International Voluntary Services

[xf_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” animation_type=” animation_duration=’0.5′ animation_delay=’0.5′] International Voluntary Services was an American private volunteer organization that existed in the middle years of the 20th century and was a precursor to the Peace Corps.  IVS sent many young Americans overseas to do agricultural service work with local farmers in various countries including Vietnam, Cambodia, Algeria, Laos, …

Water Buffalo: Draft Animals

[xf_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” animation_type=” animation_duration=’0.5′ animation_delay=’0.5′] Here is a video of some young Americans trying their hand at steering a pair of water buffalo while plowing a rice paddy in Cambodia.  Water buffalo are widely used in Southeast Asia as draft animals because they find the water congenial, and because they are relatively docile …

Blast From The Past

[xf_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” animation_type=” animation_duration=’0.5′ animation_delay=’0.5′] Blast from the past:  Can anyone guess who these three people are, and about what year the photo was taken? [/xf_textblock]

An Interesting Soil Map

[xf_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” animation_type=” animation_duration=’0.5′ animation_delay=’0.5′] An interesting soil map of the East End of Long Island from the US Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Cornell University Experiment Station, 1972.  The sandy loam soils of the East End are comparatively rare in the United States and are a major reason why the area’s farms, …

Gary Brown’s Truck

[xf_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” animation_type=” animation_duration=’0.5′ animation_delay=’0.5′] Look at this early Ford pickup of our friend Gary Brown.  What year-model do you suppose this immaculately-restored pickup is? [/xf_textblock]