I swear I’m not doing yet another blog about hand pies, despite the header photo.
A discovery was made a couple of weeks ago that if I ask Alexa to play “You Butter My Bread” by the Divers, I will get a nice mix of songs that remind me of TLGMS. Some of the songs are actually TLGMS favorites.
Yesterday morning, while I was making something that I’ve promised I won’t mention, I made my request and one of the songs that Alexa coughed up was “Canned Goods” by Greg Brown. You all know I adore this song; this morning, looking out a the slight dusting of snow on the neighbor’s roof, I realized that it’s official that summer is over.
So going into fall/winter, this is what I’ve put up this year: strawberry jam, raspberry jam, pesto, applesauce, tomato sauce, basil/oil cubes, chive/oil cubes, mint/lime juice cubes, strawberries, raspberries and grapes. Somehow it doesn’t seem like I’m keeping up with Greg Brown’s grandmother!
Our son and daughter loved listening to Rabbit Ears productions of children’s stories narrated by famous actors accompanied by wonderful musicians. One of their favorites was a story about Paul Bunyon narrated by Jonathan Winters with music by Leo Kottke. It was funny to hear Paul Bunyan talk about the assignment he got from the president to clear off all the trees from North Dakota. We could certainly relate, as we had a dearth of trees in our region.
Husband has really enjoyed walking the dog and seeing all the crimson and scarlet maple leaves in the neighborhood. We didn’t have these kind of maples in ND. He said the last time he lived in a place that had maples like this was 46 years ago in Madison, WI. The trees in Dickinson were mainly Green Ash and Cottonwoods. Their leaves were pretty blah in the fall.
We have a maple and an oak in the our front boulevard. We also have a Birch in the backyard, along with a Blue Spruce and a Flowering Crab. There are also all sorts of Arbor Vitae. We are well set for trees and bushes. The header photo is a tree across the street from us
What trees do you have in your yard? Any favorite Jonathan Winter or Leo Kottke creations?
My BFF suggested we go see Ann Reed last week; I haven’t seen Ann in a live performance for many years so I was excited to go. She has such a huge repertoire, I hate to admit that this is still my favorite:
She (along with Joan Griffith) did a great set and in between many of the songs, she shared haiku with us, some of hers and some that she had found along the way. When I went looking on the internet afterwards, I discovered she has a book entitled Our Daily Breath: Haiku & Photographs.
During my search I found a website, Haiku Universe, that will sent you a daily haiku or short poem. You know me, I couldn’t resist. It’s been fun the last week or so to get a little haiku every day. Here’s one I particularly liked (by Tomas O’Leary):
then it came to me
like a bomb in my lunch bag –
it was my day off.
So I’ve had haiku on my mind. Here are a couple of mine:
My orthopedists
Are both about twelve years old.
Having bad knees stinks.
It’s that time of year –
All of my hard work, yard wise
Fills up many bags.
Do you have any fall clean-up/organizing that needs doing? Any haiku or poems speaking to you?
Unless you got your water from a well back in Dickinson, no one needed a water softener. Our city water came from the Missouri River, and had just the right amount of minerals and wasn’t too hard. You didn’t need a special tap and faucet for drinking water
I had forgot that back here in Rock County, everyone has a water softener, as the water is very hard. The people we bought the house from were kind enough to leave us several bags of softener salt. The kitchen is plumbed so that our drinking water comes through the refrigerator door/icemaker. It is going to be tedious to fill up the tall pasta pot with water from the fridge door. I also have to get used to feeling as though I didn’t get all the soap off when I take a shower.
There were two guys in town with the same last name of Frakes who both were friends of my dad. One ran the Culligan franchise, so dad called him “Softwater Frakes”. The other was a building contractor named Marion who was married to a woman my dad called “The Devil’s Grandmother” due to her fussy and irascible temperament. I think of them now every time I drive passed the Culligan shop.
What are your favorite songs and stories about water and the sea. Anyone who you know who could be the Devil’s Grandmother?
I sure am enjoying the cooler weather. We had 30 degree’s Wednesday AM. I had moved the pressure washer inside the feedroom, dumped out the hummingbird feeders, and we moved the tomato plants and flowers into the garage.
I was using the pressure washer to clean off the haybine after cutting the weeds in the oat fields. After I hose it all off once, I start the machine up and run it slow in order to clean off the reel and get the dirt out of the sickle and cutterbar. And as I walked back around to the front, pulling the pressure washer hose, I gave the hose a ‘flip’ –and stuck it right into the reel and cutter bar and I was done washing. I can splice it back together, and it might hold (it is a PRESSURE washer after all) I just haven’t had time yet. Honestly, I kinda forgot the machine was running and what I was doing. Brain Fart.
The top drawer fell out of our dishwasher the other day too. I ordered some new parts from Amazon and the dishes are piling up in the sink. Yes, we could wash by hand…we just haven’t had too yet.
Last week I mentioned how the squirrels were tormenting the dogs at home. They’re very busy around the college too. Right outside the theater are a couple large Oak trees. Three squirrels are often scampering around them. I call them Frank, Bob, and Jane. Frank seems to mind his own business. Bob and Jane are usually chasing each other and fussing over something or other. When she does get a break, Jane can often be seen foraging in the leaves. She doesn’t mind me and I don’t mind her.
I’ve been seeing groups of turkey vultures lately. Sometimes around home, sometimes in SE Rochester where there may be at least a dozen sitting in a cell tower. Did you know group of turkey vultures in the air is called a kettle? I knew that a group sitting together is called a committee. I didn’t know they could also be called a volt, or venue. If they’re feeding, it’s called a wake. Who came up with these names? I’ve been on some committees that would certainly qualify as having vultures as members…
I am part of CoCoRaHS for reporting rain and snow fall. Although I only report rain. “Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network”. All that’s required to become a reporting member is their special rain guage that measures rain to the hundredths.
They have 1000+ stations across all 50 States and Canda reporting weather data, which is used by multiple agencies.
It started in Colorado in 1998. They sent out an email this week talking about “the Water Year” which runs October 1 – September 30. So named because in Colorado, where this is based, most of the water accumulation comes from snowfall after October 1. And that snowfall is what provides water for the next year’s crops.
The email last week showed how we can view statistics from our own locations as well as any of the others.
I’ve been reporting since March of 2021. I see I have 907 reports. This year I’ve reported receiving 25.92” of rain. VS would like the site because there’s all sorts of fun statistics in there.
Last week was our ‘Gotcha Day’ for Luna. I picked her up on October 5th, of 2023. Two years of that crazy dog.
CROPS!
The neighbors got my soybeans harvested on Friday.
I haven’t gotten the total bushels from the elevator yet, but according to the monitor in the combine, they were a little better than average. The price isn’t great, but it seems like there was a decent amount out there. Except where the deer have stripped the pods of the plants. I was out in a far corner of the farm and back there, it’s just stems. Stupid deer. I had to leave about half an acre of soybeans in one little field down by the house and buildings. They tried to get to it, but the head on the combine is 40 feet wide, and they couldn’t fit between the trees and a fence. Not the end of the world. The cost of combining that half acre would have pretty much taken all the profit from that half acre.
The corn looks good. It’s very tall this year! But remember, the height really has nothing to do with the yield of the ears…
There is a fungus called Tar Spot that’s becoming worse in the Midwest. See the black spots on the leaves?
Too much and it will kill the plant early, weaken the stalk, and reduce the yield.
The corn is physically mature, but still drying down. typically when it’s mature, it’s still about 30% moisture in the kernels. The ears are still standing upright.
Too much rain at this point and it gets down inside the husk and can cause mold on the kernels. Some farmers have started harvesting corn and the moisture levels are all over the place. For storage, the corn kernels have to be 15% moisture. Once the ears hang down, it’s into the teens and drying it doesn’t cost quite so much.
Tuesday Husband and I took the dog to the groomer in a little town about 10 miles west of us. I drove, and on the way back I had to swerve to avoid running over a very long rattlesnake that was slithering across the highway. We estimated it to be about four feet long. We have Prairie Rattlesnakes out here. Their markings are unmistakable. We have seen them all lengths, from tiny ones no thicker than a pencil to the long one on Tuesday. The weather has been so warm here I suppose it was a good time for the snake to check out the available mice in the ditch. We have never seen any in town.
I had some clients years ago who had to move out of their rental home on the south side of town because there were dozens of garter snakes in the walls of the basement. The house was later condemned and torn down. We heard that the lot the house was built on was a noted breeding ground for garter snakes. No other structure has been built there.
The town of Narcisse in Manitoba interlake region is well known for the tens of thousands of garter snakes that emerge from their nests in the spring and return in the fall. I guess it is quite a tourist attraction. We never visited there when we lived there. Snakes aren’t my cup of tea. I have a second cousin who I love dearly who lives near St. Peter and who loves snakes. He has bred snakes for commercial sale in the past, and loves it when his cats find garter snakes in the basement and bring them upstairs.
What are your experiences with snakes? Do you have any friends or relatives with interests you find odd?
The other day our terrier came into the house with a large, green caterpillar in his mouth. We got it away from him before he could eat it but it was clearly dead.
Our deck off the back of the house has a pergola that is covered by layers of grape vines. It provides nice shade and also harbors birds who like to eat the grapes. A night or two ago I was sitting on the deck when the green wiggler in the header photo dropped to the floor right in front of me. I guess the vines also provide a nice environment for caterpillar development. The caterpillar was still alive, so I moved it into some bushes so the birds and dog would have difficulty finding it. I hope it gets a chance to form a cocoon.
One of my favorite memories from Grade 3 is finding a really big cocoon and bringing it to class. My teacher let me keep it in the classroom, and a couple of days later we came to school to find an enormous Cercropia moth flying around the room. I don’t know what kind of caterpillar our green one is, but I hope it doesn’t turn into a destructive moth.
Any idea what kind of caterpillar this is? Ever have an insect collection?
Kelly commented one day she didn’t know why the handle on the drawer holding the kitchen garbage can always had streaks of something on it. I knew immediately it was probably from the egg I crack every morning, but I didn’t offer that up at the time. She might read it here…
I was making daughters egg cup the other morning. The first egg cracked perfectly, opened perfectly, and I plopped the yoke right into the cup. Went to crack the second egg and the shell pretty much disintegrated, the contents splashed onto the counter and slid right off into the garbage. (Over that handle of course). At which point, as I flailed, I knocked the egg cup with the first egg onto the floor. The dogs were right there for clean up. With luck, Kelly won’t know about that either. Course it was kinda funny so I’ll probably tell her. … at some point…
A few weeks ago, I saw a postal truck dead on the side of the road. The next day I saw it being towed. A few days after that I saw another one being towed. Jeepers. Then there was the semi carrying mail that caught fire on Hwy 52 outside Rochester. I do have to say, mail service to our house seems to be getting better. We’re getting mail before noon, whereas it had been 7PM for a few years. And often now, they’ll bring the mail and a package right to the house. Those of you who’ve been to the farm know that’s not a light task; it’s a long drive out of the way to bring a parcel down to us.
And then just the other day I saw one of the new postal vehicles.
Uh… it’s…. something!
It’s called the ‘Next Generation Delivery Vehicle’. NGDV.
I did some internet searching on them. Here are various headlines and descriptions:
-U.S. POSTAL SERVICE’S UGLY DUCK MAIL TRUCK
-U.S. POSTAL SERVICE’S EV TRUCKS ARE STILL FUNNY-LOOKING, NOW HARDER TO KILL OFF
-The Postal Service’s new delivery vehicles aren’t going to win a beauty contest. They’re tall and ungainly. The windshields are vast. Their hoods resemble a duck bill. Their bumpers are enormous.
–The Oshkosh Next Generation Delivery Vehicles might look like background traffic in a Pixar film
-You can tell that [the designers] didn’t have appearance in mind
-SO MUCH FOR LOOKING COOL WHILE YOU DELIVER THE MAIL*
-It looks like a robot Beluga whale—built by the East German government.*
-Our Grumman mail trucks [The old trucks] look like they were supplied by the government of East Germany and they sound like the tortured exhalations of a hungover water buffalo—hhhhggggggggmmmmmggghhhh. Honey, the mail’s here.*
-Odd appearance aside, the first handful of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles … are getting rave reviews from letter carriers
–The side cargo door allows for direct delivery onto the curb
The drivers really like them. They have AC (Can you believe the old ones didn’t?), airbags, back up camera’s, a 360° camera, collision warning, and most importantly, the tall box allows drivers to walk through without ducking. The current vehicles, made by Grumman, came into service in 1987 and was scheduled for 25 years. They outlived that predicted life. But they are failing. And they seem to catch fire fairly often. Prior to that vehicle was the Jeep DJ-5. The USPS used them during the 1970’s and ‘80’s. I bought a used one from my friend Thom, and he had bought it used from someone else. It was dark green. I drove it for a few years in the mid 1980’s. It was standard left side drive, and I used it when I was a field reporter for the Department of Agriculture. With the sliding door, it was great for holding a measuring wheel out the door and driving around a field. It was just 2-wheel drive, so that wasn’t an option for every field, but it was still kinda cool looking (well, ‘Different’ anyway). Even with the bungee strap holding the back door shut (because if you went over a bump, the back door would pop open) and the steering was so loose you didn’t dare drive over about 55 MPH, but it was fun to drive. Thom had mounted a stereo between the seats, and bolted speakers to the back wall. The metal dash was pretty rudimentary.
Not my jeep, just a representative photo. I wonder why I never took a picture of mine?
Not too much happening around the farm. I did get the 630 carburetor back on and had it running! It’s quiet enough I could actually hear myself think! It’s not done, I have a few more things to replace. Saving up for the next ‘Old Tractor Part’s Order’.
I got a township call from a sheriff deputy about some junk that had been dumped. Turned out to be two large commercial pizza ovens. Those things are heavy! I called a couple neighbors to help load them. It was all we could do to just tip it up and tip it onto the trailer.
Pizza ovens on the trailer
The next day was a sectional couch and mattress to pick up. Just more ditch clean up. Part of the job for a township supervisor. The couch and mattress I haul to county recycling. We know them on a first name basis there. We’re regulars. The pizza ovens I added to my scrap metal trailer.
I finally hauled in the old tires I had cut off those wagons. Took them to a local auto shop and paid ___ for disposal.
Got half an inch of rain Thursday night. More predicted.
Here’s a picture of a chicken because the green shades look so pretty.
From a distance, they look black. But they have more colors than you’d think, and they are really pretty.
My summer Padawan has been out working on his car a few times. I helped him for an hour one night and rolling around underneath looking up, down, left, and right acerbated some vertigo I was beginning to get. The next day I sat very still. He’s learning a lot—I hope. He’s certainly at a disadvantage because he’s being self-taught, which is good, but it can be frustrating and it all takes longer. And he’s not quite in the right mindset for that. He’s eighteen so he knows everything already. And he gets frustrated easily with the car. I tried to tell him it’s all part of the job and if he’s gonna get frustrated, he’s in the wrong job. Monday he starts as an employee at a REAL job. A 7AM to 3PM job. We’ll see how that goes. Cross your fingers for him. I give him about a 35% chance of sticking with it. He just has no idea. And it’s going to take a few tries, and I suspect he’s gonna be one of those kids who must hit bottom to figure it out.
You’d think that with all the tomato dishes we’ve had in the last few weeks that I would not be craving yet another tomato recipe. The last couple of days I’ve been thinking about pizza – specifically Boludo’s, which we haven’t had in a while. But the combination of my knee (had therapy yesterday morning and was quite sore) and all the tomatoes on the counter and all the pesto in the fridge overtook my desire to order in.
Pizza dough with olive oil, pesto and thinly sliced Romas (and I did NOT cut myself on the mandolin!!!) with some assorted shredded cheeses I found in the cheese drawer. Topped with some salt and pepper and then some more shredded parmesan that I had leftover from lunch a few days ago. Turned out rather well, if I do say so myself.
I read for a lot of reasons. One of them is to find new ideas or to be reminded of ideas I may have had in the past.
The book I just finished (not revealing the title as there would be spoilers otherwise) had a fairly absurd premise but then managed to present several trains of thought that were tantalizing. A huge asteroid is heading for Earth and scientists have determined that it will wipe out everyone and everything in two years, six weeks.
One character, who works in banking, came up with a scheme that basically defrauds people but will make the bank a ton of moolah. His theory is that by the time folks figure out they’ve been defrauded, the world will be ending. Sadly the other members of the board agreed with him.
Another character, an aging rock and roll star, was facing terminal cancer and decided to end his life so that his music royalties would go to his first ex-wife as soon as possible. He also made an extremely heartfelt apology to her for how he had treated her back in the day.
A third character, an anthropologist, was worried about the end of civilization before the end of the world. Why, he postulated, would be the incentive to keep working? Who would do the jobs that keep us all fed and clothed?
This last character’s questions have remained with me for days now. Whenever there is some news of an asteroid that’s coming close to the planet, I do muse about the end of days. But I have never considered what would happen if we KNEW it was end of days for sure. How could we keep civilization going? How would I personally get by until the end? Would I feel the need to atone for my “sins”? I’m not sure, but I think I would definitely make a trip to Alaska, the only state in the union I haven’t visited.
Anything on your bucket list you’d like to do if you knew the world was ending in two years and six weeks?
Trail Baboon 