Taking the Day Off
I’m taking the day off today for some much needed rest.
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The Death Blow
It seems like we go along unfazed by the cold until one morning we wake up to a blanket of crisp white. Yesterday morning was that morning.
The grass is completely white and crispy with frost and the fallen leaves are perfectly outlined, enhancing their beauty.
There were even frozen jeweled raindrops on some of the tree branches from the freezing rain we had the night before and the frost even covered the wood of the raised beds.
It’s fascinating how frost works, highlighting the tips of all of the leaves, outlining them in sparkling crystals.
With the frost comes a new season in the garden. I can now begin cleaning out the remnants of summer and start putting the garden to bed. I’m always reluctant to admit that winter is near until I witness the death blow that comes inevitable by surprise some morning.
The garden is now a mere shell of what it was at the height of summer. I can now admit that the glory is over and retreat to the warmth of the house to plan next summer’s gardens being thankful that I have photos of what I accomplished this summer.
This is the prodding I need, what gets you motivated to close out the gardening season?
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The Perfect Breakfast
The chickens are on strike at the farm, which means we haven’t had eggs for a while. I finally located another source for local pastured eggs and we were super excited to finally enjoy the perfect breakfast again. What makes up the perfect breakfast in my book: bacon (all-natural of course), homemade sourdough toast, eggs fried in bacon grease (MMMM, is there any other way to cook them?), and sauteed organic (semi-local) mushrooms (which can really go with any meal in my book). 
We can’t forget the raw milk latte made with Colombian coffee (it counts as local if my dad brings it back from Colombia for us doesn’t it?). What breakfast would be complete without coffee?
Eggs are really the perfect breakfast, lunch or dinner. They’re super healthy (especially if you buy local pastured ones) and you just can’t get much tastier! We frequently enjoy them for quick meals and are happy to have them in our diets once again!
What do you consider to be the perfect breakfast?
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Fall Chores: Cleaning out the Gutters
When you live in the woods you have a lot of chores in the fall; raking, planting, mulching, cleaning out gardens, mowing and cleaning out the gutters!
We usually wait until they’re all off the trees and then we get out the ladders and clean them out for those icy winter rains. It’s really not a bad chore since you end up with some brown matter for your compost pile. Mr Chiots usually gets up and does it, but I have on occasion. I took these photos last Thurs, and as you can see there are still a few leaves on the trees. We had a big wind storm on Friday night and now all the leaves are down (and the gutters are very very full of leaves).
I have most of my fall chores checked off the list so it looks like we’ll be out cleaning out the gutters on the next nice day. We’ll also be raking all the leaves in the front lawn. I’m planning on using the leaves to fill the crates I’ll be putting up around my hydrangeas (to keep those munching deer out).
What fall chores do you have yet to check off your list?
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Issue #2 in Ohio
There are a few big issues on the ballot here in Ohio this week. I always take time to research in order to make an informed decision on election day. I’m interested in safe, healthy, local food. Therefore, Issue #2 is of particular concern. If you don’t have an animal care issue on your ballot, you probably will soon.
I started seeing signs for Issue #2 about six weeks ago. At first glance it seemed like a great thing: “Safe, Local Food. Excellent Animal Care.” YAY! But then I noticed signs supporting Issue #2 in front of factory farms. HUH?
Everywhere you look you see signs that say “YES for ISSUE #2”. This past week we received 3 mailings for “YES for ISSUE #2”. The TV says to vote “YES for ISSUE #2”. But what about the other side?
Issues with great signage, TV commercials and mailings obviously have lots of money behind them. Lots of money points to corporate funding and special interests being involved, and that generally means it’s bad for the little guys I like to support (particularly when it comes to agriculture). In fact, “Big-Ag” is the last thing I think of when it comes to “Safe, Local Food. Excellent Animal Care.”
It is a red flag for me if an issue is heavily funded to one side. I came across this informative article: Analysis of contributions and donations for Issue #2
It was an eye-opening read. It definitely backed my suspicions that there is a lot of agri-business money behind “Yes for Issue #2”. Here are a few excerpts from the article:
The 12 largest contributors (all agribusiness interests) contributed at least $100,000 and gave a total of $1.4 million which is 35% of the total funds contributed. Three out-of-state interest groups contributed a total of $413,000 or 10% of all contributions to the PAC (United Egg Producers-Georgia), National Pork Producers Council (Iowa), Pioneer Hi-Bred (Iowa based seed and agrochemical firm).
Hog trade associations and operations contributed $624,106 (15%), egg trade associations and operations contributed $477,298 (12%), poultry associations and operations contributed $271,695 (7%), beef, dairy, and other livestock interests contributed $257,944 (6)%.
I find it interesting that none of largest donors are listed on the “Yes for Issue #2” website as a groups that endorse this issue.
Large agri-business would never back an issue that would cost them more money and make their work more difficult unless there was a hidden agenda.
So… who opposes Issue #2? A few organizations I regard highly are on the “Vote No” side.
These include: the Organic Consumers Association, The Weston A Price Foundation, Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association, Food & Water Watch, the Center for Food Safety, Cornucopia Institute, the Ohio Farmer’s Union, Local Matters, and many more.
Furthermore, I’m uncomfortable that Issue #2 amends the state constitution to create a board of people that aren’t elected and have no term limits. This board would have significant power and would be able to override the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture, any act by the state legislature, or any initiative or referendum brought before the citizens of Ohio. This means we lose our power as voters to a board of 13 people we did not elect. There are two government agencies in Ohio that are supposed to be providing us with “Safe, Local Food. Excellent Animal Care.” Why do we need a third? This just opens more doors to special interest groups.
I then ran across this article in the Madison Press with which I agree. We do need changes in the area of animal care not just here in Ohio but all over the country, but Issue #2 is like putting a bandaid on a severed limb. Passing Issue #2 would also make it more difficult to implement better legislation in the future. I’ve always believed that if you’re going to do something you better do it right the first time. Fixing it later will take more work and cost more money!
I think we can do much better than Issue #2. With the number of factory farms in Ohio we need to do better. I’m sure you can guess which way I’ll be voting on Issue #2.
I hope you spend some time digging and trying to figure out if the issues on your ballot are all they are cracked up to be. Try checking the funding, that’s usually where I find my answers.
How do you decide how you’re going to vote for the issues/bills in your state?
