Turkey Brood

This is the first turkey brood I've seen this year. There was another brood just a little ways from this one a few minutes later.

Weeds-B-Gone

I got started on my annual brushhogging project last week. Across the valley you can see that two of the fields are done, about 18 acres total. Then I did about 5 acres on the hill. That 1953 Ford NAA worked like a charm.



Brushhogging is just a really BIG version of lawn mowing. But actually more interesting. Jann thought I must have been bored just riding around on the tractor all day. But you get to watch all kinds of wildlife and enjoy the beautiful scenery. As they say, sort of, a bad day brushhogging is better than a good day at the office.

House for Sale

On our recent visit back to the Adams, NY area, I discovered that our old house that we had restored was back on the market. I am not trying to help sell it, I just knew that at least the boys would enjoy seeing it again. And some of you helped with the restoration project at one time or another.

Eye of Newt

This red spotted newt wasted no time in finding the new pond. I remember playing with these critters in the old pond when we were kids. Below is a red eft, the immature version of the newt. This one was on the front sidewalk. They spend the first two to three years of their lives in this form wandering around on land, then transform into the mature version and return to the water to breed, remaining there for the rest of their lives.

Whitemans

While in Adams, NY, we visited our dear friends, Betty and Don Whiteman. Don and Betty were the kids' neighborhood grandparents (along with next door neighbors Mollie and Charlie Bangs) when we lived up there. Here Betty enjoys looking over Adam and Rachel's wedding album while below, Don has just finished giving me the latest on the Stone Mills Agricultural Museum. He also managed to get in a sales pitch to Jeff about Cornell. Of course, Jeff encouraged him by wearing a Cornell Lacrosse T-shirt.

And Adam and Andy will be glad to know they still are the focal point of Betty's kitchen wall Morehouse hall of fame.

For the Record

For the record, Jann was treated well on her birthday(besides the fish). We celebrated with dinner by the water, gifts of diamonds and rubies, kitchen appliances (every mom's desire), and cake, one of the most important components to Jann of celebrating her birthday.

I just felt so bad about how mean her wicked OLDER sisters were to her with the rotten cards and phone calls. Maybe they're just jealous because Jann still has teeth.

Birthday

Sorry all you biscuit hollow blog fans. Life got a little busy. I’ve got some catching up to do, so let’s get started.
Today is Jann’s birthday! It’s one of those special ones….

So, knowing how much Jann loves seafood, I went all out for her birthday, planned ahead, and bought her some large mouth bass to put in the pond (She calls them wide mouthed, aka, the wide mouthed frog). Last night we filled a couple of barrels with pond water. Then this morning drove to Bath to pick up the little shavers. Jann was so excited she was beside herself. She kept asking me what she should wear to a pond stocking. I just responded like she does with her cute little way of saying “whatever” with a roll of her eyes. I don’t know which she was more excited about. The fish I got her this year or the four-wheelers I got for her last year. Either way, she is one lucky lady. Happy birthday, Jann!

Beavers

I told you the story about the traveling beaver Lynn and I found while fighting a grass fire when we were kids. (See Wildfires, May 16, 2007) It would be many years before the beavers established a home in the valley. Dad had always wanted a beaver pond on our property. It wasn’t until 1989, the year after he passed away, that I first noticed the beginnings of a new beaver pond across the road from the old spring house. For many years, the beaver flourished in the area; at one time they had as many as four different dams. It was always a highlight of an evening to walk down to the beaver ponds to watch the beaver. The beaver dams also brought a lot of other wildlife to the area that we were not used to seeing: muskrats, cedar waxwings, king fishers, blue herons, geese and ducks. Eventually, their primary food source, poplars or aspen, was depleted and after several big storms washed out the dams in 2004 (I think), they moved on. All that remains now are the old beaver meadows.

Off to the Races

Saturday night. Woodhull races. It wasn’t really a big attraction for us growing up. It was for a lot of folks in the area. This was long before the current popularity of NASCAR and racing in general. This weekend is Indy weekend at Watkins Glen. NASCAR will be there in August. This area is a hotbed for racing fans.

We would go to the Woodhull races once every year or so. But it was pretty seedy back then. I don’t remember ever feeling particularly deprived that we didn’t go more often. And I haven’t been in years. I guess by some standard, the Woodhull race track is rated the number one high-banked 1/3 mile dirt track in the Country. When the atmospheric conditions were just right, you could hear the races from Biscuit Hollow.

I remember one day we were driving by the race track, the whole family in the car, and Dad suddenly turned in. The place was empty. But someone had left the gate open. Dad needed no further invitation and around the track we went, station wagon kicking up the dust and us kids waiting to hear Mom’s response to the episode.

Whenever I mention to Jeff or Andrew about the possibility of going to the races, I usually get a crack response somewhat to the effect that they don’t have enough camouflage, or greasy enough ballcaps, or some other redneck comment. So we haven’t gone. Yet.

But this may be the year I have an excuse to go. Nephews Nick and Mike Morehouse are both driving!

You can check out the racing results on the race track web site at: http://www.woodhullraceway.com/

The race results for June 30 includes this entry: “Last but not least the LaBarron Brother Repair and Parts Front Wheel Drive Division was on the track for their 20 lap feature. A couple of bone jarring crashes on the front straight put several cars on the trailer early, but when the feature was finally decided, J.R. Hoppe had wrestled the lead from Ron Daily Jr. to claim his third feature win of 07. Kevin Patton was also able to get by Daily in the closing laps to claim second place with Daily Jr. third followed by Isaac Byler, Gary Baker, Mark Schenck, Nick Moorehouse, Brian Conley and Tom McGlynn. Heat wins went to Byler, Daily Jr. and Schenck with Tom McGlynn taking the 12 lap B-main.”

Old Before His Time

Jeff has been telling us for a long time that we should be treating him like he was older. After all, he'll be old enough to start driving in 6 months! But old enough to join AARP?!?!

What's Missing

Remember the games we used to play? The one where you had to compare two pictures and find what was missing, or different, when the two pictures were compared? Usually they were hidden objects and pretty tough to find. Well, it would occupy a kid for a few minutes.

Well here are two pictures taken on June 23, about 6 hours apart. Can you see what’s missing?

Yep, the tree. Doris, Nick, and Mike had the big hybrid poplar next to the house cut down.

America

America: "Oh beautiful, ...for amber waves of grain."

This is a wheat field planted shortly after 9/11/2001 near Branchport in Yates County. I took the photo the following July as it approached harvest time.