Mamoth Spring And Grand Gulf State Parks

My family and I decided to take a day off from everything and go for a ride to a couple of nearby state parks.  Both are enjoyable and beautiful.  One is in Arkansas and the other is a few miles away in Missouri.  A nice day trip for us that took a couple of hours to get there.

Mammoth Spring state park is in Arkansas just across the state line from Thayer, Missouri.  This picture is of a little outlet located next to the spring.  Mammoth Spring boasts the 10th largest natural spring in the world.

 This is another view of an outlet from the spring.  There are two such outlets.  The spring is indicated by the "pond" from which the water flows.  Over 9 million gallons of water is produced from the spring every hour.

 The town of Mammoth spring was a hub of freight and passenger trains in the late 1800's.  This picture is of the depot from 1888 which is now a museum.  The train tracks are just on the other side of the building which carry several trains a day even now, although they no longer stop at the depot!

Grand Gulf state park is near Thayer, Missouri and is often called the "little grand canyon of Missouri".  It was formed by the collapse of an underground water way, forming a rather large crater.  This is a view from one of the platforms along the rim.

The picture above is while we were down in the hole.  There are 119 steps that take you down there.

There are several hiking trails that take you around the gulf with plenty of God's natural beauty around.  A very enjoyable day together and it was all free.

Shots On The Farm

The girls went out with their cameras' and took a few shots around the homestead.  I thought I'd share them with y'all.  The ducks are a recent addition and quite fun to have around.

A Great, Productive Day On The Homestead

I was fortunate to get several tasks completed on the homestead today.  I was able to get half the day off from work as part of my holiday (us little people that work in retail had to work on the holiday), so I came home early and went (you guessed it) right to work.

My gorgeous wife had a couple of things for me to do right away, so I set in on those first.  I needed to repair one side of our chicken coop from when our bull got out one night and used it as his scratching post.  He tore off almost one whole side of it.  That didn't take too terribly long as I had the material I needed on hand.  I didn't even have to cut anything-BONUS!

The other thing she wanted me to do is to air up the tires on her garden cart.  That didn't take but a couple of minutes.  I then got Polly out of the barn (Polly is our DR Power wagon) and air up her tires.  I loaded her up with firewood I had cut from a tree that fell during a storm (the same tree the destroyed the fence mentioned in another post and let the bull out to wreck the chicken coop-see how this all ties together?)  With Polly loaded I set in to splitting the wood and wound up splitting a half a cord before I ran out of gas for the splitter.

All said and done, I had a pretty productive day on the homestead.  It sure is a nice feeling having some things out of the way and knowing that the firewood situation for this season is all but taken care of.  So, what's going on at your place?

A Country Life

I love being outside on a sunny day.   I love the look of split firewood nicely stacked.  I love seeing my wife out working the garden.  I love cooking on the grill.  I love sitting outside with my knife and a piece of wood in my hands.  I love watching the chickens scratch in the yard.  I love seeing the cows lying in the field chewing their cud.  I love the smell of fresh cut grass.  I love fresh strawberries from our garden.  I love not being able to see my neighbor's house.  I love living down a long dirt road.  I love a long walk to the mailbox.  I love working hard all day and sitting back in the evening to view the completed work.  I love the feel of the shower after that long hard day.

I'm just reflecting here.  You can't have all of this in a city, not to mention being under the watchful eye of big brother.  What does living in the country do for you?

The Uninvited Guests!

Yesterday as I was trimming the grass my wife called me over to the small chicken tractor that we have a momma hen and her chicks in.  She told me there was a snake in the chicken tractor, so I lifted the lid and saw the tail.  It was coiled up under the nest box.  I removed the nest box to get at the snake and discovered not one but two snakes.  Both black snakes, coiled up with each other.  Maybe they were going to mate there, but I doubt it.  Thankfully they didn't get any of the chicks, so we were able to save the day.The largest one measured 5.5 feet and the smaller one measured 4.5 feet.  They could have eaten a few chicks!

What Kind Of Fence Is The Best?

A couple of weeks ago when we had some nasty weather we had a large tree get knocked over.  It lifted up my electric fence which was attached to the tree and pulled a few T-posts out of the ground.  I have been working on the sudden influx of firewood, clearing it out. 

I am writing this as a way to, sort of, explain another of the many benefits to electric fence.  I didn't take pictures so I will try to explain the best I can.  The tree fell and tangled the three strands of wire around the root ball.  The tension it caused made a couple of posts shoot out of the ground, landing a few feet away from where they were.  That means there was a lot of added tension.  However, the wire did not break.  It was stretched about to it's limits and in other places was laying flat on the ground, but it didn't break.  I had to cut it just to get it unstuck from the root ball, but was easily repaired in a few minutes with splicers and a wrench.

I cut the tree out of the fence line, had a friend come over with a tractor and pull the jumbo trunk out of the way and repaired the fence.  The fence repair took about an hour-having to re-establish the fence line and drive the T-posts, splice the wire back together and re-attach it to the posts, then crank out the slack on the daisy wheels. 

Most of the tree is still waiting for me to cut it up, but the fence was fixed in short order and the bull placed back in his pasture (yes, I had a nice shock when I went out to feed him the next day and stared him in the eyes by the barn an hour before daylight., WAY out of where he was supposed to be!  It seems he had been out most of the night.)

In the end, I love electric fence.  It is incredibly versatile, easy to install, can be adapted for pasture rotation very easily, has much more "give" when something falls on it, and is easily repaired when something does happen.  Not to mention you can build electric fence for a fraction of the cost of traditional barbed wire or woven wire.  Yup, going electric was one shinning moment of good decision in my homesteading life.

Ice, Snow, And A Blown Motor

As I have said, I have ignored this blog for quite some time, so it has been hard to get back into things.  But we have had quite an eventful couple of weeks. 

Last week we had a major snow, ice and sleet storm roll through.  I say "major" knowing that for some of you out there 8 inches of snow is not a big deal, but where we live it is.  I work in a grocery store and it was almost painful watching all the people storm the store with the look of a bewildered daze, a cross between a deer in the headlights and a zombie.  That aside, we made it through, only to get another round this past Friday-only less severe.  However, the masses went from the deer/zombie look to a sheer chicken little demeanor-"The sky is falling, the sky is falling...".

This last round only left about an inch of snow, then moved on to bless other communities.  So, yesterday, I get my oldest daughter and head out to cut a bit of firewood, which we accomplished quite well.  We hauled to the wood shed where the log splitter is located and the fun began.  My daughter watched her daddy turn beat red, sweating like it was June trying to start the @#$@##$ thing.  I had never had that much trouble starting it-ever.

I fought and fought, determined to get it running, which I finally did.  By that time my daughter had that look on her face.  You know the one, squinty eyes, a half smirk with a questioning gaze, "really?".  We split most of what we had cut when I figured out why I had such a time starting it-no oil.  Yup, threw the piston strait out the side of the block.  Our day ended there, with my daughter happy that the work was over and she could go build a snowman and her father hiding his face in shame for not checking the oil level because he was in too big a hurry (hey, the wind was blowing and it was COLD). 

Lesson learned.  And the lesson will kepp on teaching for a while as I am back to splitting wood with a maul.  Life on the homestead.

Big Cedar Lodge Getaway

We had a great time at Big Cedar Lodge near Branson these past few days.  There is a lot to do at the resort itself during the summer months.  Given that we were there during the off season, there wasn't quite as much to do because it is all set outside.  Although we still found plenty to do.  We went for a hike on their hiking trails (which about killed us!), played mini golf, took out a paddle boat on Table Rock lake, went swimming in the indoor pool, sat in the outdoor hot tub, and played bingo-all in one day.  This 43 year old body was worn out-and I was an athlete for a good part of my life!

I found out later that my wife, the one with the camera, didn't get many pictures taken, so I will post one or two when she uploads them.

The other days we spent in Branson at the the great thrift stores they have there-and there are plenty.  We shopped a little at the Landing, if you can call it that with no money to blow.  I did pick up a box of ammo from Bass Pro there.  We found a cool, tiny stamp shop for our daughter who collects stamps.  She bought a few and was tickled to add to her collection.  And we went to the Titanic Museum which is fascinating.  I don't know why it fascinates us so much all these years after the fact, but it does.

All in all it was a good "mini" vacation.  Where have you gone for a few days and had a blast?  Tell me about it.

Poison Ivy

I have a bad case of poison ivy on my arms from cutting firewood-I will spare you the story of my stupidity.  All I need to say is that it hurts.  I went to the pharmacy to see if there was anything I can do to help my condition without going to the doctor-we need to learn to make do without as it may well be there won't be a doctor that is readily available in the near future.  The pharmacist pointed me to a product called Ivy Dry that works pretty well.  It kills the itch almost immediately and stops the burning.  It hasn't done much for the swelling (my arms look like Popeye's) but it is healing, I can tell, faster than if I had done nothing.  It works by drying up the blisters and does it pretty fast.  Use the link and check it out, every prepper ought to have a bottle of this (I got the spray).

Neo-Organic

I recently came across the term neo-organic.  At the time, it was in the headline of an article that I did not have time to read.  Since then, I can't remember where I saw it.  I did a small bit of research to try and find the definition of this neo-term.  I have to admit that I did not spend a bunch of time doing this research as I had other things I was doing, which is nothing-neo.  So I am incredibly curious as to what, exactly, people mean by neo-organic.  If you have spent any time reading this humble blog, you will know that I am not a fan of all things organic.  I do think farmers should farm organically, naturally, let me be clear on that.  However, the USDuh organic label, to me, seems misleading as the USDuh (USDA) has proven itself inept at enforcing regulations.  How do you know when the object is truly organic?  Do you know the farmer/farm?  I think the whole thing is misleading.  So, on that note, can someone explain what is meant by neo-organic?  Is this a neo-improved version, or a neo-way of saying the same thing?  Fill me in.

An Apple That Doesn't Turn Brown After Slicing, The Latest In Genetic Engineering

Come on people!  Do we really need an apple that doesn't turn brown when sliced?  This is the latest in genetic engineering, coming out of Canada.  Are scientists just bored, or what?  The bottom line to all of this is the mighty dollar, these apples are purported to be cheaper to grow and will last longer after slicing.  My question is, why does man think he has to improve on everything?  Just cut your apple and eat it, done.  Am I just to old fashioned?  God made things perfect, don't mess with it-right?

Wood Splitting The Old Way

Out here, in rural Missouri, we enjoy the benefits of warm, wood heat in the winter. To be honest, we made plans to survive the Y2K non-event. Thus, we have several things on our little homestead that have remained in preparation for the next disaster, what ever that may be. Last years major ice storm was one good test as to where we stand, and a bit of a learning curve, as well.

The one thing we are most happy with is wood heat. There are so many benefits to burning wood, but the top one would fall in the category of sustainability. Look around, there are trees all over that get damaged in storms or fall over dead. The point is that they grow. As long as the property is managed well, there will be a supply of wood that will last several lifetimes.

The one question I'm most often asked is, why don't I have a splitter? Well, several reasons, really. Most people think the top reason is that I'm nuts and a glutton for punishment. That may well be true, but I have reasons none-the-less.

The top reason is that wood splitters are blasted expensive. I can't afford one, period. And the more I think about it, the more I think that even if I could afford one, I wouldn't buy one. Which leads to the other reasons I don't own one.

Again, on our farm we try to do things as sustainably as possible, with a least-cost mentality. This includes all machinery that suck fuel. Fuel costs money, and, lately, a lot of money. Every storm cloud that rolls over the middle east brings with it higher oil prices. If the president of Borneo has the hic-ups, we pay higher prices. We won't get into the maintenance of the machine, either.

Then there is me. I'm cheap labor. Forget the mantra "how much, per hour, are you worth?" stuff. With that thought, you can price yourself right out of work and onto the couch, because you will rarely get your money's worth. I don't worry about what I would pay myself.

How about this one. It is just plain good excersize. Since I left the world of sports, I rarely get sufficient excersize. Splitting wood gives a good, vigorous workout if I keep up a good pace. Here is a tip for you. Cut the wood in the winter that you will need for next year and split in the warm months. You can work up a good sweat that will clean your system of toxins. I am still striving toward this concept, myself. It is a good concept, though, don't you think?

Another reason is that I am still able. I actually like to work. Not necessarily for "the man", but I like it. I never "sat" well. Although, the older I get, the more I seem to sit, but that is another story. Put it this way, I don't sit well for a long time. I don't like the idea of wasting away in a La-Z-Boy.

One of the best reasons is that the way things are going, nationally, people are better off knowing how to do a few things. There may come a time that we have to fend for ourselves. The more we can do for ourselves, the better.

If you want a splitter, that is up to you. My back often tells me what an idiot I am. There are benefits to owning one, I'm just not ready to throw in the towel. So, don't give up on the way things used to be. You might need those skills in the future.

Bear Quintuplets

This is cool. These pictures were taken by a fello in Northern New Hampshire. He tried for months to get just one shot of the family all together and it was if they "sat" for it. The neat thing is, bears typically have one or two cubs, rarely three, so this is kind of phenomenal.

The first picture is of the family when the cubs were young. The last picture is after a winter hibernation, they had grown a bit! Enjoy.