Sun Hill Farm

Weekend Enjoyed

2011-11-18T19:57:00.001-08:00

I curled soft thoughts from a weekend enjoyed. My weekends seem to have gained length since I have began working at the BVI. I am not sure why this is. I think because while working there, there isn't the ability to slack off like at other jobs. (You know what I am talking about.) So when I get time off it seems like such an enjoyable release. This weekend I spent most of my time putting siding up on my house. Oh it was lovely. I was worried I was making some terrible unknown mistake while embarking on the clapboard endeavor. Remember, learning carpenter. It looks great! One day was sunny and warm, the next cloudy and chilly. Each memory great feelings between body and mind. Leaving my house I had staging setup to continue the siding for next week.

I also got to pull porcupine quills from one of my grandfather's cows. It isn't the most exciting story, but there is something so unique about the acts of farming. Taking pliers to the face of a large animal, who is scared, because what you are doing will be an act of healing. That is a great thought. Curling inwards to soft, warmed soul.

Chocolate Panna Cotta

2011-06-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today was my day off. I had a split weekend this week. So I worked on the house for a few hours putting in windows with a past coworker. I did not get as much done as I had wanted. He showed up pretty hung over. So was still thankful for the help, but any heavy work in the barn wasn't happening. So after putting in most of the downstair windows, I retreated to the garden for some fun weeding in the misty rain- bug free! And then decided that it was time for a heavy whipping cream run. I went off to Hanafords, and got some white chocolate, some cream, and then walked around looking at pudding, yogurt and fruit cups as cheap Panna Cotta molds. I couldn't decide which ones would be best, so I ended up buying a couple yogurts and some really really cheap pudding. I then spent the rest of the day listening to Chopin and Beethoven, making sauces, and eating pudding. It was perfect. Although I have to admit negated my workouts from the last couple days. (I think I'll be fine)

So above is the desert finale. My biggest critique is that the ganache was spread too thickly. Kills the presentation. Otherwise I was very happy. It was my first attempt at a PC. It was perfect. The crisp (cookie that looks like a fin) was tacky. It was practice to make it gluten free, but tasted good. I completely messed up making a white chocolate mousse. I was attempting to mix it with a homemade ricotta. The chef at the BVI was making a ricotta, and had to ask him how he got his so fine. And then later I asked how I could blend it with a white chocolate. Well, considering the process involved several cooking techniques I have never tried, and I was able to salvage a sauce in the end, then I am very very happy.

I invited over a couple friends for tonight to enjoy. I think it was quite good. It was a lot of fun making three different sauces, an emulsion, and the ganache. One sauce I did not use. I overcooked the ricotta, and decided that Kavia would fair better with it. =)

So that is my near perfect weekend day. I got more of my house done, and realized that I really need to just hop to for the water and electrical when I get some cash next month, I got to relax inside after the garden, learn a bit more about confectionery, and had a couple friends over.

I hope whoever is reading this is well and wonderful. If not (or even if you are!) I do have three extra panna cottas ready to go... first come, first serve. I guarantee one is not making it beyond breakfast.

Zac

Can't Remember that Song!

2011-06-06T04:15:00.000-07:00

I have ZERO musical abilities. So I am often in the bind of hearing a song I like, but I cannot remember the lyrics. So I am at work, in the kitchen, trying to sing what lines I can remember to a cook, out of tune mind you, and then asking- do you know that song?

There is a song that goes "She wants my body" only line I can remember, any help?

This one took me a bit

Looking around the house.
Hidden behind the window and the door.
Searching for signs of life but there's nobody home.

Well, maybe I'm just too sure.
Maybe I'm just too frightened
by the sound of it.
Pieces of note fall down, but the letter said, - better than ezra, good

And possum kingdom

Enjoy the sun!

2011-05-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Lets kiss the sun when she comes out.

If I was a Horse

2011-05-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

Then I'd colic. Good thing I'm not, 'cept this parabola of butterfly wings fabricated into the stitches of hooting night owls- a sliver of torn, cool, night air; a slow evening toad making his way to the warmth of the blacktop of route 11.

May 1

2011-05-01T04:24:00.000-07:00

Well here is the house coming along! Tyveked the lower level completely. I have some time off, and will be finishing the other grabrel end, and then tyvek the upstairs, windows, and doors! The place is also looking very green.

And those yummy things above are an Orange Manier Truffle covered in dark chocolate and candied orange peel.

And It All Starts Over, Again

2011-04-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

Theory of Butterfly Wings

2011-03-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

It's difficult to see the value of an Oak Tree during sugaring season.

You might be a farmer if...

2011-03-01T20:40:00.000-08:00

So I was picking up eggs tonight, and thinking about what I would write if I were to write a book about farming. I will quickly note that I am too young, and far too inexperienced to write on such a topic, but still I thought about it. Quickly here is what I came up with:

The Modern Day Small Farmer: 3000 Things NOT to Do!
A Memoir of Things Gone Wrong

And here are just a few of the headlines.

1. Headlamps are for emergencies, not for everyday use; go to bed.
2. Roosters do not lay eggs- so don't have more than one.
3. Your wife is not always right, but most of the time she is or knows better; so listen.
4. Count your pennies, but if you are relying on them, then you're doing something wrong.
5. There are 168 hours in a week. At least 56 of them are for sleep.
6. Build your nest boxes before you get your hens.
7. It doesn't get better, and easier, unless if you take the time to make things better and easier.
8. I processed about 1200 chickens last year, and made some money doing it, but it wasn't fun, not at all. Refer to #9.
9. Put a calendar on the barn wall, and put a tally on each day that you got frustrated with something. Then see how many tallies it takes for you get a clue. Refer to #3.
10. 5 gallon buckets are glorious, wonderfully industrious things, but don't be a dumbass lugging water three times a day to 900 meat birds with them.

Good-Night. Morning will come soon enough.

A Good Day Spent

2011-02-18T15:33:00.000-08:00

Today was gorgeous. I had the day off, no egg deliveries or CSC. I ended up picking up inside my barn quite a bit, and then called it a day. I was off to make cheese. The above is a picture of the curds that have been cut, and then heated. I made cheddar from about 7 gallons of fresh cow's milk.

Bellow is a picture of the drained curds.
And bellow the 'cheddaring' process. The curds are cut into slabs, and then flipped every 15 minutes in a warm pan. This part is still going on. It is the first time I am making a traditional cheddar recipe. Usually I make an abridge version: a Farm House Cheddar. However, today I decided the day would be best spent, inside, making a traditional cheddar.

A friend asked why I liked making cheese when I commented that I enjoyed the actual work of it. My reply was: It is the only work on the farm where there is no chance in being covered with fecal matter. In this there is a reprieve.

Mumbles

2011-02-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

The above picture isn't terribly spectacular, albeit it being a spectacularly gorgeous morning. This was last week. My grandfather had found some pump staging on craigslist. They regularly retail for $70 each, but a contractor had just purchased a lift and was willing to let 6 of them go for a clean $100. Both of us wanted the staging, and not wanting to pass up the inexpensive opportunity, my grandfather milked for me that Monday morning and I borrowed my grandmothers car for Littleton, NH.

I got up at 4:30 to feed/water my chickens and chicks at my farm, and then scoot over to a McDonalds in Littleton by 7:30. I got there with a half hour to spare, but needed to stop for gas, and a coffee to keep me going. I have not been getting to bed early. After work I drive to my farm in Franklin- finish collecting eggs, put out the morning's grain, break out the frozen water buckets, and tend the 300 or so peeping chicks which will be my summer flock. Admittedly I usually fall asleep in my little truck when I pull up to the farm. The night of the pump staging adventure I pulled over at a stop sign on North Road to catch a little shut eye, and then dozed off in my little driveway at the farm. I am only writing it, because I am acknowledging how annoyed I am getting with this poor habit of rushing about.

The following two pictures are from the house. The first is from sometime in May/June? I had just raised a section of the post and beam frame. It was the first act of building upwards out of the basement ceiling; going skyward from the floor.

This next picture I took to send to a friend, and represents the current condition of the house. Still a little drafty without the windows and doors, but looking much like a house of course, and largely out of weather. I had intended on finishing the Tyvek, but I got very sick for about a week in January, and have not dared pushing myself too much with house, farm and work. It can wait a little. I am very hopeful with warmer weather, doors and windows. It will be a house.

And what would a farm blog be without a farm picture? Can you guess what is going on in this picture? Well, the benefits of having a property with full southern exposure, is that the winter sun is remarkably pleasant. The hens, inside the barn, dig into the unfrozen floor and hover. Yes, all winter, dust bathing themselves! They look happy and wonderful- now lay more eggs!

What would be wrong with moving to France?

2011-01-15T13:45:00.000-08:00

Except at best I (was) conversational in Spanish? Out of curiosity I clicked on the link for "Raw Milk Availability in Other Countries" on the Weston A Price Foundation's site. Here is France' gorgeous post.

France

Brittany: Certified organic raw cow's milk. Ferme de Kerheu, 29510 BRIEC DE LµODET, 02 98 57 92 67. Their milk is even distributed by two local supermarkets: Inter Marché in Briec and Leclerc in Quimper where it costs 0.94€/liter and 0.84€/liter respectively.
Tournus: There is a raw milk vending machine on the southern outskirts of the center of town across the street from "Simply Market." If you take the main road out of town going towards Mâcon you will see a small sign for Simply Market on your left. The milk comes from La Ferme de Chantebaud.
A reader alerts us: "Raw donkey milk is going great guns in France and Belgium. Marie Tack in Belgium sells donkey milk that meets European bacteriological standards. I visited two farms in France and drank milk directly from many burros (delicious!). I will go to Belgium next year to visit Marie myself who milks 50 head of mammoth jennets each day. Donkey milk is the closest milk to human breast milk and is ideal for feeding infants. It is in a state of rediscovery in France and Belgium and will be available here in the future.Visit www.asineriedupaysdescollines.be to see her operation. Donkeys don't carry Bovine diseases."
Another reader says: http://lelaitdelaferme.com/ --This is the only raw milk vending machine I have come across, there are three in the Lyon region, but of course I continue to purchase raw milk freely from cremeries in the French Alps. There seems to be no restriction on sales from cheese-making factories here in Haute Savoie, I am not sure about other areas of France, but I assume where artisanal cheese is made, raw milk is available. A post by me: http://constantstateofflux.com/2010/02/01/raw-milk-vending-machines- in-europe-what-a-great-idea/
Vending Machine Raw Milk (Lait Cru) And Bottles If You Need Them (Inside A Decrotive Small Wooden Chalet) - Main Entrance - Le Clerc Supermarket - Villeneuve Sur Lot - Lot Et Garonne- France -(The Dispenser Even Moos As It Delivers The Milk). Material - Raw Milk - Lait Cru Farm Name - Ferm Du Gaec De La Croix De Balen Farmers' Names - Familles Martinet & Laurante Address 47140 Trentells - France

Really! Raw milk vending machines? Hold on. I think we just found the answer to most chronic childhood diseases in America!
Actually, I like farm to consumer purchases of raw milk. It forces us to be unbelievably cautious with how we handle the milk, the cows, the equipment. Literally our patrons are outside our doorstep. It is a very nice reminder. Although I just like the idea of something as wholesome coming from the vending machine as raw milk. Who needs a redbull when some Jersey Cow is just a buck twenty-five away?
Night.
p.s. I'd try the donkey milk, but "it's the closest thing to your mother's breast milk" just isn't a good sales pitch to me.

S510

2011-01-01T12:06:00.000-08:00

Dear S510, I bet you've never had a cat kneading your lap so delicately, and rubbing its fuzzy head against the warm belly of a cow as you are bent over trying to milk her. Sincerely Yours.

2010-12-24T13:43:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my mom and sister. They are still out shopping. That'd be ok if there was drinking involved, but really?! Do we all need that extra gift that badly? I ended up doing all my shopping at one local shop this year, and walked out very happy, albeit with a lighter wallet. But they are still out there. She should have just stayed in Kansas instead of flying all the way here just to shop our local Walmart...

No. 7

2010-12-23T17:36:00.000-08:00

My grandfather about 6 weeks ago picked up a Mccormick Deering Model 7 when we made a Craigslist run to Rochestor. We had a blast, fun trip, but he definitely got the steal of the day- a mower in great shape for $100. I picked up a pair of horse drawn harrows, which had been on my wish list for the longest time.

But of course- I have been jealous. So below is proudly presented my very own #7.

The story doesn't begin here, but rather with my digging the wheels out of the frozen ground earlier this week. A guy down my street had this parked in his yard. It belonged to his late cousin Dick. At first he thought I was a scrapper, and after some lengthy talks, and helping him split wood, he decided to sell me the mower. I gave him what he got for a cord of wood, plus $25 extra for plenty of new in box knives. The only missing part is the outer shoe.

The story actually begins much earlier. His brother? used to live in the house below my great grandmothers, and my great uncle BD used to babysit them. These are old machines. There is a lot of history with each piece. You can even have an idea of the terrain they mowed by the condition of the machine. Oh the scars..

Here is my grandfather's machine. It is in pieces. Except for a missing footpedal and the two axel bearings worn out, the machine is in great shape. Just to tease my grandfather....Mine's not missing a foot pedal and my bearings aren't worn out. hehe

Here is the push bar, yolk, inner shoe and cutter bar seperated from the machine. I needed my brother to help disengage a pin while I lifted the piece off the machine. Notice the push bar is still attached. This was threaded out about 10 minutes later.

Every piece being taken off is getting a pink ribbon. Helps discern pieces from the two machines. I am mildly heating up the half moon and draft bar. These need to be threaded apart. All the pieces are being taken off for two reasons. #1. Most importantly, pieces like the one below are used to adjust lead, timing etc. when cutting. So the seized threads need to be loosened. Two- going to sand down and paint everthing. So apart they come. Rebuild- grandpa and Zac and Two #7's.

2010-12-23T04:15:00.000-08:00

She kisses the snow. The sun comes up. She kisses the snow. I can see edges of trees now. She's bent over kissing the snow.

2010-12-20T05:07:00.001-08:00

A yard is a dangerous place for
children.
Between the picket fence, and the peering windows of
mothers.
I once heard of a child who got lost in the
forest.
He was playing along a stream;
lost in some silly little dreams.
We never saw him again.

Still a Bit Drafty on Breezy Days

2010-12-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

This isn't the most up to date shot. The front of the house is completely sheathed, the east side is done up the the header, and the South side is framed and sheathed to header. Need to get going and get the whole darn thing covered up for the winter. It's just getting on...

I must have missed the joke?

Cow on the Cob

2010-12-10T17:01:00.000-08:00

I have given this rant a couple times, but am always amazed at how interested and hooked people are to the content. The last time I talked about the corn-cow marriage it was with a group of students who were doing a virtual tour of the farm. This isn't a newly discovered subject of course, just a clear way to make a description.

Why corn is good for the cattle industry.

When you feed corn to cows, whether it is in the form of a grain or silage, you're supporting a whole array of industries. First to get corn you have to set aside acreage for the corn. This is going to take up an allotment of land from May until it is harvested in the fall. So your cows can't graze that area. When old man winter gets tired around here our snow melts away and our grass begins to grow, but if you're growing corn then you're going to get out there when the soil is workable and disc the piece in, and plant. So you have to purchase in your corn seed. Now you're supporting a seed company-Pioneer, Monsanto, Latham, etc. Now if you are going to raise corn, you are going to raise a lot of it. And you're not going to have the time to stoop over with a hoe and take care of the weeds. Instead you'll go and get an applicators license from your state authority, and buy in Atrazine, RoundUp, 2-4,D, whatever. So now to get your cow feed you've supported a large seed company (because you're running a large dairy now and you don't have time to be messing around with saving seed. Would you really want to risk next year's crop on your frugility?) and you're supporting a chem company. But if you're going to be feeding your cows corn, and taking up your fields and pasture with corn, then you're going to be keeping them corralled or housed all the time. Feeding corn and penning up your animals you are probably going to have more sick animals than you are used to, so we're going to go ahead and pick up some antibiotics just to be on the safe side. Now half the antibiotics in this country go to animals and not humans. With the milk cows we have now you can see why they might need a little help now and again. The average milk cow in a dairy operation lasts 4.5 years. That means she's born and bred to calf at two years of age. She has one full lactation, and calves again at three years, and four years, but at some time before her next lactation she didn't make the cut. She became sick, wore down from being such a high producer, her teet might have been split from being stepped on by another cow, or barn ridden mastitis or pneumonia might have got to her. Now if you're going to keep your cows in a barn or corral, then you might as well pack them a little tighter than you'd normally expect since you have the overhead of a building, fans, the concrete, the automatic waterers. We are here to mak as much milk per acre as possible. Milk is equal to money. In the 1950's a 20 cow dairy was considered large enough to provide a good living for a full family and a retirement. Today farmers with a herd of 200 are wondering where their next paycheck will come from. In the last three years good milk prices have been fleeting amid lengthy lulls. But what can you expect from an industry which will take all of the product produced, whenever. So to produce a gallon of milk from cows fed on corn and roughage, you need to support a seed industry, a chem industry, a pharmaceutical industry to make a single gallon. Now if you take a grass based farm.....that 1950's grass based dairy- you have cows that can sustain longer because they are larger assets on the farm, and are treated as such. They are consuming a diet fit for them. But the real problem is that grass is a farmer's asset. It comes up in the spring. There is no distribution of costs. The industry is largely self supported, and that is where corn comes in. Now support your local grass farmer- its like eating sunshine.

Look Me Haz Maked Pretty

2010-12-04T16:48:00.000-08:00

There was no point to this post.

NPR Interview 08/26/2009

2010-11-23T17:58:00.000-08:00

“I wish you could have known him before.”

“Before what?”

“Before it happened.”

“You’ll have to tell us more.”

“Before he changed. He used to be so different, amazing. There was something about him that used to just amaze people. He used to make people smile just because of who he was.”

“He’s made plenty of people smile. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“No. That is different. That became his character; a model he played. He really used to be something. He could make you laugh with a look, a witty comment, and he used to think. I remember how smart he was. He used to think all the time, about everything. Sometimes you’d think he’d never stop. I wonder, at times, what he would have done if it never happened.”

“If you could tell us, what did happen?”

“I think it was the war. I mean, I really don’t know. I say it was the war, but it could have been so many things, but I think that was it. Something happened, something made a change in him. You could tell he never could get over it.”

“When did you realize something happened?”

“Oh I don’t know. It started. I don’t know when. I think it was first in his eyes. Something that used to be so much of him wasn’t there. He’d stare off or he’d forget something and you could tell that it bugged him, but if he tried to think of what it was he couldn’t. We tried things, but nothing worked. He kept, slipping.”

“How was that on you, difficult?”

“Oh very. It was impossible. It tore me apart. It was like I was constantly looking at a shell. Someone that used to be my husband, but who wasn’t anymore.”

“How did he become how we know of him today?”

“That happened. I think he was coping. You know, we all cope. We all find ways to make ourselves different just to get by. The hunting, the repetitiveness, the funny language. I think it took him back to the war or a safety mechanism in some way.”

“Why the rabbit. What was the reasoning behind that?”

“That was pure marketing. He used to hunt deer, bears, moose, but none of those things they could put on the television to make funny. The rabbit was something they came up with, something you all found funny.”

“You sound unhappy, but wasn’t his fame something to be proud of?”

“Why should it have been? He never got past it. He never healed. His whole life became a repetitious episode. They had him strung up in pointless circles, said it was treatment, and it was all good and fine as long as everyone laughed when he pointed a gun and said wabbit. But I miss him. I miss my dear Elmer.”

NPR interview with the late Mrs. Elenoir J. Fudd speaking of her husband. Elenoir passed away in her sleep last Thursday at the age of 86. She is left behind with her three grown children, her orphan charity and the legacy of her late husband.

2010-11-15T02:57:00.000-08:00

One year ago today, much better.

2010-10-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

I have neglected taking pictures of the house as of late. Actually, as I type that I think I have some on the other camera which I just found. Here is a rough pic of the house before Thursday- I have up until Thursday framed in 4 of the "bays" downstairs- in between the posts for windows, Kat from 2MtN came over and helped me finish up 1/2 of the decking upstairs, and had all the rafter stock unloaded on site. That last part might not sound like much of an accomplishment, but believe me it is. The 38 2x10"x16' made the truck squat a little; it was all green hemlock.

Ralph came over and helped for a day. The day before I finished one knee wall, and most of another. He brought some staging, and we got the ridge up, and a few rafters. He cut all the rafters. I had never cut rafters before, and was hoping to get some professional help since I could very easily mess it up. I am surprised that it was all simple math and just pivoting your speed square. Still, he did a nice, clean job on everything so well worth it. Thanks Ralph.
I promise I didn't stand around like that all day.
This is what the house looked like at the end of Friday. You can see the framing downstairs that I mentioned, but more importantly, the beginning of what will become the upstairs and roof of the building.

And today! So a little background. I need to be at work by noon- and it is a half hour away- So I have from when I finish milking and chores to work on the house (delivering eggs is usually my one other necessity, which I missed one delivery this week, and it was an important one. =( So for me to get any real work done, I need to get my ass out of bed. So if I get up between 5 and 5:45 I am ok- anything later and I am late. I had 2 4:30 mornings this week, and hauled through them to get all the "prep" work done for Friday and Saturday. And it was worth it. Every tool we needed was there, ever piece of wood- well, almost every- Ralph was very nicely accepting of the fact that 1/2 the upstairs decking was still missing. But this Thur-Sat I got more work done than I ever would have on my own prior to having to go to work. Huray! So uptop- Grandpa, Zac, Harinder and Chris putting rafters into place. This was a big deal getting the help cause putting them all up alone is not feasible, and grandpa and I would take forever. Grandpa running the crew, and Chris, Haridner and Alex being superb helpers for the day- we got them all up.
And Action.....

Alex and Chris from ground hoisting up rafters. Alex showed up with a toolbox and a belt, which impressed me. Those two brought up all the rafters- think green hemlock, heavy, Harinder and I took them from the top. We stopped for lunch. I had brought a grill out, and lamb sausage, donuts, soda. Marianne showed up and cooked them for us.
And Tadah! Looks much more like a house now. Still a massive amount of work to be done, but looking possible to get sheathed/shingled before winter.

Tools. So I have a tool list. A list of items I would like to have. Last year I picked up the chainsaw- it is the same model my grandfather has had for the last ten years- it was pricey, but I waited for a deal and bought it new at cost. The chaps and helmet were not at a discount- you don't wait around for a deal on safety equipment, you buy them and thank them when your head is still intact. And the truck itself was a craigslist find- I needed a truck, and couldn't believe what I could get in my price range two years ago with this find. The flatbed is great. The comealong in this picture has long been on the list, and is the real showstopper. I search craigslist for my "list": jacks, welder, air compressor, horse drawn (more of wants than need on that one...) nail gun, torches, etc. and when one comes up- make and model and price- I go for it. This was a suggestion out of the Small Farmers' Journal. You know the tools you need, and the ones on your wish list. Now write down what you want, and what you're willing to pay for it. The comealong had to be cast and over 2 tons. This is a cast steel comealong that is rated for 6000lbs. So I can pull a good load with this thing. The big deal was that it was only $30 - not the 300+ the new cast or chain ones can fetch. It involved a late night drive to Hillsboro after work and back, but well, well worth it since sometimes I will borrow my grandfather's weekly.

But to end the post- This week, thank you Ralph very much, and the staging saved us today. Chris, Harinder and Alex much obliged, you kick ass. Grandpa as always couldn't do it without you. Thanks.

Bathroom Filtration System

2010-10-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

There is a company, BFS, that is advertising custom built and designed bathrooms for male users. The owner of the company, Greg Crochman, came up with the business just prior to marrying his second wife. Greg was a flatulent man, and realizing that he could prevent an awkwardness in his household he went to the task of designing the world's most scent guarded bathroom. Six years and 1300 bathroom remodels later Greg and his wife Liana are opening their third showroom in downtown San Francisco. Greg's initial bathroom added simple, yet beneficial design reconstructs; such as fiberglass insulation on the inside walls. "Normally a contractor will only insulate the outside walls, ignoring the inside ones because there is no heat gain/loss. But with insulated interior walls you can go into my bathrooms and cut a loud fart, and she'll never know." And she'll never know is right. Greg's bathrooms have come a long way, and now include hospital grade HEPA filters, teflon coated toilet bowls (the inside of the bowl to prevent streaking) and air exchange regulators that trigger to moderate the outside air exchange during high use periods. "I wanted something very special for my clients, so we came up with the Gruntmaster. It's the highest tech toilet on the market today, next to NASA's redesign of the Zero Gravity Dumpite5000. " Greg continues "We gave it our standard features- the teflon coat, the high pressure emergency flush, with built in silencer to hide the fact that you might be double or triple flushing, and the nitrogen air filled cushion seat. We even turned the manual footrest into an automatic feauture, which recognizes your contours and weight, and adjusts the footrest height to your previous desired setting." But the real showstopper comes with their newest upgrade. For an extra 2000 dollars you can have a HVAC technician run a small air hose from your toilet bowl through an exhaust system to the outside of the house. Greg says, "Look, we're going to take care of the problem at the source instead of trying to deal with the nuances later. Glade and other airfreshners just try to mask the problem. We take care of it with a real solution. We even went so far as to make the air hose seamless with the porcelain bowl, and with a secret backside switch. Now all the bad air is pumped out before it even gets a chance to enter the room." And that insulation we mentioned earlier has been customized and patented. They genetically modified a fungi to emit a quaint rosemary fragrance, and then wove the fungal mass right into the fiberglass. Greg just said after our interview, "Hey people ask how'd you get into your line of work. And what can I say. Some men want to be firemen, others doctors. I'm just playing hide and seek with bathrooms and loving what I am doing."

Animal Power Field Days

2010-10-18T03:01:00.001-07:00

My place looking pretty in the fall.

Grandpa, Jack and I headed up to the Animal Power Field Days at the Turnbridge Fairgrounds this Saturday. I had a blast, grandpa enjoyed himself, Jack shook like a thin icicle laying loose in the back of a speeding pickup truck. It was cold. Rather the sun chose not to come out, and we were a bit nipply as a result. It was fun though!

I went to a horse drawn mower workshop. Jay went through the mower as completely as he could in an hour and a half. I didn't know anything about sickle bars. The class was a wonderful intro. I purchased Lynn Miller's book on mowers, and am amazed at the simplicity of this machine that transformed hay production, and the unbelievable joint complexity in its components. Previous to the fair I sent a deposit away for a rebuilt number 7 horse drawn mower. So excited about it now.

Wrapping up this post since I am really just killing time before I milk-

1. I am very proud of how much I pulled with Kristin last year, and as a consequence how much I learned. I still have miles to go, but it was great watching teamsters and being able to eye things I should mimic/work on.

Second when I got home grandpa turned to my grandmother and said "They all looked the same! The girls all looked like they all put on the tightest jeans they had and then went and rolled in manure before they showed up." and the guys they all looked just like you! Scraggly beards and carharts. Again, not sure if it was a compliment, but I didn't see where the complaint was. I guess it was hard to find me in the crowd, and probably distracting too.

Gonna go milk! Woo my ladies! Today- ordering rafters at Colby's- bunny bop in the am, working on house- framing in for windows- moving heifer and other young stock over to my place for winter.

Maria's Bee Project

2010-10-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

Actually just tossing pictures up here for Maria. She got a Wesson's Honors Scholarship to work a couple bee hives over the summer at Colby-Sawyer College. I really like this last picture. If you look closely you'll notice the honeycomb does not come down to the bottom of the frame. We used starter strips of foundation at the top of the frame. Everything south of there is simply the bee's good work. Nice frame of bees: nurse bees, capped brood in center and a slowing, but still active laying queen. Maria did an awseome job this summer- relaxed and totally into the hive. Notice the lack of safety equipment.

2010-09-27T05:56:00.001-07:00

Boy, sometimes the shortbread is dry, but I just think you were born on the wrong side of the double wide.

The air of cool September.

2010-09-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

The house as it is now. Actually, I can breath a little. I am very far behind, but grandpa helped push boards for the subfloor through the the planer the other day. The Joists are now straight and nailed down. So actually I can start throwing those boards uptop, and start nailing them in. It'll be nice to actually tie the house together, and start to winterize it. The rafters will cost $530 altogether. It was less than I expected. I ordered 100 2x6's to frame in between the post and beam downstairs. It hybridizes the style of the building, but will make the finish work quicker and the insulation easier.
Not bad for joists. Grandpa and I cut them out, he milled them. I notched and threw them up. M.J came over to help one day too. It'll look nice with the second floor decking on. Hip wall and rafters soon too I hope, but that is still a couple weeks out. Haven't worked on the house much this week. Busy, chicken gutting, picked up cord wood, etc. and getting out of work around nine has been painful. But it is going well. Friday will be a big day.
In need of shave....at least there's half a smile there..

Well the meat birds are slowly coming to an end. I will have a lot more time when they are all finaly gone. The one benefit right now is that they are fertilizing a lot of field. Still have 250- so five weeks of slaughtering if I don't double up on a week or two. Still hauling water. Once the meaties are gone then the hauling won't be so bad, twice a week instead of 5 days a week.
( and just to throw a sales pitch in there, they are delicious. Believe me if it isn't pasture raised then it isn't chicken. Heck, if you order enough you might even get a date with a half shaven, slightly grumpy farmer guy. Or I can throw a grandpa/gramma or wife in if needed to seal the deal!)

Crappy shade shelter in front, but a hell of a nice picture of the field. These end of summer/fallish days make me dislike going to work. $igh.

To be the strut joining the roof and floor of the truss

2010-09-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

Got a couple students over to give me a hand today. They didn't like the idea of blocking up the carrying timber unless if more people came, so Kat and Dave came over, but by the time they got their my grandfather had showed up and pretty much said- put the fing thing up. God he's great.
Yesterday went to Durgin and Crowell for subfloor- not what I really wanted but the price was right. Then grandpa and I worked on the mill. He had cut out most of the joists- we loaded them, then cut 2x4's and 6's- reloaded onto my truck that night, unfortunately everyone left by the time I needed to unload the truck onto the house, but hey- all the joists are there, the timber is in place- one bathroom wall framed in, and straightened one wall. So straighten the other, joists go up. But I am going to bed.

Good walk spoil

2010-08-24T17:29:00.000-07:00

Took Advantage of rainy day. Went and visited my brother up in Vermont. *sigh* I want to move to VT. Anyone want to buy a small farm in NH?

Played a couple rounds of golf at his course. He's the superintendent. Keeps his course nice. Greens are gorgeous. If you want to throw off his golf game, scuff your feet on his greens. See what happens...

Kosher Meal Fatigue

2010-08-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to try a Kosher meal all summer. If you don't know what a Kosher meal is then imagine a microwaveable tv dinner without any cartoons or iconic marketing smeared across the cover. Remove any semblences of sugar or desert and your main entrees become Roast Chicken with Rice, Salisbury Steak or Filet of Sole. The meals are fully cooked in 5 minutes in a microwave, and then brought out with a sealed package of plastic utensils and a plastic wrapped napkin to our guests who are "Kosher". I decided upon the Roast Chicken and Rice- mostly because it was the gluten free option. Curiousity in the summer led me to read the ingredients. There wasn't any wheat. For the summer one of those frozen packs laid in our freezer for me till I opened one tonight. I placed it in the microwave, and read for the five minutes as our Orthodox meal quickly thawed and bubbled its way from a Frigidaire hibernation to a hot, perky meal. I instantly didn't like the Kosher. I burned my finger when taking it from the microwave. The plastic felt like the plastic that you would peal away from a morgue or an old church that no one visits anymore if morgues and churches with abandoned choirs came plastic wrapped and frozen. It was exactly that type of plastic. I used a metal fork. I forgoed the full Kosher experience by using one of our forks. Honestly, I like a metal fork; plastic ones just don't have any backbone.

And then I started to get sad. I am not sure how to say how I felt, but I think loneliness is sitting in a dining hall after work by yourself eating a microwaved Kosher meal. I wondered if maybe somehow I could reKosher the little glorified TV dinner. Rewrap it in its odd plastic wrap, and place it back in the freezer. If I was a Kosher meal I would want someone to give me a second chance and wrap me back up like that morgue that sits next to the abandoned church that no one uses. Or maybe I am plastic wrapped already. It could be that I am at a stage in my Kosher meal lifeline where I am plastic wrapped and frozen. Or maybe I am thawed out, and have been thawed out for a while. I wonder how many people look at me and stick their tiny Kosher forks at my side dishes and pick apart the entree? I think I'll ask to go back into the freezer- morgue and church wrap and all; to take the time to see it over. To watch everyone go by and slowly grow old. I think frozen or thawed we still grow old, and whiny. We grow old and whiny sitting late after work eating an antiquity of orthodox culinary law that has been reduced to a three bay piece of microwaeable plastic, and whose contents quite honestly taste a lot like the dining hall food. (I don't think any of the cooks read this, and honestly by this point they would have stopped reading)

Elysium of the roofless. Hence my happiness at last.-S.B.

There's a cold November for the Heart

2010-08-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

I remember it rained so much one day my baby sister hopped out of the old Volkswagen rabbit and landed both her feet in a mud puddle, which wouldn't have been bad cept she had forgotten that she had taken her shoes off in the car. She started crying so loud. I just slid over on the seat and got out the other side, and ran to the house. She must have stood there in the middle of the drive way screamin' her head off for most of the cartoons that morning. I don't think she ever saw those episodes.

Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons

2010-08-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

I told my grandfather about the perfect farm I found in VT (I could have afforded it, and it is a 70+ acre field). Anyways, he then mentioned that he walked my great grandmother's field the other day. The property was 250 acres, Colonial and barn. It was sold as an estate a few years ago after my ggmothers passing. It was of course logged, and plans were made for a 20+ lot subdivision. And I have been wondering to what purpose?

The property is supposed to be auctioned off in the not too distant future. After being completely logged- the economy tanked and the subdivision never happened. So now the current owner is in foreclosure- the back field was used as a landing. My grandfather said it was gravelled, and torn up. Imagine running your hands through the soil of a field that took thousands of years to slowly grow and instantly its gone. There is a wide gravel road running down the center of the main field, and every mature tree has been cut. The beautiful 18th century colonial is in disrepair and unfortunately degraded from neglect over the last few years, and for what? So that someone could strip cut all the trees and still end up in foreclosure? So those trees grew for the last 80-150 years so that someone could be broke after cutting them all down? So a trucker could have work for a winter driving back and forth to Canada hauling logs just to take advantage of an exchange rate difference? So that another farm can disappear in a withering landscape? So many times I am wondering who is left the winner as we scramble around in our hurried dashes; driving up route 11 to be late for washing dishes or for someone else to get up each day for work because they are telling themselves they only have 8 more years before retirement.

Retire now. Its just another suburb- a driveway for the missing trees.

Have measured out my life in coffee spoons

Yes. There is a path. Some stairs. and then..Tunnel

2010-07-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

First crop all cut as of a week ago. Hens working on the front field. Beehives need a bit of work. Taking all stupid plastic out of hives- need to feed to get 1st year hives going stronger.

Cutting Joistes tomorrow.

2010-06-29T04:14:00.001-07:00

Daddy always said he'd buy Momma a Mercedes. But he never said it'd run. Sometimes she just comes out of that kitchen, wipes her hands on her apron, and sits there holding the wheel- pretending to drive. But I don't think she's pretending to drive. I think she's sittin' there thinkin' and dreamin'. Sometimes on those nights we get shortcakes.

Injectible Deet

2010-05-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

Scientists from Uni Corp, a subsidiary of Merck, have recently patented and submitted to the FDA an application for injectible deet. The product's initial design was to allow for a person to take an annual vaccine instead of having to apply bug spray everyday during our bug ridden summers. Deet, which is the most effectual and common insect repellent, has recently been sited as one of the most benign commonly used chemicals even though a stigma has encompoused the use of the product, most likely due to its overwhelming, distinctive odor. Researchers began working on an injectable form in the summer of 2008. USA Today recently uncovered the project of Merck. A spokesperson from Merk stated, "We were concerned with negative public perception of the research since this is now the first time in the history of modern medicine that we are using a chemical not to cure a symptom or disease, but rather to exploit the beneficial qualities of that chemical, and utlize them in the human."

The injectible deet acts as a sub-molecule recepter on clatherine in the body. Clatherine is an ubiquitious bodily protein. By reenginering the deet to posess an EUI receptor (Engineered Univeral Ion Receptor ) that readily bonds to the positively charged clatherine, then the deet is thus able to spread through the fleshy, non-viscular, tissue of the human body. This means the deet will be present over the entire surface of the skin, and then repel insects without needing repetitive applications of the chemical via a spray or lotion.

Studies on lab rats and rabbits have sofar been positive with very few side effects. The two most common side effects seem to be a mild red rash just after injection on 3% of subjects. In less than 0.02% of subjects the bond between the EUI enhanced deet and the body's clatherine break down. Using phosphorescent EUI's, it has been found that some of the EUI deet to be found in the brain. It is believed, though continued study is being done, that the EUI deet may possibly mimic lysine, an amino-acid, that is capable of acting like a neurotransmitter and passing the blood-brain barrier.

Yo soy un mentiroso.

Bulls on Parade

2010-05-22T04:52:00.000-07:00

2x8 gets tacked to rim joist.
Boom. with 2 inch rigid pole.
Gets tacked to 2x8 that is tacked to rim joist.
Stakes driven into ground and then nailed to boom.
Cement blocks for 'Oh Sh**' Security.
Add block and tackle.
Just keep lifting with 4x4s and slipping blocks underneath.
Tadah! walls lifted. Actually the boom blew right apart on the last wall. Didn't even say a bad word. grabbed my tie downs for the one ton, wrapped them around, and good to go. Although a quick fix is much like a quickie. It doesn't last for very long, and in the end only one of you is happy.
Some hens enjoying weather.

Apiary. 7 hives. One was an accidental split. 2 queens in package. The nuc E and I made raised its own queen. Sweet.

I hear the level bee

2010-05-12T04:04:00.000-07:00

Bee update: So this year I bought in 4 packages of bees, and two extra queens. I ended up giving one extra queen to my grandmother. We split his hive yesterday. I ended up having to split one of my packages to accommodate the extra queen. She was supposed to be used in a split I made from my hive, but we ended up doing a queenless split.

So now there are 7 hives over at my place. Two of them were supposed to be up at CSC. Unfortunately never fully got permission for the cows. (oh the cows in the previous post were top bar hives).

Anyways, I have never emptied a package before. So that was interesting- easy, but interesting. I was nervous the next morning because each hive still looked disorganized, but by the afternoon they were flying in and out of the hives, and at night had all formed nice clusters. Gonna remove queens tomorrow.

Pointless post.

2010-05-08T10:47:00.001-07:00

Some stitch of string has come undone and gave way the hold over that thin fold that held yesterday onto today.

Increasing the Herd

2010-04-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

Got a couple black and whites that we added to the milk herd.
Oooo, looks like that one has some Vermont genetics.

Yup. Any guesses what they are?

Piglets and Dragon Head Fish

2010-04-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

I am the proud daddy of 9 piglets! Not really, but I did AI the mum, and was proud to see a healthy litter. They are my grandmother's pigs. She is quite happy with them. They look cute. I have dibs out of each litter. We have really good sow lines, and I want to keep the best to carry on.

I got one hour of work in on the house today. I spent most of that trying to find the two foot square- finally I took every tool out of my equipment trailer, reorganized it. I think it was misplaced when we were all working on the house last time. I haven't had any other projects so that is all I can think of. Anyways, moved the boom, and Friday finishing that wall.

Went to Boston for a day trip over the weekend. Best friend N and his gf hung out with me for the day. We walked everywhere. We had a blast. I bought some dragon head fish for us to try. I opened the pack in their car- and it smelled to the high heavens. No one tried it. I brought it to work today and J. took it. She said she loved it. I tried a piece. It smells odd, but is crunchy and flavorful. We demonize foods to quickly if they don't fit into our cultural norms.

Spring Spring Go Away- Come Back Another Day

2010-04-05T17:40:00.001-07:00

I am not ready for spring. I am behind with work, and trying to get caught up during my mornings and my weekend day. The baby chicks are no longer baby chicks, and now completely utilize the barn stall. They need space- but do to a barn cat my wife loves..... Solution- I am going to quickly put up a portion of the tomato house from last year for the chickens. Then cut through the wall between the two barn stalls and give the pullets both stalls. Problem one done.

Problem two- not going to have time to cut out brush along field before everything leafs out. Solution- Wait until leaves fall off....next year.

Problem three- Need to work on that house project.

I did get into two hives on Saturday before we headed down to CT for a wedding. I smelled like smoke for a pleasant four hour drive. My hive is doing wonderfully. Full of bees, plenty of brood started, a lot of pollen stores, and tons of honey in the two deeps, and an almost completely full medium super. I am going to take the medium off when I get my new bees and give them a head start with it. I reversed the brood box on my hive. Then went over to neighbor's house and checked out his hive. His is also strong- Italians. I had a mixed hive, but a Carniolan Queen. I reversed his. He had a lot of burr comb. It took a while to pry apart the two deeps.

Baby bunnies galore. Need to keep breeding them. Rabbits are getting into a better/more humane/loving settup. I am glad I tried the community pen, and will revert back to that later.

Dude, what the hay?

2010-04-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

We belittle animals way too often. As much as I think I get my cows, and understand what they want- I can't help but realize how often I just get it wrong. I went up overhead to the hay loft for a bale. I had been grabbing nice big bales, but the cows have been picking through them. They hay was pretty good. I grabbed a smaller bale that had a lot of fine grass in it, and the cows started inhaling the new hay.

Well Duh! If you sat down for dinner what would you prefer? A small plate of something delectable or a large bowl of something acceptable? Why the heck would we think any different for our animals?

Now with that said, we're feeding our animals what they should eat. Rabbits get hay, and grains (without distiller's biproducts mind you!) pigs get whey, soured milk, grain and whatever, chickens get grain, compost pile and 15 acres of field, but why are we farmers stuck into this silly mentality that it is good to give a lot to the animals?

I was just grabbing big bales because I thought they'd like to eat more. But in the end the cows are like me. They'll eat a lot, but they want to eat a lot of what's good.

Now with that said we're short on hay so they are getting whatever I throw down, but I would just like to note that I do not think that they really are any different than me in a lot of ways.

Post and Beam

2010-03-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

Glorified Flag Pole: See picture below. Actually, it is a little boom I made to lift my walls with. I found a 2inch rigid pole on our property. I clamped it to a 2x8 with some electrical clamps, tacked another 2x8 to the rim joist, and then tacked the pole to that 2x8. YadaYadaYada with a block and tackle, and some grunting a wall can be hoisted up by one's lonesome.

The picture below is a good picture of what was being lifted up- 3 posts with a continuous plate. They were all held together with a temporary heady, and some bracing boards. In all it was about 400lbs.
The block and tackle was attached to a temporary header, and well- just start pulling. There is a bit of mechanical benefit made with the two double pulleys, but still needed to use some blocking and levers.
She's started.....

Hot dog in the sock drawer, Marlene, come look at this, this boy's cheese 'bout slipped off his cracker....
But it worked! It took me about an hour and a quarter to get this up. I was pretty tired afterwards. I'd just keep levering up with a 4x4, and slipping blocking under the wall. Then I'd pull with the block and tackle, anchor the rope off, and then go back with the blocking. Eventually I got the wall up enough that I could just push it into place myself.

That was all last weekish. I had a week off from work, and unfortunately I wasted too much time with this obsession to get a 1 inch drill bit. Note: 1inch bits are actually 25.4mm, and the pegs I bought in Walpole from Scott N. are a perfect inch, tapered by a 32nd. Anyways, I ended up grinding down a speedbore and microned it till it was just under an inch. Fits tighter than a girdle on a freshening cow, now.

Yesterday I went to get the header knocked into place, and then to get the rest of that wall up. Grandpa and Marianne came by, so we got the rest of the wall up. It was a struggle with the 3 of us, and grandpa gave me a look like, "How the hell'd you get that up yourself?" The piece we picked up yesterday was about 400lbs- you want it up, not coming down on you. For the next wall I am going to have it all together and get a few to come down and make it an easier day.

The piece we got up Sunday. Joinery not bad, eh?

Full view of the framing for the East wall. All it is missing is the middle header, which I will drop into place after plumming the rest of it up, and pegging it together. Imagine all the bracing boards gone, and you'll have some pretty framing. All oak/beech with maple pegs. The post and beam will be exposed in the final product. Click for a detailed picture.

The joint looks nice. It will be snugged a hair tighter, and then will be pegged with 1inchx12inch maple pegs.

Missing Camera

2010-03-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

Kind of hard to post a picture of the chicks this week. I do not know where the camera is. However, they are doing wonderfully. I have the wattage down to 302 watts. I started at 700 watts 24/7, and have been decreasing it readily. So now I have 203 chicks at 300 watts- so figure a watt and a half per chick per hour. The reason I am so happy at the wattage per chick is now down is twofold. One, environmentally it is good to keep our energy requirements low. Second, the cost per chick in electricity is now at one half of a cent a day. So $1.08 per day for 200+ chicks.

I found the chart below for the average electrical requirements for various electronics.

Power consumption compared

TVs1:
Average plasma: 338 watts
Average LCD: 176 watts
Other gear2:
PlayStation 3: 197 watts
PlayStation 3 Slim: 96 watts
Xbox 360 Elite (2007): 185 watts
Nintendo Wii: 19 watts
Xbox 360: 187 watts
Average PC: 118 watts
DirecTV HR20 DVR: 33 watts
Nintendo Wii: 19 watts
Slingbox: 9 watts
Wireless router: 7 watts

1Among 2008 and 2009 models tested.
2Tested in typical usage states (playing a game, running software)

I always feel guilty about the energy requirements of the farm, even though we use surprisingly little in energy. We use a small milk machine, my tractor will go months without needing to be started, we do not use heat lamps for the hens, fans for the cows, most of the manure is spread by the animals themselves, but still feel pretty guilty about tapping into that electrical grid for my little peep peeps. Anyways, an alternative way to look at it is that this LCD screen for the computer, and the PC itself are about the same electrical usage as the brooder.

We all use a lot of electricity, and think little of the consequences of that source. So on the farm I want to keep that low, not pass the cost on to customers, and keep our overhead low.

On a fun note- the snow is completely melted off our field. Has been for some time. Going to start brush cutting out some of the wild roses that have grown along the field edges. There is about 600 feet on the west side of the field that needs to get cut out. The field edge has grown out about 15 feet from the wall- about 1/5th of an acre. There are also two downed poplars in the back field. I didn't get to cut them up last year. Going to snip them up so we can bale that area this year.

Third Week Chicks

2010-03-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

Another week for the chicks. None were lost last week, which is awsome. Added a screened window to the brooder to allow vapors to leave. The chicks have been scratching the deep bedding well. Manure has mixed through the layers of sawdust instead of becoming capped and wet on top. Pretty happy about that. Tomorrow morning though they are going to get a few inches of fresh sawdust. A lot of the chicks look like they have ruffled feathers. Generally not a good sign. It can mean they are stressed, lacking something in diet, in need of sun, etc. So I want to start with some new bedding, put in a uv daylight for the day. I have been feeding them vegetable cuttings from the college: tomatoes and watermellon today. They run away from it at first, and then make idle pecks at the pieces until they realize they are edible.

Next week going to work on opening up the brooder in the day so that there will be even more airflow, and for the ability of the chicks to come out to an unheated alcove. I want to acclimate them away from the lights continuously, and let them get some real light, winder and air now. Still nervous because this is the first time I am starting chicks in the winter. So far going well. I check on them everynight before I go to bed. Allows me to sleep through the night without worrying.

Future plans: The chickens have been an asset on the farm, and I would like to see their presence continue and increase. (both layers and meat birds) So I was in the barn today, and realized that the roof is taking on at least some water- the sheathing was damp. So at some point the roof will have to be replace. Not the biggest deal. I can at least give it a pitch now, but if I am going to go through that trouble, then I might as well jack part of the building up, knock out the westward foundation, and dig in a walk out basement. And if I am going through that trouble then I might as well take down the westward wall, extend the South/North walls by about twenty feet, have a hell of a basement in the barn, and get that much more in the barn. And if I am going to go through that....

The idea is to build an area to house pigs underneath the barn. The land is sloped so that a walkout basement would not be terribly difficult to do. The barn drains into this area already. I'd like to rework the drainage so that it will empty into a cistern instead of making a wet field area. This will give an awsome farrowing area of piglets under the barn. If the concrete is poured so it slopes gently southward, then their pens/living area will be dry. The upstairs of the barn will be mostly for hay storage. However, I want the south facing part of the barn to be used for the chicken brooder. We'll start nearly a thousand birds this year. We're getting to a number of birds where it is unrealistic to rely upon the same housing as when we started batches of 100. Additionally, when you start a lot of birds your overhead gets divided by that much more. For example, if it costs 2,000 to do the brooder conversion in the barn, then that cost gets divided by the 1000 birds we need to raise, and the extra 500-1000 we'd like to sell each year. The costs get spread out very quickly.

I think we do well on our farm because we realize how to cut costs while still staying productive, and then passing those savings onto our (beloved) customers. i.e. I had two pigs that were not growing well. Instead of pushing them, and having expensive pork, we sold them to a family at a lower price. They got inexpensive pork, we were relieved of a burden. We use the same halfway house for our meat birds and pullets to save money/get high quality birds. We start extra chicks in the spring in fall, two seasons where we want extra manure for fields/gardens, and rotate the poultry through field/garden areas. We save on fertilizer, and the CSA sees that in the price of the vegetables. It works.

Anyways, I want to build the seed starting greenhouse on the south face of the barn. This way we're collecting a solar mass to help heat the brooder, and give the chicks real sunlight. Secondly, we can use the same woodboiler or propane burner to heat both the seed start house and the brooder. That way also the two areas that I'll be working with, at the same time of the year, will be adjacent. Also, if there is a heating/power problem then the backup can be used for both.

Thug Chicks

2010-02-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

I don't know why, but I think these chicks just look like a bad ass posse. Maybe it is just me, but I wouldn't want to mess with them. There are like 60 of them there visible in the picture. The outer portion of an internal brooder box is pictured on the left. The idea was that if there was a draft the chicks would have a secondary structure to go inside. I think it turned out to be excessive, but does allow the whole flock to have their living space sectioned. I'd put money that that alone can help with the chick stress. It'd be like if I fart in one room, the you could simply walk into say, the kitchen! to get a knife....I tend to linger.

Anyways the chicks are fine. We had a couple more than I expected die within the first week. (5 out of 208). I noticed one had curled over toes so tossed them some rabbit liver for the deficiency. Not sure if it was the Glycogen or the Riboflavin, but they spunked up. Fun watching little chicks play tug-a-war with little pieces of liver. (liver is high in Riboflavin which is a common deficiency in chicks. So beside a little patte our chickens do not get any other meat.)

I made the brooder a little too tight, so made some adjustments today to help it air out better. I am probably being too cautious with keeping them warm, and should probably open the brooder up to air a little more.

Puzzle for the week. Take 7 words that rhyme with blue, take the first two letters of each of those words, rearrange them to spell a car company. The remaining letters will spell a type of fight. Good luck.

First Week Chicks

2010-02-20T06:05:00.000-08:00

The summer flock came in this Thursday. I had a couple long days at work, and unfortunately had to spend into Wednesday night making sure the brooder was at temp, and with a proper cooling spectrum. It cools down to 70 a little to quickly. *What I mean is that directly under the lamps it is 100 degrees, but 1.5 feet away it is 70 degrees. So the chicks tend to spend more time than I like huddled under the lamps. They still run around a bit, and look healthy, but would have been a bit better if it was a few degrees warmer on the periphery. With that said I am not changing anything. Do not want those lamps lower. They are at 18inches off the floor- closer can be a fire hazard.

We got 208 chicks in. Had one dopey guy that passed, everyone else is looking great. 100 golden comets, and then 100 factory choice: partridge rock, white rock, rhode island red, black sexlink.

The brooder could have held another 100. I wish I had purchased another 100, but it cost $$$, and 200 is all the eggs I want to pack in the summer. The benefit of having another 100 chicks is the cost of heating the brooder is spread out over another 100 chicks. I have 700 watts going 24/7 right now. Next week one of the lamps gets moved away from the other two. You do this to acclimate the chicks to slightly cooler temps. Then the next week one of the 250 watts gets dropped to a 100 watt bulb, then the 100 watt bulb inside the center brood chamber gets dropped to 60 or 40, then take away one of the 100's, and start giving the chicks day access to an unheated extension of the brooder. Soon they'll be on pasture clucking and squawking when I take an egg!

2010-02-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

Spring Ledge Farm has been buying eggs for their winter market on Fridays. Has been very nice of them, and enjoy seeing the eggs sell at retail for a good price. (They still cost less than cage-free eggs from H*n*fords down the street, and on top of that they are two or three days old at the most).

Been playing with horsey. Not last week though. This Monday.

Working on house today.

200 chicks coming in next week.

No garden this year. Wilmot Farmers Market will have chicken, milk, eggs.

Lydia freshenned. Giving 5 gallons of milk a day. One hell of a cow.

Got to remember to order bees.
Happy hens. There is supposed to be a compost pile underneath them. I add 50-100 lbs a day of vegetable scraps, and then hens run out and scratch it apart looking for whatever they want to eat. So the leftover rinds, etc. decay rather quickly because they are turned over.. In the winter they do not decay quickly because it never heats up, but the hens are happy. They get to run around outside, and scratch and peck like a chicken should. There were more hens on the pile, but I decided to make an odd, screech. Anyways, all the hens heads went up, and they went darting inside. You can see part of the field in the background. South sloped, and happily snow free. Oh that is awseome.

It's that time of year again!

2010-01-24T14:47:00.000-08:00

The seed catalogs have come in! I've been poking around the Fedco and Seed Savers websites, peeking at new varieties, dreaming about the garden. While this year we will be cutting back on a full fledged garden in an effort to build our house, I'm taking this opportunity to try my hand at a solo garden (sans hubby help).

I'm particularly excited to try out the seeder that Ted has up in his barn. As far as varieties I'm excited about trying the Touchstone Gold Beet and planting some Lupines!

Maybe for my birthday I'll ask for a lawnmower and a weedwhacker. That'll make the front of our property look more homey.

Good things to come!

Better Half

2010-01-14T19:36:00.000-08:00

This was the best picture I could get of Kristin. Allison came over and finished shoeing Kristin. I wasn't much in the mood to work today so we went out for a nice sleigh ride. Kristin is the oldest mare, and completely out of shape. However, she is very well learned, and a pleasure to work with. So today she pulled my fat bottom around to the back field where Zac enjoyed doing figure eights and just going around, and around and around...Next week we'll have to go out on the snowmobile trail.

The 19th Century Novel

2010-01-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

Why is it in every Romantic Period novel or Victorian Era piece, every time a raindrop falls on some fancy tart, she falls into bed with chills and is stricken with the immediate risk of pneumonia? Was this the only plot twist authors ago could come up with? And the lady authors are the worst, like Marianne in Sense and Sensibility. She can't weather a sprinkle of a storm, but Colonel Brandon can ride horseback through the counties at night and just jump of his mount dripping only of testosterone, and a mild sweat. Sophie learns of a few false Valentines and soon she's laid up in bed near convulsions (Gaskell). And why is it that we are so terribly attracted to this...?

I used to think that a good tragedy would make the best tale; a couple in deep love split by his having to go off to war, letters through the years, the war is over he is ready to come back, she yearns for him, and a freak fire in the ammunition shed sends a random round through his heart and he is buried somewhere in France. Now there is a good novel! Till a friend recommended the movie Atonement- you see essentially that, and Zac is sitting there mouth agape murmuring, "No, no. They were in love. They were supposed to get married. IT just isn't...."

Don't play football with broken ribs

2010-01-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Lydia just wanted to say hello. She's freshening in 6 weeks.

And this is what I did today. I made two tenons. Not the most impressive turnout for a day. It was cold. I have never mortised and tenoned before. Yes it was inefficient. If you came up to me when I was working (and you didn't!) and asked, "What are you doing?" I'd say: No freakin idea. Do you know what I am doing because I sure don't. In fact I am just making this up as I go and kind of hoping it'll turn out right. Kinda like when the cop pulls you over for speeding, you know you were speeding, but you still give him the deer in headlights look like 'What was I doing? No waaay.' Then you swing an excuse for your hastiness, hand over your license and registration, and then wait as he walks back to his car, and wonder if you'll get a summon or if in fact your B.S. actually worked. Well here, I am waiting to see if this will in the end work. If it doesn't then I will still have something to show for it: cold fingers, cold toes, a cold duodenum, ingested snotcicles, bitterness, a pining to research condos in North Carolina, a surplus of wood chisels from a local junk shop, bitterness...oops said that one already.
Actually should work out alright. Just a cold day.

Thought at 2010

2010-01-01T06:15:00.000-08:00

I fell asleep on the couch around 8:30 last night and woke sometime around 2. (as you can see, I am a party animal on New Years) I went outside, disconnected the charger on the Massey, collected the rabbit water bottles and then flopped into bed. It was a lovely night/morning as it was very bright. I like nights without flashlights. I was a bit morose about a decade being over considering that the last decade was nearly half on my life up until now, and most of my life experiences occurred during that period. But I was more saddened with the thought of how many decades I had left. It seems finitely little compared to the course of history the five or so decades I have left, and even more saddening was the simple thought that nearly every goal addressing climate change has target goals for 2040, 2050 or onward; and to be honest with ourselves by then most of us will be deceased or on our way there. And that thought bummed me out a bit; that at best we'll have taken care of today at a very distant twilight.

The 12 Days of Practice

2009-12-24T07:47:00.000-08:00

This lovely version of the traditional Christmas song was created by a bunch of us at White Tiger Karate. Namely, Sensei Sharyl, Cheryl, Kyle, Linda, and myself.

On the first day of practice my sensei gave to me an hour in a horse stance.

On the second day of practice my sensei gave to me 2 black eyes
and an hour in a horse stance.

On the third day of practice my sensei gave to me 3 crescent kicks,
2 black eyes, and an hour in a horse stance.

On the fourth day of practice my sensei gave to me 4 Corners, 3 crescent kicks
2 black eyes, and an hour in a horse stance

On the fifth day of practice my sensei gave to me 5 broken toes!
4 Corners, 3 crescent kicks, 2 black eyes
and an hour in a horse stance

On the sixth day of practice my sensei gave to me 6 combination,
5 broken toes!
4 Corners, 3 crescent kicks, 2 black eyes,
and an hour in a horse stance

On the seventh day of practice my sensei gave to me 7 little newbies,
6 combination, 5 broken toes!
4 Corners, 3 crescent kicks, 2 black eyes,
and an hour in a horse stance

On the eighth day of practice my sensei gave to me 8 knuckle push ups,
7 little newbies, 6 combination, 5 broken toes!
4 Corners, 3 crescent kicks, 2 black eyes,
and an hour in a horse stance

On the ninth day of practice my sensei gave to me 9 prancing panthers,
8 knuckle push ups, 7 little newbies, 6 combination,
5 broken toes!
4 Corners, 3 crescent kicks, 2 black eyes,
and an hour in a horse stance

On the tenth day of practice my sensei gave to me 10 Pai Lum Fist Sets
9 prancing panthers, 8 knuckle push ups, 7 little newbies,
6 combination, 5 broken toes!
4 Corners, 3 crescent kicks, 2 black eyes,
and an hour in a horse stance

On the eleventh day of practice my sensei gave to me 11 rounds of sparring
10 Pai Lum Fist Sets, 9 prancing panthers, 8 knuckle push ups,
7 little newbies, 6 combination, 5 broken toes!
4 Corners, 3 crescent kicks, 2 black eyes,
and an hour in a horse stance

On the twelfth day of practice my sensei gave to me a 12 hour belt test
11 rounds of sparring, 10 Pai Lum Fist Sets, 9 prancing panthers,
8 knuckle push ups, 7 little newbies, 6 combination,
5 broken toes!
4 Corners, 3 crescent kicks, 2 black eyes,
and an hour in a horse stance

and an houuuuur in a hoooorse stance :)

A note for those of you who don't know:
Pai Lum Fist Sets are defenses from different attacks
Prance of the Panther is a name of a form
Little newbies are new kids aged 4-7 who are sometimes difficult to teach :)
6 combination is a defense from a punch
4 corners is the name of a bo staff form
And a horse stance, well your feet are double shoulder width apart, knees bent like you're sitting in a chair... quite like how one would look if one were riding a horse.

32 Reasons Why I am a Dumbass....

2009-12-22T14:15:00.000-08:00

There they are: 32 reasons why I'm a few french fries short of a Happy Meal. I stopped at the Green Crow to see if they had any seasoned cants I could use as a carrying timber. Well, the Crow used to mill 7x9's for railroad ties until the Pennsylvania company stopped taking them. So they had these boys hanging around. The guy gave me a great price so I said I'd be back and take them all. Well, now we are doing a post and beam, which I am psyched about. It will be more difficult because I have not done that yet. So another learning curve. Anyways, the reason for the title of the post. It took me a while to load the truck. They were heavy. I loaded the truck by myself, then found the boss to pay him and he said, "Why didn't you holler. We would have helped you load them." (sigh) I sweated and stink like skunk who has an overly active scent gland. I bathed.

On farm notes: Bred two of gram's pigs. Semen was almost a week old, so I hoped they took. We'll find out. The seed catalogs have come in, but I have yet to open them. Garden is going to be nearly all PVO this year. Enjoyed the Solstice at Kearsarge-Gore Farm. Enjoyable to spend a night leaning back with friends on an annual note. Getting goose tomorrow from Fall Dog Farm. Last bird I need to process for the year. Been riding Kristin. Yoked up the steers the other day in the barn. They are unbelievably tame.

Nothing in the future. Get the walls up for the house. I will draw out a framing layout tonight for the beams/timbers. Check out our mill to see what I have ready, then call Colby's Mill and order what I need. Need to square up those timbers before taking them off the truck. Not lugging twicemore.
Sleepy, going to read before milking cows.

Ted and Zac

2009-12-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

I walked Ted down to the house at the powerline today. It is a 1/3rd of a mile away. He did alright. Slipped and fell in the yard on the ice, but was otherwise fine. He geed and hawed wonderfully. When he saw the neighbors horses he paused quite a bit. I tapped him on his butt a few times to giddup. I didn't get a chance to take Zac out.
Tomorrow I am going to take out on of the calf yokes and play with them quite a bit. Ted and Zac are the two bulls we picked up in August. They way about 550lbs each now. They are friendly, and lead terribly well. Ted can haw, giddup, and back without a lead now. Gee is a problem still. Zac is a little tougher. Leads nicely, but still needs the lead for commands. We have an old tractor tire laying around. I'll see if I can supe that up and use it as a small weight for them when they get going together in the yoke.

No poem for sleep. Will be a dreamless night.

2009-12-15T19:47:00.000-08:00

Making Chocolates watching Rocknrolla- started the steers. Rode the horse. Broke the sun.
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

no no no no no no no

2009-12-10T05:25:00.000-08:00

No No No No No No No No No No No

No No No No No No No No No Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Noooo No No No No No ....NOOO.

Ah Distinctly I remember It was in the bleak December

2009-12-01T03:10:00.000-08:00

It's December first. The world goes boom stick waving in hand like John Wayne did in the movies there was always that girl- all of them- the tough one who could kick teeth in, or the pretty one riding side saddle up the horses it's time to go after the cups, the marmalade the tea, I'll take my shadow and make a toast. It's the First of December. The whole world goes boom.

Cat Runs and Subfloor

2009-11-29T17:03:00.000-08:00

Sweepy.. and it is only 8. I gotted Marianne to milk and done the choreses that morning so I can goes over immediately and sat up work on the decking for the day.

Joe and I on Saturday did just about half of the decking. I needed to make a dump run, and a grain pickup so we closed up shop early. I did find a wonderful mailbox at the dump, and a cast iron with enamel double bay sink for our future kitchen.

Uncle Joe and Marianne working on the deck. Zac having a quick bite to eat. Yesterday I had a glass of milk for breakfast, and then didn't have anything to eat until 3. I ate down a whole pie on the way to the dump, but by the time I got to the barnstore I had terrible heartburn. So I filled my canteen with water, and drank most of it, but it felt like I was choking on this burning sensation. So, today I took the time to eat in the day.

Basement looking like a basement now. Zac and Joe putting on last board. We're hanging over by 1/4 inch. I'll draw a line and take the skill saw to it tomorrow.

Ahh, Done.
Not bad you guys says Sasha. I approve. Ed across the street came by and gave a thumbs up. I helped him lug something into his basement, and he showed me a furnace he built, and a device he made to make twisted yarn. Turns out he knew my late great uncle. We were talking in the drive, and I heard a farting noise. (It wasn't me or Ed). Sasha, who ate most of my pie that day, was making a pass in Ed's garden. He had the runs and the first time I can ever recall actually being able to hear a cat poop....Ed laughed, said it was good for the roses.

I have been bringing Lydia into the barn. She is freshenning in February. So she is getting into a routine, and I touch her daily so that milking will not be so troublesome to begin with. She did not have a halter on the other day. I grabbed one, and realized that halters do not make sense to me. I kind of become dumb when one is in my hand. Thank goodness Marianne was not a horse person, and saw me fumble with a halter while we were dating. "Well, he is cute and all but you should have seen how he put on a halter. Not for me." They just do not make sense to me. They're like the algorithm to a bra clasp; completely over my head. One hook and a twist- who knew? Would have made high school easier...

Thinking: I saw before I had well finished all suddenly mount and scatter wheeling in great broken rings upon clamorous wings..WBY

House as of today

2009-11-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

I spent the first part of Turkey Day (By the way, Happy Gobbling Day) working on the house. I had not yet put the spacers in, and unfortunately that took more time than I had anticipated. Grandpa told me a way to do them temporarily with a board nailing every 16 after I came back. O well. Still, I did start the decking. I did not get much on, but nonetheless started.

So in reverse of where I am today-

This is the full basement with the carrying timber in place. It was a bitch putting it up alone, but felt kind of like a game of chess figuring how to brace a plank in place. I re-notched the wall instead of notching the wood in the timber. It was 1/32 off from the sill, which I thought was darn good.

Jack came over and we had a hell of a day putting up the rim joists and the first joists. The green hemlock is troubling to move alone, and having two hands makes the project move so much faster. Cheers Jack! Will try to get kiln dried for the second floor joists and rafters. It was pretty neat to work on the house today. Normally when I work it goes something like, "F--- it. It is a pig shed. It doesn't need to be square." But with the house, we're measuring out perfectly. Our last rim joist section was a saw blade too wide, but still took it back to make the correction. It was neat to be measuring out 12+ feet, and making correct cuts down perfectly with a little math and patience. *Note to reader: Not a carpenter so I find myself taking more time than I'd like.
Jack and I after we finished the next day. Our box was 1/4 inch out of square, and we adjusted it to being perfectly square. By the way Jack, I did find my sledge hammer after wards. (I had a splitting maul but he brought a hammer. ) We finished by tacking into the sill, and the joists together and into the timber. Jack's way of running the sides of the rim joists was better than mine. Now, on that note and since Jack cannot rebutt here: Mine would just take longer, but nonetheless the result would have been the same. =P Looking damn good though.

This is Fenevare- The picture does not do her justice. She has been growing very well, and looking unbelievably healthy. The 4 calves have been eating almost 1 1/2 bales a day, but growing wonderfully. She was born in July. I want to keep here. Trying to keep money in the pocket so that I will not have to do something stupid like sell her for cash. Pinzgauer xJersey.

Note: I am not a cat person. Swear... Sasha and Zac on mini lunch break. I let him eat whatever I am eating. Today was a slice of bread and water.
I cut out the spacers, and tacked them in. Wish I held onto that nail gun. I have a wrist/forearm problem as it is, and now it is just throbbing. The last part of the day I went lefty. Only three courses in for the deck today. Mistake: I bought 1x6's. They are going to go up slowly. The benefit: Planed, edged and dried for 40cents a board foot. And no chemicals from some nasty plywood.

It has felt like I have been doing half days since I do not have to milk, work house and then go to work. Next week will be tough to get back into that pattern again. Unfortunately the rain will stop me from working on the house tomorrow. Saturday should be a good blow out day though. I think I will treat myself on Black Friday to a used bookstore. Anyone want to go on a trip? Seriously, just e-mail, call.

Hasn't it been such a wonderful fall? The other day for lunch kitty and I layedin the warm grass. You should have been there. A line of our bodies in the sun- with the kat tiptoeing across our backs.

Antecaca

2009-11-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

Antecaca- The first defecation made by a "milking cow" immediately after being milked. The term came about in the late 18th century when a dairymen in Pennsylvania wrote a short editorial on his observation that most of his cows would defecate soon after being milked out. The observation was widely noted thereafter, and the term, antecaca, became the named standard. It is believed, though little research has been made, that the pressure from the udder of a cow once relieved by a milking shrinks so that the colon of the cow then relaxes. This in turn promotes an antecaca. Antecacal defecations have been recorded in 82.5% of all dairy cows within 3 minutes of being milked. This is why in many states it is illegal to use a milk cow, in lactation in a cow plop bingo, as the owner of the cow could give an unfair advantage in the gambling event. Holsteins, Milking Shorthorns and Ayshires are the three breeds most likely to have an antecaca. Guernseys are almost never known to have an antecaca, largely believed because the unique carotene of their "Golden Guernsey" milk is a soothing agent for the milk glands and surrounding viscular tissue. Thus the relief from a milking is not as tangible as in other breeds.

Fresh + Turkeys

2009-11-22T17:50:00.000-08:00

I had a most fantastic day-
But prior to that I want to mention the movie Fresh, which Linda Howe put on last night in New London. I tend to be out of the loop on documentaries such as Fresh, King Corn, Food Inc. My reading tends to be other than farming/environmental genres, and hear about different books through conversations where I often think, "Darn. I need to read that." Well, the short of it- it was great to see the film and receive some reinforcement-post growing season- of many of the things we do.

Now- Onto the things we do!

Slaughter! Yum! Above is a landscapish view of what went on today. Mark, Jack and Pam, Michael and Nicki, Zac and Marianne, Gram, Casey- who could not find anything to do on their own, spent a wonderfully beautiful day together. They, without precept, arrived at Raccoon Hill Road, where someone sparked up the idea of slaughtering the turkeys. Everyone agreed, and five hours later they were done with 50 birds- lasagna and rice pudding was so well deserved afterwards.

Actually a bit of planning went into today, and it went off very well, with few hitches. On conventional standards were were slow- 10 birds an hour. However, last year it took us 2 days to do 28 birds without the new plucker. Pin feathers were still aplenty, but far reduced compared to last year.

O no. It is happenning. I was quite excited about this post, and had many ideas for it, but my energy was just drawn out. Sleep. Working on house tomorrow. Come to pie night Friday.
Zac

Pie Scholarship at Night

2009-11-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

I think one of the most pleasant of pleasantries in life are the particulars of not knowing how you'll spend an hour. Ostensibly we all wake- eat- and then perform the bulk of our daily lives as practiced as a base step to a dance. Let me pause quickly- sometimes it feels like that- I am happy to say that the farm, and seeing others self employed is varying very different. (say that three times fast)

But the pleasantries of an hour: an unexpected great conversation with a friend, the eureka of late fall sun on the shadows of brick walls, or being ready to leave work when three (wonderful) coworkers come in to make pies for a scholarship fundraiser for Kearsarge High. That was a wonderfully spent hour staying later- talking, reciting a poem, realizing that you knew how to lattice pies (I became the latticer!!) and then tiding off for home. Home becomes the ostensibly regular part, but with the division of difference between- a few pies. That was fun. And Linda, Kim, Tammy are too. In fact, many of the family at work make the job worthwhile. Sleep- Will worry about the morning when it comes upon me.

I'll tell you how the sun rose
A ribbon at a time....

Sill

2009-11-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

Sasha enjoying our lunch. He is now my kitty. I have yet to tell Marianne that, but I think she'll understand. We've shared enough lunches that we can be pretty good amigos now. Although the little bastard made me lose my balance as I was walking across the sill today. That is ok- I (accidently) allowed his bird of a lunch to escape.

Jack helping last week finish up the basement. Thanks Jack!!

This week. Since D and I were rained out Saturday I have been working to get the house going this week on my own. I built haphazard staging to hold the 2x's up as I built the supporting timber in place. I finished it in two half days before work. Then have been on the sill before work.

Prettier picture of house to come. Small, but shall be lovely. Night

Two Lives WCW

2009-11-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

WCW rubbed his eyes on rocks and stones pushing pen against whatever he had found to make a note that would chime in verse. He'd go teary eyed, crusted over in disguise by smile to deliver a baby always thinking- how many lives- how many lives in a lifetime can you live? He managed two, the best he could do.
I see the old men at dusk sweeping away their doorsteps- that is where we all fall into place at the end- pushing aside everything to light to fall in their places. I'm still living regrets from 3rd grade. Time for the doorstep. Time for the doorstep- to sweep it bare. Before the flood light comes on- yes dear yes dear. I am coming- just one more sweep across here.
How many lives in a lifetime? How many days unrolled from their plastic wrap happenings- Good morning- How are you- Good Good. (All Old Men sweep their doorsteps) When I am forty I will by a new riding mower and level the yard. I will cut you there- and say I got it. I got you. I am master standing in the yard my feet rooting in the 2-3-1 and liming. My feet rooting plant me here till I may sweep the doorstep bare. Grow again and we shall plan badminton and trample in the cuttings.

Someone is coming to move in next the door. (A crying white candle lights the room where)

I see all the old men sweeping their doorsteps. Yes dear, yes dear. Just one more sweep till I shall make it bare. (the moon's fairest woman brushes her hair) That is how you watch; sit there, sit there- never ask what he is sweeping away. You'll find out someday.

Someday before your second lifetime. I am tenured and always loving my doorstep. I pick a broom and find out what I am sweeping. How many live's in a lifetime WCW? I swept the dust that was parts of me before, and sweep and sweep there! they go out the door! Your foe said- I grow old I grow old. That we did and stood saying- "Where did all that time go?" I rub stones. I rub stones- my ankles in the creek so cold.

I want to be dust if you'll the broom- oh the touch like lust (from time to time like a nectarine) Let us do it like the old man- let us sweep now and see if we can find the bottom of our step- and sweep it clean (and we who are dying just to be near her.) We'll sweep it now and let the grass grow. Snip the roots and lets go. I'm sorry, apologies - How's you're morning? Perfect and lovely- we lost the birdy, and dropped the rackets. So lovely, we handed them to the neighbors- and found another game.

(a kind of kiss- she places her mouth to the flame and blows out our faces. El poeta no esta en mi memoria.)

Karma

2009-11-15T16:46:00.000-08:00

Today was gorgeous. Yesterday was Karma. I figure that event put me and the Universe back at zero- so we're even.

Finished the chicken coop in the barn today. Most of the pullets are in there now. Moved the camper trailer up to the house site as an equipment trailer. Took apart the hoop house.

Neighbor's daughter came over to see a milking tonight. I showed her both machine and hand milking, but forgot how difficult milking by hand can be the first time. Our ability to become dexterous is amazing. I can put my hands on a teet and the milk comes flying out. She kept squeezing and squeezing and got a squirt here and there. I did mention that it took me about a week to learn how to milk. But was very much fun showing someone else the cows. I was surprised at their perspective of the cows- I stand over them and just push them with my hip if I want to shove them over. She stood at their rib cages and thought they were gi-normous.

(I thought I should mention my computer just mentioned that my virus database has been updated...)

Just thought of Mezzotints and will be lost now ooing and awwing the web though it is much more fun with Nick gallery hopping...

It's Raining Its Pouring

2009-11-14T17:15:00.000-08:00

Zac's in the bedroom crying...

Let us begin with a sigh... Today's rain was most depressing in that I spent the bulk of the week prepping the basement/getting materials for today- and in the short of it- D. and I got very little done as a result of the poor weather. Before I discount our attempts- I will completely acknowledge that plucking chickens in the rain is far easier, and far more pleasant- yes gutting chickens mind you- than doing any sort of carpentry in the rain.

So, before I make this pleasant page a mire of displeasure- Let me thank D. for spending a Saturday with me in the rain. We are both busy enough to fully appreciate the pleasures of a day we should have taken off. Anyways, he kept cheery which helped me out. I have been on a long haul with the basement/other work- and this week was especially difficult to finish setting blocks and to get ready for today. I sped out of work in my one ton on Wednesday night to HD to pick up a few tools I did not have/PT lumber. Well the website said they closed at 10pm, but they actually close at 9pm. My plan was to work in the morning, and use the nighttime to run an errand. I suppose that was an error in many ways.

So tonight I wanted to briefly post, and enjoy the rest of the evening with a book, and hopefully wake tomorrow with that cheery Sunday mood. Eh? Maybe I'll set the alarm clock for 6:20-and just run out in my pajama's to milk the cows. Hell, maybe I'll just run out in my birthday suit. Oughta surprise any early morning milk customers, but otherwise I don't think the cows will mind.

Post-Post

I did not know Normandy was a name of a cow. Cow, your name is specially, and you are dotted, and spotted. However, can you tell me. Are you more spotted than dotted or are your feelings allotted moreso dotted? I would say so splotted but unlike a shorthorn your white and- well if I may pause before calling your coat white- you are not really so white- I shall say you are pretty- though I have not met you maybe witty, which if you are my dearest maiden will you kindly allow me to say you are a dearest sweet to me. I truly must pause at this time because Jameson and I are due to be met, and I am taking time to publicly announce an Ode to a Normandy Cow- and I fear the Jerseys in the barn will hear of this flirtatious talk, and oh dear, they shall milk dry.

Pre-Weekend Posting

2009-11-13T12:56:00.000-08:00

Hectic week. Energy level made an inverse from beginning to end. Still trying to chew that bite. Unexpectidely (sp) work became more hectic- so my ability to get in week rest dissapeared.

Hay un lucero quieto
Un lucero sin parpados
Donde?...
Un Lucero,
En el agua domida
Del Estanque

Still much enjoying reading about Lorca's life and some of his poetry. a bit more of Dickinson than normally enjoyed. She has the ability to grab you for odd facinations.
Ten minute break is up. Of the few enjoyables this week- I do very much realize that if you start as money as your gain, then you might as well be in the copper coupling business. There are so many more pleasantries to be had- some so simple. God didn't birth me with pockets for change- so I'll take the pleasantries very much enjoyed.

Relax, ok, but..

2009-11-03T18:41:00.001-08:00

This posting has been put off with good intentions. Grandpa was hurt as a lot of you know on Friday of last week. He is doing well, and will be back home shortly. That is all I really want to say about that. As a reminder to that- farm readers, and I am completely guilty of it too: Disengage your pto if you're going to work on the equipment. He got caught up in the line drive of the manure spreader, and was damn lucky. The picture below shows his jacket, denim shirt and tshirt wrapped around the drive. So wear your chainsaw chaps, disengage before dismounting the tractor, and fix the manual brake on your IH tractor....zac...

The rest of the basement will/is being done without grandpa which is a shame. It has been a blast of fun to do it with him. This photo is a floor level view of the basement sofar. 2 complete walls.
Which I think is great considering it looked like this a few weeks ago!
This photo is from last week. The foremost wall now has 5 courses. Hopefully going to knock out 4 tomorrow before work. Then I will be able to do the windows the next day. Bulk head needs 5 more blocks to be finished. Compound, pour the floor, backfill, sill, joices, deck, then head down to the mill and start walls.
Reading: Mostly Lorca and Octavio Paz lately. S. has not been able to meet up for Spanish lessons, so my own course has been to play with short verses. Some fun new words: estanque (from memory the spelling) pond, desnudez, nudity, cortinas, curtains, o....I forget the word for looming, that was neat. They have been nice for this fall. I enjoyed a wonderful wooded walk, and was able to recite Wild Swans of Coole admidst the colors of the trees, but October is gone, and November pleasantly here with warmer weather than last year.

I am picking up a cute little heifer calf this Sunday. Little pricier than my normal calf purchases, but still heifers are hard(er) to come by, and I would like another critter for the extra milk here and there. I decided Antoinette as her name if she is unnamed. Either that or I will lock her in an attic and call her Bertha. Hope she doesn't burn me out of house!

Rainy Night

2009-10-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

The pleasures of a quiet house, a dog, a book of Lorca, whiskey and the rain outside.

NanoWRImo

2009-10-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and I went over to my place and grabbed 50 pullets for my grandmother. She wanted a mix of Auracanas and Golden Comets. I still have about 90 or so more pullets. I am excited about swapping piglet sales next spring for pullet sales. The hens will be moved into where the brooder was. This will create a mild problem come February when I need a brooder, but I will make do. I always seem to work things out. I think the hallway area will be temporarily converted from Feb to April. I wanted to do 500 next year, but we'll let that figure move around a bit until it comes time to order. (the 500 is both for the amount of manure I'd like from the brooder for the field, and for the amount of layers/pullet sales I need to bring in)

NanoWRImo is starting soon. I have been juggling ideas for a couple weeks now, and have been happily assisted by reading Brautigan lately. Last year I knocked in a mere 13k words in the month- short of the 50k needed. I am not sure if I will fare better this year, but have enjoyed talking characters through my head while doing dishes and washing tables at work.

I had a Prufrock moment at work the other week. I was trying to move a mop bucket that was temporarily stuck when I had it: "It's 8 oclock, and I am moving a mop bucket to wash a dish room". And then like that it was gone. Do I dare?

House and Garlic

2009-10-18T17:43:00.001-07:00

Short post. Wrist hurts, want to sleep it well. We have a few more courses then we're done with the basement. I planted about 15 pounds of garlic today- and prepped the other garlic bed for the other 20 some odd pounds
Zac

2009-10-16T06:34:00.001-07:00

They know the map of the silver paths to the ears. -Brautigan.

House

2009-10-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well as of now that is what the house looks like. Grandpa and I got two courses in today- spread more stone, then I went off and tried getting the hens more tidied up for the fall.
Speaking of fall- I have more than should have- fallen behind and am feeling it.

First Sonnet

2009-09-30T19:59:00.001-07:00

The camera isn't readily available. Marianne took it today and took pictures of the rabbits that I (finally!!) moved into the community pen. 1 buck, 4 does- food, shelter and water. Anyways, he should be doing alright, but at first his simple, sneaky attempts at mounting failed with the 4 does ducking for cover- for the last couple years rabbit mating has occurred in a small pen- now that they have 120 square feet looks like flowers, a movie and foreplay will necessitate. Very happy to see a few of the bunnies in a much more humane, loving environment. I'll be the first to say it- I love seeing those guys run around and happy- trying to figure out how to get more of them into a community environment. The tough part is I do need to keep up on pedigrees, and select stock. So cages are partially a necessity.

First sonnet- ok- I am doing a drop in audit class at CSC. Thanks M. We were supposed to write a sonnet. Anyways, my shortcomings with music translate into my very often not writing, but rather enjoying to read poetry. Well, kind of hard to do that in a creative writing class. So I am proud to say that I did write a (what I think is) a half way decent sonnet- and it is my first. I did start to write a prose sonnet (with the attached argument that shakespeare/petrarch are dead- so the form are more of guidelines anyways) as a love note to a h.s. girlfriend about what my wife thinks of her (even though Marianne never met her) Anyways- shall I say-lame?
So- no bashing here's the sonnet without the title.

Let us be something kind like broken glass,

Of harsh talk between all the good flittings,

That shake and shook all the broken fittings

And ebbed our coarseness- Into our last-

As screens and the quiet gleams of cities

On bridges apart that span our distance

Let us break the rebar cages, consistence

(upon) our rages- and all our pretties

Blooming like flowers after thermal winds

When I myself being all the seeing

Of daffodils torn by mistrals being

Flutters between the shines of looming kinds-

Yes and I never finding your contrast

Let us make this visit our very last.

couple like/eye rhymes there- so not completely true to form, but I tried making them sneakily work- work? works?

Zac

Days in Advance

2009-09-24T02:26:00.000-07:00

Work, work then pig by byes- chicken by byes and then setting blocks, setting blocks- work- but back to old shift.

It is a day that speaks
When hurried clouds do go
In the Air of cool September

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

2009-09-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

Well, to use the blog as a venting post, briefly this time, because we have company downstairs and really want to lean back in a chair and enjoy cake and ice cream...

Lost quite a few hens almost two weeks ago- think were coyotes- trying to take care of that. Spent one night in the barn waiting for a coon- lost a pullet today to a dog in the neighborhood- need to take care of that.

Otherwise work is alright- full time again- house coming nicely- can't wait to really stack a lot of that this weekend.

Leap Frog

2009-09-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

Elida and Burt were playing Leap Frog the other day- but I don't think he is a very good jumper because he couldn't ever get over her- anyways he got mad when we took her away to milk, but they must have pretty good memories because they started the game right up again when we let her out.
Zac

2009-09-07T21:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I couldn't very well sleep so what better to do late in the night than chat with your public, schizo friend (blog)? A professor I met at UCB referred to diaries as our schizo self- which I thought was a neat little thought- writing to yourself though that entity is contained in another form.

Anyways, can't sleep. I ended up switching positions at work, and now paying the unforeseen consequences of changing shifts/responsibilities. Mainly right now that means the inability to sleep. Sometimes worry too much.

The garden is in its final stages for us this year. Much of it has been discced in. With two weeks in the CSA season left, it seems like it will be timely enough for us.

Beef shares are selling well. Happy to see our steer go, and the interest in the grass based meats. This is especially nice since we are phasing out the pigs as a mainstay on the farm.

The house is going well. The work has halted cept on weekends due to being back at work. Hopefully get the basement done by the end of the month. There is plenty of minor constructions around here that need to get done also.

The honeycomb at night has strange dreams:
Small black trains going round and round
Old warships drowning in the raindrop.
-Robert Bly

House Progression

2009-09-05T17:55:00.001-07:00

Grandpa with the transit taking level in the hole. We had minor problems keeping the same level. In the end we made a grade within our form, and dug some of it. Turned out just fine.

The hole has more water than we'd like, but what can you do. We dug the drainage out to daylight, but we're having it fill a cistern for irrigation.
First day of form building done.
Second day- I spent the rest of the afternoon putting in stakes, spreaders and then a rush to RP's to get rerod. We poured the next morning.

$562 worth of concrete. Extra went to center for supporting timber, right for supporting timber, and side for chimney.
Next day I started popping the forms off. Lot of denailing. Grandpa came in time to help pop the inside forms. Went much faster with two people= 1 wrecking bar, one crow bar.
$270 worth of stone. Hundred bucks worth of drainpipe. Spread that out. Grandpa used to excavator to drop the stone near where I needed to shovel it. O, thanks KRR for the excavator.

A Month worth of paychecks in blocks. That is the next big project- then backfill, deck and get onto other fall projects. I am going to go sleep in the field tonight- night!

Date of pour.

House

2009-09-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

Quick posting before clocking out. Work at 8am tomorrow. Not sure if I should have switched positions. Gotta get going early just to get out on time.
Finished forms last night- ordered cement earlier that day and was poured this morning at nine for the footing. Grandpa told me not to get excited- I was jumping around as we were going at floating the cement and helping to direct the pour. I told him it was like having sex for the first time: you're not sure exactly what to do, but you're just so excited that it's happening.

Tomorrow get out of work at 12- going to get water pipe, 3 yards of sand, and get over to the place- take apart the forms, till grandpa shows up.
Zac

Why Chicken?

2009-08-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

Well I kinda lost my energy to post tonight. Keith Cutting gave me a heads up about a rule change from the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the processing and sale of meats in the state of New Hampshire. Unfortunately, it looks like a few changes will be made: namely, I heard through the grapevine that I won't be able to process my own chickens, and then bring them to the market.

Before I get going on the problems with the potential rule, let me first answer the title to this posting: Why chicken?

Besides the fact that it is so damn good....We love chicken. It is a wholesome, delicious meat that we can raise on the farm. They do not require as much pasture as a cow or sheep. They make wonderful droppings upon our field that simply make the grass grow! We feel energized after eating it. Our farm families love it. Devour it. If someone came up to you who felt a part of their life has been completely revitalized- namely the dinner table, then why would you want to squash that?

We process the chickens on our farm for several reasons. Namely, that the economics of taking them to a USDA slaughter house is prohibitive. Lameys, the only USDA slaughter house in the state, charges $5 per bird to process. Without including the time to load birds into cages, the truck and then drive them to Goffstown, that processing fee would add another $1.00 per pound to our birds. I process the birds on the farm partly because I am not in the business to pass the buck along. Our customers do not want a live bird- they want a ready to eat chicken. Secondly, they are my birds. I buy them as chicks, raise them in the brooders, get them out onto pasture- I am out there at odd ours of the night checking on them, and with flakes of hay keeping them warm and dry in storms. If I can take the integrity to raise the best possible birds that I can, then I am going to slaughter them in the best possible manner that I can. I slaughter 20-35 birds a day, once or twice a week. In between slaughterings the area is cleaned and rested. The sun pasteurizes the area. I keep everything clean. I don't care how much bleach they use, a slaughterhouse that is killing and cutting 5 days out of the week isn't going to have the cleanliness and attention that I can give my birds.

The next biggest thing is the economics of me raising birds. We can't drive down to Goffstown with 35 birds. We'd have to take 100+. Which essentially means good bye fresh birds- hello frozens. Now I have to have an extra freezer just for birds. Might as well add another $0.25 a pound.

Just to switch focus quickly: The state of California passed in March 2008 a law requiring that all raw milk pass a 10 coliform units per mil. test. (this is essentially impossible: http://www.naturalnews.com/022303.html ) Anyways, NH has the same rule on its "books". http://gencourt.state.nh.us/rules/mil100-300.html I guess we are also supposed to have,

“Raw milk is not pasteurized. Pasteurization destroys organisms that may be harmful to human health” listed on our bottles when we sell it.

What we have been fearful on our farm for the last couple years is the ability for the DHHS, senate/house, or other public bodies to put a few words on a piece of paper and as a result put us out of business. Food products that are considered potentially hazardous garner attention from regulators. Unfortunately for us, they are the type of foods we are interested in producing. Not because they are potentially hazardous. We do not see them that way at all. I think they are potentially lifesaving. Real, raw milk, fresh chicken, ground meat from cows raised on pasture who have seen more weeds, dirt and grass than concrete. Instead of looking up the statistics of food related illness from food sources that promote an unhealthy, environmentally degrading, morally decomposing system- why not look for and promote the production of foods that energize and vitalize both the producers and consumers. I think a lot of the dairies around us would have a bit more pep in their step if they were pasturing their cows on grass, getting $4 a gallon for pure milk, selling baby beef calves in retail markets instead of getting $0.72 a gallon after sales, shipping and commission for milk from sillage fed cows, and $30 dollars for day old shipped calves.

I recently took a ServeSafe class for my work at a kitchen in New London. Without getting too much into it I can simply say- the government's view of food is more of that of a dangerous item that needs special care, while ours is of a wholesome nutritious fulfillment of the land we live on that becomes one part of our daily nourishment. You can look at stats on food illness- but how about the stats on food wellness? How many dinners were made wholesome with our chicken? How many wives loved their husbands a little more for buying a beautiful bouquet from Two Mountain Farm? Did anyone's allergies improve after having honey from Cutting Farm? Did those kids remember going to the supermarket with their mom- or Farm Days at Musterfield Farm? How many of feel healthier now that Doritos has 33% more free per b

ag?

So where do we go with our farm? Do we really want to put money, time and unneeded frustration into a lifestyle and product that can disappear when a bureaucrat with a piece of paper comes around my barn door some day? The answer truly is no. I don't want to spend a few years building up something that can disappear over night. But how many vegetable vendors does the state want? our farmer's market need? If the state restricts the sale of foods they think potentially hazardous- that only Purdue, Tyson and Hood know how to produce safely, then everyone else that wants to farm either has to enter that production system or grow products without restrictions. We can't all sell summer squash. Right now that is what is so nice about our market- the other farmers we work with- A lot of our products overlap, but th

e products are so diverse that instead of being competitors- we're friends and advisors to each other. What happens to our already fragmented farm communities when everyone shows up with summer squash, beans and cucumbers?

Part of: the Answer

We need a few things. here are the few things I have been thinking of for the last couple weeks.

1. We need a state government that recognizes the fragmentation and diversity of homesteaders and farmers in the state that does not passes regulations on th

e direct sale of farmer to consumer; and that instead promotes the sale of properly raised/grown foods.

2. (the government) needs to realize that direct farm to consumer sales are not part of the food system; they are a reaction to the current food system. There is a difference between walking into a grocery store for a gallon of milk on your way home from work, and driv

ing to a farm to pick up a gallon of milk. The latte

r is decision to purchase something different, by choice, often because it is felt to be the healthier, better decision. These interactions should not be regulated. They are a reaction to the system that is already regulated. As Joel Salatin said, it's just letting people opt out.

3. Farmer markets are extensions of the farm. They offer a convenience for a customer to meet various farmers at one location. If a product can be sold at the farm, then it should be able to be sold at the market. Free and clear of legislative baggage.

4. Food isn't hazardous. With the exception of corn syr

up, MSG, and a few preservatives food isn't dangerous. People shouldn't fear the food they eat. They should be in jubilation of how they feel afterwards. Food illness

happens. Three years ago a man in Massachusetts died from lysteria contaminated milk: PASTEURIZED contaminated milk. The state official at the time said that even in a perfect system things can go wrong. It happens, rarely- But just keep in mind that it is leg

al to sell e.coli contaminated beef as long as it is precooked before sale, and as long as a veterinarian gives

the ok to a downer cow it can still legally go throu

gh the slaughterhouse.

5. An inspection doesn't make food safe. Feeding animals what they should eat makes the food safe. Maintaining biodynamic gardens keeps food safe. Integrity keeps food safe. You can have all the inspections you want. If whomever is shipping it off to a middleman and doe

sn't care, then it really doesn't matter.

Well, I am tucking off to bed. That is enough rant and nervousness from me. Maybe I'll edit tomorrow or let it stand as is. Take care, thanks for buying, kee

p it going and thanks to EVERYONE that came out in the rain today.

Zac

Chickens who are raised on the farm, processed on the farm. The grass is there, which means they aren't sitting in manure- which means when I go to process, I get to start with a clean bird.

First year garden at new farm. According to GAP rules which will be mandatory for vegetable producers in the future, we couldn't sell produce because we also raise animals in the vicinity.

Two week old chicks first day on half way house. That is the life. I put the food and water outside later to force them to go outside and get used to the great outdoors.

Wonderful addition to the farm. I started with a 5 frame nuc- quickly added a second hive body, then a medium super, and now a second super as the first is nearly filled.

Bees on busy day.

Week Aheads

2009-08-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

I am clocking out to go to bed. The excavator is being delivered tomorrow. Grandpa is digging out the hole, we're going to pour the footing, then lay blocks for our foundation, drainage, dig the lines to the well- put the sill and decking on, and then that'll be that for a little. Of course, not all in one day.
I spent part of the day making calls to time out transportation of the excavator, ordering the blocks, trying to get hold of a transit level/laser, etc. and the last few hours cutting out the rest of the driveway, and the rest of the trees that need to go before the house gets in. Mowed around the well with the DR brush, and cut more Birch. Moved the hens into the pumpkin patch that was harrowed under. I figured that was a good move. I can leave the hens in that area for the next week, really fertilize it, and not worry about any hovering of the field. Broilers are good down to 90.

So behind for the next week or so until the cellar is done. Excited about getting that started/done and the learning in between.
Very excited about farm ending this season. Cover cropping looks great, getting final fertility by rapidly moving broilers. Enjoying the grass based farm. Looking forward to more brush clearing later in fall. Replacing brush with berries next year
Zac

Kitten,
whose purr sounds like
stereo in between frequencies
Bathed in the sunbeam of a day
so young it is dying
Zac

Night timet thoughts

2009-08-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

Chainsaw sharpen Plow behind as always wanting more time flies away itchy poison ivy annoyed with gotta sleep

Clocking out

2009-08-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

Well,
I am heading right off to bed, no pics-
But!
Whom ever is the ever most awseome CSA-er to leave an old fake wood pannelled alarm clock with their empty milk bottle- THANKS!
That new, white plastic little bugger Marianne bought is going into hiding.
Zac

Alarm Clock

2009-08-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

My alarm clock is a small, plastic box that is oddly patterned after the same fake wood paneling found in cheap apartments from the early 80's. The lettering has worn mostly off from the "hour" and "Alarm" buttons. The ring- or oddly constructed "err, err" used to annoy me endlessly so that I became well in the habit to wake up minutes before it was due to go off, and get out of bed.

I play a game at night trying to determine the best time the alarm is to be set. This has become increasingly difficult since the hour button does not properly work in response to pushing it. I try to determine whether I should be up earlier or have the luxury of sleeping in a few extra minutes.For the last few weeks the hour digit has been set to five oclock- a Sunday luxury of sleeping in till 6:03 would cost me a few minutes of wearied patience trying to get the clock back to "5"

The first minute digit cannot be a set on a zero, five or four. Sevens and threes are preferable- but 3's can only be used for :03 past the top of the hour or :23 past the top. for example: 5:03 or 5:23.- never 5:43 7's are fine with 5:27. albeit an "eight" is a must if upon looking at the clock an eight comes to the mind. But 5:08 would never be acceptable. Sometimes I try to squeeze in a few extra minutes, and will come to a 9, for example 5:29- but 2 + 9 is 11 so 5:31 would be preferable, but I despise setting the clock to thirty past the hour so 5:41 would be the correct choice, then I would just have to wake up faster to make up for the 10 extra minutes. The teens are completely open to use- 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 16 17 18 19- Except for 14/15, 12 was my QB number and for good dreams that will not be remembered, 13 is for three, 16 is young, 17 is lost, 18 is strong, 19 forgotten.

The 6 and 5 on the hour digit are identical. Marianne recently purchased an alarm to replace this one. She bought a white, near replica- I couldn't use a white clock, and had to have it turned away from the bed for the first night. I used mine.

Farm:

Going well. Some lettuce, beets, kale for salad mix came up nicely, but the arugula did not. Not quite sure what I will do without that mass of arugula for the CSA.
We finished the hay this weekend. Had a blast with my grandfather. The baler kept acting up- so he was on the tractor more often than not. I ended up loading most of the trucks, which was more tiresome than I thought it would be. I had leg cramps this morning, and decidedly took an hour or so off before work for lunch and rest. Enjoyed the haying for several reasons- one the obvious of capturing energy from our new land, secondly with my grandfather, and the lost thoughts while working through a couple days- and Juicy fruit gum and a two dollar bag of nacho chips.
I had a gallon jug of water, a 5 stick pack of juicy fruit, and the bag of chips, intent upon the pleasure of treating myself to some small luxuries while taking care of the hay for the day. The jug of water was cold pleasure upon sitting in the truck between picking up bales, the salty chips enough fill for the stomach without becoming lethargic, and the gum an old unending childhood oral pleasure that I am actually to cheap to indulge into anymore. The only unfortunateness of the whole gum, chip, water experience amidst the hay was the inability to enjoy them all at the same time. Chips/Water were a fine combo, Gum/Water was ok, but took the mild skill of hiding the gum high into the pallate so as not to wash the flavor immediately away- but chip/gum simply was not compatible. I could not enjoy the crunchy, salty goodness of the chip with the sweet, mouthwatering juiciness of the gum. In all, this Romeo/Juliet fiasco ended with two sticks of very well enjoyed gum, and a bag of chips washed down with nearly the whole jug of water- we finished at 8:30 on Saturday- with custard and good company, and touched up the rest on Sunday for a good weekend.

I had a very nice patch of Peas, Vetch, Oats in the garden. Since the piece had dried out with this recent blast of nice weather, I decided now would be a good time to get it under and planted in rye. Our building application has been approved, so trying to get ahead on some things. I decided to just mow the piece with a DR mower I got from a neighbor, then harrow it with a couple passes, rye grass, then harrow once more. Worked beautifully. I thought of the Robert Frost poem with the lines,
"Before the leaves can mount again
To fill the trees with another shade,
They must go down past things coming up"

And thought of the thick mass of summer growth decaying into the garden plot. So I thought best of harrowing it instead of using the tiller to mix it evenly into the soil. I think upon reflection- the mowing should have sufficed, but the piece looks very fine now. Going to let rye grass grow through late spring, then till, buckwheat, then rye again. (some witch grass nearby, that I think a bit of cover crop/till will help hamper)

Pictures from the farm- Enjoy.

Grandpa's New Tractor- Massey 255. Truck came in handy again since it has a pindle. The tractors nice to have around- bigger so easier to pull me out of my grandmother's garden.
Peas/Vetch/Oats cover crop before. Actually, this is a PVO piece that has pumpkins planted into it (with pumpkins forming!!)
PVO piece after tilling. Eat earthy worms eat! Hope I did not disturb you much- was getting dryer so hopefully you were all down deeper.
Messy Truck. Bag of rye, water, chips, straps, sleepy going to bed.

Post without Pics

2009-07-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

I just realized I have not posted in a bit. I am not sure where Marianne is right now, so staying up till she gets in. Might as well post! Since I have not had the time otherwise.

Well, we might as well start with my grandmother's flower gardens. They are gorgeous. The other day a women stopped under the guise of buying eggs so that she could walk the yard for a while. My grandmother was very very happy about the flower beds; then I back the ass of my one ton right through one and partially excavated a rhododendron...I forgot my white shirt for work, and being in a rush I put the truck into reverse and sped down the street. Not being terribly proficient backing up, I neglected to cut the wheel back after turning into the drive. Long story short- I felt myself slide off the driveway into the garden, so I tried to pull forward- nothing. Then I decided to just continue backing up and see if I could get out- errr- wrong answer. I stopped and got out- and noticed that I had very nicely parallel parked the one ton onto my grandmothers garden. Grabbed the kid next door to run the truck while I pulled it out with the Deere- anyways I yelled NO NO not go, spun those tires so much smoke was coming off the dirt. We did get the tractor out. Now (guys) here is the very very important part. If you did something wrong (hopefully with good intentions) then go over to Kat at Two Mountain Farm and beg for a quick, beautiful boquet of flowers. Don't skimp- and place them on the kitchen table with a note. Thank you Kat!

Anyways, Gram didn't even notice the 20 foot plowing of her gardens when she pulled in- but the kid next door came running like heck to let her know how it all went...thanks. Anyways, no one was really mad- everyone acted like it was supposed to happen- like they expected me to do it....thanks. =)

In between- honey super is full and capped, CSA shares are getting much better- potatoes, peppers, squash, cucs, beans, garlic, herbs, tomatoes (some) eggs/milk, yogurt did not come through this time- just short on leafy greens.

Picked up two bull calves.
Tired. Night!

Weeks end Begin

2009-07-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

I have a petition here at the house if everyone wouldn't mind coming by to sign. We are requesting that the townships of Andover and Salisbury be combined into a joint union of: Seattle, NH. The official town mascot would be the raindrop. An open hunting season on mud puddles will be posted from April through until August 15th. I could go on, but it is just a few more showers coming through...We got half the haying done last week. We cut one day, then tedded, raked and baled the next day: 191 bales. The hay looks very good, but it is quite late. It was fun doing this with my grandfather. In the past when we hayed my great grandmother's field my brother and I would just load the truck. This time I got to ted and rake. My grandfather wasn't very impressed with my tractor: it steers like a tank, and puts a bit coming up a hill. I like it though- starts every time.
This last week was pretty tough. The weekend before was overwhelming, and I felt it this week missing two days of work (one sick, one scheduled off) so my boss was nice enough to let another worker take half of my summer shift. Now I get to go in to work at 4:o0 (or 5:30pm) Should allow me to relax a bit, tidy up the animals, and get some much needed work done.
In short this week: must get a large batch of chickens out of the brooder. The rainy weather (and threats of storms) has prevented this. I also need to move the piglets. The mom looks too drawn down. So moving animals is it for a couple days. Otherwise focusing on the CSA, milking, and building application.

50 turkeys came in- we got them late this year in hopes of having smaller turkeys for thanksgiving- taking orders now!

Haying. Not very photogenic.
Very Photogenic.
Grandpa raking in background, foreground shell beans, cabbage, tomatoes and onions.
Gram cleaning out the milk machine. MMMM milk.

Summer
As a child was
Endless
Weeks
Meant nothing but a
Word
Printed on the side of a
plastic milk jug
Whose top might be cut
open
to hold shiners
when we went fishing

Morning of the Sun Dried the Dew

2009-07-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

Slept in the field to the buzzing of mosquitos to the fading of the stars to a dim sky, clear with spotted clouds while the world slowly became visible to the dawn and the cackling of hens already awake early in the morning- to a wet arm resting on the grass filled with dew- dried by a rich sun....fed and watered all, milked the cows to see that pure white milk flow into the jars in the kitchen when everything is cleaned...painted the truck quick"Sun Farm: Raw Milk 648 2510 - Farm like the Earth is your Friend" at work......

Happy Pictures

2009-07-06T18:53:00.001-07:00

I have had soo much positive energy with this sun and a clear direction/desire with the CSA. I sped out of work, rototilled up new spots in the near dark for greens tomorrow- watered everyone, came home, checked calf!! now going to wash eggs. Enjoy the pictures-Godbless

Tomatoes (2 weeks ago) in hoop house. Looking nice. Some bottoms starting to turn I think!

Shhhhhhh. Kitties Sleeping on Remay.

Bloody Butcher x Painted Mountain Field Corn. Very pretty

Example of squash- recent

Bottom of garden- Newly planted brocolli in straw, potatoes, cover crop (with pumpkins) then more potatoes.

Zac doing something.....something.

Hoop house- Eggplant behind but coming strong- tomatoes suckered and blossom/tomato set

Pretty Pretty Kitty!

Zac in well carrying out unneeded stone.

Bees today. Busy. Put on honey Super. Thanks Jack.

Heifer Calf- Born today. Pinz x Jersey. Grandpa upset. Goodnight!

A Sunny Well

2009-07-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Last week everyone over at this home front was a bit bummed to see the weather report of rain, rain and maybe if we're lucking clouds and fog. Not needing to dwell on the soggy moods of last week, Marianne and I can attest to a splendid weekend. The farmer market was wonderful, as was the relatively laid-backness of the rest of the day- we got to talk a bit, and today spent the whole day together- weeding the garden and (mostly) pumping out/cleaning the well.

Going to bed. Cheers

To the Mall

2009-06-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

Salisbury though it is small, oddly quaint and with a lone convenience store/gas station with banker hours, has a quality about it that is highly desirable: the dump!

The Salisbury transfer station is open on Saturdays as most are. One nifty guy in the town realized he could make a lot of money as a private garbage collector. You can see an overfilled half ton pickup meandering through Salisbury on the weekend. Then a couple other nifties thought about setting up a building at the dump to act as a shelter for discarded items that still have some life in them. Anyways, it is called the Salisbury Mall and we love it. I got a grease gun today. Then went over to the scrap metal pile and picked up 2 metal garbage cans. Sure beats other towns where you cannot take anything. So a quick trip to drop of trash usually fulfills a return with farm treasures! I did hold back on grabbing the red wheel barrow. I already have two from the dump- a third with yet another flat tire seemed a bit much. So Much depends on a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens.

The rain has definitely gotten to us. I am hoping for haying weather. I want to see the chickens work down the field instead of keeping them in the short rotations they are in now. The garden is looking alright still. Tomatoes in the hoop house are hanging on, peppers are flowering, hilled some potatoes, some ready lettuce.

And the prettiest thing in the garden!

Waitering in the Rain

2009-06-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

The rain is audible outside. Marianne and I checked the check book while I ate down a late dinner of American Chopped Suey in a white buttoned shirt with the shiny black buttons. We cater at work on Thursdays for the Gordon Research - baked breads, pretty little deserts and lobster one of which was poorly balanced and I dropped it- or gravity did onto the shoulder and then the lower back of a customer by yours truly.

Greener and Wetterest Pastures

2009-06-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

The cows haven't calved yet. I check them morning and night, but alas they do not look anymore ready than when we picked them up, and we thought they were ready to pop then! They'll come when ready.
We picked them up in New Durham. My grandfather worked for the DES for about 30 years fixing and building dams. He knew where the farm was once the guy started describing it. And it is a pretty farm! An old, beautiful, cape that is tucked away comfortably from the main route. You see the sap house first, which looks partially abandoned amidst growing saplings. Then you approach an uncut hayfield, pull into a dirt drive, and it opens up unto sheep chewed pastures, and the farm. Oh it was so beautiful. The first couple pastures were the size of our new place.

Anyways, the cows were beautiful; all Jerseys on various stages of heiferhood, pregnancy and lactation. My grandparents bought the best one. She is a very large Jersey. I grabbed another. She looks like she has week front quarters, but she is a first calf heifer and quite difficult to tell. We'll see. Lovely girls. We are still waiting though to see the calves. They might be crossed with a Pinzgaurer bull. I love the cows. Hopefully can get some critters over at our place. I would if we had the extra cash to buy a couple and graze them on the back pasture; 3 acres of poor pasture that just needs a little rotational grazing.

And this brings us to the greener pastures. The first place we wanted to buy is a better farm- 55 acres, 30 of which are in open field, all bottom land, 4 barns, sugar maples, yada yada yada. But everything can look greener upon a wishful glance. Just as Marianne and I will aw at another beautiful house, or take a second look at a pretty girl/guy, be envious of a larger tractor etc. This weekend I realized how beautiful of a place we have. I sat out at the back pasture enjoying the midmorning sun staring at rare drops of water from strawberry flowers just enjoying it. Marianne and I also talked about the finances and how lucky we were to get the loan for the property. Later I was checking out the chickens and where I wanted to move them next, and realized how much the grass had grown and greened up where they were two weeks previous. I forgot how quickly you can improve an area with the hens. So here it is: our place, our greener pasture- and very very happy with it.

On that note I am heading outside to get a couple things done before dinner.
Godbless
Zac

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2009-06-07T05:43:00.000-07:00

MOOOrning
Guess what's moo?

I have quite a bit to write, but unfortunately it is 8:47am and absolutely no reason for me to be inside. So I would like to introduce everyone to Elida and Florence, and will finish post tonight.
Zac
p.s. If you're free tonight at 6:30 come over for BBQ at 314 Smith Hill Road in Franklin.

Grandpa's Pj's

2009-06-04T02:32:00.001-07:00

Gram thought grandpa's tie dyed shirt and flannel boxers was a funny pj pick for Grandpa. I agree since it was a little more colorful than we're used to- although he is a very chipper guy. (note to self: expand vocab so better words can be used other than chipper)

I need to get running for the day. We were supposed to get 150 chicks in today, but the hatchery changed the date. Now they are coming on the same day I am getting another order of 125. More chicks than I want to handle in a day. I want to make sure that I get the brooder fully prepped and start hardening off the chick s I currently have so both brooders are available. Then I have to run down to Lamey's for the fresh pork. OH! Sent two large sows. If anyone wants fresh pork chops, uncured hams, etc let us know.
Zac

so much depends upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
-wcw

2009-06-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

Every rose has its thorn, just like every cowboy-with no handlebars, I can ride my bike with no handle bars come on in here son and tell me 'bout yourself, so you like my come with me romeo I don't want to be alone rally round tha family with a pocket full of shellsweapons not food not homes not shoes, do you like making love?

-Songs in head in garden through day

My Truest Love

2009-05-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am taking a trailer down to the butcher and getting rid of two sows. I partially decided to downsize on the pigs. I am sad to do this, but quite frankly do not see an alternative with the work load we have. I meant to take my two white pigs, but the black one hopped in the trailer...So I shut the door and went up for dinner. I became the saddest, most irritable grouch knowing my beautiful, big girl (Big Momma) was locked in for the butcher. About an hour later the door was opened, and I let both pigs out. She is going to stay on the farm. I love her too much. She is such a lovely pig. She doesn't test the fence line, she is gentle even when I grab a piglet. She lets me pet her belly, and lay my body against hers.

So I devised an idea for quick construction for a summer pen at the new place. I am going to try rotating Big Momma, Priscilla, Berta and the new piglets on pasture using a central house, with rotation of paddocks around the fixed pen. I'll run an irrigation line out to them for water, and electric fence them in. For added security I will double line with sheep fencing.

Big Momma rooted the foundation of a small shed before. So I was tentative to build much for them. I think- not sure but think I have an idea that will work. I am going to stack some hay bales on their sides and drive rebar down through them into the ground so that they are fixed in place. Then I will use the rebar that is exposed to use as a base to bend plastic conduit over. In this way I will (hopefully) have a semi-pig proof hoop house for my ladies.

As for the pasture I am not sure. I have had a lot of luck rotating pigs on pasture before. The key is to move them quickly. I think the best bet for this summer is to realize that I am busy, and that some of it will become sacrifice ground. I will just plan on having the area become a small garden the following year.

Above is a picture of Big Momma as a piglet. My little sweetheart love. =)
-Guy who fell in love with a pig.