“It is a poor sort of man who is content to be spoon-fed knowledge that has been filtered through the canon of religious or political belief, and it is a poor sort of man who will permit others to dictate what he may or may not learn.”
Louis L’Amour
From “The Walking Drum”
Hera By Francis Pacibia (1879 – 1953)
I have been away
From my hometown
For months, and now years
What goes on there
I don’t know
It continues along, without me
As it should
It was an innocent question, asked of my brother, when I was a kid. “What’s your favorite football team?” His reply would set me on my course as a football fan, towards horizon after horizon of frustration and years of defeat and disappointment. I did not know his answer was a joke until several years later, when I realized he was a Raiders fan. “The Cleveland Browns,” he answered enthusiastically. Well, that was going to be my team, too! Becoming, and staying, a fan of the Browns over all the coming years was a trial that not many other sports fans can even imagine. While the early history of the team was full of success (including the greats Otto Graham and Jim Brown) that was all before my time. There were three AFC Championship games in the 1980’s, each one lost to the Broncos. During so many games through the years the Browns would lead for three quarters only to blow the game in the fourth. When asked what my football team was my reply would be met with, “Really?” and/or “I’ve never met a Browns fan before.” A coworker would occasionally announce before heading for the restroom, “Gonna take the Browns to the Super Bowl!” In the late 90’s when Model moved the team to Baltimore I went without a team for a few years. When the new Browns, in their new stadium, resumed play it was with the highest of hopes. I should have known better. As the years continued coaches and quarterbacks came and went and the team just could not find a formula for winning. In 2016 they went 1-15 and when I thought they hit bottom the next year saw them at 0-16. Finally, last season they made the playoffs, and this year they are fielding another strong team. Do I maybe, kind of, sorta get my hopes up? Yes, I can’t help it, I’m a Browns fan.
There is a very big yellow hunk of fungus on one of our largest trees, an ash that stands in the front yard. Shelly put out a photo and asked her online people what it was. Might be a sulfur shelf? Our own research says that is most likely what it is. This is good to know, but also bad news for us. This kind of fungus usually only appears on the exterior of a tree with much rot inside. A close examination of our ash tree revealed a large cavity facing south with a lot of rot inside.
We were sitting at the kitchen table looking out the west double windows and noticed a lot of bird activity. Eight to ten blue birds were flying around and drinking and dipping and washing in the puddles in our gravel driveway. We shortly identified them as a flock of blue jays, which none of us had seen in a large group before. They hung around and bathed, then were gone. We found out some blue jays migrate while others don’t.
Harvest started last month and is finally winding down in our area. As usual an amazing amount of dust and debris was kicked up and if there is no breeze it will hang in the air for hours. Add to that all the dust from our gravel road created by coming and going farm equipment and it has been a pretty dirty fall so far.
Farming My Backyard offers many useful links and book recommendations about all sorts of homesteading and simple living topics. A good resource to bookmark.
One of my favorite poets is Stanley Kunitz (1905 – 2006). Click here to sample some of his poetry.
The 60 Worst Inventions of All Time ranges from funny to stupid to dangerous.
Here is a pretty comprehensive list on 101 Practical and Realistic Ways to Save Money.
This frugal recipe was torn out of a magazine years ago but there is no name to be found for me to give credit. Perfect for cooler weather, this simple dish can be put together and baked in less than an hour.
Ingredients:
1 package stuffing mix, already mixed according to package instructions
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package mixed vegetables
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup sour cream or milk
Directions:
In 9 X 13 inch baking dish mix the vegetables, sour cream or milk and soup. Place the chicken on top then spread the stuffing over the chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until chicken is done.
Once a month I highlight a piece of art I have created and posted on my Fine Art America site. This one is titled Memories from the Photos Collection.
Off The Back Porch 