Friday, October 28, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Again, I have been remiss in my postings. The unending duty of labor in electrical mysteries and feverish evenings among the verdant fields have induced a languor that... Dang It! I've got to stop reading those Victorian novels. I got a Kindle for my birthday ( Thanks again MIL) and being fiscally responsible, I've been downloading the free books. A lot of them are old with the copyright expired. They are corrupting my mind. I chewed my way through The Last Man by Mary W. Shelly and it was work. I'm guessing that with the Victorians, you never used one word where 100 would do.
I have purchased some books. I bought Michael Vey, Prisoner of Cell 25. It's not bad. It's not the first Harry Potter book but it's close in quality. It's considered a juvenile but so are most Heinlien s and I love those.
The Kindle isn't perfect but it is very good. I've used it with an audiobook and it worked very well. The web browser needs a bit of work but that is experimental . The text-to-speech feature misses a few words but makes it easy to listen to a printed book while driving. I haven't tried the mp3 feature yet. Battery life is excellent with the wi-fi off.
Let's do the fair reports. The Ottawa County Fair was much more exciting this year thanks to straight line winds that blew down vendors tents, toppled trees and trapped people in crushed campers. They lost the tents two days in a row, if I remember correctly. Stacey and I were in the ticket booths when the worst one hit. Here's a little hint for you. When high winds are hitting your venue, do NOT try to shelter in a Porta-Pottie. They blow over and no one wants to get you out. It's probably something to do with the spreading pool of green and brown stuff that forms under it. Carry spare clothes in your car.
The Sandusky County Fair seemed a shadow of past fairs. The animals and craft exhibits were top quality but the rides and shows were a notch or two down from past fairs. The ribeye sandwiches were still excellent .
I took the day after Labor Day off so we could go to the Fulton County Fair. No degradation of quality there. It was as good as last year. The agricultural exhibit was Planters of Fulton County. I was amazed at the number of horse drawn and people pushed planters that had survived. We had a very pleasant day.
On Labor Day itself, I went to the S.C.R.A.P. show auction. This is one of the few times a year that I can find equipment old enough and cheap enough to farm with. I was looking for a Bush Hog mower to use behind my Ford 8N tractor. There were many such mowers there but all were far too large for my little tractor. Basically, it was a waste of time. I guess I'll just haunt Craig's list for a 4 footer.
Our Labor Day weekend was busy. On the Thursday before, Stacey decided to start canning our vegetable juice that is mostly tomato but contains 7 or more other vegetable juices. This continued for 16 hours. I think we have enough now. Friday was cleaning up from the canning and getting ready for our house guests, the Burchams from North Carolina.
A simple interruption and two months are gone. The Burchams made it. Janet has been here before but it was a first for Johnny. I got the impression that he liked Ohio. We fed them heavily when they arrived and got them up early the next day for a trip to Detroit. I wanted Johnny to see the Ford museum. I don't know if they'll make it up here again and it would be a shame not to see it.
On the way, we stopped at the Eastern Market, Detroit's farmers market and one of the largest around. It was fun but it would have taken all day and we had to move on.
The Ford museum was good but when lunchtime came, Stacey insisted on the Eagle Tavern. We had to upgrade our tickets and go into Greenfield Village. The menu at the Tavern was simpler and less expensive to make but well prepared. Naturally, we had to walk the Village after lunch. With them temps in the 90's, it nearly finished us all. All of us had to rest repeatedly.
Back home for rest and the next day on the lake. We started at the Marblehead Lighthouse. It was Sunday and there were no tours but who needs them? There may be prettier spots on the lake but I haven't seen them. Janet had seen the spot before and was smiling but Johnny lit up like a flashbulb. I'll give him points for not tasting the water. So many folks from coastal states simply can't believe that it's fresh water and have to taste it. Ok, it probably won't kill you. After all, folks swim in the lake but it's still a bit unsanitary.
We had to leave around 11:30 to catch the Jet Express for Put-In-Bay. We enjoyed some barbecued chicken on arrival and then rode a golf cart all over the island hitting all the tourist traps as we went. We left about 5pm on the back deck of a packed Jet Express just in time to experience a Lake Erie Thunderstorm.
We went home, changed to dry clothes and hit the Jolly Rodger for fish sandwiches. Good eats and back home for rest and conversation. The Burchams left on Monday, no doubt saving us all from exhaustion.
I'm destroying the garden. I can't take the thought of picking one more tomato. I fear for Stacey's mental health and my physical health if I bring any more in. We've started moving into the frost part of year so clearing the garden is no big deal but it will feel so good to stop for a few months. I can get on to other projects and plan for next year's garden. I just can't take anymore just now.
I decide to try putting in grain crops again this year. I have acquired all necessary equipment and then it rained all Spring. I finally got in a small field of winter wheat in. I don't know if it will establish itself but at least I tried.
Since I only have about 25 sheep and a steer, I'm going to try winter pasturing them this year. It looks like I should be able to get them through without feeding them much hay. That will leave my first cutting available for sale in the Spring. Every bit of profit counts.
I want to post this now. I'll add some random pictures later.
I have purchased some books. I bought Michael Vey, Prisoner of Cell 25. It's not bad. It's not the first Harry Potter book but it's close in quality. It's considered a juvenile but so are most Heinlien s and I love those.
The Kindle isn't perfect but it is very good. I've used it with an audiobook and it worked very well. The web browser needs a bit of work but that is experimental . The text-to-speech feature misses a few words but makes it easy to listen to a printed book while driving. I haven't tried the mp3 feature yet. Battery life is excellent with the wi-fi off.
Let's do the fair reports. The Ottawa County Fair was much more exciting this year thanks to straight line winds that blew down vendors tents, toppled trees and trapped people in crushed campers. They lost the tents two days in a row, if I remember correctly. Stacey and I were in the ticket booths when the worst one hit. Here's a little hint for you. When high winds are hitting your venue, do NOT try to shelter in a Porta-Pottie. They blow over and no one wants to get you out. It's probably something to do with the spreading pool of green and brown stuff that forms under it. Carry spare clothes in your car.
The Sandusky County Fair seemed a shadow of past fairs. The animals and craft exhibits were top quality but the rides and shows were a notch or two down from past fairs. The ribeye sandwiches were still excellent .
I took the day after Labor Day off so we could go to the Fulton County Fair. No degradation of quality there. It was as good as last year. The agricultural exhibit was Planters of Fulton County. I was amazed at the number of horse drawn and people pushed planters that had survived. We had a very pleasant day.
On Labor Day itself, I went to the S.C.R.A.P. show auction. This is one of the few times a year that I can find equipment old enough and cheap enough to farm with. I was looking for a Bush Hog mower to use behind my Ford 8N tractor. There were many such mowers there but all were far too large for my little tractor. Basically, it was a waste of time. I guess I'll just haunt Craig's list for a 4 footer.
Our Labor Day weekend was busy. On the Thursday before, Stacey decided to start canning our vegetable juice that is mostly tomato but contains 7 or more other vegetable juices. This continued for 16 hours. I think we have enough now. Friday was cleaning up from the canning and getting ready for our house guests, the Burchams from North Carolina.
A simple interruption and two months are gone. The Burchams made it. Janet has been here before but it was a first for Johnny. I got the impression that he liked Ohio. We fed them heavily when they arrived and got them up early the next day for a trip to Detroit. I wanted Johnny to see the Ford museum. I don't know if they'll make it up here again and it would be a shame not to see it.
On the way, we stopped at the Eastern Market, Detroit's farmers market and one of the largest around. It was fun but it would have taken all day and we had to move on.
The Ford museum was good but when lunchtime came, Stacey insisted on the Eagle Tavern. We had to upgrade our tickets and go into Greenfield Village. The menu at the Tavern was simpler and less expensive to make but well prepared. Naturally, we had to walk the Village after lunch. With them temps in the 90's, it nearly finished us all. All of us had to rest repeatedly.
Back home for rest and the next day on the lake. We started at the Marblehead Lighthouse. It was Sunday and there were no tours but who needs them? There may be prettier spots on the lake but I haven't seen them. Janet had seen the spot before and was smiling but Johnny lit up like a flashbulb. I'll give him points for not tasting the water. So many folks from coastal states simply can't believe that it's fresh water and have to taste it. Ok, it probably won't kill you. After all, folks swim in the lake but it's still a bit unsanitary.
We had to leave around 11:30 to catch the Jet Express for Put-In-Bay. We enjoyed some barbecued chicken on arrival and then rode a golf cart all over the island hitting all the tourist traps as we went. We left about 5pm on the back deck of a packed Jet Express just in time to experience a Lake Erie Thunderstorm.
We went home, changed to dry clothes and hit the Jolly Rodger for fish sandwiches. Good eats and back home for rest and conversation. The Burchams left on Monday, no doubt saving us all from exhaustion.
I'm destroying the garden. I can't take the thought of picking one more tomato. I fear for Stacey's mental health and my physical health if I bring any more in. We've started moving into the frost part of year so clearing the garden is no big deal but it will feel so good to stop for a few months. I can get on to other projects and plan for next year's garden. I just can't take anymore just now.
I decide to try putting in grain crops again this year. I have acquired all necessary equipment and then it rained all Spring. I finally got in a small field of winter wheat in. I don't know if it will establish itself but at least I tried.
Since I only have about 25 sheep and a steer, I'm going to try winter pasturing them this year. It looks like I should be able to get them through without feeding them much hay. That will leave my first cutting available for sale in the Spring. Every bit of profit counts.
I want to post this now. I'll add some random pictures later.
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