F.R. "Fritz" Nordengren

Here it is in blazing glory.

If you saw any of the political roast at the Al Smith dinner, then you learned the October surprise, that one of the candidates shares a middle name with  “Steve” the watch rabbit of Two Mile Ranch. (In the You Tube link, look around the 7 – 8  minute mark for the revelation.)

In contrast, my October surprise came tonight when I returned home from several days away to find the un-baited Havaheart trap was holding  “Steve”.  Okay, he’s not much of a watch rabbit, but I turned him loose, none the worst for his time in captivity.  I watered the pheasants, tossed them some cracked corn to scratch for in the morning, and unloaded the car from the trip away.

Even as a writer, I dont think I can find the words to describe the peaceful feeling of sitting here in western boots on the deck in the dark tonight, listening to the sounds of Two Mile, sipping ice tea, and being home again.

I’ve had a project on the back burner for a number of years. My idea was a blog which collected the best of living on small farms and returning, or turning, to a rural lifestyle. I released a beta version over the past few weeks

Let me tell you a story about how it began.

I started blogging about my farm in a couple of venues, and most recently have consolidated my writing into this personal blog here at digitalstoryteller.com. As I blog here, I have a few regular areas of discussion: the farm life, my academic life, educational technology and everything that is left over.

Those blogging efforts, combined with my work on Powerprofs.org (with co producer Dr. Ann York) and some occasional contributions to the blog at Educause connect and TheScreenIsFlat.org, the brain child of Becky Hines, prompted me to rethink some organization to my writing.

Too many blogs, not enough time?

Probably not, but a clue to reorganize both the edit desk and the editorial board (both consisting of exactly one member) and regroup. And while I’ll still post some Boats Farms and Life updates here at Digitalstoryteller, the new project Small Farm Life, will be getting more of the small farm and living small discussion.

So check out SmallFarmLife.Com while it’s in beta. Be sure a leave a comment or two.

If you grew up on Warner Brothers cartoons, then Pepe Le Pew introduced you to the Hollywood anthropomorphic skunk.  Who couldn’t help but like the love sick skunk who invariable falls in love with a black cat who was accidentally adorned with a stripe. (Now haven’t we all been there?)

As a defense against predators, I have a raccoon sized Havaheart live trap set near the pheasant fly pen.  I’ve caught a feral cat, 4 raccoons, and a opossum and the Havaheart makes removal and disposal of the critters easy.

That is, until you catch a skunk.  This morning I found a very large striped skunk in the cage.  Skunk, like other fur bearing animals, are protected by game laws, but homeowners are allowed to protect their property.  The challenge, with a skunk in a large cage, is how to move it without it spraying.  The Havaheart web site suggests catching skunks in smaller cages (sure, makes sense to me, now tell the skunk to stay out of the bigger cage.)  Their site goes on to offer this advice:

How to trap a skunk

Very carefully! Skunks spray when they are frightened.
To move a skunk in a trap, quietly drop a sheet over the trap, pick it up gently without shaking or jerking.

In order to spray, skunks have to raise their tails, haunch up and aim. If the trap is low, and the skunk is unable to to raise their tail or turn their back to you, they most likely won’t spray.

I dont know about you, but I’m not sure “they most likley” qualifies as words of confidence.

I know many people anxiously awaited the email this week.  No, not the one about Obama’s running mate, the other email  The one about the pheasants.

One of the new projects this year was to raise and release pheasants into the habitat on the ranch.  The first pheasants arrived the week of June 12, and were well on their way to a release date sometime in October.  When they were put out into the fly pen — a 25 x 45 foot enclosed netted pen with top and side netting — 32 of the original 52 were still alive.  Over the next few days, a predator snuck into the confines and ended up killing most of the birds.  Although the hatchery suspects a mink, its just as likley it was a raccoon or a few raccoons.

So in my son Noah’s words, “Take Two People”, 52 more chicks were shipped from the hatchery and arrived at the end of July, and this weekend, I moved their brooder into the fly pen, and have done a series of staged releases.  15 were released Sunday, and 15 more today.  Assuming no predators attack tonight, I’ll release the final birds into the fly pen tomorrow, and then they grow for another 10 – 11 weeks before being released to the fields on the ranch.

With any luck, they will be safe under the watchful eyes of Steve, the watch rabbit.