Homesteader Life

The following are some quotes from the preface of CH Spurgeon’s book, Farm Sermons. My friend John gave me a copy of this book shortly after we met. It has been a joy to own, every farmer needs a book full of good Farm Sermons.
Farmers should make brave Christians when grace renews them, for God […]

There was a nice article in USA Today(no I don’t read it, someone tipped me off) on Community Supported Agriculture that included the Local Harvest site I’ve talked about before.
There is a good post on the Backwater Report On CAFTA and Free Trade Idolatry. Its worth reading, his a snipet…..
In a previous lifetime, I hoped […]

Milk Fever
What a day! I got up late and then found one of our most valuable cows almost dead with milk fever. Spent an hour doctoring her before I could start milking. Four bottles of calcuim latter, she is up and eating. She is a granddaughter of the great Aron cow from Meri-Acres. Aron was […]

Those of you who wondered, I did take Mr. Kimball’s offer to borrow his copy of Family Friendly Farming by Joel Salatin. I found it in the mailbox yesterday and began reading it last night. This is quite a book. I have only got through the forward, intro, and chapter 1 and I’m already going […]

I just read an editoral in a dairy magazine about “show cattle”. The article said, “How many times have you stood at ringside and said, that cow would never last in my freestall barn.” They then came up with the idea that the true type model should change so they look more like […]

A few things to read
I liked RC JR’s latest post called The Wars Within Our Walls . Here is a taste……
It ought to demonstrate my own indebtedness to Anabaptist living that one of the internal purpose statements we used to use here at the Highlands Study Center was that we exist, “to help the anabaptist’s […]

I don’t know why I thought of this story or why I feel compelled to put it on here. I guess it was hearing that old Hank SR song while milking, but I’m not sure. Anyway, I was 17 I think. The work was done and I was getting ready to go have some fun. […]

It has warmed up a bit out here. The peas started peaking through the dirt. Not to much longer and we can start planting some other stuff. The blueberries are doing pretty good. I just got a new apple tree to plant. I’m a big fan of the Macs. I found a disease resistant tree […]

The notion that “labor saving devices” are a blessing is largely accepted today. The notion that that large families are a curse (in deed if not in words) is also accepted by many. As a farmer, I must challenge this mindset. I have been a lover of old barns for most of my life. Today […]

The Fence
Its never a good sign when a stranger comes in the barn during morning milking. It happened on the Lord’s Day. Sometimes its a guy out of gas, someone that hit a critter, or someone to drunk to find their way home. This guys son went off the road at drove […]