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New York Amsterdam News The New Black View Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:57:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 wp-content/uploads/2021/03/site-icon-100x100.png?crop=1 New York Amsterdam News 32 32 198754894 The Liberty fall short of securing home court for opening round of the playoffs news/2026/09/24/the-liberty-fall-short-of-securing-home-court-for-opening-round/ news/2026/09/24/the-liberty-fall-short-of-securing-home-court-for-opening-round/#respond Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000 ?p=10463317 The New York Liberty entered Monday night’s game at the Barclays Center with the possibility of securing home court advantage. The post The Liberty fall short of securing home court for opening round of the playoffs appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> The New York Liberty entered Monday night’s game versus the Atlanta Dream at the Barclays Center with the possibility of securing home court advantage for the opening round of the WNBA playoffs, which begin on Sunday. Three days earlier, the Liberty arguably had their best win of the season, defeating the league’s No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx 93-81 on the road last Friday. Yet, turnovers and sub-par defense in losing 95-84 to the Dream ensured New York will play on the road this weekend, regardless of the outcome of their final regular season game last night (Wednesday) in Brooklyn, hosting the Dream again. The Dream had seven steals in forcing 11 Liberty turnovers overall while holding New York to 42.3% shooting, including 24.1% (7-29) on 3-point attempts. The Dream closed out the second quarter on a 10-3 run to take a 41-38 halftime lead, then exploded for 32 third-quarter points to extend their advantage going into the fourth. Guard Jordin Canada led the Dream with 19 points and center Angel Reese posted 18 points and 10 rebounds. Liberty superstar Breanna Stewart, who was named the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP) as the United States brought home their fifth straight gold on September 13, had game highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds, while center Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu, a four-time WNBA All-Star, was just 3-12 from the field (2-7 from 3-point range) while committing two turnovers and fouling out in 29 minutes of playing time. At the start of the league’s games on Tuesday night, the seedings were still fluid. The Liberty were 26-17 and the eighth and final seed in the playoff standings. The 26-17 Dallas Wings were the No. 7 seed, holding the head-to-head tie breaker over the Liberty, due to a 2-1 record against them this season, despite an identical record having taken two of three games from the Liberty during the season. The Washington Mystics were No. 6 at 26-16 and could fall below New York with two losses and a Liberty win last night. The Mystics’ last regular season game is tonight versus the Chicago Sky. The Indiana Fever were 27-15 and in the fifth spot, but close out their schedule with back-to-back games against the Lynx Tuesday and tonight, and could drop below the Mystics. The Fever caught a break on Tuesday as Summit, N.J.-born Olivia Miles, a lock to be named the WNBA Rookie of the Year and likely to finish top 3 in the MVP voting, sat out the game due to a left calf injury. The Golden State Valkyries were No. 2 with a mark of 31-11 and one game behind Minnesota, which was 32-10 going into their game against the Fever. The Las Vegas Aces, the defending WNBA champion, with A’ja Wilson as the prohibitive favorite to win her fifth league MVP award, were 29-13 and the No. 3 seed. The Dream, at 29-14, is holding the No. 4 seed. The post The Liberty fall short of securing home court for opening round of the playoffs appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> news/2026/09/24/the-liberty-fall-short-of-securing-home-court-for-opening-round/feed/ 0 10463317 Teachers’ unions press New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject federal school choice program news/2026/09/24/teachers-unions-press-new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-to-reject-federal-school-choice-program/ news/2026/09/24/teachers-unions-press-new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-to-reject-federal-school-choice-program/#respond Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000 ?p=10463315 Teachers' unions press New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject the federal school choice program. The post Teachers’ unions press New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject federal school choice program appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters. A coalition of union officials and civil rights leaders urged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday to reverse her plans to opt into a federal tax-credit scholarship program passed by Republicans in Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. During a gathering at the Lower Manhattan headquarters of the United Federation of Teachers, top officials argued that the voucher-like program represents a threat to public education. They said it would allow public funding to flow to private schools that may refuse to admit higher-need children. They were flanked by several lawmakers and representatives from advocacy groups, including the NAACP. “Vouchers are about allowing private schools to pick and choose who they admit, leaving the most vulnerable children behind,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. She offered a blunt message to the governor: “Opt out right now.” The press conference is one of the most visible efforts so far to persuade Hochul, who is facing re-election in November, to change her position about the federal program. Many of the groups support Hochul’s re-election bid and are hopeful she will be receptive to their arguments, even as she indicated in May that she plans to opt the state in. In a statement, Hochul’s office reiterated its support for the program and emphasized that public school students can benefit from it. “Governor Hochul’s priority is making sure every student receives an education that best meets their needs, which is why she wants the federal scholarship tax credit to benefit all New York students,” Hochul spokesperson Jonah Allon said. He noted the governor has increased funding for public schools and that the tax-credit program would not divert funding from local and state budgets. The tax-credit program, approved last year through the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will take effect in January 2027. It allows taxpayers who donate up to $1,700 to an eligible scholarship-granting organization to receive an equivalent reduction in their federal taxes. Those organizations can give students money for private school tuition, tutoring, and other education-related costs. Governors must opt their states in for students to benefit from the program. Hochul’s office has previously said she’s waiting for regulations from the Treasury Department, expected later this month, to see if there are any “poison pills” that would change her decision to participate. Union officials said they still believe there’s time to get their message across to the governor. “We’re just hoping that she continues to have an open mind and hears us,” United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew told reporters on Wednesday. To date, 30 states have formally opted in, according to a list maintained by the Internal Revenue Service. Most are Republican-led, and many already have state voucher or education savings account programs. So far, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is the only Democrat to officially opt into the program and enthusiastically embrace it. In Kentucky, Kansas, and North Carolina, Republican-controlled legislatures overrode Democratic governors’ vetoes to opt their states into the program. Some Democratic governors, including Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, have firmly rejected the program. Most are taking a wait-and-see approach, prompting furious lobbying from all sides. The federal program would represent a dramatic expansion of private school choice in blue states that have resisted vouchers, but some public education advocates have argued that it would be a mistake to pass up the opportunity to raise money for tutoring or after-school programs — even if they think the credit is bad policy. Teachers unions have generally taken the opposite tack, arguing the program will undermine public schools by luring away students and directing more taxpayer dollars to private schools. Still, enrollment and funding are not necessarily directly linked: State funding for New York school districts has increased in recent years, even as there are fewer students in public schools. Funding for the federal tax credit comes from federal, not state, coffers. Advocates have pitched the effort as essentially free federal money. Union leaders raised a host of other concerns. They argued that scholarship-granting organizations could spend money in ways that don’t benefit students and that public funding could flow to schools that may not welcome students with disabilities or other needs. They also noted that relatively affluent families could benefit from scholarships to private schools because families earning up to 300% of their area’s median income are eligible. “The fundamental difference between public and private schools is this: We educate everyone,” said Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers. Others are pressuring Hochul to move forward with her plans to opt in. A coalition of 37 anti-poverty groups, community-based organizations, and charter school leaders argued in a Sept. 10 letter to Hochul that the program could benefit public school students. “This program offers a source of funding, at no cost to the state education budget, that can expand access to tutoring, afterschool programming, special education services, and other supports that are too often out of reach for lower-income families,” the letter states. “We believe New York can shape its participation in ways that meaningfully benefit public school students.” Jim Blew, who advises a coalition of groups backing the tax credit, praised Hochul’s plan to participate. “We are very impressed that she has stood up to the unfounded arguments from the unions,” said Blew, who worked in the Education Department during Trump’s first term. “This takes no money from the state budget for public education.” Ideas editor Matt Barnum and national editor Erica Meltzer contributed. Alex Zimmerman is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org. ————————————- This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters Teachers unions press New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject federal school choice program Alex Zimmerman, Chalkbeat Sep 16, 2026 at 5:00pm EDT Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC’s public schools delivered to your inbox. A coalition of union officials and civil rights leaders urged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday to reverse her plans to opt into a federal tax-credit scholarship program passed by Republicans in Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. During a gathering at the Lower Manhattan headquarters of the United Federation of Teachers, top officials argued that the voucher-like program represents a threat to public education. They said it would allow public funding to flow to private schools that may refuse to admit higher-need children. They were flanked by several lawmakers and representatives from advocacy groups, including the NAACP. “Vouchers are about allowing private schools to pick and choose who they admit, leaving the most vulnerable children behind,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. She offered a blunt message to the governor: “Opt out right now.” The press conference is one of the most visible efforts so far to persuade Hochul, who is facing reelection in November, to change her position on the federal program. Many of the groups support Hochul’s reelection bid and are hopeful she will be receptive to their arguments, even as she indicated in May that she plans to opt the state in. In a statement, Hochul’s office reiterated its support for the program and emphasized that public school students can benefit from it. “Governor Hochul’s priority is making sure every student receives an education that best meets their needs, which is why she wants the federal scholarship tax credit to benefit all New York students,” Hochul spokesperson Jonah Allon said. He noted the governor has increased funding for public schools and that the tax credit program would not divert funding from local and state budgets. The tax credit program, approved last year through the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will take effect in January 2027. It allows taxpayers who donate up to $1,700 to an eligible scholarship-granting organization to receive an equivalent reduction in their federal taxes. Those organizations can give students money for private school tuition, tutoring, and other education-related costs. Governors must opt their states in for students to benefit from the program. Hochul’s office has previously said she’s waiting for regulations from the Treasury Department, expected later this month, to see if there are any “poison pills” that would change her decision to participate. Union officials said they still believe there’s time to get their message across to the governor. “We’re just hoping that she continues to have an open mind and hears us,” United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew told reporters on Wednesday. Thirty states have formally opted in, according to a list maintained by the Internal Revenue Service. Most are Republican-led, and many already have state voucher or education savings account programs. So far, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is the only Democrat to officially opt into the program and enthusiastically embrace it. In Kentucky, Kansas, and North Carolina, Republican-controlled legislatures overrode Democratic governors’ vetoes to opt their states into the program. Some Democratic governors, including Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, have firmly rejected the program. Most are taking a wait-and-see approach, prompting furious lobbying from all sides. The federal program would represent a dramatic expansion of private school choice in blue states that have resisted vouchers. But some public education advocates have argued that it would be a mistake to pass up the opportunity to raise money for tutoring or after-school programs — even if they think the credit is bad policy. Teachers unions have generally taken the opposite tack, arguing the program will undermine public schools by luring away students and directing more taxpayer dollars to private schools. Still, enrollment and funding are not necessarily directly linked: State funding for New York school districts has increased in recent years even as there are fewer students in public schools. Funding for the federal tax credit comes from federal, not state, coffers. Advocates have pitched the effort as essentially free federal money. Union leaders raised a host of other concerns. They argued that scholarship-granting organizations could spend money in ways that don’t benefit students and that public funding could flow to schools that may not welcome students with disabilities or other needs. They also noted that relatively affluent families could benefit from scholarships to private schools because families earning up to 300% of their area’s median income are eligible. “The fundamental difference between public and private schools is this: we educate everyone,” said Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers. Others are pressuring Hochul to move forward with her plans to opt in. A coalition of 37 anti-poverty groups, community-based organizations, and charter school leaders argued in a Sept. 10 letter to Hochul that the program could benefit public school students. “This program offers a source of funding, at no cost to the state education budget, that can expand access to tutoring, afterschool programming, special education services, and other supports that are too often out of reach for lower-income families,” the letter states. “We believe New York can shape its participation in ways that meaningfully benefit public school students.” Jim Blew, who advises a coalition of groups backing the tax credit, praised Hochul’s plan to participate. “We are very impressed that she has stood up to the unfounded arguments from the unions,” said Blew, who worked in the Education Department during Trump’s first term. “This takes no money from the state budget for public education.” Ideas editor Matt Barnum and national editor Erica Meltzer contributed. Alex Zimmerman is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at [azimmerman@chalkbeat.org](mailto:azimmerman@chalkbeat.org). Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. The post Teachers’ unions press New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject federal school choice program appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> news/2026/09/24/teachers-unions-press-new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-to-reject-federal-school-choice-program/feed/ 0 10463315 DoorDash to pay $131M for underpaying delivery workers in New York City news/2026/09/24/doordash-to-pay-131m-for-underpaying-delivery-workers-in-new-york-city/ news/2026/09/24/doordash-to-pay-131m-for-underpaying-delivery-workers-in-new-york-city/#respond Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000 ?p=10463267 NEW YORK (AP) — DoorDash will pay $131.5 million to settle claims that it underpaid delivery workers in New York City. The post DoorDash to pay $131M for underpaying delivery workers in New York City appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> NEW YORK (AP) — DoorDash will pay $131.5 million to settle claims that it underpaid delivery workers in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday. The agreement, which officials described as the largest worker settlement in city history, also requires the company to submit to a new monitoring system to ensure compliance with delivery worker pay laws in the city. In a statement, DoorDash admitted errors, saying, “Simply put, we screwed up.” “While these mistakes weren’t intentional, that doesn’t make them okay. We pride ourselves on operational excellence at DoorDash — and this was not excellent, nor was it acceptable. Dashers should be paid in full, on time, every time. We are sorry to the Dashers we let down,” the company said. Most of the settlement will be returned to more than 260,000 workers who were underpaid, not paid, or paid late for deliveries by DoorDash, according to City Hall. The company will also pay about $16 million in civil penalties and other costs to the city. “When a worker earns a wage, they deserve to be paid that wage — not tomorrow, not after a lawsuit, but on time and in full,” Mamdani said in a statement. “DoorDash underpaid more than 260,000 workers, and today we are getting that money back.” DoorDash said many of the errors in payment were caused by “technical bugs or happened in complicated situations,” such as deliveries that went outside city boundaries, had multiple pickup or drop-off spots, or included deliveries that were canceled or partially completed. Last year, the company agreed to pay almost $17 million to settle claims that it unfairly used customer tips to subsidize the wages of its delivery workers in New York, rather than allowing drivers to keep the tips on top of their guaranteed pay. The post DoorDash to pay $131M for underpaying delivery workers in New York City appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> news/2026/09/24/doordash-to-pay-131m-for-underpaying-delivery-workers-in-new-york-city/feed/ 0 10463267 Can the Yankees take down the Red Sox without Aaron Judge? news/2026/09/24/can-the-yankees-take-down-the-red-sox-without-aaron-judge/ news/2026/09/24/can-the-yankees-take-down-the-red-sox-without-aaron-judge/#respond Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000 ?p=10463248 The Yankees face a tough playoff path against the Red Sox after manager Aaron Boone reveals a crucial injury to their star player. The post Can the Yankees take down the Red Sox without Aaron Judge? appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> This was supposed to be the year the Yankees would win the franchise’s first World Series since 2009. A roster that included all-time greats Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez, Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, and Series MVP Hideki Matsui, one of the best players Japan has ever produced. Yet, as the Yankees look towards Tuesday, when they open the playoffs at home against what is virtually certain to be the Boston Red Sox, their longtime nemesis, in a best-of-three wildcard series, the prospects of them navigating an always perilous path to the World Series were reduced when Yankees manager Aaron Boone said this past Tuesday that the reigning American League MVP likely won’t play in the series due to a right calf strain. “We’re planning on him not being a part of that,” Boone revealed to reporters. Judge, who has only appeared in 66 games this season, primarily recovering from a right rib stress fracture, which caused him to sit out 84 games from May 31 to Sept. 8, is now on the 10-day injured list, placed there last Friday. The 34-year-old Judge, arguably the best player in the sport over the last decade, isn’t expected back for the divisional round if the Yankees get by the Red Sox. Last weekend, Boone informed the media the team didn’t have a firm estimate as to when Judge, a three-time AL MVP, three-time AL home run leader, two-time MLB RBI king and last season’s MLB batting champion, would return to the lineup. “I mean, I have no idea, we’re in the early stages,” expressed Boone, now in his ninth season as the Yankees manager. “We’ll just obviously treat it and see what transpires.” The Yankees watched Tampa Bay clinch the AL East title on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium when they won the second game of a double-header on Tuesday 6-1. The Yankees shut out the Rays in the opener. Tampa Bay 96-61 going into the third game of the four-game series last night with the finale scheduled for 7:05 tonight. The Yankees were second in the division at 90-67 and the 84-73 Red Sox third. With Judge unavailable, the Yankees offense will have to be multifaceted — both power and small ball will be required to make a deep postseason run. Designated hitter Ben Rice, who as of Wednesday had 39 home runs and 95 RBIs, both team highs, was the only Yankee with more than 20 homers and 80 runs batted in, so timely power will have to come from sources such as second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (19 home runs), first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (18), and left fielder Cody Bellinger (17). But it is pitching that must advance the Yankees, led by leading AL Cy Young Award candidate Cam Schlittler, who is 14-6 with a 1.94 ERA and 234 strikeouts. Schlittler is scheduled to start tonight before taking the mound next week in the wildcard series. But the prevailing question is: Can the Yankees win without Judge? The post Can the Yankees take down the Red Sox without Aaron Judge? appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> news/2026/09/24/can-the-yankees-take-down-the-red-sox-without-aaron-judge/feed/ 0 10463248 System Failures Part 1: In Black neighborhoods, deed theft hides in plain sight news/2026/09/24/in-black-neighborhoods-deed-theft-hides-in-plain-sight/ news/2026/09/24/in-black-neighborhoods-deed-theft-hides-in-plain-sight/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000 ?p=10463243 Across New York, officials have admitted to a growing problem, one that has communities increasingly alarmed: deed theft. The post System Failures Part 1: In Black neighborhoods, deed theft hides in plain sight appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> Across New York, officials have admitted to a growing problem, one that has communities increasingly alarmed: deed theft. It is fraud that has affected older adults, immigrants, and homeowners of color in gentrifying neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Brownsville, East New York, and Harlem, and has become blatant. Victims report being initially confused and later incensed at the realization that they’ve been harmed –– and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Deed theft happens when someone illegally takes control of a property without the owner’s knowledge or by tricking the owner into signing over a deed. Activists fighting these incidents also say that forced guardianship, foreclosure rescue scams, and police-backed evictions are other forms of deed theft. Criminal fraud rings know how to manipulate the official systems homeowners trust to reach their next victims. Predatory investors track court records and property filings to target at-risk homes. Before the property gets auctioned, criminals might contact the homeowners and pretend to help them get a fake loan modification or a short sale and trick them into signing papers that transfer the deed to an investor’s LLC. They then quickly transfer the deed to another shell company to hide the fraud and make selling the property easier for quick profit. But each stolen deed case amounts to a raid on Black generational wealth, notes Attorney Jacqueline McMickens, who recently helped the family of Harlem’s Queen Mother Delois Blakely with her eviction case at 477 West 142nd Street. McMickens says the term “deed theft” doesn’t fully capture the economic harm caused by these cases. “This shouldn’t be continuously looked at as deed theft,” McMickens said. “This is really equity theft.” At 212 Jefferson Avenue, friends gathered in early April 2026 to support Carmella Charrington in her fight against an alleged illegal eviction attempt by a developer. (Karen Juanita Carrillo photo) In the Blakely case, seven low-income residents came together to form the 477 West 142nd Street Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) through New York City’s Tenant Interim Lease program. Blakely recently told the AmNews the building had been a safe space, created during Harlem’s roughest years. “No one wanted to live there. It was a blight to Harlem where I live,” she said, remembering the 1970s. “Some of us wanted to deal with that and serve our people. And I happened to be one of them.” The city officially sold the cooperative the property on Dec. 7, 1982; each family acquired shares in the building for $250 per apartment. But because the shareholders took out a $650,000 mortgage on the property in 2009 and didn’t repay it, they lost the property. They are now being offered leases to remain in their individual units but won’t have access to the property’s equity to pass on to their families. An insidious way to steal Stolen property may immediately mean the loss of a shelter for a family, but it also ultimately means the loss of equity, or financial value, for generations to come. The New York City Sheriff’s Office said it received nearly 3,500 deed theft complaints from 2014 to 2023, mostly in Black neighborhoods where property values are rising. Notable recent cases include a mortgage fraud scheme that took the Harlem property at 267 West 131st Street from the family of Okryun Marrero after she died in 2018. On April 18, 2024, a woman named Angela Jazmin Ramos Malpica allegedly posed as a Marrero heir and used fake IDs and birth certificates to forge the signatures and details of Marrero’s real heirs and “sell” the property to a straw buyer, Yuan Kuei Li, for $950,000. The same day, Li allegedly transferred the contract to Abdur Rahman and his company, Great Neck Acquisitions Inc., for $1,515,000. On April 25, 2024, Great Neck Acquisitions recorded a fraudulent title with the city and used the house as collateral to secure a $1,636,000 mortgage and construction loan. “Ramos subsequently cashed three checks totaling $254,875.03, which were funds obtained from the mortgage and construction loan,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced when his office indicted Ramos, Rahman and Li for deed theft in October 2025. “Rahman allegedly received $487,375 from the construction loan into a GNA bank account, which he controlled. Rahman also sent approximately $265,000 of the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds to a corporate bank account for MSK Construction Team Inc., a construction company controlled by Li. Li, through MSK, allegedly used portions of that money to pay for ongoing construction on the alleged stolen property, for which Li was serving as the contractor.”

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New York Amsterdam News The New Black View Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:57:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 wp-content/uploads/2021/03/site-icon-100x100.png?crop=1 New York Amsterdam News 32 32 198754894 The Liberty fall short of securing home court for opening round of the playoffs news/2026/09/24/the-liberty-fall-short-of-securing-home-court-for-opening-round/ news/2026/09/24/the-liberty-fall-short-of-securing-home-court-for-opening-round/#respond Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000 ?p=10463317 The New York Liberty entered Monday night’s game at the Barclays Center with the possibility of securing home court advantage. The post The Liberty fall short of securing home court for opening round of the playoffs appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> The New York Liberty entered Monday night’s game versus the Atlanta Dream at the Barclays Center with the possibility of securing home court advantage for the opening round of the WNBA playoffs, which begin on Sunday. Three days earlier, the Liberty arguably had their best win of the season, defeating the league’s No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx 93-81 on the road last Friday. Yet, turnovers and sub-par defense in losing 95-84 to the Dream ensured New York will play on the road this weekend, regardless of the outcome of their final regular season game last night (Wednesday) in Brooklyn, hosting the Dream again. The Dream had seven steals in forcing 11 Liberty turnovers overall while holding New York to 42.3% shooting, including 24.1% (7-29) on 3-point attempts. The Dream closed out the second quarter on a 10-3 run to take a 41-38 halftime lead, then exploded for 32 third-quarter points to extend their advantage going into the fourth. Guard Jordin Canada led the Dream with 19 points and center Angel Reese posted 18 points and 10 rebounds. Liberty superstar Breanna Stewart, who was named the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP) as the United States brought home their fifth straight gold on September 13, had game highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds, while center Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu, a four-time WNBA All-Star, was just 3-12 from the field (2-7 from 3-point range) while committing two turnovers and fouling out in 29 minutes of playing time. At the start of the league’s games on Tuesday night, the seedings were still fluid. The Liberty were 26-17 and the eighth and final seed in the playoff standings. The 26-17 Dallas Wings were the No. 7 seed, holding the head-to-head tie breaker over the Liberty, due to a 2-1 record against them this season, despite an identical record having taken two of three games from the Liberty during the season. The Washington Mystics were No. 6 at 26-16 and could fall below New York with two losses and a Liberty win last night. The Mystics’ last regular season game is tonight versus the Chicago Sky. The Indiana Fever were 27-15 and in the fifth spot, but close out their schedule with back-to-back games against the Lynx Tuesday and tonight, and could drop below the Mystics. The Fever caught a break on Tuesday as Summit, N.J.-born Olivia Miles, a lock to be named the WNBA Rookie of the Year and likely to finish top 3 in the MVP voting, sat out the game due to a left calf injury. The Golden State Valkyries were No. 2 with a mark of 31-11 and one game behind Minnesota, which was 32-10 going into their game against the Fever. The Las Vegas Aces, the defending WNBA champion, with A’ja Wilson as the prohibitive favorite to win her fifth league MVP award, were 29-13 and the No. 3 seed. The Dream, at 29-14, is holding the No. 4 seed. The post The Liberty fall short of securing home court for opening round of the playoffs appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> news/2026/09/24/the-liberty-fall-short-of-securing-home-court-for-opening-round/feed/ 0 10463317 Teachers’ unions press New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject federal school choice program news/2026/09/24/teachers-unions-press-new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-to-reject-federal-school-choice-program/ news/2026/09/24/teachers-unions-press-new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-to-reject-federal-school-choice-program/#respond Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000 ?p=10463315 Teachers' unions press New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject the federal school choice program. The post Teachers’ unions press New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject federal school choice program appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters. A coalition of union officials and civil rights leaders urged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday to reverse her plans to opt into a federal tax-credit scholarship program passed by Republicans in Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. During a gathering at the Lower Manhattan headquarters of the United Federation of Teachers, top officials argued that the voucher-like program represents a threat to public education. They said it would allow public funding to flow to private schools that may refuse to admit higher-need children. They were flanked by several lawmakers and representatives from advocacy groups, including the NAACP. “Vouchers are about allowing private schools to pick and choose who they admit, leaving the most vulnerable children behind,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. She offered a blunt message to the governor: “Opt out right now.” The press conference is one of the most visible efforts so far to persuade Hochul, who is facing re-election in November, to change her position about the federal program. Many of the groups support Hochul’s re-election bid and are hopeful she will be receptive to their arguments, even as she indicated in May that she plans to opt the state in. In a statement, Hochul’s office reiterated its support for the program and emphasized that public school students can benefit from it. “Governor Hochul’s priority is making sure every student receives an education that best meets their needs, which is why she wants the federal scholarship tax credit to benefit all New York students,” Hochul spokesperson Jonah Allon said. He noted the governor has increased funding for public schools and that the tax-credit program would not divert funding from local and state budgets. The tax-credit program, approved last year through the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will take effect in January 2027. It allows taxpayers who donate up to $1,700 to an eligible scholarship-granting organization to receive an equivalent reduction in their federal taxes. Those organizations can give students money for private school tuition, tutoring, and other education-related costs. Governors must opt their states in for students to benefit from the program. Hochul’s office has previously said she’s waiting for regulations from the Treasury Department, expected later this month, to see if there are any “poison pills” that would change her decision to participate. Union officials said they still believe there’s time to get their message across to the governor. “We’re just hoping that she continues to have an open mind and hears us,” United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew told reporters on Wednesday. To date, 30 states have formally opted in, according to a list maintained by the Internal Revenue Service. Most are Republican-led, and many already have state voucher or education savings account programs. So far, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is the only Democrat to officially opt into the program and enthusiastically embrace it. In Kentucky, Kansas, and North Carolina, Republican-controlled legislatures overrode Democratic governors’ vetoes to opt their states into the program. Some Democratic governors, including Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, have firmly rejected the program. Most are taking a wait-and-see approach, prompting furious lobbying from all sides. The federal program would represent a dramatic expansion of private school choice in blue states that have resisted vouchers, but some public education advocates have argued that it would be a mistake to pass up the opportunity to raise money for tutoring or after-school programs — even if they think the credit is bad policy. Teachers unions have generally taken the opposite tack, arguing the program will undermine public schools by luring away students and directing more taxpayer dollars to private schools. Still, enrollment and funding are not necessarily directly linked: State funding for New York school districts has increased in recent years, even as there are fewer students in public schools. Funding for the federal tax credit comes from federal, not state, coffers. Advocates have pitched the effort as essentially free federal money. Union leaders raised a host of other concerns. They argued that scholarship-granting organizations could spend money in ways that don’t benefit students and that public funding could flow to schools that may not welcome students with disabilities or other needs. They also noted that relatively affluent families could benefit from scholarships to private schools because families earning up to 300% of their area’s median income are eligible. “The fundamental difference between public and private schools is this: We educate everyone,” said Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers. Others are pressuring Hochul to move forward with her plans to opt in. A coalition of 37 anti-poverty groups, community-based organizations, and charter school leaders argued in a Sept. 10 letter to Hochul that the program could benefit public school students. “This program offers a source of funding, at no cost to the state education budget, that can expand access to tutoring, afterschool programming, special education services, and other supports that are too often out of reach for lower-income families,” the letter states. “We believe New York can shape its participation in ways that meaningfully benefit public school students.” Jim Blew, who advises a coalition of groups backing the tax credit, praised Hochul’s plan to participate. “We are very impressed that she has stood up to the unfounded arguments from the unions,” said Blew, who worked in the Education Department during Trump’s first term. “This takes no money from the state budget for public education.” Ideas editor Matt Barnum and national editor Erica Meltzer contributed. Alex Zimmerman is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org. ————————————- This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters Teachers unions press New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject federal school choice program Alex Zimmerman, Chalkbeat Sep 16, 2026 at 5:00pm EDT Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC’s public schools delivered to your inbox. A coalition of union officials and civil rights leaders urged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday to reverse her plans to opt into a federal tax-credit scholarship program passed by Republicans in Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. During a gathering at the Lower Manhattan headquarters of the United Federation of Teachers, top officials argued that the voucher-like program represents a threat to public education. They said it would allow public funding to flow to private schools that may refuse to admit higher-need children. They were flanked by several lawmakers and representatives from advocacy groups, including the NAACP. “Vouchers are about allowing private schools to pick and choose who they admit, leaving the most vulnerable children behind,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. She offered a blunt message to the governor: “Opt out right now.” The press conference is one of the most visible efforts so far to persuade Hochul, who is facing reelection in November, to change her position on the federal program. Many of the groups support Hochul’s reelection bid and are hopeful she will be receptive to their arguments, even as she indicated in May that she plans to opt the state in. In a statement, Hochul’s office reiterated its support for the program and emphasized that public school students can benefit from it. “Governor Hochul’s priority is making sure every student receives an education that best meets their needs, which is why she wants the federal scholarship tax credit to benefit all New York students,” Hochul spokesperson Jonah Allon said. He noted the governor has increased funding for public schools and that the tax credit program would not divert funding from local and state budgets. The tax credit program, approved last year through the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will take effect in January 2027. It allows taxpayers who donate up to $1,700 to an eligible scholarship-granting organization to receive an equivalent reduction in their federal taxes. Those organizations can give students money for private school tuition, tutoring, and other education-related costs. Governors must opt their states in for students to benefit from the program. Hochul’s office has previously said she’s waiting for regulations from the Treasury Department, expected later this month, to see if there are any “poison pills” that would change her decision to participate. Union officials said they still believe there’s time to get their message across to the governor. “We’re just hoping that she continues to have an open mind and hears us,” United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew told reporters on Wednesday. Thirty states have formally opted in, according to a list maintained by the Internal Revenue Service. Most are Republican-led, and many already have state voucher or education savings account programs. So far, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is the only Democrat to officially opt into the program and enthusiastically embrace it. In Kentucky, Kansas, and North Carolina, Republican-controlled legislatures overrode Democratic governors’ vetoes to opt their states into the program. Some Democratic governors, including Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, have firmly rejected the program. Most are taking a wait-and-see approach, prompting furious lobbying from all sides. The federal program would represent a dramatic expansion of private school choice in blue states that have resisted vouchers. But some public education advocates have argued that it would be a mistake to pass up the opportunity to raise money for tutoring or after-school programs — even if they think the credit is bad policy. Teachers unions have generally taken the opposite tack, arguing the program will undermine public schools by luring away students and directing more taxpayer dollars to private schools. Still, enrollment and funding are not necessarily directly linked: State funding for New York school districts has increased in recent years even as there are fewer students in public schools. Funding for the federal tax credit comes from federal, not state, coffers. Advocates have pitched the effort as essentially free federal money. Union leaders raised a host of other concerns. They argued that scholarship-granting organizations could spend money in ways that don’t benefit students and that public funding could flow to schools that may not welcome students with disabilities or other needs. They also noted that relatively affluent families could benefit from scholarships to private schools because families earning up to 300% of their area’s median income are eligible. “The fundamental difference between public and private schools is this: we educate everyone,” said Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers. Others are pressuring Hochul to move forward with her plans to opt in. A coalition of 37 anti-poverty groups, community-based organizations, and charter school leaders argued in a Sept. 10 letter to Hochul that the program could benefit public school students. “This program offers a source of funding, at no cost to the state education budget, that can expand access to tutoring, afterschool programming, special education services, and other supports that are too often out of reach for lower-income families,” the letter states. “We believe New York can shape its participation in ways that meaningfully benefit public school students.” Jim Blew, who advises a coalition of groups backing the tax credit, praised Hochul’s plan to participate. “We are very impressed that she has stood up to the unfounded arguments from the unions,” said Blew, who worked in the Education Department during Trump’s first term. “This takes no money from the state budget for public education.” Ideas editor Matt Barnum and national editor Erica Meltzer contributed. Alex Zimmerman is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at [azimmerman@chalkbeat.org](mailto:azimmerman@chalkbeat.org). Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. The post Teachers’ unions press New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject federal school choice program appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> news/2026/09/24/teachers-unions-press-new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-to-reject-federal-school-choice-program/feed/ 0 10463315 DoorDash to pay $131M for underpaying delivery workers in New York City news/2026/09/24/doordash-to-pay-131m-for-underpaying-delivery-workers-in-new-york-city/ news/2026/09/24/doordash-to-pay-131m-for-underpaying-delivery-workers-in-new-york-city/#respond Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000 ?p=10463267 NEW YORK (AP) — DoorDash will pay $131.5 million to settle claims that it underpaid delivery workers in New York City. The post DoorDash to pay $131M for underpaying delivery workers in New York City appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> NEW YORK (AP) — DoorDash will pay $131.5 million to settle claims that it underpaid delivery workers in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday. The agreement, which officials described as the largest worker settlement in city history, also requires the company to submit to a new monitoring system to ensure compliance with delivery worker pay laws in the city. In a statement, DoorDash admitted errors, saying, “Simply put, we screwed up.” “While these mistakes weren’t intentional, that doesn’t make them okay. We pride ourselves on operational excellence at DoorDash — and this was not excellent, nor was it acceptable. Dashers should be paid in full, on time, every time. We are sorry to the Dashers we let down,” the company said. Most of the settlement will be returned to more than 260,000 workers who were underpaid, not paid, or paid late for deliveries by DoorDash, according to City Hall. The company will also pay about $16 million in civil penalties and other costs to the city. “When a worker earns a wage, they deserve to be paid that wage — not tomorrow, not after a lawsuit, but on time and in full,” Mamdani said in a statement. “DoorDash underpaid more than 260,000 workers, and today we are getting that money back.” DoorDash said many of the errors in payment were caused by “technical bugs or happened in complicated situations,” such as deliveries that went outside city boundaries, had multiple pickup or drop-off spots, or included deliveries that were canceled or partially completed. Last year, the company agreed to pay almost $17 million to settle claims that it unfairly used customer tips to subsidize the wages of its delivery workers in New York, rather than allowing drivers to keep the tips on top of their guaranteed pay. The post DoorDash to pay $131M for underpaying delivery workers in New York City appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> news/2026/09/24/doordash-to-pay-131m-for-underpaying-delivery-workers-in-new-york-city/feed/ 0 10463267 Can the Yankees take down the Red Sox without Aaron Judge? news/2026/09/24/can-the-yankees-take-down-the-red-sox-without-aaron-judge/ news/2026/09/24/can-the-yankees-take-down-the-red-sox-without-aaron-judge/#respond Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000 ?p=10463248 The Yankees face a tough playoff path against the Red Sox after manager Aaron Boone reveals a crucial injury to their star player. The post Can the Yankees take down the Red Sox without Aaron Judge? appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> This was supposed to be the year the Yankees would win the franchise’s first World Series since 2009. A roster that included all-time greats Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez, Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, and Series MVP Hideki Matsui, one of the best players Japan has ever produced. Yet, as the Yankees look towards Tuesday, when they open the playoffs at home against what is virtually certain to be the Boston Red Sox, their longtime nemesis, in a best-of-three wildcard series, the prospects of them navigating an always perilous path to the World Series were reduced when Yankees manager Aaron Boone said this past Tuesday that the reigning American League MVP likely won’t play in the series due to a right calf strain. “We’re planning on him not being a part of that,” Boone revealed to reporters. Judge, who has only appeared in 66 games this season, primarily recovering from a right rib stress fracture, which caused him to sit out 84 games from May 31 to Sept. 8, is now on the 10-day injured list, placed there last Friday. The 34-year-old Judge, arguably the best player in the sport over the last decade, isn’t expected back for the divisional round if the Yankees get by the Red Sox. Last weekend, Boone informed the media the team didn’t have a firm estimate as to when Judge, a three-time AL MVP, three-time AL home run leader, two-time MLB RBI king and last season’s MLB batting champion, would return to the lineup. “I mean, I have no idea, we’re in the early stages,” expressed Boone, now in his ninth season as the Yankees manager. “We’ll just obviously treat it and see what transpires.” The Yankees watched Tampa Bay clinch the AL East title on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium when they won the second game of a double-header on Tuesday 6-1. The Yankees shut out the Rays in the opener. Tampa Bay 96-61 going into the third game of the four-game series last night with the finale scheduled for 7:05 tonight. The Yankees were second in the division at 90-67 and the 84-73 Red Sox third. With Judge unavailable, the Yankees offense will have to be multifaceted — both power and small ball will be required to make a deep postseason run. Designated hitter Ben Rice, who as of Wednesday had 39 home runs and 95 RBIs, both team highs, was the only Yankee with more than 20 homers and 80 runs batted in, so timely power will have to come from sources such as second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (19 home runs), first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (18), and left fielder Cody Bellinger (17). But it is pitching that must advance the Yankees, led by leading AL Cy Young Award candidate Cam Schlittler, who is 14-6 with a 1.94 ERA and 234 strikeouts. Schlittler is scheduled to start tonight before taking the mound next week in the wildcard series. But the prevailing question is: Can the Yankees win without Judge? The post Can the Yankees take down the Red Sox without Aaron Judge? appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> news/2026/09/24/can-the-yankees-take-down-the-red-sox-without-aaron-judge/feed/ 0 10463248 System Failures Part 1: In Black neighborhoods, deed theft hides in plain sight news/2026/09/24/in-black-neighborhoods-deed-theft-hides-in-plain-sight/ news/2026/09/24/in-black-neighborhoods-deed-theft-hides-in-plain-sight/#respond Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000 ?p=10463243 Across New York, officials have admitted to a growing problem, one that has communities increasingly alarmed: deed theft. The post System Failures Part 1: In Black neighborhoods, deed theft hides in plain sight appeared first on New York Amsterdam News. ]]> Across New York, officials have admitted to a growing problem, one that has communities increasingly alarmed: deed theft. It is fraud that has affected older adults, immigrants, and homeowners of color in gentrifying neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Brownsville, East New York, and Harlem, and has become blatant. Victims report being initially confused and later incensed at the realization that they’ve been harmed –– and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Deed theft happens when someone illegally takes control of a property without the owner’s knowledge or by tricking the owner into signing over a deed. Activists fighting these incidents also say that forced guardianship, foreclosure rescue scams, and police-backed evictions are other forms of deed theft. Criminal fraud rings know how to manipulate the official systems homeowners trust to reach their next victims. Predatory investors track court records and property filings to target at-risk homes. Before the property gets auctioned, criminals might contact the homeowners and pretend to help them get a fake loan modification or a short sale and trick them into signing papers that transfer the deed to an investor’s LLC. They then quickly transfer the deed to another shell company to hide the fraud and make selling the property easier for quick profit. But each stolen deed case amounts to a raid on Black generational wealth, notes Attorney Jacqueline McMickens, who recently helped the family of Harlem’s Queen Mother Delois Blakely with her eviction case at 477 West 142nd Street. McMickens says the term “deed theft” doesn’t fully capture the economic harm caused by these cases. “This shouldn’t be continuously looked at as deed theft,” McMickens said. “This is really equity theft.” At 212 Jefferson Avenue, friends gathered in early April 2026 to support Carmella Charrington in her fight against an alleged illegal eviction attempt by a developer. (Karen Juanita Carrillo photo) In the Blakely case, seven low-income residents came together to form the 477 West 142nd Street Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) through New York City’s Tenant Interim Lease program. Blakely recently told the AmNews the building had been a safe space, created during Harlem’s roughest years. “No one wanted to live there. It was a blight to Harlem where I live,” she said, remembering the 1970s. “Some of us wanted to deal with that and serve our people. And I happened to be one of them.” The city officially sold the cooperative the property on Dec. 7, 1982; each family acquired shares in the building for $250 per apartment. But because the shareholders took out a $650,000 mortgage on the property in 2009 and didn’t repay it, they lost the property. They are now being offered leases to remain in their individual units but won’t have access to the property’s equity to pass on to their families. An insidious way to steal Stolen property may immediately mean the loss of a shelter for a family, but it also ultimately means the loss of equity, or financial value, for generations to come. The New York City Sheriff’s Office said it received nearly 3,500 deed theft complaints from 2014 to 2023, mostly in Black neighborhoods where property values are rising. Notable recent cases include a mortgage fraud scheme that took the Harlem property at 267 West 131st Street from the family of Okryun Marrero after she died in 2018. On April 18, 2024, a woman named Angela Jazmin Ramos Malpica allegedly posed as a Marrero heir and used fake IDs and birth certificates to forge the signatures and details of Marrero’s real heirs and “sell” the property to a straw buyer, Yuan Kuei Li, for $950,000. The same day, Li allegedly transferred the contract to Abdur Rahman and his company, Great Neck Acquisitions Inc., for $1,515,000. On April 25, 2024, Great Neck Acquisitions recorded a fraudulent title with the city and used the house as collateral to secure a $1,636,000 mortgage and construction loan. “Ramos subsequently cashed three checks totaling $254,875.03, which were funds obtained from the mortgage and construction loan,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced when his office indicted Ramos, Rahman and Li for deed theft in October 2025. “Rahman allegedly received $487,375 from the construction loan into a GNA bank account, which he controlled. Rahman also sent approximately $265,000 of the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds to a corporate bank account for MSK Construction Team Inc., a construction company controlled by Li. Li, through MSK, allegedly used portions of that money to pay for ongoing construction on the alleged stolen property, for which Li was serving as the contractor.”

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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958807358512898484Thu, 30 Jan 2025 18:58:01 +0000Scottish Highland cattlechickens and eggsveggie gardenfarmingcommunityflower gardenshouse and homesceneryweatherwildlifepetsshowing cattlefamilyDark Days Challengemanagement intensive grazingamysflockOne girl's transformation from city slicker to farmer in Tenino, Washington.noreply@blogger.com (Amy L.)Blogger202125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958807358512898484.post-2797364507748298620Sun, 06 Oct 2013 16:23:00 +00002013-10-06T09:24:47.419-07:00familyfarminghouse and homeScottish Highland cattleResurfacingWow, I can't believe it's been over five months since I last blogged. So very much has happened...all good! Rather than bombard you with a 7000-word post (never a good idea), I'll recap in pictures instead.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="; width="240" /></a></div> <br /> Asher Paul, born 6/21 after 4 weeks of modified home bed rest, weighing 8 lbs 3 oz, and measuring 19" long with a 15" head. He is perfectly healthy and a total joy!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="; width="320" /></a></div> <br /> Handsome boy! He was born with reddish hair, but he seems to be turning blonde for now.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; width="320" /></a></div> <br /> And then there were 9 (and a half). From left: Xoe, Roxy, Esther's face, Bestla (Esther's mom), Xaralyn, Arianna, Elodie's backend, Ferdinand (2-year old steer out of Bestla), and Buster (Xara's bull calf) peeking out from behind the tree. (Not shown: Alban "Albie", the bull we bought with another farm in June. He lives most of the time in Winlock.)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; width="320" /></a></div> <br /> Bestla, Esther, Ferdinand and Xoe hanging out on the hayfield.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="; width="240" /></a></div> <br /> We remodeled two rooms in our 1978 ranch-style house, the nursery and the guest room. Paul and my uncle scraped and retextured the ceilings (bye, popcorn!), and they and our brother-in-law replaced windows, doors, closet doors and trim, we got new carpet and family and friends painted...all while I laid around on modified bed rest. :) This is the nursery. Next year we'll tackle our master bedroom and bath, rebuild the well house, and hopefully paint the barn. We may do some landscaping, too.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="; width="240" /></a></div> <br /> Paul and our brother-in-law repainted the house, something that's needed done for a very long time. We chose Sherwin-Williams "Ethereal Mood" (color-matched to Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint in satin finish; that's a stripe of it on the garage wall) with an off-white trim. It looks so much better!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="; width="240" /></a></div> <br /> We replaced the gutters and downspouts, too, but obviously not soon enough! This was one of three major downpours that happened in the 2 weeks between removing the old ones for painting and having the new ones installed. Yikes! We've also had a lot of thunder and lightening, which is odd for Western Washington. Fall has definitely arrived, and a bit strangely, too.<br /> <br /> <br />2013/10/resurfacing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy L.)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958807358512898484.post-8455934716693834246Sat, 20 Apr 2013 23:52:00 +00002013-04-20T16:52:22.444-07:00Scottish Highland cattleGrowing and changingSkookumchuck Farm is growing and changing, little by little!<br /> <br /> As mentioned in my last post, our youngest cow, BEM Xaralyn ("Sara"), delivered her first calf, a beautiful, bouncing dun bull, on March 4th, her due date. The little guy continues to be one of the cutest calves we've had. We may keep him intact as a future herd sire. To that end, naming the little bugger has been a challenge. Paul and I have yet to come up with a name befitting a potential bull, and one that we both agree on. We're calling him Bullet for now, but it's not feeling quite right. (If you have any suggestions for names that start with either F (our farm's 2013 letter) or B (our national association's tatoo letter for 2013), please leave them in the comments!)<br /> <br /> On Easter Sunday (also my birthday), we headed over to Blueberry Meadows Highlands' leased pasture in Covington, WA to check out BEM Arianna, a coming yearling heifer. We wanted a friend for Elodie, Xoe's October 2012 calf, as a bull was coming soon and Elodie needed to be separated, something not easily accomplished on our leased pasture, where the big girls (and the little bull calf) were. Plus, we would like to grow a little bit! I was enamored with Arianna's personality...she's a very calm, gentle girl, plus lovely to boot! We bought her for my birthday, and have called her my "birthday heifer" many, many times since. :)<br /> <br /> Arianna was delivered to our place on April 7th, about an hour and a half after Paul retrieved little Elodie from the leased pasture and brought her back to our house. Poor little Elodie...not only was she separated from the rest of her herd for the first time, but she was also, unbeknownst to her, beginning the weaning process. True, she was only 5.5 months old, a bit early, but we wanted Xoe to maximize the grass she was on (she looked like she could struggle a bit to keep up condition, like Bridgit did years ago as a first calf heifer), and while it's not likely she could cycle while the bull was here, it is possible, so better safe than sorry.<br /> <br /> Arianna and Elodie's introduction went fairly well, although Elodie pouted for a few hours and seemed to take it out on Ari (bashing into her side, etc., even though Ari is quite a bit larger and several months older). Elodie's bawling for her mama began in earnest by that evening and lasted about 48 hours.<br /> <br /> Today, though, the two are good buddies, spending all their time together whether grazing or napping. Elodie still doesn't care to be touched. We're hoping that'll change for handling purposes (at this point she'll likely be beef rather than breeding stock). However, I must confess amazement at the fact that she apparently jumped right into the trailer for Paul on the 7th when he went and picked her up from our leased pasture, only her second time ever in a trailer (and the first, while she was a pretty good girl, was probably a little scary!). Maybe she won't be so bad after all. We'll see.<br /> <br /> Last weekend the leased bull, Bitterroot Lord Morac, came for a 45-day visit. It was almost an anti-climactic introduction. The girls were interested but calm, and Morac, being a gentleman, didn't wig out, either. They're all happily co-habitating on the nice spring grass, and, fingers crossed, we'll have three nice calves next March!<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; width="320" /></a></div> BEM Arianna ("Ari"). She's a pretty girl!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; width="320" /></a></div> Skookumchuck's Elodie, mid-bellow (missing mama). You can see her brown top coat starting to shed out, leaving her black undercoat. She'll be all black eventually.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="; width="320" /></a></div> Xara's bull calf at 1 month, 3 days old. Isn't he adorable?!2013/04/growing-and-changing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy L.)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958807358512898484.post-7885970870885474060Wed, 06 Mar 2013 02:54:00 +00002013-03-05T18:54:47.118-08:00familyfarmingScottish Highland cattleBabies!This space has been difficult for me to write in for awhile, but I'm turning a corner. Paul and I have been farming and caring for our cattle daily, but there have been so many things going on that there just hasn't been time to write about it, as you'll learn below...<br /> <br /> Yesterday, our gorgeous red heifer, BEM Xaralyn ("Saralyn"), who we purchased in May 2012, surprised us with her first calf, a healthy, bouncing little dun bull! She was artificially inseminated (AI'd) around Memorial Day weekend last year to a lovely dun bull from Michigan, <a href="; target="_blank">LEA Raleigh</a>. Yesterday was actually her due date! I caught a glimpse of the calf from the road as I stopped at our mailbox before turning into the driveway. At first, I thought it was Elodie, Xoe's heifer calf, who is now (oh my gosh!) over 4 months old. By the time I parked the car, let the dog out of her kennel and turned back to the pasture, holy cow (bull!), it was a new baby!<br /> <br /> The little guy surprised me because when I drove up, he was checking out the oat haylage with Roxy, many feet from his mama. I would have expected him to be instead glued to Xara's side. I changed my clothes as fast as I could and went out with a comb and my cell phone to snap pictures.<br /> <br /> Xara was as calm as could be, lying down, chewing her cud with her new baby tucked tightly beside her, his head under her chin as he checked me out. I was able to (cautiously) approach Xara for some combing, which she clearly relished. She eventually stood up, and baby came around to my side, where I was able to give him some pets. (This is a relief, because we STILL can't really get our hands on Elodie, who just doesn't want much of anything to do with either Paul or me.)<br /> <br /> Paul called my phone while I was outside, since I'd texted him that we had a calf. He was working late and was none to happy that I was in the pasture by myself with not only the new mama and baby duo, but the rest of the fold. (Never mind that the other three girls were all lying down, chewing cud, too!) I assured him I was being careful...<br /> <br /> Careful, because I am currently 23 weeks pregnant myself. Paul and I are expecting our third child, our second <a href="; target="_blank">baby boy</a>, the "<a href="; target="_blank">calm after the storm</a>", on July 2, 2013. He was conceived through IVF and we are very, very blessed and lucky, not only that we conceived him at all after 5 years of infertility and the <a href="2011/08/broken.html" target="_blank">loss of our twins</a> to a second trimester miscarriage in August 2011, but that this pregnancy, while scary, has been largely trouble-free. It's a whole new experience for us to not have our worries validated by reality (nope, they're just remnants of our first horrifying experience).<br /> <br /> We have plans in place to move the herd to summer pasture, hopefully by mid-April (weather-dependent), and will bring in a leased bull in May to service Xara, Xoe and Roxy. We're aiming for March 2014 calves, timing it so (knock on wood!) they all calve at home, where we can closely watch them without fear of predators, and so their calves will be 1.5 months old (give or take) before they hit the large, slightly wild summer pasture (hoping that cougars and the like will be less of an issue by that time). It's a new year for Skookumchuck Farm. :)<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="; width="240" /></a></div> BEM Xaralyn and her bull calf.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; width="320" /></a></div> <br /> Our baby boy to be. Photo taken on February 25, 2013 at 21 weeks 6 days gestation.2013/03/babies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy L.)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958807358512898484.post-6876115397195621882Sun, 28 Oct 2012 01:23:00 +00002012-11-04T11:49:07.174-08:00Scottish Highland cattleweatherNew arrivalOn Monday night, October 22nd, our little black heifer, Xoe, triumphantly delivered - without assistance (but not without a lot of observation!) - her first calf. It took a few days for us to determine the sex of this little one; mama is a good Highland mama, and true to the breed, she was a little antsy each time we got too close. (Navel dipping and towel drying was a very quick endeavor!) We now know, after watching it pee a few times, that we have a heifer!<br /> <br /> After what happened with Roxy's calf in August, I'd been checking Xoe frequently. Here in Western Washington, an 80+ day drought took a toll, finally, on our lush green leased pasture, so we brought Roxy, Xoe and Xaralyn home to our place in mid-October, a month earlier than planned. This was a bit of a relief; at least I could easily keep my eye on Xoe and check her every morning and every night.<br /> <br /> She had me fooled, many times, but when I drove up after a long day of work on the 22nd and saw Xoe's behavior, I knew this was it. Girlfriend was standing off by herself, watching the road intently, very alert. I quickly changed my clothes and checked on her, and I saw a big, long mucus string, nearly to her hocks. By the time Paul arrived home, she was pacing a circuit from midway down our north fenceline, back across the western cross-fence, to the middle of the outside paddock fence, and back again. She'd stop occasionally to eat a few apple leaves or a couple of bites of hay, but she had that intent but also absent-minded look. By dusk, it was clear she was having contractions. We sat in a dark house with our binoculars, waiting and watching.<br /> <br /> After a bit, she stook outside the paddock gate, as if willing it to open. I went outside and opened it, and all three girls entered (Xaralyn kicking up her heels, having never been in this space before). In and out, in and out...it was exhausting to watch Xoe's progress. Finally, when she appeared to be pushing and made her way to the paddock once again, I went out and shut the gate, locking all three girls inside. (It was raining lightly, anyway; they have shelter in the barn.)<br /> <br /> At 6:00, I e-mailed my Cattlewomen to let them know I wouldn't be coming to our monthly meeting. Sometime after 7:30, I started checking Xoe with the flashlight every 20 minutes or so. After what seemed like her trying to push out a watermelon (and me wondering if she was trying to deliver a butt and having flashbacks to Roxy's posterior calf), I called Paul out and he arrived in time to see her forebag break. (It's crazy to see before it comes out, because it's really dark, almost purple, and is actually filled with yellow fluid. Freaky when it bursts.) By 8:00, we finally saw first one tiny hoof, and then another, inside the amniotic sac. They were upright, thank God!<br /> <br /> By now, I was checking her every 15 minutes. Time went by with no real progress, until finally the end of two toes appeared. I consulted my cattle books, and read that if an hour went by with nothing other than feet, it was time to intervene. It was just after 8:00.<br /> <br /> I increased my watch intervals to every 10 minutes, and wondered how quickly any of the Cattlewomen could make it to our house from East Olympia, where the meeting was in progress, if we needed help. Just before 9:00, I saw two forelegs and a pink, moving tongue! Woohoo! I called Paul out and we watched awhile, Xoe pushing with her own mouth open and tongue out, poor girl. We left her for one last 10 minute interval, but I, worrywort, only lasted five.<br /> <br /> And when I came out with my flashlight - BABY! The calf was already sitting up and Xoe was ignoring it, busy slurping up birth fluids. I flashed Paul the signal (he'd said earlier, "Three means hooktender needed in the brush," ever the logger!) and he came out. We wondered what to do because Xoe was not interested in attending to her baby, but didn't want us there, either. She couldn't pull herself away from the fluids on the ground, and it was raining and 49 degrees, and her calf was sopping wet.<br /> <br /> Finally, we grabbed our supplies, a halter and some grain (a pan for each of the big girls), and Paul tied Xoe's horns and held onto her while I manhandled the baby (who by then was on its feet and sticking close to mama...I didn't really want to get kicked in the head!). I ended up having to pull the calf backwards by its hips and push it to the ground to dry it off (not really, because all that hair is super wet and soapy-feeling, but I at least got one towel-full and dried the ears and head well), and I dipped the umbilical cord in iodine for protection.<br /> <br /> The next morning, we both independently checked on Xoe and her calf, and both found them curled up in the small barn stall, baby lying behind mama, fully protected from the entrance. Good Xoe!<br /> <br /> The calf was a joy to watch that evening when we arrived home from work, and like our previous calves, she was bouncing and running and kicking up a storm by her second day outside the womb. She's chocolate brown in color with black feet, nose, eyelids and tail switch, and her undercoat has black in it, too. After consulting <a href="; target="_blank">my favorite Highland coat color article</a>, I was able to easily confirm that this little one will grow up to be black like Xoe (and like her dad's dad).<br /> <br /> (Interestingly, Xoe "cleaned", or delivered her placenta, some time later the first day, because she left it intact next to our fence, rather than eating it as Sheila and Bridgit had done. We'll compost it.)<br /> <br /> We still haven't named the calf; not knowing the sex for a few days didn't help that endeavor! Hopefully she'll have a name by the end of tomorrow. Until then, we'll keep calling her Baby!<br /> <br /> <div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; width="320" /></a></div> <br /> Baby, day 1. (Xoe has a really nice udder, by the way!)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; width="320" /></a></div> <br /> Look at that cute little tail switch! You can see the black in her undercoat, too.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="; width="240" /></a></div> <br /> Mother and daughter.2012/10/new-arrival.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy L.)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958807358512898484.post-1764327614308556941Fri, 31 Aug 2012 22:12:00 +00002012-09-01T11:41:36.735-07:00farmingScottish Highland cattleStill (a.k.a. highsight is always 20/20)Last night Paul and I experienced our first tragedy in four years of farming: Roxy's heifer calf was stillborn.<br /> <br /> I still cannot fathom how it all went down. First, we didn't think she was due until October 1st, but given the size and completeness of the calf, there was no question she was due now. In hindsight, what with her being a giant barrel with legs, and me noticing her pin bones feeling a little looser and her udder a little firmer on Tuesday, and Paul saying, "I think she'll calve within two weeks," we should have known.<br /> <br /> We went for dinner last night, and decided to drive by and check the cattle on our way home, stopping first so Paul could fill a 5 gallon bucket with apples for them. It was sometime after 7:00. As we pulled into the long gravel driveway, we noticed we could see four animals, not five. Who was missing? Roxy. Where was she? We got out and called and called and called...and then noticed that while Clyde, Xoe and Cowboy had all come up to the gate, Sara stayed behind, and kept looking back toward the creek. Uh, oh. Finally, Roxy's head appeared in the tall grass, but she seemed to be busy, possibly with a new calf. We thought, then, she'd calved already. We dumped the bucket of apples and then entered the pasture and walked across the creek bridge to where she was. Paul saw her contract (I missed it). We walked toward her, and then she started walking toward us, stopping periodically to push. Oh, shit!<br /> <br /> We had nothing with us...no calving supplies, no halter rope, not even binoculars. I saw a hoof sticking out and an alarm bell went off. We drove up the driveway to the house, asked for binoculars and then Tom jumped in my car and came back with us. By then, she'd crossed the creek on the other side and was booking across the hayfield toward the tall grass along the road. I whipped down the driveway and around the corner to park so we could look. I grabbed the glasses: one hoof, upside down. Holy crap...this baby was turned around backward!<br /> <br /> I left Paul and Tom there to figure out how to get her to the corral (back across the hayfield, back across the creek, and a long way through the pasture) while I raced home for our supplies. I grabbed towels, our vet kit (which includes obstetrical chains, lube and iodine), my homemade manual (and then two cattle books once I realized the "pulling a breach calf" diagram I was looking for wasn't in my manual), but forgetting a halter rope. <br /> <br /> By the time I returned, the guys had Roxy almost to the corral, but had to stop often so she could push. Hindsight, we should have staubed her to a tree in the hayfield and pulled the calf right then and there...what were we thinking, wasting all that damn time?!<br /> <br /> We did finally get her into the corral, tied her off at the opening of the wooden chute (after realizing she was going to do her best to kick me each time I touched her vulva). Paul had already pinched the calf's foot and gotten no response, but I tried it, too...the calf was not moving, and even though Roxy appeared to be pushing hard each time, only the one foot was visible...nothing else was happening.<br /> <br /> I lubed up my hand and arm and slid it in alongside the calf's foot, and several inches in, found the other foot. The right leg was crossed under the left and wanted to stay there. I felt up further a few times to make sure what I was feeling was two rear legs and a butt (and a tail, which I should have pulled down and under the legs instead of leaving it up over the back, again, hindsight). It was extremely disorienting...thank God I'm a visual person and had seen many different calf birthing diagrams, so sort of knew markers to check for.<br /> <br /> I finally got those legs uncrossed and the right foot nearly as far out as the left, and held on with all my might as Roxy continued to push. Finally, I started to pull, and oh, my God, was it hard. It took Tom and Paul, finally, to pull the calf out, but not before Roxy laid down, making the angle in our tight quarters very difficult. Backwards is an awkward position for a calf to be in, especially when it's already dead.<br /> <br /> She was beautiful, Roxy's little red heifer. Long eye lashes, pretty red Highland coat, no hint of brindle from either parent on her nose pad. We thumped her chest and pinched her and held her upside down, but it was no use. She'd probably been dead some time.<br /> <br /> Roxy cleaned (i.e. passed the placenta) right away and ate the placenta, then turned around and started cleaning her dead calf. We stood there, covered in meconium (baby's first stool, passed during stress), Roxy's poop, mucus and blood, stunned, devastated and completely unsure what to do next. <br /> <br /> After cleaning up at the house, we decided to pull the baby further into the corral, then open the gates so the other animals could witness and also help Roxy fend off any predators overnight. All five animals were very quiet, which, especially for the boys and sometimes Xoe, was unusual.<br /> <br /> Tom buried the calf this morning in their calf graveyard up by the barn. (See, they ran cattle for years...when you do this for years, you inevitably have hard times. They had five.) I called the vet this morning to verify that Roxy is fine and doesn't need antibiotics or anything. We do need to watch her for mastitis, since her body doesn't realize the baby won't need it.<br /> <br /> On my way home from work today, I drove the long way and checked on everyone. It was quiet; the calf had already been buried, and all five cattle were under the trees near the creek. As I stood on the deck, Roxy started to moo, and pretty soon all five animals were back in the corral. I left then, stopping by the gate to say hello, Roxy mooing softly, sniffing the spot in the grass where her baby had been.<br /> <br /> The hardest part for me about this entire ordeal is that I feel responsible for it. I dutifully wrote down each heat cycle for Sheila, Roxy and Xoe last year in my dayplanner. I noted that Roxy was close to heat the day we brought her and Sheila home to be with Eiger (November 19th). If I had noted her earliest possible due date, I would have seen that we should have started watching her in late August - she was due around August 27th. Instead, I held steadfast to the vet's prediction - based on rectal palpation of the calf - of an early October due date. (I forget he's made that mistake before...Highland calves are smaller than he's used to.) If I had noted both dates, I would have been checking her physically much more frequently, noting changes. If I had been paying attention to that date, Tom would have thought much more of Roxy going off by herself a couple of times, and would have let us know that he saw her doing that...but heck, we should have had another month or so, so he didn't. <br /> <br /> And...if I'd kept my wits about me for two seconds, I would have remembered that posterior-presented calves need to be delivered right away or they can either drown in the amniotic fluid collecting by their little mouths, or suffocate as their body pinches off the blood supply from the umbilical cord they're likely to be lying on.<br /> <br /> But no...and so, where we were expecting three calves this time, we're now hoping for two. You can bet I'll be all over Xoe when late September hits. After all, her earliest due date is October 8th, two full weeks before the October 22nd date predicted by the vet.<br /> <br /> From now until Xoe's calf is safely on the ground, our orange vet kit will remain in the back of my car, along with both books, my manual, a halter rope and some clean old towels (as soon the meconium-stained laundry of last night is clean). I won't be caught unaware again. This is too pricey a mistake for both farm account (in lost beef, live sale or breeding stock income) and heart.2012/08/still-aka-highsight-is-always-2020.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy L.)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958807358512898484.post-8915623910224505049Sun, 26 Aug 2012 14:49:00 +00002012-08-26T07:49:42.685-07:00sceneryScottish Highland cattleveggie gardenweatherwildlifeFall's a comingI love fall. It's always been my favorite time of the year...something about dressing in cozy layers, smelling woodsmoke on the air, seeing leaves changing color and fog in the mornings brings me contentment. It could just be that living in Western Washington most of my life, where it rains 9 months per year, I'm more accustomed to gray, cool days than to the heat of summer...and certainly by late February/early March, I'm so tired of the constant drizzle and rain that I long for a change. <br /> <br /> The same goes for the transition of summer into fall for me. Most people have heard we don't get much of a summer. What most people don't know is that the month of August in Washington state is drier than in Arizona. That's certainly been true this year. Our summer was very late in coming, much like last year's, but we did have a string of days where it was over 90 degrees. This girl really doesn't appreciate that! (Anything over about 74 and I start squirming, and anything over 80 brings outright whining!)<br /> <br /> It's been really nice, therefore, to wake up each morning the last couple of weeks to ground fog and cooler temperatures. On Friday morning, it was only 45 degrees out on my way to work, cool enough to warrant a jacket. Whee! The sweet gum trees around Olympia are starting to show a little fall color, and the apple trees appear to be ripening their fruit already, more than a month ahead of schedule. (I fully intend to preserve apple sauce, and maybe even apple butter and apple pie filling, this year with our trees' bounty, but we'll be sure to let the cows snack on apples, too.)<br /> <br /> The bad part of the ripening apples is that the deer - a doe and a 2-year old buck with a fork on one antler - have been spending a lot of time on our property, and our garden shows it. Someone (we think the buck) has "trimmed" our Caroline raspberry canes and tomato vines twice. (Is it just me, or does anyone else find it odd that all the lettuce and other greens have survived unscathed?) Paul just about blew a fuse a few weeks ago when he discovered that his prized 'Brandywine' tomato - one of his only veggie requests this year - took a hit (albeit slight). We moved the portable greenhouse over top of the tomato bed earlier this week after I pruned all the plants to remove the jungle-like, non-productive growth, so they're happily zipped in and protected from deer mouths. Hopefully we'll get some ripe tomatoes...next year, they'll be covered all summer. It just doesn't get warm enough here to grow a bumper crop otherwise.<br /> <br /> The cattle are doing very well. Sara has settled in and while she still hangs back from the other four (and who can blame her, with two annoying steers in the mix?), she does generally go where they go. We haven't been able to comb her yet, but with the boys going on their last "appointment" at the end of September, things should calm down even more.<br /> <br /> In other news, we've seen a beautiful bobcat in the hayfield on our leased property twice in one week! He's hard to get pictures of because it's been as the sun is nearly gone from the valley in the evening, but we have taken the time to stand on the side of the road and watch through binoculars. Friday evening, Cowboy and Sara caught wind and treed him! I guess I really don't need to worry about Mr. Bobcat harming a calf...Highlands can hold their own.<br /> <br /> Speaking of calves, Roxy feels like she's bagging up (filling her udder) already, more than a month from her October 2nd due date. She's very gentle and forgiving, so I am free to feel her udder and check her pins for loosening. Paul thinks her calf will be here in two weeks...I'm not so sure about that, because we know the earliest date she could have been bred. Still, girlfriend is so wide that Paul's started calling her "House Mouse," as in wide as a house (and definitely not small as a mouse!). She barely fit through the wooden chute when we vaccinated the girls earlier this month; at this point, there's no way she would. I have to wonder whether her baby is lying transverse (cross-wise) in there, and if we didn't know better, we'd suspect twins! She does have "very nice spring of rib" (i.e. a round girth through the ribs) unbred, so likely her pregnancy is just exaggerating her natural features. :)<br /> <br /> One call out to readers - we still have a couple of quarters of grassfed, grass-finished Highland beef for sale! Contact me if you're interested...<br /> <br /> <div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="; width="240" /></a></div> <br /> Clyde with Roxanne behind.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; width="320" /></a></div> <br /> Caution: wide load.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; width="320" /></a></div> <br /> Xaralyn is such a pretty girl!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; width="320" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> The "red on green" show.</div> 2012/08/falls-coming.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy L.)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958807358512898484.post-8317446315010912967Sun, 05 Aug 2012 15:16:00 +00002012-08-05T08:16:21.121-07:00farmingflower gardenshouse and homeScottish Highland cattleveggie gardenweatherOverdueNow that the one-year anniversary of the <a href="2011/08/broken.html" target="_blank">worst day of our lives</a> is here, my mind is free to think about other things...and there are lot of other things going on!<br /> <br />Our garden is finished, and man, oh man, is it productive! We've eaten a few zucchini and heads of cauliflower already, and lots of lettuce. We currently have three ginormous broccoli awaiting picking and a pile of zucchini and yellow summer squash on the kitchen counter awaiting processing (mmm, zucchini bread!!). The dahlias my mother-in-law gave me are almost ready to bloom, and we have tomatoes on every plant. The winter squash have started setting fruit, too. Our beets are almost about ready to pull and process. Yay!<br /> <br />The garden hasn't been without issue, though. We've had a problem with cabbage aphids in the Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. The Brussels sprouts are growing well and I'm not terribly concerned, but the cauliflower has been a pain. Nothing says "ick" like raising a forkful of steamed cauli up to your mouth and seeing a bunch of previously hidden, dead brown aphids. Soaking the heads in strong salt water does help, but it's not getting every last aphid. I bought some neem oil to spray, but even though the label says safe to use up to harvest day, Paul's skeptical. We've only got a few of the 12 cauliflowers left before that bed is emptied. We really need to start thinking about success crops or cover crops, because our summer veggies will probably peak quickly, and even though summer has FINALLY arrived (93 yesterday, 90 today, in the 80s most of the week), we awoke to a heavy ground fog this morning, so I know fall is right around the corner. (As an aside, it's amazing how quickly formerly gorgeous petunia baskets can look pathetic, isn't it? Ugh.) We're also not loving the evening watering chores...next year we hope to get water to that side of our property and install drip irrigation and/or soaker hoses to make life easier.<br /> <br />On the farm front, our newest female Highland, <a href="2012/05/introducing.html" target="_blank">BEM Xaralyn</a> ("Sara"), was confirmed bred via Biotracking and is coming home this morning! She was AI'd 67 days ago to a lovely dun bull named <a href="; target="_blank">LEA Raleigh</a> from LEA-White Farms in Michigan. The pictures of his daughters make me drool!! Sara should calve around March 4th, giving us our third calf of the season after a very, very long dry spell. The rest of the herd has been delightfully peaceful. Paul helped clean out the creek and fix the fences so Roxy, Xoe and the steers could go to the hay field by the road. We plan to repair fences across the driveway in his main hayfield so we can let them over there, too. That land hasn't had animals (or fertilizer) on it for several years and could really use it. The boys are looking good. They're scheduled to go to the butcher on September 29th. (If you're local and looking for <a href="; target="_blank">beef</a>, we only have two quarters left!)<br /> <br />Summer chores have been put on hold, but some things - like replacement of our rotting (and ugly as sin) pump house - are starting to feel urgent, because we know winter will be here before we know it. (It was in poor condition when we bought this place in 2008, and hasn't been helped by our first calf <a href="2010/04/go-forth-and-procreate.html" target="_blank">T-Bone's remodeling</a> [a.k.a. punching holes in the sides] and a wicked, windy winter storm that ripped part of the tin roof off. It's a hot mess.) I've given up on the weeds in the flower beds and driveway (they got too much of a head start), but I've got plans for next year! (I'm also trying to get ahold of a woman who organizes an amazing permaculture-for-home-gardeners project to see if she'll come down to Tenino, so there may be bigger plans in the making!) Other than that, there are fences <a href="2012/04/walkabout.html" target="_blank">to replace</a>, some home winterizing to undertake...sometimes the list seems overwhelming. Repainting the barn (or adding metal siding) will have to wait for another year, and so will getting power and water out to the barn. Oh, well.<br /> <br />It's been one heck of a year, one that we do not ever want to feel the likes of again. Here's to moving forward...<br /> <br /> <div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We got our hay in...</td></tr> </tbody></table> </div> <div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An amazing evening sky...</td></tr> </tbody></table> </div> <div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="; width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmmm, fresh growth!</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="; imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="; width="240" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clyde: "Do you have treats?"</td></tr> </tbody></table> </div> </div>2012/08/overdue.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy L.)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958807358512898484.post-2464881602478734529Sat, 23 Jun 2012 16:24:00 +00002012-06-23T09:24:40.843-07:00veggie gardenweatherVeggie progressIt took a while to get our new garden bed project completed, but we finally managed. Well, almost...one more little load of playground chips and we'll really be done! Um, well, after I plant my dill seedlings in the broccoli bed and the zinnias somewhere, <em>then</em> we'll be done...except I might divide my chives and plant them in the tomato bed...hmmm.<br /> <br /> Gardens are really a work in progress all the time, aren't they? I'll let the pictures tell the story of where we are today (this very rainy, possible thunderstorms first Saturday of summer).<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" sty

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