the saw

well, i finally got a table saw. i have so many plans that i can hardly wait. i bought it from lowes--that place sucks. i bought it the other day and couldn't fit it in the kia because it was full of a pile of omelays. i specifically asked them if they had another one in the box and they said yes. when i came back they only had the floor model. i complained, they said they would wave the assembly fee. i didn't want it assembled because it surely wouldn't fit in the car. after much pleading and haggling i managed to borrow a crescent wrench and partially dis-assembled it. i asked for help to load it and the sales guy said "sure someone will be right with you." no one ever showed up. some other customer walking by helped me.
when i got home i had to dis-assemble it it further because it was put together incorrectly and out of alignment. what a bunch of idiots. at the end of the day i have a completely re-assembled table saw and it works like a champ.

after spending the afternoon messing with the saw and it's frustrations we got a changing table/dresser from sears for the baby via UPS. this too needed to be put together. mind you this was not your simple ikea style assembly it was a convoluted set of instructions referencing parts that were slightly different from the illustrations. so different that them alignment of the slides was a guess. of course after completely assembling it i realized that my guess of the three possible positions was wrong. i needed to take all the slides back out and move them one hole position deeper.

having lived within a few miles of an ikea store spoiled us for great prices and the obvious ease of their assembly instructions.

rain, pond and other wet stuff

the past rain storms left three and a half inches of rain on our farmstead. the pond however hardly rose at all. the rain fell slowly and rather rapidly at times. this must be an especially porous time of year. our garden loved the rain. the bean arbor/arch met complete demise and tried to take out our fresh turnip seedlings. tabitha pushed it back to it's own row and stomped it in place. we removed two of the four trellises from the garden. they were just collecting squash bugs. our turnips are really enjoying this cool wet weather. the swiss chard is especially happy right now. it is very delicious we had some for dinner last night.

birdhouse number two

the kids were jealous that we sent the birdhouse off with guests. today we made another one. i plan to send this one to my parents as a christmas present. no threat of them finding out here since they don't really read this blog. the kids will paint it tomorrow. i plan little hand prints dipped in paint. we'll see if i can pull it off. i'll save a spot for a little toly hand print too. maybe we'll make bird house for all our christmas presents. of course uncle matt will get something different for several very obvious reasons.

birdhouse

yesterday we had guests. the kids ran out of stuff to do so i got everyone a hammer a few nails had everyone practice pound nails and screw screws while i cut pieces to build a bird house. everyone helped put it together but drew took the most interest in actually building it. we put it together and then took it to the painting tarp and broke out the kids safe paints. the kids loved painting the birdhouse and many other random pieces of wood. when all was finished the kids felt very accomplished and empowered. drew got to take the bird house home because he put the most effort into it and loved it the most.
it was great fun and educational.

what are these kids up to?

in their new hats that mama made.

green house heater shed

i built this for bob. he hired me to repair the storm damaged end of his huge green house. things got a bit tangential and i ended up fixing the green house damage and we needed to provide heat without running the chimney through the melty plastic.

this is the end that was almost completely ruined by a huge tree. his green house is huge 30' by 100'.

i made it out of a combination of wood and steel. the wood was used only at a distance greater than 3 feet from the heater.

catastrophic failure of bean arch

it rained all day and made the beans heavy and the bamboo soft--lesson learned.

...is the place to be. farm living is the life for me....

i turned my compost bins today. the best part was that delicious black gold that i displayed in this post. we nestled it around the swiss chard and asparagus. it is supposed to rain tomorrow and it will wash down into the mulch that we put around the asparagus. i hope for a big bounty in the spring of two whole weeks of asparagus--that is all we are supposed to pick this first spring. this full bin should end up slightly less than half its current volume when it is finally finished. this bin is about three weeks old with fresh manure added as late as yesterday.

i have started repairing our grey water leach line. about 18 feet of 2" pvc is buried and i have 12 more feet to go. i'll do that tomorrow morning. this will act as an overflow and dumps past the yard fence. the walnut tree that lives right at the termination should really like all the water.

tristan helped me pull nails from some scrap trim that has been laying around as a tetanus hazard. i pulled the nails and he pulled all the staples. he actually was really good at it and finished before i did. he also helped when i was digging the trench for the pipe. he sorted the rocks from the dirt and got over half a bucket from just that little distance. kassi helped too.

there is a power struggle between the roosters and the guineas. i hope enrique ends as the final victor. on a funny note the guineas have adopted one of the hens they preen her follow her around and won't let the roosters near her. i'm not sure what to think of it but it is really odd to watch.

house photo

this is the latest photo of the front of our house. slowly but surely it's getting there.

enrique

enrique is coming into his own. his feathers are getting that iridescent green. he is also getting much bigger than the other chickens. he'll realize it very soon.

this is my girl. she is such a gentle soul. all the animals are so attached to her. it is like she is one of them. a chicken, a dog, a cow, you name it.

the house is painted

i finished it. from photos it looks pretty much like the ones in the previous post. it was too dark to get shots last night and it is raining this morning. i'll get to it later today. i took the day off today because i worked a really really long day yesterday (dawn to dusk)and need the rest. besides i need to go look at a small job and give them an estimate. it is for larry's father and he needs a door hung. learning how to hang a door is one of my most vivid memories of my father teaching me how to do something. i don't really remember the place (my grandparents, my uncles, or our house) but i have vivid tunnel vision view of him using a chisel to create the slot for the hinges. memories are funny things like that.

i also have an appointment for thursday the 14th at 2 pm to work at jacks house. he really likes to be called john but i've only ever known him as jack and didn't recognize his name when he called. i hope to get a sizable client base before winter. additionally, i need to get my finances figured for tax purposes. i guess i should set up a little business since that is what i plan to do for income.

photos to come after the rain stops.

before and during house painting

in true ozarks fashion i painted the most visible (from the road) portions of the house first. well, primed it with a cover coat of of oil based primer. i was being thwarted at seemingly every turn.
i borrowed a sprayer from bob. at first i didn't have all the pieces to start so i waited for bob to show up with them. then we tried to get it working for a while to no avail. after too much precious time bob left with his ailing paint sprayer. i then resorted to borrowing toms. he stopped by earlier to loan me his taping tools and supplies and mentioned that timmy, his son, could get it out for me.
i went over to toms and after much more precious time decided that i needed to not borrow toms very complex sprayer without better instructions and toms assistance.



feeling very anxious and wanting to get something done i got out my crappy little wagner sprayer. needless to say i hate that thing and waisted a ridiculous amount of paint refilling that little reservoir that kept trying to unscrew it's self from the vibration. at one point or another every part of that crappy thing vibrated apart and needed to be put back together.


by the end of the day i was covered in oil based paint and really pissed off. tom came over and graciously offered to help this morning finish the job.

house painting today

i power washed most of the house yestereve. this morning i'll finish power washing the garage and i'll be done with that part. i'll then spray the moldy areas with bleach and wash then again. hopefully by ten o'clock i'll be borrowing the professional paint sprayer and be spraying the house. there is a chance of rain but i'm going to take my chances because there has been a chance of rain every weekend that i have been inclined to do this.

i'm off to take the before pictures and start washing.

weekend visitors

our friends came from california for a visit. we are always self conscious about our place. the ceilings are very low, neither trim nor cabinets are finished, the kids graffiti the walls every time they get near a writing utensil and the worst is we don't really have a private bathroom. they were wonderful and great with the kids. kassi warmed up to them in record speed. usually it takes a couple of visits for her to let someone touch her. it was a really nice visit and the kids got some really thoughtful toys. the blocks are still a huge hit they stack them for hours.

on the farmstead front, the chicken waterer is acting up again. i hate that thing. i have been working doing electrical work for the past few days at bobs house. i hooked up two ac units condensers and all. john, our neighbor, had a leak in his plumbing to the addition to his house. he dug it up and we fixed it this afternoon. his main wouldn't shut off completely so we had some tricky plumbing to do. it is all fixed now though.

we have been toying with the idea of weaning merlin the cow. he is such a little brat and generally makes our life miserable. we have to wait th be sure if nimue is pregnant before we can do it though cause there would no way to milk her while we re-tried to get her bred. he'd nurse off her milk supply while she was away.

tristan has had the hives sporadically for a few days now. we assumed it was the aftermath of him taking all the medicine while he had a fever last week. he normally doesn't get all those chemicals and artificial dyes. our retort was to give him more medicine, benadryl. i'm not sure if that is the right course of action but hives can be the first stage to many worse and life threatening things.

photo deluge

first things first, i have been busily composting trying to keep our soil rich and productive. this is the black gold that end up with.

the ingredients are simple, manure and wheat straw. sure other things get added like coffee grounds, lime sand and urine but mostly we compost our cow manure. this batch is almost there.

this is the current "add to here" pile the guineas scrap around in here for bit of undigested grain and bugs.

tabitha is proud of her harvest of butternut squash.

we spent the afternoon weeding and mulching the asparagus bed. we let it get a little out of control but it seems to be still very healthy. i'll add some slightly green compost to the top of the mulch just after the first frost. they'll like nutrients and the threat of scorching the stalks will be nill.


here merlin is eating the weeds that i pulled from the asparagus bed.

i built this little frame for the wet rich kitchen waste. this will be perfect for the chickens to scratch around in and eat what the may and the remainder can compost into a a rich loam for the garden.

here are our two dead orchard trees--killed by sme unknown peril. they seem poisoned but none of the spraying agencies will claim responsibility



i tilled this swath of garden 3-4 foot wide and we planted turnips maybe a week or so late but we love turnip greens steamed and they will be here soon. turnips are a neglected root vegetable they are wonderful sliced steamed, buttered and salted period.


our guineas are on garden patrol and are very appreciated for dispensing of many of our garden pests.

rosie is really setteling in around here.

the chicks are now chickens and growing at an amazing rate. the interloping raccoon has realized the futility of any further attemps at killing my chickens and have left us alone. i don't think i'll try to trap him aymore.

nimue in feeder

this is nimue using her feeder. the hay goes in from the top and she pulls it down as she needs it. it is never obscuring the bottom of the feeder from site of any grain. hence there is never a need to shove the any offending hay out of the feeder in order to see if there happens to be any grain at the bottom.

i set the trap for the second time and it is obviously too small to catch the raccoon. the new wire mesh perimeter seems to be effective. i'll let things settle down and borrow a larger trap and try to catch the raccoon in a few days.

cooler temperatures are a welcome guest. we hope they stay for a while. i have another case of poison ivy--yuck, the afflictions continue...

caster rama

our caster bean plants have grown so much that they obscure most of our garden from this vantage. the bean arbor has started to produce beans again. we continually picked the meager harvest and bore beans in hopes that we'd have a second wind. we'd like to get several more good harvests out of the rattlesnake pole beans. they are tastier than any green bean i've ever had. we'll put them up in the pressure canner and relish in their savory flavor during mid winter.

we have a big row of red swiss chard that i'll attempt some method of extending into the colder months. it'll probably be some form of cold frame or hoop green house. we also have a few rows of beets (my personal favorite). i just came back from the feed-store with a large package of turnip seed. we will attempt to plant them very soon. when the current arugula bolts i'll seed in around the swiss chard in the coldframe/greenhouse--fresh greens well into the fall / early winter.

***** chicken massacre update *****

the wire cloth was effective in staving off the invaders--no more killed chickens. the live-trap on the other hand was tripped with no resident. i'll try that again tonight. there is a easy trip setting that i'll change to the harder setting.


the new puppy is great she is still very scared whenever anyone opens the door but is getting better. she does a few naughty things but we are working on them and she tries to please it's just we need to 'click' on our communication. the kids and tabitha really seem to like her. she tries to herd the chickens which i wish she wouldn't do but that is her nature being part shepard.

chicken massacre

two more of our broiler chickens were eaten last night. to my best understanding the raccoons reach through the chicken wire and pull the chicks toward them and bite their neck biting part of the wire in the process. i bought 3/8 inch wire cloth and wrapped the entire perimeter of the chicken tractor. they wont be able to reach through anymore. the wire cloth is much stiffer and i left the pointy edge facing down attempting to prevent any attempts at reaching under. i also borrowed mikes live trap and will bait it this evening. hopefully i won't catch our cat. she won't come in the house anymore. she is a fully integrated farm-cat.

on a lighter note here are pictures of the kids.
my princess modeling her sunny glasses

my boy doing his best calvin klein ad pose.

i built a feeder for the cow

nimue, has been eating out of a galvanized tub since merlin was born. we feed her grain mixed with sea kelp powder and alfalfa. she usually knocks all the alfalfa out of the tub to see if there is any grain at the bottom. then she'll try to reach the ground where she knocked it. tabitha has to get up several times while milking to put it back in the tub. i used several pieces of the rough oak slab to make a trough and hay holder. i'll take photos this morning.
my radial arm saw had bound on a piece of cedar a few weeks ago and needed to be reset. i didn't know how to reset it and had to spend a few minutes to figure it out. the obvious big red reset button didn't do the trick initially. the main switch needed to be in the on position then hold the reset until it starts.
additionally my new circular saw works like a charm. now all i need is a table saw and i can really start working on the trim in the house. the table-saw i want is $500. maybe the next big purchase can go to that. we had to replace our washing machine and vacuum. those stupid appliances and the american planned obsolescence really make me mad. we bought an australian made washer that tauts that i can be repaired by the average handy owner. we also bought an english designed dyson vacuum. unpatriotic you might ask? i'm just sick of this disposable economy we live in and fight back in every way i can. american made used to stand for value and durability now it stands for "buy a new one every few years."
some animal tried to get into our chicken tractor last night. i need to assess the situation this morning.

tag you're it

stop reading now unless you are willing to do this yourself.

1.My roommate and I once: became best friends.

2.Never in my life have I: gone hang-gliding. the day i went the conditions weren't right. there has to be a prevailing on-shore wind of 12 mph at blacks beach cliffs san diego. i never went back because it was for a story and the deadline passed.

3.The one person who can drive me nuts, but then can always manage to make me smile is: no one fits that criteria. if someone drives me nuts they don't last for long.

4.High school was: just there. i didn't think about it too much then and i don't now.

5. When I’m nervous: i bite my nails.

6. The last time I cried was: when kassi went to oakland childrens hospital.

7. If I were to get married right now, my bridesmaids/groomsmen would be: matt, dietrich, and craig, no real need for anyone else

8.Would you rather run naked through a crowded place or have someone e-mail your deepest secret to all your friends? i love to run naked on a cool brisk morning.

9. My hair: is short right now.

10. When I was 5: mrs lemon was my kindergarten teacher and i resented forced naps.

11.Last Christmas: was tristans first one where he really understood what was going on.

12. When I turn my head left: i have an urge to cough.

13. I should be: editing photos right now.

14. When I look down I see: dr. seuss' "are you my mother" and a un-vacuumed floor. our new one arrives tomorrow.

15. The craziest recent event was: my grandmother-in-law visited and the kids were both wearing clothes when she arrived.

16. If I were a character on “Friends” I’d be: the naked guy that lives across the way.

17. By this time next year: we'll have a baby almost one year old.

18. My favourite aunt is: aunt helen on my dads side.

19. I have a hard time understanding: string theory

20. One time at a family gathering: my dad got really drunk and kicked in the side of the car.

21. You know I like you if: i tell you straight out.

22. If I won an award, the first person I’d thank: my wife.

23. Take my advice: and don't listen to me.

24. My ideal breakfast is: eggs benedict made with hollandaise that is cooked with the lemon juice.

25. If you visit my home town: you'll wonder where the mill is.

26. Sometime soon I plan to visit: dimensia

27. If you spend the night at my house: no more overnight guests!

28. I’d stop my wedding if: it weren't to tabitha

29. The world could do without: monsanto

30. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: the belly of a brown recluse

31. The most recent thing I’ve bought myself is: a replacement blade for swinging scythe weed whacker.

32. The most recent thing someone else bought for me is: downy pearls jasmine tea.

33. My favourite blonde is: My childern

34. My favourite brunette is: My wife

35. My car must have a sign on it that reads: where am i going and why am i in this hand basket?

36. The last time I was drunk: a couple of weeks or so ago. my father-in-law makes a man thirsty.

37. The animals I would like to see flying besides birds: bats cause they are eating all the mosquitoes.

38. I shouldn’t have been: driving

39. I should have: saved 50% of what i made when i worked in europe.

40. Last night I: got some alfalfa for nimue.

41. There’s this girl I know who: loves me.

42: I don’t know: lots of stuff but i'm always eager to learn.

43. A better name for me would be: my name suits me and hasn't always been easy.

44. If I ever go back to school I’ll: expect a full ride including familial expenses.

45.How many days until my birthday? About 270

46. One dead celebrity I wish I’d met is: jesus we could straighten a lot of things out.

47. I’ve lived at my current address since: this is roughly our year anniversary.

48. I’ve been told I look like: rutger hauer

49. If I could have any car, it would be: dodge sprinter running veggie oil.

50. If I got a new cat tomorrow, I would name it: tabitha gets to name the next cat. i think it will be fair-minou.

if you read this all the way to the end then you are tagged and must complete it yourself--i know who you are.

rosie

fetching dog is she not?.



this is what we grow around here.

i have never seen such a low need dog.


just the slightest bit of attention and she is focused on you


my kids might like a dog that plays fetch. lets see if this works like a ball.


can i get up now?


kassi and her new best friend. kassi loves rosie. it is so magical to see them together. rosie sees kassi as her pack. they play so well together.

the great cow chase.

friday we took nimue, our milking cow, over to get bred by one of mikes bulls. sadly we had to take merlin also. he needs to be there to take all of nimues milk since we can't milk her while she is there. nimue is easy to get back on lead she loves grain and can be managed by it very easily. merlin on the other hand is a naughty little boy. he integrates into the juniors of the herd and won't be caught by any reasonable means. i chased him around a bit just after church. yes, we might have found a new church--more on that later. he used the bull as interference and i stay away from him because they are ridiculously unpredictable. i gave up and returned home until late afternoon. when i came back, i came packing--a large bag of grain. i managed to bribe the entire herd in the center paddock, merlin and company loose in the other two. the dividing fence between the two larger paddocks is not calf proof. at first he had a few cohorts to foul up the catching process. i somehow, mostly luck, got them into the center paddock also. then the chase was on. i ran merlin, making him run twice the distance as i, around the peninsula of the southern paddock. he went back and forth finally he shot past me. at this point i was getting mad. he then went straight for the closed gate. i creep-ed past him forcing him back into the peninsula he ran back and forth until he was visibly tired. at this point, i was running on sheer anger. finally he ran into the fence leaning against it breathing very heavily. i shot toward him and grabbed his halter. caught... i was dripping sweat dragging an unwilling calf, the quarter mile home. after i got home and the adrenaline quelled, i realized that i hurt my foot. the pain is deep in my foot near the top above the arch. it hurts to walk on but when i stand on tip-toe it seems better. i am sure that nothing is broken but nothing really stops the dull ache and ibuprofen only keeps the sharp pain at bay while walking. needless to say i'm not working at bobs today. i'll do some computer work instead.

anyway, whats up with all the afflictions? today is comparably cool and i could get lots of necessary farmstead stuff done. instead, i'm laid up and running after the kids--probably on my foot way too much for it to get better.

pound rescue

we did it, we got another dog. we named her rosie. she is a mix with some chow, shepherd and maybe some terrier and is probably her own aunt. she is mellow yet playful--very passive. they had her about a week. she came in almost dead starving and infested. she has recovered fine and seems to just appreciate that we took her home. the kids seem ready for a puppy especially one that is a bit older and much more mellow. she doesn't nip and bite and she is very passive yet already sees kassi as her equal. even in kassi's most commanding voice she isn't taken seriously. that will work out too.

rosie will be an outside dog and seems to prefer it that way. she won't even come into the front porch without coaxing. she kinda wants to chase the chickens a little but they are just fun for her. we'll nip that bud. she tries to please and has a good attention span. hopefully that means she'll be easily trainable.

i think that the whole family is ready for this dog and i am sure that rosie is ready for us.

canning

the second show canner that we got used and rebuilt had a leak around the press-fit. i called the manufacturer and talked to a technician. he said that i could re-polish the metal to metal seal with '000'-steel-wool. so i cleaned the press fit area and buffed it with some steel wool. it got very shiny and seemed-right. we then tested it on a small batch of tomatoes--it worked.
i have had two smaller allergic reactions since the large one. things seem to be getting better.
we picked a bunch of tomatoes and will do some more canning tomorrow. this is a photo of today's bounty. tabitha does baby-yoga/stretch-flex-bend during picking of the tomatoes. it is the only way she can reach all of them.
tristan and kassi are best friends. they play so well together it amazes me. tristan wrote a bunch of letter like symbols mixed with letters and said that it reads "kassi loves tristan." kassi does love tristan and tristan loves kassi--what more could parents want? the other day they were playing doctors and taking care of a little baby. tristan would call "doctor kassi, doctor kassi" then the rush to the rescue of the baby. tristan made a stethoscope out of a piece of string and a little pot lid. they are both so creative. they make the appropriate toys out of nothing--maybe because they don't really have that many toys. although, tristan is a little technophile. he is trying to play this really complicated game on pbskids.org--cyber chase. it is obviously for kids older than ten. i can't keep him away from it. it frustrates him but intrigues him at the same time. i told him he needs to be able to read to answer the questions. they have word scrambles, zoological knowledge questions, fairly complex pattern recognition and problem solving. it requires seventeen points to win and he has only gotten to seven. what could be better than a pregnant woman in a sarong?

allergy reaction

two days ago i went into the barn, moved some hay around and came out with my face turning red and feeling very funny. my breathing felt constricted and my face swelled up. i ran up to the store and got some benedryl. i took a shower and neti potted my sinuses. i then proceeded to be relatively incapicitated for the next two days. this lifestyle isn't conducive to taking a few days off. i have been playing catch-up ever since. benedryl, like all other drugs, really affects me.