Okay, half way to syndication! Ha Ha.
Damn, it's been hot this summer!
Now don't go all "Al Gore" on me, it's just a hot summer, and there have been others equal to it, that even I remember. So don't panic, in fact I recently heard an orbiting satellite was checking, and found that the Earth was radiating much more heat than they originally thought, so the Global Warming Crisis is starting to look like all the other "Democratic Whining" total crap.... And while we are on politics, do the Republicans generally seem like the most heartless A-holes in the world right now? Doesn't it seem there should be some sort of middle ground, where the down and out get a little help, and the filthy rich, give a little help? I'm not talking communism, I'm talking a humanitarian attitude. We seem able to save the rest of the world, but not ourselves, what is the problem?
And then there's the growing Global Fear of Nuclear Power. Because some knot head Jap engineers decided it was acceptable to "site" reactors in a flood prone coastal area and put the required backup generator in the basement? DUH Homer! When will the world learn to check with a fifth grader before allowing engineers to finalize a plan?
It seems I am always knocking engineers, and I realize, unlike the people in charge, it often happens that they are the ones tasked with deciding things they are unequipped to handle, and that is a management issue. Or a misunderstanding of the width and breadth of the wisdom engineers possess. A structural engineer is the person to seek out when you want to know if a beam is sufficient for a particular load, but why trust them to decide if that load is likely to occur? I think every project should be subjected to the consideration of a group of disaster experts. This group should consist of 4 teenage boys who will be told not to touch or break anything and 3 grandmas who will be told they will have to clean up the mess if anything goes wrong, and two grandpas who are tasked with fixing whatever breaks in the first year and keeping the grandmas and the kids, from hurting each other. Overseen by a mother, of three or more, to watch over all of it, and report the findings in terms simple enough even the engineers can understand it. This council of ten would be paid 10% annually until there was a problem they didn't for see, and after 5 years they would be released and the remaining 50% would be paid.
Meanwhile, I have been fixing a lot of lawn mowers and weed eaters, and not only the ones I have screwed up, but a couple for friends as well. In fact, I am about to decide to commence to begin to build something I can use to make my mowing and fence line maintenance a little easier. I'm not sure yet if it will have actual blades or strings or chains, but it is going to have some width. Because I need to make a few less trips around the yard if I'm going to survive. An 8 hour day on the lawn tractor is too much, for what I have left to work with. I mow a day and lose two, and I can't medicate much more than I do on a regular basis or my eyes quit working, The lenses get numb and won't focus if I take more than 6 vicoden in a day, for a couple days. And any less and I can't move, or sit, WAH WAH WAH. Anyway I guess the mother of invention is about to get her chance to produce.
This is my weather station, it had become inaccurate, like you know, the same forever! So I finally got time to check it out. And then I took some time to clear it out. because as you can hopefully see it is totally over grown, with a vine and unable to function. It even grew inside the little fan housing so it couldn't spin to indicate wind speed.
BUGS! I am amazed at the number of bugs in the yard, and I don't mean VolksWagens. I mean the crawly little buzzing annoying things that seem to be everywhere in the millions! I drop a screw in the grass and I have to fight a dozen critters trying to taste it! And I'm sure a couple can move 1/2 inch bolts, because where I find them, is nowhere near, where I dropped them! Sometimes, I just stand in one spot for a couple minutes, usually catching my breath from walking up the hill, and, as I regain consciousness, I find myself watching hundreds of little spiders and ants and grasshoppers and moths and butterflies and even an aphid, or five hundred, swarming around at my feet. I would try to jump away from them, but the only place to jump, has a seemingly greater number of the same. Probably because under my feet are hundreds of "more of the same" waiting for me to move on. And everywhere I have ever pushed a shovel into the ground there are more science fiction monsters, grubs and dozens of different colored ants, and occasionally a worm or two, though not often as they are beneficial creatures. And that, is just where I'm standing at the moment, in an area I regularly mow. In the mornings, yes I have seen mornings, usually because I forgot to go to bed.. and trash day, the hundreds of little dew covered spider webs in the grass, are amazing just in sheer numbers. And in the wooded areas, there are even more varieties of creepy crawlies. And some of the colors, bright iridescent reds, orange, yellows, greens, blues, others so subdued, and matching the surroundings so well, as to be nearly invisible, detectable only due to movement, and even then, I'm sure just as many are entirely hidden. Just amazing. I mention this because, well it just makes me wonder how much "life" there is on the planet, I read somewhere the number of billions of tons of insects that are estimated to be on the planet, and it is colossal, about 4 times the number of people. And there are even a couple sites claiming we are going to end up eating insects in even greater quantities than we do now. So I'm thinking a couple cows might just be a good idea soon, I don't think I care much for insect steaks, or crawler sausage. Just doesn't make my mouth water, and I don't think even A-1 would make it that much better.. So I'm thinking a legacy approach, you know a little backward farm type thing, where I get self sufficient, mostly. Well, I can dream can't I?
Rumor has it there is some kind of oil under Ohio, and Chesapeake Oil, is drilling for it. Some places are claiming to be interested in paying $4000.00 an acre for the rights to drill under us. I say rumored because I have found no one who can say "they" got more than $15.00 an acre and that was two years ago. I had tried for $100.00 an acre, and been laughed at, they are still laughing. I can't even get them to return my calls or verify my involvement with any of them. I have heard however that this is part of the hype that creates "the frenzy" within the moneyed click that buys into these speculative boondoggles. By creating a storm of rumors and punching a couple wells which are completely surrounded by high fences and security the companies drilling can interest venture capitalists and "remote investors" in purchasing part of " the biggest oil find in america". But of course there are wells and there might even be some oil, ( there was oil found here100 years ago, and there will surely be residual finds that might last a couple weeks to get their appetites really whetted), but the oil drillers just line up the suckers take their money and pull their pipes and move on. Rich, and laughing at the suckers who bought a hole in the ground, and paid millions for it.... Now I would like to get my little piece of the payoff, not because I think they will find oil, but I want them responsible for my drinking water. Because one part of what they do is frack the substrate, which has in the past ruined quite a few water systems. And I just got mine working nearly flawlessly, and I like my water, it is good tasting and clear and sufficient for my needs now. And I have worked hard to make it so. SO I would like a guarantee that if they screw it up, they are responsible to replace it. I am planning on taking samples to town to make sure it is registered that my water is clear and safe and then I can go after them should they mess it up.. paranoid? NOT if they really are, out to get you.
The Garden this year got short shrift, what with the family issues and ensuing travel it seems every time anything was required, or ripe, there was another need to leave for a couple days or we couldn't get out of the house for a sufficient period of time to get anything done. 
Even the animals decided to escape to fend for themselves, probably thinking we had abandoned them. However I did get some tomatoes and peppers and a couple ears of corn from my garden eventually. I took a grandson out, and taught him to pick berries and eat them off the vine. Hopefully next year
we can learn about tomatoes and peppers and corn and carrots and beans, and maybe even some potatoes. But we will have to see how the weather treats us, it was wet this spring and everything got started late, so it is coming in now, and I suspect we will get
frost damage before it can all be collected. Actually finally collected and canned lotsa tomatoes and peppers, even made some bread and butter pickles, which turned out great.
But now back to the real issues at hand on NADAFARM. Like I started whining about, it has been hot! So I can only do a little each day, because I am way too warm blooded for this weather and any strenuous activity. My bibs get so heavy that I can hardly walk in them, I lose a gallon of sweat and can't seem to keep up with the water intake required to maintain, so I sit around in the AC and wish I was accomplishing something. And It's only July! Anyway, I have broken and fixed a few little items. But the pump that I had been offered hasn't yet materialized, and without it, I am no better off than last year. I have purchased two rolls of fence that will allow the acquisition of a couple more goats, the backhoe will make the fencing much easier. I have accumulated the required materials to expand the little house, the backhoe will make the foundation possible. The backhoe will also make possible, the concreting of the machine shed, so I can set up the shelving, which will allow the cataloging and storage of the junk, utilizing the most important area of the entire farm, the garage/machine shop. I am getting rather perturbed over the lack of response from my new buddy Jim. But this isn't the first Jim to be a "Promising John" type individual.
July 11th I got my first email to respond to, about the" build card" for the 700, and where to send the info.
July 13th I got the offer for the pump. Later that same day, a question about parts for the VAC.
July 17th getting more info on 700.... Jim ran into a sanding belt at work....
July 25th I was assured I wasn't forgotten , but farming business was pressing.
August 11th got an address, but no mention as to how much for the shipping yet.
August 11th Oh and Jim broke 3 bones in his hand.
August 13th I sent the check and an Email about the fact that the check is in the mail.
August 19th still waiting, no contact, not even a confirmation of receipt of the check..
August 21st finally a response that the check had arrived the previous Thursday...
August 28th Jim's computer monitor failed using cell phone for internet, will USPS..... on monday, of course....
August 31st went to post office, it leaked oil out of box, had to take it back home....
Small gap in communication due to family issues on my end...
September 26th I wrote musing about the kind of wood to make plugs out of.. mentioned it's not snowing yet...
September 27th received picture of broken leg, tractor fell on Jim.. expect delay in shipment....
September 27th He is giving it to his wife to ship, but it won't be today..
October 6th Finally got an email that it had been shipped, and to expect it today. Complete with tracking number!
October 6th it was here when we returned from town!
Damn it's a big heavy thing much bigger than I had thought from the pictures.
All I can say is, this pump better work...
Well guess what, it didn't work like I needed it to. But that is a story that is worth it's own page. So after all the build up you will have to wait till I can get the next page up. But to go any longer on a page that starts with, how hot the Summer Was, seems just wrong. The good news is I'm doing the next page as you are reading this so even though it's been a while between pages the next one should make up for it. So enjoy this one the next has about a hundred pictures, Chris has been involved.....
Man, are we happy out here!
The Chores, Fresh Air, Green Acres is for ME.
ray...
The happy Nada Farmer, WAH WAH WAH. Well, we will see how we handle our lives as free people once again. We had a little spell back in the late nineties where we had only ourselves to look after, but since we moved here, we have, of course, had responsibilities. Over a thousand breakfasts later, we are again a couple. Not that it is yet over as there is still the disbursement of stuff, but soon we hope to be free from all outside influences and able to actually go somewhere together or do something without making arrangements. Because there was no one to make arrangements with. But that is over now, so we move on.
Keep coming back, page Fifty One follows......soon.
