Cats for Christmas Cheer

My daughter and her husband and baby have moved back in with her in-laws. It's a long story, but they worked a rent free deal since both Kate and Jon are full time students again. Kate had two cats, Jade and Beetle, and Jordan just loves the cats, especially Jade. Jade has been very tolerant of Jordan's rough handling, and in fact, there is a lot of mutual love and affection between the two. Check out this picture, taken back in the summer, that I titled "Loving Jade". At any rate, Jon's father is deathly allergic to cats, so to keep the kitties happy, and to make sure Jordan doesn't lose Jade prematurely, I now have two cats.

At first they were both outside, then they were both inside,and now Beetle is outside(by his own choice) and Jade is inside. I'm allergic to cats, too, but my allergies present as nasal congestion and general itchiness. It has been a week, and while I've had some symptoms, it is far less than what I would have expected, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can continue to keep Jade in the house. Beetle is a little Romeo, very affectionate and playful. You can tell that he is a younger cat. He's very pretty for a tomcat. I took a picture of them in the cat carrier the night they arrived, just before we let them out. Of course, I also took some pictures today as Jordan got to play with Jade for the first time in over a week-since they moved. She was so happy to see her "Dade"! Seeing that smile makes any allergy worries melt away. It may have been the best present she got-and it is one that money had nothing to do with. By the way, that's my son in law, Jon, who I think misses Jade almost as much as Jordan does.

We are trying to rename Beetle, and have been calling him Tiger, Tigger, and the mutant moniker of Tiger Beetle. He is apparently living under the house, again, by his choice. He ran through my legs two nights ago and bolted out of the door. He will let you catch him and pet him, but the minute you head for the house, he's down and gone in a flash. I actually think it will be good to have both an indoor cat and and outdoor cat. Not only are they good for killing mice, but I hear cats are great against scorpions and snakes, too. I just hope that Beetle will be able to outrun Hobo, the cat killing German Shepherd across the road.

Rio Grande, the Flow and the Flub-ups

Saturday, for the first time, I rode a gaited horse. Rio is, as we say in the South, a Big Ol' Boy. He's over 17 hands, but very gentle with a sweet disposition. Technically, he's a Spotted Saddle Horse out of a Tennessee Walker mare. Rio was very patient with me and overlooked my reining and balance errors. My friend's sister took this picture of us, I've just never very photogenic, sorry, but at least you can see how honkin' huge Rio is compared to his sister Cheyenne that Ava is riding. We rode around her property for only about 30-45 minutes, but it was still fun to learn about his gate and feel the difference between a pace, a trot and a smooth racking gait. I can't say that I did well at getting the horse to stay in the rack. My balance was off and riding with split reins was new as well since I usually hold the reins together. I hope I get another chance one day as that feeling of floating on a horse could be addictive. He was just so smooth. I know a lot of folks take issue with gaited horses, but for me, with my arthritis, I think it would be the perfect solution-not that I've been jarred much on other horses, but if I had my own horse and rode all the time, a gaited horse would definitely be easier on the old bones.
I was thinking on the way home that I have, in my entire life, been on a horse probably less than 50 times. It may have only been 35 times; I dunno. I feel comfortable on horses-I'm not scared at all, but until I met Ava, I'd never had any real instruction about exactly how to ride. Well, that's not exactly true. I used to have a friend who rode English and I did ride with her a few times-under her guidance, but that was 30 years ago now, and English is so different than Western riding. Now, I'm learning about different horses and such, and I just wish I had more time and opportunities to ride. I'm telling you though, I was more sore on Sunday and even a bit sore on Monday, than I was the last time we rode, and last time we were gone for hours! I wasn't that saddle sore, but Rio's width really gave my groin muscles (adductora) a workout. Just sitting up there is a good stretching exercise! ;) Again, my stirrups were not the right length. Look at the posture of Ava's foot compared with mine. Her heels are down, my toes are down. Bad bad bad. Once we lowered the stirrups, things were better, but still it was difficult for me to get in the correct posture while riding. This is just challenging and frustrating at the same time. I want to ride correctly. I want to do what the horse is used to doing. I wish I was 12 again, so I could spend my whole day with horses. There have been so many missed opportunities.

For those of you who are horse people, I'd appreciate some pointers and especially tips about my feet. I'm off balance because my feet are all wrong and this confuses the horse. (I think!) I used the arm-length guide to adjust the stirrup length, but I still have to let it out more. Perhaps riding with no stirrups will help me overcome the problem?

Ch..Ch..Ch..Ch..Changes

I survived my first week back in the workforce after a year of being at home. I did not have any real problem getting up for work(I know that surprises some of you!), but I am definitely feeling the job in my feet. I don't yet have a desk and have been mostly standing all week long. My computer came in Friday(it is a nice looking Dell), but without a desk or workspace, obviously I can't use it. I thought my foot was 100% healed after the surgery, but I have discovered otherwise. There wasn't too much walking to the job, and certainly no exertion, just standing.

The best part of the 'new job experience' is the people. My co-workers all seem competent and seem to have a good work ethic. I've seen no slackers, no idiots. That's a good thing as I can't stand to be the only one working while everyone else surfs the internet or plays games on their phone or makes personal phone calls, etc. That kind of stuff drives me crazy. It is a good group of folks to work with, and I think that can make or break any job. Even if you love your job, if you can't stand the ones you work with, you can be miserable.

This past week, I've been 'training' with the QC guy. Instead of filling a position, I'll be carving out a niche for myself in the lab. I'll start with taking over some of the more mundane tasks, clerical minutia, that are weighing down the other chemists-things like recording spec data and filing certificates, MSDS sheets, etc. I'll fill in for the QC guy and probably perform some testing for the R&D guys. I'll probably do more bench work as I gain more experience, but for now, I'm
just learning the products and their applications and specs. There are probably 65 or 70 formulas or more, many sold under more than one label, so it can be confusing. In addition, I'm not familiar with many of the raw materials, so there is a LOT to learn before I start mixing anything! I'm still not sure whether or not I will be working more in QC or in R&D, but there is always the possibility of doing both. The company is growing and I'll have options. It is SO much better than the last place I worked. They are like night and day.

On the homefront, I did not make it into the garden at all this past week, so this morning I had lots of beans and okra to pick and process. I got almost two gallons of beans, which isn't bad considering the fact that it is October. I made some fresh guacamole with the few tomatoes I picked, and sliced and froze the okra for frying later. I did take about 20 of the smallest pods and tossed them into a pickle jar. I had a hankering for pickled okra, but since the fridge is already full, I did not want to open a new jar. I had a jar of pickles that only had a few pickles in the brine, so I tossed the okra, some cayenne peppers and some garlic into the jar, shook it, and tomorrow I'll start snacking on the okra. In three weeks, I go back to get my cholesterol checked, and okra is a wonder food for lowering cholesterol. I'll eat a lot of it in the coming weeks. Tomorrow, I'll can a small jar of Anaheims and Poblanos for use in burritos or beans, and I have a 9 cubic foot wheelbarrow full of peanut vines to process. I'll remove the peanuts from the vine, brush off the dirt, and allow them to dry a few more days in the house. They have been in the wheelbarrow on the porch, which isn't ideal for drying and curing, but with the rain last week, it was the best I could do. I did not want to lose my peanut crop to mice, rats, or squirrels.

Skyguy spent the day bleaching and pressure washing the deck and the front of the house. He'll probably spend the better part of tomorrow finishing the job. We were going to try to wait until Spring to replace the kitchen window, but I'm afraid it won't last through the winter and I really think we need to replace it now. I think we can get energy credits if we do it before November, too. First is the pressure washing, then the window replacement, then the house gets a new paint job. Next weekend we have a 5 year NWGAA anniversary event here at the farm, and I really did not want our guests to wonder if the algea would attack them while they ate. The house and deck face north, and with all the rain this year, everything is green and slimy. The deck was a safety hazard.

Thursday, Skyguy and I celebrated (and I use that term loosely) 25 years of marriage. We had plans to eat out, but that night we were both tired and decided to just go home and have a normal evening. After all, it was 'Survivor' night, and we had to watch evil Russell scheme and plot his way to through the game. We decided that we would celebrate on Friday and would rent our 'Jacuzzi room' at the Hampton Inn. We started doing that years ago when we did not have TV and had limited water supply. It was nice to take a hot shower of unlimited length, enjoy heat without loading a log into the stove, lounge around in the Jacuzzi, and watch TV, hopefully some boxing or ultimate fighting or maybe a Formula One race. We would try to do that once a year, at least, just to relax and enjoy things that most folks take for granted. Even though we now have satellite TV and a new well so we don't run out of water, we still like to go to "our room"at the Hampton. So on Friday after work, we grabbed dinner at Ruby Tuesday's and went to the hotel to check in. As it turns out, 'our' room is no longer there. Apparently the hotel removed the jacuzzi due to a leak, and now the only room with a jacuzzi is actually a room where the whirlpool is in the bathroom and you can't watch television from the bathroom. It was disappointing, the end of a tradition, but we rightly decided not to waste money on that anymore, so we stopped by Home Depot and drove home where we were greeted by a couple of very happy dogs. I spent a few hours last night looking for another 'Jacuzzi room', and I did find a hotel in Dalton, but I just don't know. It is so tempting to just take the credit card and just buy a damned hot tub for the deck. With that, I never need to leave home. I have dreamed about that for close to twenty years now.

To Living Life to the Fullest

Thirteen years ago or so, when we lived in the Atlanta suburbs, Jeff C.
entered our lives and we've never been the same. Jeff was a friend and
co-worker of Skyguy's older brother, who is a monk now, but who used
to work for Clyde Beatty Cole Brothers Circus with Jeff. They did
various things, but mostly worked in marketing and advance promotions, traveling from town to town ahead of the circus. Long after Brother Dave left CBCBC, Jeff continued on, and we remained friends with him. He would try to get us into the circus for free when the kids were little. My kids have ridden on elephants and petted ligers and had other really wonderful backstage circus experiences. Once, he not only took our family to Augusta, he took my best friend and her husband as well and put us all up in a really nice hotel. That was the kindness we loved in Jeff, the more the merrier, and the words 'more' and 'merry' definitely described him. Jeff weighed well over 300 pounds and was always the life of any party. He loved to describe himself as a flaming queen. Yes, Jeff was as gay as gay could be, and if you look up homosexual in the dictionary, his picture should be there. As I type this, I hear his voice saying " tell them this, or tell them that-you really should capitalize 'flaming' "... he was quite a character and would love the fact that I am writing this story.

Whenever Jeff would come through town, he would usually take us out to eat in a really nice restaurant. He was of Spanish heritage and he delighted in teaching us about real Spanish cuisine. Once, Jeff came to visit, and instead of taking us to dinner, he decided that he wanted to cook an authentic dinner. He went to Harry's Farmer's Market and came back with enough groceries to feed an army. As he started cooking, he realized that we would have more food than the 5 of us could eat. While he was making the sangria-real sangria, he told me to call some friends over for an impromptu party. He kept cooking and I kept calling the neighbors. We lived in a pretty diverse neighborhood, but even as open minded as people were, watching people meet and get to know Jeff was always entertaining. He had a unique way of making people like him, even the most homophobic individuals. As it turned out, half the neighborhood had dinner with us, and Jeff was the life of the party. The food was great, but the Sangria...oh my god...it was divine. The neighbors got drunk and Skyguy had to walk a few of them home. One guy passed out on our sofa. That Sangria was so good that you would not even know it was alcoholic, until you woke up the next day with a banging sugar hangover. Amazingly, we had some left over, and Jeff suggested that I bottle it and we could open the bottle in two weeks when he came back through town on his way back North. I found one of those fish shaped wine bottles, poured the sangria in-straining out the slices of fruit-and corked the bottle. Jeff left the next day and told us that he would call us in two weeks.

We did not make any plans, nor did a couple of neighbors as they wanted to come by and just hang out with him. He was just so interesting and always had a million stories to tell. You would laugh until you cried. Two weeks went by, and there was no call. Three weeks came and went. We had not heard from Jeff. Finally, on the fourth week, Skyguy's brother called and told us that Jeff had been killed in a car accident on the weekend when he was supposed to be on his way to our house. He was so physically large that he was crushed upon impact with another car and the steering wheel impact caused cardiac failure. The world lost a very special person that day.

So, in honor of Jeff, I've kept that bottle of Sangria all this time. I recall that when we poured it up he made a joke that it would be good in 100 years. I don't have a good place to store the bottle here, and I don't think Jeff would want me to keep it the way I have done. I'm afraid someone will come along, not knowing the bottle's history, and uncork it to see what it is. He would want me to open it, invite some friends over, and have fun. The question is, is it still good? Part of me wants to keep the fish bottle intact, but part of me wants that Sangria. If I knew that the Sangria was vinegar instead of wine, I might keep it in the bottle, but just thinking about how good that
Sangria was, and just knowing how much love Jeff put in it....I want to make a final toast to Jeff.

So I open this dilemma to a vote among those of you who read my blog. Let me know what you think I should do. To the best of my memory, this was made with 7 up, grain alcohol, red wine, rum, sugar, and lots of fruit. I remember lemons, oranges, peaches, and kiwi, and it seems like there was more, but I've forgotten. It was very, very sweet, almost syrupy, and wonderfully smooth. What would you do-open a 13 year old bottle and toast to Jeff, or find a place to store the bottle and keep it in his honor?

Last Dance

Everyone needs joy in their life. I've always disliked the word 'joy'; some of you will know why that is so, and if you don't, it is not that important anyway, but lately I've decided to make a concerted effort to enjoy life more. As Oprah used to say, 'remember your spirit'.

My best bud Ava (Shout-out and wave to Ava!), knowing that I'd soon be returning to the workforce and thereby leaving the way of life I've grown accustomed to for the past year, invited me to join her and my other friend Melissa for a horseback ride on local wooded trails. While I've gone riding with Ava in the past, I'm still very much a novice rider. I've been on horses since I was a kid, but not with enough frequency to become a good rider, and certainly not with anyone who was willing to teach me the way Ava and Melissa do. They've both been riding continuously since they were kids, so usually they take the boys on more complicated rides, rides not suitable for someone like me. So today was a real treat for me, and I learned a lot, both by doing and by watching. That's me on Dallas, Melissa on Spike, and Ava on Joe, left to right in the picture. Skyguy took the picture, and I guess he did not realize that my eyes were closed-not the best picture of me in many ways. Oh well, I guess it happens to everyone eventually, right? You know, Dallas just isn't as pretty with me on him. He deserves his own space, so I post my favorite picture of him as well.

The first thing I should say that I learned is that it is a much more comfortable ride, and an easier ride, if the stirrups are adjusted properly. You may be able to tell by looking at the picture and comparing my leg posture with theirs that my stirrups are a bit too high. We later lowered the stirrups and voila, bliss! When I first saw the picture, looking at myself and my friends, I couldn't help but hear the Sesame Street song, "One of these things is not like the other" in my head. LOL! It is just too funny. You gotta laugh at yourself on days like this. At any rate, we rode for several hours, mostly walking through the woods and pastures. It was wonderful, and while it is not quite Fall yet, it wasn't hot like you would expect on a late Summer day. If I had enough money, I think I would definitely want a horse. You can totally forget about the world when you are riding. You can hear and see things that you would not normally notice. Perhaps it is just me, but I think I enter a state of heightened awareness. I notice what the horse is doing, what other horses are doing, what trees or holes or barbed wire or spider webs are ahead of me. Of course, I try to be aware of how I am holding the reins, how I am sitting in the saddle, whether or not I am leaning too much, and I try to make sure my feet are where they are supposed to me. I wish I could say that it all just comes natural to me, but I just don't ride enough to get to a point where I don't think about such things and just naturally progress from one position to the next as the terrain or conditions warrant.

Will I be sore tomorrow after four hours on a horse today? I'm sure I will, but hopefully it won't be too bad. I'm rather used to those kind of aches. Today, I felt my shoulders and neck and biceps after pulling muscadines and catbriar vines out of the trees yesterday. We are in the middle of cutting and stacking wood for the winter, and while we were back there getting standing dead wood, we decided to clean up a small section of woods. So today, when Dallas would trot, I could feel it in my shoulders and neck. Tomorrow will be no different, except that the location of the ache will be a bit lower. It will remind me of how much fun I had. At least right now I stay active enough to constantly be feeling my muscles and joints. I wonder how that will change after a few months on my new, sedentary job.

Bugs

Yesterday, while picking tomatoes in the garden, I noticed this interesting looking 'wheel bug', a type of assassin bug, on a volunteer tomatillo. They are considered beneficial, but they do bite. It is more like a puncture than a bite, but it is painful and can become infected. If you look closely, you can see that he has killed a small bee. The nymph stage of this insect is red and black and is what I call the 'backwards bug' because the back legs and raised rump look like the bug is backwards. Earlier in the year, I saw hundreds of nymphs, but have only seen two adult wheel bugs, both yesterday. The other day, I was stung by a saddleback caterpillar. I did not see him when he stung me, but I suspected that was what got me. My forearm and wrist started burning while I was harvesting oregano. I put some crushed plantain on it and took a Benedryl when I came in the house. The next day, I found the caterpillar on the floor under the hanging bunch of oregano. I'm glad I found the fuzzy beast before the dogs did. Apparently I am not as allergic to them as I am to bees as the whelting was gone the next day. If you have ever been stung by a jellyfish, that's what I relate this to. It is a very similar feeling. Anyway, it's too bad that Mr. Wheelbug did not find Mr. Saddleback before I did. It is just my luck that a beneficial insect like a wheel bug would be eating my mason bees.







While I am on bugs, I thought some of you might like to see what we locals call 'Mexican grasshoppers' or Devil Horse grasshoppers. It is a type of Eastern Lubber, and I have never seen them outside of this valley. It is obviously a isolated local population as even people who live 15 miles away in Calhoun are amazed when they seen these grasshoppers on the road. That's where you usually see them, on the road. You can actually hear them crunch as you run over them.





This yellow flowering plant is an unknown that I'm hoping someone can help identify. It looks somewhat like a Jerusalem artichoke, but it shorter and only has 5 petals instead of 12. It is blooming now. For comparison, you can see the JA flowers in the background of squash picture. The leaves are very similar, but the unknown plant only grows to about 3.5 feet tall.

Canning, Drying, Putting By

This is what my kitchen table looks like recently, well, presently. It is quite the mess, but that is not even half the story. I've got the not quite ripe toms ripening, a pineapple for grilling, some bottled hot pepper oil, a few pimentos and Anaheims, an Avocado for salad, tomato seed saving jars, a chair full of books and jellies for Ava, and a ziplock bag for picking beans and stuff.

My best friend is an morning person. If she were a robin, there would be no more earthworms for the other birds. Ava works the way 75% of the world works, she is on a dawn to dusk schedule. By contrast, I am not a morning person. I've got plenty of reasons/excuses, but suffice it to say that I go to be late and sleep till almost noon. It is hard for me to get to sleep, but it would take a nuclear weapon to wake me up. I can get up, but it is difficult and doesn't feel natural at all. Thank God I have Ava to call me and put a boot to my butt to get me out of bed in the summer, because otherwise I'd be working solely in the heat of the afternoon.

Two days ago, Ava and I, partners in crime, went foraging for elderberries and harvested quite a few. We got a few other things, too, rocks, ornamental grasses and the like, stuff from old homesteads and roadsides. Today, we made jam, jelly, and a special elixir.

I have about 2 quarts of elderberries drying on a large window screen in my spare bedroom. They will be for tea or muffins or bread or whatever I decide to put them in. I took a pint of fresh berries and the first thing we made this morning was an Elixir to be taken as medicine in the event of the flu or swine flu or whatever virus comes down the pike. It was super simple. I mashed some berries with the back of a spoon, put them in my pint jar, squirted the juice of a lemon in there, and made a mixture of 2 parts brandy to one part honey, of which I poured that over the macerated elderberries. I did not seal it or anything. Alcohol and honey keep almost indefinitely. This Elderberry Elixir should be used by the dropperful. I got the recipe and instructions from this article.
http://www.wellsphere.com/complementary-alternative-medicine-article/into-the-forest-exploring-elderberry/373317
Secondly, we cooked down 2 quarts of elderberries using the vinegar recipe in the BBB. I wasn't satisfied with the thinness of the jam, so I decided to add half a pack of pectin. It tastes great, but the jam did not set well, so I think I will rework this batch, adding another box of pectin, OR maybe I will just strain it and make syrup. I dunno.

After the elderberries were done, we started on making grape jelly. This was my first foray into jelly making, but it won't be my last. About 3 years ago, I planted a Catawba grape in my garden, and this year, I got almost 5 pounds of grapes from the vine. I was psyched. I planted this variety specifically for juice and jelly, Concord likes NE, Catawba likes the South. It is very Concord like in appearance and use. Anyway, this turned out wonderful-it was so good, I was licking all the utensils, even the plate I sat the spoon on. I saved a swig of juice for Skyguy to try, and he loved it, so the Catawbas are definitely a valuable crop now. I'd like to get 10 pounds from that vine next year.

After the now purple kitchen was cleaned up, thanks to Ava who gave me a break from washing dishes, we decided to finish another project that I had been working on. Ava was fired up and worked like a dog. She's ten years my junior and worked circles around me today and I actually felt a bit old. In my own defense, I've been dealing with this vertigo like dizziness for a couple of days, along with a low grade fever and an ear ache. Obviously, it is an ear infection, else I have some kind of foreign object or bug inside my ear! During allergy season, I sometimes have ear problems, and if I don't stay on top of it, it just gets worse. Additionally, I've had a lot of stress in my life in recent weeks, and that has caused a psoriasis flare AND and RA flare. Today was the first day my jaw(from TMJ) was back properly aligned....but I digress. The point is, that I feel old and Ava was working circles around me. I had started making hot pepper oil this week and had the oil infusing in a large dutch oven inside of a black gas grill. I usually do the straining with coffee filters, but Ava came up with the idea to use the other jelly bag. What a timesaver! So, that project was finished quickly as I already had the bottles ready to go.

After Ava left-I decided that I needed to toss the elderberry waste and hope that I get a tree or two to come up on my property. Thinking 'full sun-moisture', I walked my property and tossed out seeds and seed heads in certain locations. JohnnyAppleseed reborn as Beverly Elderberry. Behind the house, where our greywater is treated(by canna, jewel weed, privet,elephant ears, and now elderberry), I happened to look back over towards the house to the fig trees and see another tree full of golden and purple figs. Ava and I had just picked them a few days ago and she made fig preserves from them. Since I wasn't up for more canning today, I grabbed a bowl and just started picking figs. I sneered at the nearby cardinal family that were yammering on at me while I picked. I came in, removed the stems, and sliced them in half vertically. They are now on the dehydrator. After a few hours of drying, I lightly sprinkled each fig with confectioner's sugar, like it really needed that, but it sure tastes good! So far so good. I'm hoping that I can substitute these dried figs for dates in my date bread recipe. If anyone knows what kind of fig these might be, I'd like to know. I cut one of these open and made an inset so you can see the inside. The quarter, of course, shows scale of the whole figs. The inset, sliced fig, is the one on the left. Anyway, the trees are 40+ years old. I've cut them down to the ground before, and they came back just as strong. I will be hard pruning them again this year. They are on a slope and the trees are taller than the house and it is difficult to harvest. Harvesting will be easier and safer if the trees are smaller.

So then, I realized that I had not been out to the garden today, so I grabbed a few bags and buckets and headed out there. I moved my mother hen and her chicks(only 2) to the chicken tractor, and cleaned up the mess out there where I had them sequestered. There is always some distraction around here first the figs, then chickens,,,,at any rate, I began picking tomatoes and tomorrow I will be canning tomatoes again. It seems to work out that every third day I can tomatoes. This time, I am drying some, along with the figs, the tomatoes are for pizza and whatnot, and will be making a few more jars of stewed toms. There are quite a few slicers in this batch, so I may end up cooking it into sauce, but we will see.

So while I was out there picking tomatoes, I happened to notice more beans that needed to be picked. I realized it had been a few days, so I started picking beans, too. Another gallon, and they are in a lull of sorts, but the flowers are picking up again, so it won't be long until I have more than I know what to do with.

Speaking of that, I am starting to get more and more okra. Skyguy wants fried okra, but I want to pickle it. I tried it for the first time and OMG, I kept eating it and eating it. Okra is so good for lowering cholesterol, and I know the vinegar is healthy. Thanks to my neighbors, Pat and Crystal for bringing me a jar of this wonderful stuff. I'm now addicted! I traded them a bottle of hot pepper oil...good trade, I think.

So after picking tomatoes and beans, and snacking on pickled okra, I blanched and froze the beans, did some laundry, took a shower, and called it a night. Skyguy cooked THE best dinner tonight. It was a Southwestern style grilled chicken salad with our cherry toms, scallions, avocado, romaine, feta, pine nuts, and the world's best lime and olive oil dressing. This salad was to die for!!

'Tis canning season. Tomorrow, we will be reworking some apple jelly and fig preserves that did not jel well. I should probably take my elderberries down there and rework them, too. We'll see how it goes. In the meantime, I'll be dreaming of pickled okra and stewed tomatoes!

The Perseid Meteor Shower Explained

Tonight is the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower, one of the most popular meteor showers of the year. Folks lay out in the dark and count the meteors as they enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up. Some are green, some are yellow, some are orange. Some meteors could be called fireballs-fireballs can make a whistling noise, make a sonic boom, or may even leave a smoke trail. It's hard to believe, but the Perseid meteors are pieces of a comet called Swift-Tuttle.

Picture, if you will, a model of the solar system in your head. Swift-Tuttle is a 6 mile wide comet(about the size of the one that supposedly killed the dinosaurs) named for the two astronomers, Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, who discovered it back in 1862, during the Civil War. The comet had actually been observed for a couple of thousand years, but it wasn't until 1862 when it's elliptical orbit was calculated and they discovered it's period to be 120 years or so. They predicted the return of the comet for sometime around 1982. Comets get subjected to all kinds of forces and therefore it is hard to predict when they will return. The conventional theory that comets are dirty snowballs is under debate-I personally don't subscribe to the dirty snowball theory, but for the sake of this blog, I will stick to convention. Anyway, as the snowball comet approaches the sun, it begins to outgas and sling particles off it's surface, leaving a tail, a trail, that is often seen by observers. Once the gasses have dissipated, blown away by the solar wind, the small rocky particles still remain, floating along a debris trail in space. Some particles are large, some are almost microscopic. Each time the comet makes a pass, it adds a few more lines of debris, like a dog tracking mud into the house for the third time. Every year, the Earth, as it orbits the sun, passes though the dirt trail left by Comet Swift Tuttle, and as those pieces of dirt hit our atmosphere, we call them meteors. From Earth, it you look to space to determine exactly where the meteor stream originates, you will see that if you trace them back, they will all form a line back to a general spot in the sky, in this case, the constellation of Perseus. All meteor showers have a radiant constellation. The Geminids, in December, can be seen by looking in the direction of the constellation of Gemini. The Taurids originate from the constellation of Taurus. Each meteor shower is named for the radiant constellation, not, ironically, for the comet that created the debris trail. Some years, Earth travels through a part of the debris trail that is thick, and some years it travels though an area where there is not much debris, areas we have swept clean on prior years. If we are lucky, the comet has passed through laying down a new debris trail for the planet to pass through, creating a show that will become an active meteor shower.

As I mentioned before, the comet was due to return around 1982, but it did not show up until 10 years later in 1992. The reason for the delay could have been because it was affected by the gravity of other planets or moon, something in the Kuiper Belt, or a change in mass causing a loss of velocity from the outgassing and particle loss. There are a lot of variables that affect comet prediction. An astronomer named Brian Marsden solved the mystery in 1973. He correctly proposed that the outgassing would elongate the comets orbit creating a 130 year period. He correctly predicted the return of Swift Tuttle in 1992. Marsden made predictions based on the new orbit and velocities of Swift Tuttle, and August 14, 2126. But if the actual date of perihelion (when the comet makes its closest approach to the sun) was off by 15 days from his prediction (as the 1992 perihelion had been off by 17 days), the comet and the Earth might be in the same place in space at the same time. Since Comet Swift-Tuttle is thought to be about 10 kilometers or six miles across, the same size of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, it must be taken seriously and watched closely for any additional changing variables.

Marsden continued to refine his work, and he traced the comet's path back 2000 years matching observations in 188 AD and 69 BC. Marsden concluded that it is highly unlikely the comet will be 15 days off in 2126, and he called off his warning of a possible collision. His new calculations show Comet Swift-Tuttle will pass a comfortable 15 million miles from Earth on its next trip to the inner solar system. The thing is, there is no way to really know what will happen with so many variables in play.

Worry not about Swift Tuttle colliding with Earth, just grab a bottle of wine, some blankets, some fruit, cheese, chocolate, and most importantly, those you love, and head off to a dark place. Lie on your back and watch Nature's Fireworks. Have fun! I'm socked in the clouds here. Bummer, but at least we have seen more than a few Perseids during the last few weeks. I'll take what I can get, I suppose. I'll be watching for them over the coming weeks. Just becuase you miss the peak doesn't mean the excitement is over. I have seen a lot of really cool fireballs after peak time.

Non-trivial Science related Trivia

I have this list of useless, but interesting random trivia, so for something different, I thought I would share the list with you. As you might expect, most have a science bent....Big surprise on that one as you all know, Bev is Earth.

Pavement on land creates "expressways" for oil and other pollutants to run into the ocean. "Every eight months, nearly 11 million gallons of oil run off our streets and driveways into our waters -- the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez oil spill," --- from the Pew Oceans Commission in 2003

That's why I like my gravel driveway. Yeah, it is rut filled and gets the vehicles muddy, but at least I know that my pollutants stay here and do not become someone else's problem downstream in the watershed.

The quest of alchemists—to change base metals into gold—was achieved to a certain degree in Soviet nuclear reactors, where radioactivity transformed some lead nuclei into gold.

The largest reservoirs of gold on Earth, about 10 billion tons, are the oceans. Unfortunately, there is no practical way to get it out. Gold is also plentiful elsewhere in the solar system. In 1999, the NEAR spacecraft showed that a single asteroid, Eros, contains more gold than has ever been mined on Earth.

That's a WOW from me. I heard the other day on TV that all the gold ever mined in the history of human mining would fill only two Olympic sized swimming pools. Same show informed me that a gold bar weighs about 27 pounds.

Kevlar, superglue, cellophane tape, Teflon, Post-it notes, photographs, and the phonograph: All were laboratory blunders. Chinese alchemists were trying to make an elixir of immortality and made gunpowder instead.

Speaking of Kevlar... the International Space Station is covered with a foot-thick blanket of Kevlar to protect it from over 100,000 meteoroids that will slam into it over a 20 year period. Of course, every day, up to 4 billion meteoroids fall to Earth, most of them insanely small, but you never know when a killer rock might slip in undetected.

Life on earth began about 3.8 billion years ago, but sex did not evolve until more than 2 billion years later. Asexual reproduction is a better evolutionary strategy in many important ways, so it is unclear why sexual reproduction developed.

The hermaphroditic earthworm Dendrobaena rubida has both male and female genitalia. If it cannot find a mate, the worm doubles up so that its female bits and male bits can go to town.

Some fish and reptiles can 'change sex'. In marine environments near coral reefs, most fish change sex at least once in their life, and they can have both male and female organs at the same time, like the worm.

Homosexual behavior is found in at least 1,500 species of mammal, fish, reptile, bird, and even invertebrates.
In the animal world, there doesn't seem to be a choice, just an adaption. Nature wins.


Burials in America deposit 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid, formaldehyde, methanol, and ethanol, into the soil each year. Cremation pumps dioxins, hydrochloric acid, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide into the air.

Americans generate 472 billion pounds of trash every year, including 96 billion pounds of food trash—more than 300 pounds per person, wasted.

Food waste is only 2 percent of the total waste. The rest is industrial refuse, including mine tailings, agricultural waste, construction debris, and chemicals

One quart of motor oil, improperly disposed of, can pollute 250,000 gallons of drinking water.
WOW!


Each year, consumers in the United States spread 300 million pounds of chemical insecticides, including compounds that the EPA says may impair the nervous system, disrupt hormones in the body, or cause cancer.
Not me, not me-I'm getting greener all the time!


Landfills are actually the No. 1 human-generated source of methane, belching 7 million tons into the atmosphere each year.
Those poor cows and pigs have really gotten a bum rap.

Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island in New York, which closed in 2001, is the world's largest city dump, covering about 2,200 acres

This N That

Monday I went to the doc to have my bandage changed, and while I had hoped to convince him to remove the sutures in my foot, I will have to wait another week. Note to self, work on powers of manipulation, cast magic manipulation spells, and perhaps sex up requests using the word 'please'. Yeah, that's the ticket.

While in Rome, we checked out the new Cycle Therapy bike store. They've moved to the center of town and are sponsoring a local Sprint Triathlon, the second annual Navigator Triathlon to support Cancer patients in our area . Kate and Jon have decided to attempt the triathalon in September, so it should be a lot of fun to watch. Skyguy might even try it. I can't because my foot won't be well enough to train in time for the event. This is an abbreviated competition consisting of a 500 meter swim, a 12 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run.

http://www.navigatortriathlon.com/

It's being held at a nearby state park. We are already riding 12 miles over hilly terrain, so that would be the 'easy' part for us. Running would be the hardest leg, and these races are almost always won on the run. A good runner can make up for being a mediocre swimmer. Skyguy and I decided it would be a lot of fun to complete one of these things, but we would have to take it slow and train well, making sure not to overtrain and risk injury. Neither of us deals well with high impact activity like running, so it would be a risky venture, but don't you think it would be a cool thing for a couple of geezers like us to do? I do! Anyway, we went to the bike store to look at road bike tires and I noticed that they had all of their womens apparel half off. I'd been looking for a pair of riding shorts since before we went on vacation. They are padded, and wick moisture away from the body. The tight fit compresses muscles, reducing recovery time and bruising. I'd been looking at the various styles of riding shorts, but finding them in my size is daunting. I'm still overweight, and in case you had not noticed, most serious cyclists are rail thin. Usually I see Small and X-Small, maybe a Medium, but nothing designed by Omar the Tentmaker. However, I suppose it was my lucky day at Cycle Therapy as I found a skort in an XL that will be great for riding. (I'm 5'11 and 190#) It is a Shebeest Cycloskort like the one on this page:

http://www.bikesomewhere.com/bikesomewhere.cfm/product/391/3743/31592

Don't freak on the price...no way I could afford that, and I paid less than half of that price. Anyway, for a woman of my age and shape, I think this was a good choice in shorts. If I had to, I could swim in it as well. But for now, I can't ride or swim or run. I can do tai chi though. The doc said I could ride a stationary bike on Monday. Woot!

Tuesday, in addition to my David Carradine Tai Chi tape exercise 'workout', I clipped more herbs from the herb garden and hung them to dry. I harvested some more oregano and marjoram, as well as lemon balm and horehound. I also tore up and jarred up some mullein that was dry. After washing and hanging the clippings, I decided to make a cough syrup from the fresh horehound. I stripped the leaves and buds from the stems and put it in the food processor to chop it and bruise the leaves. I probably had 2 cups of crushed horehound leaves and 1/2 c of mullein leaves. Both are expectorants. Then, I added it to about a cup of lemon juice and a bit of water. I brought the concoction to a boil, then allowed it to steep for a few minutes. I separated the plant matter out by straining it, and then added 2 cups of locally produced honey to the 'tea'. When the time comes to use it, I'll probably doctor it up with cayenne pepper and garlic, too, depending on how I feel. Adding some dried lemon balm might make it taste better, too. Horehound is good for making cough drops, too, but I don't have a candy thermometer at present and I did not feel like standing at the stove all day. Mullein is a great herb that grows wild almost everywhere. Not only is is a good expectorant, but it is good for the respiratory system in general. It can be smoked in a pipe to counter asthma or pneumonia. Some companies use it in their herbal cigarettes, replacing tobacco.Its tall yellow flower spikes and fuzzy leaves make it easily visible on roadsides for wild collecting. These pages have a lot of good info on mullein, but they are by no means complete:

http://www.herbcraft.org/mullein.html
http://www.prodigalgardens.info/march%20weblog.htm

While I am no expert, I do consider myself somewhat of an herbalist. Additionally, while I would not characterize myself as a person of faith, I do believe that there is great wisdom in the Bible. I found this quote from Psalms: "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man" Psalms 104:14a Pretty cool. I really like the Psalms. Another of my favorites is: "The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display His marvelous workmanship." (Ps. 19:1,2)

Yesterday, my friend Ava and I picked the last of the blackberries from Patch #1 on the mountain, and we both ended up getting chiggers for our trouble. New bites, and I still have sores from the last time I picked berries before my surgery. I did get enough berries for a cobbler or pie, but there is yet another patch, my Secret Patch, of blackberries to pick, and hopefully I can get another quart or two. It has been so dry lately that the yellow jackets are sucking the juice from the berries. I'll need to start picking blueberries soon before the wasps suck them dry, too.

Speaking of berries, I got about a quart of strawberries from my plants yesterday as well, and we enjoyed them mixed with some sugar and a few blueberries over angel food cake last night. Berry good!

I Survived

I survived my bunionette surgery (a bunionette is on the pinky toe whereas a bunion is on the big toe) and while it is only the second day, I can say this is the easiest surgery I have ever had. They gave me two Xanax, be even so, I was awake and conscious the whole time. I think taking RA meds has increased my tolerance for pain medication. I told the Doc while he was cutting on my foot that I've be drunker after two glasses of wine...lol...It did not hurt, but I could feel things, like the vibration from whatever kind of grinding tool that was and of course the numbing injections. Oh, and he let me keep the bony parts he removed. Part of it was ground off and lost, of course, but he even told me how I could permanently save it. (Bleach it, dry it, drill it, cord it for a necklace or charm...LOL. The largest chunk of bone is still rather small, about half an inch square, so probably a charm would work better than a necklace. I came home and slept about an hour and half-maybe the Xanax finally kicked in, then got up for dinner and to take a pain pill, which I did not feel that I needed, but was coerced into taking because the local anesthetic had not worn off. I can bear weight and all I need is a surgical shoe. It is a pain though because I can only be up for 5 minutes every 30 minutes and the rest of that time my foot has to be elevated. There are so many things I want to do and need to do that 5 minutes just isn't long enough. At bedtime, I took my normals meds and no Lorset/hydrocodone for pain. It really did not hurt that bad. However, I woke up at 4 am and felt it, so Skyguy went for the pills. It says to take it every 3 hours, but I just don't to be all doped up with a new puppy. He's very sweet, but has still bonded to Bear more than to Skyguy and I. I'm hoping to remedy that today by leaving Bear crated more and letting the boys outside to walk, poop, and play at different times. Bear still continues to amaze me with the abuse that Bingo dishes out. He will tolerate it, then finally, after 30 minutes or so of a seemingly endless barrage, Bear will snap and get serious, but then, a minute later, it is like he feels guilty to he initiates the play, and of course the cycle begins again. They do love each other, and Bingo had parked himself with Bear in Bear's crate a couple of times. Now, I make them both sit in front of the crates and say Bear Go Bear Crate, Bingo Go Bingo Crate. It is too cute.

At any rate, I have to be careful until my stitches come out in two weeks. I have 20 or so in 3 layers. 2 will dissolve on the inside, 9 in the middle layer, and 9 larger stitches on the outside. The incision is about 2 inches long. The good thing about being awake is that you can see what it looks like before the bandages go on! I'll get the bandages changed on Monday. It really hasn't been bad at all so far, but it is going to drive me crazy to stay off it and not exercise. I want to ride my bike so badly! But for now, we are all resting.

Bingo!

Opportunity does knock, occasionally. As I've written, Skyguy and I had been thinking about getting another dog. We met with a Sheltie breeder who should have litters for sale later this year, so we were waiting and biding our time, wondering how we would justify spending a lot of money for a pup when the economy is bumpy. Saturday, I saw a puppy listed on Freecycle, and while I usually ignore such offers, this one jumped at me. A lady had found a puppy at a local grocery store, and no one had claimed him. She couldn't keep him, so she gave him to me! He has a docked tail, so he is at least part Australian Shepherd if not full blooded. At any rate, I now have a new family member and for the time being, we are calling him Bingo. Yeah. "There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-Oh, B-I-N-GO". I can hear Jordan singing it now. The little guy is both adorable and smart.

The timing on this adoption/rescue could have been better. I'm having foot surgery tomorrow so I won't be able to walk and play with him for a time. I suppose it will be good motivation to get well. I've made a list of commands that I want to teach him. You don't realize how many commands there are until you start listing them. Most dogs know less than 10 commands, I would think. I don't count tricks as commands, but if you do, maybe a dozen instead of 10.

*Stay, *Here, *Come by, *Stand, Away, *Search/Find/Where's, *Stop, *Lay Crawl/Under, *Sit, *Speak, *Wait, *Catch,*Heel, Hold, *Over(jump), *Load up, Weave, *Go Crate, Walk up, *Hush, *Back up, *Easy/Gentle, *Out, *Bring it, *Get that, *Ride, *That'll do, *Leave it, *Drop it, Eat

If it has an asterisk, Bear already knows it. I never could get him to understand 'Away', but sometimes he understands "go right" if he isn't too worked up. I hope I can at least teach Bingo the commands that Bear knows. I'm thinking Gee and Haw might be easier than Come By and Away. Sled dogs use geehaw, so we'll see.

The lady who found Bingo is really the shining star of this story, however. Her situation prevented her from keeping the dog as her own, but she still went out of her way to save this probable purebred dog from the pound, and she not only brought me the dog, but she brought toys, food, bowls, a leash and everything I might need. It is hard to find people like that these days.

Bingo played and attacked Bear all evening, and I think Bear corrected him twice. He was so good, just allowing Bingo to climb, bite, hump and otherwise maul him. Bear even stepped aside and attempted to allow Bingo to share his food(which I did not allow-Bingo eats puppy chow) I lost track of how many times I walked him outside yesterday and this morning. I wanted to give him plenty of leash time to teach walking and heeling on a leash, as well as exercise so that he would be easier to train. Last night, he seemed to have an itchy ear, so we gave him a bath and I sprayed his ear with an anti-itch medication for dogs. I think it worked. He cried in the shower, but did not struggle or fight. Bear was very upset and Bingo was crying, so both dogs, separated by the shower door, cried to each other. I tried to work fast, and I did not give him a full blown bath or drying as I just wanted him to experience the bath. I think in time he will be fine.

Today, he met the girls (a rat terrier and a black lab) that belong to my friend Ava, and we went on a short golf cart ride. He wasn't afraid and seemed to enjoy riding. I think he is bonding to me pretty well, so I just took him out without the leash and he stayed with me. He comes when I call him, so it makes me wonder whether or not I really should change his name, even though the list of potential names still exists. Opinions wanted. This pup is a ball of fire, always switched on and fearless. Braveheart fits, and if I had registration papers, I might list that as his name. I could not call him that, however. Here's the reduced list: Rocket, Loki, Zeus, Nitro, Nike, Ace, Rambo, Bingo, Rio, Echo, Shadow, Mojo, Tango, and Mick. I am open for suggestions, too.

I have an appointment with the vet this afternoon. I'm concerned that I don't feel testicles, but perhaps he is younger than we think. Also, I noticed this morning that he has tapeworms, so he needs treatment for that. Since I don't know whether or not he has been immunized, I suppose I will do that, too. So far, he has handled everything I've thrown at him really well. He's quite smart.

Save the Lightning Bugs

I live in the boonies where there are lots of woods and pastures, but I grew up in a woodsy subdivision in a suburban area. As a kid, I caught lightning bugs and put them in a pickle or mayonnaise jar. (Remember that smell of lightning bugs in a pickle jar??) It never took but a few minutes to catch enough to fill a jar. Now, even though lightning bugs, AKA fireflies, exist here in large populations, I don't think I have more here than I did 75 miles south of here as a kid, and I think, due to all the grassy pastures in this area, I should have more. I've read a few articles on the subject of fireflies and I'm not alone in thinking that there are fewer lightning bugs now than there were 40 years ago.

Old timers and youngsters alike enjoy being outside and watching or catching lightning bugs in the summer. It is almost a ritual among kids, and a sign that the day is drawing to a close. If we were playing outside, we knew, without a watch or cellphone, that it was time to go home when we saw the first lightning bug flash. These little buggers seem to transport us back in time into a majestic world-a world without troubles or worry. It doesn't matter how old you are, if you catch a few lightning bugs, you feel like a kid again. Watching a jar light up a dark room is as memorizing as a watching a bonfire or watching aquarium fish. It is magical, and I would bet that doing this on a regular basis, like petting your dog, would lower blood pressure.

We moved here in October and that first summer was one that I will never forget. We had not bushhogged the pasture yet, and since the property had been rented before we moved in, I can say that it had probably been more than a year, perhaps as many as four years, since the pasture had been cut at all. Obviously, during that time, fireflies reproduced and their populations exploded. One night, after a summer rain at dusk, we went out to inspect the electric fence for shorts. Out in the pasture, just above the waist high grass, were millions of lightning bugs, and to my amazement, they blinked in unison. It was an unforgettable sight, one that I will remember for the rest of my life.

That experience made me do a bit of research on the insect that I thought I knew so well. During the daytime, fireflies, their larvae and nymphs live in the grass or soil (for larvae) where they can extract the moisture they need to survive. Drought conditions can really affect firefly populations. Until I moved to this rural location, I had never seen the larval stage of the firefly beetle. They are commonly known as "glowworms" and you can see them in the grass near dusk. Their bioluminescence lingers a bit, giving them the 'glowing' appearance. Because these beetles and their offspring spend the daylight hours on the ground, they become victims of lawnmowing and lawn chemicals, pesticides and herbicides. In neighborhoods where the lawns are kept short and green, you may not see lightning bugs at all. These little guys find their mates by flashing. The males fly around and flash and the females flash back from a branch or tall grass perch. If you caught only the flying lightning bugs, chances are you caught predominantly males. The behavior of flashing in unison is apparently part of that mating behavior as it has been observed in Smoky Mountain National Park in the month of June. Some scientists believe that light pollution from patios and street light hampers mating due to light overload, leading to confusion in locating the opposite sex.

If you want to learn more about lightning bugs, try this link:

https://www.mos.org/fireflywatch/about_firefly_watch

If you homeschool, there is also a great science project for the kids.

Plant ID

I thought I would post a few pictures of plants that are on my property and in the nearby woods of which I haven't been able to identify conclusively. I may do this again soon because I have pictures of other unidentified plants as well. These plants are common, and the pictures were taken on a April hike with some friends.
.
Plant A: This first one is some kind of trillium, I think. The leaves are green with a touch of burgundy, and the plant is very pretty..




Plant B: This second and third pictures are of the same plant. I see this thing everywhere and I used to call it 'wintergreen', but it is not the wintergreen mint, and that is probably not the name of it. It really is not minty at all and I have no idea of why I call it that.
Some plants are darker green and some are lighter, and it can be found on the forest floor any time in the Spring and Summer.













Plant C: I have no idea of what the plant with the white flower would be. This plant was flowering in early Spring










Plant D: This plant is a baby. I took this picture in April, and now, mid June, most of these are 12-18" tall and growing still. I'm not sure what kind of flower they have.









Plant E: This little heart shaped mottled green leaf almost looks like catbrier, but all I saw was the leaf and I did not see any stickery stems.

Family fun

Today was a great family day. My folks came over to visit and they brought these really cool springy lawn chairs that will be great for sky watching, satellite hunting, and meteor showers. When you lay back in them, they bounce a bit and it feels like you are floating. My daughter and granddaughter also came over and we went to a local recreational area known as The Pocket. It is(DUH)a pocket gap on Horn Mountain, just over the ridge to the north of my house. It is located about 10 miles away by road, yet only a bit over a mile as the crow flies. The Forest service has created a campground and a day use picnic park around the creek and springs area. The creek is cold and the spring water is freezing. At any rate, I'm sure that this rec area was created by the CCC back in the 1930's as the rock work has that CCC character to it. The creek has been artificially widened to about 15 feet, and there is a mortared stone wall as the bank wall. There are steps down into the creeks at various places, and in no area is the water deeper than one foot. The water is clear and cold, the creek bed is small pebbles. All of this makes for a wonderful playground for kids, and adults can sit on the side and soak their achy feet in the ice cold water or even sit down in the creek if the day is hot enough. A lot of hikers come through this area, and the creek is a popular place for them, too. Older kids run around with nets looking for chub and minnows, the younger ones just splash around. It is a cool and relaxing place to be in summer. I just did a websearch looking for pictures, and I found this page, with one picture of the creek where we sat and played; it seems my CCC assumption was correct.

http://www.forestcamping.com/dow/suzi/articles/notable/pocket.htm

Jordan had a good time, I think, although at first I think she was a bit unsure of the icy spring water. After a few minutes, I realized that the creek was a lot warmer than the spring, and after we moved over to the creek to play, she relaxed and started jabbering with the other kids. Later, after we returned home, I took more than a few pictures of her in her new pajamas playing on the new deck chairs.

To top off the night, after everyone left, my son called. I had not heard from him in a couple of months, so it was really good to hear his voice.

All in all, today was one of those days that will stand out in my memory.

Awesome Little Cats

Is there anything better than a couple of young cats for dinner?

Yup, I went fishing today. My stepfather and I first went over to Carter's Lake reregulation dam and tried out luck there with some medium large shad. I'd heard that the stripers were stacked up near the water outlet, but we couldn't cast over there. They were letting a lot of water out and the current was so swift and the bottom so rocky that all we were doing is losing tackle. It was frustrating. Several other fishermen(and women) were catching some drum, but I have always dreamed about stripers (hybrid striped bass)and that's why we were there. So by 11 AM, we packed up and headed to a more peaceful locale, Salacoa Creek Park. It is a county owned park, complete with lake beach and campground. It is a very nice, deep, spring fed lake that looks very clean. At Salacoa, we had the lunch I had packed for us, and then began throwing crickets at the bream. It is just past the full moon, and I think there were a few beds still active. There was a spot right off the dock that produced a fish almost every time the bait hit the water. We must have caught 30 or so between us, throwing them back as they were palm sized bream of varying species. Had we known we would be catching that many, I think I might have saved all of them. At any rate, there was a lull in the action, and when it picked back up, I caught a keeper bream and was walking back to the shore to get my 5 gallon bucket for the bream when my stepfather caught a small catfish on a cricket of all things. I had one line in with cut bait, fishing for cats on the bottom, but wouldn't you know those catfish wanted crickets. At the end of the day, just as a thunderstorm approached, we left with 2 small cats and about 10 average sized bream. It was pouring rain when I got home, and by that time, the bream had died. The cats were still alive, however. To save time, I decided not to clean the bream, instead, I cut them up and fed them to the chickens. It had been about 20 years or so since I cleaned a catfish, and I was a bit out of practice, but finally managed to get 'er done. We had 8 minnows leftover, so they are now happily living in my aquarium, which luckily is set up for goldfish/cold water. All the fish are about the same size. Maybe I will get lucky and they will breed, but I doubt it.

Skyguy has never been fond of freshwater fish due to the size vs. the bones, but his palate is changing. It was only a week or so ago that I mentioned to him that those big river cats were edible, but the best catfish were the small ones. There was no way I could allow myself to fail in the preparation of that fish...I knew if I botched it, he would never try catfish again. Luckily, it was delicious, and we were wishing we had about 10 more of them! Our dinner this evening consisted of the catfish(on the plate 1.5 hours after being in the water), grilled squash with olive oil and garlic brushed on (on the plate 30 minutes after being on a bush), new Red Pontiac potatoes (one day after being plucked from a barrel of dirt), cornbread, made with an egg that was an hour old and sadly, store-bought oil and cornmeal (we will be rectifying that situation hopefully in a few months), coleslaw, made with garden cabbage and carrots, and I made some 'hushpuppy patties' with the leftover batter plus some onions and such(also from the garden). When you pan fry, hushpuppies become hushpatties. :)

I just love to fish, even if I'm only catching little bream. Get about 40 of them, fry them up, and you've got a meal of very sweet meat, even if it is only a few bites per fish. I eat the crispy tails, too, love that! Skyguy never fished or camped as a kid, and he still hasn't caught the fishing bug, but I am hopeful that one day I will have a partner that loves to fish as much as I do. I got him camping, I got him eating Chinese food, I got him loving the country life, I got him growing herbs and veggies, and I'm hoping I can entice him to fish.

Canoes and Critters

Skyguy and I went paddling yesterday at Rocky Mountain Lake. If you live anywhere in the north Georgia or northeastern Alabama area, this is a really nice lake. There are several lakes on 5000+ acres owned by Oglethorpe Power. It is about 35 minutes away, but worth the drive. The fishing lakes are used as backup lakes for the power plant and have been stocked and opened to the public since 1996. Unlike some of the larger reservoirs, these lakes are not polluted and it just feels clean, the way a lake should be. The lakes are entirely no-wake lakes and no jet skis are allowed. It is a quiet place to camp, fish, or canoe.

Anyway, it was after 7 when we got there, so we did not paddle much, just enough to get the boat christened again and to get our own feet wet. Still, that canoe will hum across the water, so we covered a lot of ground in the 45 minutes we were out on the lake. We paddled into a lake sized cove and saw a muskrat diving nearby. I'm not sure what he was diving for, but he did not seem bothered by us. I saw one of the largest herons I've ever seen-that sucker had an 8 foot wingspan, at least! On the way back to the dock, a mallard hen with her crew passed us going in the opposite direction. It was good to get some upper body exercise, and of course, just be out in the natural world. On the way back from the lake, just before dark, we saw a fox run across the road. If I absolutely had to ID it, I'd say it was a red fox, but it had enough gray on it to make me really wonder if the two species interbreed. I've only seen a few foxes in a my life, so every sighting tells me that they are still a viable predator in this area.

Speaking of predators, it seems I have a something eating my hens(2 lost to date). No, I don't think it is the young hawk that has refused to leave the nest area. I believe it is a possum. The attacks happened at the same time both days(yesterday and today), at the same place, and I found the carcass at the same place. It all happened in the chicken run, which is dog proof, but not coon or possum proof. Yesterday, the bird was about half eaten, and today the bird was almost picked clean the way raccoons eat. However, raccoons like the crop, and this predator left the crop. Today's predator ate all the meat, most of the innards(except the crop). Leg bones were cleaned down to the feet. The head was still attached, but barely, as the neck bones and the neck itself was all but gone.

I suppose the predator could also be that feral cat. I don't know. As of today, I have 25 birds in the main coop, and 9 roosters in the old coop waiting to be put in the freezer. We are now in a poultry fortress lock down, and the birds won't have access to the moat until I think the coast is clear. Just in case you are unfamiliar, the 'fortress' is a 8x25 chicken run made of 2x4 wire with rabbit wire at the bottom, metal siding at the bottom(to prevent digging), and 2x4 wire covering. It is not snake or weasel proof, and a small possum might be able to get in. It was designed mostly to prevent airborne predators and canines. It is the best I can do right now. The coop is 8x9 and can be totally locked down, but the bird have to be able to walk around outside some. It is too hot for them to stay in the coop all day, but I will lock them in at night. Stay tuned.