Homesteading Misnomer

-Running water and electricity preclude this place from homestead status: Dangit!

The word "homesteading" is thrown around pretty loosely these days by the fine folks at places like The History Channel, National Geographic and most of the TV shows about Alaska (my favorite DVR category is Alaska).

In my view, living on a few acres of land just outside the city limits and within a fairly short drive to a grocery store does not qualify as homesteading.  Also, if you're able to watch Naked and Afraid (perhaps one of the all-time stupidest ideas for a TV show) or have internet access, you're probably not a real homesteader.

To qualify for homesteader-status there should be some basic qualifications; like no electricity or running water for starters.  Also, if you have an online bank account, curbside garbage/recycle pickup or routinely shop at Piggly Wiggly, you're homesteading status should be called into question.  Not that there's anything wrong with having amenities or buying your bacon, eggs and milk from a store.
But by definition, homesteading is about living without amenities.

Most of the folks who will read this post over the coming years will likely have electricity and indoor plumbing.  It's also likely they won't be overly concerned with what life-style category the good folks at Old and Ridiculous put them in.  But that doesn't mean they don't care.  And I have several reasons to believe that most actual homesteaders will appreciate someone taking a stand on their behalf.

With all this in mind, I'm for redefining homesteading to mean you:
1) live off the land
b) barter as a means of acquiring stuff and
trace) don't shop in a store more than maybe 3 or 4 times a year.

Now this is just a suggestion--not a mandate.  I'm in no position to mandate anything, especially another person's living status.  But for my money, I'm going with "They live in the country" versus "They're homesteaders".  As a note, I'd be willing to reconsider any homesteader situations that are brought to my attention providing that, for starters, the folks in question are willing to give up their indoor toilet and homogenized milk.  If that's the case, I'll convene a special quorum with Nick-Nick-Nick and Klietus and we'll get back with you.  In the meantime I'll try to keep you posted.

Post Script:  If we've offended anyone who considers themselves a homesteader even though you have a weekly standing appointment with the fine folks at Hull Dermatology and pay your monthly connectivity bill on-line while waiting to have your oil changed at WaltonMart's "Not So Fast Tire and Lube Express", you have our sincere apologies.

NOTE:  In this post I've used words like our and we instead of my and I because it makes us (me) sound more like a group.  Which, incidentally, is another old business trick.  Using the word "group" in your business name sounds like a big organization instead of just one person.  Kind of like being a LinkedIn CEO (me and half the folks I know:) or the founder of a LinkedIn company (also me and half the folks I know).  Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Tool-Connection to the Past

Using old tools creates nearly an immediate connection to the past.  And as was reaffirmed yesterday afternoon, can add enjoyment to your tool work-related activities.   

While getting ready for some chainsaw work yesterday out at our Barry County cabin, I decided that instead of using modern day wedges I'd use a couple of old tools handed down out of Uncle Pat & Aunt Katherine's basement tool collection.

This hammer and chisel were part of the group of stuff Dad gave me several years ago that, for untold years, occupied space in his oldest brother and sister-in-law's capital city home.

I was surprised at the hardness and overall strength of this near ancient cold chisel.  I have no idea how old it is but it appeared to be hand-forged and made to last.  Unlike most of the chisels you might acquire today at places like Home Depot or Lowe's, this one is made of very high quality steel.  After numerous hits with a perhaps equally old rock hammer (a tool-gem in and of itself) the chisel was virtually unscathed.  Not a mark on it!

For my money, I'll take an old hand-tool most of the time over the stuff you can buy today. There are no doubt a handful of places that still make and/or sell high quality hand-tools that match up nicely to the tools of old, but they are the exception and not the rule.  From my experience, if a tool is stamped "Made in China" it might as well say "Not for frequent use": Not that there's anything wrong with that providing that's your expectation.

If you're a tool man, woman or perhaps gender-neautral, consider reinforcing your tool lineup with some equipment that was made back when the lightbulb was considered new technology.  From my experience, you'll be glad you did:)

I'll try to keep you posted on old tool matters and semi-related subjects.  And if I get the chance to catch up with my Ol' friend, Nick-Nick-Nick, or should there be a Kleitus sighting, I'll let you know. 

Come Ride the Little Train

Come ride the little train as it rolls down the track to the Junction; Petty Coat Junction.
Forget about your cares it is time to relax at the Junction; Petty Coat Junction.
Lots of curves you can bet. 'N'even more when you get, to the Junction; Petty Coat Junction.

Now that little sit-com theme song from the 1960's brings back a lot of memories, lying on the floor of our family home while watching (you guessed it) Petty Coat Junction!

If you're old enough to have watched TV in the 1960's you'll no doubt remember this half hour TV show.  Hard to believe but if you lived in small town America back then there were very few choices when it came to watching television on your family's ONE "Television Set", which was likely an RCA, Zenith, or in our case, Sears brand console tv.  Inside our rural route 1 home we had good reception on only one channel; KRCG Channel 13 out of Jefferson City, Mo.  KOMU TV Channel 8 came in fairly well when it wasn't too overcast or raining, and that was it.  I can recall on occasion being so starved for TV entertainment, I'd find myself watching shows like Lawrence Welk: No kidding!

I remember the first time ever I laid eyes on a color TV.  It took place inside Biedermans Furniture Store, which was located in Rolla, Missouri during the entirety of my growing up years.  That amazing TV was tuned to "The Beverly Hillbillies" (Come'n listen to a story 'bout a man name Jed...") and I thought it was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen!  From a technology standpoint, it no doubt was.

In honor of simpler times--and they really were simpler in many ways--the bride and I are planning a train ride sometime soon.  I've never been on a modern day train that goes more than 15 or 20 miles an hour and have never come close to taking an actual trip that lasted more than a few minutes.    We'll see what happens.  It's never too late to go on your first real train ride.

In the meantime I'll just keep driving around in the Max-Mobile in my quest to become the first Scottish-Swiss-Irish-German-American to put a million miles on a Chevy Tahoe.  I'm not goal oriented but holding the unofficial Arkansas State Record for continuous rope-jumping by a 57 year old man, is getting old.  I need to go at least one better.  1,000,000 miles on a Chevy Tahoe might just be the ticket to further stardom.  A solid train ride could put me in the running for an Oscar, as the bar for that award seems to be fairly low from what I can tell.

I'll try to keep you posted on assorted stuff like this.  Judging by how much time a couple of my extended family members spend fixated on their personal hand-held devices, some are probably to a point where they're having a difficult time coming finding things they haven't already read at least a couple times:)

Are You Chicken?

For a lot of reasons, being a chicken would be a rough way to go.  Least of all you go through your short life hearing people indirectly make fun of you by saying things like, "Hey, why don't you jump: are you chicken?"  On top of that you're ugly, have wings but can't fly and likely will end up in a situation similar to the chicken in this picture.

Speaking of that, you should give this doggone chicken a try if you haven't already done so.  It comes in assorted flavors (which may be a further insult to the chicken) and cost about the same as a combo meal at Chick-fil-A.  Sam's Club Member's Mark Chicken.  As Andy Taylor might have said around the family dinner table in 1963, "Ain't Bee, that sure is some mighty-fine chicken...mmm-mmm, might-fine!"

I wonder, given the choice, would most chickens rather wind up in a Chick-fil-A combo meal or a plastic tray at Sam's Club?  Perhaps Klietus will do some light research on that and get back with us.  Or, perhaps another Harvard study is in order?

Well, until I hear back from Klietus or the fine folks at Harvard, I'll do my best to keep you posted on all things chicken:)
 

That's a Good Question!

The right question at the right time!

A few years ago I was presented with the opportunity to fly around the bush country of British Columbia, Canada in a helicopter.  I only had a minute or two to decide whether or not I wanted to participate.  Against my instincts I responded, "I'm in".

When I walked out to climb in the helicopter that had moments before landed on the parking lot of Pioneer Log Homes of BC, I was surprised to discover a young man sitting in the pilots seat who looked to be maybe 21 or 22...tops.   Nothing against Yutes (I was once one myself) but I would have much preferred a helicopter pilot old enough to have legally voted in at least two previous presidential elections: even if they voted for the wrong guy.

As a general rule, I choose to not fly around in helicopters.  Flying around in a helicopter feels similar to what it might be like to fly around in a rock held up by fan blades.   And rocks don't float from the air: they plummet.  If the word "plummet" is ever used as an action verb in a sentence in which you're mentioned, it will likely make the front page of your local online newspaper describing the manner in which you died.   The exception being, if you're a plumber and someone in Cracker Barrel points you out as "...the fella what plummeted our house."  I'm not huge on plummeting.

After we'd made our second take off and landing on our way to two more take offs and landings, I mentioned to the young lad in the flyer's seat, "You seem kind of young to be a helicopter pilot: how long you been flying?"  "About a year", he replied.  I thought to myself, "About a year? Does that mean he may have been flying for maybe 10 or 11 months?"  Me: "I'll be darned."  Then I asked him what he did for a living before he started flying helicopters.  With no hesitation he responded, "I was a heavy equipment operator."  Now, I have nothing against heavy equipment operators either: I once was one myself.  But I would have much preferred a response like, "I flew F-15's for 9 years before I realized all I really ever wanted to do was be a helicopter pilot.  Fortunately all things turned out well and I'm still around to write this post.

Asking the right question at the right time may be one of the most under-rated actions known to modern man.  I'll have to ask my good Ol' friend, Nickadimus for his opinion on that:).  In the meantime, I'll try to keep you posted.

Barn Improvements

It's never too late to make improvements to your barn!

I wonder how many barn-people like myself have gotten used to the way it is and aren't considering how it could be?  I bet a lot.

For about 13 years my primary way of getting in and out of my barn has been through the roll-up garage door.  My barn has a back door that I find somewhat inconvenient; having to walk around the back of the barn.

It's my guess that on an average day I make around 6 or 8 trips from the cabin to the barn/barn to the cabin.  Since I'm somewhat paranoid about a snake getting inside in the summer and mice year round, I don't like to leave the big door open other then when I'm coming in our out.  That results in opening and closing the roll-up door several times a day.

With that, I finally got around to project #637: installing a new walk-in door on the front of the barn.

This project might not qualify for it's own HGTV spot, "Barn Door Builders", but it was somewhat more involved than your average door project.

I had to first cut out the appropriate rough sized door opening on the inside barn wall, covered in 1.25"x12"x10'  rough-cut pine.  Next was re-routing all the electrical wires (4) located in the 2x6 stud wall which included a 220 wire (220, 230, whatever it takes:) that Dad wired in a few years ago to power a heavy duty planner he gave me.

The next step was cutting out the outside covering of the barn wall and then installing the pre-hung steel door which was recently procured from the Bentonville Lowe's--a good place to buy doors.

After the door was installed, the next step was caulking around the door to seal out the rain, weather, bugs and "such as that".  As a side note, I know a guy who often uses the phrase "and such as that" at the end of a lot of his sentences.  I've always gotten a kick out of that!

Next was putting in a door header and building out the inside door frame., before trimming the frame and painting the door.  These last steps took me quite a bit of time; several hours.  This is likely proof that few people would be willing to pay me by the hour to install a barn door at their establishment.  Which means my life-long dream of being a barn-door builder may be out;  Dang-it!

Aside from the door itself and the paint, I used materials I had on hand including re-claimed redwood left over from a deck-remodel (town project #877) at the old homestead a few years ago, as well as assorted western red cedar I've accumulated over the years from various barn and cabin projects.  I finished off the inside with metal trim originally planned for the inside of the cabin door (Alaskans have it right: don't throw away usable junk if there's any chance you might be able to one day use it).

I finished the door project by building a small canopy from the same redwood and cedar stash I've been pulling from for years.  All-in-all, I think I had about $160 in the project  (the cost of the door) and somewhere between 20 and 130 hours of actual work:)

Having a walk-in pedestrian door at the front of my barn has been a significant upgrade if not complete game changer in the barn category.  Hard to believe I didn't do this years ago! Now onto project #638 and #639.  As always, I'll keep you posted.....

Note: Thanks to my Ol' friend, Nick-Nic-Nick Shepherd, for reminding me I was way behind on posting odds and ends.  Further proof that "you never know who's watching"!

Computerized Outdoor World

In a computerized world of near virtual reality, I sometimes wonder why anyone would take the time to look at any of the pictures I might post on here.  Nearly all of the pictures in my "assortment" were taken with an iPhone or my Nikon 35mm.  Considering there are endless possibilities for awesome pictures contained all over the internet of things, why would anyone look here?

I can't be sure but plan to ask Klietus to look into the matter the next time I run into him.  In the meantime, this picture was taken 3 or 4 years ago while hiking in Estes Park, Colorado with my good friends Randell and Victor.  When looking at the pictures I took over those 3 days I'm immediately reminded of the amazing wilderness available to anyone willing to get in their car and drive a ways.  For some, it's a long way to drive but when you arrive, you immediately know it was worth the time it took to get there.

Colorado, Wyoming, Montana..."You just cain't go no better!"