Sunday, September 05, 2010

Why I am here

Going into winter I start thinking about what I will read on those cold dark days next to the warm fire. Spring, summer and fall are a time of action. I am too busy to dedicate much time to reading. My reading exploits lean toward research and education (the immediate gratification kind). Ahh but winter is the time to be able to pore over books purely for enjoyment. I have a list of books all set for the winter and will likely stumble across a few extras that will squeeze in front.

What I really need is more blogs for my blog-roll. This is where you come in, yes even if you have never commented before. First, I want YOUR blog address--nothing else. If your blog is already in my blog-roll *where I hang out* then (and only then) please suggest your favorite blog that you think I will like. I Want You!!! You should be getting a visual image of me pointing my finger right at you.

Why am I here? Many reasons really, but mostly I want to capture these moments so I might better learn from them. I also romanticize that my great grand children might want to know who I was.

I would love to have read either of my grandfathers journals they didn't keep during their lifetime. My grandfather Horace was an amazing artist, inventor and landscape architect. During the depression he held a patent for Formica. Dupont had a similar patent of inferior quality. Horace sold the patent to Dupont for $1000 and provided for his family through those troubled years. He also pioneered many methods for coloring cement still in use today.

My grandfather Gustav immigrated from Germany at twenty five. With only the clothes on his back he eventually became a pillar in his community. He engineered and invented many things to make his life easier on his milk farm. I wish I had the plans for the smokehouse that he built. As a teenager I went to stay a summer with friends of his. Their patriarch employed Gustav as a machinist in one of his first jobs in America. I saw the respect and esteem he commanded even a generation later.

I don't feel like I live in their shadow but they set the bar pretty high. I know how curious I am about them and my namesake Karl, Gustav's father. My descendants will have one of those weird records of a little family, their family, struggling to make a go of it off a little slice of the Ozarks.

Of course that is not the only reason I am here but it is surely one that kept me blogging after my original reason proved for naught. Pablo and Danielle kept encouraging me to keep going which really made all the difference.

42 comments:

Mama Podkayne said...

mytotalpv.blogspot.com

You all have inspired us from way back in the day when we gardened in our back yard to today where we are raising heritage breed hogs on pasture in southern Iowa!

SweetMissDaisy (Anna Wight) said...

I enjoy your family blogs, and maybe you'll enjoy mine, too! :) http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com

Sounds like you've got quite an interesting family tree, too!

Jo said...

I am honored to be on your reading list! I love reading about your family and your homesteading progress. Give these other two blogs a try:

http://subsistencepatternfoodgarden.blogspot.com/

http://squashblossomfarm.blogspot.com/

Lacey said...

I am currently enjoying this blog

http://www.rural-revolution.com/

My family is pursuing a rural life, inspired by people like yourself. If you'd like come by and check us out
Neohippiemama.com

Rixa said...

I'm at Stand and Deliver (rixarixa.blogspot.com). Tabitha followed my blog for a while (and maybe still does and just hasn't had time to comment lately).

I think you'd like this Aussie blog about food, gardening, etc. She and I have become internet friends--it's funny how you can make these connections without ever meeting the person face-to-face!
http://pandragonathome.blogspot.com

Homesteading Mommy said...

We just built your conduit chicken pen. We usually use PVC but it gets so brittle after a few years and conduit, being much cheeper, seemed like a good replacement. THanks for the plans!

www.FLhomesteader.blogspot.com

Anke said...

I've been reading and following your blog for a while now. You guys are really an inspiration and I've learned a lot from you. Oh, and I was born and raised in Germany, but moved here 18 years ago with my husband. Our blog http://cox-himmel.blogspot.com is in English and in German.

Jacki said...

http://modernwench.com

I'm not blogging much these days, as I'm having a super hard time with my first pregnancy - I had no idea how damn tired I'd be! But once my energy is back, I'll be back up and at it. I find your blog INCREDIBLY inspiring. My husband and I want to homestead, are in the saving and planning stage right now. You're living our dream.

Rachael said...

I have followed your blog for about a year when someone pointed me to your chicken tractor. We used different plans, but I still like your blog.

http://nekhomeinstead.blogspot.com/

Rachael

LannaM said...

http://lannam.xanga.com/

mary said...

hi -- i really enjoy your blog. i found you through sugar mtn farm. pls check out my blog, if you wish.

ML said...

I am a retired lady who has been reading you blog almost from the first day you began and love it. I don't have a blog, but I think you wife would really enjoy reading
http://chickensintheroad.com/blog/
It is a community of like minded ladies who share stories, recipes and crafts.

Allison Reynolds said...

I love your blog...you can check out mine. www.thereynoldsnation.blogspot.com.

Representative said...

I don't blog much. I don't write very well, but such as it is, here's my blog (set to a page I wrote that sort of explains my life and my blog) http://therepresentatives.blogspot.com/2010/04/success.html

I LOVE your blog. I feel like you are family almost, so actually I'm glad to be sharing my blog with you, even if a bit embarrassed.

Shadowmoss said...

Here's mine: http://shadowmoss.blogspot.com/

Up to this point it has mainly just been a way to share my thoughts with friends I'm not geographically close to anymore. I'm in the process of moving to Honduras, so I'm hoping that it will get more interesting. I find I push myself to do things to have something to write about, so it is a way to keep from being such a hermit.

I must have found you from Sugar Mountain's blog, also. I tend to follow links of people who make comments on blogs I'm already reading. I have given up on the homesteading life, and am attempting the opposite, a more minimalist way. I'm a long ways from either at this point.

Ed said...

I'm already on your blog roll and you already comment on my favorite blogs to read, including yours. If you don't mind, I might check out a few of these provided by your readers.

Pablo said...

Don't listen to that Pablo. He's just a blowhard.

Biomes blog is consistently interesting, and quick.

Pharyngula if you want to march on the edge of the culture wars.

Walter Jeffries said...

Well, I was going to suggest Ethicurean but you have that on your list. So, how about:

http://www.foodrenegade.com/

By the way, my blog which is in your list could get updated to:

http://SugarMtnFarm.com

as I have moved it from Blogger to WordPress. Actually, I'm still somewhat in the process of moving but progress is being made a little bit every day...

By the way, I like this particular post's comments as it is like a sign post in the forest of places to go and visit. Great idea!

tansy said...

i've really been enjoying reading blogs from the southern hemisphere lately:

http://its-our-life-for-six.blogspot.com/
http://hugoandelsa.blogspot.com/

oh, and riana is always a treat. her 'blog' is actually a flickr account but she always has amazing photos and writes quite a bit about them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/81951381@N00/

tansy said...

and i love the name horace! i think your grandkids will treasure all the moments you have captured!

JenO said...

I'm been reading on and off for over a year now. I love reading it and always miss it when I am in my frantic "my life is too busy" modes. We're living completely different lifestyles and I am not always a regular writer but here it is:

http://herewego-jennifer.blogspot.com/

Representative said...

I forgot to share a link.
http://permaculturepathways.blogspot.com/

I've been following this blog for a while, too. I learn a lot from her.

Robbyn said...

We're so glad you're here, and we learn from your journey every time we come here to catch up. It's been a while since I've been able to catch up with the back posts...oh my gosh, I didn't realize you had sheep! We want some so badly... congratulations on your gorgeous "personalized" variety of tomato that did so well, and it was neat seeing that the San Marzanos are really that good cooked. We are so delighted to see the baby calf pictures and understand the mixed reviews doing the "necessary" must be getting. Thanks for sharing the reality and not just the successes, the details of how you build what you need and innovate and improve as you go. We love your family :)

Caddie said...

Your posts are wonderful. They are just too fewer than I would like but I'm so greedy, ya know?

I too wish your grandfather had left a journal. If only all grandparents could have done so, we would have our real history, not the 'canned political' one.

The encounter with the snake horrified me. Thank God for your being close enough. I will never rest easy again knowing the danger lurking about your place. Never!

My email: retsetc@yahoo.com.
What an honor your asking.
Thank you and I hope you will enjoy my writing if you find time to read some. Then again, I do a lot of griping and grumbling, so unlike your posts. So beware.

Caroline said...

Hi!

I love your blog. Especially that it is a 'dad' blog. here mines:
www.bookentete.blogspot.com and
www.tribusavalon.blogspot.com

BTW your tomatos are awsome!

Caroline

Amy L. said...

My blog address is http://amysflock.blogspot.com.

I have admired your journey to homesteading from afar...I read both yours and Tabitha's blogs (I know of Tabitha through the KFC forum).

My family on both sides farmed originally...tobacco farmers in Virginia on one side, and regular old farmers in Montana and North Dakota on the other. Farming has skipped many generations in my family, but I find it a perfect fit for the way I want to live and raise children!

mocabeemills said...

http://mocabeemills.blogspot.com/

Thanks for sharing your stories, with all of us. Love your pigs this time around!

Kathie said...

I know you've read & commented on my blog over the years and I've always appreciated the many things I've learned from both you and Tabitha. I'm also going to love checking out the links from your other readers!

Katrien said...

http://blog.bolandbol.com aka MamaStories.

Hey Karl, this is a great idea. I'd be honored to be on your blog roll. You've been on mine for ages now!

Jess Riley said...

I found you a few months back while looking for building plans for a root cellar (though there is no immediate need for a root cellar), and I've been living vicariously through you ever since.

Also, Tabitha rocks.

Anonymous said...

Hi Karl,

I've been reading your blog for awhile now and have got to say that I look forward to every post you and your lovely wife write.

I post infrequently about quilting here: http://jewelweedchronicles.wordpress.com/

Taylor said...

http://survivingmassachusetts.wordpress.com

Chris said...

I'm just starting out in blogging so be nice! Thanks for sharing.

www.kickingmyown.blogspot.com

Coop

Anonymous said...

Not being chosen for your reading list was a disappointment. I burn with embarrassment. Sniffle :(

The world will never know what they've missed. :) :)

Not a homesteader but still a sensitive human with a need for readers and friends.

Raining on your parade requires you to delete this comment. Your move!

warren said...

I really enjoy www.chiotsrun.com

Ma said...

Pat and Em recommended your blog to me. They have nothing but good things to say about your family. Mine is abundantlifefarm.blogspot.com

Might be nice to meet you sometime!

milton f said...

Hi Karl,

I enjoy your blog, as we have a bit in common. You can read my blog at:

ViewfromBippus.wordpress.com

Amanda J said...

I have read both yours and Tabitha blog for about a year and went back and read all the older posts. Love to hear about all that your family does!

My blog while not that impressive is
http://amandajwheeler.blogspot.com/

Beau said...

That's a nice post, thanks for sharing some (more!) of your story...

Kaje said...

I've been reading/ following you guys since you were in California! Back when Tabitha was on Xanga, and allowed me to use Kassi's birth pics for an art project. You both are what I hope to be when I grow up.

Sailbythestars.blogspot.com

I think you guys might like my friends Amy ( http://progressivepioneer.com) and her husband Clay (http://ivorybillworkshop.com)

Peace

Jason Holliston said...

I'd be honored to be on your blogroll. You guys are achieving some great things, and we hope to follow -- on a much smaller scale -- someday.

hollistonfamily.com
jasonholliston.com

Ryan said...

ryanandnancy.blogspot.com

Planning our own slow escape from corporate westernism.

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