Getting Back to Blogging...

Labor Day (today) marks the end of summer for another year, and the end of my blogging vacation. There are a few trees here and there now showing yellow and red in their leaves. The air is cooler in the evenings and mornings. But the humidity is gone. This is good working weather.

I kept a few notes during this past month so I would have a list of things to write about on this return-from-break. But I’ve misplaced the notes. I’m at a loss to recall what I did last month. Perhaps I’ll begin by noting what some other bloggers have been up to...

First, I am excited to see that Humble Amy and her family have moved out of Florida to the relative wilds of Kentucky. This is akin to my family leaving the crowded suburban housing project where we lived for ten years and moving to an old farmhouse with 25 acres of land in a rural community when I was in 9th grade. A rural community (with stocked fish ponds!) is, without a doubt, the best environment in which to raise children.

Christina Fuller, the Kansas Milkmaid has returned to blogging. I’m glad to know she is doing well.

Rick Sanez over at Dry Creek Chronicles has written about “Selling Eggs at a Loss.” Personally, we gave away our egg layers last year and now purchase our eggs from a local person who, undoubtedly, sells them at a loss. We will get some egg layers again, maybe next year. But we will keep the flock to a more manageable (and cheaper to feed) half dozen birds. Just enough to give us the eggs we need.

Tom Scepaniak over at Northern Farmer has preached his first public sermon and feels called to the ministry. Of course, he has already been preaching from his blog for the past few years. Best wishes Tom.

The Bartlett family (ND Homekeeper) up in North Dakota continues to amaze me. Their local newspaper has written a story about them. Jonathan Bartlett , the Turtle Mountain Hillbilly has been eating too many raspberries and gearing up to go into the pastured poultry business.

But the big news up in North Dakota is that Jim Bartlett is running for a seat in the North Dakota senate race. Mr. Bartlett is not just another politician, as you can clearly see from his campaign web site. Check out the web site here: James Bartlett for Senate 2008. God bless you Jim. I’m praying that you’ll prevail in this race!

Russ Nellis, over at Log Cabin Homestead in the North Woods of Wisconsin, found someone to drive his trash route for the summer and focused on establishing a CSA. You can read back over his blogs as he chronicles the CSA endeavor. I’m impressed!

Over at Potter Villa Academy young Matthew Potter’s chickens have started laying eggs (always an exciting event!). And, very sorry to say, his father has recently lost his job.

Michael Bunker, down in Texas, has posted a couple of blog essays guaranteed to make a lot of mainline Christians uncomfortable (or upset). The first is Separatism as a Fundamental Principle. Michael says:

“Separatism for God's people is a principle element and underlying truth found throughout all of Scripture and all of Prophecy. It exists in virtually every spiritual type and shadow given to us in the Bible.”

Then, in a Part 2 essay MB takes a look at The Great Commission as it relates to separation. I have read these essays very carefully, more than once. To a degree, they challenge my previously-held assumptions and understandings (misunderstandings?). I think it is good to be challenged in this regard.

Allen Shropshire and family have a truly fine Christian-agrarian blog. Allen has recently posted a personal recollection about his father, weeds, bugs, and chemical spraying, titled Struggles With Spraying. I recommend it to you.

Randall Gerard has blogged about selling his house and moving into a trailer. He respondes to the question: "But.. aren't you afraid of what people will think of you, now that you live in a trailer park?" You can read his response HERE.

I could go on but, like I said back in the beginning of this post, it is good working weather these days and today IS Labor Day. So I better get at it. Winter is coming.