captain jack and ianto say good bye to ginger and pepper

The boys as I call them are growing like weeds. They have been on a raw diet for quite a while. It suits them. Chicken has been their staple. They ate all of our "flatties"* during broiler raising season. We lost quite a few of this time around. They began their journey heat stressed and were overly susceptible to it from then on.

This gate is one of their boundaries they are not supposed to cross. They are pretty good about following that rule.
This is Ianto about half grown. He reminds me of Henry. I still miss Henry.

Ianto is my favorite, I admit it. I can't help it. Here they are waiting for dinner.

Once Ianto is full grown he'll stand like that but only on the top bar.

Ginger and Pepper are going to the slaughter house tomorrow.

I know I professed last time that I would never do that again. Luckily I'm allowed to change my mind. The job that they did on smoking the meat and making sausage was so great that they have won me over for at least another time.

We will save every little scrap of bone and usual waste from both pigs to freeze for the dogs. They eat less on this diet and are much healthier. Tabitha really appreciates the fact that their waste is small and turns ashen white and benign within a day or so. Our large dung beetle population makes short work of three large dogs feces this way too.

So, goodbye to Ginger and Pepper but hello to them all winter long.


They are such friendly creatures we love them on so many levels.


I don't think that I will ever put pigs in the garden again.

Their smell is a little too close to the house. But, the main reason is they only tore up certain areas of the garden a little too deeply while left other areas completely untouched. Huge craters in the garden are not what I was hoping for.

I still have a little more tear down of the butcher area. The big-top worked perfectly this time.


I am trying to complete some compost for when my parents arrive with Kassi's Daylily starts. Two of these bins were full of nitrogen rich waste bedding and cow manure.

This is how far it has composted.

It is about a third of it's original volume. I have turned it twice in the past few weeks in attempt to get high compost temperatures. The feed stock was full of weed seeds and I wanted to be sure to kill of them. My moisture content was a little high and I lost some nutrients.

Composting is easy and difficult at the same time. Predictable results are the elusive factor. Last season my compost, although complete, contained far too many weed seeds. I hope for much better this time around.



*flatties are what we call chickens that have died and are laying there extremely flat when we come to check on them.

We survived... (warning graphic photos)

Tabitha, myself and the kids butchered eighty seven chickens in two days.

I'll admit they were long days. It was difficult, tedious and left us raw. The whizbang chicken plucker purred most of the day. Feather clogs caused a little slippage a couple of times.

The kids were unbelievably helpful. Tristan and Kassi caught every bird for the killing station.

Anyone that has tried to catch chickens know what a feat catching eighty seven birds is. They both got scratches from chickens and chicken tractors climbing around arms full. Plus, that is not all,

Tristan cut, cleaned and peeled every gizzard while Kassi cleaned the hearts and livers. They also met the demands of their younger siblings. They made sandwiches, poured juice and milk and even cleaned urgent messes in the house. It was truly unbelievable they are just eight and six respectively. When it came time to do the final clean-up on the birds they both were right there picking pin feathers and doing a secondary inspection of the internals.

Tabitha loosened crops, cut feet and heads, killed, plucked and scalded. I eviscerated and cleaned the body cavity. I also leaped to where I was needed but mostly I was the bottle neck. We chilled the birds and did the final processing at the other station.
The kids really made a huge difference, at least thirty percent increase from their input.

On top of all that Tabitha is milking twice per day. Our refrigerator is full of milk products.

Milk, yogurt, fresh cheese, sour cream, and cream. Jocelyn in making over four gallons per day.

We are trying to find another fridge on freecycle--milk fridge.

I also finished work on the Houlahan's Photovoltaic system.


We have been busy and this weekend we have another thirty five birds to kill.

WHEW...

my intention

My intention has always been to put up all the blog suggestions on my blog roll then categorize them as I found time. Please be patient as my time for this endeavor has been limited.

Today is butcher day. I have been working overtime this week to get a photovoltaic system installed before deadline.

I really appreciate all the blog suggestions. Of what I have time to enjoy they have been great.

Thanks,

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.

It is finally raining...

Tabitha and I cleared the garden for the pigs to go in there and clean it up. This morning we decided to attempt the move. We opened the appropriate fences and gates. Tabitha got a bucket of grain while I opened the pigpen. They wanted nothing to do with her and her measly pulverized pig feed. Tabitha had just cleaned out the freezer and gave the pigs the waste. Note to self, make sure pigs are hungry before trying to coax them anywhere.

The rodeo ensued in earnest. I must admit it was really fun. I love pigs. Our farm is mostly dog proof so we were not in any danger of loosing anyone. First we tried chasing them. Pigs don't react like other animals in this respect. They immediately think it is a game wherein they are the puck and you are the goalie. They rush past just out of reach woofing just to taunt. Did I mention I love our pigs?

After trying several methods we simply relied on their natural curiosity and closing gates behind them. Surely the garden is the place with the most interesting things to eat and root. Finally they realized that it was. We closed them in and they were happy.

Then the heavens opened and praised our good work by offering us with a much needed rain. It has been over a month since it rained here. The grass crunched with each step like walking on fall leaves. Tabitha also put some clothes out on the line just to taunt the mischievous clouds into cutting loose.

We are hopefully going to get more this evening. All that beautiful chicken fertilizer from moving the tractors across our paddocks needs to be rained in. Oh if we get a couple of inches over the next few days the pastures will perk up into a lush cow heaven.

My rain water storage for the chicken coop was down to twenty five percent. I had a broken water fountain and it dripped for over twelve hours. Here is a picture of it filling up. I installed a chain for the water to adhere to on it's descent. I watched it for a while it was hypnotic like a campfire.



I took a video but when I watched it I decided it wasn't worth sharing because the moment was lost. A little video of it seemed stupid while in person it was almost spiritual. It is funny how some things can be captured and others can't.

Rome almost got bit by a copperhead snake yesterday. He actually stepped on it. It was between the house and garden. It struck at him twice but didn't pierce the skin. We were so lucky. I grabbed him up by one arm with a jerk. Luckily he is used to me picking him up by one arm since a baby. Otherwise, he surely would have a dislocated shoulder.

I guess they mostly travel in pairs so we are on *high-alert* until further notice. I raked all the leaves and debris from that area of the yard to be sure the other snake wasn't lying in wait. I showed Rome the dead snake, yes I killed it. I warned him that this snake could kill him and to stay away.

river of hope

Our cow had her calf today. It was an event to say the least. Tabitha has been on *high alert* for over a month week. This build up to bovine crescendo was tedious. Fraught with worry of worst case scenarios Jocelyn gave birth without a hitch. She is a genetic-old-pro.

A whole new set of worries can now consume. We are selling the calf. I admit she is a show-calf and opportunities like her are infrequent. A beautiful heifer--she glows like Jocelyn did when she was born. Kassi is smitten to a degree that only little girls can achieve. I told her that Jocelyn's next daughter is hers. This time is too early. Kassi won't be old enough to milk her in two years, but maybe in three. It isn't that she couldn't take care of her everyday. It boils down to stamina. Milking takes stamina.

It is really hard for me to say no to my only little girl. She understands, in a little girl way. Mostly she loves that calf but abides daddies wishes. It was magic watching the birth. Toly learned volumes today. We have always explained where babies come from but he never believed it. Today was a epiphany. I could see the wheels turning in his brain. I love my boy.

Tristan thought it was really cool "it was like a rainbow on a cloudy day." Where does he come up poetic metaphors at eight? Rome thought it was a huge poo for a while. Of course he did.. Kassi named the calf River. She is the resident namer of things. She has a gift.

Our friend Janet has first option on this calf. She is exercising her option. Even with other interested parties if Janet declined we'd be keeping River.  We need the money, I'll admit it. Jocelyn needs pricey feed for the winter. I can't help but think of Rumpelstiltskin, trading a winters food for the first born.  Kassi and Tabitha are both harboring something subconscious and bitter toward me right now. I accepted Janet's offer to purchase. We set the price, well $50 less than my buyout was.

How much would it cost you to have your daughter and significant-other disappointed with you?

We agreed for the past ten months that we weren't keeping the calf under ANY circumstances. I repeat "UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES." Our farm is too small for a second cow. Our system won't support another cow this is especially true in this economy.

Here are some gratuitous baby calf photos.

the first breath.


the impatient pile


tongue bath


rome took a kitten break.



the dogs were anxious to meet their new charge.





Kassi still had hope that she was keeping River in this photo

Angel the kitten.


true love..........

"Bring out your dead" *CLANK*

No one talks about the dark underbelly of cute little farmsteading. We have had some significant losses in our broiler chickens. Not quite industry standard losses yet but we are closing in on it. Why? Well is is the heat and all things associated with the hottest summer on record.


The chicks are at their most vulnerable state. They are five weeks old. At this stage their size gain is out racing their hearts ability to keep up. Normally they are fine but temperatures have not dipped below eighty at night and soar well into the triple digits everyday. This has been ongoing the entire month of August.

I don't have enough solar fans so that each tractor has a fan. We shuffle the two of them to the sunniest placed tractors. Additional shade *sheets* were added to our borrowed tractors. I thought I had things stabilized. Yesterday, while Ron was visiting one of my water fountains failed. The little lock-nut that locks the adjustment nuts together released. The water had only quit for an hour or so. But, it was during the heat of the day. We rescued several of them near death by dipping them into cool water--whew.

In the future I plan redundant water fountains in each tractor. This will afford a much needed security cushion.

Lessons to remember:

• Broiler chickens won't step from the shade even to get to the water when temperatures are above 100 degrees.
• Raise larger batches in the fall and spring. Keep the batch in the heat of the summer small because Missouri summers are too intense.

Since we feed our dogs on a raw diet they are happy for any early deaths. They are perfect guardians though. Even after getting fed whole birds with feathers they would never chase or kill any chickens.

I am alright now, knowing exactly what caused the deaths and how to mostly avoid them in the future. It is still upsetting since we have never had losses of this magnitude. We had an excellent visit with Ron. He saw me at a really vulnerable moment. He immediately got it when I yelled "bring out your dead"


On a better note. Our dehydrator is truly magic. We dehydrated all of the onions, some elderberries and a whole load of tomatoes.


It is amazing that five gallons of tomatoes could fit into two quart jars. We love our dehydrator.

I'm going to go check on the chickens for the umpteenth time today. *running with fingers crossed*

bucket fountain to water chickens

Here is an illustration of my low pressure water fountain supply using a five gallon bucket as the reservoir.

This diagram connects directly to the Little giant fountain.

This is the brand we started with and like it as long as we use a (sock) pre-filter. There are other fountains that have benefits and shortcomings. Mostly, this what we started with. The unit has a small screen in the threaded connection point but it gets clogged quickly. Using the sock pre-filter mostly solves this problem.

The bucket can hang from the bail or sit over a horizontal support with a hole in it. I use both methods. In my father-in-law's tractor it hangs from the bail. In my tractors I use a milk crate with a hole cut in the bottom zip-tied to the tractor for security. If I remove the fountain by the quick dis-connect the bucket can lift out of the milk crate for dumping or maintenance.

The piece of hose allows the fountain bowl to hang level and makes swirling the fouled water out quickly and easily with one hand.

I also use this style fountain in my rain water collection system for the laying hens. I had to employ a different pre-filter than a sock.

taste of marrow

Sometimes life seems too wonderful, while other moments are bitter with strife. Questioning the condition is a product of leisure. Busy living one doesn't analyze the moment, hopefully we live it. Lately I have been grasping the instant, the spark. The adoring look of my child's eye I relish. I live there for as long as I can. This moment is mine to cherish until all other memories fail. When I die this is the moment I want to resurrect. Full to the brim, rich like no wealth can describe. I am happy...

Dayglo'melay

Last year we only planted one German-stripe plant. I saved seeds from several tomatoes from it because I loved how they taste. We planted a whole row of them this year. Most plants were true to type but we had one lucky variation. A whole plant of the most fabulous tomatoes I have ever tasted.

They taste like peaches and vibrate with day-glow iridescent pink and yellow. We have dubbed the tomato Dayglo'melay. We will plant an entire row of them next year. I will save seeds from the best of those and possibly offer seeds for sale. Yeah they'll be cheap, mostly to cover the shipping.

I have eaten so many of them this year. I would normally have a mouth full of canker sores. I usually eat cherokee purple to excess and they have a much higher acid content. Not these babies.


Tabitha has also discovered the perfect canning tomato. We occasionally watch *Lidia's Italy* on the cooking channel on PBS. She is always raving about San Marzano tomatoes. We grew some of them and are extremely impressed. They are not a good salsa tomato nor taste good sliced but add a little heat and they are amazing. They cook down very quickly and make thick rich tomato paste. We also grew an organic version but they failed almost immediately. *shakes fist into the air* They suffered from the blight the earliest and worst. Even the copper spray didn't stop the death. So we are on the hybrid band wagon for the time being. I might try and save some seeds from them anyway. What is the worst that can happen? Poor/no germination or never set fruit might happen. But, I might get lucky and have my own seed. The book gardening when it counts states that most of the newer *heirloom* varieties came from hybrids from the fifties.


My parents sent Kassi a bunch of Iris rhizomes. They are labeled and organized for Kassi to grow them for sale. Four varieties will be ready next year and dozens will be ready in a couple of years.

We planted half of them in the raised beds by the peach tree. The other box of longer term plants are still in my closet. We need to get beds ready for them and it is too hot out to do that kind of work.

Bob is loaning us four fencing panels for a dog pen for Astrid. I know, that doesn't sound like me. It appears that she will go into heat before the boys are ready. Plus we'd like her to not get bred her first heat. So we'll put her up during her heat until the boys are ready and she has had a few heats.


Tucked under the fence panels are four twelve foot long telephone pole sections. They are going to be a play tower for the kids. It will overlook the garden and paddocks. It will be like a guard tower. I'm thinking a zip-line careening into the forest.


The broiler chicks are growing like crazy.

This is my new door design. It requires a pipe bender to make but it is really elegant and simple.

I also put an improved handle on this tractor.

It is inspired from mikes tractors that I am borrowing. We are very pleased with his tractors. They turn on a dime and squeak next to fences more easily than mine.

I also had an epiphany regarding the water fountain for this new tractor. The pipe connects to the bottom of the bucket with a homemade bulkhead fitting and a sock as pre-filter.

It goes straight down to the water fountain using a bit of old hose so it will hang correctly in an incline situation. The whole thing clicks apart and removes from the tractor quickly and easily for dumping, cleaning or repair.

Having the water fountain connected to a flexible hose has the added benefit of easy dumping of the bowl when it gets fouled.

I also added the new style doors to the old tractors.

We zip tied billboard-vinyl-tarp to the doors. So far we are very pleased.

These birds are looking so healthy.


We also turned the sheep loose in the paddocks. They promptly used the dog pass through and went to the upper field. They like being where the dogs are. The dogs love them, respect them and genuinely seem to enjoy protecting them.

solar energy rules

Tristan is now eight years old as of yesterday.


Last week I attended a solar conference in St. Louis. It was great. There were some technology improvements and many more on the way. Five years ago when I was installing solar in San Frisco bay area inverter efficiency was 85% at best. Now efficiency is closing on 99%. This is huge since you needed several thousand dollars worth of P.V. panels to compensate.

I got all excited, met many interesting people and learned about all the new inverter technologies. Tabitha survived my being away for two nights--barely. The kids were so excited to see me my first morning back.

The water heater went out immediately after I left the house for two days. I came home and needed to replace the water heater first thing. I have cleaned it and replaced the elements enough times to make it unreliable. I bought a water heater with a clean-out port so this one should last longer and be easier to maintain.

The broiler chickens have grown like crazy. We have them on an improved feed formula. It is based on Joel Salatin's recipe. Part of the protein is fish meal. This means that the birds eat vegetable and animal protein in a proportion that makes them grow healthier and slightly faster.

The problem is most feed mills won't mix animal protein unless they have a dedicated facility. Our mill has us buy the following batch of a different formula to be sure the that the system is cleared. Our layer ration usually is a good follow-up. We are good customers for them and they work with us in a way that is difficult to find. Finding out that standard (*chicken chow* and the like) almost always has Arsenic in it was really scary. Arsenic is poison both forms of it. If you are feeding your chickens chick-frye or layer-ration call your corporate feed supplier and complain.

I am going to collaborate with Tabitha and make a large post about our chicken raising operation. Promoting healthy local food in an open-source way can only have benefits for everyone. Health conscious people should be aware of what you eat, eats.