Author: The Lord of The Manor

Planning to Come Back to YouTube

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Tomorrow I am expecting a new action camera to arrive. It looks like it will shoot the image quality I am looking for, as well as the durability and the MINE-ness I really want. I don’t want to be taking my wife’s camera out, and accidentally breaking it while trying to get a video.

So why get a video cam? Well, I have children who keep getting older on me, and we don’t plan on anymore. So that’s one good reason for it. Another is that I have a couple of videos up on YouTube on the topic of the farm. I would like to add some more. I still have the little action cams I filmed those with, but the mics were never great, and the lenses have a pretty good amount of fisheye to them, distorting everything in the video. Llamas are funny looking enough without that kind of help. Lastly, I am completing a circle of sorts and I have a workbench on order that, once it arrives, should provide plenty of good content for said YouTube channel. I don’t want to miss the setup and getting things going with that. I already got the video editing software, and have it installed. I have a really good digital recorder, too. I can capture sound separate to the action cam as needed. I have great sound editing software, and I have a mixing board for expanded live recording. With the action cam being the only missing link, I thought I would get it, and give it a go.

The content potential here is pretty good, too. I have the Kioti Tractor, and we have lots of animals to look after. I hope things will flow kind of naturally. And if I could reach monetization and get some money back for what I upload, and that money is enough to pay for the camera, and maybe even a little extra, then that would be fantastic. I am probably better off trying to make a little off my hobbies than trying to find a career at my age.

The workbench I ordered is on backorder, and I don’t know if that is due to a standard shipping delay; listed as in stock, usually ships in 1 to 3 days. Or are there still supply chain issues that will hold it up even longer?

Whatever the case, expect even more great video than this…

The company I bought the bench from just got back to me. They are shipping the bench from the manufacturer, expecting 1-3 business days, but it could be longer due to the recent holidays. They said they will reach out to them to find out and get back to me when they know for sure. I think that’s about all I could ask for! I think I will go figure out a potential video format for the videos I plan to start recording this week.

About Three Inches of Snow

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

If I had to guess, I would say we had about three inches of snowfall. But! But that came down with the wind going 15 to 20 miles an hour for quite some time. Result? Drifts and negated work. I have been keeping a clear path through the orchard so we can walk the dogs. Last night I cleared it, then we walked the dogs an hour later, and we could not see where the snow had been cleared. There is tall grass at the base of that fence that is impossible to get at with the strimmer in the summer without killing the string, and that grass has caused enough of a block to drift the snow in behind it something fierce. The borrow pit going east from our house appears to be gone now, too. It is flat across it as if it were not even there.

I have gotten up to some mischief lately. I ordered a workbench for proper woodworking, and I ordered a little camera that should be pretty decent for uploading to YouTube. I’d like to get some videos up and see if I can get to the point of monetization, and even get enough to pay back the camera. Maybe it will go somewhere from there, too. But if not, I will at least have a good tool for capturing our kids on video with from time to time, so we have memories. At this age, I already can see I’ll need the help when I am older!

I need to watch our white female llama going forward. I noticed while out feeding her yesterday that as she approached the place I put the food in, she did so with an awkward walk. It reminded me of Mystique, our oldest currant llama, with arthritis in her hips. I hope she is not going to have it too. And if she is, then she definitely needs to be avoided at breeding time.

There is a fire in the fireplace, and the whole family is in two rooms that are open to each other, so we are all together. The theme for today is to rest and relax. That quite suits me before we get back to the homeschooling schedule tomorrow.

Going to Get Colder!

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

After our previous report about the cold, today was playing out to be a mellow day when a friend of mine texted and asked if we thought we were going to be in the range of the negative temperature storm heading into the US. I had no idea what he was talking about. Then I saw two of the kids were messaging and I looked at the video one posted, and there was my answer. I think you will look back upon this as the Christmas Freeze of 2022. Whatever it gets called, it’s going to get very, very cold. We are anticipating windchills as low as -25F, and we are only going to get brushed by the arctic air as it barrels into the US from Canada in the next 48 hours or so. Wind gusts here are expected to reach 50 mph, but I will be the first to admit that the wind never reaches up to what is anticipated. I suspect based on normal weather predictions compared to reality, we will see wind gusting to 35 mph. That at about 2F is enough to still make it a hellish cold.

I spent three and a half hours today working with our animals that live outside, and prepared them with food, bedding, water, and whatever I could to keep them out of direct wind and show. We are meant to get snow starting tonight, then going on till the day after tomorrow. Again, all we can do is wait and see. But this is going to goof with a lot of people’s travel plans over Christmas, including the kid who posted the video in Messenger who has to travel back home from where he works in another state. He’s excited. He already has the record among people I know for longest commute to work, four days, when we went to work this last week. All of that was due to weather, too.

Well, it is tired time, and I am going to go to sleep. Will probably be clearing snow tomorrow afternoon, or the next morning. It’s going to be interesting!

Cold!

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

And so, there we have it. The temps are a bit on the chilly side this day! The sun is sinking over the horizon as I write this, and who knows what tonight will bring? The wind map does not give any promises of a warmer overnight.

It looks like we are in the middle of a trough that will be tormenting us another day or so. Perfect time to be inside with a chocolate latte and some YouTube videos.

We are a good quarter of the way through the wood we have stocked up in the bunk, and winter has not yet started. I am not counting a second pile though, and we may still have enough. If not, there is a chap nearby that sells wood by the cord, and based on the pile he keeps outside his house, I am not going to have to worry about him running out… ever. We’ll buy some if we need it,

I was up in the middle of the night last night, and found the house comfortable, though a little cool. It was a pleasant surprise given it was around -7 degrees at that time. We had a smoldering fire in the stove and three panel heaters on in three rooms, running on 400 watts each. 1,200 watts is not too bad for half of whole house heat. We use window coverings to keep the cold at bay where the glass is. That makes a big difference, based on our experience in past years. Given the outside temperature at the time, I was well relieved to have what we did.

Missus was up early this morning and said the power flashed off for a second sometime this morning. That’s a good reminder that it could get a lot colder if those panel heaters shut down.

I know the wood we have has been too wet to burn to get good heat out of it. It was not seasoned properly. But it is what we have, and I just have to be vigilant with keeping the chimney clean. I cleaned it yesterday in fact! Not top to bottom, but at the bend at the bottom. Anyway, I loaded a bit of wood a few minutes ago, and I suspect I may have got some older wood in there, because the heat that is kicking off the stove right now is the kind that warms right to the bone.

Coming up to 6PM now. Time to get a late supper.

Late Autumn, 2022

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

It’s the busy season again! Time to shop and buy things for the family and get them the things we think they would enjoy. It’s time to receive cards and be embarrassed that once again we are too busy with our little immediate flock to get cards out to those who live far away, both friend and family. It’s time to wrap things and hide things and plan and prepare for the things we repeat year after year, but put a different spin on each time, to maintain tradition, and to keep it interesting. We are setting the traditions of our family with the things we do and hope they will grow older with ideas for what to do with their own young ones.

The kids are down to one week of school left. Winter starts in a week and a half. The worst of winter is usually January and February, getting too cold to bear outside for very long. Those are the months that are the hardest to keep the house warm, and sometimes ice forms on the insides of the windows, so we leave the window coverings closed, and although it means the house is darker inside, it is much warmer, too. One day we will get new windows, and hopefully solve that problem once and for all. But the old house needs so many things. Flooring, windows, a couple of doors, carpets, a new septic system, and a couple of jacks in the basement, to name but a few. We’d also like to change the fireplace insert to a woodstove style one to help heat the house a little more efficiently. And then there are the outside things to do with fencing, landscaping, a bit of electricity to a few necessary places, finish the driveway, sort new pens out for the goats and such, and a decent dog run. There is a lot to do! Once the place is up to scruff, then we could work on the improvements!

So close to the end of Autumn. I am very excited for this Spring. Things will be a changing!

Taking Steps Forward, and to the Side

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

The farrier came by this morning and give the horse a bit of a trim. We are trying to recover her hooves from a bit of neglect on our part, and she needs to be done in increments. The guy I hired has been willing to come twice on a single appointment, so I paid him more than he asked me for. He said he did not want to charge me till he had done the job right, and he felt that he was unable to the first time. Well, that was not his fault! He is going to come by again in three weeks to work her over again, which will be on a different appointment than these last visits, which were the original appointment. Anyway, the mare’s hooves are coming down, and I am glad it is not all at once, not just to let her be less tender under the hoof, but also so she can adjust her stance back to a more upright position.

After the farrier left, I had some things to take care of for Missus, then I went to town to get a new gas lid for the truck, and new coolant reservoir lid for the car as it just broke on Tuesday, and some electrical supplies to hardwire in a heater for Missus’ little cottage out back. I was almost done with that just after the sun had gone down when all the girls came into the cottage with Bandit, our half border collie, half Alsatian.

The dog had blood on him which turned out to be from his roommate, the Billy goat. The goat is rutting, and acting like a real jerk, and won himself a good bit on the ear. But then, that is not the goat’s fault. Anyway, the dog found himself a way out of the pen and took his leave from the goat in order to get some peace. I knew right away where he had done it, so I finished the wiring, put on the heater, and went after the fence.

The fence repair was one of the easiest I have done on the farm, day or night. In this case, it was night. But I picked up the roll of fencing and brought it over on the pallet forks of the tractor, measured off a piece as if I were measuring off some paper towel, and then used the lights on the tractor to illuminate my work! The light was coming from behind me, so the goat and I cast shadows, which I watched to make sure the goat was not charging me the way he has been the dog. I finished fixing the fence, and am secure the goat isn’t getting out, and I put the dog elsewhere for the night. I will have to get some fence supplies tomorrow and build a new pen, I think. It’s time that goat got his own place again and stopped pestering the poor dog. They were okay together for a while, but the goat’s tongue has been hanging out and flapping. He is in a mood.

Tomorrow I would like to put the new heater into my shop, too. I have what I need to do it. If I don’t quite get to the new pen, I am okay with that as I have an auger on the way, and would like to set posts with it, since the ground is already frozen up to a degree here. The auger should be here on Monday or Tuesday. It would be good for it to arrive first, so I can not only get into the ground as necessary, but also get in deep enough to set the posts in properly. All of my posts up till now are set to shallow as I cannot get the manual post hole diggers to clasp any dirt beyond about two and a half feet down. The handles won’t spread enough, and I don’t want to dig the hole any wider so the earth around the hole is undisturbed and firm. The auger ought to make a big difference in getting deep enough, keeping the surrounding ground firm, and just plain being easier. It should also help me to reset several fences around here and set in the new paddocks whenever the canal company buries the canal. I will probably set in small shelters with it, too. Oh, and I could use a couple of woodsheds.

Everything is under control on the farm again, for now. Slowly, we are improving things, too. It’s good to feel the progress!

Thanksgiving At Our Farm

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Happy Thanksgiving to all! We hope that yours has been a good one!

Our Thanksgiving has been a quiet one this year. We had our family meal on Saturday with all the kids at a buffet in town. Today, we stayed in with the youngest kids, and had a traditional English breakfast for lunch. It consisted of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, beef patties, new potatoes, and cups of tea. It was lovely, and easy to clean up after. We will be doing another meal this Sunday with our younger son and his family. The meal was nestled in among games and family time.

This Sunday’s meal is going to be prepared by our son, and he is meant to make a turkey as per his wife’s request. They want to do a more traditional American meal.

There are many reasons to celebrate Thanksgiving! I think many people do it to take some time thinking about the things we have to be thankful for. That has always been a tradition in my family as a child. Another reason to celebrate is family. We get together and just spend a day of feasting and enjoying each other’s company. That was also important in my childhood family, and what I strive for now as an adult and one of the oldest in our little splinter of a family. We may not all make it to one table together on the day, or at the time, but we do try to make arrangements to make it work sometime during the week. The absolute highlight for us is just being together. That’s what matters most. To me, anyway. The boys may prefer the food, and the girls may enjoy the games the most. But for me, it is us.

Whatever your reasons, and wherever your interests lie, I hope that you and yours had a wonderful holiday, and that the Christmas approach is a magical and wonderful time of the year for you and all of yours. Thanksgiving is slipping away. Roll on Christmas, and all that that entails.

We Lost a Calf

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

I had a farrier by last night to look at the hooves of our mare, which have not been done for far too long. just before he arrived, I noticed that one of the calves was lying about looking like he wanted to die. With the gent on his way, I could not address it then, and had to get prepare the horse for her appointment. Once the farrier finished with her, I went right back over to where the calf was and took to dealing with him. There was nothing I could do. I went in to tell Missus that the calf looked like he was on his way out, and by the time I got back, he was gone. I have no idea what did it. I expected one to die before we got them raised. That is just my luck and skill with them. But I did not really expect it to be this one, and so soon.

That was bad news.

The good news was having the tractor to deal with it. I chained his leg and pulled him down the alleyway to the main part of the pen, and then bucket loaded him and carried him across to the field and let him out near the swale at the bottom. He is far from anyone and will no doubt decay in the springtime. It was a snap do sort it out, and I really enjoyed having the cab on to keep warm while at it. It also helped to partition me from the gruesome factor.

That was the good news.

I picked up the cutting edge for the bucket, and the bracket to put on the SMV sign at the rear of the tractor. I am finally legal! I mounted that on tonight and feel a lot better about getting on the road with the machine. Mind, I don’t have to drive it far to get to the pasture. But it’d be my luck I would get the attention of the police in that little stretch. And now I don’t have to remember to put on the hazard lights every time, though I probably still will.

Our forecast for the next week is cold, but dry. Perhaps I can get some things done! I have the pallet forks on so I can take things out of the granary, and put some other things back in. It’s not that I can reach in with them, but I don’t have to carry things across the yard.

I have been getting the parts needed to put in the outlet for the welder on my panel in the garage. There is a bit more to it than there would be with a regular breaker. It has been unexpected, as I have not done this type before. So, I am learning. I think I have everything I need to finish it maybe tomorrow.

Autumn Proper

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

The first week of November is already by, and I am already starting to lament the thought of that long period between Christmas and spring planting, when the seed catalogues come, and the season never seems to go. Everyone who lives with plants knows just what I mean. As for those with animals, unless they can afford plenty of hay, they will understand the anxieties I have right now about the amount of hay we have on hand, and how well the tarp is staying on it, or not. Anyone who survives the cold with only wood heat and limited access to the wood knows the other anxiety I am suffering right now. I know we could be a lot worse off in so many ways. It is just a part of the agrarian life that one lives with when each year one gets just enough to get by. I hope that during the coming year I will better this situation and get truly ahead.

I have got so much done in the past month since the tractor arrived that I am amazed. I am half done with the land bridge from the main property across the street to the other side of the swale at the bottom of the place. Once that is done, I will be able to wither carry on with the idea of planting trees along there and calling it Willow Bank, or I could let the livestock over to graze at their leisure and have about 4/10ths of an acre more land to feed from. It’s no small thing as that would support a cow for a while. Every little helps. But if we do the Willow Bank idea, it would be best to leave it as an untouched natural space for animals and picnics. Willow trees would just finish it over there, providing shade and play.

I went out to do some work in the shop yesterday but noticed the llamas giving attention to something at the bottom of the property. I could not see what it was, so I went over instead, and found three hounds had trapped a raccoon and were biting and barking at it. The raccoon was in a struggle, but I could not do much to interfere with frenzied dogs who would only ignore my pleas for them to stop and let it be. I checked with some people who I saw on the next property, but the dogs were not theirs. I went back and the raccoon was still alive, but had no fight left in it. I thought the dogs were being fairly inefficient at killing it, then realized what was going on. They had worn it down, then one bit on its throat till it choked to death. It was a maneuver that they could not have pulled off with the raccoon fighting back. It was a sad thing to see, but they were not my dogs and I could not stop them, and I did not want to get tangled up with a raccoon. If there are rabies, then I’d be the final victim. No thank you. I now know who’s dogs they are, but there is not much I can do about them, as they live close enough that unless they are going to keep their dogs permanently locked up, they will always end up over on ours. Also, we have had horses break lose and end up in their pasture before, too, so it is probably best to keep an understanding with these particular people. It was a raccoon. It was not one of my animals. But it does mean that I have limits to what animals I can keep over there, as small ones and waterfowl are probably out of the question. It is best as a grazing pasture.

I am nearly done setting up for a welder in the shop. I need to clean up in there, so I don’t set a fire or cause an explosion. I just need to install some gear I have got in order to plug the welder in, then I need to get some practice in. I have got me some learning to do. I put in all the electrics into the cottage for Missus, and now I am doing a bit of work on the shop. Much of it is done already, and things are working much better in there. For example, the air compressor is kicking on at full power now and runs without tripping a breaker. It sure feels a lot safer without worrying about all the power coming into the shop down a single extension cord from the house! That has also relieved a circuit in the house, too! The kitchen ought to run better, and we have finally closed that window on the front porch all the way. There is the door out there that could do with being replaced, and I think it will keep much warmer in there going forward from that.

Tractor Work

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

So many years ago I picked up parts of an old walk that went from the front door to the roadside. I did it when we decided to put in a fence and cut off access straight in with it, circle drive, and a tree. I used some for crazy paving in Missus’ herb garden, and I used two big square pieces under the garbage bins so they could be sort of roadside, but on the outside of the fence, ready to take out on garbage day, and easily accessible with the kitchen rubbish on all the days of the week. It has worked really well, apart from the slabs having gone in crooked, and they were too heavy to fix at the time, as it took all I had in me to get them there in the first place. I promised myself then that when I got a tractor, I would fix it.

Today came the day it got fixed. I took out the slabs, and leveled the dirt under where they belonged, then put them back. It was nowhere that easy as the area is fenced in, and it took a lot of patience and care to avoid damaging the fence! But finally, when it was all done, I put the bins in, and instead of sitting all wonky, they are straight and true, and since they live near the roadside, we finally look like we did this with intention, rather than on accident.

In addition to fixing the bin slabs, I tried again at grading the roadside where the main driveways are. Water comes off the road in the rain and puddles right next to the pavement. Passing drivers easily come off the side of the road a little in that spot, in addition to our passing through from the drives, and with freezing temperatures, we have been at risk of the roadside crumbling into a massive pothole that we could count on the county not addressing. So, I have been trying to grade down the dirt next to the puddles to let them come off the roadside. That is not entirely straightforward as the place where the water should head off to is the front of our house. I needed to level the dirt gently, then slope it past the place where the garbage bins sit, and into a grassy area in front of the cow pens where nobody really drives. Hopefully this will eliminate the pooling of water in that spot! I’d like to prevent the road being destroyed in front of our house!

I finished putting in several electrical outlets in my wife’s cottage yesterday, making electricity available along her entire workbench. I need to set in some outlets in the comfy side of the cottage next. That should be easier. It is a lot closer to the panel, so there will be far less drilling involved, anyway.

I also started rewiring my shop, setting up for all of the lighting I want to have in, and outside of it. I also got some of the outlets sorted. I have been running power in the shop off an extension cord for the last ten years, so this has been very exciting to me!