Delaware crops, shingle shots, real estate - not

29 June 2012 • 100 degrees plus today

Here's some Delaware crop information issued recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Before passing along their information, I want to note that our rainfall so far this year is at about half the usual amlount.  Normal for this time of year is about 22 inches.  We're just a little over 10 so far this year.  Here's what USDA says about crops in Delaware:

"Delaware farmers indicate that they have planted 195,000 acres of corn this spring, up 5,000 acres from 2011. A total of 187,000 acres are expected to be harvested for grain with the remaining acres harvest for silage or other uses.

Farmers indicate that they will also plant 180,000 acres of soybeans, up 6 percent from last year. Winter wheat planted is set at 85,000 acres and barley planted at 38,000 acres, the highest barley planted acreage since 1997 when
barley planted was 40,000 acres. Farmers expect to harvest 82,000 acres of winter wheat and 34,000 acres of barley in the
upcoming weeks.

Summer potato farmers will harvest 1,400 acres, down 12 percent from last year. Hay will be cut from an estimated 5,000 acres of alfalfa and 10,000 acres of other types of hay.

Shots for shingles

Herb von Goerres shot me in the right arm this morning.  Shingles shot.  I'm over 60 and he said lots of people over 60 have been getting the vaccination to ward off the virus lying dormant in the systems of those who had chicken pox in our younger years. Herb is a registered pharmacist.  He was at Walgreen's in Lewes.

"Did you ever think you would be giving people shots as a pharmacist?" I asked Herb.

"No, but then when I served on the Board of Pharmacy for Delaware I wrote the legislation enabling pharmacists to give shots."

Lots of people get shingles which can be very painful and last a long time.

Herb said his grandfather used to say that while shingles are usually confined to one side of the body, old-time wisdom said that if they ringed the whole body they could kill you.  "He told me that he had shingles that ringed his body two different times and they didn't kill him - but he wished they had!"

Pain is definitely one of the hallmarks of shingles.

Broadkill pride

We rode up to Broadkill Beach Thursday night - up Delaware Bay. We rode through lots of houses for sale. But then we came upon a house whose owners aren't interested in selling at all. The sign in the front yard says "Won't Sell - Don't Ask."