The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
October 16, 2011, Issue No. 110
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)
Fort Plain, NY
October 16, 2011, Issue No. 110
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)
Riley -- Riley has been wandering leash-free in the woods while Susan and I cut some trees down and up. He generally stays within 20 yards of us, and usually within 10 feet. He loves gnawing on sticks and finding mud puddles to splash in. After three or four hours, he generally collapses upon our return to the yard, sometimes falling asleep right on the lawn or patio.
Wedding Wishes -- We wish our German-Italian friend Moritz Gottschalk wonderful wedding wishes on his October 15 wedding in Cyprus. And all the best to his parents Uschi and Joachim on gaining a new daughter, Sanya, Moritz's bride. Moritz spent a school year with us, 1999-2000, while on a foreign exchange attending Hopkinton High School. And we have visited with Moritz and his parents here in the U.S. and in Italy a few times since then. How fast time flies.
Planting and Plowing -- Farming has been rather dormant, but one morning on our routine run with Riley, Susan saw eight deer in the third field. They were standing and grazing on uncut hay and the left-behinds from recently cut & combined oats. Riley was oblivious to them all, and was sniffing and snorting as usual, pretending to be the great hunter. The deer watched the human/dog team suspiciously, but did not run off.
And They're Off -- Rio and Lady clamor for apples every time we ride or walk by the pasture. They snort and stomp hoping to be fed or tossed a few of the round snacks - green, red or yellow, they have little preference for any specific varieties.
The Herd of Four -- Also part of the apple clamor, Eli, Lily, Michael and Raphael run for apples whenever the feeding looks imminent. Unlike the horses, who chomp and chop them with their big horse teeth, the cattle like medium and small-sized apples popped whole into their mouths for grinding and crunching. Especially with Eli and Lily, the feeding process resembles popping quarters into slot machines at your favorite casino. We await any payoff.
Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- On good weather days, Susan and I have been chain-sawing trees in the woods that fell across logging roads during Hurricane Irene and other storms this year. We are down to the last half dozen trees or so. Some are manageable in size, while others are gigantic. In the first week of October, we cut about two cords of firewood, some of which still needs splitting, some was stacked as is. Great exercise and a great time being in the woods in sunny warm weather. We thought we had basically zero damage from Hurricane Irene. Which is what we did have in the yard and barn area. But in the middle of the woods, several large trees, 8" to 15" in diameter, snapped-off just above ground level or tipped-over roots and all. We have found several tees like this, mostly lying across trails and logging roads, within 100 feet of the fields. Who knows what lurks deeper in the woods where we travel only once or twice per year?
Fowl Weather -- After a week gone missing, one of our French Guinea Hens returned from wandering around Fort Plain. Slight limp, but otherwise no worse for the wear. Susan's prayers were answered, as she felt bad for what was our lone remaining Keet, who was roaming aimlessly until her friend returned to make a flock (of two).
Visitors -- As fall settles in, all quiet in Middle-of-Nowhere. Ames, Debbie and Cameron joined us for a couple of days, mid-month in October, while Barbara and Nancy dropped in for the afternoon on the 15th.
Blog -- The Riley Factor's official blog site is located at http://the-riley-factor.
Quotes of the Month --
Just Win Baby. -- Al Davis, 1929-2011
Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The nerds. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. -- Steve Jobs, 1955-2011, Apple Inc.'s Corporate Manifesto
You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. -- Dr. Adrian Rogers
"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms .... disarm only
those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.
Such laws make things worse for the assaulted
and better for the assailants. They serve rather to encourage
than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be
attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. -- Thomas Jefferson
Said of those Occupy Wall Street protesters currently hunkered-down in New York and other cities ... Win-less, parasitic bloodsuckers ... Meet the Flea Party -- Anne Coulter
Facts of the Month --
The real unemployment rate is 16.5%, not the 9.1% that was reported today. -- Peter Schiff, economist, author, October 7, 2011
Commentaries of the Month --
It is the moral obligation of society to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. But we must also insist that those who can take care of themselves do so. -- Joe Granoff
President Obama has encouraged the idea that the government owes you a living. Medical benefits. Unemployment benefits. Welfare payments. Food stamps. Disability payments. Retirement without work. Entitlements for everyone. Well, what the government owes everyone is the same thing ... opportunity. -- Stuart Varney
This financial crisis was not created by Wall Street. It was created by the government attempting to have everyone own a home. The Democrats pushed FNMA and FHLMC to give everyone a loan. The Fed reduced interest rates to 1%. Government failed everyone. And these Wall Street protesters are against capitalism and now want even bigger government. -- Brian Wesbury
Investing 101 - Advice From Some of the Best
"Be patient with winning trades; be enormously impatient with losing trades. Remember it is quite possible to make large sums trading/investing if we are 'right' only 30% of the time, as long as our losses are small and our profits are large." – Dennis Gartman"It's Far Better to Buy a Wonderful Company at a Fair Price than a Fair Company at a Wonderful Price." – Warren Buffett
"Do you really like a particular stock? Put 10% or so of your portfolio on it. Make the idea count. Good investment ideas should not be diversified away into meaningless oblivion." – Bill Gross
"We're getting hurt, but I'm a long-term investor." -- Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal
"You learn in this business … If you want a friend, get a dog." – Carl Icahn
From the Infamous Malcolm ...
Did you notice who Obama threatened when he wasn't getting his way on raising the debt ceiling?
He threatened to not pay:
He threatened to not pay:
Social Security Retirees, Military Retirees, Social
Security disability and Federal Retirees.
Now ... Let this sink in really good -
He did not threaten to stop payments to illegal aliens
He did not threatened to take frivolous benefits such as Internet access away
from violent inmates
He did not offer to fire some of the thousands of unnecessary federal employees
that he hired
He did not offer to cut down on his or his wife's frivolous gallivanting around
He did not threaten to not pay the senators and representatives or any of their
staff
He did not threaten to take benefits away from welfare recipients
He did not threaten the food stamp programs
He did not threaten to not pay foreign aid
He did not threaten to cut back on anything that involves his base voters
The list could go on and on. Obama is in full political re-election mode!
Security disability and Federal Retirees.
Now ... Let this sink in really good -
He did not threaten to stop payments to illegal aliens
He did not threatened to take frivolous benefits such as Internet access away
from violent inmates
He did not offer to fire some of the thousands of unnecessary federal employees
that he hired
He did not offer to cut down on his or his wife's frivolous gallivanting around
He did not threaten to not pay the senators and representatives or any of their
staff
He did not threaten to take benefits away from welfare recipients
He did not threaten the food stamp programs
He did not threaten to not pay foreign aid
He did not threaten to cut back on anything that involves his base voters
The list could go on and on. Obama is in full political re-election mode!
- Why are we allowing this person to destroy this wonderful country with his
selfishness and his lies?
- His type of change is killing our country. He needs to be stopped and only our
votes can stop him.
- Do not forget about his tactics when it's election time. Vote Obama out of the
Presidency in 2012.
September 8 ... Green Bay Packers 42, New Orleans Saints 34 / Patriots 38, Dolphins 24
18 ... Green Bay Packers 30, Carolina Panthers 23 / Patriots 35, Chargers 21
25 ... Green Bay Packers 27, Da Bears 17 / Bills 34, Patriots 31
October 2 ... Green Bay Packers 49, Denver Broncos 23 / Patriots 31, Raiders 19
9 ... Green Bay Packers 25, Atlanta Falcons 14 / Patriots 30, Jets 21
16 ... Green Bay Packers 24, St. Louis Rams 7 / Patriots 20, Cowboys 16
(And then there was one)
And Then There's This --
You know your lawn is too long when ... a stranger knocks on your door and asks if he can harvest the mushrooms growing in your front lawn by your driveway, because they are edible and some of the largest he has seen growing wild in the many years he has been mushrooming. -- at the back door and in the driveway @ Rock Creek Farm, October 2, 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment