Back into the wood shop....

Last year, we didn't get any snow until after dark on the 31st of December. Our average highs for the month were in the mid 40's. Or TOTAL snowfall for the season was only 13".
This year it is a different story.....
Our first snow was in November, and we have had 2 snowstorms in the last 10 days. One of those storms came after a 1/2" of ice! So far we have totalled 9" of snow in December and our temps have been in the 20's for the past week.
Our goats have decided that it is going to stay cold, so they are chomping down the hay to build up warmth. The chickens spend most of the day inside to chicken house, even if I let them out. The one saving grace to the weather is the fact that the winds have been light (so far....).
I haven't bothered to blade the driveway yet. I figure, if my sister's front wheel drive Taurus can make it in and out, it's good. The temps are SUPPOSED to warm up to the upper 30's this week, so hopefully, most of he snow will be gone before the next round hits this weekend.
I have most of the dirt work done around the new barn, but I still need to do a bit more. It will, most likely, have to wait until spring. I do know that the new barn is TONS better then the small one we had last year.

Since I have not been able to do a whole lot out in the cold, I have been inside working on my scrollsaw. It's a habit....er.....CRAFT.....that I picked up from my Mom. While she probably never did use one, she was the reason I picked it up. She bought a really cheap saw at a garage sale when I was in high school. She wanted me to use it to cut walnuts so she could glue the slices together for some of her craft work. While it never was much use at slicing walnuts, it WOULD cut thin wood. It was light weight, noisy, and vibrated a LOT, but it got me hooked! I made several things on it before I graduated up to bigger (and better) saws. I still have it, though.
My favorite things to do are dogs (especially Dachshunds), but I have done several things. I made a few things this week for gifts and I am working on a tractor portrait. I try to use my own patterns - and I manage to 98% of the time. My wife is a photographer and takes dozens of photos of EVERYTHING. I have taken several of her photos and turned them into patterns for my saw work.
It's a fun hobby and very relaxing. The best part of it is trying to see if you can do something with the saw to make a pattern "come to life".

I found a great way to light fires in your fireplace or wood stove! It uses no paper or kindling. I heard about this and decided to try it to see if it worked - IT DOES!
Here's what you do:

Collect your dryer lint (yes, dryer lint.....)
Stuff it into the bottoms of a cardboard egg carton (NOT a Styrofoam one).
When you get the holes stuffed, CAREFULLY melt 2-3 taper candles and pour the hot wax over the lint. Soak the link well, but don't overflow the egg holes.
Allow it to cool/solidify. It shouldn't take very long.
Use a knife and carefully cut the egg holes apart (leave them intact around the lint/wax).
To use just put one piece in the middle of what you are wanting to light, and light one of the corners of the piece. It will burn for a good amount of time and will catch even medium sized pieces of wood on fire.

Never thought you'd have a use for that dryer lint, did you?

A Short Trip.....

We took a short trip to Grand Island NE this Saturday. We weren't sure if we were gong to go, with the weather like it was! On Thursday we recieved 9" of snow and winds blowing over 30 mph. LOTS of cold wind chills and poor visibilities. Friday it was mainly the wind. The county road crews were out, but roads would drift shut right behind the plows. Saturday dawned breezy, but sunny. I got the animals taken care off and checked things over real good so, after calling to check on road conditions, we left at about 7:00 AM. We had a slower than normal trip out, but uneventful. The roads were basically normal for our return trip on Sunday, so we got home around 2:00 PM. The first thing I did was to check on the livestock. As I neared the barn, I heard an unfamiliar voice. I went inside to check things out and found another new kid! The mother was fine when we left on Saturday - the baby hadn't dropped, her ligaments were still tight, she was eating normal and she hadn't "bagged up" like a birth was near. She gave us another little doeling.

We figure she was born sometime Saturday and is doing fine!

Might not escape, this time.....

The last three snow storms have pretty much passed us by, but this time we MIGHT catch one! The predicted amount is anywhere from 3" to 9", depending on which weather gypsie you listen to. So far thier track record isn't good! I let the chickens out yesterday and today, but they will be staying in the coop for the next 2-3 days!

I am in the process of building a "kid can" for my goats. It is, basically, a 55 gallon drum with a hole in the side near the bottom. The hole is big enough for the kid to crawl through, but small enough so that the mom can't get in. I will put a lamp in the top so it will be nice and toasty warm in there for the baby. Once I fasten it to a wall, it won't be able to be knocked over. A nice, comfey place for a newborn! I don't expect an "new arrivals" soon, but it won't be long! Deb's dad in Missouri has two new ones that arrived last night.

I started to take a few bolts out of my Dearborn Cordwood Saw. I am planning to use "electroysis" to remove rust, crud and old paint from the small parts. It will clean them up nice and "new". It is a simple process and requires only basic materials, a plastic tote, and a battery charger.

We had Bar-b-que BEEF ribs today for lunch! I seared them and put them into the crockpot yesterday morning. Last night at about 9:30 I took them out and peeled most of the fat off and removed the bones. This morning, Deb poured "Cookie's" Bar-b-que sauce on them and baked them for another 1 1/2 hors. They were down right TASTEY! Can't wait for the other half tomorrow noon! The dogs are in heaven with all the fat and bones. All in all, a pretty good chunk of dead cow!

COLD......

Winter has decided to make an appearance this weekend! We went from highs in the 40's and 50's - to highs in the 20's and lows in the single digits! Right now it is 12 above with wind chill at 1 below zero. This weekend we are supposed to get some ice, followed by 2" to 8" of snow. So far, there hasn't been any ice (thankful for that) and the snow has amounted to a heavy dusting (so far) . We are thankful that the main brunt of the storm has, once again, passed our area. The ice and nasty stuff is off to our south and east so far. We will wait until Monday to get the final results!

The goats are content to spend most of their day in the barn - only venturing out to drink or get a new supply of hay to chaw. I haven't let the chickens out of the coop today or yesterday and probably won't for a couple more days at least. They can stay a lot warmer huddled together inside the chicken house. It is also cloudy, so there isn't any radiant heat they can stand in, either. If the wind chills were not below zero, I would let them out.

Last night we looked out and saw the big Tomcat sitting on the front porch, huddled against the wind (blowing at about 25 mph). I guess he was hoping that I would open the door and let him in! He was gone awhile later, and met me at the door this morning, ready to follow me to the barn to get fed. When you go into the barn, you will see little "tunnels" between the hay bales. These are where the cats burrow down in the hay for warmth. If you have ever burrowed into loose hay or straw, you know that it can be nice and comfy warm, even when it is cold outside! They all were happy to see me (and the food) this morning. I feed them on a shelf I built in the barn below my food bin. It works great until an unsuspecting cat tail gets nibbled on by a goat because it was sticking through the fence.....might have to build a "tail shield".......

I was reading a thread on a farming forum today and it got me to thinking. My Grandfather was a wizard at turning used up things into something useful. My Dad was always tinkering on something. Deb's dad has a whole farm full of things that started out as something else. It was a way of life to people - keep everything until it's usefulness was gone, then make it into something els useful. My Mom always told us that Bohemians used "every part of the pig, but the squeal". That doesn't only apply to pigs, but just about everything! A few months ago I was talking to someone, and Deb's dad's farm came up in the conversation. He asked "WHY do you want to live like THEM"? Now, considering the person, and the fact he had never even been there to SEE how they lived, it was useless to try and convince a corroded mind as to the virtuous nature of conservation, refurbishing, and reusing - or the idea of living within our means in a manner that would make our forefathers proud. We need to quit keeping up with the Jones's, re-use what we have, and start using the "squeal". Now, let's go get some of that old iron and "junk" out of fence rows and see what we can do with it!

Snow and an Odd-Ball Rooster

Well we got our first snowfall of this winter season yesterday! It was also the last snowfall of 2006! As usual, the weatherman was a little off. They were calling for less than 2" to fall in the form of snow. After 2"+ of rain on Friday and Saturday, Sunday gave us over 4" of snow and 25 to 30 MPH winds! It turned out to be nothing serious for most folks around here, but in central and western Nebraska, there are thousands of poeple still without power, and it might be a week or two before they get it back. Most of the snow blew off of our drive and the farm road I use to get to the pasture. The county didn't even blade the road by our place as most of the snow blew off! I usually don't bother blading unless we get 6" or so - it's not worth the fuel. It's only January, so we'll probably get more!

I have a strange rooster. He was "hatched" here and I handled him as a youngin', but haven't been doing much with him for 3-4 months. Usually, I grab an ear of corn everyday and sit down to shell it and scatter it out for the chickens for some scratch. Last week when we got back from Missouri, this rooster came right over to the car and stepped around us as we unloaded things. He waited patiently for a hand-out of corn. A couple of days ago, when I was sitting down to toss them thier hand out, he hopped right onto my lap! He started to eat out of my hand. I have several roosters and hens that will eat out of my hand, only this one will hop onto my lap! Today he actually let me PICK HIM UP and put him on my lap to eat, and stayed there awhile after the corn was gone! I guess he's trying to butter me up because he's knows there is another round of "neck stretching" coming soon. He wouldn't have had much to worry about, the old, tough birds are gonna go first!

Rainy & Drizzley

The weather has been dreary all day. We had partial sun early this morning, but it closed in fast! We've had off and on light showers and drizzle all day. It is supposed to be like this again tomorrow.

We had a visit from the bow hunters that came all the way from Michigan today. They had driven all night to get here, so they didn't really stay to long. They are staying with a farmer north east of town a few miles, so they don't have motel bills. They were here last year, also. Good bunch of guys! Hope they have good luck!

I took an old letter I found into town today. I was trying to get it translated. It was written in the 1850's in German. It's hard to read, due to the handwriting, but is in remarkably good shape. I just recently found this one and another, but I have a total of 32 letters, postcards, and documents from the mid 1800's up to 1911 or so. Some of these have been translated, but a few have not.

I stopped by the court house and was told that an elderly woman in town MIGHT be able to read them. As it turned out, she grew up on a farm that was across and just to the south of my Great-Grandfathers farm. My Great-Grandfather died in 1937 AND SHE REMEMBERED HIM (she's 93)! She told me her eye sight was to the point where she couldn't read them, but she did make out a few words. Nothing major, just a word here and there.

A couple of the documents are original deeds to places my Great-Great-Grandfather had in Marthasville, Missouri, in the 1850's - LOTS of "legalese" in these two items, even for mid 1800's! I know there is a County Museum in town, I need to go talk to them and see what they think!

Chilly October

The winter winds have hit early this year! We've had lows in the 20's several nights and highs only in the 40's. There have been a few days of 60's and even a few 70's mixed in,but it seems that winter wants to make an early appearence this year. There were even a FEW small flakes in the air the other morning - nothing major, but we did have a few.

I have been trying to clean up and winterize things around the place. I managed to put in a buried electric line to the barn a few days ago. I dug the trench with a ripper and cleaned it out with my plow. Now I don't have to worry about driving over an extension cord anymore. It is only 100' long, but took 2 days to do.

I also managed to come up with more tin and lumber for free! The neighbors around are helpful with materials they don't want. It helps us both out - they want the stuff gone, and I need it to use! I've lived by this town for a good part of my life and have a lot of wonderful neighbors who remember me from my younger days.

This particular find was a shed that had fallen over and the roof peak was about 5' off the ground. We went over and pulled tin off and will go back for the lumber in a few days. I was telling my neighbor that this was the kind of building I like to tear down - it's close to home, close to the ground (no ladders!), comes apart easy, and has lots of usable materials. I counted 45 12' pieces of tin and 40 good 10' 2x6's. I am only able to work on it for 2-3 hours a day before the back, knees, and hips start in, but it is going pretty easy, so it SHOULDN'T take long, especially with help.

Fall is Here!

It's October, and the leaves have started to turn colors and fall. The Hedge Apples are really thick this year - some say that means we are in for a snowy Winter. Last year we only had 12" total, so practically anything would be a snowy Winter!

I did have a few items I drug home in the past couple weeks. I found an old Dearborn model 14-42 Side Delivery Rake and a bale loader in the weeds on a nearby farm ( I can SEE the field where they were). I was helping another neighbor cut some trees for the man and happened to see them. I have been looking for these items for 4-5 years, and had even asked the farmer if he knew where any were at!

I brought the rake home on Friday, gresaed /oiled it up on Saturday, put on new tires/rims, and tried her out! I removed 2 of the stripper bars because they were bent, but other than that it works just fine! I will replace a few teeth this Winter, but it will be ready to go next Summer. I had JUST finished with hay for this year - two days before I found it!

The bale loader it the type that attaches to the hay rack or flatbed of a truck. As you drive, it raises the bales on a chain elevator and takes them up to the wagon or truck bed for stacking. It is "ground driven" so It can be used behind a truck or tractor. It makes it a LOT easier than picking the bales up by hand!

I also managed to work on one of the John Deere Manure Spreaders I drug home. I pulled it up by the shop and started "tinkering" with it the other day. I greased everything up (all 19 spots) and oiled every link in all the chains. The beater bars and the spreader were realitively easy to get to turn the way they should. The main conveyor chain was a different story! I oiled up the links and greased the sprockets, but I could not get the axle to turn. When I originally towed the spreaders home, we had to remove the wheels and wire the "dogs" on the axles closed in order to get the wheels turning. Since all the wood has rotted out of both machines, the "tray" that the axles sit in have filled with dirt and have small trees taking root in them. I first had to dig and flush the dirt out. Dig, flush, dig, flush, dig, flush.....It took awhile, but I managed to remove 95% of the dirt. I then soaked the axle bearings down with PB Blaster (GREAT STUFF, BY-THE-WAY!) . After a couple days of soaking, I took a pipe wrench and a LONG piece of pipe and tried to work the axles loose. All I managed to do was break the pipe wrench in half (it was a cheap Chinese one). I soaked it down with more PB and waited another couple days. This afternoon, I decided it was time to try again. This time I took my largest GOOD pipe wrench (Ridged brand) and the pipe. I worked it back and forth until it MOVED! I watched the sprocket and saw it moved one tooth, then two, then THREE! Now, knowing that it moved and that I had to hurry before it realised what was happening to it, I hit it with more PB and some 30w oil. I started to force it just a little and got it to move more and more each time. Back and forth until it FINALLY moved all the way around. I took the pipe off and found that I could turn it fairly easy with just the wrench. I turned it all the way around 3-4 times and oiled it up again.

I decided that the next step was to try the conveyor chain. I pulled the lever to engage the chain and turned the axle. To my amazement - it worked!. I'll have to keep turning things to get them "limbered up", but at least it's this far. All I need now is some wood and two tires, then I can really have a "fling" with it!