Les Visiteurs (The Visitors)
Andrius (Minciu Sodas) and Jeff (One Village Foundation) helping Ronny and Marcin mix mud for a cordwood house. They joined us for two days of conversation, collaboration, and construction. – ——————————————————————————————————-...
Bio-Butter
The cold weather blew in to join us at the harvest Thanksgiving dinner. We had our first snow of the season and our first bio-butter: biodiesel which solidified due to the cold. No, we did not spread it on the dinner rolls. And fortunately, we did not...
Secrets are no fun.
Biodiesel has returned to the back burner at Factor E Farm. The potential collaborator has not yet responded. Apparently, he does not understand that biodiesel is one of numerous pursuits and without a little lubercation (ie. cash), we cannot simply drop...
Freedom Funk
Freedom Funk became considerably more pungent this weekend after a grueling day of piling logs for the new addition. Freedom Funk is the smell of the sweat that seeps from one who is working toward personal or societal evolution. To the ordinary olfactory...
Definition of Open Source
It is not open source to go to the car shop three times in one day only to finally realize that the part you really need is obsolete. That happened to me today.
Only a drop to drink
When it rains I dance. I laugh and even clap my hands. I hug whoever or whatever is at hand. My joy springs not from the new layer of silt that has eroded from our hill nor from the layers of mud that coat the bottom of my shoes, which leave heavy prints...
Death Trap
Despite the nightly freezing temperatures, the bees are still collecting pollen. From where? All the flowers outside are brown and shriveled, marking the end of summer. Yet, the warm days compell the bees out of their hive to find the last remains of...
How to find an egg
Eleven young laying hens. Four fresh eggs. Three hungry farmers. The numbers weren’t adding up. Our hens are very free range. Sometimes we even see them wondering in our neighbor’s field. We have nice hay-filled laying boxes available, but...
Signs of the season
Jack Frost leaves two types of trails: sparkling crystals that shimmer in the morning sunlight, reminding one to put away shorts and get out sweaters; and a spattering of black leaves. It is the second sign that glues a farmer to the weather forecast...
From Humanure to Hawthorns
The worm should never be doubted for its ability to turn waste into want. And yet I did. When we mixed our first load of humanure with a handful of red worms, I thought we had given them the death sentence. Only months later did I witness the true...
