enough cold already! give me 32 degrees

Status of the Farm

      I know it’s been a while since I have written but it has been awhile since much has changed. It is cold and continued cold here, our usual February meltdown has never occurred and in its place a continued covering of white reflecting any heat that may have helped warm things up or moderate the temps. Instead we have seen subzero wind-chill factors equal to any already set, or worse setting new records all the time. The snow is good though as it insulates the ground and allows any moisture in terms of snow or whatever to enter the ground at a slow rate increasing the ground water retention. This should help all of our springs and reinvigorate, and flush our water aquifers. This is something other parts of the country could only hope for. As well reduce the insect population for the next year.

      I have been pretty much confined to the insides this year, choosing to expand my culinary skills to offset my boredom at times, resulting in an increase of anxiety at my monthly doctor visits as I step on the scale. A quick glance at the sliding scale reminds me to make sure the ornery nurse doesn’t have her foot on the scale also. Unfortunately it is all me whether I think it is or not. Unfortunately my trip to the pond and to the greenhouse daily is a poor substitute for exercise, although walking on the snow and ice can be quite engaging and breathtaking at times. It still hardly qualifies for a good definition of exercise.

    Greenhouse temps have been climbing but still lacks the ability to keep nighttime temperatures above freezing. I have been able to work out there some listening to the radio and talking to the chickens as I go about planting bulbs I scavenged from my aunt last year. I have crocuses, Easter lilies, and lilies in general to plant from clustered clumps of frozen soil. I should have a wide assortment of perennials to plant this spring. Some I will sell and others will go in borders along paths in the backyard. The chickens especially the red one jumps up on my potting table and cackles at me as I go along planting, I guess she is trying to tell me if I happen upon a bug or a worm by chance to toss it her way as she could use some new variety of feedstuffs.

      The ducks have done well this winter in spite of their ignorance or mine in thinking they don’t know better. Even in this subzero freezing weather they insist on spending time grouped in one end of the pond. This is where there is a spring and the water I would assume is around 50 degrees or better even on a cold day. This allows them some heat and the high sides of the pond provide cover for them even when the winds blow raw. Somehow with the food I provide they seem to be doing well including the goose.

    I recently attended a bee keeping class and I am now an official bee keeper, I have been watching the bees and have seen very little activity except maybe some more dead bees shoved to the door. I need to be able to inspect the hive to see if I need more bees but have been unable to inspect the hives due to low frigid temps. A few minutes of a hive being exposed to this cold would kill them instantly. It is best to wait till the temp is above 50 degrees, hopefully soon. I still have time to order new bee packages if I need to.

      I still have a lot of trees to clean up and utilize the wood but again, everything is on hold as well as finishing a carving I said I would for my friend. It is too cold to even think about starting a chainsaw. In fact the church pews I picked up weeks ago still wait to be unloaded buried now behind a pile of snow still on the trailer I brought them in on. I really believe that is the price of free nowadays. The fact that all of northeastern Ohio has come to a grinding halt as a result of the bad weather induced by me being able to get something for free. I can understand punishing me but still why is it necessary to take it out on everyone else. Such is the price I must pay.

   Still it is giving me time to catch up on other things except my writing while confined inside. I have ordered a lot of non-GMO seed and will have seed and plants available this spring and will write more about that later. Plans for my house are coming along and will get into full swing soon after my open house this year with more about both of those also to come later on. Looking at going to a couple of seminars yet,  one on grafting trees, and the other on planting ginseng, and hope to have more information on both of those later also.

      I need to get back into writing and push myself over the 30000 hits barrier I have come up against. Anyhow hope all of you out there are doing well also. 

ch-ch- changes as life moves on

Still Changing Design

      Well i have made some modifications to my original design and would like to update  you on where i am at now. 

      I am still changing the design of the farm office addition as I go along in the design phase. I kind of like this design but I am still thinking snow and rain may be a problem at the foyer entrance. I was hoping I could bring the roof down from the higher section and encompass the foyer creating more of an open space feeling. The original floor plan is still intact as I originally planned it but when I look at the roof sections and what is aesthetically pleasing, I have a problem .

     The way this is designed presently would allow a high ceiling in the bathroom with glass block at about the 6 ft. level and extending to an 8 foot level and then windows at the 8- 10 ft. level facing east in the morning. This would allow a lot of light to enter the bathroom and allow privacy at the same time. The ample size of the bathroom would also include room for a washer dryer and some closet space to allow you to store towels and such, and maybe even have a wardrobe, so that when clothes are dirty or soiled, just take off and throw in washer. A sliding door on barn rails will open and close at the bathroom entrance giving you a rustic feeling and eliminating a swing problem. The hangers would be mounted on the wall of the kitchen and would add to the rustic ambiance to the structure.

       The sloping roof of the kitchen would be reinforced with post and beam rough cut lumber and would have a knotty pine ceiling and rustic barn lights featuring a mason jar chandelier over a fold down table from  the wall . An island will have adjustable table height to accommodate all sizes of users. The same with the sink, as along the back wall of the sink will be windows opening up to view Mom’s house or a north facing. The windows will be small and at a height from 6-8 ft. tall allowing me to look out from within, but would exclude viewing from outside in. The back splash would be tile along with maybe a wainscoting of galvanized steel roofing along remainder of the room at the base adding character to the overall rustic appearance inside. More attention will be addressed to interior once I have a firm understanding of how the outside roof sections are and what my design parameters are. I have a limited amount of space and intend to utilize all aspects of it to maximize my comfort and to keep travelling inside to a minimum in case I need to be wheel chair bound or others that may use it have the same design accommodations afforded to them .

     I am designing this not that I am anticipating any health problems, but instead hoping never have to use half of what I am proposing , but still have it available if I do. If I build it that way to begin with chances are I may never need it,  and hopefully that will be the case.

    Also in relation to my bed being designed so that it is raised and lowered to accommodate my height needs and being able to store it in ceiling. I now am toying with the idea of using it to allow me to access the second floor by simply having a hole in the loft area where I can lift the bed with me on it through a hole in the floor to the second floor in an elevator like fashion by simply laying on the bed and using a remote control to activate a winch to elevate the bed to the second floor height. Safety side rails would come down preventing someone from falling through hole when bed was on first floor level. When raised to second floor level height, another bed could be utilized by a Murphy bed situation where the bed could be folded down from the wall on the first floor level still allowing an extra bedroom to be used in case of company.

       This would allow me access to second floor without using stairs. The second floor loft area would open up to a walk out sliding glass door on the uphill side or south facing hill behind the house. In effect with the addition of the bed that raises to second floor level it would give me unhindered handicapped access to my second floor level and allow me to utilize the house completely even if I was wheel chair bound by simply maneuvering myself to the bed and laying down raising myself or lowering as the case may be from the second floor level to the first respectively with the bed. A wheel chair on both levels would be needed to accommodate my movements and allow me to live independently.

      I think as long as one can maintain their independence and live in their own house regardless of your handicap, that the quality of life is surely much better than any health care organization could provide. A large shower with a bench seat and a shower wand would allow me to bathe, tables and work surfaces that are adjustable to my height also should be a priority, open flowing paths allowing access to all parts of the house are priorities to include in the overall design. A security camera and remote door locks and motion sensitive lighting to allow only those areas where I am at to be lit when I am in them is necessary. So as I move from room to room I no longer need to turn on and off lights to accommodate my travel. An intercom system will allow me to answer door without actually having to answer it in person.

     The technology for a lot of this is already in place and just needs to be utilized in my design process. These are all parts of what I’m trying to think out and have on paper before I actually start the process of building. Another thought I had of utilizing the space under the stairs to accommodate drawers for storage of personal items I want to keep. Somewhere in the whole scheme of things I plan on having a lockbox that will be embedded in the structure that will be fire proof. Of course the standard smoke detectors and carbon monoxide protection will also be used to assure my safety as well as others that may inhabit my farm office. There should be plenty of room in the old part for a studio/office and that will be addressed later.

      Anyhow I thought I would update you in how the ongoing process is coming along and what my thoughts are currently.

    

old heavy metal

Today is Old Vehicle Day

pic i took at savfe a lot a couple of years ago, dog could care less about me. babe would differ with him or her i am sure 

 old bus pic i took up close to kent

coupla bears stealing a ride in my pick-em up truck

just another shot

 i didnt take this one but was a cool shot

something you don't see everyday

i was selling veggies one day alongside the road and this guy stopped to show me his diesel powered by used vegetable oil, he was a trip in himself. 

my old ford ranger, was a great truck . had over 450000, miles on it , here it is on a new mexico trip with two bad spring shackles

some old rust me and friend of mine janet found one day in southern ohio

my fishing trip to new york

Getting Ready to Go 

Above you will find a pic of a carving I was taking to a friend in New York and in some ways I really like this pic as it is kind of surreal , almost to the point of abuse of carving as he does look like a lovable chap concealed away in the garment bag. This was necessary as I needed to check him in at the Amtrak station in Cleveland to be put in with the baggage, in the underside of the train.

     All went well on the trip except when I arrived at my destination in Schenectady, he forgot to get off and traveled one more station before train officials caught up with him and reloaded him on another train back to Schenectady. In the meantime I had to wait an additional hour and a half at my destination to assure he was returned as he was supposed to be. I did take out insurance on his grubby ass just in case he was damaged somehow in transit.

      Fortunately and I don’t think it has changed much but you can still board trains without baggage inspection in the USA. This was handy on another occasion as I had a chance to visit again and this time I was able to smuggle my carving chainsaw into a bag, along with the bar, minus the gas and oil of course, and transported it from Schenectady, New York, to Cleveland, Ohio without incident in the overhead storage compartment of the train.

New York River

      I did get a little nervous when I noticed a pair of INS, Immigration and Naturalization Service’s officers boarded the train around Buffalo, New York and begin a process of asking questions of passengers . I tried to remember to answer in full sentences although I was nervous about the chainsaw hidden in my bag. I avoided the usual Canadian answers of aye, and instead when asked if I was a U.S. citizen I answered yes , trying to avoid any suspicion of wrongdoing, or that I was an illegal alien. I mean really how many Canadians are trying to cross the border when they have it much better up there after stealing half our manufacturing economy.

         Before climbing on the train though, I checked the list of unacceptable items to bring on a train and nowhere did I see them mention a chainsaw. Even though in the right hands or wrong hands as it may be a lethal instrument. I drained the gasoline and oil out of it, and at the same time I also was carrying with me a carving I needed to finish when I returned home. It was a fish and I have a picture of it also, as I checked it to see if it fit in the carry-on restricted size allowed to store it in the overhead compartment.

 my friend sharon and i at a carving place in new york 

      Now that is something you don’t see every day, a man and his fish and chainsaw taking a ride on an Amtrak train. I was hoping the INS guys didn’t have any fancy instruments, or a dog that would alert to the possibility of controlled substances like gasoline. Seriously folks with all I had going on the way it was, I wasn’t dumb enough to carry anything illegal in the way of smoking material with me . I already had enough going on with the fish and chainsaw and didn’t need any more attention drawn to me. I smoked it all before getting on the train, as I needed something to steady my nerves.

 finished fish

     You never know with this post 9/11 crap going on what is going to be the next rule. I can remember my brother boarding a plane in the 80’s with a repeating rifle, and asking the stewardess where they wanted to store it. They were concerned but not to the point that they didn’t let him fly. He was ex-service and soon they were in the air , rifle and him, both headed for Ohio. The good old days I guess. Try that one now.

       Anyhow I will include some pics of the fish, and of the time I had in New York. Enjoy.

maple syrup , hmmmmm where's the pancakes?

Some Old pics but Goodies

    This was actually our Christmas tree one year when Iwas a kid . I remember carrying it inside in a washtub when it was about 4 ft. tall and i guess I was around 16 at the time. I remember because the darn thing was heavy, and then after christmas, I once again hauled it outside and then later planted it in the back yard and there it stood for 34 years when for some reason it died. I at the time had an excavator in here doing work around the house, digging a pond , tearing down the old barn , cleaning up dead and diseased trees in the yard , and I came to this tree and decided to save the log out of it after I removed the tree from the yard. 

    A short time after , Mothers day was coming up and I needed something for Mom for Mothers Day and decided I would carve her a welcome bear out of the old Christmas tree. That is what I did and believe it or not I actually had it ready for her on Mothers day. something unusual for me to meet a timeline like that. 

     There is nothing like re-gifting, when something represents a time of your past and is equally shared by the person receiving the gift as in this case.  In ways i did that with this tree and it still brings back memories of that Christmas years ago everytime I see it. Currently I have it leaning up by my carving shed as the base has rotted from being exposed . his feet and the rest of his body seems to be holding up well though and may last for years to come. 

      This is myself carving a bear at a sugar maple harvest festival in the salem area around 6 maybe 7 years ago about the same time of the year. I instructed a person attending how to use my camera and he kind of got into it and took a fairly good picture of me back then. I still have the indian in the background and it stands outside my greenhouse.it was interesting watching the maple syrup harvest and the owner boiling down the sap to make syrup. instead of buckets hanging on trees and collecting the sap they now use plastic lines and drain it directly to a holding tank eliminating the need to go from tree to tree. i will include a pic of the old style since i have included this pic.

this and the next pic was taken by myself in upstate New York on a visit up there in 2011

     Here you can see a closeup of the maple sugar sap being harvested, this will be collected and later reduced by boiling to make maple syrup as we know it.  it takes about 10 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup if my memory serves me well. sometimes it doesnt. they do the same thing at Malabar farms in the early spring and it is a state park in Ohio over by Mansfield. 

.

to bee a good bee

I Am a Full Fledge Certified Beekeeper Now

carving i did just off 12th and perry

Today I attended a beekeeping class held by the Stark County Beekeepers Association held at the Sippo Lake Exploration Gateway. It was a  6 hr. class designed to teach you the basics of handling bees. They covered all topics in regards to taking care of a backyard apiary, whether you are doing it to increase pollination of crops ,for the honey, or for just having a hobby that is interesting and good for the environment. Whatever the reason, today was the time and place to get instruction in how to do beekeeping.

    It isn’t too late yet to get into beekeeping this year and one must keep in mind that the further you go along in the summer season it is harder to have a beehive survive over the winter, but it is still possible though, I would say up until the first of September. You would have to feed a lot of sugar water to your hive to keep them over the winter, but I would say it is possible to keep a hive going.

    Right now is the prime time and bee packages can be bought and hives made or bought, to house the bees through the summer. April 11th is when the last of the bee packages would be available for our area. That isn’t saying you couldn’t order and have them over-nighted to you   after that date. Swarms could be captured for free later in the season and transferred to your new hive for free , but this is something I wouldn’t suggest for a beginner and if you are not able to get a swarm then you will be one more year away from getting honey, for me it was a risk I didn’t want to take.

 flock of turkeys i encountered on way into beekeeping class at sippo lake gateway center drive

    I already have hives and experience placing bees in my hives and had a pretty good honey supply heading into the winter months, but recent cold weather has hampered me from getting into the hives to see how my bees have done. Hopefully they will have made it through the winter. I have four books on bee production now and will gladly lend anyone one if you would like to get bees of your own. Lend being the word I will emphasize, as deciding to keep my book may be something I wouldn’t advise. Waking up to a house full of bees or the sound of chainsaw chewing on your bed may be some of the remedies I might use to get my book back if you didn’t return it.

why did the turkey cross the road? 

      It doesn’t have to be real expensive and if store bought hive and a 3 lb. package of bee is the way you go , you could or should be able to buy a hive and bees for around 150.00. This would include the minimum of equipment one would need to start. It is exciting to finally have bees working for you and to be able to peer into the hive as they go about the act of processing honey and making comb. To know you are doing something good for the environment as bees are in decline as well as beekeepers. This alone should be motivation, let alone sweet golden goodness of your own honey produced by bees you had a hand in helping raise, is even more gratifying.  

 10 deer  here i believe , and i saw 2 down the lane just today on farm 

      

pics to peruse

A Little Different 

this is my drafting machine. 

    What i am going to do is post some pics every day i don't write in the blog. I have plenty of interesting pics,I think everyone will enjoy . Some I will add where they were taken and why they're special to me. Anyhow enjoy.

     First up and above is my new drafting machine. I added this because i forgot it on the last blog when i was describing my new method of drafting. 

picture of our lower lane , a couple of days ago.

frost on inside (my space ) on window in kitchen. outside temp. - too damn cold

lily

my hat stand in living room 

   A very simple format and it takes me just a few minutes as compared to almost an hour and half writing and editing my regular blog. I have an equal number of people who like my pics as much as they do my writing. I am always a work in progress and my blog should always reflect that if I am to have any kind of success at doing what I am doing. Besides it gives me a break from writing and feeling guilty when i don't write daily. 

continued cold and miserable with some slight improvement

         Moving on with drawings 

       Finally some of the schooling is paying off, even if it is just for me. As I said before I now have my Harbor Freight drafting machine, and it is more than sufficient to make somewhat professional drawings that are easily replicated with a scanning machine. Mostly I draw with a mechanical pencil in I guess what would be 2 B lead. And an eraser plus the drafting machine are my only tools. 50 bucks for the drafting machine isn’t bad. Along with this at your home, that if you look in your junk drawer at home surely you would have a mechanical pencil, and if not a regular pencil will do, as long as you keep it sharp. If you use a pencil then you will need to look further in your drawer and see if you have a peace of used sandpaper to hone the point of your pencil after you sharpen it. This will make nice clean lines.

      Always wash and thoroughly dry your hands and keep work surface or table top clean. I use the painters tape to secure the paper from my sketchbook (good quality), to the table top. So far the painters tape doesn’t take half my drawing with it when I remove the tape after finishing the drawing. I am in the process of completing a full set of drawings, and so far you are seeing preliminary drawings to implant all the detail points I want to include so that when I start finished drawings, I will have made most of my edit changes as I go along.

    Pencils are nice as we are bound to make mistakes , change our mind , find a best choice for aesthetics, as these are just a few of the reasons I need an eraser and two sets of drawings. I will include a pic of the setup I have currently in my kitchen. Ladies it could be worse I could have a hog motorcycle engine up on my table there getting a new set of rings. Guess it is all what we are into. I do my fair share of knuckle busting and can easily talk shop mechanics with most but prefer to use the old noggin for higher purposes. Even Lily’s bowls left the table as Babe and her are now friends and look out for each other, so there is no need to feed separately and having a feed bowl on the table tells Lily it is alright to climb on anything and she does. Lately she has figured out some things are ok to climb on and some she just needs to leave alone. She is doing great staying off the table and countertops.

    When in college I was doing this work daily and found it quite rewarding. But getting a set up like mine back then still cost around 600 dollars and out of my league. As I go along in my preliminary drawings, I find skills I haven’t used in years are coming back, that is all the things I was supposed to remember. And as I sit here and reflect back at my last drawing I made in haste to just get the idea across, I see I forgot the arrows pointing to distances. I am sure if my old professor saw that he would shiver looking at my drawings. Thinking for sure that he taught me better and I am sure he did. It is just that I didn’t pursue that direction of employment, as at the time everything was starting to be done on AutoCAD and although I liked computer aided drawing I could hardly afford the computer and didn’t think myself knowledgeable enough at the time to seek out employment in an area where school computers are rarely like business computers in the sense of simply operating them. You had to learn a new system as the technology was changing fast. I didn’t know if I was up to the challenge, but oh well here I am doing it for myself and finally getting some use out of what I learned.

     I still have problems with computer aided drafting program I bought and it seems as if I spend more time fixing old mistakes than being productive, so I feel frustrated because I am results oriented person, meaning I like to see what is wrong or right with something as I go and fix it and move on. When I can’t fix it or spend all my time fixing and not creating I grind to a stop. I hate that, and think simpler is better sometimes. Which is why I like the drafting machine. I don’t like getting frustrated and think my time is better served doing anything else. But I need to finish these drawings and work on a plan to build the addition as I also have a band saw mill to build and trees to salvage in short time.

    Soon I will be ordering plants to pick up for the greenhouse as temps start to moderate. I guess what I am saying is that in order to meet any time schedule I set  for myself I need to be keep up the effort daily to make it all happen. I constantly have to focus on what is most important and dwell on that. I suppose it may be to the point that if I am going to accomplish building in the two year timespan,  I need a notebook and set things in order. Gee imagine that I need to be organized.  I have just the notebook and it is a sketchpad too. So will start carrying it everywhere, as well I can dictate to phone any ideas I get and use this as an organizational tool also.

     Well I hope you enjoy the front view to look at for now. A more thorough presentation will come along pointing out all the features I plan to incorporate along the way. I have been thinking of kitchen accessories I think I want to build in. Like an island, a mixing/ prepare table with an adjustable work surface that allows even handicapped wheelchair bound folks an opportunity to prepare their meals sitting down, as well as standing at a comfortable height. This would also include a prep sink to allow for washing of vegetables. I also plan on having the same arrangement with the kitchen sink with adjustable heights to accommodate tall as well as wheel chair bound folks with an opportunity to be able to be independent. Choosing for myself a chance to live out my final days in the comfort of my home, taking care of myself, as opposed to some supposedly sterile nursing home room as I grow older.

thats my six buck duck and a few others

Update on the Farm

them crazy ducks and one wacky goose

     It’s cold and continued cold and miserable so much so I have not had much desire to do much outside due to the adverse conditions. By the time I am ready to go out and confront this nasty weather it is almost time to hang it up because it gets dark early. Well this kinda sucks so I have been working inside and I took a few photos of outside so that those of you who live around me can empathize with my lack of willingness to get in to much of a hurry about anything due to extreme suckiness. Snow soaked rain ice covers our ground. Almost a foot thick of the congealed mess covers the ground and makes crunching noises as your feet break through the crust and shatter the frozen bond. The cavity created below serves to try and severe your foot as try to pull it out of the icy mess and walk grudgingly.

    My back hurt just walking on the new snow yesterday before it started to rain, and although the ice crusted stuff offers resistance you sometimes have incidences where you lose your foot. Can’t win and were never supposed to I guess. I love winter in some instances but as soon as it really begins, I just can’t wait to change into I can’t wait for spring mode.

    It is Groundhog Day and I think Puxatawney Phil leads a sheltered life and is always predicting more winter. It was dark this morning here, kind of gray with hints of dismal, and doubt it was much better in Puxatawney, Pennsylvania. But still they said they saw his shadow. I think he sees his shadow every year from all the flashes going off taking his picture and all the lights necessary to make the hoopla happen. Instead of the pomp and circumstance that those in Pennsylvania use I say load Puxatawney Phil’s ass up in a Ford 4 WD drive pick-em-up and haul his ass up a holler somewhere and heave the varmint out the window, as you body slide to a stop on a back country gravel road where the little creature came from. Turn the hound dogs loose and see if you see his shadow as he hauls ass away. This is more in the natural way of doing things and would give much better results than being man handled by some zoo keepers who in appropriately touch animals.

     Well I also included pics of my ducks in the winter. Not that I inappropriately touch them , hell I am lucky to get as close as 6 feet away from them and daily they traverse from one open spot on the pond to another during the day for what reason I don’t know. It’s like they eat at one and crap at the other but again I am not sure. I think any good FBI profiler should have a herd of ducks such as mine and try to figure out what they will do next. It is impossible but surely an exercise for the mind. I made them shelter at what I thought was going to be a good place along the ponds edge but they have only used it a couple of times instead opting to spend the night in the cold water. A particular reason they might flock to either of these two locations I think has to do with spring water coming into the pond more than anything and it is also the reason that the water is open there, as the spring water is warmer and at 55 degrees as compared to the ice, so it only stands to reason why they like both spots as they are both springs. The one also has a muskrat den that overhangs and that also shelters the ducks from the cold and predators due to steep sides of the pond. this is used mainly at night and the other is used during the day.

duck shelter i made for them prior to winter, and used a couple of times but now since it is bad hardly used?

     One funny thing is that if I stand up there too much watching them they will get out of their water holes, and stand up the hill away from the ponds and look at me. They always keep you guessing at times. Sometimes I think they all have Alzheimer’s and forget I am the one that feeds them. They will quack at me and raise hell if I don’t feed them and turn their backs on me if i do. Strangest bunch of animals I ever saw. But then that may be their defense acting quacky, you really wouldn’t expect anything less or more from them. Yet they survive and flourish where other animals don’t. So they must be doing something right.

 some dogs carry sticks mine carries firewood and logs 

   I am also including preliminary floor plan of the new addition to farm manager’s office. I finally received my drafting machine and find old school still works well in some instances. I am just still studying the design and this is by no means written in stone as I think this thing through. But it does give you an idea of what the foot print is going to look like for now. 

 babe's hunk of wood after she has chewed on it awhile. 

babe and lily my new hand me down cat 

new office addition

ducks being totally uncertain about me ?