Duck,Duck, Dog

I glanced out my window and saw one of my black ducks down in the dogs unfinished kennel. The fence is not complete. My shepherd was trying to bury the duck while my spitz looked on. I ran out of the house into the cold to save my duck. I yelled and hit my shepherd and retrieved the wounded duck. It was bleeding and not looking good. I had blood all over me. My husband and I looked over the duck and found a deep puncture on the right thigh. I cleaned out the wound and treated it and put the duck into the kennel with a towel and quiet. If it makes it it will be one lucky duck. This male Cayuga duck has been teaching the young ducklings how to forage on the farm. Now, I only have one adult male left to show the ducklings the ropes before winter comes.

Apples and Eyeballs

Today I peeled and sliced several pounds of apples and dehydrated them. After drying I put them in glass jars. The eyeballs are for the Halloween spirits who don't like apples.

Ditch Witch

This morning on my drive to drop of my kitten at the vets I had an adventure. A dump truck was coming down our country road so I pulled over so it could pass. I pulled too far over and got my Volvo stuck in the muddy ditch. The truck driver and another driver both stopped to help me. A tow chain was needed but no one had one. I had one at the house, so I was given a lift with my kitten in tow back home. I arrived, got the chain and we returned to my car. The other driver was kind enough to chain my car and pull it out with his truck in the rain. So in less than 15 minutes I was back on the road again to get my kitten to the vets. I am so happy to live here in the Ozarks. People are very helpful. When I got home word of my plight had already reached my husband and neighbor. I did not want to bother them since both had morning meetings and work to do. But still it was nice to be worried about. Lesson learned: carry a tow chain in the trunk or have a wrench on your car and don't pull too far over for a truck on a muddy day.

Century Link Sucks, Again.

My neighbor on the corner lost his DSL connection in the bad weather. Century Link sent a man to repair the line and give him a new firewall modem combo. When my neighbor ask if his adjoining rental house down the road can get DSL, the worker said no. He said corporate in Monroe, Louisiana is not upgrading nor installing any boosters in Summersville, MO. Not now and not ever.

Wow, thanks for nothing Century Link. You are given federal dollars to install fiber optic Internet and DSL boosters in Missouri and you do NOTHING. BIG FAT NOTHING. It is so nice to be treated so poorly by a corporate monopoly. And the cherry on top? I got a call from Century Link asking when I would like to have high speed Internet upgrade. Wow, how nice and upgrade for nothing I have now still equals big zero. And that is what Century Link is to Missouri a BIG ZERO!

Cedar Dresser Saga Part 5

We picked up our cedar planks from the trees we cut down last week from the mill. Out of those cedar trees we got 200 board feet of usable cedar for our dresser. Our Amish craftsman only needs 60 board feet to make a dresser. We dropped off the cedar to be dried in his yard. It will take a while for the cedar to dry about two months. Next, we dropped off the oak boards from our neighbors tree. These were very nice boards but very wet and heavy. It will take a year for these boards to dry out. We put them in his greenhouse temporarily to get out of the elements.

The cedar is marked very nicely with pinks and reds and smells great. I have learned that logging, milling, and moving wood is very hard work. But it was fun doing something I never thought I'd ever do in my life. The next cedar saga stage will be in the hands of our Amish friends.

Wet Winter Forcast

I opened several persimmon seeds to see what they'd show. Old timers in the Ozarks split these seeds to forecast the winter weather. If you see spoons or shovels it is going to be a lot of snow and ice. If you see a fork the winter will be mild. If you see a knife the winter will be bitter cold. Just like last year, I see spoons/shovels. This means it is going to be a wet winter in the Ozarks.

Mill Hauntings

Our haunted Mill in Summersville was a big success last night. We had loads of brave souls of all ages try to survive the spirits of the mill. We have two levels of tricks and treats. And after they leave we have sweet treats and cider for sale for the hungry survivors in our cook shack. We are running the hauntings Fridays and Saturdays from 5pm until 10pm until Halloween. Stop by if you dare.