Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Holy Cows

It was very nearly a livestock disaster!

I heard a loud rumbling in the driveway and went out to see what was what. It was our neighbour Stuart in his half-ton. He'd found Scott in the yard (damn caraganas at this time of year block the view from the house so that I had no idea he was home; how can I get away with anything, this way?) and the two of them took off down the road. 

Hm, said I to myself. What's going on? A stroll to the end of the driveway gave me a glimpse of their two trucks, one parked near our yard and one near the other end of the grid. They must be chasing cattle, I thought; I'll stay away unless I'm called, because sometimes an unfamiliar person can spook the finicky beasts. 

Back on the step I could hear Scott calling them: KaBoss! KaBoss! Apparently a moose had knocked down the electric fence and the cattle had gone in search of greener pastures. 

Soon the little herd of about a dozen was in our back yard. They came right past Scott's garden, narrowly missing his green peppers and tomatoes. I know this because their tracks are still there, perilously close. 

I worried about my flowers in the front yard; they'd be a tasty treat difficult to pass up and easily destroyed by a stampede, however short and sweet, and that's when the Wrath of Kath would be felt around the Golden Grain Farm. 

Fortunately the cattle were soon steered through an opening in the fence and back where they belonged, without causing any damage. 

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Maggie Turner on Prefers Blogs to Facebook and Twitter": 
I harbour the same sentiments in regard to Facebook Kate. There are a few exceptions though. I belong to a group in Ontario that shares historic photographs of the area where my Granny and Grandpa lived their lives, I read every new post eventually, when I make one of my few visits to FaceBook. The other group I belong to and value is one that shares the history of Glasgow, and there I have found interesting posts that deal with Glasgow around 1820, when my ancestors boarded the boat headed for land grants in the Upper Canada wilderness. I like to know that seldom seen friends are still alive, although I admit I wish they wrote blogs, as all FaceBook does is allow me to know they are still alive. 

Exactly. 
Facebook is a good tool for many things ... if it is used with some thought.
Also, one of the biggest drawbacks of going from very active letter-writing to blogging is that now my friends don't write back. They read my blog and don't feel they have to answer a letter. I miss their letters! Oh, how I used to look forward to my trips to the post office!


I think you are both "like" hilarious and "like" accurate! 

Apparently I was in a bitchy mood when I wrote that entry. Hee!


Twitter does not do much for me. Or maybe I just don't follow the right people. I find facebook much more "happening" and way too much interesting stuff for me to look at. I generally skim over the extreme political and religious stuff. I hear a lot about the evils of facebook but for me it has been all good (so far). 

I have begun taking the time to "block" accounts that spread prejudice, hate and ignorance. A few of my friends still do it, alas, and I haven't had the heart to disconnect from them on FB. Just because they aren't deep thinkers or study-ers, doesn't mean I don't still love them! Just as I'm thankful those with more sense than I have still put up with me. People don't have to be perfect. 
For my previous job, I was requested to use FB in order to help reach a wider audience, and so that's what I did. That meant connecting with a lot of people on FB, both personally and professionally, and led to hundreds of "friends." I don't regret that, but I blame it for some of the crap that appears in my FB feed. 
It's no different from life in general, I suppose. There's always some garbage that comes our way, no matter how careful we are to avoid it.


Apologies I've been neglecting reading blogs. Time, she packed up, b'y. 
Lovely family pics. What was that item you mentioned a kind of bread?

Lefse is a Scandinavian dish made with potatoes that are boiled and put through a ricer, then mixed with oil and flour, rolled out thin, and fried on a grill. It's eaten cold (but is delicious fresh from the frying pan too), spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar, then rolled up. That's how my family eats it. Scott's dad once said "Your family is spoiled!" His family eats it with meat rolled up in it. Yuk!
You can see my mother's recipe and also a photo of the lefse here: http://stubblejumperscafe.blogspot.ca/2015/12/lefse.html



Not a fan of Twitter. I like FB mostly because it lets me keep up with the far-flung friends/relatives in my life. 

The occasional wonderful re-connection is what keeps me checking Facebook. I know where you're coming from.
Twitter is another "activity" I was asked to use for my former job, where they needed us to learn how to make use of social media. Like FB, once in while there's something interesting on it, but most of the time, not.
I think I could quit both and not miss either one.



Great post Kate! I use Facebook mostly on a "have to" basis as it's been the best form of advertising for my business in the area I live in. Who would have thought. For my personal use, I spend very little time there. Maybe 10 minutes tops and that's not even every day. Twitter, I am on because it was part of getting my book out there, or supposedly anyway but I have no idea how it works and can't seem to be bothered to learn it or find anyone to teach me how to go about it. 

Out here, some businesses use FB for their advertising because it's free. What they don't understand is that a posting on FB does not reach every person with whom they are "friends," because FB wants you to pay for that. For a fee, FB will make sure your posting gets to a certain number of people (still, not all your connections). Or should I say, it will send your post to your friends' FB feeds. Even that is no guarantee that your post will be seen! I miss a lot of my "friends' " postings simply because I don't read everything there is, every minute of the day. By the time I check my FB feed, a lot of things posted earlier are too far down the page for me to see them. 
FB ads are better than no ads, but they are not as effective as smart advertising in local newspapers, especially where I live. There are a lot of seniors here, and they have no interest in computers or the internet, but they love their Wadena News.
Glad to hear FB has been a good tool for you, though!