The Dog and the Dynamite

Can't seem to find a picture of Beethoven,

so here is Tucker, his mentor (taught him to eat rocks) and partner in crime.

****This post is for Jinglebob, with apologies to those of you who have already heard it.

See about ten years ago the state made a real mess rebuilt the road from here to town and did town over too.

It was pretty ugly. Businesses went out of business because folks couldn't get to their doors over the holes and mud and destruction. We lived down in town then and came here to work each day. During that time, getting there was a lot more than half the hassle fun

The project took about half of our front pasture for fill under eminent domain, which required that they work right in front of the driveways. Some days between the flag men between here and home and the workers in our yards and roads it took an hour to travel in either direction...a mere mile.

At the time we had the huge monster of a dog described in the last post. He was a friendly sort and loved the excitement. After a while the workers came to like him too and fed him sammiches and played fetch with him.... but that was later.

One fine morning the boss and I headed home for breakfast after chores. The foreman of the job warned us as we went down the barn driveway that there would be a short delay due to them having to blow up more of our pasture. Okay, that would just about leave us time to run home and eat and get back to work. So we threaded our way through the mile of traffic cones and bull dozers and dozing flag folks, ate and headed back to work.

Alas, by then no traffic was being permitted up this side of the valley. 5S was closed. The Thruway was closed. Nothing was moving. People were fuming and thumping steering wheels in grid lock that would have fit in fine in Los Angeles. We joined the parking lot.....and we sat and sat and sat. Time moves differently in a car while waiting....we waited a very long time.

Finally, hours later, we were permitted to return to the farm.

And there we heard....the rest of the story.

Seems the construction fellas put their charges out, all along the cliff in the pasture, in order to blow up more of that good old slate and dirt that used to grow grass for our cows.

And seems that our 120-pound big black dog went out and sat down on one of the charges, calmly contemplating the view out over the river. He had hung around cows long enough to learn how to ruminate real well. He ruminated while perusing his domain.

And every time one of the workers went out to try to shift him, he raised his upper lip and rumbled.... just a little. (He was one of those "smiler" dogs who grins at you, showing lots of fang. It looks like snarling to some.)

Stalemate.

Very long stalemate.

Time is money so eventually the head guy, who was a bit of a dog person, went out and took the old boy by his collar and led him out of the way.

Boom! And all was well....well except for the pasture, which is now mostly located about a half a mile away under the new road.

We had a good laugh, over it, although we didn't get much done that day (neither did they) and I got a good column out of it.

When the old dog passed away the boss buried him out on what was left of the bank where he stopped progress......and several dozen construction workers...and an Interstate and a state road and a couple of busy farmers....dead in their tracks.

I always admired that dog....

On the Porch this Morning

Chickens stealing cat food. How handy that I just happened to have Nick in the house. Nothing like a border collie for removal of unwelcome poultry.

Found old Stormy dead there when I took him out for the first time. Not a tragedy or anything, just one of those things. She was not a pet by any means, just a scruffy old working girl, retired, long, long past her ratting days and it was just time.

In a way it was almost a relief. No one has any idea how old she was, but she wasn't a young cat when the boss's mom passed away and it has been nine years since then. If I had to guess I would say thirteen or fourteen at least. It is a lucky farm cat that avoids milk trucks and foxes and coyotes, owls and clumsy cow feet for that long.

And she had a kind of on and off relationship with good health, and was probably the ugliest cat we ever had. She also had a long history of stealing kittens from her kin, Wild Thing, who vanished this summer. Wild Thing also stole from her so there was never any knowing which one actually owned what kittens. They hardly ever raised any anyhow, being absurdly inbred. I don't think there is a single cat left now from that era. You see, we never knew it until just before he died, but a dog we used to have, a big homely behemoth in black, named Beethoven, used to kill any new cats that came to the farm. Strays or drop offs, I guess they were intruders in his mind.

We NEVER saw him do it, but every now and then we would find a cat corpse in the barn or out in the field. They looked untouched. We worried about disease...but we never knew what was going on until he was gone and suddenly the "disease" was too. Thus our barn cats had no outside blood for at least ten years, and were all grey or black, wild as heck, and dumb as rocks.

He also caught wild turkeys, no small accomplishment for a 120-pound dog. He would start a flock flying, usually downhill as they are heavy birds, run like heck to the bottom and grab one when they landed. He ate the whole thing, feathers and all, which resulted...oh, never mind what it resulted in, trust me you don't want to know. Woodchucks held no fear for him either and he dispatched them with a snap (maybe he thought they were cats.)

He was the guy who held up the road repair job by sitting on the dynamite too, but that story has been told before so I won't go there again. He babysat the kids...wouldn't let them go down the slide until he thought they were old enough, and walked grandma to the barn and back every day, letting her use him as a prop and helping her up if she slipped. A good dog back in his day.

Anyhow, sorry about the ramble......have a good one.

Winter Weather Advisory

It was pretty nice out yesterday and early last night. While I was out serving as a fence, little Keebler came out to be made much of, purring like some loud and buzzy insect and snuggling into my gloves. The stars were bright with a few thin, dark clouds slumping across them. (It wasn't like the night before when I kept snuggling up to the tractor, which had a still kinda, sorta warm engine from feeding and saved me some misery.)

A couple of hours later a cruel wind whipped up and lashed any thoughts of warm and fuzzy right off the map. Now there is a winter weather advisory.

Sunday Stills...Mealtime

This was a hard one on such a crazy busy week. We had good meals, but nobody had time to mess around taking photos of them. After chores, we just ate dinner and went to bed. Thus you will not be seeing the taco bowls, chuck roast, homemade applesauce, green and yellow beans, etc. Nope, just a quick snap of the inside of the cupboard.

Three foods: peanut butter, cereal, craisins...yup, I think I nailed it.

For more Sunday Stills.....




Update, last night's dinner in all its glory. To make sure I got enough foods in the photo I added some nuts and tortilla chips to my pizza, and, of course, nature's most perfect food, cold, sweet milk.

Waiting

Do click...

Rainy Days 'n' Brantas

Canadensis that is....down on the Mohawk.

Fencing in the Rain

Drowned turkey feather, empty acorn cup. Last dandelion, crushed by passing hooves. Ten dozen hungry robins flying by from Canada, females pale as Creamsicles. Their calls ring oddly across the rolling grass, just a tad different from our New York version....enough to sound like non-robins though.

A mockingbird on top of the hill has no time for them and chivvies them mercilessly to and fro, proud of himself and telling us all about it. Cheek! Chinnnkk! His efforts are plumb futile; as one flock moves on to the neighbor's woods, another flows in from the old pasture lot behind him. There are hundreds of them and only one of him.

A flicker flicks from tree to tree, ruby rose hips hang, all crystal shiny, each with its own rain drop. (Love/hate going on with those darned multiflora roses. In June the whole valley smells like a shady lady's boudoir when they come in bloom. The rest of the year they drag down fences, tangle unwary feet and take over pastures like they owned them. I'll bet we cut a thousand of them today and there are a thousand more waiting for tomorrow.)

The rain was soft; the grass made me think of movies I have seen that featured Ireland...what was that four-hour-long job from years ago? Oh, yeah, Barry Lyndon. Saw that in a theater in 1975 and never forgot the lush, green, green, green of Ireland. The movie was kind of boring, but I just watched the sets and sighed at the beauty....That is how the fields looked today. The clouds were high, despite the rain, so you could see the mists rising from mountains that are usually hidden by them.

Asparagus berry, filling in for a rose hip...didn't take the camera out in all that rain

We spent several hours out there fixing up what the deer had done, cutting roses and raspberries and getting way past wet.

I was glad I went though.

There was a lot to see and hear and so much going on out back behind the hill.

Ran out of day before we ran out of fence though so the cows will have to stay in tonight.

They won't mind.

Tractor Troubles

The 4490 has ongoing engine troubles again...worst tractor we have ever owned and that is really saying something. Now the John Deere 4430 has two bad batteries and a fried alternator. That's all she wrote for tractors. Something is going to have to be fixed first thing this morning so we can feed....About five minutes past getting that great news the heifers tore down the pasture fence and took a stroll. Had to put the cows in a different field, in the dark last night....and they didn't want to go.

Excellent Post on Missouri Prop B

Here

Around the Farm

Alan built us a huge wood shed all in a week, all by himself....cut the logs for the poles, set the poles, built the sides and roof and roofed it with used tin that blew off the barn roof before that big project. Must be seen to be believed, pics to come soon. Now we just have to get some wood in it.

Becky and I got the garlic planted yesterday, the latest yet, but more than double the usual size plot. We dug out the entire bean patch and put in garlic. Liz brought home a bunch of left-over bulbs from an Amishman she visited in her travels and I decided to plant them all, along with some of my own seed stock from this year. We love garlic and I always run out of home-grown long before I run out of winter. Hopefully next season will be different.

It was a great day for getting out and planting, colder than was comfortable, but you warm up quickly when digging. The ground was muddier than it should be, but it has been muddy all fall pretty much continuously so I am not going to worry about that.

On the phone half the day yesterday too, but with the owner of a bull we are trying to get bought rather than with politicians. (BTW, tried the Kim Komando pound sign thing...works on some calls, not on others). We looked at nice shorthorn bull a couple of months ago and then didn't hear anything for a while. Now we are back to negotiating. Hopefully we will wind up with him, as he is real nice. Alan and I fell in love with his dam from the moment we saw her out in the free stall at their farm. One of those cows that just jumps right out at you, all angular and sleek and correct.

Today, I figure if the phone rings it won't be a robocall. It is cold enough that it is probably clear out, so maybe we will get one more good day to get stuff done before the rain comes back.

Have a good one!

Hanging on by a.....

This little poplar tree is a favorite of mine, a volunteer that popped up next to the driveway a few years ago. It probably will have to come down soon, as a poplar in that particular place is not ideal but I will enjoy it while it lasts.

Anyhow, its lovely yellow leaves came down in this weekend's storm...all but the one on the very top. Yep that is the only leaf on the tree. Some days I have a lot of fellow feeling for the thing. Wonder if it will still be there this morning when the sun comes up.

Milking Shorthorns High Average

At the Fall for Colors Sale

Tomorrow It Ends

After tomorrow, (in theory), the robocalls and other assorted political annoyances will stop for a while.

I don't know about you, but I sure am ready.

Yesterday an already contentious election season turned plumb ugly. Due to certain circumstances, which I will be nice and not discuss here, I missed my morning off. Thus I wasn't the chirpiest bird in the flock when I came in from chores.

However, I did such computer things as my messed up computer would permit, sat down in my Sunday Chair, and fell asleep, while reading a wonderfully mindless book. I was dreaming peacefully...pleasantly....ahhhh....can we say bliss? (Visions of Bejeweled Blitz danced in my head....and I was winning too.)

BRINNNGGGGGGGG...the telephone rang. My heart changed gears in less than a breath and began to pound like Bill Kreutzman's drums.

It was for the boss who was also nodding happily in his chair, enjoying Sunday football (entirely ignored by me, thanks to my Peltor ear muffs, which are real marriage savers, thank you NYCAHM.)

Becky grabbed the phone and carried it in to him. He answered...and it was an individual stumping for Susan Savage, for whom we weren't all that likely to vote in the first place. He was outraged and let the caller understand that in no uncertain terms. Sunday for Pete's sake! The closest thing to a day of rest that we are going to get and certainly not the right time for political harassment! (It is a shame that you can't slam down a portable phone). Neither of us managed to fall back into dream land. He went out to mow some hay and I waited for my heart to resume its normal sluggish Sunday rhythm and resumed perusal of my novel.

*****We interrupt this blog post to interject the darned near unbelievable. I was proof-reading through the above making sure it read as smoothly as I wanted it to, when the phone rang. Believe it or not it was someone ELSE from the Susan Savage campaign. It was nice to talk to a real, live person so I could tell her just how happy we were to be awakened from our Sunday snooze yesterday. ARGGHHHHH

Ah, I feel better now, except for the sky-rocketing blood pressure....those calls work just like a gallon of coffee or a four pack of AMP and so much cheaper too. Of course we do not nap on Mondays, but dang!

I am so ready to stomp down to town and vote on those lousy new voting machines tomorrow, confident that by Wednesday the ringing of the phone will announce one of our itinerant children or a beloved mother or brother or good friend, not some soulless creep from some political campaign.

Sunday Stills....Halloween

Boo!

For more Sunday Stills....

Lucky

Is a Holstein heifer by Chilton out of my Trixy family. Yesterday morning she had a heifer calf by our milking shorthorn bull, Checkerboard Magnum's Promise. I was thrilled to see red when Liz brought her down the lane and a heifer to boot, happy dance indeed!

I am going to get Liz to tattoo her right away, because she is virtually an exact duplicate of several other daughters of the same bull. I would love to get them all in halters and line them up for a picture. Maybe next spring...even the half Jersey looks amazingly like the others.

If it weren't for size you wouldn't be able to tell Northstar from Rio from this new one, whose name is Laramie.

NY Farm Bureau Circle of Friends

With election time drawing near, I would like to point out the names of local government representatives who have acted with the state's number one industry in mind....agriculture that is.

Here is a link to this year's NY Farm Bureau Circle of Friends

Note that longtime senator, Hugh Farley, made the list, as he has for as long as I can remember.

So did Assemblyman George Amedore.

When we had our milk marketing issues a couple of years ago, and lost our milk company, both men put staff on the job of finding out what we could do to fix our terrible situation. George even called me personally and we talked for an hour or more on farm issues and what was going on in Albany. They both listen when farmers explain our issues and seem to understand how our business works.

Senator Darrel Aubertine also made the list. He is not local, but he has worked hard for ag in the state. Raised on a dairy farm himself and still raising his family on their diversified farm, the man gets it, as so few do.

Bird IDs Needed

Common or arctic loon?

Could these be smews?

Surf Scoter?

A good friend photographed these birds at Low's Lake, NY. Can you ID?

Factory Farm Yes or No?

Here is an amazing discussion of the topic: A Tale of Two Farmers

Good Thursday Morning

With Liz away in Pittsburgh we are somewhat short handed.
We are gettin' it done though.

The boss is fixing up the barn for winter, replacing stall dividers that the cows tore out, putting in windows etc. We fixed up the water hose too, where that idiot trespasser with the trailer tore holes in it. It wasn't leaking too bad for a while, but went completely south this weekend.

Frost last night, trucks are coated. I took the camera to the barn to try to take advantage of the incredible light. With the sun so low in the sky and sunrise so late it slants like a big spotlight, picking out all the subtle colors of the oaks, poplars and sumacs that still have leaves. I didn't get too many as I had to work...sigh....but I will look at them pretty soon and see if any are worth saving.

Cows are getting so shaggy. They do not look one bit like their elegant summer selves. Even Mandy is growing a thick warm coat. I hope this doesn't promise an extra cold winter, although if it killed off the darned ticks I would put up with it.

New EPA Rules for Chesapeake Watershed

Bad news for NY.

Ag and Markets estimates that this would cost NY $250 million over the next fifteen years, despite the fact that NY leads the nation in regulating run off....and water leaving the state already meets EPA regulatory guidelines.

Keebler

Rainy Night....in NY

It felt like Halloween out there in the dark last night...while we were putting the girls up to pasture. Light streaming from barn windows glowed golden on steaming cow backs and made them seemed like hulking monsters. I turned my flashlight off to save the battery, while I acted as a fence, there were they got out this spring, and as they surged past me on the way to their dinner of green chop they seemed even more monster-like.

Huffing and puffing and slapping their hooves down in the mud, pushing and shoving, hurrying to eat. Flashlight beams crisscross over them, lighting up the sky, as whomever is driving gleans the midnight dark barnyard for stragglers....it was like a scene from a low budget horror movie.

And as always, just at the conclusion, one of the monsters makes me turn on my flashlight. Big, old, Bayberry, Alan's retired show cow, has to come over every night and check me out for my own potential monsterish characteristics....am I going to eat her? Jump out of the darkness and scare her? Grab her long tail and skijor through the mud behind her?

Nope, its just that old lady playing fence....again....and she rejoins her charges for the slog to dinner.

Incidentally, there were stars out there last night, albeit rather misty ones, and I hoped for a decent night. Alas I am not sure what time it was, but a front went through in the middle of the night slashing horizontal rain against the windows loud enough to wake me up. Dang it! It is so muddy the boss is having a terrible time getting just the most essential of chores done, let alone actually catching up on anything. Enough already. Also enough with whomever sees fit to drive his semi by at around 3 AM and blast on the air horn. Liz is in Pittsburgh, buddy, she can't hear you!

New Outdoor Wood Boiler Regs Tabled

Hallelujah!

Our membership in NY Farm Bureau is worth every penny it costs us because of their efforts on this issue alone. Add in the convenience of E-Lobby, their hard work on trucking regs, farm labor, and many other issues facing farms today and it is a real winner for us.

Dairy News Aggregator

Dairy Insider

Sanford Stud Farm Kitchen

I loved these kitchen items and the rooms themselves. They reminded me so much of camps owned by relatives when I was a kid...the same style of wainscoting and dishes and all.

More Sanford Stud Farm Photos

Mare and foal barn

Medicine Cabinet in Jumping Barn

Kalamazoo track rake

Down the aisle of the mare barn

Sunday Stills....Fall Foliage

The Village of Ames, NY, one of the prettiest places I know

Behind St. John's Lutheran church, Freysbush, NY

Most of the best is over here, but we found a few trees that still look kinda nice.


For more Sunday Stills.....

This one is from the archives of a prettier year