October - from the 'Year at Robie Creek' series

Originally published in the:

A friend said to me in the middle of September, “How can you be doin’ autumny stuff? Summer’s not even over!” Well, halfway across the country to the east and south, and 3,000 feet closer to sea level, no, indeed it was not, but here the leaves would be falling soon from a very light freeze the night before that conversation. Now we’ve got full-blown fall color and if there hasn’t been snow on the ground yet, there soon will be. My hunting season is winding down – hunting of bugs for the bug-eating members of our household, that is – while hunting season for large mammals is ramping up.

Dude may go this year with a friend, another disabled vet from down the road, depending upon Dude’s work schedule and the weather. He’s not a hunter by nature but it’s good to keep those skills intact on the off chance they should be needed. I’m convinced that if it came to that kind of survival situation we could do just fine with plants provided we’d gathered and preserved enough of enough varieties to get through the lean months, and if we hadn’t there are always pine needle or other kinds of twig or bark teas in a pinch, available in any weather.

But the ability to properly hunt, kill, field-dress, and butcher an animal are in reality likely to be very important should we ever find ourselves without the niceties of society and civilization such as leaving the raising and butchering of animals to people who choose that life’s work and having central marketplaces from which the fruits of various peoples’ labors can be distributed in exchange for a common currency. Speaking of civilization, I sincerely believe that many of the tribal, nomadic cultures in existence today have been in their pasts technologically-advanced, but have come to the conclusion that nature always wins and have chosen to live within the confines of what it provides. Just sayin’.

Anyway, Dude, Jr. turned ten last month. Academically this is a fun age, though he tends to be more into physics than the life sciences, which are where my scientific curiosity tends to be most concentrated. He endures my long explanations of what’s taking place from the macro- to micro-organic levels, but he’s more interested in things like why maple and pine seeds (when they fall out of their cones) spiral to the ground as opposed to salsify, dandelion, and prickly lettuce seeds that float on the breeze. An observation on that phenomena might start a discussion about why the different seeds behave and react the way they do and how it benefits the plant, which then morphs into chatting maybe about adaptability and evolution, leading perhaps to a discussion about creation theory, maybe even to religion in general, and he may have some specific questions about various aspects of any of those things or a myriad of subjects that might come up along the way which leads to research and a-ha moments for both of us. Learning how he thinks is endlessly fascinating, and navigating his thought process in a way that draws him into the process of learning is constantly enlightening, and often humbling.

On another note, the heavy harvesting gets done this month. I say heavy, ha, but I mean this is when things get lopped to the ground if that’s what’s best for them over the winter, it’s when the last of the seeds ripen, when those roots that are at the peak of their usefulness in fall are best dug up. We need to prune our hawthorn tree pretty deeply over the next few years – that will largely be done in October – because we can’t reach most of its berries. It could be done all at once, but doing it over the course of years is less dangerous and will leave us in the end with a more pleasing and functional shape, while being the least disruptive to the wildlife that live in and travel through it. The birds and probably other creatures enjoy the berries through the winter so that’s alright, but I would like to be able to keep some of them on hand for us and it’s a tree not easily climbed. The wood is good for burning, though, so that’s a plus to braving the thorns for careful pruning.

The bug population is diminishing now so we’ll soon be back to mealworms and the occasional spider for the reptiles and amphibians (or ‘herps’, short for ‘herptiles’ or ‘herptofauna’) over the winter. They only get the occasional spider because if Dude, Jr. or the cats see a spider first around here, it’s done for. The wild ancestors of housecats consume insects, including spiders, as a large percentage of their diets (which provides much of the taurine they can’t synthesize in the same way we do as well as lots of protein and other goodies), and Dude, Jr. just doesn’t like spiders, kills ‘em on sight. He is getting to a point recently where he’ll grudgingly tell me that he’s seen one if I happen to be nearby, but if I’m not he’ll shrug and say, “Hadta kill it.” He makes me laugh.

And again our time is up. We hope your 2014 is going well – wishing you all the best – and we look forward to seeing you in November.  As always, from Robie Creek to Owl Creek, take care, be safe, have fun!

With much love,

Peace & the Dudes Jaway

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