The Phunny Pharm

A violation of my own rules, but this is the best news that i have heard all year. . .

2010-03-31T13:07:00.002-04:00

Originally posted on the Onion News.

Follow this link to find the original article:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/us-government-to-save-billions-by-cutting-wasteful,17171/

U.S. Government To Save Billions By Cutting Wasteful Senator Program
March 30, 2010 ISSUE 46•13
Nearly all of the U.S. senatorial positions were categorized as inefficient redundancies.

WASHINGTON—In an effort to reduce wasteful spending and eliminate non-vital federal services, the U.S. government announced plans this week to cut its long-standing senator program, a move it says will help save more than $300 billion each year.
According to officials, the decision to cut the national legislative body was reached during a budget review meeting on Tuesday. After hours of deliberation, it was agreed that the cost of financing U.S. senators far outweighed the benefits they provided.
"Now more than ever, we must eliminate needless spending wherever possible," President Obama said at a press conference Wednesday. "When we sat down to go over our annual budget, we asked ourselves, where can we safely trim back? What programs can we do away with without negatively impacting the American people? Which bloated and ineffective institutions can we no longer justify having around?"
"The answer was obvious," Obama added. "The U.S. Senate just needed to go."
Established in 1789 as a means of overseeing the passage of bills into law, the once-promising senator program has reportedly failed to contribute to the governing of the nation in any significant way since 1964. Last year alone, approximately $450 billion was funneled into the legislative chamber, an amount deemed fiscally unsound considering how few citizens actually benefit in any way from its existence.

In fact, the program has gone unchecked for so long that many in Washington are now unable to recall what purpose U.S. senators were originally meant to serve.
"I'm sure when it was first introduced the U.S. Senate seemed like a worthwhile public service that would aid vast segments of the population and play an important role in the years to come," said Sheila McKenzie, president of the watchdog group the American Center for Responsible Government. "But in reality, this program has been a complete and utter failure."
"It simply doesn't work," she added. "We've been pouring taxpayer dollars into this outdated relic for far too long."
An analysis conducted last week revealed a number of troubling flaws within the long-running, heavily subsidized program, including a lack of consistent oversight, no clear objectives or goals, the persistent hiring of unqualified and selfishly motivated individuals, and a 100 percent redundancy rate among its employees.
Moreover, the study found that the U.S. government already funds a fully operational legislative body that appears to do the exact same job as the Senate, but which also provides a fair and proportional representation of the nation's citizens and has rules in place to prevent one individual from holding the operations of the entire chamber hostage until he is guaranteed massive federal spending projects for his home state of Alabama.
Not only have U.S. Senators cost the country billions of dollars in misspent funds over the years, but Washington insiders claim they have also derailed a wide range of other government programs, from social welfare to job creation to environmental protection.
"Even just the space the Senate currently occupies could be put to better use," consumer advocate Michael Dodgerson said. "Were the government to open a day-care center, a homeless shelter, or even an affordable restaurant in that building, it would make more of a difference in the lives of everyday Americans than what's there now."
So far, reaction to the cutback has been overwhelming positive, with many across the country calling it a long-awaited step toward progress.
Still, a small pocket of the nation's populace vehemently disagreed with Tuesday's decision.
"This is outrageous," said Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut-area resident and concerned citizen who makes more than $150,000 a year, enjoys full health care benefits, and lives comfortably in a large, non-foreclosed home. "The U.S. Senate has always looked out for my best interests. It's always done right by me."
Added Lieberman, "Without it, I'll have no choice but to exploit my extensive connections in the real estate, legal, insurance, and pharmaceutical industries to obtain strictly honorary positions at large companies that, in exchange for my subservience over the years and the prestige of my name, will compensate me generously and allow me to continue living a privileged life without contributing even a moment of my time to the society that has made it all possible."

- Thank you Onion for this article!! Maybe a true fix to the economy ;-P

A coupla days late

2010-03-30T21:01:00.002-04:00

So i promised myself that i would try to only visit my home computer on Fridays to do blogs and other such things but so far i have failed. It's now Tuesday night of the following week and i am just getting to it.
This has been an exciting week. We had an accidental lamb. . . . meaning that we didn't know that the ewe (Dyna) was pregnant. It was the greatest surprise of the week. It happened on Saturday morning, when i am usually not at work. This particular weekend i happened to be at the farm with some freshmen from Bates college who were working off some service project hours. Needless to say, the service project was put on hold. . .

In other news. . . we are back in Boston getting ready for surgery. Many thanks to Sally and Jane, we are crashing their pad again so that we don't have to drive to Boston at the crack of dawn.

Stand by for a focused Friday post. . .

So on and so forth

2010-03-21T05:01:00.003-04:00

This warm weather has me a little nervous. This has been the trend the last two years, both of which led into a very cold and wet summer. The snow is long gone. In fact i am looking very forward to tilling the garden tomorrow.

Amy is home. She is healing very well, and we are looking into surgery number two in order to finish what couldn't be in the last surgery. It will be nice for Amy to be able to fully function this summer. We would love to go out and do things, but we don't want to over work her knee or make her feel left out. . .

Duck eggs have already starting appearing. Last year our three ducks produced eleven offspring. This year we have five ducks. . . eeeeeeek! No eggs from the turkeys yet, but the chickens are producing well. i have resolved that we are going to have or two evil roosters butchered as soon as the nice butcher man opens up. The kids have been having a lot of trouble with the roosters. Especially James, who is largely responsible for the birds. i fear that in my inability to deal with kids being afraid of something silly like a chicken, that i have ruined chicken rearing for James.

It all came clear this weekend. Stu, Mike B. and i went to a retreat with the Sisters of Mercy to learn more about Catherine McCauley. It was insightful, inspiring and much needed.

Since Amy's surgery i have had no quiet time, no still time. The retreat was exactly what i needed to refocus. Catherine's whole life was about love. Where have i failed in my love?

It is a question that will require some pondering in the future. For now i will start with James. . . and the chickens.

Tomorrow (today now) we are going to spend the morning with our neighbors fellowship. It is a Baptist gathering, the tradition that i grew up in, so i am already very skeptical. Why waste the day that could be used for working?

Hopefully the time with family will be worth it and God will speak to us all. It would be good to have us all moving toward being on the same page again. . .

Spring. . .or is it

2010-03-16T04:51:00.002-04:00

The last few weeks have been such a tease. . . potentially. There is virtually no snow around, the temperatures have been up and the sun has taken center stage in the sky.
The trolls have been outside a lot. The neighborhood has a whole new feel to it these last few months. We went from a couple of kids to a whole mess of them. The street is alive with giggling, running, and chaos.

Amy is recuperating well. She is getting around better and has even managed around the house without her crutch. What a difference the house has been with her out of the loop. The first couple of surgeries weren't too bad, but back then it was just Amy, James and i. Add two more and the work load increases disproportionately. This whole process has helped me to appreciate Amy more. It has also helped me to appreciate single parents (and i know a few). Holding down two jobs (to make up for Amy's not working), doing all of the house work and tending to three kids would end me if i had to do it for any length of time. . . i love my wife.

Planting in our yard starts soon. Well, just as soon as the lakes disappear. Even with no snow we have more than enough precipitation in the form of rain. Even as i am typing the news is commenting on "dry" conditions everywhere in the state except southern Maine. This is the time of year for it and i would rather have it now than all summer.

Happy day before Saint Patty's Day!!

I so have to get off my butt and blog

2010-02-28T18:20:00.003-05:00

Greetings all. Where ever has all the time gone. There are a few of you who i am hoping haven't fallen off the face of this blog because i have news to post and this seems a festive way to get the word out. . .

So in the last month. . . you know, the month that i didn't blog. . . i have been busy. More importantly, we, as a family have been getting ready for Amy to have surgery. Yup, after 6 years Amy has finally been able to get that knee of hers worked on - again. It has been a grueling month of psychological preparation, especially for A who has been suffering from anxiety over the affair more than she has for any of the previous 5 procedures.
Last Friday she went under the knife. The plan was that they were going to clean out both the top and bottom of her knee (she has P.V.N.S., but don't ask. We have to explain to 90% of the doctors we meet. They usually don't get it either). When the doc got done with the back, so much tissue had been removed and there was so much trauma to the knee that they decided doing both sides would do more harm than good. I was worried that Amy wouldn't take this well because there has been some hope that this might actually be the last surgery. . .no longer is that the case. The good news is that she took the news very well and understood the doctor's concerns - he is an awesome doctor and that helps!
In the days following she has been completely different in recovery than ever before. Her pain is down way below normal, but her dizziness and nausea have been high, and her blood pressure low. She was scheduled to be held an extra day, but then almost sent home a day early. Now we are looking at a "normal" release! So Monday is the plan.

In the mean time i have to thank Jane, Sally, Sean, Shannon, Molly and Seth for putting me up and putting up with me in the greater Boston area. They have been so great getting me acquainted with the out lying suburbs and the "T" and some of the local pubs. It has been a huge help to not have to commute everyday. . . or sleep in the parking garage. Thanks guys!!

In the meantime i am committing myself to spending a little more time posting here, and maybe even throwing up some pictures. . . Stay tuned for fun.

The farm on facebook

2010-01-31T17:19:00.002-05:00

Okay, bearing in mind that i have limited Internet smarts, and don't even have a Facebook account. Apparently you have to have a first and last name to start an account. Amy (in her brilliance) set up the farm on Facebook as, 'Theo Pendoorfarm' (i.e. The Open Door Farm).

Pretty clever!!! i got me a good woman here.

Noah

2010-01-31T06:30:00.001-05:00

It's been a weird year. New job, new schedule, most of the social life is all mixed up. It has been wonderful and hard. . . no more to do list - still not sure how i am surviving day to day without that little gem.

Finding a rhythm in our home life has been weird, and i have struggled more this year with "normal" than i think maybe ever in my life. All the changes have taken a toll on each of us - dad's not home as much now, mom is gone more, (she went back to work), home schooling is harder (math), little kids are becoming big kids (more energy and need to do big kid things). The "rhythm" in our house has been a lot like an epileptic convention atop a snare drum. It has been wearing on all of us.

The light affects me so (i am sure that i have written about this in the past), but the weird weather this year has somehow delayed any symptoms of seasonal depression till now. The last several weeks have been hard on me. The economy, things around the house needing repair, trying to be more "productive" at work (okay, it's winter and i am farmer. . . duh!!!), busy schedules and little home time together. . . its trying. Every stress has a band aid therapy that makes the larger picture a little easier to handle, but a cure for "life" just hasn't really presented itself. . . until yesterday.

We have a friend, Noah. He is a kid, like any other kid who is about to turn 4. Noah's story started when he was very young - he was born with the coolest head of hair EVER!! He was the baby with the curly mohawk. . . it was awesome, but that isn't part of this story. Noah has a condition that is causing him to lose his hearing, at a pretty aggressive rate. It wasn't discovered until well after other kids his age were talking up storms that Noah had never ever heard a wide range of "normal" noises. He has adjust very well, for a child of nearly four, to his new "ears" - he got hearing aids last year.

Noah and Owen (my middle boy) started swimming lessons last week. While Noah is very hard of hearing he is still able to hear a lot of noises, but not necessarily process them, which can be wicked overwhelming for him. Last week at the first lesson, Noah wouldn't get in the pool. . . i don't blame him! The pool is in a big room with horrible accoustics. Every sound is amplified and the symphony of noises created by a mob of 3 to 5 year olds is like reliving the whole Civil War in half of an hour for a person with normal hearing.

This week Amy and Tammy (Noah's mom) asked me to walk him up to the pool side to help him adjust to the chaotic environment. For some silly reason ladies can't be in the men's locker room at a college. Noah, Owen and i sat alongside the pool while we waited for lessons to start. It was loud in "the fish bowl", but Noah did well. Owen made sure to check on his friend periodically. When class started i joined the other parents at the big window where we all gawk at our children like they are a zoo exhibit. All the kids hopped into the pool. . . except Noah. He was nervous, and the swim instructors didn't want to just pull him in for fear that they might scare him. After a few minutes of negotiations between the instructor and Noah, i was given the go ahead by mom to go in and help out.

I asked Noah if he wanted to swim. He indicated that he didn't. His folks, Amy and i all know that he loves the water, so i lifted him and handed him to the teacher in the pool. Three minutes of tears turned to laughter, smiles, and some of the splashiest kicking ever seen in the Saint Joe's pool.
Noah and family spent the rest of the day at our house. For having been in a reclusive mood the last few weeks i was glad to have had my friends there. The highlight of my day, if not my year, was noticing about half way through the afternoon that Noah, who has religiously called me "Mr. Myke" all his life, had been calling me "Uncle Myke" all day.

Kids are the cure to many woes and ailments - today, Noah was my cure.

Thanks buddy!

Rain on my parade.

2010-01-25T17:12:00.002-05:00

There isn't actually a parade, but there was a string of days where our basement was actually dry. The first time since May of last year. I almost missed the water. The basement wasn't completely inundated, but a river definitely ran through it!
Being the middle of January one might think, "Hey, the ground is frozen, there should be no water running through your basement."
Well, yes, it is January, but no, it has not been a normal winter. Today, because my basement was dry, nature thought that it would be a great day to be 46 degrees and rain torentially. And as if it wasn't sick enough, the water table waited till i got home to start coming in the basement so that i could watch it happen. . .That's just mean!
The good news being that the days of dry offered me an opportunity to get some demolition done so that we can get a new sump hole cut with the next "dry" period.

In other news, Amy and i have decided that we want to be more active in the food pantry world this year, and have decided that rather than just garden for ourselves this year that we are going to start a limited share Micro-CSA to help us fund a larger garden so that we can put produce into the local pantry. The shares that we "sell" will be matched and more at the local food pantry which will get some good locally grown, organic food into the hands of the less able. Amy has already set up a facebook account (she loves the sales and marketing bit), and hopefully i will have the e-mail and blog set up soon. . . The Open Door Farm - hopefully the Good Lord will offer us a better growing year this time around, but we will take what we can get.

Anybody out there have any big plans for the gardens this year?

Nerf Terrorism!!

2010-01-19T19:57:00.002-05:00

Homeland security beware!!! TSA beware. . . no metal detector or enhanced instant porn device. . . i mean x-ray can prepare you for the Nerf terrorists!!!

You say to me, "Myke, this is terribly insensitive and in bad taste, especially in this era of paranoia and mass hysteria over every little bottle of hair gel, or every cup of coffee that might explode should it make it through a security check point."

"Well," I reply. "You have never been to my house after the children have loaded their Nerf arsenal. Its terrifying!!"

Yes, after a firm, "No!!" from Mom, the children were able to hop on the black market - I blame the Internet - and acquire these contraband weapons of mass destruction! Oddly, dad actually had nothing to do with any of this!!!!

All that i can offer is that if you swing by for a visit that you wear your body armor! It is for your own good.

Been a long time, eh?!?

2010-01-17T18:47:00.003-05:00

Well,

It has been a long reprieve from this silly little blog. Some of you may be thinking, well. . . you kept up the other one (you know that one about the farm)?
Well. . . yes, yes I did. But that was for work. Couldn't really get around that. That being said, I have enjoyed the break, and yet missed writing too.

Please don't expect anything deep or profound tonight. It is just a night, snowing, cold and perfect for middle January. James and Amy are playing chess. Owen is with Wah-wah, and Sissy is finishing off supper.

Job is good, life is good. . . wow, I feel a little out of practice. Today was fun, started work on the bathroom closet, started demolition on the basement, got the truck to start. It was a day of starting!

Amy and I having been chewing on the possibility of starting a micro farm here on Weeman road. Offering about 10 family shares (we have more land available than just our yard - neighbor has some land to grow on) that would help fund some shares to be offered at the local food pantry. We are still developing the idea, and we should probably get in gear if we want to do anything with the land this year. We'll keep you posted. . . and maybe I will have something a little more interesting to write about next time. . .

Time for a break. . .

2009-10-22T04:55:00.002-04:00

Nothing like a time of reflection, right?!?!?

The two times of the day that i really feel like i can step outside of myself, be quiet, and meditate are shower time (there is a lock on the door) and driving in the car.

This last couple of years have been so topsy turvy here on the pharm, but it wasn't till recently, and specifically this morning, that i was able to pin point the beginning of the chaos, and more importantly prescribe a cure. . .

So the time has come, and i am going away for a little while - a funny thought since i have been blogging so infrequently as of late. But, no, really, it is time for a break to try and get my head on straight, and more importantly my home in order again.

Keep warm this winter, i will be back again eventually. . .

Finally. . . Fryeburg

2009-10-11T20:51:00.005-04:00

So for the past 10 years i have heard about this phenomenal fair in Fryeburg. Allegedly it is the biggest Ag fair in Maine. For the last nine years, work or some other impediment has prevented me from attending. Finally, after years of waiting i was able to make the journey to the fair with the fam. Sadly, i wasn't terribly impressed. Two realities may have factored into my disappointment: 1) it was CROWDED. There must have been four million people there. i felt like i needed to have the kids chained to me lest i lose them. 2) We only had four hours to tour the fair, and i fear that we missed a lot. To be fair to the fair, next year we will go during the week instead of on a Saturday. If i am not impressed then, we will just stick to our favorite - The Common Ground Faire! It is much more open, and more geared toward our interests (though in fairness Fryeburg has a much better 4H representation), and there is just a stronger sense of camaraderie with all of the participants - much less the touristy feel. Some of the highlights from Fryeburg: The critter barns, the critters, meeting a young Mainer (and boy was he!!) who was showing sheep (He was very informative.), fried bread, finding old fashioned sheers for our sheep, the crafts and Ag tents!! Overall the whole affair was very fun.

Announcing a new blogger

2009-10-09T08:30:00.002-04:00

Hey gang,

I got an invite to what promises to be a pretty cool new blog. The author is vibrant, creative, and has his father's stunning good looks and charm!

Check out Amazing Adventures With James

Progress. . .

2009-10-04T04:01:00.002-04:00

Today was great!!! (And by today i mean Saturday).

i worked at the comm center in the wee morning hours - i hate waking up early, but i like early starts. By the time i got home it was raining.
Mike graciously helped to haul all of the left over tree parts (we felled 10 spruce trees this year) over to the burn pile. We started at 0830 and burned until nearly 4:30. The cinder pile is nearly as tall as the original burn pile!!! So after a day of that our yard is back! It is so very weird to have an open front yard.
During the course of our burning we were also able to successfully replace the propane line (not near the fire obviously).
So today was a good day! Productive, cool, and here i find myself again at the comm center. One more night!!! When i get home. . . . it's dump day. . . .wooohooo!

Do you remember Cliff Huxtable????

2009-10-02T20:30:00.002-04:00

That seems to be my lot in life these days. i am not complaining. It is really rather entertaining. Things around here keep managing to break a the most inopportune times and frankly repair people cost too darn much. So to mitigate problems i have undertaken these little opportunities to learn all about home repairs and improvements. . .

Most recently the timer on the dryer, but that was trumped by the igniter on the stove. Yup, silly thing went out, and we had to find the part and replace it. 75 bucks and several hours later the stove works. . . .yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then came the musical hissing sound. The copper pipe that connects our PROPANE stove to the PROPANE TANK had apparently been compromised before and is now, well. . . broken!! Yup, i can hold the last two feet of pipe in my hand while standing twenty feet away from the wall that it used to come out of.

It was an educational moment. Our pregnant friend, her hubby, the three kids, two cats a dog and i had to make that crucial decision! Do we evacuate and call the fire brigade or not?!? So we opted to evacuate and shut off the gas our selves. No sense in making a spectacle of the whole ordeal and draw attention to my "gentle nature" and "careful approach" to home repair.

Well, now that the house is aired out and the propane is shut off. . . i am off to bed. Gotta be up in the morning to work at the 911 center. . . Okay, so i might have thought about calling them for this whole hoo-haw, but that would be way too much like work.

It's raining. . . .

2009-09-28T21:54:00.002-04:00

. . . again!

Tonight there is lightening and thunder.

The fields are getting to the point where we will be soon turning them in! Our pals from ol' Tejas are here and adapting quite well to the pandemonium that is our house. To go from a quiet house to a house full of kids must be a hard feat, but they seem to be surviving. Regardless, we are very glad they are here!

This weekend we were at the Common Ground Faire (hippy fest), up north. Now that we are much more agricultural than ever the faire took on a new meaning. Of the many things that seemed much more interesting than in years past, was the sheep dog demonstration. Now mind you, we are still really very new to the sheep ownership thing, but still fairly confident. At the end of the demo, the guys with the dogs challenged the audience (without dogs) to a herding contest. Amy volunteered us, and with another older couple we had to separate a herd of sheep and goats, and corral some running ducks.
While I am not one to blow my own horn (well, not all the time), we did pretty darn good. Our team of four was only four seconds. . . yes 4 seconds, slower than the two professionals with five, count them - 5, trained herding dogs. It was cool.
As soon as I can download the photos you can see the one stubborn goat that Amy decided to drag to where it belonged. . . .don't mess with mama!
Otherwise, we are looking forward to the coming (technically already here) season. Cool days, falling leaves, hot cider. . . yum, yum!

All the signs of autumn. . .

2009-09-13T14:45:00.003-04:00

There was a wonderfully steady rain yesterday. It wasn't really supposed to come (depending on which weather person you listened to), but it lasted all day. Had the local fire department had any burning permits on hand, we would have happily burned all day. It will be nice to be rid of some of the tree debris that is floating around the pharm these days. Mr. Bruce (our neighbor) was more than happy to drop 6 or so big Blue Spruce trees and then cut them up. Now the business of reducing the limbs to ash falls on us. . . but the weather has been hot and dry.

The fur children have grown and found their niche here. For all of the losses this year (30 some odd chickens to those wily foxes, and most of our home crops to the ridiculous rains) they have been a happy spot. Amy has really taken to them, and they to her. They know her voice and respond very well. And so, they have become hers, and i won't get to eat any this year. . . .

We are draining the well today so that i can climb in it and adjust the fittings on the pipes. Aside from the air leak that has crept it's way into our water system, there is a sinister desire lurking in my mind to fall (or in this case climb) into a well.

All the signs of autumn are here - the leaves have begun to turn, the nights are getting cold, the turkeys are getting fat,and the deer are moving. At Pearson's Town we have thrown in a last round of root crops that we hope to harvest before the snow flies. We should also finish the first hoop house this week. . . or so i am hoping. Our week is cut into by my moonlighting at the coffee shop on campus (way too much fun) and a visit to Eliot Coleman's place on Thursday.

We are eager to welcome Laura and Mike to the abode. . . Amy is nesting again (she likes variety of people coming and going). They will join us for a bit while they look to grow roots in the area.

Stay tuned for autumn fun. . .

A minor miscommunication

2009-09-02T21:49:00.001-04:00

With regards to the poem from this morning, and the reference to the tele. . . i was at work. Fear not loyal readers - there is no television in our house!!!! Gotta draw the line somewhere nowadays.

It's early

2009-09-02T04:40:00.001-04:00

It's hard to be inspired by four walls

They neither talk nor sing

Their bland beige texture is both bland and beautiful

i can not fault them for their devotion to monotony

For it was not their doing.

The T.V. is on.

Images flickering every six seconds or so.

There is no volume which is just as well

i have had enough of people hawking their goods and wares

It's a sure sign that autumn is wandering in

i can taste the melancholy at the base of spine

The season is coming with it's chill and falling leaves

Poems and spiced cider.

The apples - they know something of life and eternity

Well beyond the leaves and dew.

The apples have no sheet rock beneath a textured wall paper

Insulated by meat, juice and olfactory stimulating flavor - they tempt the senses

Unlike the porcupine fiberglass that slumbers in the wall.

Even in death they do not die

Their pomace fills the late season air

And they melt to nitrogen to feed the soil

To feed the trees.

To feed the apples.

These four walls (seven if you include the alcove) do not inspire me.

i do not blame them for it was not their doing.

But the apples and the worms, the soils and the trees

The stinging wind burn of the autumns departure on my face

These do inspire.

--
Thephunnypharm.blogspot.com
pearsonstown.blogspot.com

The visitors. . .

2009-09-01T20:27:00.002-04:00

It's September. . . did i miss summer???

Actually the last several weeks have been amazing. Pearson's Town is finally showing legitimate signs of viability, and that is great. The phunny pharm on the other hand. . . well, i have let the garden go to become an animal sanctuary (removed a ground hog today who made a burrow right into the bean patch). There are still beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers and egg plant. . . somewhere in there.

The chickens, turkeys and sheep are doing well. i will post some pics soon enough. In the meantime it is busy, busy time at Pearson's Town, and my time is a bit more consumed there. . .

Stay tuned for more.

i should be sleeping right now. . .

2009-08-17T21:12:00.002-04:00

This is a blog about poop. For that very reason. . . i won't post any pictures.

Potty training is fun. It's fun in the same way setting your house on fire is fun. There is a lot of work in the clean up, but after the blaze, you get to start over.

And so it is in my life. The last of my children is on the potty training bandwagon. Of course, she waits till after nine pm to due her duty on the night that i have to be up at four in the morning the next day. Where is my wife?!?!?! At work of course. . . .

So here is a shout out to all of the potty training parents out there. . . and the one (that i know of) that gets to look forward to it! Just remember. . . someday, we get to forget, and they get to wipe our bums!

It's only a flesh wound. . .

2009-08-09T21:11:00.003-04:00

Where to begin??

No photos today - i can't find the USB cable thingy for the camera. . . maybe i can tack on some "older" photos to fill the gap.

The farm at Pearson's Town is coming into it's own. We are harvesting, but in spite of continued environmental issues (now it is late blight), work is moving along splendidly.

The garden here is all but weeds. Still tonight James and i harvested shell peas, summer squash and a lonely purple beauty pepper. They went great with out stir fry over noodles tonight.

We spent an amazing overnight camping expedition at our house with our "new" friends the Paquettes (forgive the spelling). They came and our time together was way more than i could have ever hoped for. More on that later. . . .

The flesh wound. . . . in the spring we (our neighbor Bruce) dropped six or seven spruce trees in our yard to make way for something more friendly and possibly also more useful (sugar maple and blueberries anyone?). Today, i finally had time, weather, and motivation to start limbing and removing them. . . that is until the chain saw broke. . . . across my hand! Yup, four cuts in, the chain hopped off the bar and the chain took a little road trip across my right knuckles. First time that i had seen my own muscle tissue in a few years. After a healthy discussion with the wife (and believe it or not, i won!!) we opted to further my own war on health care and NOT go to the the E.R. After all. . . it's only a flesh wound.

So a few heavy cleaning agents, some steri-strips, butterfly bandages, and some other crazy patch type thing later. . . i am praying for no infection. But hey, i figure that with all the bar-chain oil and gasoline involved, everything in the way of germs should have been killed already anyway. . . .right?!?!?!?!?

The weather tells me that the season is drawing to a close. It is getting darker noticeably earlier and the nights feel like autumn. . . there couldn't possibly be global climate change. Still, i am hoping for a bit of an Indian summer so that we can stretch the harvest.

Okay. . . so there were pictures!

Grow well friends.

So where do i begin??

2009-07-31T17:12:00.004-04:00

Okay. . . . i accept that i haven't spent any time updating anyone lately. i have been owned by my job (that i absolutely love), and just trying to keep up with the eternal pandemonium that is my house and home.

As for my dream of becoming a farmer. . . it is a flame burning bright. i am more motivated now than ever. To spend days (even cold, yucky, wet) outside in the dirt and the crops is so refreshing to my soul.

i admit that our "farm" here has fallen into a bit of neglect, but we are catching up. Good thing too, seeing as it is August now. Our chicken flock is on the mend after "removing" one aggressive fox from the planet. The sheep. . . they are tanks, and Amy has begun experimenting with their wool. The veggie patch more resembles the lawn at the moment, but the corn, beans, peas, peppers, tomatoes, and radishes are looking amazing. . . if you can find them. The turkeys are sitting and actually hatching some eggs, but so far no luck. The chicks have not been able to survive the weather.

The kids are doing phenomenally. In spite of the rain they continue to find new ways to have fun. Sissy is just about potty trained. Owen is on his two wheeler now. James. . . well, James has become our "world traveler". i don't think that i have seen him more than two weeks this summer.

We are talking about starting a small 8 person CSA next year out of the yard, to help me keep up with the garden. It is a pretty exciting prospect. But for now, we are just trying to stay ahead of the rain.

i will try to get some updated photos up in the next couple of days - next week is busy at work. . . again!

Grow happy!

Some fun on the pharm

2009-07-19T08:44:00.002-04:00

Those of you who follow this may remember my ranting and raving earlier this spring about being unable to calibrate our incubator. Well, nature surprised me and our turkeys started getting broody. As it turned out our "first time" mom's hadn't the patience to sit out the full 28+/- days that are required. Maybe ADHD runs across species! The hens that were sitting would make it up to the last week and then would abandon the nest.
The last several weeks have been absolutely frenetic around here. With job changes and endless rain, three kids, invasion of the army of foxes, flooding basements and trying to make farming work, we really hadn't had a lot of time to think excessively about many of the critters.
The end result of the great fox invasion was that we put the surviving chickens in the turkey paddock to protect them. Maybe that was an error. . .

Yesterday when i went out to water the birds i found the delicate little remains of two baby turkeys in the paddock. It made me sad. . . and excited. Those wacky birds are brooding again, and this time, they are following through. Maybe it is less ADHD and more a matter of climate change. With the wet spring, maybe the hens knew something that we didn't, and they waited till the weather was improving before deciding to brood.

The end result was more my fault than theirs. Had i known that they were brooding (they do this UNDER the coop of all places) i would have either separated them somehow. my suspicion is that they wee littl' ones were trampled by the other big clumsy birds. Lesson learned, and now we are watching very intently the two birds that are burrowed underneath the coop!!!!

Creative pause

2009-07-12T10:07:00.002-04:00

Things around the pharm (and the farm) have been absolutely frenetic! The world is spinning at twice the speed of normal and it has no intention of reversing to let us relive moments past.

Did you notice that the peepers have long past? What about the fireflies? They are out. The rain has stopped and the stars are in their full glory again.

When we were at Bellvale one of the most sound pieces of advise was, "Don't forget to take moments of creative pause."

Moments to be floored by nature, to watch the children play, listen to yourself breathe. It seems harder and harder these days. . .

Think about that for awhile. . .

Blogger ate my posts. . .

2009-07-09T23:17:00.003-04:00

Okay, weird!! i have been searching and searching. . . i have posted twice since the photo bit. Oddly, there are no signs of the posts after that anywhere.

Well. . . we went to Bellvale and were absolutely recharged and inspired, possibly more than ever before. It was our first summer visit, and was everything more than we could have imagined! Beautiful and warm (yes, with sun too). One of the many highlights of our stay was our visit with our imaginary friends and their beautiful allegedly new infant. But due to their participation in the International Witness Protection Program, we can not actually confirm that they really exist. It might be that they are just voices in my head!!

Here on the farm everything seems to have survived but the house. Sadly, it hasn't burned down yet, but there is water in the basement, the plumbing wants to quit, the furnace is acting up (yup, it governs the hot water too), and the sheep have no interest in staying in their enclosure. But everything is alive and well. In fact my weedy excuse for a garden is flourishing, while we struggle with blight, stunting and flooding on Pearson's Town.

Pictures to follow. . . except for non-governmentally sanctioned photos of things like Aliens, Bigfoot, Elvis, and our imaginary friends!!!!

Maine. . . the way life should be.

Sights on the pharm

2009-06-25T12:36:00.006-04:00

Summer is here, and its even sunny. . . aaaaaaaahhhh. . .

Everything i ever learned about compost was a lie!!

2009-06-19T20:54:00.002-04:00

Okay, not entirely. But there are some household composting rules that have good history, but simply aren't true. How do i know this??
As of today i am a certified compost site operator. i went, i saw, i composted!!!!

i had the grand pleasure of spending a week with 25 other people from all over the world learning how to make some mighty fine soil amendments!! It was fabulous. There were of course people from the states, but also a fella from the Philippines, a fella from Chad (Africa) and bloke from the Galapagos. . . he was really from Germany, but works for the WWF on the islands. Lucky dog!

So what about some of these "myths" that should be reconsidered by every person in America:

1) Compost can't be made from human biosolids (poop).
Wrong! Actually some of the finest, and safest to use on your home garden, compost is made from human biosolids. If you see it in the store it is more than safe. This doesn't, of course, mean that you should (or even can legally) make it in your home composter. . . unless you have a composting toilet.

2) Compost stinks.
False. If managed correctly a compost pile won't smell at all!!

3) You can't compost meat.
Wrong again. In fact no too many years ago the Maine compost team composted a full sized pilot whale. Total time from whale to dirt with a few knuckle bones - 12 weeks.
In 8 weeks you can make chickens into dirt. In 12 a cow is nothing more than a skeleton, wait another year or so (or buy a grinder) and even the bones break down!!!

Pretty cool eh?!?! Why be afraid of the things your food eats. After all, it is what we will all become eventually anyway!!

Pictures to follow!!

i like feeding the critters!

2009-06-14T16:14:00.005-04:00

Managed feed regimens leads to healthier coats and meat!

Like sand through the hour glass. . .

2009-06-08T21:38:00.002-04:00

Hmmm. . . this blog, like so many other things in my "old" life seems so foreign.

The demands of the family, Pearson's town, and that other place i work have been overwhelming. Alas, things on the pharm are moving forward (at a dizzying pace). This is not that latest that i have ever tried to get a garden in, but we are creeping up on it.
Addy, Owie, and i spent yesterday planting gourds, melons and the like. before the weeks out the corn, tomatoes, and peppers will be in (along with, Lord willing, everything else).

In the tree department, we had an issue with a band of rabid Pygmy beavers. Our front yard is largely denuded. . . except that the trees are still there. Just. . . well. . . sideways.

Speaking of trees - back in the old days, at a place called Pico Blanco, we used to wander the forest in search of albino redwood trees, which yes, there are!!! Well, there is another magic tree that is close to my heart. The Monterey Cyprus only grow naturally on the Monterey peninsula in California. Well, in a moment of nostalgia, after having lived here for far too long, i found some seeds online. So of course i bought them, planted them, and they grew.

A couple of weeks ago, just after having moved my prized tree outside for the summer i noticed something amiss. One of the branches was oddly colored. At first i thought that it was dead, but then it grew, and grew some more. i have never known a dead branch to grow before.

The branch is not pure white like the albinos that i am familiar with, but rather a golden color. i don't know what to make of it. Like so many other things on the pharm. . . its weird!

When there is no time like the present

2009-05-31T15:57:00.007-04:00

i have been meaning to blog for what seems an eternity, but never do find the time. Planting season is a busy one!!! As i am temporarily trapped inside (its raining pretty good out) i had best blog now, or it might get put off again for another month or so.

This May has been rewarding and brutal. i am loving my job so much that it has really become more of an extension of my life. This is a far cry from most of my previous job experiences i have had, and i am totally loving it. The sad part is that it is eating into my personal time. A triumphantly disastrous example played out this weekend. . .
At Pearson's Town we had a "community planting celebration". It was fabulous. We invited anyone and everyone to come and plant with us, talk with us, and see what we are up to over behind that mysterious ol' barn. Well . . . . in my frenetic rush around the house Saturday morning to make sure that everything was ready and rolling for work, i somehow (absentmindedness) failed to turn on the climate control system for my home green house. My starts, all five hundred plus of them, were the pride of my spring. Guess what. . . . all but 10 are now dead. Yes, Saturday was the first day in four that reached above 55 degrees outside, and was the first that we had seen the sun in as many days.

Well, 70 degrees outside might feel nice, but it equates to about 120 degrees in the greenhouse. The starts are in small plastic cells that are about 1 inch cubed. Needless to say, it doesn't take long for a 1 inch cube to dry out and cook. . .

On the other hand everything else on the Phunny Pharm is doing quiet well. . . .ooooh look, lightening. Maybe i will stay in a little longer. . . Sorry, ADHD moment.

Where was i?? Oh yes. . . We are expecting baby turkeys any day now. The sheep are getting fat and now respond to whistles and the calling of their names, the chickens are recovering from fox paranoia, and we are finally reclaiming the yard from last years brush and debris.

Um. . .wow. . . it's really raining now. This is so going to delay my digging expedition (yes, i am way behind and still building beds in my garden). In the meantime, here are some pictures for your enjoyment:

The Pearson's Town Gang on Saturday morning before the Planting Celebration

Owen and Sissy joining in the work (No i am not violating labor laws. . . they have a union too).

Mom and Sissy supervising in the Kinder-Garden.

James reclaiming his hands after a "hard day" playing on the farm.

Rainbow Chard. . . Beautiful and yummy!!!!

Sheep - the other, other, other white meat. . . unless mom and the kids name them!

Begining the down hill slide

2009-05-19T18:47:00.003-04:00

May is now officially over the hump. The busiest month of our year. Two major events down (birthdays) with two remaining (first camping weekend, and Community Planting Celebration at work). i am still not sure how the latter of all of these events is going to go. Am i nervous?? Not yet. . . there will be time to freak out later!

"Do you consider yourself an agriculturalist?"

That was the question that i was asked last week. . . The question was sincere, and necessary, but definitely the person asking new very little about me. For me to consider myself an agriculturalist, or even a farmer for that matter, would be an insult to those folks that make an honest living toiling in the soil. Do i learn a ridiculous amount every year and put a fraction of that into practice. . . yes.

As my excitement grows, the size of our garden makes huge leaps. As the size of our garden makes huge leaps, the practical application of important principles makes small strides.

******Intermission time****** Buster the Ram just ran through the portable fence because it was turned off and a chicken was tormenting him******

Where was i??? Oh yes!

So now that the garden is MUCH larger we have figured out that we should be orienting the rows east to west instead convenient to more convenient. We learned how very valuable that crop rotations can be for soil health. Lastly (well not lastly, but i don't want to go to jail for genocide. . . the boring to death of all of the 1/2 a reader that visits here) we learned that some pestilences like powder mildew (which affects your curcubits) can be forecast like the weather. It would seem that this last little charm is a gift to us from Florida in exchange for our sending all of our old people to their state.

Anyway. . . not to bore you any longer. . . the garden is finally tilled, the first trench is dug, the sheep is back in the "barn", and the children are in the breezeway playing "Lord of the Flies". Life is as it should be. . . .

It's a busy month. . .

2009-05-16T11:57:00.006-04:00

Birthdays, birthdays, birthdays.

This is the second weekend of birthday parties. Last weekend, a surprise party, this weekend a pirate party, next weekend. . . camping. It will be a good time and relaxing, but with everything happening between here and Pearson's Town, i could really just use a weekend off.

Here on the Pharm we are recovering from the second big poultry slaughter in two years. The turkeys are fine this year, but the foxes are back and they are exhibiting a rather unusual hunting method. It has always been my experience that they hunt alone, and usually take just one or at the most, two birds a night.

This Mother's Day, they were pack hunting, during the middle of the day, and took between 8 and 10 birds. We are still trying to get an exact count. This first set of chicken chicks has arrived, and are already taking over the house.

In the turkey coop, the hens have abandoned two clutches of eggs, but a third hen has been sitting fairly religiously on a new clutch for about two weeks. We might yet be surprised this year.

And, the sheep - they are getting acclimated. Today was our first attempt at herding them without any fencing. The "barn" and the portable fence are about 20 feet apart, which doesn't sound like a lot until you have to get three skittish critters from point A to point B.

We expected a busy season. . . we were right. With any luck we will slow down before summer is over!!!

The Pharm / Nature interface. . .

2009-05-10T21:50:00.003-04:00

The week is finally over. We were able to keep Amy's party a surprise after all! You have no idea how difficult, or stressful that can be.

And so, my wife enters her thirties, and she is still willing to deal with me! Yea for me!

May is usually busy for us with three birthdays, and our normal trip to visit our good friends at Bellvale, but this year is just worse. . . . Now i have a slew of new projects for work that are going on this month too. It has been so overloaded that we had to postpone our trip to Bellvale till later in the summer. The consulation prize is that we managed to finagle our way back into a wicked good campsite that we used to visit every year. . . we lost our spot on year when Amy was pregnant and have had to wait four years to get it back.

On the Pharm. . . We have added three new friends to our little village. Buster, Dina, and (whatever the kids named the other one) have now taken up residence in what used to be the kids "play house". You know, the thing that dad always referred to as a "shed". Well. . .now we call it a barn. It's not really a barn. Unless of course you use your imagination.

They no less about what to think about us than we know about what to think about them. For the moment they are cute and fun, and should mow the lawn, so things are great. In the future we should be able to set 'em and forget 'em. Love them now, love them then (only with the addition of steak sauce).

On the flip side. We have developed a fox problem. Worse than any year past. At last count today, we lost 10 birds (or somewhere in that neighborhood). i have never heard of foxes working like that. It's just weird. Sadly i keep my pal Mr. Remington locked up (we do have kids in the house), so by the time he comes out of the closet (so to speak). The bandits are gone. Any suggestions out there as to how to deal with these irritating little beauties??

Let nature take it's course (this one could be long)

2009-05-03T08:07:00.007-04:00

What a couple of weeks. I don't even know where to begin really. Since the tale has been told of the John Deere, I will add only that the search for sheep is on. We (and by we, i mean, me) has settled on Katahdin Sheep. They are a good breed of meet sheep, that were developed in Maine (developed. . . that makes them sound genetically engineered. . .eeeek). They are hair sheep not wool sheep (sorry Laura), but still cute as a button and very prolific. On top of mowing our lawn the potential exists to fill our freezer and maybe sell a lamb to offset feed costs.

And so spring has sprung and now it is officially official. i shared the excitement of our new incubator?! Well. . . i never did get the darned thing calibrated (though i have ordered some new parts for it). Alas, i thought to myself no baby turkeys this year - not that we need more than the 12 or so that are in the freezer anyway. Then one day a few weeks ago we lost a hen. She had escaped, or so i thought.

One afternoon while collecting eggs, i heard some really weird noises from under the turkey coop. It turns out that our "missing" hen has been brooding a clutch of eggs underneath the turkey coop this whole time. Yes, she is part groundhog i guess. She has been sitting there faithfully on who knows how many eggs. Two fell from the nest some time last night, so i candled them this morning and confirmed that they are indeed fertile. . . "Let nature take it's course."
The baby chickens have started arriving. Some will go to Pearson's Town for the summer. The rest will offset our supply as we are dividing the existing flock with the Hogans. We are adding some new varieties including broilers this year. Stay tuned for that circus. . .

And yes, i won the war. . . sort of. Amy let me "grow" the garden. It is now about three times the square footage of the house. So yes, i won the verbal war. . . but. . . the actual expansion itself - the sod is killing me!!! i don't ever remember having to hit a patch of yard this hard with the tiller. We have used both a hand tiller AND a tractor and still the soil isn't fully turned. It's evil grass i tell you, EVIL. Stupid European grasses!!!! The chickens are enjoying the slow progress, and i will appreciated it later. As i make passes they have been coming in and feeding on the grubs, worms, and various other pests that have been lurking in the sod. Green pest control at it's finest.

Now my hope is that i can get the beds prepped in time to get the starts in. Nothing worse than crops that grow tiny heads because the plant became root bound in their cells. . .

Sometimes i just can't keep up with life. . .

2009-04-30T11:27:00.002-04:00

I woke up praying the other day, which is a pretty weird occurrence. Once my eyes opened i knew that i was being prepared to endure the storm of the month. I suspected that it was going to be at work. . .

Oddly work was phenomenal. Better than i could have hoped or dreams. Even with all of the hiccups that have come it is still the greatest job ever!!!

Nope. . . the storm would come from home. The end result is that for all of the immediate frustration is that we are blessedly being nudged toward a greener way of living.

So i had recently drained the engine in our four year old John Deere lawn tractor (yes, my man toy. . . that actually Amy uses more. . . Hmmmmm?!) so that i could change the fluids and tune it up. It turns out that some of the neighbor boys came to borrow it, because we are the only folks on the block with a trailer, to move some manure for compost. Had i slipped the spark plug wire off we would have been fine. That night i came home to a host of folks standing around my tractor starring grimly at it.
Sure enough twenty minutes into their chores the engine blew into about a thousand pieces. She is done. . . .
So here i am with a huge lawn and no mower, but we have been talking about sheep for some time. In rural Mexico, and other under developed countries they use goats to mow the lawns. Talk about green!!! Totally organic lawn mowers, and if they break, well, you eat them!

Well. . . instead of sitting here, i should be out constructing the sheep barn. . .

When the currents of joy meet the rip tides of frustration

2009-04-24T19:43:00.002-04:00

Not a clear picture, i know, but not bad for pouring rain. Yup, the rains came this week, just when i thought we were going to have another arid April (last year April was horribly dry and it led to rain from middle June to August - nothing grew well).
And with the rain, the birds came up with a much improved design for a chicken tractor.
Today being Friday, i am finally getting back into the swing of having a five day work week with weekends off. The joy is a little weird. . . and really i don't have the weekends off, because i am always doing something farmy.
Tonight the boys and i went out for eggs and got the treat of the spring. Well, it's a treat if you are a National Geographic kinda person. While collecting eggs we got to witness our standard bronze turkeys mating. This is exciting because we can be certain that our turkey eggs are fertile, but frustrating because i can't get the humidity in the incubator regulated. . . stupid machines!! i have it half in me to let the birds do it the old fashion way, i just don't have the faith that they would.

A couple more days and i will give it a try. . .

The locavore's dilemna

2009-04-21T20:25:00.003-04:00

It seems forever since i blogged, though i am sure it hasn't been all that long. Work has been so overwhelming lately - planning, reading, writing, planting. . . i almost forgot to enjoy the peepers. i am really glad for moments when that ol' inner voice says, "Stop!"

The rain today is a welcome change to a dry April. No snow this year, that doesn't bode well with my experiences of summers past. Dry April = wet July. We will see.

Amy and i talked very briefly the other night about trying a locavore diet for a year. Yes, that means only eating what is grown in a XX mile radius of where we live. We really didn't talk long enough to determine how far that might be, but Amy in her usual wisdom mentioned that we should definitely do our homework on this one!
She's right.
A whole year - no coffee, or sugar, chocolate, or rum (it's a great muscle relaxant after a hard day's work). To think about it is tough. Tonight James and i talked about the old children's rhyme, "Peas, porridge hot". i explained it's origins and tried to make him understand the severity of what we had discussed. He adamantly declared that a world without restaurants was just not worth living in. i guess we will have more conversations on the matter.
Either way, i am convinced that we can grow an adequate variety of crops that if we mind our cooking and study up a bit that we can make a years worth of yummy, nutritious goodness. Or maybe this is just another one of my idealistic crusades. . . we will let the future determine that for us.

Tomorrow is earth day!!!

When it rains technology it pours technology

2009-04-14T20:00:00.003-04:00

Like an avalanche roaring downhill toward complete destruction. . .

So is technology reestablishing itself in our house (stay tune the ginormous flat screen t.v. thingy will be next). It all started with a silly computer, then a cellphone. . . now an incubator (Okay, that one was all me. . . bad, hippie, bad!!). Now this old beast of a computer that we use is aged and probably has hepagonacyphaherpeaids among other evil computer viruses! If it doesn't, it is developing a mind of its own and we are going to rename it Hal and grab our ankles, because it now does whatever the heck it wants with no regard for the user.

So last night we went on a trip to town to look for a new computer. My friend Stu and some techie-guy convinced me that it would be better to purchase the Enterprise-D (yes, that was a Trekkie reference) than something that would be outdated in just a few short years.

To Amy's dismay this means that once again the fancy-shmancy digital camera will have to wait because we are going to have to sell at least one of the children to buy the computer. . .

. . . whatever happened to the day when an ox or an ass were the "big family purchase"???

P.S. Its sad that the words "Trekkie" and "ginormous" are in the spell check!

Knowing when to be afraid and when not to

2009-04-06T19:59:00.004-04:00

i guess you can tell a fire fighter's kid from other people's kids. i acknowledge that i am no longer a fire fighter, so perhaps that makes me a wannabe now (not the first time i have been a wannabe), but i was a fire fighter so in many ways this applies.

Tonight we supped on one of my favorite (when i get the recipe right) winter dishes. No, its not winter, but we did get exposed to the influenza B virus this week. Supposedly that is the good one?!?! Anywho, that led to turkey stew. Of course in our house you can't have turkey stew without having the famous Lamont pop-overs - one of many things (especially culinary) that Amy's family brings to the mix! Of course you don't know that the pop-overs are done until the smoke alarm goes off.

Now any good parent has trained their kids proper fire protocols: Where the exits are, where to meet, how to call 911. Does that happen in our house??? What do you think?

Three kids - three responses. Here is how proper fire escape happens in our house when you hear the smoke alarm:

Option one: Exit below the smoke layer

Option two: "What's going on guys?"

(No independent pictures for this. . . just watch the little head in the other three photos)

Option three: "Dad, would you stop burning dinner again already!?"

The end result. . . scrumptious, mouthwatering popovers!

Its quieter on the pharm today. . .

2009-04-05T13:38:00.002-04:00

Okay, so i am celebrating my first full weekend off in a long time. . . .aaaaaaahh!!!!

The weather is fabulous. We have done some cleaning, some reading, been out with friends. . . what an amazing couple of days.

The one really noticeable difference is the volume in the backyard. With eight less gobbling turkeys in the paddock the yard is amazingly quieter. The two jakes that have stayed on to help us keep the flock growing still make quite a raucous, but nothing compared to what there was when all ten were singing in harmony (sort of harmony).

The snow is all but gone!! Woohoo!! The farm project is making progress, as is the home garden. We ordered seeds Friday, only two seed varieties were unavailable, and one was on back order till early May. Oddly, i received an envelope from the seed company yesterday. i thought it odd that it wasn't my seed order. . . instead it was the pack of seeds that was on back order until early May. Boy, i hope i didn't hear the guy wrong and that the rest of the seeds aren't coming until early May. . . .eeeek!!

The Maine Fruit and Vegetable School. . .

2009-04-02T09:13:00.003-04:00

. . . offered by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension was held yesterday at Keeley's in Portland. What a grand time it was!
Many of the local farmers came together to learn about updates in technology, agriculture practices, and public policy. i saw some old friends there - folks who i rely on to supplement my summer veggies and almost all of my fresh autumn apples. Though there were only a VERY small handful of us who were not professional farmers, the practices being taught applied to most of our hobby farms and home gardens as well. It was a good time to connect with some of the smaller farms that i have had a hard time finding (it doesn't help when some of them change their names).
The ironic part of the whole day was that i, the only organic farmer in the group (that i know of), managed to sit next to the guy who is on the state board of pesticide/herbicide use. Its kinda like sitting next to the crazy guy on the bus.
We were civil, and actually had a very good time in spite of our ideological differences.
Overall, it was a great day. i would recommend the conference to anyone in the Ag business or thinking about going into the Ag business. You can find the link on the University of Maine Cooperative Extension's website, or google the Maine Fruit and Tree School. Its good stuff!!

Oh, and the Pesticide guy. . . he made sure that i had a copy of the official Pesticide Applicators Log before i left.

Turkey, turkey, duck. . .

2009-03-31T08:46:00.004-04:00

Well, i don't own any llamas (yes that was indeed a reference to the Llama Song - Google it). . .

Strange days have descended on the pharm. It is as though there is a tear in the time-space continuum. Or perhaps i am just dirty waffler when it comes to ideology. . .

Yes, the ugly little red thing is in fact a cellular telephone! The boss thinks it would be a good idea for me to have in case i am off site and he needs to get a hold of me. Truth be told, he is right. Still it is weird to have it. The kids and the wife are pretty excited about it - not because they can call me, but because it represents technology in the house.

But on to pharmier things. . . James and i did a bit of mud wrestling yesterday with eight big tom turkeys. Our flock is now down to eleven - one step closer to the six that we wanted from the beginning. Those poor eight should be hanging by their feet right now. Ready to pick up tomorrow. Yum-Yum.

This last week also surprised us with some excitement that we have been anticipating all winter!! Eggs, lots of eggs!!!!! Of course the chickens have been laying all winter (good chickens!), but last weeks the ducks and the turkeys joined the club!

And so in just a few days we should start the process of incubating our own eggs. With any good fortune and God's blessing the days of purchasing chicks will be long past!

Back home and back to work. . .

2009-03-25T17:00:00.013-04:00

We have returned. . . . finally!

All told the trip was great. Here are some of the highlights (Some of them):

. . . And there ya have it!

Ahhhhhh. . . Reliving the good ol' days

2009-03-23T10:49:00.004-04:00

Okay. . .

To preface, i am having a GREAT time. Actually, a REALLY GREAT time.

The ride home has been very interesting. Oh, did i mention that we never made it home?? Two of my traveling companions, who must remain nameless lest they get heckled a bit, and i are worried that we have been cursed. First, the boss and i completely missed our flight out Portland. Its not like we were even close. . .we TOTALLY missed it. When we did finally get to the airport, we met "R". He tooled on us pretty hard for being twits and missing our flight.

We were supposed to leave Sunday, and be home Sunday. Because of spring break in Oregon, the next available flight (that wasn't already overbooked) was due out Thursday. After an hour of haggling the boss managed to squeeze us onto a plane out of Seattle. . . . Um. . .that's in Washington, not Oregon. So we had to hoof it to Washington. Guess what. . .The trains were all full. The buses were having problems and renting a car was just out of the question - prohibitively expensive. Not good.

But the boss with his infinite patience and charm managed to finally get us on a bus north. . . barely.

So here i sit in a hotel in Seattle watching the news about two plane crashes, and severe blizzard and tornado warnings just over our flight path and near our layover in Chicago!!

Oh and "R", the one who heckled us?? Yea, his plane had to make an emergency landing because a flight attendant found a "suspected explosive device" in the plane's bathroom. He missed his connection!!
(Laugh at us will you!)

Adaptability is crucial!

2009-03-21T14:34:00.002-04:00

i have always prided myself on being able to mingle with pretty much any crowd (although i find that it is getting harder the older i get).

This trip has been like every schizophrenic's dream - maybe not every schizophrenic. i would hate to generalize! Yesterday i walked the city just to get out and stretch my legs a bit. Contrary to popular belief i actually do enjoy being in big cities, and even more getting lost in them (as long as i am not driving). Portland, Or is no exception. It is lovely and the developers have not neglected the need for small pockets of open space and parks. It is clear, though, that the economy has not neglected this fine place. There are buildings everywhere that are vacant, up for sale, and in many cases just battered and neglected looking.
Our hotel is at the intersection of Seedy and Froo-froo. One side of the hotel opens up to the down town and financial district. Two blocks the other way there is a large homeless colony and a Mission. In some nostalgic way Portland reminds me of a much larger version of 1990's Santa Cruz, Ca. The two have a very similar vibe and even for the difference in scale the rhythm is very much the same.

As for my traveling companions, i doubt i could ask for, or find better. Though i find myself struggling to fit in. i fit into the city, i feel it deeply in my soul. To mingle with the homeless and the beggars, and watch the financially owned scurrying about. . .
But i return to my travel mates who are very passionate about food and lifestyle, and are acclimated to living and traveling in conditions waaaaay outside anything i am accustomed to. i feel my emotions and my psyche being pulled at as though they are tied to the bumper of a tractor and a big rig that are trying to drive in opposite directions. Then throw in the conference. . . college students, post college and 30 something with a sprinkling of older hippies! Again, a place of comfort.

This whole experience has been all very surreal and while i am enjoying it i am eager to return home. i love the company that i am working for now, but i think that i am a much better fit in the dirt than at the corporate pooh-bah level!

What a long strange trip its been

2009-03-20T10:57:00.002-04:00

We are here in Portland, Oregon. It is soooooo very nice to be back on the west coast (even if we aren't technically on the coast). i have met a ton of really groovy people who are super interested in organic farming and playing in the dirt. The cool thing is that they aren't all dirty hippies (i guess that i am still a diverse guy). The cool thing here is watching the yuppies mingling with the hippies.

One of my favorite things (at the moment) about this city is the number of pubs and the number of micro-brews!! After a hard core day of cramming my little brain with all sorts of new ideas, and new directives (thanks Stu and Ruben. . . i may hate you after this), its nice to sit down to a pint and sort it all out.

Today's objective. . . learn about grant writing!!

Two more days till i get to see my love (and offspring) again.

(Pictures to come when i get back)

Flying. . .the anti-pharm

2009-03-18T06:48:00.002-04:00

This is the second morning that i have awoken to the sound of song birds at my window. It can only mean that either i never paid attention on my way home from work when i was waaaay too tired. OR. . . spring is here. Technically it is very close. Actually spring begins this year on March 20th. That would be Friday.

Today we are off (The boss and i) to Portland. . . .Oregon that is. i am excited to be on the west coast again. The thing that i look forward to the most is seeing the sun set on the ocean. i do miss that.

But alas, this is a business trip. We are headed out to attend the Farm to Fork conference. The idea being learning how to get healthy, locally grown foods back into the school systems. It should be an exciting time. We are going to learn a whole slew of things, get to visit some local farms and get to eat some wicked yummy foods.

Ack!! Gotta run to catch a plane - did i mention i hate flying?? Good luck to my lovely wife who is the most amazing woman in the universe!! She will be home by her onsie guarding the flock. . . of kids. . . i love her!!!!!!!!!!!

. . .and back to pharm related matters.

2009-03-13T10:58:00.006-04:00

One shift left at the comm center, then my attentions can be wholly devoted to the growing season before us!

As i look forward to all of the fun growing that will be done, i am most newly excited about companion planting. Companion planting is the fine art of planting different crops together, or planting some flowers with some vegetable crops creating certain beneficial conditions.

A simple example that has worked well for us with controlling flea beetles (while i have heard many who say this doesn't work we have enjoyed success with it) - plant pungent marigolds! Aside from keeping the flea beetles out of our eggplants, they add a beautiful color to the vegetable garden.

For me, one of the highlights of keeping an organic garden is finding nature's creative ways of dealing with it's own little annoyances! Of course, its always much more enjoyable when it works and you can reap the benefit at harvest time!!!!!

911 saves lives, but who saves 911

2009-03-12T08:53:00.003-04:00

i am nearing the end of my career as a full time 911 dispatcher. Eight years after walking into my first comm center i am hanging up my hat. . . sort of.
i will stay on part time with the department who must remain nameless here because of policy and contractual obligations. There is some administrative phobia of transparency, so all public image related stuff has to go through the proper channels - i.e. the administration (i actually think that we are not even allowed to utter the name of our department in public, as though the mere mention of it's name might somehow tarnish it's image). Heaven forbid that the public learn that there are no infallible government agencies. . . yes its true. . .even your government is run and operated by, of all things, human beings. But, shhhhhh. That is a big secret.
So i move on and leave behind an amazing crew of people to remain the silent heroes that deal with the public when they are at their worst. They save lives on a daily basis, but remain invisible and largely un-thanked because they don't tote hoses or carry guns. Dispatchers are expected to be there at all times and respond with courtesy and vigilant compassion in spite of being yelled at, harassed, cussed at, called names, hung up on, and harangued by the administration (who should i mention is 50% incapable, unqualified and/or not legal permitted to perform the work of their subordinates) when "I's" are not dotted and "T's" are not crossed. Less than one percent of one percent of the calls these folks take are people calling to say thank you, or recognize their efforts.
This is not a boo-hoo fest for me. . . i am free. But i think about those amazing hard working folks that i leave behind. . . These men and women do a remarkable job, and i count myself fortunate to have been privileged to have stood among their ranks!
As i transition to a new job i feel a certain amount of guilt. The department is already grossly understaffed, and overworked, and i have added another schedule hole. When i left this morning vacations were already being cancelled, people were being forced in for extra and double shifts and the supervisors were pulling out their hair trying to figure out how to keep the center staffed.
Keep these folks in your prayers and your thoughts. Be thankful that they are there when you need them. They don't get the glory, they don't get the closure that firefighters and police get - these guys get the calls and send the calls, but don't get to see the emergencies resolved.
Don't thank me, i sold out, but thank a dispatcher when you meet one!
And to my colleagues. . . thanks for a great ride!!!

Global Food Crisis Day

2009-03-11T00:13:00.001-04:00

Greetings Blogland,

This note is sent to you from the safety and security of my happy little office just above the bomb shelter in Windham, Maine.

In just a few minutes the minute hand will ring in the new day. For many of us it will be just another humdrum day. For others something exciting might happen. But for many it will be another day not knowing if they will eat, and if they do, will it be enough to fill their grumbling bellies.

Sound like another one of those "guilt trip guys" from the late night infomercials??? Could be a reason for that. While we here suffer from the worst financial crisis our generation has seen we are deciding do i shop at the Gap or Goodwill. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world 25,000 people will die today because they have no food.

That amounts to you and 24,999 other you's dying today. For Maine folk, that is just shy of twice the population of Gorham, or nearly three times the population of Standish.
For Californians that is a third of the population of Santa Cruz.

It's easy for us to give to charity and feel bad in the moment for some of these folks but maintain a safe distance from them. Today Compassion International along with radio stations around the country "celebrating" Global Food Crises Day, raising awareness of the increasing cost of food and the increasing difficulty getting that food the millions around the world. my challenge to anyone who reads this blog is twofold. First regardless what time of day it is stop eating. Don't put another morsel of food in your mouth until sunrise tomorrow. Join with the millions around the world who are starving in memory of those who died needlessly and those who are suffering now.

Secondly, if you have the means (and not everyone does) go to compassion.com and click on the link that takes you to the Global Food Crisis Day. If you have the money, donate! If you don't but know someone who does, refer them. You who know me have my word that Compassion is legitimate. i have sponsored with them for years and have enjoyed volunteering with them!

Don't do it out of guilt, don't do it because i said so. Do it because you are human beings and it could very well have been you in their shoes! And thank God you are not!!

A few new blogs to check out. . .

2009-03-08T10:50:00.005-04:00

It has been an exciting week in the blogging world (i may be tooting my own horn a little bit here). . .

Three new blogs have been born - they are all in the side bar over there. No, not there! Over there ------>
They might be worth your time, or they might not be. . .

1) Life is Dirty, Dig in!!
A blog by the single most amazing women on the planet! (Which is different than "the craftiest woman alive" - fear not Laura, your title is still secure!!)

2) Tap the Rock
Inspirational thoughts and interpretations by an inspirational guy. Ah Kong is insightful, and possibly one of the most sincere and humble guys i know.

3) The Pearson's Town Farm Project
Woohoo!! Mixing work and pleasure. This is the job on the blog, and the blog on the job! It will be following the upstart of an internship farming project at Saint Joseph's College in Maine. This Blog might be short lived if I.T. and Marketing get together and start us our own site on the school's website. . . but for now we will suck up all the publicity, here or there, that we can get!

Happy reading gang!

(i am headed to the store today to look at new camera's and rechargeable batteries for the old one - pictures will return soon).

0855 and its 53 degrees out. . .

2009-03-07T08:55:00.002-05:00

Spring is coming. There is still a tremendous amount of snow on the ground, and its still a bit cold to open all the windows, but what an improvement!!

The smell of skunk is in the air this morning. Our woodland friends are waking up, and you can bet they are hungry. If your smart you will keep the poultry secure at night. Where there are skunks you can bet that the raccoons and foxes are close behind.

This morning officially marks the "one more week" status at work. i can honestly say that i am starting to miss it already. The farm project (officially known as The Pearson's Town Farm Project - a blog is coming soon to an Internet near you) is making great head way. We have marketing working on some really cool pamphlets and the summer and autumn curriculum are really starting to take shape. We have come to the realization that we need more land already. Perhaps we are starting to bite off a bit more than we can really chew, but we can't have interns having it too easy this summer!!!!

Amy (my loving and wonderful wife) has officially started a blog!! Very cool stuff. Check her out at Lifeisdirtydigin.blogspot.com. So much for wanting to be Amish. . . there is even the rumor of a cell phone. . . sheeeeeeesh.

Well. . . i could spend all day inside, but that would just be wrong!! Winter ain't over yet, so we gotta savor these days.

Fun in the kitchen. . .

2009-03-03T08:51:00.005-05:00

We have been enjoying making things in the kitchen lately. Crunched time and supermarket convenience has driven folks to buy things that are so easy and delicious to make at home. We have discovered that making some of our foods at home give us better control of taste and quality of ingredients, and portioning. Now that i can make bread, if i could just master making hot dogs i could finally make a pack of hot dogs that exactly matches the number of buns in a package! Wouldn't that be a marvel?!?

Amy has become a master veggie burger maker, while i have been dabbling with hummus.

Yesterday with the help of our dear friend Laura (who is, by the way, the craftiest person alive), we made homemade mayonnaise! By all ordinary accounts it is the most repulsive substance known to man (second only to maybe Spam), but it is impossible to make egg salad sandwiches without it.

The recipe is simple enough:

1oz (approx 2 tbsp) vinegar

1 egg yolk for every 8 -12 oz of oil

Oil to match the egg yoke equations

A dash of salt

Lemon juice to taste

Mix the vinegar, salt, egg yoke together and slowly add the oil. It takes a bit to beat it to the proper consistency so be patient. After it has thickened up a bit add the lemon juice.
It makes tuna more tuna-y, egg salad more egg salady, and eating that much more enjoyable!

Convenience may be one thing, but closeness to your food. . .

The peanut gallery chimes in. . .

2009-02-27T23:22:00.005-05:00

"Ooooh! So that's how much we are going to have to pay for the stimulus package. Brilliant!!"

Making inner city culture agriculturally relevant

2009-02-26T21:08:00.002-05:00

It was warm today - a little warmer than 40 degrees!!

i spent the afternoon taking down the turkey paddock. The poor buggers being stuck in just the poorly lit coop, i had to seize the moment and get the yard repaired. It should have been a two day project, sadly i won't be able to do anything with the main fence posts until the spring when i can dig them out. . . they are bent pretty badly.

In the meantime however i was able to make an interim paddock that is absolutely ghetto fabulous! Those jive turkeys will just have to enjoy it till the spring. . . well, the ones that survive that long. First trip to the butcher is set for the end of March. Anyone interested in buying organic, free range (until last Sunday) turkey?? Talk to the wife. . . she does the peddlin'.

So. . . is there a redneck//farmer equivalent to "ghetto fabulous"?? Maybe, "farmo-fabulous" or "Agro-fabulous"?? Who knows. . .

Bringin' down the house.

2009-02-24T11:04:00.005-05:00

Nearly two feet of heavy wet snow later we are finding new joy in bright sunny days. The roof is doing it's job fabulously. When it was time to crawl out of bed to dig out of the driveway, the snow was already sluffing off of the roof(as it had been all night). A phenomenon that would have made Henry Ford proud. New wet, yucky snow was being added as the old, well packed snow was sliding down and off the roof as though it were on a conveyor belt.

The turkey paddock on the other hand did not fair so well. The coop itself stood it's ground and all of the birds, both turkey and duck alike were found to be warm, dry and doing well. The paddock on the other hand is a mess!!

Being as we decided to raise heritage breed birds, for various reasons, we found it a necessity to add a cattle fence (like gigantic chicken wire) roof because heritage breed birds can fly. The wet snow found this arrangement to be as favorable as we and the birds did, and it stuck. As it stuck together it created a sort of roofing material. The roofing material got heavier and heavier as the snow built up. Eventually it reached nearly two feet and weighed in at. . .oh . . . probably some where near a ton (if not more. Snow is only light and dainty when it is falling from the sky). So as the weight packed on, the poles holding up the chain link fence buckled. All of the supports are bent and the turkeys, who are far too large to remain in the coop are essentially stuck. . . until i can dig out the roofing, fence, and get to the posts. . . it needs to get warm quick!!

So we have gone from free range, kind farmers to evil factory farmers who trap there birds in an inhumanely small place. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!

Stay tuned for further adventures of the: Plight of the Gobbley Birds.

The best mistake of my life

2009-02-22T18:41:00.004-05:00

So here it is -

For better or for worse, i have taken a new job. i thought it would be most prudent to wait till the worst possible moment economically to move from a relatively safe, yet depressing, public sector job to a much more enjoyable, yet way less secure private sector job. Yes, soon to be gone are the days of knowing that i had job security even when the government finally collapses. Hello days of a one year guarantee of joy in my work, but beyond that. . . well. . . only God can see that far!

After an almost impossible to refuse job offer from Bon Appetit i am officially an organic farmer. Or. . . as they would call me at the comm center: Dirty Hippie!

So my job for the next year (or so. . . God willing much longer) is to put together a farming project that will benefit the school's (St. Joseph's - the school that Bon Appetit has a contract with) cafeteria, the local community via food pantries, and the community by way of pulling people together to garden together.

The latter has been a passion of mine for several years. So if you get bored swing on by the project at the college, i am sure that we will be able to put you to work. . .

The Midnight Run. . .

2009-02-17T07:36:00.003-05:00

i have been to the belly of the beast, and i have survived.

There is a land in our country so foreign to me that the idea of living there makes me shutter. You look up to the night sky and see no starts. There are no fields or gardens and all that is left of what was once a heavily forested island is now imprisoned in a small section at the center of the city. Yet for all of my aversion to it, this land boasts one of the highest populations in the country.

The Midnight Run has been using volunteer assistants for the past twenty three years. It started with the pastor of a small fellowship in Dobb's Ferry just outside New York City. He started by taking nightly trips into the city with food, clothing and toiletries to give to the homeless folks in Manhattan. Over the subsequent years what started with one person has grown in to nightly runs in the heart of the city, organized by the Church, but staffed by volunteers from various fellowships, high school groups and other civic organizations.

Amy and i had the pleasure of accompanying St. Joseph's College on their run. The College is (so far) the farthest outpost of volunteers to the mission. . . and they are nuts!!! We left Sunday afternoon a little around 1 pm. After a healthy drive and stop at the mission in Dobb's Ferry, we pulled into downtown Manhattan (is there a part of Manhattan that isn't downtown??) right around 8 pm. With two full sized vans we navigated the city, heading to predetermined stops where the homeless are known to congregate for the night to sleep. Some of the stops were small, with just one or two people coming out. At other stops, like Penn Station, we were mobbed with people coming for warm soup, coffee, blankets and whatever other clothes they needed and could carry.

It was a great experience. The kids got to see that homelessness is not just a statistic, but living breathing people with needs and joys, happiness and sorrow. The homeless had an opportunity to connect with people who cared. For a few hours they were not the invisible, outcast, unknowns of the city. For a few hours they could have a warm belly on a cold winter night. For a brief moment in life they didn't have to "disappear" for the benefit and comfort of the many who consider them a nuisance or social inconvenience. . .

At about 2 am when we were all out of food, with only a few clothes left. We packed back into the two vans and made the run back to Maine. Yup. . . we drove back (still haven't slept mind you) and pulled back into St. Joseph's College right around 7 am. A night without sleep was well worth the return of seeing love at work, seeing those smiling - otherwise marginalized - faces, and seeing God at work!

Next time you see a homeless person give them something more than money. . . don't ignore them. They are people with feelings; happiness, sorrow, pain, contentment. Perhaps they need money, perhaps they need jobs, but what they DON'T need is to be forgotten, ignored and left all alone. A greeting, a conversation, maybe a meal or your coat. . .you can afford a new one anyway! Like so many others in this economy are discovering. . . one day the homeless person you once ignored could be you. . . .

Signs of the time. . .

2009-02-15T07:12:00.008-05:00

The mid winter thaw is such a terrible tease! Having grown up in a warmer winter environment where fresh produce was available year round i have developed a much greater respect for people living in less temperate regions. i have also learned that no two colds are alike. For example 40 degrees in the early fall is reason to grab your jacket and shiver just a bit if you are outside for any length of time. On the other hand 40 degrees in the early spring (especially after a hard winter) is the time to throw on your favorite t-shirt, shorts and sandals and go for a walk on the beach.

When that week in early to mid February comes it is like manna falling to a starving man. It is also an ecological messenger. Watch the trees, and the birds, and the mammals. Nature tells them things.

Deciduous trees that are otherwise devoid of any signs of life suddenly begin to glow red in their smallest branches as the saps starts flowing up from the roots. Its a good time to tap your favorite maples!!! Anyone out there have an evaporator they want to share??

The birds become louder and more active. You will even begin to notice that small population of Turdus migratorius that you hadn't before - they stay local while all of the smart birds have migrated south long ago.

Sadly, road kill numbers are up for the first time since the deer rut in the late autumn. This time instead of Bambi "sleeping" on the roadside the newest nappers can be prematurely detected by their pungent emanations. Yes, the skunks were out scavenging for a snack at night. The Raccoons have joined them as well as the coyotes, and bobcats, all making their presence known in subtle ways (don't leave your trash on the back porch).

On the pharm we see it too. The turkeys are ready to mate. Our population of jakes is far too high this year, and in the turkey world, like many other less civilized creatures, the males fight for the right to breed. The jakes (a young male turkey) are all calling and where one is loud, eight form a symphony. There is an overload of testosterone in the paddock. . . and there have been more than a few gang fights! Were it not that we are going to "weed" the turkey paddock next month (have to wait for the butcher to open up shop again), we had considered referring to that half of the yard as "South Central" (that's an L.A. reference for the non-California types).

Next door the roosters are crowing. . . and the hens. . . well, they are all the same age but as we discovered yesterday - they are not all laying yet. Our hens are now a year old, and most breeds will start laying around 6 months, so by all normal standards they should all have been laying by now.

Chickens, when they come of age, undergo a warming up phase. They start by laying small eggs and as their bodies adjust the eggs will get larger and larger until they resemble what you might find at your local farm (or supermarket for those less fortunate).

Here the kids get to see the transition in person as they go out to collect the eggs twice a day. Weird eggs are always fun - deeply colored, larger than normal, double yolked, frozen. . . or for James the other day. . . somewhat quail like. Here are a couple of eggs from James collecting the other day:

All of these are chicken eggs fresh from the chicken - no alterations.

We all get so busy in our day to day activities. Stop for a minute. Take an extra long sip of your coffee and look around. Take a second to notice how nature, and we interact with the seasons. Some of the more beautiful nuances in life are so subtle as to almost be missed. . .

A quandry that robs me of sleep when i need it most. .

2009-02-12T12:13:00.002-05:00

So its Thursday. The one day this week that i have the opportunity to get a TON of sleep. Amy is home, it is a normal eight hour shift tonight, only one extra kid. . .

Then my friend Stu calls. He is the big wig with Bon Appetite - a food service industry that is very centered on food sustainability, going organic, going local, and going green. He is checking in to make sure that i had all of the information that i needed for a trip that Amy and i are doing with the college this weekend. Then he drops the bomb shell. . . "Something for you to think about. . ."
He more or less offers me a job as a full time farm manager at the college here in town. The Upshot is that it would be a raise . . . and i would be doing something that i have dreamed about for a loooooooong time. The downfall: It starts off as a year long contract with a heavy push to be an ongoing gig, but no guarantees.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! How am i supposed to sleep??? Hmmm. . . the job i have, i hate, but it pays well and it is stable. The job i am offered is a dream job, pays better, but no guarantee of longevity (although there is a very strong probability) short of God's intervention during the course of the year. Hmmmmmmm.

Any thoughts???

Crash course in home aviation. . .

2009-02-11T11:54:00.007-05:00

There was a T.V. show (i think) titled: 'Boy meets World'.

Somewhere i have heard the phrase, 'Boy meets girl'.

Well. . . here is 'Girl meets door jam':

Today Sissy thought it would be neat to experiment with low level aviation. Sadly she used the hall as her runway and after powering up the engines she prematurely retracted her landing gear before reaching optimal take off speed. The lack of sufficient thrust caused her to fail to clear a nearby structure. . . the solid wooden door jam.
Early reports clearly state that there were no fatalities in the incident and that while the pilot did well to recover the craft, the pilot is being placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation and psychological examination to determine the possibility of post traumatic stress disorder. If medically cleared the pilot will be assigned to a Critical Reaction And Survival Habits training instructed by famed pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger.
The FAA is still investigating but advises that they may never know the cause of the incident due to a malfunction in the craft's "black box" flight recorder in which all radio transmissions where distorted into a loud, "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" sound.
Despite the severity of the crash the airline reports only minor damage and in a statement made to the Associated Press reports that they are confident that the craft can be repaired and will be back in service soon.

2009-02-10T12:54:00.007-05:00

While i am typing, my dear wife is in the kitchen taking her first shot at making home made veggie burgers. She is a rock star!!!

It has been a tougher transition back to vegetarianism than i thought it would be. i feared that i would buckle from "barbecue weakness" (that is a non-medically classified condition - real nonetheless), so we agreed that we would still eat meat that was free range and organically fed, or that we raised and/or harvested. Well, the farther into the transition that we get, the less i am even tempted to want even the meat that we are growing in the backyard. Amy on the other hand caved the other night when a friend made stuffed potato skins that had bacon in them. i walked into the kitchen after working with the critters to find Amy licking a piece of freshly cooked bacon!!! my poor wife. . . what have i done to her??

So anywho. . . she is in the kitchen as i type with lots of yummy ingredients and the food processor making these little cakes that, at the moment, look like pterodactyl turds. They do however smell amazing and i can't wait to cook 'em up tonight. Yummy!!!!

The Not So Farmer's Almanac - Farming forecasts that aren't because they already happened:

This weeks forecast: Overcast and in the forties!!!!! Yea, spring is coming. Chicks, planting, gathering rainwater and snow melt, shoveling the walks because the roof is sluffing in giant sheets. . . Yup, everyone else is outside playing in the warmth, while we are finding our walkways. . . again. Good news is, we are the only folks on our street that can see our roof. . . and it is metal and beautiful! That there used to be the walkway that the oil guys uses. . . oops!

Some of the enjoyable subtleties of "farming"

2009-02-07T13:40:00.002-05:00

Every day here on our "hobby farm" i find new things that make me hunger to be a real "poor farmer". i have been around critters my whole life (my mom thinks that she is Noah reincarnated. . . okay not really, but she does collect animals) and sometimes i have to be reminded that animals are as complicated as we. The turkey is a great example. Most folks think that they are dumb, ugly animals (except for Laura). They are both intelligent, and complicated. This morning i was educated in some of the more subtle nuances of their language. Sadly i lack the words to adequately describe what i heard. . . but i think of it as something like a very quiet diesel truck accelerating. As i was watering the goofy birds one of the dominant jakes (The term for a yearling male turkey . . . if they don't get eaten by year one, they eventually become Toms. i don't know how Tom is short for Jake, but i guess it is) came a struttin' over to me. Periodically he would, almost imperceptible, shutter. When he shuttered, he let out this sound. It was the first time i had ever heard a turkey make this sound, but as i listened i realized that all of the jakes were doing it. Cool stuff.

Its now nearly 40 degrees. . .yeah!!! At the local hardware store this morning i was able to be the first to "deflower" the newly set up gardening display. . . . planting season is coming!!!!!

A morning poem

2009-02-04T05:07:00.001-05:00

Love is not a single petal on a daffodil

No more than the gathering is a lone man

At the table – the feast is laid out before him.

Peace is no more quiet than quiet is peaceful.

Love is the many leaves on the ancient oak

Joy is a table of many hands

Peace is the breeze and the daffodil

Moving as one – swaying together

The one is in part where the whole is in unison

When mom is away, on a school day, dad will play!

2009-02-02T12:15:00.007-05:00

0720 - Amy's work calls. She is supposed to work for a couple of hours today, but not for some hours yet.

0735 - Amy has been suckered into working the whole day. Good for the paycheck. . . but this leaves dad home with three kids, one to come later in the afternoon and no pre-written school plan for the day. Buwahahahaha!!!

0830 - Mom is off to work. Time to start the mischief!

0845 - Hire the Muppet's back up drummers for entertainment (Animal was already booked through the end of spring).

James banishes himself to the living room to "suffer" through reading.

0915 - The timer goes off and dad decides that while reading is a key skill to have, we probably ought to hone a couple of others.

James *happily* runs away from the *deplorable* task of reading, and *happily* pulls up a chair to talk science.

0920 - James and dad talk about habitats, adaptations, and the critters that might live in specific oceanic habitats.

0930 - Muppet backup drummers breakout in a game of broom hockey in the breezeway (please don't tell mom!).

0945 James discovers the dark likability of the deep sea and it's evil looking creatures. Suddenly he has a new love of science! He picks five ocean creatures to read about (yes, he learned about field guides, indexes, and navigating via color/shape keys), and draw in their environments.

1145 - Lunch time - Hockey games is called into half time (no broken bones yet). Dastardly looking sea creatures returned to the murky deep. Yummy fruit and sandwiches on the table.

1230 - Early nap time. Dad has to grab a quick cat nap before Neila (our extra kid a couple of days a week) comes over. Five hours and thirty minutes (roughly) before mom returns home. . .

The dreaded "To-Do" list. . .

2009-02-01T16:00:00.003-05:00

Anyone who knows my wife knows how much she abhors my "To-Do" list. Without the list i am a pathetically hopeless mess.

As though the universe was out to get her, today Amy observed Owen (our middle child - age 3) putting together a "To-Do" list of his own. He was verbalizing it all as he was organizing and cataloguing his list of things he and dad needed to do in his head. As a proof that these abominable lists actually work - my dear son Owen, who is singularly causing me to believe in ADHD, remembered to do, in order, everything that he had put on his list!!

Boy makes me proud!

As for this quite opening day of February. . . my list is getting chipped away at. Mumma is enjoying (i hope) a restful (again, i hope) afternoon nap, the kid-os are just creepin' outta bed, the back yard is on fire, James is busy coloring away and i am finally getting ready to stretch out on the couch after a day of chores!!

They say tomorrow may reach forty degrees. Wooohooo! Of course i suppose that will raise expectations to take a few more projects off my list.

A note from the author. . .

2009-01-27T17:20:00.002-05:00

It has been brought to my attention by the editorial department (Amy) that there have been a rash of grammatical errors in my blog recently. Realistically it has probably been much longer than just recently (i was never good with the English Language).

In response to the editorial department's concerns, and for the benefit of supporting my own laziness, i submit the following for your consideration:

"Aoccdrnig to rscheearch out of Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod apeapr. The olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe"
Itesreintng ins't it?

Signed,

The Authorial Department!

Its not a hybrid, but it is pretty!!!!

2009-01-26T14:39:00.009-05:00

Sometimes, when your car gets hit from behind, and the *nice* kid who hits you tells the cop that it was his fault (thank you for being honest) the insurance company will get you a rental while your car has surgery!

While the rental company is not yet equipped to provide everyone with a hybrid vehicle, and not every rental comes with a custom trunk chicken (because apparently nobody told that company with the silly commercials that transporting monkeys across international lines for the purpose of labor is in violation of like a dozen U.N. treaties!), the cars can be quite nice!! In our case the newer Dodge Caravan - that in person does NOT look like a Dodge Caravan.

The Food Policy Council

2009-01-25T10:18:00.004-05:00

After scheduling and rescheduling, scheduling conflicts and ultimately just flat out cancellations, i expected what is ordinarily our community gathering night to be a quiet night with our lovely friends Damien and Renee. A warm pot of potato/cabbage soup, a salad of mixed goodies (sorry about the spinach guys), some sghetti and sauce, and a tasty stuffing based dish filled our bellies, and kept the kitchen warm as the temperatures outside took a big nose dive.
Coversation followed full bellies and we managed to stuff in a few more bites of an absolutely scruptuous apple cobbler! i am so blessed to have friends that can cook!

This week Amy and i were asked to sit in on a meeting for what is to become the Saco Valley Regional Food Policy Council. Big fancy name for a bunch of people that came together to eat good food and talk about our shared concerns for local food sustainability, biosecurity, and the plight of the poor.
There were people from the local town council, representatives from various food pantries, local citizens, reps from local CSA farms, old folks, young folks, American born and immigrants. It was cool!
The whole shebang was initiated by a guy named Stu, Rebecca (the poohbah for the local food pantry), and Richard (who is the head of a local organic farm). Our first meeting was to introduce people to each other, the organizations involved, and what exactly a Food Policy Council is. Two hours later we new who each other were, and the organizations involved. . . but what are we doing? i still don't think we know.
With so many people, our focus was to figure out what our purpose together would be, but it turned into a mass presentation of local concerns (not necessarily a bad thing). At the end it sounded to me as the largest concerns were sustainable farming, local food education (no, not teaching the veggies a thing or two), local growing/farming education, feeding the poor healthier foods, and garnering community support and volunteers.
After two hours we concluded that there was just too much and too many people to reign in all the ideas, so we have opted to assemble a smaller group from the meeting tonight to go through the list of ideas, thoughts, and concerns and try to develop a focused mission statement. . . Sounds kind of official. . . yuck!
i like to remember that the best changes for good in the world happen among people sharing their time and lives together. On the whole if we want to effect real change in the world we have to start in our homes with ourselves and our families, reaching out to our neighbors and friends, then our neighborhoods, and their friends. . .
Maybe there was something to Reagan's trickle down (economics) system. . .

More to Food Policy to follow as events unravel. . .

Spring is coming. . .

2009-01-21T17:57:00.003-05:00

For those of us garden veggie addicts spring can never come soon enough. i, in particular, have discovered that i am really affected by the light. So winter represents a dull time - no garden, 'shorter' days, less lights. But i am not alone! Even our feathered friends get a little depressed by the lack of light. . .

Chickens are very light sensitive. There are some breeds that have been bred over time to be hearty and lay eggs right through the coldest, darkest months, but many take the lack of light cue by shuttin' off the egg production. Our Americana's fall into that category. But the trade off is that because of their moodiness, they also become the heralds of brighter days!!!!

Today much more reliably than any silly hole dwelling mammal, our little feather friends told us that the light is coming back. . .

For those of you white egg eating eating, uninitiated folks, Americana's lay green and blue eggs - and yes. . . that is a blue egg. . . the first in months.

The end of a long week

2009-01-17T19:44:00.003-05:00

A snap shot of a miss-prioritized 'to do' list.

i realize that perhaps if i had paid better attention to it's order i may have had a much less stressful week. Actually, it wasn't bad at all. i ended up working mostly day shifts this week, the down fall was that i worked two of my three days off (yeah for mandatory trainings).

Having spent a greater percent of my working life on the overnight shift, i always wondered about how grand a day shift might someday be. This week changed that. i am blessed to work the third shift (is that weird?)!!!! Perhaps it is just a need to readjust to what some refer to as "normal life", but i feel like i haven't been home at all this week. Yes, i have slept with my wife, in my bed, at night. . . but i feel like i have totally missed a huge chunk of my kids, and even my wife. There is something wonder about being able to be at home with your family, but they are all asleep for most of it.

Someday i will lay down this body and sleep for a long, long time. That time will probably come sooner for me than most (they say that graveyard folk tend to die younger), but i will look back with a smile when i realize how much time i have had to spend with my lovely wife, and my little ones. . . and some of my friends too!! When that day finally comes i wont have to worry about where things sit on my 'to do' list anymore either!!!

When silence and reading save my day

2009-01-13T08:42:00.004-05:00

my dear friend Laura (http://eatcraftlive.typepad.com/eat_craft_live/) (i don't yet know how to do that fancy link-thingy where you can make their names a link to their site. . . live with it people) posted some fabulous photos on her Photo-Friday post that made me think of my favorite poet. Then my other dear friend Renee (http://tougas.net/) did the same thing yesterday. i am so blessed to know so many fabulous photographers!!!

This morning when i got home i was rather depressed because of work. i got home to be reminded that i have an ill-scheduled dentist appointment. It is going to eat substantially into my sleep time today, but it must be done. So i took a little time before family meeting and did some reading! Nudged in that direction with the help of my phabulous photographer phreinds i grabbed one of my phavorite poetry books by my phavorite poet. . . here is just a taste of the silent sounds that lifted my soul this morning:

n
OthI
n

g can

s
urPas
s

the m

y
SteR

y

of

s
tilLnes
s

Any guesses on the Author? Here is your hint (like you need one). He was a prisoner of war in WWI.

The sky is falling.

2009-01-11T08:06:00.013-05:00

The church met in Lisbon Falls yesterday which is a good hall for our family. They boys went to stay at Wah-Wah's house and Addy, Mumma and i made the hour + long trek to eat food, share thoughts, and pray together.

i know that the trip is long and as for gas consumption not the most ideal, but the trip along I-295 is fabulous at night with a perigee moon. This has been a fabulous season of astronomical events. In the summer sitting with Kurtz' and Chuck watching the tale end of a meteor shower with were blessed to see an iridium flare (or satellite flare).
(Thanks to Wikipedia and the photographer - whose name i don't know - for the thirty second exposure of this iridium flare. . . please don't sue me - i am poor)

Now in less than a month we have been able to witness two perigee moons.(Thanks to NASA for this photo of an Apogee and Perigee moon - please don't sue me or crash a satellite into my house!)

Perigee moon is when the moon is at it's closest point to earth making it appear much larger and brighter than normal. Before the snow storm started (just after midnight) we were able to read the newspaper outside (in part thanks to the reflective properties of the snow) at night!
What made this particular perigee full moon extra cool was an almost unnoticeable event that we caught quite by accident. After our meeting in Topsham we had a bit of shopping that needed doing. In walking out of one store we stopped to admire the moon. In doing so i was able to observe a satellite cross the face of the moon.
It was odd, normal a small reflective light crossing the sky, when it came across the moon it was an almost imperceptible black spec. It was really, unremarkable in truth, but when we realized what we had seen it was really cool!!!!
Anyone else out there notice the moon?? How about any other strange astronomical events??
i think everyone should spend a little more time staring in wonder at the cosmos!!

Learning to enjoy things again. . .

2009-01-08T17:34:00.005-05:00

There are so many projects under way here - we get busy fast. Some are realistic others are not.
We have a major garden project to pitch to the local college, a household garden to plant, three kids to raise. . . Tonight we were looking at sheep breeds to decide which might best meat (yes it is a play on words) our needs.

Soap making is quickly becoming my favorite new project spiritually. Though we haven't actually made any soap yet, we have been collecting the tools, hunting down the ingredients, and reading a lot about cold process soap making. It was in the reading that i was reminded not to miss the small gifts of God. In the shower the other day i was overcome by the feel of the "hippie soap" (which is official designation for soaps made at home by my co-workers).

Our diet is rapidly changing as we are largely cutting out meat from our diet (unless it was grown/harvested by us, or grown locally, organically, and ethically - and special occasions). the other day we made very simple wraps and i was reminded about the simple goodness of unadulterated vegetables.

Our culture moves so fast we do things because we must without regard for why. Food - we wolf it down, be it healthy or fast food. We eat so fast our taste buds have gained the feeling that they have no further purpose in life. Do, do, do. Go, go, go!!! Faster, more efficient. . . How about slower, more intentionally! Enjoy the "musts". Enjoy the feel of the soap. The smell of the couscous cooking in cranberry juice. Even the bitter wind as you walk out to clean the turkey coop (Of course it is OK to NOT enjoy the smell of the turkey coop).
Yummy white rice cooked in blueberry juice with sliced peaches and banana - a super good breakfast!

And now a word from our sponsors. . .

2009-01-06T16:31:00.003-05:00

Hey i was recommended a cool website by a gal i work with. Her sister went and stayed with this family for a stint. i have subscribed to their newsletter and some of their recipes sound yummy. Might be worth your attention!!

http://www.rawfamily.com/recipes.htm

Six more inches of snow forecast for tomorrow. . .

Learning to cope with a family member in gender crisis

2009-01-04T11:16:00.006-05:00

They are words that no pharmer parent wants to hear. . . ever!

Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!!

Amy was reluctant to allow me to have one rooster, and with good reason. Our last rooster was quite literally insane. He was evil. He stopped going to roost and would sit under our bedroom window and start crowing at 2 and 3 am. Then he would crow all day till well past dark, sometimes as late as 11 pm.

Amy, who is home at night suffered much more than did i, who is not generally home at night. So it took a little convincing, explaining that it would be much more cost efficient to "make" our own laying hens rather than buying them. So we found a Barred Rock/Rhode Island Red cross. A beautiful bird mixed from two breeds who are known for their laying power (not the roosters of course).

Then came that fateful morning when we heard not one, but two sets of crowing. Now i am quite sure that the neighbors rooster has met the business portion of the oven. So what is this??? We have only ONE rooster!!
But sure enough, one of our "laying hens" had crossed the line. . . she was a he! So to complicate matters 'he' was one of the hens that i prized for 'her' beauty, and 'he' is still a beautiful bird. So i can't just go butcher him. Sadly, he is an Americana - a breed that is not known for durability in egg laying, though they do lay colored eggs (blue, green and occasionally pink i have heard). So now we have two. . . i don't know how i am going to convince Amy that we need one more to get our meat bird flock going. . . i will keep you posted on that. . .

So many plans, so little time. . .

2009-01-03T17:07:00.002-05:00

We are not people of resolution (yes, we are blurry). No really i haven't made a "new years resolution" in about 15 years - so why start now.

We have however, for sometime, been re-examining the way we eat and live (and most recently - bathe. Its a dirty addiction, bathing!). So today i was pleased when i was at the grocery store to see that our cart was full of vegetables and NO meat whatsoever. . . until got to the chili aisle. Today the church met at our house, so while i am secretly trying to reimpose vegetarianism (mostly) in our house (don't tell Amy that i haven't been buying meat. . . she will figure it out eventually . . .), i didn't seem quite fair to suddenly impose it on our friends. Eventually i will though. . . they will survive!
But it felt good to look at all of the yummy veggies staring back at me. Eventually with the families permission i would like to try to live on only locally grown produce for a year (yes, no coffee or sugar or mangoes. . . ugh. . . maybe we will wait on all that), but not until we have the soap making thing under control.
And so we start that in just a couple of weeks, and we are still looking into the sheep/goat ranching thing, and i still haven't started drafting the presentation for the community college to the local university. . . time to add cloning to the list of projects, so i can finish the others.

We discovered his existence while out marking birds for the second round of butchering. Sadly after thinking about how we would have organic meat in the freezer (this is where the "mostly" above comes in - as long as we grow it or it comes from a local organic farm we can eat it.), and less mouths to feed in the yard, it turns out the butcher is closed till March. So. . . we will keep them around for a few more weeks. Maybe they will get a little bigger.

And so the year begins on the pharm! Time to go eat. Tonight. . . home made potatoe soup!

Sunday

2008-12-28T22:08:00.004-05:00

It is remarkably warm out. Amy and i stopped outside to just stare up at the stars for a while. The night sky is always more amazing in the winter - the crisp air for whatever reason makes the atmosphere more clear and more star light makes it through. Usually we don't tarry too long outside at this time of year but tonight it is warm. . . even with the crazy wind.

Christmas is winding down. Just four days to the new year and already we are clearing the house of the all of the festive adornment and preparing for new beginnings.

The kids are away tonight so we opted to run in town and eat at our favorite corporate restaurant that will remain nameless lest it appear that i am endorsing eating at that, or any particular establishment (Thanks James and Judy. . . it was yummy!).

We then ventured off with our dear friends Laurel and Ian to Borders (yes it was support your local corporate giant night) to sip froo-froo coffee drinks and peruse the reading room. Amy and i walked away with a book on making soap - yes, Renee, we are finally really ready to get started. . . if i could find some one local who sells Lye!

Apparently. . .

2008-12-27T19:19:00.003-05:00

Its illegal to ship kids to people in other states as Christmas presents. . .

If they don't get returned to sender, they find their way back!

It was a pleasant and peaceful Christmas. It was white, and warm (inside and out) which is all one could ask for.

Now we look forward to the new year and all the hope and opportunity to share and love that it brings. . .

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you . . .

2008-12-25T06:27:00.001-05:00

. . . he is the Anointed one the Lord.

'Lord' – as far as I know this title isn't often used anymore outside of "proper" circles within the United Kingdom. It is a concept that we Americans lost long ago, or never had to begin with. It was commonly ascribed to one who was in authority, the head of a household, a husband, or a man with mastery in a certain field.

The announcement that God had sent his anointed one (ambassador, special envoy, messenger, son . . . however the wording helps makes the phrase less obscure) has such an unusual wording.

'. . . born to you. . .'

It could be interpreted as 'given to you'. Jesus, the son of God is 'given' to us? The norm would certainly indicate that leaders 'take' or 'assume' power. Leaders aren't 'given' to people . . . or are they?

This is one of the qualities of Jesus that is so subtly amazing. Unlike so many, he leads by example. He taught by example, and his life was an example that all mankind should follow. Love! Love your neighbor, love your enemies, love the down trodden, love the unlovable. Be patient, kind, humble. . .

Princes are born with much pomp and circumstance; kings come with ceremony and self promotion. Jesus came quietly . . . almost less than quietly. Born in the barn, he slept in the feed trough. His first years of life he was a refugee, later he was a manual laborer. Not a man of great wealth, or backing, or any sort of family name to capitalize on. He taught people to show the appropriate respect for the creator, and then live from the bottom up, rather than legislate from the top down. Pretty backwards for a leader!

Love and tend to each other in peace and humility and you wont have to rely on a government to regulate how you act! In many ways Jesus pushed a government by the people for the people.

God was saddened when Israel asked for a King instead of living in love and trusting God to tend to their needs. He warned of the oppression and disappointment that would follow the rule of man – power corrupts. Jesus came to remind us that there is a different way, a better way. And he came not just to remind us, but to show us!

So . . . unto us a child is born. . .

Happy Birthday Jesus.

There were shepherds living out in the fields. . .

2008-12-24T06:27:00.002-05:00

Protecting their sheep from predators and thieves.

Mary and Joseph had returned to the hometown of Joseph's family as part of a national order. It turns out that Augustus the head cheese at the time had passed legislation mandating an updated census . . . for tax purposes (perhaps he had a recession that needed fixing too).

Joseph and Mary pull into town and for lack of vacancies had to shack up in the barn. A funny set of circumstances seeing as Joseph would have had a load of extended family in town. But, that's the way it was - they were shacked up in the barn.

These shepherds, in the meantime, were out in the elements. Maybe it was winter and cold, maybe it wasn't – either way, it seems to have been an ordinary night by sheep rancher standards. Imagine yourself there:

It's late, you're tired, and you and a couple of friends are telling stories or playing games together. One of your buddies is nodding off next to you. Suddenly. . .

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

Mankind has always feared what it does not understand. There were no movies or fancy CGI to bring to life the wildest and scariest of our imaginations (outside of say. . .the Coliseum). People were not numb to terror as we are today.

I don't believe the messenger from heaven was scary, though. These shepherds were prepared for a lot. They were on their guard against lions, wolves, and bears, but angels suddenly appearing in the middle of their flock of sheep was not covered anywhere in the Idiots Guide to Shepherding.

Like turning around to find someone standing right behind you that you didn't know was there, and were sure wasn't there a second ago – that is how I quantify their terror. . . that and there is a freakin' ANGEL standing there.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

OK, first off. . . Mr. Glowing Angel guy scares you near to death, then he has the audacity to say, "Do not be afraid." I can only imagine that there had to be something divinely soothing about his voice and maybe also his presence that would allow the shepherds to pull their wits together enough to actually stop being afraid! But then after toning their fear level down a few notches to "prudently afraid", I can imagine the curiosity and wonder took over. Now someone who is not Jewish the angels message seems a bit well . . . preachy and weird. But for a Jew the Messiah ('Christ' in the Greek) was somebody long sought after. The Messiah is the guy who is going to make things right and restore Israel to its splendor. So for these shepherds to hear this must have been, well, indescribable.

Had some schmo in the market place told me he had found the Messiah, I might have laughed, but for 'Mr. Glowing Angel guy who just appeared out of now where in the middle of my flock of sheep' to come and say it, now there is something!

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Now, if one angel terrified me, a multitude (or company) would send me running for the hills. Growing up I remember hearing of and seeing images of whole mobs of angels lighting up the sky like a summer day and singing in booming voices. Yet, recently I heard a remake of a classic Christmas carol and in it there is a refrain sung by the "angels". It is neither loud, nor particularly booming. Instead it is gentle, melodious in a quiet way – it is so well done that it overpowered most of my senses. I was drawn into it. Then I thought about Elijah who found God in the gentle whisper. Even Jesus himself, the son of God makes his first appearance on Earth in a very quiet, non glamorous way.

I envision the choir of heaven out in the field with the shepherds singing in a quiet way so indescribably beautiful that it overwhelms all of the senses – in a peaceful, awe inspiring way. A low singing whose harmonics send the gentlest of ripples across the soul.

It was enough that the shepherds were able to collect their wits, walk off the job (I don't know, maybe they took the sheep with them – either way they left the field) and explore the validity of what they had been told about a family in a barn and a baby who would save the day.

Digging out. . .

2008-12-22T13:07:00.009-05:00

Fwooooooooooooosh!
The official sound of snow falling in one big sheet approximately 94 feet long, 16 feet high, and 12 inches deep off of a new metal roof.

Aaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhh!!

The official sound of the idiot who thought it would be a good idea to try and pull just the bottom three inches off of the edge while standing beneath the roof.

i assure you. . . when your life is about to end, you DO see a bright white glow.

We got a good bit of snow, but the storm wasn't nearly as bad as they made it out to be. Or so i think. James has really become a great helper. He has his own snow shovel now and is responsible for the porches and part of one walk way. Dad (lazy old turd) takes care of all of the surfaces that the snow blower can dig out! Being someone who isn't really a big fan of internal combustion engines, i have found a new love for my happy little snow blower. Even with it's nine horses it takes me a little better than an hour to get everything on my "route" dug out.

Christmas is coming. The children are excited and the parents are begging for a silent night. . . Thank goodness for having Christmas day off!!!

If cattle and donkeys were carnivorous. . .

2008-12-18T18:31:00.003-05:00

Christmas would be about breakfast in bed!

In a culture of bigger and better sometimes it is hard to think that the first Christmas poor (well until the Magi showed up with all the bling-bling). A young couple shacked up with the critters in the barn. A baby delivered, and for lack of a well prepared nursery with just the right colors, baby safe furniture, a baby monitor and fleece blankets he slept in the next best thing. . . the cows cafeteria tray! Sounds fabulous (OK maybe ghetto-fab)!

Definitely the birth scene appropriate for a king, and without a doubt the most picture perfect conditions (by our First World standard) for the son of God. That first Christmas definitely set the scene for the magnanimous Christmas celebrations and tree trimmings that children around the world wake up to in this day and age.

And this leads into one of the many reasons i love my wife. She is creative and an outside the box thinker. With Christmas coming we were still without even a tree up until yesterday. i was gung-ho to go get the biggest tree we could find. Leave it to my wife to suggest that we take the Monterey Cypress tree that we have been growing the last couple of years. By modern Christmas standards it is barely a modest little tree, worthy of Charlie Brown - it's branches can't support many of the ornaments that we have for it.

In many ways though, it reminds me of the first Christmas. It is small, seemingly weak, yet amazingly beautiful. Unlike the other Christmas trees which are dead (yes you evil revelers decapitated them ;-), our tree is very alive and growing. In all of it's simplicity it doesn't distract us from what is beautiful about this time of year. . . giving, loving each other, dancing (or trying really, really hard to get dizzy and fall down), and spending time together.
Plus. . . as you can see, we can still fit gifts beneath it. Gifts more precious than gold, frankincense or myrrh. Just please don't tell DHHS. . . (OK that was a joke. . .you can tell them if you want).

Grace. . .

2008-12-17T08:34:00.004-05:00

OK, so the pictures have nothing to do with grace. . . but i have amazingly beautiful children! So there.

Darth Sissyous - Dark Lord of the tubby!

i had the pleasure last night of having a two and one half hour pow wow with the number two in my department. Ninety five percent of our session was me being informed that i represent everything that is wrong with our department. As it turns out if you work for certain branches of the government it is expected that you wont think, critique or vocalize ideas that maybe don't agree with the thinking of the powers that be. There is also the expectation that life exists with lesser importance than the job, and family friends and all of existence should come to a screeching halt when they need you.

Now for what it is worth, yes it is an important job that should (yes, i do mean 'should be' and not 'must be') be staffed all of the time. i also gleaned from the meeting that i have become (at work) someone that i don't necessarily like very much. Still i was ticked!

After about 10 hours of stewing (and i am writing this to help myself to decompress and organize my own thoughts) it became clear that grace in an easy environment is not all that impressive. The real miracle of grace is it's existence and indeed it's growth in environments that would kill any other good.

This doesn't make it any easier, but it does make it more necessary. i have to wonder. . . is the difference between Jesus and a doormat (i have often heard arguments as to whether Jesus was one or not) is that Jesus was silent in face of persecution when he had the power NOT to be, and a doormat is silent without the power to defend themselves. Hmmmm. . . .

Passion flower progress soon to follow. . .

Thursday night

2008-12-11T20:53:00.003-05:00

i am supposed to be at work at the moment. i was scheduled for a training tomorrow but it got cancelled tonight. Usually i work Thursday night, but in light of the training they gave me the night off. Then they cancelled the training and didn't bother to call anyone till 7:30 pm. It was then that i was told that i could either get forced into work or use benefit time. Circumstances as they are (i haven't slept yet today) i can't work. . . so i took the night off. i hope i actually have the benefit time to spend. It's all good. i am public enemy number one at work right now anyway.

Homeschooling - probably not actually one word, but then maybe it is. i should look into that. i am home the bulk of the daylight hours, but Amy (the educator) is still wholly in charge of the kids education. i just play proctor. i was never good at things like English, math. . .blah, blah, blah boring. Science, history, social studies,civics. . . now there is some fun learning.

Today with the freezing rain and sleet coming down, we decided to take advantage of technology in the house. James has been really key on bald eagles lately, so today we studied bald eagles. James wants to call the president and ask if we can rehabilitate and raise eagles. i think it's brilliant.

Christmas, the cultural bad habit seems to be coming slowly to the house this year. In fact Amy is not all that hip to getting a tree (though i may strongly disagree). Still we are thinking a lot about giving, and Jesus birth, and living in faith. It is a strange transition from the Christmases from my childhood. my greatest hope is that the kids really come to appreciate the light of Christmas more than celebrating Christmas-lite!

The dismal reality of my job in the season of joy. . .

2008-12-09T00:30:00.001-05:00

Where is light -

A child peeking through the curtain

From backstage -

Fires rage,

Famines drape themselves,

Across the land,

Disease feasts on the innocent,

Arrogance and ingnorance -

Those insidious brothers –

Lurking beneath the shadows of the moon

And doubt.

Mother and father belie the hollow grief

As they gasp to make their cries heard

From the bottomless bottomness

Of hopelessness

Yet feign confidence for their children

From their driveway of ashes, smoke and tears

The plate of dust and emptiness

The bed of medicine and death.

Where is light

That beaming smile

That infant's giggle

The warmth of spirits embracing

A chuckle amongst strangers.

If you can't laugh at everybody, you can't laugh at anybody

2008-12-08T10:58:00.004-05:00

Well, winter is here. . . at least the cold bit.
Mother nature has tried tossing some snow at us a couple of times. We even had accumulation twice. But then as though the planet were bi-polar (!?!?!) it snapped into a warm spell and everything melted.
It's been quiet around the pharm - its too quiet. In a lot of ways we have had to reinvent ourselves as a couple, and as a family. To that end we have been discussing a lot with the children how we should carry on. What traditions we have developed together with the Hogans that we like (singing before meals together is one), and what things we might change.
Amy and i planted a passion flower together :-)
Amy had the brilliant idea to photograph it everyday so that we could later make a collage of it's growth.
More amazingly, last night we went to a concert together!! i can't remember the last time that i went to a "real" concert (coffee shop events don't count). Thanks to our good friends Dan and Nancy we went to see Jeff Dunham. Yup, the ventriloquist guy. At first i was a little worried. When he finally came out on stage (some guy fell and THRASHED his leg just after the opening act) he was tanked!!! i was worried that the puppets were more coherent than he. But as he got going . . . i needed Advil at the end. i don't think i have laughed that hard in a loooooong time!!

Happy Thank-Christma-ka!

2008-12-05T08:46:00.001-05:00

Putting aside some of the controversial dualities of Jesus and his division between being both God and Man; Christmas is an amazing time to reground ourselves.

This season really could be combined into one long holiday rather than the two independent holidays of Christmas and Thanksgiving. Looking back at Jewish holidays, and in fact many holidays that originated in the Middle East they seldom last only a day – many last for a week or more. In reality our last autumn and our first winter holidays celebrate the same thing. Granted Christmas has taken on a number of different meanings over the last several centuries if you look deeply into both it and Thanksgiving, at the core of the each it the common theme of "giving".

At Thanksgiving time, we often think about being thankful. But look again at the title of the holiday. Thanksgiving is as much about giving as it is about being thankful. We can be thankful about anything with the wrong motives. Being thankful is important, but as the title implies, the day is about GIVING thanks. And to whom do we give thanks, and for what reason. There is deeply reflective element to Thanksgiving that I believe is often overlooked. There are so many things that we can think of to be thankful for on the surface, but does this thankfulness resonate to the deepest center of our beings. No one will ever be able to question us when we are sincerely thankful for something. Our thankfulness oozes from every pore and is evident to all. In contrast we can be thankful (or say that we are thankful) for a great many things on the surface, but do our actions betray a subdued sense of gratitude? Rather than a deeply felt, sincere thankfulness, do the things that we give thanks for require thought and suffer from a watered down "easy-answer syndrome"?

What about Christmas? Thanksgiving is a holiday of thankfulness and Christmas is the season of giving. While this is very true there is a deeper connection between these holidays and a stronger, more painful sense of giving than the Church has celebrated in a long time.

During the Christmas season we celebrate Jesus birth. We celebrate the beginning of a promise - the renewal of hope. We celebrate with song, and lights and think of shepherds and angel choruses. We carry on the tradition of providing gifts as the "wise men" gave, but there is something lost in translation about those lavish gifts. With all of our focus on babies and angels and glitter and giving we miss an opportunity to ponder a greater gift than gold or myrrh. We miss the practical reason for those gifts and we completely overlook the gifts given to the wise men, and indeed to the Church.

So why make it a month long holiday? This is the season that even Scrooge dips into his pockets to help a needy neighbor – a trait that would be fabulous should it find its way into our everyday routine, something that the Church should be celebrating year round. At the food pantries we see something precious and rare - full shelves. Clothes are collected for the needy, people offer a hand of hospitality, the elderly shut ins are visited and serenaded with carols, and it all really starts a few weeks before Thanksgiving carrying on until Christmas day, and sometimes a little beyond.

At the beginning of our month long celebration we give thanks and then we turn our attention to the giving that is at the center of Christmas. Jesus' physical life began with a gift, and ended with a gift. In many ways the cross was an easier gift than the manger. At the cross Jesus suffered a temporary spell of pain and suffering (and don't get me wrong – it was no picnic), but he could do so with perhaps a subdued excitement. For in His death he returned to His glory. He resumed his place at God's right hand, never again to leave the presence of the Father – and this after only three days (again . . . not like three days at Disneyland). At the manger however, he had to leave all of that. He had to separate himself from being in the direct presence of God the father, he had to become mortal. To feel pain, cold, hunger, to become "a little lower than the angels", and that for thirty three years. He had to give himself to the pain of having God the Father to look away from him while he submit himself to the most shameful of deaths. All of this given freely and willingly . . . by a king!

It is not a birth that we celebrate, but a gift – a complete gift. A gift of one's whole self. Beyond this amazing gift an ordinary man would have nothing left to offer, but God had more, he offered us redemption, healing, and a restored relationship with our creator.

Secondly he offered us our very first lesson – faith, an underlying theme that I was never taught during the Christmases of my youth. We hear of his meeting with the teachers of the law at an early age, we hear of his early ministry as a young man, but we should not overlook that he was teaching us about his nature and how we should live from the very beginning. A huge part of his gift to us was to give up his sovereignty, and humble himself, trusting the Father to provide everything for him. He was born into near poverty which adds a sometimes forgotten significance to the gifts of the Magi. The gifts of the wise men were not just random gifts from them, but provisions from His Father.

A king who had everything, surrendered himself completely to teach us to trust the Father, and the Father evidences his faithfulness to us by providing. Out of poverty, and the life of a blue collar worker, Jesus was always provided for. In our Christmas stories we often leave the manger scene and then pickup again in Egypt, but we never ask ourselves, how a peasant carpenter funded a surprise spurred of the moment trip from Israel to Egypt. The answer . . . God sent men with gifts at just the right moment to cover the costs of a trip to protect the One that he sent into the world. Jesus always had exactly what he needed, and often more than he needed. From that wealth he shared, and was able to provide for others. We never hear of Jesus panicking about where he might get food, or water, or lodging for the night. We read of a man who was content, calm, trusting in God, and God provided for not only Jesus, but also his companions again and again.

Not every person was called to live in poverty, as Mother Theresa, not everyone is called to live in community shunning personal property, not everyone will taste material richness – what is important is that we live in a manner, whether in poverty or great wealth, of total surrender - completely in faith, completely in love – taking only what we need and giving the rest to those who are without, and giving ourselves completely to God.

If we follow Jesus example in this season of giving by giving ourselves completely as Jesus gave himself, knowing that it will be painful at times, uncomfortable at times, it may even result in physical death – looking with faith at the blessings that it will provide – the gifts of the manger and the cross will only grow more precious to us.

Jesus' giving – his sacrifice - was not without pain. Jesus' giving and Jesus faith should be the measure of our giving – the difference between offering and sacrifice. An offering we give out of our wealth. A sacrifice comes with pain, loss, or inconvenience.

The verb sacrifice means, "To suffer loss of, give up, renounce, injure, or destroy especially for an ideal, belief or end," or, "To sell at a loss".

Paul urges us:
". . . in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship."

James reminds us:
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress. . ."

Jesus commanded us:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in Heaven. . . For where your treasure is, there your heart is also."

The writer of the proverbs reminds us:
"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow" – when you now have it with you."

So I lobby for a national month long celebration! For the Church I pray that this becomes a lifelong celebration. Live a life of giving and of faith, it comes only with a promise of blessings. If we live with a sense of reckless abandon, shunning security and trusting God to provide for our needs we will come closer to God; we will see deeper depths of God's love and we will be the hands and feet of Jesus - spreading the good news that he was born to bring.

Rome is growing again. . .

2008-12-01T11:13:00.002-05:00

i will preface with, i am NOT a republican. i will follow that statement with the following declaration. . . i am NOT a democrat. i am however entertained by the governmental process and even more so, the public's response to government.

WE ARE IDIOTS!

i have been listening to the press conference regarding the incoming administration's security council.

Let me shorten it's content for those of you with ADHD.

Blah, blah, blah, we are great. Blah, blah, blah, we have assembled the best team ever. Blah, blah, blah we are in unique times, but we are great. Blah, blah, blah we are great and we are focused on preserving the USA and other countries will monitor themselves. Blah, blah, blah we are going to send our forces into other countries to fix their problems for them, because their problems are our problems. Blah, blah, blah. . .

We eat this crap up!! Did anyone else actually listen to this? Sometimes i think the public at large just watches governmental press conferences with the volume down.

We are not in anymore unique times than we have ever been in. The only difference in our "unique" times is that they are happening now and we are involved. So far this administration is uniquely the same. The formalities are the same, the lingo is the same, the rhetoric is the same (all of this so far). . . Where is the change?
i guess that i expected real change (which may still happen), not just different decisions. So far it is looking to me like someone who knew how to throw out slogan's and statements that would get the people inspired (and how hard is that given the current administrations competence! Does it surprise us any that ambitious people say what they have to say in order to meet their own goals. . .

Ooh! Gotta go, Obama is now back tracking on what he said about Clinton during the campaign, vs. his statements justifying his choice of her as Secretary of State. . .

This could be good.

Just when i thought we wouldn't see snow before Christmas

2008-11-30T20:45:00.003-05:00

i always thought that it would be different for homeschoolers! You know. . . they don't actually go to school, hence no snow days. Apparently not. If you can't find your children in the morning, check the weather. At the first sign of snow they may well be attached to the windows.

The many plumage cycles of the T-bird

2008-11-27T16:37:00.024-05:00

One of many things that i am VERY thankful for this time of year is the ability to grow some of our own food. i can't speak for the kidd-os, but it makes me appreciate what we eat (and that we can eat) all the more.

The children tend to think that i am nuts anyway. . .. . . but i try to remind them of the importance of food, respecting it, knowing where it came from and how it was grown.

So sit down little children and i will tell you the tale of this thanksgiving's bird. . .

A long time ago, in a spring that seems impossibly far away (especially since it is snowing outside right now) on a farm in the mid west, a mumma turkey laid some eggs. The eggs sat in a warm location (probably an incubator) until some tapping and movement told the farm hands that little our little baby turkeys were about to hatch.

These baby turkeys (chicks) were double checked for health and divided by breed. They were then put into a box and shipped to our post office. Baby turkeys can go for three days without food because just before they hatch the drink up what is left of the yolk in there shell (and i always thought it was just to make more room). The box full of babies is taken by the postman and delivered to our local post office where we pick them up and take them home.

Because we live two feet south of the arctic circle, we have to pick up our chicks from the post office as soon as they get there. Because these are not wild turkeys and they aren't with their mother, they are not well suited to live outside. So. . .

. . . we end up with extra housemates for six weeks. Over all it isn't a bad experience. They are little and cute and make adorable little "peeps". They live in a relatively small enclosure and keep at a toasty 90 degrees. . . while the rest of us freeze (there is still snow on the ground).

We establish rules early on about where to sleep and eat, and who does the dishes. But it's like having children and eventually our little "friends" decide that they are not content with their new digs. . .
. . . and so they work together and break outta the clink. This is not terribly disturbing save for their total disregard for the wonders of modern sanitation. While turkey pooh properly composted makes a fabulous fertilizer, it is not nearly as welcome all over the breezeway.

At this point they are losing the down that helps them look sooo very cute and they start developing feathers. They also commit the heinous crime of growing. They get bigger and less cute. . . and bigger and more stinky. . . and bigger and louder. . . and bigger and better at escaping. . . and bigger, and messier. Eventually the crimes pile up to the sky and we have no choice but to send them. . .

. . . to the big house.

And they were happy! It seems that turkeys are not at all suited for civilized living and much prefer to run in the grass and eat bugs and whatnot. Still, they expect us to feed them, and they ate. . .

. . . and they ate. . .
. . . and they grew. . .

. . . and they grew. . .

Until finally came that fateful day. The garden had long since past. All of the greens had been consumed. The corn, carrots, and broccoli all blanched and frozen. All that remained were the pumpkins, gourds, and the now remains of a small corn forest, brown and dried. The only living remnants of a wannabe farm were those pterodactyl sized creatures roaming in the pen outback. Their appetite unappeasable - 150 lbs of food a week. The time was drawing near for all of God's people to give thanks for all of the taste morsels that he had given us.

And so we took a long car ride to a small building in a town far away, where a small number our feathery friends, led by their captain "buddy" met the maker. . . and their processor too. . .

We know they had a good life. They were loved, and tended too. Aloud to run and fly (as best they could). They didn't suffer the unimaginable cruelty of growing up on a corporate farm in unspeakable conditions. No Buddy and his friends had the best of feed and kindest of caretakers. Then were loved then. . .

. . . and they are loved now.

And we are thankful for all of the good, and tasty, things that God has given us!

Smurfs Beware!!!

2008-11-24T09:49:00.004-05:00

It finally happened. . .

2008-11-24T09:15:00.003-05:00

Winter! Grrrrrr.

OK not really. i actually like winter. It is that time of year when all the poets suffer from a deplorable excess of melancholy. Soccer moms around the world suffer from Christmas shopping-itis, and dad's around the world drink more heavily as they watch their bank accounts sink into the deep abyss that keeps the beast we call an economy happy.

It has been steadily in the twenties for the past several mornings. Even small bodies of moving water are developing a slim layer of ice across their tops. All but the mentally disturbed ducks have headed for the Caribbean to tan for the winter, and the bear sign in my back yard (meaning "poop" and what not - not a sign that reads, "bear") is dwindling.

It's the season that we get our fill of pumpkin and sweet potato pie. Turkeys run in fear (unless they are fenced in like the poor birds out back - but they have earned a residential pardon), and we never quite get enough of apple cider that we drink till our bellies hurt. Dreams of caroling entertain our thoughts, but few muster the moxie to actually do it.

This year we are thankful for jobs, and for hobbies (like the food pantry which is work that we don't get paid for but like doing. . . . and work is work that we do and get paid for it and usually hate. . . how odd - which is not to say that our employers should stop paying us. i am sure that such an action would NOT encourage morale). We are thankful that we had an opportunity to live with our friends the Hogans. We are thankful for all of our friends at Bellvale, and in Lewiston and for all of the things we have learned from them, and shared in with them, and the time that we have had to spend together. We are thankful for family who we seem to hear from more this time of year than usual (especially from my baby sister who turned thirty yesterday)!
We are thankful for excited children who wake up every morning and check for snow. We are thankful when we look back at the year and see all that God has allowed us to accomplish. And. . . we are thankful that we can make plans for what things may come. . . especially in the '09 garden plot.

Lucky is thankful for all of the kids that leave their coats on the floor!! (This was NOT a staged photo - she did this all by herself. . . . dingy dog!)

On a darker note. . .

2008-11-18T02:29:00.002-05:00

In Maine in the winter time the sun sets early. Earlier and earlier as December comes along, then we slowly regain the light. i am sad when a powerful metaphor loses it's potency and becomes a cliche. Dark and light - there is a powerful metaphor there.
To any nay-sayers just consider the season. The light wanes earlier and the cold comes on - and not just cold, but a bitter chill that bites at your skin and bones. If you live in the north, you know what i am saying. For those of you away i challenge you. Spend an hour in a room with no windows. Sit awhile with no source of light and no distractions and consider the dark. . . and the light.

i have considered the dark. i have been thinking about it a lot lately. i was a nay-sayer to seasonal depression, but i have seen the light, and the dark affect people - affect me. This is a darker entry. i have found myself in a bad way spiritually lately. i have found myself drawing to isolation, to the negative, to the dark. my thoughts recently always immediately gravitate so much to the dark that i have to openly argue with myself to draw away - back toward the positive, the light.
The analogy of the being wound tight resonates strongly with me. i feel such pressure internally. Problem is that where does it go?
How can it be used for the good? There is no place better than here. . . not that comes immediately to mind. i am ashamed that it must go anywhere with a negative force, but an alternative eludes me. So here is a list of things i hate:

i hate war, i hate fighting, apathy, greed, isolationism, prejudices, the destruction of nature, possession, possessiveness, over use, consumption, non-recyclable items, plastic, control, power, busyness, money, economics in general, fear, nationalism, elitism, laziness, most technology (i do however really like hot water heaters), intolerance, people being offended, offending people, the infrastructure that we have trapped ourselves in, rudeness, the government, the need for the government, all the stupid laws that we really don't need, lack of common sense, all the ways that we try to fool ourselves (like the dividers in the roadway that we paint green so that it will be pretty instead of just planting grass - which is the affect that we were gunnin' for anyway), all the false idols that we set up for ourselves, all of the rules, and laws and conveniences that we tell ourselves we need, believing that we need all of the rules, and laws, and conveniences that we have set up, the way people create a way of thinking and then turn off the idea that there may be another and possibly better way to do things, the way we water down words till they have no real meaning anymore, hate, the word hate, the idea of hate. . . .

What i do like is the guy who hauls the recycling bins who just out of genuine kindness finds a bag of returnable bottles and offers them to a person who looks like they are in need, instead of just hauling them off with the rest of the recycling, the bank lady who tolerates an "estimated three minute hold time" to go the extra mile to help a customer, a child who, in spite of the fact that his father just lost his marbles because the father is old and cranky and forgot how to be a child, forgives his father and snuggles with him anyway. . .

Sunday night. . .

2008-11-16T20:21:00.004-05:00

Vacation is over. . . almost. There are something like twenty four hours before i return to work. Ugh.
The Hogans were in full move out mode today. Appropriately excited about their new digs, they are staying there tonight for the first time as "official owners" of the property.

Back here on the pharm, it was windy as i'll get out today. Poor sissy had a heck of a time outside. She really wanted to be out with dad and brother, but the wind was just so wild that it would blow her hat off and scare her.
In spite of the wind and the "colder than i would like" temperatures, we (Owen and i) managed to get the old garden fence moved. We will need to buy more supplies to finish it properly, but we have made good progress for this season. All that is left is to decide whether or not to try and till the new section once before the ground freezes. Keeping with Amy's wishes, i brought the garden in a little bit. She thought the new layout was too big, and like usual, she is probably right!
Still i am stubborn (or is it determined) and i intend to try a larger than is prudent garden. Nothing like organically, home grown veggies in the middle of April, plus it keeps the grocery bill down. . . .

Anyone else out there having any fun autumn adventures or upgrades??

On a lighter note. . .

2008-11-10T15:06:00.023-05:00

i finally found the camera! Ha ha!! World beware.

Looking outside the window it is windy. It wasn't at 0530 this morning. i took a walk along the river as the sun was rising and man was it peaceful! We live between two sets of rapids, and when the dam upriver is open the water can be so turbulent. This morning however was a totally different story. Looking at the water along the shore you could see the undercurrent and it was quite obvious that the river was moving, but you would never have known it to look at the surface. The river was calm and peaceful in a way that those words fail to adequately define.

The Hogan's got the call today. After months of toiling, they finally have a REAL closing date on Friday. Again, it is bitter sweet. Our friends in Lewiston will absolutely benefit from our loss. And while we hate to see them go. . . we share them gladly.

i talked to my friend Matt (the guy who dubbed us a cult. . . playfully) and shared with him our lament. He told me that even if we split up we would still be a cult, we would just have "campuses" (or something like that). Our spirits were so lifted that we put our religious regalia back on . . .

and returned to our business. . .

Everyone that is except Amy. She never made it back from Bellvale. It is rumored that after a long day of washing potatoes and doing all sorts of unspeakably evil things to the garden variety vegetables, that some of the "Watchers" that live in the fridge. . .

placed a hex on her, turning her into a pumpkin. . .

Sustainability means balance

2008-11-07T16:28:00.004-05:00

At 4:22 in the afternoon the sun has set, the light is rapid fading from the sky. It shouldn't be this dark this early. . . in my not so humble opinion. But what nature says should happen, should happen. We were just outside, Jacob and i, looking at the existing garden and where the additions to the garden will be. It is growing a bit. In fact when it is done it will be just shy of three times the square footage of our house - Its both exciting and terrifying. After the terrible neglect that this years garden took, i fear that a larger garden might be a fools errand!
Amy and i have been talking with the staff at the local university. They have asked us to consider organizing (or helping to organize) the university garden. Its a very tempting and worthwhile, yet daunting task. They have been looking at a parcel of land that is 25 acres and was formerly an alpaca farm that the university acquired a few years ago and has no plans for at the moment. The food services folks have tried some small garden projects on it the last couple of years, but want to go whole hog with it this year. The food service division is a contract company that is part of an outfit that is very interested in local, sustainable, organic farming, and food bio security. The goal is to produce as much food as we can to be used in the school's cafeteria! Their thinking seems to be right up our alley!
So the question remains, "Can we balance our respective jobs, volunteer at the school and still make time to give a go at a much larger garden in our backyard?"
Amy says, "No, we should think about scaling back a bit."
i don't yet know what the right answer is. At the moment nothing is set in stone, and as we desire to produce more of our own food it would make sense to have a couple of plans in place and later choose the most logical.

We (Jacob and i) talked about the birds becoming more sustainable as well. Our flocks right now are larger than they should be. Space wise we are all set, but the birds are definitely NOT cost efficient - hence, not financially sustainable. We were thinking that we could sell eggs and perhaps meat as well. This would help to offset the increasing cost of corn which seems to be the most painful pinch on my pocket at the moment (maybe with exception to taxes!). As corn rises, poultry feed rises. We have a large number of birds for a "hobby farm" and need to figure out where to go next. . . . oh yeah, and i think we have an extra rooster. . . stupid bird!

i love conversations like this for two reasons:

1) It's good to jump start young people's thinking about sustainability and agriculture now. When they are adults, the world may be a very different looking place.
2) i love planning things!!! Especially next years yummies!!!!

WE the PEOPLE

2008-11-06T13:30:00.003-05:00

Blessedly the transition to socially accepted isolation has been a slow one. One day the house is totally void of Hogans, and way too quiet. The next day they are all here, and then the next there are just a handful of them. As they are working on their new house i have had a lot of time to reflect on our months together. There are a lot of lessons, all of which i am thankful for. Obviously our circumstances here are/were not ideal for the number of folks in a three bedroom house, but there is so much that is/was beautiful about what has been happening here in the last eight or so months.

With the presidential election and the state of affairs of the world i have been thinking a lot about the "split" (i don't like to think of it as a split because we are such good friends and we do love each other terribly! To me a split implies hatred and hard feelings.). As we reenter isolationism as two families it seems horribly unnatural to me and honestly i am having a pretty hard time with both the volume of the house decreasing and the idea that we will be in a place once again where we are having to possess the same things that the guy next door has. In some neighborhoods (and ours is one of those) folks will share some or even many items between neighbors, yet still so many things are duplicated needlessly when we could share together. Our need to possess and to keep up with the Jones', or to one up our neighbors is what is destroying our planet for our children and any chances or teaching our children real peace and love between neighbors.

The elections are now done and over and i have been listening to many of my friends lament how president Obama wants to turn this country into a socialist nation. And they are afraid and resistant, and yet these are the same friends that claim to follow Jesus. i am left wondering, "Wouldn't Jesus want us to be a socialist country?" Not a govermentally forced socialist country but a country of sharing a redistribution caused by an outpouring of love and spontaneity from the heart. Perhaps that is the state of the Church in America. We suffer, but not from persecution, or starvation, but of excess and a inappropriate sense of entitlement.

i didn't vote for Obama. i didn't vote for McCain either. . . i did vote though. While i don't agree wholly with the candidate (sort of) that i voted for, i don't agree with the other two guys either. A government of the people, for the people, and by the people is not a government that leads a people but a people that leads a government. To vote and then consider yourself relieved of all other duties is arrogant. People that think or live this way deserve to live in an oppressively taxed over regulated country.
People instead should steer the government by their actions. When the people start living out the principles taught by Jesus the government will have no option but to follow. To feed the hungry, to love each other, to take care of each other, to tend to the earth, to abolish oppression, to teach each other, to look after our neighbors (all of them local AND global) before ourselves, to speak with one voice, to be the change in the world that we want to see - These are the things that the government is arguing over making us do. . . because WE have FAILED to first do these things ourselves.

Some watery tart throwing swords from a pond is no basis for a system of government!

2008-11-04T21:06:00.004-05:00

There is a duck in my garage. . . in a rabbit cage on the eve of history being made.
Oh sure there is some silly election taking place somewhere, but who really cares? What's really exciting is that the chicken coop now has an officially water proof roof. No more silly looking third world-tarp topped-shanty. Now those spoiled birds have a two room suite fully furnished with amish-esque wooden nesting boxes, wall to wall roosting bars, private entryways and picture windows.
Life continues to be exciting on the pharm. Bruce the mystery neighbor continues to cut down our spruce trees for us, opening up the view of the river and the kids are endlessly entertained by the new wind mill that our neighbor Mark set up just across the cement brook.
The elusive 'buck' that has been rumored to run around the neighborhood has finally been seen. He was feeding with his share of little lady does back in the swamp. All those years of rumors and blurry photographic evidence may soon be vindicated if the boys in blaze orange (the hunters) finally have their way.
In the meantime the Hogans just sent an email from their secret hidden (is that redundant) base. Word on the street is that after all of their labor and days of high nerves are finally paying off!! The title to their future kingdom has been located and is on its way to being officially signed by all of the powers that be. Sadly this means that next week will likely be our last together :-(.
And it isn't sounding good for McCain. At least retirement is still an option.

Stay tuned. . . next week - Why is it a "fourgone conclusion". Or - Americas obsession with oppressing "odd numbers".

. . . yes, i know that i spelled it wrong.