I've always disliked that word as a greeting. It seems too much for a simple concept. Also, so formal.
I just re-read this and apparently this is going to be a big fancy word post.......good grief- pontification and salutions right off the bat............
I see changes......
Oct 1st - We are well into fall now. Today was beautiful here. The sunrise illuminated a heavy mist shrouding the surrounding fields. The dew and mist stuck around until about 9am when the sun cut through the moisture and lit up the hills of Appalachia. The air in the 'halla' (hollow in proper English-a steep forested gully usually with a creek or 'crick' running through it) is cool as the season progresses towards solstice. The sun provides a blanket of warmth, just surface deep creating the perfect temperature to be outside on top of the these hills.
Morning Mist
Tweeties house
Moses decided to be awesome this morning-obeying all commands and meeting the cows. The cows followed us around the hill. Moses also posed for a somewhat majestic picture. What a beauty queen. Really I think the work is beginning to pay off. This doesn't make him any less of a jack-ass just a better behaved one. I'm working him through a sort of hybrid training thing.
I hate being harsh to animals and really think that positive reinforcement does help- but I see the rational of physical discipline in terms of animal behavior. Not that I beat the dog or anything but i yank on him and get shorter in temperament and tighter with control when he disobeys. I'll grab him by the scruff of the neck-make sure he knows he is not an alpha male in this pack. Pops is saying hes seeing better behavior too.
Dumbo in nice light
mooo ?? guys? moo?
Good Morning!!
As I sit here typing this I find myself staring at the wall, admiring the grain, and pattern of the wood inside the main house. The interior of the main house here is made of American Wormy Chestnut Castanea dentata - a now extinct tree type (Pictures to come soon). Someone my grandfather knew along the way had found an abundance of this wood in a barn somewhere- and my grandfather, being rather well off at this point, offered the man quite a bit of money for the wood and proceeded to have his house interior paneled with the stuff. I don't think it was the price or extravagance of the wood- I think he just thought it was nice looking stuff. He found the wood by word of mouth though. That's the part of the story I want to emphasize here. He found this priceless treasure- truly priceless- by word of mouth.
In this region of he world it seems to me more than anywhere (at least where I speak the language), I find that word of mouth is THE means of information. In this rural environment talk is king, and who you know, and what they know, is how you get things done and find the best of the best.
Maple Bark
Speaking of the best of the best I did some research today......on food!!! ( this train of thought will come back around I promise). I have been thinking about things I think would be fun to try at some point in this short existence and have decided producing something edible from natural-ish sources is one of them. So far I have looked into the process behind Spanish Jamon, Apple buttter and Maple Syrup. All this was spurred by a quick look at Kickstarter where I found this:
*Side note : I have never been to Wisconsin and I don't know why....The state is home of the Packers, Surly Bikes, Trek Bikes, an avid outdoor culture and from what I've seen, produces awesome food in general but especially cheese, beer, and meat. Wisco- you are now on my list.
Pond on the WV Farm - What i think Wisconsin looks like
Anyway back to food producing:
Jamon would be awsome to produce or go see produced. I didn't realize how basic the process was. Dry cool conditions, the right type of pig and access to acorns, Salt, and time. Presto! Jamon Iberico.
Apple butter is a paste that is very popular here on the East Coast and (who knew) in the Netherlands and Belgium. Apple butter is apple sauce that is cooked longer and hotter until the apple sugars begin to caramelize. The benefit to cooking the apples to apple butter rather than apple sauce has to do with the selflife. Carmelized sugars tend to stay safe to eat longer. You guessed it the monks strike again!Clever monks!
Anywho, I want to produce something at some point- currently I'm considering planting 40 Sugar Maple on the hillside of this property - assuming I hold onto this share of the land, in 20+ years I could harvest the sap and make awesome Maple Syrup (assuming the trees survive, and I survive). Just a thought. I'll have to work on finding the right tree stock- Vermont is suppose to have the best Sugar Maples for syrup....
Maybe I'll plant some lesser known apple varietals as well......I better get going on this stuff.
Evening Apple Tree
And you shall be named Fuzzy
Aannnnd that was a lot of typing and random thoughts. I finished this evening talking one of my favorite people to sleep, eating dinner, and drinking wine with my folks on the porch to this. All in all not a bad day.
Slainte
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