Lots o Little Piles

It was a good productive day here at the ranch.

I started by installing a rain gutter that fell down last year because I wanted to see how long an icicle would get. I learned my lesson and there shall be no more icicle competitions. All the rain we have had (1/2 inch on Friday) necessitated the rain gutter. It's right above the back door and you can't go down the stairs without passing through a curtain of runoff when it's raining.

After that, we went to work on the leaves. Most have fallen and it was time to get them raked up. I didn't have access to my friends truck today so we just raked them into a bunch of piles and I will try to take them to the dump later this week.

The problem of course with dumping rain soaked leaves is the amount of water I am paying to dump. There is a private dump spot I use for things like this because they look at the load and charge according to that rather than by weight.

The problem with using them is that they are a bit farther out in the sticks. But what I spend on gas will be saved at the dump.

I have started doing some research on Horse-Chestnuts. I didn't really know anything about these things other than I have a bunch of them. The chestnuts in the picture were gathered up in about two minutes from one of the leaf piles. They are quite prolific in the front yard. I'm going to take this little pile and see if they burn very well.

I have learned that they contain a toxin called Aesculin. It causes destruction of red blood cells. The interesting thing is that deer and squirrels are resistant to the toxin. I know the squirrels eat them but they don't eat them a lot. I think it is their go-to food when other more tasty morsels are unavailable.

I've also learned you can pulverize the nuts and repeatedly boil them into a wholesome porridge. The continuous boiling leaches out the toxin. They are also used in Homeopathic medicine to relieve pain in the sacroiliac region as well as the rectal region. If we are ever beset with Hemorrhoids, we are golden. I can't find any info with regards to burning them so we'll have to see for ourselves.

And now, I would like to present a new feature of this Blog,

Today's Tidbit:

Today is the 33rd anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitsgerald. Nobody would even care if not for Gordon Lightfoot.