Good Morning!
November 14, 2007
The robins came by today. They are checking out the ripening madrone berries and what worms are near to the surface. Not a deafening group as sometimes in the past. I think they are coming down from the forests. It is like a trapper rendezvous. Not a chaos of robins, merely a frolic of robins.
Been gradually expanding the road space, clearing encroaching brush.
Annie now looks forward to her sunflower seed. Each morning I feed her some and place the balance in her feeding bowl. It is always gone by next morning. Sunflower is good because of the high content of oil. I think she is putting on some weight. Too soon to call her Pudge. I wonder if she might be interested in other nuts -- raw of course?
November 15, 2007
The snowy egrets are here but in a new area. Mostly, this year, they have been handing out down by Fort Vanoy School.
November 16, 2007
Have tried shaved Brazil nuts (took me while to remember the name) along with sunflower seed. Annie thinks they are okay along with her whole wheat bread. Again, I leave a little in her hutch and it is gone by the time I arrive next day.
The rendezvousing robins are in the neighborhood but fewer I think from past years.
Very windy all day and warm -- got up to seventy-one.
November 18, 2007
Cleaning out and painting the laundry room. Half done. Hope to finish Monday. Water heater removal Monday. Linoleum layers Tuesday. Water heater return Wednesday. New washer and dryer Friday.
Have a good week.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Landed in OregonXIX
Good Morning!
November 5, 2007
Woke up this morning smelling skunk. Strong. No windows open. How? Later in the morning checked outside. By the apple tree and around the Sun Room, the scent -- as it were, stink -- was strong.
Discovered Annie likes sunflower seeds. Eats them out of the palm of one’s hand. Her whiskers tickle.
November 6, 2007
Thirty-eight degrees and foggy. Over in Klamath Falls this past weekend they had fog and three dozen vehicles piled up. Klamath Falls is on average nearly ten degrees cooler than here. It is three thousand feet higher.
November 8, 2007
Cappy is a jealous cat
Looks cross eyed
when his brother
Sits in Sharon’s lap
November 10, 2007
It is a Halloween time of year. The leaves, some losing all color, are falling. Light winds blow them into corners. Turkeys come and scratching must see what lies under them. Mushrooms sprout, tipsy, tippy little umbrellas for tiny folk. The wire sculpture in the middle of the garden, its shiny metal tape was once covered by climbing beans, now is held down by dead, black tendrils -- oddly misshapen and a bit spooky at night. Green tomatoes lie on the ground. Things look dead and dying. One starts to feel the rain coming hours and sometimes a day before it arrives. Sole gun metal clouds have become one overriding cloud that at night comes to rest upon the ground. We wake in the morning in the middle of a cloud. Lazy cloud. Maybe back up in the sky by noon. Like California poppies: they sleep in. But the California poppies are not dying at all. They are thriving. Yellows and golds. Like they haven’t heard: Summer ended awhile ago. Poppies’ reply, Who cares!.
November 11, 2007
I fell another long spindly oak, leaning out over the road. Gradually clearing the road for -- the future fire truck or UPS drivers or Bonnie & Jim or our new neighbors to the north.
Have a good week!
November 5, 2007
Woke up this morning smelling skunk. Strong. No windows open. How? Later in the morning checked outside. By the apple tree and around the Sun Room, the scent -- as it were, stink -- was strong.
Discovered Annie likes sunflower seeds. Eats them out of the palm of one’s hand. Her whiskers tickle.
November 6, 2007
Thirty-eight degrees and foggy. Over in Klamath Falls this past weekend they had fog and three dozen vehicles piled up. Klamath Falls is on average nearly ten degrees cooler than here. It is three thousand feet higher.
November 8, 2007
Cappy is a jealous cat
Looks cross eyed
when his brother
Sits in Sharon’s lap
November 10, 2007
It is a Halloween time of year. The leaves, some losing all color, are falling. Light winds blow them into corners. Turkeys come and scratching must see what lies under them. Mushrooms sprout, tipsy, tippy little umbrellas for tiny folk. The wire sculpture in the middle of the garden, its shiny metal tape was once covered by climbing beans, now is held down by dead, black tendrils -- oddly misshapen and a bit spooky at night. Green tomatoes lie on the ground. Things look dead and dying. One starts to feel the rain coming hours and sometimes a day before it arrives. Sole gun metal clouds have become one overriding cloud that at night comes to rest upon the ground. We wake in the morning in the middle of a cloud. Lazy cloud. Maybe back up in the sky by noon. Like California poppies: they sleep in. But the California poppies are not dying at all. They are thriving. Yellows and golds. Like they haven’t heard: Summer ended awhile ago. Poppies’ reply, Who cares!.
November 11, 2007
I fell another long spindly oak, leaning out over the road. Gradually clearing the road for -- the future fire truck or UPS drivers or Bonnie & Jim or our new neighbors to the north.
Have a good week!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Landed in Oregon XVIII
October 30, 2007
Can’t get over it. There is a place between the yard and the lower pasture, an opening in the fence where I drive the mower through, about six feet, where Manny hunts mice. I have actually seen a mouse on two occasions, hustle across this opening. It is the same place Marty, Mr. Toot, sat and hunted nearly ten years ago. And there are two other spots, at the edge of the grass, where both Toot hunted and Mr. Manners now hunts. The two never met each other. There were a couple of years between the two. These have to be mice runways and habitat that have been consistent for over ten years. Yes both cats did and have caught mice in these spots but the mice are still there -- as over the past ten years the cats have been there.
Is it possible that there might be spots on earth where mice have lived in successive generations longer than humans? How about Machu Pichu? Mice before the Incas? Mice now?
November 1, 2007
This week we had thunder boomers one night. A little rain. Two mornings at 50 degrees.
This week Jack visited. He is a Russell Terrier. About seven years old. A little gray. Absoulutely sedate at far as RT’s go, bouncing only about 90% of the time. He met Brat. Brat met him. They touched noses. Brat said, What kind of goat are you? and he lowered his head and butted the metal gate between them. Whereupon Jack snarled, You barbarian! Come over here and I will kill you kill you several times. It was a stand-off for Brat and a bounce-up for Jack.
Annie was spying Jack from afar. When he saw her he shivered all over. I think she was impressed with the way he could jump. Later they touched noses. Over night she dug so much in her burrow it was almost impossible to get in her cage. Do you suppose she was making room for him down there?
We had a small dinner with friends Halloween night. And laughed and laughed until we shrieked and snorted. Towels for tears. A sure test of the flexibility of ribs. Sharon laughed until she put her back out. Go figure.
Mostly sunny today. A beautiful day. Leaves now cover the creek banks down to the flowing water, a cacophony of fall colors! Slippery with leaves.
I spent some time this afternoon cutting blackberry vines away from the large Sequoia. Tree said, Thank you.
Saw a large nuthatch, coming in for the sunflower seed.
November 2, 2007
Saw Spike. His coat is getting darker. Like light-adjusting glasses, winter gets closer and his coat gets darker, catching the solar heat of the sun. How very clever. I suppose it is patented.
We have three outside faucets: two attached to the house and one standing alone. Disconnected their hoses for winter. Used a tomato cage around the single alone faucet and then buried it in straw. Does one need to use the cage? Yes, because the turkeys will come and scratch to see what is under the straw and will uncover the faucet. Now they are simply frustrated -- which is a good thing for turkeys.
Used straw to berm the pump house for winter. Then used on top some leaves and needles -- mulch.
November 3, 2007
Foggy misty morning. The mugho pine outside the study window is about seven feet tall. It has a couple of dozen small spider condos. They were all painted by the mist this morning.
To the dump outside Merlin, Oregon. The transfer station was not too busy. During World War II with gasoline rationing we used the pickup each weekend for hauling garbage. I remember one or more flat tires while doing this. The tires were thin, the road was rocky, and debris sometimes spilled onto the road. The other times we used the pickup was when my dad went hunting or fishing. This time of year, it was important to get the “cellar” filled in preparation for winter. For storing meat we used the freezer down at Charley's Meat Market. In September or so my dad would visit the fruit growing areas of Idaho and bring back apples and peaches and onions and potatoes, lots of bushel baskets. My folks would have canning sessions. It was always a race to Spring and whether the onions or potatoes or apples would turn to mush before we could eat them. I learned to drive on the garbage hauling trips. When I was 13-14 he started allowing me to haul the garbage by myself.
November 4, 2007
Got up. Dark. No sun. Really socked in this morning.
When I went into the Sun Room to let the boys out, they were back to back about a foot apart. Neither left their spot and neither turned around when I walked past. Nor did they leave their respective spots until some time later. A cat spat.
The boys play, as brothers. And sometimes the play gets a little too harsh and then the fur flies. Sometimes Cappy ends up running and sometimes Manny. It might take them a couple of days to recover from a tiff.
Can’t get over it. There is a place between the yard and the lower pasture, an opening in the fence where I drive the mower through, about six feet, where Manny hunts mice. I have actually seen a mouse on two occasions, hustle across this opening. It is the same place Marty, Mr. Toot, sat and hunted nearly ten years ago. And there are two other spots, at the edge of the grass, where both Toot hunted and Mr. Manners now hunts. The two never met each other. There were a couple of years between the two. These have to be mice runways and habitat that have been consistent for over ten years. Yes both cats did and have caught mice in these spots but the mice are still there -- as over the past ten years the cats have been there.
Is it possible that there might be spots on earth where mice have lived in successive generations longer than humans? How about Machu Pichu? Mice before the Incas? Mice now?
November 1, 2007
This week we had thunder boomers one night. A little rain. Two mornings at 50 degrees.
This week Jack visited. He is a Russell Terrier. About seven years old. A little gray. Absoulutely sedate at far as RT’s go, bouncing only about 90% of the time. He met Brat. Brat met him. They touched noses. Brat said, What kind of goat are you? and he lowered his head and butted the metal gate between them. Whereupon Jack snarled, You barbarian! Come over here and I will kill you kill you several times. It was a stand-off for Brat and a bounce-up for Jack.
Annie was spying Jack from afar. When he saw her he shivered all over. I think she was impressed with the way he could jump. Later they touched noses. Over night she dug so much in her burrow it was almost impossible to get in her cage. Do you suppose she was making room for him down there?
We had a small dinner with friends Halloween night. And laughed and laughed until we shrieked and snorted. Towels for tears. A sure test of the flexibility of ribs. Sharon laughed until she put her back out. Go figure.
Mostly sunny today. A beautiful day. Leaves now cover the creek banks down to the flowing water, a cacophony of fall colors! Slippery with leaves.
I spent some time this afternoon cutting blackberry vines away from the large Sequoia. Tree said, Thank you.
Saw a large nuthatch, coming in for the sunflower seed.
November 2, 2007
Saw Spike. His coat is getting darker. Like light-adjusting glasses, winter gets closer and his coat gets darker, catching the solar heat of the sun. How very clever. I suppose it is patented.
We have three outside faucets: two attached to the house and one standing alone. Disconnected their hoses for winter. Used a tomato cage around the single alone faucet and then buried it in straw. Does one need to use the cage? Yes, because the turkeys will come and scratch to see what is under the straw and will uncover the faucet. Now they are simply frustrated -- which is a good thing for turkeys.
Used straw to berm the pump house for winter. Then used on top some leaves and needles -- mulch.
November 3, 2007
Foggy misty morning. The mugho pine outside the study window is about seven feet tall. It has a couple of dozen small spider condos. They were all painted by the mist this morning.
To the dump outside Merlin, Oregon. The transfer station was not too busy. During World War II with gasoline rationing we used the pickup each weekend for hauling garbage. I remember one or more flat tires while doing this. The tires were thin, the road was rocky, and debris sometimes spilled onto the road. The other times we used the pickup was when my dad went hunting or fishing. This time of year, it was important to get the “cellar” filled in preparation for winter. For storing meat we used the freezer down at Charley's Meat Market. In September or so my dad would visit the fruit growing areas of Idaho and bring back apples and peaches and onions and potatoes, lots of bushel baskets. My folks would have canning sessions. It was always a race to Spring and whether the onions or potatoes or apples would turn to mush before we could eat them. I learned to drive on the garbage hauling trips. When I was 13-14 he started allowing me to haul the garbage by myself.
November 4, 2007
Got up. Dark. No sun. Really socked in this morning.
When I went into the Sun Room to let the boys out, they were back to back about a foot apart. Neither left their spot and neither turned around when I walked past. Nor did they leave their respective spots until some time later. A cat spat.
The boys play, as brothers. And sometimes the play gets a little too harsh and then the fur flies. Sometimes Cappy ends up running and sometimes Manny. It might take them a couple of days to recover from a tiff.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Landed in Oregon XVII
October 27, 2007
Another lost week. Today is the second day of frosty mornings. Friday was 30 degrees and today was 28. Fall is ending. Winter is coming.
The cats are not ready. They sleep in the Sun Room. Each morning, I open the doors to the outside. Manny sometimes jumps down and beats me to the yet to be opened door. This morning he was beside his brother. He didn’t budge. His nose was buried in Cappy’s fur. Waiting for the sun.
With frost, more leaves are falling. Some trees are denuded. I checked the pool -- probably should call it the Leaf Pool. It is downstream. About 30-40 feet long. I have planted redwoods on one side and a sequoia on the other. In one place there is a sword fern with fronds about six feet long. Each Fall leaves pile up, clogging, building back over the pond, becoming waterlogged, and settling to the bottom. Beneath the clear water, the pond’s bottom takes on the colors of Fall. This year, the dam is in place, and the back up is building, but very few leaves yet on the bottom.
The English called winter the Grease Season. In the winter I add 10-20 pounds. I start craving pork. When younger I craved venison and the fat of beef. It has yet to start this year, but the bacon is in the freezer ready.
Housework. Doing little winter-get-ready things.
October 28, 2007
Beautiful autumn day. High thirties to low sixties.
This afternoon I watched Brat, the goat, watch Cappy, the cat, sneak up on his brother, Mr. Manners, who knew his brother was sneaking up on him about half an hour before he got there.
Casper caught a mouse this afternoon, but did not know what to do with it. He played with it. Finally, during a period when Cappy zoned out, the mouse escaped. Not bad for a deaf cat!
Another lost week. Today is the second day of frosty mornings. Friday was 30 degrees and today was 28. Fall is ending. Winter is coming.
The cats are not ready. They sleep in the Sun Room. Each morning, I open the doors to the outside. Manny sometimes jumps down and beats me to the yet to be opened door. This morning he was beside his brother. He didn’t budge. His nose was buried in Cappy’s fur. Waiting for the sun.
With frost, more leaves are falling. Some trees are denuded. I checked the pool -- probably should call it the Leaf Pool. It is downstream. About 30-40 feet long. I have planted redwoods on one side and a sequoia on the other. In one place there is a sword fern with fronds about six feet long. Each Fall leaves pile up, clogging, building back over the pond, becoming waterlogged, and settling to the bottom. Beneath the clear water, the pond’s bottom takes on the colors of Fall. This year, the dam is in place, and the back up is building, but very few leaves yet on the bottom.
The English called winter the Grease Season. In the winter I add 10-20 pounds. I start craving pork. When younger I craved venison and the fat of beef. It has yet to start this year, but the bacon is in the freezer ready.
Housework. Doing little winter-get-ready things.
October 28, 2007
Beautiful autumn day. High thirties to low sixties.
This afternoon I watched Brat, the goat, watch Cappy, the cat, sneak up on his brother, Mr. Manners, who knew his brother was sneaking up on him about half an hour before he got there.
Casper caught a mouse this afternoon, but did not know what to do with it. He played with it. Finally, during a period when Cappy zoned out, the mouse escaped. Not bad for a deaf cat!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Landed in Oregon XV
October 9, 2007
Once or twice a year I cut blackberry vines across the creek. I do not like vines with thorns. I do not like rose bushes. It falls in the same category as I do not like rattlesnakes. The plants can send out vines that cross the old road. I want to keep at least a path on that road. There are a couple of stories here. One is watching the road fill in. The other is maintaining a path.
Mr. Manners went with me. He was very vocal: soft: whispered, frequent mew-mew sounds. He stayed behind me except on those occasions when he took shortcuts. It was like he was looking out for me, was telling me about this place, was being a tour guide. There were few blackberry vines to cut.
On the path there are places where trees have fallen and are still alive. One can duck under them or step over them. There are places where snags have fallen. Step over. One of these times I will work with them: move, cut and so on. In a few places there is encroachment by poison oak. I cut and spray. There are more and more volunteer trees in the old roadway. The road was packed too hard; for a few years after the road closed there were no new trees. Enough leaves have now fallen, the road has softened enough, that all kinds of vegetation is making inroads.
The difference between Mr. Manners and his brother. Manny stayed behind me. Mr. Casper runs ahead, then stops and seems to listen. He is deaf. Then he runs on.
October 11, 2007
Ticks are back. A little rain and Sharon picked several ticks from Mr. Manners.
October 13, 2007
Across the creek again. This time to plant iris bulbs per Sharon. In places the ground is still hard. Rose campion blooming. Red, red iridescent beneath the riparian canopy!! Did I mention rose campion in the plant blooming survey?
The grass is greening up. Should be great by Thanksgiving.
October 14, 2007
Annually, generally after the first rains of Fall, I rake the fallen leaves on each side of the road and wheel barrow it to the mulch pile near the English walnut tree. Today I did the road in from the mail box -- from the gate to the culvert, about 200 feet. I did some raking on the road up to Bonnie and Jim’s.
Annie is really digging. It is like she is planning to double her underground domain or escape -- whichever. The dirt is piling up in her cage. It was getting difficult to open the door. There is a pile of fresh dirt outside her pen. We are using it in different places. Yesterday I was filling pots for Sharon. Annie stopped her digging and watched. She watched me shovel. Clearly she has an appreciation for dirt moving techniques and tools.
Starting to see more reds. However, the ginkgo is yellow. The walnut tree has a band of yellow at the bottom. Is green at top. We are picking up about a dozen walnuts each day.
Once or twice a year I cut blackberry vines across the creek. I do not like vines with thorns. I do not like rose bushes. It falls in the same category as I do not like rattlesnakes. The plants can send out vines that cross the old road. I want to keep at least a path on that road. There are a couple of stories here. One is watching the road fill in. The other is maintaining a path.
Mr. Manners went with me. He was very vocal: soft: whispered, frequent mew-mew sounds. He stayed behind me except on those occasions when he took shortcuts. It was like he was looking out for me, was telling me about this place, was being a tour guide. There were few blackberry vines to cut.
On the path there are places where trees have fallen and are still alive. One can duck under them or step over them. There are places where snags have fallen. Step over. One of these times I will work with them: move, cut and so on. In a few places there is encroachment by poison oak. I cut and spray. There are more and more volunteer trees in the old roadway. The road was packed too hard; for a few years after the road closed there were no new trees. Enough leaves have now fallen, the road has softened enough, that all kinds of vegetation is making inroads.
The difference between Mr. Manners and his brother. Manny stayed behind me. Mr. Casper runs ahead, then stops and seems to listen. He is deaf. Then he runs on.
October 11, 2007
Ticks are back. A little rain and Sharon picked several ticks from Mr. Manners.
October 13, 2007
Across the creek again. This time to plant iris bulbs per Sharon. In places the ground is still hard. Rose campion blooming. Red, red iridescent beneath the riparian canopy!! Did I mention rose campion in the plant blooming survey?
The grass is greening up. Should be great by Thanksgiving.
October 14, 2007
Annually, generally after the first rains of Fall, I rake the fallen leaves on each side of the road and wheel barrow it to the mulch pile near the English walnut tree. Today I did the road in from the mail box -- from the gate to the culvert, about 200 feet. I did some raking on the road up to Bonnie and Jim’s.
Annie is really digging. It is like she is planning to double her underground domain or escape -- whichever. The dirt is piling up in her cage. It was getting difficult to open the door. There is a pile of fresh dirt outside her pen. We are using it in different places. Yesterday I was filling pots for Sharon. Annie stopped her digging and watched. She watched me shovel. Clearly she has an appreciation for dirt moving techniques and tools.
Starting to see more reds. However, the ginkgo is yellow. The walnut tree has a band of yellow at the bottom. Is green at top. We are picking up about a dozen walnuts each day.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Landed in Oregon XIII
September 24, 2007
I forgot the butterfly bush and lavender.
A.J., who visited Saturday, is learning that some trees have apples and some do not.
September 25, 2007
Saw Mother Doe and Spike under the apple tree. Spike is now as tall as his mother but much skinnier.
Tomatoes from the garden! Brandywines! Big! Delicious!
September 26, 2007
Every Fall, I buy a bale of hay and a bale of straw. The hay is for the goat or goats on cold winter nights. The straw is for berming the pump house and the outside water faucet. At the end of winter I will then use the straw for mulch. Sharon gave Annie some of the hay. She thought it was great, building a little burrow.
September 27, 2007
I’m in the Jail House Now. Went to Ashland this morning for a meeting. Was gone all day. Somehow, Cappy knew I was going. He watched me get ready, following me from room to room. Generally I can wait and he will become distracted. Not today. When I left he stood at the door and ... Cappy does not meow ... screamed. When I returned he saw me before I even entered the house. I stopped to lean down to pet him. He walked on by as if I wasn’t there. Several hours later, I was sitting in the living room when Cappy came in from outside. He saw me. It was like old times. He jumped up on the chair and kneaded my belly to be petted. I started to pet him and then ... he stopped, like he just remembered he was mad at me ... and jumped down and walked away. Give it time.
Sharon was down walking along the creek this afternoon. There is a place where there is a granite shelf, beneath a canopy of trees, and the creek tumbles by. Then she suddenly saw Manny and Manny saw her and he raced past, into the brush, up a tree. That’s how he says hello to people he knows. It is a little scary.
Brat is getting his summer-fall habit. Once he decides we are up he starts bellowing. Or, if you prefer, baaa-ing. He wants apples. We’ve got apples. He gets apples. Tomorrow it will be the same thing. If strangers are in the neighborhood, he is just as vocal but more frequent and maybe louder.
September 28, 2007
Cappy hasn’t quite forgiven me.
September 29, 2007
Daughter, The Younger, will be home for Thanksgiving! It rained yesterday and is supposed to rain tomorrow. I surveyed the estate today. Following summer, it looked somewhat unruly. I notified Landscaping. Today I mowed the grass. Looks kinda like a mowed hayfield in the Fall.
One bunch of turkeys came through this morning. I counted 24.
September 30, 2007
It rained today. The snowy white egrets are back! We know there are huge populations of them in northern California where they are used to control bugs, etc. We know there are a few on the Rogue River. Where do these come from? California? Or, with the Fall rains, do they leave the river and come into the fields? The fields have been irrigated all along. The egrets could have come a month or two ago. Why now?
On the way to town, turkey buzzards were working the carcass of a freshly killed skunk. The smell was powerful. We have heard that some owls are partial to young skunks. So that puts two on the list of critters not offended by skunk.
On the way to town we saw a jay in the empty osprey nest. Chest all puffed out. Like a six year old behind the wheel of mom’s car.
A.J., with her dad, has been visiting relatives in Seattle. Not yet three and she has more air travel than I had by the time I was twenty-one! We picked them up, let her dad off at his car, and brought A.J. here for her mom to pick up later. Tonight, there they were! All in Red Hat Club red hats, marching through the house, blowing on a flute, beating on the drum. The leader with the baton was A.J. She did a good job leading.
I forgot the butterfly bush and lavender.
A.J., who visited Saturday, is learning that some trees have apples and some do not.
September 25, 2007
Saw Mother Doe and Spike under the apple tree. Spike is now as tall as his mother but much skinnier.
Tomatoes from the garden! Brandywines! Big! Delicious!
September 26, 2007
Every Fall, I buy a bale of hay and a bale of straw. The hay is for the goat or goats on cold winter nights. The straw is for berming the pump house and the outside water faucet. At the end of winter I will then use the straw for mulch. Sharon gave Annie some of the hay. She thought it was great, building a little burrow.
September 27, 2007
I’m in the Jail House Now. Went to Ashland this morning for a meeting. Was gone all day. Somehow, Cappy knew I was going. He watched me get ready, following me from room to room. Generally I can wait and he will become distracted. Not today. When I left he stood at the door and ... Cappy does not meow ... screamed. When I returned he saw me before I even entered the house. I stopped to lean down to pet him. He walked on by as if I wasn’t there. Several hours later, I was sitting in the living room when Cappy came in from outside. He saw me. It was like old times. He jumped up on the chair and kneaded my belly to be petted. I started to pet him and then ... he stopped, like he just remembered he was mad at me ... and jumped down and walked away. Give it time.
Sharon was down walking along the creek this afternoon. There is a place where there is a granite shelf, beneath a canopy of trees, and the creek tumbles by. Then she suddenly saw Manny and Manny saw her and he raced past, into the brush, up a tree. That’s how he says hello to people he knows. It is a little scary.
Brat is getting his summer-fall habit. Once he decides we are up he starts bellowing. Or, if you prefer, baaa-ing. He wants apples. We’ve got apples. He gets apples. Tomorrow it will be the same thing. If strangers are in the neighborhood, he is just as vocal but more frequent and maybe louder.
September 28, 2007
Cappy hasn’t quite forgiven me.
September 29, 2007
Daughter, The Younger, will be home for Thanksgiving! It rained yesterday and is supposed to rain tomorrow. I surveyed the estate today. Following summer, it looked somewhat unruly. I notified Landscaping. Today I mowed the grass. Looks kinda like a mowed hayfield in the Fall.
One bunch of turkeys came through this morning. I counted 24.
September 30, 2007
It rained today. The snowy white egrets are back! We know there are huge populations of them in northern California where they are used to control bugs, etc. We know there are a few on the Rogue River. Where do these come from? California? Or, with the Fall rains, do they leave the river and come into the fields? The fields have been irrigated all along. The egrets could have come a month or two ago. Why now?
On the way to town, turkey buzzards were working the carcass of a freshly killed skunk. The smell was powerful. We have heard that some owls are partial to young skunks. So that puts two on the list of critters not offended by skunk.
On the way to town we saw a jay in the empty osprey nest. Chest all puffed out. Like a six year old behind the wheel of mom’s car.
A.J., with her dad, has been visiting relatives in Seattle. Not yet three and she has more air travel than I had by the time I was twenty-one! We picked them up, let her dad off at his car, and brought A.J. here for her mom to pick up later. Tonight, there they were! All in Red Hat Club red hats, marching through the house, blowing on a flute, beating on the drum. The leader with the baton was A.J. She did a good job leading.
Landed in Oregon XIV
October 2, 2007
Did I include hibiscus and autumn sedum in the inventory?
October 3, 2007
We have had some rain and the surface of the ground is dark with moisture. Cappy went out this morning and was diligently hunting for dust. There was none. Finally he discovered the garage floor.
October 4, 2007
Sharon went to a Dogs for Deaf meeting yesterday. She was really impressed with the local program. Cappy uses his brother to offset his own hearing loss. Cappy is an elder brother and is thereby entitled by birth order to be a leader. He believes that. Manners, who sometimes complies, thinks his disadvantaged brother is a boor. Ah-ha! Cappy needs a dog-for-the-deaf cat!
October 6, 2007
Saturday morning. Thirty-four degrees. Frost warnings on the Internet for the Rogue Valley. December and January share the lowest average temperatures: 31 degrees.
I looked for windfalls for Brat. None. One of our large apple trees has early drops. The other is inclined to have no drops at all. Last year, deer were standing on their hind legs to pick apples from its lowest branches. I picked half a dozen for Brat.
He prefers white bread. I offered him some apples. He wasn’t interested until it seemed that that was all. I held back some bread scraps for desert.
I saved a slice of whole wheat bread for Annie. First thing this morning I saw her seeing me in the kitchen window. I hold the bread for her. For critters like Brat and Annie who do not have hands it is helpful to have the food held. In nature, without hands, they bite and pull. Same with turkeys. I have seen them try to stand on a windfall apple, trying to hold it down while trying to take a bite out of it.
Next I pull the filter from our small vacuum and shake it out. Need to do it 1-2 times a week. And I notice, nearby, walnuts are starting to fall from the tree. I gather sixteen, filling my shirt pockets. Feel windfall rich.
October 7, 2007
One of the truly neat and wholesome things in Rogue Valley is Seven Oaks Farm. This time of year they open their doors, put a few of their animals on display and sell from Fall produce. One can buy all kinds of large (and small) pumpkins. There are canned goods. How about a bunch of corn stalks for $ 5.00. The kids can pet the goats. There is a slapped together maze. A hot dog stand where one can also buy roasted corn. There is a real old log cabin. Free pony rides where the kids can ride in a saddle and the pony is led by a man. One sees lots and lots of families and lots of small kids. The activities are free. The produce is not.
We went last year with Jennie Lynn and A.J.. This year A.J. rode the pony. She got a horse painted on her cheek. Bought some pumpkins.
Which reminds me. The best we could do in my garden this year was a watermelon about the size of a softball. Do I dare put it along side the pumpkins we raised? Could a person carve such a thing?
The Fall colors are really just starting. Reds and yellows. The poison oak has a delicate egg shell red color.
Did I include hibiscus and autumn sedum in the inventory?
October 3, 2007
We have had some rain and the surface of the ground is dark with moisture. Cappy went out this morning and was diligently hunting for dust. There was none. Finally he discovered the garage floor.
October 4, 2007
Sharon went to a Dogs for Deaf meeting yesterday. She was really impressed with the local program. Cappy uses his brother to offset his own hearing loss. Cappy is an elder brother and is thereby entitled by birth order to be a leader. He believes that. Manners, who sometimes complies, thinks his disadvantaged brother is a boor. Ah-ha! Cappy needs a dog-for-the-deaf cat!
October 6, 2007
Saturday morning. Thirty-four degrees. Frost warnings on the Internet for the Rogue Valley. December and January share the lowest average temperatures: 31 degrees.
I looked for windfalls for Brat. None. One of our large apple trees has early drops. The other is inclined to have no drops at all. Last year, deer were standing on their hind legs to pick apples from its lowest branches. I picked half a dozen for Brat.
He prefers white bread. I offered him some apples. He wasn’t interested until it seemed that that was all. I held back some bread scraps for desert.
I saved a slice of whole wheat bread for Annie. First thing this morning I saw her seeing me in the kitchen window. I hold the bread for her. For critters like Brat and Annie who do not have hands it is helpful to have the food held. In nature, without hands, they bite and pull. Same with turkeys. I have seen them try to stand on a windfall apple, trying to hold it down while trying to take a bite out of it.
Next I pull the filter from our small vacuum and shake it out. Need to do it 1-2 times a week. And I notice, nearby, walnuts are starting to fall from the tree. I gather sixteen, filling my shirt pockets. Feel windfall rich.
October 7, 2007
One of the truly neat and wholesome things in Rogue Valley is Seven Oaks Farm. This time of year they open their doors, put a few of their animals on display and sell from Fall produce. One can buy all kinds of large (and small) pumpkins. There are canned goods. How about a bunch of corn stalks for $ 5.00. The kids can pet the goats. There is a slapped together maze. A hot dog stand where one can also buy roasted corn. There is a real old log cabin. Free pony rides where the kids can ride in a saddle and the pony is led by a man. One sees lots and lots of families and lots of small kids. The activities are free. The produce is not.
We went last year with Jennie Lynn and A.J.. This year A.J. rode the pony. She got a horse painted on her cheek. Bought some pumpkins.
Which reminds me. The best we could do in my garden this year was a watermelon about the size of a softball. Do I dare put it along side the pumpkins we raised? Could a person carve such a thing?
The Fall colors are really just starting. Reds and yellows. The poison oak has a delicate egg shell red color.
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