HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECKY!!!!!!!

     Well, today is Becky's birthday.  I think she's turning 29 again, but that can be neither confirmed nor denied. Anyway, we went out for dinner last night then headed for Border's because that's pretty much our sanctuary when we have no kids with us.  Those days will soon be a faint memory so we are going to enjoy every kid free weekend until the baby is born.  Becky bought a copy of  "The Sand County Almanac" by Aldo Leopold.  She read a few essays to me aloud last night laying in bed.  The original copyright was 1949, just one year after Aldo died.  I don't know how old Aldo was when he passed, but it was his grown son that had the essays published into a book the following year.  Anyway, listening to Becky read I was struck by two things about Leopold.  First, how awestruck he was by God's creation.  Secondly, how in 1948 he was worried about the loss of wild places and fearful that mechanized man will destroy it all in the end if we don't open our eyes. Here is the forward to the book:

Forward to Sand County Almanac

     There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.  These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot.

      Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them.  Now we face the question whether a still higher 'standard of living' is worth the cost in things natural, wild and free.  For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech.

    These wild things, I admit, had little human value until mechanization assured us of a good breakfast, and until science disclosed the drama of where they come from and how they live.  The whole conflict thus boils down to a question of degree.  We of the minority see a law of diminishing returns in progress; our opponents do not.

     One must make a shift with things as they are.  These essays are my shifts.  They are grouped in three parts.

     Part I tells what my family see and does at its weekend refuge from too much modernity: 'the shack'.  On this sand farm in Wisconsin, first worn out and then abandoned by our bigger-and-better society, we try to rebuild, with shovel and axe, what we are losing elsewhere.  It is here that we seek- and still find- meat from God.

     These shack sketches are arranged seasonally as a 'Sand County Almanac'.

     Part II, 'Sketches Here and There,' recounts some of the episodes of my life that taught me, gradually and sometimes painfully, that the company is out of step.  These episodes, scattered over the continent and through forty years of time, present a fair sample of the issues that bear the collective label: conservation.

     Part III, 'The Upshot,' sets forth, in more logical terms, some of the ideas whereby we dissenters rationalize our dissent.  Only the very sympathetic reader will wish to wrestle with the philosophical questions of Part III.  I suppose it may be said that these essays tell the company how it may get back in step.

    Conservation is getting nowhere because  it is incompatible with our Abrahamic concept of land.  We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us.  When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.  There is no other way for land to survive the impact of mechanized man, nor for us to reap from it the aesthetic harvest it is capable, under science, of contributing to culture.

     That land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics.  That land yields a cultural harvest is a fact long known, but latterly often forgotten.

     These essays attempt to weld these three concepts. 

     Such a view of land and people is, of course, subject to the blurs and distortions of personal experience and personal bias.  But wherever the truth  may lie, this much is crystal clear: our bigger-and-better society is now like a hypochondriac, so obsessed with itos own economic health as to have lost  the capacity to remain healthy.  The whole world is so greedy for more bathtubs that it has lost the stability necessary to build them, or or even to turn off the tap.  Nothing could be more salutary at this stage than a little healthy contempt for a plethora of material blessings.  

     Perhaps such a shift of values can be achieved by reappraising things unnatural, tame, and confined in terms of things, in terms of things natural, wild and free. 

                                              

                                                                                                              Aldo Leopold

Madison, Wisconsin

4 March 1948

Well said Aldo.  Well said. 

It's amazing to me that the things Aldo said in 1948 were true in his day and even more true in ours.  Take heart and enjoy God's creation. We are meant to be stewards of the Earth.  That means conserving.  Now don't get me wrong there is nothing with consumption but in this day and age and especially in the United States we are extremely wasteful.  Our throwaway society is not wise and is not honoring to God.  I believe that the Lord put animals and plants and all of our natural resources here for us to use, but it's stupid and so disrespectful the way that we just rape the land and never give back.  We  (as Americans in general) never ask what the long term consequences of our actions are going to be.  It's time that we start making an effort to look ahead and use common sense.  A time for us to respect and fear God, the Creator of the Universe. And a time to use and enjoy his creation, our home on this side of heaven, with love and respect.  

      Not only is today Becky's birthday, but its also my mom and dad's 27th  wedding anniversary.  Pretty impressive.  I wish them another 27 and that Becky and I will do just as well as they have.  

Tate and I are going to go play catch now, maybe I'll write more later

Another day in Paradise

Well, today was day two of my new schedule with getting the kids on the bus.  So far so good.  Brenna and Brodey had  their first day of Kindergarten today.  They were pumped up to ride the bus.  And I even got a pretty good pony tail in Bren's hair.  I'm a work in progress when it comes to girl hair.  Poor Kennedy and Brenna.  We'll get there.  But the first day went well from what I hear. 
 Well the repairman was here yesterday. He put in the new sensor.........NO DICE!!! UGH!! I figured as much.   Becky got a call from the lady at the appliance repair shop saying that her husband (the owner, the head honcho) is coming out to take a look at it on Monday.  We'll let him come.  Willie and his sons do a great job with everything that we've had them work on.  We'll let them handle it.
  My tomatoes seem to be winding down which is ok with me because it's getting busy around here and I'm getting tired of canning.  We've been making some pretty great dinners using fresh tomatoes though so I imagine  we'll continue doing that until they're all gone for the summer.  I'm giving my neighbor some tomorrow.  I feel like I haven't been neighborly enough with them.  God has been convicting me as of late to love people more.

"It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel.  It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity."

                                              -Frederick D. Huntington-

 

I'm currently reading a book called "Crazy Love", written by Francis Chan.  Here is what the back cover of the book says:
                     "Have you ever wondered if we're missing it?  It's crazy, if you think about it.  The God of the universe-the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor- loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response?  We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss.
Whether you've verbalized it yet or not... we all know something is wrong.
Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions?  God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself.  Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts- it's falling in love with God.  And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same.  Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything."
It's pretty good.  It's made me realize just how lukewarm me and most other American's are when it comes to Jesus Christ.  We try to fit Jesus into our schedules instead of making His agenda ours.  We are like lukewarm water in the fact that we just try to not do too bad and make sure we go to church and keep up on the latest Christian music, but we don't have radical change in our lives and live like we are children of the Almighty God.   Jesus says in Revelation "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth!"

OUCH!  I don't know about you but that makes me want to be on fire for Jesus and to put him first in my life not try to fit Him into my schedule but rather make His schedule mine. 

We need to be radical.  Love our neighbors like ourselves.  Love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, mind and souls.

Back to the grind stone

The picture at right is the view to the west looking out into the bean field that butts up to our property.  I took this a few evenings ago.  It's been getting quite cool in the evenings which has been creating a lot of fog.  I thought that tree way out in the field looked really cool so I took it's picture. Anyway, the cooler evening and morning temps have made it feel like fall around here and maybe fall is closer than we think being that the kids are back to school now. As Becky stated the other night, another school year is starting, and it's official now.  Riley just got on the bus here and Tate will be getting on at his mother's soon. I've almost got a little bit of nervous belly for them this morning. lol. stupid. I've changed my hours at work so that I can be here to get the kids on the bus in the morning so that we don't have to pay the sitter to get them on. That's one of the perks (flexible hours) of family businesses, I guess. Anyway, the twins don't start until tomorrow, but they've got some literacy test or something at the school this morning.  After that it's hurry back here (pick Kennedy up on my way home) and get ready for the appliance repairman to get here. The darn oven quit working a week ago.  They came out to check it out and narrowed it down to three possible parts that need replaced.  The only problem is there is no way of testing to see which part it actually is.  So, with that being the case the repairman suggested we start with the least expensive part and go from there.  Today he is bringing that part (a sensor, I think). Pray that it's this thirty dollar part and not the two hundred dollar or more computer. 
     The other night I was looking in our pantry and I was kinda proud.  I've been trying to can and freeze some things for wintertime when we can't get local fresh veggies and fruit anymore. Here is what I saw:

 We've had a good tomato crop this year and so I've made a lot of pasta sauce. I made a few quarts of tomato juice and also some jars of creole sauce. The creole sauce was a recipe in my Ball canning book. It's pretty good. I use it like BBQ sauce. The book says it's good for grilling chicken or fish in. I'll let you know about that one. 

Earlier this summer Becky and my grandma Mason went picking strawberries.  They canned some strawberry jam, strawberry-rhubarb jam, and quite a few pints of strawberries in syrup.  Delicious. I'm glad that we don't truly have to live off of what we've grown and preserved. We'd be dead by about December first.  Still, we'll try more every year to grow as much of our own food as possible.  Before winter hits I'll be culling my old laying hens and making some pre cooked chicken and canning jars of chicken stock for soups.  I've not made stock before so I need to do a little research on how to get it done properly, but the canning book Becky got me has a recipe in there for it so I'm sure it'll be fine. 
     Well, off for now. There are lots of things that need done around here. All of the chickens are taken care of for now until this evening, but dishes need done and the house needs straightened.  Until next time...

And so it begins...

Another school year begins...  When I was young I remember being so anxious for the start of school and the prospect of wearing my new clothes and shoes and seeing my friends that it would be almost impossible to sleep the night before.  What's weird is, now that I am a teacher, the same old feelings start rushing back.  Not so much excited about wearing my new apparel, however, I did get some pretty cute maternity clothes, but more for the potential that the new year brings.  Every year I spend the summer planning and taking classes to prepare for the coming school year.  And, every year I have new ideas and material to "try out" on my new kiddos.  This year is especially filled with anxiety as I am starting my new career tech program.  I have been planning this program for two and a half years and can't wait to actually be teaching it.  I have a healthy mixture of excitement and being absolutely scared to death.  Taking on students for 3 hours everyday and trying to teach them skills that will carry them into college is a huge responsibility.  For the last 8 years I have taught Geology.  A subject near and dear to my heart that I know like the back of my hand.  This new material is just that, NEW.  I have to go back to the drawing board so to speak and I am less that thrilled about the prospect of going back to spending HOURS in front of my computer on the weekends lesson planning.

I am, however, excited for my kids to go back to school.  I have enjoyed spending time with them this summer, but the time is right for them to go back.  They have been nit picking each other like nobody's business and the tattle train has been full steam ahead for about the last two weeks.  Its a lot of fun having so many kids, but seriously if one more person says "she hit me" or "I'm telling" I may have to run right into traffic.

The twins will be entering kindergarten this year and you can't even imagine how stoked I am to not have to pay child care this year.  My daughter Bren Mae is beyond ready.  She was built for school.  I can already see some of the early signs and would not be surprised if she is not a teacher someday.  You know the ones, loves office supplies, plays "baby school" with her dolls, has a million sheets of paper and she has to keep them all.  My son on the other hand is a different case.  Brodey is a typical boy, he laughs about EVERYTHING, and a surprise search of his pockets would turn up anything from rocks and leaves, which he likes to collect, to action figures.  All I can hope for is that his teacher thinks he is as funny as I do.  A couple of weeks ago, in Sunday school, the teachers were talking to the kids about how God made everyone special.  On the way home, Brodey proclaimed, "I don't know why God made me so weird". He is my little weirdo and I love every second of it.  

As I sign off I reflect on the most glorious thing about the school year.... EARLIER BED TIME!!! 

KNOW YOUR FARMER

I had previously stated that the egg recall involved three hundred million eggs and three states, but according to msnbc tonight, that number is now more than half a billion eggs and twenty two states. Holy cow!! It's hard to believe that we can mess up something so simple as chicken and eggs. Here is the list of states where contaminated eggs are believed to have been sold:
                                                         The eggs were sold in Arkansas, California, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.

They were sold under the following brand names:

Albertson, Boomsma's, Dutch Farms, Farm Fresh, Hillandale, Kemps, Lucerne, Lund, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Shoreland, Sunshine and Trafficanda.

Read more: http://www.thirdage.com/news/egg-recall-expands-what-you-need-know_8-21-2010#ixzz0xJgsSvlZ

                                          

      The moral of this story is that you can't trust what's in the supermarket.  What's the answer? Know your farmer. That's it.  If we all take responsibility for the food choices that we make and support our local food economy and build relationships with the people that grow our food the fears of diseased and contaminated food become almost non existent.  Not only will it be cleaner food, but it will be so much fresher and tastier that you won't go back.

     For example, if you've ever had eggs fresh off of the farm you will never want to go back to factory eggs again.  When we got our first eggs out of our hens last year it was like trying a new food because the yolks were so brightly colored that they were nearly glowing orange.  I realize now that that is what an egg is supposed to look like not the pale yellow runny yolks that we get out of the grocery stores.  In fact I read in a book called "Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan, that at one time the large scale egg producers in the U.S. were adding red dye to the feed the hens ate so that it would color the yolks and they wouldn't look so gray.  (the pale color of the yolk has to do with diet and living conditions, but that is an essay for another soap box) Now folks I don't know if that particular thing still happens in 2010 with the red dye, but I can assure you that the eggs are no fresher or safer now than they were at that time.  Do yourself and your community good, and know your farmer. Start looking for ways to get your meats and cheeses and eggs and produce from a good honest farmer. Start looking into growing your own, CSA's (community supported agriculture) and various other outlets such as farmer's markets.  If you can shake the hand of the man or woman who grew your food and have a conversation with them you're are taking a step in the right direction.  I say it again: KNOW YOUR FARMER!

MEET THE REST OF THE CAST...

Well, in addition to Becky and I and our five kids, we also have a few critters here on the homestead. After all, we are trying to start a farm. First, you need to meet our two faithful sidekicks, Maverick and Tyler.

   
      Maverick is my two year old black lab. What a great puppy. Becky swears I love him more than I love her. Not more, just different. lol. Anyway, he's pretty good but still can't be trusted out of his cage when we're gone. Can someone say separation anxiety?  And then there is Tyler.

 

He's Becky's Boxer mutt that she rescued from the pound about ten years ago. Holy Smokes! This guy is one mess after another. And what's worse is that he's going deaf and blind and just doesn't care much anymore what he was told to do or not to do. The problem is he's a lover.  Anyone that comes around he is right up in there business trying to get acquainted.

  

Next, is Sugar. She's our bottle lamb that we bought from a friend.  She's two this year.  We have plans of breeding her and starting a small flock but for now she's our pet lamb with an identity crisis.  She thinks she's a chicken.  She has spent quite a bit of time in the yard with the chickens.  Let's move on...

This is a picture of the inside of our brooder house.  I just moved the broilers outside to their portable pen since we are going to be pasturing them Joel Salatin style. We ended up with 38 broilers, 25 Rhode Island Red hens, and 11 Buckeye hens.  I decided to try the Buckeyes since they are said to handle Ohio winters better than other breeds.  We raised some Rhode Island Red hens last year.  We did fairly well with them for first time chicken owners.  We learned quickly that you don't want to keep the hens and multiple roosters together too long.  Our poor hens ended up missing feathers that never did grow back properly. Lesson learned. But here is a picture of them in the first chicken tractor I built. It was much too heavy to move with any kind of ease.  Another lesson learned the new one is much lighter.  Unfortunately we aren't getting too many eggs out of these old girls anymore.  Just great. Especially when they just recalled some 300 million some odd eggs that are linked to over 2000 cases of Salmonella in three states.  You gotta love our industrial food system. 

So in all we have two dogs, one sheep, eleven old hens, eight old roosters, thirty-eight broilers, and thirty-six new hens.  Until the next post....

New Beginnings!!!!

Well, Hello out there! This is my/our first post on this blogger thing-a-ma-bob so please hang in there while we ride the learning curve.  First, let me introduce ourselves.
     My name is Matt, and I currently work in a family business selling steel. It's tough work and and even tougher for the little guy in such a tough economy. But still, thank God that I have a job at all. I've been working at Lakewood Steel (that's the name of my dad's company) for about ten years or so (longer if you count the summers I mowed the grass there).  But, anyway I'm slowly pulling away from the company and trying to start my own enterprises. I've been dabbling in gardening and small scale farming for the last few years and decided that I'm ready to take the leap. Because it turns out you'll never have a chance at achieving your dreams if you don't get up and do something about it.
      My wife Becky is a high school science teacher here.  She had been teaching Geology, which she loves, but starting this school year she is starting a new program at school.  The new program is Green Science Tech.  The idea is exploring sustainability issues in our society.  She'll teach about composting and recycling and environmental issues as well as talk about sustainable farming.  It's a whole new project for her and so she'll have a learning curve to ride this year as well.  We're praying that the program really takes off and that Becky doesn't offend too many people along the way.  (you know how offended we Americans get when someone tells us that the way we are living probably isn't the best for us or anyone else in the long run)  I hope you all will be praying for success for Becky in this school year and that she'll be able to teach the truth to these kids with out too many road blocks along the way.
     So, that brings us to the present, my new wife Becky (we just got married on 8/13/2010) and I own a small piece of property that would be great for starting our farming adventure.  Both of us were married once before and have kids from those previous marriages.  Becky has three children: Riley 8, Brodey 5, and Brenna Mae 5.  I've got two from my first marriage: Tate ,8, and Kennedy ,4.  That's five kids under ten years old folks!! Holy smokes! Oh yeah and one in the oven.....a little boy...likely named Micaiah Camden Drennen.  He's due here at the end of November.  So now you see we've got quite the crew here, seven soon to be eight living under one roof.  And let me tell you you just can't have a crew like this and not have stories to tell.
     So, my hopes for this blog are to share our stories and talk about faith, family and farming along the way.  God Bless You!!!