Illinois Oaks Field Day

The Illinois Natural History Survey is organizing an oak study day here for 9 September. Here is a link posted by the University of Illinois in case anyone near enough to come here would like to register:
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/state/calendar_event.cfm?EventID=28642

Guy S.

I see Petersburg is holding a dodge ball tournament as part of the Harvest Festival on Sept. 16. I'm a huge dodge ball fan and was wondering if you could move your event back one week? Of course I'm kidding. Truth be told, dodge ball reminds me of high school phy. ed. where my esteemed classmates would gang-up and use me as a sort of shooting target based on some perceived slight I may have inflicted on them. I'd go to to the next class with welts about the size of the Osage Orange fruit you show on your website. Can you believe mild & meek maackia making anyone mad? OK, don't answer that.

I'd love to come down for this event. It would be a great opportunity to finally meet you see your arb. Not only that, but I'd be able to have you sign my tattered book LANDSCAPING WITH NATIVE TREES. This would have to be cleared with DW, but I sure hope to make this event.

Bob

Hey, that'd be terrific! How did you know about Harvest Fest? You've been doing your homework. I'll be manning the Trails and Greenways booth there that day. It's just one more of those "Oh, you're retired so you have time to help with _______ " (fill in the blank).

If you have time to stay a couple of days you could see some of the Lincoln historical sites (Presidential Museum, New Salem Village, Lincoln's Tomb, etc.) as well. We already have other house guests coming then or you could stay here with us, but let me know if you want me to reserve a room for you at one of the Victorian B&Bs or the Riverbank Lodge. There are photos of all of them at the end of the arboretum photo album linked on our web site. Maybe someone else from up North will want to share a ride with you to save gas? Evil? Kneevin? Ginkgo Fairy? Blacklab? Ken? Others?

Guy S.

Hey Maackia, I am speaking on the 16 (tried to get out of it but couldn't or I would have been going to the UMW RU in Minnesota to go shopping with Leftwood) and going up your way for the weekend of the 9th for a conference of some sort (forgot there's so much going on here lately but it was a native plant something or other). I was planning on going down by Guy and Edie the end of Septemeber if you want to meet me here and drive on down together that would be great. I can drive if you navigate or I can drive with you and share gas costs and keep my mouth shut- I am not a back seat driver. I'm easy. My husband said we could take his big monster whatever it is that is hard to see over the hood when driving so we could load up on goodies at Guy's house! Patrick would want to meet us down there... something about a t-shirt photo session opportunity.

EQ, it sounds like you are not going on Sept. 9 to Guy's, is that correct? It'll be a bit before I know if I can do the 9/9 IOFD at Starhill, but if it falls through maybe we can work something out for later in the month as you mentioned. We could nursery hop all the way down. Boy, if only there were any decent nurseries in Illinois. ;)

BTW, when I tried to use the U of Illinois extension link (carrollc@inhs.uiuc.edu) to register I got an error message.

Hmmm -- try pasting this (the part inside the brackets) into your address line:
[carrollc@inhs.uiuc.edu]

and if it still doesn't activate let me know via D-mail or E-mail and I'll send you her phone number. That's her correct e-dress and it was working two days ago, but maybe Dave's automatic hypertext conversion thing isn't working right.

I hope you get a couple of takers for the ride. And remember to leave all your shovels and chain saws at home or the guards won't let you in the gate!

Guy S.

Have something going on the 9th and the 16th of September. I'm going to be up in Milwaukee somewhere on the 9th and out in CA somewhere on the 16th. Bummer. I was planning on going down Guy's way the end of the month. I'd love to nursery hop! I have a credit card and am armed and dangerous with it.

Anyone got a spare transatlantic flight ticket they don't want??

I have nothing going on then, plus it sounds pretty fun. I still need to check out lodging and all that. Will check back in a bit later.

Thanks,

Dax/Blacklab

I would ask you all to respond by D-mail, but I'm hoping that by keeping it on this public thread it might facilitate carpooling and room sharing. So let's keep it here and let's see if several of you can get together on it. I'll be happy to help you make the B&B or lodge reservations once we have a headcount, and camping is available at New Salem State Historic Site four miles down the road (where Lincoln studied by firelight to become a lawyer and politician).

If you can get to town the night before (i.e. Friday 8 Sept.) we'll have a tour of local historic trees that Saturday morning.

Guy S.

Aww come on Resin--don't you have 708USD to spare?

$458+ $250 taxes & fees = $708 per person

Leave
Fri, Sep 8 Air-India 125
Depart: 12:45pm
Arrive: 3:00pm London, United Kingdom (LHR)
Chicago, IL (ORD)
Non-stop

8hr 15min | Boeing 747


Return
Tue, Sep 12 Air-India 124
Depart: 8:40pm
Arrive: 10:15am Chicago, IL (ORD)
London, United Kingdom (LHR)
Non-stop

7hr 35min | Boeing 747


This is an overnight flight.

Excellent work, Kneevin. I'd be happy to provide Resin with round trip transportation from airport to Guy's and back. I'm sure we could work out lodging arangements for him as well. Sounds like a done deal. I love it when a plan comes together. ;)

Bumping this up to be sure Resin sees it (and anyone else who might be able to join us).

Guy S.

Unfortunately I've not got that much - spent all my savings on my Morocco trip back in April, and nowt left now :-(

Not to mention, half the flights are getting cancelled, and everything basically going haywire (British Airways have just admitted today, they've lost 10,000 items of luggage in the few days of the security scare, and have so far found less than half of them ... and the other airlines are no better off)

Tx for the pickup offer all the same!

Resin

(This is a communication I had with Guy moments ago and he's asked that I post my D-mail message directly onto this thread. So if you're interested in tagging along as well, that would be cool - Dax)

Hello Guy,

I'm registered and will be camping.

I'll be looking forward to meeting you and some other folks and of course your trees.

What time Friday on the optional day before the event is a good time for me to arrive for the pre-tour of trees around the county? I've forgotten.

Thanks and looking forward. Also, are there directions to the campground on your website? If not, I'll need directions. I'm of course coming from Rock Island, IL.

Any others coming too?

Thanks,

Dax
-----------------------------------------

Guy's Response:

Hey Dax! GREAT that we'll be meeting! May I ask you to place this same message directly on the thread, so others can know you're coming and coordinate possible rides, etc.? I'm not sure yet who else might be coming, or considering it (...)

The campground at New Salem State Historic Site (where Lincoln lived) is 5 miles northwest of here, and about two miles south of Petersburg on Route 97. You can find it on the state highway map. The optional tree tour actually is Saturday morning, with the oak workshop here starting after lunch. I think Connie plans to send out directions, times, etc. to all who register, but I need to check with her about that.

See you soon!

Guy S.

I would be there also, and camping to boot, but I will be up at a friends cottage in Wisconsin. Dax and I could have turned that town upside down. I still want to go down there, but maybe later in the fall.

Bill

That's right Bill!

Have a good one and a nice trip.

Dax

I just looked up the details and the historic tree tour starts here at 9:30am Saturday with the oak workshop here at 1:00. Bob, are you still thinking of joining us? Others? We all could get together and conjure up some wicked stories about Evil and TerrieR and PartyGirl if they don't show up! (And who knows, maybe I'll be passing out free plants, or $1000 bills . . . )

Guy S.

What I want to know is the guys that are camping....are we talking tent and sleeping bag or are we talking trailer with an actual bed? I might be swayed if it's a trailer. If it's a tent, well I'm not exactly the roughing it kind of gal.

Guy, got any room between you and Edie?? Or I know, VV owes me big time, he needs to come get me and deliver me wherever I need to be. He can cater to my every whim. Now that my friends, sounds like the ultimate deal.

For you, there's a ratty old bedroll down by the creek! (Which has been dry for six weeks now, by the way . . . )

So, are ya coming to defend the honor of the X-team? You could stay at Riverbank Lodge if you don't wanna camp. You also could stay right here with us except we already have houseguests coming.

Guy S.

Guy, I'm signed up and really pushing on the home front to get this done. Unfortunately, my wife has horse plans for that weeked, and my coming down is contingent on my daughter spending the weekend here taking care of the critters. The older I get the less I like having animals around. I might as well be milking cows.

Oh I am soo embarrassed. By the creek? Not with you anywhere within 25 miles mister!

It's not that I don't want to camp....it's that I don't do sleeping bags and tents. A trailer I can do. I have a bathroom, a shower, a toilet, a sink, air conditioning, a bed.........

Ohhhhhh Boooooooob, remember... that's why we were talking about going down the end of September.

Ohhhhhh Terrrrrrrrrrrrrry, I have earned the right to come right out and state that I don't like camping. I don't like sleeping in tents, I don't like cold showers if the camp site even offer showers at all, I don't like to use outhouses and I certainly would have no desire to dig a hole and "leave no trace" if restroom facilities weren't available. I don't particularly care for skeeters these days either so sitting around a camp fire is out unless I've got a nice thick blanket and a cozy chair. I want air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter and a refrigerator with food is a must but restaurant reservations to any where other than fast food restaurants would suffice. Come on now, tell the truth... who wants to camp in anything but a hotel or a motel at our age? Seriously, those little campers are rather cramped wouldn't you say? You have to pee with your knees to the wall and you and I aren't exactly tall women. Forget this camping business. If you want to meet me down there the end of September, we can get a hotel room together. We can flip for who gets the bathtub first at the end of the day.

Am I reading this right?????????????????????????????????????????

Sounds like I'm better off camping!

What a crack up you guys are.

I'd post a photo of my 1985 pimped out Volkswagon Motel on wheels (air conditioning/bed/refridgerator (yes men cook), stove (to cook), and shovel for (you know what! - HA!).

Funnny! That's about all I can say.

Dax

Honey, age ain't got nothing to do with it. Girls aren't built like men are and simply aren't equipped to do our thing on the dirt. Plus, that's just plain ole gross. I don't share a shower with a few thousand other people that who knows what kind of germs they might have (who cleans those showers anyway? Any one?). Another big gross. I do outhouses, I hold my nose, but I will do them. I can hover just fine. I love campfires, skeeters don't bug me much...unless they're the size that you have Equil and practically carry you off. I wouldn't mind a trailer, I don't care the age. But it must possess what I have to have. And that's at least a shower, a sink, a toilet and air conditioning. Toilets are helpful for the 2 am call. Can you imagine stumbling out into nature and fumbling around with....well you get it.... while half asleep? I'm not a man and cannot simply whip anything. I need to wash my hands after using the facilities and I need to wash my face and brush my teeth. Truth be told, I'd bet Dax's pimp motel is a heck of a lot cleaner than any hotel or motel. Those things are nasty. I hate cleaning the bathroom before I can even use it, or having to bring my own sheets because we all know....you get it again.

Dax, add a toilet, sink and a shower and I'd stay in your pimp motel. Ladies uses shovels for digging holes for plants and possibly chopping the head off a snake or bonking a mouse with, not for digging holes for....well you get it. You can cook any day for me, I'd let you :o)

Didn't you already post your volkswagon here?
http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=2519810

Bill

Terryr, have I got the solution for you.

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=13827&memberId=12500226

Bill

Bill, that's my long lost friend Jill. My dad wanted to have one in his plane for when a woman needed to go. Yea right.

The shovel is for whatever you want it to be (could be gross!)

I'm thinking that 25 mile bed near the stream might be a good choice now!

You guys are still a hoot!

And yes, age does have something to do with wits! (not in my case though or my thoughts!)

Just havin' some ppppimmpin ' fun!

See ya,

Dax

Oh willis, I just clicked on your link. Oh my word, that's disgusting.

Dax, you're shovel is just as disgusting.

Yeah, I won't ever go there again.

Take care,

Dax

I guess I should have been a little clearer.....age has nothing to do with me sleeping in a tent, in a sleeping bag, on the hot hard ground. My grandparents had a trailer long before I was born, so when we went camping, it was in their trailer. My brother and I did try sleeping in a pup tent loooong ago. I bet we slept in that thing 3 times. We even got my moms floats out and blew them up, but it still wasn't comfortable, not to mention hot. Their trailer had all the comforts of home, including a t.v. for those rainy days. My brother and I playing war..........

Equil, they really do sell them for smaller airplanes. The mans is a johnny, the girls is a jill.

Dax, if you don't mind digging a hole for your purpose, then don't mind us thinking it's on the gross side. He-men and girly-girls don't think alike! Probably why X's are superior.

Yaa, I know they sell them but they are still disgusting and I'd prefer my eyeballs turn yellow than to use one. My husband bought one for me when he was flying that little Cessna thing. He was totally sincere. He claimed other people's wives used them. Then they bought a Beechcraft and there was an honest to goodness lavatory in the plane. Whoopie!

Come to think of it . . .

You can argue that point when you get here. But first ya gotta show up! Just think how many forum folks would drop whatever else they're doing and come here if they knew they could get a gander at ol' Resin face to face! And I'm sure they would bring you bouquets of purple-leaved plants . . .

Guy S.

Spot on, Guy. I'd search high and low to find just the perfect Tricolor Beech for Resin to take back with him, or plant at Starhill as a tribute.

T'wouldn't work, our plant health inspectors would confiscate them on the return ;-))

No tricolor beech for me, not even to commemorate Res -- thanks anyway!

The Illinois Natural History Surcey reports that we're getting some interesting registrations from all over the map. I hope a few of them are you guys.

Guy S.

I hope you like grafted maples and dawn redwood seedlings as that's what I was going to bring.

Girls - don't ask. I was just laughing so hard earlier that I got carried away (well the second time)...My use of: ???????????????????????? - actually meant (to me, once again not very clear) that I was laughing so hysterically. Camping had nothing to do with anything at that point.

I knew I pushed the evelope Terryr and I apologize. I should have viewed those two photo links (my van and the woman aid thing) before I posted my second comment.

Sorry guys! I completely headed this funny thread in the wrong direction and have been thinking about it for days.

You guys are still a hoot to me and I'm sorry for "getting weird" on ya all.

Bill wasn't - I was.

Thanks,

Dax

P.s. "Equil" - I used to fly those little Cessna's and you aren't a kidding one bit. Those things are like a kite! Little windows with roller handles to roll the window up and down. Kind of like a Ford Escort with wings!

See ya...