A Memorial Day Remembrance

Honoring All Fallen Military Heroes, Our American Flag Shall Fly At Half-Staff Until Sundown 30 May 2020, This Day Is Traditional Memorial Day.    

Any American inclined to research their detailed personal ancestry is certain to discover many family military personnel who made the "supreme sacrifice" -- relatives who gave that last full measure in duty to their Country.  In particular today, I'm thinking of these three men we never had the good fortune to meet, three gallant men who directly belong to our strong family military history.

Technical Sergeant (aka TEC4 or T/4) Arthur Leo Muthig (1914-1944).  Maternal second cousin Arthur was Killed-In-Action on 30 July 1944 in France, while in U.S. Army service with the Sixth Armored Division.  Arthur is interred at Florence Cemetery, Lauderdale County, Georgia, USA.

Private Mahlon Barns Zeh (1921-1945).  Paternal third cousin Mahlon was Mortally-Wounded-In-Action, February 1945 in Germany while in U.S. Army service with the Ninth Infantry Division.  He later died from his wounds on 8 February 1945 in a Belgium field hospital.  Mahlon is interred at a WWII Military Cemetery, Henri-Chapelle, Liege, Belgium.

Captain Amos Stanton (1750-1781).  Paternal third cousin Amos was Killed-In-Action on 6 September 1781, during the Revolutionary War Battle of Groton Heights at Fort Griswold, Groton, Connecticut.  Captain Stanton's three+ years of active military service as 6th Company Commander in Colonel Sherburne's Second Regiment of the Connecticut Line was then complete.  On this early September 1781 day, Amos answered an alarm issued by local area militia commander Colonel Ledyard and was among many killed in the valiant defense of Fort Griswold.   Amos is interred at Stanton Cemetery, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA.

  

A Salute To Our Mothers

A couple years past as Mother's Day approached, four Norway Spruce Trees were planted to honor and thank our four Great Grandmothers.  Planting some trees around Arbor Day is an annual personal activity and the Grandma Memorial Tree planting seemed an appropriate good plan.  Click HERE to check out this earlier 2018 Great Grandma post.  Last fall some fencing was installed to keep our resident deer population away from browsing this planting.  

Dead Tree Killed In Winter 2019/20

Replacement Great Grandma Tree Planted 28 Apr 2020

This year as the winter snows departed, one of the original trees was found dead, the likely work of a hungry forging field mouse. So the departed tree was replaced with a fresh young two-year Norway Spruce.  Three more new trees were also planted in this special location, one each to the honor of our maternal and paternal grandmothers Edna Jane (Seney) Ouellet (d.1963) and Elizabeth Rosella "Bess" (Moegling) Paul (d.1959).  Another added Norway Spruce lives to honor our mother Lillian Agnes (Ouellet) Paul (d.1998).  And OBTW, better-designed protective fencing will be added this fall around each tree to hopefully better keep the rodent population away.  

The Grandma/Mom trees look like this today, but in fifteen years they may appear much like our first planting done in about 2005.  Many of these 2005 Norway Spruce trees have presently reached a height of 25-to-30 feet... and certainly heading for 60+ feet in some future year.

Our Seven Memorial GGMa, Grandma & Mom Trees In 2020  

500 Norway Spruce Tree Planting Done In Spring 2005.
Trees in 2005 were 1 or 2 year seedlings.  

Note: All trees were purchased through the annual reforestation program of NY State Department of Environmental Conservation, Saratoga Tree Nursery, Rt 50 South, Saratoga Springs, New York 12866.  

         

In The Dawn's Early Light

Last week a young woodchuck paid us a visit... “Woody” was seen climbing our west deck steps evidently checking for food. So our large “Have-A-Heart” catch-and-release trap was placed out so Woody might be captured and relocated to other parts. In younger years a simple 22-caliber bullet solution may have been selected, but these advanced years have mellowed this writer. Prefer to say now - "I stopped killing many years ago."   Well, in those infamous words of Gomer Pyle, USMC “...Gall-lee! Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!”

This unwelcome fellow might be a non-native Hooded-Skunk, our own “Pepe le Pew” -- he has been seen making several nocturnal home visits over the past couple years. The top-side and tail of Pepe are totally white and under-side is black, no simple thin white strip on this guy's back. The capture was totally unplanned for the obvious reasons, but absolutely no skunk self-defense order... no spray... has been detected from this animal. This makes me think our visitor is or was someones escaped or intentionally released pet, where his musk-odor spray gland(s) are removed.

Our cage was cautiously approached using a tarp shield, quickly covering the cage with the tarp, and grabbed the cage handle to load it in my ATV trailer. Then drove the ATV perhaps a quarter-mile to our wooded west property line where a small creek flows. The cage door was carefully opened, stepping back a few yards to observe. It took Pepe a few minutes to make his caged exit, he seemed unsure about these relocation events. Still, no foul skunk odor noted, and no attempt to execute his self-defense spray profile as he made his departure across the creek. Watched Pepe for about five minutes as he walked westward toward new territory, he stopped and turned a half-dozen times to look back at his captor, but quickly continued his westward travel – hopefully, to never again be seen.