January 20 2015 - National Buttercrunch Day

Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain. - Joseph Campbell

From the office area of my bedroom I can see our mailman, oops sorry mail carrier Scott delivering our mail, I can see that he has a hard time reaching the boxes since they are pretty low. When I installed mine (mine was missing when I moved in) I tried to match my neighbors box the best I could. Later I found out that the Missouri Dept of Transportation had knock them down and since no one was living in this house the neighbor had only put theirs back in and didn't buy the new material to reinstall it the way it was, so it ended up being pretty low... which I not knowing any better tried to match. 

One day I talked to Scott about his trouble and told him that I would take care of raising both boxes, but it may take me a while, I had several other projects going and I wanted to talk to the neighbors about it too, didn't want any trouble over a mailbox.

Well one day Mazie the neighbors daughter came by with her mom Bridget to drop off some cookies (a late Christmas gift), so I talked to Bridget about the mail boxes, she had no problem with me fixing them and offered her husbands help and money if I needed it, I gracefully declined both. Then it got cold and I stayed inside a lot so the project was delayed.

All of that was said to say that the last three days have been warm, Saturday was in the mid 50s, Sunday and Monday in the mid 60s, so I have been busy working on stuff outside. Worked on the chicken coop and got busy with the mail box project. I have got the chicken coop done for all intents and proposes, I may change the way to get into the nest boxes, the way I have it now is too hard, but it is useable. So it's time to email the lady with the laying hens and see if she still has some for sale…

The mailbox project went easier than I thought it would, I wanted to try making the post without using any metal fasteners, no real reason just leaning towards the old woodworking ways and wanted to see if I could. Well it turns out that I totally enjoyed myself and the project turned out good not perfect but I'm real happy with it. I did learn that a real woodworking bench and a lot more clamps would have made it easier and even more enjoyable… 

It was so nice on Monday that I really wanted to finish it and install it. The big problem as I saw it was going to be digging the hole, I found a manual post hole auger at the local home improvement center which I thought would be easier on my back than the kind you drive down and spread and lift. 

I dreaded the hole digging but I  had to have a hole to put the post in so I went out to the road and got busy, much to my surprise it went well, there is more dirt there than I expected (not as many rocks) and the digging or boring went well. 

As I was working on the hole another neighbor Nathan came walking by on his way to pickup his son from the school bus stop, I have seen him for a long time walking to and from the bus stop in the ditch in front of my house, one day several weeks ago I told him that he was welcome to use my driveway which runs parallel to the road it would be a lot easier for him and it doesn't bother me at all. He has been using it since and I'm glad. He stopped both times he pasted by and we chatted for awhile. 

Since there was no mail delivery yesterday day I can't say if it works better for Scott but I sure think it will and in my opinion it looks better too…

As I was cleaning up the stuff from the mailbox project Richard (Bridget's husband) came home and complimented me on the job and let me know that he thought it was a lot better… neighbor happy, I'm happy two down one to go…

I was so sore by the time I came in that I had a hard time getting out of the chair to do anything last night but I got a lot done and am happy I did…

Herc woke me up around 2 am and wanted to go outside, REALLY! 

I got up and took him out and then was wide awake laid in bed wondering why I'm not asleep, after awhile I got up and here I sit writing this, and I feel a lot better now not hurting much at all maybe I'll go out and dig another hole tomorrow, maybe not.

I know I keep saying it but I so glad to be here, I know more of my neighbors here than I ever did in California or even Phoenix and people here seem more real. I love it here. 

Another Awesome Week Here In The Ozarks!

January 12 2015 - Debbie's Birthday

NATIONAL CLEAN OFF YOUR DESK DAY - Second Monday in January

"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results." - Willie Nelson

(Last Night) As I sit here watching TV their scrolling a list of schools that will be closed tomorrow, so I checked the forecast on my phone...Freezing Rain tonight... this should be interesting... 

Well it turned out to be no big deal, glad it wasn't too bad but a little disappointed that was one reason I moved here, for the weather good and bad, so far haven't had much bad… Maybe that's good? 

Well it has been too cold for me to work outside on my projects so I'm not getting anything done on them, waiting for warmer weather…

Made the trip into town to get a new battery for the Mini and got a real shock, batteries aren't as cheap as I remember them being… But got a battery, it's sitting in the back of the pickup waiting for it to warm up, too cold for me to go out unless it becomes a real need. 

Finally used a half of tank of gas in the pickup so I filled it up, the gas prices are nice…

That's about all that's going on here on the homestead...

12/29/2014 - National Pepper Pot Day

" If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money cannot buy. " - Dean Bunn

Awoke this morning to 25 degrees and a layer of frost on everything, around 9:00 am it was 24 degree, lol I had to go get dog food and stop by the bank…burr, well I got ready and we went into West Plains. When we left home and drove over the hill on the way to Willow Springs we came upon the little valley that was covered with frost, the first thought that came to my mind was Winter Wonder Land, it was so beautiful, I wanted to take a picture but there is no place to pull over on this narrow highway and I chose safety over a few picture. As I drove on I noticed that the little farm at the junction of county road 3780 has a pond that was frozen over, way cool!

I also saw that there are signs up showing that the ALCO store in town is going out of business, so sad,

I liked that store sorry to see it go…

Stopped at the grocery store on the way home and along with the other things I picked up one of the deli made chicken pot pies, I never been a huge fan of chicken pot pies but something made me get one, oh it was the best I have ever had…SO GOOD! TOO BIG! But I ate it all…lol I'm so bad!

I was watching a Youtube video about photography and the room was starting to get dark so I went to the windows to close the blinds before I turned on the lamp and this is what I saw so off I went, 

I thought I knew what was going to happen next…I was right! I was spell bound it was so beautiful…

That was my day........

12/25/2014 - Happy Birthday Jesus!

I woke this morning to find my best friend pressed into my back as he is most mornings and the early morning light filtering in through the window shades, I smiled and thought how lucky I am to be alive and have great family and friends, I miss them all and wish we were closer but I know without any doubt that this is home…I'm at Peace! Thankful! and Happy! 
I hope that all of you that read this can find (if you don't already have) Peace and Happiness, and always be Thankful…

With all that being said I am a little disappointed, just a little, I was hoping for a white Christmas, with a forecast of 49 degrees, sunny, 0% change of rain I don't think it's going to happen… maybe next year… 

Herc went crazy for the chicken jerky he got from Honda and Louie, he got so excited I was afraid that he was going to start peeing, but he didn't and enjoyed the piece on jerky very much, of course he wants more but will have wait.

That reminds me of a store I want to share, the last time I was in town I got some of the cheap hotdogs for him as treat, he likes them a lot and since the weather has gotten cold he wants to eat more, I figure that he needs more fat in the cold but I don't know just a guess. So the other night I gave him three in his food bowl and went to fixing me some supper, after my food was ready and I got ready to eat I noticed that he was laying near his bowl drooling, I had forgotten to tell him it was OK… I felt bad but was very proud of him… OK, hotdogs gone… lol.

This Christmas season I have been reflecting on my life and I remember an old friend from back in the days that I raced RC cars and knew he had move to so I looked him up on the computer, sent him a Christmas card. He contacted me though Facebook, gave me his phone number and I called him the other night, it was good to catch up it has only been 20 years or so… I didn't value friends back then as much as I do now, another lesson I've learned is how good it is to have real friends…

Still not getting much done here on the homestead but that's OK too. Spring will be coming before I now it…

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year… 

  

December 23, 2014 - National Roots Day

"All your life you think 60 is ancient, and all of a sudden you find you’re 60 and you don’t really feel that different. I feel stronger and more engaged. This is the best time of my life." - Glenn Close

The weather has been cold, cloudy, and wet lately so I have been spending a lot of time indoors on the computer and in front of the TV…

I discovered a while back that some of the Kindle books that I had purchased over the years are available on audio books and if I already purchased them on Kindle that they were only $1.99. What a deal some one will read to me for several hours for 2 bucks! I'm sold and I set here at the computer listening to some of the books that I have enjoyed over the years…

The other day I was going to go to town so I got into the Mini with Herc only to find that the battery was dead, I didn't have to go so I postponed the trip and looked for one of the several battery post cleaners that I have, of course I could not locate any of them and added one to the list of things to pick up from town. I decided to put the charger on the battery anyway and didn't expect it to work very well, I was correct…

A day or so later I drove the truck into town and got the supplies I wanted including the battery post cleaner. When I got home cleaned the battery posts and hooked the charger up, several days later, I'm going to need a new battery :-(

As I think about the whole deal I realize that it will be important to have at least two vehicles as it’s too far and dangerous to walk to town. So it will be a priority to keep the vehicles in good running condition.

Got a couple of seed catalogs today in mail so I’ll spent some time on the garden plans, have been watching Youtube videos on permaculture again and planning and planting a food forest here and on the 37 acres or at least the beginnings of them.

I got some tree collards that I ordered from ebay and got them planted, the ones that I left outside didn't make it though the frost, lesson learned. Next fall I'll save some cuttings and keep them inside or in the greenhouse if I get it built by then...

Still haven’t finished the chicken coop it’s been too cold for me to do much outside, and kind of ran low on cash so hopefully I’ll get it done next month and get some chicken then (maybe)…

The worm farm seems to be doing fine, their eating the scraps I give them and when I check they look active so I’m happy with them, plan on upsizing the project in the spring…

December 8 2014

The sun started shining and it warmed up this afternoon (53 degrees) so I went out and worked on the chicken coop, didn't get a whole lot done but I got some done. I need some more hardware but going to have to wait until my next payday…

The last time I went to Walmart I picked up some small potatoes for the crock pot, the ones I picked were Anya fingerling potatoes they sounded interesting and I couldn't remember ever trying them so I got them.

"The Anya is a fingerling potato. It has a firm texture and knobby appearance with a slight nutty flavor. It can be enjoyed boiled, roasted or steamed, either hot or cold in salads but also tastes delicious roasted. It mixes well into vegetarian dishes and with green leafy veg." - https://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/potato-varieties/anya

After sitting on the shelf for a week or so I decided to use them, I found that a few of them were starting to sprout, wow so live food! I kept a few to plant in the spring and cooked the rest in the crock pot. I like the taste so I try to grow some, if it works that's good and if they don't I try some other variety, But I want to grow potatoes for sure.

December 7 2014 - National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

A society grows great when old men plant trees who's shade they shall never sit. - Greek Proverb

Has been cold and rainy and I just haven't been doing much…

I heard on a youtube video that all store bought apples have poison on them and that is why animals won't eat them; hum well I had an apple left from a bag of them that I ate so I figured I would do a little test. Come here Herc! I offered him a small piece he smelled it and didn't want anything to do with it, OK that doesn't mean a lot. I have a squirrel that hangs out around the house so he will eat it he's always running around looking for food so put it out for him/her and see what happens…well it has been a couple of days and from what I could see from the window the apple halves looked untouched.
So I went out and looked at them, both look as if they had been chewed in the center of the cut side but very little…hum with the woods so close and a lot of bird traffic it makes me go hum… makes me wonder…

My outside projects have been put on hold until the weather gets a little warmer.

On a more positive topic I have been searching youtube and podcasts on information on food forests and permaculture and gardening in general. My plans are to try to grow much of my own food and now is the time to make those plans and start working on that plan. Searching sources for fruit, nut trees, grapes, berries, seeds, and planning on building a green house. Planning on getting a wood chipper too to help building the fertility of the soil, along with that may get some rabbits for that purpose and maybe a meat source along with the chickens.