Newsletter #312 2025 Jun 18 Wednesday
A lot of equipment maintenance work, and more on the Sheep Pasture. Things are coming together.
Primal Woods
Sawmill Services
We finally completed the milling of Shane’s log, and it is now stacked for air drying.
I reckon that amounts to about 300 sq ft of wall covering, or a 9 ft high wall 30 ft long and 10% accounted for as waste in the installation. Next stop is a Solar Kiln, after Rob’s lumber comes out.
Rob’s lumber drying status is below; as luck would have it, we are getting rain again tonight and into tomorrow.
If you or someone you know are interested in our Sawmill Services, check out our Primal Woods page on the subject.
Homestead Rebel
Timothy and I were on a tear this week regarding much needed maintenance and repair of equipment. I had mentioned that there are two things on the homestead that reproduce like rabbits; pneumatic tires and small engines, both requiring maintenance, repair, and ultimately, replacement. So, let’s focus on small engines, as they come to mind:
Husqvarna 460 Rancher chainsaw
Husqvarna 3120xp chainsaw
Husqvarna Z254 zero-turn mower (4 tires)
Honda 1 hp water/sap pump
CountyLine wood splitter, 25 ton (2 tires)
DR (wood) Chipper (2 tires)
Brush cutter
Echo string trimmer
Roof VP-75 brush mower (acquired this week)
Polaris Ranger 400 (4 tires)
Kubota L3301 Utility Tractor (4 tires)
Wood-Mizer LT40 Super Hydraulic portable sawmill (3 tires), and then
Large engine (John’s F250)
Large engine (Geri’s Mazda CX-5)
So, that’s 12 “small” engines and 21 tires. Then on the tire front, we have the F250 (5 tires), utility (car hauler) trailer (4 tires) small dump-wagon (pulls behind the Polaris, 2 tires), a small utility trailer (2 tires), Geri’s car (4 tires) … I feel like I’m missing something, but we are already up to 39 pneumatic tires. The VP-75 has 2 tires, but they're solid, not pneumatic. You get the point; just maintaining all those tires is a bit of a chore; the small engines moreso. Needless to say perhaps, there has been some “deferred” maintenance.
The Echo string trimmer needed a new carb and fuel system; along with that came a new spark plug and air filter.
Works fine, lasts a long time. This is mostly used around the yards (house and Farmhouse), not out in the pasture.
The Kubota got the most attention: new filters (air, fuel, oil, hydrostatic transmission (HST) and hydraulic), an oil change, a transmission fluid change, and one new cooling hose.
The Z254 mower got one new blade spindle, three new blades, and a new belt to drive the blades.
The Polaris; I reported recently of the oil and filter change, plus new rear tires. Earlier this year the head gasket was also replaced.
I don’t even want to think about how much all this maintenace would cost if I took it all to others. It’s bad enough just having to pay for the parts and supplies; fluids and filters alone for the Kubota were over $500. Ouch. Anyway, Timothy and I have been hard at it. Oh, and we also installed a new Culligan whole-house water filter.
Sheep
I am leaving this picture up from last week, as we (i.e. Timothy) have been making great progress in the Sheep Pasture.
And also as a pdf…
Most of the physical progress has been mowing and clearing.
But we have also made progress in planning for the completion of the fencing project; we hope to have all of the fence posts installed yet this week. We have sufficient 4 inch wood posts onhand, but we needed another thirty 5 inch posts; I picked those up this morning.
Oxen
We helped the Oxen out with the flies this week, and we will repeat the process tomorrow. It had an amazing effect.
Pigs
We expanded the pig area by an estimated 150%; some sort of porcine bliss ensued. The rain we are getting as I type will only improve the situation from their perspective!
And, as planned, we had pork breakfast sausage, bacon and eggs for “lunch.”
Farmhouse Airbnb
The presence of amphibians and reptiles are positive signs of a healthy ecosystem. When you visit, depending on the time of year, you will see a great variety of water fowl, mammals and reptiles/amphibians, not to mention fish, if you choose to hit the lake!
News and Notes
Pay attention to what the Supremes are doing in the next couple of weeks; several monumental rulings are expected.
Sick skillz.
A great post from Patrick Whalen.
And just one of those feel-good posts.
Books & Such
I listened to the book my Mom recommended Lincoln's Battle with God: A President's Struggle with Faith and What It Meant for America; it is very informative, and highly recommended. Also, it is short, clocking in at just over 7 hours in the audio format.
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All the best, and may God bless you and yours,
John & Geri
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