The Riley Factor #43

The Riley Factor -- February 22
(All the news that's fit to print, along with some unfit to print rumors, prognostications and bloviations.)

Fort Plain, NY, February 22 -- Riley is getting along swimmingly with Zeke II, the new calf in the barn.  Zeke has his own stall and Riley will go in and lie right next to the 75-pound Holstein.  Both are perfectly comfortable with each other.  The other members of the Herd of Five are ever interested and stare constantly at the new arrival and whoever happens to be in there with him.  Yesterday, when Chris was in the main stall with the Four Alphabetical Others installing some new feeder hooks, Gabe jumped up and landed his prominent left hoof along with half of his considerable weight on Chris' left shoulder -- "Now it's a party".  (credit Vince Vaughn, Couples Retreat, for that line, soon to be regarded as a classic).  Monday morning is 35 and sunny with full blue sky and not a breath of breeze.  Nancy took Riley & Gabby out back for a morning romp on the trails, and later to the bone store for a ride and some dog treats.  Snow to some degree is forecast for Tuesday through Saturday in Middle-of-Nowhere.  Teri the Vet arrived early Monday to administer antibiotics, IV fluids and a general pick-me-up shot in the butt to Zeke, who has been acting a bit lethargic since arriving Saturday at noon.  He was running a mild fever (104, where normal is 100.5 to 102.5 for a calf) and had a bit of scours (mild diarrhea) and mild dehydration.   Zeke should be feeling better right away and up and about feeling normal in three days.

The Riley Factor #42

The Riley Factor -- February 19
(All the news that's fit to print, along with some unfit to print rumors, prognostications and bloviations.)

Fort Plain, NY, February 19 -- The Opening Question: Is snow falling if the wind is blowing so hard that the snow is carrying horizontally and never actually reaches the ground?  'Wind' is the weather word in Middle-of-Nowhere, NY, on this bright blustery Friday, luckily with temperatures near 30.  In a related story, Montgomery County Sheriff Department officers reported seeing a dog-kite flying near Rock Creek Farm on the Fort Plain-Canajoharie town line, a golden colored aircraft with a blue collar-like stripe and none of the required markings for ultra-light flying machines.  The vehicle made squealing-like noises and bore a tail that said 'Riley Was Here'.  Back on earth, Riley and Susan set-out on an early Friday morning stroll to the greenhouse to inspect plantings, add to the indoor crops and pick-up a few pieces of firewood for the kitchen stove.  On Thursday afternoon, Riley was sequestered in the kitchen as Susan and Lena met in the library and used captured lightning to accent and amplify various sewing projects aimed at benefiting the local community.  Carpentry work in the pantry and on the cellar stairs landing continued on into the night, with men's and women's curling at the Vancouver Olympics playing-on via television in the background, with both U.S. men's and women's curling teams proving again that they couldn't toss a curling stone into the ocean if they were standing on the deck of the ship, as their records slipped cumulatively to winless in seven games.

The Riley Factor #41

The Riley Factor -- February 16
(All the news that's fit to print, along with some unfit to print rumors, prognostications and bloviations.)

Fort Plain, NY, February 16 -- After a brilliantly sunny, warm and breeze-less President's Day Monday, today looks like a possible snow day in Middle-of-Nowhere.  Weather forecasts are a bit spotty with no one really taking a stand on quantity of the white stuff, as Tuesday predictions range from two inches to eight inches.  Yesterday afternoon, Riley and Gabby walked and ran around the back trails for an hour with Susan and Chris in the perfect February winter weather.  Dogs collapsed upon returning, while the humans carried on.  Snow began falling gently Tuesday morning, but has not yet managed the inertia to accumulate in earnest.  Susan and Riley are out in the greenhouse planting and digging, while Gabby plays on the deck.  Riley continues his quest to become the fastest growing Golden retriever of Modern Times, as he approaches 45 pounds at age five-and-a-half months, but maintains his ever-happy disposition.  His favorite activity? ... chasing cats AJ and The Professor every waking moment when they are in the house, and occasionally when he can get his considerable paws on them outside.  Stryder and Arwen will have none of that dog nonsense, each hissing and swinging the famous Maine Coon Cat paw whenever Riley's nose gets into close proximity.  In a related story, the NY house was full of guests all the long weekend -- Pauline with The Donald, Grandma Babs, Linda of Richter and Stevie.  Spectacular feasts were enjoyed by all on Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday afternoon.  In other news, the annual Mohawk Valley Produce Growers Auction Organizational Meeting takes place all day tomorrow in Little Falls, which should be a grand event for both the Rock Creek Farm CEO and Earth Transportation Engineer to attend.

The Riley Factor #40

The Riley Factor -- February 11
(All the news that's fit to print, along with some unfit to print rumors, prognostications and bloviations.)

Fort Plain, NY, February 11 -- Sunny, breezy, lemon peezy is today's weather forecast.  Linguini, bikini, pannini, martini.  Stop having a boring tuna, stop having a boring life.  Riley is busily chewing one or another dog toy like it's his job -- well, it actually might be his job, since I can't see that he really does anything else, except eat, sleep and chase the cats to within an inch of their lives.  At the crack of dawn, Riley & Gabby were out by the patio rolling in the snow in the 20+ degree temps.  Work on the pantry is progressing and much will be done by the arrival of this weekend's guests (Pauline, The Donald, Grandma Babs and Linda from Richter).  Yesterday, Craig Stevens called Susan just to check in, and when he learned that Eli's twin brother Zeke died a week after arriving at Rock Creek Farm, Craig promised to deliver a replacement bull calf in the next month or so when one is born -- he has several cows planning to give birth soon.  So the Herd of Four is soon to become again a Herd of Five.

The Riley Factor #39

The Riley Factor -- February 7
(All the news that's fit to print, along with some unfit to print rumors, prognostications and bloviations.)

Fort Plain, NY, February 7 -- Excellent weekend weather got Riley outside for some time on both Saturday & Sunday.  Both days sunny, Saturday was by far the better day -- 25ish and zero wind.  Sunday was a bit colder and fairly breezy.  Riley the Retriever mad his first foray into the upstairs workshop with Chris on Sunday afternoon -- explored every inch and chewed on almost every available stick.  Previous attempts have left the pup a bit overmatched by the 20 step stairway, but canine courage finally prevailed.  Also, for the first time, Riley has ventured into the vehicles without having to be lifted.  Once inside, he enjoys the rides -- very manageable -- no Wild Jack for sure.  After a trip to the grocery store with Nancy, Susan and Gabby, the Golden One is headed for the greenhouse with Susan later this afternoon.

The Riley Factor #38

The Riley Factor -- February 1
(All the news that's fit to print, along with some unfit to print rumors, prognostications and bloviations.)

Fort Plain, NY, February 1 -- Sunny, cool and breezy weather greeted Riley this first day of February.  Much better than the zero degree temperature of Saturday night.  Riley spent some early morning time out on the deck with Gabby and then wished Susan a fond farewell as she embarked on a trip for a few days in Hopkinton.  Riley is growing quickly, probably weighing-in at near 40 pounds as he approaches his five-month birthday.  His house-training continues with most days now being accident-free.  Yesterday, Riley joined Susan and Chris on an inspection tour of the new barn/equipment shed.  Construction was completed late last week, with the exception of the final grading, floor and drive-ups, which need to wait a month or so until the upstate NY stone quarries open for the year.  The building was built along-side of the road that goes out back to the trails.  It has 14'x14' sliding doors front and rear with a drive-through design and the ability to store in one side of the building while leaving the drive-through operational.  A 16-foot ceiling should accommodate any and all hay wagons and other equipment.  A loft may be added later.  The south wall has sky lights along the top two feet the length of the wall to provide lighting.