Riyescott Ranch

So much rain! This month we have had it all. I think there is more rain coming and then more cold. We hear on the radio there are trees down and the Rivers are on a watch. We are 700 ft elevation but we have standing water everywhere. I got drenched three times today.

I will post photos tomorrow. Joe, my number 5 child is here from Eugene with his girlfriend, Megan. Joe is putting in a new kitchen in one of our rentals. An old kitchen, you would think would come out easy. Wrong, they had nailed it, I mean nailed it as if in those days nails were free! And a lot of it was built in place, what a pain to get it all out. The oven was weird, perhaps I have a photos of it. Anyway tomorrow we will start installing the new cabinets. Exciting, gripping stuff!

I have not even been in the greenhouse today, it is still standing though. And I just got in from a long visit with the sheep. I love my sheep. They all have as different personalities as they do wool type.

Baby, our house lamb still likes to be made a fuss of. And some of the others will take a break from eating and come and visit. They really need shearing but they need to wait about another 6 weeks.

I have an idea that I want to write a book about us women who raise sheep. A story from each person. Funny or sad. Anybody interested in sending me their story?

I am off to bed, more tomorrow.

My mother is 88 and still as sharp as a tack! Dad is 89 and is getting a bit, well, old. They met during the second world war. Dad was in Africa during the war. When I was in England this time we took him to the church for the service for Armistice day. Or Veterans day. He wore his medals for the first time.

Anyway my mother has kept all the letters between them from the war. She said I can have them one day. I want to organize those letters and read every one. I would title the letters “Kiddy”, this was my dads nick name for my mother. They can’t remember why!

I took this photo of her out of a drawer. She was about 18 years old and looked a little mischievous! If only we could step back into that time and be a fly on the wall. If she could remember where that photo was taken I could go back there…but she can’t remember or what the note on the back meant, ” Did you forget Darling?” in her handwriting.

I love you, Mum and Dad.

Here are the photos I promised from yesterday. So about the scary eyes. Brook, our first dog is 10 years old this month. We named her Brook as we had been looking to move to Brookings and the name seemed to fit. She had a squirrel as her first toy as a pup. Mei got both Brook and Max a squirrel for Christmas and Brook wanted both of them. Those of you that know her will often see her trotting around with several of my slippers, socks, or unmentionables!

But after a while when the excitement settled they had one each. 24 hours later both squirrels are still intact!

Thanks, Mei.

I am really trying to get the blog habit. Christmas is done for another year, thank goodness. It all seems so silly. People spending money they don’t have on gifts people don’t want. Have you ever seen the queue for take backs the day after Christmas at Costco? Or Walmart? Really.

We had a quiet day Mei came over I made dinner and we tried to stay warm. The boy sheep got out because the wind blew the gate open. So that was good exercise. My poor Brussels sprouts made it through snow, ice, hail and wind. Then along came 4 hungry-for-green-things sheep followed by two equally hungry-for-green-things llamas. Well, they are now back in their pen, most likely plotting to get out again. Not that I don’t let them out. They get a large area to graze when it is not pouring down with rain.

Some of the Brussels are still standing, but it was not a pretty sight.

I will add a couple photos tomorrow. And Blog again tomorrow…

When today millions of people wait at airports to go home for the holidays. I wonder if they are the same bunch that did it last year? Or maybe they don’t remember last year?

Christmas is always in winter, well for us in this hemisphere.

Anyway I digress. As you know I traveled to England this past October. It had been a year since I had the misfortune to be at an Airport. Well Virgin Air lets you have approx 60lbs in your checked bag. But United Air only allow 50lbs. .

While in England I found some antique furniture polish. I need it to use on my furniture that I refinish. So I got a big one. Then after collecting several things to add to my luggage I spotted the Oxford Marmalade. The best Marmalade. Expensive. I got a big one. Squeezed everything in my case. Had to leave a few things behind, like the nice tea set my sister gave me. At the airport to get on the United plane they said my bag was too heavy. What? It would have cost me an additional $135. What?

I just came from Briton on Virgin.

Well they told me, just put some of it in hand luggage. What? Same weight on the plane but now I have to carry it. In my haste as I was running to get to the gate. I grabbed the polish and the marmalade and put in my hand luggage along with other bits and pieces. Bad move.

Next through security. They pulled my bag out and yes you guessed it. The Marmalade and the polish were taken from me. What? blow up a what with what? Marmalade and polish! I should have realized that I would never be allowed on the plan with such dangerous ingredients!

So Ms. Security Checker Have a nice holiday, I hope you are working today!

And I just picked Tomatoes out of the green house
Not that I had a bumper year. The hoop green house was barely up before the cold weather hit and I had to leave to go to see Mum and Dad in England. Then when I got back to the disaster of fallen trees and fences. The Tomatoes in the hoop house got cold and damp and so they are thrown out. My egg plants are still hanging on though, go figure.

But the old green house still has 8 tomato vines and if I can keep them going a bit longer I can take cuttings and be well ahead of the game for good tomatoes all year.

Stay warm wherever you are…

I scanned the news this morning and one clip was asking the banks what they did with the bail out money? Not one bank could answer. (LA times newspaper on line) And the car bail out? In three months they will need more or what? Where is this all going? I don’t know about you but I don’t like it!

I think this is an interesting person who wrote this book:

http://depletion-abundance.blogspot.com/2008/02/bob-waldrop.html

But right now I have some pea soup on the stove and books waiting to be read. So keep warm and I will find something to say tomorrow!

Finally at the end of the sun going south, tomorrow it will turn around and head back toward Summer! Not that so far this Winter has been bad for us. I think the dark days get me.

Yesterday I was surfing the net (Dale carried my computer upstairs were it is much warmer, so I find myself on it more) I was innocently looking at seeds I need to buy and found all kinds of Bloggers by accident. Seems everyone is doing it….blogging that is!

People talking about the economy and the possibility of the failing food systems. It occurred to me that perhaps we are heading for times that we, in the future will call “The Good Old Days”. Days that we had to “mend and make do”, Grow our own food, make our cloths, stay close to friends and family and we rethought the way we live. I think these are good things and our children and grand children will thank us for it.

I find myself saving plastic bags, yes and washing them out. Thinking twice about what I buy at the market. Turning lights out. I have a feeling we all will be doing more because we have to survive.

It has been pointed out that a few of you don’t know what a Kohlrabi vegetable is well…

I likes the crunchy bits! I just peel and eat raw, it never makes it to the salad mix.

Later….

Clever! And the added bonus is slaving over a hot stove.

The weather this year has been weird. We had hardly any rain until the middle of December. But this past week or so we have had it all. Snow, hail, freezing rain, rain, wind and frost. I had plans to get a lot done during the Winter months but all I want to do is be by the fire.

The greenhouse got put up a bit before I left for England. I got half of it done. That is to say I have raised beds and good soil in them. I have some tubes that are hanging (see photo) And I managed to get some seeds in late October. I am harvesting the Kohlrabi and still some Tomatoes and lettuce. My plan is to put in more raised beds and more tubes.

I will keep you informed on the progress, but right now I am going back to the cozy fire!

Has it really been 6 months since I visited this soap box? The time is rushing by and I wish I could put brakes on the clock. I listen to 40′s music and wondering the isles of the antique stores in the hope that somehow time will just wait for me to catch up. Another year has gone, who knows where and we don’t seem any further along. Or are we?

During my silence:
I have had an 80 x 24 ft hoop green house put up.
Artificially Inseminated 17 sheep with Herdwick Semen from England.
Ordered a new kitchen for one of the condos (we are selling the two condos next year)
Visited my parents in England accompanied by my daughter
Worked on my pastures.
Planted a garden that failed, but I will try again next year.

The sheep:

Are doing great. This breed, Herdwick are very hardy and they stay so clean. I will be weaving rugs as soon as I can. The shearer will be here in late February and I can get going on the wool processing. I don’t have any of the sextuplets left. All were fine and sold. I do still have Baby. She is the one who used to sleep with my dogs upstairs.

I hope all are bred and lambs will be coming in March.

All the butcher lambs are sold except for two.

Oh, but my favorite thing is the wood stove.

Last year our electric bills were HUGE. We had electric heaters. It was horrible. Late this summer we had a Regency Wood stove put it. We have lots of wood in the barn, no surprise as we have a tree farm and wood is everywhere.

I am cooking on it! It started out that because our cook top fizzed out we only had a double burner I put a few things on top of the stove as an experiment. Now everything goes on it. I will continue tomorrow the story of the stove. Got three pans on it right now and the best place to be is stirring the stew!