Dispatches From The Farm

The Latest News, August 16th, 2024

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

It’s been a hot summer this year here in southeast Idaho, and very dry. Yet there’s been no talk of drought so far as I have heard whenever I have been in town. The river appears to be running at normal levels.

The hot temperatures finally broke in the last few days. That is encouraging so we can get to work on projects outside that I have put off due to avoiding the excess heat, and wanting to be sure nobody ends up sick because of it. There has not been very much time between sunrise and when it gets too hot to work in the sun each day, so not a lot of time to get going at any serious projects. That’s all changing now.

The kids start school on Monday, and that will free our time up in the day without having to worry about them hanging about wanting care. So, with all possible excuses out of the way, it is time to get to work on the projects that require our absolute attention this year. This means it is time to cut logs out in the yard now, and get the logs turned into studs, boards, and timber for framing.

Missus has been trying to get an art-based business off the ground with online shopping and appearances at the local Farmer’s Market. We have been trying to develop the process for the market, then streamline it so the two of us will be able to keep it going when the kids are at school. We have not made a lot of money there yet, but the organizers of the market say it is to be expected while people get the idea that they will come and shop for things they have in mind because they have seen us around before. We’ll see. Meanwhile, it has been a good time to get out and get to know some people.

I have prepped some wood in the shop to start making a bedside table for my side of the bed. I’d like to have a cabinet below and a drawer just under the tabletop. I’ll be employing the skills I used for the first table I made and documented here on the site. This one will be pine rather than poplar. I am not yet sure if I will go for panels on the side or make it more primitive with vertical boards cladding the side. So long it has a shelf for some books and one for some electronics, I think it will do either way. The bed is tall, and I have some room to play with for the height to fit in those shelves below.

With the kids’ summer break and my wife’s visit both winding down, there is a certain solemn feeling to everything right now. I’ve really enjoyed the time with everyone this year and will be sad to see this come to an end. I’ve got good people about me.

Time to refocus on some other things now, and while we do, Halloween will come before long, and the shop has to be ready for that. It’s my favorite time of year with the smells of autumn and the cool weather. The changes of the season and the eventual snowfall as the long days fade into the long nights and the world is lit by artificial light stirs primal feelings in me as the winter hibernation settles in. I keep warm light in the bulbs here at the house, and sometimes light by candle. It suits me, as does the warm fire in the stove and the scent of the fire hanging in the air. The kids will be wanting hot chocolate, and I will be breaking out the apple teas for myself. It brings to mind some ideas for the decorating I’d like to develop for the market and the shop to help along with sales. And as with everything else, I will be working on a primitive look of Colonial Americana.

That’s the news from here on the farm, where life is raw and real, and the family grows strong; where we grow our bounty and hope to share it with you.

Live From Preston Farmer’s Market

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

We are here! It’s the Preston Farmer’s Market!

The booth is set up and arranged. It took the whole hour and a half with four of us doing it, but here we are with loads to sell.

There is giftwrap…

Fiber samplers…

We have laser cut wood items such as fiber combs and looms and such…

There are decorative bookmarks and prints…

…And so much more!

Oh, and don’t forget the candles!

First Farmer’s Market

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Preston Farmer’s Market, Preston, Idaho. Today from 5:00P till 8:00P.

It is early in the morning on a big day for us. From 5:00PM till 8:00PM today we can be found at the Preston Farmer’s Market selling art and supplies that Missus has created. I cannot even list everything she is offering, but some of my favorites include bookmarks, prints, and laser cut items such as coasters, flowers, and fiber tools. She has samplers of fiber to go with, or to go on to tools the customer already has. She also has stickers, buttons, and many other items on offer. We will offer some of our daughter-in-law’s scented soy candles for sale, and of course, I am a huge fan of the beeswax candles I have for sale there! There are many more items on sale!

It sure is exciting to get started on this new journey for us! This is our first ever market stall, and we have done a lot of preparation work. We had a lot to prepare! There is everything we will sell, and there is a booth and everything it entails. We also got some materials ready to advertise classes Missus will offer on various creative aspects such as fiber arts or polymer clay. We have even had to come up with a self-sustaining electrical supply for the booth.

Dear reader, we would be thrilled to meet you at the Market this evening! There is so much on offer at the Market, and we would be particularly happy to see you in our space!

I’ll be out soon scything hay for tonight’s animal feed. We have a truck to load up later. And today is the last chance to finish getting ready. We expect it to be a learning experience this first time and look forward to getting ideas on what to do better for the next time!

A Pretty Strong Breeze

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

We had a pretty decent wind blow through here today, and it is worth noting. It hit a speed we have never recorded before. I think our old record was around 45 mph, but today we hit 48.4 miles an hour. Our trees looked like they were really taking it, but the willow out front danced like crazy. I went down the road to check on the llamas and every place there was trees, there were loads of twigs and small branches spread to the east of them.

I know it is not a big deal to what some folks get where they are, but for us, and with an uninterrupted straight run, it hits something fierce.

I know of a power line on the road up Maple Creek, but I have not been listening to police radio long enough to have caught any of the critical stuff that would have gone on before or soon after the storm blew by.

As storms go, it could have been a lot worse, and if we were elsewhere, it probably would have been. But beautiful Cache Valley only had this to offer, and I am quite happy this is extreme.

I am off for an early night in bed with the hope of waking up and getting to work in the shop first thing in the morning.

Meanwhile, there are over 900 fires in Canada, including the Jasper Fire. California is burning up by the Park Fire, which has burned over 500 square miles so far in three days and is currently consuming around 500 acres an hour. It has been excessively hot and dry and has really been different to previous years.

July 31, 2024 5:00PM – 8:00PM

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

We will be at the Preston Farmer’s Market in Preston, Idaho. Look for “Antiquary Artisan!” We will be selling bookmarks, coloring boards, weaving tools, yarn, fiber, drop spindles, wire flowers, coasters, gift tags, fridge magnets, artistic prints, decorative paper clips, Dewey buttons, stickers, plant signs, keychains, beeswax candles, and soy candles by Savanah Warner, and more!

Preston Farmer’s Market: July 31, 2024

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Today we got an e-mail accepting us to the Preston Farmer’s Market. It is our first market and will be a learning experience for us. We will be selling weaving tools, bookmarks, prints, and various other items as well as beeswax candles and soy candles to start off with. We are going to see what sells, and get ideas what else from our goods we should make for the next one. We will also advertise classes and tutorials for customers, and custom made items.

I ordered a few items we need to run a proper market stall from Amazon, including a couple of batteries for power on site, and a cooler, but that looks like it will arrive in a month. We are planning on working lots of markets as time goes on, so I tried to future-proof with the items ordered, while catching decent prices, especially on an Amazon sale. We have a basic setup to start with, but I think we will get a decent stall together.

I have also set up the blog to sort posts about the farmer’s markets and put them on a separate menu here on the site where I expect to put in reports from markets we have visited and upcoming market events. In other words, watch this space!

Lavender Starts

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

This weekend we visited a Lavendar Farm on the south end of the valley. It was a truly special and beautiful experience. The farm is well developed and well thought out, and so was the event they were holding where people could visit and enjoy the environment and buy the flowers right from the field.

We thought about it and talked about doing it ourselves a few years back, but to be honest, I was a bit unsure because of the soil requirements and water requirements. But seeing it in practice as we did and learning more since our original discussion. Seeing it in practice has encouraged us to get it going. So, we ordered some plants yesterday and set aside a place in the yard to get them started. I ordered some landscape cloth, and the staples to hold it down.

Next Day:

Me being me, I cleaned up the space on the side of the yard we will plant the Lavender and scythed off the grass for the animals to eat later today. I tilled the area completely over twice. It was dry and dusty work as we have not seen rain lately. Good thing I have a cab on the tractor! I was able to get into the soil a bit, but there are still roots there, and I am positive some of the grass will grow back again. What’s more, grass grows long and under the cloth in order to find light. I’d like to see that not happen here. But as you can see in the photo below, we will be right up against a grassy field.

Dirt driveway on the left, the right side at the bottom of the fence is where we will lay in the lavender plants with three feet of landscape fabric between the plants and the fence, then three feet more between the plants and the driveway. I am considering putting a wood barrier to separate the fabric and the dirt drive.

I want to till a time or two again before the plants arrive in the fall. Then if we can get some propagation next year or the one after, we should be able to move starts to the current goat pen and llama pen, which my then will be converted into growing field, and get this really going. The plan is to move the animals across the street and plant where the pens are now.

So, the Lavender is not meant to arrive here till Autumn. That makes it easier for me to get the planting areas tilled, covered and ready. I guess I am supposed to plant it right away. Seems like they would not establish, but what’s the worst that can happen? If I have the plants, I need to put them in the ground, rather than try to keep them up somewhere all winter. We won’t know till spring how it all turns out!

Scythe Work

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Cut grass on the side of the road, and the long grass in the foreground. I only cut the first strip on the side for the day. I keep the fresh grass growing rather than cut and store it.

I think it has been about ten or eleven years since I bought the scythe from Scythe Supply of Maine. It has been a while, and I have gotten older. Yet the scythe is still my preferred method of getting grass down in the summer. The grass comes down long enough to use for animal feed, unlike with the mower or a string-trimmer that would tear everything to bits and ruin it. This saves me a bit of money over the summer, and the hassle of tying goats out in the heat only to find they keep tipping their water over and leaving themselves in danger.

I was cutting this morning just across the road from the store entrance and having a heck of a time. I finally gave up on my ego and put on the smallest blade, the “ditch blade.” I say about my ego because I have it in my head that the best scythe handlers can use the long grass blade to do their work. But the Ditch Blade is called that, and not “the Amateur Blade for a reason. Once I changed and dressed the blade I got back to the cutting and wow! It sure cut better. So, I decided to go up the road and do the bit closest the asphalt that the county would do if they drove their mower by. This way, if they do, the grass is down there, and they won’t cut and ruin it. I can use it for feed today or tomorrow.

I sure got my cardio workout today. That is one of the reasons I prefer the scythe to a string-trimmer. As I have said before in this blog, it is a lot quieter, it is powered by breakfast, and the negative output is just non-existent. It does not take too long either, as far as progress through the high grass goes. A Big old mower would obviously go faster, but the tradeoffs are already listed above.

Since the scythe is cutting so much better after a change of blade, I may go out tomorrow and cut down the orchard grass. It is time.

Finally, the temperatures today and tomorrow and again the next day are meant to get up to 99 to 101. We usually end up about two degrees higher than the forecast. Can’t wait to see what it turns out as. I think our weather station record since 2018 is at 103. We might break it! We don’t have and air conditioning, so we will be staying cool in the living room with the blinds pulled and the windows and door shut. All that and a fan, and we seem to be staying under 80 degrees this year. That’s pretty good for low energy consumption. Seems to be the modus operandi on this farm.

Sinking Money into a Boat

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

In a desperate act of financial irresponsibility, I bought a used boat this weekend. It was only $1,500 as compared to the prices boats can reach, but it was also the fulfillment of a dream sparked many years ago when sailing off the coast of California with friends to the Anacapa Islands. I did it twice, actually, and those two trips were the most amazing things I had experienced up till then, and still rank among the highest even now. I did do something I was once sure I never would, though. I bought a Macgregor. This one is not the hybrid motor-sailor that Macgregor is notorious for, however. It is the 21-foot model they built their business on long before that. And now one is mine.

This boat was first sold as a 1970 model, so we are almost the same age. It is a trailer sailor, and practical for the water opportunities here in Idaho. It is not the liveaboard boat I have always dreamed of, and does not even have a galley, toilette, or other amenities. In fact, the salon is not even big enough for me to sit upright in. Sigh, so be it. But it is big enough to sail like the boats I have longed to own, and hopefully will stay upright in a fair wind because of it.

The boat with my little tractor hiding behind it.

This particular boat needs a lot of work. It has the common keel problems found on this type. The last owner painted it with house paint. The rigging requires some work. But to be fair, it could probably go in the water right now and provide a fun day of sailing as is. When sold new, Macgregor advertised the shoal draft of the boat at 12 inches, and with the keel extended, it was 5 and a half feet. With a 400-pound keel reaching to that depth, and the mast standing as can be seen, roughly 25 feet above the deck, that ought to provide a decently balanced boat! This craft also has safety lines all around the deck providing a little added security for moving about under way. No fenders were included, so there is some shopping to do there. Also, the lifejackets sent along with were water-skier vests, which will never do, so chest buoyant jackets with head support are on the way.

I’d be surprised if this thing gets into the water this year. I might, just to see how it fares, and if there are any serious leaks I have not yet spotted. The keel promises to keep me busy. I also would like the opportunity to come up with some sort of shade on deck where the salon is so small. The boat has no electrical system at all and could do with a VHF and maybe even a chart plotting screen. It certainly needs a compass. It looks like someone patched up where one once was. Someone must have come to rely on GPS only for navigation. I have a handheld dead reckoning compass in my desk. Perhaps it needs to go to the boat to live now.

The vessel bears no name. I think the last owner called it Serenity, though nothing is written even in Sharpie on the hull. Poseidon perhaps will give permission for something like The Peasant’s Yacht? I think Missus did when she laughed and said “yes” while the family was discussing possible names the day before yesterday.

Where to begin with her? Anywhere. There is much to do. Perhaps just assure she is water-worthy, then do a shakedown to assess the fitness of the boat and her captain.

A Roman Workbench

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

On Wednesday I cut a four-inch-thick slice off the big pine log that has been sitting on the mill. I rotated it first from the single straight cut, putting that on the side of my resulting board, and also moving a split in the log to run parallel to my cut, assuring none of the split would intrude. I cut the board in half so I would have two pieces about 4 feet long each, then started planing one of them on the face and then the edge with a scrub plane. Unfortunately, there was a wave in the original cut, so it was still necessary to straighten up that one edge of the board.

After working the board with the scrub plane, I used the 5-1/2 to bring it down much smoother before finishing it up a bit with a #4. I used a panel gauge to determine the width of the final board and mark a straight parallel edge opposite the original one, then planed that easily to form at 12 inches net width. Finally, I used the scrub plane again to put a scalloped surface on what will be the bottom of the Roman Workbench.

Next, I determined the position for legs, which in the end may be temporary for reasons I will discuss later and drilled one-inch holes at angles to take legs I made later. For the drilling I used a bit and brace, and the largest bit I have, I might add.

That bit is a one inch, and I used it also to set in dogholes for the bench, as that corresponds to the dogholes and accessories for my workbench in the shop as well. That way I can use the metal dogs and the holdfasts and such from it on the Roman.

The Roman Workbench is intended to fit under the workbench in the shop when not in use and will largely serve as a saw bench. So it is set to be 18 inches tall, a foot wide, and four feet long, allowing me to tip the feet of the Roman over the stretchers on the workbench and put it in. But as I am intending to build a woodshed after the manner of a timber frame, I thought it would be good to have a small, portable bench for the job.

Dogholes go in straight up and down, while the legs holes are set at an angle.

Looking through the bottom while the bench is set on its side, dogholes and leg holes can be seen through the scalloped surface.

I rested from this job on Thursday and did other things. Among them was visiting with our son and grandson. I asked son if he wanted me to easily make up the other half of the length of the original board into a small bench for his basement, but he said he didn’t think he had room. “No” to a free workbench? His loss.

On Friday I turned four legs and four dogs for the bench on the lathe. I have a problem with the legs. The wood was so wet it was spitting water at me while I turned. That means the tenons will shrink so much that they will need to be refitted or remade when it finally dries. I expect some problems with the benchtop too, but that has been oiled and had anchor seal put on the ends, to ease the water loss and cracking or warping.

The final bench with four dogs and a #4 plane sat atop it for some sense of scale. The space under the adjacent bench is where it will live when not in use.

The finished bench is a perfect height for a seat at 18 inches, and it is a sturdy one at that. Hopefully that will do as a saw bench. Also, to answer the question the keen observer has, no, I did not seat the shoulders properly. They seat where the shoulders touch the surface of the bottom, and otherwise are gapped. I still suspect the leg tenons to cause serious troubles, so I will have to find some dry wood and make new legs, then seat them properly. Who knows what shape they will be? If the wood I find is not conducive to turning, then I will cut square legs instead, and give them shoulders coplanar to the bottom.

I finished the bench for the time being by lunchtime Friday, all while doing other things, and would say it is an easy build. I wonder what I could sell a properly built bench for? I’ll bet up to $500 or so. It does solve the age-old woodworkers’ problem that you have to have a bench to build a bench. I bought a bench originally, so I was able to work the other way around. But this still satisfies a need for the woodshed build, and it will again be useful in the shop. Being pine, it will show the abuse I give it. Being a woodworker, that should not be a problem for me.

Now it’s time to pick out the next project. I fancy a bit of furniture in the house. Maybe it is time to start the pie safe for the kitchen? Whatever the case, I am hellbent and determined to learn this skill and to let the work of it strengthen me against the future.