Northview Diary

What has it Got in its Pocketses?

2012-01-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

A recent comment reminded me of a long ago incident that etched itself quite solidly in my memory.

Before the boss and I were married I worked on a much larger dairy, milking around three times as many cows as we do now. One of my duties was overseeing a series of young men as they learned to milk cows and work in the milking parlor and dairy barn.

There was a series because as fast as they were trained to do farm work...to show up at five AM, milk cows, climb on a tractor or up in the haymow and work til evening milking, then milk again, then maybe get on a tractor again....they found easier work elsewhere. It wasn't the pay, because our boss paid really well.

It is a well-known fact that̶ I̶ ̶a̶m̶ ̶b̶o̶s̶s̶y̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶e̶c̶k̶ delegate tasks quite well.

Which I suppose may be behind what happened one day. I had milked both milkings with the trainee of the day. We didn't really get along all that well....I must admit that he was not my favorite kid to work with and I wasn't sorry when he inevitably moved along to greener pastures far away from real pastures. Guess I wasn't his favorite either.

Anyhow at the end of the day the boss kindly drove me to the grocery store. We shopped. I paid (we were only dating at the time.) I went to put the receipt in the back pocket of the clean jeans I had left hanging in the barn storage room so I could change after work.

There was already something there. It was soft and about the size of the plastic baggies I carried my lunch of diced apples to work in. I pulled it out to throw it away.

It was not a plastic bag.

It was a dead mouse last seen curled up on the storage room floor.

I screamed and flung the thing high in the air to the amazement of fellow shoppers and cash register girls. There was no question at all how it had found its way into my pocket.....

The boss was eager to track down my coworker, with mayhem on his mind (today he would point and laugh) but we threw the mouse in the trash and slunk out of the store... embarrassed half to death at my girly display.

The river is running fast and full of ice

No mayhem has ever been wreaked over the incident...but I have not forgotten.....

Photos

2012-01-28T11:33:00.001-05:00

I kind of liked the way the river bank grapes,

burr cucumbers and rose bushes twined together to form a safe corner for these birds.

Don't like House Sparrows much but they were handy. do click....

Been out taking photos for Sunday Stills, which is natural frames this week. It is so grey and gloomy that it is hard to get anything but dull, dull, dull, but I think I got a couple that will do. Such a faded and colorless time of year. Still there are wee bits of color and small things of interest if you look long and closely.

Saturday

2012-01-28T11:27:00.000-05:00

The bicarb and salt tire.....forlorn and empty

Still nothing big going on, which I guess is good. Worked on 1099s yesterday, no big deal for those who have a clue, which...alas...I don't.

Was interested and appalled to note that in order to send the clearly labeled form to the folks who require them you must send another form so they know what the first form is...to convey it so to speak. These are the same folks who want us to live green and conserve and all that stuff...a form to send a form yeah, that makes a world of sense.

But the frosting on the cake was a mouse in the washer...after washing of course. It was a little deer mouse and the washer made it all fluffy and clean.

And dead. Did I mention dead?

I picked it up with a napkin and threw it out for the cats, which appear to prefer dirty mice, so I had to dispose of it in a better fashion later.

And then I washed everything again...and a second again...just in case.

You Will NEVER

2012-01-27T09:15:00.000-05:00

See this at Northview.

**** (Not the kitty tracks...we do have kitty tracks.)

January Rain

2012-01-27T09:10:00.000-05:00

Seems with our changing weather patterns we get at least one damaging rain storm in January. Every single year.

Yaktrax Tracks

Seems that this is it. Everything is awash in water running over the ice and frozen ground. Not very nice for walking. Can't say enough about those Yaktrax (and no they don't pay me.) Gotta get the boss a set.

There is little of interest going on...the boss keeps working on the furnace, making it a little warmer at least. We keep milking cows and feeding cows and cleaning out the stables...picking things up and putting them down. Dad is having kind of a hard time, but I guess he is progressing....and that is about all the news that is fit to print.

The Difference in Dogs

2012-01-26T09:44:00.002-05:00

The original three collies, rear Gael and Mike, foreground Nick

Long time readers will remember my once in a lifetime border collie, Mike. Mike was amazing, a hard, stubborn, brilliant, guy, a so called "line dog" and the best canine friend I ever had. Once we came to terms that is. He would and did work anything we pointed him at and mistakes...and there were many...were generally mine.

Nick is his 3/4 (ish) brother..his mom was Mike's half sister (our Gael) by an open trial dog of national caliber and his father was Mike's father.

You may remember the story of the day Liz, (who was around thirteen at the time, and home terribly sick), had an intruder try to get in the house with her. I was out. The boss was at the barn choring.

She was in the shower trying to get relief for her lungs...the kids all have asthma and she was, as I said, really, really ill.

Mike was loose in the house with her.

We reconstructed events later, based on forensic evidence and what the boss saw from the barn.

Somebody came on the back porch from a rental van and opened the kitchen door and tried to walk inside the house. (They did NOT succeed at this attempt.)

The door was still partly open when the boss came over after seeing someone leaping through the snow like a gazelle, great, big, loping steps, and diving into the rental and racing away.

Indoors everything was torn off the counter and there were claw marks three quarters of the way up the door...eight foot door btw. The whole kitchen looked like a cyclone had hit.

The only cyclone was Mike though, protecting his girl and his property. I will wager that the guy in the van (whom we suspect was looking to fill it up with stuff out of our house) ever even gave thought to coming back. I wonder if he even knew what hit him when he stuck his foot in that door.

Fast forward to Nick, who is getting old enough that he doesn't quite recognize folks at the door any more. The boss and Becky came in that same door yesterday. He was barking furiously right at the crack where it opens....

Teasing, the boss stuck his hand inside and made a noise.

Nick bolted in terror to sit on my feet, quaking like an aspen, for at least an hour.

And there is the difference in dogs. Short of being full sibs they couldn't share much more DNA and yet.......

Surprise

2012-01-26T09:18:00.002-05:00

Kitteh, lying in wait for something
Please click to enlarge any of these

Sitting at the kitchen table this morning getting outside the first cup of coffee when Liz walked in.

Scaring the heck out of something and making it run away and slip on the ice

No surprise as that is how the day usually goes.

Except that I hadn't heard her truck. I usually hear her truck...before the dog does in fact. He sure is getting old.

I didn't hear the truck because she came in really, really, really early and milked ALL the cows by herself (except Lemmie, because she didn't know what I am doing with her) and fed the babies.

Wow, that sure is a great surprise.Thanks Liz!

And last night the boy dropped in with a half a dozen hilarious stories about life in the big city and pretty girls and all those young guy things we miss when he is gone.

"Something" track. I would say possum....what was that kitteh thinking!

So anyhow, I had time to go out an look at some tracks and take some pics. Brave kitties out there last night...but kinda stoopid!

In Honor of Burns Night

2012-01-25T14:09:00.000-05:00

I get to show off this lovely plate Mom and Dad gave me for Christmas......so, Happy Burns Night, everyone!

The Things You Learn While Moving Heifers

2012-01-25T07:33:00.000-05:00

The electric fence gate is indeed "hot". If you touch it while wearing thick rubber boots and gloves and standing on snow, you won't get grounded completely and knocked on your *ss. However, liquid fire will run over your skin and you will cuss in the general direction of the guy who built such a tight d*** gate! Ouch!

When you worry and agonize for months over how you will move a certain recalcitrant heifer with big horns and a bad attitude, from heifer barn to cow barn....... When you sweat and plan and lose sleep fretting over what she will do......

She will walk quietly, almost exactly where you want her to go, and stroll into the barn and let you lug her into a stall with only the most minor of disagreements.

As if to say, "Ha, fooled you, didn't I?"

And the best cow moving item I have ever found is an old worn out canoe paddle. I always keep something on the porch with which to direct cow traffic. I can't count the number of times I have looked out the window to see cattle coming at me where they don't belong. Or heard hooves and moos out of place. It does not pay to chase them unarmed, as they will laugh and leap around you, kicking up their heels as they race away.

However, as with any tool sequestered by the lady of the house, all my fiber glass sorting sticks became "walking" sticks (as in walking away..I have a walking hammer too) and are over at the barn. When the time came to move an animal recently there was nothing on the back porch to choose from but a hoe and the canoe paddle.

I chose the one that fit my hand the best and carried the fondest memories. Much to my astonishment cattle respect that paddle. And do not challenge me when I carry it. Must be because they can see it so well and it makes me look wider (amazing) and more dangerous.

Anyhow, farmers love to recycle and I am going to recycle that old paddle!

**Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts. Dad had a good day yesterday and took two walks and ate hit meals. I think that is excellent progress.

Something Going On

2012-01-24T07:09:00.001-05:00

In the Amish world today. Early this morning, as I lay squashed under the mountain of comforters, blankets, and afghans that is necessary to prevent freezer burn in this climate (I felt like a particularly insignificant leaf, pressed in a particularly thick dictionary) I heard horse after horse clopping by.

I paused on the stair landing and watched yet another, seen only by a vague green light from whatever he was using to make himself visible to passing traffic, as he pounded down the road well before dawn.

I wonder where they are all going.

And have you noticed that almost every single one of their horses is lame to some degree? Watch for the tell-tale head bob when the hurty foot hits the ground when they trot....or listen. You can hear that little hitch in their git-along too, especially in the quiet of the early early morning like today.

Anyhow, something is happening somewhere.....

****And on another note, I am SO GLAD that moose are uncommon in NY (although I am sure most local folks will remember the one in Fonda a couple of years ago. Do click the link above then click on through to read the whole story. I know a lot of tough women, but to drive away an attacking moose with a grain shovel...at 85 years old and 97 pounds...well, that is amazing.

No News is Good News

2012-01-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

I hope at least. Haven't heard how Dad is doing yet today, but he came through surgery all right.
Thank you all for your prayers.

I KNOW they helped.

Hope you will continue to keep him in your conversations with the Almighty as we will be doing here at home.

My American Farm

2012-01-23T05:39:00.010-05:00

HT to Kim Komando for sharing this site, which shares lots of useful information on American farms and farmers.

And here is another story about area cheese making.

****Please if you can, pray for my dad today. Major surgery taking place.

Sunday Stills.....Birds

2012-01-22T05:00:00.016-05:00

Tufted Titmouse

Common Crow (don't let him hear you call him that though)

A handful of several hundred European Starlings that invaded the yard the other day

What a din!

One of the horde fell dead beside the driveway and I grabbed a couple of macros. Who would imagine that such drab, shabby birds would have such lovely feathers close up!

And, last, but far from least, the multitude of Canada Geese rafting on the river....or really a tiny handful of the total, they stretch for at least half a mile.

For more Sunday Stills.....

Chuck Jolley Nails it Again

2012-01-21T10:47:00.000-05:00

Five Minutes with Animal Rights Extremism. Mr. Jolley includes an excellent reference list of animal rights groups.

Cheese and Dairy in the Mohawk Valley

2012-01-21T07:51:00.001-05:00

Area business people are making whey while the sun shines.

The boss and I are lucky enough to know all these fine folks and to have served with them on various boards of directors and such over the years (sometimes it was pretty exciting too).

Kudos to them for bringing real economic development to the valley, while embracing its unique rural nature. Much of what little I understand about milk pricing I learned from Mr. Spencer back in the day......

And Yet, We Still Seem to Have Enough to Eat

2012-01-20T04:55:00.006-05:00

"College majors that are useless" screams the headline on Yahoo news. The article contains a list of degrees that you don't need to bother with, no jobs in those fields, don't even go there. Move along, move along.....

Three of the five dead end, awful, bad, and pointless careers listed are agriculture related. In fact the number one worst degree to pursue, according to the pundit who wrote the screed, is agriculture in general (this from a guy, who, according to his Facebook page studied film and TV at UCLA).

It's no secret that the number of folks actually farming has declined a lot over the years....partly I suppose because of increased efficiency in most aspects of food production, and partly because fewer and fewer people want to work that hard at such a challenging profession.

However, a point seemed to have been missed by the author as he bandied about Department of Labor statistics on how many jobs were projected in each field.

Agriculture is all about producing food and fiber. The population of the planet is growing by leaps and bounds. I suspect that all those new babies that are projected to arrive on earth in the next few decades will arrive here kicking and screaming for their first meal and wanting to be warm. I imagine they will continue to want to eat until their tenure on the planet comes to an end. Most of them will wear clothes. At least some of those clothes will probably be made from natural fibers.

Just who does the author figure is going to feed ad clothe all those new folks? (Not to mention the ones who are already here and eating and putting on shirts and pants on a regular basis?)

And then there is the no jobs myth.

Currently agricultural exports contribute one of the few positives to America's balance of trade. Here is a quote from a recent Farm Side, "Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack even mentioned this at the American Farm Bureau annual meeting in Hawaii, “Last year, American agricultural exports amounted to $137.4 billion, which led to a $42 billion farm trade surplus, and direct support for more than 1 million American jobs.”

Hmmm, a million American jobs directly supported by agriculture. Plus countless millions the world over, fed and clothed by American agriculture....with many more millions soon to be born, hungry and naked.......are those degrees really all that useless?

I don't think so, but then two of my three kids have ag degrees and are working in good jobs, which they got straight out of college....maybe that skewed my opinion a little.

****Here are some even better numbers.
****And here is someone who actually knows what he is talking about, as opposed to the author above.

Last Night When I Came In

2012-01-19T07:31:00.002-05:00

The stars were out last night when I came in, clip-clopping slowly across the ice in my Yak Trax, like a sharp shod work horse going back to its stable. They were not quite Adirondack bright, but pretty darned clear and cold and shiny for being so close to town. As cold as it was I shut off my flashlight for a few minutes just to watch and listen...as I do most evenings year round, testing and tasting the waters of our wild Northview fish bowl...

The night was exceptionally quiet as if all the smart creatures, even the cars and trains, had gone to their dens to snuggle up out of the cold. It was good to know that our work was done, cows fed and milked, heifers double fed against the cold, cats hiding in the barns and the pony tucked up for the night. The boss bought us takeout for supper so I didn't even have to cook.

There was one bright greenish object in the sky, just off the zenith. Could have been an exceptional star or maybe some man made thing cruising around up there with the ancients. I was too lazy to look it up when I came inside and besides a lot of research sites were as dark as that cold night sky...not that I blame them a bit. Maybe Orion was playing baseball instead of stalking around with his bow, hunting trouble. Maybe he hit one out of the park and it hung there shining against the dark. Could have been, who knows with Orion?

He tends to stomp across the heifer barn roof early every morning and I worry you know...he is pretty big and heavy.

Anyhow, this morning dawned with a frozen crescent moon and an ice skin over everything that is going to defy those Yak Trax I fear. Time to do it all again and to dream of spring and greenery.

The SOPA Protest

2012-01-18T07:34:00.002-05:00

Is on for the day. Check it out here.

And here.

And many other places around the web.

Farm Child Labor Laws Issue

2012-01-17T12:38:00.000-05:00

This was shared on Facebook today. I believe that it is the best explanation of why the proposed new farm youth labor laws are a terrible idea that I have seen yet. Please take the time to watch three generations of ranch and farm folks talk about their lifestyle.

***HT American Agri-Women and Celeste Settrini

Shipping

2012-01-17T07:34:00.000-05:00

Not far from the tree

A beef steer over to the processor today. And moving stock. And trying to get the Farm Side written. Should be an interesting day. Stay warm out there.

Waited a Long Time

2012-01-16T11:57:00.000-05:00

To get up nerve enough to ask my brother to let me post a video of him singing and playing. He was kind enough to say yes, so here he is at yesterday's family get together.

Uplifting

2012-01-16T07:39:00.001-05:00

Well, actually uploading....a video of my brother playing and singing at yesterday's family party. I'm afraid it is going to take a while, but if I get it figured out I will share it in a bit.....and yeah, we do extend the Christmas season a bit most years.

Meanwhile, we were driving home last night, crossing the Mohawk bridge south out of Amsterdam, just as the crows were coming in to the infamous roosts at the east end of the city.

It was truly surreal, thousands upon thousands of sharply-edged birds twisting and turning in crisp, bright, black against a lemon meringue and peach pie sky, with ink-etching trees on the horizon and gold and silver mirrors reflecting on the river. Wish I could have taken some pics for you but the car was moving in one direction, the birds in the other so all that was left is words. Stay warm....

Farm Girls

2012-01-13T15:18:00.000-05:00

Patch themselves up with duct tape when they blow out a knee and still have to work.

Go to the parts store up at the other end of the county, carrying THIS part along...with instructions that it is NOT this part that is needed, but the OTHER part.

And somehow remain cheerful and fun to be around.

The subject of both these photos is Liz and the stories are true, with no names changed to protect the innocent.......

Farm Side Friday

2012-01-13T08:06:00.000-05:00

Every now and again you can read it for free. It is right here if you want to.

Some Fairly Amazing Children's Books

2012-01-12T11:02:00.000-05:00

I hadn't been on Mom and Dad's website for a while and hadn't seen this page of vintage, rare and really interesting children's books. Worth a look. Lots of L. Frank Baum, Palmer Cox, and other things you don't see every day.