Monday, November 24, 2014

The Riley Factor #134

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
October 24, 2014, Issue No. 134
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Riley and the Littles -- The Riley loves his daily runs and swims. He has become a proficient fisherman, err fisher-dog, and often snaps-up a goldfish or two during his daily swims in each pond. Riley is a catch-and-release fisher, unless his canine jaws inadvertently snap the fish in half during the catch. The cats are, well, cats. They lie-around all day suspiciously eyeing anyone or anything giving them more than a quick glance. The cats expect everyone else to feed them, entertain them and support them - I call them the Democats. Recently, Riley skulked into the mostly dark house at about 10PM and slipped into one of his favorite chairs He was unusually quiet for an hour or so, so I checked-on him. He had a nose and mouth full of porcupine needles. After several minutes of pulling, he was relieved of his unwanted passengers, without any lasting harm.

Plowing and Planting -- Not much plowing and planting going on. But, we fertilized 20 acres of hay fields and put the grain combine on the acres of barley and wheat. Both crops were a terrific golden brown with virtually no weeds in the fields. On June 30, we put 1,345 bales of first-cutting hay in the barn, gathered from about 24 acres of hay fields. And on July 26, we combined over 5,000 pounds of wheat, from about 2 acres of planting. And baled 68 bales of straw. A good year. Just after Labor Day, we planted four acres of winter wheat, which will grow a bit until hard frost, and then lie dormant until the spring thaw.

And They're Off -- Rio and Blondie each love rolling around on their backs with legs kicking high in the pasture. Looks so odd. Allegedly, perfectly normal behavior.

The Herd of Four -- Lily, Abraham, Isaac and Abby are all growing, each now about 1,000 pounds. All but Lily, the queen of the pasture, are a year and a half old and getting to that point where butchering is optimal. Always tough, but we have not yet made any decisions - we usually butcher the steer in December. We may butcher Abraham, Isaac and Abby, sell Lily, and take the winter off from cattle ranching. Still up int he air.

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- We continue to cut down and cut-up wood for the winter fires. Late last fall and through the winter, we left a lot of hard-wood trees felled, bucked and ready for pick-up and splitting, which we have been getting to from time to time. Great exercise and actually fun. As of mid-October, we have 12 cords of wood cut and stacked for use this winter, including five cords stacked in the basement. Most days, we either retrieve another cord or so from the woods or split and stack it in the wood shed for the 2015-2016 winter. Great exercise. We have also been spending time reclaiming and rehabbing some of the old logging trails int the woods. Woods are becoming more clear and navigable.

Fowl Weather -- A couple more turkey chicks were hatched in mid-July in the incubator, and were immediately, within one day, accepted for nurturing under a willing mother turkey hen. Hilarious to watch them walk around the yard, each weighing all of an ounce or two and "standing" about three inches tall, usually under the legs of a 20+ pound mother or 30+ pound father, all guarding the health and prosperity of the little offspring. As of mid-October, we have eight full grown turkeys ready for Thanksgiving, and another five chicks of about 4-5 pounds or so, for next year. The lead Tom Turkey, who we have named McSnood, owing to his large dangling snood (runs from the crown of his forehead to much below his beak tip). McSnood runs about 35-40 pounds and is very intolerant of (human) males, believing they/we are seeking to mate with his harem of hen turkeys. We have a long list of friends who have signed up to volunteer to butcher McSnood when the time comes. We may have to hold a lottery to select the winning butcher.

Visitors -- Mostly quiet. The one, the only, Jackson Christopher Douglas Bentley, was baptized in Webster, MA, on Sunday, July 20, 2014. Jackson and Stevie visited us at Rock Creek Farm several times this summer and early fall. Jax recently hit the 12-pound milestone. And he is in great health. CJ has also visited a few times, with Andie Johnson, Samir Goncalves, and also solo.

Blog -- The Riley Factor's official blog site is located at http://the-riley-factor.blogspot.com/. It contains all issues to date. (If you actually spend the time and search through our Internet site, you may need more help with your life than we are able offer.... But we digress.)

Quotes of the Month --

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. -- John Wooden

In the United States, politicians will keep blowing hot air, because you will listen. -- Gene Simmons

Barack Obama is seeking to turn the United States into a banana republic ruled by one party, by putting the Republican Party out of business. -- Dick Morris

After spending yesterday at the beach, Obama said, “This has been fun, but I should really get back...to the golf course." -- Jimmy Fallon

The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government. -- Thomas Paine

Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important. -- Stephen Covey

It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark. -- Warren Buffett

The secret of freedom lies in educating people, while the secret of tyranny lies in keeping them ignorant. -- Maximilien Robespierre

The reward is the journey. -- Amish Proverb

To be assured of having enough money to fund a comfortable retirement, you should save a total of 22 times the annual income you want to earn when you retire. -- Jason Zweig, WSJ

Regret of neglected opportunity is the worst hell that a living soul can inhabit. -- Raphael Sabatini

I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years. Only buy something that you'd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years. -- Warren Buffett

We maintain the peace through out strength; weakness only invites aggression. -- Ronald Reagan

-- He Said It, while Looking You Right in the Eyes -- Barack Obama Quotes --

"Obamacare will reduce health premiums.

I will create shovel-ready jobs.

If you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan.

If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.

You didn't build that.

I will close Guantanamo Bay.

I didn't know about the NSA spying.

Benghazi was caused by a U-Tube video.

Obamacare won't add one penny to the deficit.

I didn't know the IRS was targeting conservative groups.

I never said that if you like your plan, you can keep your plan.

I didn't set a red line on Syria.

Bill Ayers was just a guy in the neighborhood.

The private sector is doing fine."

Facts of the Month --

Mexico -- Annually, the U.S. does more business with Mexico than we do with Brazil, Russia, India and China combined. -- FOX NEWS

Guns -- In the past 30 years, 1982-2012, in the U.S. 1,007 people were shot in mass shootings, for an average of 30 people shot per year. In 2012, on one year, in Chicago, which has some of the strongest gun control laws in the Country, 2,670 people were shot. -- Mother Jones

Thought of the Month --

Those people who want Hillary Clinton elected president, so that we could have our first woman president, seemed to have learned absolutely nothing from the current disaster of choosing a president on the basis of demographics and symbolism.

Thomas Sowell, Heartland Institute

Bumper Stickers of the Month -- 5 Great Ones --

THE ESSENCE OF GOVERNMENT IS THEFT

SNEAKING INTO THE COUNTRY DOESN'T MAKE YO ANY MORE OF AN IMMIGRANT

THAN BREAKING INTO A HOUSE MAKES YOU A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY

LIBERALISM: MOOCHERS ELECTING LOOTERS TO STEAL FROM PRODUCERS

IF GUN CONTROLS WORK, EXPLAIN CHICAGO

NOT A LIBERAL

And then There's This ...

And then, there is also this ...

Feds Report Historically High Proportion Of U.S. Population Is Now On Welfare

July 9, 2014 by Ben Bullard

The most recent completed year for which HHS has compiled statistics is 2011. HHS has been keeping track of the welfare-receiving proportion of the overall population since 1993.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released its annual report to Congress on Welfare Indicators and Risk Factors, and in its 165 pages is the revelation that more people, as a percentage of the population, are now on welfare than at any time since the department began tracking the figure.

A number of entitlements combine to form the government benefits HHS recognizes as “welfare,” including foods stamps (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP), short-term supplemental family income (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF) and low-income stipends (Supplemental Security Income, or SSI).

In 2011, nearly one-fourth of the U.S. population received one or more of these benefits.

Here’s how HHS explains the figure:

In 2011, 23.1 percent of the total population received or lived with a family member who received a benefit of any amount from TANF, SNAP, or SSI at some point during the year (see Table SUM 1). While falling steadily between 1993 – 2000, this annual recipiency rate began to increase after 2000, and increased more rapidly during and in the immediate aftermath of the “Great Recession.” The 2011 rate is slightly higher than the 2010 rate, reflecting increased participation in the SNAP and SSI programs.

HHS goes on to blame the economy, noting the post-2000 increase correlates “with worsening economic conditions.”

The food stamp program in particular has seen an enormous expansion. “Average monthly SNAP participation was 44.7 million persons in fiscal year 2011, excluding the participants in Puerto Rico’s block grant,” HHS reported. “This represents a significant increase over the fiscal year 2000 record-low average of 17.2 million participants and exceeds the previous peak of 27.5 million recipients in fiscal year 1994.”

In addition, there are far more children on food stamps than any other age demographic. In 2000, 19.8 percent of children age 5 or younger were on food stamps. By 2011, that figure had nearly doubled, rising to 38 percent.

Monday, July 7, 2014

The Riley Factor #133

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
July 7, 2014, Issue No. 133
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Riley and the Littles -- Riley has been limping a bit on one of his front legs, but still gets-in his daily mile-or-two run. Stryder injured his left rear leg somehow one night (no cut or bump) but could barely walk for a week. He too has recovered and has now only a bit of a limp. The girls, Arwen and Izzie, have plodded-along without incident. And we have seen a fifth cat, orange and white, living out back in the wood shed and under the garden shed - appears tame, but too skittish to get too close to greet us.

Plowing and Planting -- We roto-tillled the garden and second field for a second time this spring to get ready for outside vegetable planting ... potatoes were in the ground on April 28. Onions the next day and corn to follow. Squash, cucumbers and tomatoes are still growing in the green house waiting for warmer weather. We brought the Oliver combine over to John Fisher for a rebuild. John is the local Amish Bishop, the leader of the church and community, who also runs an equipment repair and machine shop. He and his lone employee, Anthony Weaver, are great talkers, as is John's wife Annie. Last year one day, I met three of John's grandsons. When I asked John how many grandchildren he had, he leaned back in his office chair, looked at the ceiling pondering for a minute, and said, "Oh, I don't know, must be at least 50 or so".

On June 30, we completed the spring haying, putting 1,345 bales of hay in the barn. At an average of 50 pounds per bale, that represents over 67,000 pounds - just enough to last us for a year, when added to the 250 bales we have left-over from last year's cuttings. All in, it took a day to mow 22 acres of hay fields. Then a day to ted (think splash-around to enhance drying. ANother day for the raking into windrows. And finally, a long, long day, with four teenage helpers to bale and stack it all. Probably the four hottest consecutive days so far this year - temperature in mid-80s with full sun every day. Our baler broke three times during the day, but a replaced chain, replaced shear pin and replaced plunger bolt got it on its way toward completion, with a little assistance from Lloyd Vanalstine and John Fisher.

And They're Off -- Rio and Blondie, along with the bovine herd, have been spending nights out in the pasture. No incidents to report ... no escapes, no coyote battles, no intra-herd scuffling.

The Herd of Four -- Lately, Isaac, one of our red Jersey steer, has become a bit aggressive, taking opportunities to bump me, head-butt me and square-off facing me. I bought a cattle-prod, but if Isaac does not simmer down, his 1,000-pound frame may be making an early trip to the butcher. Abby, the youngest and smallest of the lot, is the only one that we left with horns, and she uses hers to bounce-around the bigger guys.

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- Spring auction season has come and gone. Although we went to a couple, not much was acquired, other than a small trailer and a heavy duty back blade (think snow plow or road grader that mounts on the rear of a large tractor). I was bidding on the back blade in the equipment section of the auction field when Bill Armitstead, the owner of the auction company, walked up to me and said that there was a woman in the first aisle at the other auctioneer using the same bidder number as mine, who was wearing the number out. He said he thought her name was Susan. I said, "Yeah, you ought to deactivate that number, for the good of all of us".

We bought a small cabin at the Amish Mohawk Produce Spring Consignment Auction and had it delivered to the area overlooking the upper pond. We prepared the site with gravel and stone and angled the front porch toward the pond and the rolling hills of Cherry Valley and West Minden. Should be a perfect retreat for relaxing and pondering the meaning of life.

Fowl Weather -- Tough time this year breeding the chickens and turkeys. Our incubator broke (overheated) and many of the eggs did not hatch. A few eggs exploded (alack and alas the sign of a too hot environment). In April, we hatched 7 Red Star chicks and bought 16 Delaware chicks to add to our chicken flock. And May brought the first hatchings of turkey chicks - Standard Bronze breed. Susan has named one turkey chick "Peep Peep" because he wanders around the yard with his mother and father constantly peeping. He looks a bit ridiculous so small wandering in, out and under the big birds as they patrol the grounds. Fairly entertaining. Peep Peep was actually hatched in the incubator and then Susan tucked him under one of the turkey hens that was sitting on eggs continuously for a month. The mother hen instantly took to him and he to her, and they have become fast companions. The next day, Susan was able to get rid of the 14 eggs that were being sat on but would never hatch. Separately, a turkey hen has been sitting on 15 eggs, presumably fertilized eggs, for nearly a month now, in a nest out by the cold cellar. Soon, these eggs should be hatching, if they are to become turkeys.

Our large tom turkey, who we have named McSnood, owing to his large snood that hangs down from his brow when he is agitated or excited, has become obsessed with attacking me. McSnood is the protector of the flock and watches-over the 5 turkey hens and Peep Peep all day every day as the go about their wanderings in the yard, pasture and gardens. McSnood frequently sneaks-up on me, as much as a 30-pound bird can sneak, and if allowed close enough will jump at me claws first. I have tried sticks, brooms and other items to ward him off, but he is relentless. He leaves Susan alone, and seems to react adversely to men only. My best defense? Summoning The Riley to stand watch and guard me. McSnood will not mess with The Riley - big mouth, big bark, big teeth, enough said.

Visitors -- Mostly quiet. We have had a couple of visits from Stevie and Jackson, and CJ stopped-in twice. All very welcomed. Many steaks barbecued, along with lemonade and the occasional cigar.

The White House has gone from "Change you can believe in." to "Changing the story until you believe it". -- Jay Leno

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. -- Albert Einstein

Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. -- Winston Chirchill

It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men. -- Samuel Adams

Genius could be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way. -- Charles Bukowski, German-born American writer

The press is constipated by their own ideology. -- Wayne Rodgers

President Barack Obama and his Democratic minions have mastered the art of deception in addressing issues such as the failures of Obamacare and vast abuses of Federal power. -- Bob Livingston, Personal Liberty Digest

Facts of the Month --

Food - One in Four Americans is currently on some sort of Government Food Assistance Program.

Retirement - The average age of retirement in the U.S. in 2013 was 62, up slightly from since 1991. The average age that non retired workers expect to retire is 66, up from 63 in 2002. -- Gallup

Gasoline - An oil company makes 4% profit on a gallon of gasoline, while the government taxes a gallon of gas 15%. -- FOX Business Channel

Bankruptcy - 62% of those declaring bankruptcy in the U.S. cite medical debt as the trigger to heir financial ruin. One in three Americans are having difficulties paying their medical debt. 28 million Americans have exhausted their savings accounts, 21 million are paying-down large credit debt and 21 million are unable to afford basic necessities. -- Kaiser Family Foundation

Deer - On average, a deer eats eight pounds of vegetation per day, and can jump an eight-foot fence. Deer do not eat grass, but feast on broad-leaf greenery, including leaves, weeds and tree buds. Deer eat the most in late spring, summer and early fall. -- MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife

Government employees are even worse than welfare layabouts. In a triple whammy for taxpayers, they are: (1) hideously expensive, (2) impossible to fire, and (3) doing things you don't want done at any price. --Ann Coulter

Thought of the Month --

A U.S. college graduate will earn $800,000 or more over his or her lifetime than a high-school graduate; a number that has taken into account tuition and the opportunity cost of attending school for four years. --Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Bumper Sticker of the Month --

I LIKE MY GUNS LIKE OBAMA LIKES HIS VOTERS - UNDOCUMENTED

And then There's This ...

Homeland Security Is 'Out of Control'

The Department of Homeland Security has often been assailed from the right, with Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions calling it "the most mismanaged department in the federal government."

Now a fresh attack on the DHS comes from the left-leaning Undernews, the online report of the Progressive Review, which castigates the department in an article headlined "Homeland Security Department Out of Control."

Excerpting an article from the Albuquerque Journal, Undernews reports: "Today, in addition to protecting America's borders and airports, [the department] is interrogating people suspected of pirating movies at Ohio theaters, seizing counterfeit NBA merchandise in San Antonio, and working pickpocket cases alongside police in Albuquerque.

"Some government watchdogs and civil liberties advocates — and even the nation's first Department of Homeland Security secretary — question how those actions serve the purpose set forth in the 2002 law" establishing the department. That former secretary, Tom Ridge, told the Journal: "They've kind of lost their way."

In its first year of existence, DHS had 180,000 full-time workers, and its budget was $29 billion in 2003. Today the department has 250,000 workers, making it the third largest federal agency after the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and its budget this year is $61 billion.

A report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service last year disclosed: "The U.S. government does not have a single definition for 'homeland security.' Multiple definitions, missions and an absence of prioritization results in consequences to the nation's security. "There is no clarity in the national strategies of federal, state, and local roles and responsibilities, and potentially, funding is driving priorities rather than priorities driving the funding." Ridge said: "Someone needs to explain to me how critical all these new people are to the nation. Are they getting so big, they're actually making work?"

And Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College and Harvard Extension School, calls the DHS "a colossal and inefficient boondoggle."

And then, there's also this ...

The Dog Ate My Tax Receipts Act

Representative Steve Stockman (R-Texas) has introduced legislation that would afford average Americans the ability to “offer a variety of dubious excuses” for not having tax documents for the Internal Revenue Service after “the IRS offered an incredibly dubious excuse for its failure to turn documents over to House investigators.”

Stockman’s tongue-in-cheek legislation, “The Dog Ate My Tax Receipts Act,” would offer taxpayers 10 outlandish reasons for not submitting paperwork requested by the IRS:

1.         The dog ate my tax receipts

2.         Convenient, unexplained, miscellaneous computer malfunction

3.         Traded documents for five terrorists

4.         Burned for warmth while lost in the Yukon

5.         Left on table in Hillary’s Book Room

6.         Received water damage in the trunk of Ted Kennedy’s car

7.         Forgot in gun case sold to Mexican drug lords

8.         Forced to recycle by municipal Green Czar

9.         Was short on toilet paper while camping

10.       At this point, what difference does it make?

Sunday, April 20, 2014

The Riley Factor #132

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
April 20, 2014, Issue No. 132
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Riley and the Littles -- Riley endured the extra cold winter with the rest of us (minus 19 was our own record low temperature, but we also had nearly 20 other days with below zero temperature readings). Riley is now back to his daily mile or two runs, each ending with a swim (or gold-fishing trip) in the lower pond. Riley's pal Izzy, the smallest in our herd of cats has finally left the house to venture outside ... it only took her seven years. Senior citizens Stryder and Arwen are approaching nine years of age, and run all about the place with AJ, the hunter, a reformed wild barn cat, capturing mice and other rodents.

Plowing and Planting -- In mid-March, we spread a ton and a half of 19-19-19 fertilizer on about 25 acres of hay fields and wheat and barley crops. Winter wheat is flourishing, and the barley is just now coming to life. The greenhouse has been up and running since mid-March, with seedlings planted for tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, egg plants, candy onions, red onions, leeks, celery, lettuce, butternut squash, long island cheese squash, yellow squash and some herbs. Outside in the garden, we have broccoli, cauliflower, peas and some garbanzo beans (chick peas) in the ground. Next up ... potatoes, carrots, more onions, green beans and some corn. For no reason, no garlic this year.

And They're Off -- Rio and Blondie are reliable and love the outdoors, rain or shine, warm or cold. Much of the day, they run the pasture fence, and then stop and graze. Rock Creek has been flowing fairly strongly these past few months, so their watering hole provides them with all the liquid they need. They will always take the odd apple or carrot, when we offer them. And they love to be stroked on the neck and face. We don't ride them nearly enough.

The Herd of Four -- Lily remains the boss of the Jersey herd, while Abraham, Isaac and Abby, all born in the summer of 2012, have each grown to nearly 1,000 pounds and can no longer be pushed around by us as we try to get them from here to there, or into or out of the barn. Good thing they like us.

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- We heated the house with wood all winter, going through about 11 cords of hardwood. We kept the main trails out back open all winter, but there were several weeks where we only used them three or four days due to cold temps and winds. In late winter, we felled 40-50 trees up in the woods, where they were limbed, bucked (cut to 15-18 inch lengths) and left to season. We will bring the logs down to the barn and split and stack them over the next few months for use next winter and beyond. A desired side effect is the opening-up of the woods to let-in more sunlight. Deer were fairly plentiful in early fall, but thinned as winter progressed. Many wild turkeys run all about the trails, fields and woods. And we have heard large packs of coyotes running fairly close to the house on two or three nights ... always a bit of an eerie experience.

Fowl Weather -- We hatched seven of our own bred chicken chicks to add to the 19 adult chickens that run about the place, and added another 16 Delaware chicks bought from a mid-western hatchery. We have another dozen turkey eggs in the incubator, which should hatch in the next couple of weeks and another dozen turkey eggs being sat upon by mother hens in the bird department in the barn. Success of the turkey breeding to be determined. Last year, we hatched six of our own turkeys, added to 15 turkey chicks purchased from a hatchery. With the exception of those few kept over the winter for next year breeding, all our turkeys are butchered a week or so before Thanksgiving.

Visitors -- Winter was quiet. Stevie has visited us a couple of times, with the new and improved Jackson. Born in December at barely two pounds, 13 weeks premature, Jackson is now in great health and over eight pounds in weight, essentially where he should be for a newborn or three-week or so old baby. Jackson spent 72 days in the NICU at UMass Memorial Medical Center, where he received exceptional care. Over Easter, Stevie and Jackson, along with CJ, visited us for several days. And we took a day and traveled back to Amherst to visit my aunt Phyllis, which was a great time for us all.

Blog -- The Riley Factor's official blog site is located at http://the-riley-factor.blogspot.com/. It contains all issues to date. (If you actually spend the time and search through our Internet site, you may need more help with your life than we are able offer.... But we digress.)
Quotes of the Month --

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -- Mark Twain

Hillary Clinton has failed to achieve anything of substance or significance on her own. -- Vladimir Davidiuk, The College Conservative

Sending John Kerry to negotiate with the Russians is like sending a cupcake to negotiate with a steak knife. -- Ambassador John Boltin

There's no education in the second kick of a mule. -- Old Kentucky Saying

With all your acquiring, get understanding. -- Bible, Proverbs 4:7

Know what you own, and why you own it. -- Peter Lynch

If it's obvious, it's obviously wrong. -- old Wall Street adage

If you are taught bitterness and anger, then you will believe that you are a victim. You will feel aggrieved, and the twin brother of aggrievment is entitlement. So now you will think that you are owed something, and that you don't have to work for it, and now you are on a really bad road to nowhere, because there are people who will play to that sense of victimhood, aggrievment and entitlement, and you still won't have a job. -- Condaleeza Rice

Abortion at any stage is the taking of human life. -- Margaret Sanger, Founder of Planned Parenthood, in her 1931 essay distinguishing between contraceptive measures that prevent a sperm from fertilizing a woman’s egg and post-conception measures that would destroy a fertilized egg, an embryo.

Facts of the Month --

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., killing more Americans than all forms of cancer combined.

Cell phone use is now estimated to be involved in 26% of motor vehicle crashes, up from 25% last year. -- National Safety Council

Every year in the U.S., twice as many people are murdered with fists and feet than are murdered with rifles and shotguns. Rifles and shotguns account for 2.5% of U.S. murders. -- FBI

Today, collectively, the richest 400 Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans.

Annually, on average, in the U.S., cattle kill 20 people.

Vladimir Putin is 5'5" tall.

More than $1 billion is being spent on travel every year by Barack Obama and his family. Obama is spending 20 times what the entire royal family spends for travel. That sort of luxury and excess would make the sovereigns of any European nation wince. The latest trip to China includes all the must-see sights, such as the historic city of Xi'an, the southern district of Chengdu and the home of China's beloved panda bears. American taxpayers should be in open revolt, as they're footing the bill for this opulence and grandeur. Adding insult to injury is the simple fact that Michelle Obama won't answer a single question about the entire trip. Rumors persist that Michelle Obama is out of control in the White House and that even the President is not able to control her. There is even a possibility of divorce before Obama's presidential term ends. -- Britain's Daily Mail

Thought of the Month --

The theory of 'man-made climate change' is an unsubstantiated hypothesis. The theory is that CO2 emitted by burning fossil fuel causes 'global warming.' In fact, water is a much more powerful greenhouse gas and there is 20 times more of it in our atmosphere [than carbon dioxide]. Carbon dioxide has been made out to be some kind of toxic gas but the truth is it's the gas of life. We breathe it out, plants breathe it in. The green lobby has created a do-good industry and it becomes a way of life, like a religion. I understand why people defend it when they have spent so long believing in it. -- Dr. Leslie Woodcock, Ph.D., University of London, NASA
There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power that government has is to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. -- Ayn Rand

Bumper Sticker of the Month --

YOU MIGHT AS WELL REPLACE THAT 'OBAMA' BUMPER STICKER WITH ONE THAT SAYS 'I AM STUPID'

And then There's This ...

Saturday, March 15, 2014

The Riley Factor #129

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
February 15, 2014, Issue No. 131
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

It has been a while, so HAPPY THANKSGIVING, MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR, from Middle-of-Nowhere.

And welcome into the world ...

Jackson Christopher Douglas Bentley

... born December 20, 2013, 13 weeks premature, to Stevie and Scott, weighing 2 pounds, five ounces, and 14.2 inches in length. Lengthy stay in UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. He is doing beautifully.

Riley and the Littles -- This winter, I put The Riley in charge of the four cats, AJ, Stryder, Arwen and Izzy, with instructions to keep the cats in line and make sure they each caught their quota of mice. Riley is a poor boss.

Plowing and Planting -- No planting or other farming recently. But five acres of hard red winter wheat and winter barley is in the ground and grew to about six inches in height before winter dormancy set in. The plan is for them to spring forth in April or so and grow through mid-July or so, when they will be combined and stored in the barn, mostly for feed but with some used for baking flour. In early February, we dropped-off the funnel spreader to John Fisher, for a rehab of the spreading plates and funnel gate - all rusted from too many fertilizer applications, which are generally done a ton or so at a time. Next up is the drop-off on the combine for a 2014 rehab.

And They're Off -- Rio and Blondie have calmed as they became accustomed to pasture and barn life together. Although, on the morning of February 15, they were up to their old tricks. Knock on the door at 10:15AM. No, it was not the horses. But only because they were in the middle of the road running away. And a nice lady had stopped-in to inform us of our latest equine transgression. By the time we found the pair of ne'er -do-wells, about 2 miles away, on Clinton Road, it took 15 minutes to corral them, with the help of a couple of young Amish girls, and their three-legged German Shepherd dog, Benji. Then, in the snow, we began the hour-long process of "walking" the two stooges home, first on Clinton Road, with little traffic, and then on state route 163, with much more traffic. Susan trailed the three of us 50-100 feet in the Xterra with lights and flashers on duty. After trying a couple of different approaches, we settled on "walking" Rio on a lead and letting Blondie run free, which was generally within 25 yards or so of Rio and me. At one point, Blondie plunged off road into the 3-4 feet deep culvert, full of snow. Surprise to her. She managed to get in and out of the snow pit without difficulty. Other than a few bloody toes from a foot stomp from Rio, everyone remained unscathed. All was back to normal by 11:30AM, such as it is.

The Herd of Four -- Lily, our on-and-off again Jersey dairy cow, is happy and healthy. And the three Jersey calves born in the spring and early summer of 2012, Abraham, Isaac and Abby, roam contentedly. We had a huge apple season this fall, many dozens of bushels of perfect apples, so the cattle and horses ate heavily most days from the orchards. As did we. The calves are now each approaching 1,000 pounds.

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- Mowing has long been over. Musing comes and musing goes. And we are still cutting and splitting wood for exercise and heating. We began winter with about 14 cords split and stacked for use this winter, if we need it, along with another 25 felled trees that need splitting and stacking, to get a year ahead, for use next winter. On an ongoing basis, we also cut dead standing trees from the trails area, mostly elms. Many of these trees have been dead for so long that their bark is virtually all gone, but the wood remains dense and hard, and generally only five to 10 inches in diameter at the base - easy to cut down and cut up, and perfect for use in the kitchen stove. Susan, CJ and I cut another couple of cords of the long-standing dead elm trees for buring in the kitchen stove. And, in early February, we had Aaron Miller, Daniel Stoltzfus and Vernon Peachey cut down 40-50 large hardwood trees, and leave them in the snowy woods, limbed and bucked, for use two winters out.

Fowl Weather -- Well, as usual, the weekend before Thanksgiving brought the annual butchering of our turkey herd. Always a melancholy day. We started the turkeys early this year, in April, buying 15 chicks and breeding another six on our own. We lost one in a road accident, butchered 14 and have one tom and 5 hens left for over this winter and spring breeding. All Standard Bronze breed, which is a heritage breed that was the turkey of America until the 1930s or so, when the American broad-breasted white took over as the Country's most popular. We also have one Narragansett hen left over from last year, which we will also breed this spring.

Visitors -- It has been a quiet winter on the visitors front, with a couple of visits from CJ.

Blog -- The Riley Factor's official blog site is located at http://the-riley-factor.blogspot.com/. It contains all issues to date. (If you actually spend the time and search through our Internet site, you may need more help with your life than we are able offer.... But we digress.)

Quotes of the Month --

When all the experts and forecasts agree – something else is going to happen. -- Robert Farrell

The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it. -- George Orwell

President Obama got some good news today. The IRS ruled that he can write-off the first half of his second term as a total loss. -- Jay Leno

     Capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. -- Winston Churchill
     America is not divided by the differences in our outcomes, it is divided by the differences in our efforts. And by the false philosophy that says one man’s success comes about unavoidably as the result of another man’s victimization. -- Anonymous

You fail all the time. But you're not a failure until you start blaming someone else. -- Bum Phillips, 1923-2013

Who is more foolish, the fool or the fools who follow the fool? -- obi wan kenobi

Zero tolerance always goes too far. It results in authoritarian dumbness. Zero tolerance always kills common sense. We should treat each person as an individual and exercise judgment in decision making. -- Tucker Carlson

A man's true wealth is measured by the good he does in the world. -- Mohammed

Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom. -- John Adams

Change your thoughts and you change your world. -- Norman Vincent Peale

If you're going to make a mistake, make it at full speed. -- Lance Briggs (linebacker, Chicago Bears)

Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future. -- Niels Bohr

No more excuses, Barack Obama is a liar ... He should resign. -- Allen West

Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives. -- Ronald Reagan

For liberty to expand, government must now contract. For the economy to grow, the government must get out of the way. -- Rand Paul

Let us not seek the Democrat answer or the Republican answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future. -- John F. Kennedy

Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy. -- Winston Churchill

The purpose of cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy. -- John F. Kennedy, 1962

Defiance, not obedience, is the American's answer to overbearing government. -- Ayn Rand

It is not that I am so smart, it is just that I stay with problems longer. -- Albert Einstein

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, first dig two graves. -- Confucius

Stay committed to your decisions, but remain flexible in your approach. - Tony Robbins

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead. -- Thomas Paine

Fact of the Month --

The Earth’s surface is 70 percent water, while the majority of the human population inhabits only about 3 percent of the landmass.

Thought of the Month --

LIBERALS THINK WE SHOULD BE EQUAL AT THE FINISH LINE. CONSERVATIVES THINK WE SHOULD BE EQUAL AT THE STARTING LINE.

Let's be clear; Obedience is NOT patriotism.

American exceptionalism has evolved from “We are exceptional because of our free society,” into “We are exceptional therefore life in our society should be free.”

Bumper Stickers of the Month -- well, not really a bumpersticker because of its length, but ... --

The 5 best sentences you’ll ever read on this experiment of Obama and Democrat Party Socialism

You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.
What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!.
When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

Fact of the Month --

50 percent of Americans believe that the Country is still in a recession.

And then There's This ...