Out Our Way at Way Haven

Update on Barn Repair

2012-01-21T20:56:00.000-08:00

Thought I would check in and give you an update on the progress made toward fixing my tumbled down barn. Overall, I am pretty pleased with what I have been able to accomplish so far. The initial demolition has been completed and much of the debris collected, sorted and hauled off or saved for future use. Hopefully some of the framing lumber can be re-used in the restored structure.

The picture above was taken from about the same place as some of the early pix. It shows that the barn is only half as long as originally built. Part of what was incorporated in the barn previously will become open pens for livestock.

This photo shows a closeup of the supporting wall under the westside of the loft. This will also be one side of the loading chute which is to come.

The new lumber is all treated. I made the decision to use it based on two facts: The cost of an 8-foot treated 2X4 is within pennies of an untreated one; carpenter bees have done a lot of damage to the untreated lumber I used originally in the thirty years that this barn has been in existance. The carpenter bee bores a 3/8" hole into the underside of a board or beam. It then bores a tunnel along the grain of the board in which to lay its eggs and food for the hatched larvae. This can significantly weaken the framing member.

When I built the barn I used 8d and 16d ring-shank nails. In this new construction I am using Phillips head 3-inch screws made for treated lumber. I prefer screws in most kinds of construction now because they are easier to install with a cordless drill-driver, My old elbow doesn't much like swinging a hammer. The holding power of the screws is far superior to that of even ring-shank nails. Another big plus is that they can be removed without tearing up the boards when I need to change something.

I have also used some "old school" tools on this project. When I needed to join a 4X4 and a 2x8, I got out my antique 1/2" auger. It was originally made for use with a hand brace but was modified to fit my drill-driver. When I needed to "adjust" the fit of some framing members, I got my antique framing chisel and what is as close to a "Boss" as I have. The large wooden mallets used by carpenters were often referred to as "Bosses".

These old tools, and really the whole process of repairing this barn, has caused me to recall and reflect upon the memory of an old gentleman from my boyhood: "Grandpa" Thurlow. I knew him when I was about 4 years-old. At that tim he was an old man and worked as the care taker of a cemetary. I learned later that he had been a builder and repairer of barns. He will, hopefully, be the subject of another blog post to come.

Fixing my Tumbled-down Barn

2012-01-04T19:37:00.000-08:00

This is one of the saddest sights in rural America to my way of thinking: tumbled-down barns, once vital and productive, abandoned and in disrepair. It is a fact of life that a barn neglected long enough reaches the point where rehab is out of the question. Repair is simply too dangerous, not to mention too expensive. Such barns either collapse under their own weight or are knocked down and burned to make way for something else. This sad fact drove me to get to work on my barn.

On May 7, 2009 a small tornado went through our neighborhood. Thankfully, it did only minor damage to our house. It did blow a large red oak tree onto the back end of our barn. The damages were covered by insurance so we had the house repaired. We did not however have the barn repaired, choosing to use that part of the proceeds to pay toward our mortgage.

The tree cutters removed the large oak tree in pieces and laid them out around the barn and in the adjoining pen. They also removed a two-trunk locust tree which turned out to be a windfall (no pun intended). From the trunks of the locust tree I cut four hefty 8-foot fence posts.

After the tree cutters did their work, I turned our four growing hogs into the pen behind and along side the barn. They did their job admirably; rooting up and devouring the vegetation that had grown up amongst the stumps, chunks, and rocks. On Monday of this week I began the process of demolishing the portion of the barn that needs to be removed in order to rebuild the barn.

Now, before you judge me harshly for taking so long to address my tumbled-down barn, let me hasten to note that I am prone to think long on a project before actually getting into it. I have to take the project through a process that is part cogitation and part gestation before cutting the first board, digging the first hole or, for that matter, writing the first word. Perhaps I should also add in my defense that I did use a strong rope and my truck to pull down part of the crushed structure several months ago. The resulting CRASH and cloud of dust left me more than a little leery about proceeding without some serious thought.

And so it was this past Monday morning found me standing out in front of the barn, crow bar in hand much like Saint George sat on his horse, lance in hand, before the dragon. It was a very cold morning and I sort of felt like I was wearing armour wearing insulated overalls and a hood. But I warmed up quite nicely as I worked and by the end of the day, I had made very good progress.

At end of day one.

Tuesday was the last day of Christmas vacation for the oldest granddaughter-in-residence so, in her mama’s absence, it was my job to watch over her. That worked out very well in that I was absolutely too sore to go out and do battle with the barn two days in a row. My hands were the biggest proble I had worn good work gloves so they weren’t cut or nicked. I hadn’t picked up any splinters. But oh, the joints were sore! Just trying to make a fist hurt.

It made be think of something I’d read. In his book You Can Farm, Joel Salatin makes the point that age is an important consideration as one contemplates any agricultural endeavor. Well, duh! Sure it is! It is an important consideration as one contemplates any number of endeavors, but the fact is I’m never going to be any younger than I am right now so I’d better stay after it!

I was back “after it” this morning and made a lot of progress. The first thing I did was move all the used building materials stored in the barn out and into my trailer. There wasn’t a lot of stuff, but I didn’t want it underfoot. Then I proceeded to haul out all the barn parts that I had taken down earlier and placed them in the trailer as well. I continued to do that as the day progressed in order to keep from stepping on a nail. Stepping on a nail protruding from one of those boards could ruin an otherwise golden day.

When I quit working on the barn today, most of the back half of the barn was stripped of siding, stringers, rafters, and roofing. Now it is dark out, supper has been eaten and the chicken house shut up. And I can feel the stiffness setting in. As the Lord would have it, tomorrow I am scheduled to watch one of our other granddaughters which will provide me a perfect opportunity to rest a day before returning to work on the barn.

At end of day two.

Stay tuned for further progress reports

Planting in December

2011-12-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

December is not a time for planting here in the Ozarks, or so I thought. That paradigm was changed this weekend.

I spent a big part of the last two days helping my freinds, Jerry and Terry at Sonlight Farm planting blackberries; lots of blackberries; 900 blackberry plants. The ground is cold and damp. We have had several frosty nights lately including Friday night. It rained mid-week. So when we started planting about 10:30 Saturday morning the frost had just melted off the more shaded areas of the farm and the soil ranged from a bit too damp to gumbo-like.

The area for the berry plantation had been tilled repeatedly this fall. As the rows were layed out Jerry tilled them again. This at least broke up the frost in the soil and stirred it good. The plants were planted three feet apart in rows ten feet apart.

We (Jerry, Terry, a young man named Robby, and I) planted more than 400 on Saturday. Jerry, Robby and I finished the rest after dinner today. The last plant was in the ground when there was just enough light left to complete the work. The three of us shared a deep sense of accomplishment!

Jerry purchased the blackberry plants from Arkansas Berry & Plant Farm . The plants were very nice with canes ten to twelve inches long and healthy roots. They don't ship them until after frost in their location which is why they arrived here in December. It is important that the plants be dormant before shipping. The picture above is of the growing fields of black berries at Arkansas Berry & Plant Farm.

None of us who worked at it would tell you the conditions were pleasant. The ground was cold and wet with an air temperature in the high 40's at best. Three of the four of us are 60 or older. But I believe each of us would tell you that the work was worthwhile and uplifting in that we were planting something in hopes of gaining and enjoying a harvest later.

The discomfort of having our gloved hands (and our knees) in the cold mud was somewhat mitigated by the thoughts of enjoying warm blackberry cobler in the future. The total experience was enhanced by the fellowship with others who all share a love of God and an appreciation for his creation and provision.

What will our efforts yield in reality? Will blackberry plants that have been "mudded in" grow and flourish?
Well, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen", so I would say that what we engaged in this weekend involves a certain amount of faith. Faith that the plants we put in the ground were truly blackberry plants and of high quality and vigor; faith that the soil in which they were planted contains the nutrients they require; faith that sufficient moisture will be available throughout the winter and the coming seasons to support them; and faith that God will bless our efforts. Yes, planting in any season is an act of faith.

An exasperating day on the farm.

2011-12-14T15:47:00.000-08:00

Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to say this has been an exasperating day on the farm. When I went out to do chores this morning I found our boar Uncle back in the pasture with the bred gilts and the sow with the new litter. I had seperated him to the next paddock yesterday and the day before that.

The first time he got back into the pasture by pushing through at the botttom of the gate. I double chained it thinking that would stop him. It did; at the gate. Instead he went over the 36" field fence last night. Today I strung a hot wire (electric fence) above the field fence. In the process I saw that one of the piglets was lying dead out of the nest. The nest was pretty well beatendown so I have a hunch the boar was harrassing the sow and the piglet was collateral damage.

I had to go buy more straw today. When I returned and was hauling straw out for the sow to augment her nest, I found another piglet mired in the mud and dead. Then there were four. Did I mention it has rained off and on throughout the day? We really do need the rain so it is a blessing.

I slogged around in the mud trying to move the remaining piglets into the hog shelter. The mama would have none of it, and valuing the wholeness of my limbs, I did not challenge her. Perhaps if I had someone here to help, we might have been able to accomplish it.

Now it's dark out and the rain is pelting down. I am trying to encourage myself with the thought that the sow might some how move her brood on her own. Or she may have used the straw and rebuilt her nest to keep her young relatively dry. Thankfully, it is not cold out.

"The Lord gives and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Births and birthdays

2011-12-10T12:51:00.001-08:00

The resident granddaughters love the movie Charlotte’s Web. Consequently, I have more than a passing awareness of the story. Those who know that about me were not surprised when I named our Hampshire boar after one of the characters in the story. I named him “Uncle”.

Perhaps you recall Uncle the large, apparently not-too-bright, boar hog that won the contest for best pig. This left Wilbur’s life in the balance until he was awarded a special medal essentially for being famous. Yep, he was famous for being famous. Sounds like some of the people whose names appear so often in the headlines. Anyway, I didn’t name my big boar after Wilbur because, in my opinion, Wilbur was a sniveling little sissy.
You can take one look at my boar “Uncle” and know that he is no sissy!

I bought Uncle in the middle of July this year. The weather was hot! Not great for moving hogs and not great for breeding hogs. By the first of August, I could confirm that Uncle was taking his job seriously. Whether his job was being taken seriously by the gilt hogs remained to be seen.

Time passed and the gilts continued to come into heat one by one. And then they didn’t.

Now understand all of this procreation activity was taking place out in the pasture without supervision. That left me in the position of having to carefully observe the females and try to gauge the stage of their gestation. It has been twenty-five years or more since last I raised hogs so I have been floundering. My confidence in my own judgment and Uncle’s effectiveness has ebbed and flowed.

Well this morning the wondering and guessing ended for our first gilt. About 9:00 I found her and her litter in a nest she had scraped out out in the pasture. She chose to ignore the hog shelter I built and placed in the field for her use. I went back to the barn and got a bale of straw to augment the nest she had made. When I got back to her, she was up eating the afterbirth. Though I didn’t get real close, I could see that she had five piglets alive and four or five more that were not.

When I went back out in the afternoon she had taken the straw and created a big billowy nest for her young. While I watched she was still working it around to get it to her liking. Two or three piglets wondered out of the nest and back. After a bit she laid down and the five little ones locked on.

She is a first-time mother. This is the first time I have farrowed pigs in the pasture. But this is the direction I want to pursue. My goal is to have hogs that can reproduce and raise young without confinement buildings. If I was a commercial hog farmer, 50% mortality at birth would be catastrophic. On this farm it’s just a sadness. My father-in-law used to say in such cases, “As long as it doesn’t come closer to the house than the barn, it will be okay.”

By the way, today resident granddaughter number one turns six years old!

"Consider the Ant" Proverbs 6:6

2011-12-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

Our little homestead has also been home to our daughter and two granddaughters for the last two-and-a-half years. This suits me fine most days as I am a believer in multigenerational homes. I wrote some about that in my very first blog that you can read here.

I really enjoy watching these girls grow and change from stage to stage. The oldest girl will be six years old later this month. This past summer she progressed from screaming and having a hissy fit whenever a bug flew by her to actually catching and holding bugs, caterpillars, and worms. She picked up a tent caterpillar and kept it in a jar for weeks. The accompanying picture shows her hands full of creepy crawly things she collected one afternoon.

At some point in the summer she learned about worm castings and ant holes. She and her sister watched little brown ants "harvesting" a dead grasshopper. I explained how each ant would take a little tiny bite of the grasshopper and carry down into their nest so that they would have food for winter.

As the summer progressed she counted the jars of tomatoes, pickles, and beans that we canned. I told her that we were storing food for the winter just like the ants. Since we weren't canning all of these vegetables at the same time, the idea of putting food by for use later was talked about several times.

Just a couple weeks ago during deer season, she asked, "Grandpa, are you going to shoot a deer for winter?" I'm not a hunter at this point but I sure am proud of how my granddaughter has learned about putting food by for winter. That is an important concept and a big part of why we live where we do rather than in a suburban neighborhood someplace.

I believe it is important now, and may become more important in the future, to know how to grow and preserve food at home. If you are not familiar with the processes involved, I encourage you to learn about them.

Is the Strike Really Over?

2011-11-30T19:35:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about the NBA strike. (That was actually a lock out I think and I could not care less!)

I am talking about the strike which my laying flock apparently was participating in. You see, it used to be that my laying flock was housed in two seperate buildings. We had about a dozen hens and a rooster in a little frame building with about 900 sqft of fenced run. and we had another thirty hens and three roosters in a hoop house that I moved every few days. These birds were also allowed to free range about 5 days a week. Then we had two groups of 20 -25 young birds I bought as straight run chicks this past summer in two seperate chicken tractors.

During the last few days in October, I consolidated all the mature hens in a new hoop house along with what I judged to be pullets from the two chicken tracors. There were also ten much younger birds hatched by two of the older hens from the frame house that I put in the new hoop house. All totaled there were and are about 80 birds in the new 200 square foot hoop house. You can see various pictures of it in the sidebar. The 15 or so roosters sorted out of the flock have been relegated to the old hoop house. The plan is to butcher some of them and then reintroduce the others into the laying flock after the first of the year.

The initial response of the layers was to quit laying. Work Stoppage! They were moulting and I am sure the trauma of being caught and moved kind of knocked them out of the egg-laying mood or what have you. It did not knock them off their feed though, that's for sure.

Well today I finished the fencing for the chicken run around the new hoop house. The birds were released into it about two this afternoon and seemed to love getting out in the sunshine. Every now and the one or more of them would run and then take off on the wing for a few feet. Of course, they don't ever get very far off the ground. I went out just after dark and all of them were in except for one who moved on in with little coaxing.

My intent is to keep the hoop house where it is for the winter. In the spring, I will get the wheels back on it and begin moving it. We will see. As my Grandpa used to say: "Man proposes and God disposes."

Oh and by the way, the birds are now laying around 18 eggs a day. Hopefully, I can encourage them to maintain and build on this. We will see.

Thanksgiving Proclamation

2011-11-24T08:06:00.000-08:00

The text of President George Washington's original Thanksgiving Proclamation was posted by Brent Bozell on Facebook today. http://wilstar.com/holidays/wash_thanks.html

I am posting it here as well because of its historical importance and its continued relevance. It is not merely an American tradition. People everywhere ought to give thanks to God, "the great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be".

Have a blessed Thanksgiving day!

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.
G. Washington

NOTE:
Shortly after the Thanksgiving Proclamation was written, it was lost for 130 years. The original document was written in long hand by William Jackson, secretary to the President, and was then signed by George Washington. It was probably misplaced or mixed in with some private papers when the US capitol moved from New York to Washington, D.C. The original manuscript was not placed in the National Archives until 1921 when Dr. J. C. Fitzpatrick, assistant chief of the manuscripts division of the Library of Congress found the proclamation at an auction sale being held at an art gallery in New York. Dr Fitzpatrick purchased the document for $300.00 for the Library of Congress, in which it now resides. It was the first official presidential proclamation issued in the United States.

Fun With Blue Plastic Barrels

2011-11-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed the big blue plastic barrels popping up everywhere? It seems like more and more products are being shipped in them these days. Much of what is packaged in plastic barrels now was once shipped in steel barrels. I guess that makes sense: the plastic barrels are lighter in weight and probably more durable than the old steel ones. So how come so many of them wind up for sale at swap meets and farm stores? It seems they are generally single-use containers; no deposit, no return.

I’m not complaining mind you. The fact that they are so readily available is a boon to me and many others who, like you perhaps, find myriad ways to re-use them while amusing ourselves. I used a 55-gallon unit as a rain barrel to catch and dispense water for a small flock of hens. My family went to a community festival last month where children were being transported in a train of modified blue barrels on wheels being pulled behind a lawn tractor. That was pretty cool and the grandkids thought I should get started on one of those for our place right away!

Recently, I used a 15-gallon blue barrel to construct a water fount to serve a flock of about 80 birds. I bought four 15-gallon barrels for a total of $10.00. In their previous life, these drums had contained syrup for a popular soft drink. Using a 1 inch spade bit, I drilled a hole about 3.5 inches above the bottom of the barrel. Into this hole I threaded the pipe threads of a salvaged brass fitting. The other end of the fitting is threaded with hose threads. I use a brass hose cap from an old soaker hose to cap the fitting when needed.

The next step in this project required finding a plastic tub with a diameter about 6 inches greater than the barrel. I considered cutting the bottom four or five inches off of a 55-gallon barrel for this but really didn’t want to “waste” a big barrel for that purpose. Fortunately, I found a plastic tub of that diameter and about 20 inches deep at a swap meet for 50 cents! I cut this tub off to create a pan just deep enough to submerge the brass fitting in when the smaller barrel is placed in it.

My Giant Fount was ready! I placed the 15-gallon drum in the tub, capped the brass fitting, removed the bung from the top of the barrel and filled it up. I replaced the bung in the barrel and removed the cap from the brass fitting. Water gushed out, splashing all over my boot tops. The water filled the pan and continued to flow over the top. Bummer! I tightened the bung down some more and the flow of water stopped.

That was a few weeks ago. The fount functions beautifully; it requires filling only about every third day. I have since made a “bung tool” to facilitate the tightening and removal of the bung. I am very pleased with how it has all turned out

Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs?

2011-11-18T17:29:00.000-08:00

Years ago, country music legend Tom T. Hall made a recording titled "Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs". It was the story of a man who was deathly ill in the hospital. Though sedated, he kept on wailing the refrain, "Who's gonna feed them hogs?"

After a time, much to the surprise of the doctors, he got out of bed, put on his overalls and went home. He had hogs to feed, don't you see?

Now I'm not sick as sick goes. Yes, I've got a cold and feel crappy but that's no big deal. I did chores today and I'll do chores tomorrow, the Lord willing. I'll just get out and do them, and as much more as I can.

It's funny in a sense. When I was "working" if I felt like I feel today, I could and would "call in" and stay at home. It doesn't work like that now; or maybe it is more accurate to say that I don't work like that now. The chores need to be done, the critters don't care how I feel, they need their feed and water. It is important to me that the work is done. It is my work; my vocation; my calling. It is much less of a chore than "going to work" ever was.

A New Hog Hut

2011-11-15T17:57:00.000-08:00

Today I finished my most recent project. It is a shelter for our hogs. Perhaps it will be used by one of the gilts when she farrows. I can hope.

The shelter measures 8 feet across, 6 feet deep and about 4 feet tall at the front. It is made of treated lumber throughout, glued and screwed together. It is built "Hog Tough"! It should last for a while. I can hope.

If you have any experience with full-grown swine, you know that they are very strong. When you factor in the weight of a mature boar (600 lbs +) you know that the equipment used with/by them needs to be strong and sturdy.

It is on skids so that it can be pulled to where it is needed. Today I pulled it out to the pasture with my Ford Ranger 2WD truck. Since the hogs are not yet in that pasture, the truck did just fine. I expect I will need a tractor to move it the next time.

Yesterday I was in Lowes to buy the two sheets of 1/2 inch treated plywood for the sides. These are displayed above the 3/4 inch treated plywood. I was about to reach above my head to grab the top sheet when a man said, "Can I give you a hand with that." I turned expecting to see a Lowes employee. Nope, just a guy shopping with his wife. I said "Yes, thank you very much!"

Together we grabbed the top sheet and saw that it was junk so we set it aside; same with the second. We loaded the next two sheets, one at a time, on to my cart. Again I thanked him and he went on to catch up with his wife.

After paying for my materials I went to my truck. Before I could get hold of the first sheet, the man getting into the vehicle next to me said, "Hi, can I give you a hand with that?" He was not a Lowes employee. Together we loaded the plywood into my truck and I thanked him. And I told him that another stranger had helped me get the plywood in the store.

As I was getting into my truck I was counting my blessings, having been helped by these two strangers. Then I was struck by this thought: Maybe I am starting to look my age. I can hope not!

I'm Back!

2011-11-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

WOW! It has been a long time since last I posted here. Lots has happened; some good, some not so much. In it all, God has shown his goodness and faithfulness. Several times I have thought to make a posting but, to tell the truth, I couldn’t remember how to get back here. Yesterday I decided to make a new blog and in the process, found my way back to this one. I am so happy with this!

We live in times that hold abundant peril requiring preparations be made to establish a sustainable, life-sustaining lifestyle. My work here on our homestead has taken on a new sense of importance and urgency. By God’s grace, I am now able to devote my full attention to it.

As a husband and a father, it is and has been my responsibility to be provider and protector to my wife and to our children while they were in our care. Scripture mandates and largely defines this position of responsibility. Paul wrote regarding the responsibility of providing for one’s family to Timothy:

“But those who won’t care (provide) for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.” (Timothy 5:8)

This verse appears in the context of caring for widows within the church. However, it is rightly expanded upon to include providing for one’s family, in many ways; providing clothing, food, and shelter at least.

To the Ephesians Paul wrote:

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it…” (Eph. 5:25)

Can there be any doubt that giving one’s self for his wife is an act of providing for her? What riches Christ provided to the church when he gave himself for it! Without a doubt, this entails providing protection from harm.

Likewise, scripture provides stern warnings to those whose function and responsibility it is to watch for and warn others of impending harm or destruction.

“…take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand. ” (Ezekiel 33:2- 6)

Whatever my performance of these God-given responsibilities in the past, I am not excused from performing them now to the best of my ability. To this end, I offer the following:

For months I have been reading and hearing reports concerning events in the U.S. and around the world that cause me concern. I won’t try to list them all here. Let it suffice to say that the political, economical, and social news does not bode well for the future in this country or in most other parts of the world. I firmly believe that America, as we have known it, is about to change drastically and suddenly. The current standard and means of living that we enjoy in this country are not sustainable. Our system of government, economy, and society, being completely intertwined, will collapse under their combined weight. Those people, who are attached to the “system” and dependent upon it for their sustenance, will find themselves displaced, disenfranchised and in many cases, desperate. The wiser individuals, seeing the icebergs ahead will get off the boat. They will position themselves out of harm’s way.

That is what I am trying to do here. Trusting God for his care and provision, I seek to follow his leading. In future posts I will share with you some of the things taking place here in the hope that you will find my efforts informative, helpful, or at least entertaining.

Free Chicken Feed

2009-02-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

If you raise chickens let me ask you a question: Would you like to know where you might get some free food for them? Some time back our friend Herrick Kimball wrote a post at his blog about free chicken feed. You can read it here: http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2006/11/free-chicken-feed.html
Well, in the interest of helping my fellow poultry keepers, I want to share another story about free chicken feed.

About 30 years ago I was the assistant manager at Fantastic Caverns north of Springfield, MO. http://www.fantasticcaverns.com/ At that time my wife and I were living in our mobile home out by the caverns. It was there we raised our first batch of 25 fryers. Lacking an outbuilding, we set up a brooder box for them in the extra bedroom. When they had feathered out and were ready to leave the brooder, I made a pen for them that measured about 8 feet by 8 feet. Half the top was solid and the other half was poultry wire on a wood frame.

Among my many responsibilities at work was the overseeing of the snack bar. Each evening I would bring home the left over popcorn. Yes, we made fresh everyday. Generally this amounted to 2 - 4 gallons of popped corn. The chickens loved it and thrived.

Well I got to thinking about that the other day and got to wondering where I could get free popcorn now. Actually some friends of ours own Ozark Mountain Popcorn http://www.ozarkmountainpopcorn.com/ so I asked them if they ever had any waste popcorn. Well sure they do and they are happy to give me some now and then. Typically I receive 55 gallon plastic trash can liner full. The corn is "plain" that is without any added flavors or salt. In return I take them a dozen fresh hen fruits from time to time.

The hens love the popcorn. During these cold winter months, I continue to feed a commercial feed but only about 50% of what I was feeding before. Once spring arrives and the vegetation and bugs re-appear, I expect to cut out all commercial chicken feed.

Now where can you get free popcorn? I suggest you check with movie theaters, indoor sporting arenas (don’t overlook college or university sports arenas), and baseball or softball facilities. The corn you receive at these sources will likely be salted but based on my past experience, that will not be a detriment to your flock.

Hard Scrabble Times

2009-02-05T04:47:00.000-08:00

The other day I was exploring the web site http://www.homestead.org/ and came across an article by John Molloy entitled The “Swiss Army Knife” of Homestead Tractors. The following paragraphs caught my attention:

What used to be pretty well accepted as “normal” life is likely where we're all headed – tougher times.
Most people deluded themselves into believing that the last several decades of post-modern decadence would last forever. It was the “easy life” characterized by a second mortgage-credit card existence securely tucked in an endless immigrant-groomed suburbia and required little more than showing up for some completely unproductive and over-paid 9 to 5 job. The denizens produced absolutely nothing of tangible value, and that era is crashing to a close.

High five and six-figure salaries are vaporizing like the morning fog off river bottoms, as the harsh light of economic reality burns the hazy illusions away. When you have off-shored the manufacturing of products that have true and measurable value, and the Corporatists have turned our formerly productive economy into one based on nothing but “service”, well, we can only wash each other's clothes for so long before the money runs out. The multiplier effect is dead, particularly once you have to import the soap.

“Hard Scrabble Times” alright, maybe even the “Real McCoy” of economic depression is probably what awaits.

The last President who ascended to power after the wheels had come off the economy once said, “Nothing happens in politics that isn't planned.” Economics and politics are pretty well all intertwined these days, just as they were back in 1933. Who am I - a lowly occasional scribe and creature of the land - to argue with such a respected intellect and connected man as F.D.R., therefore I shall simply agree with his premise.

Men with plans perhaps nefarious, best laid, now coming to a devastating
fruition.

Wow! Do you suppose that is true? I think it probably is. No, I am not wanting to "dog pile" on former president G.W. Bush. A debacle like we are experiencing and are about to experience has taken more than the last eight years to develop let alone plan. If it was planned, it was certainly not planned by one single person or political party. Many entities and persons are complicit in this mess. One thing we can count on is that many of the same people involved in getting our country to this point are ready and waiting with a great deal of enthusiasm to jump in and "fix" the problem by redesigning and redirecting the role of government through this crisis.

What concerns me more now is what can I do, what can you do, to deal with the situation.

Three things come to mind: pray, plan, and prepare.

Pray for wisdom and guidance after praying for forgiveness.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

Plan because right thinking leads to right actions. How will you stay warm in cold weather or provide a cooling breeze in hot weather if the power goes down? What will you eat if the factory food production and delivery system is disrupted? How will you get to work (if you still have a job) if the public transportation you depend in is disrupted or it becomes too expensive or dangerous to drive? What will you use to barter if "real money" becomes scarce or worthless? Where will you go if civil unrest overtakes your town or city?

Prepare now. One of my greatest struggles right now is putting into action the plans that I have made. Some how, taking the first steps toward preparedness seems to make the probability, the reality, of the coming storm more real. Can you relate to that?

I have received most of the garden seeds that I ordered for planting this spring. But there are canning supplies to lay in, food stuffs like flour, sugar, salt, etc to buy and store. The hog pens are not yet ready nor the feeder pigs purchased. I still need to complete some fencing projects when the weather permits. Chicks and rabbits are still to be acquired. Provisions need to be made to pump and store water from the well if the power grid fails, a catch water system installed and myriad other tasks.

In the midst of all this planning and preparing, I think it is very important to plan and prepare so as to be able to share with others, beginning with our extended family.

One thing I won't do, and I encourage you not to do it either: I will not look to the government to provide for me and mine.

Beware the government big enough to give you everything.

2009-01-28T16:32:00.000-08:00

Cleaning up the Jungle

Some folks may not know that there are jungles in southwest Missouri but there are. I have spent several days in the last two weeks cleaning up a jungle right here at Way Haven. Truth be told, I have several days’ work still ahead to complete the project.

We sold our last pigs abut 20 years ago. Since then a jungle has been growing up in our hog lots. Wild grape vines, poison ivy, berry brambles and locust trees took over; slowly at first and then with amazing speed. I had thought that I would just put some feeder pigs in the lots and let them clean things up but “The best-laid plans of mice and men oft times go astray”.

Late in the summer of 2006, I thought to cut down a BIG red oak tree about 25 feet away from the smaller hog pen adjacent to the barn. I have cut down lots of trees without a hitch but this time something went wrong and the tree went east not west. The good news is it missed the barn. The bad news is it crushed parts of the fence on two sides of the aforementioned pen. That meant I couldn’t turn pigs in to clean up the jungle so, two years later, I have finally gotten around to cleaning it up.

The picture below is taken from the stump of the fallen tree looking toward the barn. By the way, I owe a big thank you to former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson for my barn but that’s another story.

Above is a picture of the blocks cut from the tree just above the main split in the trunk. You can see where the trunk splits in the photograph below.

When I was finally able to get the downed tree off of the hog panel fence, I found the damages were not as extensive as I had feared. On the end closest to the stump a complete hog panel was pretty much toast. Maybe I can cut a small gate out of it which would be great because on the other side of the pen, where the top of the tree hit the fence, it hit just about two feet from the end of a panel. It looks like I can put a gate cut from the other panel there. If you look closely at the picture below you can see the gap. You can sure see the jungle that remains.

I spoke to the man from whom we hope to buy feeder pigs. He projected they would be available in mid-February. So, I need to stay with this project to have the pen ready by then. By the way, if I were to re-take these pictures today, everything would be covered with snow and ice. That is winter in southwest Missouri!

An Alternative Heat Source for Your Home

2009-01-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

Okay, so heating costs are way up this winter AGAIN! We knew it was coming but some of us are still in a bind trying to keep warm in our homes.

There are many good alternative methods to warm your home available. We use a wood stove in our living room to augment our propane furnace. Believe me, any time we can cut down on propane we do. The wood stove certainly helps.

I have thought about adding some other alternatives. If I were to build again I would want to have one of the systems that put the fire box outside the home. Just the hot air or hot water is moved into the home. Some of these systems say that you can burn anything in them (hay bales, railroad ties, etc.) Others boast the ability to store heat so that a fire is required only every other day or so.

Last month we became aware of another alternative means of warming a home while visiting the home of some dear friends. Their youngest son had become engaged to marry a lovely young lady at age 31. It was cause for great celebration!

The celebration took place on a cloudy afternoon when the outside temperature was in the low forties. A brisk wind made it feel much cooler. There was no fire in the big wood stove and the ground-source heat pump was not operating.

At one point in the afternoon, our hostess asked her husband to open some of the windows as it was getting too warm. Since she is in her late fifties, some others teased that only she felt too warm. The fact is the house was getting quite warm. This home was being heated very effectively with an alternative source of heat.

My wife and I were two of probably seventy people who had come to commemorate the occasion. Most of the folks gathered there had known either the young man or young lady for years. We had known his parents for years before he was born, attending church with them for nearly two decades. We had shared many life experiences, some precious and some difficult, with them. We and so many of the others there were like family to our host family and to each other.

You see the alternative heat source that we were all benefiting from on that blustery afternoon was the crowd of people who had gathered to celebrate with, to share with, and to encourage one another.

I recommend you give it a try at your home. One day soon, when the weatherman says it’s going to be cold, dreary, and blustery invite over several friends. Keep the food simple, the conversation lively, and the thermostat turned down. Be warmed!

An opossum in the chicken house

2009-01-04T03:20:00.000-08:00

The calendar says yesterday was January 3, 2009, but the thermometer showed that the high was 73 degrees. Here where we live that is not normal. But sometimes not normal can seem pretty nice.

What a beautiful day we had! The sky was bright and clear most all day. True the wind blew hard but not too hard.

Our son-in-law brought two of our granddaughters out to the country to play. They rode in the wagon, swung on the swings, went down the slide, and marveled at how far the wind blew the soap bubbles their Daddy was making.

When I was putting the chicken feed I had just brought from town into the storage bin the little girls and their Daddy came out to see the chickens. They checked the nest boxes and found six fresh brown eggs. They clucked at the chickens inside the pen, the littlest girl toddling and the bigger girl running along the fence.

They stopped short when they saw the opossum.

One evening a couple weeks ago, I had been late getting out to close up the hen house. When I got out there the birds were all out in the run. That was weird so I knew something was wrong. Inside, in the back corner, sat Ms. Opossum enjoying a fresh egg. I dispatched her with my .22 and tossed her over the fence without ceremony. She landed in some tall grass. The birds spent that night out in the run, too spooked to go in the house. By the next evening they had forgotten about the intruder and settled on the roost as usual.

Well, I had pretty much forgotten about the dead critter; guess I figured something would have dragged it off. But no! There it was in all its grizzly splendor. Actually, it was well preserved as we had been having “regular” cold weather.

By this time, Grandma had joined us out at the chicken house. She quickly got the little girls away from the opossum and interested in something else. I went to the barn and got a shovel.

Of course, I dug the hole in which to plant the erstwhile chicken house raider in the chicken run. I was pleasantly surprised to find absolutely no frost in the ground. Not only was it not frozen, there were large wiggly earth worms living and working in the top eight inched of it.

The chicken run is part of the garden spot we have been using for many years except when we quit using it because of the deer. You can read about that in an earlier post. The ground is quite fertile so I would expect to find worms there in the warmer months. I was surprised to find them in January.

The take away point of this for gardeners is that ground left mostly bare in the winter months, like a chicken run, will warm more quickly than mulched ground. I’ll bet if I had tried to dig in other parts of the garden where there is still a thick cover of mulch, I would have found the ground frozen.

It sure is fun to live and learn in the country.

A Very Useful Tool

2008-12-28T04:15:00.000-08:00

My grandson Aiden is a Thomas the Tank Engine Aficionado. He tells me on the Island of Sodor, where Thomas lives, the highest form of praise is to be called a "very useful engine".

So what tool or tools on your homestead would you call very useful? I have really enjoyed my Troy-Bilt “Horse” tiller since receiving it new as a gift in 1976. But it is not used nearly as often as some other “low-tech” tools around the place.

I was remembering how a lady wrote years ago in Mother Earth News about the one very useful five-gallon bucket she and her family used at their place. I checked it out in the M.E.N. archives and found the article.

In the article titled The One-Bucket Farmstead, in the September/October 1982 edition, Coreen Taylor Hart wrote:

“[W]e never could have guessed that our most indispensable piece of homesteading equipment would turn out to be a secondhand, five-gallon, white plastic bucket.”

After reading the ways she and her family used the handy container I had to agree. She said they used the recycled vessel for everything from feeding the pigs to “mixing jumbo batches of bread dough”. To her long list of tasks I added carrying stove wood into the house. It worked great but I have found a better way.

A couple months ago I bought 50 pounds of cracked corn for the chickens. It came in a bag made of woven plastic, similar to that used in making many tarps. This feed sack works great for bringing firewood in for the stove. It allows me to carry much more than I could put in a bucket and keeps the bark and wood chips well contained. Come Spring I expect it will work great for hauling compost and other dry materials around our place. A smaller bag of similar material that had contained cat food now holds wood shavings we use as tinder in the stove.

Recycling feed sacks has a long tradition in our family. As a little farm girl in Kansas, my wife wore dresses her Mom made from cotton feed sacks.

By the way, if you are reading this, I expect you will agree that the World Wide Web is a very useful tool too.

Getting the Deer Out

2008-07-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

Getting the Deer Out

Gardening can be a very frustrating activity. Perhaps my greatest frustration in this regard has been the deer. In years past I have worked the soil, planted seeds, watered, and weeded only to have the deer decimate the garden in one night.

Deer love vegetables; they are browsers after all. They have eaten the tops of my bean plants, nibbled young tomato plants to the ground, and walked indiscriminately over and through everything else in the garden, nibbling as they went.

Did you know deer like gladiolas? Check that. They LOVE gladiolas! One year, just as the glad buds were ready to open, the deer went down the rows and ate the buds off the stocks. Ate them like candy! I’m not talking just a few flowers here. I had three 40 foot rows of gladiolas growing in hopes of selling them locally. The deer must have had a party!

In desperation I went to the County Extension Office to see what they could tell me that would help keep the deer out of my garden. The nice people there gave me a brochure prepared by the University of Missouri or maybe it was the Missouri Department of Conservation. Anyway, the gist of the publication was “organize a hunt”. That’s right, organize a hunt and kill as many does as legally permitted and thus reduce the number of deer browsing through the garden.

Well, there were two immediate problems with that approach. One, this was not during hunting season. It was summer and the deer were using my garden as their version of an all-you-can-eat restaurant. And two, my neighbor’s wife, dearly loves deer. Temporarily stymied, I resigned myself to give up gardening.

This spring I found I could no longer suppress the urge to cultivate the soil and plant a garden. But I had a plan. I tilled the soil and planted as usual. Potatoes were the first vegetables I planted. Just about the time put the taters in the ground I started placing my super-duper deer deterrents.

The neighbor lady mentioned above has a hair cutting shop in her basement. She cuts my hair and the hair of most of my extended family. She is more than happy to give me bags full of hair. Some of it is unwashed, some washed, some permed, colored, highlighted, whatever, and 100% human-scented. I dropped wads of hair here and there over the garden. Then I tied one of those ubiquitous plastic bags from you know where full of hair to the handle of my push plow. I parked the push plow at the south edge of the garden so the prevailing breeze would carry the scent through the garden.

To augment the scent of the human hair, I also collected my urine for several days and poured small amounts of it around the perimeter of the garden. I then placed a bucket containing a few ounces of urine at the south edge of the garden along with the aforementioned hair. When I planted tomato and pepper plants, I placed thick hay mulch between them in the rows. I have routinely poured a dollop of urine on the hay between every third and fourth plant.

How, you ask, is this working out for me? Very well, thank you. There was one instance where a couple bean plants were lightly nibbled. No significant damage has been done. Perhaps even more encouraging is the fact that the number of deer prints in and through the garden has dropped drastically. They seem to have altered their browse pattern to avoid the area.

If you are plagued with deer, give this a try.

There is a down side to this. I had made tentative plans to have a deer hunt with some friends this fall and now I’m not sure I can deliver the deer. What about the lady next door? Well, I am trying to take her lots of tomatoes this summer. Maybe we can have our hunt when she and her husband are out of town. We’ll see.

Declaration of Independence

2008-07-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

The Declaration of Independence

It was the spring of 1976 and from sea to shining sea planning was in full swing for many exciting events to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of America. Meanwhile, in southwest Missouri, my wife and I were signing our own declaration of independence.

As we signed the Deed of Trust to purchase five acres outside of Springfield, Missouri, we were declaring our independence from landlords and from the corporate providers of food and fuel. No longer would we pay someone else for the privilege of living in our mobile home on their land. On our five acres we would be able to grow a garden and raise chickens, rabbits, pork, and beef. Our plans to build a home included a wood furnace which our woodlot would fuel.

Our acreage had been part of a 40 acre tract that had been “cleared” a few years before. There were still windrows of partly burned trees grown up in brambles that stretched from the front of the property to the back. Some of these we grubbed out by hand. For others we hired a bull dozer. Bull dozing was definitely easier. We had a well drilled, a septic system installed and electricity brought onto the property.

As the first few years went by we made good progress toward the independence we desired. We planted a garden, built a chicken house and a barn. We built a little house with a wood furnace for the two of us. New fences were put up around the perimeter and across the property so that we could pasture a couple of cows and their calves. I built a large (80’ X 80’) hog lot in the woods and started farrowing pigs.

Then a funny thing happened. We got us a baby boy. I have to tell you it was a lot more fun playing in the house with him than doing chores. Besides, I was making pretty good money at my day job. The hogs were the first to go then the cows. The chicken house was emptied and after a while I tore it down. We added on to the house and the mortgage.

In another two years a little baby girl came along. In the next few years it got to be a hassle trying to garden while keeping up with all the soccer games, t-ball and what have you. Besides, it seemed like the deer were eating most of our veggies anyway.

Fast forward to 2008: The kids are grown. Peak oil and peak grain are new to our vocabulary. It’s been years since I made as much money as I thought I was making in the early ‘80’s. The economy is “soft” (LOL). Our once-paid-for homestead is mortgaged again. Somewhere along the line we lost sight of the independence we declared way back in 1976.

I believe the same is true of our nation. I think as a nation we have lost sight of the vision that prompted those men in 1776 to pledge all that they were and all that they had to see a free and independent nation established on this continent. I am not smart enough to list all the ways in which our nation has wondered off the path that seemed to have been set for it back then. But I know that we have big problems and many of them relate to the fact that a very great many of us have given up our independence in the act of getting in line or online to let the government do one more thing for us.

Was it Thomas Jefferson who said that a government big enough to give us everything is strong enough to take everything from us?

Well here at Way Haven we have started to reclaim some of our independence. We are growing a garden and so far getting the deer to leave it alone. (I’ll write more about that in another Blog.) And we are raising chickens. We have 24 Cornish X and 13 Buff Orpingtons in a chicken tractor. I am resolved to establishing a self-sustaining homestead here on this 5 acres as God gives me strength. I will quickly confess my dependence on Him.

Here’s hoping that our nation, WE the people, will wake up, shake ourselves, and reclaim our independence, “One Nation, under God!”

Have a blessed July 4th.

Sharing the work - In theory

2008-06-30T06:22:00.000-07:00

In my initial Blog regarding my vision to establish an intergenerational homestead I wrote:

"Each family member would participate in a share of the work
necessary to provide for the needs of the entire family."

The industrial paradigm for this would be the “Division of Labor”. That is to divide up the various tasks to be done around the homestead. One person would be in charge of taking care of the rabbits and hogs, and another in charge of the chickens and cows. One person would be charged with the care of the garden, another cooking, another procurement of firewood etc.

This division of labor might lead to the various persons becoming quite expert at what they do, if they were ideally suited to the tasks in the first place. On the other hand, it might very well lead to one or more of them feeling as if they had been shackled to a dreaded drudgery which they would seek to escape at the earliest opportunity. That would not contribute to the desired sustainability of the homestead.

This arrangement could also lead to the various members becoming autonomous in their thinking even as they would be in their activities. Instead of working as a member of the group, they would be working as separate entities at their separate endeavors. When one would finish his work with the rabbits and hogs, would he not be free then to go pursue his leisure never mind the fact that another is struggling to keep up with work in the garden? It might not be surprising for one to conclude that a single unit of her production is worth three units of another’s. Oh the conflicts that could ensue.

In his book Better Off, Eric Brende tells of working with members of the minnimite community in raising an addition to a barn, thrashing grain, and harvesting crops. At one point one of them tells Eric that, "Many hands make light work". My Grandma wasn't a minnimite (although she would have fit right in I expect) but I can recall her telling me the same thing.

Within the context of a well-functioning multigenerational homestead, the various tasks should all be shared. That is not to say that every member must engage in the same single task at any given moment. Rather it is to say that each task should be shared by two or more family members at any given time, ideally by at least one adult and some child or children. I have fond memories of “working” in the garden with the grown ups when I was only four or five years old. Likewise I recall working happily with my dad in his workshop and in the yard with my mom. I remember picking beans with my children years ago and just this spring planting ‘taters with my two-year-old granddaughter.

Working together provides opportunity for sharing thoughts, feelings, and truths. What an opportunity for a parent or grandparent to instill love of God, love of family, appreciation of created things, and the joy of living into the lives of children. If conversation can be classified as entertainment (and I think it can) then many of the tasks that can be shared on a homestead definitely have an entertainment value. Sharing the work provides all these good things and the extra benefit of accomplishing the task at hand. What could be better?

A Family Vision

2008-06-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it. I am a little slow.

Our kids are both grown and gone from our home and have homes and families of their own. They are busy taking care of their everydays just as their parents were 25 years ago. Realistically, I am looking at what are to be the final years of my life and now I am stepping up and saying “I have a vision for our family”. What gives?

I won’t attempt to answer the "why?" and "why now?" questions at this point. (Many of my reasons would be obvious to anyone living in this country now with their eyes open.) For right now I will simply say that having lived for 57 years and having my eyes open for a good part of that time, I feel compelled, though not totally qualified, to offer a vision for our family to examine and hopefully to embrace. What I now offer here are the bare bones, the frame work of a vision which will need to be fleshed-out and filled-in.

My vision is to establish an intergenerational family homestead populated by members of our extended family living interdependently in the context of a self-sustaining family economy. In this arrangement we would seek to live largely independent of outside entities for energy, food, fuel, and entertainment. Within this environment, each family member would be encouraged to explore, learn, develop and excel in those areas wherein they have been gifted. Each family member would participate in a share of the work necessary to provide for the needs of the entire family.

This intergenerational home will be a Bible-based Christian home; a home where each member is encouraged to live out his/her personal commitment to Christ as Lord and to grow toward maturity in Christ. This will be a home where we together develop an awareness of God’s presence, provision, and direction.

My paternal grandpa died on his 84th birthday. My dad is 87 and getting along pretty well. At 57 years of age, I will not presume to have 30 more years or even 30 more days. However, in its scope this vision is intended to encompass my final years (however many of them God will grant) and more importantly, it is my hope that the quality of life afforded by the living out of this vision will prove to be so pleasant, productive, and fulfilling that it will be continued in those generations of my family that follow. In other words, my hope is it will lead to a legacy as well as a lifestyle.

I have plenty of ideas and opinions on how to go about the process of fleshing out each component goal of this vision. However, I believe it will be better achieved in collusion with other family members who will likewise embrace and own the vision. In order to help us find our way in this direction, I expect to draw from several resources including people who have studied and written about the intergenerational family and home; people who have contemplated and lived the agrarian life in times past as well as those presently engaged in it.

And I hope to gain insight from those of you who may read this blog and care to share your thoughts and experiences. In return, I will attempt to regularly and honestly record here our progress (or the lack thereof) with the hope that it will encourage others.