canopy no more

After several days of non-stop rain, I woke up to a perfectly clear sky this morning.  It is a beautiful sunny day, but it was fairly windy last night.  As you have seen in in the previous post, I have been using our sun canopy as a make-shift garage for my tractor...  As I was admiring the sunrise this morning, I noticed that something was missing.

As you can see from the photo, the canopy is not covering the tractor any more; I found it about 50 yards away.  The thin metal cross members are all bent and twisted.  Unfortunately, it does not look like I will be able to salvage it.  Oh well, I guess I need to make some sort of real garage/car port for it at some point.

keep it simple stupid

When I was teenager, I had things such as lawn mowers and motorcycles to maintain and repair.  I was never a mechanical genius, but I was able to take care of most issues.  When a simple gas engine doesn't run, you pretty much check two things: fuel and spark.  There are several components that deliver those to the engine, but spark and fuel (+ air) are the items you need for the motor to run.

The easiest way to check if you had spark was to disconnect one of the wires from the spark plug and hold it about a half an inch away from the end of the plug and crank the motor.  If the ignition system was working properly a beautiful bright blue arc ("small lightning" as my son put it) would appear between the spark lug and the end of the wire.  The list of potential problems is long, but at least you know if you need to work on the ignition system or not.

Well, I spent many of my adult years in very technical occupations and I learned to use handy things such as a volt meter.  So when my tractor mysteriously stopped running a few days ago I immediately verified that fuel was getting to the carburetor and moved to the other side to check the ignition system.  This is where I started to create problems for myself.  I reverted back to the old days and immediately pulled a wire off of one of the spark plugs, to check for power.  Rather than doing it the old simple way and just checking for a spark, I thought to myself "I will go get my meter and check the ignition system with that."  That is just what I did.  I placed the positive meter lead on the end of the spark plug cable as I cranked the motor and I had power.  I then thought to myself "Great now what?  It has fuel and spark, it should be running."

I started to take things apart that I then had trouble putting back together properly; things were getting worse rather than better.  I proceeded to "beat my head against a wall" for the next couple days, even swallowing my pride and attempting to get a mechanic to come out and fix my piece of junk tractor that I had only owned for a couple months.  I would have taken it to a mechanic, but my 5,000 pound paper weight was too heavy for my little trailer and even if I did have a trailer that would carry it; how was I going to get it up onto the trailer?  Oh and I forgot to mention, it rained every day so I had to put up a sunshade which helped, but was not meant to keep water out.  Needless to say, I was not a very "happy camper".  All the while my loving wife and children tried to help by offering advice such as: "Did you check to see if it has gas dad?"  Very sweet, but it was just adding to my frustration.

Anyway, I eventually decided to do the old "spark" test and determined that the power was getting from the coil to the distributor, but not through the distributor cap out to the spark plugs.  If I held the coil cable about a half inch from the cap it sparked just fine and the tractor fired up, but as soon as I plugged in the cable, the tractor died.  I am still not real sure what was wrong with the distributor cap, but I dove 3 hours round trip to a John Deere dealership and got a new cap.  Once I got home and put the new cap on, the tractor fired right up and is running like a champ.  I also don't understand why my volt meter showed I was getting power, but I wasn't getting the spark I needed.  If I had kept it simple on day 1 and done the basic spark test rather than using my fancy meter, I would have solved the whole problem a lot sooner and would have saved me a lot of time and stress.

One of the best phrases I have learned in the Marine Corps is K.I.S.S. - Keep it Simple Stupid.  In other words, you are stupid if you unneccesarily complicate things.  I thought it was beneath me to troubleshoot an engine the way I learned when I was 12 years old, because I have since been educated and have more technical knowledge.  Oh well, live and learn...  by the way, I no longer think my tractor is a piece of junk; since it is running again I LOVE IT!!!!

rainy night, full house

It has been raining (seemingly) non-stop for the past 3 days.  Our goats typically spend their evenings out in the pasture, but on nights like this they take full advantage of their mobile shelter.  The shelter is 128 square feet; there are 13 hens, 1 rooster, 2 turkeys, and 8 goats.  There is plenty of room for everybody, but they are not all accustomed to being so close together.  If you look closely, you can see one of the hens attempting to roost on one of the goats in the foreground.  It will be interesting to see how they all do once it starts snowing again in a few months.

our first hay

Over the past year,  I have had many days where I had to stop and think to myself "ok, now I am a farmer" - Today was another one of those days.  In order to prepare for the many cold/wet months ahead, I bought my first load of hay.  It was only 25 bales, a very small load by most farm standards, but hey we have to start somewhere.

It has pretty much been raining for the past 48 hours.  I had been praying that it would let up for my hay run this morning; it did... sort of.  The bottom line is that the hay got a little wet and I got very wet, not too bad.  I have also decided that the hay hooks I recently bought are worth their weight in gold.

Rather than getting the "good hay" which typically consists mainly of Alfalfa, I opted to buy some "junk hay" that was a mix of Alfalfa, Timothy, Orchard, and Clover.  I figured it would be best to attempt to mimic the natural variety that goats prefer; I hope the goats will be happy with their winter meals.

concert on the pasture

We are pleased to announce that we will be having a free concert here at Liberty Pastures, on Sunday November 1st.  Nathan Clark George's performance will start at 2:00pm and run 45 minutes to an hour.  We recently discovered his music and he has quickly become a family favorite.  We hope you will join us for an afternoon of fellowship and music.

All are invited, we simply ask that you visit our website and RSVP so we know you will be coming.  Please arrive between 1:00 and 1:30; the concert will begin promptly at 2:00.

Visit the Liberty Pastures concert page to RSVP and to listen to Nathan's music

NATHAN CLARK GEORGE seamlessly blends contemporary folk, AC and finger-style guitar work into one.  He possesses a unique gift that mesmerizes his multi-generational audiences.  With five projects on the shelves, NATHAN CLARK GEORGE is no newcomer to the field of music.  His self-written/composed songs have illuminated stages across the nation, bringing a view to the reality of God in everyday lives.  His latest project, “Rise in the Darkness” has received critical acclaim.  Along with being nominated for the above award, this cd has also been chosen as a 2007 finalist in the Contemporary Christian category by the Independent Music Awards! “In my 10 years working with thousands of independent artists, there are very few who maintain the level of commitment, pursuit of excellence, and passion of mission as Nathan Clark George. Nathan is truly an indie success story!”,states Keith Mohr, President, IndieHeaven.  With a strong regional and national fan base, NATHAN CLARK GEORGE has won over many with his talent.  The listener hears an honesty that flows through his lyrical content.  NATHAN CLARK GEORGE is the epitome of a true family man, many times taking his wife and five children on the journey along with him.

Nathan's Homepage

watering system

We have two barns on our property; one is approximately 100 years old and the other is much newer, but neither of them have power or water.  When we decided to start raising animals I knew I had to provide them water, but I was not sure how to go about doing so.  I figured the best way would be to run a water line from the house to the barns... 

In order to get a water line out to the barn, I was going to have to rent a trencher which was going to be quite expensive, plus I had to separately rent a trailer to haul the trencher.  Now for those of you who may be thinking "why not dig it by hand?"  Well, the trench would have to be at least 32" deep to ensure that it would not freeze in the winter and it was going to have to be about 700 feet long.  If I was still in my 20's and not all banged up then maybe I would tackle that by hand, but it was simply not an option for me at this point.  Between the trencher and pipe, I figured I needed to come up with another idea.

I opted to go with a 30 gallon plastic tank that would be mounted to a small trailer and pulled behind the riding mower.  The animals only use about 15 gallons of water each day so this has worked out fairly well for us.  I would like to get a larger tank, fill it up once a week and leave it in the pasture, but the system we have now allows my children to fill up the tank, drive down to the animals, and take care of it all by themselves.

I guess for now we will just stick with the adage of, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

our basic operation

I thought I would take some time and explain what our operation looks like and how it functions on a daily basis.  As I have stated before, our goats started out living in our small barn which had a large fenced area attached to it.  They were almost 100% grain/corn fed before we owned them so we had to go through a weaning and transition process.  Our ultimate goal was to go to the opposite extreme and raise 100% grass fed goats.  I think I must clarify that statement a little bit because goats are not grazers, in other words, they don't want to eat 100% grass like cattle would.  They are browsers and foragers; they enjoy clover, weed and leafy types of plants and bushes.

Liberty Pastures consists of 10 acres,  most of which is open and is broken up into 3 different fenced pastures.  One of those areas is a perfect grass area which is ideal for horses or cattle, we have neither so it does not get used.  The other two pastures (approx 6 acres) have an excellent mixture of various weeds, shrubs, and grass.  I plan to plant some more clover and a few other plants, in hopes of providing a greater diversity and mineral content for our animals.

Early on we decided that we wanted to rotate our animals on a regular basis, based on the Joel Salatin model; this meant I had to build a mobile shelter for our goats.  We started out with a wooden 8'x8' structure on 12" pneumatic casters.  I later added the chicken hutch to this structure, but more about that another time.  For various reasons, I decided to build a different shelter that would be more suitable for the future of our animals.

The goats, chickens, and turkeys live surrounded by an electrified mesh fence (of course the birds can go over and through it at their leisure) and have the mobile structure for shelter.  They start their "cycle" in a paddock which is approximately 1800 square feet.  For each of the next two days, I add an equivalent size to the paddock without moving the shelter.  On the 4th day, I move the shelter to fresh land and the cycle starts over.  This system allows the goats to have fresh vegetation each day, and keeps them from eating on areas they have defecated on, but minimizes the labor for my family and me.

As our flock grows I anticipate having to use a more fencing and a larger paddocks, but we will deal with that as it becomes necessary.  I also hope to add a couple Dexter cattle to the mix at some point, but I am not sure how that will develop.

More about our operation to follow...

unexpected work on the farm

We had plans to expand Liberty Pastures in the next few months; we hoped to add a breeding buck, a bunch of laying hens and a bunch of meat chickens.  Everything is being put on hold due to some unforeseen expenses in our home.  Last month we noticed some dark staining on the wood paneling in our son's bedroom.  It appeared to be water, which was a very bad sign as there are no water lines in the area.  I had to assume it was coming through the basement wall.

Upon further inspection (which means I ripped off all the wood paneling, drywall, and insulation) it became very obvious that water was coming through the basement wall and it seems like it has been doing it for quite a long time.  We have learned that our home warranty will not cover any of the damage, nor will our homeowner's insurance, nor will the warranty for the sealant on the exterior of the wall.  We have no idea what the total expense will be, I am not even sure how I am going to determine where the leak is.

For now, my son is keeping a good attitude about being banished from his room.  In fact, he and his sister seem to be enjoying this time as they have been sleeping in their sleeping bags in the open area of the basement.  The past two nights were spent in the tent next to our garden.

We are also having to deal with several large repairs at our rental property back in California.  It is all very frustrating, but we know we are being provided for and it will all work out in the long run...  I just hope that is soon.  :)

A climbing goat is a happy goat

Boer goats are not known for their agility and climbing ability as most goats are, but they still like to climb things.  Before we started rotating them into different pasture every day they lived in a paddock attached to our small barn.  I found an old concrete collar, one that appeared to be part of a utility "man-hole" below the street.  Anyway, it was only about 32 inches high and 36 inches in diameter, but I mounted a piece of plywood on one end and it made a perfect little platform for them to climb on.  Once we took them out of the barn and started moving them daily, they lost their climbing toy.  I if tipped it over I could roll it, but it has got to weight over a hundred pounds and I had no desire to push it around my fields.

I had been looking around for an old wooden spool (used for holding large cables), but have not been able to find any.  I figured one of the spools would be perfect for climbing, but light enough to move around with the shelter.  I happened to be talking to the former owner of our home who happens to be building a new home just down the road from us.  He also happens to own a large construction company which focuses on underground utility work - using large cable on wooden spools.  I asked him if he had any lying around that I could buy and he said "No, but I have a few you can have for free if you want."  As it turns out, they simply scrap the spools once they have used the cable.  I went by his office a couple days ago and picked up two different spools: one very large wooden one and a smaller one made of plastic and cardboard.

Needless to say it didn't take very long for the goats to become accustomed to their new toys.  They frequently sleep on them or just stand there looking around at the world.  Rudy (the rooster) also seems to enjoy being up higher as do my children when they go down to play with... I mean take care of the animals.

Goat & Chicken Shelter Update

Well, despite my excellent craftsmanship and brilliant ingenuity [sarcasm], I had to swallow my pride and rebuild the roof on the goat/chicken shelter.  The green-house style roof was acting like... well it was acting like a green-house.  The interior of the shelter was extremely humid and water droplets were constantly falling.  Additionally, all of the flying insect that wandered into the shelter, flew up and simply got stuck.  The plastic sheeting had no venting on the top and trapped all the bugs.  The chickens didn't mind, but the goats basically refused to go inside and I don't blame them.  There were thousands of flies and gnats just buzzing around inside.  I gave it a couple days to see if the insect infestation would falter, but it never seemed to get any better.  I cut a couple vents in the side of it, but all the bugs wanted to do was go up and the vents were pretty much useless.

I opted to rip off the plastic sheeting and install corrugated plastic panels, much like what I used on the previous goat shelter.  I also decided to create a vent, at the peak of the roof, which ran the length of the shelter.  It took an entire day; I did not finish until the sun had gone down and it was completely dark, but I am pleased with the results.  The best part is that I have no more flying insect issues and the goats seem to love the shelter now.

The chickens made the new shelter "home" and appeared completely indifferent to the bugs or the roof construction.  The first day they all went over to the now empty spot in the field where the old shelter had been and laid all of their eggs in a pile in the grass.  When I worked on the roof, I pulled the shelter out of the field and back up to the garage.  This really messed with the little pea brains of the chickens.  They kept going back and forth between the shelter (by the house) and the pasture.  We ended up having eggs laid all over the place: several scattered around the lawn, one on the patio, one in the shelter, and a couple down by the goats.  With the shelter back in place, they are all laying in the nesting boxes again, as I had hoped, and are much more content overall.

My next project will be to cut in a couple doors so the children can access water, food, and eggs from outside the shelter.  I am just looking forward to being done with this thing...  I hope it lasts longer than the last one.

my Deere

A little over a month ago, we decided to get serious and buy a tractor.  Prior to this we had been using our riding lawn mower for everything.  Not only did it frequently get stuck, but we were destroying it.  The tractor was the first big purchase I had made in my life where I opted to spend less than I could afford.  It has always been the opposite; just another sign of our new lifestyle.

Anyway, I bought a 1964 John Deere 1010 RUS.  Originally, it was the "budget" version of the 1010 line: it sold for $300 less because it came with a metal pan seat and no tachometer on the dash.  Ironically enough, I paid about the same amount for it in 2009 that it would have sold for in 1964 and thankfully somebody had upgraded the seat at some point. The tractor has been absolutely wonderful to have around, it is only a 36hp gas motor, but it is truly amazing what the proper gearing, some serious torque, and 5000lbs of iron and steel can accomplish.  Lifting, mowing, and pulling are now simple tasks versus the struggles we had before with the little Craftsman riding mower.

Oh, and I was told by a friend that I am now a real farmer because I "went green" and bought a Deere.  :)

As you can see, I am not the only one enjoying the new tractor.

Turkeys Making New Friends

A couple of months ago we adopted a pair of young sibling kittens for the purpose of rodent control around the farm.  We were a little concerned that they wouldn't last, but they have fit right in and have been earning their keep ever since.  Hank and Hunter routinely kill mice, gophers, and rabbits (adults and babies).  Of course they usually leave a bloody carcass in the garage for me to clean up, but I am glad to have them around.  The cats have however put a damper on the bird watching on our back deck, as the bird feeder seems to just make it too easy for the cats to catch Blue Jays and Mourning Doves.

Several weeks ago, I allowed our two young turkeys to roam around on the lawn and had to be very careful because Hank and Hunter made it very clear that they wanted the turkeys for dinner.  Yesterday, I brought the turkeys out again and turned them loose for a little while.  I kept a close eye on the cats, but things have changed now that the turkeys are close to the size of a small chicken.

The turkeys had no idea that the cats were predators and actually seemed oblivious to the cat's very existence.  The cats on the other hand were very curious and followed the turkeys around for more than 20 minutes.  At first Hank and Hunter were in "stalking" mode, but quickly decided that it was not a good idea.  As the smaller turkey walked near Hunter, he acted like he was going to strike, but instead turned and ran away.  Hank just casually accepted the turkeys and lay still as they walked around him.

I am just glad to see everybody getting along for now.

Rudy the Rooster

In the spring we plan to grow our farm significantly; I hope to have 20+ goats, 20+ laying chickens, 50+ meat chickens, and 10 turkeys.  At this point we have 9 chickens, 8 goats, 3 cats, and 2 turkeys.  Relative to our former life, in which our "livestock" consisted of just one indoor cat, it seems like we have a full blown farming operation.  We are however, still small enough that our children have named all of our animals and can actually tell them apart.

All of our current animals are sort of like pets, even the turkeys we plan to eat this Fall!  I thought I would start a little series in which I introduce some of our "pets".

Rudy the Rhode Island Red Rooster:

 

Rudy was part our initial farm expansion; we bought a group of mature Red Island Red hens who came with Rudy as their "leader".   Despite all of the rooster horror stories we have heard from our friends, Rudy has been incredibly docile and proven to be a great asset to the farm.  I cannot image the chaos that might be if the hens did not have him around.  He is our only outdoor animal that  will not "produce" anything for us, but he certainly has an important role in the lives of our hens; they will follow him anywhere.  Additionally, I do have to say that he is a magnificent looking bird.  Dare I say that he is beautiful?

A New Shelter and a Green Goat

We have had goats for quite a while now and they have seemed fairly happy in their portable shelter, but due to repeated damage (mostly from me, not the goats) it was time to build a new one.  I decided to abandon the style that I had used before and go with a basic structure that was made of something other than wood.  Wood is great, but it is bulky, heavy and not very flexible when you accidentally run into it with your tractor.  I opted to go with a miracle of modern science - plastic

2" PVC was what I bought for the basic frame; it has a large enough diameter to be rigid, but no so big that it loses its flexibility and light weight.  For the walls, I needed to stick with something that would stand-up to the rigors of goat hooves and horns so it was back to good old plywood.  I did use the thinnest plywood I could buy; I am hoping that it lasts.  I used 1/2" pipe to make a hoop house/green house style roof and covered it with 4mil plastic sheeting.

Once it was all built I enlisted the help of my two favorite helpers in order to get it painted a shade of green that would blend with my pasture grass.  I must admit that I didn't want it to stand out too much, but the paint serves a greater purpose in that it seals the wood and prevents it from warping.  I am fairly pleased with how it turned out, hopefully it functions well.  One of the many things I did not think about was the fact that curious goats like to rub against things and do not mix well with wet paint.  I guess I should be glad that we only have one green goat.