Llamas & Alpacas: Sheep & Wool #4

4. Llamas and Alpacas

Beautiful animals. Not economical, but they seem to produce useful and desirable wool.

Llamas have attitude. Alpacas are cute. Five foot tall and still cute. The Seussian creature to the left is an alpaca.

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Sheep Dog Trials: Sheep & Wool #5

5. Sheep Dog Trials

Lots of fun. It wasn't always clear what the dogs were supposed to do, but watching it for a while, you understood the course. It wasn't until I left that I saw the big board with all the explanations, and the map of the course.



On this course, the sheep were actually out of sight, over a small rise. The handler set the dog out on a right outrun. These dogs don't run, they fly. I tried to capture some sense of their speed in the photos. The second set of drive gates, after the post, were actually on the "left-hand" side of the course, closest to the observers (and the photographer). Those are the ones you see in the photos below.




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Broom-Making: Sheep & Wool #6

6. Broom-making

This shows Bob Haffly of Lone Oak Brooms in Pennsylvania making brooms by hand using antique equipment outside of the Horticulture building (which had nothing to do with horticulture for the festival). The first photo shows a brook-making machine on display in the Antique Museum Barn.

We bought an "art" broom. I don't know what else to call it. It has a naturally curved, not straight, handle. The wood has fine tunnels on the surface, probably caused by ants beneath the bark. It's then hard-carved and stained with an ivy pattern. Each such broom was truly a unique work of art. Bob insisted that it's a working broom, and we shouldn't be afraid to use it. It's an amazing construction.


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Hand-Spinning: Sheep & Wool #7

7. Hand-spinning

This is Sunny Huppert, demonstrating how to spin rough wool and hair into yarn with a foot-powered wheel. She was working with a mix of wool and dog hair.


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Yarn & Stuff: Sheep & Wool #8

8. Yarn and Stuff

Last, but not least, there was a lot of yarn. MEGO: My Eyes Glaze Over ... I wouldn't know what to do with the stuff.

It was a color photographer's dream.




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Guest Blogger, Parental Unit Y: Blogs and Bloggers, Golden Age, and Generational Differences

My recent meta-blog entry about Top 100 Gardening Sites, visit counters, and other technical matters, has spawned some interesting conversation in the comments.

My father left the following comment on that thread. I have to say, I didn't ask permission before raising it up to the level of its own blog entry, but it felt like the right thing to do. I think it stands on its own, outside the context of the original blog entry. In reading it, I think you can see a lot of me in him, or him in me, whichever way it goes. So it explains me a little bit without my having to do so. I present it here unexpurgated, unedited except for cosmetic white space.

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BLOGS AND BLOGGERS, GOLDEN AGE AND GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES

I am the truly proud father of the Flatbush Gardener. I must say that I have no memory of naming an offspring as “Xris”. DNA samples worked out all the problems. My wife and I are in the @#$% “Golden Age”. We were “Depression” kids with all that implies. I worked for 43 years as an engineer. My first computer experience was with a single channel analog computer made by Ease/Berkeley. One of those room and a half thingies. This was around 1955. We had all the series “I” and “II” Apples, in order, and then IBMs.

Now my son has a group of computerists working for him in a Federal agency. He tells me how to do things.

We are up-to-date Seniors; our home has three computers, two desktops and one laptop. Not too rotten.

Then comes this email out of the blue in which Xris tells me he has a Blog ! …. So, I figure he bought some exotic pet, perhaps a crossbred frog. At least that would not have required so much care and maintenance.

I have been a fan of the “Flatbush Gardener” since he introduced me. When he was here in North Carolina two weeks ago, we discussed in great detail what a “Blog” is and how it is to maintain. It is a WORK… of love.

Luckily he is a high speed typist with great photo talent and a terrific organizer. He took over 500 photos here which he, of course, edited down to some that went on the Blog.

His Mom and I were both born in Brooklyn but we’ve lived all over the U.S. We are familiar with the locations he writes about. That part is fun, the recognition. We are faithful readers but are not always into the subject of every writing. GREAT macros of insects but I care no more about their breeding than I do my own. (Bugs have a whole SEASON ??........Damn!.......OK, so I’m a little jealous.)

I can not read, absorb or retain data covering a broad field of interests the way he can. I can, however, continue to be a bragging Dad and so very proud of how the little Punk turned out.

So, his Mom and I get up every morning and first, read the obituaries, just to make sure. Then we check our e-mail, just to make sure. We skip the daily comics in the paper and go directly to Flatbush Gardener.

This is our source of learning (never too old), a status source for his garden, home, scientific news and occasional political disagreements. We find that, whether or not the subject is of direct interest, we are smiling as we read. Now THAT'S entertainment !

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I am grateful to have a relationship with my father. It wasn't always so. There were years of silence, and strained relations. I'm grateful that we've both lived long enough to heal and grow, independently and together, to allow us to enjoy each other's company. I'm grateful for the friendship we share, as two grown men with a unique bond and shared history. I am also proud of him. I'm grateful that I'm able to feel all this, and know it, and celebrate it. And him.

"Welcome to New York. Now Go Home."

(The title of this post comes from a favorite t-shirt of a friend of mine from many years ago.)

If you ever visit New York City, a recent article by Kristin Tillotson, writing for Mercury News, actually has some good advice for you:

The secret to being able to say "I love NY" and mean it? Don't plan too much sightseeing, and take lots of breaks. Wander down a street spontaneously to see what's on the next block. Stop to watch a parade - they have about three a week, one for every nationality under the sun and then some. That's the thing about New York - there's always something interesting happening, all over the place.
- Intimidated by a trip to Manhattan? Fuhgeddaboutit

There's too much even for people who live here to see in a lifetime. What makes you think you can do any better?!

Now aside from mentioning specific restaurants, shops, and so on - which just seems like so much product placement to me - there's some good information in the article. She suggests that you try for lodging outside of the main tourist destinations:

Desert the Titanic: Many first-timers in Manhattan cling to Times Square as if it were a lifeboat. Actually, it's the loudest, most annoying, stress-inducing, alienating spot in the city, especially during the 6 to 8 p.m. pretheater crush. So don't stay there.

I would say, "Don't go there!" I've lived in NYC over 25 years, and Times Square is over-stimulating for me! Then again, I moved to bucolic Brooklyn years ago, and I'm much older and wiser than I used to be, so maybe it's just not for me any more.

She suggests several museums smaller than the big names, and I second that suggestion. There are literally hundreds of museums in NYC, covering nearly every imaginable field of human endeavor and curiosity. Find one or more that speak to your passions, and visit them. They need your support more than the big names.

She also provides succinct transportation guidelines, mostly accurate. She notes the MTA Web site and HopStop as online resources for finding your way around the city by subway; StrapHangers is another excellent resource.

However, I completely disagree on "don't feel obliged to tip [a cab driver] more than 10 percent." This is not a good tip! I'd only give that if I hated the driver. Tip a cabbie 15-20% if you enjoyed the ride and his (they're mostly men) driving didn't terrify you.

I offer some additional tips:

• The Staten Island Ferry. The best views of downtown Manhattan and New York Harbor, and still free.
• Get out of Manhattan. There are great, world-class cultural institutions and destinations in "the outer boroughs": The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. She mentions just a few in her article. There are many more. For example, she mentions the Bronx Zoo and the Boroklyn Botanic Garden. Did you know that each borough has its own zoo? Its own garden? Brooklyn even has a zoo and an aquarium!
• Don't wait for a parade to "stop and watch." Walk along the sidewalks and try to identify the diffferent languages you hear, let alone the different accents. Take advantage of any park in New York City to stop and watch. People-watching is one of the best activities you can do in NYC. Believe me, we're watching you back!

She ends with some tips on etiquette [with my comments]:

New Yorkers aren't rude, just rushed: A few "don'ts" for interacting with the natives (and those who pretend to be) [ie: those of us who've only lived here nearly 30 years]:

• Don't mistake directness for bad manners, and get right to the point. Most New Yorkers are friendly and open, but can be terse [I would say I'm "direct". Whatever ...] when in a hurry - which is usually. [Always. Suspect the one who doesn't seem like they have to be somewhere.]
• Don't stop to look at your map at the top of an escalator [Or anywhere there are people moving. Step out of the stream of people, or let the stream carry you to a quiet eddy.] or walk four abreast at a turtle's pace [Don't walk four abreast at any pace. Someone will always be in more of a hurry than you are. Two abreast is the maximum to let people flow around you], blocking the sidewalk [NEVER block the sidewalk, especially a crosswalk or corner. This is Rule#1!] ; this ain't Disneyland [Except for Times Square]. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Chamber of Commerce welcome you as tourists, but most of the folks around you are on the clock. [And we would welcome you as well, we're just busy.]
• Never say "Ya know, you tawk just like Tony Soprano! C'mon, just give us one 'fuhgeddaboutit!' " Don't you mopes know that crew is from Jersey? The finely tuned native New Yorker ear can tell by accents not only who grew up in Flatbush or Bed-Stuy, but who grew up on Avenue K or I. [Another reason: You don't want to know what we think you sound like ... and we will tell you.]

And my etiquette contribution:

You came all the way to New York? And you didn't call? It would kill you to write?!

#49 on the Charts

As of right now - and who knows what will happen in a few hours - Flatbush Gardener is listed as #49 on Top 100 Gardening Sites. If there's any advantage to this counter, it's that my blog now appears on Page 1.

Now, I'm a geek, and I don't put much stock in this particular counter. For one thing, there's no way for me to exclude my visits to my own blog, which happens whenever I edit a page, modify the blog's template, and so on. I also check out how my blog looks in different browsers, at different settings, especially if I suspect there's a formatting problem.

This points out that it would be very easy to load the dice (stack the deck, mark the dominoes ...) and artificially inflate my count, just by repeatedly visiting my own blog. I suspect this has happened, inadvertently: this particular hit count was around 1065 just over the weekend; it's now at 1510. Hell, I am a geek, after all: I could just write a program which repeatedly visits my blog - say every minute or so - and hit #1 in no time.

But homey don't play that.

I mainly pay attention to two other visit counters I have in the footer: StatCounter and SiteMeter. Both offer limited tracking information for free. And both allow me to block my own visits, so they don't skew the counts or stats the way Top 100 does. Both also offer additional information besides simple counts, including:

• The referring page
• Entry and exit pages
• Duration of visits
• Type of browser
• Monitor resolution
• Location
  

and so on. When I showed my partner how much information was available about my visitors, he had one word: "Creepy." I would take it down a notch and call it "Spooky," but I understand his reaction. Nevertheless, knowing the technical profile of you, my visitors, directs me to take care that my blog is viewable to you. For example:

• About half of you have a monitor resolution of 1024x768. But a significant number of you, around 7%, have your monitors set to 800x600, and many more, about 25%, have monitors set to 1280x1024. This told me I needed to customize my blog's template to use flexible sizing instead of hard-coded pixel widths, so the content will flow according to the size of the browser window.
• The majority of you use Internet Explorer as your browser, though a significant chunk use Firefox. So, although Firefox is my browser of choice, I also need to check out how my blog looks in Internet Explorer when I change the template.

StatCounter and SiteMeter complement each other on some stats which the other doesn't provide. For example, SiteMeter reports color depth: 32-bit, 24-bit or 16-bit. StatCounter distinguishes between first-time and repeat visitors; it needs to set a cookie to do that, so if you see a cookie from statcounter.com, that's what it's for. They also report the length or depth of a visit - multiple pages in a single visit - in different ways.

The combination of all this information is stuff I look at frequently, several times a week, if not every day. It helps me to see what's working, and what's not working, even when you're not leaving comments. I much prefer your comments, so please, comment away! But even when you don't, know that I gather up the crumbs from your cookies, watching over your cumulative visits, like a beneficent demi-god.

Or something.

Meta: Why and How to Blog

[Updated 2006.10.15 13:15 EDT: Filled in #10: Market yourself.]

By way of Pam's House Blend, I discovered these "10 15 Ways to a Killer Blog." This was a presentation by Robert and Maryam Scoble at the ConvergeSouth 2006 conference.

1. Blog because you want to.
2. Read other blogs.
3. Pick a niche you can own (be different).
4. Link to other blogs.
5. Admit mistakes.
6. Write good headlines.
7. Use other media.
8. Have a voice.
9. Get outside the blogosphere.
10. Market yourself.
    
11. Write well.
12. Expose yourself.
13. Help other people blog.
14. Engage with commenters.
15. Keep your integrity.

This list resonates with me. I think I - I hope, I strive to - embody all of these, in my life as well as my blogging. "Integrity," for example, is my core personal value, so #15 is something I live and breathe.

The only one I'm not sure about is #7, "Use other media," but if photography counts, hey, I'm in.

What do you think? Any of these I could do better? More of? Less of? How do these relate to your blogging and your experiences in the blogosphere? What happens when folks don't keep these things in mind?

Recipe: Spice Cookies

I don't cook much, but I love to bake. Over the fall and winter I'll make cookies, cakes, rolls, bread, and so on, from scratch. It appeals to the mad scientist in me. I also like making pancakes and French toast (not really baking) for breakfast.

I made these spice cookies today. They are light and soft yet firm, not chewy, not too sweet, and very tasty. I know adults like them. I haven't tried them out on kids yet.

This is a large batch; it makes 60-70 2" wide cookies. You could cut this recipe in half.

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 & 1/2 Cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons ground spices
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Wet (Batter) Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 Cups (3 sticks) sweet (unsalted) butter, at room temperature
  
• 1 Cup brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
   
   
2. Sift the dry ingredients together to remove any lumps and mix them thoroughly and set aside.
   
   
3. In a mixer, cream the butter until it's fluffy and has a light color.
   
   
4. Gradually add the brown and regular (refined) sugar. Cream the sugars and butter together until uniform in color.
   
   
5. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each one.
   
   
6. Add the vanilla extract.
   
   
7. Scrape down the bowl and blades and mix thoroughly. The batter should be light and fluffy.
   
   
8. Add the dry ingredients gradually, mixing thoroughly.
   
   The result should be a light, fluffy, wet, soft dough which holds soft peaks. If the dough is too wet to hold a peak, add more flour, no more than 1/4 Cup at a time. If the dough is too dry and stiff, add a little liquid (water or milk). Mix thoroughly after each addition, until the dough has the desired consistency.
   
   
9. Place teaspoons of dough on a cookie sheet. (A releasing ice cream scoop is the best tool for this.) Leave enough room for the cookies to spread. (Try setting them up 4x3 for the first sheet, so you can see how they spread.)
   
   
10. Bake the cookies for no more than ten minutes.
    
    Keep an eye on them. The cookies will spread (because of the butter and sugar) and rise slightly (because of the baking powder and the air you whipped into them). When the texture of the tops of the cookies changes from glossy and shiny to matte and dull, or If the edges start to brown, they're done.
    
    If the bottoms of the cookies brown, or even burn, before the tops have set, turn the oven down -25 F.
    
    
11. When the cookies are done, remove the tray to cool for a few minutes, until the cookies firm up, then remove them to a separate cooling rack. If you leave the cookies on the sheets, the bottoms will get soggy.

Possible substitutions:

• You could use whole wheat flour for part or all of the cake flour. If so, be sure to sift several times.
• The spices can be anything you like: allspice, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg (a little goes a long way!), cloves. Today, I used the same commercial mulling spice blend, finely ground, which I used in the squash and pear soup last weekend.
• You could omit the vanilla extract, or use a different extract, such as lemon, orange, or almond.
• You can omit or reduce the salt.