Brian May is best known as Queen's legendary guitarist, but nature conservation is another important part of his life. May, who also earned his PhD in astrophysics and has helped NASA, loves this planet and all its wildlife.
In 2013, May announced that he had purchased 157 acres of land that was due to be developed into housing in Bere Regis, Dorset, England. He intended to transform it into a nature reserve where native British trees and wildlife could thrive.
During a July 2012 interview, May told The Sunday Times, "Queen is a huge part of my life, but I do have other interests. People know about the astrophysics, but I love gardening, too, and I've always been passionate about the welfare of our wonderful British wildlife."
Since then, the former farmland has been cultivated into a woodland wildlife sanctuary and animal rescue.
May worked with local residents and wildlife officials to make the plans for the nature reserve. In a February 2013 BBC interview, May shared his plans for the freshly purchased former farmland.

#wildlife #nature #part #astrophysics

Nestled between two mountain ranges at the crook of central California's coastline sits a valley known as the "salad bowl of the world".
Farm workers stoop over neatly lined rows of crops off Highway 101 to harvest more than half of the nation's supply of lettuce and nearly a third of its strawberries. The soil here is so rich that author John Steinbeck made the Salinas valley the promised land in his literary depictions of people chasing the American dream: immigrants, farm workers, westward-moving hopefuls, hungering for a better life.
It's a story that continues to capture the American imagination: Netflix has adapted Steinbeck's 1952 blockbuster novel, East of Eden, into a limited series starring Florence Pugh, released 1 October.
"This will be a valley of great richness one day," Steinbeck wrote of the farmland in East of Eden. "And happy people will live here, thousands and thousands."
But Steinbeck also understood just how difficult it can be to achieve that elusive American dream. Even after some his characters found their way to Salinas and other parts of California's agricultural valley, many remained stuck in low-paying jobs, making barely enough to scrape by, let alone own their own land.

#american #workers

Queen guitarist Brian May repurposed 157 acres of former farmland in Dorset, England, in 2013 with the intention of transforming it into a "safe haven for wildlife"
In the years since its foundation, the reserve — known as May's Wood — has become home to more than 101,000 trees and shrubs plus new species of insects, birds and mammals
"We have a wonderful possibility to make an environment which our children and grandchildren will grow up and enjoy in harmony with the animals around them," he said when the project started
In 2013, Queen guitarist Brian May joined locals in Bere Regis, Dorset, England, to plant the first tree on what was once 157 acres of farmland. His goal was to transform the property into a "safe haven for wildlife." Over a decade later, the project has come a long way.
Approximately 600 trees and shrubs were planted during the ceremonial first day in September 2013, according to a press release at the time. That number has since grown to more than 100,000, and new species of insects, birds and small mammals have started inhabiting the land, according to a update on May's website marking the 10-year anniversary.

#guitarist

Filing for Social Security before full retirement age means active farmland management can trigger the earnings test, withholding $1 in benefits per $2 earned above $24,480.
Fixed cash rent keeps income classified as passive and exempt from the earnings test, but crop-share arrangements with hands-on management convert income to self-employment earnings.
Farmland REIT distributions count as investment income, fully bypassing the Social Security earnings test, though investors own shares rather than direct land.
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A 64-year-old walks into retirement with $300,000 earmarked for a real **** et. He buys farmland, leases it to a local operator, and expects rent checks to arrive while he enjoys retirement. He already filed for Social Security at 62 and **** umes land is land and rent is rent. Social Security does not see it that simply.

#earnings #farmland #Retirement #management

Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the United States, provides water and electricity to millions in the West. It has now has shrunk to its lowest level on record, in the latest sign of the alarming crisis unfolding on the drought-stricken Colorado River.
The reservoir's levels dropped to 3519.91 feet on Saturday, breaking the record low of 3,519.92 feet set in April 2023, according to data from the US Bureau of Reclamation published Sunday. It is now just under 30 feet away from the point at which its dam will no longer be able to generate hydropower.
The record comes nine days after downstream Lake Mead, the US's biggest reservoir, dropped to its lowest level since it was first filled nine decades ago. "We are in uncharted territory," said Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University.
Lakes Mead and Powell, which are essentially one gigantic reservoir separated by the Grand Canyon, hold just under 60% of the total water currently stored in the Colorado River basin. The unprecedented decline of these vast bodies of water, which have been shrinking for more than 20 years, drives home the perilous state of the river that feeds them.
Known as the lifeblood of the Southwest, the Colorado River starts in the Rocky Mountains, fed by melting snowpack, and ends in the Gulf of California in Mexico. It provides water to roughly 40 million people and irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland across seven states: California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.

#Colorado #water

By Renee Hickman
EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin, Aug 10 (Reuters) - When she's not trekking across Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District to meet voters, Democratic congressional challenger Rebecca Cooke is still on her feet, waiting tables at two restaurants around Eau Claire, a city of about 73,000 people surrounded by rolling farmland.
"When you're serving people at a restaurant, it's almost like you're knocking doors every time you're waiting a table," said Cooke, who is trying to flip one of ‌a shrinking number of highly competitive seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in November's midterm elections that could end Republican control of Congress.
Cooke doesn't get into deep political conversations as she takes orders, she said, but customers do sometimes ‌recognize her and tell her about issues they care about, occasionally writing notes of support on receipts. She keeps the best ones in a folder on her phone.
Each of those tableside moments could be a difference-maker for Cooke, 38, the Democratic frontrunner in Tuesday's primary. If victorious, she will head to a rematch with Republican incumbent Derrick Van Orden, who was elected in 2022, in what's expected to be a tight race that could turn on how President Donald Trump's policies have affected rural voters.

#waiting

By Ernest Scheyder
Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's push to build the Western Hemisphere's largest aluminum smelter in rural Oklahoma has divided the state's Republican voters and emerged as a key issue in the contentious race to be the next governor.
The two Republicans who will face off for their party's nomination on August 25 have taken opposing views, underscoring the ‌willingness of some conservatives to buck Trump and use industrial projects as campaign leverage.
"I'm not going to let it be built," Gentner Drummond, the state's attorney general, said at a candidate forum last ‌month with his opponent, former state Senator Mike Mazzei. "We have to protect farmland."
The $4 billion smelter project would be the first in the U.S. since 1980, but it has attracted some opposition from the community where it is slated to be built.

#built #donald #western

The Gran Fondo Isle of Man returns this weekend with a new off-road format, marking the biggest change in the event's 10-year history.
Taking place on Saturday and Sunday, the cycling festival has moved away from its traditional road route in favour of a multi-surface challenge featuring gravel tracks, green lanes, forest trails and historical railway lines.
Organisers said the redesigned course had been created to reflect the Island's landscape and the growing popularity of gravel cycling, while remaining true to the event's focus on endurance and participation.
The flagship Gran Fondo Gravel and Gran Fondo XC MTB races take place on Sunday, with riders setting off from Ramsey at 09:30 BST before finishing about 60 miles (100km) later in Port Erin.
The point-to-point route takes competitors to the island's northern tip before heading south through farmland, wetlands, moorland, forests and coastal scenery.

#Cycling #route

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon grew up on opposite sides of the globe.
One was raised amid the rolling farmland of rural Pennsylvania. The other came of age along Australia’s sun-soaked west coast.
Neither could have imagined a basketball-obsessed teenager half a world away would one day become his closest friend.
When Haugh and Condon arrived at Florida in the summer of 2023, they were competing for the same frontcourt minutes. Instead of becoming rivals, they became inseparable.
Now, the veteran forwards and trusted teammates form the foundation of a national championship contender. Rather than pursue their professional dreams, Haugh and Condon returned for one final season to chase another NCAA ****** le while setting the tone with their leadership, kinship and versatility.

FARMLAND — For the first time in five years, the Golden Bears got to go swimming.
Monroe Central served as the host of an IHSAA boys golf sectional on Monday, June 8, welcoming Cowan, Delta, Jay County, Muncie Central, Randolph Southern, Union City, Union (Modoc), Wapahani, Wes-Del, Winchester Community and Yorktown to Hickory Hills Golf Club. After over six hours of play, the Golden Bears emerged as the sectional champions on their home course with a score of 317.
As is Monroe Central tradition, the team celebrated its first sectional championship since 2021 by jumping into the pond next to hole 3. For senior Cohen West, it was a moment he had waited for his whole high school career.
"It's awesome," West said. "Haven't been able to get it done the past couple of years, but I knew that this was going to be the year. Every day, we practice out here, so it's just nice to get out here, and I think we all had confidence in each other to go out and do it."
While West is the No. 1 player for the Golden Bears, it was junior Maddox Taylor at the No. 2 spot who took home low medalist honors. Taylor shot a 1-over-par 71, while West placed second with a 75, but Taylor was more thrilled that the team got it done for West's last match at Hickory Hills as a Golden Bear golfer.

When people think about agricultural pollution, they often picture what is easy to see: fertilizer spreaders crossing fields or muddy runoff after a heavy storm. However, a much more significant threat is quietly and invisibly building in the ground.
Across some of the most productive farmland in the United States, a nutrient called phosphorus has been accumulating in the soil for decades, at levels far beyond what crops actually require. While this element is essential for life-supporting root development and cellular chemistry to grow food, too much of it in the wrong places has become a gr