The Pied Piper of Otisco ... & ... Enjoying the Fruits of our Labors

We have been very busy here this week.  We always process and package our own deer, so that took several days out of the week.  Our big upright freezer is packed!

I was glad to have Eler Beth's help with the packaging, too, because I hurt my back a little over the weekend.  A very dear friend of ours in her 80s (I've written about her before) called to get my help in getting in her daughter's two horses that had gotten out of their pasture and wandered off.  Her daughter was out of town.  She boards her horses on a farm in the country, and the owner of the farm is a man in his 70s, recovering from a recent stroke.  He doesn't live alone but he was at home alone at the time that he discovered the horses had gotten out.

So I drove Jewel out there and we finally managed to locate the two horses, at a neighboring farm.  One of them will follow and one of them will lead, so I managed to get a halter on the leader, Domino, and Red followed along.  A pony, belonging to the old man's grandchildren, had escaped along with the horses, but thankfully she seemed happy to follow along as well.

Now I used to ride a lot when I was younger but haven't done much in years.  I had absolutely nothing to mount Domino from, although I did try to get him to stand close enough to a high bank so I could use it as a mounting block.  No good, I'm afraid.  I tried mounting without any help, but I'm only 5 feet tall and Domino isn't a small horse.  I'm also 41 and not in the kind of shape to be mounting bareback with no one to give me a leg up.  (Although I did give it a try!  And I'm so glad no one was there to see it!)

So I gave up on trying to mount and instead I led him, with my little equine followers for 3.2 miles(!!!yes we drove back to where they were just to measure the miles!!!), down one long gravel drive, down a stretch of county road, and then down another long gravel drive back to their home.  Walking three miles on gravel, holding a lead on a large horse who occasionally gets spooked and jerks his head up is not good on an already bad back.  And it was cold!  While we were on the county road at least 6 vehicles came by.  One driver asked if I needed any help, but the others just looked and drove on.   There was absolutley nothing I could do when a car came by, except stop Domino and hope that Red and the pony would have the sense to stand still or move to the side of the road.  Thankfully all of the drivers were very careful.

I had a nice hot shower when I got home but the next day I was really sore and my lower back went out on me when I picked up a laundry basket!  I'm all better now, though.

Eler Beth has been scraping one of her hides.  She is keeping and tanning all three of them.  I had no idea that if I wanted to have a few hours quiet all I had to do was hand her a deer hide to scrape on a sunny day!  She spent 2-1/2 hours straight working on the buck hide today.

I'd glance out the kitchen window once in a while to see her sitting there working away, one or other of the dogs nearby for company.  She will be using tanning solution, of course, but I figured we could use the experience as a school lesson, so we are learning about how the Native Americans worked hides and what they used them for.  Since she has Cherokee in her ancestry, I figured it would be a good opportunity to learn a lot of things about them as well.  At one point today when I went outside to check on her, she happily told me, "Indian women would have chewed the hide to make it soft, you know."  I said, "Well....okay, ... if you want to....", and she said, "Mom! I'm not going to! "

For her cooking lesson on Wednesday she made homemade venison stew, doing all of it by herself with my instructions.  She washed, peeled, and chopped all of the vegetables, maintaining a steady stream of chatter the whole while.  We had a very, very delicious dinner, I must say!

My Huntress Diana

    After getting two does on Thursday my little huntress got her first buck on Saturday, November 24.  For her first ever buck she got a really nice one -- an 8-point, basket-rack, red deer, that field dressed at 170 lbs, using her Rossi .410.

Doe #1, on the left, field dressed at 140 lbs.  Doe #2 field dressed at 120 lbs.  Eler Beth took them both within minutes of one another, using her Rossi .410.

*I very thoughtfully cropped the pics so that no one would be offended by blood. Wasn't that nice of me?

 

Tags: Deer Hunting, Huntress Diana

Birds

Does anyone out there know anything about migratory birds?  Eler Beth has been telling me about a flock of something that coo'ed like pigeons but that were much bigger that she saw flying over one day.

Well, today I have seen them for myself.  We sat outside and watched four flocks of them coming over.  They would pause almost directly over our house and fly in circles for a few minutes, then move on.  One group circled for a while, then was joined by another group.  They continued to circle for another minute or so and then moved on.

They must be rather large because they were very, very high and we could still see them.  They make a crooning or coo'ing sound that you can hear well before you actually spot the birds.  I'm used to seeing geese passing over on their way South, but have never noticed these birds before. 

From such a distance it is hard to tell their color, but they seem just a gray or silvery gray.  The sun glinted off their underbellies as if they have white or silver there.  I think I'll contact our local extension office to see if they have any ideas.

I had assumed they were just pigeons until I actually saw them for myself.  They seem WAY too big to be ordinary pigeons.

Tags: Migratory birds

Just A Note

A brief hello ~~

    My mother is safely back home in Kentucky.  She had a great one-month visit in Florida but was getting very, very homesick.  She and my sister got in last night.  My sister will leave for home on Saturday.

    Eler Beth got not one, but two -- count'em, two! -- does this morning!  She has been walking on air all day.  Thomas said he has never seen anyone come down a tree (with a climbing stand, no less) as fast as she did, a big grin on her face the whole time.  The first doe field dressed at 150 lbs., and the second at about 120 lbs.  This is only her second year hunting; these are her first deer.  Pictures will be coming.

    They went hunting Saturday evening but didn't see anything until they were leaving their area.  They went again on Sunday evening, and she had one in her sights.  But it was just coming on to dusk, and although she was only about 50 yards away she wasn't sure she could get a kill shot.  Thomas told me later that she probably could have gotten it, but we were proud of her for making a very responsible decision.  It was not only dusk, but there were a few branches between her and the deer.  This morning, though, it was as if the two does posed for her.

Tags: Deer Hunting

Derby Pie Has A Way Of Making Everything Okay

Yesterday was a golden day.  It was 70 degrees, sunny, and beautiful!  We suspended lessons for the rest of the week and raked leaves.  Then we played in one  h u m o n g o u s   leaf pile!

Today is warm enough, but rainy and gloomy.  A good day to indulge in a nice, warm slice of Derby-Pie®  (or two), with a dollop of sweet cream on the top and a cup of coffee to go with it!  OMG if you are ever in Kentucky or Southern Indiana you must have a Kern's Bakery Derby-Pie® .  It is THE BEST chocolate/nut pie ever!  A sample lady met Eler Beth and I as we came through the door at Meijer's with a little sample cup of bliss, and I realized it had been years since I'd had any (bliss of the Derby-Pie variety, that is).

My sister Maxine is bringing my Mom home from her Florida visit today, and everyone will be at my sister, P.J.'s, tomorrow for dinner.  I will probably not be around J-Land much for the next several days, or at least maybe just off and on.  I'll try to catch up with everyone today.

Tags: Kern's Kitchens, Derby-Pie

My Son's First YouTube Video!

Two other journalers recently mentioned the Nintendo console "Wii" (pronounced "we"), and now I actually have something to say on the topic.  For those who don't know what a Wii is, it's a new game console that came out a year ago, and it is in big demand this time of the year.  Paula wrote about snagging one for her daughter who'd asked that her mother be on the lookout for one, and Donna played in a Wii bowling tournament during a recent girls' night out.

According to Nintendo's website, "The Nintendo Wii--formerly known as the Revolution--makes use of special motion-sensitive controllers that allow you to swing a sword, throw a punch, or drive a car with a flick of the wrist rather than with the push of a button."  So if you're bowling you actually make the motions of launching a bowling ball, if you're playing golf, you actually make the motions of swinging a club, and so on.

My kids are getting a Wii this year because they finally came out with a game that they are both interested in.

Another game that has been pretty big this past year is Halo 3, which is a game that you play on an XBox360.  My kids don't have an XBox and don't seem to want one (thankfully), but Andrew has played Halo at a friend's house.  It isn't the type of game he particularly cares for, though.  The storyline, according to the XBox website: "The Story So Far ...  It is the year 2552. Humanity has long been at war with the terrifying alien civilization that collectively calls itself The Covenant. The war with the Covenant has reduced humanity to ragged tatters. Master Chief is the last fighting member of the legendary Spartan II military program and humanity's last, best hope. More of the story …"

I've told you all that to tell you this -- Andrew and three of his friends have put together a little skit and uploaded it to YouTube, a first for all of them. 

Have you seen the Wii commercial where at the end two Japanese men come driving up to a house and when the door is opened they say, "Wii would like to play."??

Well, they start with that.  The premise is that there is an upcoming Halo FPS for Wii (which would be impossible, since they are two separate systems).  It's cute, though, and they did a good job editing it.  It's very short.  Andrew's friend Scott shot the digital video, and he and Andrew did the editing.

When you watch it (because I'm sure you will), after the two Japanese men say "Wii would like to play" you will see three young men standing inside a doorway (as if they'd just opened the front door of the house), and the one on the left (the brown one) is Andrew.  Each one has a look on his face like, "Who ARE these guys?!"  Then it shows each of the four guys using Wii controllers and apparently playing Halo (which, as I said, would be impossible).  They did a good job cutting and editing.  It is very smooth. 

When it shows them each playing the game, the first young man is Jason, (lead guitarist and singer in Andrew's band); the second young man is Jared, bass player in the band (and the 14-year old I mentioned in a previous post who is "admired" a bit by Eler Beth!), the third one is Andrew, and the fourth is Scott.

It's not a bad attempt at a first humorous Youtube; one that the young folks will "get" probably better than us old fogies, but I can appreciate the humor and the shooting and editing skills.

Hope you enjoy.  I have an idea there will be more comedy videos forthcoming from these guys.  Watch it here.  Let me know what you think.  If you can, please leave them a comment on YouTube.  They'd love that!

Tags: Youtube Comedy Video, Wii, Halo 3, Upcoming Wii FPS

Losing Our Minds At Times

A while back Stepjammer made an entry in her journal about accidentally wearing two different shoes to work, and it reminded me of a teacher I once had.

She was a fifth grade science teacher.  Her husband owned a very classy menswear store in our little town, and she and her husband were always perfect in dress and "toilette".  Mrs. P's makeup was always flawless, she never had a hair out of place, and her wardrobe was expensive, tailored, and always entirely appropriate for the season.

When I had Mrs. P for science in the fifth grade, I liked her okay, but I thought she was a bit arrogant and brittle.  Whenever she genuinely smiled it was a small "moue" of a smile, and her laugh was a short chuckle.  I never saw her all-out grin or give a big laugh.  The one really good thing in her favor as a teacher as far as I was concerned was that she favored no student (or "type" of student) over another -- there was no teacher's pet or teacher's favorite in Mrs. P's class!  She was a very good science teacher, she just wasn't very personable or friendly toward her students, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for a 5th grade teacher.  She was always kind to me, and I did well enough in her class.  But she did give an impression of looking down her nose at everyone.

Well, one day when I was in the eighth grade I had wandered to the front lobby of the school one morning to wait for my best friend, who walked to school.  Another one of our friends joined me there at the front windows.  Mrs. P came through the front door and paused to speak to the principal, standing nearby.  My friend, Donna, suddenly clutched my arm with one hand, covering her mouth with the other.  Her eyes were wide, brimming with laughter, and she was staring at Mrs. P.

I followed her gaze and saw that ourbeloved, perfect Mrs. P was wearing two different shoes.  Not only were they two different shoes, but one was brown and one was black.  Not only that!  One was a wedge, and one was a heel!

About that time the friend we were waiting for came in, and we grabbed her and motioned with our heads toward Mrs. P.  "Mrs. P!"  I whispered to Dana.  "Two different shoes!"  The three of us composed ourselves and started walking toward the hall to our classrooms, passing our math teacher Mr. A. on the way.  Before we got out of earshot we heard Mr. A. roar with laughter and turning we saw him and the principal laughing and Mrs. P. with a very red face.  She tried to laugh it off, but we could tell she was mortified.  The last we saw of her she was heading back out the front door, presumably to go home and change her shoes.  

We never told anyone, and I don't think anyone else saw her mortification.  It kind of endeared her to me, actually.  It was nice to know that she could be more human than I'd ever thought her before.  I felt sorry for her though, because she obviously did not have any experience with being able to laugh at herself.  The person I am now would have gone up to her and whispered in her ear, but at 13 I would have been way too bashful to have had the temerity to interrupt a teacher's conversation to bring something potentially embarrassing to her attention.  It would not have even occurred to me!

(I have a feeling, though, that if it had been Eler Beth, she would have done it.)

Later that year I took a short psychology class at the end of the school day with Mrs. P, and I so enjoyed it.  She was like a different person.  She obviously loved the subject, and she interacted with us much differently than she had when we were fifth-graders.  She probably should have been teaching older kids all along.  She was not so stiff or unapproachable; she was actually animated!  She even joked around a little. 

It's easy for us to misjudge someone based on a small scope of acquaintance.  I hadn't thought she had much of a personality based on my experience as her student when I was 11, but by the time I had her as a teacher when I was 14 I could see there was more to her.  And now I look back on that and smile when I remember how funny we thought it -- and it was funny.  Forgetting and wearing two different shoes to work can't be anything but funny.  It was not funny that she was embarrassed.  I also remember now that from what I knew of her husband's family they were a very prominent family in the county.  She may have had to be perfect in tone and appearance simply because she had to be "good enough" for her husband's family.  She may just have been naturally reserved.  I guess it's a good reminder that we have to be careful about judging people.

 

(Btw, spell check suggests "men swear" as a correction for the word "menswear".)