Getting Back to Blogging

Hey. What happened to July? It sure did breeze by fast. Too fast. And here I am back to blogging. It’s good to be back. But my vacation from blogging was so enjoyable and so productive that I’ve decided to blog three or four essays that are on my mind, and then take the rest of August off.

Tomorrow I will announce the winner of the Peterson coppertop bluebird house contest. For now, here’s a few thoughts...

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A lightening surge hit my Dell laptop computer in July. So I ended up buying a secondhand iBook G4 from a mom&pop Mac dealer. I couldn’t be more pleased. What a superior tool the Mac is!

Only problem so far is my inability to figure out how to transfer photos from this computer to Photobucket so I can include them in this blog. But I hope to surmount that learning curve this coming week.

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We are in the midst of summer plenty here.There are plenty of wholesome, fresh-from-the-garden foods to eat. Potatoes, peas, green beans, yellow beans, onions, lettuce, cabbage, beets, cucumbers, summer squash, and raspberries are a part of our dialy fare. Tomatoes are just coming on. This is where I would be inserting a picture of a summer evening meal on a table in our back yard, if only I knew how.

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My wife, The Lovely Marlene, decided not to bake for the farmer’s market this year. Now she is so busy with other things around here that she wonders how she managed to have time to bake in the past. Actually she still bakes and sells bread maybe once a week, in much smaller quantities, for people who call and order it. But that is more manageable. She is still making and selling homemade soaps, mostly wholesale to a couple retail outlets, and it sells very well.

Marlene would love to have a farm stand near our house. I would grow the fruits and vegetables. She would bake and do the selling. I like that idea too. The only problem is our lack of land and time for me to grow things.

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By the grace of God, for the first time in my life, I think I have managed to save enough money to buy a small section of land, without going into debt. My part-time Whizbang Books business has been moderatly profitable in the past two years. We have our eye on the five acre field right next to our house. It is good soil and we could pay a premium for it. Only problem is that it’s not for sale.

But things have a way of changing. Perhaps there is other land we are supposed to buy, at a later time. Or, perhaps the Lord has blessed us with the extra money for another purpose. And so we await clearer direction.

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The governor of the state of New York made a “rare and unprecedented” 5-minute speech on television last month. He wanted to let New Yorker’s know our state is in serious financial straits. Among other things, he proposed that the state cut its work force and do more with less. Gasp!

I’ve heard that New York has more public employees than any other state. We also have the highest property taxes in the nation. A recent news report stated that one in seven workers in New York is a government employee. I suspect that statistic includes federal government employees. It might even include government school teachers. Whatever the case, it is too many.

I don’t know for sure but I may be the only state employee who agrees with the governor. Working for government is an eye-opener. There is all kinds of waste and corruption in government. Yes indeed, they need to cut the size of the state workforce in half, to start... my job included.

To which some of you may think, “Why don’t you just quit if you feel that way?” Well, believe me, that thought crosses my mind every day. It would be a much easier decision to make if they just eliminated my job.

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We went to a friend’s home to celebrate the 4th of July. A woman i know was there and she said she read my story about The Smell from a 7,800-Cow Dairy. Then she told me this story...

Her son got married a few years ago and rented a trailer home from the 7,800-cow dairy mentioned in my blog essay. While living there, the son was continually sick and the daughter-in-law had three miscarriages. Then they had the well water tested. The level of nitrates in the water was off the chart. high nitrates cause miscarriages. The couple moved away. The son is no longer sick and the daughter-in-law was able to have a baby.

Do you think the people who own that farm drink that same water?

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I see that Matthew Potter finished his Whizbang Chicken Plucker and is now in the pastured poultry business. One satisfied customer has blogged about Matthew’s business. Read About it Here.

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Part of my productivity last month centered around my next Whizbang project. I was able to make good progress on this new home-based entreprenurial idea last month. As mentioned in the past, it will consist of a free, detailed, internet how-to photo tutorial (instead of the usual how-to book). I will tell how to make a tool that every homesteader can put to good use. Only problem is that the tool is very expensive. But I'm going to tell you how to easily make a homemade version for 1/3 the cost of a storebought. This tool will make gardening and growing food so much easier and more enjoyable. It will serve you faithfully for the rest of your growing days and you will be able to pass it on to your grandchildren. I will hopefully make money off the idea by supplying parts kits. I'm excited about the idea, but I'm not saying anything more than this publicly until it is all ready to go. Lord willing, I hope to have everything in place by the end of the year. That's all I can say for now.

Stay tuned....