Archive for the ‘Family - Mark’ Category
February 22, 2010 – Snowbanks Along Hwy 20
This weekend Linda had a speaking gig in Storm Lake, IA. We’ve had a lot of snow, but up in northwest Iowa, the snow is even more extreme.
Large stretches of Highway 20 west of Fort Dodge have long stretches with snow this tall along the north shoulder of the highway. With our current forecast of ...Read more.
November 22, 2009 – Beer and Soap Day
This afternoon we went over to Morning Sun Farm to make soap and beer. It was set up as a nice learning experience for me, as I saw two important steps in beer brewing – the initial ingredient mixing and cooking, and the bottling of a batch previously prepared up to the bottling stage.
The final ...Read more.
August 18, 2009 – New Part-Time Gig
I’m about to embark on a temporary, very part-time gig with the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. The center get a variety of calls that they don’t have staff time to respond to in an adequate manner. One typical call might be from an absentee landlord – some one who has recently inherited land ...Read more.
July 13, 2009 – Something Fishy!
This week turned out to be the best fishing week in years at the cabin.
This smallmouth was caught right off the cabin dock.
So was this walleye.
Earlier in the Day Emma and I found a nice rock to sit on and fish with large sucker minnows.
She caught this northern practically before I could get my line ...Read more.
July 5, 2009 – Old Machine Shed Progress
The renovation of the old machine shed is nearing completion. I reroofed the good part of the building a few years back, tore down part of the building that was no good early this year and the last few days put on a new sidewall and remaining few roof pieces.
The side after framing up.
June 27, 2009 – 20th Anniversary Trip to Dayton House in Worthington, MN
Time and $$ (see septic tank installation) prevented us from celebrating our 20th anniversary on a long trip, but we wanted to get away and note the milestone nonetheless, so we planned a trip to everyone’s favorite vacation destination, the prairies of Southwestern Minnesota!
The first night, we stayed at the historic Dayton House in Worthington, ...Read more.
April 12, 2009 – Shed “Implosion” Part 1.
I’m usually the last guy to tear down old buildings – I’ve received some serious guff for saving some pretty decrepit buildings, but this one was too far gone. I’m saving the “good half” which has white roofing and tearing down the rest and can use the cement foundation for some other purpose, like a ...Read more.
April 3, 2009 – Linda’s Keynote
On Friday evening Linda gave the keynote address at the Prairie Star District Annual conference, this year in Duluth, MN.
The conference theme was “Our Blue Boat Home” and Linda’s talk was accompanied by photos from around the farm and Midwest. The talk was well received and Linda got a standing ovation from the 320 or ...Read more.
February 8, 2008 – Bonus Poo!
What better to do on a 50 degree day than shovel out the barn. Today’s photos are all courtesy of Martin!
The barn floor was getting kind of ripe. Usually, it means adding another layer, but the warm day and melting snow afforded another option – removal!
Since some of the snow was gone, but still not ...Read more.
December 9, 2008 – Oh Little Star
Once again, it’s time to get the holiday lights up. Although I’m not necessarily out for the best display in the neighborhood, I do like to add a few touches to the farmstead.
This is as Clark Griswoldesque (Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation) as I get. Using the tractor loader, and a couple of ladders, I ...Read more.
November 21, 2008 – Sweet Sound of Success
It was a sweet sound to hear the tractor crank, start and turn off after replacing the solenoid!
I could then proceed to the original task, getting the blade on the tractor in preparation for snow. That to is accomplished and we are ready!
one year ago…”First Snow”.
October 4, 2008 – Hops Harvest
I’m guessing its time for the hops harvest. I’m a newbie at this, so if anybody out there knows the best time to harvest hops in this part of the country, give me a shout out.
They’ve grown very well on a 16 foot cattle panel propped up against the shed. I wasn’t sure how they’d ...Read more.
August 13, 2008 – What to do with Peaches?
Ok, we’re almost ready to say uncle with the peaches, but there still might be half the peaches left on the trees.
Here are the trays right out of the dehydrator.
The contents of each tray fit nicely into one bag in what I call the “suck and seal” machine. It’s always a bummer to see how ...Read more.
July 21, 2008 – Red Green Alive and Well at High Hopes!
Today’s creation is inspired by Handyman’s Corner from the Red Green TV show.
To many of you, this might look like an old, tired gas grill that missed trips to the dump over the last two years. But sometimes keeping things around too long pays off. We also have an old cooktop from the kitchen remodeling ...Read more.
