Harvester
August 25th, 2010
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Here is the front end of the harvester…a “no-nonsense” piece of equipment if ever I saw one. It cuts huge swaths of material for collection….I would not want to be run over by one of these things….
Farming
August 25th, 2010
Farming is not a cheap business…long gone is the plough and the dray horse. It is a highly technical, very sophisticated and a capital intensive business. This harvester that I am delighted to be sitting in costs $375,000 and we need three of them to harvest the peppermint fields when they are ready. Plants (and weather) wait for no man so when the crop needs to be brought in..it should be brought in as fast as possible…the only way they would let me handle the machine was when it was sitting in the garage..they were not going to trust me with it out in the field (smart folks!)
Next Year’s Plants
August 24th, 2010
Peppermint does not have any seeds. The crops are expanded by planting roots. Here I am examining a nursery…..these are next year’s plants, healthy little fellows…nurtured by the sun and surrounded by lots of water pipes!!!! Not to mention a very caring famer standing next to me….
Peppermint Fields
August 23rd, 2010
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I walked out into the peppermint fields, and as I pushed through the plants and stepped on the plump leaves the thick, sweet scent of crushed mint just enveloped me. It was a glorious experience…but I felt guilty treading on these plants but I was told they would spring back in no time. I hope so…these fields represent a lot of $$$$$ I did not want to waste a dime of it…..
Mount Shasta
August 22nd, 2010
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Mount Shasta with a different perspective. In front you can linger on the lush peppermint fields…I did…it has been a good season for peppermint and after a somewhat shaky beginning, the fields have really perked up and are now thick and full of plants….happy plants, happy farmers…..happy me.
Klamath Falls
August 22nd, 2010
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From the Wild West to the true West is but a short hop nowadays in a commuter jet. I am in Klamath Falls, Northern California looking across Klamath Lake (which is an amazing three feet deep) looking at Mount Shasta….(Did they name a soda after a mountain??) It is a glorious day…hot as Hades. But that is good because this is the peppermint season and I am out here visiting the farmers and the fields. Hot days, means a quick dry once the Peppermint is harvested and that is good news……
The Wild West
August 20th, 2010
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Once upon a time there was the Wild West. Buffalo roamed and Chief Niwot gazed out on miles of horizon, where there was nothing. Now the West is tamed and even magnificent flat top Buttes like this one are slowly being encroached upon by suburbia. Nothing stays the same, I know that, but it is sad to see. I know that you can’t stop progress…but I wonder how many ghosts sit astride their horses atop that Butte and look down and shake their heads..
Big City
August 18th, 2010
Heading back to the “big city”..Boulder that is, I see this tribute to environmental caretaking being driven down from the mountains….look at the size of those tires…I can only imagine how much damage they could do to the tundra, let alone the noise of the unfettered engine, and the gas consumption…to tell the truth I even find snow mobiles noisy….I would hate to meet this monster on a quiet day in the mountains…
Steps
August 16th, 2010
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Well if a job is worth doing then it is worth doing well….two days later I have repaired the steps (actually I have replaced them) painted the railings and stained the steps as well. Not bad for a part time carpenter….and certainly worth saving $1,200 ……I feel rather proud of the effort and the result…something about honest labor….?
Home Ownership
August 14th, 2010
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Ahhh the joys of home ownership. Particularly when the home is basically snow bound for 4 months of the year and these steps are totally immersed in rock solid ice. Wood and ice equals rot and the steps needed to be replaced. The quote to do so was horrendously expensive…I mean we are talking about 6 steps and they wanted over $1200 to do the job…i guess some folks are not experiencing a recession? Anyway, for that kind of savings I decided I could be a carpenter for a day…
