The Riley Factor #124

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
October 31, 2012, Issue No. 124(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Riley and the Littles -- Golden boy Riley has been a bit sad since Gabby left us on September 12.  From time to time, he still appears to be searching for Gabby, although he was there when we buried her.  Riley's new pastime is pulling fish out of the lower pond.  When we are there, we jump-in for the rescue and return the fish to water, but occasionally, we find one on the shore, presumably left there by the Riley, although the great blue heron still flies to and stands in the pond a couple of times per day in search of a swimming meal.

Hurricane Sandy -- Although much rain fell at the farm from Oct. 29-31, the wind was manageable, probably gusting below 50 mph at its strongest.  Soggy everywhere, but no damage to speak of.

Plowing and Planting -- We pulled the carrots in early October.  Only planted two rows this year in the garden, but they grew well - the largest carrot was the size of an ear of corn.  Most were normal sized.  We gave the first few to the horses, who chomped them happily.  All in, we harvested 30-40 pounds or so.  Broccoli and brussel sprouts were harvested late in the month.  And on to next year - the garlic was planted right before Hurricane Sandy arrived, and will be ready for harvest next July or August.

And They're Off -- We have been turning over to the horses the few apples on the trees this year.  As usual, Rio and Blondie love them and stand and stomp at the fence when apple feeding time is done.

The Herd of Five -- Calves Abraham, Isaac and Abby have all grown from 50-pound newborns to 150-pound miniature cows, wandering around the pasture and barn.  Very friendly and always seeking their next meal.  Eli and Lily provide adult oversight, but not much is needed.  Even the horses cooperate in keeping the natural order of things.   

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- We completed the fencing of the new nine-acre section of pasture and the horses and cattle seem to like wandering through the trails and light brush.  The cattle roam everywhere without any regard to trees, streams, brush, etc., while the horses prefer the existing paths and occasionally get themselves in a section where they cannot readily find their way back to the barn at night.

Fowl Weather -- Turkeys have grown from tiny chicks in mid-April to 20+ pound birds by early October.  They are a curious bunch (flock?), friendly and ever approaching people in a group.  The largest ones stand about three feet tall and love to peck at anything shiny or moving.  Chickens follow in adoration.  We have had several hunters and potential hunters stop by, I think in hopes that ours are a flock of wild turkeys that will come into season come November.  Alack and alas, not to be the case.  Later, one day when touring some guests around the south circuit of trails in the utility vehicle, the flock of turkeys decided to follow.  The toms quit early, but the hens made the entire circle, about three-quarters of a mile, and back.

Visitors -- Nancy returned after her three-week stay in Western Mass.  Linda Cogswell and her brother Fred Richter visited for a weekend mid-month.  Otherwise, all quiet on the western front.

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 -- 
    
     Leaders lead from the front. -- Chief Marshall Boden, Chicago Fire (credit to John Bolton, Greg Stier, and no doubt others)
     
     If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. -- Thomas Jefferson    

     For when the One Great Scorer comes, to mark against your name, he writes not that you won or lost, but how you played the game. -- Grantland Rice, in his poem, Alumnus Football

     Remember, a government that is big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have. -- Davy Crockett   

     When you win, say nothing.  When you lose, say even less. -- Paul Brown

     Come and take them. -- King Leonidas of Sparta, in response to Persian King Xerxes' demand to lay down arms and surrender, prior to the battle of Thermopolae     
     The slack hand brings poverty, but the diligent hand brings wealth. -- Proverbs

     It's not the government's job to ensure fairness for everyone. -- Gary B. Smith
     Without vision, the people perish. -- Proverbs
     A liberal is a person with both feet planted firmly in the air. -- Winston Churchill
     If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevant even less. -- Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army

     You can never plan the future by the past. -- Edmund Burke, 18th century statesman

     I had to give up what I was, in order to become what I wanted to be. -- Albert Einstein
     The farmer is the only man in our economy that buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways. -- John F. Kennedy

      The Obama administration is like a porta-potty - it's full of crap. -- Greg Guttfeld

      To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. — Confucius
      The borrowing has to stop. The market slide was a shot right between the eyes that had better wake us all up to the simple fact that we can’t keep romping forever on borrowed money. -- Lee Iacocca, October1987

     Perhaps if liberals hadn’t coddled Obama his entire life, giving him college acceptance letters, standing ovations and Nobel Peace prizes just for showing up, he would have been more prepared to debate someone a little more challenging than John McCain. -- Ann Coulter
     Who is John Galt? -- Ayn Rand

Bumper Stickers of the Month -- 

                                                                                      NOBAMA - NO BIDEN  - 2012

Facts of the Month -- 

     Water --  according to the World Bank, currently:
                    > only 2% of the earth's water supply is fresh water
                    > the demand for fresh drinking water is doubling every 20 years                    > the world's population is growing at a rate of 200,000 per day
                    > 95% of the world's cities still dump raw sewage into their fresh water supplies

     The National Debt -- The Nation's debt per U.S. citizen has increased 45 percent since President Obama took office. Every man, woman and child’s share of the national debt was $36,000 when Obama came into office. Now, after four years of failed leadership and empty promises, it’s gone up 45 percent to $51,000 per person.

     All the gold that has ever been mined would fit into two Olympic-sized swimming pools.    

     Of individuals exiting receiving unemployment compensation, 25% leave to collect disability payments, claiming mental disability.

     Obama's economy: During the Obama administration, average annual American household income has decreased $4,500, average family net worth has declined 30%, and the price of gasoline has doubled.

     The U.S. tax code is now four times the length of the complete works of William Shakespeare.

     The average annual salary for shoppers ... at Target - $55,000, at Wal-Mart - $24,000
     There currently exists a $2.9 trillion unrecorded and unfunded liability for state public pensions.  These pension liabilities were not created by the wealthy, the so-called one-percenters, but exist because progressive liberals in state governments have allowed and promoted over recent decades egregiously large pension programs for state and local government employees.
     In 2011, of the 10.37 million applications for U.S. visas, 23.05% were rejected due to applicants providing false information aimed at concealing past criminal behavior or terrorist activity, while just 0.003% were rejected due to the likelihood of the applicant to become a economically dependent on the government.


Commentaries of the Month --

     Airlines is an awful business - not a lot of pricing elasticity, heavy fixed costs, heavy regulation, controlled by the unions.  You don't want to invest here. -- Dagen McDowell, Fox Business Channel

     QE1 and QE2 (Fed printing money) both did absolutely nothing to rescue the economy. Despite a massive injection of quantitative easing over the last four years, the unemployment rate in the United States is dismal and getting worse, not better. In addition, the “wealth gap” between rich and poor has vastly increased. -- Greg McCoach, Wealth Daily

And then there's this --  

     Stabbed by the Fork in the Road - The economy just passed a fork in the road — and it went both ways: We're printing money so the Fed can buy assets that no one else will buy to keep the stock market going up and interest rates low.  And it's working — for now.  The Dow's moving up.  The NASDAQ's moving up.  Home values are moving up.  Even gold and silver are going up.  With everything moving up, worries about what's driving it all (inflation) are being moved to the back burner.  It's not traditional.  I can't say if it's right (both in economic and moral terms).  But it's happening. -- Nick Hodge, Wealth Daily