Newsletter #274 2024 Sep 06 Friday
A milling job down on the Indiana border last Saturday, and I finally finished the Oxen's perimeter fence today.
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Primal Woods
First up after last week’s Newsletter was a milling job with Brian & company. Black Oak was on the agenda, and with Brian and two others helping we got along relatively quickly.
Sawmill Services
We milled just over 700 bd ft of lumber from 16 logs.
See that tractor in the background? I think Brian set a record for the oldest tractor to help with milling; a 1948 Farmall Cub.
Homestead Rebel Farm
The first batch of pigs, for late November, is still doing quite well, and I’m confident these pigs will be over 300lbs on the hoof by the end of November.
The second batch of pigs, for late January, is also doing well in the High Tunnel.
But the big news this week is that I finally completed the perimeter fencing for the four acres of Oxen pasture.
That tall grass is now fenced in. I gave Boris and Elmer access today to two paddocks they have not been in for three weeks or so, and they are enjoying the new grass there. Perhaps tomorrow, but I’d guess more like Monday, I’ll turn them into the tall grass.
In the second picture you get a bit closer view of Elmer and Boris, just to the left of the tall grass; Boris is way at the back.
I have some additional cross-fencing to do, and a couple of more electric gates to put in. It was a surprise to me that for just four acres, with cross fencing to make ten paddocks, I will have used 5,000 feet, almost a mile (5,280 feet) of 12.5 ga. aluminum wire. And I’ve pounded more t-posts than I want to think about.
Farmhouse
More guests in the Farmhouse for this weekend; it promises to be cool, but sunny. They’ve already been around asking to see the animals.
Geri continues to improve on her hosting, and it has shown up as some very happy guests, and hopefully some repeat customers.
News
The draft will return. Mark my words.
More attacks on farmers and ranchers.
A little bit more on JFK. The more I read the more respect I have for JFK, and RFK, and RFK Jr. All of these men knew, and in the case of RFK Jr., know, what’s possible, and maybe even probable.
Books
I listened to Nuclear War: A Scenario on Audible this week; too many hours spent behind the wheel.
A couple of take-aways:
There is no such thing as winning a nuclear war;
of course deterrence is the idea, but the plans for “restoring deterrence” in the event that deterrence fails in the first place, will only result in Armageddon; and
if we and the Russians go at it full-scale, the result is literally an Extinction Level Event (ELE). As in, extinction of the human race.
We the People had better regain control of our government, and soon. Phrases like “the rationality of the irrational” scare the hell out of me. So. I recommend this book.
The author, Annie Jacobsen, has been interviewed at length by Joe Rogan, or, just put “interviews of annie jacobsen” in any search engine and you’ll find a whole host of other interviews, if you’re interested. And, the author reads the book herself, which is quite nice; she does a great job.
And, I’m still reading JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters. While not finished, and having read other books and essays on the subject, there is no doubt in my mind that the CIA, probably with the involvement of the FBI, and perhaps the Secret Service, murdered JFK. No doubt. Which begs a question; if the population at large came to that same conclusion (right or wrong), what would that mean for the nation-state? I suspect that the CIA thinks it would mean something awful, so awful that they have convinced two presidents so far, Trump and Biden, to defy the law requiring disclosure of all JFK assassination-related documents by 2017. Just sayin’.
And, if the citizenry believed as I do, would their minds go to MLK, RFK, and Malcom X; all four including JFK assassinated between ‘63 and ‘68?
It’s food for thought.
Geri and I went to see Reagan (the movie) this week. We enjoyed it. Six of Reagan’s years in office overlapped with my 12 years of active duty service.
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All the best, and may God bless you and yours,
John & Geri
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John, why only 12 years active service?