Changes on the horizon..

Good morning awesome readers. I am facing some changes in life. It is true that if you do not choose your path, it will be chosen for you. My current job is evaporating out from under me in the next couple months. While everything is ok, and we are ready to face the change here on the homestead. it opens the door to some choices. The difficult part is choosing the next path. I want it to lead where I want to go, in a manner that is not dictated to me.

The time has come to look at making my own business, in a serious fashion. Today has been a lot of research into how to find a good lawyer and CPA. there is a ton of info out there, and everyone has an opinion so there is a lot to sift through. I’m also planning to reach out to friends in business already and seek their guidance.

I’m excited that I am able to look at this positively. My initial reaction was not that great, but I sat down, and put some thought into it. This process will be fun, and defined by me.

I’ll keep you all updated as it rolls on.

Until next time…

A fall day filled with accomplishments

Good morning readers! We’re busy today. Broke out of he funk, and we’re off and running once more. The chickens are once again roaming free in the yard. They have chosen the sunflowers as their HQ

I have the sneaking suspicion that this garden is going to explode next year.

I also took a bit of time and made a holding area for the trash. Since I got the truck cap, putting the rubbish in the back of the truck is no longer an option I can stomach.

It’s not the prettiest out building but it will do for now. Getting the trash off the porch keeps the whole family happy.

I’ve also gotten the workhorse back in the barn, and out of the elements.

This will help in the winter when it comes time to bring pellets around to restock. After an amazing lunch I’ve sat down with the richest man in Babylon for some reading before work.

Until next time…

Feeling the slowdown now.

Hey readers! Happy Sunday. Things are starting to change phase around here now. The nights are getting cooler, and thankfully I hav not seen any leaves turning yet. But I know it’s just around the corner. There’s still plenty to do though. Today we are off to the garden. The chickens have already begun their work there. I expect to sweep them across the whole thing before snow comes.

With the littles heading back to school tomorrow, the dynamic will change again around the homestead. I will once again have more open time to devote here, and on other projects. There’s always a trade off though. Because I’m still doing the 9-5 thing my time with them will shrink greatly.

First on the list today is the last ton of pellets. It will be housed in the main floor of the barn and get us started off this winter. As the winter goes on I’ll bring more up from under the barn. I won’t torture you guys with more pictures of wood pellets, but now that this project is done it’s off to other things.

With the cap on the truck, clearing out things that need clearing out has become somewhat of a challenge. I am going to need to look at small trailers soon. There is quite a bit of cleaning out on the horizon.

Next up we are off to the garden. There is a lot of food to come in. This is a good feeling.

Yes Virginia, that box is full. And there’s still more food to harvest. This has been a banner year even before I set foot in the garden today. I left about half the carrots to keep growing. What I was pulling was small, but we love baby carrots so it works good. It also makes a beautiful bouquet.

One dark spot is the potato’s. I gave them a 6×6 area, and they have underproduced greatly. Even though they doubled the amount that I planted. It could have been better. We ended with those at about five pounds worth.

I also have quite a few squashes and cucumbers that went past the edible stage. Those will be harvested for seed. Now it’s off to the kitchen to put some of this back for the winter.

The beans and carrots are washed and cut. They will need to wait until I can get some freezer bags. For the cucumbers I’m going to try my hand at refrigerator pickles.

I looked online and in the end I just winged it. Here’s roughly how I did it.

• 2 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 1 onion rough chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 ish cup of salt
• Pepper blend
• Ground mustard
• Celery salt (just a little)

Boiled up the vinegar sugar and salt until dissolved. While sanitizing the jars and lids.

Next the cucumbers and onion were chopped and spices added. These you can flip around in the bowl to coat.

Once the jars were boiling pretty good I added the vinegar mix.

Give it a good stir. The. Pack the jars. I didn’t worry a lot about head space, not sure if o should have. But they are all full.

One thing I learned along the way. Make sure what is going in the jar, fits nicely. My cucumbers were a bit big and took some persuading to get in the jar.

Ended up with six small jars. Overall a pretty easy process.

next it’s off to some zucchini bread, well because I’m swimming in them. Once again it’s off to the internet for the framework, and then twist it to my wicked cooking skill. How about this.

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup veggie oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup Vermont maple syrup
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups zucchini (grated)
• Some chocolate chips if I can find some.

So. There’s no chocolate chips in house so that has been omitted. I also upped the maple syrup to 3/4 of a cup. Because real maple syrup is awesome. I also cannot find my bread pans, so this one is coming in cake format.

The principal is the same. Just a different shape. I will likely adjust the baking time as well.

You can find the original recipe Here.

The end result is mouth watering. Must let them cool though. The children have taken control and demanded brownies. At this rate I should be in the kitchen until after supper.

Well gang. Supper was one of the best I’ve had. Blue Hubbard squash, potatoes dug three hours before roasting, and some really nice ham.

Time to kick back with a coffee, and maybe read a book.

Until next time…

Simple task Monday

Hey readers, today I’m cleaning up some simple things that need attention. First on the list is the ‘ole nitrogen harvester. The start cord broke yesterday while I was happily mowing away.

First up here is taking off the covers to get to the recoil housing.

Once those guards came off the project got kind of ugly. I had to take the whole top of the mower off to get at the recoil, and then fight for about fifteen minutes to get the spring to catch again.

These craftsman mowers are not built to be worked on that’s for sure.

There are a ton of loose pieces, all held by hat one small screw in the middle. In the end though I got it. And it runs like a charm now.

The down side though. I spent so much time fixing this I have run out of time for today.

Until next time…

A new seal for old leaky.

Good morning awesome readers! Today’s top task is getting the new front seal into the tractor. Yesterday I stripped the hood and grill from the monster. I am a bit concerned this was the easiest part. To get to the seal I have to strip off some more shrouds, a belt, a pulley, and a clutch.

The failing seal lives behind that pulley, and the clutch behind that.

The first stop on this journey is the exhaust cowl and extension.

This tractor has more cowls and shrouds than a brand new car. It’s a little bit absurd to be honest. With the exhaust cowl and extension out of the way I can reach the pulley system. A screwdriver is used on the tensioner to remove the belts. What I am left with is one connection to the motor itself to disconnect, and the clutch.

My apologies for the lack of pictures in here. I am coated in so much oil I doubt I could hold the camera at this point. The center bolt pictured links to the driveshaft. By putting a screwdriver into the u-joint on the other end of the motor I overcame the spinning.

It is very important to note at this point that the battery IS TO BE DISCONNECTED. You really don’t want this thing kicking over while hooked to a ratchet that is hooked to you. Unless you like ER waiting rooms.

After this bolt we begin removing the pulleys and the clutch. After the clutch is off you should be left with a pile of parts that looks something like this, and one killer game of memory.

At last we can see our prize. The failing seal is within our grasp. Except it’s wedged into a little tiny hole, and we have sausages for fingers.

To overcome this we are going to place a screw into the seal to extract it. This is accomplished by CAREFULLY drilling a small hole in the old seal and putting in a screw. This step will produce metal shavings. Be very careful to clear them out.

With a little twist, and a light pull the old seal comes out. This explains why it was leaking. Next the new seal is carefully tapped in. A piece of pipe works well to keep it even. But in a bind an empty socket driver will do. The trick is light taps and keep the driver moving around.

With the new seal in place a bead of high temp gasket silicone is used to ensure a seal for a long time.

Now the tractor is out of service for 24 hours while the silicone sets up, and I have an epic game of memory to play. I can also get some pictures of reassembly since I’m wiping off parts as I go.

The back clutch plate has studs that go into the engine block. It is critical that these get cleaned well before being put back, if you ever want to get them back out.

Once the studs are tightened back in the pulleys can go back on, being careful not to lose the key in the key way.

Then we replace the shaft bolt at the end. For this reverse the location of the screwdriver, and for heavens sake take it out as soon as the bolt is tight. Then it’s off to the spring loaded cover. These are lock nuts so they hold themselves. We don’t need to wrench this one down super tight.

Once that is on we replace the belts, and exhaust cowl and we’re back where we started. No parts left over. No tools left in.

Now we wait 24 hours while the silicone sets, top up he oil, and it’s a brand new tractor once more.

Until next time…

Pellets, parts, and poutine

Good morning awesome readers! It’s Friday once more, and we’re pushing the work ahead. First up this morning, the pellets. With the tractor running like brand new this chore is a breeze. There are only two more tons to move. The best part is I’m not exhausted from moving them, which gives more bandwidth to carry on with other projects afterwards.

Only two remain now. One of which will be left upstairs to start the winter. It’s a good feeling watching these go away. It is a race though. The front seal on the tractor seems to have gotten worse. That will surely be the next project on the books.

We dove right in, and it looks like it’s going to be too much project for today.

The cowl came right off easily but in order to get to the seal we need to take off the electric PTO.

we will be back at it tomorrow, but now it’s time for lunch. Everyone has decided poutine is the order of the day.

Until next time…

Time for a new carb

Good morning readers! With the new fuel pump in place it’s on to the next trouble point with the tractor. The carburetor.

The carburetor that is on the machine now is the original carburetor from the factory I believe. It’s fairly worn, and to be honest I have neither the time, skills, or patience to tinker around. There is to much work to do. This being the case I’ve just bought a brand new unit.

First I’ve got to take off the air box and disconnect all the connections to the carb.

While not as complex as a cars carburetor this thing still has a bunch of connections. It is after all the heart of the machine.

The carburetor if you are wondering is the small section the screwdriver is touching. To the left is just an elbow to hook on the air box, and to the right is the intake manifold. Below you see the gaping hole where the old carburetor was.

Next the elbow needs to come off since it will be getting re used with the new carburetor.

That is a matter of three screws, and being VERY careful not to trash the seal. The new carburetor only came with a manifold seal.

The new carburetor came through lacking the fuel shutoff solenoid that the old one has. I have simply taped off the wires that the solenoid used and left them in place. To the best of my knowledge all this thing does is prevent backfires on shutting down. If yo set the motor back to idle before shutting down is does the same thing most of the time. The times that it does not… well it keeps the neighbors on their toes.

The final step is bolting the new assembly in, and making all the connections.

Things will need a little dialing in as I go, but the unit is whole again, and the tractor is running amazingly well. We have cured the shutting down from the fuel pump, and the need to choke it to death to make it run. I’m going to call this a 100% success.

The only major project left is the leaky front shaft seal. Once this is done I will have a very strong motor on my hands.

Until next time…

A hopeful rehabilitation of an old tractor

Good morning readers! It’s Monday again, and we are back to the routine. Today’s mission is to get the tractor switched from the mechanical fuel pump that it has now, to an electric fuel pump. I am pretty sure the fuel pump is the culprit in this case, because the tractors bad behavior is dependent on the angle of the fuel tank relative to the engine. I think the old mechanical pump doesn’t have the gusto to pull fuel up to itself anymore.

Way too much money later, I have all the parts I need to make a big ‘ole mess of things. Time to head back to the ranch.

The first step is to find power that shits off with the key.

We are officially “under the knife now.

I’ve found the power line that I’m going to use, the next challenge is re routing fuel lines and placing the pump itself. I’ve gotten the pump hot wire hooked up. I’m going to extend the ground as well and ground it with the main battery.

The supply side of the fuel line is in place. Being very careful to make all the arrows go the same way is especially critical. I’ve also bypassed the old fuel pump, which will stay in place

The old pump should just sit there and move air from one side to the other poorly now.

Next up it’s time to mount the pump. Since it is more heat sensitive than the old pump I’m putting it behind the engine wall, on top of the tunnel.

I put a hole in the tunnel, and I think I killed my drill (a little smoke is good for them right?). Now I just need to bolt the pump in place and wire in the ground. In the absence of a big enough bolt I used a drywall anchor. Sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do.

Everything is in now, and she runs amazing… until she warms up. At least I know it’s not the fuel anymore. I think the issue is in the carb. If it’s not that ten I get to really dig in and change the charger on the flywheel. I really hope it’s the carb.

Until next time…

Assembly day!

Good morning my awesome readers! Today is a long awaited day for sure. Today we are going to get the three elements of the chicken space assembled!

I can in no way say this was easy, but anything worth having is not easy. We begin the day by getting the ramp fitted to the coop side. With a little trimming it came right together.

The next chore is getting all three pieces in the same area, so it’s off to the tractor. The work area was a bit of a harrowing experience. The center of gravity was so high, and the wheelbase on the garden trailer is narrow. Every rock made it seem like we were going over. We emerged triumphant though.

Now that the three pieces are married up, I can see the beast that has been created, in all its glory.

This is leading me to believe that I need about ten more acres. It will surely take some creative wiggling to employ this unit for sure.

Well as with any project around the house, it has the potential to devolve into a playground run. We are pretty fortunate to have some good ones near by.

After the playground, it’s back to work. The final bit of chicken wire is in. Tomorrow morning we introduce some birds to this thing!

There are still some minor bugs to work out, but at least now the birds can begin to occupy it while I tinker.

Some of the minor bugs are the doors that need to be reconfigured, I have to block off the nesting boxes until it’s time to lay. I also need to screw in a few roosting benches, and give it some shavings. The big feeders will also need to be installed. There is still a bunch of work to do, but we have cleared the biggest hurdle.

Until next time…

It’s… Chicken Day!

Good morning everyone, today is the day that six little puffs of feathers join our little homestead. There is still a little work to be done though.

The brooder is running now, it’s time to monitor the temperature to check out.

The temp is rising pretty steadily, we are currently at 90. These heat lamps worry me, I’m pretty sure it’s good though.

Now it’s a waiting game for the phone to ring.

the time has come… I actually ended up calling them….twice. Anyway, off to the feed store!

And away we go!

Until next time…

Barter and exchange

The second tenet, is a little more straightforward in that it does not require the lens of social perception. The ability to trade and engage in commerce with your fellow man. Moreover it is The ability to do so without third party hijacking of the process. Be that through taxation, restrictions, or outright theft

I would like to use my post today to dive a bit deeper into this aspect of the ideas that I laid out in a previous post. You can find that here.

First a quick update though. Everything is nearly on schedule once again. I’m looking forward to a busy weekend to advance the homestead. Today I locked in the chickens. Bringing home the shavings and chick starter has made it feel a bit more real.

The first bit to dive into is does every family need to have a full on farm? My initial thought screams yes, but when I slow that down a little I realize that not everyone is a full on green to the bone farmer. Some people even claim to have a black thumb. Every family should however be able to grow something.

So what of the families that can’t exist on farming alone? There are as many options as the day is long. When I strip away the mechanics of the idea, and stand looking at its core I can see at the very base level it’s about removing that third party from the process. It’s about revoking the socially accepted premise that taking a cut of someone else’s hard work is an ok thing to do, when the taker has done nothing to add value to the transaction.

After having these thoughts I’m left with the daunting thought project of how people would remove these thieves from their pockets.

The first thing that springs to my mind, is a reduction in the use of fiat currencies, and electric transactions. People would need to be willing to move into tangible items for trade. An alternate method of reserve capital would not hurt either. After all there are only so many beans the mechanic can eat right? I would propose that the alternate reserve be itself a tangible item. Some item that is common enough to be immune from tracking attempts, yet uncommon enough to not be readily forged.

More thought is needed, I really do welcome your feedback and thoughts.

Until next time…

Backyard stairs.

Today I am going to be starting on the new stairway that leads to the greenhouse. I’ve mentioned these before, they are going to come down this bank.

My primary issue is that I have only four pieces of flagstone left.

Each one is a good size to catch a footfall, but the question is can the bank be traversed in four steps? Let’s see.

So far it looks ok. I will need to take off at least one sharp edge but the spacing and gait look and feel ok.

I’ve also found one more stone. It’s not flagstone but it’s native for sure.

A big piece of granite that had been vexing my lawnmower for years, now has a practical purpose in life.

And with that extra stone the job is complete. It just needs some more worthy plants than grass on the edges.

And with that it’s on to the next project. Time waits for no man.

The triangle bed. It’s been on the list for a while now for de-clumping and today is the day. I’ve made it about half way through and run out of time. It’s looking good though.

Until next time…

More beds open

Today I’m chopping in beds that were opened last year. There’s some really good looking dirt in these things. Remember the triangle bed from last year? It’s a trapezoid now. The perennial flowers I put on the end survived their first winter!

And no it’s not the dandelions.

The next step is to let that dry a bit over the next few days and remove The clods.

Next up is the long “buffet” line below the berm.

From the above tithe below in only about a gallon of sweat.

In a couple days I’ll loop back and pick out the clods for the compost pile and away we go.

I only have two beds left to open and we are officially underway. Pretty exciting stuff if you ask me.

The weather looks promising tomorrow so likely I’ll open them then. But now I’ve noticed grass in places it should not be, and we all know I cannot abide that. So it’s off to do some scythe work.

It’s starting to look like a garden now instead of unkempt wild.

I also got the heugel bed opened up. I think the sunflowers that were there last year took their toll on he soil. It looks pretty light and sandy, yet still good enough to plant in.

There is still a ton to do, but how do you eat an elephant??

Until next time…

The half day

So it was slow at the 9 to 5 today so I have turned it into a half day to make up for the morning of slack. I’m using the time to clean up some odd tasks that have been eating me up. First on the list is to screen the rest of the compost. There are a bunch of pictures of that so I will not inundate you with those. I did however find a creative use for the larger pieces of organic matter that do not pass the screen.

The soil that the perennials have been going in is pretty sandy. So I’ve used the organic leftovers to act as a cover mulch. This will hold that sandy soil in place a lot better.

And another one farther along. Ever have one of those aha moments by accident that turns out really great?

I made it about half way. If I had started sooner I could have finished it. Oh well. Out of light for now

Until next time…

Adding some recurring pretty

Today we are going to be adding to our list of species. This time around in the form of perennial flowers. These are a welcome addition as they keep to our philosophy that everything growing should have a use. While we cannot eat them they will attract pollinators for us, and in time provide a boost to the homestead income when they are ready to be split.

As I get older though. I find it a little harder to remember a ton of minutiae details, so labeling these will be key. Do you remember that scrap wood I lamented keeping? I do. Now it has a use.

I’m going to turn these into row markers, and plant markers. This will have two effects. It will allow me to quickly identify the various species that we have, and it will allow customers coming to the greenhouse to see the abundance that can be placed into a tiny area. The later being more important. If I can spark one person to stop and notice, and then take that off and do the same for themselves. Well then I will have won.

Last fall at the radio show I met a nice older couple that were playing their wares. One of the items they had was a set of small carving chisels.

Disregard the message for help there, I am fine. My children like to leave notes for me, and are not held back by petty details such as “is there paper under my pen?” I got this bundle for five dollars. They should prove very useful in creating lasting row markers. On a side note, this will transition into a source of homestead income as well.

This is going to take some work, and I realized almost instantly why they were five dollars. I need a sharpening stone. Bad.

It is however, a start so off we go down the rabbit hole. First step dig a hole, then a healthy dose of our own compost.

A little extra good soil because this section of yard is pretty sandy. A quick pat in and a marker. It looks good.

Once that is set it’s over to the greenhouse. While planting I had a chunk volunteer to come loose. I’ve turned that into twelve new plants.

Unfortunately I’m once again out of time today. Thanks for coming along on the chores.

Until next time…