing’s more apt than the word “jailbird.” If you’re someone who loves to read aloud passages of your current obsession, “Fuzz” is your book. Clear your throat, prepare those around you; you shouldn’t wait to get your paws on it. Look for the reviewed book at a bookstore or a library near you. You may also find the book at online book retailers. The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. Terri has been reading since she was 3 years old and never goes anywhere without a book. She lives in Wisconsin with three dogs and 10,000 books. v Contagious rabbit disease confirmed

ST. PAUL — Two Ramsey County indoor rabbits died suddenly and inexplicably earlier this month from a highly contagious rabbit disease detected for the first time in Minnesota.

National Veterinary Services Laboratories, confirmed Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2) last week. The owner reported the rabbits were indoor pets and had no contact with other rabbits.

RHDV2 is a highly contagious virus affecting domestic and wild rabbits. There is no known risk to humans.

RHDV2 can spread through direct contact with infected rabbits or indirectly through contact with infected carcasses, blood, urine, and feces. The virus can also be present on contaminated clothing, footwear and surfaces such as cages, feed, water, and bedding. Insects, scavengers, predators, and birds can also spread the virus by contact with infected rabbits or carcasses. RHDV2 is very persistent and stable in the environment. It is resistant to extreme temperatures and can survive freezing. The virus has been found to survive up to 15 weeks in dry conditions. The USDA recommends using a high pH solution to inactivate RHDV2 when disinfecting surfaces.

There is not a RHDV2 vaccine approved for use in Minnesota. There are vaccines for this disease in Europe, which use inactivated virus derived from the livers of rabbits infected in a lab and are not approved for import into Minnesota. A private company in South Dakota is working on a recombinant technology vaccine for RHDV2, similar to the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines.

This article was submitted by the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. v

FARMHOUSE KITCHEN, from pg. 5

He warned them, “It would be better to throw your children into the Mississippi; because they would all lose their faith if they moved.”

I don’t think I was the only one filled with a mixture of trepidation and excitement when we left that spring on May 2, 1870. We numbered 18 covered wagons — all pulled by oxen.

Sure, strong horses and mules would have been faster. They could travel 15 to 20 miles a day, while my oxen would only make 10 miles on average.

That might have been the only drawback. Oxen are more reliable and it wasn’t necessary to take grain along

The names of the pioneers who came to Alton, Iowa in May of 1870 are listed on a plaque where the first church building stood. St. Maray’s Catholic Church in Alton, Iowa was dedicated on July 14, 1909 by Bishop O’Gorman of Sioux Falls, S.D. The church is still being used and can be seen for miles. The church clock tower still rings out the time on the quarter hour.

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for feed. They can get their nourish- bows in, securing them with wooden ment from grazing the grass that pegs which have been whittled to fit. was plentiful as we travelled. Not to It had to rest on the necks of the brag, but my oxen do navigate the oxen just above his shoulder blades, sloughs better than other draft ani- or the oxen could become sore. mals. After each use, I was cleaned and There were plenty of rivers, creeks rubbed with boiled linseed oil to and sloughs to cross. Once we left protect my wood from drying out. eastern Iowa, bridges and roads were pretty much non-existent. Often times it was necessary to unhitch several ox teams and then hitch several teams to a single wagon to make the crossing. The ring that the tongue of the wagon went through has also been replaced. Yes, I saw plenty of work; but now I have a different job to do. You see, I am no longer hidden in a barn. We arrived safely with our 40 pioneers on May 19, 1870. When we arrived at Le Mars, where Mr. Gehlen was, he told us that all the good land nearby was taken and that we should settle a little ways north of there. I left the Jonas farm when this nice gentleman, Doc Neumann, saw me on one his veterinarian calls to the farm. A collector of historical items he was pleased when they told him to take me home as they had no need for me. We immediately took his advice, and traveled to a beautiful spot in Iowa where we began building our homes along a line east of the Floyd stretching from Nassau Township down into Floyd Township. Each farm was about three miles from the next farm. The work was not done by any means. I was still used on oxen to plow the land, plant crops and drain sloughs. Although many times five Financial management bull ox yokes were brought in to drain a slough. They would drag a large iron ball through the slough to open it up so that the water would drain. This made the land useful for farming. Maybe I wasn’t used for that, but if you take a closer look at me, you will see that I have sat on many an oxen neck. It is their horns that keep me from sliding off their necks. Did you know oxen use their necks for pulling? For many years I hung on the wall of his basement until he recently donated me to the Alton Museum which shares a building with the town’s public library. Now I get to tell my part of the story of the Luxembourgers who settled in northwest Iowa. By the way, these pioneers did not lose their faith and their farms prospered. A wood frame church was first built on the prairie shortly after they came. Later the parish relocated to a more central location in the town of East Orange, now called Alton. In Little Falls, the program is offered on Nov 3 and Nov 10 at Little Falls Chamber of Commerce at 12:45 p.m. workshop offered ST CLOUD, Minn. — “Taking Charge of YOUR Finances: How to Survive and Thrive” financial manageI’m a fairly common size for a yoke. My beam which is 54 inches wide is made from one solid piece of hard wood. With my bows I measure 26 long. Probably one of my bows has been replaced as they do not match. If On a hill, they built a grand brick church building of Romanesque and Gothic style which is still in use today. Every day the bells ring out the time on the quarter hour. ment workshop, will be taught in cen- with the class running until 3 p.m. you look closely you see that one of the Renae B. Vander Schaaf is an indetral Minnesota to community members. This short course will teach participants how to organize and use financial records; develop and analyze financial statements; and make In Melrose, the program is offered Nov 9 and Nov 16 at True North Marketplace at 9:45 a.m. with the class running until noon. bows has been worn thinner. My owners would first place the beam over the neck of the oxen, then put the pendent writer, author and speaker. Contact her at (605) 530-0017 or agripen@live.com. v informed decisions regarding finances The program will be offered at both and production. Producer teams will sites as two, sequential sessions. act as loan review committees and learn about these concepts as they Attendance is free and each participant will receive a binder full of handouts 507-794-6953 review a case study farm. The concepts and resources to take home. covered promote better internal deci- Register through https://z.umn. sions for farm management and stron- edu/2021SurviveAndThrive or by con- – Grove Removal ger relationships with external part- tacting Dana Adams at adam1744@ – Hauling ners, such as farm lenders. The par- umn.edu or (320) 204-2968. – Site Grading ticipants will learn the components of a balance sheet, income statement, cash flow, and the importance of records. This article was submitted by Dana Adams, University of Minnesota Extension. v – Terraces – Equipment Sales & Service