Knee Deep in Horse Crap

And it was great.

Well, as great as being knee-deep in partially-composted horse crap can be, I guess. Let's just say it felt really good to finally be able to do work.  Sitting in a chair, or being limited in any way, drives me crazy.

Let me explain why Sunday was a good day.  I talked to a lady who lived not to far away, about coming out and scooping up some manure and loading it for my garden.  We set up a time, got directions to her house, and I loaded up the shovels and headed out.  The directions she gave me were somewhat confusing - I knew the area well, but I could have sworn there was nothing down there but miles and miles of pasture, just past where the freeway dead-ends.
    Well, after taking a left, then a right, I realized I was on a street normally hidden from the busy freeway.  Wouldn't you know it, the name of the street was the same as my last name!   A pleasant premonition, perhaps?
    So, I made my way to Ms. Audra's barn, where I found several horses staring at me.  I can only imagine what they were thinking... Ms. Audra told me where to find the "poop piles" and wow - they were huge.  So, I started scooping, and filled up the bed of my truck.  As I was leaving, she mentioned that next time I should call her a couple days in advance, and they would just use the tractor.  Awesome.
    Back at home, I started the tedious task of unloading the manure, wheeling it to the back yard, and piling it on the cardboard.  About halfway through this process, I realized I did not have enough cardboard.  This is quite the predicament - what do you do with 250 excess pounds of horse manure?  Well, I made a big pile.  That ought to piss off a few neighbors :-)
   So, this week I'll continue my trek for composting materials.  The garden is approximately 1/3 prepped for Spring.  With fall about to hit, I should be able to throw a TON of leaves/grass on top, and get it really going. 
   Next week, I'll be putting up a fence.  I'm still not happy about the idea of a T-post / Chicken wire fence, but it is what it is.  Maybe y'all have some ideas?  It's got to be: a) less than 3' tall, b) inexpensive, c) be accessible to enter and exit through some type of gate, and d) have enough clearance to get by (without snagging) gathering vegetables.

Hmmm, that's a thinker.

I couldn't think of a way to tie this in.  So, what the heck.  Here is a picture of some Charantais melons I have growing in the back

Shamless Plug

Check out my wife's blog (below)!  She's just getting started.  Ought to see some funny stuff in there...I know because I hear about it daily!

http://khardy04.blogspot.com/

Credit

Before I start, I'll reference (again) Joel Salatin's book "You Can Farm."  If you haven't read it, trust me, it is not a book on 'here is how to milk a cow,' or 'here is how to plant potatoes' - it's more philosophical...or something.  Just read it!

So, credit.  Is it a good idea to inform the readers (and the internet) of my financial status?  Heck yes - if I can make just one person second-guess taking on any form of loan or credit, I'll be happy.  Many years ago, in high school, I was lectured and lectured by tons of people I know - NEVER GET A CREDIT CARD!  I understood why, and firmly believed what they were saying, but after a while, things got tough.  Being in college and paying for it by myself wasn't easy.  I was going through some rough times with my family, and had moved out, and did not receive any support from them (as my choice).  So, one school loan here, a second there, then a credit card to pay for something, and another for this & that.  Eventually, between Katie and I, we probably had 15-20 loans/credit cards.  It was getting out of hand, and we knew it.  The way credit card companies operate, if you aren't aware, is to have you pay a minimum payment.  This minimum payment is the devil.  The minimum payment will keep your credit happy, sure.  Why wouldn't they be happy with you paying them a ton of extra money?  With the minimum due, you're paying primarily the interest that the account is generating per month.  If you're only paying interest - you'll never pay it off.

Now, the link.  We drove by a beautiful property that has been for sale for several years.  It's right across the street from our church, is in a good neighborhood, and actually borders a locally-famous farm here.  They have recently been cleaning it up and making it prettier, to sell it quicker.  On the new sign, they have offered financing for the property, and it started a conversation between Katie and I.

With financing a property to be used as a farm, you take on a different situation than financing a house (mortgage).  It would be nice if we could all pay cash for our homes, but if it's not possible (and for most people it is not), the owners work to pay off the house.  As they make payments, they lose money, but gain equity, so it's not really a loss, if it's paid off quickly.

Now, for a large property to be farmed, the income is derived from the farm.  If the property is not paid for, the income goes directly back to the bank, which then gains the owner equity.  Problem is, a lot of these properties are massively expensive.  The owners are then strapped down to the farm, and it becomes like a prison to them.

...now, a breather and an exclaimer:  This does not mean someone cannot finance a farm, and pay for it farming.  It doesn't mean they're going to feel locked in a prison.  These are just a few of the people I have talked to, who do things "the way we have always done them" simply because.  Heck, a lot of people think if you're making $200 per acre per year, you're making a good profit.  Insane.

The moral to all this is, and this is just as much for me as it is for the readers, is to be smart about your finances.  I don't claim to be any type of financial genius.  I just know, by the end of the year, we will have paid off another 3 credit cards.  We've taken, in less than 2 years, our total debt from around $217,000 to $166,000 (with most of that being debt actually being the mortgage).  A lot of people congratulate me on that, but honestly, I hate that.  It never should have been that bad.  We have come a long way, and I can only wonder how far we would be if we did not pay all the ugly interest that goes along with it.  I know that in some cases, it's absolutely necessary.  There's no way I could have gotten a job in my field without a degree.  But it sure makes me cringe every time I pay that bill.

With that, I'll end the rambling for the evening.  But, I'll mention this post might lead to another, dealing with leasing.  And chickens.  And cows.  Baby cows.  :-P

Goodnight all!

The Homesteader's Rifle

As most of the readers of this blog know, I like to hunt.  Hunting is a very important aspect of our environment, but it gets a bad rap.  As with most things, the few bad things make the news, and people react in an uproar.  However, most hunters are conservationists and strongly disagree with poaching, over harvesting, and illegal marketing of pelts/meat.  Hunting is important because it helps keep the animal population in control.  In Texas, the number of whitetail deer are closely monitored by game wardens, civilians, and Texas State Biologists, so their numbers do not get out of hand.  Ever hear about someone hitting a deer in their car?  That happens a lot here in Texas, and the State tries to balance the fine line between over harvesting, and keeping the public safe.  It's not an easy job.

With Fall fast approaching, it's time for deer (and several other animals, for that matter) to begin their annual mating.  This coincides with the beginning of most hunting seasons.  While watching a video about hogs yesterday (I am determined to get a hog this year), I ran across a video that brought up something called "The Dog Bowl Theory."  The author had a very interesting point.  He stated that if a domesticated dog were brought to the wilderness and released, it would likely die.  The domesticated dog does not know how to get food - he knows that food magically comes from the food bowl.  Now picture humans and grocery stores: an eerie resemblence.  There are millions of people in the US that have never seen a cow, hog, or chicken butchered.  What if, tomorrow, there were no grocery stores.  Poof: gone.  What would people do?  If I had to guess, I would say most would simply starve to death.  Another small percentage would probably die of poisoning (thanks to poisonous or contaminated food).  I don't mean this to be a doom & gloom post, but the sad fact is, a lot of people have no idea how their food gets to their dinner plate.  Heck, they don't know how it gets to the Styrofoam tray covered in cling-wrap.

So why do I bring all this up, related to hunting?  Well, I made a purchase recently :-D.  I purchased what I consider to be the all-American all-around perfect gun.  The Marlin 30-30.  This small lever-action rifle is powerful enough to take literally any animal in the United States (seriously, they have killed everything from bobcats to Moose with this tiny thing).  It's a valuable tool if one has access to hunting land, as it can cheaply provide meat.  I paid an amount so small for this mint-condition rifle, I feel bad about posting the price.  Hopefully it will pay for itself soon - it already has provided a bit of protection when today, 7 cops showed up in our neighborhood looking for someone on the loose who was feared could break into a house to get away. 

So let's say I kill a average sized deer and hog.  That's going to be over 120 lbs. of meat, easily.  We like to use most of the deer (along with a bit of the hog for the fat content) for hamburger meat.  That's a lot of hamburger meat we do not need to buy at the store.  And it tastes exactly the same as ground beef, in my opinion.   Maybe a very slight (nearly unnoticeable) spicy flavor to it.  Then we use the rest of the pork for sausage.  Mmm, you cannot beat Spicy Sausage that you harvested and made yourself.  If only there were wild cows, we'd have it made!   Mmm wild rib-eye! 

To make this purchase, I sold my shotgun to come up with the cash.  I like shotguns for a lot of reasons, but I am not an avid bird hunter.  If I ever want to go bird hunting, I'm easily able to borrow a shotgun from a friend or family member.  So I figure the good outweighs the bad.

Here is an image of the rifle, though not my exact one.

Until another day, happy shooting!

Firewood Time

I really need to get an actual firewood schedule lined up.  We have been cutting it in the summer for the past several years.  After our annual Hurricane in East Texas, we go cut up the downed trees - thanks to Mother Nature for making things a little easier.

However, this is a silly approach, and actually a bad idea.  The wood does not have time to properly season from June/July to December.  I think what we'll have to start doing is going to cut during Spring Break, in March. 

We also did not get to cut for a variety of reasons this year (the broken foot, the grandpa's arm surgery, etc.), but hopefully we'll have enough from last year to last a while.  To tell you the truth, I know we won't, because this Winter is supposed to be exceptionally cold. 

As for now, no time to cut firewood.  It's time to scoop poop!

I'M BACK!

FINALLY!  It seemed like an eternity, but I'm finally back on my feet.  I won't say it's 100%, but it's really close.  Enough to allow me, at the very least, to walk to the kitchen and do simple tasks.  Probably another week of taking it easy, and then I'll be back on the search for manure, hay, and other organic stuff to throw in the garden. 

Till another day, Yippee!

Ahh, September.  Not my favorite month, but up there.  This year is off to a great start though.  The weather has turned cool, the Rangers are in the hunt for the playoffs, and ... oh wait, still can't walk.  But I do really enjoy the cooler weather!

Here's a great video series (just going to post the links) about Polyface Farm.  I really want to go there!!

Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYWYU5V8JOo

Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfw2ybbRTYs

Part 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrxmgR-vYms