Home-made Tomato Cages

Tomato cages at Walmart are cheap. They are also flimsy. The ones I make are neither. (Of course, if I simply sat at the office for the hour that it took me to make this one, we could probably go to Walmart and buy about twenty of them.) Mine start with an old fence, full of the local terroir. They are crafted by hand and molded to fit the individual nature of each tomato plant. As a final touch, each point is personally filed by me. The result is practically a work of art.

Late Spring

When we moved-in this winter, the Homestead was relatively barren and cold. With summer approaching, things look much different. The trees have leaves, the grass is greeen, and there are many flowering shrubs. Yesterday, we had a Memorial Day picnic on our screened porch during a cool spring rain. We sat and talked about all the work that still should be done, but we agreed that the old place was attractive. It is still a bit rambling and ramshackle, but after five-years in a plastic box (the Escalante house), it isn't a bad change.

Health Benefits

Managing the homestead can be hard work, but there are certain benefits that come along with the sweat. One of them is saving money on gym memberships. Rural ways is forty-something, but still going strong. So far there has been no temptation to join the obesity epidemic. Today I finished the first bit of fence to protect the garden. The roll of wire was 330 feet long and weighed between 183 and 276 pounds, depending on which gauge I bought . . . I can't remember. Anyway, I cut and set the posts, and then strung the wire, all of it by myself—though Valerie helped me pull the fence tight while I swung the hammer. It is difficult to put on much extra flab while doing that kind of work. On the other hand, those who know me, know how much I dislike being called "skinny." "Lean and mean" if you must, with an emphasis on the mean, but skinny is as skinny does, and that ain't skinny. Of course, you can earn the right to call me skinny, but it will require a least one broken bone. So far the only person who can use the term is Big Daddy Holmstedt who once gave me such a violent bear hug that he cracked a couple of vertebra.

The Shed

The Homestead has a shed. It may have been considered a garage at one time, but no one would call it that now. Before we bought the place, someone had crashed into the east side of it and pushed the wall out about 12 inches. It wasn't in any danger of collapsing, but I thought maybe I could do something with it. I put the jack on it yesterday and got most of the wall up high enough that I could see daylight under it. Then I hit it a bunch with a 12 pound sledge. It moved a little, but it didn't want to go all the way back to vertical. Good enough, I guess.

Floors

The oldest part of the homestead is a 14'x16' brick or mud cabin that we are using for an office and studio. The rest of the house surrounds it now, and we aren't sure how old it is, but it came with a decent wall to wall carpet that was installed fairly recently. We are, of course, tearing it out. I have only a few minutes per day to work on it, so I can only do a piece at a time. But, look at the floor. I think it will be beautiful when we have the whole thing exposed. Now we just need to protect it from the oil painter—no more Jackson Pollock workshops.

Scaredeer

Ellen and I made a scaredeer today. (And don't say it looks like me.) Ellen drew a face with the mouth yelling, "ARRRR." I found the old Carrhardts and did wonders with some twist-ties. The fence is going in, too. So between the scary guy and the field wire, the local marauders ought to find it easier to go elsewhere.

Emancipation

When Rural Ways started college . . . um . . . more than twenty years ago, we borrowed money to do it. Since that time, we have been "in debt" in one form or another. While there is "good" debt (asset backed mortgages) and "bad" debt (consumer credit cards), owing money feels enslaving to us and it is something we have worked to eliminate. Well, we've succeeded. For the first time since the mid-1980s we owe nothing. Rural Ways is debt free. No credit cards, no student loans, no car payments, no mortgages, nothing. Independence Day.