vljenewein
Active member
Greetings all!! I currently live in SW Michigan, and retired (due to Covid-19 cutbacks) at the winery where I worked for over 20 years. Now, 68, but retirement is not too bad. I worked in the lab as an Assistant Winemaker, and also did purchasing for cellar supplies as well as vineyards. We did all the testing of our wines "in house" at teh lab and so I have a general idea on chemistry and processes involving food stuff.
I grew up on a ranch/ farm in NW rural Nebraska where we raised beef, pigs, sheep, horse, chickens and ducks. We also raised Wheat, Rye, oats and put up hay for the winter feeding of the cattle. So pretty familiar with livestock. Later on I raised chickens as well as a dabble in raising quail.
We have 4 Toy Fox Terrier dogs, 2 we got as puppies and 2 we got later on as older dogs rescue - rehome. We love them dearly. We also have Jinx, a black neutered cat (from our Daughter), and 2 Zebra Finches, and now 2 Parakeets named Adrian (green female - hen) and Rocky (blue male - cock) Some years back my wife had a Peach Faced Lovebird named Hammerstein. Not sure if it was a boy or a girl, but his name was Hammerstein.
I read a lot and do a lot of research these days as the internet is like having the library in my own home. I look for facts and try to steer clear of opinions. It is hard to say how an opinion gets fostered, whether it is something read, which may or may not be true, or was told to someone else, which, again may or may not be true. Science is the basis, and I like to find reasons and studies to try to base off my own personal opinions, but I also like to provide links so that others can research for themselves.
The Budgerigars are not the only "Aussie" items in the house, as I also have a Mago Didgeridoo That I can play and learned circular breathing to be able to play it better. Lots of info on the web, that is for sure!!
On our property we also raise Heartnut trees which are a sport of the Japanese Walnut that the nuts are shaped like a heart when you split apart the nut to get the kernel. We have planted enough of these to provide some income later on when the trees get full maturity. We love eating these nuts as they are both heart healthy and lack the bitterness of some English Carpathian walnuts. In Nebraska, before moving to Michigan to take a job as Winemaker in 1999, we were also raising wine grapes and had an apple orchard of dwarf apple trees. Also back in Nebraska they encouraged the farmers and ranchers to plant chokecherries in their wind breaks on the farm as a means of erosion control and food for wild birds, from the USDA Conservation Services. In fact, they offered these plants in bundles of 100 each for plantings. Makes GREAT jelly if you can get them when they are ripe before the birds get them.
I grew up on a ranch/ farm in NW rural Nebraska where we raised beef, pigs, sheep, horse, chickens and ducks. We also raised Wheat, Rye, oats and put up hay for the winter feeding of the cattle. So pretty familiar with livestock. Later on I raised chickens as well as a dabble in raising quail.
We have 4 Toy Fox Terrier dogs, 2 we got as puppies and 2 we got later on as older dogs rescue - rehome. We love them dearly. We also have Jinx, a black neutered cat (from our Daughter), and 2 Zebra Finches, and now 2 Parakeets named Adrian (green female - hen) and Rocky (blue male - cock) Some years back my wife had a Peach Faced Lovebird named Hammerstein. Not sure if it was a boy or a girl, but his name was Hammerstein.
I read a lot and do a lot of research these days as the internet is like having the library in my own home. I look for facts and try to steer clear of opinions. It is hard to say how an opinion gets fostered, whether it is something read, which may or may not be true, or was told to someone else, which, again may or may not be true. Science is the basis, and I like to find reasons and studies to try to base off my own personal opinions, but I also like to provide links so that others can research for themselves.
The Budgerigars are not the only "Aussie" items in the house, as I also have a Mago Didgeridoo That I can play and learned circular breathing to be able to play it better. Lots of info on the web, that is for sure!!
On our property we also raise Heartnut trees which are a sport of the Japanese Walnut that the nuts are shaped like a heart when you split apart the nut to get the kernel. We have planted enough of these to provide some income later on when the trees get full maturity. We love eating these nuts as they are both heart healthy and lack the bitterness of some English Carpathian walnuts. In Nebraska, before moving to Michigan to take a job as Winemaker in 1999, we were also raising wine grapes and had an apple orchard of dwarf apple trees. Also back in Nebraska they encouraged the farmers and ranchers to plant chokecherries in their wind breaks on the farm as a means of erosion control and food for wild birds, from the USDA Conservation Services. In fact, they offered these plants in bundles of 100 each for plantings. Makes GREAT jelly if you can get them when they are ripe before the birds get them.
