Clach loses second league and cup double player

A talented footballer in his day, Callum Nicolson died from a brain tumour after a long illness at the age of 61.

He is the second player from Clach's celebrated 1974/75 team, which won a league and cup double, to pass away this month.

Team-mate John Alison, nicknamed "Johnny Al", died after suffering a heart attack in his shop, Highland Carpets and Flooring, in Montague Row.

Fifty-seven-year-old Mr Allison, of Fairfield Road, was a full back in Clach's successful team and played for Ross County and courted by senior side St Johnstone.

Mr Nicolson's death last Thursday came as a £190,000 deal to sell the Clach social club to a Christian group saw it resume normal trading after more than a year of administration.

Mr Nicolson, of Cradlehall Park, Westhill, was described as a gentleman by brother-in-law and former Clach and Inverness Thistle manager Roshie Fraser, who said he had refused to let cancer take over his life after he was diagnosed 18 months ago.

"It is very sad," said Mr Fraser, describing Mr Nicolson as a family man. "It is just two weeks after John Allison and he was unable to go to the funeral because he was unwell."

During his football days Mr Nicolson, who originally played as a winger and later converted to left-back, turned out for Clach for five seasons, as well as Inverness Thistle, Ross County and Lossiemouth.

Mr Nicolson's family was originally from Farr and he had eight sisters and one brother, Iain, who was a goalkeeper for Thistle.

They moved to Inverness where his father worked as a gardener at Hedgefield House in the Crown.

The father-of-two won the Highland League and the Scottish Qualifying Cup with Clach. He later played for Inverness Thistle with whom he won the cup again in 1976, and Ross County and Lossiemouth.

After his football career ended, Mr Nicolson became a keen golfer and was a member of Inverness and Nairn golf clubs. He was the manager of BP and Shell's Inverness depot in the Longman until his retiral nine years ago after 32 years.

He still worked two days a week during his retirement to tackle any pension-related issues amongst the former and current workforce.

His widow Val Nicolson said her husband retained a keen interest in Clach and she attended matches in the 1970s having married her husband at the age of 18.

"I knew all the Clach songs then," she said. "He was a gentleman and always made sure everybody was okay first before himself."

He was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago but treatment appeared to combat it, until the condition returned 18 months ago.

Mr Nicolson's funeral will feature a montage of pictures taken during his football career and life and takes place at William T. Fraser & Son's funeral home in Culduthel on Friday.

He is also survived by children Paul and Sharon and four grandchildren.

Source http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/14644/Clach_loses_second_league_and_cup_double_player.html

Musk thistle control

Musk thistle has been a nuisance in Kansas for many years. It is on the noxious weed list and landowners with the weed on their property are obligated by law to get it under control. Musk thistle, which is also known as nodding thistle because of the way it moves in the wind, is usually a biennial or winter annual but can also occur as a summer annual. As a biennial, it produces a rosette the first year and then develops flowers and seeds the following year. Seedlings can emerge any time during he growing season, but the plants usually remain in the rosette for about 90% of their life cycle.

Musk thistle usually starts flowering in May and may remain blooming for several weeks. The flowers are usually deep rose to violet or purple. The leaves are coarsely lobed and dark green with a light green midrib. They can have a sliver-green leaf margin. The leaves are alternately arranged on the stem and are smooth and hairless on both sides. Each lobe has three to five lobes that ends in a whitish or yellowish spine. Seed development is very quick with seed dispersal beginning within seven to ten days after the head begins to bloom. Musk thistle seed is generally dispersed by the wind but can be spread by other methods as well.

Light infestations can be controlled fairly well with cultural practices. The plant can be removed by hand by digging below the crown of the rosette. Be sure to remove flowers and seed heads from the field and burn them. Nebraska research shows that mowing is most effective at full bloom but needs to be done repeatedly to destroy new stems and flowers that develop after the initial mowing. Remember that an escaped flower represents seed that is produced and distributed with the end result being more thistle plants.

Chemical control can be accomplished either in the fall or the spring. Ed Field, Crawford County noxious weed director indicates that in his experience that spring control can be accomplished with the use of 2,4-D alone while the plant is still in the rosette stage. The rosette stage is when the plant is growing in a circular pattern without any elongation or stem present. After the plant begins to bolt or elongate, Milestone should be mixed with the 2,4-D in order to get satisfactory control. After the plant begins to bloom Escort needs to be added to the mixture of 2,4-D and Milestone in order to prevent the flowers from producing seed. Applications over 4/10 oz. of Escort may temporarily reduce fescue production. Spraying should not be done unless the air temperature is over 50 degrees F.

If you have questions about this you can call me at 724-8233 or Ed Field can be reached at 724-4079.

Grape and Wine Workshop

Crawford County Extension and Highland Community College will host a workshop on growing grapes, making wine and the Kansas Grape and Wine Industry. The workshop is free to the public and will run from 6:00-8:00 pm, Monday, April 18th. It will be in the Extension meeting room at the Crawford County Extension office in Girard.

Dominic Martin, Viticulture and Enology Instructor from Highland Community will conduct the workshops. He will discuss how to get started in the grape/wine industry as well as other topics including disease control, what/when/how to plant vines, vineyard air pocket mitigation, irrigation systems, cover crops between rows, sprayer calibration, spray scheduling, wine making practices, and five things that must be done before planting a vineyard or opening a winery. Please RSVP to either the Crawford County Extension office or Scott Kohl at Highland Community College at 785-456-6006.

Source http://www.morningsun.net/lifestyles/columns/x675814697/Musk-thistle-control