Table Talk

Imagine your house from up higher. ing George Washington

From 5,000 feet, it would look like a caused a kerfuffle: did small brick or scrap wood. Your vehicle, the back of the coin fealike a toy car. Trees, like stalks of broccoli ture a golden eagle or a and you, like a tiny scuttling insect run- bald eagle? That story, ning about. Imagine the breeze at 5,000 and the differentiation, feet, a patchwork land beneath the are just a small part of clouds, and the awesome expansiveness what’s inside “The Bald of it all. Then let “The Bald Eagle” by Jack E. Davis take you higher. THE BOOKWORM SEZ ture, and many of the bird’s seven thou sand plumes were used in “a language Eagle.” of feathers” and other rituals. As for those colonists, the eagle’s majesty and its hunting prowess were both widely admired. Still, there was controversy, and our country was independent for years before the seal design was approved — and with it, the eagle-as-symbol. America does not have a “national bird.” We have a national mammal and a national tree; but, officially speaking, there is no national bird because nothing’s been passed into law or proclamation. But that’s not the only indignity that a dignified bird like the bald eagle has endured. By Terri Schlichenmeyer Legend has it that Benjamin Franklin wanted a turkey to be a national symbol; but that’s likely a myth, says Davis. Ben was probably joking, although it’s true that he wasn’t too impressed with the eagle. In the end, that’s okay. Others were, eventually, almost by accident. Eagle-watchers know that love wasn’t always given to the bird, however. Not once, but twice in American history, the eagle was almost driven to extinction. In fact, there was a time when they was seen as brutes and thieves to be destroyed. Live eagles were “inducted into service” during wartime. Eagles were stolen, stuffed and studied; honored,

It’s hard to believe that having the eagle on our revered and despised — all within the last 200 nation’s seal was ever even a question. Before the years. And today — finally — the eagle is protected.colonists came to North America, the eagle was a powerful, important symbol in Native American cul- Back in 1932, the debut of the quarter coin featur-

“The Bald Eagle: The Improbably Journey of America’s Bird” by Jack E. Davis c.2022, Liveright $29.95 418 pages Indeed, author Jack E. Davis has a little something for every bald eagle watcher — from taxonomy to etymology; cultural ideals to scientific facts; to shocking tales from a time when eagles were prey of the most dangerous predator of all. Those latter pages are hard ones to read — as are the tales of nearextinction; but Davis doesn’t let readers turn away from the harshest realities of history. To balance them, you’ll be glad for the tiny pebbles of distracting minutiae and trivia that are scattered about. This is the kind of book you’ll want to read, and then place on your shelf for later consultation. It’s shareable, discussable, and very, very fascinating. If you keep a “To-Be-Read” list, you’ll want to put “The Bald Eagle” a little higher 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

Can we trust markets?

GUEBERT, from pg. 3

pay the weekly grocery tab.

Farmers and ranchers know this. In fact, today’s volatile wheat market means some rural grain purchasers only buy farmers’ grain when the Chicago futures market is open so the buyer can immediately transfer their ownership risk to someone else.

That also means these purchasers don’t offer any farmer a market after 1:15 p.m. each weekday and not at all on the weekend. Almost every farmer or rancher will tell you that this is a highly risky, potentially costly failure to both you and them.

So, no, we’re not going to run out of food. The real threat is that we’ll run out of markets we can trust.

The Farm and Food File is published weekly through the United States and Canada. Past columns, events and contact information are posted at www.farmandfoodfile.com. v