Merry Christmas to All

I've decide to send a short greeting. I do wish you all a merry Christmas. Stacey and I have had a hard time feeling the season this year. The lack of snow and continuing rains don't help matters. I know we're better off than most but we find ourselves worrying more about our economic condition even so. Thank God that we grow most of our food. Yes, I'm still employed but even though I make what I consider a good wage; it seems to go a shorter distance than it used to. I worry about our friends in harder straits than us. I can do little more than pray for them.
It's a T.J.Max Christmas for the most part. Practical gifts bought cheaply at deep discount will be under the tree. We don't have much in the way of needs, perhaps Stacey more than me. It's just that I can't manage anything that I know will make her light up and smile.That's rough on a husband. I know, I know, that's not the point of it all but it bothers me anyway.
The farm is doing well but I have fence repair to do. I hate fence repair. It tears up my hands. Not the skin mostly but my finger joints.
No photos this time, just best wishes. May God keep His Hand on your shoulder. JEL

Random Photos

Again, I have been remiss in my postings. The unending duty of labor in electrical mysteries and feverish evenings among the verdant fields have induced a languor that... Dang It! I've got to stop reading those Victorian novels. I got a Kindle for my birthday ( Thanks again MIL) and being fiscally responsible, I've been downloading the free books. A lot of them are old with the copyright expired. They are corrupting my mind. I chewed my way through The Last Man by Mary W. Shelly and it was work. I'm guessing that with the Victorians, you never used one word where 100 would do.
I have purchased some books. I bought Michael Vey, Prisoner of Cell 25. It's not bad. It's not the first Harry Potter book but it's close in quality. It's considered a juvenile but so are most Heinlien s and I love those.
The Kindle isn't perfect but it is very good. I've used it with an audiobook and it worked very well. The web browser needs a bit of work but that is experimental . The text-to-speech feature misses a few words but makes it easy to listen to a printed book while driving. I haven't tried the mp3 feature yet. Battery life is excellent with the wi-fi off.
Let's do the fair reports. The Ottawa County Fair was much more exciting this year thanks to straight line winds that blew down vendors tents, toppled trees and trapped people in crushed campers. They lost the tents two days in a row, if I remember correctly. Stacey and I were in the ticket booths when the worst one hit. Here's a little hint for you. When high winds are hitting your venue, do NOT try to shelter in a Porta-Pottie. They blow over and no one wants to get you out. It's probably something to do with the spreading pool of green and brown stuff that forms under it. Carry spare clothes in your car.
The Sandusky County Fair seemed a shadow of past fairs. The animals and craft exhibits were top quality but the rides and shows were a notch or two down from past fairs. The ribeye sandwiches were still excellent .
I took the day after Labor Day off so we could go to the Fulton County Fair. No degradation of quality there. It was as good as last year. The agricultural exhibit was Planters of Fulton County. I was amazed at the number of horse drawn and people pushed planters that had survived. We had a very pleasant day.
On Labor Day itself, I went to the S.C.R.A.P. show auction. This is one of the few times a year that I can find equipment old enough and cheap enough to farm with. I was looking for a Bush Hog mower to use behind my Ford 8N tractor. There were many such mowers there but all were far too large for my little tractor. Basically, it was a waste of time. I guess I'll just haunt Craig's list for a 4 footer.
Our Labor Day weekend was busy. On the Thursday before, Stacey decided to start canning our vegetable juice that is mostly tomato but contains 7 or more other vegetable juices. This continued for 16 hours. I think we have enough now. Friday was cleaning up from the canning and getting ready for our house guests, the Burchams from North Carolina.
A simple interruption and two months are gone. The Burchams made it. Janet has been here before but it was a first for Johnny. I got the impression that he liked Ohio. We fed them heavily when they arrived and got them up early the next day for a trip to Detroit. I wanted Johnny to see the Ford museum. I don't know if they'll make it up here again and it would be a shame not to see it.
On the way, we stopped at the Eastern Market, Detroit's farmers market and one of the largest around. It was fun but it would have taken all day and we had to move on.
The Ford museum was good but when lunchtime came, Stacey insisted on the Eagle Tavern. We had to upgrade our tickets and go into Greenfield Village. The menu at the Tavern was simpler and less expensive to make but well prepared. Naturally, we had to walk the Village after lunch. With them temps in the 90's, it nearly finished us all. All of us had to rest repeatedly.
Back home for rest and the next day on the lake. We started at the Marblehead Lighthouse. It was Sunday and there were no tours but who needs them? There may be prettier spots on the lake but I haven't seen them. Janet had seen the spot before and was smiling but Johnny lit up like a flashbulb. I'll give him points for not tasting the water. So many folks from coastal states simply can't believe that it's fresh water and have to taste it. Ok, it probably won't kill you. After all, folks swim in the lake but it's still a bit unsanitary.
We had to leave around 11:30 to catch the Jet Express for Put-In-Bay. We enjoyed some barbecued chicken on arrival and then rode a golf cart all over the island hitting all the tourist traps as we went. We left about 5pm on the back deck of a packed Jet Express just in time to experience a Lake Erie Thunderstorm.
We went home, changed to dry clothes and hit the Jolly Rodger for fish sandwiches. Good eats and back home for rest and conversation. The Burchams left on Monday, no doubt saving us all from exhaustion.
I'm destroying the garden. I can't take the thought of picking one more tomato. I fear for Stacey's mental health and my physical health if I bring any more in. We've started moving into the frost part of year so clearing the garden is no big deal but it will feel so good to stop for a few months. I can get on to other projects and plan for next year's garden. I just can't take anymore just now.
I decide to try putting in grain crops again this year. I have acquired all necessary equipment and then it rained all Spring. I finally got in a small field of winter wheat in. I don't know if it will establish itself but at least I tried.
Since I only have about 25 sheep and a steer, I'm going to try winter pasturing them this year. It looks like I should be able to get them through without feeding them much hay. That will leave my first cutting available for sale in the Spring. Every bit of profit counts.
I want to post this now. I'll add some random pictures later.

On the Legalization of Hard Drugs

Morphine! I need morphine. Tylenol and Aleve just are'nt cutting it. Don't get me started on hydrocodone. Sure it dulls pain but then I can't sleep at night. What's wrong with good old-fashioned opiates anyway? They've worked for thousands of years and they'll work today.
No, I haven't been in a car crash or suffered an unintential amputation from a chain saw. This is the result of putting up the first cutting of hay. Roughly 520 bales of slightly overaged grass- alfalfa mix that will carry me through the winter and then some. The bales are roughly twice the weight of the ones in the past. My previous hay balerperson found himself partially paralysed after a surprise diabetes episode. No, diabetes doesn't nomally cause paralysis but hitting the edge of the table on the way down can be devastating. He's up and walking with use of his hands now but he won't be farming this year. The haymaker that baled for me this year has a newer, more powerfull baler that packs them tighter. That takes up less space but makes the bale stacking a lot more work.
I had a 4 man crew to help. Well, not exactly. My cousin brought his 2 daughters and a girl cousin out and we got to work. Teenage girls CAN work and work well. There was some pouting and early exhaustion but less than with some boys. I had my share of stoppages as well. When it's 94 degrees and no breeze, you're lifting 65lb. bales one after another and it goes on and on, you have to sit down once in a while. The balewagon was dropping 160 bales at a time and we couldn't keep up. The balewagon was shuttling between our farm and another to make best use of his time.
Let me take time to praise whoever invented the bale elevator.It saves an incredible amount of work turning a long exhausting painful job into a quick exhausting painful job. Technically, what I have is an ear corn elevator but it works well with hay bales.
After we finished, we had a meal. I've never seen watermelon disappear so fast.
In other news, we're going to have another ewe and lamb in the Babyland area of the fair again. The ewes lambed late this year and I wasn't sure we'd have any. We'll have some really small lambs to choose from.
The garden is a month behind but catching up. It's really hard to keep the weeds down. I only got about half of my garden planted. I'm trying to do weed suppression and get ready for a winter garden. Just to be clear, a winter garden is not expected to produce all through the winter. What you do is plant crops that grow well in the colder days of fall. Cabbage and other cole crops, turnips, radishes and greens can be planted as seed in August and be harvested before frost. It worked last year so I'll try it again.
With the wet spring, I lost any chance to get any normal crops out. I plan on trying to plant some winter wheat. Maybe I can do better next year.
I'm enclosing picture of the hay, the magnificent elevator and my weedy garden. I have recovered somewhat. A meal of tomato-dill soup, Fleur Verte cheese with crackers and a bit of fresh fig did wonders for me. Oh Woe, the life of the poor farmer.

June

I find myself fighting the lethargy of age. I don't want to shear sheep. I don't want to scrape the paint of the house and repaint it. I don't want to replace the ram's fence. I don't want to dig the fill out of the back porch, jack up and level the concrete and install a separate sump pump to keep the basement dry. I need to do all these things but I don't want to. The near constant rain hasn't helped. Most of those things require dry weather and all I have is mud.
I do still want to play in the dirt. I re potted my tomatoes yesterday . I want to get them a bit larger before planting them out. I tried to mow off the area I used in the front for garden last year. I had to jack the lawnmower up and put boards under the wheels 3 times before I gave up. I won't be working that up for a while. I haven't been able to get last years leeks out of the ground yet. On the plus side, the lilacs smell wonderful.
I've sent my little Ford 8n in to unravel the mystery of the falling oil pressure. This may be expensive. I find I really miss it. I was using it to try and create wide shallow channels in the back 20 acres for drainage. The back scoop worked well.
I have the Farmall set up to plow. I have no idea what I'm doing but if it ever dries up, I'm going to try anyway. I have plans of planting some timothy since I can make hay of that more reliably than alfalfa. That's important since the farmer who has been helping me with my hay is now partially paralyzed. I hope to plant some corn and maybe some sunflowers and oats. I could process that for my own feed. Storage is another matter but first you need something to store.
Time is slipping away. I had to work a Saturday that was the only dry day of the weekend. I pulled cable at the new service plaza on a Thursday and had my back screwed up through the weekend. There are too many holidays. Each one claims a day from the weekend. Yes, I dither and whine too much.
Ok, it's all better now. It stopped raining. I finally managed to plant the front garden and have the back worked up for the seed rows. If the plants produce in time, we can make it through to Spring without starving. Some unkind folks would probably say that we could do that without eating but I feel safer with the food preserved.
I've started plowing the back. From the looks of it, I'm either blind or drinking heavily. My rows are as crooked as the snakes I'm chasing down the furrows. When I first started, it was still too wet. I had to pull the plow out backwards several times when the tractor wouldn't pull forward anymore. Now that it's drier, I'm starting to make less embarrassing furrows.
Even with the plowing, it's too late for anything meaningful except maybe the timothy. This fall, I might be able to plant winter wheat.
No lambs so far. I haven't been able find any, anyway. The ewes are in the boy's pasture. I put them in to chew the pasture down since ,with only two rams, I tend to loose the rams for days at a time. This year, the ewes can't keep up. I have been looking at my regular pastures and think I might try to make hay of them this year. I dumped 3 bags of good pasture mix on to try and improve them. I think I need to cut the top off to give the young plants a better shot.
The Ford is back. It was expensive. On the plus side, my oil pressure is now over 60psi, my hydraulics no longer leak and my wheels probably won't fall off. The mechanic fixed a lot of other little stuff as well. I haven't had a chance to make it work hard yet but I will.
Not much to report on the fun front. Stacey and I went to the Ohio Fiber, Wool and Sheep Show in Wooster. We located some folks to buy some Shetlands off of to improve the genetics. Spinning is now the hobby of the rich. Spinning wheels on sale were $500 or more. Looms were cheaper than wheels. One can still spin with a spindle cheaply but you had better be serious about spinning before you buy a wheel. One of the high points for me was a fried bologna sandwich with grilled onions.
We stopped at Grandpa's Cheese Barn on the way back and bought some good junk including chocolate dipped bacon. We also stopped to visit with Doug and Mary Hildebrand at their truck garden in Milan. We bought many plants for too little money and toured his high tunnel greenhouse. He has just sent me a picture of him holding a large ripe tomato from the tunnel. Good work, Doug.
Since the garden still looks crappy, I've sent some pictures of the house. The roses are doing well, anyway.

Every Picture Tells A Story, Don't It?

I tried using the home computer for the blog and the pictures wouldn't load. Here's a bunch for you.

Aniversary

March 4th was our 17th anniversary. We celebrated by going to the Tri-County Beekeepers Conference in Wooster. We had a little side trip first. There's a lumber company in Charm , Ohio that says they can make the siding I need to repair my barn. I punched in Charm, Ohio into my GPS and told it fastest route.
We stopped in Ashland so Stacey could have bad Chinese food then it was off to Amish country. There were rumors of flooded roads on our route but as intrepid travelers, we ignored them.
Rt.250 takes you right through the heart of Amish country. The GPS took us nearer to the spleen. We started going up down and around on roads that wouldn't make good driveways. We saw many Amish from close proximity. There was no other way to see them since there wasn't anymore room on the road. At one point, we were going around a curve on a road so narrow that you couldn't pass a pregnant goat on it and found a sign that said “ Road Narrows”. Road narrows to WHAT? We're holding on to the bushes now to keep from sliding off. It was a slow and memorable trip but there was no flooding. Sometimes, it was close to the road but not quite over it.
Keim Lumber is in Charm. They have 3 acres under one roof. The inside is finished in fine hardwoods. They can make the pattern of siding that I need. They gave me 3 options. The first 2 would require I sell a Ferrari Testarosa to pay for the 10 boards I need. Unfortunately, I don't own a Ferrari Testarosa. We did buy some odds and ends including a great looking windproof lighter. We didn't really need it but it was cheap and looks really cool.
Off to Wooster over much better roads. We checked in to the Mirabelle B & B and went to the beekeeping museum. There isn't a lot left. A tornado took the shed where most of it was stored. What's left is in some unused basement rooms in one of the university buildings. Old extractors, some odd hives, pictures and honey containers. The two guys who maintain this as a hobby were there to explain it all. I'm glad we finally made it. Stacey got to sit on Rev. Langstroth's bench.
We had a good meal at the South Market Bistro. They cook better than us. Not much, but still better.
Next morning, our hosts provided a hearty breakfast and it was off to the conference. We enjoyed all of it, spent far too much on bee equipment and talked to all. We took off at the close and headed home in a steady rain.
We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Sandusky for supper and afterwards, Stacey wanted to see a movie. On leaving the theater, we walked into snow. The remainder of the drive home was at about 25 to 40 mph.
The next thursday, I had an upper GI but the doctors were unable to find all my money. I was going to include the picture but Stacey thought you'd enjoy these instead.

Beautiful West Virginia

I'm in a van with 2 seats and 3 people. I've got a folding chair in the back and I'm pretty comfortable. We're on our way to New Cumberland, WV again to work on a perceived radio problem. We just put new antennas and feedline on the courthouse and the customer is complaining it still doesn't work the way they want. I don't think it's the courthouse.
It's been a while since I've updated you but I've been lazy. That's got to stop. I've got to build myself up fast to deal with the spring farm work. I should have a lot more to do this year.
My former fencing student is back from New Zealand . She has her degree but talks of getting a law degree with vague thoughts of saving the world. It's a waste of time, really. The world will putter along as it always has. Her family is all fine and overachieving as usual. It was a good visit.
Stacey and I attended The Evil Dead, The Musical at the Valentine Theater. Actually, it's a little theater buried in the side of the building. It was difficult to get tickets to. They sold out as fast as they could print them. The theater had to shoehorn extra shows in and still couldn't meet the demand. I managed to get us tickets out of the spatter zone, well mostly. I was able to duck behind a really big guy at critical times. It was a great show although hobbled somewhat by poor acoustics and spurious profanity. I think they managed to work in quotes from all the movies. Stacey and I finished the night with nachos at a mediocre Mexican joint.
The next day, Saturday, Stacey went to a bowling tournament and I went to the Toledo Botanical Garden seed swap. This year, it was held in the Erie Street Market and had enough room so that you could back away from the crowd and catch your breath before diving back into the fight. I came away with quite a few packets. Some were items I had forgotten to order and some were new varieties to try. I hope I can manage to get them in the ground.
I had some time before the swap so I bought some new boots. I've got another pair of Thorogoods. They're expensive for me but they are well made and actually made in America. I've gotten so tired of wasting my money on Chinese crap. My old ones were beat causing me a lot of foot pain. Within an hour, 90% of the pain was gone walking in the new boots. I still have some heel problems. I guess there's more damage there. I've taken my old boots in to be rebuilt. Try that with Chinese crap.
We had the Symphony that night but Stacey ran late at the tournament. We had to stand through the first set, the overture to Don Juan. The second set was a Bruch concerto for violin and viola that was beautiful. I suspect it was especially good to me because I'm loosing my high frequencies in my hearing and the viola is lower pitched.
After the intermission, they played The Organ Symphony by St.Seans. For those of you not familiar with the gentleman, he is now considered one of the great composers and noted for his organ works. The Organ Symphony has almost no organ in it. It was very good anyway.
Sunday, Stacey was back to the bowling tournament so I goofed around for a while. I( had a slight headache anyway, About noon, I took the Ford tractor back to work on brush clearing. The lifting arm takes a lot of the work away. The more I ran the chainsaw, the worse my headache got. I couldn't get the brush lit either. Finally, I went back and changed out the lifting arm for the back scoop. I used it in place of a furrowing plow to re contour a section of the field to drain the water off slowly to hopefully reduce erosion while still draining the land. I haven't been back to check my work yet.
By this time , my headache had reached epic proportions. I put my toys away and spent the rest of the night on a heating pad.
Tomorrow is March 4th and our 17th wedding anniversary. We're going to a Bed and Breakfast in Wooster for an overnight stay and attend the Tri-County Beekeepers conference. We haven't been there for a few years. I suppose it's not a wildly romantic time but it's what we got. More to follow.

I'm ok. We don't know about you.

I thought I should let you know that my prostate tests have come back good. The tests showed some abnormal cells so they will give me another blood test in 2.5 months. All of you know me and so know that all I'm pretty abnormal anyway. It's a crapshoot but I'm still rolling sevens.

Yes, that's my prostate. It's big, really big. The first time I was biopsied, the doc called me in afterwards and said ” Well Jim, you don't have cancer but that's one honkin' big prostate. It's huge. I mean, it's within normal variation but if you'd been born a woman, you'd probably had a DD cup bra size.” My first thought was that if I'd been born a woman, I could have been a porn star. As it is, I can't pee worth a darn. It's just another example of life being unfair to men. It's not like you can brag about it either. You can't show it off in the locker room or by wearing tight pants as you walk down the street.
I've got a lot to do on the farm but it's really cold and I think I'll stay in.

Happy New Year

We come to the new year with fear and celebration. We have no idea where we're going but we're celebrating anyway. Some times ,you just have to party.
We spent New Years Eve at the mother-in-law's. Stacey and I cooked. More accurately, Stacey cooked the good stuff and I had made a substandard lemon meringue pie. I need to practice my pie crusts. Since Stacey is the Princess of Pies, I don't get much practice. The filling was good but the meringue was a bit undercooked . The little beads of weeping were pretty though. After dinner, I was punished for my error by watching Sex and the City 2. That's what happens when you leave your suicide pill at home.
We went home well before the idiots packed the roads and watched the ball drop from the safety of our own living room. Happy New Year!
New Years Day, we hosted a great party of friends here at the farm. There was much food and good conversation. It went on for hours and seemed over in no time. It was the most enjoyable party for some time and a great start to the year.
I finally got my sheep sorted out. I've culled heavily trying to eliminate the worst of the stock, the old and the too small. I called the Arab meat market planning to sell them cheap but the owner didn't come out. I decided to send them to auction even though that has never worked well but I needed them gone. I just had too many sheep and they were burning through my hay way too fast. I called the local stock hauler and sent them off.
The water heater started leaking. I had to tap the farm fund to pay for a replacement. This put us well below the property tax payment. I borrowed a cousin to help install the water heater and we now have working hot water again with no leaks. In between the 3 trips to town for parts and a new propane torch ( Oh look, my hand's in a ball of flame. AHHHHH!!!), the check from the auction house came. $3870.00!!!!!!!!!! That's after haulage and auction fees. Those culls went between $115 and $145 each. Screw the Arabs, this is real money. Now we can pay the taxes and the insurance. I may even be able to afford seed to plant the back of the farm. Whoo Hoo!
The Laubacher Theory of Karmic Balance has come into play. A visit to my doctor led to a battery of blood tests and I flunked the PSA test again. This led to another prostate ultrasound and biopsies. The biopsies aren't back yet so I don't know if I'm in imminent danger of death yet but the doc was bored with the ultrasound. The good news is that the wand is smaller. The bad news is that the biopsies hurt a lot more this time. I filled the vicodin prescription this time, went home and vegged out for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, I took a pill before going to bed. Vicodin affects me strangely at night. I don't really sleep. I just drift in and out of dream state all night. Have you ever dreamed of giant chickens tearing people to pieces and Col. Sanders leading a counterattack with muzzleloading cannon and track mounted chicken fryers? Say no to vicodin at night. Happy New Year.