Dirty Future

Well, the messes are starting to hit closer to home...

The pipeline leak in northwest Alberta, that most North Americans have likely heard of by now, happened around 2 or 3 hours north of me. This 28,000 barrel mess brought immediately to mind the pipeline which runs through our summer pasture property...the lovely little lightly forested piece of wildlife filled wonder that it is. Plus there are 2 pumpjacks operating on the land as well. These land leases have actually been the farm's largest source of income for several years now. I know many farmers now rely on the income from oil and gas activity on their land, most able to close their mind to the myriad of potentially disastrous possibilities. I know Dad thought a great deal before agreeing to accept these leases, and I gave him a very hard time over it as well. But in the end, I agree with his reasoning. They were going through our area no matter what. If we had refused they would have simply put bends in the pipeline or put their pump jacks across the fence and we'd have the danger AND no revenue. So the money was accepted and put to as good use as possible.

But the much larger problem is that these disastrous possibilities are only going to increase in likelihood of occurring as infrastructure that was too rapidly built and installed begins to age and decay. And as peak oil becomes more and more of an issue, the shout for drilling in more and more sensitive areas WILL occur. Last year's Gulf of Mexico disaster was a perfect example, as should be obvious by how quickly that mess has faded from attention. If we cannot shift to demanding less consumption, we will ravage every last corner of this planet for its "resourcees".

Are people waking up quickly enough and in large enough numbers to stave off this ugly, dirty future? Or are we just waiting for another quick fix, happy to sit inside and consume until there is nothing left but to fight over the few remaining scraps?

I will keep working for the former (there is much more that I should do, than I actually do), as I know many will...but I can`t help but feel the latter is what will occur. May we prove this feeling wrong.

More to come on this, I`m sure, though the next post will be of a lighter nature. I promise.

Royal Pain In The ...

As regular readers are likely to guess, I have had about enough of hearing about the impending "royal" wedding. The only thing I am really curious about is just how many people truly care about this bullshit and are able to feel anything but disgust for the waste that is about to occur. I know some people still buy into the fairy tale but I would really like to know if it is the vast majority that the amount of news coverage seems to suggest. Or are most people like me, wondering why the hell we're supposed to accept that these people are to be so venerated.

But I'm pretty sure that there are a LOT of people who are still caught up in the reality fairy tale. It is just another example of the ongoing and heavily funded cult of celebrity in this part of the world. I can say this though, I live in Canada but I recognize no monarch. I so wish my country would finally grow up and cut its ties to this sadly outdated, even if primarily only symbolic, branch of government.

But I suppose I do have to admit that the dark and/or cynical side of me does wonder if this princess will last longer than the previous one.

Real Wisdom

These words about responsibility and real leadership ring so loud and true to me. They are the message I want to both share and live, expressed by one with many more winters and much more wisdom than I.



I pray with all I am that we take heed.

Mmmm Supermarket Meat

Here is more good news for folks who think modern industrial agriculture provides the healthiest food possible.

Now, granted, I think the amount of samples taken on which to base this research is much too small...but the results are no less worrisome. I`m not sure just what it will take to convince North Americans that extra money spent on food raised or grown by decently paid small scale local farmers is well worth having a few less toys to show off to the neighbors.

Lifting The Veil

Lifting The Veil (viewable on Vimeo by following the link) is a rousing documentary-style presentation that calls to task Obama`s "hope" and "change" rhetoric by summarizing hypocritical appointments to and actions by his administration. Most importantly, this excellent piece is yet another reminder that, and this is an especially important note for we Canadians as we head into yet another federal election, the act of voting is a very small (albeit greatly significant) aspect of being a part of a democratic society. We must wake up and live our lives actively and conscientiously.

There is an excellent segment about halfway through where one speaker makes a remarkably simple yet accurate summation of the current state of affairs; the tiny ownership class of the world population has managed to be able to stop paying laborers higher wages to match higher living expenses and have instead used the massive profits made from keeping labor costs as low as possible to lend the labor class back the shortfalls caused by low wages (WITH interest!), allowing the owner class to profit even more AND granting them greater power over the masses. Realizing this made me work very hard to avoid buying into the typical modern sport of competitive consumption and status hunting.

Also, Chris Hedges fans will enjoy the clip of an excellent speech at the end of the presentation. It alone is worth the watch...reminiscent of the Reverend Dr. King as far as I am concerned. I hope others will find it as share-worthy as I did.

Peace and comfort.

Spring! And Moving Forward?

Well, it looks like spring has finally started to settle in here in north west Alberta Canada. We have had a good week of sunshine and mild temperatures so the snow is starting to melt nicely. The Canada geese and seagulls have started to return; I actually saw the first goose fly over a week ago. The poor thing must have been worried as there is no water anywhere, it would have been looking down at a whole lot of white.

Like I was saying, all this snow has really been melting and you can tell how much wind we had over the last half of winter as some patches are still feet deep and in other places the ground is already coming through. But you can also tell how very dry it has been as much water is seeping straight into the ground, very very quickly. Unless we have a damp spring, in a couple of months it could look like we had little runoff at all. It will take years of this much snowfall to restore local water levels, including our precious slough. We may find ourselves missing all the mud that we will spend the next couple of weeks slopping around in.

My parents made it back from their trip so the farm has been passed back into their hands. No more prime responsibility for me for now, and despite getting snowed in and wrenching my neck BADLY, there were no real reportable occurrences. No spring calves have yet appeared although 3 heifers and one old cow are looking quite close. Given how badly I strained a group of muscles in my neck, its a damn good thing nothing happened. That first day I was in more pain than I ever remember feeling before. Thank goodness my sister was able to help me with feeding the pigs and cattle that morning, as I don't see how I would have been able to do so all on my own. It was a real lesson in just how hard it would be, trying to run a farm by oneself.

In regards to my sporadic blogging, I suppose I should just say right out that it is unlikely that my posting will accelerate here anytime soon, if at all. I had originally meant for this blog to be a place for me to rant and share some of my passions in a relatively anonymous fashion, and to explore my ideas about balance. I still intend to do these things and sometimes will want to do so anonymously. But I am also feeling a need to be less anonymous for various reasons, not the least being my desire to advertise and write about happenings on the farm and that part of my journey. As such, I am trying to decide just how to move forward.

And its not that I have nothing about which to rant or try to foster conversation. Quite the opposite. There is soooo much shit going on out in the real world, so much to talk about, mourn, even to yell about. So much that I often don't know how to start talking about it here. And I think it might be time for me to stop being quite so much of a chicken shit, and say my piece a little more openly.

A Poem From My Granny

Its funny how little we often know about people, even those very close to us. For example, I never knew that my Granny was fond of poetry; both reading it and writing it. I can't remember if I found it or if my aunt showed it to me, but I wanted to share this poem that Granny wrote. I do not know when she wrote it but I am guessing it was many years ago.


My home is on a farmstead extending to the shore
Of a shiny little lakesite and who could wish for more
Than the bounty and contentment that such a place affords
With scenery, peace, and freshness as added rewards.

I've been wakened in the morning by the rooster's early call
and been summoned to the barnyard by the calf's discontented bawl
With squealing from the pigsty and the tomcat's hungry meow;
I'm undoubtedly reminded there's lots of work to do.

There's excitement and happenings in a place such as this
From the cheeping of the young turks to the gander's defiant hiss
And George, the cocky rooster, makes you keep your eye askance;
He's eager for a round or two, you can tell that at a glance.

Here's the doleful sound of the seagull, but to harmonize just right
The red-winged blackbird does his part and sings with all his might.
The stately swans and cygnets - birds of every size and hue
Makes the lake seem alive with wildlife the whole night through.

The muskrat cruises through the reeds as her young around her play
And a somber coot with her red eyed pair can be seen any time of day.
The "hilldiver" scurries to and fro with victuals for her two
while the prolific mallard with her brood has even more to do.

There is sewing and reaping from sunrise until sundown
And occasionally things happen to make you wear a frown
But this is secondary to the satisfaction I acquire
When the hungry have been bedded down and I'm ready to retire.

I never knew that Granny felt so much like I do about this place. As long as I can remember, she pretty much only spoke of work that needed doing. I wish I had known this side of her while she was still alive but I'm glad I at least know it now.

Drifted In...Again

Another March day, another blizzard. At least the temperature is not so low this time, but still should see a couple feet of snow from yesterday until tomorrow, plus enough wind to drift us in nicely. This time, however, I am stuck at the farm as opposed to away from it. With the folks gone for two weeks and a snowfall warning in effect, I decided I'd better stay at the farm last night.

Good thing too. Looks like we're stuck here until at least sometime tomorrow.

Damn La Nina. This needs to wind down soon and let spring come or we're going to have to source out some more bedding and maybe even some hay.

Ah well, such is life in the relatively far north.

Citizens

This might be the best 10 minute presentation that I have seen to date:



Those who are already awake will find some more good material on the presenter's Youtube channel.

March Ponderings

As I spend my days looking at the several feet of snow still piled high here in mid-March, and knowing there is likely more to come, it seems as though spring may never come. While I know it may be a cool and damp year, I know that spring will indeed return. And I am thankful to only have a long winter to contend with.

In truth, this long winter is a blessing in some ways. While feed and bedding for the cattle grow short, at least I know we have plenty of moisture for replenishing the horribly dried out marsh lake and for growing this year's crops...assuming we are able to get any in the ground.

I will take this winter, however, over the suffering that seems to be occurring in more and more places every day. Almost every day brings fresh news of some social/geopolitical upheaval or of some new catastrophe in the natural world. As I doubt there is much chance of social unrest in my specific part of the world until Peak Resources really sets in, I can't help but wonder when Mother Nature will direct her displeasure with humanity in this direction.

Maybe spring is not coming after all...

Another SoapBox Update

I can't believe that this is my first post in February. The reasons vary, I think the greatest being the sheer number of big things to talk about. As usual in this part of the world at this time of the year, however, few of these things are happening here. Yet I feel that this is very much as it should be.

One of the aspects of farming in this part of the world (with our current levels of technology) that I really appreciate, is the downtime that comes with winter. If one desires to retain some simplicity in this increasingly complicated world, it is necessary to accept and enjoy this downtime and to use it appropriately. In the past, I have used this time to educate myself in some new areas and to develop outlets like this blog. But this winter I feel I have slipped back into something of an escapist mode.

I see so much rapid change in the world, from the obvious social reform being demanded (and hopefully won) in North Africa and the Middle East, to the increasing social unrest due to exploding inequality in North America, to increasing tension between various nations due to increasing resource scarcities and/or religious ideologies, to climate craziness thanks to a La Nina cycle that might just be strengthened by our industrial activities, to ecological catastrophes that are most definitely the result of our industrial activities and addiction to fossil fuels. I would certainly like to be part of discussions about all of these issues but I often just don't know where to start.

As such, I thought I would stick with the primarily escapist theme and offer a bit of a brief SoapBox update, albeit a picture-less one this time around.

I've been doing a slow vermicompost harvest over the past few weeks and it looks like I'm going to go into spring planting with about 4 10-litre pails of good, moist worm castings. It is a little more moist that I would prefer, but I'm not sure how to do much better in the rubbermaid tub environment. I really hope I can figure out a way to take the next step up in scale. Lord only knows we have the shit to feed a good amount of manure worms. On a side note here, I am now a great fan of the molded packing filler made from shredded cardboard. It makes fantastic bedding, whereas the polystyrine and other oil derived packing fillers are just chemical waste as far as I am concerned. I just tore these molded filler pieces up like I do drink trays and it works like a charm. I hope people understand what I'm referring to here as I have had no luck finding a picture or some kind of reference online, to show what I mean.

While the future of our cattle herd is somewhat uncertain, its age has decreased significantly. A period of melting last week allowed us to take advantage of strong prices and sell 3 old cows. These animals had been on the farm for nearly 20 years so it was somewhat sad to see them go, and it is my sincere hope that they came to as humane an end as possible. One of them was a bit of a knot-head that liked to boss the others around, but the other two were quite gentle and all delivered many many excellent calves. We are now just a few weeks from a nervous period, as 4 heifers will be calving for the first time and I may be the only one around to monitor the activities. It'd be my first time being of prime responsibility at such a time.

Actually, it should be 5 heifers but one of the Blonde D'Aquitaine's we bought last year is having a difficult time conceiving. I think she'd be solidly on the selling list now but for the fact that the bull we have now is young and small and seems like he might still be a bit hit and miss in the breeding department. She seems a bit immature in that area still, being quite skittish when he tries to mount, plus she is quite tall and has what I think is an odd angle of "entry". Her sister, however, is heavy in calf and has filled out beautifully. If she calves well, in a year or two she is likely to be our largest and best looking cow. There will be pictures of her here before too long, likely after she calves.

Our feeder hogs have done nicely too, and are starting to be ready for butchering. Its kind of a bad time as we still have quite a bit of snow and March can be kind of stormy. Thankfully we are not selling at market so we don't have to worry about being docked if they are a but over weight. We are also trying a new butcher that is almost an hour away as we are quite sure the big local butcher did not give us our own bacon last year. The bacon we got was fatty and substandard and there's just no way it came from the fit young animals we delivered. But with the price of fuel spiking again, this could prove to be a costly experiment. Any butchers want to start a small shop in northwest Alberta?

It's getting to be rather late here so I think I will leave the update here. I will see about sharing some pictures soon, I promise.

So for now, peace and comfort to all.

Magic Snow Balls

Every so often, here in the frozen north, conditions are just right for a curious phenomenon (I suggest clicking on the pictures for a larger view).


Nope, we weren't attempting to create winter lawn bowling with snowballs. This phenomenon can sometimes occur when we get a deep snowfall in cool temperatures, followed by a rise in temperature to just above freezing, accompanied by a strong warm wind. As you might imagine, these conditions do not occur with much regularity. The last time I remember seeing this happen, I was probably around 13 or 14 and it happened at night. It was also much larger in scale. So we woke up the next day to fields of snow covered in snowballs ranging from around baseball size up to perhaps volleyball size, all with a long trail marking their creation. I wish I had a picture from back then, but these were taken just a couple of days ago.


Pretty cool, huh?

Snow Day 2

Well, after a night of more snow and no grader work done on the farm road, it was a second day of not being at the farm. It snowed all day and is still coming down so its hard to say if I will even get there tomorrow. Looking out at the parking lot and my buried truck, I'm not sure I'll be able to get out. Just another sign that I should be living out there.

When I do get out there, I can tell I will be blowing a shitload of snow. Having said this, I suppose I have little room to complain as its nowhere near the amount of snow that has fallen out east. And the forecast is for above freezing temperatures later in the week so I will be able to use the tractor to clear a lot of snow away. I may wish I had put the chains on though.

Oh well, we'll see what it will be.

Peace and comfort, all.

Adult Snow Day

So, the phone rings this morning, about 45 minutes before I would normally head to the farm for the day. Turns out there was enough snowfall over night, combined with drifting, that my little 2 wheel drive truck would likely not make it down the road from the highway. So I am having my first day "off" in a few months.

Now while this did make me smile, it was a very guilty smile and I do not really like the time off because it means most of what I normally do has to be done by my should-be-retired parents...plus using the snow-blower to open the paths and road up so that these chores can be done. Not only that, but its still pretty cold here at -27 C. But at least its not windy like yesterday where the windchill had the temperature down around -37 C (although I swear it felt colder at times).

Still, I must say that I feel an exhilaration being outside even in those conditions, an exhilaration that I do not recall in my youth. Back then it would have been hard to get me outside at all, never mind enjoying it so much. Now, I must point out that in a lot ways we are operating little more than a hobby farm at this point. We are tending to less than 20 head of cattle, 6 hogs, and around 130 chickens. This can still be a fair amount of work though, when real winter returns like this. For example, it will have taken at least 2 hours to clear the driving areas of snow today. This must be done whenever there is enough snowfall or drifting, such has been the case twice this week. I know this kind of thing is faced by farmers all over the north, and I am not complaining, merely pointing out that at this time of year the smaller amount of animals we have does not necessarily mean a lot less work.

From a certain perspective though, I still have things pretty easy. I'm generally only out there for 5 or 6 hours a day during the winter. I was doing just 2 or 3 as that was enough to do the lion's share of the work that needed doing, but when I realized that putting the calves and their mothers back in at night was taking dad around an hour...when it just takes me minutes...I decided to find ways to fill in the couple of hours until the early evening when they need to go back in. So now, to fill in that extra time, I have been building a fire in the wood stove in the old house that I grew up in. I then "cook" up some rolled barley for mom's chickens, giving them a warm meal for their gizzards once a day. This seems to be really helping them to lay more regularly during what is becoming a bit of a cold winter. We have our two male barn cats in the old house while a stray female is around, and they just love it when that fire gets stoked up. One of them sits on the oven door, basking in the direct heat from the oven. The fatter one sits on top of the stove until it gets too hot for his feet, then he gets up on the adjacent pantry, laying up there snoozing and absorbing the less intense heat. I must remember to take some pictures of these handsome, if nosy, young fellows, though I have been meaning to do so for months.

But back to my snow day, after a bit of a guilty nap, I figured I should take advantage of the time home to catch up on some cleaning in the kitchen and general tidying. Nowhere near all that should be done, but some of the blatant tasks. I also had the chance to have a look at my one operating worm bin here at the condo. The few worms I brought out from the farm seem to be doing quite well but I see I must bring some more. I also rooted through the one finished bin, loosening the wet castings up so that some of the moisture can evaporate, as well as fishing out 5 or 6 worms that still remained. It never ceases to amaze me how long worms can survive with very little attention, even in finished castings.

I'm quite excited about the amount of castings that I have for the next growing season. All together I must gave enough to fill one large Rubbermaid tub, although it is all quite wet so could be mashed into quite a dense little clump if that is what I wanted...which I do not. Suffice it to say, there is easily 3 times as much as we had last year, which yielded a very nice tomato patch. In addition, I found a naturally occurring deposit of worm castings in one of our old barns late this fall. These worms had been protected by a thick pile of plywood which had been forgotten and left laying flat over a thick layer of cow manure. So before the snow fell I was able to gather about 6 large sacks of dry fluffy worm castings...just perfect and ready for the garden come spring. This should mean one kick ass garden this year. I'm kind of excited.

Back to my day off. Peace and comfort, brothers and sisters.

A New Year Song

I've had this Youtube video open on my browser since before Christmas, as I waited for the right way to share its meaning for me.




Listening to it again now, I realize that it suits this New Year time quite well. For me, the new year period is a time of reflecting on what has been and what may come. This song just rings with that message.

And then it is a special song to me for another reason as well.

You see, I first heard this song on the local country music radio station, somewhere in the early 90's. It was credited to a new duo on the Canadian music scene, Bourne and Macleod. At the time, the song struck me as quite beautiful and I found Bill Bourne's voice to be very original.

A couple of years later, I was at a nearby summer music festival known as the North Country Fair. I had never heard of this event until a good friend went and returned with many fun tales. The Fair is something very rare in Alberta, a very "hippy" sort of folk-ish little festival in rural Northern Alberta. It's local nickname is actually The Hippy Fair. Turns out that attending this festival was a sort of magical part of what was probably the most fun summer of my life, to date...kind of my summer of '69 I guess. I won't try to share how just amazing a weekend this was, but for now I'll just say that Bill Bourne was performing at this festival so I had a chance to see the top hat and funky glasses wearing musician live. As I recall, he was playing with Shannon Johnson. Anyway, I know I heard him play this song at the festival. I also got to learn that he was as enjoyable live as canned.

Fast forward a couple more years, to my first year working for the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival. Back then the office and technical staff had plenty of socializing/fraternizing opportunities and I had developed a rather large crush on the cute volunteer coordinator. One Friday night we were hosting a fundraiser concert and I went, quite excited at the chance to chat her up a bit. Not only that but one of my favorite musicians of the time, Bill Bourne, was going to be playing. It was sure to be a good night.

Well I showed up to the event and, after chumming with some friends, went looking for the focus of my crush...only to be crushed myself when I found her at a table with some office staff...cuddled up to...you guessed it...Bill Bourne. Suddenly one of my favorite musicians feels like the enemy. I gotta say, that was a pretty uncomfortable moment. I was so put off that I didn't even go over to meet the man.

Anyway, I've never run into him since. Which is surprising in a way, since I have worked with so many other Canadian artists in one way or another. If I had taken the offered gig at the local college though, I'd have worked one of his performance last year.

Funny how these things go sometimes isn't it?

But yeah, it seems like a good song for this time of the year. My thanks to the person who shot and uploaded this video. If only I could find one of Bourne and Macleod themselves.

The Last Straw?

It's probably about time to try to talk about what is likely the straw to break the back of Jackson's Corner Farm, before it even officially exists as such. I've wanted to write about this since this last spring, but I'm still not just sure how to start. I guess the only way is to just start typing and see what happens.

I had originally thought to present via images but it will likely soon become clear as to why I've decided to forgo this plan, for now at least.

You see the thread began in the spring of '09 in that as I was driving to the farm one morning I saw that the neighbor was using a massive new tractor. I stopped to snap some pictures as this neighbor exemplifies the modern industrial farming method. This family rents large parcels of farmland in the area, each massive field containing one crop such as barley, wheat, canola. They have a yard down the road that must contain at least $3 to $5 million in equipment and sheds. Then there are at least two massive granary complexes, one in the yard near us and another about 10 miles away. Now these are not as large as a regional shipping facility, but still very large complexes. I cannot begin to imagine what their credit tallies must look like.

Anyway, the point is that this picture is of a massive tracked tractor with cultivator and trailing fertilizer applicator working a specific corner of a field that is adjacent to our last field. Later that year, their field was surveyed and a large section along the train tracks was staked off. Obviously there was going to be some kind of development here but details were sketchy and I didn't personally investigate at all. So this last spring, on a similar trip to the farm, I noticed that work was beginning on the part of the staked area that was in the aforementioned picture. All summer long we watched work progress, and 2 massive steel tanks were eventually built. Everyone in the area wondered what was going on over there, the general consensus being that some kind of asphalt facility was being built. Whatever it was going to be, I doubted it was going to be terribly healthy to live near, never mind grow food beside.

Finally, some signage went up on the chain link fence and sure enough, this is phase one of a Colasphalt facility. Highways are great and all, but I wonder just how many toxic chemicals go into making them. So then we find out through a notice in the newspaper, that they have dug two wells on their property and so they plan to take all their water from less than a mile from us and not far from many neighbors who use water wells.

A small group of these people have come together with various concerns, the more astute of them realizing that there are some significant risks to air, water and soil. Unfortunately, some of the more vocal people in this group are arguing that we must choose between trying to defer the building of the final two phases of the facility, and having any influence over the situation at all. I can't help but find this position terribly frustrating for several reasons, one of the biggest being the fact that this is a huge corporation and I'm hard pressed to believe they will do anything other than cut every corner possible in the interest of maximizing profit.

This might be a bit shallow and perhaps even hypocritical but a large issue, as far as I am concerned at least, is the destruction of property values, particularly for my family as we will now be sandwiched between a landfill sited directly up wind and this asphalt facility. Even if a decision is made to sell, it is seems likely that it will bring but a fraction of what such well kept and formerly well located land should be worth.

All in all, I find it a rather depressing situation. I know it is a situation that is occurring all over the world but it blows my mind and pisses me off royally that so few seem concerned about the situation. I wonder, as I think I've commented before, if the concentration of apathy is not much higher here, being primarily a resource extraction economy. It's time to start thinking more realistically about where to go, what to do. Or maybe I'm wrong. It is possible that peak oil could significantly harm the viability of this facility and if things start to grind to a halt around 2015, perhaps all is not yet lost.

*deep breath*

Ah well, that's enough thinking on it for one day. Peace to all.

No More White Hats

This is hardly a new analogy but when I was growing up, in the late 70's and 80's, it always seemed that WW2 had shown that the world is split into the good and the bad. The White Hats and the Black, if one is a fan of the American Western (as I most definitely must admit to being). The Black Hats were the Fascist and then the Communist countries while the White Hats were worn by the west. USA was The Lone Ranger (with a healthy mix of Jesus) and I guess Britain was Tonto. I think mine was pretty much the last generation to have this image of the US as the rotten parts (being involved in setting up "friendly" dictatorships, for example, no matter how brutal) were starting to become more and more known.

I began to see my own country, Canada, as one of the last White Hats, perhaps even a potential Marshall. But soon enough it became obvious that our proximity to the failing hero was leading to our own corruption. It could be argued that when manufacturing drove the western empire, Ontario was where US influence really took hold in Canada. NAFTA gained its foothold this way and now that natural resources and energy have taken over, Alberta seems to be the strongest connection.

So I look around now and don't see much white anywhere, other than snow...

China looks to be setting itself up as the dominant Superpower, with Brazil, India and Russia looking to show some competition, but can any of these countries be looked to as leaders in the fields of Freedom, Integrity, Wisdom, or Respect (especially for our environment)?

Things are so crazy that before too long we'll probably need to get someone's approval for (and pay the requisite fee/bribe) just to use the analogy of White or Black Hats. Sometimes its awful easy to see why those who remain "asleep" choose to do so.

Man Proves Naked Body Scans AND GropeDowns Are Unconstitutional

Just in case this isn`t all over the news, I figured I would share this little ray of sunshine here.

A traveler with the time and patience seems to have used common sense and civil discussion in order to avoid being naked body scanned OR "intimately" patted down in order to return to the US. It seems that perhaps there is some tiny glimmer of hope in this increasingly insane world after all.

My Oh My

What a wonderful day. Plenty of sunshine and all that jazz.

Seriously, it was an absolutely gorgeous day here in our part of northwest Alberta. Actually, it was an even nicer day two days ago until a strong wind came up and made it kind of miserable. But no such wind today thankfully, just sunshine and a mild temperature.

It wasn't even marred by having my leg gnawed on for awhile by 2 young sows. Nor was it really disrupted by the nasty business that caused my leg to receive the gnawing. The managing factor of our little family farm is not to be discouraged from the necessity of castrating boar pigs meant for slaughter, in order to avoid "boar taint" in the meat, so today was the day to get started. Thank goodness we only have the two young boars.

For those who don't know what I mean, there is a long standing thought that male pig, or boar, meat is not really fit for consumption due to a strong and unpleasant flavor. As such, boars meant to be meat are generally castrated before they reach sexual maturity. But this is a rather barbaric and distasteful action, pretty much the least favorite job for any farmer. So over time, breeding has reduced the occurrence of "boar taint" to the point where many feel castration is unnecessary. There is an excellent post on the Sugar Mountain Farm blog which discusses this topic in more detail. I highly recommend both the post and the blog itself.

But, on our farm, the barbarism continues for now. And with this batch of pigs I think that might actually have been necessary as there is a good chance that these young swine contain wild boar genetics as recently as their father (either that or their grandfather). I know the the boar we operated on today smelled quite strong and it would certainly be bad to have the meat ruined. Luckily, all went as well as possible and the young fellow went right to eating and seems to be recovering well in his spacious and newly constructed pen. Tomorrow or the next day, his pen mate will be done as well and in a week they'll have forgotten the whole affair.

But back to the more pleasant topic, I'm hoping that we'll all have more of this lovely weather to enjoy as it is allowing us to catch up on a lot of little jobs. Usually we have a foot of snow by now and we'd be settling into the winter routine. But this can last until after Christmas as far as I am concerned!

As always, peace and comfort to all.

The Coca Cola Case

Here is another documentary that should probably be spread far and wide:



I fear it shows what is simply the start of a dire struggle by multi-national corporations (and their millions of shareholders) to maintain the status quo of constant growth. Most disturbing to me is the ideology of the students who seemed so very sure that the murder of workers and union leaders is just a by-product of the invisible hand of the almighty "free" market. Its hard to find any other explanation for this acceptance except that they refuse to see that in our "free" market so many of these entities seem to have reached a point where they can basically do whatever they want...simply ignoring or changing laws which do not suit their desires at the moment. These supporters are apparently content that their acceptance of this situation will give them the opportunity to achieve more power and ability to consume more than enough other people that they feel they are winning. They have chosen to deny the fact that this type of competition holds us back as a species, that it does real damage to the life supporting potential of our world.