Lookie lookie!

Of course I'm excited, I like snakes! I found this little beauty in the barn, same spot I found that awesome rate snake a couple months ago. I am thinking this is some sort of corn snake (rat snake) but I am waiting on the snake man to reply with a proper identification. of course, I had to catch it and play with it for a while and of course, bring it in the house so I can take a couple pictures! This one is super docile, it's a keeper!

Life at a Standstill

Well, I was kind of hoping I'd have something good to talk about by now but we're still just hanging on around here. One day at a time. While the heat of the day has lessened, the humidity level is still making life a sweaty, uncomfortable experience. Goober cow has done her job well, she ate down all the grass and stomped the weeds in the garden. Now I'm just waiting on the neighbor to get around to turning it all over. I'm going to move the critter pens elsewhere on the farm and plant more of a fall garden in the rich, manure filled soils. The wait just kills me but all my equipment is broken so I don't have a choice.

Oh, we, the boy, the young man that is staying here now to help me and myself, we got Spud gentled down some and got a band on his family pride. It was actually harder than I expected it to be but I got the deed done. Much less traumatic than how Lucky goat got to be neutered. Poor Spud, at least he didn't have to find out the hard way that it's better to be born a girl than a boy on the farm.

The easter egg hunt continues. I know those darn chickens are laying eggs. it sure would be nice if I could find them from day to day! One day soon tho, I will have enough money left over to buy a roll or 2 of wire and some sheet tin roofing and we won't have to hunt for eggs again.

The lawn tractor is still not running but we spent a day on the back roads picking up cans so we could pick up some stuff that will clean out all the gunk from the biodiesel. Hopefully, it will help with the problem. I have never been less of a supporter of biodiesel than I am right now. It is complete garbage and a waste of a good food crop! The orange goo that grows in it from the soybean oil absolutely causes me mountains of problems not to mention the poor fuel mileage. What a waste of good soybeans!

I've been doing a bit of seed saving these past few days. I have sacks of tobacco seed drying on the fireplace along with okra, sweet pepper, hot pepper, tomato and corn meal corn. I dehydrated another 2 quarts worth of sweet pepper to cook with. I so enjoy the flavor sweet pepper gives to about anything.

I found an interesting article on Drudge Report last night, it's about Illinois unemployment. It seems that our wonderful governor (I didnt vote for him, actually despise the man) had this brilliant idea of raising state revenues by increasing the income tax rate. Well, it's working out really well (yah right). Not only did Gov. Quinn anger several large businesses/corporations in Illinois, a few of them even packed up and left the state. others have actively reduced their work forces bringing the unemployment rate for the state up above 9% with a total of 89,000 jobs lost since January. The link wouldn't open this morning for me to review and highlight it, maybe it will work later today. I can say for sure that the opportunity for a decent wage in southern Illinois is just about non existent. Gas stations, walmart and fast food is about the only opportunity for employment unless you are a CNA, LPN or RN. Even then, you won't find a decent living wage. The local electric conglomerate is seeking to raise it's rates, again, and the cost of fuel is obnoxiously high as well. Don't forget about the consistently rising cost of commercially produced foods. Even at a rise of 2 or 3 cents a week, it still hits you. The urge to grow more food is very strong now.

So, now I'm off to dream about fixing things around the farm and increasing productivity.....

Insult to Injury

Mother Nature just won't give me a break this year. Not only does she whoop on my garden with her inhuman heat and humidity, she's got to whip up nasty little storm cells out of nowhere and knock the crud out of my shade trees. This pitiful little farm is starting to look pretty darn rough!

Stupidity at its Finest

I know it's not surprising that a member of our federal government would do or say something stupid but this man, Tom Vilsack, is a complete moron. Who is Tom Vilsack you ask? Well, Tom is the secretary of Agriculture for the good ole' US of A. That's right, Tom Vilsack is working hard to strengthen the American agricultural economy, to revitalize rural communities, to protect and conserve our natural resources, and to provide a safe, sufficient and nutritious food supply for the American people. Because USDA's work affects every American everyday, we are proud to be the 'Every Way, Every Day' USDA. That's right, he's the jackass in charge of the USDA.

Mr. Vilsack is on video saying that the federal food stamp program is an economic stimulus. Tom says "Well, obviously, it's putting people to work. Which is why we're going to have some interesting things in the course of the forum this morning. Later this morning, we're going have a press conference with Secretary Mavis and Secretary Chu to announce something that's never happened in this country -- something that we think is exciting in terms of job growth. I should point out, when you talk about the SNAP program or the food stamp program, you have to recognize that it's also an economic stimulus. Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity. If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, someone has to stock it, package it, shelve it, process it, ship it. All of those are jobs. It's the most direct stimulus you can get in the economy during these tough times."

Okay Tom, whatever you've been smoking, you need to quit it, RIGHT NOW. You should be ashamed of yourself for being so completely idiotic. As a matter of fact, I think you need to be punished for your stupidity. How about you spend 1 month working for minimum wage either stocking those grocery shelves or working in the factory that produces those grocery store products. Also, you should immediately return your government paycheck because you are entirely too stupid to deserve it.

Welcome to the new world folks, this is how our politicians view the rest of America. Don't worry tho, there's going to be plenty of minimum wage jobs available that the government is going to create for each and every one of us so we can all sign up for food stamps in our poverty and further stimulate our economy with them!