Ep 236 Susan's Shire: Introduction

The Labor Day holiday here in the United States is a time to remember the contributions of the everyday workers to the building of our country, and to tip our hats to the labor movement. The first week in September is the point in time to remember other things as well – the unofficial end of summer, the start of school, and the moment where it becomes gauche to wear white in the traditional fashion universe. Having come from Eastern stock, there’s more than a little of that last t...

7 Syys 202025min

The Great American Cattle Drive 2020 was an exciting trip for us, with farm visits to see American Milking Devons, Ancient White Park Cattle, and Yaks. Wait – Yaks? Okay, so the “Cattle” in “Cattle Drive” part was a little fast and loose on the list near the end (we try not to limit ourselves, if you can tell). The genus “Bos” does include cattle, aurochs, bison and yaks, but yaks, including “Bos grunniens” are technically not in the “cattle” clump, so we stretching GACD a l...

31 Elo 202039min

As we watched the news and saw the fires ravaging over one million acres in California this past week, all Elara and I could think of were some of the people we've met along our journeys, and their proximity to the danger zone. The fires in the west have only gotten worse each year. Whether you believe in climate change or not, there is one thing for certain...weather patterns are changing. If it's severe rain and flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, or fires...it not only affects p...

24 Elo 202016min

We’re back! When all was said and done, the Great American Cattle drive chalked up 8,500 miles, 22 states, 38 days and a partridge in a pear tree. And everything the caretakers (nieces and nephews) were in charge of was still alive upon our return – plus a few extra as-yet-to-be-determined biting things inhabiting the house. We still don’t know what those are, but we do know that when things change in nature – subtractions (us) and additions (the kids) – it can sometimes imp...

17 Elo 202049min

Rick, Elara, Little Mule (newly named car) and Bessie (not-quite-newly named trailer) are nearly home after almost 6 weeks on the road on the Great American Cattle Drive 2020. After a quick detour across historic Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California, they have decided that they definitely have the good life travelling in the modern age. Especially with air conditioning. The Oregon Trail. The California Trail. The Mormon Trail. The Bozeman Trail.&n...

10 Elo 20208min

Backyard Green Films is on the route home on the Great American Cattle Drive 2020, with another 2,000-odd miles to go. As it happened, we recorded this episode from the banks of the Mississippi River, only an hour from Pepin, Wisconsin. Some of you might know that spot as the original starting point for Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the beloved Little House books. Her adventure with a wagon pulled by oxen was much more difficult than ours should be, and any kind of ...

3 Elo 202046min

We're still GACD - Great American Cattle Drive, that is. Today, we'll bring you a visit with a family that we think is peachy keen, absolutely fabulous, and the cat's meow (and yes, there were cats there, too). Three generations of the Freier Family hosted us for a delightful morning at Every Season Farm, learning about life on a dairy farm (and mini science lab) in the rolling hills of Seneca Falls, New York. With the patriarch starting the milk jug rolling, and a pedia...

27 Heinä 202033min

We’re still in the Northeastern United States on our Great American Cattle Drive. This is the area where much of our country’s important paperwork is kept. The Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the documents in the Hall of Records, and the Milking Devon Herdbook, Volume 8. We just had to add that last one and take another little teasing dig at John Hall, President of the American Milking Devon Cattle Association, who owns the only copy (we know of) of that particular book. T...

20 Heinä 202027min