When you Know More than they Do

While perusing the newsings today I discovered that Wawona Fruit Company voluntarily recalled a couple months worth of stone fruit production, for possible listeria contamination.

They ship to Walmart. We almost never buy fruit at the store, simply because we can't afford it. However, for camp Alan treated us to some to enjoy, lots of lovely blueberries, grapes, raspberries, and of course....you knew this was coming....nectarines and plums....from Walmart, of course.

And like most people do when they buy fruit...we ate them.

Concerned about the potential for health issues I called the company at this number 1-888-232-9912. After well over half an hour on hold with truly horrendous music playing in the background.

Eventually I couldn't stand it any longer so I called Walmart customer service. Hold only lasted about eight minutes there, although the music was also horrid.

And I might as well have taken a walk in the yard. The young lady to whom I spoke offered NO HELP AT ALL. She even argued with me that the recall was of bakery goods...had to put me on hold twice more to go look it up.

And then she told me to call the company....., but, but, but, I already did.....guess we will have to wait and see if we get sick. 

Photos of the recalled products.

Keepers

Wow, a cousin!

Yep

Wanna go fishing, cuz?

We did find some keepers though.

Hey, this is pretty cool. First time fishing....

Catch and Release

Sunfish

The fishing was spotty last week at camp. One of these. One of those. Two of something else. Fun and all, but no incentive to keep anything for a fish fry.

Thus no fish were harmed any more than necessary during last week's fishy adventures.

Fall fish

A just-under-keeper-sized small mouthed bass
which put up a heck of a fight....and yes, they were all caught from the comfort of the front porch,
which reaches right out over the water.

We did take mug shots though.

A Stopping Place

In what looks as if it is going to be a week-long bookkeeping marathon. Besides having let my data entry slide since we sold the cows....shame on me... I have also been put on the spot finding documentation for a state grant we applied for in 2012.

Been at it all day between alarums and excursions, ranging from finding replacement tee shirts for men perspiring in mows and wagons to catering to barking dachshunds requesting walkies.

But now it is time to pause and help milk the cow and feed the calves and await the return of state folks to their desks manana.

 I like all those jobs a LOT better than bookkeeping, so all is good.

Drama and Disaster in the Local Dairy World

Over the past week the windows of a local farmer's tractor were shot out and several other acts of vandalism were perpetrated on his haying equipment. Another has lost a baler to thieves, there may be a hay rake missing, and who knows what else.

There are rewards being offered to try to catch whoever is doing this, but it is going to be hard to get them I fear.

I didn't write about it at the time, but our chopper and a couple of other pieces of equipment were shot early this spring, and of course you know we have been hit by thieves several times. 

Hopefully whoever is doing this will be caught promptly. All people need is to not be able to safely leave their equipment in the fields overnight. If you see anything that looks wrong, please call the police!

Then there was the horrific fire that took out the entire dairy barn of some well-liked folks we know in the Amsterdam area. The Koronas are some of the nicest folks you could meet, always a fixture at the fair, and at Farm Bureau affairs for as long as I can remember.

The fire broke out while they were milking their cows and utterly devastated their buildings. They asked for help to get the cows moved somewhere where they could be cared for and milked.

It was heart warming to see the caravan of trailers that showed up to move cows to a neighbor's barn during the fire. In fact, as soon as we read the news on Facebook on my phone up at camp, the kids and my brother, who camps next to us, ran home and grabbed two trailers and some cow halters, and headed to their farm to do what they could.

However, the number of people with trucks and trailers that showed up to help was so great that by the time they got there all the cows had already been moved. I hope you can see that video at the link to get an idea of the number of vehicles and people that participated.

Makes you grateful to be a part of this rural community.

Here is a pic of a poor kitty looking for solace in the wreckage of her home. And here is a place where you can donate to the rebuilding fund if you so wish.

Our hearts go out to the Kornonas for their awful loss and to our neighbors dealing with outlawry right here in the Town of Glen. Farming is never an easy job......

Update: Here is a request from another friend closer to the situation than we are,

"Marianne, can you pass the word that they need all the little stuff like halters, towels, 

brushes, buckets, bottles, meds and so on. All the stuff we all take for granted because 

it's all laying around our milk houses. Thanks!"

Sunday Stills....the Letter B

Bird with Blue

Black Duck

For more Sunday Stills......

Bright Bug

Gravity Doesn't Work on Baby Ducks

  The very first day at camp we were met by this mother Black Duck and eight ducklings. The second day she lost one, but by the end of the week she still had seven, which is quite an accomplishment with all the pike, pickerel and bass in the lake, plus many hunters on shore and wing.

I got a kick out of watching how the little ones skipped over the surface of the water as if they weighed nothing at all.

I'm Back

What camp be like.


What coming home from camp be like.

Sunday Stills, Entrances and Gateways

These are some of the doors in our house. For more Sunday Stills.....

Upset about Dinosaur Hunting

Liz takes on the folks who believe dinosaurs still rule the earth...along with some AR fanatics. Good job, kiddo.

Au Revoir

Peggy loved the fireworks last night

So long, farewell.

Off to camp for a week. Supposed to be kind of chilly, but I'll bet that will mean good sleeping weather.

Have a great time while we're gone and give the folks in the sidebar a look in if you get a chance.

I'll be bach.

Guns and Locomotives

Here is some cool stuff the folks have up for sale on eBay.

Colt 9mm Luger Instruction Pamphlet

Marlin Parts Catalog

Winchester Ball Powder Loading Data



Lionel Transformer Instructions

And LOTS more

They have so much cool stuff.....check it out...I just know you will love browsing through their virtual shop.

And here is their real shop too.

Loud

This is sure a noisy place. In the backyard a crow is honking like a cranky commuter in heavy traffic. On the front porch the Carolina Wren is tea-kettling all over the place, so loud it echoes out here in the kitchen. (I am wondering what is up with that. Are they going to use the little bird house there?they keep coming in to check out the back porch hard hat too.)

The mysterious house finches are queuing up on the new arbor, demanding vociferously that I hie myself out there and fill the bright yellow feeder.

And a fine assortment of other feather fussers is fidgeting around making a lot of noise.

C'mon guys, I'm trying to write here. I mean, two Farm Sides in one week....geez Louise. I'd much rather grab the camera and come outside and play, but this is a work week ya know.

The Coffee Saga

Or Florida to the rescue. We still haven't found Taster's Choice locally, even after contacting the company (!!!!!)

However, my dear brother and sister-in-law from Florida stopped in where Becky works today and dropped off a jar for camp.

My happiness knows no bounds. We have been drinking the dark roast version....which is.....okay...just barely.

But now we have the real thing for those delightful mornings on the porch, with pole, camera, and coffee....

Thanks!!!

It Just Keeps Gettiing Worse

One of the strange sunsets we've seen lately

Every week, sometimes even every day, the state has been experiencing severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. It is not abnormal for there to be tornadoes here, now and then, and thunderstorms are a feature of summer here. 

That is normal and expected.

However, although it is perhaps only a perception, it seems as if they are occurring rather more frequently in recent weeks than has been the norm.

Last night was no exception. It was perfectly calm, although really nasty humid, until around eight-thirty or so. Then the huge wind tuned up again, and clouds worse than those in last week's big one boiled up over the western horizon.

The men ran from window to window, and door to door, watching them writhe and pup and spawn. Huge tunnels formed in them and then closed and dissipated. Tongues dropped and then recoiled back up into the seething clouds. 

 It was scary. 

They called me down...thought I was sleeping...Nope, I was going from window to window, upstairs, watching, ready to call for a trip to the cellar if it got worse. 

And then it was done. Cooler. Less humid. So far we have found a few boards off the barn...not sure yet how bad that is, but so far no big damage.

However, in another part of the state, where we know folks, and Liz had lots of farmers in her milk inspector days, things were bad. There were deaths and wanton destruction. I dread to hear the news this morning.... 

Red Sky at Morning

With wood thrushes singing up in the old horse pasture. Birding is slowing down as fast as the days are shortening, and it is so humid you could wring out the air like a sponge, I swear. Word is that a strong cold front will be coming through later, with attendant winds and storms. Yay. Perfect hay weather....or maybe not....

Writing two Farm Sides this week, as we will be away next week, so I got up at quarter to five for some quiet time without interruptions. The sun was not up yet! Yep, the days are already getting noticeably shorter.

Got one column done, down to the final proofread and I have a couple of others at least started.

Here are  research links I thought were interesting.

Velvetleaf

State Invasive Hit List

Meanwhile, has anyone seen the camp list, which WAS in my wallet, but no longer is?

Dreams of Dog Days

Notice Nick, on the right, carefully not looking at Mike so they don't have to fight.
Also avoiding the hated camera. Do all BCs hate cameras?

Recently spent some gift money at Amazon. It may have been unwise. I used the whole shootin' match for dog books by Don McCaig.

Known as the Mark Twain of dog writers, Mr. McCaig not only gets it about dogs in general, and working border collies in particular; he is also able to put it in words so the reader gets it too.

Or if you once had border collies and don't any more, he makes you wonder why. Not that I don't love Daisy and all....

But he wrote in A Useful Dog, of how the BCs were careful not to look at bum lambs brought into the house on a particularly cold night. If they didn't look, they didn't see them. If they didn't see them, then their delicate sense of order and propriety was not offended. And they didn't have to do anything about them.

Yes, I remember that...not about lambs, but about things they knew were awry, but beyond their control. That careful not-looking, the opposite of the intensity of their actual eye.

As if they knew and understood the power they possessed and held it in careful abeyance.

All the chapters of the little book were like that. A great deal said using few words. Much understanding within small covers.

I am saving Mr. and Mrs. Dog, which just came the other day, for camp, and waiting for Eminent Dogs and Dangerous Men. I have had Nop's Trials and Nop's Hope for a very long time....and read and reread them. They are all good, but I like the non-fiction better....

These are solid dog books that deserve a read if you are a dog person. I know I will enjoy the other two.

However, now I want a puppy. I am not sure how wise that is, but I miss the three collies that used to call this place home. Maybe it is finally time.

Mike, a good dog

New Feeder

Since it became difficult to find bulk wood shavings for bedding we have used our lean to sawdust shed for a calf pen with varying degrees of success. 

One of its biggest drawbacks is that we always end up throwing feed on the ground, where a large percentage of it gets walked on and wasted.

We decided to put our four yearling heifers out there to get some sun and exercise, but we didn't want to deal with the feed issue.

So we talked about putting in a feeder. The boss had a big, green feeder panel he was using as a gate, so we changed that out and put it across the corner of the pen in front of a window we use to feed through, and replaced it.

Voila, all you can eat buffet.

..........as long as you can eat hay.

As you can see, Abbekirk, Cedar Key, Loki, and Tequila are liking it just fine. 

Happy Birthday, Mappy

Although my younger brother's name is Matthew, we often call him Mappy. 

There is story behind this......When we were little, running tame through the doors of our mom and dad's two shops in Fonda (Montgomery's Antiques on one side, Tryon County Books on the other) we three kids often plagued our landlady. We were bored and she was there.

We must have been awful pests sitting in her kitchen and talking at her of our deeds and misdeeds. She was a fixture in our lives for a very long time though, and we liked her with just a tinge of fearful respect. You did not mess with Veronica.

She was of Lithuanian origin and had a bit of an accent. And she loved Matthew, who was pretty much a baby then. Her baby, as far as she was concerned. Her "Mappy" could do no wrong.

Fast forward to today. He is still one heckuva guy. He will help anyone in their time of trouble, or help just because he can and wants to. He can turn his hand to pretty much anything that he wants to, and is a lot of fun besides. Never a dull moment around Matt.

I am sure he is working today, at his dangerous and demanding job, which involves drilling holes and filling them up again.....in a somewhat more complicated manner....

Anyhow, Happy Birthday, Mappy. Hope you have a great one!