Where we live and what we do for fun



As the leaves fall off the trees and vistas open up, I'm re-amazed at how beautiful it is around here. 

Our backyard isn't in the running for any beauty prizes, but I love it regardless. Aaron has been building a fort with the boys in our backyard. We all worked on it this weekend. SuperDuperUperStorm Sandy didn't hit very hard here, but it has been windy enough that we wonder how our fort has fared.



Hunting season started on Saturday, hence the orange caps.

More evidence that patriarcy is effective

I recently heard a piece on NPR about new research on social mobility (or lack therof) by economic historian Gregory Clark.

"If I just know that you share a rare surname with someone who was wealthy in 1800, I can predict now that you're nine times more likely to attend Oxford or Cambridge. You're going to live two years longer than an average person in England. You're going to have more wealth. You're more likely to be a doctor. You're more likely to be an attorney," Clark says.

Heartfelt thanks

 

It took all day for Aaron to process the three geese. Mostly, I was busy with other chores, but I did take pictures and do some plucking. The other birds I plucked, some chickens for a friends’ farm wedding years ago, had long clear worms in some of the feather follicles, and many little gnat-y, itchy “chicken fleas” that leapt of the chickens and onto us as we plucked. Iggy, iggy, iggy. The geese were pest-free and oddly endearing. I think because their feathers are so soft and because their beaks have a little up-turn at the base, so they appear quite cheerful about the whole affair.

Stop here if you don’t want to see dead-bird and dead-bird innards pictures.

Our goose ain't cooked

Last Monday, Aaron went goose hunting and shot a Lesser Canada Goose:

 

His hunting partners were kind enough to give him two of their geese, so we now have three geese to cook. I thought I’d share our adventures in goose cooking.

Of course, when you kill the animal yourself, it takes a while to get to the cooking