Oh Ye of the Big Brain, will there be an event again this year where people can buy a rain barrel or a compost bin? — Becky
And the Big Brain spake: Yea, verily, the Zumbro Watershed Partnership again will peddle barrels and bins on May 7 at the Olmsted County Fairgrounds. It's the fourth year they've done so.
The sale will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. while supplies last. The rain barrels will set you back $63 and the Earth Machine compost bins cost $52. Smart green people will pre-order by going to the organization's website at www.zumbrowatershed.org.
---------------------------
Answer Man, hop on this and try not to ham it up. Easter is extremely late this year. How is the date set and are we in record territory? — Peter Rabbit
ADVERTISEMENT
This question makes me hopping mad. As if I'd ham it up! All Peter has done is egg me on. I'm dyeing to get to work, so let's begin.
To keep this from becoming a history book about the origin of Easter, I'll just tell you the formula for figuring out the date each year: Find the vernal equinox, also known as the first day of spring, then note the first full moon after that, and Easter is the first Sunday on or after that.
Accordingly, the latest possible date for Easter is April 25. The last time it was on the 25th was in 1943; the next will be in 2038. I believe my Easter egg-hunting days will be over by then.
The earliest possible date for Easter is March 22.
---------------------------
Dear Answer Man, how come Minnesota doesn't have a city named Lincoln? —S.D.
It does, my friend. It's way up past Little Falls on U.S. 10, in Morrison County.
Does anybody live there? That's a different question, and I'm not driving up there to find out. I called a real estate agent in what's called the Lincoln Lakes area and she said, "I think there's a post office there." But there's not. The nearest post office now is in Cushing, about seven miles away, says the Postal Service officer in charge there, Deb Cary.
ADVERTISEMENT
Deb, who lived in Eyota in the mid-'60s, says Lincoln doesn't have many people — and I couldn't find a census number online — but it has a bait shop, liquor store and "more businesses than they have in Cushing."
There's also a Lincoln County in the Gopher State, of course, along the South Dakota border. More people live in Kasson than live in all of Lincoln County.
---------------------------
TURBINE TURMOIL:I blow hot and cold when it comes to wind turbines, but last week I addressed the issue and asked readers who live near wind farms to tell me what they know. A few people did, including Sharon Sowersof Dexter:
"Dear Answer Man, you said you were curious to hear more from people who already live near wind farms. Well, I have quite a few southeast, southwest and south of me. One is a mile south of my home and they do impact my TV service. I have a 40-foot tower with an HD antenna and some days it gets rather disgusting trying to watch my favorite programs. I have to keep adjusting the rotor to try to get the picture and sound back .
"I am not looking forward to seeing them go up and spoil my nice view. Plus have to see the red lights blinking at nights. And I'm sure my TV reception will only get worse."
As Sharon says, red lights are everywhere after dark near Dexter. It must be how the world looks to a bug on an airport runway at night.
