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Saturday, October 4, 2014

News from the farm and around the world

So in past news...

Downton Abbey.

Can you believe it? The Brits got to see the beginning of season 5 on the 21st of September, just because they're Brits! Here in the colonies we still get no respect! Maybe it's time for a Tea Party. No, not the twisted maroons that stole that moniker and use it for their own backwards agenda, but a real revolution in the cross ocean entertainment biz. I can't believe how sucked into this I have become.

 

With all the satellite technology you'd think we could just download it from space. I guess not. :(


Scotland

Scotland got to vote on whether or not they wanted to be part of the U.K. or a separate entity. While 55% wanted to stay and 45% wanted to be independent they would consider it a "landslide" I think 45 out of 100 disgruntled Scots is a lot of disgruntling. The British P.M. David Cameron needs (and actually promised, although he is a politician) to address the issues that made the Scots get all uppity. Otherwise they might get uppity again. Who could blame them?

 Hadrians Wall was built by the Romans to keep the barbarians in the northern part of what would become England. Many British citizens feel that it is still there for that reason. So now England has to get serious about the needs and demands of Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as Scotland. Otherwise those countries will get all uppity and may not want to be part of the United Kingdom anymore.   Maybe that's why this guy was making a point in Trafalgar Square.



Sand hill cranes.

I heard a strange noise in the sky, but finally found the source after squinting so hard I started to look like Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western. I haven't seen any stop by and hang out in the pastures, but at least I saw them fly by. I zoomed in and there was a formation heading south like any intelligent animal would do this time of year.



Harry Beaver.

This particular beaver, whom I refer to as Harry, has now damned up the trout stream that flows through the farm as well as made a mess (to me, probably not to him) of the upper pond and surrounding area. So I thought I would spy on him for a while just to see what he's up to.

He's just minding his own business and doing what beavers do.

Annual geese:

As per their annual visit there are greater and lesser Canada geese eating the horses' grass whilst hanging around. I suppose they are fattening up for their annual trek to all the city parks and lakes south of here. You would think the added weight would make flying a little more strenuous, but what do I know?

 


Rummage sale:

We participated in the community rummage sale a couple of weeks ago. We were determined to come home with less crap than we brought to sell. It was a moderate success as we brought one truckload and two heaping carloads of really awesome crap to sell and came back with only one truckload and one heaping carload of said crap.


My share of the take was still not enough to offset the towing bill when the subframe of my car departed from the rest of the body a couple of months ago. I think I need to get busy on Ebay to make up the balance.

Beat Buddy:

I have never participated in a crowd funding event until this little item came along. It was about a year ago that I became informed of this little gem. I had the money in my hobby fund and decided to risk the investment. I got the Beat Buddy for about 1/3 of the retail price by being among the first group of investors.
 

It took about six months longer than anticipated with tweaks and other delays, but it was worth the wait. It doesn't replace a real drummer, but takes up way less space and much less beer. My first foray into venture capitalism was a success. The return on investment puts a smile on my face, but no cash into my wallet or beer into my fridge. Still it is a good thing.

P.S. I got the footswitch, too!

I thought summer was a busy time and forgot, like I do every year, that Fall is even busier. It took me two weeks to write this!

15 comments:

  1. There was a product featured on "Shark Tank" last night. I think it was called "Beat Pants" or "Drum Pants." You slip a velcro-like strip somewhere on your body (under your shirt on under your pants on your leg) and when you move or hit it, you're a human drumset.

    I just thought you might be interested... ;)

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  2. Thanks for the news around the world! We had a neighborhood garage sale a couple of weeks ago. We managed to unload some of our crap, but spent a good part of the time trying to pass it on to our neighbors while they did the same to us.

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  3. I wish your approach to world news was used by TV news stations. It's a lot more interesting. Rummage/garage/yard sales are something I used to like, but since starting to declutter I avoid them like the plague. You did well to come home with less than you took.

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  4. I just started getting into back episodes of Downton Abbey. I watched Season 1, Episodes 1 - 4 on Amazon Prime...and then I started a new job and went from working 8 hours per week to 48 hours per week. I'm not sure I'll ever get caught up!

    Sandhill cranes can make quite a ruckus. Especially when they stand in your back yard on a Sunday morning when you are trying to sleep in.

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  5. When you find something that puts more beer in your fridge, will you please let me know? We're always looking for free beer around here.

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  6. Downton Abbey is getting ever more preposterous. Don’t weep, you get to stay sane for a little longer than us.

    And now the English are going to have to start thinking about special status for the English too. Not just for NI, Wales and Scotland. The English tribes are getting uppity too.

    I love to watch their gyrations.

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  7. Sioux, Cool! I bet I could really annoy a lot of people just going for a walk with those.

    Donna, I think you are right. Garage and rummage sales are just big junk swaps.

    jenny_o, Thanks for the compliment. I still suffer from the "I might miss a really great treasure if I don't check out this sale" syndrome.

    PP, the Cooker bought the 1st 4 seasons and I got sucked in. A couple of times a year is good to hear them, but I can't imagine having to live near them.

    Agi, I am always working on schemes for more free beer. My new neighbors are heavily invested in a local micro brewery start up. Maybe I can find a way to the samples.

    Friko, I think Downton is turning into a more refined and historical version of Dallas. I also think the entire U.K. is special, but some parts must be more special than others. Hopefully, common sense and humor will prevail.

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  8. Where was the Beat Buddy when I needed him - 45 years ago?

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  9. Harry Beaver. Oh dear.

    We love the sandhill cranes, but they flocked off from around here nearly a month ago. I suspect they're smarter than we are.

    And the Beat Buddy is very cool indeed. Will you be posting a YouTube video any time soon? ;-)

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  10. Batty, If Beat Buddy had been around back then I could have been somebody.Right Stella?

    Diane, Thought I'd get more mileage from the beaver. I miss the birds when they flock off, but living along a migration route has its pluses. If I were rockin' on YouTube...laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry, and you cry alone.

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  11. You know, I rarely meet a gruntled Scot...

    As for the beaver, what else WOULD you call it but "Harry"? Huh? :-)

    Pearl

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  12. You did pack a lot in your post. I wish we had a neighborhood sale as I need to unload so much of our possessions, mostly books. I hear the call of the Canada Geese from the lake behind us – I read that their droppings is a problem in many areas – too much of it.

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  13. Downton Anby is pap... But lovely pap
    We Brits do that so well

    But I have a Canada goose and she is a pure delight
    And she will be withme 20 years!

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  14. Oooh I am intrigued by the Beat Buddy!

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  15. Pearl, aye lassie!

    Vagabonde, there must be a good industrial use for goose poop.

    John Gray, 20 years?! That's amazing!

    Knatolee, I hope I get more chances to use it this winter.

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