Yay for John Deere!
We’re getting a small tractor on Tuesday! It will have a scoop and a backhoe and we’ll be getting a chipper a few days later. I cannot explain my happiness. If you’ve ever tried to clear land with a chain saw, shovel, various rakes, pruning shears and a wheelbarrow and felt like you were washing dishes with a q-tip, you know EXACTLY how I feel. I’m turning very country bumpkin, since I now daydream of tools and sheds instead of other insignificant ways to waste our money.
Written by erin Filed under Gardening, Homestead, Tool Joy! | Comment (0)Progress, minus pictures
So, we’ve acquired more animals and still have tons of work to do. We now have an adorable bunny named Sheila, because Rowan names everything Sheila. We also have five baby chicks that are about a week old. I have come to the realization that we won’t be able to go anywhere overnight unless we have someone to take care of our chickens, which is a definite downside for me since I NEED to go places and experience different things. Camping is especially crucial for my sanity during the nicer months, but I’ll just have to live with it. We have so much outdoor stuff to do, hopefully I won’t think too much about wanting to do something else.
We need big equipment to clear our garden area faster. We’re contemplating buying a small tractor that has multiple attachments because we need a frontloader, a chipper, a backhoe, a tiller, a grader and I’m sure there are other things we need that we haven’t thought of yet. As fun as it is to have lots of room, it’s a lot of work to clear a sixth of an acre or so…by hand. We want to have a large garden and become more self sufficient, especially with the cost of produce so high and possible looming food shortages. With a large garden, we can grow enough to eat fresh during the summer and fall and hopefully grow enough to freeze and can for the winter and spring. I know this is the first year, but I have such high hopes.
We also need to finish the chicken coop. We need to put the floor on and build a run. We also need to put screens over the windows, cut out a chicken sized door, add nesting boxes (later when the chickens are ready to start laying so they don’t use them for other grody things) and roosts. It feels like it will never be finished, but I’m sure it will. It has to be in about two months! One thing at a time.
I need to figure out how to tame our wild berry bushes. We have blackberries and wineberries intermingled in a thicket near our house, but I’m a little concerned about going out to pick in late summer because we had a copperhead in our woods last year. If we clear around the bushes and keep a path open through the middle, maybe it won’t be so bad.
I think we now have enough firewood for the entire next winter. The oaks we cut down were huge and we’re still not done cutting them into rounds and stacking them to be split later. Some rounds are so large that we can’t lift them. It will be nice to not pay for wood next fall. We should save several hundred over the next year. AND now that the trees are down, we have HD TV and we have plenty of sunny space on the roof for solar panels when we’re ready for them. I would love to be self sufficient when it comes to electrity and it will make us completely self sufficient when it comes to our water, because even though we have a well, we have an electric pump to bring the water to the house. We may even be able to create a set up for heating our hot water with the sun. So many possibilities!
When I remember how to do it (actually, find the directions John gave me for how to do it), I’ll add some pics of the clearing that’s going on and the chicks and bunny. For now, I’ll leave it to your imagination. 
Erin, I’m sorry I doubted the hawks and chickens….
Link:
http://www.local6.com/news/15719528/detail.html?1
Hawk Flies Off With Family’s Pet At Doggie Day Care
OVIEDO, Fla. — A family’s 3-pound Papillon dog was snatched, carried off by a large hawk after it was let outside at a doggie day care business, according to a manager.
Written by john Filed under Chickens, Homestead | Comments (2)“Free Organs” Post on Craig’s List Leads To Organ Harvester Frenzy
Be very, very careful what gets posted on the internet…..
Link: http://www.bbspot.com/News/2008/03/free-organs-on-craigs-list.html
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Thursday, March 27 12:00 AM ET
“Free Organs” Post on Craig’s List Leads To Organ Harvester Frenzy
By Brian Briggs
Portland, OR – Vince Hopper hangs on to life at a local hospital after fighting off organ harvesters who came to his apartment searching for “free organs” advertised on Craig’s List.
Police arrested several harvesters, but organ seekers made off with a kidney, half a liver, two fingers and a pancreas before the crowd was dispelled.
“I woke up and there were these people lined up with scalpels, steak knives, hacksaws, basically anything that could cut. I didn’t know what the hell was going on at first. Then some guy mentioned a Craig’s List ad, and I was screaming that it wasn’t me who placed the ad. Some guy pulled out my organ donor card and showed it to every one. That was all the confirmation they needed,” said Hopper.
Hopper said he was just happy he only lost “internal organs. If you know what I mean.”
Many of the people who didn’t get organs were considering suing Hopper and Craig’s List. Greg Belton, who came looking for a spleen, said, “I spent $50 on ice. Somebody’s going to pay for that. It’s false advertising or something.”
Another man hoping to add an appendix to his collection said this was the second time he’d been burned by Craig’s List. “I’m going to go back to using eBay for appendixes. They’re much more reliable for that kinda thing.”Related News
Authorities are trying to track down who placed the ad, but said this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Police detective Rod Stumpley said, “Last week we had people come and take kids from homes after a ‘free kids’ ad was placed, we had a Wal-Mart cleared out after an ‘everything’s free’ ad was placed. It’s on the Internet so you can hardly blame people for believing it.”
A representative from Craig’s List said that people shouldn’t believe every “free organ” posting on the site, and that harvesters should consult with the donor before removing his pancreas just to be on the safe side.
Written by john Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (1)Common Sense and Humor
“Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.”
Thomas Jefferson
FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE
1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
3. Colt: The original point and click interface.
4. Gun control is not about guns; it’s about control.
5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
8. If you don’t know your rights, you don’t have any.
9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
10. The United States Constitution (c)1791. All Rights Reserved.
11. What part of “shall not be infringed” do you not understand?
12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.
13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.
15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
16. You don’t shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.
17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.
18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.
20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.
21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.
23. Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don’t make more.
24. When you remove the people’s right to bear arms, you create slaves.
25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.
26. “Calling an illegal alien an “undocumented immigrant” is like calling a drug dealer an “unlicensed pharmacist.
Written by john Filed under Gun Rights | Comment (0)Training…
This is actually old news, but I thought I’d post it since I haven’t posted anything in a while.
I’ve now completed my Range Safety Officer training. Anotherone down, more to go.
Written by john Filed under Shooting Sports | Comment (0)NRA Instructor Credentials
Yay! I received my NRA Instructor credentials today. I can now show off my officialness and say whipee!
More seriouslly I can now start teaching the classes that are getting backed up. Two new students are signed up and paid for this Saturday and others are already in the waiting queue.
Now I can focus on the other items I want to achieve:
- Range Safety Officer
- Rifle Instructor
- Shotgun Instructor
- Reloading Instructor
In due time, in due time. But things are in motion. I have to give a shout out to someone who is fast becoming a good friend. Berny Hostrop from GBH Gunsmithing. He is a Master NRA Training Counselor and is the one I’ve been going to for my NRA training. Here’s a link to him and I’m going to add his site to my link list.
Written by john Filed under Shooting Sports | Comment (0)Gun Rights Comics
I found these out on the net today in between my flu coma. I thought they were funny and to the point.
Only in America
Only in America… can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.
Only in America… are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink.
Only in America… do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
Only in America… do people order double cheese burgers, large fries, and a diet Coke.
Only in America… do banks leave both doors to the vault open and then chain the pens to the counters.
Only in America… do they leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.
Only in America… do they use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so they won’t miss a call from someone they didn’t want to talk to in the first place.
Only in America… do they buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.
Only in America… do they use the word “politics” to describe the process so well; “Poli” in Latin meaning “many” and “tics” meaning “bloodsucking creatures”.
Only in America… do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.
Redneck First-Aid
Two Southerners were having the blue plate special at their favorite watering hole, when they heard an awful choking sound. They turned around to see a lady, a few bar stools down, turning blue from wolfing down a Specialty Burger too fast.
The first Southerner said to the other, “Think we otta hep?”
“Yep,” said the second.
The First Southerner got up and walked over to the lady and asked, “Kin yew breathe?”
She shook her head no.
“Kin yew speak?” he asked.
She again shook her head no.
With that he helped her to her feet, lifted up her skirt and licked her on the butt. She was so shocked that she coughed up the obstruction and began to breathe with great relief.
The First Southerner turned back to his friend and said, “Funny how that there Hind Lick Maneuver works ever’ time.”
Written by john Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)