Still Working on the Budget & Mistletoe Shortage

Still Working on the Budget & Mistletoe Shortage plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Congress left for the Thanksgiving holiday without a deal to avoid a government shutdown. However - there are plans for lead negotiators to continue work over the break - and it appears they are optimistic about reaching an agreement. House Budget Chair Paul Ryan said he's hopeful. Senate Budget Chair Patty Murray said she's working closely with Ryan to find a path forward in good faith.

Well with the holiday season kicking off this week you might have to do your kissing without mistletoe this year. Robert Tiemann of Tiemann's Mistletoe in Priddy, Texas is the country's largest mistletoe distributor. Mistletoe is a parasite that feeds on oak tree branches - so it takes a while for it to take root and grow. He says mistletoe remains hard to come by - and has been since the 2011 drought.

TIEMANN: I imagine there's going to be a shortage again this year because there won't be anything shipped out of Texas as far as I know. But next year if we don't get into another big serious drought we should have enough mistletoe to be back in business again.

Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray.

2013 has been a tough year for our family and a lot of other families around the nation. So the notion of making a list of what we have to be thankful for can prove to be rather challenging to say the least, but strangely it can be done, especially when one considers that sometimes even the smallest of things bring cause for thankfulness. Waking up to find that it was 20 degrees out this morning found me very thankful for the heated seats in my little HHR. Before I left the house I was thankful for the electric tea kettle and my favorite, though slightly worn, pair of fuzzy woolen slippers. I was thankful last night for a warm bed and comfortable pillow to lay my head on after a long day of chasing and playing with grandchildren, which by the way are quite high on my list of people to be thankful for. No one can quite tickle my funny bone and brighten my day like my two grandchildren. I was thankful for the telephone that rang this morning because my Mom was on the other end of the line and we had a wonderful catch up chat. I'm thankful for the squirrels that play in the backyard and provide our family with their own little versions of outdoor dinner theatre. Amazingly the list could go on, but you get the point. There is always something to be thankful for.

Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.