That is what has been going on here.  On Monday the butcher came for the hogs.  I was just getting home from work when he arrived  So Tom helped him while I did the chores.  It is sad, but we will have plenty of really good pork soon.  Plus we will have extra for sale if you are interested.

I get a chance to admire Bert in the morning sun.

As far as death goes, not only is it butchering time, but there is other deaths too.  Of course we had just put Jemima down.  But the garden is dying too.  One of the cooks/authors I follow is Hank Shaw.  He just posted “Tired of Life” which touches on these topics.

I keep trying to take photos of the trees’ leaves changing colors.  The photos never seem to do it justice.  But here are my attempts.

We are having predators getting closer too.  So far I am not aware of their success, but they are trying.  We know this because of our back pasture camera.  Here is an owl:

Here is a coyote:

And here is a bobcat:

Yesterday we were able to go to Marysville (on the 11th anniversary of the tragic mass shooting there) and go to the Hibulb Cultural Center.  They had three of the authors of The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog.  I have been fascinated by these Woolly Dogs since I first learned about them at the Skagit County Historical Museum.  So I was absolutely thrilled to find out about this book and attend this presentation.  I was able to buy a copy of the book as well.  Here they are getting ready for the talk in the longhouse.

Here is some of the origin story about how the pelt of Mutton was discovered in the Smithsonian museum and his DNA analyzed.

I was able to get my book signed by the three authors present.  I am really excited to read it.

After the presentation we headed to the Tulalip Casino and got dinner.

Then we wandered around the casino.  I was surprised to see Toronto beating the Dodgers in their sports bar there.

I learned about their new expansion, and they had storytelling spindle whorls decorating the new entrance.  Especially since I was just learning about Salish spinning and weaving, I needed to find these.  Here they are:

It was dumping rain so I didn’t go out in front of them to get better photos.  In the meantime Tom won a bunch of money on a slot machine.

So we took our winnings and headed home in the nasty storm.  This morning after I finished doing the dishes and making coffee the power went off, just before 7:00.  I decided to put on a headlamp and do the chores a little early.  I found that the panel we use to keep predators out of our barn had blown off the barn and several roosters were out.

There was a beautiful sunrise, which means more bad weather.  But it was pretty.

The weather really got with it as we were fixing the barn defect.  We decided to put up fencing instead of a panel as it isn’t as heavy.  Hopefully it will stay put.

We had planned on pressing apples today but with the power outage that couldn’t happen.  Here are the outages.

So I ended up collecting herbs and getting them ready to dry.  Just before lunch the power came back on so I was able to finish up while watching the Huskies game.

I made Pozole Verde, a Hank Shaw recipe.  I used one remaining pork shoulder trying to clear out freezer space rather than a pig head.  It was really good.  I had forgotten to add the onion when I took this photo.  The onion really helped the flavor.

We watched a part of the World Series game 2 while we ate.  I was surprised they did show the Ontario commercial about tariffs that Trump hates so much.  Particular since it was broadcasting on Fox.

I made Apple Galette for dessert.  It was a Sunset magazine recipe that was adapted from Alice Waters.  It is probably the best thing I have ever baked.  So good!

So far we have survived the storm which is still happening.  The power did flick again this evening but hasn’t gone out so far.  Hopefully no more death other than a few linger garden plants.  But the Kracken game broadcast just went out due to technical difficulties.  Not sure if it is related to the storm or not.