Back Home Again

Wheat Harvest 2008

  I drove home from the airport yesterday and noticed that the corn had grown quite a bit in the week that I was gone to Texas.  As I came down my gravel road there was a big plume of dust.  My brother had started harvesting the wheat.  He finished it up today.  The moisture level of the grain varies due to the large amounts of rain that we've had this spring.  I felt the straw in the windrows yesterday and it was pretty wet.  But we've had a very windy day today and that should help dry out the straw. 

My brother brought the haywagons out to the field, and got the baler ready.  We just started baling straw after 6pm tonight and loaded three quick loads.  I drove the tractor.   

I'm heading to Nebraska in the morning.  I'll help bale more when I return.  

Texas Blogmeet 2008

This past weekend I traveled over from Houston to the Texas Hill Country for the third meeting of the Blowneyed Blodgers (I missed the first one).  I picked up That 1 Guy along the way and we arrived around 6pm.  The location was called Toad Hall, just outside of Hunt, TX.  It was a great setting with two houses.  They were joined by sidewalks, and both houses had extensive stairs down to a firepit down by the Guadalupe River.  The living accommodations were quite plush with thick bedding and towels.  I stayed in the Boys Room which had a bunk bed and another bed on the side.  Overflow housing was at the Japonica cabins about 4 miles down the road.  We all said our goodbyes there by the Guadalupe River. 

Here's the list of this year's participants:

• Shoe of SuperGurl:  Shoe is the hostess with the most-ess.  Shoe pulled off quite a coup getting this place.  She had booze and food for everyone.  Shoe spent the last night in the Boys Room sleeping in the bottom bunk below me.  Who knew?  I don't know how she does all this planning and makes it appear effortless.  Thank you, Shoe! 
• That 1 Guy of Drunken Wisdom:  I have known T1G the longest of any of these guys.  He's like a brother to me.  He flew in from California and I picked him up at the San Antonio airport.  We had a nice visit on the ride to the blogmeet.  We shared the Boys Room and his steady snoring rocked me right to sleep.    
• Erica of Erica's Blog:  Erica had quite the traveler's experience this year.  She was four hours late getting into San Antonio, and then was notified that her luggage had been lost.  I checked on the luggage when I picked up T1G, to no avail.  Erica called several times from the house.  She had to buy a new wardrobe at Walmart in Kerrville.  She loved Walmart.  Finally on Saturday night, Erica got the word that her luggage ended up in Switzerland!  She also had some troubles flying home, landing in New Jersey (a nice New York girl's worst nightmare).  I had so much fun hanging out with my little Joo-ish friend. 
• Denny of Grouchy Old Cripple:  Denny drove over from Georgia and was heading west after the meet.  He brought his guitar and treated us with many songs on Saturday.  Denny once again sang my favorite:  She Used To Be Pretty.  Friday night, Denny told me a joke down by the river.  I started laughing so hard, I got choked up and couldn't catch my breath until I got back in the air conditioning.  Damn, he's funny.  
• Leslie of Leslie's Omnibus:  Leslie is from Chicago.  She, Erica, and I made a Walmart trip on Saturday.  So glad she could make it again. 
• Hammer of When Your Only Tool Is a Hammer:  It was so great to see Hammer again.  He is a blogger extraordinaire.  He's the only blogger I know who makes his own videos.  Hammer spent a lot of the blogmeet playing bouncer and protecting the ladies from the wolves on the prowl.  He was supposed to be in the Boys Room, but he thought the bunk bed was going to collapse, so he slept in the breezeway.   
• Walrilla of Walrilla's Wonderings:  Walrilla now has his prosthetic leg and is getting around just great.  He and Robert made some very hot Texas chili and Vinegar Pie. 
• Robert of A Disregard for Timekeeping:  Walrilla's friend came down on his Harley in a sleeve-less shirt.  That looked painful.  I didn't get much of a chance to chat with him. 
• Nancy of Nancy's Garden Spot and Pup:  This nice couple provided us with plenty of vittles during our stay.  Nancy tells me she can identify some of the mystery plants around my house. 
• Becky of Tall Cool Drink of Water:  She showed up on Saturday and jumped right in the mix.  I always forget how dang tall she is.  She is a lot of fun. 
• Holder of Holder of Useless Knowledge:  She is a school teacher from Georgia.  Turns out we know a lot of the same peeps, but had never met.  She was such a sweetie.  I drove her and Erica to the San Antonio airport.  Great gal. 
• Last, but certainly not least is Fat Hairy Bastard.  This was his first blogmeet.  He brought his lovely British lass Denise.  Everyone really loved listening to her accent.  They brought their fishing gear and were the only ones to venture out into the canoe....and they didn't even get wet.  I have met Fat Hairy Bastard and Denise out for dinner a few times and plan to again sometime soon.  Always good to see them. 
• Kerrcarto (lurker) was there again this year.  He always is good to talk to.  He brought his wife on Saturday. 
• Charlie Delta (lurker) was a new face from San Diego.  He was a fun drunk and had a large time. 
• Paul (lurker) was another new face.  He's a Texas boy who has been living in Seattle the past few years.  He misses the mother-land and may be returning to Texas soon. 
• Robert II (friend of Paul's) was from New Braunfels and like me, was brave enough to wade in the stagnant waters of the Guadalupe River. 
• Robert III (friend of Kerrcarto's) was there the last night. 

I missed a lot of the late-night events as I was plumb tuckered out.  I slept great in the bunk bed, totally unaware of the drunkfest outside.  I think I'm getting old. 

Special thanks to all the folks that brought and prepared food.  It was delicious!! 

That's it folks.  It was a Texas-sized bash! 

Here's a video of Denny performing Rocky Raccoon:

Blogiversary III

Today is my third blogiversary.  What a fun ride it has been.  I have met a strange group of people from all walks of life that I now consider friends.  

I just returned yesterday from a blogmeet in Hunt, TX.  It was a hoot and a half.  More on that coming soon.  I have another blogmeet that I'll be attending in Nebraska this weekend.  It's funny to think that I only knew one of these folks three years ago. 

At this stage in life, one usually pares down their list of friends.  But instead, I keep adding new ones.  Blogging has really brought a lot of joy to my life during some pretty depressing times.  I just want to send a thank you out to all those folks who read this drivel that I spew out.  You guys are great (and friggin' hilarious)!   

*clink* Cheers! 

Golden Wheat Field

What a difference a few weeks makes.  In my previous photo, the wheat field was very green.  Now, it is a blaze of gold.  From here, it will darken a bit to a tan color.

Shortly after the 4th of July, the wheat field will be ready to harvest and bale.

Anyone want to experience baling square straw bales?  All you need is a strong back and a weak mind.  And maybe gloves and a straw hat.  No admission charge.  Meals and accommodations provided...along with Advil.  Anyone?  Anyone?

George Carlin 1937 - 2008

I always loved George Carlin.  Much of his comedy had to do with the peculiarities of the English language.

We will miss you, George!

Bumper Crop

 

Over the weekend, I picked ten gallons of cherries.  I had Dad lift me up in the bobcat to the tops of their three trees.  The rest I could reach by standing on the camper shell of my old beater truck.  The trees are loaded.  Aunt Mary's two trees are full too.  The problem with these kind of tart cherries, is they don't last very long after they are picked.  I found out last year, if you leave them in a bucket in a hot garage, they will be brown by morning.  Even in a refrigerator, you only have about 1-2 days.  But you must remove the pit before you can freeze them.  That takes time.  Picking them is relatively easy.  Pitting the cherries is...well, the pits.  If I watch a 2-hour movie on DVD, I may have 5 quart freezer bags pitted at the end.

I may be running a few buckets over to Nora's Dad, who makes cherry wine. 

I currently have two nights left before I go to Texas.  There's ten gallons of unpitted cherries in the refrigerator and 14 quarts bagged in the freezer (my goal is 20 quarts).  I have more cherries than I've got time to deal with them.  I had a friend say to me, "Gosh I wouldn't even know how to pit a cherry."  I asked if she would like to learn.  She said, "No!"  It's so hard to get good farm help these days.

Come Back and Stay - Paul Young

Title: Come Back and Stay

Artist: Paul Young

Composers: Jack Lee

Label: Columbia 04313

Year Released: 1984

Highest Chart Position: 22

Another from my 45 collection.....

Paul Young is a British blue-eyed soul singer.  That means he's a white boy.  Come Back and Stay was his first hit in the U.S. in 1984.  A year later he would hit #1 with the Daryl Hall song Everytime You Go Away. 

Paul sang the opening stains of the Christmas Song Do They Know It's Christmas under the name Band Aid.  He appeared right before Boy George.  That song's yet another reason to hate Christmas.  Paul also performed on Live Aid in 1985. 

He is currently on tour with other British acts from the 80s:  Rick Astley, Bananarama, ABC, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Johnny Hates Jazz, and Cutting Crew.  What I'd like to know is, does he still have the spiky 80s hair? 

Enjoy!

Play (4.1 MB)                                                 

Watch Video (Come Back and Stay)

Watch Video (Everytime You Go Away)

Watch Video (Oh Girl)

Watch Video (Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home))

Foxhole Kittens

Someone asked for an update on the kittens.  I've managed to keep the kittens alive for two weeks now.  They have now taken up residence underneath the raised floor in the barn.

I wonder what kind of critter created that hole.  Probably a racoon.  The cats and the coon will have to settle that turf war at a later date.

There is no sound on this video.  You have not gone deaf.

Bad Luck Pig

 If I'm ever in a natural disaster, I think I want to be in Iowa when it happens.  Those folks there have some common sense. 

Some PETA members are gonna have a stroke when they read this:

Pigs who swam through floodwaters killed on levee

By ALLEN G. BREED, AP National Writer 1 hour, 7 minutes ago

KINGSTON, Iowa - Luck ran out for about a dozen pigs who escaped their flooded farm, swam through raging floodwaters and scrambled atop a sandbag levee in southeastern Iowa.  Des Moines County sheriff's officials shot the pigs Tuesday, not long after they reached the levee several miles from the nearest hog farm.

Officials said they killed the pigs over worries that they would weaken the levee. Onlookers said the animals were having a difficult time trying to maneuver their way off the sandbags, and that they scurried back into the water as people approached.

"Basically you cannot have something with a hoof walk on plastic and not poke a hole in the plastic and let water into it," said LeRoy Lippert, chairman of the county emergency management commission. "Hogs, they have a tendency to root and that would not have been good either."

He said the state veterinarian and other agencies were consulted, and that 10 to 16 animals were killed.

"It happens every day. My gosh, that's what slaughterhouses do — that's how we get bacon and pork chops," Lippert said. "It's just one of the casualties of the flooding situation."

The carcasses were left at the site and treated essentially as road kill, Lippert said. "You don't get them out of the mud and over the dike when you're worried about people and people's property," he said.

Louisa County Sheriff Curt Braby said he had heard about the incident and understood why the pigs needed to be killed.

"They did not want to take a chance on losing a city due to a few hogs," he said.

Lippert noted that out of about 36,000 pigs in the Oakville area, officials estimated that only a thousand or so were left behind when the floodwaters came through.

"We trucked them as far as 200 miles away to other hog farms so that they would be taken care of," he said.

___

Associated Press Writer Amy Lorentzen in Des Moines contributed to this report.

 

Cyd Charisse 1922 - 2008

Another Hollywood legend is gone.