{"id":171,"date":"2017-11-03T13:29:17","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T17:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=171"},"modified":"2017-11-13T19:16:08","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T00:16:08","slug":"my-days-are-in-the-yellow-leaf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=171","title":{"rendered":"MY DAYS ARE IN THE YELLOW LEAF"},"content":{"rendered":"
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Nov. 3, 2017<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cLong ago I hung a little sign in the old pantry of our farm house\u2026.before we gutted and rebuilt everything. \u00a0It said, \u201cMy Days Are in The Yellow Leaf\u201d.\u00a0 It is \u00a0a \u00a0quote from Lord Byron which he may have borrowed and changed from Shakespeare\u2019s Macbeth, \u201cMy way of life is \u00a0fallen into the \u00a0sere and \u00a0yellow leaf.\u201d\u00a0 Both quotes \u00a0are depressing\u2026expressions of dread…<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI Don\u2019t get the Meaning?\u201d, you say\u2026”Thought you were about to describe \u00a0farm sale, not a love poem or a Shakespeare play ? What does the expression mean?\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cYears ago I was saddened \u00a0that my Grandparents farm was decaying\u2026collapsing…Meaning the days of the farm were numbered. \u00a0The hand-hewn frame barn had \u00a0collapsed \u00a0and those wonderful beams chain sawed into kindling blocks. \u00a0The hand woven wire and sapling \u00a0fence around the garden was aslant and doomed. \u00a0Wire worms infested \u00a0the carrots. The cattle and chickens were gone leaving Laddie the dog as the only non-human resident. \u00a0And \u00a0he was accidentally shot by Angus Mcechern while worrying sheep. \u00a0\u201cMeant to scare him.\u201d \u00a0In the house The plastered walls \u00a0were cracked \u00a0and great slabs fell regularly. \u00a0The cedar shingle roof was \u00a0leaking. \u00a0The floors were worn down by heavy work boots\u2026The knots \u00a0resisted so the effect was wavy. The dirt floor cellar was filled with water come spring time. \u00a0The field stone foundation was wonderful\u2026for snakes that is. \u00a0And my grandmother and grandfather were just holding on by the skin of their teeth. \u00a0Grandma shook so hard with Parkinson\u2019s disease that the coal oil lamp in her hand \u00a0cast shaky shadow devils on the walls. \u00a0 And \u00a0granddad needed help to get to the back house. \u00a0Out beside a huge walnut tree bounced baseball sized walnuts off the house roof. \u00a0The sound was chilling. \u00a0Red squirrels tunnelled their way into the<\/div>\n
walls and piled the gaps with those walnuts as if \u00a0they were insulation. \u00a0Hence my feeling that \u00a0 “Their days were in the yellow leaf.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd all that came to mind today?\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThat was \u00a0how I felt at the Farmer Moore auction today, November 3, 2017, as tractors, tools and scrap iron things changed hands assisted \u00a0by Jim McCartney,\u00a0 auctioneer.. \u00a0I do not know what really happened here 15 years ago. \u00a0Something bad for sure. \u00a0The farm has been padlocked \u00a0and untouched for the last 15 years. \u201cHe was put in the home,.\u201d said farm neighbours.<\/div>\n
His tractors, trucks, Wheelbarrows, tools, furniture, even sexy pin-upgirls have \u00a0all been gatheirng dust and vermin footprints \u00a0for all these years.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat Happened?\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI have no idea. The hand built ramp at the \u00a0farm house means Farmer Moore had difficulty walking, perhaps \u00a0wheelchair bound before he \u201cput in the Home\u201d.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cForgotten. Padlocked gate\u2026laneway leading up a gentle slope to a \u00a0place \u00a0of mystery dominated by a huge \u00a0derelict bank barn whose grim future you can judge in \u00a0the pictures.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything here was new at one time. \u00a0Brand new.\u201d, \u00a0said auctioneer McCartney. \u00a0“Today things are sold to the highest bidder. \u00a0I make \u00a0no guarantees. \u00a0These machines\u2026.tractors, trucks, combine\u2026have been safely undercover for the last 15 years. \u00a0Be aware of that. \u00a0None of them will be started today. \u201c In other words Buyer beware.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Farm Auction Sale<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For Cimino Family (Farmer Moore Farm)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Friday, November 3rd at 12:00 noon
(Preview from 11:00 a.m.)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Located at 866 Safari Rd (7th Concession), Flamborough, ON. 1 1\u20442 miles West of Hwy 6, 4 miles North of Clappison\u2019s Corners (Watch for signs). Tractors \u2013 Midsize Farm Equipment \u2013 Trucks \u2013 VW Beatle \u2013 2004 -21\u2019 Housetrailer (etc) Most items have been stored inside and have not been in use for over 15 years. (Everything sells as is)<\/p>\n

Partial List Only:\u00a0<\/strong>\u2012 Case 730 Diesel with Allied Loader \u2013 Cab, John Deere 40 – 3 P.T.H. + P.T.O., A.C. \u2013 CA with remotes, Belarus 420 4 x 4, Ford 630 S.P. Combine (motor seized), 4 row 36\u201d corn head, 12\u2019 grain head
\u2013 2004 Coachman 22\u2019 model 248 T.B.C. house trailer with roof air \u2013 fully loaded (This unit has had very little use)
\u2013 1971 Dodge Fargo 300 (29,050 mi) with 9\u2019 x 7\u20196\u201d dump box & 4\u2019 racks
\u2013 1979 Dodge S.E. \u2013 300 Adventurer 70,000 kms with 8\u2019 box & duals
\u2013 12\u2019 slide in camper \u2013 older Volkswagon Beatle 39,850 miles (rough)
\u2013 John Deere 210 riding mower 42\u201d deck, 16 h.p. Master Craft, John Deere 1240 \u2013 4 x 36 corn planter, 12\u2019 3 P.T.H. cultivator, J.D. 15 run Van Brunt Drill, 10\u2019 Cultipacker, N.H. 351 Mix Mill with Loading Auger, N.H. 269 sq baler, 7\u2019 Brady Flail chopper, 3 gravity boxes and wagons, 3 P.T.H. fert spreader, 3 P.T.H. Haban Corn Sheller, N.I 2 row 30\u201d cor\u00a0picker model 325 with 327 picker unit, Case 4 x 14\u201d 3 P.T.H. plow, 3 x 12\u201d Oliver drag plow, 7\u2019 3 P.T.H. single auger snow blower, 11 run McCornmick drill on steel, box trailer, J. D. 300 bale & grain elevator 32\u2019, H. D. Front Mount truck blades 9\u2019-10\u2019-12\u2019,
\u2013 (Older Ford 8000 single axle dump truck & other pieces for scrap)
\u2013 Antique hand operated forage, walking plow, bag cart, Welder, misc lumber, fanning mill, old hossier cupboard and others, misc farm related items<\/p>\n

Terms:\u00a0<\/strong>Cash \u2013 Cheque \u2012 Interac\u00ae \u2012 VISA\u00ae day of sale Lunch Booth on Grounds<\/p>\n

\n

Jim McCartney Auction Service Ltd.<\/strong><\/span>
905-689-8778<\/strong>
Waterdown<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAnd \u00a0here we are, in the \u00a0stable, empty. Ghostly”<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
There is beauty here\u2026sunshine and a light breeze do wonders.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So let the story begin. \u00a0Part fact and \u00a0part speculation. \u00a0 It is \u00a0November, 2017 and some trees are still \u00a0clothed but today, Nov. 3, it is cold and the wind<\/div>\n
is up. \u00a0Soon the maple \u00a0will be skeletal.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI think there were at least two farmers here in the deep past. \u00a0Farmer Moore for sure and perhaps his wife, or Farmer Moore and his brother.<\/div>\n
The condition of the \u00a0farm house with its ripped \u00a0and worn linoleum\u2026wallpaper in some rooms but not all\u2026would seem<\/div>\n
to indicate a lone male resided here for a number of years. \u00a0Just speculation. \u00a0A woman would \u00a0never let the house be so neglected.<\/div>\n
Men often are less concerned. \u00a0No furnace\u2026heat provided by a cast iron stove\u2026.Naoleon style”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

The farm house was sheathed in white siding within the last 20years. \u00a0Before that it was perhaps \u00a0insulbrick.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\" Linoleum floor covering \u00a0scuffed and \u00a0worn out by boots and neglect.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Hand made ramps for wheelchair access to the house. \u00a0Much more to the story that will never be known.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A few clippings pinned to the walls\u2026with dates that stop abruptly around \u00a02002 or so.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Now here is a visual story. \u00a0Farmer Moore seems to have been heterosexual. \u00a0Some ancient pin-ups and one modern. \u00a0Dates seem to have ended<\/div>\n
around 2002. \u00a0 Something happened. \u00a0Farmer Moore was taken a retirement home. \u00a0It would be tough to leave his ladies \u00a0behind.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

OK. \u00a0Tell me what was kept in these crocks? \u00a0 \u00a0Something edible\u2026look at the plastic lids.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cSmall forge with hand operated lever for blower\u2026sold for $280<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Old Hoosier Kitchen cupboard in \u00a0workshop with faded \u00a0pin-up girls sold \u00a0for around $30 or less<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Super organized \u00a0shelves full of nuts and bolts and tings unseen sold \u00a0for $85<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Speckled sunshine of a forgotten mow of old hay. \u00a0Holes in the roof made walking on the wonky threshing floor problematic.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Looking out from the warm brown granary to the open threshing floor<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Farmer Moore \u00a0once long ago had a thriving poultry business. \u00a012,000 laying hens snuggled \u00a0up to these straw lined nesting cubbyholes. \u00a0 Eggs \u00a0collected by,\u00a0the Moore\u2019s were sold in Millgrove and \u00a0perhaps as far south as Hamilton. \u00a0 I wish it was possible to save a rack of these nesting cubbys \u00a0 Why in tarsnation did I say that? \u00a0There \u00a0is no place for such.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

The great cathedral roof has been ripped \u00a0open. \u00a0Rain water on piled hay and straw does \u00a0not take long to rot the threshing floor\u2026see below.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"\" \"\" \"\"<\/div>\n
Stable door. \u00a0A kind of invitation to explore..<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"One was of the field-stone stable has already collapsed. \u00a0Likely to be repeated by others as \u00a0no-one cares.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0Lots of outbuildings on the Moore farm, all overgrown with shrubs and trees. \u00a0A Tangled Garden. \u00a0And dangerous for beneath\u00a0<\/span>every step seemed to be the rusty remains of some long forgotten machine of agriculture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Acres \u00a0of scrap so old that large walnut trees \u00a0have wrapped \u00a0themselves around rusty iron treasures\u2026whole field of scrap[ machines sold for \u2026I forget. Make a bid.\u00a0 \u00a0This \u00a0is the auctioneer Jim McCartney making his way through \u00a0one of the hidden scrap pile. \u00a0How do I know this was once a horse driven mowing \u00a0machine? \u00a0Look \u00a0dead centre.<\/p>\n

\"\"One \u00a0of the largest outdoor corn cribs \u00a0I have ever seen. \u00a0Tenty ortirty yearsagoit was filled with yellow corn cobs and teased upon why birds \u00a0and lots of rats until used to feed \u00a0the 12,000 chickens that Farmer Moore raised. Empty now.. \u00a0No longer needed since corn taken off the field below is shelled \u00a0and blown into tractor trailers driven right up to the combine on under tiled fields and hauled to huge drying silos. \u00a0Modern corporate agriculture. \u00a0This crib is an object of art \u2026 doomed of course.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"An abandoned \u00a0Belarus tractor (Russian export from Soviet Union) \u2026 a green carpet of moss thriving where once Farmer Moore sat.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"None of the machines worked\u2026had not been operational for nearly two decades. \u00a0This little John Deere sold for $2,200. \u00a0Buyer must be a collector. Lots of bidders.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\"People are in search of specific treasures such as this tractor tire or\u2026OR?<\/p>\n

\"\"And \u00a0here is the jewel of the auction sale in my opinion. \u00a0 Wisner Wilcox fanning mill made in Brantford when Ontario was called \u00a0Canada West (C.W. stencilled)\u2026made between 1840 and 1867 by skilled \u00a0craftsmen who even gussied it up a bit with blue \u00a0striping. \u00a0 This was \u00a0the reason I went to \u00a0Farmer Moore\u2019s \u00a0auction\u2026prepared to be disappointed \u00a0but instead \u00a0found the machine in impeccable shape. \u00a0Got it on first bid for \u00a0$25. \u00a0Expected to lose it for I noticed \u00a0a guy buy a fanning mill screen in the \u00a0workshop. \u00a0Kept my eye on him. \u00a0But he was gone. \u00a0Guess he could not wait. This \u00a0was the last thing sold at the auction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s all over\u2026 pay \u00a0up today\u2026you \u00a0have only tomorrow to get things out \u00a0of here\u2026then the padlock goes \u00a0on .”<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"Next day, Andrew and \u00a0Marjorie came with me to load the mill. \u00a0By then the farm had been stripped clean. \u00a0 \u00a0We were alone.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"Want more? \u00a0Just scroll down.<\/p>\n

\"\"At some time \u00a0in the distant past a horses hitched \u00a0here.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Imagine this\u2026not real comments)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd you \u00a0sir are now the owner of the back end of a half ton truck\u2026rust and all.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cHow do I move it?\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cShould have thought of that before you raised \u00a0your hand.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI was \u00a0just scratching my nose.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cSome bidders just wink or nod their head \u00a0so the quick movement to get a bug out of your nose is considered a sound bid\u2026you own<\/div>\n
this now. \u00a0If you back your truck up, some of the fellows will tip it up and on.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have a truck\u2026just a small car.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWell, you could attach a chain \u00a0and drag the old truck \u00a0bed \u00a0down the road.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cBut \u00a0I live in Hamilton.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cBest haul \u00a0it \u00a0down \u00a0there at night then\u2026less police \u00a0around\u2026.might be a shower of sparks slip an old door under it.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat will my wife say?\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cNow that, sir, is a good \u00a0question. \u00a0Good \u00a0luck!”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\" \"\"Wild cucumber vines festoon the place like \u00a0neglected \u00a0Chinese \u00a0Lanterns.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Ford combine may be a little \u00a0worse for wear but it would make the front lawn of your city home remarkable\u2026and \u00a0I mean REMARKable.<\/div>\n
Like \u00a0everything elsewhere, it was once \u00a0new\u2026could be a kind of Gazebo in the back yard\u2026with an elevated glassed in reading room.\u201d \u00a0 Sold for $200<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

MY DAYS ARE \u00a0IN THE YELLOW LEAF<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
(Borrowed \u00a0from Lord Byron and William Shakespeare by Alan Skeoch\u2026on this \u00a0November day, in the year 2017)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
November 3,2017<\/div>\n
Farmer Moore auction sale<\/div>\n
Auctioneer Jim McCartney<\/div>\n
Cashier \u00a0Kate McCartney<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

alan skeoch Nov. 3, 2017 \u201cLong ago I hung a little sign in the old pantry of our farm house\u2026.before we gutted and rebuilt everything. \u00a0It said, \u201cMy Days Are in The Yellow Leaf\u201d.\u00a0 It is \u00a0a \u00a0quote from Lord Byron which he may have borrowed and changed from Shakespeare\u2019s Macbeth, \u201cMy way of life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=171"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions\/188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}