Life on the Farm

[bjrogg]

Mostly I have been working on books. My least favorite job.

We got the beet digger all refurbished and ready for another season. Tractors have been through shop.  Combines are almost finished. Spent a lot of money on parts in the past couple months.

I did make summer sausage, snack sticks and burger . Turned out good and it’s nice to have something fresh in the freezer.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

It’s still cold out , but it’s starting to turn the corner. We almost made it to above freezing and above freezing temperatures are in the forecast.

These guys are still popping up.

Before you know it, it’ll be time to plant sugar beets again. Thinking the planter will be the next thing to come to the shop

Bjrogg

[Pappy]

Looks like you are staying busy BJ. I'ts getting about time for me to make some brats, always look for to doing that, just a fun day and some good eating for the year.
 Pappy

[bjrogg]

 I really enjoy processing meat to pappy. It’s really rewarding. You just can’t buy the breakfast pork sausage we make. It’s smoked in a smoke house that was my long past great uncle’s. It’s got to be around a hundred years old. It smoked all the sausage for our church dinners for many years.


I broke my old 30 lb stuffer doing the snack sticks. They push through the small tube a little hard and I stripped a few gears. If I could get the right parts I could fix it. It’s an old Cabela’s. My brother ordered a new one. I hope it lasts as long as the old one.

Bjrogg

[GlisGlis]

BJ tell me that the idea of the birch bark canoe is still buzzing around in your head! I'm counting on it 

[bjrogg]

BJ tell me that the idea of the birch bark canoe is still buzzing around in your head! I'm counting on it 

It most definitely is GlisGlis

I was just looking at some cedar today.

I might have to out source my roots. I spent a lot of time and work to come up very short of the amount I need.

The rest of materials I think I can get.

My cousin isn’t going to let me forget about the birch bark canoe. He plans on helping me when he retires if I don’t have it done yet.

Bjrogg

[WhistlingBadger]

Happy March, Brian!  Around here, it feels like the calendar is finally catching up with the weather.  It's like October lasted for five months, and we went straight from late fall into spring with no winter in the middle.

Looking forward to hearing more about that birch bark canoe.  If we ever pull the trigger and move back east, that's a material I'm going to have to learn to use.

[bjrogg]

I still have the birch bark canoe on my projects list and have not forgotten about it. Lots of stuff on that list though. It’s up there towards the top though.

It is March now. I’m not sure if you would say it came in like a Lion or a Lamb.

Sunday March first it was 17 degrees windy and snowing when I got out of church. Monday started out cold but sunny and then it started to warm up. Now most of our snow is gone or melting.

At any rate every day is another day closer to spring. The sun is getting stronger. The days are getting longer. It’s time to get the planter in the shop.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

Before all that though it was time for a little thaw .

My wife, son and little dog headed south. We decided to visit some relatives in Florida and then attend the Sliver Springs Knapp in.

I was hoping to visit Pat B on the way but we didn’t get there. Maybe next time.

We had a really nice visit with my relatives. We always joke that the only time we see each other is at funerals and weddings. Most of the weddings are done so it was really nice to see them at a less somber place. So glad we visited them.

Then we went to Silver Springs. It’s the first time we have attended the event and I’m hoping not the last. We made it into a nice little vacation and kinda a scouting expedition to see if we liked it.

We liked it. Didn’t spend as much time at the event as I might have but enough to get a good idea of what it was about.

Mostly we just walked around and visited with people. Lots of good places to buy rock. Got myself some rock for souvenir’s. Met Allyn T and his son there. It was nice to meet them and I look forward to seeing what he does with the beautiful piece of Mokite he bought.

It was about 88 degrees and actually a bit of a shock to my wife’s system. She doesn’t do well in the heat so after a few hours we left to get something to eat. When we got out of restaurant it had cooled down considerably. We went for a nice walk.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

Sunday morning it rained a little. It was a bit cooler with a nice breeze. My wife and I decided to look over the park a little better.

We were going to take the glass bottom boat tour, but they were worried about the wind and weren’t selling any more tickets until the boats got back.

We went for a nice walk down the beautiful trails. We didn’t canoe or kayak but there were lots of nice river paths for that to.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

When we got back from our walk we saw that there was a line for tickets for the glass bottom boat tour. We ended up getting on the last boat of the day and I am so glad we did. Was very interesting and I would highly recommend it. We had a good captain and he was very informative and interesting.

The water is so clear you could see it coming out of the springs .

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

Before we knew it, it was time to head home. We had a good trip and we hope to do it again. It was good to get home though. Even if it is still winter.

Bjrogg

[Pappy]

Looks like a great trip, from winter to summer in just a few days.
 Pappy

[bjrogg]

Yup pappy . From winter to summer then back to winter again. Now the slow ride to spring. We probably will acclimatize to it better that way.

I forgot to show my souvenirs. I didn’t have a huge budget for stone. It’s still hard for this old farmer to buy rocks, but I do appreciate stuff I can’t get. It’s always nice to be able to handle the rock and save on shipping. I always purchase something at these events. We didn’t spend anything on souvenirs so this rock became my souvenirs.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

Didn’t want my wife to feel left out so I knapped a few points from my souvenirs to make her something.

Split a piece of maple my long passed uncle saved and then cut out a palm tree with my coping saw. Halvt it to my point with pitch glue and sinew. Turns out I can grow these palm trees just like my mushrooms.lol. Right here in Michigan

Bjrogg