Autumn Lingers

We still haven't had a killing frost yet. Last week I covered part of the wood pile.

There should be plenty of extra wood in-the-dry under there for the entire winter. Four rows ten feet long by five feet high. Sorry to bore you but this is how I document this sort of thing. There should be a few ricks of wood left over for next winter.

I might use the surplus to make some terra preta. I have discovered an easier way to make charcoal than previous searches have revealed.

It is described in detail at http://www.saveourskills.com/lump-charcoal

Last week I also turned the compost from these two bins..

..into this larger bin.

I wet it down as I forked it over. Yesterday it had settled about a foot and was giving off considerable heat.

Last evening I took a break from work and raked some of the upper field with Tristan and Toly. We raked hickory nuts and leaves onto a huge piece of tarp. They helped me drag it to the pigpen and dump it. several more evenings like that and we'll have the entire paddock cleared of leaves and hickory nuts and acorns. The pigs should really enjoy the fodder.

The chickens are finally laying a reasonable amount of eggs again.

One of our neighbors had a stroke and gave us his chickens. I reluctantly took them, because I felt bad for him. They promptly gave our hens mites and probably worms. One day I went to collect eggs and there were merely a fraction of the expected amount. Since we treat everything naturally and only when necessary it takes a while to get over this kind of stuff. That was several weeks ago and with intensive treatment and they are finally getting better. No good deed goes unpunished--I didn't even like that guy either.

I also got a bit more slipform masonry completed on the milking barn.

The weather has been perfect for this kind of work and I have been stuck in-doors doing web design. Aarrgh..

Here is that bad cow on pasture furlough. She has been promptly going directly for the acorns. She can poison herself if she eats too many. We have been keeping her up and feeding hay until I can do something about it.


The boys are getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

Their raw diet agrees with them. They still have that sheepish puppy look to them. astrid has been keeping the dominance pressure on them even though they are beginning tower over her. Ianto, the tallest, is starting to not take it anymore. I imagine there will be a power change very soon.

Foray into slipform masonry

This masonry work will be below grade so it will never show. That is until some distant future archeological dig. This is my first try using this method. Besides the rocks being too small and my cement being a little too runny I think my experiment turned out fine. During this first below grade course I'll adjust my cement wetness and rock placement to judge my end results.

I used some rough planks as the form. The next tier will have to include embedded tension wires to hold in the bottom. I'll show that technology when I get there. I also embedded some barbed wire to add reinforcement.

The kids were incredibly helpful. They placed all the rock while I shoveled in the cement. As aesthetics become more important I'll monitor that process more closely.


Tabitha just arrived from the hospital. Kassi does indeed have a broken arm, a small incomplete fracture.
No more jumping from the barn loft!!!

Barn Progress and broken arm?

Yesterday I managed to pour/slip-form part of the barn foundation. The kids helped. They gathered rocks. I showed Tristan how to place the rock while I shoveled in the cement mix. All of this will be below grade so aesthetics aren't important yet. This is good practice for the upper layers when we want a certain look.

Having the kids help meant they were playing in and around the barn. Just after I cleaned up Tristan and Kassi were playing in the loft. Kassi was jumping and got tangled with Tristan. He tried to grab her but she slipped and fell on her wrist. We are taking her to the doctor this morning to probably get an x-ray.

To top it off I have fallen ill with some allergy related stuffy nose and head ache. Tabitha will take Kassi and Rome while I stay and rest with Toly and Tristan.

I might get a photo of the slip-form progress later this morning.

farm kids

Farm kids and their barn.

Fall is here and they are enjoying the weather. Out-of-doors is the place to be. Much later after these photos they moved a bunch of soft hay to the drop-zone and started jumping.

It seemed like a good way to help increase bone density but I stopped them anyway since rome needed to be involved and I was terrified of broken limbs.


The kids are really excited that my parents are coming to visit soon. I am finally plumbing the outdoor shower this evening. Our set-up isn't really visitor conducive but when you really want visitors you make-due.

I worked all yesterday on the alternative energy company's website. Morning to night, I need to take more breaks today. I had many braincells that thought they were in retirement. I recalled them to action. Tabitha said there were probably many new recruits. I'm not sure that was a nice thing to say;)

Happy Fall everyone. We are really enjoying the weather I hope you are too.

How does your garden grow?

Of course Tabitha is an excellent gardener. She is diligent, observant and proactive. The problem has been, no mater what we tried our plants still suffered. This year, I believe that our current level of success with our garden is because of two technology improvements.

Copper spray is a powerful fungicide. It is organically certified but dangerous to use. Full hazmat gear is recommended on the label while spraying. We have been spraying weekly and are just managing to stay ahead of the tomato blight.



Pruning off infected foliage and spraying, exposed some fruit to possible sun damage. In the above photo Tabitha used some old tulle as a partial shade cloth.



Neem is another powerful organically certified weapon in our arsenal. It kills indiscriminately so we are cautious to use it only when necessary and in a very focused manner. We like our beneficial insects to live to fight for us another day. The latest thing we have tried is to neem drench our cucumber plants roots. This really seems to have worked on the cucumber beetle onslaught. Cucumber beetles are a sinister foe. They are impossible to catch by hand in mass. By eating the foliage they infect the plant with bacterial wilt that can quickly kill the plant. If the plants survive this first assault the beetles larvae dig into the ground and eat the cucumber plant roots. This usually happens just before the first fruit has a chance to grow to size.



As you can see there is plenty of cucumbers on the thriving vines. We have been mixing a root drench of neem and fish emulsion and pouring it directly on the plant roots. The neem kills any beetle larvae. The fish emulsion feeds the plant. Something else seems to be happening. Tabitha read that the neem can get sucked up into the plant and systemically deter the cucumber beetles from eating the foliage.

We have eaten several fresh cucumbers and a few tomatoes. We are hopeful of a bountiful harvest this season.


The butternut squash seem to be thriving also.


Our little farm is starting to look a little more kempt since our vacation. Here the echinacea are looking pretty.


I have also started digging the footings for the barn. I plan to slip-form these walls and this is my first step. Why didn't I just have this dug mechanically? We didn't plan to have a cement floor in this milking barn at first. After thoughts are hard on my back.



This is Toly's new playground. I am going to pour it in sections. I am about one quarter the way done digging. Each shovel load requires at least three strikes with a pick axe to loosen the soil. Digging in the Ozarks is no fun.



The dirt is back fill for an intended garden terrace. When done the garden should be fifteen feet wider. Every little bit helps.


We also got a couple of lambs from our friends. Here they are hiding their eyes thinking I can't see them.


Immediately after we ordered a new camera battery charger we found the old one. Isn't that how it always goes?

farmer McGregor

whenever our garden is looking really nice, we say "very farmer McGregor." and, i know that i will regret even thinking this..

our garden is looking very farmer McGregor


i brought a wheel barrow load of compost and top dressed the beets and onions.

this is where we had a row of tomatoes last year. notice the hillbilly weed suppression?

the tomatoes have taken well and seem to like their new home.

now they have changed their forecast to include low forty temps for the next two nights. it is the only job where you can be consistently wrong and still keep your job. where is the accountability?

at least these guys won't suffer too much with new low temps.


our ginko tree is very happy here.


tabitha harvested a large basket of strawberries. there will be shortcake tonight.


the black raspberries are loaded with developing fruit. the bees have been really working on their blossoms.



our friends came to visit and their oldest daughter painted us a sign.

Kittens, on the back i plan to paint campfire wood. i'll turn it around when/if we run out of kittens;)

tacos with shredded radishes for dinner.


the barn is looking really nice too.

i put in a place to hang the carcass for our next butcher.


our chicks are almost three weeks old

i built them a hanging feeder out of 1/2 of a 4" pvc pipe.

they seem very strong and healthy. all natural pastured poultry.

hay door

are you sick of the barn yet? here is my new hay door. this baby is heavy, so heavy that i had to install a pulley to remove it from the pins to add the final center hinge.

see the pulley on the top right?

here is the east end of the barn almost finished.

just a few triangles left over the window.

the dogs found a baby wood duckling. tabitha rescued it. we called the proper people and they said try to raise it it will go wild as soon as it sees other ducks. so now we have a wood duckling. she is trying to feed it with a huge syringe. astrid was gently carrying it to her. she must have thought it was one of our chicks. crazy...

jack is ok and happily being a puppy again.

tabitha and i hung out in the barn during a heavy rain. it was fun, noisy and it smelled good. i am excited to get some progress on the barn. digging and rubble trench foundation are next.

the other end

i worked on the other end of the barn yesterday. that big opening is where we will load hay.

i just have to build and install that door and finish a few trim spots and the upper section of the barn will be done.

the next big thing will be to start the rubble trench for the slip form foundation. between the slip form rock work and the wooden top will be cob. momentum has gripped our barn and it is exciting. building with that sycamore is heavy work. each piece weighs five time more than standard pine construction lumber. i am very sore today. i can't finish the door today it is supposed to rain and i need a break anyway.

the bamboo is really shooting up. we hope this entire half circle will be a huge hedge of bamboo. eventually i'll cut a cozy little hiding spot in the middle.

blocking our house from the road will be nice. the larger bamboo is loosing it's leaves and growing new. i didn't know it did that. i wonder if the existing stalks will get any thicker as a result? the new shoots are definitely thicker. it is magic to watch this stuff grow, so quick, almost startling.

the cow, jocelyn, was playing with astrid and hurt jack. he seems ok but that was a close call. he limped around late into the evening. the cow is moving paddocks today so this won't be able to happen for a while. maybe by then the puppies will be a little quicker and not so easily accidentally hurt.

ianto is almost twice the size of jack right now. jack had worms, obviously got them before he came here. we treat that stuff naturally. since ianto didn't have them jack will have some catching up to do. astrid loves her puppies. being a puppy still herself they are kinda like her siblings yet she also treats them like her babies. i am happy for them since they seem to have richer lives with each other.

jocelyn's mother is owned by our friends and she got snake bit recently. it is very sad and she is very sick. it is almost like having a relative get sick. she was part of our family for over a year. i hope she pulls out of it with her registered calf that she is carrying.

we didn't get any planting done yesterday like i wanted. the barn competes directly with any other item in my queue. it usually wins. i love spring. i could do without all the pollen this year but spring is a glorious time.

happy spring..

milking barn progress

monday i drove to a local saw mill and picked up a pallet of sycamore. this is dimensional one inch thick rough cut very green lumber. a pallet weighs twenty seven hundred pounds. including the weight of the trailer i topped out the towing capacity of the van. i was surprised how easily our van towed it.

we stacked it by width to make it easier to find the piece i need. it took tabitha and i the better part of an hour to unload the trailer, organize and stack it.

that is a big pile of wood.

first thing in the morning i measured my intended window and made the window box. then i had to scratch my head a while because it was barely too big to fit in the intended spot. i had to recess the window a little and i was in business.

yes i am installing a perfectly broken window. i can easily re-glaze it and i like this style of window for my barn.


it is starting to look cozy.


the kids played and helped.

here they made sail boats.


tristan was especially helpful. he knows most of the tool names and can be counted on to retrieve things based on a simple description. here he is trying out his boat.


rome got a boat too.

it is wonderful how kids can imagine a boat out of a piece of wood, a nail and a leaf. those were kind of toys i enjoyed the most when i was a kid.

toly poised to hand me screws


that is a dangerous opening.


kassi helped too. mostly she flitted from pile to pile of wood.


the day was a home schooling extravaganza. everyone learned plenty, great fun was had and i got to finish the east end of the barn.