Filed under: September 2019 | Tags: Fall color, forge projects, inspiration
September 3, 2019
Wow, just like that August is gone! We just celebrated Labor Day, pretty much the end of summer, even though the calendar says we have three more weeks! As I looked around the farm this morning, through the heavy dew, I saw the leaves are starting to change color. The tips of some are turning yellow and even a few reds are starting to show. Soon the landscape will be awash with color. I better get moving and complete a few items on my never-ending list.
I spent the first part of Labor Day in the forge shop. Among other things, I made these corbels. A fancy set of shelf brackets to accent a stove hood. It was a fun project that teased my brain as I free handed them start to finish. The rain fell outside, as I hammered away in the shop. The peace I feel as I make stuff, is a feeling like no other.
I will continue to improve my craft and hone my skills. The cool season of autumn will soon be upon us. The cool makes it a good time to be next to the forge and red hot steel. My leaf making ability is getting better, but Mother Nature still gets the top prize!
Filed under: July 2018 | Tags: Ancestory, chainsaw carving, Diana Gabaldon, Dougal McKenzie, Highland War Chief, inspiration, Outlander, Scotch/Irish, Scottish Highlander, sculpture, sycamore tree, welsh
July 7, 2018
We had this Highland War Chief carved from a dying sycamore tree stump. The man who carved it, Bob Anderson, from Rock Creek, Ohio did an amazing job. We chose the Highlander due to my Scottish heritage. We picked the pose. This war chief now stands to watch over the farm.
There is much more to this story… Bob credits his talent to our Heavenly Father, but also to his Earthly father. You see, Bob was taught as a small boy to whittle small animals and people by his dad. They would whittle faces into walking sticks as they talked about life and all the things that turn small boys into men. Bob has taken a fun hobby to the next level. He is an artist, a true craftsman and a humble man.
He started with this stump
He painted some crude lines and reference points on the face of the stump
He would look at a picture of the Highland dress as he chainsawed from time to time
Our War Chief started to take shape. Bob worked steadily, pausing to look at the wood and ponder his next move.
The tree grew close to the sugarhouse making it a little difficult for Bob to work on the back side, but you would never know. He carved onward reaching inside himself for skills that were learned many years ago.
Once he had shaped the sculpture as far as he wanted with the chainsaw, he went to work with small tools, sanders and his vivid set of skills. What was once a dying stump has been turned in to a work of art. We are very pleased. I think my ancestors are pleased as well. I had the vision, but Bob Anderson has the expertise. His wood carving prowess exemplified under the watchful eye of his father, now taken to the next level by his own desires, is an awesome thing to see.
I recommend Bob Anderson highly. He creates many wooden sculptures in his studio just north of Rock Creek on state route 45. He will do commissioned pieces as well. Look for his pieces at places like the Medievel Faire or even on the square in Mesopotamia Ohio. Bob carved Paul Bunyan in the white oak stump by the “End of the Commons” General Store.
Filed under: March 2018 | Tags: family time, inspiration, maple season, maple syrup, maple syrup production, memories
March 29, 2018
This new section of road saw many trips of horse drawn sled. On the day of the photo we had gotten almost two inches of rain. I am always impressed by the small amount of disturbance the horses do. Their impact on the land, even in muddy conditions is light.
I boiled maple sap for the last time this year yesterday. The syrup was still light and yummy looking. The taste was awesome too. I take a few sips to ensure the quality! Just a few drops to swirl on my tongue is enough to make a big maple smile.
Yesterday was bittersweet. The season ends so this job is done for another year. I enjoy this time of year like no other. Sometimes its cold, wet and miserable as we gather in the sleet or rain. Other times the sun shines warm on our faces as the snow covers the ground. The steamy room echos with voices of children, family and friends. I even hear the echo as I boil all alone. My memories rush forth from days long ago, as I watched my grandparents make this sweet treat I so dearly love.
The evaporator boiled the last of the season’s sap. I watched the puffy clouds make their way out the roof knowing that the work would be over for a year, but silent too will be the voices and laughter. You see, I make more than maple syrup here… I make memories and smiles, while ensuring an old way of making maple syrup is preserved for the next generations.
The clean up part of the job begins today and will continue for a week or so. Tanks, pans and piping all get washed, dried and stored away. The trees have all already been untapped. The spiles now get washed and dried. The job of filling the woodshed again will begin and take a few months to complete. All these things must be done, because the maple season 2019 will be here before we know it!
Filed under: December 2017 | Tags: Blessings, drone, family, friends, inspiration, Small Farming, Thanks
December 22, 2017
Last October during a family harvest party, our grandson Jonathan brought his drone and took pictures of the farm. As I look at the pictures, I am very pleased. The harvest is complete. The compost has been spread on the fields where needed. The speltz crop is up and growing well. The pastures have all been clipped and stand ready for winter.
I am very thankful to family and friends who helped to get the farm ready for winter. My knee replacements are healing and doing well. It helps me mentally to know that things are well, jobs are complete and the promise of spring can be seen all over the farm.
The back of the farm too shows the work that has been done and the beauty that is this farm. A pile of lumber in the photo, is now a barn addition that houses the last of the equipment that once had to sit outside all winter long. Again, friends and family pitched in to make this all happen.
As we close in on Christmas and the end of the year, I am very happy to share the gift of this farm with everyone. We are blessed, I, most certainly am! I pray that this farm and the example I set here, helps not only the people closest to me, but reaches out to others too. These photos are not meant to brag, but rather to say thank you to many and to show that anything is possible….Dream, Believe, Achieve!
Filed under: December 2016 | Tags: children, family time, farm toys, handmade, homemade, inspiration, old vs new, toy maker
December 31, 2016
Last night, I stopped to see my youngest son. My grandson asked, “play farm, Pa-pa?” I couldn’t resist. It’s awesome to play with my grandchildren. Over Christmas I got to play suction cup arrows and bullets, as I target shot with John and Rachel. That never gets old!
What I thought was wonderful about last night’s play date, was the way my grandson and his daddy had set up their farmstead. A big old wooden barn stood close to a new plastic one. We played awhile, setting up animals and moving them from pasture to pasture. There was no doubt that my grandson preferred the old barn to the newer one. The little wooden stalls inside were where the horses lived.
The old wooden barn belonged to my son. We bought it for him when he was about three year’s old. It was made by an Amish boy who was afflicted by mental retardation. The young Amish man made toys and wooden eveners for horse drawn equipment. I had gone there to buy a set of eveners, also called double trees, when I spotted the handmade wooden barn.
The old barn has doors on both sides that open and close. Inside there are two tie stalls for a team of draft horses. There is also a short row manger where the cows would stand to be milked. The large haymow has a loose hay trolley system that used eye hooks, string and a metal piece that served as the “harpoon” for the hay. A rod goes from end to end in the haymow. When the string is threaded through the eye hooks and out the opposite end from the large hay door, the “harpoon” can be let down to the wagon and pulled up, then in to the barn as it slides along the rod in the peak of the barn. This worked just as the old Louden hay carriers did.
I brought the old barn out of our basement and gave it to my grandson. He is almost three now too. There was just as much excitement on his face, when he saw they barn, as there was twenty seven years ago when his daddy first got it. The memory was priceless.
As I kneeled on the ground to play farm, my thoughts drifted to “Elmer” the toy maker who worked steadily on his wooden toys. Elmer passed many years ago, but his kindness and the joy from his handmade toys, will last for generations. Elmer had only “ability”, not “disability”, may God bless his soul.
Ben and King taking a break
March 22, 2013
It is a wonderful thing to have friends that you can count upon. I am thankful for friends who hold me up. The understanding of someone close to you, is often enough to get you through a tough time … even if they don’t say a word.
I spoke to a friend of mine this morning. He has been dealing with some life chaging events for quite a while now. A weaker man would have crumbled, possibly given up. My pal, however, keeps finding the better things to think about. Sure, he has down days, but he puts those days aside and dwells on the good.
I hope that I am a friend he can lean on. I hope that I brighten his days when I write or call. I am amazed though, how much he lifts me up. He is an inspriation. His quiet strength is something to behold. He takes everything in stride, appreciates every new day and finds the good everywhere he looks. There are many leaasons in that line of thinking 😮
In the photo, King tries to sit on Ben’s lap. The boy is not so sure, but the dog knows who he can count on. Trust is a wonderful thing. I think sometimes it takes getting your heart broken, or having your trust violated, to make you understand just what a precious gift trust can be.
As much as I like folks whom I can lean on, I hope to be thought of as the kind of guy who people count, when they count their blessings. I want to be the gift to others, not the self absorbed guy who nobody wants to see coming. Some days I have to work on this pretty hard 😮
I guess my message is… be the friend..that you want others to be!
RicelandMeadows 