The thinker.  Dreamer?  Planner (absolutely).  Surrounded by potential, she schemes...

Familiar Scene?

I can't tell if the old girl is laughing or yawning. Either way, the young male exits the scene.

I've seen this before...

Wow.  That new banner is large.  Where do our roads go?  Used to try and plan which roads I would take, and expected that I knew where they would take me.  Life thought that was funny...

Testing mobile blogging...

Hola

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Courtyard'n

Quick glimpse at the progress in the courtyard.  Thanks to everyone who contributed to the digging up, hauling away, clearing out, tearing down, building back up, etc.!  No editing to this video at all, just pics and soundtrack with a very abrupt ending...I'm busy!?!  Lol.

*If you want to see the pics by themselves click here.

Halloween on the Farm

Ran-DUM

Without even the pretense of a theme, I give you the following: an unrelated collection of random pictures haphazardly assembled into a single post and presented in no particular order whatsoever.

Insectorsaurus!

For those of you who've seen Monsters vs. Aliens, you'll remember he godzilla-esque grub named Insectorsaurus, seen above vacationing in the pacific northeast, I think.  Anyway, below are a couple shots of something (moth?  spider with wings?) we dubbed Insectosaurus because it was huh-YOOGE.  I mean, for a  bug...it was...bigger than normal.

This thing either uses the most potent eye lash extender in the universe, or it has ferns growing out of its skull.

The Fowl 

"So let's go over it one more time.  I squawk, then you squawk, then I squawk, then you squawk.  Never ever squawk at the same time.  That defeats the purpose.  We're trying to create a continuous stream of squawking here."

Say hello to my least favorite animals on this farm.  I almost said least favorite life forms, but then I remembered how many times I've been covered in poison ivy since we've been here and decided to reserve that precious title for the plant whose existence I would gladly wipe permanently from the surface of this globe if only I had sufficient quantities of a weed killer sufficiently potent to do the job.  To borrow a quotation from City Slickers, "If hate [for poison ivy] were people, I'd be CHINA!"  I digress.  These two creepy buzzards are always together.  As far as I can tell, they squawk.  That's it.  It's a brain-grating, tranquility-killing sound which they make with a maddening regularity similar to Chinese water torture (that's two references to China in the same post?  Hmm.).  I think they've managed to avoid extinction by simply being the most annoying creature in the food chain, such that no predator can stand being around them long enough to kill them.  Plus, look at 'em?  Look tasty to you?  I bet only the French eat these things.   I think back to the episode when the hunters (to the extent that a sentient creature armed with GUN shooting an unsuspecting bird from the road constitutes a "hunter") killed our peahen and think, "why couldn't it have been either one of these two?"  Sigh.

One other thing they do is fight, and it is hi-LARIOUS.  The black annoying bird  (hereinafter "BAB") chases the grey annoying bird (hereinafter "GAB") in circles roughly 20 feet in diameter -without stopping- for a good five minutes (sometimes more).  We have no idea what starts these squabbles, but GAB runs around like it's on fire and BAB hunts GAB in a manner not unlike Jack Nicholson's character in "The Shining."

Produce

The garden is putting out some good stuff.  So far we've been eating lettuce, green beans, cucumbers, garlic, onions, shallots and some cilantro.  Neither the tomatoes nor the assortment of hot peppers are ready yet, but they're coming along.  The onions are potent.  Jess tells me this has something to do with the sulfur she added to the soil.  I cut into one of these puppies and I look like I've just watched a rerun of the national title game between Ohio State and Florida (ungh...I think I just threw up a little in my mouth).  They are delicious, and it's exceedingly cool to just hop outside (I walk, actually) and pull what I want right out of mother Earth.

Oh, and check this out.  The cucumber plant puts out these grabby-lasso kind of things which hold the vines in place.  This one caught my attention because it looked just like a treble clef!  Kinda cool.

Not the greatest pic -took it with my phone.  Still, pretty crazy huh?  Oh, and check this one out:

We have separate garden for food just for the animals, things like sunflower seeds, alfalfa, corn...wheat, maybe?  The above is a sunflower sprouting with the shell of the seed still on it.  Several of them had this.  Kind cool.

After The Storm...

...it felt great.  Temperatures here have been relentless the past few days.  From July 4th through to yesterday the hi temperatures have been 89, 88, 88, 91 and 91.  We've been limiting our work outdoors to the mornings and evenings, but even then I drop roughly five pounds just feeding the dogs.  So when the (albeit shortly-lived) storm hit last night, the brief respite from the suffocating heat/humidity combo was truly a gift -as was the scenery left in the wake.

(Don't miss the rainbow at bottom left, above)

Yeah, it's a dying weed.  But it looked cool, all bent, twisted and curling in on itself at the top.  Not sure why I, but to me it looks like a weed which belongs in a Dr. Seuss book.

Kuh-REEPY Grinnin' Fool

I was goofin' around with this fool and he flashed me his grin.  Not sure if he was enjoying the belly scratch or tripping balls (wait...he doesn't have any) on some 'shrooms he found out back.  Regardless, he made me chuckle.

Standing Outside By My Front Yard Fence With Camera In My Hand

Yes, the title of this post is a nod to the 1996 one-hit wonder band Primitive Radio Gods and its...one...hit...which you can listen to hear (intentional use of the word "hear", fyi).  Kudos to those who got it.  See that road?  That's how it looks most of the time: no cars.

Project Update: Pergola 2.0

When we first bought the place, the pergola was a sorry, run-down, broken-up mildew-stained, half-rotted-but-fully-skewed structure conveniently constructed at such a low height so as to necessitate ducking (for most of us).  Observe:

Even Luna looks like she's ducking.

Suh-weeeet-ah!  See that little birds-carved-out-of-a-coconut-thing dangling on the left end of the pergola?  Here's what they're saying: "Shhhhh....shhhhhh...Don't.  Any.  Body.  Move.  One twitch of a feather and this puppy is will implode like a condemned Vegas casino."

That's not a patina finish, just FYI.  I don't think anyone was surprised when Jess decided she wanted to improve this glamorous piece of curb-appeal.  Who you gonna call?  "Jeeeeerrrrrrrrryyyyyyyy....!"  Those of you who've been around for a while might recall that Jerry helped me construct the first pergola back at the old place on Hazelwood.  That was very much a joint effort.  This was not.  All props to pop for this project!   Behold: Pergola 2.0 (not yet finished, btw)!

Notice several improvements over version 1.0.  Increased height for non-hobbits; level and plum posts and beams; and a handy gate.  While we're on this Jerry love-fest, each and every picket you see here (and even those you don't see) was individually cut by dad.  I watched him do it.  Took him about 4 minutes per picket.  When you see the number of pickets he cut, you're brain sorta folds into itself and you teeter on the precipice  of insanity.  They look awesome.

Jess insisted on re-creating the entire pergola, which includes these individual arches.  At first I was skeptical, but now that they're up, I love them.

That's the same wood, folks.  Scroll up and compare.  Obviously the posts are new, but the beams on top are the same.  Dad planed them all and had to repair several.  On the old structure these beams were toe-nailed into the posts, and we had to crack and/or entirely break several in order to remove them.  I thought they were junked for sure, but dad said huh-uh.  So he took them back to his shop and "Shazam!" (dad's favorite super hero was Captain Marvel, who first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 back in February, 1940), they looka like new.  Unreal.  Color me impressed.  There is still more work for Jerry us to do, and I'll update accordingly.

Thanks For The Memories!

F1E has been around for about a year now, and during that time many people have passed through here.  The vast majority have been welcome visitors who contributed to the great memories we have of this place.  A very select few have been kindly shuffled along (I'm looking at you Brown).   For those who have helped us enjoy our relatively new home (new to us, that is), thank you!  Your pics appear below, lol.

Labor Day, 2009

Not sure if one is chasing, or if both are fleeing...

Thinking about a caption contest for this one.  Submit your suggestions via comment button.

Dad's Birthday!

Props to Josh with the obscene gesture.  We took multiple shots here, and this gesture appears in every one.  Rock on!  I look like I have a weapon strapped to my back.

...and props to Jessica for the obscene gesture in THIS shot.  Clearly it got Zoe's attention.

Quickly: doesn't this look like Joel got busted just before he attempted put me in some kind of headlock??  And doesn't it look like I'm saying, "Joel?  Please, I'd crush that kid."

Zoe, my youngest niece, otherwise known as "she-who-is-soon-to-be-kidnapped."

My long-time friend Deanna came down from Toledo with her six (6) kids to spend the day with us.  

That's Claudia making her first attempt at milking a goat, and she did it!

What?  Little kids leaping from the top rung of old ladders to swing form old ropes in an old barn jam packed with heavy, sharp tools...what?

Cecilia (hope I'm spelling that correctly): also a potential kidnapping victim.  

Thanks everybody!

Tweeting, really?

***3rd Update***

Twitter button appears to be working again.  No more updates.  Promise.  Pretty sure the followers can read.  In fact, if I thought they couldn't this entire blog would be a supreme act of paradoxical futility...

**2nd Update**

Not sure what's going on with the Twitter "Follow Me" button at the bottom of this page.  Right now it will not show the button, but this hasn't affected functionality.  If you want, you can still click on the little icon-thingy and it will take you to my Twitter feed.  Rrrr.
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*Update*

Now you can just scroll to the bottom of this page and click on the "Follow Me" button.  This will take you to my Twitter account.  Super.

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  Yep, Twitter.  Sigh...It's hard to even type it.  For those who don't know, Twitter is basically a tool that allows a person to send little updates (tweets) to a general source which then distributes those updates via email/texts to anyone who chooses to receive them.  So, I now have a Twitter account to which I will send myriad updates, many likely pointless and silly, to keep everyone and anyone (who cares) up to date on the various goings-on here at F1E.  To get my tweets, you'll have to get your own Twitter account.  It's super easy, anyone can do it (speaking of anyone can do it: DAD, what the hell?  You have a Twitter account dude?  Really?)  Once you have your account, search for me.  My Twitter name is "Skptxrok" or you can just search through the hundreds of Jason Walkers and look for my picture.  Once you find me, click on the button that says "Follow."  You can choose to receive text and/or emails with my updates from the farm.  In the alternative those of you who want to follow can send me your email addresses and I can invite you.  We'll see how it goes!

June, The Blog Hardly Knew Ya

First and foremost, congratulations to Wrigley, the dog in the new banner.  My brindled bundle of what-the-heck-are-you pound mutt has gone from being the recipient of my seething hatred (if mind bullets could kill he'd be dead) to blog banner boy.  We named him Wrigley after several failed attempts to name him other things.  When we got him, he was Mowgli.  For some reason Mowgli just didn't jive with us.  Next I think we tried Buddy, mainly because we couldn't think of a good name and we usually defaulted to "come here, Buddy!"  Though I'm pretty sure there was at least one other failed label inserted here, we finally settled on Wrigley because he wriggles all the time, literally wriggles.  When he's excited to see you his whole body just shakes around, he can't keep still.  He's a goofball (possibly the next name?).  The goofball has officially won me over.  And now that I've said that, I will no doubt walk out this morning and find my car tires chewed, lawn dug up, fence pickets knocked out, flower beds destroyed, power tools strewn across the yard and the fish pond slurped dry.

Now, moving on to the title of this post.  I've heard mention that my blogging efforts have come under some scrutiny as of late.  Though my initial reaction is to get defensive and immediately launch a counter-strike asking you how much you might blog when you're searching for a new job and trying to build your own law practice while simultaneously keeping things running at F1E...I realize my argument breaks down when I spend a good 1-2 hours every morning surfing every little wave of the internet for any new news in the world of college football.  Ok ok ok OKAY.  So I've got the time.  I will say this: I can't find my camera.  Until I do, enjoy some of my favorite pics from May:

Part of the pleasure of living out here is having the opportunity to see how big and powerful the world is...

...while at the same time so small and delicate.

I love the space...

...the colors...

and the little scenes life shows you when you take a moment to see.

One can't help but be inspired.

whiteout
white out
white out
pewter clouds
asphalt backbone vanishes
into still vapor

Updating the JPW-isms

March 15, 2010: Minds wander because they can.

March 17, 2010: Weird people didn't plan to be.

March 19, 2010: When it is all said and done - never happens.

March 22, 2010: Your average sheep would balk in the queues demanded of airline passengers.

March 24, 2010: "In the Beginning..."  Whew!

March 26, 2010: At most, God might get bemused.

March 29, 2010: Being grateful for infrastructure is nerve wracking.

March 31, 2010: Data and decisions are strained bedfellows.

April 2, 2010: Don't take sleeping well for granted.

April 5, 2010: Giving someone a haircut is often a lesson about the consequences  of over compensating.

April 7, 2010: If you fret a bit when you can't feel where north is, you're more likely to have been raised in quasi-rural places.  Or not...

April 9, 2010: Metaphors are not fancy comparisons; they are essential for simple explanations of nearly everything.

April 12, 2010: Seeing your city from an airplane can make you sad.

April 14, 2010: Teenagers are equipped perfectly for frightening parents.

April 16, 2010: Try comprehending a million or so light years.

April 19, 2010: We require a license for barbering, but not for parenting.

April 21, 2010: Work expands - period.

April 23, 2010: Planned fun usually isn't.

April 26, 2010: Good deeds can be known only to the doer.

April 28, 2010: Everyone laments being done unto by the "theys"; and, each of us is someone's "they".

April 30, 2010: The end is clearly in sight only from rear view mirrors.

May 3, 2010: Accomplishments are residuals of pursuing passions.

May 5, 2010: Artists can chase themselves without tiring.

May 7, 2010: Building things with your hands evokes primitive needs and satisfactions.

May 10, 2010: Creeks and trees sing to each other.

May 12, 2010: Dissonance will find you.

May 14, 2010: Doing things that earlier amazed us should help us put future amazements in their place.

The April that Was

Some pictures from last month.


First, a couple pics of the animals hamming it up.  Ms. Kitty:

Rammy!  We recently sheared Rammy.  It was mildly traumatic for both the shearing and the sheared.  There was blood.  There was cussing.  He kicked me straight off my feet a couple times, and even managed to bowl over one of the walls to the shearing pen.  Sheep are strong damnit!  Try getting one on its side.  He's dead weight.

Ultimately we did get him sheared.  Needless to say we will NOT be entering Rammy in the Darke County Fair.  But the job is done, which is most important, because Rammy was baking underneath all that wool.  Yes, he looks like we ran him through a wood chipper.  So enjoy Rammy pre-shearing, it'll be awhile before he looks normal again.

Billy, the newest Angora.  He's a buck, and his only job on the farm is to eat and make little goats.  Obviously he pleased somebody in his previous life.

Toby and Billy:

Penny!  The source of Jessica's forthcoming line of products:

Lotus, the ridiculously friendly Angora doe

The lilac bushes!  These babies made the whole farm smell incredible.

Random shot of the milking parlor door at sunset:

This tree sits at the northwest corner of the property: