Dispatches From The Farm

Wednesday Morning by the Fire.

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

It is snowing again this morning. Nothing like yesterday though. Just a little flurry. I see California is having rain again, so give that 24 hours and it will be here. It was warm overnight, and this morning I did not started a fire early this morning and am only getting around to it right now as I write this. It is coming up to 10AM. It’s not cold in here, but it is cool, and I figure one good blaze ought to take that chill off for a while. Plus, having a fire going in the stove is good for drying off those cast iron pans from breakfast, or softening the bacon grease enough to pour into the bin. I am doing both now. It’s much better to bring the grease up to a temperature warm enough to pour and put it all into the rubbish bin than to pour any of it into the sink, and down into the septic system.

I got a chance to get out to the shop for a few minutes this morning, and just a little cleaning put it into a place where I know what to do for my next steps that will make a big difference in cleaning it up ready for the new workbench. I will get to those steps this afternoon when I get a chance to get some things to the barn. When that is done, a few things need to get sorted off the foosball table before I am ready to be able to push it aside for the workbench to come through and set up. I am excited, but the tracking info still shows it has not moved yet. Do they ship stuff once a week, or does the shipper not actually have any tracking system? Who knows? When it gets here, it gets here.

The fire is not burning hot this morning. It really could be doing better. I just put a couple more logs on to see if that will help. I am thinking that closing up space in the stove will concentrate the heat better, and maybe those new logs will burn better. I think the wood got wet in the recent weather, even under the tarp, and not I am paying for that. I would really like to build some woodsheds out there to keep the wood in without messing about with the tarps that blow off in the wind. A good hard roof and sides would do a lot for keeping the wood ready to burn. Add that to the summer chores list. Add that to the current cost of doing anything! A fella wouldn’t complain about having a sawmill right now.

The extra logs helped the fire catch. I helped one of our daughters with her Social Studies. Missus has walked back and forth a few times with her computer in hand, and her headphones on while she works. I am back to a moment of peace now and can worry about that fire and some cleaning up around the house. Best way will be to put down the blog for the time being and get at it.

The Morning

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

This morning it sure was coming down, and was it ever wet! I got out soon and started up my tractor and put it to work clearing the dog run. It’s good to be able to walk the dogs without having to fight the snow as well as the dogs. I went out a little later and cleared the front end for the mail carrier to deliver to us. I did not do the drive at the Hay Gate, but I did do Witch Gate. I helped neighbor pile up some snow that was too close to his drive and cleared a path through a pile of it so he will be able to drain water into the borrow pit. I also helped someone get their child to school on time by giving the father and child a ride. It has been a good day so far. The weather is meant to relax, and the snow that fell this morning is already melting.

Snow Handling with a Tractor

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

It’s two degrees above freezing outside right now, gone after 5:30 PM. This winter has been pretty warm. The snow on the ground seems wet, and we keep getting puddles then ice skating rinks all around. I plow the dog walking path, and the top has a new finish on it by morning when the flat snow has melted during the day, then iced over during the night. It’s not the safest environment to walk in. Then again, we have had worse. But as winter seasons go, this is not a cold one, for sure.

So far this year we keep getting little bits of snow. We put in the footprints, then within a few days they are gone. It snowed maybe an inch and a half last night! It was just enough to want to clear it, but not enough to change the world or end the drought. But who knows what the cumulative effect of all this snow will be? We just need it to keep coming!

I am not entirely sure that the tractor would handle a single heavy snowfall. If I had a proper snow pusher or plow blade, then yeah, I think it would do amazing things. But with a loader bucket and a box blade, it has limits to what it can move in each pass.

All the snow clearing burns fuel. The cost of fuel is not very low this year, as you know. And as it keeps falling in these little bits at a time, I get to burn plenty of fuel to keep the place clear.

Between all this, I am trying to establish a snow strategy. Where are the best places to pile it up? How much should hit the ground before I clear it up? What areas should I clear off, and what should I leave? It’s great to have a cab and be able to work any time of day or night and stay warm.

One of the things that has really paid off with the tractor though is the ability to walk around outside without being forced into little foot-made paths that weave around almost randomly. I have full walkways and plenty of room to drive vehicles around without getting stuck.

Feeding has been so much easier this year! I put a bale in the bucket and take it around to where the llamas and horse is and deliver a couple of flakes per animal. By the time I am done with the paddocks with one or two animals in each, I have a final one with three that I can just dump the rest of the hay into. It is dead easy. It means I only end up out of the tractor three times after I have loaded the hay into the bucket. And those three times are very short, and don’t really require a coat. Makes a lovely winter chore list! There are other times I am out of the tractor for longer, but for feeding the goats, and for loading firewood into the bucket to take to the house. The bucket can carry a full load for a 24-hour burn. That never takes too long, so I have hardly been cold this winter compared to previous years!

There is a lot to get doing soon. When my workbench shows up in the next week or two, and I get it set up, I expect it to increase my opportunities to work in the shop. All I need to depend on is being able to warm it in there and being able to find some wood to work with! I can sure imagine a few things to build on it! I can also image being able to clear up and do some more candles.

That’s what is on my mind right now. All that and a bag of popcorn. I think I’ll go get that popping!

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.