{"id":1856,"date":"2018-10-28T23:03:26","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T03:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=1856"},"modified":"2018-10-28T23:20:34","modified_gmt":"2018-10-29T03:20:34","slug":"fwd-my-days-are-in-the-yellow-leaf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=1856","title":{"rendered":"Fwd: ‘MY DAYS ARE IN THE YELLOW LEAF”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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From: <\/b><\/span>Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.com<\/a><\/a>>
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Subject: <\/b><\/span>‘MY DAYS ARE IN THE YELLOW LEAF” <\/b>
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Date: <\/b><\/span>November 5, 2017 at 11:27:17 AM EST
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To: <\/b><\/span>Marjorie Skeoch <marjorieskeoch@rogers.com<\/a><\/a>>
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“MY DAYS ARE IN THE YELLOW LEAF\u201d*<\/p>\n

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alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Nov. 3, 2017<\/div>\n

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

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\u201cI Don\u2019t get the Meaning?\u201d, you say\u2026”Thought you were about to describe  farm sale, not a love poem or a Shakespeare play ? What does the expression mean?\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cYears ago I was saddened  that my Grandparents farm was decaying\u2026collapsing…Meaning the days  of the farm were numbered.  The hand-hewn frame barn had  collapsed  and those wonderful beams chain sawed into kindling blocks.  The hand woven wire and sapling  fence around the garden was aslant and doomed.  Wire worms infested  the carrots. The cattle and chickens were gone leaving Laddie the dog as the only non-human resident.  And  he was accidently shot by Angus Mcechern while worrying sheep.  \u201cMeant to scare him.\u201d  In the house The plastered walls  were cracked  and great slabs fell regularly.  The <\/div>\n
cedar shingle roof was  leaking.  The floors were worn down by heavy work boots\u2026The knots  resisted so the effect was wavy.  The dirt floor cellar was filled<\/div>\n
with water come spring time.  The field stone foundation was wonderful\u2026for snakes that is.  And my grandmother and grandfather were just holding on by the skin of their teeth.  Grandma shook so hard with Parkinson\u2019s disease that the coal oil lamp in her hand  cast shaky shadow devils on the walls.   And  granddad needed help to get<\/div>\n
to the back house.  Out beside a huge walnut tree bounced baseball sized walnuts off the house roof.  The sound was chilling.  Red squirrels tunnelled their way into the<\/div>\n
walls and piled the gaps with those walnuts as if  they were insulation.  Hence my feeling that   “Their days were in the yellow leaf.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cAnd all that came to mind today?\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cThat was  how I felt at the Farmer Moore auction today, November 3, 2017, as tractors, tools and scrap iron things changed hands assisted  by Jim McCartney, auctioneer..  I do not know what really happened here 15 years ago.  Something bad for sure.  The farm has been padlocked  and 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  all been gatheirng dust and vermin footprints  for all these years.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhat Happened?\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cI have no idea. The hand built ramp at the  farm house means Farmer Moore had difficulty walking, perhaps  wheelchair bound before he \u201cput in the Home\u201d.<\/div>\n

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\u201cForgotten. Padlocked gate\u2026laneway leading up a gentle slope to a  place  of mystery dominated by a huge  derelict bank barn whose grim future you can judge in  the pictures.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cEverything here was new at one time.  Brand new.\u201d,  said auctioneer McCartney.  “Today things are sold to the highest bidder.  I make  no guarantees.  These machines\u2026.tractors, trucks, combine\u2026have been safely undercover for the last 15 years.  Be aware of that.  None of them will be started today. \u201c In other words Buyer beware.<\/div>\n

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

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


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\u201cAnd  here we are, in the  stable, empty. Ghostly”<\/div>\n

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There is beauty here\u2026sunshine and a light breeze do wonders.<\/div>\n

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So let the story begin.  Part fact and  part speculation.   It is  November, 2017 and some trees are still  clothed but today, Nov. 3, it is cold and the wind <\/div>\n
is up.  Soon the maple  will be skeletal.<\/div>\n

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\u201cI think there were at least two farmers here in the deep past.  Farmer Moore for sure and perhaps his wife, or Farmer Moore and his brother.<\/div>\n
The condition of the  farm house with its ripped  and 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.  Just speculation.  A woman would  never let the house be so neglected.<\/div>\n
Men often are less concerned.  No furnace\u2026heat provided by a cast iron stove\u2026.Naoleon style”<\/div>\n

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

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Linoleum floor covering  scuffed and  worn out by boots and neglect.<\/div>\n

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

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A few clippings pinned to the walls\u2026with dates that stop abruptly around  2002 or so.<\/div>\n

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Now here is a visual story.  Farmer Moore seems to have been heterosexual.  Some ancient pin-ups and one modern.  Dates seem to have ended<\/div>\n
around 2002.   Something happened.  Farmer Moore was taken a retirement home.  It would be tough to leave his ladies  behind.<\/div>\n

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

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

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Old Hoosier Kitchen cupboard in  workshop with faded  pin-up girls sold  for around $30 or less<\/div>\n

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

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

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

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Farmer Moore  once long ago had a thriving poultry business.  12,000 laying hens snuggled  up to these straw lined nesting cubbyholes.   Eggs  collected  by <\/div>\n
the Moore\u2019s were sold in Millgrove and  perhaps as far south as Hamilton.   I wish it was possible to save a rack of these nesting cubbys   Why in tarsnation did <\/div>\n
I say that?  There  is no place for such.<\/div>\n

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The great cathedral roof has been ripped  open.  Rain water on piled hay and straw does  not take long to rot the threshing floor\u2026see below.<\/div>\n

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Stable door.  A kind of invitation to explore..<\/div>\n

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One was of the fieldstone stable has already collpsed.  Likely to be repeated by others as  no-one cares.<\/div>\n
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Lots of outbuildings on the Moore farm, all overgrown with shrubs and trees.  A  Tangled Garden.  And dangerous for beneath<\/div>\n
every step seemed to be the rusty remains of some long forgotten machine of agriculture.<\/div>\n

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Acres  of scrap so old that large walnut trees  have wrapped  themselves around rusty iron treasures\u2026whole field of scrap[ machines sold for \u2026I forget.  Make a bid.<\/div>\n

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This  is the auctioneer Jim McCartney making his way through  one of the hidden scrap pile.  How do I know this was once a horse driven mowing  machine?  Look  dead centre.<\/div>\n

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One  of the largest outdoor corn cribs  I have ever seen.  Tenty ortirty yearsagoit was filled with yellow corn cobs and teased upon why birds  and lots of rats until<\/div>\n
used to feed  the 12,000 chickens that Farmer Moore raised. Empty now..  No longer needed since corn taken off the field below is shelled  and blown<\/div>\n
into tractor trailers driven right up to the combine on under tiled fields and hauled to huge drying silos.  Modern corporate agriculture.  This crib is an object of<\/div>\n
art \u2026 doomed of course.<\/div>\n

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

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None of the machines worked\u2026had not been operational for nearly two decades.  This little John Deere sold for $2,200.  Buyer must be a collector.  Lots of bidders.<\/div>\n
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People are in search of specific treasures such as this tractor tire or\u2026OR?<\/div>\n

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And  here is the jewel of the auction sale in my opinion.   Wisner Wilcox fanning mill made in Brantford when Ontario was called  Canada West (C.W. stencilled)\u2026made between 1840 and 1867 by skilled  craftsmen who even gussied it up a bit with blue  striping.   This was  the reason I went to  Farmer Moore\u2019s  auction\u2026prepared<\/div>\n
to be disappointed  but instead  found the machine in impeccable shape.  Got it on first bid for  $25.  Expected to lose it for I noticed  a guy buy a fanning mill screen<\/div>\n
in the  workshop.  Kept my eye on him.  But he was gone.  Guess he could not wait. This  was the last ting sold at the auction.<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s all over\u2026 pay  up today\u2026you  have only tomorrow to get things out  of here\u2026then the padlock goes  on .”<\/div>\n

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Next day, Andrew and  Marjorie came with me to load the mill.  By then the farm had been stripped clean.    We were alone.<\/div>\n

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Want moe?  Just scroll down.<\/div>\n

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At some time  in the distant past a horses hitched  here.<\/div>\n

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(Imagine this\u2026not real comments)<\/div>\n

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\u201cAnd you  sir are now the owner of the back end of a half ton truck\u2026rust and all.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cHow do I move it?\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cShould have thought of that before you raised  your hand.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cI was  just scratching my nose.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cSome bidders just wink or nod their head  so the quick movement to get a bug out of your nose is considered a sound bid\u2026you own<\/div>\n
this now.  If you back your truck up, some of the fellows will tip it up and on.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t have a truck\u2026just a small car.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cWell, you could attach a chain  and drag the old truck  bed  down the road.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cBut  I live in Hamilton.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cBest haul  it  down  there at night then\u2026less police  around\u2026.might be a shower of sparks slip an old door under it.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhat will my wife say?\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cNow that, sir, is a good  question.  Good  luck!”<\/div>\n

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Wild cucmber vines festoon the place like  neglected  Chinese  Lanterns.<\/div>\n

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

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MY DAYS ARE  IN THE YELLOW LEAF<\/div>\n

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(Borrowed  from Lord Byron and William Shakespeare by Alan Skeoch\u2026on this  November day, in the year 2017)<\/div>\n

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alan skeoch<\/div>\n
November 3,2017<\/div>\n
Farmer Moore auction sale<\/div>\n
Auctioneer Jim McCartney<\/div>\n
Cashier  Kate McCartney<\/div>\n

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

Begin forwarded message: From: Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.com> Subject: ‘MY DAYS ARE IN THE YELLOW LEAF” Date: November 5, 2017 at 11:27:17 AM EST To: Marjorie Skeoch <marjorieskeoch@rogers.com> “MY DAYS ARE IN THE YELLOW LEAF\u201d* alan skeoch Nov. 3, 2017 \u201cLong ago I hung a little sign in the old pantry of our farm house\u2026.before we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1856","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1856\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}