September 30, 2012. Artemas, PA. C & O Canal.

Once upon a time, many years ago, Ken and I walked every mile  of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal., which runs from Georgetown, DC. to Cumberland, Md.   We walked it in six mile stints.  We would park the car and walk for six miles, then return back along the path back to the car.  The following Sunday, we would pick up where we left off.   If Dave and Irene were visiting us, they came along for the hike, and often seemed to walk the difficult parts.  It was a lovely walk.   Of recent years, we have paid  the old path no mind...until today.

Rita and Ian had never even seen the path or the canal so today we drove to Little Orleans to see the Potomac River and the Canal and the Little Orleans Aqueduct.   The drive from our farm is easy and we drove right down Fifteen Mile Creek Road, where we forded the creek twice before driving over to Orleans Road and down to Bill's Place and the river.  The canal is still beautiful.  Once you leave the camp ground and start walking, you never see another soul until you return.

Getting home was a different matter.  We drove home through Green Ridge State Forest.  After a thirty minute drive, we found highway 51, ending up in Cumberland..  The drive from our farm to the River took us fifteen minutes, but getting home took us ninety minutes.  But we enjoyed every minute, especially visiting our old friend, the C & O Canal.

September 29, 2012. Artemas, PA. A Day.

It was a day, just an ordinary day, but it was a wonderful day nonetheless.  Rita and I laughed about it this afternoon, the fact that we really did nothing, but we all four had a great day.  This afternoon, Ian made a fire in the fire pit.  It took awhile until the fire was big enough to burn the trash.  We three sat and gave him advice and eventually, we had a big fire and even burned all the trash along with the old mat.  It burned like a charm.

We all four watched the fun of the West Virginia/Baylor football game, but only for a few minutes.  We just found out the final score.  It sounded more like a basketball game.  Now we are watching the Texas game.  We must cheer hard for Texas.

We walked and we talked and we ate.  It was a perfectly ordinary day but it was a day to remember.

September 28, 2012. Artemas, PA. Rolling Hills Farm.

It is quite an operation, The Rolling Hills Farm.  It is as close to being self sufficient as any a farm can be,  in this day and age.  Yesterday we took Ian and Rita  to see the farm operated by Helen and Alan, along with their son Brian and his wife Tammy.   Between the four adults and five children, they run an effective operation.  Ian is a retired mining engineer, so he looks at a system and asks questions with a different perspective, which was interesting to observe.

We arrived at 5:00 and left at 7:15.   Lizzie, who is 12,  was feeding a new calf with mothers milk, and would soon feed all the calves.  Andrew, the youngest at 10, was helping his father Brian load the chopped corn into the silo.   Alan had been repairing the machine for loading the silo.  In addition to being a farmer, he is also a skilled mechanic.  Tammy was milking the cows herself.  Kelly normal helped with the milking but Kelly at 18 is in her first year at Penn. State University so they are missing her help.  Jacob, 16,  plays football so was at practice, soon to be followed by a team dinner at the coach's home.  He would need to be picked up later.   Erin, 14, was on the Volleyball team so would be brought home on a school bus.  Helen, the farmer's wife was decorating a fancy cake.  She has a cake decorating the business, which is a huge asset to the farm's income and keeps her very busy.

Those good folks are always busy.  Tammy takes vegetables from her big garden four times a week to the Farmer's Markets in Cumberland and Hagerstown.  She bakes the pies for Mike's Place Cafe in Clearville.   But yesterday, after Alan was finished his work, he sat with the four of us in the butchering shop where we had a drink together and explained  the how and why of farming in 2012.  Ian was most impressed with the level on independence.  It was interesting to see the operation through another set of eyes.

September 26, 2012. Artemas, PA. Rita and Ian.

They definitely got lost.  The GPS was taking them in an entirely different direction so after driving around for a bit seeking the Road Kill Cafe, they called me.   I knew they must be lost.  They left Pittsburgh at 9:00.  The drive should take a bit over two hours.  They called me at 1:30.  "Where are you?" I asked.  When I heard that they were at the Fairview Church, which is very close to our old farm,  I told them to stay put.  Ken and I went right over to lead them to the farm, so all was well once again.

Our afternoon was delightful.  After a cup of tea and a chat, we toured the house from top to bottom.  Next, Ken took Ian around the fields on the Gator while Rita and I went to the Jay's farm to get potatoes for dinner.   It turned out that everyone was there.  We chatted with Tammy and watched her making Gobs, all 2000 of them,  for the Fall Fair.   She moves like a whirling dervish, she moves so fast. I was intending to show Rita the butchering shop but ended up having a drink with the men.  We ate peanuts and cake too. and we talked.

When we finally came home,  we had a large bag of freshly picked beans along with a box of potatoes. So nice to have friends who are farmers.   Rita and Ian are visiting the farm for the first time and they are enjoying it.  We in turn are enjoying them.

September 25, 2012. Artemas, PA. Frances Itani.

I am very excited.  I am reading a book by a new author, Frances Itani, and she is wonderful.   I feel a fool.  She is a Canadian and already world famous and I am just now reading her first novel, Deafening.   Where have I been?   Until 2003 when Deafening was published, she was well known in literary circles in Canada for her several collections of short stories and essays, but when Deafening was published she became world famous and rich.  It couldn't happen to a better person.

It is always reassuring to find that an author has led a full life.   She is now in her 60's and is married and has grown children.   Obviously she is a smart lady, who speaks several languages and has travelled widely and lived in many places.  Her husband is an official with The International Red Cross, so they spend time in Geneva.   Ottawa has been a long time Canadian home.

Since publishing Deafening, she has written two books and is finishing up a fourth.  I wish her well with her writings and I will read everything she writes.

September 24, 2012. Artemas, PA. Conditioning.

Staying in good condition gets more difficult each year, especially if you allow yourself to get out of shape.   In the past, Ken and I walked for 10 to 12 miles at a time with no difficulty but since Ken's last surgery, he has been reluctant to do much walking.    What happens over time is that everything gets more difficult.   His problem is his lungs.  He gets very short of breath.  I prefer to walk with another person so when Ken would not walk, I also did not walk, at least, not enough.

Today for the first time since our arrival at the farm,  Ken and I went for a walk.  It was not a very long walk, but it was a walk,  so we are back on track.   We had always continued our exercises with light weights.   Several years ago, Mary M. gave us a set of exercises for those who are old, made by NIH,  and we keep weights everywhere we live, so we are diligent with that set of exercises.  The difficulty is that when you are lacking in condition, you have the tendency  to get injured, so Ken and I will regain our good level of conditioning slowly and steadily.  We will be like the turtles.  Slow and steady will win the race!!

September 23, 2012. Artemas, PA. The Door.

You just never know who will knock on your door, here at the farm.   Once an elderly lady drove up while we were sitting in the rocking chairs drinking tea.  She introduced herself and asked if we wanted to buy her 200 acres adjacent to our farm.  She assured us that Alan told her that we would be happy to buy it.  So we shook hands and and settled in three weeks.

Another time an old man came asking to rent the little house on the 200 acres.  For three weeks we said no.  Finally we went to look at the little house,  cleaned it up and finally rented it to Jim who was a tenant for eight years, until he died.

Today takes the cake.  This morning just before noon,  two men came knocking at our door, one about 50 and the other 25.  Fortunately I was dressed.  Ken was at the computer downstairs.   Greg who lives in the adjacent farm sent them here.  What they wanted was the right to trap for coyote and fox on the farm fields.  I did not even know there was a season for trapping.  From October 22 and for two weeks,  it is legal in Pennsylvania to trap and sell the pelts.  Although they live in Flintstone, they wanted permission to trap on our land.  As I know both the coyote and the fox eat the crops and the deer, we said yes, so after signing the permission form and driving them around the fields, they left very happy.  You just don't know who is coming knocking at our door, here at the farm.