The Riley Factor #63

The Riley Factor May 22, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

FORT PLAIN NY, May 22 -- Oh, oh.  Call Snerdley in Shipping.  Houston, we have a problem.  On Thursday, another box with holes in it, with the requisite peeping emanating, arrived at the main barn, courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service.  Box not ordered.  24 squawking chicks inside not ordered.  Appears to be a double shipment of the order we received a week ago.  Anyone want a couple dozen chicken dinners?  No need to keep refrigerated.  Ready to serve in three to six months.

Friday and Saturday were spent planting -- 20 rows of corn, 13 rows of soybeans, an acre of oats and an acre of rye.

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon ... you know the rest.  Well, Saturday night we went out to dinner after feeding the animals and locking them in the barn.  We left one stall door top open for fresh air in the cattle stall that holds the Herd of Five (stall doors to the outside are dutch doors).  When we returned from the Triangle Tavern in Cherry Valley, we were surprised to see Eli out in the pasture.  Expecting to find a broken stall door or latch, we found nothing amiss.  The stall door was still locked and latched from the outside.  The only possible explanation ... 500 pound Eli jujmped over the four foot high stall door bottom in a vain attempt to gain his freedom, ort least to gain a few more hours grazing the pasture grasses.  We hope Eli doesn't realize the pasture fence is only three and a half feet tall.

Tales from Auctionville -- Saturday, May 29 is the annual Amish landscaping and crafts auction, at Mohawk Valley Produce Center in Fordsbush, Fort Plain.  And for those of you who want to arrive early for the weekend and catch some early bidding action, Friday evening, May 28, 5PM, is the monthly antiques and estate auction at Premier Auction Gallery in beautiful downtown Fort Plain.  And that one comes with complimentary drinks and dinner, courtesy of the auctioneer.

And finally, farewell to Nancy -- goodbye, we hardly knew ye.  Nancy has left Rock Creek Farm after 15 months of living in Middle-of-Nowhere.  Next stop, initially, is living in West Springfield with Missy, Bob and kids, Alexis, Paul and Brady.  Also farewell to Gabby, the Belgian Tervuren Shepard, and Professor Mittens II, house cat, barn cat and all-around, very affectionate good guy cat.