*L
On being ‘ ~r~
a farm wifyrjyj*
-And otherl^^gjl
A
Joyce Bnpp
Windowsills. Those I remember
from my girlhood home were nev
er wide enough.
Then came marriage. And,
along with other new things in my
life, such as cows in the meadow
(and the com) and manure-caked
shoes under the table, came a small
architectural treasure in this old
farmhouse; windowsills.
Now this old house feature is
increasingly rare in newer ones.
Most of the time, they’re a part of
this house that I take for granted.
Recently it occurred to me how
lost I’d be without their handy
space, especially as nights grow
cooler and morning mist hangs a
white veil over the pastures pre
dicting that the house plants must
soon come back inside.
In our basement are the classic
foot-deep sills, offering wonderful
haven for miscellaneous tools,
extra bam hats, craft supplies, and
house cats aiming to keep track of
what’s happening outside. Upper
floors of the house are equipped
with six-inch sills, still plenty
adequate for all sorts of handy
uses.
Sills in the kitchen, naturally,
SEVENTH ANNUAL
HERITAGE CELEBRATION
SUNDAY,
OCTOBER 2, 1988
12:00-6:00 p.m.
at the Berks County Heritage
Center, Gruber Wagon Works,
Reading, Pennsylvania.
Events Throughout the da;
• Carriage, Wagon and Sleigh
Judging Shpw
• Pleasure Drive Along The Union
Canal Towpath
• Plowing and Log Skidding
Demonstration
• Horse Pulling Competition
• Large Horse Driving Exhibitions
Highlight of the day’s activities will feature a demonstration by the Phila
delphia Mounted Police Drill Team and a Review Parade of all of the events
participants.
Fun Full Day For
The Whole Family
For Mi
ire Information C
Cathy Wegener at the
Berks County Park and
Recreation Dept.
RO #5, Box 272
Sinking Spring, PA 19608
215-374-8839
are kept busiest. Two styrofoam
flats full of tomatoes and a small
basket of spindly, bright red hot
peppers currently keep company
on the “ripening” windowsill
behind the kitchen counter.
August featured mouth
watering peaches and fragrant can
taloupes, tempting us to snack
each time we passed. Apples will
soon replace the tomatoes, a hand
y, easy answer to the “what’s here
to eat?” stampede which hits
between school and suppertime.
Behind the kitchen sink is a bou
quet windowsill. At least one,
sometimes two, small vases of cut
flowers brighten my sink time with
their beauty. From June through
heavy frost, dainty, pastel roses
hold center stage between veget
able brushes and the container of
heavy-duty, anti-grease, hand
cleaner. (This stuff loosens the lay
ers of oil, grease and barn residue
on their hands, effectively trans
ferring it to the sink and towels.)
A forgotten aerosol can of bug
spray turned up last week, hiding
on a living room windowsill
behind the curtain ruffle. This win-
Jacob Mays, Lebanon, driving 6-Paint
Horses pulling a Gruber hayflat.
:act
dowsill «js strategically located*
""behind die sofa, where the Farmer
generally catches a pre-bedtime
nap in front of the TV. Flies pester
ing during evening naptime can
expect to get zapped from his win
dowsill weapon repository.
On yet another nearby sill waits
a supply of drink coasters, protec
tion for wooden tables from drip
ping glasses. Except that no one
uses them anyway, grabbing
instead the handiest cow-related
magazine as a dripcatchcr. Few are
the magazines in the living room
whose covers do not bear telltale
rings of chocolate milk or iced tea.
Which frees up the coasters for
use with the most predominant
residents of all our windowsills -
U.S. And New Zealand Battle
DENVER, Colo. New Zea
land officials are protesting the
newly-implemented import reg
ulations on live sheep, calling
them overly stringent. The U.S.
sheep industry strongly supported
the regulations, which were imple
mented in June after USDA Ani
mal & Plant Health Inspection Ser
vice held public hearings and a
comment period.
The New Zealand government
has requested consultations with
the U.S. General Agreement on
Tariffs (GATT). They called the
regulations non-tariff barriers, and
cited three specific regulations
including those mandating
certified-free status on tuberculo
sis and brucellosis, testing for the
disease akabane, and the 30-day
quarantine period for sheep
imported to the United States. New
Zealand argues the akabane
requirement is unnecessary since
Akabane has not been found in
include:
• Antique Auto Display
• Crafts Displays and
Demonstrations
• Musical Entertainment
• Apple Butter Making
• Children’s Activities
• Food and Refreshments
Lancaster ftmting, Saturday, September 17, 1988-B5 '
houseplants. Summered outside,
the ferns, small palms, spider and
jade plants provided seasonal
destruction derby material for the
kittens. Small insects attracted to
their foliage regularly provide a
fast-food stop to five half-grown
chickens, making the daily trek
from the old bam to the perennial
border.
Meanwhile, the plants have
swelled in size, sent out long run
ners, grown new branches and
accumulated spider webs and dust.
Pruning and a hose arc often neces
sary for sprucing up the window
sill regulars for return to their
New Zealand, and that a 30-day
isolation period is not needed since
shipping time provides an adequ
ate incubation period.
National Wool Growers Associ
ation representatives testified ear
lier in the year in favor of strong
regulations to protect the domestic
sheep industry from the potential
of disease introduction with
imported sheep. “We feel these
regulations are a minimum of what
is acceptable to producers,” said
James G. Butler, Executive Direc
tor of the National Wool Growers
Association. “The regulations
address some very real concerns
Child Care Providers Program
LEESPORT (Berks) Are you
caring for children in your home or
employed as a daycare provider?
The Berks County Cooperative
Extension Service is offering a two
session update for childcare pro
fessionals. It will be held Septem
ber 20 and 27 from 7 p.m. to 9:30
p.m. at the Berks County Agricul
tural Center, Leesport, R.D.#l.
Instruction will include treating
children equally in a group setting,
child saver techniques, holiday
<£k
“winter-sill” location,
African violets and cacti, the
tall, leathery spikes of snake
planted, and trailing philodendron
are others given sill space with
appropriate light, shade or sun
shine. Those which bloom during
winter’s dreariest months get star
billing in center-stage behind the
sink.
Never is there enough sill space
at this season. We need more win
dows or wider sills.
Get rid of some of the plants,
you say?
Let’s not ge radical.
Import Policy
U.S. producers have expressed to
NWGA and USDA, and provide
adequate protection in an introduc
tion of foreign animals into the
domestic flock.”
Dr. Billy Johnson, associate
deputy administrator of APHIS’S
Veterinary Services, told the
Bureau of National Affairs he
believes the regulations will hold
up as fair and reasonable.
Talks between the U.S. and New
Zealand will probably begin in
mid-September. If the consulta
tions are unsuccessful, New Zea
land could proceed with a full
fledged complaint.
gifts for kids to make, when to call
the expcrts-waming signals, and
what BCIU has to offer special
needs childrens and resources for
indoor activities.
Course registration is $2O,
which includes a resource book.
Registration must be made by Sep
tember 19. To register, or for more
information, contact Michelle
Rodgers at the Agricultural Center
(215) 378-1327.
!once