Fletchers' Last Meal

This is Fletchers last meal, tomorrow at 10am the process begins

where he changes from a warm body to a hanging hunk of beef.

Saying Goodbye and Thanks.

Fletchers' will definitely be part of our Thanksgiving Gratitude Cheer!

This & That

Life on the Farm is moving along as fast as the Seasons are changing.

Our good friends Jeff & Sheryl along with their Kidd(pupp)lings - Olo, Inga & Marshell, came for a weekend stay & hunt. That same weekend Arlene and Kay dropped in.

Good walks, great food, playing music & singing & drinking were all the pleasures of the Farm festivities. One Dinner party included 7 human guests and 8 canine guests.

It was a hoot with no injuries, just one "time-out" for Cinder.

Unfortunately we didn't take many photos - just having way too much fun!

Our Big News on the Farm is that Fletcher's will become "Hanging Beef" on November 25 and then "Package Beef" on December 2.

Here are a few shots we've taken over the past couple of weeks:

The couch is just big enough for Jeff, Inga & Olo

Our house comes with it's own Art Work! While it was flooding on the "Coast" the Entiat rose and became muddy.Night-Time Fog,
and Night-Time Moon, followed by,

Morning Moon.

Playing Catch Up

There are a couple of Fun Farm Events from last month that I never did post about.

I think Friday's are a good day to get caught up on old, yet interesting news.

First on the List:

Moving Brandy-Wine & Daisy-Miller from the "Boy's Paddock" to the "Girl's Palace"

Lizzy & Franny sat in the "bleachers" for the best viewing,

while Spaetzle did her best "herd dog" impersonation,

First up was Brandy, just because she was easiest to catch,

let me tell you, those baby goats are heavy!

And it's not that easy to catch them - Arlene said it was like being at the rodeo watching the kids catch a pig - Lucky for me I was able to put them in the area that wasn't muddy.

Daisy was a little harder to catch - I had to catch my breath for a minute before going any farther. We did try putting her down to let her walk herself with me holding the leash, but she just jump around and ran in circles, back in my arms she went.

I had to ask Arlene to help me carry her, she got one end & I got the other.

If you look closely you can see her mouth open and her tongue out - she bleated loudly the whole way over!




Girly-Girl,Porkchop & Tuffy have accepted the girls into their group.

I think Daisy & Brandy are happy in their new home.

And the Fence is holding up Rob!

The other fun time didn't happen on the farm and it was the same weekend that Arlene & I & Richard moved the goats. Richard was the photographer of the goat move, though I didn't express my appreciation while the move was on the go- a belated Thanks Richard!

We went down the road to help friends press grapes for wine, how cool is that?
We weren't sure if we were going to be stomping grapes with our feet, so we all wore pants that could easily be rolled up and washed our feet extra good....but no, it was all be done by a press.

Alan's Set Up
Pouring syrah grapes into the press.
Catching fresh wine! Not pressed, just "run-off" the best of crop! Needless to say we all had many glass fulls while doing the "work"

It's getting full, time to press with our hands to make sure it is completely full



Look at our Preety Hands!


Now it's time to press, Susan does the first go by, then we all give it a try.

and then of course we have to taste the difference between "run-off" and pressed wine.

What a hard job!
Here are a few videos to better explained what went on.








Have a great weekend!

Anne Renee says Vaarwel

Our good friend Anne Renee came for the weekend - sadly for us, it will be awhile till we see her again at the Farm.

Exciting for her, she is moving to Geneva!

We had a good time doing the usual farm chores, milking goats, feeding goats and steer and roosters and chickens and barn kittens.

Her special chore was pulling up the last of the carrots and chopping them into bite size pieces with the machete for the goats and cow and roosters.

Of course we went for walks,ate and drank, even watch TV and played Dominoes.

How can she leave all that???

A-R also made friends with Zoe the scizoe cat.

Zoe-Zoe, is becoming more one with the family,

but she still has her moments, you never know when she may strike out, (as A-R has the scars to confirm that behavior), well usually a dog, or Felix, is around causing her stress by standing too close, but for the most part she is getting to be a pretty nice kitty.

This is her new hiding place - great just what we wanted, towels with patches of fluff!

Alas the sad moment arrived,
our Dutch Girl had to leave,

we'll miss you more than you can imagine Anne Renee.

Happy Trails!!!!

It's snowing!!

It's official:

First day of snow this winter -

November 6, 2008

which also means:

First day of Weasel Season!

Our snow fall pales in comparison to the snow our grandkids are enjoying.

click on the blue word to see the little darlings

Happy Election Day!!

The results of the election leaves me emotional...I am still teary and almost out of breath. I don't think I realized how sad I was with the state of our country, then Obama won and I feel like the great sadness is lifted from my shoulders. My daughter called last night and said it well, Barack makes you want to do better with your life.
And what a great First Woman we have in Michelle Obama!!! I stand with her and say that for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country. Proud of something we did together in my adult lifetime. A neighbor who was watching the election results with us last night, said between tears, "I feel like flying an American flag for the first time in my life!"

I listened to Toni Morrison on the news this morning. What she had to say sent me searching on the web for her exact words, which lead me to a letter she wrote when she endorsed Barack Obama - I found the letter beautiful and wanted to reprint it here :


Dear Senator Obama,
This letter represents a first for me--a public endorsement of a Presidential candidate. I feel driven to let you know why I am writing it. One reason is it may help gather other supporters; another is that this is one of those singular moments that nations ignore at their peril. I will not rehearse the multiple crises facing us, but of one thing I am certain: this opportunity for a national evolution (even revolution) will not come again soon, and I am convinced you are the person to capture it.
May I describe to you my thoughts?
I have admired Senator Clinton for years. Her knowledge always seemed to me exhaustive; her negotiation of politics expert. However I am more compelled by the quality of mind (as far as I can measure it) of a candidate. I cared little for her gender as a source of my admiration, and the little I did care was based on the fact that no liberal woman has ever ruled in America. Only conservative or "new-centrist" ones are allowed into that realm. Nor do I care very much for your race[s]. I would not support you if that was all you had to offer or because it might make me "proud."
In thinking carefully about the strengths of the candidates, I stunned myself when I came to the following conclusion: that in addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates. That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom. It is too bad if we associate it only with gray hair and old age. Or if we call searing vision naivete. Or if we believe cunning is insight. Or if we settle for finessing cures tailored for each ravaged tree in the forest while ignoring the poisonous landscape that feeds and surrounds it. Wisdom is a gift; you can't train for it, inherit it, learn it in a class, or earn it in the workplace--that access can foster the acquisition of knowledge, but not wisdom.
When, I wondered, was the last time this country was guided by such a leader? Someone whose moral center was un-embargoed? Someone with courage instead of mere ambition? Someone who truly thinks of his country's citizens as "we," not "they"? Someone who understands what it will take to help America realize the virtues it fancies about itself, what it desperately needs to become in the world?
Our future is ripe, outrageously rich in its possibilities. Yet unleashing the glory of that future will require a difficult labor, and some may be so frightened of its birth they will refuse to abandon their nostalgia for the womb.
There have been a few prescient leaders in our past, but you are the man for this time.
Good luck to you and to us.
Toni Morrison

and this is what she said this morning - Diane Sawyer asked her "What did you learn about Americans last night?"

"I learned that in this campaign and the winning of the oval office, it's clear that race indeed was the yard stick, but what I learned was that in this country, race is not the measure, it's larger than that and it's not just a African American who won the presidency, it's This particular man, this here African American, and I think that the large number of people who were inspired by him, of all races, felt that, felt that particularity about him."

It's the start of a Good Day in America that has been a long time coming and that I had given up on ever seeing in my lifetime.