When we moved to Escalante I put up a field fence mostly to keep out the dogs. It wasn't deer proof, but we theorized that it served as a deer deterrent. I mean, why jump it when you can walk next door and eat those trees instead? We didn't avoid all depredation, though, and I even bought some panther piss once to try keeping them off a miserable little ponderosa that I was trying to grow. Likewise, the Homestead came without fencing. It also came with a deer trail through it. When we moved in, the previous owner had left some rotting autumn pumpkins on the porch. The deer ate every scrap of those. Now we are trying to get the orchard in shape and we will start the garden shortly, so what are we going to do about the deer? Um . . . a fence? I'm going to make this one taller, but I don't have the resources to make it deer proof. What I do have is the mother of all corners. I cut a five inch locust out of the side yard because it was growing into the power line. It was so heavy I could only lift one end at a time. But once I got it into place and poured a bag of cement down the hole, I had what I wanted: A fence post to last through all eternity.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Fencing
When we moved to Escalante I put up a field fence mostly to keep out the dogs. It wasn't deer proof, but we theorized that it served as a deer deterrent. I mean, why jump it when you can walk next door and eat those trees instead? We didn't avoid all depredation, though, and I even bought some panther piss once to try keeping them off a miserable little ponderosa that I was trying to grow. Likewise, the Homestead came without fencing. It also came with a deer trail through it. When we moved in, the previous owner had left some rotting autumn pumpkins on the porch. The deer ate every scrap of those. Now we are trying to get the orchard in shape and we will start the garden shortly, so what are we going to do about the deer? Um . . . a fence? I'm going to make this one taller, but I don't have the resources to make it deer proof. What I do have is the mother of all corners. I cut a five inch locust out of the side yard because it was growing into the power line. It was so heavy I could only lift one end at a time. But once I got it into place and poured a bag of cement down the hole, I had what I wanted: A fence post to last through all eternity.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Before and After
The Homestead needs a lot of work. Some of it, like the leaking roof, needs more attention than those things that are only cosmetic. On the other hand, one needs a place to sit and relax from time to time. So, we started with the living room. We didn't do a lot, mostly just patching, painting, and cleaning. But, it feels like home to us now and looks better than it did in December.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Shearing the Sheep
My friend Don Evans used to say, "The difference between a bad haircut and a good haircut is about one week." Which is great, because I used the sheep shearer on myself today. I admit, it is never going to look as good as a professional trim—even after several weeks—but you can pay between $5 and $15 for one of those. If my memory serves, I bought the shearer in 2001 or 2002 for around $35. The way my hair grows, it needs to be cut about once a month or maybe every six weeks—let's say ten times a year. Even if you only spend $5 at the barber, and the days when you could do that are probably over, it would cost about $50 per year to keep fit—on the high end it could be more like $150. So, over the past 6 to 8 years, I've probably paid for the shearer at least ten times over. Plus, if we ever raise any sheep, we'll be able to harvest the wool for free.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Uhmmm . . . Nope; Not Spring
I had planned to go up on the forest today to try to find more firewood. (I know, most of the entries in this blog are about keeping warm.) The workdays have been dry and sunny, of course. But, when the weekend arrives, so does the blizzard. It snowed all night and most of the morning. If it had been cold, I could have pushed through the snow, but this was the sloppy stuff. It makes for slippery four-wheeling and a wet load of wood. I stayed home instead and painted the peach out of one of the bedrooms. How about tomorrow?
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Springtime; Tea Time
What did Punxsutawney Phil say this year? Is winter over? It seems to be on the homestead. One way I know is that we did a lot of work in the yard this weekend. The other clue was high tea set on the manor grounds. The girls weren't huddled around the wood stove with their scones and Darjeeling today. Instead, they took their afternoon refreshment on the old world furnishings in the garden.
Money Where the Mouth Is
Knowledge of Rural Ways is about self-reliance; not self-sufficiency. We are supported by our friends and family and could not make it on our own. In our latest post, there is some evidence of scepticism regarding government help for those who struggle. Well, if not that, what? If the government doesn't help, who will? We will. To put our money where our mouth is on this issue, we are committing $200 per month to four groups who are providing food and shelter to those who are most in need of it. Links to those organizations are below. We recognize that some people are struggling through no fault of their own. We also recognize that we are no better than anyone else. Finally, we recognize that two hundred dollars is not a lot of money. We pray that it will be multiplied.
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