Alan Skeoch

Year: 2022

  • EPISODE 564 SIGN OF NORMAL TIMES…FIRST GARAGE SALE APRIL 16, 2022

    EPISODE  564    SIGN OF NORMAL TIMES…FIRST GARAGE SALE APRIL 16, 2022


    alan skeoch
    April 16, 2022





    What a relief.  Garage sale at last.  I thought normal times would never return.
    And this one featured Shania Twain full size.  Would it fit in our living room?

  • EPISODE 562 RED PINE FOREST — STAGGERING TO DEATH

    EPISODE 562    RED PINE FOREST STAGGERING TO DEATH



    alan skeoch
    April 15, 2022

    NOT ALL PLANS WORK OUT AS ROBBIE BURNS SAID

    Take our plan to create a forest refuge on our farm.

    Seemed like a good idea 60 years ago.  

    “We will reforest the farm by planting 10,000
    Red Pine seedlings.”
    “Why would we want to do that?”
    “The fields are not good….full of stones and pretty well worn out
    from too many crops of hay. “
    “You really mean there are no animals to eat the hay now that
    Grandma and Grandpa are gone.”
    “Could be both reasons.   When we plow the hay fields we turn up 
    enough boulders to build a stone house.  Better to reforest the land.”
    (Decisions made around 1963)

    And so the government arrived with 10,000 seedlings and a motorized
    planting machine.  Covered the farm except for two tiny fields.

    Now we have a dense forest.   Hard to push through as dense cedars flourish under the canopy
    of the red pines.

    Another reason for the planting was to create a refuge for wild animals.
    There were already two ponds….one small near the barn and one huge
    in the middle of the farm.  We added two more ponds where the land was
    really wet.  Got them excavated by Ron Saunders from across the road.

    “Wasting your time, Alan…never hold water.”

    Dad was wrong as usual.   One pond was big enough for Andrew to motor in smalll circles. The ponds are fine fringed with the backdrop of
    a growing forest of towering red pines.  But others now dominate…cedars, maple, walnuts…And wild animals thrive.  Wild turkeys
    are present but not seen too often…startled about 30 last summer..

    And deer love the density of the forest and presence of water.  Unfortunately 
    some hunters decided to set up a shooting platform…high up in a tee.  Hardly sporting
    And, worse, an act of trespass.   Hunters even had a night camera tied to a tree
    so they knew where the deer would walk.  Cleared the $%^%$  out.   but police
    were no help.

    Sadly the multi decade project of establishing a forest has not been a big
    success;    One stand of red pines picked up a root disease and about two
    to four hundred have died.  Maybe more.  Right now we are trying to clear the dead
    trees.  Not an easy task as you can see.    Must try to get the disease stopped. 


    Stumps and slash and fallen rees make the land almost useless except for rabbits to find hiding places from coyotes..

    Now I wish we had planted maples and other hardwoods.  

  • ADDRESSES …. EMAIKL LIST FOR STORIES

  • EPISODE 570 RAVENS — TESTING OUR TOLERATION

    EPISODE 570      RAVENS TEST OUR TOLERATION LEVEL


    alan skeoch
    april 14, 2022

    Ravens are intelligent!  Right?   Appaently have an I.Q. of 111…which is more than
    many humans if the measurement is the same.  We have two nesting in our drive shed.
    Big nest.   And they seems to know us.  They can tell one human from another.. a nice
    human from a bad one.  Edger Allan Poe wrote about ravens.  I am not sure whether
    he liked them or was afraid them.  Something sinister in the way they look at me.  Is
    it love…hate…or just amusement.  At first they were cautious.  Rarely even saw them.
    Then they began to hang around.  To hop from machine to machine while I worked.
    Dare I turn my back on them?

    The eat lots of things including baby birds.  LIKE baby pigeons which are not welcome
    in the barn.


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  • EPISODE 569 WILL FARM SALES EVER RETURN IN ONTARIO (loss due to Covid 19)

    EPISODE 569   WILL FARM SALES EVER RETURN TO ONTARIO (loss due to Covid 19)


    alan skeoch
    April 13, 2022

    For the past 40 or 50 years we have been attending farm sales just about every Saturday.
    Our territory extended as far east as Napanee … as far north as Orillia and Alliston…as far south
    as Fort Erie … as far west as Kitchener and assorted Amish and Mennonite communities even
    moe distant.  There seemed to be no end to these sales.  Sometimes we had to choose from
    a list of 10 or 15.  To our boys, Kevin and Andrew, they thought these sales would never 
    end.  They loved them as much as we did.  All kinds of weird and wonderful machines were up
    for auction every week end.   Often we filled our truck and trailer with things that no one really
    wanted anymore.

    Three summers ago Andrew, Jack and I drove west to the Amish School Auction.  
    This auction sound modest but it is one of the biggest auctions in Ontario, especially
    if you are interested in patchwork quilts, wagon wheels, cream scpearadtors, threshing
    machines and a huge cowboy boot.   Only one boot!


    Some people think the Amish are dour…i.e. do not smile a lot.  Well, this picture
    sure disproves that.  Husband and wife laughing along with their horse who seems to
    find me amusing



    One of the sad results of the Covid 19 fear is the end of the Amish School Auction.    Will it come back this July?
    Hope so.



    This is our grandson Jack.  He is unpredictable st times.  And this auction was one of those times.  While Andy and I
    were bidding on machines, Jack bid and won a care full of rabbits.  Rabbits?  We had no place for rabbits.   NO room in
    the truck unless we left something more important like a fanning mill behind. Which is what we did.   At home Jack built
    a rabbit run and enjoyed his rabbits for a short time.  Then one night a fox got them all.  Jack heard the rabbits screaming
    and ran out in his underwear but no luck.  All dead.







    That’s our son Andrew….dead centre in blue…looks Amish for sure

    Just in case you did not know him…that’s Ivan with the head tag.  Need met him before and have no idea why he had
    that bold red tag on his hat.   Amish rake pride in modesty.  But not Ivan.

    I think we bought this 1890’s cone sheller and the stove.  not sure as already have two.  Why?   Good question.



    Love this wood seed drill but resisted buying it as fear wood wheels would rot in field. No room in barn.  


    Bought this wood water trough…perfect condition…never used.  



    We did buy this baby carriage circa 1870…never know when such will be useful



    See…I told you the carriage would be useful…for a saddle….

    The is Andrew’ truck and trailer….we filled both.







    These young Amish girls passed by…close…I think they thought Andrew and Jack were potential husbands.  Auction sales
    are perfect places for Amish to meet each other.