Newsletter #280 2024 Oct 21 Monday
It's was a helluva 10 days, on several fronts. In particular it's been stressful since Thursday, when Toby took a turn for the worse, again; I'm about ready to go from vaccine sceptic to anti-vax.
In other big news, we made a major farm improvement since I last wrote. And Kenton has worked a couple of more days; I had him focused on the Forecart that I picked up from the Amish, and the Polaris, which has been nothing more than a large boat anchor for the past couple of seasons.
Primal Woods
Sawmill Services
The job with Larry and Mila went great last week. Great people, and a small but sweet job of milling some Walnut for Larry’s future projects.
Larry and I had some log maneuvering to do; but we got that done, and finished the milling in less than three hours.
And I transported Matt’s cookies to Hickory and Oak Sawmill in Decatur for drying and planing. These cookies are over 3 inches thick, so I cannot do the drying in the solar kilns. Even at that they will have to be aired dried for several months before they go into the kiln; we are looking at next summer for completion of process. Patience is a virtue in the wood business.
Pure Maple Syrup
After fixing the Log Splitter and working on the Forecart, I asked Kenton to move on to the Polaris. In the first two years of making Pure Maple Syrup at scale, we used the Polaris to haul sap out of the woods, then we went to horses. Since that time we’ve missed its convenience, but it hasn’t been an absolute necessity. The situation is now changed. With the addition of the herding dogs, moving around on the property with them is necessary, and the Polaris UTV, or “ute” as the Aussies call it, is the perfect vehicle for managing the herd. Have a look at the 4-part series “Muster Dogs” on Netflix, to see how the Aussies use “utes,” and dogs in the management of their herds.
Anyway, we put a bore scope in the cylinder and found, or saw, some green liquid in the “seam” between the head and block; anti-freeze for sure, and a sure indication of a head gasket leak. The new gasket is in hand, and Kenton will be working on replacing it Monday afternoon and Tuesday. Another nice thing about the Polaris is that it treads very lightly on the landscape, with only 10 psi max in the tires. It will be welcomed back into service.
Homestead Rebel Farm
I’m basically finished with the Barn Water project; a new drain valve is on the 275 gal. tote, together with a Y-garden hose connection for filling the tote and for filling an Oxen water trough. Check Barn Water off the list!
And, we checked another “Major Project” off my to-do list; the installation of tubes to make for high and dry(er) access to the High Tunnel during the wet seasons. Here is a little video of how that went; 4 min 23 sec in length:
And finally, on the machinery and equipment front, I found my dream truck!
It’s a 31 years old truck, a 1993 Ford F250, 4WD, with extended cab and a full length bed. The power-plant is a 7.3L turbocharged diesel, with mechanical fuel injection. (The well known Power Stroke engine with electronic fuel injection came out the next year, in 1994.) Not a spot of rust on it. And only 155,000 miles; these trucks can go for half a million miles, and one has reportedly gone 700,000 miles before engine overhaul. This truck so perfectly meets my needs that it has to have been divine providence! We don’t have the truck in hand just yet, it should be leaving from Oregon on Monday; I’m hoping we have it about a week from now.
I’ll be selling the trusty F150 4x4 if anyone is interested. The F150 is a solid truck, and has served me very well for 5 years; in the “new” truck I was looking for more towing capacity (for lumber in particular, and animals), but as importantly I’m trying to avoid an overload of electronics, which I don’t have the skills to troubleshoot below the module/circuit board level, much less repair at home or roadside. More on this later no doubt.
Let’s talk about Toby. Toby and Tilly went in for their first “wellness check” on Sep 28, at about 8 weeks of age, when they also received their first vaccination, the DAPP (Distemper, Adenovirus-2, Parvovirus, and Parainfluenza) vaccine. Four days later I called the vet because Toby wasn’t eating and was very lethargic; on the fifth day we were back at the vet where they prescribed treatment for a roundworm overload, and gave him anti-inflammatories, both to be administered daily for the succeeded three days, which we did. He recovered, and I did not make a connection. Roughly two weeks later, on Sep 14, I took them to the vet for a DAPP booster; on the 17th I called the vet because you guessed it, Toby was not eating and lethargic, but, they didn’t have time in their schedule for him. It was then that I made the connection with the DAPP. There is no such thing as coincidence. In addition to not eating, and being lethargic, he was also lame in his left front leg (they had jabbed him between the shoulder blades with the booster), and you couldn’t touch him anywhere without yelps of pain and whimpering. On the 18th he was admitted to the ICU at VCA Vet Specialty & ER of Kalamazoo. His temperature was 104°F and rose to 105.2°F; 105°F is the point at which organs begin to die in dogs, starting with the gut. A little over two grand and about 24 hours later, the very caring folks at VCA had saved his life. We are very thankful for that outcome, and we pray there are no lasting consequences. We took home several days worth of steroids, antibiotics, and pain medications.
Frankly, we cannot afford $2,000 vet bills, and I’m not taking the chance that he’ll have another reaction to the DAPP vaccine; an “essential” vaccination they say, unless it kills the dog I guess, in which case he won’t be needing any more vaccinations. Suffice it when I say, it will not happen again.
Farmhouse
We have guests in the Farmhouse; as usual I am charged with putting up split firewood before their arrival.
We went on a 2 hour Homestead Rebel Farm walking tour on Friday; Jim and the entire group asked several deep questions. It was a good conversation, and I enjoyed our time together.
Boris made an unsanctioned and impromptu visit to the Farmhouse (in the background, behind the trees); I had to repair a gap in the fence before repatriating him. Just another Sunday.
News
I didn’t have a lot of time to read the news, but needless to say there is a lot going on.
Books
The same goes for books; not much time. But I did listen to A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, again. It’s short, but invaluable for bringing the psalm to life, by revealing the connections to real world sheep herding.
For this express purpose, exposure for our guests to shepherding is one of our goals when raising sheep.
You can help us to keep the wheels on this effort, by visiting the website, and buying some of our Pure Maple Syrup!
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All the best, and may God bless you and yours,
John & Geri
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