Much has been written about crape murder and the practice of “topping” trees. Unfortunately, at this time of year, the work of tree hackers, both professional and layman, is evident just about everywhere in the community.Over the course of the past year and a half, I’ve fielded a few questions about pruning. More recently, I advised a writer against “topping” a maple next to her house. And this week, a reader asked about the practice of “pollarding” and how this differs from topping.“Topping” is the removal of a terminal shoot back to a point where there is no lateral branch to take over the terminal role in the plant’s architecture. In addition to ruining plant aesthetics, the practice of topping can lead to health issues like nutrient stress, sun damage, insect and disease attacks. At the very best, the result is an odd-looking, high-maintenance tree that requires yearly pruning.Reduction cutting, drop-crouching and thinning … [Read more...] about Gardening Q & A: We know about crape murder, but what about pollarding and coppicing?
Collegealexandra pollard
Baseball: Wednesday’s high school results
Baseball UIL Bidistrict Best-of-three unless noted; *—if necessary Class 6A O’Connor vs. Clemens: Game 1, 5:30 p.m. Today, Wolff Stadium; Game 2, 5 p.m. Friday, Wolff Stadium; *Game 3, 30 minutes after Game 2. Brandeis vs. East Central: Game 1, 8 p.m. Today, Wolff Stadium; Game 2, 7 p.m. Friday, East Central HS; *Game 3, Noon Saturday, Northside Field No. 1. Clark vs. Smithson Valley: Game 1: Clark 10, Smithson Valley 0 (five innings, run rule); Game 2, 7 p.m. Friday, Jourdanton HS; *Game 3, 6 p.m. Saturday, Jourdanton HS. Brennan vs. New Braunfels: Game 1: New Braunfels 4, Brennan 0; Game 2, 3 p.m. Saturday, Northside Field No. 1, *Game 3, 30 minutes after Game 2. Reagan vs. Austin Vandegrift: Game 1: Reagan 6, Vandegrift 1; Game 2, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Blossom Athletic Center; *Game 3, 2 p.m. Saturday, Vandegrift HS. Churchill vs. Austin Westlake: Game 1, 4:30 p.m. Today, Blossom Athletic Center; Game 2, 7 p.m. Friday, Westlake HS; *Game … [Read more...] about Baseball: Wednesday’s high school results
High schools: Cave Spring gets big 5th inning to beat Blacksburg in baseball
Reliever Austin Emery worked out of a jam with Cave Spring trailing by five runs, but then the Knights scored nine runs in the fifth inning and went on to a 9-8 win over Blacksburg in a River Ridge District baseball game on Tuesday.Emery went 2 for 2 with three RBIs for Cave Spring. Grant Wilson had two hits and two RBIs.Jared Madison, James Wilkes and Colin Collver all had two hits for Blacksburg.BaseballBLUE RIDGE DISTRICTWilliam Byrd 1, Northside 0Hunter Meador doubled and scored on Jacob Johnson’s RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Terriers (8-8) a win over the Vikings (8-5) in Vinton.Josh Hilliard and Tyler Dean combined on a three-hit shutout for the Terriers.Evan Parks threw a five-hitter for the Vikings. He also had two hits at the plate.RIVER RIDGE DISTRICTSalem 3, Christiansburg 1CHRISTIANSBURG — Zion Honaker tossed a complete game, allowing a run on three hits and four strikeouts, as the Spartans remained unbeaten.Matthew Wright had three … [Read more...] about High schools: Cave Spring gets big 5th inning to beat Blacksburg in baseball
Smug legal drama The Split made me file a motion over bad plot and terrible casting
MONTHS ago, the idiots who run BBC1’s drama department heard writer Abi Morgan pitch her idea for a series about “the female-dominated world of divorce lawyers”. But not a single word that followed. Not even the bit about “divorce lawyers”. She could’ve told them she’d cast Zippy, George and Bungle in the main roles and they still wouldn’t have been listening. By that point, it was already “Go! Go! Go!” for The Split, which succeeds in doing the only thing the BBC really cares about passionately these days — politically correct box-ticking — but fails in every other respect, including the most obvious one. It’s the wrong subject. Even those of us who’ve never needed one instinctively hate divorce lawyers, especially the rich, right-on London variety. So attempting to humanise them, in the space of six episodes, is like setting off up Mount Everest in a pair of flip-flops. Suffice to say this one … [Read more...] about Smug legal drama The Split made me file a motion over bad plot and terrible casting
On the Record: Government meetings for the week of April 30, 2018
Franklin County Board of SupervisorsWork session and regular meetingWhen: 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. TuesdayWhere: Franklin County Government Center, 1255 Franklin St., Rocky MountOn the agenda: The supervisors will have a joint work session with the school board. Later that afternoon, there will be a public hearing on the lease of county land for a Mountain Valley Pipeline storage yard.Vinton Town CouncilRegular meetingWhen: 7 p.m. TuesdayWhere: Council Chambers, Vinton Municipal Building, 311 S. Pollard St.On the agenda: For more information, visit www.vintonva.gov. … [Read more...] about On the Record: Government meetings for the week of April 30, 2018