Christmas Cacti

Are quirky things, not really cacti, but more like succulents, and notoriously hard to coax into repeated bloom. When we were kids grandmas stuffed them in closets to sequester them from the light. Seemed like an awful lot of work to me and it only worked sometimes.

Supposedly the faintest bit of light outside the normal hours of cactus operations would doom them to eternal leaf-full-ness, devoid forever of bloom. 14 hours of darkness is said to be ideal, hence the season when they bloom if indeed they do.

When my mama gave me my first one when I was somewhere under18 I despaired of ever seeing a flower. Then I inherited some from my grandma, bought a few, and was given others. I discovered that if you live in a cold, dark, creepy old farm house they will bloom their little hearts out nearly every single year.

With the sunrise cacti added in there are some in bloom almost year around. Hummingbirds love the sunrise cacti btw. 

However, I did discover, somewhere in a long since lost article, that there is one trick to keep them flowering that is often overlooked. When you move them, keep them oriented the same way towards the sun. I have followed this faithfully and they sure do seem to like it. I found another article that says if you turn them once they are in bud, the buds try to turn toward the light, weaken and fall off. 

I dunno. I think maybe they just like cold, dark farmhouses, but anyhow, above is one I was given a couple of years ago that has decided to delight us again this year....ps, since they are not cacti they need regular watering too.

A bud on the one mama gave me when I was still living home
It has been with me at least 46 years.

UpWest

Sweet Gums is clingers, but not bitter

We went Christmas shopping yesterday, Alan and Becky and me. Destination was the Bass Pro shop in Auburn. I had a particular purchase to make for a certain someone with whom I occasionally partake of adventure and that certain something is marketed by that certain company.

You could pretty much tell there was going to be a storm. Although we weren't going birding we saw a lot of birds.

Hundreds of Canada Geese floated, pooled in their own reflections, placid on the river, which seemed as if it had been painted in a swath of silver and muted sunlight.

In one spot not far from here they were pinned under the watchful eyes of a pair of mature Bald Eagles. I have been reading up on the latter, and it seems that they will already be refurbishing last year's nests for the coming nesting season....which btw begins in winter so the fledglings will be able to partake of the young of the year of mammals and birds while they are still inexperienced and going over fool's hill animal style.

Such as Canada Geese.

I coaxed our driver to pull into the parking lot at Montezuma to allow me five minutes to grab a couple of photos and look at ducks. (Stretched it to eight minutes and no one complained.)

There wasn't much shaking....or floating....or flying...and the wildlife drive is closed for the winter, but I did get to see some gulls and some Northern Shovelers, which are not exactly Fultonville birding fare. We must have seen fifty Red-Tailed Hawks hunting the highway too. Once you learn to spot them they are everywhere.

Goal was acquired, along with some cool things for Peggy like Lincoln Logs then we hustled home so our boy could head to Boston. Just another weekend in Paradise. 

Buddies

Sometimes it is all about the journey and not the destination These guys had a great day out in the fields and woods last week and came home grinning and joking. Only saw one deer and it wasn't in a safe spot to hunt it, but they seem to have had a real good time.

I was Never One

Biscuit required to get him to be still for a moment

To dress up dollies, or even to play with them unless they could somehow be coaxed to ride plastic horses or sit in toy cars that we ran down the tilted side rail of an old bed in order to crash them better.....(Barbie had it tough at our house)....

Undaunted, he eats the stove for dessert

Now I find myself dressing a DOG!!!

But is cold and he shivers so. And he loves his new jacket that Becky bought him.

And speaking of girls who play with toy horses.....do turn up your sound to hear the training instructions.

Just not

Feeling it these days. This is not a great time of year for me, with the short days and the mud and all.... I really can't walk and no birds around...whine, whine, whine.......Peggy and the boss and Becky have all been sick....

Makes it hard to find anything cheerful or cheering to write about. I did go so far as to put on a hunter safety orange sweatshirt this morning so if it doesn't get too cruddy out I might be able to walk a little. Maybe see something besides chickadees.

Meanwhile, the important things in my world seem to have dwindled down to watering the Christmas tree and washing the dishes....

Oh, and laundry....yeah, there is always laundry. I know, I know, there are plenty of people who have much worse things to deal with and they have my deepest sympathy....but I still hate this time of year and don't find myself writing much.....

And having finished whining, I will return you to your regular programming.

Country Girls

I think the love of animals, understanding of wild things, and rural life in general get in your blood....at a very early age.

Kids raised on farms and in country homes tend to get a grasp on reality early in life.

Thus, above is Peggy using her dad as a saddle horse. Alas by the time I got the camera she had dismounted and was leading him around with her mama's bathrobe tie. Cooling him out I guess.

And here are all  some of her ponies, safe in Finnbar's kennel, where the coyotes and other wild things can't get them. Of course if Finn was in there I think he might have some ideas for them, but he was outdoors. 

Anyhow, she watched the deer processing and likes the results, as do we. Venison sausage for breakfast, venison with California vegetables, rice and a nice salad for supper.....we aren't tired of it yet......

Fantastic Beasts

Alan took me to see it last night. He took Becky the night before..... 

It was excellent, a very enjoyable evening..... Lots of fun creatures for laughs and lots of slightly scary stuff for thrills. Pretty good CG, good characters, a few more falling bricks than might have been necessary to advance the plot, but it is an adventure after all. Not a great deal of plot, actually, but plenty of action throughout. It sure wasn't boring.

I could easily see why he wanted to see it twice. It is one of those movies where at the end you wish there was more and you keep remembering small details for hours afterwards. I will be looking forward to the DVD and movie night, a popular tradition here at Northview.

Mother Honey Locust

Decorated her children for the holidays......

Bird Strike

I was on my way down to the heifer barn, taking scraps to the hens, when a young of the year Red-tailed Hawk (it had a barred rather than red tail) lifted lightly from the Box Elders and floated up to the defunct telephone pole that sits just in front of it.

Oh, no. 

There are a few reasons why a hawk might be set among the chickens like a cat among the pigeons and most of them aren't good. I had to have Alan help me, but sure enough we found what remained of one of the Barred Rock pullets stuck under the cattle panel where the hawk had stuffed it while dining.

I shooed at it until it flew away west and went in to get Liz to pen up the birds.

No more free range for the girls this fall I guess. No need to provide free lunch other than sunflower seeds and suet. Sure was sad to see the little hen taken, but them's the chances you take when you have poultry outdoors.

And of course, they just started laying about three days ago. 

What do you say

About these drab wintry days? I try to write something here every day, but we have been so busy with holidays and deer and deer and holidays that I have fallen down on the job. Had the first of the venison sausage this morning. Practice makes perfect and all, and it came out great this year. Good job, Al and Liz. If you want to see the processing efforts visit the View at Northview over in the sidebar.

Meanwhile, Uncle Alan picked up a Christmas tree yesterday and had a ball decorating with Peggy. She wan't all that interested at first, but once she realized what was in all those old cardboard boxes and what you did with the little silvery balls and shiny horses and doggies, she was enthralled.

And so were we, watching and laughing. I was out here in the kitchen when I heard the Border Collie ornament come out of the box....

"Ooh, look Uncle Alan, Finn!"

I have a resin carousel music box Ralph's brother and sister-in-law gave us that she was over the moon about. And the train that my dad gave us that goes under the tree, she was raving to her dad about it when he got home from work.

So the days have been full with stuff......

And...today we have to cut that second buck. Should go faster as we are not going to grind him, but just cryovac large pieces for roasts and chuck roast style cooking. 

Guess I had better get busy getting ready for another busy day.

Happy Thanksgiving

Music soothes the Savage

Thanksgiving cooks. Liz and I are trying to do the day before cooking for two families' Thanksgiving dinners.

I do my bird ahead and bone it and reheat it with gravy.

She makes all kinds of breads and dinner rolls.

Kitchen traffic was getting gnarly and the chefs grumpy......when.....

She suggested I put my phone in a bowl and turn on some music. (Because a bowl makes it better.)

Magic. Memories of trips to see Trent Tomlinson and Emerson Drive.

Road trips singing along.

Milking the cows back in the day with people bellowing over the milking machines from all sides of the barn.

Good stuff. Sure an eclectic list though. From Queen to Crosby Stills and Nash to RW Hampton, Robert Dennis, and Todd Fritsche.

Good stuff. Happy campers. 

Happy Thanksgiving cooking to one and all, from our noisy kitchen to yours...

But for the Wind

It would be quite nice out today, although cold. However said wind is a stump grinder of a rumble-grumble, whipping and whining and tossing things around, and making the house cold even with the stove at top speed. 

I keep looking around for what makes the howling noise up in the honey locust when it really gets going. It sounds like a train, but I don't think the branches are strong enough to hold one.

The pup is going over fool's hill these days and had a panic attack because a pot for underwater plants blew up along the cable and scared him. Despite his warning me of the extreme danger I picked it up and put it away. Those things come in handy in the summer.

We seem to spend the day shuttling dogs in and out and to and fro. Too cold for them outdoors. Too boring for them in.

 During this exercise we found a downside to deer hunting. Ren unearthed, to her infinite delight, the Rocky Mountain oyster (so to speak) of the big buck. 'Ooh, ooh, ooh! Treats!' You may have heard Liz trying to catch her and get it away from her.

She was so happy with her find and so very reluctant to relinquish it that it took a while. Glad she is Liz's dog rather than mine.

Must have been pretty potent as the ones at the end of my leash go crazy whenever we pass the spot where she (finally) dropped it, even though it has long since been removed from play.

Happy Birthday

He's the one on the left.....

To a great dad, a fine son, good citizen of our area, world's best brother, and a fine  young man. Congratulations on all you have accomplished, Scott. It is a pleasure to know you.

I Shouldn't Post this until Friday

But Becky made these for the library craft sale. I made sad puppy eyes and got one to keep for our tree too. 

*****And hunting season Day Two

Meanwhile, in a Tree Stand Nearby

In the stand before the sun came up. Sitting in the cold pearly reflected light, listening, when the sounds began.

Clack. 

Antler or brush?

Clack, crash, crash, clack, clack, clack, clack, definitely deer.

Definitely two deer.

Then came a loud scuffling, snorting, crashing, banging and bashing. Cough! Bark! Cough! Did you ever hear a deer bark? There is nothing quite like the sound.

Two bucks were fighting right in the 30-acre Lot. I am told it was the most amazing experience in the world, listening to that battle out there in the dark, senses heightened by the lack of light, only the scent of the rut and the sound of the fight to tell the tale.

Later came the light and shortly after sunup came one buck, a heavy 7-pointer. The victor. Maybe, maybe not.

Like in fishing it was of course the smaller of the pair. The big one got away.

It was the first shot of the  season (other than sighting in) of the .308 Winchester recently added to the collection here.

We will be eating well this winter....

Boom Sticks

At four-ish or so in the morning the Super Moon lights up the ice fog like a magic wand. Everything is still dripping from the rain over the past few days and the lone spruce seems a whole dark forest in the not quite light. The yard between the house and heifer barn seems as if you might need to access them through a wardrobe, if you know what I mean. I have to just stand and look for a while, so eerie and alien the morning seems.

Then, come six or seven, the boom sticks start. To the southeast a throaty shotgun roars. One shot. Probably either a deer harvested or a clean and admitted miss.

To the southwest the sharp crack of a medium-sized rifle. Another single shot, another case of the same probable outcome. All around us, north of the river, south, east, and west of our farm, shots ring out everywhere. We have been hearing people sighting in, but this is different. Purposeful. Deadly.

Then to the east, boom, boom, boom, boom....and one more lone, trailing, echoing boom of disappointment. Nope, you didn't get anything but the flashing view of a bobbing white tail, leaving the area on the run.And maybe an adrenaline rush that messed with your aim. Them projectiles is expensive these days....calm down and take your time.

Yeah, it's opening day of the south deer season here in NY. There will be no more wearing drab clothing to go out counting birds....in fact I won't be going counting at all for a while....

However there will be something other than beef on the menu....just sayin'. After the hard years around the 2009 dairy crash I got very good at cooking alternate meats. And we will have some to cook.

Ice Cold Apple Goodness

Frosty pink fogginess

Right at this moment I am enjoying an Ozark Gold apple that was on the tree half an hour ago.

We went out to our favorite orchard, Bellinger's to pick Pink Ladies, having decided that it is going to take a second bushel to get us through the winter....they are getting eaten quite quickly. Seems as if everybody likes them, including Peggy.

It was cold and foggy and spooky and beautiful out there all alone among the trees. Geese were echoing somewhere above, unseen in the thick cottony fog. 

There sure is a lot of good picking left, and I guess the orchard will be open until T-Day, if you are interested in getting some for yourself. The Pink Lady trees are bent right down with brilliant, blushing fruit. The boss and I picked a bushel in no time.

As always I wandered the nearby rows for a couple of other kinds to finish out the bags.....including four Granny Smiths and the Ozarks.

Wish I could share with you how delicious this apple is. I only picked four of them too, and if not for digestive discretion I would eat them all right now, while they are still so cold.

However.......

Invisible Geese

Throwtheballthrowtheballthrowtheball....
throw it now, please, please, please, throwtheball

Out with Finnbar well before sunup. Geese were flying over, calling like the wild hunt. Finn thought that they were mighty fine and raced around looking up for them.

He loves birds about as much as I do and follows finches and sparrows back and forth across the lawn as long as he is out and they will fly....

Me, I looked up too, to see if they flew across the moon. I have always wanted to see a night bird silhouetted on the moon and never have. I know people who have taken spectacular photos of them. I have seen a fantastical night painting of Canadas flying across a silver mountain lake against the moon....but I have never seen it myself.

Maybe someday. 

Happy Birthday Dad

If you see this fine man today, wish him a very happy birthday. Love you dad!

Some of his amazing wood carvings