My extremely handsome younger (not much younger) brother is doing a good thing for a good cause. If you have a minute check it out and maybe lend a hand if you are able. Thanks.
I am going to try to keep this on top for a bit, so read below for current post.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
You be the judge
There is an auction barn too darned far to the west of here where the guys recently took some heifers to sell. (We don’t feel that we get a fair price at the mega-corporation-owned one that is more locally located.)
Anyhow, when they dropped off the critters last Sunday, all the bales of hay kept in the barn to feed the animals there over the weekend were plainly labeled,
"Not for Human Consumption."
I hope it was a joke.
Anyhow, when they dropped off the critters last Sunday, all the bales of hay kept in the barn to feed the animals there over the weekend were plainly labeled,
"Not for Human Consumption."
I hope it was a joke.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Oh, power pole, power pole wherefore art thou?
Someone took our telephone pole.
Lifted it, liberated it, loosed it from its bonds, somehow removed it without our knowledge.
A whole great big power pole, vanished into thin air like a puff of creosote smoke. We have been puzzling about the who and how since we noticed it was missing from the old calf pasture, now grown up to trees and honeysuckle, right in front of the house. The Power Company gave it to us when they replaced all the poles around here a few years back. It was pretty inaccessible, lying up on the hill across a ditch, quite some distance from a well-traveled highway and right in front of the house. Certainly we probably should have hooked a tractor on and dragged it up behind the barn, but who the heck would expect somebody to steal something as big as a telephone pole? It had to have been cut up with a chainsaw or heavy equipment brought in to move it. The thing was huge and it was maybe 150 feet from the front door!
How the heck did he do it neither challenged by us nor questioned by someone going by?
We have FIVE dogs, including Wally, who lives in a kennel and keeps us informed of what is going on even down on the bike path. How did we not hear them…or them not hear him? Probably came at milking time and got lucky that everyone was over at the barn at once. I guess we will never know the exact how, although we have a pretty good idea of the who. If by chance he reads this, yeah, we figured it out and you know just how we know. It must be hell to have that kind of reputation, but we hope you enjoy the pole.
This is all kind of funny to speculate upon, except that we did want to use the darned thing. Imagine going to all that trouble to take something that could be replaced by a couple of trees you could cut down right in your own woods. It boggles the mind.
Lifted it, liberated it, loosed it from its bonds, somehow removed it without our knowledge.
A whole great big power pole, vanished into thin air like a puff of creosote smoke. We have been puzzling about the who and how since we noticed it was missing from the old calf pasture, now grown up to trees and honeysuckle, right in front of the house. The Power Company gave it to us when they replaced all the poles around here a few years back. It was pretty inaccessible, lying up on the hill across a ditch, quite some distance from a well-traveled highway and right in front of the house. Certainly we probably should have hooked a tractor on and dragged it up behind the barn, but who the heck would expect somebody to steal something as big as a telephone pole? It had to have been cut up with a chainsaw or heavy equipment brought in to move it. The thing was huge and it was maybe 150 feet from the front door!
How the heck did he do it neither challenged by us nor questioned by someone going by?
We have FIVE dogs, including Wally, who lives in a kennel and keeps us informed of what is going on even down on the bike path. How did we not hear them…or them not hear him? Probably came at milking time and got lucky that everyone was over at the barn at once. I guess we will never know the exact how, although we have a pretty good idea of the who. If by chance he reads this, yeah, we figured it out and you know just how we know. It must be hell to have that kind of reputation, but we hope you enjoy the pole.
This is all kind of funny to speculate upon, except that we did want to use the darned thing. Imagine going to all that trouble to take something that could be replaced by a couple of trees you could cut down right in your own woods. It boggles the mind.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Too wet
We are getting a real cold miserable rain this weekend. The weathermen (who work indoors in nice warm buildings) are just delighted. Their livelihood isn't washing away.
It is true that it has been dry, there have been serious brush fires, and the grass needed some moisture to get growing.
However, this is ridiculous.
Overkill.
Too much.
It can stop now.
Heck, it could have stopped yesterday. (And early yesterday at that.) Our men had three fields all worked up and one gone over with the Perfectas and ready to plant to seeding. Now they will have to do it all over again. With the price of fuel, an extra trip with the tractor is not something to aspire to. Plus we have to wait for it to dry up again first before they even put a tire on it. Dang, we sure didn’t need this much water.
I left my wheelbarrow out where I was planting herbs Friday and there are six and a half inches in it. Allowing for the slant of the wheelbarrow, that has got to be at least three or four inches of rain over 24 hours . Wish I had turned the rain gauge right side up before this all started so I knew exactly.
Across the river on the flats neighbors just finished planting corn Friday. It is all under water now. I expect that they have lost it and will have to replant. Big bucks. I am sorry for them. But that's farming. You are ever at the mercy of the weather and the government.
It is true that it has been dry, there have been serious brush fires, and the grass needed some moisture to get growing.
However, this is ridiculous.
Overkill.
Too much.
It can stop now.
Heck, it could have stopped yesterday. (And early yesterday at that.) Our men had three fields all worked up and one gone over with the Perfectas and ready to plant to seeding. Now they will have to do it all over again. With the price of fuel, an extra trip with the tractor is not something to aspire to. Plus we have to wait for it to dry up again first before they even put a tire on it. Dang, we sure didn’t need this much water.
I left my wheelbarrow out where I was planting herbs Friday and there are six and a half inches in it. Allowing for the slant of the wheelbarrow, that has got to be at least three or four inches of rain over 24 hours . Wish I had turned the rain gauge right side up before this all started so I knew exactly.
Across the river on the flats neighbors just finished planting corn Friday. It is all under water now. I expect that they have lost it and will have to replant. Big bucks. I am sorry for them. But that's farming. You are ever at the mercy of the weather and the government.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Busy days, tame chickadees and hanging zucchini
Busy, busy days just keep coming at us full speed ahead. The new vacuum pump is like a dream though, and a very nice dream it is. The first few milkings drove us crazy because it is so quiet that is you can’t hear it at all inside the barn. Thus you have the sense that the milking machines are not going to work when you plug them in. They do, however, work just fine and we are making good time milking because we now have a huge vacuum tank as well. This gives us more of a vacuum reserve so the machines work better. Now if we could just get rid of the dreaded inch and a half pipeline everything would be practically perfect.
A small milestone in life up here at the farm. (Real small.) Although the boss and I have been married nearly 21 years and have worked together here even longer, we have only actually lived up here for about four and a half years. Before that we lived in town. Anyhow, I have spent a little time here and there, ever since we moved up, trying to get chickadees tame enough to land on my hand to take a seed.
That finally happened yesterday. Today they came right down off the clothesline to snatch seeds out of Alan’s hand too. It is so neat to have those tiny, but very brave, little creatures come close enough to touch. Hope the bird flu stays away and they are spared.
The boss planted one bag of sweet corn about four days ago and is going to try to get another bag in tonight while the rest of us milk. We hope to get a good enough crop to sell a bit this summer, but I will settle for enough to freeze a lot and eat homegrown corn all winter. Yum.
We were supposed to test tonight, but the tester canceled out, which is just peachy with me. Not having to rush around tidying up for that allowed me to get a bit of gardening done. I am really excited about something I saw over at Sunnycrest Orchard. They have hanging plant baskets out in the greenhouse, with zucchinis and cucumbers, loaded with fruit, growing in them. I have just got to try that. I am sure they need massive amounts of water and fertilizer, but I am going to have a go just the same. I can't wait.
A small milestone in life up here at the farm. (Real small.) Although the boss and I have been married nearly 21 years and have worked together here even longer, we have only actually lived up here for about four and a half years. Before that we lived in town. Anyhow, I have spent a little time here and there, ever since we moved up, trying to get chickadees tame enough to land on my hand to take a seed.
That finally happened yesterday. Today they came right down off the clothesline to snatch seeds out of Alan’s hand too. It is so neat to have those tiny, but very brave, little creatures come close enough to touch. Hope the bird flu stays away and they are spared.
The boss planted one bag of sweet corn about four days ago and is going to try to get another bag in tonight while the rest of us milk. We hope to get a good enough crop to sell a bit this summer, but I will settle for enough to freeze a lot and eat homegrown corn all winter. Yum.
We were supposed to test tonight, but the tester canceled out, which is just peachy with me. Not having to rush around tidying up for that allowed me to get a bit of gardening done. I am really excited about something I saw over at Sunnycrest Orchard. They have hanging plant baskets out in the greenhouse, with zucchinis and cucumbers, loaded with fruit, growing in them. I have just got to try that. I am sure they need massive amounts of water and fertilizer, but I am going to have a go just the same. I can't wait.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Reasons for not posting much these lovely spring days
We are getting a new vacuum pump. It has been installed over the last couple of days and everything else has ground to a halt. This one will be located outside the milk house in an addition the guys built over the winter. The one we have been using was a replacement that a contractor (who BTW never came back) loaned us when ours broke down. It was located in the north aisle right behind the cows and it was LOUD! Deafening in fact. We all hated milking because of it. The boss made a muffler for our new one out of a 55-gallon barrel set in solid concrete. It that doesn’t keep it quiet nothing will.
The front end came out from under the White 2-105. For the uninitiated that is a pretty good sized four-wheel drive tractor. It doesn’t steer for beans with its front wheels falling off so…
It is warm enough to plant corn.
The corn planter needs two new cutting disks.
It is warm enough to plant some garden things. Like peas and lettuce and onions.
It is warm enough to play outdoors. This one is a biggie. How can I stay inside and write when the fish are awake in the garden pond, wonderful things are blooming, the liquid is vanishing out of the hummingbird feeder (haven't seen any hummers yet though) and the purple finches are back?
The answer is simple, I can’t!
The front end came out from under the White 2-105. For the uninitiated that is a pretty good sized four-wheel drive tractor. It doesn’t steer for beans with its front wheels falling off so…
It is warm enough to plant corn.
The corn planter needs two new cutting disks.
It is warm enough to plant some garden things. Like peas and lettuce and onions.
It is warm enough to play outdoors. This one is a biggie. How can I stay inside and write when the fish are awake in the garden pond, wonderful things are blooming, the liquid is vanishing out of the hummingbird feeder (haven't seen any hummers yet though) and the purple finches are back?
The answer is simple, I can’t!
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Monday, April 17, 2006
Sunday, April 16, 2006
An Almost Perfect Easter Sunday
First we shared a delightful meal with new friends, who are becoming good friends very quickly. The kids hunted Easter eggs, just a bit sheepishly because they think they are sophisticated teenagers, but they had a great time. Or at least they wanted to stop at every house that had an egg tree on the way home so they could continue the chase.
Then we took a short ride out to Lykers Pond to see what spring was bringing for Easter out in the wild world. The country sure had its Easter bonnet on. Red osier dogwoods, with stems like purple fire sticks, glowed against last year’s dry grass, wherever fields had lain fallow for a few years. Solid pewter poplars bloomed like stately candelabra along the edges of hardwood patches. Geese guarded every pasture puddle. Shaggy manes of coltsfoot blossoms brightened the roadside ditches and maple flowers out-redded the cardinals. It was just plain pretty with a nice mess of wind-tossed clouds overhead to top everything off just right.
At the pond we watched three muskrats so large that at first we thought they were beaver. They swam so fast you would have sworn they could outpace an Evenrude at full throttle. I stepped down into the woods to watch them cavorting and to admire the huge craters chopped into a dead tree by a pileated woodpecker.
As I stood in the dead grass and dried leaves, I thought to myself, ‘this isn’t the best idea I’ve ever had’. However, the muskrats came right up close and I forgot about the tickling sensation I felt on my knee for a second. I did look after a bit though but there was nothing to see….or so I thought.
All good things must end and soon we had to come home so the boss could feed the cows. I sat down to write about our adventures and felt that tickly sensation again.
It was a nasty, creepy, crawly, dangerous because-of-Lymes disease, deer tick!
Argghhhh.
Everyone has their phobias and ticks are mine. Just thinking of them gets the skin at the back of my neck crawling and sends me running for the insect repellent. Off! is my favorite perfume in summer, or you might think so from how often I wear it.
Guess it is time to put that right in the car for the season, oh, and the binoculars too. It is kind of dumb to go bird and wildlife watching without them.
Then we took a short ride out to Lykers Pond to see what spring was bringing for Easter out in the wild world. The country sure had its Easter bonnet on. Red osier dogwoods, with stems like purple fire sticks, glowed against last year’s dry grass, wherever fields had lain fallow for a few years. Solid pewter poplars bloomed like stately candelabra along the edges of hardwood patches. Geese guarded every pasture puddle. Shaggy manes of coltsfoot blossoms brightened the roadside ditches and maple flowers out-redded the cardinals. It was just plain pretty with a nice mess of wind-tossed clouds overhead to top everything off just right.
At the pond we watched three muskrats so large that at first we thought they were beaver. They swam so fast you would have sworn they could outpace an Evenrude at full throttle. I stepped down into the woods to watch them cavorting and to admire the huge craters chopped into a dead tree by a pileated woodpecker.
As I stood in the dead grass and dried leaves, I thought to myself, ‘this isn’t the best idea I’ve ever had’. However, the muskrats came right up close and I forgot about the tickling sensation I felt on my knee for a second. I did look after a bit though but there was nothing to see….or so I thought.
All good things must end and soon we had to come home so the boss could feed the cows. I sat down to write about our adventures and felt that tickly sensation again.
It was a nasty, creepy, crawly, dangerous because-of-Lymes disease, deer tick!
Argghhhh.
Everyone has their phobias and ticks are mine. Just thinking of them gets the skin at the back of my neck crawling and sends me running for the insect repellent. Off! is my favorite perfume in summer, or you might think so from how often I wear it.
Guess it is time to put that right in the car for the season, oh, and the binoculars too. It is kind of dumb to go bird and wildlife watching without them.
Friday, April 14, 2006
The six-berry pie
I admit that I am kind of ambivalent about the Amish moving into the area. On one hand they do keep land in agriculture that would probably otherwise be developed. On the other hand they enjoy a reputation for good farming and good cooking that is pretty much undeserved. And they get away with a lot of stuff that us regular folks would get arrested for.
They abuse their horses beyond belief. It is nothing for them to hook up a Standardbred that is already lame in three out of four legs and drive it until it can barely stand, tie it up hot, throw a rug over it, and drive it back the same distance when they are done shopping. One that we know gelded a stallion he bought off the track and then drove it forty miles. If the horses don’t go they beat the heck out of them, and yes, I have seen them do so personally. They are not required to follow the same sanitation laws as regular farmers and yet can sell their products right out of their kitchens. They do not follow either hunting or trespassing laws. One friend of ours walked into an Amish yard last year and found five deer hanging….in the summer, out of season. Does, fawns, whatever they can find. However, because of the mystique of their culture it is all good and nobody bothers them.
Anyhow, some of the new group went to the new farmers’ market last week selling pies.
They charged ten dollars a pie. (Pretty pricey, even for the best of pies.) However, a friend who was there purchased one of those ten-dollar pies and took it home and served it, only to discover that the pie contained exactly six berries.
That’s right.
Six.
When I told the boss, he said, "That’s not a pie it’s a turnover."
To my, "huh?" he replied.
"A turnover from your friend’s wallet to theirs."
Yep, that about says it all.
They abuse their horses beyond belief. It is nothing for them to hook up a Standardbred that is already lame in three out of four legs and drive it until it can barely stand, tie it up hot, throw a rug over it, and drive it back the same distance when they are done shopping. One that we know gelded a stallion he bought off the track and then drove it forty miles. If the horses don’t go they beat the heck out of them, and yes, I have seen them do so personally. They are not required to follow the same sanitation laws as regular farmers and yet can sell their products right out of their kitchens. They do not follow either hunting or trespassing laws. One friend of ours walked into an Amish yard last year and found five deer hanging….in the summer, out of season. Does, fawns, whatever they can find. However, because of the mystique of their culture it is all good and nobody bothers them.
Anyhow, some of the new group went to the new farmers’ market last week selling pies.
They charged ten dollars a pie. (Pretty pricey, even for the best of pies.) However, a friend who was there purchased one of those ten-dollar pies and took it home and served it, only to discover that the pie contained exactly six berries.
That’s right.
Six.
When I told the boss, he said, "That’s not a pie it’s a turnover."
To my, "huh?" he replied.
"A turnover from your friend’s wallet to theirs."
Yep, that about says it all.
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