The Riley Factor #97

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
May 1, 2011, Issue No. 97
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Auction Season -- This year's spring auction season ended on April 30 with the annual Armitstead Farm Equipment auction, held a mile from our house in Canajoharie, at the intersection of Clinton Road and Cherry Valley Road.  Perfect weather for the thousand or so attendees.  You could buy anything at the auction from a large tractor or hay wagon to a lot of 400 pairs of tweezers or a lot of five gallon buckets filled with empty coffee cans.  Who on earth accumulates this stuff and then brings it to auctions ... one of life's great mysteries.  We saw many folks we know and bought only a couple of small items.   A great day of relaxation.

Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy.  And Cattle -- First, a brief primer on "cows".  Although we all call cows, well cows, in fact, the proper generic term for these dairy or beef bovines is "cattle".  A "cow" is a female that has borne at least one calf.  A "calf" is of either gender, less than one year old.  Male bovines are "bulls" and neutered males are "steers".  A female over a year old that has not delivered a calf is called a "heifer".  Why all this tutorial?  Because Susan just bought a heifer, named Lily, from our friend Bradley Chadwick.  Lily is a two-year-old Jersey (the iconic white and black patched breed) and will be artificially inseminated (AI) in July.  There will be no video.  We plan to take possession of Lily in August, and watch her pregnancy "blossom".  Nine months down the road, sometime next April of so, the plan is for Lily to deliver a calf.  At that time, Lily will become a dairy cow, producing milk for many months, and we will also have a heifer calf or a bull calf.  No doubt, more to come.

Visitors -- Stevie was the most recent visitor to Middle-of-Nowhere, on April 19-20, and Susan spent a long Easter weekend in Hopkinton.

Planting and Plowing -- Rains have come and finally gone, with enough falling to jump start the growing season.  Here in Middle-of-Nowhere, this spring has been a wet one, delaying any field plowing or planting.  Around town, many a mud-stuck farmer's tractor has needed to be rescued by another bigger better tractor and pulled-out of the mud field to stand and wait for better times.  Even Lloyd across the street, a 50+ year farmer, buried his new Kubota mower to the axles in his front lawn.  Our greenhouse is in operation with a few hundred seedlings springing-up in pots and trays, having been meticulously planted seed-by-seed and watered by Susan, in anticipation of being transferred outdoors into the ground beginning about June 1, comfortably after the likely last hard frost of the year.  Currently leading the field in the indoor growing competition are tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, eggplants, peppers, squash and melons.

Riley -- On April 20, The Riley took his first big swim of the year, with his new best friend, Bruin, Stevie & Scott's Black Lab/Bluetick Coonhound/Beagle Mix.  Riley paddled his way around the lower pond, staying within 5 feet or so of the shore, while six-month-old Bruin was petrified of the water and had to be tossed-in several times by Stevie to prove that he wouldn't sink (which he didn't).  A week later at the pond, Susan and friend Annie saw dozens of newly born goldfish/carp swimming in the shallow waters, along with their six-inch long parents who were standing (swimming) watch.

Horses -- Lady is still away on holiday, not yet back from her month-long experience being trained to ride under saddle.  She is calmer than ever and "very sweet", according to CEO Susan.

The Herd of Three -- Becoming more vocal, mooing their little (well, actually fairly large, no doubt) hearts out.  Normally, they are seeking guess what?  Yeah, more food -- hay or grain will do.  Lately, in the wet weather, they have preferred to stay in the barn and be hand-fed by Susan.  One day, when the sun had miraculously shown itself after yet another rain-soaking night and morning, we went to the barn to let the herd outside for the afternoon, and found the trio napping in their stall and not interested even in standing to see the great outdoors.  Actually, Raphael was sound asleep on his feet, standing next to one wall, eyes wide shut.

Fowl Weather -- Alack and alas, we decided that the Narragansett Heritage Turkeys were not destined to successfully breed here at Rock Creek Farm, so we decided to butcher the final five hens for Easter and other spring events.  The flock of French Guinea Fowl is down to seven in number, having lost one of that flock to a speeding pick-up truck on Cherry Valley Road, and a second Keet who seems to have just wandered away.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- Now that the drying-out has begun, it is time to cut-up and move those last half dozen large trees that were cut down last fall for use as firewood.  They are lying across some of the trails, which makes dealing with them soon more important.  The woods really does need some opening-up, and this is a good start.  About 20 large chestnut trees, a large pine or two, a couple of maples, a couple of oaks and 50 or so medium-sized beech trees were taken down last fall, all on the edge of the woods and fairly close to the north side of fields 3 and 4.  The beeches and some of the other wood were cut, split, stacked and burned over the winter.

Blog -- The Riley Factor has entered the 21st century, and its own official blog site is located at http://the-riley-factor.blogspot.com/ and you can see all issues to date.  (If you actually spend the time and do this, you may need more help with your life than we are able offer.  But we digress.)

Tales from Back in the Day -- On April 26, the pick-up gas gauge read 1/2, so I stopped at Valero for a taste of diesel at $4.359 per gallon.  $76.20 and I was all set with 17.5 gallons, exactly half of the 35-gallon tank.  Yes, that extrapolates to over $150.00 for a tank of gas.  And in a related story ... Summers when I was in college and worked two jobs -- Riverside Park and Agawam Park & Recreation -- for 65 hours work over all 7 days per week, my total weekly gross wages were $130.00.  Progress.  And inflation.

Quotes of the Month --

     It is finished.  --  Jesus, on a Friday afternoon, while hanging on a cross almost 2,000 years ago; his final words

     America's reputation in the world has not been this weak since the days of Jimmy Carter in the 1970s.  --  Stuart Varney, FOX Business Channel

     President Obama has the arrogance of a third world dictator.  It is not helpful to the United States.  --  Allen West, U.S. Congressman, Republican, Florida

     A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.  --  Yogi Berra

     Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.  --  Arthur C. Clark
 
     God helps those who help themselves. -- Ben Franklin

Facts of the Month --

     When Obama was elected in November 2009, the average retail price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $1.88 per gallon.  At that time, Obama stated, "Of necessity, energy prices are going to sky-rocket."  As of April 20, 2011, the average retail price of gasoline was $3.98, an increase of over $2.00 per gallon. -- FOX News Channel

     In the past one year, as of April 21, 2011, the price of gold has risen 30% to $1,506.00 per ounce, while silver has increased in price 146%, to $46.10 per ounce.  Bank interest rates are near all-time lows, with the average savings account paying only 0.25% interest per year to depositors.  --  FOX Business Channel

     On Gardening -- Most vegetable plants in a garden prefer require a minimum of six hours of full sunlight per day to produce healthy crops, and prefer 6-8 hours.  Even in a small home garden, crops/plants should be rotated at least every two years -- rotating annually on a four-year schedule is best.   And, over-watering damages more garden crops than under-watering.

     Oil production in the United States has declined 45% in the last 20 years.

     Ninety percent of blind people in the world live in poor areas of developing countries. Eighty percent of them could see again if they had adequate eye-care services.

     And last, and least, here is the dreaded Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation.

       The formula: (703 times weight in pounds) divided by (height in inches squared)
       Example: 200-lb. person, height 5'10"  >>> (703 x 200) / (70 x 70) = 140,600 / 4,900 = 28.7

       Now for the dreaded interpreting-the-results table ...          Centers for Disease Control and Prevention BMI Categories         BMI                Weight Status
         Below 18.5      Underweight
         18.5 - 24.9       Normal
         25.0 - 29.9       Overweight
         30.0 - 40.0       Obese
         Above 40.0       Extremely obese
         Definitions apply to all adult men and women.  Oh boy ... please pass the celery.