The Riley Factor #94

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
March 29, 2011
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Blog -- The Riley Factor has entered the 21st century, and now has its own official blog site.  Go to http://the-riley-factor.blogspot.com/ and you can see all 93 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.) 

The Snows -- Have ended, we hope.  We received 7-8 feet of snow this year.  The biggest single snow fall of the winter fell on March 6-7, when we unexpectedly received 15 inches overnight of heavy wet snow, following several days of temps in the 40s.  Nearly impossible to snow plow, since the underlying ground was mushy and muddy in many places.  But man and machine eventually conquered nature, yet again.

Auction Season -- Spring auction season began on March 26, with the annual Amish spring consignment auction at Mohawk Valley Produce Center, on Fordsbush Road in Fort Plain.  Several hundred people were in attendence, with three auctioneers running concurrently.  We bought a few small things, but nothing too significant.  Equipment auctions loom for the next few Saturdays.  Always fun.

Visitors -- On March 19, those effervescent twins, Barbara and Betty, stopped-in with Nancy for a visit.  We had a late St. Patrick's Day corned beef and cabbage repast, and they were back on their way before sunset (for some reason or another, a departure deadline).

Solar Project -- The switch was flipped at 7:45 PM on March 4 and we are officially off the grid, being powered completely by 30 photo-voltaic panels on the south side of garage roof and two wind turbines mounted on the east end of the garage.  We are still adjusting the controllers and such, but so far so good.

Planting and Plowing -- Plowing continues its dormancy.  Manure continues its spreading.

Riley -- We took Riley for a hike after the early March snow storm and he ran off the trails further and further as Susan and I trudged along behind.  At one point, Riley got into a drift that got deeper and deeper.  As he struggled along, finally he needed a rest and took a seat.  The snow was up to the top of his front shoulders and all we could see was his head, looking like someone had placed it atop the snow.  When he did a reversal and began walking out, following the trail he had made walking in, all we could see was an occasional fluff of golden fur as he walked along.

Horses -- Lady stepped on Riley's front paw one morning and he yelped like he was being murdered, after which he sulked back to the Utility Vehicle and lied down on the floor.  I feel his pain, since Lady has planted her 1,500 pound frame on my own foot three times.  I think Riley was faking, because a few minutes later, he walked limp-free.  On March 29, when we were in the barn for the routine morning feeding of the animals, followed by the normal daily release of the herds into the pasture, we saw a red chicken standing on Rio's back, as he ate his grain.  After a minute or so, the chicken sat down and settled-in for a ride or a nap.  When we let Rio out, the chicken stayed on, riding bareback, until Rio accelerated into a trot, then full-on run, at which time the chicken went flying (both figuratively and literally).

The Herd of Three -- Eli, Michael and Raphael, each topping a half-ton, are finally beginning to get accustomed to Lady and Rio.  Apparently, only we humans realize that each day we place enough hay in the pasture for all three steer and both horses to fill their considerable bellies -- so they chase each other back and forth attempting to gain control of the two or three fresh hay bales.  On one of the first great weather spring days, Raphael took great pleasure in chasing our lone tom turkey around the barn, as the tom waffled between protecting his flock of five hen turkeys and running for his life.  We have decided that that tom turkey is the slowest of all the animals at Rock Creek Farm.

Fowl Weather -- Confined to a two month breeding season annually, the turkeys have started to do their thing.  You haven't lived until you have seen a 25-pound tom turkey walking up and down on the back of a 15-pound hen turkey.  I don't think our tom actually knows what the heck he is doing, but the hens seem to enjoy the spa treatment.  It is unclear if any actual breeding has taken place.  This month, we built 10 nesting boxes, five for the turkeys and five for the chickens, which were placed in the coops for the mother birds to lie in and sit on their eggs.  More to come on this grand experiment.  There will be no film at 11.  (Editor's note: late last week, the big tom turkey was hit by a car as he was protecting his hens, and had to be put down.  :-(  Now the hens are each trying to mate with one another.  Again, there will be no film at 11). 

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- For much of January and February, we could not even get out back to the woods, owing to drifting snow on the main trail that gets to four or five feet deep when only a foot or foot-and-a-half of snow actually falls.  Occasionally, we were able to collect a load or two of firewood, which we cut into 18" lengths last fall and left in piles out back in the woods to season some -- mostly chestnut, with some oak and beech.  For a brief period, we got to the woods, but with the spring thaw, we are back to waiting for firm, dry ground on which to travel to the back.

Quotes of the Month --
     Federal spending has to be trimmed with a buzz saw, not with a scalpel. -- Elizabeth MacDonald, FOX Business Channel

     An error doesn't have to become a mistake, unless you refuse to correct it. -- John F. Kennedy

     The worst addiction that this nation faces is the belief that there are simple solutions to complex problems. -- Morris Chafetz MD

     With Socialism, eventually you run out of other people's money. -- Stuart Varney, FOX Business Channel

     Global Thermonuclear War.  A strange game.  The only way to win is not to play. -- WOPR, War Games

     The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this: You cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal,' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians.  It creates a hostile work environment. -- Maxine

     Two little mice fell into a pitcher of cream.  One soon gave up hope and quickly drowned.  The second mouse swam around and around like mad, so furiously that eventually the cream turned to butter, and then he walked out of the pitcher. -- Frank Abagnale Jr.


Facts of the Month --

     Gasoline -- The highest ever national average retail price for regular unleaded gasoline was $4.11, which occurred in the summer of 2008.  We may get back there again late this spring, but only time will tell.  As of the beginning of March, the average retail price per gallon across the nation was $3.70.

     Federal Government Spending -- The True Facts -- A Troubling Imbalance
Right off the top there is some sobering math to consider. The U.S. government spent $4.3 trillion in 2010.  That stands in stark contrast to the $2.2 trillion in government revenues (which included $1.7 billion in personal income and payroll taxes). Interesting to note is that corporate taxes were $180 billion in 2010, up from $130 billion in 2009 (and down from the peak of $367 billion in 2007), but a small percentage of the total.
So, U.S. government posted a $1.3 trillion deficit in 2010, down slightly from the $1.4 trillion deficit of 2009.  (Changes in actuarial assumptions related to benefits, expenses, and obligations for veterans, military and civilian employees and government-sponsored enterprises reduce the deficit from the simple math of revenue minus expenses).
          Where the Money Went

• DefenseThe U.S. government spent more money on the Department of Defense than anything else in 2010. Net Defense spending totaled $889 billion in 2010, or more than 20% of the government's total spending.
• Social SecuritySocial Security accounted for $754 billion in 2010, up 2% from the level of spending in 2009 and almost 18% of 2010 spending. Medicare was likewise a huge expense - in excess of $500 billion for the year - while Medicaid spending topped $300 billion and the two combined for nearly 20% of U.S. spending.
• InterestAlthough much is made of what the U.S. pays in interest every year, it amounted to $215 billion in 2010, or only 5% of the total.
• The Department of LaborThe Department of Labor (DOL) also accounted for a sizable chunk of spending in 2010.  Federal unemployment benefits flow through this department, so the $179 billion spending in 2010 (up from $140 billion in 2009) is not altogether unexpected. Along similar lines, much of the $134 billion that went to the Department of Agriculture went to food assistance programs, while farm subsidies amounted to $14 billion and food safety initiatives a little more than $1 billion.
• Department of TransportationOther odds and ends of note include $80 billion to the Department of Transportation, more than half of which goes to the Federal Highway Administration, along with sizable allocations to the FAA and the Federal Transit Administration, which provides money to a variety of public transit systems. The Department of Education got slightly more, nearly $90 billion, while Homeland Security got by on $50 billion, or more than double the amount allocated to NASA.

      o  The Rest
          The remaining 45% of 2010 spending went to all those other but smaller governmental programs.

The Riley Factor #93

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
March 1, 2011
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

The Snows -- Snow falls, snow piles up, snow melts, as snow has done for countless millennia.  Still, each storm is reported by local and national media as the disaster of the decade, a 100-year storm.  We have survived five 100-year storms in the past three years.  We have been advised ad nauseum to stay off the roads, driving is treacherous, plows are working 24/7 to clear the mess.  Who is working 24/7 to clear this media madness?  (Which is what we really need).  The first melting of any sort this winter began on Valentine's Day, and lasted for five days, with sun and a 60 degree temp reached on Feb 18.  A week later, on Feb 25, 13 inches of snow fell in Middle-of-Nowhere.  Five more inches fell on Feb. 26, and now it's a party.  Total snow fall here so far this winter -- six feet.

Visitors -- Stephanie stopped-in for a few days during school vacation week with new puppy Bruin in tow.  The Riley and Bruin were up non-stop for almost 72 hours before collapsing.

Solar Project -- In February, we had enough sunny, dry and warm weather to progress further on the grand solarization of Rock Creek Farm.  Solar panels were wired on Feb. 17.  Installation of inverters, charge controllers, and control panel was completed on Feb. 24.  Still to come - final in-barn and in-house wiring, and disconnection of the electric meter to achieve off-the-grid status.  Today, much of this is being worked-on by three of the Empire Solar engineers and electricians.  And then finally will come The Throwing of the Switch.

Planting and Plowing -- Plowing continues its dormancy.  Manure continues its spreading.

Riley -- Inexplicably, the Golden One has been napping more and more during the day, as the earth tilts its northern axis toward the sun and daylight expands and temperatures warm.  He has been consistently getting-in his twice daily two-mile runs.  Many days, we find scattered remains of a fresh overnight kill out on the trails, probably the result of a fast coyote meeting-up with a slow rabbit.  The Riley feels obligated to fully investigate each of these findings.

Horses -- Lady and Rio are becoming more comfortable in their new surroundings.  Especially Lady, who kisses Riley regularly and likes to place her considerable head on Susan's shoulder.  She also brings one or the other of her giant eyes to within an inch or two of my eyes and stares intently, as if she is trying to see my brain (good luck with that; better try a magnifier).  Rio continues on, never stirring-up the animal or human masses, and he has started giving Susan daily kisses.

The Herd of Three -- As the snow gets low, bovine heaven of green pastures gets closer and closer.  The three 1,000-pounders are still a bit too scared of Lady, who prances and gallops her 1,500-pound frame liberally close to the Herd of Three and thereby gets more than her fair share of the daily hay allotments.

Fowl Weather -- Currently confined to their coops and outdoor pen, the birds are antsy to get back to their wide-spread wandering around the fields and lawn.  We need to see wide-spread bona fide green before that occurs.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- A few snowmobiles have scatted around the upper two pastures, not welcomed and trespassing in spite of well posted borders and some discussions with some of the locals.  No damage done, primarily owing to the foot-plus of snow covering everything.

Quotes of the Month --

     Where we go one, we go all.  --  on the bell of The Albatross, lost at sea, 1960

     Every great movement begins with a single voice.  --  Ben Franklin

     The buffalo who runs against the herd reaches only his own demise.  --  Chief Crazy Horse

     The government cannot make you change your behavior.  Government subsidies do not work.  They do not make you get out of your car and ride the trains.  They do not make you buy environmentally friendly cars.  --  John Stossel

     Those who risk nothing, do nothing, achieve nothing, become nothing.  --  Anonymous

     Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.  --  Napoleon Bonaparte

     We're all on running clocks; you can't slow them down, or pause them.  --  Ryan Bingham (George Clooney character in Up in the Air)

     I have seen enough to know now that I have seen it all.  --  David Lander (baseball stadium announcer in A League of Their Own; better known for his Happy Days character Squiggy)

     President Obama is a miserable failure.  America deserves better than this. -- Sean Hannity

     Today, President Obama said that his budget as submitted provides for annual revenue and expenditure break-even by the middle of this decade.  His own budget numbers show one billion-plus dollar deficits each year for this year, next year and the year after, and no less than a $600 billion deficit in any single year from 2014 through 2020.  Which is it Mr. President, are you hopelessly incompetent or are you lying?  --  Glenn Beck

     You can't walk around saying that what you want to do is cut the deficit, and then have everything you do increase the deficit.  The President is being disingenuous.  --  Florida Congressman Connie Mack

     Hold on everyone.  We have a blind date with destiny, and it looks like she's ordered the lobster.  --  William H. Macy, in Mystery Men    
     The rule of law is a mess in America.  --  Judge Andrew Napolitano

     Drink won't fix it. -- Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke


Facts of the Month --

     o  Muslims & Jews -- There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world (which represents 20% of the world's population), and there are 14 million Jewish people in the world.  Since the awarding of Nobel Prizes commenced in the early 1900s, Muslims have been awarded 7 Nobel Prizes.  Jews have been awarded 129.   Nobel Prize categories include literature, physics, medicine, economics and peace.

     o  Other People -- There are more Irish in New York City, than in Dublin; more Italians in NYC than in Rome; & more Jews in NYC than in Tel Aviv.

     o  Unions -- in 1981, 21% of American workers were in a union, broken-down to 19% of private sector workers and 34% of public sector (government) workers.  In 2010, 12% of American workers are unionized, with the break-down being 7% of private sector workers and 36% of government workers.  Editorial & Analysis -- Allowing government employees to unionize makes no sense for two fundamental reasons: (1) If a private company's employee unions force wages and benefits to an artificially high level, the consumer has the choice of refusing to pay the resultant higher prices and go elsewhere for products and services.  This option does not exist with respect to government employees, since if they perform poorly or are over-hired and over-paid driving up costs, the taxpayer is not allowed not to pay the taxes which fund the government, so people are forced to pay for too-high government employee salaries and benefits.  And (2) Unions collect dues from members, aggregate funds and use those funds to support primarily Democrat political candidates through campaign contributions and by urging members to get out and vote, and vote primarily Democrat.  Then, after the elections, the unions sit across the tables from the elected Democrats that the unions helped put into office and negotiate new union contracts -- can you say 'conflict-of-interests'?

And then, there's this ...

* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
* If you plant hard work, you will reap success
* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.
Think about this for a minute.... 

If I happened to show up on your door step crying, would you care?
If I called you and asked you to pick me up because something happened, would you come?
If I had one day left to live my life, would you be part of that last day?

If I needed a shoulder to cry on, would you give me yours?
This is a test to see who your real
friends are or if you are just someone to talk to you  when they are bored.
Do you know what the relationship is between your two eyes?
They blink together, they move together, they cry together, they see things together, and they sleep together,
but they never see each other;

...That's what friendship is ...

Your aspiration is your motivation, your motivation is your belief, your belief is your peace,

Your peace is your target, your target is heaven, and life is like hard core torture without it.

The Riley Factor #92

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
February 6, 2011
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

The Snows -- More snow on Feb. 1-2 added another 14" to the foot already on the ground.  Trails remain open, but only barely in a couple of spots.  A few more inches fell on Feb. 5-6.

Solar Project -- Sunday Jan. 30 saw the solar engineers scrambling around the three-quarters of an inch ice coating on the garage barn roof, beginning the attachment of the 30 solar panels to the roof.  Next day, the solar panel and wind turbine installations were all completed.  Next up: running the wiring, installing the inverters and charge controllers, connecting the batteries, installing the monitors and building the control room enclosure.  Need some sunny and above-freezing weather to proceed further.

Planting and Plowing -- Plowing continues its dormancy.  Manure continues its spreading.

Riley -- The Golden Boy's newest favorite pastime is trotting around fluffy snow with his nose buried in and shoveling up the white stuff.  He always comes up with a face covered in it.  And near the end of his twice-daily two-mile runs, he now just stops and drops in the deep stuff, and spends a minute or two eating unflavored snow cones.

Horses -- Rio and Lady are becoming more and more affectionate, especially to Susan.  Lady frequently places her chin on Susan's shoulder, probably seeking some carrot, apple or grain treat.  It seems as if they are not as scary to the steer as they once were perceived to be, but this is a human, not bovine, interpretation.

The Herd of Three -- Eli, Michael and Raphael, each now tipping the scales at around 1,000 pounds, are beginning to feel their oats (or in their specific case, it is actually wheat, but I digress).  They wander in and out of the barn on their schedule, not ours, mooing and and thinking nothing of tossing us a head butt or two on their way in, out, or for no apparent reason (best decision we made was to de-horn them at an early age -- too many stories from the locals of farmers being gored by bulls, never with a happy ending).  The Herd of Three has decided that they like last year's second cutting of hay better than any of the other hays, and they complain, moo, bang into walls and stomp around when we try to feed them anything but the best dried-up old grasses, sometimes going on a hunger strike.  Although they don't have any real teeth, and wouldn't ever bite anyway, at half a ton each, we do give them the utmost of respect, and stay out of the way of their hooves, lowered foreheads and running frames.  And at half a ton each, they aren't exactly starving.

Fowl Weather -- Both the red and black chickens have been laying eggs like it is still summer - eight or ten dozen per week.  If you need some eggs, stop in and take some.  Please.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- We have managed to keep the main trails clear of deep snow, enabling daily circuits on the ATVs or UTV with The Riley running alongside.  Recently, the colder nights seem to bring packs of coyotes or coy-dogs out of the woods and in fairly close to the orchard and barns, maybe 100 yards from the house, probably in search of rabbits or other unlucky quarry, a corpse of which we occasionally find in a trail near to the house.

Quotes of the Month --

     You cannot strengthen the weak, by weakening the strong. -- Abraham Lincoln

     All that you can do is decide what to do with the time that has been given to you. -- Gandolf the Gray (Fellowship of the Ring)

     Beer is proof that God loves man, and wants us to be happy. -- Ben Franklin

     Some women is lookers, and lookers must be looked at. -- Festus Hagen (Gunsmoke)

     They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security. -- Ben Franklin

   To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he believes and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. -- Thomas Jefferson

      It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds. -- Sam Adams

    
Facts of the Month --

     57% of the dollars spent by the federal government are spent on entitlement programs.

     Currently, for each dollar the federal government takes in, it/they spend $1.66.


Superbowl Report -- February 6, from Dallas ...

     Green Bay Packers  31
    Pittsburgh Steelers  25

    Green Bay Packers win their 13th NFL Championship -- more than any other team.
    Aaron Rodgers is the Superbowl MVP and is the best quarterback currently playing in the NFL.
    All is right with the world.
Oh Boy --

The Sierra Club and the U.S. Forest Service were presenting an alternative to the Wyoming ranchers for controlling the coyote population. It seems that after years of the ranchers using the tried and true method of shooting or trapping the predators, the Sierra Club had a "more humane" solution to this issue. What they were proposing was for the animals to be captured alive. The males would then be castrated and let loose again. This was ACTUALLY proposed by the Sierra Club and by the U.S. Forest Service. All of the ranchers thought about this amazing idea for a couple of minutes. Finally an old fellow wearing a big cowboy hat in the back of the conference room stood up, tipped his hat back and said; "Son, I don't think you understand our problem here... these coyotes ain't screwing our sheep... they're eatin' 'em!" The meeting never really got back to order. . .

 

The Riley Factor #91

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
January, 2011
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Happy New Year

Christmas and New Year in Middle-of-Nowhere -- As usual, the Rock Creek Farm Christmas tree went up right after Thanksgiving.  The annual Christmas Eve Slate Family Party was at Richie Crowley's in Southwick - again an excellent affair.  And CJ, Stevie & Scott stopped-in to visit us in NY for a few days over the holidays.  Stevie and Scott were here three times between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  During the Christmas visit, they ventured further west to just past Utica and picked-up a new addition to their family, a 12-week old male puppy, a mix: Beagle, Black Lab & Bluetick Coonhound.  Named 'Bruin', he is all black and extremely cute, 15 pounds now, and should grow to about 40 pounds when mature - both his parents are that size.  Bruin is half the size of the 12-week-old version of The Riley.  Between Christmas and New Years, Susan spent few days back in Hopkinton.  She and Stevie got into the time machine and went to one of CJ's indoor soccer games (Susan was the only mother in the audience) and she and Stevie also visited Scott at his office at Fidelity in Smithfield, RI.

The Snows -- So far, a benign winter.  Although it snows almost nightly in Middle-of-Nowhere, it is generally lake-effect snow that amounts to less than a half-inch per day - just enough to keep everything white.  While the Christmas weekend storm piled 18 inches of snow on Albany, 60 miles to the east of Middle-of-Nowhere, and piled 20 inches in New York City, 150 miles to the south, the snow blew past us completely, with barely a trace of the white stuff.  Blew past at high speed, with 25-40 mph winds and below-zero wind chill factors.  The horses and steer stay in the barn with wind chills that low, which makes them a bit restless but keeps them warm, as they self-heat the first floor of the barn to about 30 degrees - animal cozy.  Unfortunately, animal through-put does not diminish when they are held captive indoors.

Solar Project -- Batteries and roof rails were delivered just before Christmas.  Empire Solar was here scrambling around the barn roof the weeks afterward installing the rails and Photo-Voltaic panels on the roof, facing the true solar south.  A complex computer calculation and monitoring of the sky establishes a solar score for a given solar application -- perfect score is 120 and our site scored a 115, which means that as little as two hours of full sun will fully charge the batteries.  Even on a dark, cloudy, snowy mid-winter day, with 20-30% available light, the solar panels get enough solar input from the sky in a day to fully serve our house and barn electrical needs plus fully charge the batteries.  In addition, we are installing two wind turbines, which produce up to a kilowatt of power per hour for use or charging day or night, when the wind is blowing.  Of course, nothing is actually functioning yet, as batteries, inverters, transformers, switches, wiring et al are all in various states of in-process.

Planting and Plowing -- Ground is frozen solid.  There'll be no plowing here for a while.  But the ATVs run fast over the frozen tundra.  We did just put manure and hay around each of the 80 fruit trees and 30 grape vines.

Riley -- The Golden Boy has taken renewed interest in torturing the three cats at every opportunity.  Stryder, Arwen and AJ, each have a love/hate relationship with their favorite member of the canine world.  Although the cats sometimes actually nap with the dog, Riley still can't resist pouncing on them and licking them to within an inch or two of their nine lives.  He has also been known to try to pick them up by their spines and carry them around the place.  Cats do not like this.

Horses -- Rio and Lady are doing well.  Lady is still the challenge, and prefers to keep prancing and dancing around the stall, barn, pasture; wherever she finds herself; a typical female.  While Rio is much more the calm, sensible one; a typical male.  Both love their grain, and also apples, carrots and the famous molasses-flavored horse treats (which The Riley also readily gobbles when he is in the area).  The horses are not averse to chasing the steer around in order to steal their hay or grain.  The steer push back, but their hearts are not in it.  By day's end though, everyone has had enough feed to maintain their girlish 1,000-pound-plus figures.

The Herd of Three -- Surprisingly, the steer have easily adjusted to their new herd size, at 60% of their former numbers.  With the dominant one, Gabe, no longer in the mix, each member of the remaining herd of three has begun to flex their type A personalities.  There is no doubt that each of the steer is (or, technically, was) male  (Susan would say 'bossy and pushy'.  I would say 'manly and comfortably aggressive'.).

Fowl Weather -- As long as they don't freeze solid, thankfully a rare occurrence, the cold-blooded fowl don't mind winter.  Most days, both turkeys and chickens stay inside in their coops doing bird things and laying the occasional egg.  Chicken egg production falls from an egg per day each in spring, summer and fall to about an egg every other day in the winter.  The Jersey Giants have finally calmed to the point where they can be approached and picked-up.  Their feathers are so soft, Susan grabs one or two by the legs and uses them to dust the feed & tack room.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- Still hear a gun shot or two on a daily basis from the woods - rifles and shotguns.  Does not appear to relate to any hunting season that actually may be in season.  We are keeping orange and low.

Quotes of the Week --

     The difference between good and great is effort. -- on locker room walls everywhere

     Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. -- Hebrews 11:1
 
     Obama's biggest accomplishment in his first two-years of office?  He has spent more money that we don't have in less time than any other president in history.  Obama has achieved little, other than to promote volumes of onerous, burdensome regulatory legislation.  -- FOX News, 12/24/2010 (Merry Christmas)

     Who we are ... people who demonstrate integrity, respect and teaming.   People with energy, enthusiasm and the courage to lead.  People who build relationships based on doing the right thing. -- Ernst & Young

     Nobody is smarter than the market. -- Eugene Farmer

     A responsible, affordable, intelligent government is always better than the Nanny State. -- Mary Matalin, former Republican adviser

     If everybody had a gun, there would be less crime. -- Charles Payne, FOX Business

     Everyone is beginning to realize that unions are basically ruining America. -- Charles Payne

     It is a fundamental economic principle: you can have prosperity or equality, but not both. -- Anne Coulter, Author

     Only an idle man doesn't know enough to enjoy rest. -- Paladin, Have Gun - Will Travel

     Not a quote, but a fact and a thought: The combined federal and state income tax rate on corporations in the U.S. is 40%.  With Japan's recent national corporate tax rate cut from 25% to 20%, the U.S. now has the highest corporate tax rate in the world.  On average throughout the world, the corporate tax rate averages 20%.  We also have the world's highest regulatory burden.  Why would any company choose to locate in the U.S. if it has other international alternatives?

                   NFL Playoff Recap

        NFC & Seeds                              AFC & Seeds
#1 Atlanta Falcons (13-3)            #1 New England Patriots (14-2)
#2 Chicago Bears (11-5)              #2 Pittsburgh Steelers (12=4)
#3 Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)       #3 Indianapolis Colts (10-6)
#4 Seattle Seahawks (7-9)           #4 Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)
#5 New Orleans Saints (11-5)       #5 Baltimore Ravens (12-4)
#6 Green Bay Packers (10-6)       #6 New York Jets (11-5)

This Weekend's Playoff Games:
  Saints @ Seahawks, Sat. Jan. 8, 4:30PM, NBC, Saints favored by 10.5 points
  Jets @ Colts, Sat.,Jan. 8, 8PM, NBC, Colts favored by 2.5 points
  Ravens @ Chiefs, Sun., Jan. 9, 1PM, CBS, Ravens favored by 2.5 points
  Packers @ Eagles, Sun. Jan. 9, 4:30PM, FOX, Eagles favored by 1.5 points

The Riley Factor #90

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
December 21, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Merry Christmas to All

Animals -- Just for fun, on Thanksgiving weekend, we counted the various animals wandering the place, excluding the stray raccoon, ground hog, blue heron, red  fox, deer, mice, coyotes, coy dogs, neighbors' dogs, hawks, vultures, wild turkeys and other true wildlife.  (Somewhat) under our control were 2 horses, 4 steer, one bull, 21 Jersey Giant black chickens, 16 RI/Cornish red hens, 9 French Guinea Fowl (which Susan recently learned mate for life and love hot weather such as found in Africa !? - well one-for-two's not bad), 6 Narragansett turkeys, 3 cats and The Riley.  Total of 63.  "Plus us", adds Susan.

The Snows -- Snow began flying early in the month and almost daily the Lake Effect drops some white stuff on the place.  Never too much at a time, but it adds-up.  After a week of frigid temps, Dec. 9-16, daily highs under 20 with wind chills in the 4-5 degree range, we got our first real snow overnight on Dec. 15-16, when 2-3 inches fell.  Just 10 miles away in Sharon Springs, they got 6 injches and in Cobleskill, 25 miles south, they received 8 inches that night.  The Lake Effect is inconsistent and a tough one to predict.  100 miles to the west in Syracuse, it has snowed every day in December and they have received over six feet of snow, a new record for any single month, with 10 days remaining to set more records.  Route 90, the NYS Thruway, had to be closed for a while for snow removal.

Solar Project -- Sun shines, wind blows, infrastructure still under development.  Solar panels (actually called Photo-Voltaic panels) arrived on Dec. 14.  Installation to begin soon.

Planting and Plowing -- Still dormant until spring.

Riley -- The Golden Boy ate (yet another) Christmas ornament given to us by someone who saw it at a craft show and thought it would be perfect for display in Middle-of-Nowhere.  Well, perfect for a snack, according to Riley.  He moved on, and late on Dec. 15, Riley escaped our control (his incessant objective, nay - make it his prime directive) and strolled the yard and barnyard at will.  Eventually, he strolled onto the patch of lawn in front of the farm field closest to the house and found a deer that had been struck by a vehicle the night before and lay dead on the lawn.  When we tried to pick-up the small doe the next morning, it had frozen solid to the ground and was immovable.  Oh well, there were tracks in the snow all around it and it appears that coyotes, coy-dogs and perhaps raccoons or skunks have been feasting on the carcass -- the call of the wild.

Horses -- Lady has become the Boss of the Field, chasing the others around at her will.  Although when push comes to shove, Rio steps in and takes control.  Like any good filly, she follows her male protector.  On Dec. 16, we replaced the river-rock floors in the horse stalls with stall mats, which will pamper Rio's and Lady's unshod feet while standing and sleeping in the barn.

The Herd of Five -- Cattle have one mission in life ... eating.  They prefer pasture grass, but readily migrate to hay when the grass is short or snow-covered.  They also like grain (wheat, oats, barley, corn), and in a pinch will chew on sweatshirts, jackets and jeans.  They love to sniff leather coats (presumably searching for some long-lost relative).  Oh yeah, and their through-put is legendary.  Well, on Dec. 14, we had our first butchering, a melancholy day.  Two of our steer, Gabe, our 15-month-old red & white Holstein, and Zeke, our 10-month-old Holstein bull, were butchered for beef for our own use and for sales.  We raised them as beef cattle, from very young calves only a few days old, to their 1,000 and 700 pound states.  The processed beef should be ready by New Year's Day.

Fowl Weather -- The turkeys and chickens are becoming accustomed to staying in their indoor/outdoor pen rather than wandering all over the place as the mercury drops.  Most days, they remain in their 24'x36' coop and pen that is half indoors and half outside under the barn overhang.  Most have the capacity (but not the desire) to jump-fly over the six-foot fencing that separates them from the entire outside world.  They await return of warmer weather to return to that roaming life.  The Keets, those French Guinea Fowl, have taken to pairing-up, and one of our nine is left as a bachelor (or bachelorette).  One night, he/she stayed outside roaming in search of wedded bliss in 10-degree environs.  Alack and alas, at sunrise, he/she was found leaning up against one of the stall doors waiting to be let in to return to the flock.  Apparently the rural bird bar scene had not produced the desired hook-up.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- Ponds are frozen, almost ready for the first ice skaters of the season.  Korey-in-the-House -- Korey the Amish Plumber, arrived on December 7 to shut-off the greenhouse water for the year.  Temps had been in the 20s for several days, so it was fortunate that we escaped any unwanted pump, tank or pipe freezing.  For no reason, Riley acted scared stiff when Korey entered the house -- may have been the boots, black pants and jacket and straw hat.  After a minute of petting and talking, Riley was back to his old self, jumping on Korey and nibbling on his hands.  On one of his daily runs, December 10, one day after deer hunting season ended, Riley flushed-out a small herd of six deer in the third field.  They ran all the way from the bottom up into the woods, six large does.   Later in the week, he spied a lone doe on the trails and chased her into and throughout the south woods.  After 15 minutes or so, he emerged doe-less and huffing and puffing, unsuccessful in his chase and no worse for the wear.  The Golden Boy would not know what to do if he ever actually got close up to a deer.

Quotes of the Week --

     Failure is not an option. -- Gene Kranz, NASA Mission Control (Apollo 13, April 1970)

     Hope is not a strategy. -- true source unknown, attributed to many different individuals

     I tried being reasonable.  I didn't like it.
     If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.
     A good man always knows his limitations.
     We boil at different degrees.
     Go ahead, make my day.                          

  -- Clint Eastwood, various movies, various points in time, each a classic

     Churchill knew the importance of peace, and he also knew the price of it. -- Rudy Giuliani

     If my kids graduate from high school, and want to become puppeteers, I'll send them to friggin' puppet college.  But for now, just teach them how to read, write and do math. -- Susan Fuchs, circa 1995, to the Hopkinton Superintendent of Schools

     What the hell is going on out there? -- Vince Lombardi
     One on my predictions for 2011 - the rich of the world, the real workers, will rise-up and unite in protest. -- Charles Payne, FOX Business Channel

     The Troubled Asset Relief Program was a complete failure.  Government spending does not create jobs. -- Steve Moore, Wall Street Journal
     The real Obama is more complex than his simplistic, outdated  'Yes We Can' mantra.  Obama's real slogans morph over time ...
          2008 Obama: Weak and Ineffective.
          2009 Obama: Dishonest and Incompetent.
          2010 Obama: a Socialist, a Liar, Hopelessly In-over-his-head. -- CF

     Good workers have choices. -- John Stossel

The Riley Factor #89

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
December 5, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

The snows -- are flying.  The lake effect has begun in Middle-of-Nowhere, NY.  Constant lake effect snow forecast for Dec. 5 - 7.  Could amount to a foot in the west by Tuesday's end, Buffalo through Syracuse.  Been snowing here for 12 hours and looks like a white two days likely.  High temp today forecast to be 24, with with chill of 13.  So, the animals are in the barn for today -- a toasty 40 degrees in there, with a wind chill of, wait for it ... 40.  Although, you do have to listen to the Keets honking in there -- maybe the cold is not so bad.  Much too early for winter to actually arrive.  It won't be long before the ATVs are being ridden and slidden across the snow -- always fun.

The Turkey Report -- Well, now that Thanksgiving is over, we can report that we sold-out of all the turkeys this year, the Narragansett heritage breed.  We received compliments from many of our customers.  One woman, Julie from Sharon Springs, who visited us a month or so ago to meet and greet the living and breathing turkeys, wrote us, "We wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know the turkey we had was WONDERFUL!  There was no fat on it, and the taste was amazing!  Also, I cooked the 10lb. bird, and it was plenty for all plus leftovers.  Everyone at the table was very impressed, and we all really appreciated knowing the turkey was raised in such a wonderful environment.  Thank you both so much for all the hard work and care in raising your animals."  It is great to hear back from folks who bought the birds. 
Solar Project -- Empire Solar has begun work on the solarization of Rock Creek Farm.  On Nov. 30, the support posts for the two wind turbines were installed on the east end of the garage barn.  Next steps calls for installation of the rotors and also 32 solar panels to be installed on the garage barn roof.  Then comes all the inverters, batteries, switches, transformers, generator hook-up and other hardware to get us off of the electric grid.  Stay tuned.  Timetable calls for a mid-winter completion.

Planting and Plowing -- Still dormant until spring.  Replacement weed-seed/grain filter screen for the combine arrived, so installation of that will transpire sometime before summer.

Riley -- It is possible, perhaps alleged, that some of Riley's recent high energy was due to his collar being too tight ... bad owners.  In any event, Susan loosened the collar one hole, and Crazy Riley became Riley the Calm.  Of sorts.  (Everything is relative).  He is still doing two two-mile runs on most days, snow or shine.

Horses -- Daily, Rio and Lady still appear to love roaming the pasture.  They graze and sprint back and forth at will, occasionally wading into Rock Creek and stopping for a splash and a drink.  Their favorite activity seems to be chasing one or more of the steers across the pasture.  Funny to watch those sprints -- frequently looks like the cattle will run right through the fence, but (so far) they have hit the brakes or veered before impact.

The Herd of Five -- The bovines are very calm and collected these days (when not running for their lives from the horses).  Still spending days in the pasture grazing, although the grass now is fairly short and sparse.  Hay is the preferred feed of the day.  And night.

Fowl Weather -- Score it French Guinea Fowl 1, Raccoons zero.  On Thanksgiving morning, a giant raccoon wandered into the barnyard, no doubt in search of a few scrambled eggs followed by a turkey or chicken dinner.  What he got was the flock of nine Keets chasing him and squawking their brains out until the raccoon trotted across route 163, back into hiding.  We did send a couple of rifle rounds over his head to give him the official human 'vamoose'.  The raccoon has not returned since.  Also, on the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving, the great blue heron lifted from the lower pond and flew side-by-side with the Xterra as we drove down route 163 on some errand or another, staying 15-20 feet from the vehicle only a couple of feet off the ground for over a quarter mile -- looked great, but still a bit of a mystery how these creatures are able to fly.  They are about five feet tall, if stretched, with a five-foot wing span.  The blue herons always look like something would go terribly, horribly wrong if they were tossed from a helicopter door ... falling, falling, oh, the inhumanity of it all (apologies to WKRP in Cincinnati).  But herons do fly.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- Ice formed on the surface of the upper pond on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and on the lower pond the following Monday.  A bit on the thin side, but nevertheless totally covering the pond surfaces.  Riley has tested the ice a bit, but not yet enough for his 70-80 pound frame to walk out on it.

Rock Creek Farm Records -- CORRECTION from our last edition ... the earliest guest departure record goes to Stevie, who left one day last year at 5:30AM, easily besting Babs and Betty, who left for parts unknown at 7:50AM this year on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Quotes of the Week --

     The problem is that Obama's campaign slogan, "Yes We Can", has turned into, "Thought We Could." -- David Letterman

     You can have a full day if you laugh, think, and are moved to tears. -- Jim Valvano, (late) basketball coach

     Where there's a will, there's a dead body. -- Gallagher, comedian

     Now they say that if we stop paying people not to work, it will cost the economy 600,000 jobs.  What?  How could this possibly be the case?  The people running the government are, of course, liberals.  They are Marxists.   They are socialists.   They are also incredibly stupid. -- Rush Limbaugh

     You are not elected to public office to get re-elected.  You are elected to serve the people, children, grandchildren and other citizens of the country right now.  Get some courage, or get out. -- John Kasich, Governor-elect, Ohio

The Riley Factor #88

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
November 24, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Lily -- A big welcome to Lily Johnson, who has just joined us, working at Rock Creek Farm.  She grew up in Cobleskill and now lives in Sharon Springs.  Lily is a Beef and Livestock major at SUNY-Cobleskill, and knows much about horses, cattle and the animal life. 

Planting and Plowing -- Dormant until spring.

Riley -- The French Guinea Fowl are becoming less leery of The Riley, staying in their tight band of nine and wandering ever closer to that great golden nose when he is tied-up outside.  The other day while out for his morning run, Riley came across a half dozen wild turkeys in the fourth field and began the obligatory chase (although in his still young life he has never caught more than a cold).  By the time he crossed into the third field, his quarry had grown to a bona fide flock of over 30 of the wild birds, all making their final dash in avoidance of Thanksgiving.  Eventually, the turkeys all flew into the woods and escaped, several landing in nearby trees and gawking down, mocking the Golden One.

Horses -- Rio and Lady are fitting-in more and more, no longer chasing the steers off the morning hay feed but mingling-in, almost creating a herd of seven.  During the day, the horses graze run around the pasture, frequently flipping on their backs and rolling in the grass and mud with legs in the air.  They spent some time the other day strolling back and forth in Rock Creek, stopping in the middle of the watering hole and splashing each other.

The Herd of Five -- The bovines are gathering their courage and standing firm among the horses.  For the first few days, they would scatter, especially from Lady, whenever their two new barn-mates were in close proximity.  Now, the herd is less afraid, and Gabe even wandered into Rio's stall early one morning trying to see if the newbies got better rooms in the Horse & Cow Hotel than the old tenants have.  As a welcoming gift, Gabe left Rio a warm, steaming cow-pie.

Fowl Weather -- Alack and alas, after a month in his private suite, Lefty, our one-legged turkey, succumbed to being pecked-and-pecked by his brethren turkeys, in the ever-continuing battle for survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom.  And just before Thanksgiving, we had 11 of the turkeys and three of the roosters butchered to cover the demands of sales and requests from the family.  That leaves us with a 'flock' of one lone Tom and five hens for breeding next spring.  And lately the geese have been around overhead in record numbers - on Sunday, we saw the largest flock of geese in flight that we have ever seen, at least 100 of the Canadians honking their brains out and winging southward.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- We have quite a large population of wood ducks living in the back two fields and trails.  Interesting creatures, they much prefer to run away when confronted, rather than fly.  Long beaks and fast legs.  Also living out on the back trails are a few ring-necked pheasants, mostly running around here and there.  Very beautiful creatures.  Even though deer hunting season launched on November 20, we have seen more and more deer wandering the fields and trails, all does and fawns.

Rock Creek Farm Records -- A new Rock Creek Farm record was set on the day before Thanksgiving ... by those cutest of identical twins, Babs & Betts Slate, who departed for home at 7:50AM Wednesday morning, earliest departure time ever for a visiting guest.  Other existing notable Rock Creek Farm records include ...

     Briefest Visit ... Ames and Peter Slate, who stayed for one hour on one visit, summer of '09
     Most Butcherings in a Single Day ... 14 (11 turkeys, 3 chickens) on Nov. 22, 2010
     Traveled Farthest for a Visit ... Uschi & Achem Gottschalk, who came all the way from Sardinia, Italy, October 2010
     Largest Turkey ... 45 pounds, Domestic American White, butchered for Easter, 2010
     Smallest Turkey ... 6.5 pounds, Narragansett Heritage, butchered for Thanksgiving, 2010
     Best Shot ... Susan, in the barn, with a rifle, taking out a red fox that had killed 9 of our chickens over a 10-day period, May, 2010
    
Quotes of the Week --

    Google is the best resource since the wheel. -- Lily Johnson      

    Thanksgiving with Obama and his group ... now we are all sitting at the kiddie table.  The problem is that the American Dream has been in the hands of Day Dreamers for the past 22 months.  And that Pelosi, she is one bat-crazy chick - I guarantee that she sleeps hanging upside down. -- Dennis Miller

    They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -- Ben Franklin

    Terrorists are not caught by technology or by touching. -- Isaac Yeffet, former head of security, El Al Airlines
   
    Don't retreat, just reload. -- Sarah Palin   

    Money always does more good for the world when it is in the hands of individuals, than when it is in the hands of government. -- Judge Andrew Napolitano

    Obama and his administration are determined more than ever to control every aspect of our economy and of our lives. -- Rush Limbaugh

    Here's how to resolve that Korea bombing situation - Fire-up the Enola Gay and drop a little advice on those North Koreans. -- Don Imus

The Riley Factor #87

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
November 15, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Horses -- Stop in and say hello to Rio and Lady, our two horses, who arrived at Rock Creek Farm last Saturday.  Rio is an eight-year-old gelding that rides and drives, and walks easily on a lead.  Formerly a race course trotter, he is a full-blooded Standardbred, about 15-and-a-half hands high and as gentle as they come.  He was recently owned by an older couple who rode him and also used him for a handicapped child relative to ride.  Stablemate Lady is a two-and-a-half-year-old filly, a 50/50 mix, half Morgan and half American Saddlebred.  A beautiful young horse, green-broke with plenty of energy, she runs with grace and smoothness, and frequently strikes that standard Morgan horse profile pose, which makes the breed so distinctive.  Independent minded, at times, Lady can be a bit of a challenge when on a lead.  She is slightly smaller in stature than Rio, but almost the same height at just short of 15-and-a-half hands.

Planting and Plowing -- All quiet on the western front.

Riley -- Riley has taken up a new sport - curling.  He found a two-pound round stone somewhere and has dragged it into the kitchen, where he pushes it around various obstacles with his more-than-insignificant nose.  Now if we can only teach him to pick up a broom and do some of that sweeping that accompanies the sport as we see it on TV.  He has yet to have a first hand encounter with the horses -- stay tuned.

The Herd of Five -- A day of sleet on Nov. 8, covered a few things in wintry white.  No problem for the Holsteins and the Dexters, who run hot and enjoy the cooling effect.  Late Monday afternoon, I went down to the barn to check on them in the storm and wind, and also to feed them, and we played a little game we like to play around here -- it's called Slap the Bull.  Some fun on a cold and slippery day.  Go Wild Hogs.

Fowl Weather -- Turkeys fly; or more accurately described, jump-fly.  they really don't ever fly away, but in a pinch can fly 20-30 yards five feet off the ground.  Or could fly 10-15 feet straight up into a tree.  Certainly they fly well enough to get out of our outdoor turkey coop, which has six feet tall fencing and gate.  On Tuesday, we captured each turkey and clipped the top feathers, about 20 or so, on each wing, So far, no great protests.  Some of them can actually still fly up in the air about 3-4 feet, by furiously flapping their remaining feathered wings - a bit of barnyard entertainment.  Otherwise, the birds are growing fast and furiously, still tracking Susan's every step.  Lefty, the turkey who lost his foot three weeks ago, is flourishing in his private 12'x12' stall - the most pampered turkey in America.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- At5 a local restaurant recently, we bumped into our friend Robert Hancock of Cobleskill.  In his spare time, when he isn't running his environmental consulting business in The City or his pool installation business in Fort Plain, he operates an animal rescue shelter of sorts at his home in Cobleskill.  He has an assortment of mostly old and/or hobbled horses, and a cow or two, in various pastures, pens and barns.  Recently he acquired a pair of horses from an elderly lady in the area, recently widowed, who could no longer care for them.  We spent Thursday afternoon with Robert's stable-girl, Lily, walking and brushing the horses.  Very relaxing, except for the one moment when something spooked one of the horses, which in turn spooked the other horse, which in turn reared up and bolted, knocking Lily to the turf.  No harm, no foul and all was back to normal in a minute.  Still, all in all, a very pleasant warm and sunny afternoon with the animals.  The horses are now in our barn and pasture.

Quotes of the Week -- Several excellent ones this week, from a few unusual sources ...

        People talk about the Haves and the Have-Nots.  What they should speak of is the Will-Works and the Will-Not-Works. -- Bill Galt, from The Galt Ranch, Last American Cowboy, Planet Green Network
        History will sum-up this (Obama) administration as weak and feckless. - John Bolton, Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., November 8, 2010
        And if Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, we're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us, if they don't see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it's gonna be harder. -- Barack Obama, October 2010.  Of course, later corrected with the proper take on America by presumed Speaker of the House John Boehner, who reminded Obama that people who evaluate and criticize governmental and political moves and motives are not 'enemies', they are 'patriots'.

        NOW HERE IS THE QUOTE OF THE CENTURY, MAYBE EVEN THE MILLENNIUM

Some people have the vocabulary to sum up things in a way you can understand them. This quote came from the Czech Republic . Someone over there has it figured out. We have a lot of work to do.

"The danger to America is not Barack Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency.  It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president.  The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America.  Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.  The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool.  It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."

The Riley Factor #86

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
November 3, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Election Recap -- Best summed-up by one of the CNN late election night pundits ... "We wondered if the Obama election in 2008 was the beginning of a movement.  Now we know it was only a moment."

Visitors -- Uschi & Achem, visitors for the last week of October, have departed for warmer climes - a week in London to be spent with son Moritz, and then on to Sardinia to resume life on the Mediterranean.  Upon her arrival in Middle-of-Nowhere, Uschi announced that she was very afraid of cows and did not want to get near them or get near the turkeys or chickens either.  "I am afraid of these things".  Upon leaving, she said she was surprised and she liked them, and loved Eli the best, because he gave her kisses.  "They are like big dogs, very friendly".  Achem, a painter (an exhibited artist), took hundreds of photos.  He said, "I have inspiration to paint.  I have never seen trees with leaves so yellow.  The old farms - they are so beautiful".  Uschi and Achem met our friend Annie Kanagy, and they spoke high German to one another for much of a morning.

Planting and Plowing -- The only remaining planting to do before the snow flies is to prepare the soil in a raised bed or two and plant the garlic.  With little additional work, the cloves will be ready for harvesting next August.

Riley -- The daily Riley swims are diminishing in frequency, inversely proportional to the temperature at time of each daily run.  Uschi and Achem loved Riley, saying he is such a good dog, and very gentle.  Uschi does think that Riley could benefit from a Dog Whisperer.  (At times, I think Riley could benefit from a Dog Screamer, and I occasionally fill the role).

The Herd of Five -- The steers are mooing, growing, and eating lots of hay.  December 8 is B-Day (Butchering Day) - starting line-up and size of roster to be determined.
 
Fowl Weather -- Having arrived in mid-May-June, the black Jersey Giant chickens are beginning to lay eggs.  (No, the eggs are not black).  Some of the roosters are truly giants, approaching 15 pounds.  They haven't got the morning crowing down right yet -- frequently crowing at noon, dusk and whenever-the-hell-they-want.  Lefty, the turkey who needed to have a foot amputated last month, is doing fine, spending his days contentedly in his own stall, with occasional visits from one or two of the red chickens or a turkey or two.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- We have a new resident at the compound - a ground hog has been wandering around inside the garage and driveway, not really bothering anyone or anything, nor being bothered by anyone or anything.  Impact and resolution, if any, to be determined.  Susan's foot is finally returning to normal - I inadvertently dropped a log on it when we were splitting logs on October 13 and she has been shoeless ever since, along with being colored black-and-blue and experiencing the accompanying toe throbbing - perhaps a broken little toe.

Quotes of the Week --

   "Twenty-two months from Messiah to pariah". -- Dennis Miller, Fox News Channel

   "We have done things you don't know about." -- Barack Obama, to John Stewart, on The Daily Show, October 27, 2010

                                                  (Well, unfortunately, now we can only guess.  But we will find out, and correct them all.)

   "He will go out the same way he came in ... without any class." -- JFK, in 1960 speaking of Richard Nixon.  Soon to be applicable to Barack Obama.

   "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." -- Hebrews 4:16

The Riley Factor #85

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
October 27, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Visitors -- Many of you remember Moritz, our German Italian foreign exchange student from 1999-2000.  Well, his parents, Uschi & Achem, made a long-awaited visit to Middle-of-Nowhere on the tail-end of a whirlwind tour around America that began a few weeks ago at a NATO pilots reunion in San Diego (Achem flew fighters for NATO for 20 years, before retiring in the 1990's in favor of painting and drinking red wine and German beer).  After Susan toured Uschi and Achem around New England for a few days, the threesome arrived in Fort Plain for a few days relaxation before Uschi and Achem flew back to Sardinia.  A good time was had by all.

Planting and Plowing -- We found one last farming thing to do before the snow flies -- on Oct. 20, we fertilized the newest hay field, six acres in the lower half of Field No. 3.  Got the John Deere tractor stuck in the mud in the middle of the nearby rye field, while getting rid of the last of the fertilizer, and had to walk back a half mile to get another tractor and pull the Deere out with chains.  Some fun, while Susan was away touring with the Gottschalks.

Riley -- His energy geometrically increases with his age.  I soon see Riley becoming a nuclear power.  If he survives the day.

The Herd of Five -- Mooing on.  A simple group.  Content.  They refused to come into the barn one night.  I went down to their stalls for a final check around midnight and found the five-some all laying down in a tight circle right outside the barn door.  They were mooing, not moving, and declined to get up.  So I declined to waste any more time on their evening comfort.  All was fine by morning.
 
Fowl Weather -- The turkeys have taken to roosting on our Jeep, a ridiculous sight, covering almost all of the horizontal surfaces.  The Jeep barely accommodates the 20 of them.  But I have evidence.  Trust me though, you don't want to see it.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- Hawks abound over the upper fields and edge of the woods.  With an occasional vulture or two.  Great to watch them soaring.  And the deer sightings are picking-up, no doubt before the hiding begins with the opening of deer hunting season in mid-November.  The wild turkeys have not yet exhaled, since their hunting season runs from October 1 to November 19.

Quotes of the Week -- Our Forefathers Speak

   The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. - Thomas Jefferson

   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 prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one." - Thomas Jefferson

   The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing. - John Adams

   To contract new debts is not the way to pay old ones. - George Washington

   There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy. - George Washington

   I appeal to you again to constantly bear in mind that with you, and not with politicians, not with Presidents, not with office-seekers, but with you, is the question, "Shall the Union and shall the liberties of this country be preserved to the latest generation?" - Abraham Lincoln

The Pledge to America -- The New Republican Agenda -- America is more than a country.  America is an idea – an idea that free people can govern themselves, that government’s powers are derived from the consent of the governed, that each of us is endowed by their Creator with the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. America is the belief that any man or woman can – given economic, political, and religious liberty – advance themselves, their families, and the common good.   America is an inspiration to those who yearn to be free and have the ability and the dignity to determine their own destiny.  Whenever the agenda of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to institute a new governing agenda and set a different course.

The Riley Factor #84

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
October 19 , 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Planting and Plowing -- Done for the year.  Equipment is in the barn.  Some oiling, greasing and painting in process.

Riley -- The Golden Boy is running and still swimming daily.  He still chases the turkeys and chickens within an inch of their lives, but it is a love/hate relationship.  When the birds run (that's right, run not fly) away, they move about five feet -- not exactly fleeing for their lives.  And Riley runs about four feet, not exactly chasing down his dinner.

The Herd of Five -- Word on the pasture is that one or more of the herd may be heading for the butcher this fall.  Makes for a nervous barn.  All are doing well, with Gabe and Eli each near 1,000 pounds, and the Dexter brothers not far behind.  Zeke the Bull is still a waif, at under 400 pounds, including horns.
 
Fowl Weather -- Although only 20 weeks old, some of the Jersey Giant chickens have laid their first few eggs.  A few of the roosters, at about 6-8 pounds, recently made a trip to the butcher, and (presumably) are enjoying their new life n the freezer..  That leaves about 25 hens to lay eggs and a couple of roosters to organize and patrol the hen house.  The 17 remaining RI Red/Cornish Hen crossbreeds are each still happily laying an egg a day.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- Leaves have changed colors.  Many have fallen.  Scenery is beautiful.

Quote of the Week -- .
                             Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.                                                                  President John F. Kennedy

The Riley Factor #83

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
October 4, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Planting and Plowing -- Susan spent Monday and Tuesday rototilling the first field and planting the winter wheat -- two acres of white semolina and an acre and a half of hard red.  Added 400 pounds of triple-15 fertilizer per acre, so the wheat will require virtually no attention until it is ready for combining next August.  Result next summer should be three to four tons of wheat.  We took this year's wheat to a grain house down the road and they cleaned the wheat and put it in stiched 60-pound bags - now all stacked in the barn for use.  We also put down 100 pounds per acre of the fertilizer on the 15 acres of hay fields, so those are all set for winter.

Riley -- Riley made a new friend this past weekend with Paisley, a year-and-a-half old Jack Russell Terrier/Beagle mix, owned by Samantha, one of CJ's friends.  CJ and peeps, James, Brooksie, Samantha and Alex, were in town for a 3k warrier road race that had a dozen or so obstacles on the cross country course, including were such stations such as running through fire, crossing a 5-foot deep water hole, crawling in mud under barbed wire, etc.  All survived and finished the course.  This weekend through tomorrow, the identical twins, Barbara and Betty, along with Betty's 84 year old 'boyfriend' Larry, are spending a few days visiting.

The Herd of Five -- The steers have a new habit -- they have refined their palates and when they leave the barn in the morning they stop, look up at the second floor hay door and moo until Susan drops a bale of the recently baled second cutting hay.

Fowl Weather -- Inexplicably, one of the 23 turkeys was found dead in the coop last Saturday morning.  We rounded-up the usual suspects and threatened the rubber hose treatment, but concluded natural causes was the culprit.  The remaining 22 Narragansetts are roaming free along with the 17 red RI/Cornish hens and the 31 black Jersey Giant chickens.  The turkeys have become accustomed to heights, spending time each day in the workshop over the garage and in the rafters over the top floor in the barn.  Plenty of turkey pooping is involved.  The Jersey Giants, now about four months old, are just starting to lay eggs.  Late breaking story: one turkey took-on a vehicle on route.  Result: now 21 turkeys are roaming freely ...

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- Susan and her friend Annie canned 13 gallons of grape juice on Wednesday -- made from three bushels of concord grapes.

Quotes of the Week -- All from the late, great Vince Lombardi (1913-1970), over the years --

  Fatigue makes cowards of us all.

  I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.

  If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?

  If you can accept losing, you can't win.

  It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.

  Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.

  Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.

  Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser.

  The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.

  The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.

  The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.

  The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.

  The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.

  Winning isn't everything, but the will to win is everything.

NFL Update -- The Packers are back where they rightfully should be, in first place (tied with Da Bears) in the NFC Central Division.  The Patriots are no doubt heading for a train wreck in Miami, on tonight's Monday Night Football.  This just in -- Aaron Rodgers is certainly one of the top three quarterbacks in the NFL -- no room for Peytonn Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees to join Rodgers in that Exclusive Club -- you pick the other two.

The Riley Factor #82

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
September 19, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Planting and Plowing -- Monday and Tuesday were spent repairing a tractor, the hay tedder, the hay mower, the combine and the rototiller.  Ahhh, then disking the recently plowed turf in field no. 1, in anticipation of planting the winter red and white semolina wheat before month's end.  Also, the trellis for the grapes in the vineyard began its ascent this week.  Most of the vines are still too small to need a vertical assist, but their time is coming.

Riley -- On Tuesday, Riley spent a couple of hours in the back barn with Ephraim Blank and me and the tools.  Riley is beginning to settle down a bit, now that he has celebrated his first birthday (September 3).  He is still the terror of the turkeys (and keets).

The Herd of Five -- The bovine boys are beginning to look a little nervous ... I think they heard the rumor that one or more may be heading for the butcher this fall.  :-/

Fowl Weather -- The flock of 23 Narragansett turkeys, about 10 weeks old now, follow Susan everywhere, en masse.  When she goes into the house, it is common to see the 23 all standing around, loitering on the patio waiting for her to come back out and play.  (Editor's note: you do not want 23 turkeys standing around any one place anywhere for too long a time).

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- Susan and her friend, Annie Kanagy, canned 26 liters of apple sauce on Monday -- made from three-quarters of a bushel of Gala apples.

Quotes of the Week --
          "Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out."
                --Benjamin Franklin
          "God will give me justice."
                --Alexandre Dumas, pere, from the principal character in The Count of Monto Cristo

Fact of the Week (surely to be repeated from time to time) -- The top 1% of U.S. taxpayers pay 40% of all federal taxes paid.
                              

                                                               The top 5% of U,S, taxpayers pay 61% of all federal taxes paid.
                                                                                             50% of American families/taxpayers pay no federal income taxes at all.

The Riley Factor #81

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
September 12, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

A Football Aside (a mere brief diversion) -- Are you ready for some football> -- Hey, the NFL started this week.  Several of the football pundits at FOX, CBS and ESPN picked those Green bay Packers to win this season's Superbowl -- very wise, very wise.  Alphabetical others notably picked to win it all by some of the less perceptive football geniuses were the Colts, Patriots, Ravens and Saints.  And everyone predicted great seasons to be had by quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.  I guess it's time to play the games.

Planting and Plowing -- Ahhh ... nothing better than the aroma of aged manure spread on the fields before plowing to give one the true sense of farming.  Well, really, I can think of several things better.  We spent Labor Day spreading aged manure over field no. 1, in preparation of planting the winter wheat.  Then we plowed the fields under, to be followed in the next week or so by disking and planting.

Riley -- Craving his runs around the place these days.  Riley gets-in two or three runs daily, a mile-and-a-half each or so.  He is taking the lead more often and rarely wanders off course.

The Herd of Five -- We may decide to butcher one or more of the steer this fall.  No final decision yet.  Leading candidates and weights are Gabe @ 900-1000 lbs., Eli @ 700-800 lbs., and each of the two Dexters at 600-700 lbs. apiece.  Only Zeke the bull has immunity for now, owing to his skinny 300 lb. frame.  This too shall change.

Fowl Weather -- We're building a new outdoor coop for the turkeys, outside of their indoor coop.  It will be 12'x36' in size and six feet high -- we will have to clip the 23 pair of wings to prevent escape by flight.  Construction schedule still up in the air.  Those same 23 turkeys all escaped en masse on Saturday into the workshop over the garage.  After several house in the Tool House, they each waddled to the upstairs doorway and one-by-one jumped like skydivers flying (sort of) to about half way to the road before hard-landing on the side lawn next to the barn.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- While moving the second field, which takes about eight hours to complete, large black hawks, smaller red-tailed hawks and some other bird of prey, probably vultures, were constantly overhead, circling for small prey to be scared into the open by the tractor/mower/me.  Very interesting to watch -- several times, they did get to within 10 feet of the tractor seat, but don't appear threatening at all.  Usually, they cruise 20 to 50 feet overhead.

Separately, Susan encountered a buzzing mound of honey bees on one of the main trails Wednesday afternoon -- a pile a foot or foot-and-a-half in diameter and 4-5 inches high -- consisting of nothing but thousands of bees piled on top of one another.  No idea as to the reason or purpose for this.  We do have a large honey bee nest out back, in the edge of the woods. about 200 feet from this bee pile and about 100 feet from the upper pond, which has been there all summer, without any events to report.  We saw the bee-mound again on Saturday -- a bit unsettling to say the least.

Quotes of the Week --

I do not like this Uncle Sam,

I do not like his health care scam.

I do not like these dirty crooks,

or how they lie and cook the books.

I do not like when Congress steals,

I do not like their secret deals.

I do not like this speaker, Nan , 

I do not like this 'YES WE CAN.'

I do not like this spending spree,

I'm smart, I know that nothing's free.

I do not like your smug replies,

when I complain about your lies.

I do not like this kind of hope.

I do not like it, nope, nope, nope!

                              

                                                                                                      Anonymous

The Riley Factor #80

The Riley Factor Fort Plain, NY
September 6, 2010
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Labor Day Visitors -- Roger, Carol and Cindy Slate spent a couple of days of Labor Day Weekend at the NY Compound.  With great success, the accompanying kids, Sebrina and Brittany, spent two days coaxing the senior chickens to lay more eggs.  Although their specific methods went unobserved, the results could not be ignored with the 17 egg-laying hens producing over three dozen eggs in a 24-hour period.  When not singing to and cuddling the red hens, the girls were swimming in the lower pond and playing with the 23 young turkeys and, of course, the five bovines.
Planting and Plowing -- The second cutting of hay was completed last Wednesday and is in the barn, with 120 bales stacked and salted.  Mowing, some plowing, some disking and the fall farm work begins.  Susan harvested about three-quarters of the tobacco and hung it in the greenhouse for drying.  Still have potatoes, tomatoes and peppers to harvest.  And winter wheat to plant.

Riley -- Riley has become the model citizen in car rides.  Sitting quietly looking out the windows, with his favorite position being riding shotgun next to the driver.  Looks a bit ridiculous as he rides around town sitting patiently and surveying the surroundings.

The Herd of Five -- The Fearsome Fivesome loves the newly cut hay.  After getting a few bales of it, they were returned to reality and eating through the remaining 600 bales of last year's remaining forage.  On Labor Day, when Susan filled the outside feeder with the old stuff, the herd turned the feeder upside-down in protest.  "Free the Fort Plain Five", they mooed in protest as they left the feeder area in ruins.

Fowl Weather -- Adding a formal outside pen for the turkeys and chickens is the first fall project to begin the journey to fruition.  Designed to be about 12' by 36' and six feet high, should be completed in a week or two.

Mowings, Musings and The Woods -- Oops.  While mowing around the upper pond, I wasn't paying enough attention and hit a 25-foot tall white pine tree, about 8 inches in diameter, with the corned of the bucket loader and flattened the tree -- snapped it off right at ground level.  On the bright side -- slightly improved view and firewood anyone?

Quotes of the Week -- "Liberal environmentalists don't care anything about people.  They are all about 'Save the Whales' and 'Abort the Fetuses'." -- Laura Ingraham, Fox News, 9/2/10.

                              

     "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." -- Proverbs 22:6