Montgomery County Sundae on the Farm

Will take place tomorrow at the Dygert Farm 243 Dygert Road, Palatine Bridge NY.

It starts at noon and will run until 4 PM with wagon rides, face painting, a farmer's market, live animal exhibits, tours of the milking parlor, the giant free ice cream sundae (while supplies last....which is usually as long as they need to) and much, much more.

Don't miss it! 

Directions: To reach the event from the west head east at the intersection of St Hwy 80 & St Hwy 5, for .5 miles, then turn left on Dygert Rd. From the east, at the intersection of St Hwy 10 & St Hwy 5 head west 2 miles, and then turn right on Dygert Rd.

Magic 8-Ball Tomato

When she was little we called her "Miss B". She picked out and purchased the seeds for the German Orange Heirloom tomatoes and helped me plant the seeds last spring.

When I opened this one for a sandwich I saw that it was calling her name.

A Fingernail Moon, Many Goose Kind of Morning

The driveway cottonwood sings his death song and dances his last dance. Hear him rushing and rustling, all urgent in the chilly wind. He bears cold truth on singing shoulders and renders unto autumn what it earns.

Oh, there are tomatoes grinning gold and red all on the ground. And beans blushing and squashes swelling.

And a thousand blazing blackbirds sit, creaking, in the honey locust.

But don't misremember cottonwood song. He sings of things impending.

On hot summer thunderstorm days he sings of fear of lightning.

And beats a racing leafy counterpoint to the rumbling and the flashing.

Like the heartbeat of the weather.

Watch his top to gauge the wind, its speed, direction, 

The depth of its intent.

But now, alas, he is letting go of green and bringing on the long dark cold.

I will close my ears and listen only to the Carolina Wren. Bright soldier of good cheer, he is singing on the shady porch, lighting the air like a flying candle.

Slow down, old autumn, and linger warm and cozy. Keep as close as burdocks to your sister spring and bring her this way quickly....

Thank you, that is all.

***Listen and you can hear the geese in the background under the din of the assorted blackbirds

Birthday Week

Happy Birthday, Mom, hope you have a fantastic day.

Love you!

Happy Birthday Gramps

Yeah, and one of your little grandbabies shares your day, so a big happy birthday to her too.


Hope you catch some Zzzzzs on your special day, as I know you are tired from cleaning pens and splitting firewood yesterday.

Many Happy returns....love you.....

Lookin' at the Ten Day

Starting cow handling training early

Weather forecast and it looks as if Thursday will be the next chilly one. Never got below forty here in Montgomery County last night, probably thanks to a thick blanket of fog that rolled in some time after I went to bed.

I'm gonna get her

Sure was clear at 10 though, with stars like beacons. Man were they bright! Even down near the horizon they were utterly brilliant. Spent some time on the stair landing just looking....and hoping that it wouldn't freeze.

Ma....I can't crawl yet and she won't come over here....ma........

Every week without frost has its good points for nearly everyone. Corn and soy beans are still maturing across much of the nation. Here in the valley we saw a lot of crops yesterday that would benefit from a few more weeks of growing season to be their best. A hard frost would have turned a lot of grain into silage fit only for cow feed....

I'll try keyboarding instead

Spent yesterday frantically busy between visiting our longtime veterinarian's customer picnic, which was about the best it has ever been, what with great food, and wonderful friends, and lots and lots of serious farm discussion, catching up, and Peggy sharing. Thanks, Midvale for hosting this annual get together for area farm folks.....

And then there was the bringing in of the house plants...always a marathon!....and the picking of a lot of pinkish and whitish and greenish tomatoes. The table covered with them is now joined with two big bowls full. Guess there will need to be another picking Thursday afternoon....and family members and friend NW, I need to share with you. Does anybody want to come and get some?

Ooohhhh....so that's what happens when you press control alt delete.

The yard looks so bare without the geraniums everywhere.....

The boss got a pretty special birthday gift from our boy yesterday too. I won't go into detail, but it is something he has always wanted.....and deer season starts real soon. 

   

No, not this one but......

Sneaky, Sneaky

When we were growing up in this valley it was not uncommon for the first frost to occur during the fair. In fact that was fairly normal.

However, over the past couple of decades it has become much more usual for frost to occur the first or second week of October or even later.

And we have gotten plumb spoiled.

Thus I am utterly not ready for the frost advisory for tonight....at least from some prognosticators. Weather Underground has been saying 40 all day, while other sources are warning of low 30s. Now WU is dropping their low forecast every little while.

I brought some plants in and picked all the ripe tomatoes, but there are so many more. So many plants. So many green tomatoes.

I hope it doesn't freeze.

Sunday Stills....Clouds

Moonset over starlings....with clouds

For more Sunday Stills...

Contrails

More contrails

Storm moving in...with sundogs

Clouds of smoke at the chicken barbecue

Fruity Notes on the Electric Scale

I don't think these grape notes on the barn power lines are a good thing........

Mini Moose

Do click these photos for a better look

 On the way home from the farm show yesterday we stopped at a favorite pond that lies just along a sharp curve in the road.

A couple of years ago an obliging Great Blue Heron allowed us a nice opportunity to get some pictures, so we always pause to look.

Yesterday was no disappointment. There was a doe and fawn right in the water. The doe was eating off the bottom like a moose, head submerged to the ears.

Some ducks paddled by. One was right behind the fawn in a most photo-bombitous position.

It was pretty cool. I love stopping there.

And then this morning...I have to lean on the big five-bar gate to the pasture to tie it shut when I take the cows out. I was doing that this morning....not being tall, my chin and ear are right on the gate...when a fat grey squirrel bustled out of the building the gate is fastened to and started across it.

I kept waiting for him to see me. I was in a bright squash-blossom-yellow sweatshirt. 

He just kept coming.

And coming.

And coming.

Until he was about a foot from my face. Had he continued he would have had to squeeze under my ear to get to the fence.

I almost let him.

But I was afraid he might bite me.

So I said "boo". 

Instant magical transformation from grey squirrel to flying squirrel. 

I didn't know they could jump that far. 

A Moment of Silence

And prayer for all the families who will never forget this day...and for all the people still living in the city, with the knowledge of what has happened and what could happen.......

Road Trip

Loved this ad!
Every farm dog we have ever had has loved the old milker liners as toys.
We call them doo dahs. 

To the Central NY Farm Progress Show. This is kind of our annual get away close to home. The drive over is always spectacular and we never fail to run into favorite friends and neighbors.

This year the weather was truly the best we have ever experienced for the show. We walked around, met a good friend and talked a while, picked up some pens and apples...always a big attraction at farm shows...and just enjoyed ourselves immensely.

We saw a drone for the first time...almost got a photo but I wasn't quite quick enough. There were a few Turkey Vultures sailing over the grounds and the drone passed very close to one. It didn't seem too impressed.

A corny Mohawk

There is another whole day's worth tomorrow if you missed it today. We had to rush home to see if the boss could bale second cutting.

***A special thanks to Alan who got the parts and fixed the brakes on the car so we could go. Thanks guy! As you can see, this is not a trip for the faint of brake.

Oh, Foo

German Orange Tomatoes for sandwiches

Perhaps Facebook isn't the greatest source of weather information. I just saw a map on a farm page that suggested that early frost might soon occur, damaging corn and soybean crops across the nation's bread basket.

Oh, yay. We have had such an indifferent summer, nothing ripening, poor drying weather, lots of bah humbug going on.

Now, we are finally getting some warmer days, resulting in lots of tomatoes. If the weather holds good and we don't get hit with late blight, we should be able to make a goodly amount of a sort of soup-base, tomato saucy stuff we tried out last year.

I am not sure I remember the exact process, but we cooked the maters with herbs and seasonings, just a little bit, tossed them in the food processor to render them juicy, and froze the result for winter.

Added to my usual soup or spaghetti sauce they imparted a fresh, summery taste that was unbeatable. I am hoping we can make a lot.

Speaking of soup. I love soup in the winter!

My favorite is a version of my vegetable beef standby, which uses sweet Italian sausage in place of beef. You could use hot if your taste buds will stand it.

Start out by sauteing some sausage links with onions and garlic and fresh herbs if you have them. I use whatever is on hand, fresh basil, wild oregano, marjoram, even some of the milder mints, such as orange mint.

When the links are soft, I cut them into little disks with kitchen shears. A little meat goes a lot farther that way and the flavor gets into the broth better. 

Then I put in whatever vegetables I have. Literally. Beets are about the only thing I leave out and then only because I don't want purple soup.

Last weekend I put in green beans, Romano beans, patty pan squash, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, parsley,tomaotes, shell beans from Romanos that got too mature, and one big old kohlrabi that I grew for Becky because she thought they looked cool.You could also add corn, shredded cabbage, or any number of other favorites. Broccoli and cauliflower are perfect.

At the same time I usually toss in a can of whatever tomato product I have on hand, such as diced, crushed, or sauce and some water, enough to fill your pot. This time, I had a quarter jar of spaghetti sauce left over so I added water to that and dumped it in.

I season the whole shooting match with Italian seasoning, more garlic, some grated Parmesan cheese, a teaspoon of sugar (takes the bite and bitterness out of the tomatoes) and whatever else comes to hand. Then I cook it all slowly on the stove top for a while, until everything is nice and tender. Or cover it and stick it in the oven at 325 for a while. (Then I can go to the barn and not have to stir it for an hour or so.)

If I don't have potatoes I throw in a handful of uncooked pasta or rice toward the end of the process.

It is never exactly the same twice, but it is always good. We wiped out a five-quart pot in two suppers, with grilled cheese sandwiches on the side the second night.

A Good Measure

Heaped up, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

I can't think of anything we have done to deserve all this, but I am thankful.