Difficult Growing Year to Review

 

Usually, once I get to the end of November and the beginning of December, I am spending time evaluating the year's growing season.  I am finding this year to be a difficult one to assess.  For one, I don't really have much for records - and that includes pictures.  And for two, this year is probably better assessed in terms of non-crop growing measurements because we did not really do all that much for crops this time around.

I recognized that our "not all that much" might be viewed as "entirely too much" by some.  But, in comparison to prior years, we did, in fact, grow very little produce.  Most of our farm production came in the form of eggs and poultry - and even that was reduced.

On the plus side, most of the crops we DID plant and see to completion produced at levels that were at or above normal expectations.  Our production of winter squash was on target and the quality was a bit higher than average.  We grew them expecting that the Thelma Sanders acorn squash were going to be purchased by someone in particular, but that pretty much did not come to fruition.  That's ok, the NE Iowa Food Bank got some excellent product they needed.

The tomatoes and peppers and peas and beans and lettuce in the high tunnel did just fine this year.  I do admit that we did not really give any of that our all this year in large part because there just wasn't enough of us to go around with Tammy laid up for a significant chunk of time.  The real winner was that we did a very good job of freezing and canning food so the farmers themselves would eat a healthy and diverse batch of veggies and fruit this Winter.  We really should not discount the real value this has for us.

In addition to the veggies, we were able to harvest some apples - though it wasn't a great year.  Tammy got to eat some raspberries when they were ripe.  We acquired and canned a bunch of peaches.  And, we raised broiler chickens and turkeys so we would have that protein in our freezers too.

And if there were some things we did not manage to grow this season (I'm looking at your onions), we happen to know some other small-scale, diversified growers that we can buy it from.  It's a good thing.

Perhaps the best thing about this past growing season and the fact that we were not fully dedicated to growing and delivering all kinds of produce every week was that we have been able to address things on the farm that have really needed addressing.  

We finally filled the hog manure pit that has been filled with eight feet of water since the day we arrived.  Now we can move forward with making the Poultry Pavilion safer and even more useful than it has been previously.  

We also put in a new sidewalk to get to the house.  This, and the new gravel for the driveway, turned out to be critically important improvements.  Especially when it came to making our home a bit more accessible for Tammy as she went through rehab.  Those of you who know our farm and have been here know exactly why that is.  It was not that long ago that the sidewalk was uneven and mostly sunk below the surface of the nearby sod.  The back steps were precarious and wobbly and the door was marginally secure.  That has all been upgraded now - just in time.

What things were before was marginally acceptable if you had no mobility challenges.  Let's leave it at that and simply accept that the improvements were necessary and beneficial.

Now we're looking at next steps.

One of the things that is different during this phase of the Genuine Faux Farm is that both Tammy and Rob are working off the farm.  We are exchanging our time for money that we then exchange for labor and skill that have made these improvements possible.  Of course, that doesn't mean we haven't been involved in these processes at some level.  But, the reality is, we have this window to make some capital improvements to move the farm forward.

Another thing we've been doing is trying to find homes for tools and assets that no longer fit what we do.  The return on those things also help us fund forward movement.  It's a big puzzle and we're trying to piece it all together.  So, while this past year doesn't feel like we have much to report in terms of our 2022 farm production, we can say that we are feeling some momentum returning.

And that, my friends, is a good thing.  Thanks for reading and have a great remainder of your day.

Einstein the Land Yacht

note: this is NOT a picture of Einstein

Many of us have our "first car" stories and I am fortunate to have some of my own.  After graduating from college, my family was kind enough to allow me to take on an early 70s Mercury Marquis that, frankly, had been replaced by a much more reliable auto.  If I recall correctly, Rocky, a relative and a driver of sprint cars, located this used vehicle for our family when we needed it and now I was the one that needed to use it.

The pictures shown here are pretty close to the color of the vehicle I named "Einstein" - and, yes, I was being facetious with the name.  The car, by the time I took possession, was not the quickest or smartest vehicle on the block.  For example, there was one left turn in Cedar Rapids, at a very busy intersection, that this car would always stall.  Always.  Almost as if it just got to the center and said... "Duhhh.. wha?" and quit.

Yes, I eventually started turning going straight through that intersection and then taking a right at the next street.  Essentially going around the block to make that left turn.  And no, there wasn't exactly a better route to get where I was going at the time.  The better solution of course, was that I stopped finding reasons to go to that part of town.

Coming in at 19 feet long by 6.7 feet wide, this car was a beast and this type of vehicle is nicknamed a "Land Yacht" by some.  Simply put, it was huge.  And, like the vehicle shown in these pictures, it was a two-door.  If you opened both doors it looked like a passenger jet ready to take off.  It was a terror for people who had cute little convertibles parked in parking lots.  They would see Einstein coming and they would hop back in to drive away for fear we would park next to them.

I was able to take Einstein to college to pack up and come home after graduation and it was my transportation to and from interviews as I looked for my first job.  Once I located that job in Cedar Rapids, I packed Einstein up for the move to my first apartment.  Since I had a few modest pieces of furniture - typical for a college student moving to a first apartment - I rented a small U-haul trailer and traded some extra bundles of typing paper to the gas station that rented U-haul for the towing hitch I needed.

There was no question Einstein had the power to pull the little trailer.  Power was never the question.

And space, of course, was never a question either.  I seem to recall we comfortably fit six adults in the vehicle for a trip to a concert and no one felt like their space was intruded upon.  So, I packed up the car and the trailer and took the couple hour drive to my new home.  As I got closer, my stress level went up with the temperature gauge.  I finally got to the steep driveway that led to the apartment complex's parking area and made it up.

I then coasted from there to a the first parking spot I could get to as the radiator overheated and Einstein decided he had enough for the day.

Happily, I called in a favor and had someone else take the trailer to the U-Haul drop-off in town AND I walked to work (around 3 miles) my first couple of days until I could get Einstein sorted out.  I didn't mind walking, but it was kind of warm that first week and I fear the first impressions I gave were of a person who sweated enough that he had to change shirts before he even started work (and yes, I did bring a fresh shirt to change into).

* unfortunately I do not remember where these photos came from *

That was the pattern Einstein and I got used to over time.  I'd pay to get him fixed enough so he would go.  He would go for a bit and then he would stop.  Since I was not mechanically inclined, did not have a place to become mechanically inclined and didn't know anyone well enough who lived in the area and was mechanically inclined - that's the way it had to be.

But, for all of the inconveniences, Einstein was worth his weight in good stories.  

The front hood that housed a monstrous engine was so big that I found myself praying that no one was trying to come down the drive way at my apartment the same time I was going up.  There was no way in the world I could see anything over the hood that rose in front of me like a shark breaching the surface of the water.  I often found myself almost standing up to try and see over (in vain) and the whole vehicle would bounce as I reached the top and the front pitched forward to a more level orientation.  

Seriously, I had a fear that some compact vehicle would be crushed as Einstein settled at the top of that drive.

The trunk was also huge.  A friend and I went to a second hand shop to buy a desk.  We found an old heavy desk with lots of surface area for $15 and proceeded to stuff it into the trunk.  

Yes, we had to tie the trunk down.  But, the point is this....  it did not hang out of the trunk, it was simply too tall for the lid to close - but not by all that much.  To give you some idea, we had to take the legs off the desk to get it up the stairs and into the apartment.  It wasn't a toy desk.

Anyway, I've got some Einstein stories to tell.  Let's see if I can find the energy to put them together over the next few weeks as some fine winter month entertainment.

Have a good day everyone!

Speakers in the House

It is no secret to anyone that knows me or who has read the blog consistently that I like listening to music - perhaps as much or more than I like to look at beautiful landscapes.  And that, my friends, is saying a lot.  

Well, for the first time in many years - nearly as long as we have been farming at the Genuine Faux Farm - we have working speakers for our stereo system.  

Of course, that does not mean that we have had no music at the farm.  That would be very far from the truth.  We have had smaller speakers for iPods and the typical speakers for a computer.  We have some portable music players so we can hear music outside while we're working and there are the noise canceling headphones so I can still hear some music while I am working with equipment.  In other words, I have nothing to complain about in that regard.  We have always made sure there is access to music if it is wanted.  That's a good thing because I really do find comfort as well as motivation in the music I listen to.

So, why in the world would I be excited to put new speakers on a stereo that will not easily support all of the digital players the world has moved to?  

It's just this.  I have sorely missed giving myself opportunities to really listen -  and I mean REALLY listen - to music.  Once we hooked the new speakers up, I was reminded of things I had almost forgotten.  Things like the sound of a bow being drawn across the strings of a cello, violin, viola or string bass.  Things like the depth of a deep bass drum or timpani.  Things like the beginnings and endings of words in the lyrics as they are vocalized.

You see, we never did get rid of the cd collection we had amassed over the years - and there is a fair amount of vinyl to explore too.  Sure, I've converted most of these to digital files over time.  So I have not been without most of them.  The point is I can re-explore so much music.  And I am hearing the depths of the musical fills many of my favorite artists employ.  I have missed really hearing the stereo mixes where it sounds like you have a guitar on one side and a bass player on the other.  And, I have to admit that I still have an appreciation for synthesized parts that move from one speaker to the other.

I think you'll have to excuse me, I hear some Goat Rodeo playing now.  I think I'll take a moment to just listen.

Have a good day everyone!

Did Garibaldi Delay the Mail? - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to Postal History Sunday, featured weekly on the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you take this link, you can view every edition of Postal History Sunday, starting with this one (the most recent always shows up at the top).

If this is your first time visiting, you are most welcome here!  If this is not your first time visiting, you know what to do already - get a favorite beverage, put on the fuzzy slippers, set your troubles aside and enjoy.  I attempt to write each Postal History Sunday in a way that is accessible to people who are both new to postal history and those who have enjoyed the hobby for some time.

This week, I wanted to share an ongoing project with everyone.

One of the first clues a postal historian has that something different than usual might have occurred is a date span that is longer than usual between the entry of the item in the mails and its reported delivery.  This item took 23 days to arrive at the destination post office.  Or, at least, it took that long before it was processed by that location.  This is as much as one week longer than usual, but easily 3-4 days late.

That may not sound like much in the grand scheme of things.  Yet it is enough for me to think there is a story here!

This item was mailed in Boston and exhibits an exchange office transit mark dated September 17.  The receiver marking on the reverse indicates that it arrived at the Rome office on Oct 10, 1867.  The envelope has an 1861 design 24-cent stamp and a 3 cent stamp affixed to the envelope apparently paying the 27 cent rate per 1/4 ounce via the French Mails to Rome.  

The Boston mark is a dark reddish-brown color that could be mistaken as black.  It is possible that the color has changed over time as it has aged, but I don't think it was ever a bright red.  The Boston marking clearly says that the postage is "paid" but the color to indicate an item as paid is red, whereas black is supposed to indicate an item is not paid.  The item must have been treated as unpaid or partially paid as there are two due amounts on the front.  The "27" was apparently recognized as an error and smudged, then crossed out.  The 23 remains for collection at delivery to Mr. Langdon Williams in Rome.

And here is what I can tell for certain about the route:

• Boston Sep 17
• New York Sep 18
• Cunard Line steamship Persia
• Queenstown (Ireland) Sep 27
• London
  
• Roma Oct 10

The normal route from London for this item in 1867 would have been via Marseilles, France, and via ship to Civitavecchia (seaport near Rome).  By late 1867, most mail to Italy other than the Papal State (which included Rome) would have gone via rail with entry at the Modane Tunnel.  However, with tension between Rome and the Kingdom of Italy and the favorable connections between the Papacy and France, the sea route would have been normal.

So, what's the problem?

For those of you who are reading and aren't collectors or explorers postal history on your own, it might seem as if I certainly know enough about this item already.  Even some folks who do work with postal history might say I've got it pretty well surrounded.  But I find this particular cover to be intriguing and well worth further exploring because it provides me with an interesting puzzle to work on.

Here are the questions I want to explore:

1. Why did this letter take longer than usual to get to where it was going?
2. What route did it take from London to Rome?
3. Why did the Roman postal authorities decide that it was not fully paid, marking the envelope as requiring 23 bajocchi due on delivery?

Each of these questions may be related.  If I answer one, I may find that the answer leads to solutions for the other problems. 

Let's look at other letters to Rome

I am going to start with an item that was treated as fully paid by both the United States and the Papal State postal services.  It was also mailed from Boston, but in the year 1862.

1862 cover, Boston to Rome via French Mail at 27 cent per 1/4 ounce rate

While this item is five years prior to the cover in question, it still falls under the same postal arrangements as our first letter.  The Boston exchange marking is clearly red and clearly the same type of marking as our first cover.  It has the word "paid" under the date, which indicates the item was to be treated as paid by the receiving exchange office.  The black circular marking is a French Mail marking and the P.D. in a box also indicates that the item is paid.  The diagonal black line was the normal method the Roman postal clerks used to indicate that no postage was due on delivery.

The back of this cover has a single Rome marking that reads "Roma via di Mare."  This tells me the cover traveled via the Mediterranean Sea to get from Marseilles to Rome.  So the route from London would be:

• Boston April 15
• New York April 16
  
• Queenstown, Ireland April 27
  
• London
  
• Calais, France April 29
  
• Paris
• Marseilles, France
• Civitavecchia, Papal States
• Rome May 5
  

The trip took 20 days to reach its completion and it took eight days to get from Queenstown to Rome. 
 This is three days fewer than the cover in question.  By itself, a three day difference between two covers is probably not a big deal.  

But I do have more comparisons!

This 1865 item shows a Philadelphia exchange office marking, again in red.  The "18/1" in red pen also indicates that the item was paid and it tells the French how much of the 27 cents postage was to be sent to them from the U.S.  The "1" in the "18/1" indicates that the item was weighed a single rate letter (1/4 ounce or less).  Again, this envelope shows French mail markings, a PD in box AND the diagonal Roman marking indicating the item as having no postage due.

This one has a postmark on the back that reads Civitavecchia via di Mare - once again telling us it went via ship on the Mediterranean.  This letter only took 16 days to get to its destination in Rome and only SIX days from Queenstown.  This difference can likely be explained by the shipping schedule in Marseille.  Mail ships did not leave daily for Rome, so if an item arrived in Marseilles in between ship departures, the time would be a bit longer.  We just have to establish that our first letter is longer than normal instead of this letter being shorter than usual. 

And here is another item treated as paid.  This one is a double weight letter mailed in1862.  It only took 19 days from departure in the United to its arrival in Rome.  After looking at several other letters from the US to Rome, it seems 16 to 20 days would be the normal travel period.

So, how do all of these DIFFER from our first cover?

1. All of them have French postal markings
2. All of them have the diagonal slash that the Roman post office to show an item as paid
3. All of them have a Rome or Civitavecchia marking that reads "via di Mare"
   

The last point may or may not be relevant because I have seen other covers to Rome that have French postal markings, are treated as paid, but have no marking that read "via di Mare."  So, we will discard that fact for the time being.  But maybe I will return to it in the future.

And here is an 1861 cover from Rome coming back the other direction to the United States!

This letter was prepaid 32 bajocchi, which was the correct amount in 1861 for a letter weighing no more than 6 denari (7.1 grams - a bit under 1/4 gram).  This letter took 16 days to get from origin to destination. It has French postal markings and was treated as paid on arrival in New York City.

This is where we get a clue that might help us.  In 1866, the postage rate from Rome to the US was reduced to 23 bajocchi from the 32 bajocchi found here.  This might explain the mistake in the rate since the change was fairly recent (about one year).  Though you would think it had been long enough for the postal clerks in Rome to be familiar with it.

Which reminds me, I should show you our first cover again so you can remember what we're trying to puzzle out.

So what might explain the postal rate question?

At this time, there was no treaty for mail to be directly exchanged between the United States and the Kingdom of Italy or the Papal States.  Instead, mail to Italy was serviced under postal agreements through other countries.  The French Mails were by far the most common service utilized to get U.S. letters to Italy at a rate of 27 cents per 1/4 ounce (7.5 grams). Other options, such as the Prussian Closed Mail or Hamburg/Bremen mails were also available.

I think it is safe to say that the "23" is a due marking for 23 bajocchi, which was the effective rate for mail from Rome to the United States per 6 denari (7.1 grams).  So we will file that away as a fact for this cover.

The only explanation I have for the "27" is that the clerk might have been thinking about an older rate (prior to 1853) that went via Britain.  In that case, the mail could not be paid to destination - it could only be paid to Britain.  In my mind, this is a weak explanation, but it is all I've got.

So, why did they charge this letter as if it had not been properly paid?  There are two possible explanations.  First, they found that the letter was overweight.  Remember, the Romans were probably weighing the letter in denari and six denari was only 7.1 grams.  The French would rate letters at 7.5 grams and the US at 1/4 ounce (7.08 grams).  Is it possible that the US clerk measured the letter in grams and allowed a letter over 7.1 grams to go at a single rate?

Anyway, if the Roman clerk felt the letter was overweight, they went ahead and charged only for the additional unpaid postage of 23 bajocchi.

The second explanation is that the absence of the expected French markings and a Boston marking that didn't look as red as they might normally see caused an inexperienced or overworked clerk treat it as unpaid.

And, of course, I suppose there are other possible explanations - including the odd chance that it did not travel through France.  But, then I would expect more markings from German, Swiss or Italian postal services.  And there are none.

So, I think I have the answer to the route question as well.  I believe it went via France, just like the other letters, but it somehow missed being processed properly by the French clerks.

Garibaldi and the Attack on Rome 

Prior to 1860, Italy was broken into several different states.  By 1867, most of Italy had been united as the Kingdom of Italy with only the Patrimony of St Peter, around Rome remaining outside of the Kingdom.  Giuseppe Garibaldi was well known as one of the primary agitators for the unification of all of Italy and he may figure prominently with respect to the delay of this letter. 

The news of the process of the unification of Italy and, in particular, the exploits of Garibaldi caught the imaginations of people world-wide.  Below are snippings from the Mercury - the Hobart, Tasmania newspaper of that time.  You may feel free to read the clippings presented or you can wait for the summary below.

Garibaldi was on record as being vehemently against the Papal State and the Catholic Church calling it the "shame and plague of Italy"  at a congress of European leaders in Geneva earlier in September.  He created a rather overt plan to march on Rome with 10,000 volunteers to coincide with an insurrection within the city.

These attempts to cause an insurrection and take over Rome failed in large part because the Kingdom of Italy did not support the effort.  In fact, they arrested Garibaldi himself to prevent his personal leadership of the "Garibaldians" mentioned in the newspaper.  

Of interest here is that the timing of these events would coincide with the normal delivery period of the piece of mail in question (it finally arrives on October 10 in Rome).  Is it possible that the uproar in and around Rome delayed the mail?  I think it entirely likely that it may have done so in some fashion.  The letter could have been physically delayed outside the city OR the postal clerks may have been distracted or prevented from duty.  This also brings us to the possibility that the people who processed this mail were not the normal clerks - which could explain some mistakes being made.

There is too much, let me sum up

So, let me remind you of the questions first!

1. Why did this letter take longer than usual to get to where it was going?
2. What route did it take from London to Rome?
3. Why did the Roman postal authorities decide that it was not fully paid, marking the envelope as requiring 23 bajocchi due on delivery?

It is my theory that this letter was either delayed in its arrival OR it sat in the Roman post office waiting for someone to process the mail.  It seems to me that the uproar in Rome and the surrounding territory by Garibaldi's forces would have been sufficient to create problems for the timely delivery of mail.

I believe that the letter took the normal route that the 27 cents in postage paid for via France.  Most of my logic for this is that there is no evidence that it took another route via German mail options.

And finally, I favor the idea that the letter was rated as being more than 6 denari (7.1 grams) in weight.  The clerk, possibly inexperienced or under great pressure, opted to collect the postage for the unpaid second rate level, but recognized that one rate level was paid.  Another explanation runs a close second for me - and that's the idea that the inexperienced or harried postal clerk simply didn't see paid markings and figured it must be treated as unpaid.

---------------

And there you have it.  A puzzle that I continue to make progress on.  I shared this with you in hopes that each of you might have a bit more understanding about the questions I, as a postal historian, find myself digging into. There is no requirement that you should want to do this yourself, nor is it necessary for you to feel as if all of this exploration was interesting to you at all!  Instead, I am hopeful that you found some of it entertaining - even if the entertaining part was watching a vegetable and poultry farmer with Computer Science background pretend he can transport himself back to 1867 and read the minds of postal employees of the time.

Have a fine remainder of your day and great week to come!  I am grateful for each of you who provides me with encouragement, feedback and information and I give thanks for all who take the time to put on the fuzzy slippers and share a few moments of your day reading Postal History Sunday.

Appreciating Where You Are

There are days when I look out across barren corn and soybean fields and I find myself forgetting that Iowa and the Upper Midwest has some beautiful places that have healing qualities to them.  As part of my effort to exercise my gratitude muscles this Thanksgiving, I took the time to look at some of the pictures we took while "walking there again" this past year.  

You might notice that there is a relative dearth of photos for the greenest parts of the year.  But, that's what happens when your partner has Achilles surgery.  You don't do much walking anywhere for a while!  

But, this is not about that - it's about appreciating what we HAVE been able to see and be awed by!

Paint Creek

We did manage to get out and about in early Spring.  Although, I must admit that early Spring seemed to last well into early Summer this past year.  The trees weren't really quite ready to do much and the understory of the wooded areas was also a bit uncertain about showing us much.  

But, places that got more sun - like a mowed meadow or some grassy plants by Pain Creek showed us some green.  It was an area that we couldn't recall having been to before, so that was exciting.  Sure, we've been to some "similar" places in the Driftless Region of Iowa, but that doesn't mean we can't appreciate a new (to us) place.

Larkin Overlook at Yellow River State Forest

We've been to Yellow River Forest before, but neither of us had been on the Larkin Overlook and the trail there. What I recall best about it was that it was a very sunny day and there wasn't much wind.  The net result is that temperatures in the 50's felt absolutely wonderful.  I suspect we could have sat at the overlook itself even longer if we could have found a slightly more comfortable seat.

Anyone who has been through the winter months knows how good a calm, sunny day with moderate temperatures can feel.  It doesn't matter if there is much green or not because you can smell, feel and taste the green just lurking in the background and you can hear the sap starting to run.

Area near Ferryville, Wisconsin

Once Tammy was able to do a little bit of easy walking with support, we took a break from the farm and work and headed for the Mississippi River.  As it turned out, Tammy really could only do a very little bit of walking and the ground had to be level and unobstructed.  But, this was a lot like the first calm, sunny day after a long winter.  It just felt good to be out and about.  

And we could feel the hope (at least I could) that healing was happening - even if it didn't feel like it was happening fast enough for Tammy at that moment.

Rush Creek

The good news is that we had taken our break during the week and did not have to contend with weekend traffic.  That made it easier for us to explore by using the car to get us places so we could take shorter treks from the vehicle and appreciate the world around us.

We also learned to look more closely at things right next to us.  Suddenly we were amazed anew at all of the life on wildflowers blooming right by a parking lot... or a roadside.

Mississippi River

Sure, the Mississippi River was beautiful and it certainly demanded our attention for a time.  But, I took away the reminder that there is interest and beauty in things that might not be a grand vista.  So, while I still appreciate a beautiful landscape as much as I ever have, I am finding more and more interest in a clump of plants that looks like some wild pollinators are checking out.

Ok.  I think I've appreciated that for some time now too.  But, would you believe that I appreciate it much more than I used to after this visit to the Mississippi?

Blackhawk Park

It turned out that we visited the area when the water lilies were in bloom.  In fact, there were so many wild flowers in bloom that it was hard to not want to spend time trying to figure out what each thing was.  That's still on the to do list, I guess.  But, I made a good start.

Maybe I'll share it in January, when some color might be most welcome?

Richmond Spring at Backbone State Park

We reconnected last year with Backbone State Park and we were anxious to walk there again as soon as Tammy felt up to it.  We started, as we had the prior fall, by checking out the springs and were immediately greeted by a tree that was interested in showing off against a blue sky.

Let's just say that it was a good way to start the excursion.

Backbone Trail

The best news is that once we got to October, Tammy really WAS healed up enough to start taking some hikes as long as she set the pace AND she agreed to listen to her body so we would turn around in time to get her back to the vehicle safely.

While she kept herself moving at a steady and deliberate pace, her partner (me) was a bit like a puppy dog.  I bounced from place to place taking pictures of whatever seemed like it wanted its picture being taken.  And... well, ok, some things might not have wanted their picture taken and I took them anyway.

East Lake Trail at Backbone

We went on a series of hikes in October, including a return to Backbone two weeks after the first.  This time we took a different trail.  And, this time, Rob had a much harder time catching up to Tammy whenever he would stop to take a few pictures.  

More healing.  More time in the great outdoors.  More time with my best friend.

It's all good.

Malanaphy Springs

Sandwiched in between the Backbone trips was a return to Malanaphy Springs on the way home after a very important wedding (congrats Turi and Dan!).

The walk in to the springs was just the right length for us to get there, let Tammy sit and rest for a while as she listened to the water, and then return without incident.  That was really the key for some of these walks - they had to be "without incident" so we could look forward to doing more walks in the future.

The good news?  We were successful each time.

Rock Creek State Park

And on the last week of October, we took a walk TWICE. 

The trip to Rock Creek mixed business with pleasure.  Since we had to deliver turkeys to Local Foods Connection and they were in Grinnell, it only seemed right to make a detour to a park that I remember going to when I was growing up in nearby Newton.

Cedar Bend Park - Cedar River

And we wrapped it up with a walk much closer to home at Cedar Bend Park near Waverly.  It's always good to remind ourselves to take the time to appreciate what is closer to home.  If you can't appreciate that, how can you expect to learn how to appreciate other places for what they are when you are fortunate enough to visit?

Thanks for letting me share some of the experiences of awe and wonder with you today.

Continuing to Cultivate Gratitude

On this day of the year, in the United States, we have created a holiday we call Thanksgiving.  Like so many things in this world, the depth and complexities remain hidden from so many of us - often in plain sight.  It is so much easier putting a nice little facade in front of the building to hide its true character which, like humanity itself, has its disappointing features and its redeeming qualities.

Because many of us like to have a good "origin" story, we have adapted events of 1621 to fit our idealized first Thanksgiving feast (though it was not ideal).  In fact, if you need to have a "Europeans in North America" Thanksgiving origin, that would actually be much earlier than 1621, according to this Smithsonian article.  But, we should not ignore that peoples throughout the world have celebrated the harvest and given thanks for the blessings of the Earth and the communities in which they live for probably as long as humans have had cause to be grateful.

And that, my friends, is where the root of my celebration of Thanksgiving comes from.  This day is important to me because it provides me with a ritual event where I am encouraged to think and ponder what it means to give thanks.  

What it means to have gratitude.  

What it means to have my eyes open to see the world with awe and wonder.

I try, most years, to write an annual Thanksgiving blog post.  The first such posts stuck with being marginally promotional for the Genuine Faux Farm, local foods, and trying to encourage people to think about where and how their food was raised.  But, there was also real and intentional gratitude embedded in those writings.  There is never anything wrong with being genuinely thankful - and making sure you express joy, contentment, and satisfaction that might come with it.  It just so happened that my life, in particular, followed a tight orbit around the Genuine Faux Farm.  So, it should not be a surprise that my observations of the good things in this world might be filtered through that lens.

Over time, as I became more comfortable with the idea that I did not have to edit what I wanted to say so I wouldn't make a potential customer unhappy with me, I expanded my horizons for sharing in writing how I have gone about giving thanks. I suppose some of that freedom came from a realization that it was highly unlikely that a potential customer was going to read much of our blog anyway - except maybe one quick splurge out of curiosity.  But I think it was more the fact that I have a desire to be helpful to others - and that I do not always feel as if I have the power to accomplish that goal.

And now I speak a truth that I have spoken many Thanksgivings prior to this one.  Giving thanks is difficult.

And that's why having a day set aside for giving thanks is important.

It's not for the holiday feast.  It's not to celebrate a mythical, historical dinner.  It's not to show off for others.  It's not for the holiday shopping.  Or at least it shouldn't be.

It is because cultivating gratitude is HARD.  It is because exercising your awe and wonder for this world and the beings on it is IMPORTANT.

Once again - in 2022 - I reached the week of our annual giving of thanks.  And I didn't feel particularly grateful.  I didn't feel particularly giving.  I didn't feel much like writing a post extolling others to do the same.  So, I went back and re-read myself (as silly as that might sound) and found this statement calling to me yet again.

If gratitude were easy, it would not be nearly so wonderful and fulfilling as it is when we work to give meaningful thanks.

And this brings me back to this photo from July of 2010.  This picture reminds me that I can find reasons to give thanks, even in some of the darkest times.

It was in May of that year that Tammy and I were within a whisker's breadth of terminating the grand project that was the Genuine Faux Farm.  The rains had been so persistent that spring and early summer that our crops were literally drowning in the field.  But, we had committed to a field day to build our first high tunnel that July.  Despite considering cancelling, we decided to honor our commitments and we went through with it.

The rains were still falling up to the moment we started unloading the trailer (in fact there were a few raindrops then as well).  And then, the rains stopped.  The high tunnel was built.  An the sunset broke through the clouds.

There it was.  Something to be awestruck by.  Something that made me look at the world in wonder once more.  Something that provided the tiniest bit of hope.  Something we grabbed and ran with.

There are still miracles - and this was one of them in my life.  The miracle was the simple fact that I found enough energy and will inside of myself to recognize reasons to give thanks.  The miracle came when I lifted my head up from the soggy ground and took a moment to look at the world around me and seek out something positive.  It was difficult and I even felt foolish for reading so much into a sunset.  There was still so much work to be done to recover what looked like a lost season.

But this moment of awe and wonder was a turning point that would have been missed if we hadn't made ourselves READY for it with real effort and real intention.

I found new hope and new energy from that moment forward - because I took a moment to exercise my gratitude muscles.  I slowed down to appreciate the beauty of the world around me and it taught me once again that I was stuck in a rut that was largely of my own making.  Certainly, things were bad as far as our current crops and our farm were concerned.  But, we had so much support from so many people.  We were healthy and capable.  The good Earth had not abandoned us either, we just needed to find new ways to work with it and the current circumstance we were in.

So, this Thanksgiving, as I wrote this year's blog, I was wondering where my thoughts would go and where the words would take me.  And it comes to this...

I don't know where you are in your life right now.  I will never fully understand what troubles you or how hard things might be for you.  But, I can tell you that I also have struggled to appreciate my life and offer gratitude for it and the things that surround it.  I can tell you that this seems to be normal as I have yet to find one person who does not struggle at least periodically.

I can also tell you that seeking out something that evokes feelings of awe and wonder and working to exercise those gratitude muscles works for me.  Maybe it will work for you too?  We are all different and maybe a picture of a sunflower won't help you out much.  Or maybe it will.

Cultivating gratitude is not supposed to be easy, but the work is good, honest work - and the results are worthy of meaningful thanks.

Inspired Critters

Swirls inspired by cat...or vice versa

We threw the fleece blanket on the bed and didn't really work all that hard to straighten it this time.  It was laundry day and the sheets were on their way to the washer.  But, of course, one must always be aware and in tune with the comforts of the household feline.

Actually, don't tell Bree this, but we put that fleece blanket on the bed to collect the fur on something that is easier to wash.  As far as she is concerned, that blanket is for HER COMFORT.  Plus, the swirls in the design inspire her to make swirl herself.  Or, more likely, the swirls on the blanket are attempting to imitate the cat.  Art imitating life, as it were.

Tammy, who does not post all that often on social media, decided to share this picture and ask if others had images of their furry friends blending in with their surroundings.  I nabbed some of them and ...

Well, here we are.

Award for best illustration of "cat gravity"

Anyone who has ever had much interaction with a cat can tell you that they have an amazing ability to change how gravity works depending on a situation.  For example, the same cat that just hopped lightly from the floor to the top of the refrigerator can suddenly weigh as much as an anvil when you want to get up from a chair and the cat does NOT want you to.

I would say the picture above illustrates a significant amount of "do not disturb" and I am guessing this cat might actually be approaching the "two anvil" level of cat gravity.

Award for best example of "cat hypnotism"

Then, there is cat hypnotism.  The three critters you see above are *ahem* supposed to be farm cats.  As in, outdoor, working cats.  We have it on good authority that they were NOT going to be allowed indoors.  Cat hypnotism, that's what this is.

If you don't think cats use hypnotism, let's just consider this.  How many of you, who say you love cats, have gotten a really nasty scratch (or two or twelve) from a feline friend that you were cuddling not long after?  Probably all of you, myself included.  

There can only be one explanation - and that's cat hypnotism.  Somehow, they can make you forget what you've learned or decided where they are concerned.

Award for best blending act

Is that a puddle of curtain that looks like a dog or a puddle of dog that looks like it is a part of the curtain?  The surest way to determine which it is would be to state, loud enough for all to hear, that you are going to take a short walk.  If there is no motion after that, it's a puddle of curtain.  'Nuff said.

Award for depiction of the La Brea Blankets?

I think many of us periodically envy cats and dogs for their ability to find absurd ways to look OH so comfortable.  This holds true even if it looks like this dog is going to be swallowed and suffocated by the surrounding bedding.  There is no sign that this pooch is even remotely concerned.  Instead, the look on its face only suggests pure bliss and relaxation.

Award for...ok.  No camouflage this time.

Dogs, unlike cats, appear to be born with an abundant supply of patience.  Unless, of course, there is a walk in the offing.  Yes, I know there are pictures of cats that have been dressed up, but you can see - deep down - that those cats are plotting the demise of the persons responsible for their predicament.

These dogs?  They might feel a bit persecuted, but it was their human, so it's all good.

Award for illustrating the weight pets carry in their lives

I had to include this one because it makes us all talk about the elephant in the room.  No, really, there is an elephant on the dog's back.  A PINK elephant.  And, it looks HEAVY.

But seriously, let's talk about the weight our companion animals carry with them.  It is the weight of the incomprehensible "humor" their human friends indulge in periodically.  I still remember (with a small amount of pride) the utmost disdain Strider (one of our first feline friends) had for us as he quickly realized the red dot was coming from a device in our hand.

Some cats will run around like crazy for hours if you turn on a laser pointer and move it around.  Not Strider.  He let out one of those "hhhumphs" of his, sat down and gave us a withering glare.  Eowyn, his sister, showed her own disdain for Strider by happily chasing the red dot.  Typical sibling logic, if you don't like it, I'll show you what you're missing.... NYAH!

Award for looking like you're supposed to be where you aren't supposed to be

Here's another thing cats, in particular, are good at.  They can make it look completely natural that they should be where they are - even when they should NEVER be where they are at that point in time.  This is especially true if there are particular house rules about such things.

What?!?  I thought you said I was supposed to sleep on your pillow!  Huh?  I always sit on (or in) the potted plant.  What are you talking about? I thought you turned on the computer so it would warm up and I could sit on it.

Award for least effective use of natural camouflage

It is my understanding that, if you want to blend in, you should keep the stripes in the same direction as the grain of the wood.  I mean, it's only a suggestion.  But, once again, the cat looks so darned happy - how can you complain?

For many cats, this "sprawling out on their back" thing is a trap.  They probably have one eye half open, waiting for the unsuspecting human to reach down to give them a pet on the their exposed belly.  Once the human does that, the cat may demonstrate how your hand could be an excellent pincushion.  

Now, I realize there are actually some felines out there that do like to get a belly rub, but I think they may be in the minority here.

Award for illustration of cat guilt generation

Since most people seemed motivated to share pictures of pets that were being sleepy and snuggly, that allows me to discuss another cat characteristic - the ability to generate massive amounts of guilt.  

Tammy and I have been around enough felines to know that they can play the guilt game better than most people.  For example, if you sit down to read a book or watch a movie, you might be ready for a cat to sit in your lap.  At this point, your feline friend will probably feign some indifference, but they will eventually join you.

Early on, they will probably purr a bit and maybe move around a bit to encourage a good skritch or two.  Eventually, they might relax and actually doze.  It's all quite sweet, isn't it?  They hook you into the process of inviting them over and then trying to convince them to chill out.

Also an award winner for cat guilt generation

But, they can tell when your investment level in the process is beginning to wane.  Perhaps your bladder is a bit full or you are feeling like you want something to drink.  Or maybe you have some event you need to get to?  The cat can sense your tension level rising.  And, as that tension increases and you begin to steel yourself to remove the cat and get up and go, they pull out the cat guilt generator.

They make sure you can see their happy, but VERY sleepy faces.  Or, they turn their head a bit and increase the "cute-o-meter" reading.  Perhaps they even pull out a few cute, sleepy sounds.  Or, worse yet, they offer up a gentle (but clearly still sleepy) purr to suggest that you are doing just fine - and wouldn't it be a shame if you ruined all of this happiness?  And, of course, in all of these cases, they are prone to increase their cat gravity at the same time - just to make it that much harder for you to move.

Yet somehow, all of us with cat companions manage to live with ourselves, despite the guilt of disappointing them on a frequent basis.  And, we all need more exercise anyway, so it doesn't hurt to lift a cat that has the weight of one or two anvils once in a while.

Have a great day everyone.  And remember to give your furry friends a kind word and a nice skritch today.

Conflict Resolution

When the temperature rises, what does Carrotman do?  Does he throw the other vegetables out of the pan to save them, or does he negotiate with the person controlling the stove to cool things down?  It's actually a pretty good question for all of us to be asking ourselves now and again.

At a recent retreat participants were asked to use an online tool to help determine each person's natural inclination when it comes to situations of conflict.  This tool can be found on this site maintained by United States Institute of Peace.

Over my lifetime I've taken various personality tests, the most well-known being the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator.  And, for the record, I have been a solid INTJ from the beginning.  And, I am definitely not at all wishy-washy on the "I" part (Introvert).  In fact, my score on the test that was on record when I first attended college alerted the helping services folks (or whatever they were called) at the school that they should check in with me.

When I arrived at my appointment I simply pointed out that I had come to the meeting successfully, which meant I probably could handle life at college as an introvert.  If I had skipped the meeting - which my score probably indicated I would - it would have confirmed that we would have an issue. They readily conceded the point and I happily returned to my dorm room.

Later on, I was introduced to the Merrill-Reid Method to understand personality types, and this article explains the basics fairly well.  While Myers-Briggs helped me to understand myself a little bit better - even if I was personally annoyed that most of the questions should have had the answer "it depends," Merrill-Reid encouraged me to spend more time understanding others.

And, again full disclosure, I fall under the "analytic" personality type - which explained to me why my initial reaction to some folks who are "expressives" might be to back away slowly (or rapidly depending on the situation).  

Then there is Connie Podesta's Personality Shapes.  My introduction to this classification system was in a group where everyone spent time placing themselves physically in a room on a spectrum in answer to various questions.  It helped because everyone could see that sometimes a reaction isn't so much because of a person as much as the the situation or the presentation.

That brings us to the Conflict Styles Assessment that started the whole blog.

I was completely unsurprised by anything I found as I read the results.  My top two results were "Problem Solver" and "Accommodator."  

I landed somewhere in the 50 to 55 percent range for "Negotiator" and "Avoider" and then landed at a resounding NO WAY (0%) for "Competer."

Again, there were no surprises here for me at all.  This is especially true when we all remember that these are tendencies, not hard and fast rules that are always followed.  I am not always going to act like an Introvert.  I can find myself landing in the Driver or Amiable quadrants instead of the Analytic when my situation calls for it.  And, I can even be a Competer if I have to be.

It is all about recognizing better what makes each of us who we are.  It reminds me that other people don't fall back on the same tendencies I do.  It encourages me to exercise other parts of me that come less intuitively.  And it helps me to understand what I am not.

For example, I am capable of acting like a Competer if I am presented with a crisis that calls for swift, decisive action and the use of my persuasive skills.  But, I can also tell you that I would not be happy doing it.  That would be especially true if I felt I were making other people unhappy and unfulfilled in the process.  I am not that person who tries to always push my agenda on others - even if I do write a blog almost daily. 

So, what was my reason for taking the blog down this path today?  Well, I tend to notice that some participants in groups that explore personality types like to embrace their personality type as if it is a shield to protect them from all other personality type.  Others prefer to have the label as an excuse, so they don't have to own their own actions.  Some even believe it is a reason to stop trying to exercise other "personality muscles," like the introvert learning how to speak in front of others, or the squiggle learning to listen more effectively.

Instead, I feel that learning your personality tendencies provides you with information so you can improve yourself and so you can offer grace to others when they fall prey to their own default actions.  And that's why I take the time once in a while and think about them.  Maybe it will help you too?  Or maybe you've just realized why you do (or don't) enjoy reading some of my blogs.

Good enough for me.  Have a good week everyone!