The DeerLake Weekly Letter

   Happy 4th to everyone, we do live in the richest country on earth, and still we find it hard to prosper. Lucky for me, a good garden, good chicken hens, and my good wife, make me one of the lucky ones. I got all I need to be happy.

  I have figured out why one fruit tree has been plagued with aphids. My plum tree has aphid trouble every year, even after spraying. Spraying was the wrong thing to do, seems I killed most of the aphids for a short time only. There were ants protecting the aphids, ants were the problem. Aphids should be controlled by ladybugs and other good insects. So all I needed to do was to get the ants out of the tree. A product called "Tree Tanglefoot" gets rid of the ants. If you have aphid problems, give it a try, sure worked for me.

  We're all about celebrating the fourth of July, however with the heat in the western states this year, we would just like to caution everyone of the fireworks fire danger. I would like to see a standard light show that was not so dangerous to us or the environment. Maybe a trained flock of birds connected to laser lights. Have a fun-and-safe Fourth of July.

  Ideas matter. Ideas have consequences. Our free American Republic was founded on an idea - the idea of individual liberty. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The sanctity of contracts and private property. The freedom to try. The freedom to fail. The freedom to learn from our mistakes. The freedom to prosper and to keep the fruits of our labors. The freedom to exercise our conscience when it comes to charity and our religious beliefs. It is nothing less than the fundamental principle of self-ownership - that your life belongs to you - not the state - and that the goal is to live free. We Americans were the first in all the history of the world to claim freedom as our inalienable right, granted to us by our Creator and this is the week that we as a country celebrate that right.

 Happy Cycling in Glacier Park.

 It's a perfect time to go for a bike ride, but if you ride around in the Rocky Mtns. you must be aware of the bears and other wild critters. This week one of the rangers was out riding with a friend in a secluded area not far from the hwy. when a chance encounter with a grizzly ended badly. This doesn't happen often, however a reminder that we live in bear country.

General Biking Information,

First of all, make sure your bike and equipment are in perfect working order, and wear proper gear: helmet, cycling shorts or tights, windbreaker jacket, cycle gloves, etc.

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Happy Canada Day.

'God keep our land glorious and free...
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.'

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Summer Storm.

Skies yonder are foreboding,
An omen a storm is loading,
This summer's eve has grew
Into a wicked weather brew.

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The 4th of July.

When recalling this time in history
as we honor the 4th of July,
we must never forget these good people,
what they did and the reasons why.

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Recipes Below
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Becca's All American Pie Recipe.
Started with a layer of rhubarb in this pie. Smooth, creamy and delicious.

and

Steven's Broccoli Waldorf Salad Recipe.
It's the season of the salad.

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Thought for Today -

May the sun, traveling along this day, visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country!

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Be Safe as you can, Steven and Becca