Newsletter #277 2024 Sep 27 Friday
Repairing the barn well pump video. A short video on the younger pigs. Lots of pictures. Pup care, and the School of Traditional Skills Summit dominated the week.
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Primal Woods
This week’s activities, the scheduling at least, was driven by the need to stay home for pup care. Unless Geri was here, evenings and weekends, I was never off the property for more than 90 minutes, and even that was probably stretching things. Feeding the pups, Toby and Tilly, taking them out, cleaning up after their “accidents,” were at the top of the list, and will probably stay there for awhile.
Sawmill Services
Milling preps on the docket, a milling job in nearby Coloma this weekend. It should be a relatively quick job; I think I’ve got 6 hours on the calendar.
The last time I milled for Matt, five years ago now, we pulled 1,357 board feet from just 6 logs; that’s got to be some sort of record! This time we will be re-sawing some old barn timbers.
Pure Maple Syrup
Our friend Carrie shared the above on Facebook; she was reaching out for help I’m certain of it. I wouldn’t say the “current pancake situation” is life threatening at this point, that’s my professional opinion, but it’s getting close. You have to take care to lay in a sufficient supply; with the next plandemic there might again be supply chain disruption. So. Be Prepared!
Homestead Rebel Farm
A brief update on the younger Pigs, and a reminder; if you want a November or January pig please let me know!
I mentioned last week that we were going to an Amish auction on the weekend, where I was hoping to pick up a forecart for the Oxen. Well, we got one!
Ours is the cart on the right. I need to make a couple of weld repairs, but the cart can be used as-is. The steel wheels are important, and practical because this cart will not leave the Homestead. I counted a few years ago and I had 44 pneumatic tires on the property, all of which require care, maintenance, and eventually replacement; I’ll take steel wheels when I can get them. The best part?, picked this up for $100; I was thinking I might spend up to a thousand. A great deal.
I also wanted a hay wagon running gear, and I did bid on a couple, but I was managing our resources and did not win the bidding. But, I was disappointed in myself for not picking up this draft animal drawn road grader for driveway maintenance:
It ended up going for just $200! It’s really hard to keep a crown on the driveway to shed the water, and this grader would have made it easy. Anyway…
The good ole’ Adams Road Patrol #3. Sorry, not sorry, that’s just cool.
And finally, I had my eyes on an anniversary present for Geri:
I mean what’s not to like about it!? It’s a Maytag, and it has a wringer for getting most of the water out before hanging the clothes to dry! You’ll have to admit, it’s better than a vacuum, yes?! Let’s just say Geri was less than impressed with my thoughtfulness. Sometimes I think there’s just no winning.
On the fix-it front, I managed to get the barn well pump running. I’m going to put a plug in for the Flint & Walling company, and their VA Deep Well Jet Pump; still in business, still offering, and still supporting the pump after building it in May of 1995, 29 years ago. That’s impressive. Anyway, you might want to come back to this…the video is 20 minutes, mostly because I’m talking myself through what needs to be done with you listening in. And, truth be told, I am a very inefficient video editor.
Farmhouse
We have guests at the Farmhouse this weekend, and one of my jobs is to make sure they have firewood for the pit; the splitting maul is available to the guests if they need more.
The pit has been used by many of our guests. There’s just nothing like sitting by the fire in dark sky country, where you can also look up and see the starry, starry night.
News
Ongoing education; today is the last day.
The so-called “alt media” has been around for a long time as it turns out.
And I put up a post earlier this week…
Books
I haven’t picked up JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters, for a few days, but I’ll get back to it. I’m doing some research on indentured servitude, which is proving informative. And I pickup another book and am almost done with it; Durable Trades: Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time.
“Groves uncovers family-centered professions that have endured the worst upheavals in history—including the Industrial Revolution—and continue to thrive today. Through careful research and thoughtful commentary, Groves offers another way forward to those looking for a more durable future.” I listened to the author present as part of the School of Traditional Skills Summit, and I ordered another of his books, “The Family Economy: Discovering the Family as It Was Designed to Work.”
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All the best, and may God bless you and yours,
John & Geri
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