This Ain’t Right

March 20, 2015March 20, 2015 / handmadebyjo / 4 Comments

My dogs are spoiled rotten. They are total indoor slugs that I indulge. Here’s the thing, they were bred to be that way. My dogs are house pets, not working animals. There’s a huge difference.

A particularly alarming event has been unfolding in New York state over the past couple of weeks and I think everyone needs to know about it whether you have animals of any kind or not. Something is happening all over this country that threatens everything I think is right about small scale farming and I am at a loss.

Jon Katz just posted Gofundme – Save West Wind Acres from an Orwellian Nightmare. They are going through something I can’t even imagine, yet in following this I realize that it can happen to every single one of us that has animals of any kind.

This winter has been brutal – snow, wind, bitter cold. My dogs spent most of it by a fire in the wood stove. I can’t say the same for my chickens and a good deal of worry went into how they were fairing in that coop in the cold. Their water was heated. The coop was situated in a place to catch what little winter sun we had and it was up against the east side of our house to cut down on the wind that would hit their building. Their bedding was deep. I was fortunate and the only casualties were a number of eggs frozen solid that weren’t collected in a timely manner. If I’m honest there might have been a couple of combs that had a little frostbite.

I grew up with a menagerie of farm animals – horses, cows, goats, a couple of sheep, chickens. We took good care of our animals. They had shelter available to them at all times. They had good pasture, they had fresh water but they had a choice of where they stayed no matter what the weather was. I remember seeing the horses standing just on the other side of the fence (quite a ways from their shelter) on a cold, cold day with freezing rain. There backs were covered with sleet and there were icicles hanging from their chins. Did they know they could go inside out of the weather? Of course they did. Would they? Not on your life. I think they were afraid they would miss something if they weren’t overlooking the backyard.

We seem to be experiencing a loss of freedom at a rate I can’t begin to understand. Someone can file a complaint about their perception of something happening in my backyard and I can be arrested, brought to court or fined. What ever happened to trust in personal responsibility? I live with small farmers all around me. I would be the last person to file a complaint based on something I see as I’m driving or walking by a place. I never before thought about what it meant to live in a world where a person’s ignorance regarding nature, farming, food production, gardening was so extreme that they presume they know better and need to call the “authorities” to rescue whatever I’m raising.

We are being regulated to death. I’d like to be able to take responsibility for my own well being. If I go to a workshop at someone’s house I’ll risk illness by drinking their well water. I’d like to take the risk in eating that whoopie pie baked in someones home kitchen and brought to the school bake sale. While I’m at it I will be also eating those dill pickles that aunt Bertha made with very little processing. I’ll eat that tomato or potato or cucumber right from the garden, just wiping the dirt off on my jeans. I want my cheese made with raw milk, thank you. If I get sick the only one I have to blame is myself. I’ll take my own risks as mundane as they seem. I really take offense at someone telling me what I can and can’t do. Wow, aren’t there a lot of you out there that are with me on this? Do you feel like things have been taken too far? Are people soooooo stupid that they have to be forced into eating and doing only the things that someone tells them are safe?

Read Jon’s article and if so moved send a few dollars to the West Wind Acres funding request. Honestly, if I could have been at the courthouse today I would have. Thousands of others should have been too. There are things that should just be left alone – good people doing good things is one of them.

Dusk on Pelham Lake

August 22, 2013August 22, 2013 / handmadebyjo / Leave a comment

Percy’s Point on Pelham Lake has become one of my favorite places to bring Chester. The lake is such a calm, quiet place. This particular spot boasts a few picnic tables and a couple of benches. I was leaning against one of the tables the other day and realized my father had made all of them a few years ago.

We started visiting this spot out of necessity. Chester likes to be in water when he gets hot but the only water on our property now is a slimy, muddy little brook that is trickling water from the beaver pond above it. There is no other word to describe it other than gross – and stinky. When he’s hot he will go into the reeds around it and lies down so he comes out covered with this rust colored goo, yuck. We’ve tried hosing him off but it’s pretty ineffective and he won’t get into the pool we have for the dogs. Usually I hose most of the mud off and then bring him to the lake and make him swim for a while until he’s clean. He thinks this is quite a treat and we are now wondering if he goes into that muck just so I’ll take him to the lake. Hmmmmm.

There are times that are particularly nice to bring him there. Last night I was canning and didn’t get to go until almost dusk. On the way a coyote crossed the road in front of my car. They elicit fear in many and if there is a pack of them near your yard at night I can understand that – they are loud and talkative. I’m thinking they are probably the reason I haven’t seen a rabbit since winter as well as every other critter that usually makes its home around the property. I have to tell you though, they are a magnificently beautiful animal. They have the most intense yellow eyes, they stare right through you.

As I was tossing the ball into the pond a couple walked by with their little dog on a leash. I told them about seeing a coyote not too far from there. Anyone here that has small animals knows that letting them loose this time of day always runs the risk of losing them. As beautiful as they are being aware is always the best idea. Meanwhile Chester kept swimming after his ball paying no attention to the couple or their little dog. There’s is nothing that keeps him from his game.

Heath Fair

August 19, 2013August 19, 2013 / handmadebyjo / 6 Comments

The Fair started for me Thursday evening when I dropped off my blanket and rug at the exhibition hall. There were helpers everywhere and you could feel the excitement building. They have this fair down to a science. I was given labels that were already printed with my name and category, I attached the labels to the corner of my goods with the name hidden and handed them off to one of the many workers with the checkered aprons walking around the hall. Then the waiting began.

For me part of the anticipation is not knowing what your competition is. How many people weave and put their work in a small country fair? I know many people hook rugs but are there any around here that do? Are they willing to haul them to a fair for a ribbon and maximum premium of $3.00?

Sister Sue and I made our way over about 10 AM Saturday. The fairgrounds were bustling with activity. We toured the sheep barn and the poultry/rabbit building.

We ran into our friend Russell who told me he only won second place on the rocking horse he had made for his grandson. (The only category it fit into was Craft Other – I’m glad I wasn’t judging that one). After catching up with them for a bit we went to the Exhibition Hall to see how I did. It took me a minute to figure out where the textiles were. I was also amazed at how many people brought things to the fair.

Blue Ribbon for my rug but the only other competition on this was a really beautiful woven rag rug. Again, another difficult judging situation.

Then a blue ribbon for the blanket – woohoo! There was a lot of weaving in the fair this year which actually surprised me. Who knew I was surrounded by weavers and didn’t know it? There’s another reason to compete at the fair – you get to know the competition and they are just like you.

Once we left the exhibition hall we made our way down the food lane and picked up some fried dough with Maple Cream from Hager’s Farm for breakfast (it’s sort of like a pancake right?). With food in hand we watched the herding exhibition – with ducks.

Then it was on to the main reason I was at the fair so early – Horse Draw. I always plan my fair visits around this event. The animals are stunningly beautiful and you can watch them doing what they are trained to do.

You also get to see the teamsters in action.

These horses are very similar to dogs (except in size). They are bred to pull, they have a job. It’s the trainers job to teach them how to do it. There are a lot of differences in how these horse’s people work with them and that’s the difference in how well they pull. Early on in the draw you have a sense of who will win just by how they are handled by their drivers.

The competition was light in the 3,000 pound category. There were 5 teams competing, 3 of the teams were from the same farm. There were 2 other fairs this weekend with horse draw competitions.

Honestly, one of the best parts of this event is sitting in the stand with all of the other interested parties. This is redneck farmers at its best. Horse people are an interesting lot (and sometimes a little scary to look at). They joked about small wagers on a particular team. Arguments ensued over who knows what and people were generous in their knowledge of the sport. One explained in detail how the draw was measured and how the timing of each pull was handled.

Then there were also teamsters helping out teamsters if someone was short for a particular pull (competitors, helping competitors). It’s all about the horses you see (at least to them). They apparently don’t know that we’ve figured out that it’s their work, their temperament that is really what makes their team perform at their best.

When the pull was over we went home. I returned later with the family – they wanted fair food for supper. We watched a little of the truck pull before calling it a day. The crowd was enormous – a sea of camouflage and dirty ball caps. For a people watcher this was gold.

For me the fair concluded last evening when I picked up my entries and winnings. I’ve concluded that the only way to see the fair is to compete in it. You have skin in the game and every one around you knows it. Now to start working on next years entries.

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