TROUTS LATEST PHOTOS

November, 2009 - Issue #102

The Thankful month

 

APPRECIATION SMELLS WONDERFUL

 

Our friends Tami and Lyle showed their appreciation for "all we do" with this beautifully fragrant flower arrangement.  What a nice way to start off a month!  We are thankful to have wonderful friends like these.

 

BACK IN THE WOODS

 

Here's another thing to be thankful for - beautiful places to walk.  We live in the back woods and this time of year they take on a special multi-colored glow.  Click on either photo to view a larger file. 

 

LOAFING SHED

 

Every good livestock farm includes a loafing shed or 'run in' shed shelter animals from sun, wind and rain.  We were always proud to offer our horses a shed like this to loaf in and could tell that they were grateful.  This shed at the top of Bill Thomas Road caught Camille's eye at sun down on November 16th.  Click on either photo for a better look or here for a detail of the shed.

 

LAST RAYS OF THE SUN

 

When the sun sets, it goes out in a blaze of glory.  Thom Hartmann wrote an excellent book about how the sun fuels our planet in "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Waking Up to Personal and Global Transformation."  While we are thankful we were born in an era of extreme abundance, we realize it cannot last forever.

 

THANKFUL FOR OUR FRIENDS

 

Ned drove down from DC and the three of us enjoyed a  wonderful Thanksgiving Day meal and get together at Jill and Andy's.  We've posted a whole page of memorable photos at  Thanksgiving, 2009 and there are some photos from last year's gathering at Jill and Andy's on November '08

 

TRANSFORMATION

 

Every few years bob grows a beard.  On the day after Thanksgiving, he got up and shaved it into a goatee.  Camille is very thankful she is married to such a handsome man and thinks it makes him look like a college professor, say what?

 

FUN WITH NED

The day after Thanksgiving, we donned our blaze orange caps and went for a stroll around Oilseed.  It was a spectacular day, albeit a little cold.

 

HARVEST ART

 

Along the way we spied some brightly colored Indian corn atop a bale of grass hay.  We are thankful that we live in a community where people commit random acts of art like this.

 

THE PRODUCTIVE PART OF THE DAY

 

And then we decided to get productive and plug some mushroom logs so we can be thankful for mushroom harvests in the future.  Andy joined us, brought some logs and sawed them into smaller pieces before drilling, plugging and waxing.

 

MEN WITH POWER TOOLS, WOMAN WITH A RUBBER MALLET

   

Ned and Bob got after it with the power drills.  Morgan came along and spent some time with each task.  Here she places plugs into a log before pounding them into the drilled holes with a mallet.  There's nothing more satisfying than working with friends and we are, naturally, thankful for that.

 

MUSHROOM PATCH

  

The next day, Bob and Ned made a mushroom patch by laying down wood chips that had been inoculated  with Stropharia rugoso-annulata (AKA Wine Cap) mycelium, and then covering it with more woodchips and then wheat straw/

 

A WALK IN THE WOODS

 

And then the three of us walked the property at our new home to be.  Ned used his phone's GPS (Global Positioning System) to guide us to the property boundaries.  We are thankful for technology.

 

TOTEM

In our search for property lines, we came across this unusual piece outside "Wood Management." The artist combined elements of feline, equine and mermaid to create a mesmerizing gargoyle that dutifully protects its owners' property.  We are thankful for our new neighbors-to-be, who have an eye for art. 

 

TROUTS FARM RIDES AGAIN!

  

Trout's Farm is the name of the horse farm we once owned outside of Williamsburg, Virginia thirteen years ago (photo on the left).  Our good friend Mahlon made this sign for us at that time.  After that, we spun off into travel mode, renting as we went and occasionally putting the sign up on a rental like we did on Camelina AKA The Trailer) shown on the right.

The house formerly known as "Yellow" will soon receive the new title of "Trout's Farm" and we will move this sign over to the new house.  As well as install our own totem in the front yard.

THIS MONTH'S QUOTES:

"Let us have the candor to acknowledge that what we call “the economy” or “the free market” is less and less distinguishable from warfare." - Wendell Berry

"Just as we started ballyhooing the triumph of America Consumer Capitalism over Communism, the world's ecology started backing up like a redneck septic tank." Joe Bageant from 9 billion little feet

"A sustainable agriculture is one which depletes neither the people nor the land." - Wendell Berry

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