paulgorman.org

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Sat Nov 30 06:00:01 EST 2019 ======================================== Slept from one to nine. Cloudy. Chance of rain, possibly mixed with snow in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 30s. East winds 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 50 percent. Home ---------------------------------------- - Finish cleaning bathroom Done. - Laundry Done. - Work on position transmission for game board thing Done. Vacuumed, watered plants, changed towels. Started watching The Boys on Prime. Good. Ten-minute walk in the early afternoon. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/northwest/botanists-scour-aging-orchards-for-long-lost-apple-varieties/ > It has been there for more than a century, and there is no hint that the tree or its apples are anything out of the ordinary. But this scraggly specimen produces the Arkansas Beauty, a so-called heritage fruit long believed to be extinct until amateur botanists in the Pacific Northwest tracked it down three years ago. > > It’s one of 13 long-lost apple varieties rediscovered by a pair of retirees in the remote canyons, wind-swept fields and hidden ravines of what was once the Oregon Territory. > > E.J. Brandt and David Benscoter, who together form the nonprofit Lost Apple Project, log countless hours and hundreds of miles in trucks, on all-terrain vehicles and on foot to find orchards planted by settlers as they pushed west more than a century ago. > > The two are racing against time to preserve a slice of homesteader history: The apple trees are old, and many are dying. Others are being ripped out for more wheat fields or housing developments for a growing population. > > Benscoter, who retired in 2006 after a career as an FBI agent and an IRS criminal investigator, pursues leads on lost apples with the same zeal he applied to his criminal cases. > > In one instance, he found county fair records that listed winners for every apple variety growing in Whitman County, Washington, from 1900 to 1910 — an invaluable treasure map. In another, he located a descendant of a homesteader with a gigantic orchard by finding a family history she posted online. > > Once he discovers a forgotten orchard, Benscoter spends hours mapping it. He has pages of diagrams with a tiny circle denoting each tree, with GPS coordinates alongside each dot. A lengthy computer database lists apples including the Shackleford, the Flushing Spitzenburg and the Dickinson— all varieties rediscovered by the project. Servings: grains 8/6, fruit 2/4, vegetables 5/4, dairy 2/2, meat 2/3, nuts 0/0.5 Brunch: pineapple, tomato, banana, coffee Lunch: cucumber, pierogi Dinner: chicken pot pie, pumpkin pie 121/80

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