Busy Bees

We’re busy as bees here at Chiot’s Run. I’m trying to take advantage of these nice days to get all the end of the season garden chores finished up, so not much time to blog. Here’s a bee I spotted on the larkspur while working outside yesterday. Looks like he’s trying to get ready for winter as well.

What are we spending the days doing? We’re building a cold frame for our carrots (photos of that coming later). I’ve been watering like crazy, trying to make sure all the plants are well-watered going into the winter. There are bushels and bushels of leaves to rake, raised beds to make, weeding to finish, and mulching to do. Not to mention the cleaning of all the garden tools & pots and moving everything in to the garage for winter storage.

Is everyone else busy taking advantage of this beautiful weather?

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Taking Advantage

Mr Chiot’s and I love Election Day, none of this early voting for us, there’s just something about getting up on Election Day and casting your ballot in that little booth, taking advantage of the freedom we have in this great country.

We have a ritual: we get up drink coffee, leash up the Chiots and walk down to the voting place. It’s a nice walk, a little over 2 miles each way. This morning was especially beautiful with the warm sunny fall weather.

We live in a lake community so we vote at the clubhouse which is at the main beach, a beautiful destination.

We tied the Chiots up to a post outside and then in we went to cast our ballots.

After voting we started out leisurely walk home. Unfortunately we didn’t have as nice of a walk home. There was another dog owner not following the leash laws and her dogs ran out and one of them attacked Lucy (unfortunately she had her Halti Head Collar – 3 on so she couldn’t really fight back). So the rest of our morning was spent calling the sheriff and the vet and then running down the vet’s office for Lucy to get some staples to seal up the wounds. So 3 hours later and $50 poorer, we’ve cast our ballots.

WARNING: graphic photo coming up next.

So what did Lucy vote for?* Upholding the leash laws of course.

*Actually Lucy isn’t registered to vote, didn’t vote and no voter fraud took place this morning here at Chiot’s Run.

So did you vote early or do you like the Election Day experience like we do?

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One More Reason

I found this article recently. This is yet another reason to buy your meat from a local pastured farm.

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Local Turkey Day

Mr Chiot’s and I are so excited about this Thanksgiving. We ordered a turkey from Robert’s Farm, they’re pastured turkeys. They live in these turkey tractors, each week when I go to the farm they are in a different spot in the field, that way they can eat bugs & grass. When I was out at the farm picking up my milk & eggs I snapped a few photos of the turkeys. I think they have to be some of the ugliest animals (along with opossums). I wonder which one is ours?


We will pick it up the Sunday before Thanksgiving freshly butchered. I have high hopes for the deliciousness of this turkey.

Any of you getting a local turkey for this Thanksgiving?

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Daylight Savings Time

What is the deal with Daylight Savings Time anyways?

The tunnel of winter has settled over our lives, ushered in by that great official Hoodwink, the end of daylight savings time. Personally I would vote for one more hour of light on winter evenings instead of the sudden extra-early blackout. Whose idea was it to jilt us this way, leaving us cold in November with our unsaved remnants of daylight petering out before the workday ends? In my childhood, as early as that, I remember observing the same despair every autumn: the feeling that sunshine, summertime, and probably life itself had passed me before I’d even finished a halfway decent tree fort. But mine is not to question those who command the springing forward and the falling back.

Barbara Kingsolver (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle)

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