It's a Hard Rain Gonna Fall

I don't have ducks. We did, Jaye and Andre. Jay laid eggs, they were tasty. The ducks must have been tasty too, as a fox got them early one morning, the first night they refused to go into their little duck house. Why? We never figured out. Can ducks have a death wish? But I digress.

It's a pity we don't have ducks, becasue today's weather was fit only for ducks and fish. It rained all day. It rained on my parade. We did have a small parade indoors at our Halloween Fair at work, which would have had a much better turn out had it not been pouring.

One of the great things about living on a few rural acres is that things you can't do in the city, becuase people will see or hear you, you can do up here. Like standing in the middle of the field at night, while the dog is running around sniffing out rabbits, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, foxes (go get em, boy) instead of doing what I brought him out to take care of -- standing in the field, the rain beating down on my uncovered head, splotching on my eyeglass lenses and singing every "rain" song I could think of in a not-too-subdued voice. It's sort of like Julie Andews spinning around on that mountain field singing about the hills being alive. Then the dog runs up and it's time to go in.

The Holidays Are Coming

OK, I've decided there are very few holidays I like. Easter (I don't have to do anything) Passover is great, because I just have to eat a great meal (admittedly after a long service, that in our family we take seriously, but have fun with). Independence Day is great, because I like fireworks! Now, however comes the season of dread...first comes Halloween, costumes, candy, and because of work, a huge event I've been prepping for for the past several days. Christmas and Chanukah are frought with figuring out gifts, sending out cards and far too many obligations. Thanksgiving is cool, if you're reading this, you probably know why, if you don't I'll blog about that later in the season. Then there's Arbor Day...all that schlepping of trees, digging, dirt....oh wait, I live on a farm, I like all that digging and dirt!!!!!!!

Too Tired to Blog

Well, it's been a loooong day! Started out at 8:00am at a breakfast meeting for the Ramapo-Catskill Library Association where I was the keynote speaker. The location was a restaurant on the top of a hill in Bloomingburg in Sullivan county. Looking out into the valley one could see all the way to New Paltz in Ulster. What a sight with the early sun shining down on autumn trees -- oranges, reds, greens, yellows, purples, blues, all blending one into the other. In the middle, a farmhouse, barn and silo surrounded by golf course green and manicured fields -- or so it seemed from the distance. Of course, being somewhere a half hour from home by eight, means up at six to throw goat and chicken feed where it must go, sprinkle some turtle food in the large one's tank, walk the dog, check the cats' bowls and shower and fall into some semi-respectable clothes.

I gave my talk on the history of movie making in the Neversink Valley, and I guess it went well because many people came up afterwards and I've already been booked to present it at the Monticello Library on January 14th. Me, performing in the Catskills, makes me feel like Jerry Lewis at Brown's all those years. I have to remember not to shout "HEYYYYYYY LAAAAAADEEEEEE" in the middle of my prepared notes.

Then off to work at the museum, where it was one thing after another (isn't it always), home for a quick bite and check on the animals, including the bees, and back to work for one of our benefit concerts....a little folk, a little blues, a little Neil Young, a good time was had by all. Miro Ludvik, who organizes these always puts on a good show (Find him on myspace).

Now home, too exhausted to move, as I didn't get enough sleep thanks to Macavity the monster of depravity, who snuck out just as I was about to go to bed last night and hid under the forsythias every time I tried to get him back in -- for an hour! I still can't decide if I should cut down the shrubs or make cat sausages this weekend!!!!!!!

Well, I know this isn't fascinating, but my nephew complains I don't blog often enough, so this one's for him -- I need to now check every pollster's website in the country to see what's happening in the electoral colleges since I last looked yesterday. Here's to Joe the plumber, who is really named Samuel, isn't a licensed polumber, and why should he care if Obama will rais ehis taxes? We learned he doesn't pay his taxes anyway!!!!!!!!

Country Matters

It's an interesting perspective, not living in a major city like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. Things in the "country" are just different. There is a certain quality of life that doesn't compare.
My friends keith adn Lisa own a restaurant, mostly Italian food. They've got a little bit of ;land surrounding it, and today held an Oktoberfest party. There were games for the kids, pick-your-own-pumpkins, a pumkin painting contest live band, a small truck with various Oktoberfest beers on tap, wine and food. Oh, the food! Sauerkraut, red cabbage, knockwurst, bratwurts and a pork loin rouladen that was out of this world and potato pancakes and potato salad. A few desserts including fried-to-order then stuffed with homemade lingonberry-raspberry preserves Berliners (as in Ich bin ein Berliner). A full plate of food was only $10.00. At dusk, everyone could walk or drive over to the town park, where a free haunted hayride was available to all who wanted to partake.

What struck me the most about this event, was the groups of neighbors, friends and acquaintances standing around in groups and chatting as would happen anywhere, a NYC cocktail party, Hollywood Oscar party, etc. But, folkks this is in exurban New York, 80 miles WNW of the city. Most lawns are dotted with McCain posters, many card have "Life Member of the NRA" stickers.....this is one of those places where "Liberal" is a four-letter word.
I am part of this community, I've worked at Keith and Lisa's restaurant off and on for nine years. Most of these people know me, I've ccoked and served a lot of food to them. Some also know me from my job at the museum. They know who I've been Bar Mitzvahed, can guess my political beliefs from my "Impeach Cheney First" and Obama bumper stickers, and most have met my partner of 14 years, David.

As I walked around his festival this afternoon, there wasn't a single small conversation group where someone didn't immediately grab my hand, or hug me, greet me with warm smiles and ask, as if truly interested how I was and what was happening in my life. And I'm talking about he men as well as the women -- well, women of all ages, and the men are the guys mostly in their 20's to early 40's. Yes hugging m the fag, not afraid that it might rub off on them or something.

Now, I'm not saying there's no homophobia or anti-semitism around here, but you'll find that anywhere. But most of these folks, the ones the city folk make fun of are decent, kind, caring individuals, who are quick to offer a hand when you need it, including some hard labor jobs. In NYC this happened during blackouts, in times of crises, but up here, there is a sense of community, and if you are willing to not act as if you know better because you are from "The City" then you are warmly welcomed and treated as the natives.
That's why I live here....oh adn the colors of the leaves through all of my windows is extraordinary now -- you city dwellers can't say that!!!!!!!

There's Honey in the Honeycomb

SOOOOOOO...here's what happens in Nature: when bees feel that their hive is threatened, they sting, which supposedly gets the attacker to leave them alone. It works.

A beautiful sunny afternoon...I open one hive and see: thousands of bees, lots of honey, rich thick comb, a few larvae. No sign of the Queen, maybe I missed her, no eggs, but as this is my first year with bees, I'm not sure if there should be any in the fall. The comb is rich golden, amber, drops of honey glistening in the sun.
....I close up the hive and go to the second one... lots of rich honey, the bees seem a bit more agitated than the first hive, I move slowly, they calm down. Top box, no problem, middle box, no problem...just the weight of moving the honey-filled frames. Bottom box is "swarming" (quotes because they aren't literally swarming) with bees on top and throughout. I remove the first frame, start to look at the next, when a bee lands on my right ring finger and another on my right forearm. BAM, the one on my finger stings me (she's dead) the one on my arm, which is so huge, I fear it's the queen starts dancing and I scrape it off, scratching my arm in the process. As it turns red and my finger starts to swell up I decide not to finish going through the rest of the box. UGH. I put everything back together, get the dog and go back inside, nursing my wounds until the debate comes on.

MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES

So while the rest of the world is worried about Sarah palin and Wall Street Bailouts, I've had my head in boxes and boxes of reels of film --- it must be miles of plastic!! Today I picked up over 350 films, almost all silents, as the beginnnings of the film library of the Neversink Valley Area Museum Institute for Early Film Studies. there are some amazing classics, fun comedies, from DW Griffith in 1908 to the early 1930's. I can't wait to set up some projectors and look at these. The non-period pictures are great insights to styles and fashions of the day, all of them them reflect the morals of the period they were filmed in. This is an amazing treasure trove and I feel priviledged to be able to be their keeper for a while. I now must look for opportunities to show them, and more importantly, raise the money for the proper temperature and humidity controlling equipment and monitors. I know how I'm spending the grey days of winter this year!