Tough Father’s Day today. My stepdad passed away yesterday due to complications surrounding heart surgery he had back in March. Nevertheless, I spent the day with my wife and kids, and enjoyed it as I could. I got a lovely Mappa Mundi etched in wood with Romanesque surrounds. On the back was a sweet poem…
Dispatches From The Farm
Recovering From A Life of Pain
The trouble with manual labor is that it requires someone who is fit enough to do it. If you are thinking of taking on a homestead, you will be able to put a lot more into it, and get a lot more out of it, if you are fully able bodied, and capable of keeping…
Wood
It’s a cool morning here on the farm. The storms that flooded Yellowstone north of us barely brushed by and touched our little home on the valley floor. The greatest effect here was cooler weather with a dash of wind. Cooler weather is good for splitting firewood ready for winter, and so I did yesterday,…
Spring 2022
Times are tough these days, with inflation high, and everything else that is going on withing the United States, and without. One of the biggest bug bears on our farm is the price of animal feed, and especially hay. Two years or so ago I was able to secure some grassy alfalfa mixed bales of…
18th Century Beeswax Candles
Over the past few weeks I bought a candle mold from Townsends, on of my favorite online shops. I used some beeswax I bought before, and some wick we had in the candle making box, and made some candles when the mold arrived. Quite happy with the results, and aware of the size of the…
The Cast Iron Cauldron
Over the past ten years I have collected a fair amount of cast iron. Today’s acquisition is spectacular, however! The cauldron arrived unseasonably and was the silver grey color of bare metal. I seasoned it with three coats of olive oil, then messed about with a lid too small and one too big from my…
So Nearly Spring!
It is almost Spring! Along with the recent time change, the weather is acting accordingly. There are geese in migration and there are other birds showing up, though I have yet to see my first Robin of Spring. The temperatures are warming up with higher daytime highs and nights that are not nearly as cold…
The Weather and Heating
According to an article I just saw, January was in a drought, officially, in our part of Idaho. I can confirm that anecdotally. I have not seen much new snow at all. None, really. If you were to look in our yard, you would find snow that has been there since December. Forecasts for the…
Out With the Old, Propane
It’s -2F outside right now, three in the morning. The house felt cold, so rather than try to roll over and go back to sleep, I got up to answer nature’s call and to put some wood on the fire. It was a hot bed of coals when I got to it, so I scooped…
The Many Things of Today
I got up this morning knowing I needed to get animal feed and a couple of Kilner jars because I keep buying them and filling them up before I get mayonnaise made and put into what I have bought. After my little one finished school for the day I get her shuffled out the door…