~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

[Ginger999]

I don't mind snakes but eye level is another story! What I hate are spiders, except Tarantulas. I know all things have a purpose but jumping spiders. Yyyyuuuukkkk

It's definitely fall here! We had a nice rain. I hope it helped the fire a little. Fingers crossed!

Busy day here! Waves to all my pals. I'll take another day

[abcowboy]

I don't think I would have enjoyed being startled by that snake either Ginger! I don't mind snakes, at a distance that is lol. Yes, I've got lots of fall chores to get done around here, leave raking (use the lawnmower for that), clean and cover the a/c unit, drain the rain barrel, etc, etc.

I've never made my jerky using a dehydrator Rava, always use the wood pellet grill. Do you make your own marinade or buy them. I always use the ones you can get at Cabella's.

Tell Mr J good luck from me Jude. Our hunting season doesn't start for another month for rifle, bow season started September 1st.

Nasty stuff that anhydrous ammonia dill, and to think we used to use it for fertilizer when we were seeding. Thankfully we've went back to granular nitrogen. I got a chuckle on you play on words with the skin comment lol.

Very foggy here this morning so I'll wait till it lifts before heading to the farm to empty the rest of the things from the camper and give it a good cleaning.

[abcowboy]

5:13am in Alberta, 24 more please, and thanks...

In the last 24 hours, these friends have signed in for 24 hours of wellness:
Jude58 dill Rava Ginger999

Today is going to be a darn good day not to drink!

[Rava]

Good morning cafe. Ginger, it seems like lightening is the cause of so many wildfires. So sad. Speaking of snakes, when we lived on our second story condo surrounded by trees, i would see snakes slithering up the branches all the time. Now that we are ground level with no trees I see them in the grass. I hate snakes! Today I am making beef jerky. I cut all the meat 2 days ago and it’s been marinating in the refrigerator. Today is dehydrater day. I am doing it outside because it stinks too much. My family loves this still so I am making it and vacuum packing it before we head to FL. I hope everyone has a good Thursday. Alcohol free day again for me!

[dill]

Interesting about the snake hibernaculum, Cowboy. And since I avoided chemistry in high school I next had to look up anhydrous ammonia. You've really put me through my paces this week! LOL

Ginger, great snake story!! I would've jumped right out of my skin!

Jude, I hope Mr. J sees a bit more action today.

Hi, Rava!

Short on time as I am off to my volunteer job. 24 more for all of us please.

[Jude58]

Good morning cafe!

Yesterday was opening day for deer season around here, and Mr. J was out most of the day but he didn't see any at all. Better luck today I hope! He just loves sitting in the quiet beauty of the woods this time of year, deer or no deer.

Ginger, coming face to face with any kind of snake is definitely not on my bucket list!

Hi Rava, dill, cowboy and Mul!

Not today...

[Ginger999]

Talking of climbing snakes reminds me of a story. Several years back my sil and I were out hiking in the scablands of Central Washington and came across an old abandoned cabin. We were all over that find! Poking around it, I stopped and leaned against one of the walls, only to here something behind me. Thinking it was a rodent I jumped away only to see a snake, eye level of where I just was. Not positive but it sure looked like a rattlesnake. They are very prevalent in that area. Sure glad my knee worked back then! We laughed and laughed once we were away from it. We'd always get back to camp at night with the best stories! Lol

Jude, hope you try the back brace. It's a game changer!

Rava, hope the littles like the pizza. Even if they don't, they will have had fun making them!

Dill, thank you for answering all my questions! It sounds like so much fun. I'll keep my fingers crossed the fish winter over!

ABC, now what's on your agenda? Do you home choirs to catch up with?

The forest service says the fire started by lightening.

Hi Mul!

I'll take another day of freedom!

[abcowboy]

That is a lot of land to be on fire Ginger, do they have any idea what caused it? People can be so careless when it comes to being careful about starting wildfires.

I'm sure you'll have a plan in place by the time you head back south Rava, you've been doing great so far. Have fun making/baking whatever you decide with the g-kids. For some reason I didn't picture you as a person who talks a lot, maybe a library isn't a good fit for you lol.

I love watching the hummingbirds at the feeders as well Jude, they are amazing little birds. I think I'd give the back brace a try, seems like some good advice from the other ladies.

I had no idea what a hibernaculum was either dill until a few years ago. One of the neighbor's out by the farm had a garter snake hibernaculum under the cement in his attached garage! Their yard used to crawl with snakes this time of year. He called the wildlife biologist to find out how to get rid of them only to find out the hibernaculums were protected by law. Let's just say somehow it got a blast of anhydrous ammonia and they no longer have a snake problem. Good luck with the test today!

[abcowboy]

5:15am in Alberta, I'll have another 24 please, and thanks...

In the last 24 hours, these friends have joined in for 24 hours of wellness:
Jude58 Rava dill Ginger999

Today is going to be a darn good day not to drink!

[Rava]

Good morning Cafe. Ginger, wow 14,000 acres is a lot of land. So sorry that the fires are taking over. I was not really aware of the widespread fires until we went to Idaho. You a see them burning from far away. Scary for sure! Dill I like the fishing derby idea. Very good way to get the kids involved. Today might be making pizza rolls from bread which I saw on a reels post. They are picky eaters tho so that might not be successful. Of course cookies would be!!! Maybe fishing. Today is half day for students so that where I come in. Jude a back brace from amazon is helpful. I have one as well. The only thing I hate is how my stomach hangs over the top. I just wear a loose shirt to cover that mess. It really does give some added support. Cowboy, library volunteering sounds interesting. I would have a problem keeping quiet tho. LOL. Hope everyone has a good and sober day. I need to start thinking about making a plan to say alcohol free when we got back to Fl this month.

[dill]

Wow, Cowboy! I learned a new word from you: hibernaculum. I had to look it up. The birds are migrating around here, too. Now that you mentioned it, I haven't seen the hummingbirds for some time now. Not enough nectar this time of year, and add to that the drought conditions.

Ginger, gdaughter one the prize for the most fish and son and gson won prizes for participation. We threw them all back this time, but sometimes Mr. D likes to clean a couple for us to eat. Just didn't want the mess this go 'round. And yes, the fish do winter over. When they dug the pond they made an area that was deep enough for the fish to survive over winter. However, since the pond has developed a leak the water may not be deep enough. Fingers crossed.

Jude, I guess your high school students get their community service hours out of the way during the summer so they can focus on their studies and sports during the school year. Hope Ginger's suggestion is the ticket for you.

Rava, what grandkid activity is on tap for today?

I'm having my Echocardiogram today. I don't expect any problems thought.

24 for all of us here, please and thank you.

[Jude58]

Good morning all!

Ginger, thanks for the suggestion of a back brace, sounds like it would help a lot so I may have to try it out. Wow, 14,000 acres on fire; how tragic. Hopefully no lives were lost.

Cowboy, I haven't seen a hummingbird around here since early September. We had a few stragglers for a bit but then they were gone. I used to love sitting on my porch and watching them at the feeders. I miss them.

Dill, can't say that I've ever seen a snake in a tree before, but apparently snakes can climb!

Over the summer we had all kinds of help from the high school kids, but now that classes have started there's no one. It's the morning shift that needs the most help. The name of the shelter is CNY Snap and they have a FB page and a website where they are always looking for volunteers.

Cowboy, I've often thought of volunteering at the local library. Whenever I go there I feel like a kid in a candy store. I used to spend a lot of time there reading and enjoying the quiet. Sounds like it would be a good fit for you.

Hi Rava and Mul!

24 more please...

[Ginger999]

Jude, you are doing a good thing. I bought a simple back brace off Amazon to wear when I'm doing manual labor. Makes all the difference! I'm so glad Peanut is starting to play with the others. Maybe they will put in a good word for you!

Rava, The alternate activity with the grands sounds fun. Maybe it will work out to fish today. I used to bake cookies with mine and send all but a couple home with them. Win/win.

Dill, a fishing derby? What a fun idea. Who was the big winner? Did you eat your catch or did you release them? Do the fish winter over? Sorry.... lots of questions!

ABC, one thing's for sure, with your wide variety of knowledge you could volunteer about anywhere. I used to say, if I ever had to go back to work, I'd love to work in a small hardware store. My favorite place to shop!

Hi Mul, I bet ya'll are getting rain. It's so smokey this morning, I can't see the lights below us. We have a fire burning in the mountains that's now over 14,000 acres. When my boys were young, it was our back yard, basically. Makes my heart hurt to know all of it will be gone the next time we go. My middle son and gson hiked in that area just the week before it started. They had a wonderful time and are so glad they made the trek before it started.

Lots to be thankful for! That's for sure. I'll take another!

[abcowboy]

I have thought of volunteering Ginger, possibly at the local library or maybe get more involved in the activities at the Senior Centre. Haven't quite decided yet lol.

Hopefully the weather will improve enough for you to do some fishing today Rava.

I'm not sure I would continue volunteering Jude if the work was that physically demanding. We're supposed to enjoy our retirement activities, not suffer from them. Peanuts will soon be one of the gang with everyone.

We have quite a few garter snakes around the farm area dill, but I've never seen one climb a bush! We see them a lot more this time of year as they head for their hibernaculum for the winter.

There's large flocks of Canada and Snow geese overhead now as they make their way south for the winter. Also saw a few bald eagles during harvest on their trek south as well. I think the hummingbirds have already left so today I'll take down the feeders and get them cleaned and put away till next spring.

[dill]

I sure hope you have good fishing weather today, Rava! But I know you'll have a good time, come rain or shine. We held a family fishing derby here over the weekend with cash prizes for participants. (We're not talking big buck here.) It added to the fun.

Good to hear about Peanut's progress, Jude. Sorry about the back aches from your job. I wonder if you could write a letter to the editor in your local paper to bring awareness. More people might get involved. Around here the high school students are required to perform a number of community volunteer hours. I wonder if the local high school would add it to there community hours list for high schoolers? You need reinforcements!

Congrats on completing a successful harvest season, Cowboy! Now you can rest up.

Hi Ginger! Hi Mul!

Yesterday when I was cleaning the front porch the dog came around and got interested in the spirea bush on the corner of the porch. She started jumping up and snapping at the upper branches. I went over to see what she was so interested in and it was............a garter snake! Who knew they slithered up on bushes?!

24 more for all of us here, please and thank you.