The huge pile of dirt that was created when we had the basement excavated (it seems like a hundred years ago, but was actually a mere 16 months ago) has been spread out across the yard. We have been smoothing it all out and gathering the stones.
So that was pretty interesting.
Sunday morning, we went to the new build. We saw an unfamiliar truck parked along side the new road put in for the right-of-way. We do not yet know all the vehicles that will be using the road. When Tim saw a stranger trudging back to the truck dragging a garbage can, he headed straight down to talk to him. Interestingly, he is a native grass seed collector for the state. He gathers the seed. He has a machine to clean the seed. The seed is weighed and the state pays the property owner. He was glad to see us.
Remember that I told you that half our acreage was swamp? Tim has spent a couple years fighting to reclaim that, but we do have some marsh left. In that wet area the seed collecter found a plant called rattlesnake grass. He had gone down with his garbage can and collected what he estimated to be 15 pounds of it.
We told him he was surely welcome to come and collect anytime he was in the area. We didn't mind. Now that we recognize the truck and know what he is up to, it is fine.
Later, Tim was reading up on that subject. He was shocked spitless to discover that rattlesnake seed retails for $300/lb, $22 an ounce.
So that was interesting too.
My daughter and her long term significant other went to a baseball game in Pittsburgh with William. The electronic billboard was running announcements and Don urged her to watch for a big announcement. Her birthday is Wednesday, so she waited for a birthday greeting. Much to her shock, it was a proposal. She stood gaping. When she found her words, she gasped 'What did you DO?' and he gave her a ring as William watched grinning.
So that was another bit of excitement.
Today, we went up to the house to work, and I spent some time with the kittens as usual. Sigh is missing. He is always the second to show up at feeding time.
We have seen fox tracks in the morning in our freshly smoothed dirt which runs between the house and the garage. It might have been the eagle if they were in front of the garage. Hard to tell. I looked around for some clue, but found nothing.
There is not much I can do. I built a way for them to get upstairs in the garage if they need to escape something.
I am half way done with my post cards. I should be finished writing them on the 26th, a full month before they are to be sent.
We haven't got our computer back, so ignore any mistakes in this post.
Congratulations and Best Wishes to the couple. What a happy surprise. A seed collector. Interesting!
ReplyDeleteDid you get your post cards?
DeleteThat's an interesting and important project to collect native grass seed.
ReplyDeleteWe were glad to know that we had something that another state wanted.
DeleteThat's wonderful news about the engagement! I've seen a few of those on Instagram and they're always so touching. Is the state making a lot of profit off those seeds?
ReplyDeleteI would not think so. This is a program to benefit other states. It is not a commercial enterprise. Tennessee is looking for this grass for a project that they are doing and he is a certified seed collector. He gathers the seeds, runs them through his machine to separate the seed from the plant, probably a lot like threshing wheat. He then weighs the product and submits it to the state with the landowner information. To be perfectly honest, it really makes no difference to us if we don't see a penny. It's something we have, and it is something that we are glad to share. But it will be interesting to see how much the state pays.
DeleteWhat an eventful couple of days you have had.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what caused the cavity in the rocks in the first place.
So sorry to hear about Sigh. You are giving them the best chance of life, but you cannot protect against everything.
Hope you get your computer back soon.
The sedimentary rocks were formed at the beginning of time, as the waters receded and the mud settled into layers. I suppose that bubbles of water created the space and as the water seeped out, minerals seeped in.
DeleteCollecting native plant seeds is vital work...and using them too.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all!
As I understand it, the seeds were collected for a specific project in Tennessee. Have seeds, will travel.
DeleteSome interesting things in this post. Not come across the concretions before for starters. Rattlesnake Grass sounds very unusual (and desirable by the price!) I see it is a form of Quaking Grass. Very pretty.
ReplyDeleteLovely news about your daughter's proposal from her long term partner. Sounds like William was pleased too.
I hope that Sigh turns up . . .
Sigh did turn up Jennie! They've never ranged independently before, so this was a whole new wrinkle. My kittens are growing up!! BTW: your quilt finds were AMAZING. 3 quilts for 20 quid! What a deal!
DeleteRomance isn't dead - hurrah! Congratulations to the happy couple.
ReplyDeleteSeed collecting sounds an interesting job.
I'm sorry to hear about Sigh.
Jabblog!!! The cat came back!!! He came striding in for breakfast. The fact that they are starting to range on their own must mean that they are beginning to hunt. I have not seen hide nor hair of their mother though, since that day last week where she showed up yowling and spitting and growling. I do kind of worry whether she's contracted rabies, although she's well groomed and looks healthy. But I've never seen her so aggressive.
DeleteSwamps, or as they are now called, wetlands, are quite environmentally important if they are natural swamps.
ReplyDeleteI expect the rattlesnake seed might be important too, but wow, that $4,500 worth of seed. Not a bad day's work.
What a great story about the proposal, especially as she was expecting a birthday greeting.
This post card thing is quite alien to me. It is about convincing people to vote 'correctly' or to enrol? Explaining it in a post would be interesting to me, and perhaps to other non US people. Blogger Boud in NJ at Field and Fen is also sending post cards.
That's a very good idea Andrew. I'll get a post together about it. The cards are going to registered democrats in 'swing states' (states in which the republican and democratic parties run neck and neck...where a few votes could make a huge difference). The message is does NOT urge them to vote for a specific candidate. I wrote my own message: "Dear -----, On Nov. 5th, please vote as if our nation's future depends on it, BECAUSE IT DOES! Make a plan. Be there. Vote!" I sign it with my first name. It's basically intended to galvanize voters who may not see their participation as vital. In a state as close as Pennsylvania, every vote counts.
DeleteI've started working on my huge batch of postcards because even with some friends coming next month to help, 400 is a lot. So far I'm up to 75. Now I need to order postage. I didn't realize how expensive postcard stamps have gotten when I ordered so many postcards! I'm hoping my friends will contribute some to help me out with the expense.
ReplyDeleteI love the proposal story! Very sweet.
400 is a lot. I did 200. I probably could have done more, but the postage is an issue for us right now. It's property tax time, and that makes things a bit of a pinch. 200 postcards will cost $112 to mail. I hope your friends will pitch in. Your cost will be twice as much!
DeleteA good news day all round! Wat a romantic proposal. Blog posts to come about wedding plans and mother of the bride outfits???
ReplyDeleteNo. Don is a very quiet giant Scotsman. He's uncomfortable being the center of just about anything. My daughter is happy with a small ceremony at the Court House. We will try to put together a nice party afterwards. We'll see when this all happens.
DeleteSo does the state pay you for the seed they collect? Sounds terrific!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to your daughter and her fiance! How exciting!
The fellow uses plat maps to determine who owns what, and he submits that information to the state. I am not sure how it all works, but even if we never receive a penny, I think it is neat that there is someone out there working so hard on this project. These particular seeds are being collected for a project in Tennessee.
DeleteIt occurs to me that you could have titled this post "Grass Roots" for both your political postcard work and the Rattlesnake grasses' roots.
ReplyDeleteLOL. You are right!
DeleteSome years ago I found a perfectly round concretion next to the road where I walk. It was unique enough to send off a photo to the university in Saskatoon as I had no idea what it was. It is now a decorative addition to one of my flower beds. -Kate
ReplyDeleteI have never quite figured out why they are round. Do you know?
DeleteI have you beat. There is a fellow near me that collect hedge balls and presses oil out of the seeds that he sells to the cosmetic industry for $100 per half ounce! Up until he came along, they were just an old folk remedy to keep insects at bay in your house.
ReplyDeleteI like your concretion. We have something similar called geodes but they are hollow and not solid. They are still pretty collectible these days especially when cut open and polished up. I suspect your concretion might be too though I haven't a clue as to the worth. It takes a lot to polish those sorts of things up.
From what I gather from my reading, concretions and geodes are the same, except that concretions fill will the mineral drippage, where as the geodes do not fill, which allows the crystals to grow. I am not an expert, so anyone feel free to jump in and correct me if I am wrong.
DeleteI will not correct you because that is my understanding as well! My grandfather was a rock hound at one point with a polisher and everything but I never inherited that gene.
DeleteSuch a nice newsy post from you, I thoroughly enjoyed. Congrats to the couple! I didn't know that about seeds. The rock conjured up a memory for me. The rural area of MO where I grew up is very rocky, many kinds and I think I've seen ones like your pic. After my folks built a new house in the late 1960's we had to "pick rock" for ages to get them out of where the lawn could be. The rocks would be sticking out of the dirt and creating havoc for a mower... The kitties are venturing out.
ReplyDeleteWe pick up the rocks, and then Tim pulls a length of chain link behind the tractor and stirs them up...and we start all over again. It may take us the rest of our lives to be able to mow that area.
DeleteSpeaking of concretions, there was an interesting site near us on Lake Huron near our former home. They called them kettles. Pics here: http://surl.li/dmyfzt .
ReplyDeleteWow. Those are HUGE! Thanks for that link, AC. I would have never known about this place. I will have to read more about it. It would be a great place to visit!
DeleteWe had black walnut trees on our farm in Ohio and the state collected the nuts when they started falling. They paid my kids a small amount to help them at times. I think to keep the kids busy and out of the way. Walnut wood was very expensive back then, people stopped often and wanted to cut the trees for the lumber. It is a pretty wood The state used the walnuts for seed to plant in state forest.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. It would be interesting to find out more about this program. This guy does a lot of hard work, trekking through swamps. He says at times he is waist deep, and that makes him a bit nervous because he's no longer a young fellow.
DeleteCongratulations to your daughter and her SO (and to William!)!!
ReplyDeleteDon is a very reserved and quiet character. I am kind of surprised that he did something so "public". I'm glad he did. Brianna certainly felt special.
DeleteCongratulations to your daughter! I hope Sigh turns up. I have never heard of rattlesnake grass, but I'm glad someone is collecting the seed of native grasses.
ReplyDeleteSigh DID turn up! I was so surprised to see him wander in that I nearly cried. I've never seen the four of them separate before. They stay in very close range to each other. I wonder if this means that they are beginning to hunt? Perhaps he was not hungry, because he'd already eaten. I don't know.
DeleteA fun proposal. Best wishes to the little family.
ReplyDeleteThey've been a little family for years. Now they are an official little family.
DeleteAll these years I've had a stone similar to your first photo and wondered if it was a dinosaur egg fossil. Well heck, its mineral drippage! Fun to find that out and it made for interesting further reading. Thanks Deb.
ReplyDeleteThat is the first thing my sister guessed! Still pretty cool. Did you look at AC's link?
DeleteYou really do have the most amazing rocks and minerals in your backyard. Wow! I just loved reading about that proposal. That's a double Wooooooow!
ReplyDelete