A Good Man Down: The Farm Report 1-11-2-19

A Good Man Down

The Farm Report 1-11-2019

After last summer's 80 and 100 mph winds, we sustained significant damage in The Timber at Oakdale Farm. I haven't shown you much about The Timber, but it is my special place. The Timber at Oakdale Farm is part of a 90 acre tract of virgin Iowa woods. We live only about 18 miles from the Missouri river, so we are in the Missouri River Woodland Hills. It is a wonderland. The woods are mainly oaks and walnuts. After the devastating Dutch Elm disease of the 1960's and 1970's, we lost most of the red elms which had once been abundant here. Now, 'weed trees' like honey locust and mulberry have filled in a little, too. The tree in this pic is a pig nut hickory. Where the trunk snapped is about 18-inches across.

Actually, we have more than one good man down. We have a number of them to report. This one is a hackberry.

All living things die. This grand old burr oak was at the end of it's time. The wind didn't help it, but it was time for it to go. As you can see, for this one, it is time to go into the furnace!

Logging is my winter fun. I just love to go into the woods and find dead trees to cut up into firewood for my cozy heat. I use an outdoor wood burning boiler, you may recall. But logging can be dangerous - really dangerous. This log is what we call a 'leaner' or more accurately, a 'widow maker.' That log is heavy, probably a ton or more, and you never know when and where it will break and fall. That! my friends is part of the fun of it all!! What is life without a little danger from time to time?

Once I've got 'em down, the Ranger and I pull the logs to a better place. It is pretty amazing to me how much a little dune buggy with an overpowered attitude can pull. These things are tough and strong. 

This area is what Joyce always called 'Picnic Point.'  The logs are ready to be linked up into sections and then split and made ready to dry and burn.

How do you split all that wood? Well, with equipment of course! No mauls and huffing and puffing for me if I can help it. A guy needs machines. Plus, now I'm an old guy with a bum back, so I need even more equipment! This jib crane is a new addition to the splitter for this season. It does the heavy lifting. A little electric winch reels in the cable, and that yellow gizmo is a skidding tong. It has sharp points that grab the logs and pinch in tight and hold the log for lifting up onto the splitter bed.. 

A little while later, and 'Bob's your uncle.' Henry Ford and the Hauler are ready to take a load to the boiler. Simple pleasures, but I love it. It makes you feel alive to actually do some physical work, and how can you not enjoy using a natural, renewable resource when you have it available.

So, I'm sorry it has been so long between these last posts. Here is the January calendar picture. It looks a lot like the December one. That's what winter is: same thing over and over. A time to rest and recharge. A time to do some reading and planning for the busy garden season to come - and to come pretty quickly too! It will be time to start seeds in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, life ain't all bad. I have been trying my hand at sausage making. Charcuterie is the $50 word for it. But really it is just smoking meat. My Grandma Chlorus was quite the cook, and I'm trying to follow some of her recipes. This is smoked Canadian Bacon. It (was) delicious. I have a new batch in the brine as we speak. Honey/Maple cure of my own (and Grandma's) making. Per her habit, I'm using good old fashioned Iowa corn cobs for the smoking. Can't beat it!

The chickens are an issue. The Two Henriettas are doing fine. Both have molted and the silver one has actually laid a few eggs lately. The black one is still out on strike. But the roosters! They are just beautiful, but they are roosters.... If you have never experienced the fun of male chickens, let me tell you - they ain't pets! They become mean and nasty. They are prone to sneak attacks and just general bad attitudes. I need help re-naming them. I had originally thought about calling them 'Leno' and 'Linus.' 

The one I thought about calling 'Leno' has a white stripe in his glorious tail feathers - reminded me of Jay Leno's white hair streak back when he had one. Leno is pushy and cocky; Linus, the other one, reminds me of Linus in the Peanuts comic strip; sorta nice but clueless most of the time. He is the Junior Partner in this Mafiosa Family.

They are elegant though. So then I thought that maybe Senator Foghorn and The Duke of Hensley might be a better name. They are both full of themselves. Then this afternoon, when the striped one kept circling around where I was working, I thought maybe they could just both be named 'JERKS!' Jerk 1 and Jerk 2. Like the old TV show that had the brothers Daryl, Daryl and his other brother Daryl. If you want in on the contest, you need to hurry with your entry. They may both end up in the stew pot pretty soon. I can guarantee it if they decide to go beyond being jerks and begin attacking me. Sorry Beth, these guys will not get a chance to grow out their spurs to add to your jewelry box collection. There will be no Spur-Rings from these boys.

O.J. has just chucked it in for the winter. He spends most of his days like this. One ear open 'just in case' but the rest of him is 'lights out.' The difference between cats and dogs is that cats are not goal-driven. They are strictly about comfort - THEIR comfort. Dogs have a purpose; they are on a mission.

And this is the last Good Man Down I have to tell you about. Or in Zoey's case, a Good Girl Down. The harness on Zoey was her Ranger Crash Control. Her mission on the farm was to go everywhere and see everything. She loved riding in the Ranger. We had a strap in the Ranger which we snapped her on to keep her from going flying when we stopped or turned too fast. Unlike O.J., Zoey just took naps at noon so she could get back to work right away. Alas, this is the last pic I have of her. Just a couple of days after this pic, Zoey had a stroke that ended her long and happy run. She was almost 15. She was the most gentle dog we've ever had. She was happy and always happy to see you. She was my public relations officer for the shop, and the overseer for the farm. Zoey had been showing her age, but I didn't want to reflect on that; she also thought she was still a teenager most of the time. But like all living things, there is a beginning and an ending. Zoey's ending was gentle and good. Rest in peace my sweet companion. You will be missed.

Finally, let me tell you I have been just overwhelmed with all the requests for me to continue posting The Farm Reports. This simple idea of mine has somehow grown a life of its own, and you my dear readers have taken ownership of it. I have made a personal New Year's resolution to be more regular in my posting and to keep you informed as much as I think will be interesting to you. My life is new and different now without my Joyce, but having all my readers (and there are a LOT of you, and you are all over the globe!) supporting me is something beyond what I could ever have imagined. Thanks. With that, I'll stop for now and continue with more later. All is well at Oakdale Farm.