Random images on the homestead

 

 

I took these photos on Friday, July 24, 2009.

Yes, we did come home

I haven’t posted anything since we were in North Carolina a month ago. We had a nice visit and did make it home safely. I just haven’t spent any time blogging since, but that will change tonight. I have some things to write about. Life goes on here even when I don’t blog about it.

General goings-on

Spring is approaching. Or, at least it sure has felt like it. We’ve enjoyed some nice, warm temperatures during the last couple of weeks. This winter has been different (they all are, though) in that we’ve had some frigid weather with temperatures near zero and some warm weather with temperatures over 70. I had planned on tapping some maple trees and making syrup, but the weather hasn’t cooperated to make that really doable. We’ve made syrup the last two years. Maybe next year will provide cooperative weather.

Wednesday of this week we had a windy day. The storms that moved through the central part of the country mostly missed us, except for the wind. Other places got it worse than we did, though. We only received about three tenths of an inch of rain, and all of that seemed to come within 15 minutes. That’s alright, though, since the ground is still plenty soft from the previous rains. Winter time is like that though; around here it seems that the ground doesn’t dry out until summer. It does somewhat, but it sure seems like we have mud from November to May.

Anne and mom took the opportunity to run off to Glasgow on Wednesday to do some treasure hunting. They both enjoy spending time looking for bargains in thrift shops and antique shops. Dad came over so that he and I could go over our garden plans for this summer, mainly determining if there are any seeds we need to order. There are only a few like onion seeds and some seeds for winter squash. We saved a lot of seeds from last season’s gardening, including tomato, corn, squash, okra, green bean, pepper, arugula, and basil seeds along with some others. We grow open-pollinated and heirloom varieties so that we can save seeds. We also have potatoes to plant and will start some sweet potato slips.

Yesterday, dad and I worked on pulling some cedar logs out of the woods. He wrote a post about it on his blog and I wrote one on my Cedar Ridge Farm blog. It was a great day for working outside, and the previous day’s rain didn’t make things too wet and sloppy to get the job done. I’ll have some more logs to cut and skid out of the woods.

With the nice weather, I’ve been able to work on some house projects. It’s kind of nice to be able to focus some attention on it. I’ve actually been motivated to spend some time thinking about the project and planning for different aspects of it. So, I’ve posted a few times to Cedar Ridge Farm, and I expect there’ll be a lot more posts on that blog in the coming weeks and months. It is my hope to get a great deal of the house project completed this year. So, keep an eye on my other blog, too. 

Spring and summer are busy times of the year, but there is such a richness in living the life we do. We count it a blessing every day that we have opportunities to work together, to grow good food and not be completely dependent on that which is called food but really isn’t (standard grocery/restaurant fair), and to be surrounded by such fabulous beauty as can only be found in God’s glorious creation!
     

Firewood and another video

Dad and I cut a truck load of firewood this morning. He posted a photo essay about our wood-cutting activity. We used the 1979 F250, and it worked fine. It’s easier backing it into position than a 16 foot trailer. We dumped the firewood near Danny’s newly constructed wood shed. It seemed like a good thing to do. He “complained” about the work we left for him, but I think he was able to get it stacked inside. He also said that he would be willing to accept some more if we need to get rid of it.

Since yesterday evening, after putting together a video for the first time, I’ve been thinking about making some more videos. Someone asked for some with your younguns. That one will have to wait until I have material together. When talking about using Windows Movie Maker to put together the 1950 John Deere MT video, Mom mentioned the possibility of using it to put together some photos of our timber frame raising. She and Dad took a series of photos at different stages of the raising that flow together to create an animation. So, this evening I put another video together using photos. I think it turned out pretty good.

What’s up?

Let’s see if I can meet my goal of five posts this week. I let down on the job last week with no good excuse. I just didn’t seem motivated to post. I could’ve found the time, I suppose. Part of the deal may be partially due to a bit of stress. What do I have to stress about? Nothing really, as long as I keep things in perspective: God’s in charge, giving me nothing to worry about.

As I mentioned previously, we live without debt. It’s been a way of life for the last ten years or so. We’ve been without a mortgage for nearly six years now. I’m currently in a situation that is akin to debt in my mind, and I don’t like it.

 

In August 2004, we bought a 1996 Chevrolet Suburban that had previously belonged to the National Forestry Service. I purchased it from a dealer off of Ebay who had bought it at an auction. We wanted an all-around vehicle that would serve our family and farm needs. This 3/4-ton Suburban did the job. Until gas prices escalated out of control, the pitiful gas mileage the big block V-8 in it achieved wasn’t a problem. Based upon the amount of miles we annually put on a vehicle, it wouldn’t have saved us anything to have another vehicle on which to pay taxes, registration, and insurance. However, last summer we were offered a good deal on a one-owner car in which all six of us could fit. The extra expenses associated with a second vehicle could be and have been met from what we’ve been able to save in gas.

So, now we don’t need a Suburban for the farm. In fact, a pickup truck would be more convenient. I began contemplating what I really desired and needed from a farm truck, and then I began looking to determine what it might cost. My idea was to sell the Suburban to pay for the truck. But, I didn’t want to be without a farm vehicle in the meantime. It’s convenient to be able to haul firewood and other things when needed or desired.

Then, a truck came up in my Ebay searches that met my criteria: four wheel drive, at least 3/4- ton, dependable, with a flat-bed dump. This truck was a 1979 F250. My dad offered to buy it for me, and after I sold the Suburban, I would buy it from him. Actually, he originally offered to loan me the money, but I felt better changing the terms, even if it really is only semantically different. So, we brought the truck home on January 1, 2009. Since then, I’ve been trying to sell the Suburban. Guess what? It’s not worth as much as I thought, or, rather, people aren’t willing to pay as much as it’s worth.

My stress has been because of the “debt” I feel I am in to my dad. I have to pay him for the truck. Until I do, it’s hanging over me. It’s been affecting me, kind of hanging there low-key. It’s been a good reminder about being in debt, though. For that I’m actually thankful.

The story continues. I listed the Suburban on Craigslist. One guy was interested. He looked at it, but wanted to get it painted. While he was getting an estimate, I listed it on Ebay. Then, it sold the next day for the Buy-it-Now price. The guy who bought it lives in Michigan. Great guy. I’ve talked to him on the phone several times, and I really like him. So, we made arrangements to meet him part way so that he didn’t have to drive the whole 600 miles to get it. He ended up driving nearly 500 miles. The only problem was that on the way to meet him, the Suburban began having some problems its never had before, something computer-related. I couldn’t meet him, and even if I could, he couldn’t drive it home acting the way it was.

So, I called him on his friend’s cell phone to let him know. They decided to head back to Michigan. He couldn’t take the Suburban. It was no longer sold. After it sat at a truck stop for a while, we drove it home with no more problems. I guess I wasn’t supposed to sell it that day. I’m having it checked out in the morning, though, because if it’s fixed and working properly, he’ll still buy it. In the meantime, I still have a truck to buy from my dad.

 

P.S. I took this photo the evening of January 9, 2008.

Early morning frost, birds, & a skunk

It was a beautiful morning. A clear sky with a bright sun rising above the horizon. I was a little late setting out to do my chores, but the beauty of the beginning day prompted me to take my camera with me in the hopes of capturing some good shots.












There was a heavy frost on everything in the bottom, the result of moist air and below-freezing temperatures. When you view a frosted blade of grass closely, you discover that the frost is made up of very small ice crystals. These crystals catch the light of the sun and sparkle.

It was fun trying to capture the beauty of the morning and the little intricacies that exist all around us. I’m still learning how to do it well, but it’s a fun process. 

The birds were happily flitting about this morning, too. We have a variety of different types around here. Many times when I’ve been out early of a morning during hunting season, I’ve noticed that they all seem to wake up about the same time. With the 10x optical zoom on my camera and the 5x digital zoom, I was able to get close enough to snap some bird photos. One of them was a pileated woodpecker. They make a lot of noise as they fly from tree to tree. They’re good-sized birds.

Later in the morning after breakfast, Danny came over and asked if I would look at something. He said it was an animal he caught in a trap, and he wanted to know what it was. He said it was black with a white spot on its head. I thought skunk. That’s what it was. We let it go, successfully avoiding being sprayed. The little guy didn’t seem too concerned about us and gladly trotted away.

[I used Windows Live Writer to compose this blog post. This is a new tool for me – I just downloaded it today. It handles photos quite well, but there are some quirks in text editing which I hope to figure out as I use it more.]

Cedar Ridge Farm -- A brief photo tour

We love our 57 acres of South-Central Kentucky paradise. Enjoy a few photos of our homestead.


Headed down the hill to the bottom, the heart of Cedar Ridge Farm. We garden and raise hay and animals in the bottom. It's also where we are building our new home.


Nearly to the bottom. Our house which is under construction sits above our garden area.


Looking to the right of the previous photo. This is an old tobacco barn in which we currently house our milk cow and her calf.


On the bottom edge of the garden.


Past the garden.


A view from a corner of the property. All that is visible is part of our homestead.


Another view from the field in the foreground in the previous photo.


The hay field behind our ridge.


On the ridge looking toward the garden area and house site.


Trees on the ridge. They're not all cedars.