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[Akka Homestead <akkabhomestead AT yahoo.com>]

On my way back in from picking blueberries-yet another gallon for the freezer 
and the bushes just keep on bearing... I noticed that about half of my 
Spokane Beauty apples were gone!  That only means one thing...DEER.  So, I 
reached up and picked the largest apple on the tree and brought it inside.  I 
took some pictures of it for future reference.  It is not entirely red yet, 
but it supposed to need a few more weeks.  Apparently the deer did not think 
so..  I also brought in an Arkansas Black for comparison.  I can definitely 
see why it is called Black as the red is so dark that it is almost black.   
I'll try them later.  My big surprise is that I noticed that on my Red 
Delicious tree there was a 'twin' that I had missed on the thinning...One 
twin was large, one was misshapen and small.  I plucked the small one and 
just for kicks, tasted it.  Oh my gosh, was it GOOD..  I never liked the Red 
Delicious store apples-too mealy and bland.  This
 apple had crunch, and it was juicy and sweet.  I can't even imagine what the 
other twin would taste like.
A few months back we decided to try different apple varieties from the store. 
 Of all the varieties I could find,Gala, Fujis, Pink Lady, Granny Smiths, 
both Deliciouses and others, the Pink Lady was our favorite, but this Red 
Delicious tops that, hands down.  And this variety is supposed to be picked 
in late September, not early September...can you imagine the sweetness it 
will have in a few weeks?
Now, what to do with all those RD apples...making applesauce seems like a 
waste of a good eating apple...I'm not sure how it would work for 
pies...might be okay.  I don't think this variety is a super keeper, so I 
have to do something.
More later as I taste test the Arkansas black and the Spokane Beauty apples 
which are a month early.

Akka




>From akkabhomestead AT yahoo.com  Fri Sep  5 13:47:39 2008
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From: Akka Homestead <akkabhomestead AT yahoo.com>
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Subject: [Homestead] Enjoy the quiet while it lasts...
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Welcome back Jeannie.  I don't know why the list is so quiet.  With the 
Republican Convention providing so much ammo, it is certainly amazing to me 
that so far not a shot has been fired. ;)
I am just staying busy, still trying to clean up the property and do small 
projects.
I finished remaking candles, and creating a new 'resting nook' in the front 
yard.  DH built a rustic bench along the driveway, and I created a faux rock 
to cover the wellhead and then landscaped the whole area.  I think that by 
next year that no one will even suspect that there is a well right smack dab 
in the middle of the front yard.  The grasses and knockout rose needs time to 
grow.
Tonight we will finish what DH is calling the chicken fortress.  It is a 
fortified area of the chicken moat that has a fence roof and metal at the 
ground to thwart digging.  The metal is cut, it is just a matter of dragging 
the air nailer over and installing it.  This will provide a safe haven for 
the chickens if predators come stalking, and yet, in good times, we can open 
the door and they will have access to the moat or the garden area, whichever 
I choose.  The fortress area is 24 feet long, 10 wide on the coop end, six 
feet wide at the moat end-and six feet tall to allow for walking room.  
 A few days ago, we identified our latest chicken predator.  It is a 
'neighborhood' dog-a bird dog-spaniel type.  Jasper cornered a wild turkey 
almost exactly at the spot where he had been entering the chicken moat.  He 
had ripped the moat fencing, which was mostly chicken wire at that spot.   
Jasper will not enter the fortress area, nor will any other canine.  Airborne 
predators, our second biggest problem, are also thwarted.  

On a weirder front, it seems that perhaps one of my hens might be a rooster.. 
 I haven't heard any crowing, but it's a young bird-maybe 5-6 months old.  I 
got her(him) from a neighbor in a barter.  I always thought this particular 
bird looked a bit butch with it's large comb and upright posture, but it is a 
mixed breed bird and who was I to say otherwise?  Anyway, he/she/ is mounting 
other birds, AND came at me yesterday while I was in the pen.  Sounds like 
rooster behavior...  If that's true, then I have 5 hens and a rooster.  

I've got the truck almost loaded with scrap metal.  I am lacking two things, 
both are really heavy and I'll need to get my neighbor's tractor to get it on 
the truck.  The bathtub and that metal cage. I hope this pays for the gas.  I 
almost hate doing it because I know that this metal will end up in China 
supporting their industrial growth.  You know the WTC is now Chinese 
scrap.... I had this weird paranoid dream that America had sold all of it's 
scrap metal and then the invasion came and there was no longer any metal for 
ammunition...I dream crazy stuff like that.

Okay, so that should be enough fodder to start some kind of conversation on 
the list.  Or try this tidbit:  I've always known the media was liberal and 
'left wing', but I've never seen such blatant bias as I did during the 
conventions.  During the Dem convention, it was televised on all network 
channels from 8 to 11 or later every night.  CNN headlines online were always 
about Obama and the convention.  Then, the Republicans convene and there's 
very little coverage, usually starting at 10pm and lasting for an hour.  Only 
PBS carried it the whole thing, as far as I could tell.  If you looked at the 
CNN page, they were talking about everything but politics.  When it comes to 
air time for conventions, both parties should have equal air...you shouldn't 
be running Wife Swap and Supernanny while the convention is held.  I also 
think that the impromptu Ron Paul convention should have received more news 
coverage.  All they seemed to want to talk about
 was Palin's daughter's pregnancy, which would never have even been an issue 
if she were male.  They should have been all over that Bridge to Nowhere 
stuff, but it is like the networks only want the tabloid sensational stuff, 
not anything with real meat.
Rant mode off..

Akka B, watching a couple of cardinals take a bird bath







>From genegerue AT ruralize.com  Fri Sep  5 17:33:36 2008
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> I just turned my subscription back on and got emails for one day and
> now nothing.  I"m curious!
> Jeanne

Curiosity is good, Jeanne. Without curiosity we just float on the
water of life, absorbing nothing.

We will not criticize you for leaving us, if only temporarily--in
truth, several of us have also made mistakes in our lives.

Are you getting any of the Hurricane Gustav rain that we just felt
over the last couple of days? We took three and a half inches, so
maybe there is none left for you Tennessee hillbillies.