holy flying wood chips . crazy farmers carving.

Kevscarving pics. 

this is the 1st year at algonquin mill 

 a little selfie I did

 sugar maple festival Salem . Ohio.

 Rangy 

Pic of me carving a jack o lantern with chainsaw at Algonquin . the kids loved it and i gave to the guy kneeling down after finishing it. 

4 seasons of home.

4 seasons of my backyard

Winter 

Spring

Summer

Fall

pics from past posts.

Ch-ch-changes

      I am going to start including pics i have taken  or have included in my collection. prints can be ordered of any pic i have taken , and for those i have picked up on the web from other sources , just go ahead and do what you have to. they were public photos when i took them so help yourself. 

       So will try and update pics for awhile and let you know a little about them and where they were taken.

First up is Gunner my great nephew who wanted aride on the hay wagon and agreed to have his pic taken .         The next is my great nephew Aiden who  wanting to also grab a ride on the farm wagon hurriedly grabbed his clothes and put shoes on wrong feet to grab a ride as i moved the wagon to the other side of the road at our other farm above Dover Dam. 

     The third pic is a pic of Chance, my sister Charlie's horse. i just always liked it. 

      The last pic is of a couple of guys fly fishing in a stream in upstate New York. 

      Now then if there is a pic you would like a copy of then contact me at kdavis3051@yahoo.com. i will send the file to a photo printing shop and have the pic enlarged to any size you want in any finish for a price to be determined based on your needs. typically 30 percent above cost which i can provide to you with receipts from the photo shop. The additional charge is to cover shipping and handling of your new print. the same will go for any pic i have already posted on my blog yet haven't included in this collection.

      Unfortunatelky i cannot reprint any copyrighted material but this doesnt stop you from doing so for your own purpose. Enjoy.

as if i know art , i do know what i like, and it works for me.

Free Thursday in Akron

      Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Akron Art Museum in Akron oh. on One south High St. in Akron Ohio, or about as downtown as one can get. It is close to Quaker square if you remember that in its heyday. The building stretches almost a city block and it consists of modern chrome and steel and concrete cantilevered structure morphed onto an older more stylistic urban building. The architecture works but at times seems to have the galleries in revolt to each other much like the contrast between modern art, and contemporary art of which I feel is under represented in this gallery. It would seem as if we have a lot more history, and period painting that should be representative of most galleries.

     At the Akron Art Museum the focus seems to be on modern art, with the majority of the gallery space devoted to modern art. This is ok but there are times when I like to relax when viewing paintings and let the colors wash the stress out of my soul. Too visually transport you to that place the painter saw fit to share with you. It requires no real thinking but more enjoying that snapshot of someone’s mind. To me this is realism painting and I enjoy just viewing.

    At times the modern art can soothe but mostly it is a raw medium that requires a lot of input to try and figure out just where the artists mind was at while he was creating his so called masterpiece. Maybe it is a sign of the times, but I hardly feel arranging pieces of Styrofoam in a row or possibly invading the middle of a gallery with twelve partially filled bottles of colored water signifies much more to me than someone caught with their pants down pulling an all-nighter and barely squeaking through a demonstration exhibition with some hastily acquired trash that happened to be sitting around. It’s as if  it is up to the museum to make sure the artist is featured whether he deserves it or not and of course the artist shows up with a garbage can full of mementos of his failed attempt at really making a difference. I hate to be harsh and critical especially being an artist myself, but it is beyond me how that can be interpreted as anything but a waste of time and effort. Still at that there are redeeming exhibits one should see and try and keep an open mind.

     There was one art exhibit that comes to mind when I think of what I had viewed while I was there and that was the Imelda Marcos room as I called it. It was here that several pairs of shoes were embedded behind opaque glass in the wall offering different styles of high heels past. It lent itself to an earlier time in our life when high heels were of prominence and signified a classier time. The obscured view to me lent itself to times past and signified a used theme to the exhibition. Again too much thinking is required to ever make this less than a painful experience trying to figure it all out when there may be no good reason other than someone’s morbid fascination with used high heel shoe smell, having the aroma of the painted leather forever locked into the wall. Ok , but down here on the farm we have a word for those people. Actually two words. City folks. 

    It is my understanding that every Thursday is free Thursday at the Akron Art museum and they also feature musical artists and we enjoyed a free outdoor concert by Anne E. Deschant, originally a local artist who now calls Nashville home, but hails from Avon Lake, Oh.. I liked her sound, and would enjoy seeing her again as she was quite a lively performer and more than my money’s worth at free. New artists are featured weekly, and Anne brought in over a couple of hundred viewers to an outside lawn and pavilion seating. Be sure and bring your own chair to this event as it filled up quickly. The parking is free and except for your food and drinks everything else is free. It is an enjoyable although grating experience at times, a blend of visual and musical art. Coupled with a dinner at some nice restaurant, it would surely make for an interesting change of pace for all who visit. Free Thursdays at Akron, you can’t beat the price

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links: http://akronartmuseum.org/- akron art museum - copy and paste.
        www.anneedechant.com- anne e, dechant home page 

been a busy little beaver, just chipping away

My latest carving

       A friend  of mine I had not scene for years accidentally came in touch with me after his wife noticed another carving i did on 12 th and Perry in Canton Ohio. She contacted me and I came to their house to view the tree. I was surprised when  he answered the door. We used to work construction together and he was my supervisor. For some reason his name never registered till he opened the door. It was nice getting reacquainted and showing him another facet to my life he was unaware of, as it had been quite awhile since he saw me and I had taken to chainsaw carving at the time.

 

     So I had this wild cherry log, my friend took down five years ago and was standing in the middle of his yard , I guess just waiting for me. the outside was kind of punky but a couple of quick cuts revealed a good heartwood of traditional red color . it was not long before I was into carving. Most of the pics are taken between tanks of gas or breaks. It was hot and muggy so breaks came often.

   Typically I work from the top of the head down . This determines the proportions of the lower part of the head . These large heads I have done are traditionally out of proportion on purpose as I elongate the face to make it different for aesthetic purposes. It is intentional and not because I don't know any different what true proportion is.
   As I continue down the head carving out features, I have a tendency to set the mood for the carving. This is the third large head I have done in the canton area and all come out different .  So far each customer are excited to have the carvings I produce. I will include a couple of pics of these other carvings so you can see , although I have published pics of them before .

 The first was above and it is off Columbus rd. off u.s 62 east of canton on Bentler ave., the other is just above 12 th and Perry on the first rd. on the left just beyond the intersection and ca be seen from Perry Rd.. I try to make each different and after viewing them together realize they are and they are not.

    So the second day it is basically defining the statue and making it it's own as I grind away and finish all those details. This is the largest I have done so far and these carvings are a favorite of mine. While doing a smaller carving similar to these a friend suggested the theme of these to be his answer when asked how he was doing. His answer was always , I have my head above ground. must be a good day.
     I never work on live trees and have turned down jobs where people offered to cut down trees to just let me carve. My carvings are not nearly as important as the trees life's respectively. Although the first two trees did succumb to Asplundh disease courtesy of AEP.

farming roots run deep

Family

the Yockey's  

     You can pick your nose but you can’t pick your family, unless you are Michael Jackson then you can do anything with enough money. In fact you can pick your nose out of a book, and at the same time,  also pick your own make believe family. So I guess I am fortunate to have been blessed with some really good relatives from down under the other part of Ohio, or from Monroe County Ohio. The Yockey’s and the Vess’ have always been a very large part of Monroe county’s history and these 2 families had a lot to do with why that was.

     Both sides of my Grandma and Grandpa’s family are both from the same area around Graysville Ohio. The family was intertwined as brother would marry girlfriend’s sister and sister would marry girlfriend’s brother. Perfectly legal and not related, but still hard to explain, this happened directly in my family tree, with my Grandpa’s sister, Myrle marrying my Uncle Orpha (orph-ee) on my Grandma’s side , who was my Grandma Ines’s brother, who were both Vess’s , and my Grandpa was a Yockey.  My Grandpa, Cecil, used to pal around with my uncle Orpha and at one time early in their years , took off for Oklahoma to work in the booming oil fields at the time which was around the late 1930’s or after  the time of the depression, leaving the women at home.

     My great Grandpa Yockey was a businessman and was the first to own a steam engine in Monroe county, and began the practice of running from farm to farm during threshing times providing the labor and power necessary to thresh wheat and other grains available at neighbors farms. When threshing wasn’t needed they would use the steam engine to power a sawmill, and cut lumber and sell it to neighbors to build with. A lot of the work they had to do in those times on the farms and the roads involved teams of horses and my grandpa would tell stories of  this work and of moving the steam tractor  to me when I was a kid. My great grandpa was also one of the first road maintenance men and would help improve the back roads of gravel and dirt that would eventually be turned into the state routes we now enjoy today. Part of my Grandpa’s inheritance from his dad was old state publications of how to maintain roads with horses and be paid for your work, and is now part of my collection.

      My great Grandpa Vess was a farmer and their family who was my Grandma’s family were farmers and neighbors to the Yockeys ,  although not next door neighbors but from the same Sycamore Valley that my Grandpa was from. Most socialization of young adults back then was done by foot and it as evidenced by the intertwining of families of both the Vess’ and the Yockey’s , neither family ventured far to find a mate, and it was neighbors that married as they did in those times. Back then you got to know your neighbors real well as that was the extent of your world with radio being new and television not having been invented yet and automobiles were still a luxury even here in Ohio. Visiting neighbors was your only entertainment at times excepting the weekly visit to the home seat of Woodsfield, the county seat to pick up supplies one couldn’t produce at home on the farm.  Illness took its toll on my Grandma’s family and they didn’t fare as well as the Yockey’s but still managed to eke out an existence on the hills of Monroe County, but not without having an effect on my grandma as the depression years were particularly hard on their family.  Grandma became a saver of most everything and this carried with her most of her life, leaving our family with quite a lot to deal with when disposing of her estate.

 the Vess'( Oathee, and Matilda Mc Jilton)

     This is but a small literary snapshot of my family history. I will also include a couple of pics of both respective families’ matriarchal leaders as they were in those days. Farming was an important part of the direction I was going to be born into. It has always been an important part of my ancestor’s histories on both sides of my family and I was destined in some ways to be where I am today, on a farm that was once owned by my Grandpa. I guess in some ways still living his and my Grandma’s dream of having a farm, and being able to take of your own, if nothing else. To be blessed with the ability of raising enough to keep you from ever having to depend on others to eat.

     This just has to deal with my mom ‘s side of the family and the Davis’s were also farmers but I have little information on them as my real Dad left when I was young, and we were never really close to that side of the family. My real Dad having passed when he was 56 years old , choosing to not be a part of my life , so remains somewhat of sore spot , by his own choosing. This is how life goes sometimes.

wireless as it should be?

Its five in the am can’t sleep and internet doesn’t work

 forerunner of modern communication -get off your ass and visit people by whatever?

         And did I forget to mention it is Friday the thirteenth, and a solar flare the likes of what, we have not seen before by some estimates is about to envelope the world and disrupt communications as we know it and rein down radiation or so they say. Probably wouldn’t matter if you are inside or out as the effect will be invisible and penetrating, but nothing that hasn’t really been going on since time began, just not to this scale. Guess it has already started with my wireless service or is this all a ruse for the internet providers to get a break for their poor service. Again I woke up to poor service after a rather sleepless night. At an early morning hour I just like to read and when you are stuck on one screen forever I just sit and fume and feel as helpless as I am about what is going on, as if me stressing over the internet is going to help. It doesn’t.

         I just took my time though and installed all those past window updates, relinquished control of the location of my Wi-Fi device and appear to be getting uninterrupted Wi-Fi. At this rate I should chew up my 5 gigs of data in no time. Well you know how they say they record the conversation or so they warn you, in my small mind, I can imagine a supervisor listening in on our conversation between me and Amanda the Miss Perky know it all talk around technician who has definitely developed a coat of arms to save her from the verbal accusations that her company sucks at times. This conversation between her and I was at the least irritating and memorable, and surely the supervisor will admonish her rudeness after I hung up on her. Yeah, sure when pigs fly. But surely someone understood my plight as it was in no time that it was fixed. They must have knew that logging in and checking security status alone counts as data used and that I was pissed that I couldn’t surf with the best, and they thinking I may finally be at my last straw and would actually consider dumping their dumbasses in favor of something that actually work. A quick memo by the supervisor was jotted down and sent down to the tech service department,  then I could just see them grabbing the memo and writing out an emergency work order with the coordinates of my Wi-Fi location, jumping into a taxi to the airport and flying to the closest cell tower at those coordinates, again taking a cab and arriving at the cell tower. As he opens a security gate and suits up in a climbing harness, suit, tie, and all flopping in the wind, grabbing a pipe wrench and starts scaling the 180 foot metal monolith of a steel tower scraping the sky with its obvious point and a satellite dish near the top. He grabs the crescent wrench and bangs on the dish aiming it at my coordinates while instantly restoring my signal, and also doing and some fine tuning as he is hanging in the wind over the edge of the tower with a flashlight stuck  in his mouth in the dark and the rain, just for me. Well maybe I doubt he did all that especially with feminism and workplace equality in use. It was probably a woman who had to make the trip and it had to happen somewhere between 1 and four, who cares who did it, it needed done, it works for now anyhow.

makes me so mad i could carve pumpkins with a chainsaw. 

      Below is my Facebook post regarding my conversation with the technician Miss Perky Amanda bitch that I posted on Facebook after I hung up on her. To me any news of the internet is fair game as we need to keep this avenue of self-expression free for all to enjoy no matter your belief.

don't you just love wireless providers? i called t-mobile to complain about their poor service which 80 percent of the time is good. it is that 20 percent i pay for i would like to be able to use when and how i want but cant due to whatever? she asks if i use it anywhere but where i am at now and i tell her no as i really don't like to drag my laptop around. she says well if you drive seven miles north you will get signal. and i am thinking that if i drive seven miles north i will pass MC Donald's with free WiFi then i don't need t-mobile but i inform her that i just want to use it here and she asks if i have moved the WiFi around to get better signal.
wow this takes me back to good old days when you used to have to turn the antennae to get good TV signal. i inform her that i have no intention of moving my WiFi from the position it is in now and i really don't want to stand in yard with aluminum wrapped around my head playing lightning rod. she said she never expected me to but told me their system is designed to be used on the go. i said that means you have no real solution to your poor service and that if i want satisfaction then i should choose another carrier. she said they have no other options and i hung up since the conversation was going nowhere. guess when you pay them cash you get bumped for the contract WiFi 's and phones when the towers are loaded. cash isn't worth much now a days when they could have blood.

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      It would be so easy based on your telephone access number to individually limit a person’s ability to access the internet or as far as that goes any computer tied to the net with ID numbers. Wireless would be especially vulnerable as who can tell where that signal goes or if it is even working except you have poor service. Seems I have had plenty of that. And when things get busy you want to take care of high priority customers with say four phones in a framily plan . Who do you think is going to get bumped by some teenager playing angry birds on a contract plan?  Don’t doubt they have an app for customers who use the internet to much and probably send you through the NSA net, and I don’t mean no strings attached, just to see what you are up to.  But then again you would think that it would be in their best interest to sell me all the data I could want.  Then they wouldn’t hear from me. And I would think I wasn’t wanted for my money anymore. Even at that I might have to find another wireless carrier to complain about. All they need to do is what I pay them for, and I will be happy, maybe. 
       Also i would like to say and invite all who still need tomatoes or knows someone who needs tomatoes to stop by after calling or texting first to 2345213984 and Yockey Farms greenhouse will give away for free six packs of heritage tomatoes and a very limited amount of flowers are  available, these are all annuals. this will  be today and tomorrow only. last chance. first come, first serve, would rather give away than compost. 

rain , rain go away come again monday

Rain , rain , go away , well maybe not

       It seems as if we all have things to do when the sun shines and most of the things I have going on are because I want them to be so in some way that it drives me to plan for them. Plan my own misery, we all do that to an extent . Trying to get all I need done in one day requires some skills of determining what is important or the highest priority. This all goes south when something happens to upset our plans. Just recently I planned a huge day , bringing in help and was doing little things on my mental list that day.

       I ended up hanging the tractor and having to use both tractors including my 1946 Allis Chalmers -C model, and the Kioti DR45 which was the tractor with four wheel drive that I had never stuck before then.  I spent all day and was physically exhausted by end of the day, just getting the tractor out.

       Well after using the Allis Chalmers to get the Kioti out I now see reason to keep both tractors here on the farm. Thankfully I had the second tractor available as I may have been over there still trying to get it out. This just one example of how things go wrong. All I had planned for the day was set aside at  a critical time  which was a day or two before my open house , and it  was wasted while I tried to get my tractor home. Priorities change.

      Mudder played a big role in screwing up my plans and changing priorities, nothing like having a cow standing in the middle of Rt. 800 or Rt. 8 as it was known in my early days, now I do seem old to some now. You know you need to do something real quick and it has to do with the cow. People sue all the time. Heck even if she took a crap in the middle of the road, and someone drives through it and stains the paint on their car. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone would sue you for it. Let alone she be involved in an accident where someone actually hit her. Some days farming isn’t worth it. It was cheaper for me to just let Mudder go than try and keep her and accept the risk that she may be hit on the road.

      Lately since the party it seems as if summer activities of just keeping up with things like yard work and other projects are taking it toil on me and as I work long hours and collapse at end of the day and wonder where all the time went to. Already somewhere in the back of my mind, my brain is planning the next day and even days into next week. These plans, as unsettling on my sleep as they may be, are a necessity and can be suspended any time for rain as most of what I do is rain sensitive without me having a say in what happens. Making hay while the sun shines requires sunshine and not three inches of rain. It really doesn’t help anything, and lowers the quality of the hay.

     Now it seems as if my first field of hay though late is going to be sacrificed to the rain gods. It seems it is either that all the equipment is in good shape for the first field of hay and if it isn’t you field will get rained on, or the rain will get you as it is doing to me now. I cut a field of hay down two days ago and it  was heavy and nice , but looks as it did 2 days ago,  though the sun shines through gray clouds,  it is anemic and not drying much. Today doesn’t look much better. I have other work going on and will just move to something else.

      I went with this lady once whose dad owned a dairy farm. He always said and this is important , as he went on according to her,  as if he was asking the question ,

      ‘You know what you do when it rains’? Then she would look at me in a quizzing way. I said no and she said simply. ‘Let it rain,’ as her dad always said. He would settle in for a nap and just let it rain as there was no stopping it. I guess in some ways I too am looking forward to the rain as it will let me take a break even for an instant as i listen to it drum on the walls and the roof of the closest shelter and by letting it rain and I realize if nothing more the rain will be an excuse for me not getting some things done.

     After looking at the forest fire devastation in San Diego and in other places in the desert southwest, I don’t think anyone in Ohio should ever complain about the rain. Last year’s snow is helping our hay yields, and even this is a double edged sword when I comes to farming. We depend on that same rain to nourish crops in the field but have to fight to get the crops in because of the wet fields. It never ends and never will. No matter how technologically advanced we become, I doubt if we will ever change the rain scenario for farming, or if we could, should we?

      I don’t think so as I drift off to sleep pondering those thoughts as I listen to the rain drum down……….

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take a walk on the wild side at the wilds in cumberland, ohio

The Wilds

     Went on a little road trip with my friend  and headed out to the Wilds in Cumberland, Ohio .  http://www.thewilds.org/- this is the link to where all the information is about the wild animal park is, and I would suggest you visit the site and learn more about before going to visit. Just trying to give you a review and share some pics I took as well relate my experiences I saw while visiting this unique place so close to home.

      They have no lions, tigers and bears but do offer a variety of animals more commonly associates with vast dry grasslands of Africa, where the majority of their diet could easily be the grasses similar to what is common on the reclaimed strip mine lands in Guernsey county, and associated with the reclamation efforts of the American Electric Power company’s effort to rehabilitate strip mine land.

     The wilds is situated in reclaimed strip mine lands that were once treed and where I am sure much perkier hilltops existed that would block ones view as it is compared to today, where wide vistas of bald hilltops green with grass and Russian olive are grabbing a foot hold and trying its best to sustain and hold water in its now sterile environment. It’s working on a limited scale and it will be years till the organic content is back where it should be. A few more of rhinoceros as seen at the wilds will no doubt help return the much needed organic material to the soils. But in reality it works for the Wilds as it mimics the native animal’s lands and allows for enough room to let the wild animals run free in the summer time.

    I was at the Wilds in maybe 2009 and saw a vast difference in the experience they offer and the time they take with each tour bus. They seem to allow you the best viewing of the wild animals there. It is more expensive but the open air bus tour seems to be the preferred choice of most visitors to the park. Although lacking the air –conditioned comfort and security of a regular city bus, it does offer up front viewing and picture taking. It was a beautiful day and the open air bus ride was blessed with gentle cross winds and one could not ask for a better day to get out and view something different with such good company. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves trying to catch glimpses of these exotic animals as we buzzed around on dusty roads bouncing in the back of an old school bus reminiscing about how this ride compared to the bus we are riding in now, that had been chopped and shaded specifically for this purpose.

     The price seems a bit steep at 30 / person but I am sure they watch their dollars and seem to have grown well in the last 5 years offering more animals to view and it seems better guides who seem to know their script well, and are quite informative and up to date on their animals they have confined to the park and under their care. Access for the handicapped is limited and may require climbing. The tour lasts about 2.5 hrs. and it is exciting, especially when the rhinos are around. The rhinos and the giraffes, when they are close are both sites we would have to travel many miles to see. What is nice is that it is a piece of Africa in our backyard. I would suggest you go see and enjoy for yourself.

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nature is working , me not so well as i used to.

Update on the farm

         We are doing quite well here on the farm and I have made some headway in some areas and of course falling behind in others. My carving has taken a back seat to other activities I have going on. I kind of have a problem with that, but still plan on fulfilling my commitments to others. I still need to finish the carving for the young lady who won the bear with fish at the open house. I have used this bear as a learning tool using it to demonstrate to a prospective carver who is coming along and enjoying the art of carving. In order to complete my experience of carving I try to share my knowledge of what I do with others when they show the interest. Still plan on finishing the bear but will be getting into hay season feet first at first opportunity of dry days in a row.

     I still have baskets of flowers available for sale and plenty of tomatoes, just call first to arrange for someone to show you what we have. My Better Boy tomatoes I have selected for early tomatoes are already setting tomatoes I have one green tomato that is quarter size. Most of the tomatoes are setting 6 tomatoes to a cluster. Looking forward to some early tomatoes, as it always seems that first homegrown tomato is always the best. I still have plenty of these plants to offer. Though at this point they are climbing up the trellis and depend on its support, and probably should be delivered in a vehicle capable of standing the complete plant upright and with the trellis intact. So far the bamboo trellis seems to be structural enough to hold the tomato plants. This is a green solution; as well the pots are being reused, as long they are holding up. I would suggest you find a low place in your yard this fall and dump the soil and save the pots for me in the spring.

     The bees seem to be doing quite well without me. Haven’t had time to inspect the hives but intend to do so as soon as I can to check and see if they have settled into building their respective hives. It seems as if I have equally good activity in and out of the hives when they are active. I know they have a lot of work to do this year to get them prepared for winter, let alone be able to provide me with anything. I would be grateful for any honey I receive, and I am looking forward to sampling their wares. At least I know that I am doing something good for nature and us humans by helping to sustain our native bee populations as best I can. They are vital to our food supply for pollination first, then honey second.

     My buckwheat and bee flower seed is planted and coming up. It seems it is feeding the birds already, as I see numerous birds plucking freshly planted seeds out of soil is thinning the future population of their food supply. By the looks of things though it seems as if there will still be plenty and  also it makes me glad to plant a dual purpose plant that not only allows the bees to thrive but will also provide food for the birds who visit our little place up here. Rarely a second goes by I don’t hear a bird chirping somewhere here in the valley when the day is full. Having birds around is great way to reduce insect populations naturally. I still feed the birds, and in effect also feed the squirrels and all varieties of animals as well as birds. The amount I provide is small compared to the total need of every animal that visits my bird feeder. Chipmunks, my ducks , the chickens , squirrels all eat around the feeder as well as a variety of birds who visit to get part of their nourishment to help them along. They reward me with my constant smiles and a greater appreciation for those things out there living in not quite as nice conditions as myself. Or is their little nesting place all they need to go on? I would only hope it is, and with the little I give them to be more than enough to make their lives comfortable in our little piece of heaven. Judging by the talk outside my door in terms of birds singing, it all seems to be pretty good. Although it seems I am going to have to build a purple martin nest, it seems the mosquitos are taking their toll on us this year and it is time  to start using spray to allow yourself to be outside at night any length of time without something on to repel them. A bat house is another way of encouraging nature in an effective way to reduce mosquito populations and is also on my to-do list.

      Just hope I live long enough to finish even half on that list. And if I ever get to the point I have finished all on that list then I must be ready to go to that great beyond. Because it seems I am always giving myself more to do knowing full well, some of what is on that list will never get done. You can only do what you are able to get done. I guess the rest isn’t worth worrying about till tomorrow.   

in conclusion to my cowboy days

Mudder was a problem child

 Mudder's all to familiar last look

     Fortunately she is someone else’s problem now. I visited the farm where she ended up and as I think I have said I know the guy from having worked with him years before and he was telling me of his English breed of cattle, and how he was only one of two farmers in Ohio to be able to offer them as registered. The name eludes me of the breed but if I did know, shouldn't say unless I asked him first. I am only mildly interested in cattle now hopefully leaving that part of me in this feedlot today. Mainly I wanted to see just for sure it was Mudder, not wanting to take money for someone else’s cow.  Instead of noticing me as she actually seemed to at first, and then figured I was coming to take her home, as she turned around and headed up the hill offering me the look I had been accustomed to numerous times while chasing her, it was the one of her rear end as she headed away from me and back to the comfort of the herd. Instead of cuddling up with the herd she still remained a little independent and stood outside the crowd and looking as if she wished I would secretly go away.  Gladly I did as I took a check for the young lady and turned over her attitude to my friend.

        It is my understanding she is going to be bred and kept on his farm as his adult son has taking a liking to her. She is happy in her new digs. Not only did she find comfort in a herd, but she also managed to give up the lush over ample pasture that tickled her belly, for a dry dusty feedlot eating baled hay and being fed grain twice daily. Guess you can’t get all that you want, but you can try to get what you need. Nature is calling.

      I had considered the possibility of placing sandwich boards that would slip over her back and could be charged with solar cells that would discharge LED light, lighting her lean black sides up with a billboard that would put Lost Vegas to shame. This I all in an effort to see her at night making her more visible while making some money on here while she was out there street walking like the little slut she was. I am sure I could have found a hundred steak houses that would surely love to have a cow with a billboard out walking the streets stopping traffic. I am sure a couple of days of this and I would be famous. But fame has its limitations especially when the law is involved. Sometimes you have to watch what you are famous for. Thankfully I never had to resort to such a measure. But definitely a GPS system would have been nice at a couple times during the chase.

the pond over the hill

     In retrospect I will say I have learned a few things from this little episode. It had been years since I had visited the farm beside me, the old city farm as it was called and I was amazed at how the reclamation of the land over there that has been accomplished compared to some memories I have had of it over the years. Their reclamation effort is creating what appears to be a healthy environment and enough shade to rehabilitate the forest floor and maybe someday actually erase the fact that here is a farm that had been a role model for why shit rolls downhill.  Raped for her subsurface soft coal and probed for her deeper oils, and at times left for dead and crapped upon. Mother Nature is doing her best now to erase that fact under a lush green canopy. It had one before man came, we only lost a couple of hundred years making all the wrong decisions, and all the time the sun still shined. Sometimes it seems as if all we need to do is lift our heads up to see the solution to our energy problems. That would be too easy and free, therefor of no consequence or interest to the profit takers out there.

    One other thing that is kind of haunting about this area is that there are very little fences left to turn cattle, most having rusted to the ground or dozed into pits and outside of this fence used now to house this young lady, she traveled almost four miles without encountering any real fences. All the old farm fences have been buried under gob piles of mine waste as the coal mine operators sterilized vast swaths of land in our area with their mining operations. The tops of our hills now scalped and a former vision of what they were, just bald. Although the farm beside me is reclaimed to a larger degree than most, there still is a need to rehab other mine areas as they contribute little to our environment under current mine reclamation laws. Work needs to be done restoring the trees that were always a part of Ohio’s history. We need it for our environment and for locking up carbon dioxide as this land is unfit to farm commercially. There is no topsoil for the most part, and in some ways just barely supports minimal growth. Trees are needed to cover the soil with organic material while establishing a woody structure to reach out and lock carbon in it, with their long reaching tentacles called branches as it sweeps the sky gleaning those gasses harmful to us and releasing oxygen to replenish our soul. I need this and I am sure almost all of you need it, save a couple of aliens locked up in hangar 17. That’s another story.

       We waste time on so much with so little value, why not waste time making our world a little better. We all owe our environment so much but give little, except by accident. We need to change this and I could tell you how but then I assume you all know how, even in a little way. A little is better than none at all. Reduce your footprint and increase nature’s.