Jerry Mills: Taking out an old tree while navigating credit card scams

Pushing out Granny Smith: Yesterday as I was coming in from pushing prunings, I cut through an old unpruned Granny Smith block. There was a sickly tree. The soil was soft. I set the blade of the track loader about two feet above ground level and made a run at the tree. It leaned over. I lifted as I pushed and it popped out of the ground, roots and all (pictured above).

I dropped the blade, set it in float mode, tilted it forward a bit and backed up. Dirt displaced by the eruption moved back toward the hole. By rolling the blade as it approached the hole, I was able to fill it perfectly. A couple of runs across the pile and the tracks pressed it down. There is no sign a Granny lived there for 42 years.

That went so well, I pushed out the whole community.

Parkinson’s patient’s kick: There comes a time, as the disease progresses, that people like me begin to have violent dreams. Violence, as in as striking out or kicking. This comes toward the end of a sleep cycle during the rapid eye movement (REM) period.

My dreams always involve kicking. You would be surprised at how accurately I can kick an attacker squarely in the face, usually while lying on my back. This continues until I awaken or Marilyn wakes me. The good part is that I seldom feel terrorized.

One 5-mg. melatonin tablet, taken at bedtime, usually prevents these dreams. Melatonin is a natural substance already found in the body. Safe to use. I take a second pill if sleep is not going well and I wake up after an hour or so.

Scams, fraud and other misdemeanors: The vultures are flying! This week I had three instances of potential internet thievery.

My credit card company caught the first one and sent an alert. Their records showed $91 due for something I did not order, but from a company where I had recently placed orders. Then they made up a nice invoice and sent it, but it was not from a business address. I called the card company. We closed out that card and were issued a new one.

The next day an email arrived from someone else acknowledging an order for a fancy Nikon camera and an HP laser printer. Charges, with postage and shipping: $1,100! Then a fake Amazon email came acknowledging the order and announcing March 8 as the delivery date. These charges have not appeared on my credit card. We think they were blocked by the old card that we canceled.

It pays to be careful. I get potential scams every day wanting me to “call back” or click a special button. Sometimes it is hard to resist. Don’t be easy pickings.

— Jerry Mills, Mills Apple Farm and FGN columnist

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