Alan Skeoch

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  • EPISODE 901 CHELSEA BUN IN TROUBLE — WHERE IS SHE?

    episode  899     “Meowww! MEOWWW!” “I HEAR YOU , CHELSEA BUN, BUTWHERE ARE YOU?


    alan skeoch
    Oct  30m 2023




    OUR KITTEN CHOSE ITS HOME HIGH ATOP THE WASHER DRIER IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM

    We live in Mississauga on what was once land owned by the Mississuagas.
    As a result the house lots on our street are unusual.   Huge.  Ours is 55 feet x 400 feet.  Lots of big trees
    and scrub underbrush…we even have a small stream casually working its way to Lake Ontario and
    a great swath of unmanicured forest.   Inshort the back of our lots look like they have always been 
    wild.

    A den of coyotes have taken up residence for years.  BolD at times.  But not with me for
    I carry a gun which I bought for a couple of bucks at the Dollar Store complete with several
    strips of ammunition.  I wear it on my hip for a fast draw if the coyotes decide to attack Woody
     a couple of pops scares them off.  That only happened once..    
     Woody found out the hard way that coyotes regarded him as a meal when one took a swipe at
    his ass.

    There are no cats near our house any more.  Cat owners keep their cats in their houses.
    Those that get free have  a short life.  We may even have lost Taranga that way.  She was found
    dead on the banks of the stream by our son Andrew.  May have been a natural death for
    she was elderly.  Or a coyote that was not hungry  

    Enough said.    Our new cat’s  father was a feral cat moving with stealth
    in Erin Township, we figured his daughter who we call Chelsea Bun (because she looks
    like a Chelsea Bun)… might be wise enough to keep clear of the coyotes.    

    SO SHE HAS A LEASH…SHE IS NOT FREE

    “Alan, she must be leashed at all times.”
    “Fine.”  (Marjorie does not trust me.)
    “Remember that.”

    Yesterday, Marjorie did not follow her own advice and let Chelsea Bun go free…dragging her leash behind her.
    Se was free for some time while Marjorie raked leaves.

    “Meeeow¡”
    “I hear you Chelsea Bun.”
    “Meow…Meow!” 
    “Where are you?”
    “Meow!”
    The cry was distant.
    “Meow!”
    “Where are you?”
    “Meowww!”

    We have lots of trees…half our
    400 foot lot is a wilderness where coyotes can run free.
    Dangerous placer for a kitten.

    “Meow!”  
    Marjorie spent a lot of time looking for Chelsea Bun until she looked
    up and spotted the red tip of the leash jiggling high up one of
    our cedar trees.   Perhaps 30 feet up, maybe higher…the  leash hanging straight down.
    If she  moved she could easilly hang herself.   
    “Hold on!”
    Marjorie tried many things.
    1)She tried to climb the tree…failed
    2) She got a buck saw to cut lower benches…..failed
    3) She got a ladder…too short…fsiled.
    4) She thought of calling neighbour…too dangerous for Hubert…failed
    5) She thought of calling fire department…too foolish…failed
    6) She called son Andrew…he came with a long ladder and 
    was juist able to  get his hand around the dangling leash and then
    the back of Chelsea Bun.
    7) Chelsea Bun began to purr…”Purr!”


    Such a minor event unless you are  kitten on a leash high up a cedar tree.
    I wonder whether the coyotes were watching.





    CHELSEA BUN IS NOW SAFELY BACK IN BED WITH WOODY

  • EPISODE 900 THOUSANDS OF BLACK WALNUTS — ARE THEY POISONOUS?

           EPISODE 900  THOUSANDS OF BLACK WALNUTS — ARE THEY POISONOUS?


    alan skeoch
    Nov 1, 2023


    Our original Black Walnut tree which was planted by me (as the legend goes) around 1944 or 1946.
    The tree is now, like me, in its 80’s.  Perhaps 80 to 100 feet high.  Dominating all living things
    nearby with a poison  chemiical called JUGLONE

    I must ask my chemist friend Rooter…Robert Root…about that poison.  SEEMS TO KILL
    LIVING THINGS

    IS THIS CAUTION TRUE, ROOTER? (ASKING BOB ROOT)  ???

    The effects of juglone

    Close-up of black walnut fruit and surrounding leaves
    The fruit husks contain the highest concentrations of juglone. (Photo by Franklin Bonner, USFS, ret., Bugwood.org)

    Some people and animals are susceptible to juglone damage. Consuming too many leaves or using walnut sawdust for bedding can cause a number of problems with animals.  Some people are especially sensitive to juglone, and even sawdust from cutting walnut lumber can coat skin and produce a red welt where it lands. Juglone is a strong respiratory toxin and small amounts will damage other living creatures.

    In the soil, juglone will damage many living things, including plant roots. Once it’s released into the soil, small amounts can damage and kill the roots of neighboring plants. Beneath the tree, this walnut chemical severely damages annual plants, garden vegetables, fruit trees and some broadleaf perennials. Most grasses seem immune. If it leaks back onto a walnut root, however, it is quickly made nontoxic again and stored. Wherever walnut roots travel, they change the soil they move through by adding juglone.

    GRANDMA LOUISIA FREEMAN SAID I PLANTED THE WALMUT TREE
    (She may have told cousin Ted Freeman the same thing we were about the same age)

     “Alan, you planted the walnut tree beside the back house.”
    I do not remember doing so but I was just a little boy at the time.   If I did then I
    sure knew the right spot.  The outhouse. Lots of fertilizer, the  real stuff must have seeped into the ground on
    that spot.  The Black walnut loves good land.

     And lots of walnuts began to drop each fall as the tree thrived and now
    towers over the farm house.  2023.. A bumper crop.  A thousand walnuts from one tree.  So many walnuts
    that we need a Bobcat to move them.   

    “Alan, do not go under the walnut tree…you will get boinked.”
    “A thousand hard balls falling.”
    “Too many.  I hate that tree.” (Marjorie’s opinion)



    “Grandma loved it and so do I…part of our heritage. When I was a teen ager
    I would gather a basket of walnuts and hurl the into roadside ditches from
    our old 1953 Meteor.  Some big trees on the fifth line were planted that way…like
    Johnny Appleseed.”
    “They are poison, Alan.  Their roots kill any other tree that thinks it can
    move into walnut territory.   That walnut tree killed the hickory tree.  Scares me.”

    “Are black walnuts edible?””
    “They are.   But they can also hurt people who are allergic to them.  I think Bill
    Doyle’s brother was killed by a walnut allergy”
    “Wow!  And you eat them?”
    “Never knew better as a kid.. thankfully it was Difficult to get at the walnut core. “ (We are talking about Black Walnuts.  Not the
    domesticated English walnuts tucked in an ice cream cone or brownies.)
    “Black Walnuts?”
    “They like good soil.   In distant times..pioneer days….settlers searched for
    walnut groves because they knew the land of the Black Walnut would be superb.”
    “”Can I taste a Black Walnut?”
    “You can but it may nto be worth the effort.”
    “Why?”
    “You will need a sledge hammer to break the shell…needs a good
    smash and all you will get are little bits of nut.  If ,by error, you
    bite on a piece of walnut shell you will need a dentist .  Black
    Walnuts break teeth.”

    “Alan, get serious, have you ever eaten a black walnut?”
    “I have tasted the nut long ago.”
    “And you are still alive…or seem so.”
    “Then Black Walnuts are edible.”
    “Seems so.”
    “This year we have a bumper crop…perhaps a thousand pounds of walnuts…so
    many that we need a fork lift to move them.”



    “Hold on.  Can I eat a Black Walnut…just one?”
    “You can but that is another story…..another episode.”
    “Why make it so difficult?”
    “Because Black Walnut trees want to be sure to create more black walnut trees
    and to discourage enemies like you or, particularly, those red squirrels who just love
    the nuts and have teeth that can chew through the hard nut casing.”
    “What’s wrong with my teeth?”
    “Your teeth wold be shattered by the nut casing.”

    “What about the poison?”

    HOW TO PREPARE BLACK WALNUTS FOR A GOURMET FEAST… NEXT EPISODE



  • EPISODE 897 WHAT DOES GPS MEAN? GOOD POTATO SOUP…recipe attached

    EPISODE 897     GOOD POTATO SOUP


    alan skeoch
    october 21, 2023

    Marjorie’s picture has been deleted at her request…suffice it
    to say she looked sceptical 



    AN ATROCIOUS LUNCH — MOUNTAIN OF FRENCH FRIES

    Marjorie got our car out of a skippery mud hole at the Vogel auction.   Not easy. So she was rewarded with a fancy
    lunch at a country dining place at an atrocious cost including the demanded tip of 20%.   I did not feel good about
    it…especially the huge pile  French Fried potatoes…..far more than we cold eat….then I got a great idea!

    “Marjorie, let’s get the waitress to box up these French Fries.”
    “Why?   Whoever eats cold French Fries!  “
    “We are going to make these greasy potatoes and the goo with them into a pot of Potatoes Soup…G>P>S>..Good Potato Soup!”
    “You have never cooked anything since we were married….60 years.”
    “True.  You gave explicit orders …’Alan, stay out of the kitchen;””…I will break the command tomorrow.  For You..good potato soup”





    RECIPE FOR GOOD POTATO SOUP

    -A PILE OF COLD FRENCH FRIES
    -3 CUPS WATER
    -1 PACKAGE DRY SOUP MX (ANY KIND)
    -SMALL GLASS OF MILK  
    -DASHES OF SEA SALT, WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE, ONION POWDER…STUFF LIKE THAT
    -ANY OTHER LEFT OVERS…I.e. meat ball was found under the French Fries

    DUMP IN POT
    HEAT AT MODERATE

    MASH THE STUFF INTO MUSH WITH A POTATO MASHER
    (Cold French Fries may resist so be brutal with masher)

    SERVE 



    THAT’S ALL THERE IS TO IT…ANY FOOL CAN MAKE GOOD POTATO SOUP!

    ALAN

    P>S>  We did each consume a big bowl of the mush.   Seemed to tase good
    although I went overboard with the sea salt.  Marjorie said it was good.

    By nightfall we were not too sure.  Marjorie bought a bottle of TUMS FOR THE TUMMY…
     needed for two days along with a chemical that speeds up movement of
    food from stomach to intestine and out.   (called meta mucil. sp?}

    “Alan, Stay out of the kitchen for the next 50 years.”

    (   Now you know what GPS stands for)

  • EPISODE 896 MR. VOGEL’S COLLECTION OF 30 TRACTORS FOR SALE

    EPISODE   896     MR. VOGEL’S COLLECTION OF 30 TRACTORS FOR SALE  (oct 21   2023)


    alanskeoch
    Oct. 21, 2023

    The Vogel barn was absolutely empty on Oct 21, 2023. However reminders of that once stood there were obvious.  Leaks from tractor oil pans
    dotted the harvest floor.  Not long ago 30 tractors sat in here    Where were they?  Not far away.





    The tractor were in the field…lined up for auction. Quie asight.



    This steel wheeled Farmall circa 1930’s is the only tractor I waned.   beautiful machine.   But behind my
    reach.   Probably sold cheaply.  Hope not for scrap.

    We id not stay.   Long way home and I promised Marjorie a nice lunch.

    Remember the GPS..the GOOD POTATO SOUP?  Coming next episode.

    alan








    Here is what that rusty Farmall looks like when restored (not in sale)


    Note: Surprisingly auctioneer Jim McCartney had  sale near Virgil (Niagara on the lake) the same day…..also sold 30 tractors.  Marjorie and I usually go to 
    McCartney sales except for Our. 21….we missed his vocal guaanee: “I guarantee that everything sold today was once brand new?”  Take a lookout that Farmall rusty wreck and
    compare it to the restored Farmall.

  • EPISODE 898 MR VOGEL’SE STATE SALE CONTNUED — TWO PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO MEET

    EPISODE 898    MR VOGEL’S  ESTATE SALE CONTIiNUED — TWO PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO MEET


    Alan skeoch
    oct. 21, 2023

    THE ISSUE OF PHOTOGRAPHY  — AMISH AND MENNONITES




    Most Amish today will not pose for a photograph. Considering it a violation of the Second Commandment, which prohibits the making of “graven images,” the Amish believe any physical representation of themselves (whether a photograph, a painting, or film) promotes individualism and vanity, taking away from the values of community and humility by which they govern their lives. Occasionally, Amish people did have their photos taken, as you can see with the couple in the first image who likely went to a studio for their portrait in 1875. But by the time photography became popular in America in the mid-19th century and photographers and researchers armed with cameras began appearing in Amish communities, most Amish objected to appearing in or posing for photographs entirely.

    Most mennonites (including amish-mennonites) don’t mind having their picture taken, and will even keep plenty of pictures of friends and family displayed in their homes. As for posting, I wouldn’t think they would mind so long as you’re not posting for a negative reason.

    THE VOGEL AUCTION AND MY CAMERA:  

    Auction sales are meeting grounds.   Easy to strike up a conversation at
    an auction sale.   Sometimes surprising things happen.  

    VANITY seems to be the heart of the issue of photography and the Amish and Mennonite communities.
    None of the pictures I took could be considered vain.  No person was captured in a pose tht glorified
    the self .  Having said that, my camera was the only camera at the Vogel auction.  The only camera I noticed
    and many people noticed me in a rather neutral manner.   Perhaps I was seen by some as rude…but
    most people were indifferent.   I remembered an incident at a Mennonite auction years ago when I took a
    picture of a Mennonite man carrying a rifle.  “Lucky it’s not loaded” he said with a smile.  The comment is
    open to interpretation.  I think he was amused.  Why?  Because both the Amish and the Mennonites are 
    pacifists.  I took pictures that are respectful although I suppose a bit rude.   No one was asked to pose
    except for TIM whose story follows.  TIM is not an Old Order mennonite, likely not a Mennonite at all.

    TIM — HIT BY A DRUNK DRIVER REQUIRED BRAIN SURGERY



    TIM pushed his wheel chair past me as we waited for the auctioneer to reach the
    facing mills and the chicken crate/   He was smiling as our eye locked.

    “I was to proud tp bring my wheel chair.  Looks like you have bad knees as I do.” I commented.
    “No, I had brain surgery years  ago.”
    “Brain surgery?” I said with a smile…thinking he was joking
    “Right here” And he pointed to his forehead…no stitches apparent.
    “What happened?”
    “Drunk driver hit me from behind…he was going so fast that the impact broke my drivers sept and smashed
    me into the passenger seat behind.  Nearly killed me. At the hospital a strange  ting happened.  I could
    not touch my nose no matter how many times I tried.    My brain would not let me do it. There was something
    wrong with my brain.  I was alert but  my brain and my hand were out of sync.  A lot of doctors had ideas
    but none worked until one doctor in London (Ontario) believed the fluid that surrounds our brains had
    got pooled  by the impact and hampered brain signals.”
    “My knee seems very minor.”
    “Impact drove my car into a nice cadillac.  Three car wrecks,”
    “What was the drunk driver like?”
    “Never saw him…I was unconscious “

    Why tell you this story?  Because it shows how easy a conversation at an auction sale can develop
    while waiting for a chicken crate to be sold.  And Tim made my vanity over my refusal to bring a walker  obvious to me.

    TRACKED BY A LITTLE BOY, ABOUT 12 YEARS OLD




    And while we talked I was being tracked.  Tracked?  For some strange reason a Mennonite boy, about
    12 yeas old, was tracking me.   He liked my camera.  Once he even put a finger in front of lens.  Not
    done with anger.  Done to let me know he was watching me.  And I began to watch him in turn.

    Here are some pics featuring Mennonites.   Pics that are deliberately non intrusive .  Pics
    that are not vain.   











    THIS YOUG BOY FOUND MY CAMERA FASCINATING…HE POSITIONED HIMSELF TO BE  PHOTOGRAPHED




    AT First I thought it was accidental that he was dead centre in so many of  my pictures.  Not so. He knew what he was doing.



    Most Mennonites clustered together with their children in tow.   The boy tracking was  a different kettle of fish.
    But I dare not engage him in conversation.  Needed a parent before i would do that.

    Then an odd thing happened.   The little boy was eating a piece of cake in the back of Tim’s truck.
    Tim had probably driven the boys family to the sale. Old Order Mennonites hitch rides.

    Does all this sound hopelessly trivial?  Life is like that.

    alan



    NEXT EPISODE — THE REAL REASON SO MANY MEN CAME TO THIS AUCTION — 30 TRACTORS FOR SALE 

    And Then the Episode you have all been wait for….the GPS episode….THE GOOD POTATO SOUP EPISODE  (yum yum yummy)

    alan