The Riley Factor #88

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
November 24, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Lily -- A big welcome to Lily Johnson, who has just joined us, working at Rock Creek Farm.  She grew up in Cobleskill and now lives in Sharon Springs.  Lily is a Beef and Livestock major at SUNY-Cobleskill, and knows much about horses, cattle and the animal life. 

Planting and Plowing -- Dormant until spring.

Riley -- The French Guinea Fowl are becoming less leery of The Riley, staying in their tight band of nine and wandering ever closer to that great golden nose when he is tied-up outside.  The other day while out for his morning run, Riley came across a half dozen wild turkeys in the fourth field and began the obligatory chase (although in his still young life he has never caught more than a cold).  By the time he crossed into the third field, his quarry had grown to a bona fide flock of over 30 of the wild birds, all making their final dash in avoidance of Thanksgiving.  Eventually, the turkeys all flew into the woods and escaped, several landing in nearby trees and gawking down, mocking the Golden One.

Horses -- Rio and Lady are fitting-in more and more, no longer chasing the steers off the morning hay feed but mingling-in, almost creating a herd of seven.  During the day, the horses graze run around the pasture, frequently flipping on their backs and rolling in the grass and mud with legs in the air.  They spent some time the other day strolling back and forth in Rock Creek, stopping in the middle of the watering hole and splashing each other.

The Herd of Five -- The bovines are gathering their courage and standing firm among the horses.  For the first few days, they would scatter, especially from Lady, whenever their two new barn-mates were in close proximity.  Now, the herd is less afraid, and Gabe even wandered into Rio's stall early one morning trying to see if the newbies got better rooms in the Horse & Cow Hotel than the old tenants have.  As a welcoming gift, Gabe left Rio a warm, steaming cow-pie.

Fowl Weather -- Alack and alas, after a month in his private suite, Lefty, our one-legged turkey, succumbed to being pecked-and-pecked by his brethren turkeys, in the ever-continuing battle for survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom.  And just before Thanksgiving, we had 11 of the turkeys and three of the roosters butchered to cover the demands of sales and requests from the family.  That leaves us with a 'flock' of one lone Tom and five hens for breeding next spring.  And lately the geese have been around overhead in record numbers - on Sunday, we saw the largest flock of geese in flight that we have ever seen, at least 100 of the Canadians honking their brains out and winging southward.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- We have quite a large population of wood ducks living in the back two fields and trails.  Interesting creatures, they much prefer to run away when confronted, rather than fly.  Long beaks and fast legs.  Also living out on the back trails are a few ring-necked pheasants, mostly running around here and there.  Very beautiful creatures.  Even though deer hunting season launched on November 20, we have seen more and more deer wandering the fields and trails, all does and fawns.

Rock Creek Farm Records -- A new Rock Creek Farm record was set on the day before Thanksgiving ... by those cutest of identical twins, Babs & Betts Slate, who departed for home at 7:50AM Wednesday morning, earliest departure time ever for a visiting guest.  Other existing notable Rock Creek Farm records include ...

     Briefest Visit ... Ames and Peter Slate, who stayed for one hour on one visit, summer of '09
     Most Butcherings in a Single Day ... 14 (11 turkeys, 3 chickens) on Nov. 22, 2010
     Traveled Farthest for a Visit ... Uschi & Achem Gottschalk, who came all the way from Sardinia, Italy, October 2010
     Largest Turkey ... 45 pounds, Domestic American White, butchered for Easter, 2010
     Smallest Turkey ... 6.5 pounds, Narragansett Heritage, butchered for Thanksgiving, 2010
     Best Shot ... Susan, in the barn, with a rifle, taking out a red fox that had killed 9 of our chickens over a 10-day period, May, 2010
    
Quotes of the Week --

    Google is the best resource since the wheel. -- Lily Johnson      

    Thanksgiving with Obama and his group ... now we are all sitting at the kiddie table.  The problem is that the American Dream has been in the hands of Day Dreamers for the past 22 months.  And that Pelosi, she is one bat-crazy chick - I guarantee that she sleeps hanging upside down. -- Dennis Miller

    They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -- Ben Franklin

    Terrorists are not caught by technology or by touching. -- Isaac Yeffet, former head of security, El Al Airlines
   
    Don't retreat, just reload. -- Sarah Palin   

    Money always does more good for the world when it is in the hands of individuals, than when it is in the hands of government. -- Judge Andrew Napolitano

    Obama and his administration are determined more than ever to control every aspect of our economy and of our lives. -- Rush Limbaugh

    Here's how to resolve that Korea bombing situation - Fire-up the Enola Gay and drop a little advice on those North Koreans. -- Don Imus

The Riley Factor #87

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
November 15, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Horses -- Stop in and say hello to Rio and Lady, our two horses, who arrived at Rock Creek Farm last Saturday.  Rio is an eight-year-old gelding that rides and drives, and walks easily on a lead.  Formerly a race course trotter, he is a full-blooded Standardbred, about 15-and-a-half hands high and as gentle as they come.  He was recently owned by an older couple who rode him and also used him for a handicapped child relative to ride.  Stablemate Lady is a two-and-a-half-year-old filly, a 50/50 mix, half Morgan and half American Saddlebred.  A beautiful young horse, green-broke with plenty of energy, she runs with grace and smoothness, and frequently strikes that standard Morgan horse profile pose, which makes the breed so distinctive.  Independent minded, at times, Lady can be a bit of a challenge when on a lead.  She is slightly smaller in stature than Rio, but almost the same height at just short of 15-and-a-half hands.

Planting and Plowing -- All quiet on the western front.

Riley -- Riley has taken up a new sport - curling.  He found a two-pound round stone somewhere and has dragged it into the kitchen, where he pushes it around various obstacles with his more-than-insignificant nose.  Now if we can only teach him to pick up a broom and do some of that sweeping that accompanies the sport as we see it on TV.  He has yet to have a first hand encounter with the horses -- stay tuned.

The Herd of Five -- A day of sleet on Nov. 8, covered a few things in wintry white.  No problem for the Holsteins and the Dexters, who run hot and enjoy the cooling effect.  Late Monday afternoon, I went down to the barn to check on them in the storm and wind, and also to feed them, and we played a little game we like to play around here -- it's called Slap the Bull.  Some fun on a cold and slippery day.  Go Wild Hogs.

Fowl Weather -- Turkeys fly; or more accurately described, jump-fly.  they really don't ever fly away, but in a pinch can fly 20-30 yards five feet off the ground.  Or could fly 10-15 feet straight up into a tree.  Certainly they fly well enough to get out of our outdoor turkey coop, which has six feet tall fencing and gate.  On Tuesday, we captured each turkey and clipped the top feathers, about 20 or so, on each wing, So far, no great protests.  Some of them can actually still fly up in the air about 3-4 feet, by furiously flapping their remaining feathered wings - a bit of barnyard entertainment.  Otherwise, the birds are growing fast and furiously, still tracking Susan's every step.  Lefty, the turkey who lost his foot three weeks ago, is flourishing in his private 12'x12' stall - the most pampered turkey in America.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- At5 a local restaurant recently, we bumped into our friend Robert Hancock of Cobleskill.  In his spare time, when he isn't running his environmental consulting business in The City or his pool installation business in Fort Plain, he operates an animal rescue shelter of sorts at his home in Cobleskill.  He has an assortment of mostly old and/or hobbled horses, and a cow or two, in various pastures, pens and barns.  Recently he acquired a pair of horses from an elderly lady in the area, recently widowed, who could no longer care for them.  We spent Thursday afternoon with Robert's stable-girl, Lily, walking and brushing the horses.  Very relaxing, except for the one moment when something spooked one of the horses, which in turn spooked the other horse, which in turn reared up and bolted, knocking Lily to the turf.  No harm, no foul and all was back to normal in a minute.  Still, all in all, a very pleasant warm and sunny afternoon with the animals.  The horses are now in our barn and pasture.

Quotes of the Week -- Several excellent ones this week, from a few unusual sources ...

        People talk about the Haves and the Have-Nots.  What they should speak of is the Will-Works and the Will-Not-Works. -- Bill Galt, from The Galt Ranch, Last American Cowboy, Planet Green Network
        History will sum-up this (Obama) administration as weak and feckless. - John Bolton, Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., November 8, 2010
        And if Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, we're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us, if they don't see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it's gonna be harder. -- Barack Obama, October 2010.  Of course, later corrected with the proper take on America by presumed Speaker of the House John Boehner, who reminded Obama that people who evaluate and criticize governmental and political moves and motives are not 'enemies', they are 'patriots'.

        NOW HERE IS THE QUOTE OF THE CENTURY, MAYBE EVEN THE MILLENNIUM

Some people have the vocabulary to sum up things in a way you can understand them. This quote came from the Czech Republic . Someone over there has it figured out. We have a lot of work to do.

"The danger to America is not Barack Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency.  It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president.  The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America.  Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.  The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool.  It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."

The Riley Factor #86

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
November 3, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Election Recap -- Best summed-up by one of the CNN late election night pundits ... "We wondered if the Obama election in 2008 was the beginning of a movement.  Now we know it was only a moment."

Visitors -- Uschi & Achem, visitors for the last week of October, have departed for warmer climes - a week in London to be spent with son Moritz, and then on to Sardinia to resume life on the Mediterranean.  Upon her arrival in Middle-of-Nowhere, Uschi announced that she was very afraid of cows and did not want to get near them or get near the turkeys or chickens either.  "I am afraid of these things".  Upon leaving, she said she was surprised and she liked them, and loved Eli the best, because he gave her kisses.  "They are like big dogs, very friendly".  Achem, a painter (an exhibited artist), took hundreds of photos.  He said, "I have inspiration to paint.  I have never seen trees with leaves so yellow.  The old farms - they are so beautiful".  Uschi and Achem met our friend Annie Kanagy, and they spoke high German to one another for much of a morning.

Planting and Plowing -- The only remaining planting to do before the snow flies is to prepare the soil in a raised bed or two and plant the garlic.  With little additional work, the cloves will be ready for harvesting next August.

Riley -- The daily Riley swims are diminishing in frequency, inversely proportional to the temperature at time of each daily run.  Uschi and Achem loved Riley, saying he is such a good dog, and very gentle.  Uschi does think that Riley could benefit from a Dog Whisperer.  (At times, I think Riley could benefit from a Dog Screamer, and I occasionally fill the role).

The Herd of Five -- The steers are mooing, growing, and eating lots of hay.  December 8 is B-Day (Butchering Day) - starting line-up and size of roster to be determined.
 
Fowl Weather -- Having arrived in mid-May-June, the black Jersey Giant chickens are beginning to lay eggs.  (No, the eggs are not black).  Some of the roosters are truly giants, approaching 15 pounds.  They haven't got the morning crowing down right yet -- frequently crowing at noon, dusk and whenever-the-hell-they-want.  Lefty, the turkey who needed to have a foot amputated last month, is doing fine, spending his days contentedly in his own stall, with occasional visits from one or two of the red chickens or a turkey or two.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- We have a new resident at the compound - a ground hog has been wandering around inside the garage and driveway, not really bothering anyone or anything, nor being bothered by anyone or anything.  Impact and resolution, if any, to be determined.  Susan's foot is finally returning to normal - I inadvertently dropped a log on it when we were splitting logs on October 13 and she has been shoeless ever since, along with being colored black-and-blue and experiencing the accompanying toe throbbing - perhaps a broken little toe.

Quotes of the Week --

   "Twenty-two months from Messiah to pariah". -- Dennis Miller, Fox News Channel

   "We have done things you don't know about." -- Barack Obama, to John Stewart, on The Daily Show, October 27, 2010

                                                  (Well, unfortunately, now we can only guess.  But we will find out, and correct them all.)

   "He will go out the same way he came in ... without any class." -- JFK, in 1960 speaking of Richard Nixon.  Soon to be applicable to Barack Obama.

   "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." -- Hebrews 4:16