Tom

I was not the only one visiting my farmer friend last weekend. However, these turkeys are regulars on his lands and have actually grown accustomed to my friend and typically allow him to mingle and work amongst them.

This is a Tom

Come spring and summer time the hens will emerge with their clutches of babies and a turkey-boom will occur. However, there are simply too many predators (coyotes, owls, hawks, foxes and raccoons. There is also a new predator on the block or actually one that's making a comeback; the Fisher) and only a handful of the new chicks will make it to adulthood.

These are some of the hens

Click here to learn more about turkeys, "MassWildlife Turkey Learning Kit".

Click here to learn more about Fishers, "Wild Things Unlimited - The Fisher".

Pig Pile, Perhaps

I took advantage of some free time and drove down to my farmer friends place yesterday. I hadn't visited or spoken to him since just before Thanksgiving, so a visit was long overdue.

The weather wasn't too bad;cold and a little windy but bearable and as it turned out I was put to work not long after I arrived moving and stacking bails of hay, which kept us warm. We also had a burning barrel going, so when we'd take a break we would gather around it to keep toasty warm.


Burning barrel -

We used the burning barrel to keep warm but the pigs used a different method. These particular pigs are penned with an enormous pile of compost, which is by design. Pigs are rooting-type animals therefore in their search for tidbits of food they'll root through this pile of compost in short order. This accomplishes a number of things; the pigs are kept busy doing when they enjoy, they're able to find snacks for themselves and the pile of compost is constantly rotated and turned, which aides in the composting process. Also, the composting process keeps the pile itself hot and the pigs take advantage of this and dig themselves in to keep warm.


Steaming compost pile with napping piglets -


The same steaming compost pile with napping piglets, only a close up -

January Nor'easter

We got hit by the first Nor'easter of 2008. It started sometime after midnight on Sunday and went well into Monday. Most of the area towns were ahead of the storm and issued school cancellations Sunday night. Emilie's school was one of them, so I worked at home and got to spend the day with her and shovel too.

Here are a few pictures of Emmie enjoying the snow -



Here she is looking over the porch railing into the backyard. You can get a good idea just how much snow we had by how much has accumulated on the railing.



Here she is eating and licking some of the snow she just had to throw at the door, mmmm yummy!


And here she is stretching out and rolling around on the porch.

First WIN of Season!!

This just in...

"Walpole center Stephanie Frye (aka, “The Frye-alator”) took a long pass from Duffy with just under five minutes remaining in the game and broke into the Norwood zone with only Walsh (goalie) standing between her and the net. When Walsh came out of the net to cut the angle off and play the puck, Frye juked left, slid the puck into an open net, and sealed Walpole’s first victory of the season."

What the article doesn't mention is that in the first period Stephanie collided with an opposing player as they were both charging for the puck. The end result was Stephanie slamming her head on the ice when they fell. Although she played the rest of the game she was hurting; she had a terrible headache, as well as very dizzy and lightheaded, both of which persisted after the game. A trip to the local hospital emergency room for a CAT scan, thankfully, showed NO signs of a concussion.

You can read the entire article here, Walpole girls hockey grab first win of season.

Vasilopita 2008

In keeping with our family tradition we all gathered at my aunt and uncles house on New Years Day for a nice diner followed by the cutting of the vasilopita (dime cake). My Uncle has been cutting the cake for as long as I can remember. In that time I can't recall if the dime was ever found in any of his pieces over the years. Well, this year it was, well sort of. The dime was actually in the middle of the cut between his piece and my aunts, so they get to split the good fortune for 2008 (five cents a piece hahaha).

Happy New Year!

The picture above is the actual piece showing the location of the dime.

Click here to see last years Vasilopita posting...

Second Opinion

The doctor said, "Bill, the good news is I can cure your headaches. The bad news is that it will require castration. You have a very rare condition, which causes your testicles to press on your spine and the pressure creates one hell of a headache. The only way to relieve the pressure is to remove the testicles.
"Bill was shocked and depressed. He wondered if he had anything to live for. He had no choice but to go under the knife.

When he left the hospital, he was without a headache for the first time in 20 years, but he felt like he was missing an important part of himself. As he walked down the street, he realized that he felt like a different person. He could make a new beginning and live a new life. He saw a men's clothing store and thought, "That's what I need ... a new suit."

He entered the shop and told the salesman, "I'd like a new suit."
The elderly tailor eyed him briefly and said, "Let's see... Size 44, long."
Bill laughed, "That's right. How did you know?"
"Been in the business 60 years!" the tailor said.
Bill tried on the suit, it fit perfectly. As Bill admired himself in the mirror, the salesman asked, "How about a new shirt?"
Bill thought for a moment and then said, "Sure."
The salesman eyed Bill and said, "Let's see, 34 sleeves and 16-1/2 neck."
Bill was surprised, "That's right. How did you know?"
"Been in the business 60 years."
Bill tried on the shirt and it fit perfectly. Bill walked comfortably around the shop, and the salesman asked, "How about some new underwear?"
Bill thought for a moment and said, "Sure."
The salesman said, "Let's see... size 36."
Bill laughed, "Ah ha! I got you, I've worn size 34 since I was 18 years old."
The salesman shook his head, "You can't wear size 34. Size 34 would press your testicles up against the base of your spine and give you one hell of a headache.

"New suit - $400
New shirt - $36
New underwear - $6
Second Opinion - PRICELESS

Happy New Year 2008

**Warning **: For the adult male readers of SFrye732_blog, Happy New Year! -
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/re-werx/HappyNewYear.jpg

The Apprentice

How bout some post Christmas plumbing?!

Not only did Santa deliver endless pairs of shoes to Emilie "Imelda Marcos" but he also left a brandy new kitchen faucet for my dad. More proof that he'd been hitting the sauce I'd say. Oh don't get me wrong that was a nice gift, a needed gift and very thoughtful of the jolly ole feller BUT what he failed to include was installation. Well doesn't that pose a dilemma...?

As you can see from the picture above, dilemma solved.

Emilie gave me a hand removing the old faucet and installing the new. Of course I had some trepidation going into this project for fear that it would turn into what I affectionately refer to as a "Frye project". A "Frye project" is one that should be straight forward but turns into anything but. Although we ran into a few minor challenges removing the old one, once out, the new faucet installed without a hitch with the end result being a success.