20260401 It Has Been Too Long
My humblest apologies for taking an unplanned sabbatical
I will be as open and honest as I can be in this forum. One of the reasons for my absence is that I was tired, exhausted really; ten years of writing the Newsletter on multiple platforms, much of which seemed repetitive, though I suppose repetition is an attribute of most folks’ lives, including ours. The holidays of course came and went. I actually traveled some, long distances, which has been a rare occurrence since moving to Michigan a decade ago, and even rarer since the start of the farm in 2019-2020; it is hard to find help that knows anything about large animal husbandry, not to mention care for the five cats and four dogs. For Geri and I to travel together we really require live-in help.
Then we have had to make some financial decisions, perhaps most importantly the decision to discontinue use of the Farmhouse as an Airbnb. The unfortunate fact of the matter is, after two years it has proven to be a money-losing proposition; six months or so of a solid rental schedule are simply not nearly enough to float the expenses. From that decision will cascade a few others, the end result of which will be a downsizing by half.
We have had some logging done, and we have one of the smaller parcels not in use, except for hunting, put on the market. We took 90 logs off of approximately 30 acres; that’s what I would categorize as very selective logging.
Finally, and most importantly, I needed some time and space to work on my relationships. Frankly, I’ve not been good at relationship since leaving home 50 years ago. I’m still not good at it, but now I’m working hard on it. I could lay blame in a number of places, but in the end my relationships are my problem. And in the end, relationships are all you have, and all you can take with you. There’s an old saying, something like “wherever you go, there you are,” that’s even a book title if my memory serves. Well, when you look back and see destroyed relationships in a long wake, and you’ve been in all of those relationships, it might come to you, as it came to me, that you are the problem.
Better late than never. I pray.
Okay. More on the various decisions we have made and are still making will come out in this space over the course of the next few months. One decision that I failed to mention; we will stay. The work on all fronts continues.
We saw heavy spring showers, the above in early March, 2 inches of ‘em. That much precipitation has an impact on plans, needless to say (or maybe not). This life is weather dependent, sunlight dependent, etc. So.
And, we have another 2 inches in the near term forecast.
It’s been a weird winter and early spring; winter started early, and we still cannot seem to shake it off.
Primal Woods
Some decisions it stands to reason, have to do with the Primal Woods and Homestead Rebel Farm businesses. Let’s get to that.
Pure Maple Syrup
To free up some time and energy, I decided to forego the Pure Maple Syrup season this year. And I decided to sell the Oxen. If we use draft animals in the future, and I think we will, it will be horses. I have a yearning for horses that goes back to my early teen years on my Uncle Larry’s ranch in Wyoming. Try as I might, and I’m not trying, I cannot shake the yearning. I was watching a show the other day and heard words to this effect, “the best thing for the inside of a man, is the outside of a horse;” I want to test that proclamation.
Meanwhile, Pure Maple Syrup sales continue, so do me a favor and order some!
Sawmill Services
Last year was a weird year; we had a lot of business very early in the spring, which is unusual, less than usual in the summer months, and then I milled a lot more in the snow than I usually do. Since the beginning, Sawmill Services has been the cash flow engine of Primal Woods. I need that to continue.
I have one big job in progress for Chris H. onsite in Primal Woods.
And another in the estimating stage for Zach S.; below are a couple of videos of me talking to myself about what I'm seeing during a site visit to the proposed milling location.
Based on the conversation with Zach, particularly with respect to the building scheduled on this new home site, we decided to sort the logs and remove those selected to Primal Woods for milling; I’m putting together the cost estimate now.
Homestead Rebel Farm
Sheep
I’ve created a tunnel of sorts, electric fencing, so that the sheep can get to the High Tunnel (shelter from the wind, rain and snow) for lambing.
It might seem odd, maybe not, but shepherding is part of my “training.” It should be that we have four pregnant ewes, three of them with their first lambs, with, by my calculation an earliest due date of March 8th. As it turned out the first lambs were born the afternoon of March 18th, and we still await the next the lambs.
Here is a pic from just yesterday:
The plan is to sell lambs, as we sell pigs, late this year. If you are interested, let me know; I’ve not given any thought yet to pricing.
Speaking of sheep and shepherding, I highly recommend the book A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23. Culturally we have removed ourselves from the agrarian culture we once were. And a result is that it is very difficult for us to relate to many of the parables in the Bible. With respect to shepherds and shepherding, this book will give you a feel for what David had learned as a shepherd boy, and drew on heavily in his writing of Psalm 23. “The Lord is my shepherd…”
Pigs
I’ve done the math, and to get the pigs to the butcher by October 22nd I need to have them onsite by April 14th. Last year we raised six pigs, this year I’m hoping for at least that number. Again, get your orders in; most, all but one of our customers last year, are repeat customers, which says a lot about the quality of the pork. I will need all orders before the April 14th date, because I only buy enough pigs to satisfy demand.
Meat Birds
We will run chickens for the broiler again this year, even if only enough to meet our own needs. Average weight last year was about 6 lbs, and as with the Pigs, I will only buy enough chicks to meet demand.
News & Notes
I’ve decided that I’m going to “do” Newsletters less often, but write more often on topics I care about. Newsletters might come every two weeks or four, with the other writings filling in; I’ll sort it out as I go, I just want you to know it’s going to be a bit different.
Underlying the relationship work I mentioned above, has been spending a lot of time in the Word. Geri turned me on to the Hallow app awhile back, and tomorrow is Day #320 of the Bible in a Year program; we just got into the New Testament a couple of days ago. It’s a journey. Hallow is also running a Lent program called “Pray 40,” which is super; we are almost done with the Lent program, which was based on The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Henri J. M. Nouwen, and the novel The Brothers Karamazov, by Dostoevsky.
I highly recommend Hallow as a daily practice.
All the best, and may God bless you and keep you,
John