Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Jamie's 30th Birthday Blowout!
Wow. We had quite a night last night. It was Kelsie’s best friend Jamie’s birthday party. We started out the night waiting for some folks to show up, and I got to play Disney’s princess checkers with Naveah, Jamie and Eric’s Daughter. That was fun, she’s a delight to work with and smart to boot.
Dinner was at the Tokyo steakhouse, somewhere that I’ve never been, but which was very delightful, both for the food and the atmosphere. I would go back, but the expense deems that I can’t go back too often, of course. Eric had some good sushi, and some tasti sake; I had shrimp and Calamari – and even Kelsie tried it.
“Don’t go breaking my heart….”
Then, it was drinks and pool at the local dive bar, Bud’s. Most of the craziness of the evening happened here – with the craziness increasing as the number of pitchers consumed went up. There was some very bad Karaoke (from another group). I don’t know why the worst singers always go up and sing bad country songs that I’ve never heard of – and then can’t even sing. There was the DJ, who probably was only the DJ of karaoke night because it means that he gets to sing all of the songs himself that he want’s to sing – you know, one of those hippie guys who got lost in the 70’s and never made it out. Anyhow, after a few beers it started to be tolerable, a few people danced and we made good times and great conversation.
Later, we went outside, and I got into a near altercation with a very fat gentleman on his 46th birthday. It didn’t come to anything, but apparently its not all right to ask people to use inside voices when they’re outside – no matter how belligerent they might be: who knew. Then, in escaping from that ordeal (at the request of my SO), I was roped into singing a karaoke duet with the crazy hippy DJ, “don’t go breaking my heart.” I was the girl part, but from what I’ve heard it nearly made the evening.
After that it was back to Jamie and Eric’s for more drinks, TON more laughter, a game called Golf and finally some munchkin before we succumbed to sleep around 4:30. It was an absolutely blast, and although I don’t think I could handle that much fun more than once or twice a decade: its nice to remember that I still have that fun somewhere inside of myself to look forward to at random moments.
Happy birthday Jamie, I hope your 30th birthday went great! Thanks for backing me up with 46-year old angry loud fat man. Eric: your patience is legendary, and we’re really here for you if you need anything. Allen: we can get you guys some wood, and really do check the Bremerton firefighter registry – we’d love to help out any way we can. Gramps: thanks for the laughs. Sarah: nice singing, you should go pro. Jeff! What can I say man – it wouldn’t have been the same without you, thanks for coming out and making Jamie’s birthday special. And Kelsie, Dear sweet Kelsie – thanks for the kindness you showed the day after, hangovers are a bitch!
With Care,
Dom
Friday, December 11, 2009
Frigid Mornings.
Well, another frosty morning for us. The thermometer tipped below 12 degrees this morning on the drive into work. The network of frost stars on the windows of the subaru was so beautiful I thought about running inside and getting my macro lens to photograph them before the car warmed up – but it was just too cold.
It wasn't that cold inside the house this morning. The reason? Our Brand-spanking-new woodstove. Kelsie has been planning this for a while, but we finally went ahead and moved on our idea to get a woodstove. Trees are plentiful on our property, and we don't have a lot to do with them, unless they're of the right size to cut lumber. Using some trees for the fireplace will allow us to better utilize the resources we have – as well as keep from having to use so much electricity during the winter: which is a bit plus. I'm seriously hopeful this drops the electricity bill down at least seventy five dollars a month.
The woodstove is from “Country” and it has a 22 inch firebox. IT has an integrated blower. The air for the stove comes from underneath the house, and the chimney seems to work extremely well for getting the draw right in the stove itself. Ken brought over a starter load of wood for us, which will keep us going I think until we have some wood of our own that we can use: certainly there is enough trees out here for us to use: many of these I've already marked for destruction when I was out doing some surveying on the property last year. I think given the tree density on our property we could easily take three cords or so of wood out of the forest sustainably. I think the forest will benefit from the practice, giving the trees that remain a better chance of growing into the fine specimens that I require for my milling. I suppose if we're going to take trees at such a rate though, we should be proactive in replanting the forest with trees whenever we can – so I'll consider getting 100 or so trees each year and putting those in during the spring, especially in areas where my harvesting was thickest.
The stove worked great – after putting it through a curing run yesterday, I think its ready for full-time service. It is warm enough to heat the whole house. Last night, after only having to add 1 log in the early morning the stove did manage to last all evening with plentiful embers still present when I got up this morning. That will be fun, having nice warm embers to help me start a fire in the early morning is something I'll heartily look forward to each morning. Its a fun achievement thing. The stove is resting on a slate hearth which is beautiful, but which should minimize dirt and debris. Already we're thinking we'll need to get the tools of the trade for fireplaces: broom, poker, tongs, etc. Too bad I'm not a blacksmith, or I could make some of those tools all on my own: but its a dream.
IT sure is cold, but what a better time to get the woodstove? I think we'll always remember that the woodstove was put in during the cold snap of '09, when temperatures were the lowest I remember them being since my early childhood in the 'couve. Its amazing that the chickens and ducks are doing so well in the weather – just goes to show you that the farm animals are adapted for just about anything if you keep them well fed, well housed, and with fresh water. I wish I felt as comfortable outside in the frigid mornings!
-Dom
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Mara had her baby!
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Baby Elliot is here!
Son of Mr. Patrick and Mrs. Mara Helene Hegel in Virginia today.
You can send Mara a note here: Mara Hegel dr.mara@gmail.com
Or post on her blog here: http://happyhegelsinohio.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Wintery Musings on the first of December
Its cold at my work. Its not the furnace's fault – we live in a big cement box with garage doors on two sides. It takes until noon for the entire airspace to heat up. I'm convinced that for the most part the problem is that the air is stratified, and it just takes that long for the hot air to get down to floor level where I can feel it. And by the time its afternoon, it isn't that cold out anyhow, so opening the doors isn't such a problem. I wish there was a better way to get some heat in our space – maybe a wood-burning stove perhaps? I've seen similar spaces with wood-burning stoves. I know it would never happen here (we're renting), but it wouldn't be a terrible idea, all things considered. Anyhow, every day as we are leaving we turn off the furnace, so not as to waste energy heating the large cement hole while we're not using it overnight: and each morning I arrive to its frigid embrace and turn the furnace back on. Some times I feel like Bob Cratchet in Dickens' “Scrooge,” with his small pot-belly stove and meager daily ration of coal lumps. If only I had some lumps of coal; delicious warm coal, I can feel them now.... :) I suppose I just need to commit to winter: wear layers and consistently long and insulating pants... bugger it all, inconsistent climate control and having to pay attention to my sensible dress.
However did all those people in the past manage it – and not become annoyed to death? I suppose because THEY got to have wood stoves to huddle up against, and they were probably cold anyway, without having the expectation of being warm for long, so they better appreciated what they got. Someday I might be able to be like that, when I rid myself of my material possessions and move to somewhere beyond the reach of the internet.
I'm burning rescue disks at the moment. In a little while, I'll burn the other two types of disks we send out in our media kits. I wish to create another six this morning, so that I have an even 13 of the things, which is six in excess of my requirements and enough to cover the CU-1's I'm planning to have ready by the end of the week upon Rob's Return.
Looking at the board things aren't that hectic. Last week we really cleared a lot off of there – and the week before was a good week for production too. Finally getting the Digitarium Delta systems out was a big help, and I look forward to making and shipping more Delta's, even as I still remain frustrated by the inconsistent nature of the mounting apparatus to produce a consistent state of alignment. Oh well, nothing can be perfect, right? We have Greg Anderson Demo'ing a delta system in New York State next week – I hope they are as fond of it as Rob and Karrie are, they could open up many more doors for us, being as connected as they are.
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As for the chickens, I think we're in the clear for the little ones now. They've had an abundance of food, and after I got the message that they needed a drier place to sleep, they've gotten what they need. The straw they sleep on stays drier than anything I gave them before, even in the rain: and with the increased growth rate they have shown (due to feed?) they are getting big enough that we can start to worry about them. I would have thought that they might have started roosting by now – getting off the ground entirely WOULD be a good plan for them. Perhaps my birds need more roosting area? I'll have to look into that, because if that is the case I'll need to provide as much for them. We've had the lights on for a week – eight the new light I have out there isn't making a difference in the hens' sleep schedule, or else I am not being consistent enough with it to effect the change I am hoping for. I will continue as I have been, perhaps getting a time to increase the consistency of time when the lamp is on and when it goes off. I really wish the chickens to go back into production again, at least as much as they are able – Kelsie does enjoy selling the eggs, and it is a good use of the chickens that they produce something of value after all of the feed that they consume, after all. The little chicken will continue to grow, and barring a tragedy we will have them producing soon enough. It looks to me as if we do still have the Australorp rooster, so we can trust that we'll be able to produce some purebred baby Australorps next year. That's an exciting thought: baby chicks make much more profit than eggs do. We'll have a few Americauna hens as well, although if we have gotten a rooster or not it is too early to tell: as I recall the Americauna roosters showed later than many of the other types, I should be reasonably happy either way: and I know that we'll have at least some green eggs for Kelsie to include in her dozens next spring, and that is a joy to me.
The guinea pigs are doing well, other than a few sickly babies we have a good crop of young ones ready to go out. I don't know if they're all even here yet (I think at least 3 more are still due in the next week), but already we have 3+3+1+4+1+3 = 15 babies. That's a lot of younglings for sure. We'll have to get to marketing them by taking some pictures and getting those posted: I sure would like to see the guinea pigs with new homes sooner rather than later. There's a lot of choices for color in the pairs that we can offer: which is nicer than only having limited options for folks. I think it helps sales if you have a lot of options. I think we'll need to make up some sort of a website the way we've done in the past with pictures so that people can get a good look at the little ones. Maybe we'll get to that tonight: it sounds like a fun thing to do: and day old baby guinea pigs are SOOOOO cute. With the shed all closed up this winter – the guinea pigs seem like they are doing Great in terms of heat and environment. If anything, I just wish that we had more fresh foods to offer them: the green stuff is so healthy, and so sparse through these dark winter months and too abundant during the summer. Such is the way of life, I suppose.
I'm glad the farmstead animals are doing as well as they are. And Matthew is getting a new puppy – its a good time. Next year they're'll be bees aplenty too. What excitement!
Dom
P.S. They cleared a couple of hundred acre patch of forest about three miles from our house. This is more ground for bees to forage in the coming years: I think we've found ourselves at a good time during the forestry cycle for bees!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
This morning, the rain cleared.
Last night it rained, it poured, it dumped. The wind howled: the type of wind that you wonder how strong your roof nails are, and hope that the trees are secured by the rocks in the ground. I didn't trust the trees very well though – I thought for sure one of them would come crashing through the roof of the bedroom, which is the most vulnerable because of the placement of the trees so I crept out and slept in the living room which is much more tree-secure. It was a long night.
This morning we were greeted by blue skies, and lots of water. The front and side yards are thin puddles – the streams and gutters are full to the brim; every pothole and ditch is holding as much water as it possibly can. It really makes me appreciate those drainage ditches on the sides of the road that don't see much use 90% of the year – because on these few days when we need them: we really need them.
I wish we would have gotten a trenching system put in on the property to drain away water this year. It isn't as immediate a need as some of our projects, but it would have added a lot I think. Last night when the rain was falling hard I went out and measured and we were getting water OUT of the pond (that is from the outfall) that was at least 10 gallons per minute – probably more. If we routed more water there, it would of course be greater. We could run that entire amount over the entire property and dump it into a pond of some kind, harvesting the energy from the drop along the way possibly (although with only 20 feet, it isn't that great – especially with such a long run). Its fun to dream though.
I got a speeding ticket last week. Its a waste of money – but I own it. Thanks bouncy Amy Grant CD for helping me lose $115!
Played Rock Band last night and we won a plane. Kelsie's getting a lot better, and I think I'm improving too. If only my hands and arms would heal up so I can play at full strength again, that would be awesome.
Dom
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