Basking in the Turkey After Glow

Over the weekend I was busy working outside: picking up, putting away, and doing all round general clean ups preparing for the winter snows to arrive.  Nothing yet!  In fact, yesterday (the first day of buck season here) it was cloudy and 63 degrees.  Go figure.  I have to say, it has been a very mild fall season still.  In spite of germination problems, I do have some lettuces doing fairly well and some nice baby radishes.

However, in spite of this warmth, I do recognize that it won’t last forever and that winter will rear it’s sometimes ugly head.  It’s not all bad you know.  Actually, I’m looking forward to seeing snow coat the trees and ground.  It can look so pretty up here.

Well, as I started preparing for winter’s inevitability, I got a speck of good news.  One of the guys on the rodeo circuit may not have his rodeo partner for the upcoming season.  So, as he and I were talking, the idea came up to both of us— being partners for a couple of team events involving rough stock.  Although you wouldn’t immediately think so, these particular events oftentimes lead to more injuries than most of the other events.  That’s the problem when you have a steer who just won’t be steered.  Oh, what the heck…I’m healed now from the bull wreck back in September.

In spite of the visions running through my head of my deceased Mother worrying about my safety and saying Novenas by the pearly gates…all the while, clicking her tongue and admonishing me, it looks like me and John are going to give it a try.  I just hope his old partner won’t change his mind before season starts.

Of course, in a fit of selfishness, I figured it’d be good for me, since the potential partner is already a buckle winner in at least one of these events (good to be teamed up with a champion).

Now, we’re trying to figure out which rodeos to compete at.  He has his favorites and so do I.  I’m sure we’ll come to a compromise along the way.  The rodeos will run from Florida to Alberta, Canada and seemingly, everywhere in between.  I’m so looking forward to it.

Thanksgiving Is Almost Here

Ah yes.  It’s that time of year again when thoughts turn to roast turkey, turkey gravy, turkey a la king, turkey hash, turkey croquettes, etc.  Turkey has to be one of my most favorite foods.  I’m proud of the Heritage Breed turkeys I raise–very tasty and so good for you.

Here’s a link to a recent article about Heritage Breed turkeys that you might find interesting:

http://www.grist.org/sustainable-food/2011-11-14-something-to-be-thankful-for-real-turkeys-make-a-comeback

 

 

 

A Challenging Fall Season

Well, it’s been almost two months since my last post.  So many things going on.  September through early November has seen a few challenges on the old homestead.  The first problem encountered was that of germination.  A massive seed failure left me spinach-less (and speechless).  I figured that the humidity over the summer and a lack of placing the seed in sealed containers rendered my spinach seeds useless.  After several attempts at re-sowing, I gave up in mid-October.  Interestingly enough, the collard and romaine seeds experienced the same germination problems.  Again, humidity must have been the culprit.  I did however, get some romaine to germinate in the tunnels, albeit fairly late.

On another note, the girls (bees) were attacked by a bear this past weekend.  As you can see in the photo, the bear got the late honey super and ate all the honey but left the deeps (the big boxes that serve as the bees’ home) intact.  He just upended the deeps.  This past Sunday morning, I donned my gear and got to work cleaning up the mess and putting the one hive back together.  Needless to say, the girls were ticked. 

I put up some fencing around the hives now although it’s only welded wire fencing.  Put rolls of barbed wire around the fenced in perimeter, making it look like some gulag or a nazi prison camp.  Ahh, live and learn.

Overall, it’s been a warm fall season, nights around 35-40F and days around 50-60F with a few frosty mornings thrown in for good measure.

Finally, computer at home had been giving me grief.  Seems to be working now alright.  I guess that good swift kick in the diodes helped.