New chick's home

I modified the old chicken tractor and Jess helped to set up the fencing and we set up a broody coop for the new chicks. My hope is that by having them inside chickengrad and getting them exposed to the other chickens slowly they will become part of the flock gradually.
I also planted up a half dozen Aurora peppers and a few herbs in a planter on the deck. I also planted three hills of kobucha squash in the garden.

Rick

Chicks !

I had one of my hens go broody on me a few weeks back so I decided to see if she was able to actually hatch them. Well she could and she did. I went out today and found this.

a weeks work done

I spent this week working around the property. I managed to make some repairs to the house that I hope will result in a more efficient home. I repaired some damaged siding on a small section of the house. I had to tear off the old siding. The first thing I found was no sheathing under the cracked siding on that part of the house. I removed the cellulose and old foam insulation. I then upgraded the framing in that area. I then had to caulk the joints and seal off the air leaks with expanding foam. I then installed new fiberglass insulation and plywood sheathing. I finished it all off with extensively modified cedar siding and plenty of paint. I also repaired a basement window and installed some storm windows a friend helped me make up last fall.
On the garden front I got a bit more digging done. I have been impressed by the potatoes growth. I am unsure if they are growing tubers but the plants have really been growing well. Also the scarlet runner beans are starting to flower and are quite attractive.

Rick

Picture post

Good Friday

This was an off Friday for Jess and I. Which was fortunate as I received through a friend of a friend an opportunity to go shoot sporting clays in a charity tournament. The tournament was a benefit for the Starkey Foundation. I had the privilege of filling out a spot on a team sponsored by Popp Communications. I had heard of the Starkey Foundation before but I wasn't aware that Starkey was also a company based in Minnesota. The event was held out at the Minnesota Horse and Hunt Club. They even had dignitaries from the NRA there, but I was most impressed when Lou Farrigno walked into the room. I was a big fan of the Hulk TV show in the 70's. I had a great time shooting and the swag was amazing. All in all a lot better than a day at work.

Rick

More plants

Jess and I stopped to pick up a few new plants on the way home from work today. We picked up 3 kinds of basils, another dill weed and a pair of rosemary plants as well. I plan to keep them in the garage until this weekend as we are due for another round of rain storms.

Stay dry,
Rick

Recent plantings

We have gotten a lot of new crops started this week. We planted a row of sunflowers and they are already coming up. We also planted some amaranth as well. I hope to use that as chicken feed. I finished that bed off with a row of beans too. I also planted some envy edemame this afternoon. I spent an few hours removing more soil to produce more garden beds and also to start getting the wildness that is the garden under control.

Rick

Hail of a night

Some times I wonder who exactly I cheesed off.
I mentioned earlier in the weekend that last year we had a hail storm that seriously mangled the garden. Well it happened again last night. It wasn't as bad as last year as there wasn't as much wind pushing the hail but it still did some damage. I think that we may have lost the basil seedlings and also one of the tomato plants looks a little sickly today. The rest look damaged but I think they will survive.
Today I spent a few hours in the garden. I broke some more sod. I am hopeful that once I have removed most of the grass and weeds from the garden I will spend less time weeding and more time planting and harvesting.
I also started a new bed in the corner of the garden near the potatoes using the sheet composting method. I weed whiped the weeds down tho the dirt. Then I put down a thick layer of newspapers . I then put a 3 inch layer of composted chicken litter. I plan to finish it up with a few bags of dirt. I plan to put squash in that bed. Possible the delicata squash or zucchinis.

Better days,
Rick

Interesting wind turbine idea

I came a crossed this video last night.

The basic idea is that you use an array of inexpensive turbines that are linked by gearing to drive a single generator. It looks like something that is in the testing and refinement stage now, but I am really impressed with the idea. I would guess that the efficiency is not that high but since you could always just install more turbine units to increase your total area that is less of an issue. That is of course if you have the area. It also looks like they are a bit noisy. I think that is probably an alignment issue. I suggest to them they look at a dual opposing herringbone gear arrangement.It should take care of some of the rattling and much of the axial thrust. It is the the same gearing arrangement used in naval steam turbine ship reduction gears. Which is where I learned of it. If you are from MotorWind and want to use this design, please do so. If it works out I would love to help test the new design. Also you may want to consider removing the music from your homepage.

Rick

Planting continues

Things are moving along. We finally got some much needed rain the last few days. I figured dragging 200 feet of hose out to the garden and filling the rain barrel would do it. Got a few more plants in the ground this morning. Jess and I planted out some sad little seedlings I had been attempting to kill in the basement. We planted 3 kinds of basil (sweet, cinnamon and lemon). We also planted out some cilantro seedlings and some nasturtiums as well. We direct seeded some decorative amaranth, some giant sunflowers and some bush lake blue green beans. Yesterday I also re-seeded the beets that got destroyed by the mole that visited the garden. I hope I have discouraged it enough for it to move else where in the yard. So, much planting was done. We also weeded the swiss chard,the lettuces and the kale. I also spread organic fertilizer pellets over the lot. I guess that is enough for one morning. I will try and post some pictures of the garden tomorrow.

Rick

Hey all,

Sorry I have not written in a while. So much has been going on here at the farm.
The hops have gotten off to a tremendous start. They are already halfway up the pole barn. I have had to be quite aggressive with the pruning back the bines. The plants seem to show the same growth pattern as last year, with the Fuggles leading the way. I have to add more mulch to the bed and consider trimming back the maple more aggressively to increase the amount of sunlight they receive. I can see why these would make a great landscape plant. I have been on watch for the dreaded question mark caterpillars but have not seen any signs of their presence. Good thing considering the damage they caused last year. I also mulched the hop yard today.

In the orchard we seem to have few apple blossoms this year. I can't say if it is due to the cold weather we are having this spring or some other cause. I know that the soil in that part of the yard is quite terrible and there was the hail storm last spring as well. So I think a few more years of patience is in order. The raspberries are sending up shoots everywhere . I mulched them as well tonight.

In the garden we have been harvesting a bunch of asparagus every day. We have also had a third small picking of rhubarb, some of which is currently in the oven becoming a pie. I also mounded up the potatoes which are doing quite well. I planted the tomatoes and peppers last Friday and they have not died while waiting for the heat of summer to arrive.So all is well.

In the barnyard the chickens are well. Now I am just waiting on some rain to come and refresh the grass in ChickenGrad.

Later

Rick

Quick post

This is just a short post to let all know what is happening on the farm. I have been working on the garden lately. I have been attempting to increase the amount of room around the garden beds. I probably should have removed all the grass at the beginning but i am slowly reclaiming the garden from the grass and dandelions. I have so far planted 4 strawberry plants in the garden. I also planted a few new herb plants that we picked up last week.
I also removed a nest of tent caterpillars from one of the apple trees.

Mark Bittman: What's wrong with what we eat

Farm news

Hey all,

Spring has finally come. I worry that we will now proceed directly into the heart of summer without the gradual warm up we would like. Ah well, you take what you get where weather is concerned.
I spent a few hours building a new fence around the chicken coop last week. Jess and I then put the old electric fence around the new 5 foot tall welded wire fence. It seems kind of crazy to go to such lengths but with all the dogs in the neighborhood it seems prudent. I have dubbed the new enclosure "Chicken-Grad".
Otherwise the the plums are in bloom and the hops are growing quite quickly. We have been eating asparagus with dinner this week and have harvested a lot of rhubarb as well.

More later,
Rick

farm update

Well we harvested our first crop this evening. We harvested the first pulling of our rhubarb tonight. It looks like we should start harvesting asparagus by the end of the week.

Good eats to come,
Rick

Smeltfest recap

I got back from my annual spring camping and fishing trip known as smeltfest. We finally got a few smelt on Friday night. The surf was amazing on superior that night. It was as big as I have ever seen on lake superior and the biggest I had seen since my Navy days in the Pacific ocean. It was stupid and dangerous and just the sort of thing a man needs to do from time to time. We went back on Saturday night and caught a 2 dozen more. We went back to camp that night and made smelt scampi. It was great. Now I know it has only taken 6 years to catch smelt but that made them taste all the better.

Sorry

Sorry about the lack of posts recently. I have been waiting for the cold weather to move off. I got a few seeds planted last week but I am concerned that the cold weather may have spelled their doom. I guess that patience and hope must be the course of action for now. I am still working on a number of small projects. I need to finish the garage painting this spring. I probably shouldn't have let it sit primed all winter without a top coat, but you can only do what you can do. I also really need to tackle the repairs to the lean too section of the house in earnest this year. But for this weekend it is the annual smelt fishing and camping extravaganza known as Smeltfest. I will write when I get back next Monday.

Take care and wish me luck,
Rick

Sleet

Yup we have that too.

Snow

So it was near 80 last week.
It snowed last night.
I have nothing left to say.

Damn,
Rick

Hop trellis and more

Today we had the first 70 degree day in over 6 months. We made good use of the day too. I got the hop trellis up with Jess's help. I also transplanted some day lilies from the day lily bed into the ditch by the gutters. I have seen this done at other farms. The day lilies out compete the grass and you don't have to mow that area then. Just cut as close as you like to keep the lilies chopped back. I also planted the shallots, the runner beans, some beets and some white icicle radishes. I also managed a small update of the blog to match the season.

Rick

Time to get my chits together.

I have been chitting my potatoes this week. It basically consists of setting them out on egg crate and letting the eyes sprout. I have to interrupt myself here in case you are reading this as if I know what I am talking about. This is the first time I have attempted to grow potatoes so take what I say in that light. I have been trying to figure out where I was going to plant my spuds this year. I found an article yesterday that implied using rubbermaid garbage cans to grow them. I have heard of using barrels before so this seemed like a good idea. I have decided to try that method and plan to pick up 4 trash cans Monday on the way home from work.
Yesterday Jess and I went out to an earthday event at the Midtown global market. We came a crossed a number of great booths and people. There were a number of local and organic food producers there. The best piece of info we picked up was that the Thousand Hills Cattle Company based in Cannon Falls sells there products locally. This will be a great boon when we need local grass fed beef this fall. There was also a few advocacy groups for alt energy and the like. We had a good time.
On the farm we are starting to see the growth of lots of things. The Rhubarb and garlic ar coming along nicely. The chives as always can not be slowed much less stopped. The hops and raspberries are also sending up shoots. I also overwintered a few flowers that apear to have survived the winter.

Spring may finally be here.
Rick

Update

Well I think I have solved the problem with the network connection for now. So much is starting it is hard to cover it all. I have started working the beds in the garden. Mostly just turning and amending them to get them ready. I will need to get moving as spring appears to finally be on course.
I did get the chance to sneak away last weekend and do some trout fishing over in Northfield and by Sogn. My friend and I didn't catch anything but a bad day fishing still makes for a good day. We also stopped into a little place in Northfield called the Contented Cow. I like their beer selection and atmosphere. They have room to improve on their food. But over all a great time was had.
I have continued my interest in finding solutions to remove some of our fuel dependency. I hope to find a way to cut our BTU usage in the next year by about half. I am also amazing for a 20% reduction in outside energy used as well. One area I am looking into is a repair to the lean too section of the house while integrating some passive solar technology and also beefing up our insulation.
I know this seems like an awful lot to take on while attempting to grow and store our own food for at least a month. I am still planning to meet that goal as well.
When I get a chance I will be reading up on my fly fishing and energy technologies as well.

Stay busy, I know I will.
Rick

Sorry All

Sorry all about the lack of posts lately. We have been having some issues with our connection. I think it was the result of pilling up too many security apps.

Rick

Picture post

Well things are certainly growing.

More tomorrow,

Rick

Power Tools Rule !

Hey all,
It was a great weekend. I got so much done. I cleaned out the coop. Jess and I bib a bit of shopping. I baked my first batch of shortbread. We had a breakfast today of prosciutto wrapped chevre. I removed an annoying detail over the sink in the kitchen. I cleaned out the garage. But most importantly I purchased a small tiller attachment for my weed whip. I got the chance to use it a bit to prep some of the beds in the garden and I am already very impressed. It is heavy and uses gas, so not totally green but man did it allow me to turn the beds well. I already look forward to turning the beds again with it. I have never had a tiller so I don't have a good frame of reference but I am impressed. I hope to possibly plant peas this week.
In other news the seedlings seem to be coming along nicely

What is wrong with this picture?

I took this picture yesterday while I was out cleaning the chicken coop. It appears that more nest boxes may be in order. I removed a heck of a lot of litter from the coop and now it smells much better. It was tons of work but the weather was nice (65F) and the chickens really seemed to appreciated it. I think the hens prefer the closed in boxes over the wall shelf style of boxes. I will have to get to making at least 4 more.

Rick

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday was 50 F degrees and I got a chance to actually start cleaning up the garden. The first picture is the little buds of rhubarb starting to break the surface of the soil. The second picture is of some of the snow warnings still in effect this evening. It was pretty bad out there today. We stayed close to freezing so we just got lots of sloppy wet snow. I think I may have done a post already about how I was tired of the snow. Well now I am exhausted by it.
In other news I bottled 5 gallons of beer last night. It was a batch that had sit in secondary fermentation for almost a year. The sample I tasted was pretty good so we will have to see how it turns out after it has had a chance to carbonate.
I also started some seeds. Mostly herbs. I am trying something new to see if I can start seeds in the basement with heaters and lights. I have in previous years proven to be one of the worst seed starters alive, so we will have to see on that one as well.

Well stay dry and warm if you can.
Rick

Chickens are hip

Apparently chickens are the cool new thing. I was handed an article today from todays StarTrib that was talking about people who choose to keep small backyard poultry flocks. I think it makes me almost feel like a trend setter.

Rick

Side Note

I got my first link to this blog the other day. It came from Stonehead of Musings from a Stonehead. I highly recommend his blog for a look at how they do this sort of thing over in Scotland.

Enough with the snow already

Happy Easter Everyone,

I know it is still March, I know Minnesota's weather is famously variable, I know Easter is early this year. All the same I am tired of the snow. I know it wasn't a snowy winter, I know we could use the moisture and I know it won't last long. I need it to stop snowing. As you can see above even Cooper is praying for it to end. We have had around 6 inches of the "white stuff" since Thursday evening and it just keeps coming. I know it is just a combination of jealousy for those who have already begun to plant and blog about it and my own eagerness to get out and do the same. I suppose I will have to work with nature and wait for the time to sow but just the same I don't have to be happy about it. I guess I will just have to work on my stoicness err stoicisity, aw screw it! I want Spring.

End rant.
Rick

The sausage wars continue.

Well tonight I finished baking the summer sausage. It was not without it's difficulties. First I went through 3 thermometers before I found one that worked. Then it took until midnight before the meat got up to temp. Lastly now I have to fit it all back into the fridge. Ah well what a guy wont do for awesome venison summer sausage.

Goodnight

Sausage Galore

Well my friend Jamie was out today. We made a couple different sausages from the book we got him for his birthday present. We made a batch of venison summer sausage, a batch of garlic and sage duck sausage and a batch of red pepper lamb sausage. I haven't had a chance to taste the summer sausage yet but the other sausages were great. I took most of the day but I think it was worth it.
In other news it snowed on Tuesday it was 50F to day and we have a winter storm watch for tomorrow. You got to love Minnesota weather.

Rick

Spring continues to creep in.

I spent a few hours outside today. First I started to clean up around the chicken coop. I had placed the spent litter into empty feed bags this winter. I placed them around the coop to help insulate it. I am not sure if it helped but now I have to move it all to the compost bins. I got about half of it moved this afternoon.
I also cut down and burned the asparagus ferns and spent hops vines. I probably should have done this last fall but at least I got it done today. I fed them into the burn barrel along with some twigs and brush.
Jess and I also got to tour the Rising Moon Farm today when we picked up our lamb. We fed some of the sheep and llamas, we saw their chickens and their peafowl. They also had one of the Chinese golden pheasants. It was a stunning animal. I decided that if I am ever going to raise pheasants I would raise these. Wouldn't make a sporting animal to hunt due to its flame yellow color but I bet they taste just as good.

Rick

A River Runs Through It.

Well we are finally into the great spring melt. Every spring we seem to get a day or a few days that melts all the snow off the adjacent fields and every year it runs through the pole barn and over the yard. Last year I attempted to dig a small drainage ditch. I also attempted to build a small berm around the pole barn. Might have worked too if yellow dog hadn't dug into the pole barn at the low corner. Just the same it is worth it. Between lengthening days and spring melts it feels like we have our yard back. If we have one more day like today we can start getting the chicken yard ready for the ladies again.

Take Care
Rick

Costly Meat

Well it has been a long time since I have written. Sorry about that. I guess winter leaves me with less to say about things around here.
Tonight Jess made her excellent coq au vin. We had a heck of a time finding chicken livers for the stew. we stopped at no less than 3 stores and there was not a liver to be had. It was fortunate then that there was one stored inside that rooster that I have been meaning to dispatch. I think I was putting it off. It seems unnatural to kill an animal you spent the entire year raising and protecting. Just the same the rooster was one rooster too many and had what I needed. This might seem cold blooded to some but it was just a matter of time for that rooster, he didn't lay eggs, protect the flock or stop molesting the hens and like I said Jess makes an excellent coq au vin.
Otherwise we continue to collect about a dozen eggs a day. Luckily my Jess has found an outlet for them and we are not buried in them.
I have also gotten my first batch of seeds for this years garden and man I can't wait until I can get out and work the soil.

Cheap Meat

I know it sounds like the name of an uninspiring punk band or possibly a late night cable film but "cheap meat" is something even more disgusting. It is a plague upon our times.
Taking the recent news of downer cows being made into meat and sold to the schools in the US as an example. We as a people have been increasingly unlikely to ask the questions that need to be asked. Like where did this meat come from? Who processed it? Who prepared it? I mean how in this day and age is it even possible to raise, slaughter, transport, prepare, wrap and sell anything made of meat for less than a dollar? Think about it for a minute, by paying low prices for one of life's most precious foods we are saying we don't care about it. Think about the guys killing cattle for close to minimum wage. We tip a bartender for pouring a drink but balk at paying the guy responsible for nourishing our bodies a decent wage. For that matter what about the man or woman that cooked your meal? Shouldn't we be paying them better as well? I mean if the slaughterman is the first line of quality control then they are surely it's last possible check against disaster.
I don't have anything against eating meat. In fact I am a rabid devote of the wonderful stuff. It is precisely because I love meat so much that I am urging you all to buy meat that is worthy of eating. Don't tell me how great it is that you got a giant package of meat for only two bucks down at the Wallymart. You should be telling me about the fine steak you had last week and how it was worth every penny. Something to consider next time you step out for a Whitey One Bite.

Eat your vegetables and expensive meat,
Rick

Peak Oil Hope

I make good sauce.

Hey all,

Well not too much in the way of farm stuff to report. I cleaned out the chicken coop this morning. I a placed a few concrete blocks in the coop to support there waterer. It raises up the water above the litter and keeps it level to minimize spillage.
In food news it was a good weekend. I made dried cherry scones for breakfast using Alton Brown's recipe. They weren't my best batch but they were still good. We also made some venison loins in a rhubarb wine sauce. The sauce was entirely something I made up at the stove but the garlic and butter and rhubarb wine flavors really did something with the venison. Jess also made popovers as well and the were great as well.

Well that is about it for now.
Rick

Pasona O2

In my blog perusing I came a crossed something I had seen before but felt I should share. Pasona O2 is a cool Japanese indoor garden/farming project. From what I can gather it is part art project, part labor training program and all funky.
Links;
Treehugger post.
Direct link. (for those that read Japanese)
Pruned post
Flickr search

Image borrowed from Flickr user dimitridf please check out his work.

Windy Weekend

Sorry I haven't written in a while. Winter leaves me without a lot to say. I mostly putter around. I have been setting up a work space in the library. I have been more interested in electronics lately. I have been scraping out electronics in the basement when the spirit moves me. I have also been out to the forge a few times but have yet to make anything. I have also been trying to grow barley grass in the basement. I plan to give it to the chickens as a treat once I get it started.
I have also been researching a few things. I have really been interested in alternate power generation as of late. I think this spring I will try and make some form of small wind generator. I am only planning on charging a few NiCad batteries at first but maybe it will be the start of something good.
I tell you if I had had a wind generator this weekend I would be sitting pretty. We had sustained 20-30MPH winds here from Saturday to Sunday.

Later
Rick

Super Pancake Tuesday.

Well Jess and I went to our first caucus this evening after work. I have to admit that I was a little nervous going in. In truth it was a great experience, I got to meet a number of like minded neighbors and share views and ideas with them. I was surprised to see the number of people that were Democrats from my little township.
I also found out about another candidate for democratic party endorsement in the upcoming senate race. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. I was surprised that I hadn't heard of him before. I listened to a bit of the NPR Minnesota Debate and I liked what I heard from him. I am not sure yet that I am ready to endorse him outright but I did find him to be a viable candidate and plan to find out more about him.

Baked eggs and bread

Yesterday I started another 2 loaves of no-knead bread. I made one loaf with tomato and rosemary and the other was plain. I baked them up this morning. Jess and I had some with eggs and bacon for breakfast-brunch. I then saw a post over on Gardenfork.tv about baked eggs. Well I figured that they might be a good thing to put on top of some toasted rosemary bread. Jess and I made a few ramekins of eggs for dinner as well. We added cheese, turkey and heirloom tomato to the eggs as well. They were great. I think we will certainly make them again.
On another note Ben asked after one post if I'd had any trouble with the Kitchen Aid pasta maker. I can now say that I have. We made spaghetti for dinner last night again. I tried to mix the pasta in the bowl with the machine instead of kneading it by hand. The pasta dough didn't want to come together so I added more water and oil till it did. It made a nice looking dough quickly after that. But the dough ended up too wet and resisted passing through the plate and the dough that did stuck together. I had just about given up when my awesome wife stepped in and proceeded to kneed much more flour into the dough. The resulting dough seemed to dry but it made a much better pasta. We ended up eating the pasta with more kale with garlic.
Delicious.

Rick

Brrrrrr ..!!

Well we survived the night. For those who read this from somewhere other than Minnesota last nights temps were in the -17F region. That wouldn't be so bad in and of itself but the winds were coming out of the North at 20-30MPH. This poor old house couldn't keep making heat fast enough. So the house was in the mid 60's this morning. Also the shower froze up. That made for a rough morning. I did get the pipes thawed out this morning and had a nice warm cup of coffee on the way to work. No damage done except to my state of mind.

Take care and stay warm,
Rick

Week end wrap up

Spent a few hours working with a shovel this afternoon. First I finished shoveling out the driveway. I also opened up a passage out to the forge. We are getting more light in the evenings these days so I am looking forward to spending more time out in the forge. I will try and get some pictures once I get it going again. I guess I will have to look around and see if there are any garden or farmstead related forge projects to try my hand at. I really am a hack in the forge. I enjoy it though. I guess that is the price of being a Jack of all trades.
Jess and I also went to Gertens today just to dream and see plants. I always love going to a greenhouse of some form on a sunny day in the winter. It reminds you how good spring will feel.

Rick

Peak oil movie.

Latest Happenings

Well we traded some eggs to our pal Ben yesterday for a waffle maker. I have decided to give the maker a value of 20$. That is probably a bit high but it will allow me to offset almost 3 bags of chicken feed. I would need to turn the house into a small appliance shop to totally meet my goal of showing a profit on the farming activities. Just the same every little bit helps.
In other news I am getting increasingly interested in energy use in the house and farm. I have been looking into solar for heating and electric. I have also been looking into wind power as well. I love the idea of getting the farm off the grid but right now it isn't really all that possible. In the mean time I have been tightening the ductwork and insulating everything I can get access to in order to make the most of what we are already using.

Also made dried cherry scones for breakfast.

Rick

Carb lovers weekend

Well with the low low temps this weekend we have been staying in and doing some cooking. Yesterday we made some pasta. It was my first attempt at making pasta and I think it turned out quite well. We finished it with a sauce made of canned tomato sauce and herbs and onions from the pantry. We used some of the oregano that I had dried last year. I love when we make a meal out of mostly home produced stock. We used the pasta recipie from Lidia Bastianich's cookbook. It was great because a single batch used up a bunch of egg yolks. I will have to try and dry some pasta at some point. I am just a little concerned about leaving egg product out that long after they have been mixed with something. It is probably nothing to worry about considering we are using eggs from the hen house, but I still needed to take this step first.
We also made 2 loaves of bread. The first was my first modification of the No-Kneed bread recipe. I added a hand full of fresh rosemary and some chopped up dried tomato from our garden last year. It turned out good but I think I will be adding even more tomato and rosemary next time. The other loaf was just the standard recipe.

Stay warm folks
Rick

New Post.

Well a lot has happened since my last post. I turned 35. I think I am starting to notice more the passing of the years. I don't feel old just that I think I am more aware that I will be old. I don't mind the idea, but I would rather it took it's time with me.
In related news my mom was struck by a car while coming to the party. I can't talk about the details of the event right now. But mom is OK. It has taken up a lot of time lately but at least winter is the less busy season around here.

They are predicting temps to the low -20F this weekend!

Stay warm!!

Dinner and The Good Life

Hey all,
Well Jess and I have been spending a lot of time in lately. We have been watching a lot of DVD's. Jess got me the complete series of Good Neighbors. I believe it was known as the good life in the UK. I think I got started on the whole self sufficiency thing from that show. I was most impressed by the relationship of the main characters especially Tom and Barbara. I think a number of the current crop of self sufficiency devotes got there initial interest from that show. The Selfsufficientish forums even use the main characters to denote number of posts.
In other news we made dinner the other night of egg bake with garlic sauteed kale. I have to tell you after working in the chow hall in boot camp in the Navy I thought I hated kale. I never had to eat it there, just use it to cover everything. Rotten smelling slimy kale. Well it turns out that like a lot of things kale is better in the real world. I decided to buy some and see if I could handle it. It turns out that not only can I handle it, I loved it. The things you learn I guess. I am planning on planting some this spring.

Obligatory new years post

Well it seems a bit late but here is my obligatory new years post. I have been trying to develop a list goals for the farm in 2008. I decided that goals are more concrete than resolutions. My big goal is to keep detailed records of expenditures on the farm and use them to try and show a profit of at least 100 $. I am pretty sure it will be difficult if not impossible to accomplish. My hope is that at least by trying and by keeping close records I will at least get an idea of how much this crazy plan is costing us.
I have a few other goals. I am hoping to spend more time with family and friends in the new year as well. I also plan to finish some projects around the farm this season.

Well take care,
Rick