Newsletter #271 2024 Aug 16 Friday
It's been a long week, but the animals are oblivious to the goings on
Primal Woods
I’m still looking for the “new” truck. I was the winning bidder on one, but the bid did not meet the seller’s reserve. That might have been a blessing. Now I’m looking at this one, which better meets my requirements:
It’s a 1989 F250, 4WD, 7.4L IDI diesel, with a 5 speed manual transmission. I’ve made an offer; we’ll see where that goes.
Sawmill Services
For the first time this year if my memory serves, chainsaw milling with Michael was on tap. It was a gorgeous day; not too hot, not too wet. The 3120xp Husqvarna gave me the usual problems; hard to start, or restart sometimes. Still, we managed.
The slabs that came off this 40 inch diameter Black Walnut were awesome, especially when we got into the “rot” you can see from this end, which is where the tree branched out. The tables made from the 2 inch slabs we milled are going to be beautiful.
Homestead Rebel Farm
The Cornish X are still growing rapidly.
Notice how the chickens are just lying around? That’s not “normal” chicken behavior (normal human behavior yes!), but then again, the Cornish X (cross) are anything but normal. We are a week and a day from butchering the chickens.
The pigs too are doing well.
These are going to be some big pigs. Big. We still have 3-1/2 months to go! Easy 200 lbs hanging, maybe quite a bit more. Speaking of which, we have three younger pigs that will go to the butcher in the back half of January; if you are interested in the best pork you’ve ever eaten, leave a comment and I’ll make contact.
Oh, and Boris is looking good!
Men’s Retreat
The dates for the next Men’s Retreat have been moved out to 26-29 September. The 2025 dates are unchanged; 20-23 Feb, 5-8 Jun, and 4-7 Sep. If you or someone you know might be interested, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Farmhouse
This week’s incremental improvement was adding a cover to the pedal/paddle boat.
It will be much easier to keep the boat clean for guests with this cover in place.
And Geri’s hosting is showing up in a very positive way.
It won’t be long and Geri will attain “Super Host” status, I have no doubt. Check it out for yourself, we’d love to have you!
News
Trust in doctors and hospitals is collapsing:
And big news for us, thanks to you! We exceeded 1,000 followers on the Substack page! Pick up some Pure Maple Syrup at a discount by acting quickly; link in the Note:
Books
I’m still immersed in Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War. I’m up to about 1938 chronologically, and the British (Chamberlain) by way of appeasement, just gave Czechoslovakia to Hitler. The move rendered France’s “Maginot Line” obsolete, among other negative outcomes. And let’s just say Hitler was not sufficiently pacified.
All the best, and may God bless you and yours,
John & Geri
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