[OCT. 13, 2000]  Swimsuit season is over. Cool weather is fast approaching, and, believe it or not, the holiday season is only a few months away.

As the hours of sunshine decrease and the degrees dip into the lower double digits, it’s only natural that people stay inside more and tend to be less active. Coupled with that, as the holidays approach, they bring a time of gift-giving, helping those in need, spreading good cheer....and food. Lots of food.

First the traditional Thanksgiving meal brings noodles and dressing and pecan pie. Then come Christmas celebrations, school gatherings, office parties and family dinners with tables heavy with crab dip, meatballs, cheese trays, and more cookies and pies. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the kitchen, New Year’s Eve parties lie ahead, which means champagne toasts and calorie-laden tidbits to snack on while ringing in the new year.

Even though all that seems so far away, it’s important to start watching your eating habits now and preparing for those calorie-laden times.

More than 50 percent of citizens in the United States are overweight and are eating seven percent more calories than they did 20 years ago. To combat the problem, they spend more than $30 billion every year to lose weight, according to the American Dietetic Association (ADA). But many times the diet plans and gimmicks don’t work. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," said Amy Olson, registered dietitian and certified diabetics educator at SIU School of Medicine.

There is certainly no lack of information on the subject. Everywhere you look there are testimonials, statistics and advice from nutritional experts to entertainers touting their own version of how to lose weight. There’s the cabbage soup diet....the low-carbohydrates diet...the three-day diet...the SlimFast diet...the Scarsdale diet — the options are endless.

Many of the most popular diets making the rounds today are based on the Atkins diet, which preaches a low-carbohydrate regime. Other versions include the Carb Addict’s diet, which limits carb consumption by eating them less frequently and more quickly; the Suzanne Somers diet, which advises not to eat fats with carbs and to eat fruit alone; the Zone, which touts a low-carbohydrate consumption balanced with the right amount of protein and fat; and the Combo Diet, which allows eating proteins and starchy carbs together to keep the food from being stored as fat.

These fat-embracing, low-carb diets are a resurgence of the craze started in the ’70s by the Scarsdale and Dr. Atkins’ diets and are topping the bestseller lists and being discussed on the talk show circuits. They allow you to eat all the steak you want but not with a baked potato on the side. You can go through the drive-through at your favorite fast food hangout and order the cheeseburger; just throw out the bun. Eat all the ribs and pot roast you want, just not pasta or rice. It’s hard to argue with a diet that lets you have bacon and eggs for breakfast, a bacon cheeseburger and salad for lunch, and a porterhouse steak for dinner. What’s not to like?

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"Don’t throw in the trowel yet"

[OCT. 3, 2000]  Just because fall is fast approaching doesn’t mean it’s time to put away your garden tools. There are less hours of sunlight and temperatures are headed north, but there’s still a lot of work that can be done in the garden.

There are several reasons that fall is a great time to dig in the dirt, according to Wilma Clark, owner of Clark’s Greenhouse and Herbal Country:

*Less stress. Fall installation gives plants a chance to establish a strong root system. Plants entering dormancy are not under pressure to produce top growth and blooms. Most perennials flower in the spring. However, if planted then, they may not have enough time to bloom.

*Less water required. October and November are usually months of enough rainfall that the need for manual watering is reduced. Moisture does not evaporate as quickly in fall as it does in the summer heat. This doesn’t mean you can stop watering, however. Always check the soil moisture if the summer has been dry, and water new plants thoroughly to avoid leaving any air pockets around the root systems before the ground freezes for the winter.

*Lots of free mulch. Leaves and grass clippings are plentiful in fall. In the past, these might have been thrown on a bonfire, but now you can put them to good use on your plants. Mulch aids moisture retention, reduces weeds and adds a blanket of protection from harsh winters and early thaws.

*Cold temperatures make plants hardier. Bulbs develop root systems over the winter. Pest populations decline and give young transplants a fighting chance. Fall planting is like giving your plants a rest.

*Autumn beauty. If you only shop at garden centers in spring, you’ll miss several plants that are at their best in fall. Many nurseries stagger their planting so they have plants blooming in fall. Pansies, asters and mums are popular choices, but don’t overlook ornamental grasses and plants that produce berries.

*Sales! Fall is a good time to find reduced prices on trees, shrubs and other plants. Robbin Nickelson, owner of The Garden Path, said mulching is one of the most important things to do in the fall, because it not only protects plants from cold winter weather, it also discourages weed growth next spring. Mulching rose bushes is especially important, and several inches of material should cover the rose bush graft, where the branches form to the stem.

And even though it’s tempting — after all those long, hot hours of yard work during the summer — to hang up your garden gloves, just remember: All the work you do this fall will means less work next spring. While you’re at it, throw some bulbs into the ground. When winter is winding to a close and you see the magical green buds pushing up through the ground, you’ll be glad you did.

A fall garden checklist

*Plant trees and scrubs. Roots will grow until the ground freezes.

*Divide peonies and other perennials. Work in compost, bone meal and soil amendments.

*Plant mums for fall color.

*Dig up new garden beds for next spring. Add organic matter.

*Plant bulbs.

*Save flower seeds from non-hybrids by allowing seeds to mature. Spread seeds on newspaper, turning them to dry, and store in glass jars at 48 to 50 degrees.

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*Clean up vegetable garden and add dead plants to the compost pile.

*Transplant parsley, chives and other herbs from the garden and place in a sunny window for the winter.

*Plant or transplant ferns.

*Dig up dahlia, canna and gladiolus bulbs. Dry, clean off soil and store in vermiculite.

*Water evergreens before ground freezes.

*Drain garden hose completely. Some hoses will crack if water left inside freezes during cold weather.

*Pumpkins and winter squash should be harvested when mature but before a damaging frost.

*Dig up flower beds and add organic matter.

*Cut perennials 3 to 4 inches to clean up beds and prevent disease. Let those that provide winter interest remain until spring

*Apply fall lawn fertilizer or winterizer at the end of October.

*Rake up leaves, grass clippings and debris and use as mulch or build a compost heap.

*Protect shade trees, ornamentals and fruit trees from trunk damage with tree wrap or tree guards.

*Water and mulch evergreens.

*Prune heavy-bleeding trees like walnut, maple and birch as they go dormant.

*Protect roses by mounding hardwood mulch over grafts.

*Clean and service lawn mower.

*Clean and store garden tools.

*Clean out all birdhouses to prevent parasites from overwintering in the old nest debris.

*Take soil samples from your garden for analysis and add necessary nutrients so the soil is in optimal condition for the next growth season.

*Stop deadheading all recurrent or perpetual flowering shrub roses and climbing roses so the plants’ growth can harden off before arrival of winter frosts. Cut off any diseased leaves.

What to plant to provide fall and winter interest through color of leaves, attractive fruit, bark or texture

Trees: Ash, bald cypress, birch, black gum, crab apple, dogwood, ginkgo, hawthorn, maple, oak, serviceberry, witch hazel

Shrubs: barberry, blueberry, burning bush, chokeberry, spirea, sumac, viburnum, witch hazel, fothergilla, cotoneaster

Perennials: peony, aster, blackberry lily, black-eyed Susan, false indigo, joe-pye weed, lenten rose, liriope, ornamental grass, purple coneflower, sedum, snowdrops and winter creeper

[Penny Zimmerman-Wills]

"Don’t throw in the trowel yet"

[OCT. 2, 2000]  Just because fall is fast approaching doesn’t mean it’s time to put away your garden tools. There are less hours of sunlight and temperatures are headed north, but there’s still a lot of work that can be done in the garden.

In fact, not only is fall a great time to make a checklist of maintenance projects necessary to maintain a healthy landscape, but it’s also the perfect time of year to plant new trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs.

There’s a lot more to this season sandwiched in between the end of summer and start of winter than just a time to clean the shovel and mow the yard one last time.

Gardeners now tend to their yards almost year round, according to Robbin Nickelson, owner of The Garden Path in Salisbury. She said more people are stretching out the duties of being a gardener, such as mulching, planting and trimming, through the fall and winter months. And because many early flowering spring bulbs, like snowdrops, begin blooming even when there’s still snow on the ground, January is really the only month of total rest for a gardener, she said. And of course, those cold, wintry January days are spent in front of a fireplace with a stack of garden catalogues, planning for the next season’s garden.

There are many ways to keep your green thumb active during the fall season, including planting spring bulbs, dividing perennials, cleaning up dead garden material, organizing, cleaning and storing garden tools and planting evergreens.

Planting spring-flowering bulbs

Nothing heralds the start of spring more than a burst of red and yellow tulips gleaming in the sunshine. Bulbs are becoming more popular every year, according to local gardening experts, and the varieties available through bulb catalogues and garden centers are endless. Even though the old favorite yellow daffodils and tulips are still around, now an endless array of colors, sizes and shapes are being planted. From the tiniest grape hyacinth to the mammoth allium, there is a bulb to fit in everyone’s garden.

Before you plant your bulbs, the garden area should be prepared by adding sphagnum peat moss or mushroom compost in the soil along with bone meal or fertilizer high in phosphorous. Make sure to plant bulbs at the proper depth, which is usually two or three times the height of the bulb. It’s important to place the bulb right side up so the roots can go down and tops point up. Fertilize and water the newly planted area.

Fall planting is a must for all spring flowering bulbs, which should be planted when the soil temperatures have dropped to 60 degrees F and no later than Dec. 1. They need well-drained soil to thrive and bloom year after year.

Gardening experts offer several tips for planting a bulb garden:

*Plant in masses. A single row of red tulips won’t have nearly the same effect as a grouping of a dozen or more.

*Bunch bulbs of the same color. A mass of red tulips next to a mass of white tulips will draw much more attention to your yard than the same number of mixed.

*Bigger bulbs mean bigger blooms. Pick out premium-sized bulbs for the biggest, showiest blooms. Fertilizing with a food high in phosphorous also makes bigger bulbs.

*Store bulbs in a ventilated bag in a cool, dry place if you can’t plant immediately. Keep away from ripening fruit. Don’t expose bulbs to extreme temperatures.

*Naturalize ground cover areas with small bulbs such as snowdrops, Siberian squill, grape hyacinths or dwarf daffodils planted among the ground cover.

*Allow foliage of the bulbs to die down after flowering to ensure proper time to store energy in the bulb for flowering next year.

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Bulbs which appear very early in the spring include claytonia, chionodoxa, crocus, eranthis, snowdrops, striped squill and some varieties of tulips. The best bulbs for naturalizing, which last from season to season and grow into larger clumps each year, include daffodils, grape hyacinth, striped squill, Orange Emperor, Red Emperor, Red Riding Hood, Kees Nelis, Aladdin Apeldoom and Golden Apeldoom tulips.

Dividing perennials

Another important task for fall gardeners is to divide overgrown perennial plants, which not only makes healthier plants but also gives you more plants to tuck into your garden.

Spring flowering plants such as columbine, daylilies, ferns, heuchera, yucca, peony and delphinium, should be divided in early fall. They need time to establish roots before the harsh winter weather. To divide plants, dig up the clump in sections using a sharp knife or spade. Discard the older middle section if it appears less vigorous, and replenish the soil with compost. Replant sections of five or six shoots each, then water immediately.

Pressing flowers

Wilma Clark, owner of Clark’s Greenhouse and Herbal Country in San Jose, suggests that gardeners to preserve a little bit of their summer garden before frost hits. "Don’t let summer slip away without preserving some flowers between the pages of a flower press or sandwiched between a discarded telephone directory," she said. She advises using the pressed souvenirs of your summer garden to make floral stationery, bookmarks or framed collages.

Flowers should be picked after dew has dried from the petals. Good candidates for pressing include coral bells, bleeding hearts, candy tuft, verbena, lobelia, lavender, nigella blooms, phlox, larkspur, alyssum, baby’s breath, viola, borage and pansies.

"Don’t throw in the trowel yet. Fall is the best time to spruce up flower beds with bulbs and perennials. It’s also a good time to overhaul your flower beds by dividing plants and sharing some with your friends," she said.

(To be continued)

[click here for Part 2 of this article]

[Penny Zimmerman-Wills]

Ten reasons to adopt a shelter dog

 1.  I'll bring out your playful side!

 2.  I'll lend an ear to your troubles.

 3.   I'll keep you fit and trim.

 4.   We'll look out for each other.

 5.   We'll sniff out fun together!

 6.   I'll keep you right on schedule.

 7.   I'll love you with all my heart.

 8.   We'll have a tail-waggin' good time!

 9.   We'll snuggle on a quiet evening.

10.   We'll be best friends always.

Animals for adoption

These animals and more are available to good homes from the Logan County Animal Control at 1515 N. Kickapoo, phone 735-3232.

Fees for animal adoption: dogs, $60/male, $65/female; cats, $35/male, $44/female. The fees include neutering and spaying.

Logan County Animal Control's hours of operation:

Sunday  –  closed

Monday  –  8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Tuesday  –  8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Wednesday  –  8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Thursday  –  8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Friday  –  8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Saturday  –  closed

Warden: Sheila Farmer
Assistant:  Michelle Mote
In-house veterinarian:  Dr. Lester Thompson

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