The Riley Factor #136

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
July 19, 2015, Issue No. 136
 (All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications &bloviations.)

                                                                        

Riley and the Littles -- Riley is running around the place like he owns it.  Well, he is in charge.  We have 'inhereted' a new cat.  Yikes, and then there were five.  Gandolf the Gray has ingratiated us with his presence, from parts unknown.  Not completely accepted yet, by the rest of his species, and certainly not by The Riley, but he makes incremental progress daily.  He looks fairly well kept, about two years old, mostly solid gray, with a few light black stripes.  Not and not to become a house cat.  Actually, we also have a Cat No. 6, a wild-looking behemoth living under the back cabin - we noticed him a couple of months ago and see him every few days or so.  Seems friendly.  From a distance.

OhhhWell -- (Title borrowed from our well driller, Gerry, who has this as his NYS-issued license plate on his drilling rig).  Gerry is drilling (actually technically pounding) a new well.  The old one simply got too old, plenty of water but the steel casing essentially rusted away, over probably 50-75 years.  New well is 150 feet deep and flows about 6.5 gallons per minute.  Should (had better) outlast us.

Plowing and Planting -- Winter wheat was planted last fall and harvested via combine on July 17, producing a thousand pounds or so of wheat and 32 bales of straw.  Gardens planted (potatoes, tomatoes, onions, peppers, squash (butternut, summer, zucchini), pumpkins, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, peas, garlic and the rest of the usual suspects.  So far growing well this year, with alternating periods of no rain and too much rain - on average about right, but a little on the dry side.

Hay grew strong and was baled late this year, due to the significant off-and-on rain in May and June.  July 4th weekend was reserved for mowing, tedding, raking and baling (about 20 acres this year).  Put-up 1,275 40-to-50-pound bales into he barn, all stacked by a crew of Amish teenagers who we hired for the day.  Perfect weather for making hay this year - did one extra round of tedding to dry the hay more due to a 6-hour shower early on July 4.  (Hay was mowed on July 3.)  Broke one tractor, and had to tow the hay wagons with the pick-up truck - a hay wagon runs about 8,000 to 10,000 pounds when full, depending on the number of bales kicked-into the wagon.  Broke and repaired thetedder.  Broke the hay rake and borrowed one to finish the all-important raking task.  Hay rake is now in process of being repaired.  The baler performed flawlessly

And They're Off -- Rio, our standard-bred, and Blondie, our halflinger, run the pasture day and night. We also let them into the orchard as well to graze, before the apples became very noticeable and enticing.  Actually, they broke-in to the orchard one day and we let them remain as they chose for a month or so.  The horses prefer being out all night and spending the hot sunny portion of the days in their stalls.  

The Herd of Four  -- Now, a Herd of Two -- Alack and alas, now a herd of two jerseys, as Abby and Isaac were butchered this spring.  Abraham and Lily continue on.  More calves to come.  This year's beef is excellent, about a thousand pounds processed and packaged.

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- Skunk Bowl -- For a couple of weeks, we were visited by a group of skunks.  In the woodshed, in the garage, sometimes on the lawn.  Wandered around the place around dusk.  We tried a few tricks to get rid of them, but eventually had to revert to the time-tested 12-gauge remedy.  So far, five downed here, and two more by next-door-neighbor, Dave.  And one run-over by a passing motorist.  Hopefully, no more returning.

Fowl Weather -- Although chickens are going strong, laying an egg a day each right now, we decided to abandon our turkey-raising.  Although turkeys are very friendly and we always completely sold-out every November, the turkeys do wander everywhere, and daily have to be rescued when the flock of 6-25, depending on the day,wander into the road.  We butchered the last six this spring and gave them away to friends, family and customers.

Visitors -- Fairly quiet times, but Stevie, Scott, The Jackson and CJ have been regulars over the past several months.  Most recently, Stevie and Jackson visited us for a few days in early July.  Jack is walking now and becoming quite the 18-month-old man about town - a joy to be around.  CJ also spent a long weekend here in Middle-of-Nowhere in early July, right after the haying.

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 -- 

     The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within: strength, courage, dignity. -- Ruby Dee, actress

     To a large degree, the United States has experienced a significant move away from rule of law and toward a highly regulated, politicized, and heavily policed state. -- Fraser Institute, Canadian Think Tank

     The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you know nothing about. -- Dr. Wayne Dyer     

     Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and supporting your government when it deserves it. -- Mark Twain

     There are people running the government who shouldn't e allowed to play with matches. -- Will Rogers

     The greatest danger to American freedom is a government that ignores the Constitution. -- Thomas Jefferson

     You must do the thing that you think you cannot do. -- Eleanor Roosevelt

     Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. -- Mahatma Gandhi

     The consequence of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy is that our friends no longer trust us and our enemies no longer fear us. -- Senator Ted Cruz 

     Taxes are the penalty that politicians foist on work. -- FOX NEWS Channel

     Some people are like black holes - light goes in but never comes out. -- Susan Fuchs

     We're at risk for becoming the best informed society that has ever died of ignorance. -- Unknown

      Nevada Senator Harry Reid is a highly-corrupt, ethically-challenged,blatantly lying individual, who is widely-despised by his fellow members of Congress and the American people.  He was essentially fired from his position as Senate Majority Leader in the midterm elections, and for good reason.  Under Harry Reid’s leadership, work in the Senate had more or less ground to a halt, as Reid served to protect President Obama from bills he wouldn’t like. -- Conservative Tribune

He can who thinks he can, and he can't who thinks he can't.  This is an inexorable, indisputable law. -- Orison Marden, writer

     

Facts of the Month --

     Immigration & Jobs -- Two immigrants have entered the U.S. for every job created since 2000: 18 million immigrants vs. 9.3 million jobs. -- U.S. Center for Immigration Studies

     Cigarette Taxes & Cigarette Smuggling -- Illinois raised its tax on cigarettes by $1 to $1.98 a pack in the middle of 2012, and over the next year cigarette smuggling soared from 1.1% of all smokes consumed to 20.9%. Cook County, home of Chicago, has also boosted its cigarette tax from $2 to $3 a pack, and the Chicago municipal rate rose from $0.68 to $1.18, meaning that since January 2014, taxes on cigarettes in Chicago totaled $6.16 a pack, the highest combined rate in the country. The highest state tax rate is in New York, $4.35 a pack, up 190% since 2006, and most cigarettes in the state, 58 percent, are smuggled, up from 35.8 percent in 2006. New York City imposes an additional $1.50 tax, bringing the total tax to $5.85 a pack.

Thought of the Month --

Gandhi's Seven Dangers to Human Virtue

1.  Wealth without work.

2.  Pleasure without conscience

3.  Knowledge without character.

4.  Business without ethics.

5.  Science without humanity.

6.  Religion without sacrifice.

7.  Politics without principle.

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

OBAMA LEGACY - EMPOWER OUR ENEMIES.  WEAKEN OUR FRIENDS.  DIMINISH OUR NATION.

NOT MY CIRCUS.  NOT MY MONKEYS.

(next to a photo of Hillary) .. LIFE IS A BITCH.  DON'T ELECT ONE.

DEMOCRAT PARTY -- COALITION OF THE NEEDY WHO SURVIVE THROUGH ENTITLEMENTS

 

WHEN OBAMA TOOK OFFICE, THERE WERE 2.3 MILLION PEOPLE OUT OF WORK.

5+ YEARS LATER THERE ARE 5+ MILLION PEOPLE OUT OF WORK.

IN WHAT WORLD IS THIS A RECOVERY?

WELFARE WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE A CAREER OPPORTUNITY 

I DON'T BELIEVE ... THE LIBERAL MEDIA

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN.  ASHAMED OF OUR GOVERNMENT.

And then There's This ... 

Investor's Business Daily: Obama'sRegulations Have 'Strangled' Economy

President Obama's regulatory policies and poor economic incentives have cost the U.S. economy approximately $1.7 trillion of GDP per year, according to Investor's Business Daily editors. "Put in simple terms, President Obama has presided over an unprecedented regulatory siege that has strangled the economy and discouraged entrepreneurship," they write in an editorial.  The editors cite a Competitive Enterprise Institute study showing that Americans paid $1.9 trillion last year to comply with Obamacare, EPA limits on carbon dioxide emissions, energy restrictions and all the government's other regulations.

And this ...

Imagine, if you will, a president who orders the collection of virtually every fact about U.S. citizens, yet has all his own records sealed  before running for president. 

Some thoughts and quotes from President Ronald Reagan

Government does not solve problems.  It subsidizes them.  12/11/72

Are you entitled to the fruits of your own labor, or does the government have the right to spend and spend?  7/27/81

The future belongs to the free.  5/6/85

To those who are fainthearted and unsure, I have this message.  If you are afraid of the future, then get out of the way, stand aside.  The people of this country are ready to move again.  9/29/82

Nations crumble from within when the citizens ask of the government those things which the citizenry might better provide for itself.  4/7/75

The federal government has taken too much tax money from the people, too much authority from the states, and too much liberty with the Constitution.  2/9/82

We have to keep in mind that we are a nation under God, and if we ever forget that, we will be just another nation.  5/23/83

The best view of big government is in the rear-view mirror as you're driving away from it.  3/24/82

The American people weren't put on this earth to become managers of decline.  11/16/82

And then there's this ... QUOTE OF THE CENTURY

Quote of the Century Interesting quote from Vaclav Klaus, the former Premier of the Czech Republic.   Looks like he "hit the nail on the head."