Archive

Providence

Published by Daniel on 9/21/2007 in InOurHouse, life and rural. 7 Comments

Sunday afternoon we were hanging around the house. The walnuts had already been cleaned, and I was sitting down to see if our Internet connection was working. We started hearing yelling outside the house, and we went to the windows to see what the cause was. There was a white van by the side of the road, with a trailer on the back that had a large box or crate with tarps and straps covering it. The driver, a man dressed in black jeans and shirt, was poking under the hood. As I stepped outside, the yelling became clearer and I recognized it as the sound of a lonely goat.

I walked down to see if there was anything I could do to help. It seems they had a short in their engine wiring, and it was blowing the fuse. We found some wire and tried bridging the contacts, bypassing the fuse, but that just caused a lot of smoke to come out from under the engine (yikes!). It turns out they (the driver, his wife and their 3 kids) had picked up a milking goat about a mile down the road from us. They had driven down from near Frankenmuth (only about 125 miles away) to pick up this goat because it is difficult to find a milking goat this time of year (that is not a Nubian Dwarf).

It looked like the van wasn’t going anywhere, so we pushed it into the driveway and hooked the trailer up to our Taurus wagon, and took the goat back. The poor girl, she was quite vocal about being left alone in that crate. Once we got back from returning the goat, the tow truck had arrived. Due to the complexities of obtaining a taxi or rental car way out where we live on a Sunday evening, Greg (the guy with the van and the goat) asked if he could pay me to take them home, or at least closer to home.

Knowing of no reason to say no, and enjoying the adventure, I said “Sure!” He rode with the tow truck, and his wife and kids (plus ours) hopped in the car. The younger kids were pretty lively in the car, and I finally suggested that they play “animal vegetable, mineral” to pass the time. They had quite a bit of fun with that, and it made it easier to focus on the road, and chat up front. It turns out that Greg and his family pretty much have a farm, with several goats, many chickens, over a hundred rabbits, not to mention pigs, a horse, and a pony (all the details are a little fuzzy, but you get the idea).

We arrived at Greg’s brother’s house near Flint, and waited a few minutes for the tow truck to arrive. Greg offered to pay me, but I really could not see asking for more than the cost of gas. I told him that $15 would be fine. He conceded, but made sure we knew that they were also going to give us rabbits, and wanted to know what kind we wanted (meat, show, or pets?). I agreed to letting him give us two pet rabbits, but he persisted by telling me that when we have a chicken coop built, let them know, and we will have chickens.

So on Wednesday evening, Greg stopped by with two Mini Rex rabbits (exactly what little A had picked out when browsing through rabbit books months ago), a cage, a twenty questions game for the kids, two quarts of raw goats milk, fresh eggs (including tiny bantam ones and Auracauna green ones), candy corn (B’s favorite), and sneakily, some cash in a thank you card. We chatted for over an hour, and it was great fun. It turns out that the van repair may be simple, and the towing was free (AAA Plus).

In the end, they got their goat, and a ride home. We got rabbits and futures on chickens (Bohnanza jargon). We were all blessed by each other’s presence and God’s providence. We have new friends in Michigan!

The kids are totally excited about the rabbits, and have named them Ginger and Cottontail. They are papered (can be shown), and have ear tats to identify them (Ginger is ARI12, and Cottontail is ETH08). Ginger is more feisty and a little nervous. Cottontail is more curious and tolerates more handling. Both are adorable.

Cottontail watches the tractor drive by

Busy weekend

Published by Daniel on 9/21/2007 in InOurHouse, Photos, life, out-of-doors and rural. 3 Comments

Last weekend was an interesting one. We had our first “soft” frost! It was exciting, even if it only lasted until the sun shone on it.

We have several black walnut trees in our yard, one big, and 3 smaller. All produce walnuts, but the big one is full. It is scary to see the occasional hailstorm of almost baseball sized hard green walnuts pelting the earth. So far none of us have been caught under the tree at the time. The kids go out and collect the fallen nuts daily and put them in a large box for shucking later. On Sunday I shucked 130, about 1/6th of a box. I wore latex gloves to avoid getting stained hands, but I will wear something thicker next time.

I placed each nut on the side of a cement well house foundation, and then hit it repeatedly with a hammer until the nut came free of the husk. As I did this, the juice would splatter here and there. I may have a few temporary freckles…

It was a somewhat laborious process, but in the end I had a 5 gallon bucket 1/3 full with shucked walnuts. I let them soak, and cleaned them off. Once I was confident I was not going to get any more remaining husk off, I rinsed them and laid them out to dry.

Black walnuts look quite a bit different than the english walnut you might buy in the store. They are smaller, but have a very rough shell, and are usually husked by placing (or leaving) them in the driveway and rolling over them with your car. We have already collected 3 times as many as you see here, and the tree still looks full

In other news, we now have 2 rabbits, Ginger and Cottontail. The story behind them will be the next post, but for now, say “Awww!”

Local harvest

Published by Daniel on 9/6/2007 in D-lish, InOurHouse, home kitchen, life and rural. 5 Comments

Not having a garden ourselves yet, we have been scouring the county looking for sources of local fresh vegetables. LocalHarvest.com helped a little, but there is a noticeably bare patch right around where we live. We *could* drive 15-20 miles to the farmer’s markets in the nearby cities, but we are surrounded by farms! There *must* be someone selling fresh produce close by… and it is not the local market in Hanover, which carries no organics, and not even natural peanut butter.

At some point we noticed a sign on our way home from B’s parent’s place that said “Fresh veggies” with an arrow pointing up the road. We ignored it a few times since it was a little out of the way. Then we decided one Sunday to check it out. It is an unmanned stand with some of the best produce we have seen for very, very good prices.

There was a good variety too. As we go back each week (sometimes twice a week) we find new stock as the seasons come and go.

Little A bought some gladiolas, and a week later they are still blooming in the livingroom.

We decided to do what we would do if we had our own garden: take advantage of the bounty and do some pickling!

Turn the page

Published by Daniel on 8/30/2007 in InOurHouse, Photos and life. 9 Comments

Big step for the Michigan Shacks. We are now officially home-owners. We also own a garden tractor (like a riding mower, only you can put a plow, tiller, cart, or even a back hoe on it), a shed, a pole-barn, and 1.61 acres of land. That is a lot of grass.

I know these are not really of the house, but we had more reasons to want to live here than just the house…

The next step? We plan to built a chicken yard in which to place a coop, and a few layers. Hillsdale county fair is at the end of September and we fully intend to win a few small livestock auctions. There may be a few rabbits in there too. Still not sure about a dog, but that may be around the corner. We will hold off on the goats for a little while. Maybe in the spring.

Ubiquitous IM

Published by Daniel on 8/2/2007 in Real World Tech, geeky and life. 0 Comments

I an playing with IMified.com, a tool that allows you to interact with various tools via IM. I can use it to manage my RTM items, Google calendar, and even post this entry to my blog. All through the IM client of my choice, which happens to be another online tool: Meebo.

Note: Posting did not quite work like I thought it would. The title was posted with a body of a single period. I will try again sometime…

Corp. Inc. Co. Ltd.

Published by Daniel on 7/22/2007 in church, life and provocations. 0 Comments

The Corporation is a book and a movie that takes a look at the idea of the corporation and how it has changed through history. We rented it from the library, but you can watch it on YouTube.

I am not recommending it, no more than I would “recommend” that a person who wants to raise animals should learn about animal biology. That is to say, it is more of a requirement. “Smart Consumer” is a term that is gaining in popularity, and this should be on the course list for the Freshman level. But it is not just required for those who don’t mind seeing themselves as consumers (smart or otherwise), but also those have a nagging feeling that there is something amiss, but can’t quite put their finger on what it is.

Be warned, it is not a cursory look, and the entire film is 23 chapters and well over 2 hours long, but it is worth the time.

Symbolism

Published by Daniel on 7/4/2007 in culture and provocations. 1 Comment

I ran across this the other day, and although I would not say that I adhere to everything he says, much of it has the ring of truth. I have included the summary points below, but I would recommend reading the entire article.

How we confuse symbols and things

  • We seek “marriage” as though that quasi-legal institution were the same thing as a worthwhile human relationship.
  • We seek “education” as though knowledge could be injected into us like a vaccine without any investment on our part. Failing at this, we then trust the statements of people who possess white, rectangular sporting event trophies called “diplomas.”
  • We seek “religion” as though any worthwhile answers to fundamental spiritual questions could be delivered in encapsulated form, outside the direct experience of nature.
  • We trust the findings of “science” as though science’s principal value could be meaningfully delivered to people who don’t understand science (it cannot).
  • We trust the wisdom of “government” as though, without direct participation by all of us, government could be anything but a dumping ground for aging juvenile delinquents.

What do you think?

… and the details

Published by Daniel on 7/2/2007 in InOurHouse, life and out-of-doors. 6 Comments

The place is 9 miles from work, and is surrounded by farm land. The seller owns 60+ acres and had recently finished building a new place further back from the road and decided to sell the original farm house. It was built in the 1800’s, and is in good condition. The basement is made with field stones (they are the stones that get turned up in a field when it is plowed), and the floor beams are logs, with bark. The floorboards on the first floor are made from one inch planks (unfortunately, they are currently covered in carpet). The total lot size is one and a third acres, which is plenty for what we would want to do. There are mature trees, and even a *huge* maple that looks to be over 200 years old that would probably take three men holding hands to hug it. Maybe that is not the best way to describe it’s girth, but you get the idea.

The seller, and soon to be neighbor is a very nice guy that loves the land, and the history that goes with it. I look forward to learning all the details myself. The fields that he owns are leased out and alternate crops between corn and soy.

The commute will be about 10 minutes, and all on beautiful country roads. There are villages 2 miles, 4 miles, 6 miles, and 9 miles away, so there are plenty of ways to find the services we need (post office, library, grocery, hardware, etc.). The closest bigger city is 16 miles away.

Oh, yeah, 3 bedrooms, one bathroom, a carport and veranda, a pole barn, and a two roomed shed. The master bedroom is actually two rooms, which is very nice for a sleeping/bed chamber and a sitting room.

If I left out some standard detail, just ask.

Luttenton homestead

Published by Daniel on 6/30/2007 in InOurHouse, Photos and life. 10 Comments

Offer accepted, details will follow. Enjoy the slideshow!

Frozen latte

Published by Daniel on 6/18/2007 in D-lish, coffee and home kitchen. 3 Comments

As silly as it might seem for someone who claims to avoid sugar, I made ice cream. And… the recipe came from Martha Stewart Living.

frozen latte

It was creamy, very sweet and had a very strong coffee flavor. The rest of the family thought it was a hit! It is so rich that we only had little cups.

Coffee Ice Cream

Makes 6 cups

* 2 cups whole milk
* 2 cups heavy cream
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup brewed espresso (I used 1 1/2 cups I think. A whole Moka pot.)
* 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
* 8 large egg yolks

1. Prepare an ice-water bath. Combine milk, cream, 1/2 cup sugar, the espresso, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl.
3. Gradually whisk half the hot milk mixture into the egg-yolk mixture. Pour egg-yolk mixture into saucepan, and whisk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Pour through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl set in ice-water bath. Let cool, stirring occasionally. Place plastic wrap on surface of custard to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate 2 hours.
5. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container, and freeze for at least 1 hour before serving.