Filed under: May 2018 | Tags: corn planting, open pollenated, paying it forward, Small Farming
May 27, 2018
With overcast skies looming and a few scattered raindrops falling, I managed to get my 2018 corn field planted. It was a mad dash. The field was still a bit too wet in places, but I planted anyway. The newly reconditioned corn planter worked wonderfully. I wasn’t able to use the horses, but the corn is in and the animals will thank me later this year.
My corn planter has been fitted with “plateless” seed boxes. This will allow me to plant seeds of any size, one at a time, in any spacing that I decide. It will be great for open pollenated varieties. I will plant with the horses and powercart next year. I will have more time for planning and preparation without the undertow of an off farm job.
I backed The corn planter into the shed, shut the tractor down and walked to the house. As I was walking, the rain started falling. Whew, not enough to soak us, but just enough to delay any field work…thank God, I got the field planted.
Yesterday morning, I cleaned up a fallen tree in one of my neighbor’s yards. I was hustling around trying to finish the work, knowing that I needed to be working in the field. I saw my elderly neighbor wave from his window and I realized that I needed to do the tree. I think I may have been blessed for my efforts, because it rained all around me as I fitted and planted. I kept going and it all turned out perfect!
Filed under: October 2017 | Tags: firewood, horsetrading, paying it forward, Thank you
October 22, 2017
After a summer filled with help from other people, it’s my turn to pay folks back. I spent a day and a half cutting and hauling firewood to my buddy Ken’s house. I hauled seven dump trailer loads. Much of it will need further processing, but it is in his drive and near the stove. This was one job where my skidsteer was very valuable!
I also butchered hogs and gave away meat to another family as I traded “in kind” for labor or goods. His family and mine both made out. The last thing that I want to do before the snow flies, is to give a day’s labor with my skidsteer, to another friend who helped me this summer.
Work is winding down. Winter will soon be knocking on the door. I hope to put the last of my equipment away this afternoon. A dead tree waits for me to harvest it for a building project, but thanks to friends and family, I am caught up after being laid up all summer. Thanks to all of you for your help!
Filed under: April 2015 | Tags: face to face, information, paying it forward, sharing, Small Farming
My son and I in the sugarhouse
April 9, 2015
As I went through photos of this year’s maple syrup season, I found several of friends and family helping and visiting. It warms my heart as I realize that just like I enjoyed my grandpa’s operation, many folks enjoy mine. I am simply paying it forward. My grandparents showed me and answered my many questions. It took a while to learn it all and I have many others to thank, but their information was freely given and greedily absorbed.
Life is like this. Each one of us has skills and experience in different things. We owe it to each other to pass information along. We can enlighten, teach or perhaps just discuss the things we know. We all get too busy with all sorts of things, but time spent with family and friends is time well spent. This is especially true when the time is spent in person and face to face.
I will say that time and effort spent on the phone or via the internet has its place. I can talk with folks all over the world. Recently, I have had some good conversation with a man from Tennessee. Another friend, Paul, from New York and I discussed our maple season through text and pictures. Our world is indeed getting smaller, but the need for good, back to basic, small farm information has never been greater. Don’t hold back…pay it forward.
Filed under: November 2013 | Tags: family, meat cutting, paying it forward
A portion of the Bounty
November 2, 2013
A couple of years ago, I met a man named Mark. He is a young family man trying to do things right. He lives in a country hamlet of a place surrounded by apple trees, a woodlot and a nice pond. He and his family are reconnecting with the land. He and his wife chose to live in the country, grow part of their food and homestead to a degree.
They took a very old house in need of great repairs, and by lots of work from two people working together, they have built a home. That home includes children, animals and some grateful grandparents just up the road. They are learning country skills, one lesson at a time and are still hungry for more.
I guess that’s where I came in. I am a guy who knows about a whole lot of stuff. I have been beat down, kicked in the teeth and dirt poor. I learned to be humble. My grandparents were a wealth of information who shared with me freely…of course I asked a LOT of questions 😮 Lastly, I have been in and around farming my whole life…my heart is happy there.
I like to help folks who want to learn things about the country, specifically farming and gardening…of course there is animal husbandry, butchering and meat cutting, maple syrup making, logging and woodland preservation, farm building and all things draft horse!
Mark asked me about backyard pig raising. He wanted to know about processing that pork too. He and his family have cut their own deer for a few years, so he did have some idea of what he was getting into. I helped him get started, guided him gently along the way and helped process the animals over the last couple of days. He is a quick study and learned quickly.
I was happiest seeing his whole family involved. His wife and he are teaching their children where their food comes from, how to tend and care for it and how to preserve it. The kids don’t know it yet, but they are getting information more valuable than a college degree.
I am pleased to have made a difference in Mark’s life, but I won’t take credit for it. Instead, I will give thanks for people who knew me and were kind enough to show me the way. I am simply paying it forward 😮 If I made a mark in someone’s life … then I say … Awesome!
RicelandMeadows 