Biosecurity is Serious Stuff

It’s only February, and I’m already thinking ahead to tick season :( Thankfully here in the apple tree pruning timeframe, I tend to do alright; much harder for the little crawlies to get up through the layers of snow. But the ticks will have their time, and they seem to claim a much larger chunk of the calendar than in times past. So it goes, but returning to the notion of Biosecurity, I find it important to emphasize awareness. Yes, awareness of that three-leaved plant with the shiny leaves, awareness of the potential for hidden strands of barbed wire, and finally awareness of one’s immediate surroundings in terms of seeds and soil and insect eggs. I can put it this way: I rarely take a step without thinking about where I’m going and where I’ve been. Sure, there’s some dreamy philosophy in that, but there’s also the harsh reality that it is we humans who have spread wild parsnip, invasive insects, and hungry non-native earthworms across our landscapes. Us, plain and simple, and cleaning equipment and boots has never been the most enjoyable of tasks. But as a new growing season opens, I look at my gear to ensure that I have boots for northern Vermont, separate boots for Massachusetts locations, and yet additional boots to serve as clean back-ups. The exotic grasses and vines are doing quite well in these days of altered weather regimes, and they will continue to do so, (my opinion). The absolute best thing we can do is to refrain from driving through them and walking all over them. We cannnot stop Bambi and Munchy the Woodchuck from doing that, but we start with the things we can control. And that’s us. And if people visit you, and you know where they’re from…. you may wish to pull up parts of this conversation in your welcome greeting. That’s right: “Where have those boots been lately?”