tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25519010436439991302024-03-13T21:59:06.071-07:00MacLeod's MusingsBoats, bees, and beer, family, fly-fishing and philosophy, gardens and gadgets, cooking and quail hunts....so much to do, so little time!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-51642699520013989642016-03-23T07:14:00.001-07:002016-05-09T17:06:10.688-07:00On Fences, Grass, and Relative GreennessI feel the need to make a disclaimer: These won't all be about sheep. I promise. But this one is...and the last one was. So I get that you might be suspicious.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vBbPDvHyUR8V9FDySMJFIHSed-n8fFQeYsQOOBJTHLgZDWv6mZ8I-xxLv03fSTN62AR-PCxhRwlpXft399loWms4xiMadbvOUUQl2tDjrWaDnJe864vH0ADjTDDZOgjvjUkKTwg-XT4/s1600/Counting-Sheep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vBbPDvHyUR8V9FDySMJFIHSed-n8fFQeYsQOOBJTHLgZDWv6mZ8I-xxLv03fSTN62AR-PCxhRwlpXft399loWms4xiMadbvOUUQl2tDjrWaDnJe864vH0ADjTDDZOgjvjUkKTwg-XT4/s200/Counting-Sheep.jpg" width="200" /></a>Curb that suspicion, gentle reader, and ask yourself, instead, why it is that sheep still speak in our modern and far less sheepy world! Think about it. Whether it is the old idea of counting sheep to help get to sleep or slinging all manner of sheeply metaphors or colloquialisms while living in a mostly urban or suburban existence, these critters just seem to persist in our homo sapien psyche.<br />
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When I was in the business (not so very long ago) of doing funerals on a regular basis, I would meet with grieving families to plan a service for their lost loved one. Many times these were awkward meetings between a pastor and relatives of the deceased who often had little or no relationship to the church. They came to the church out of some sense of....what?....duty? Cultural norms? Where is one supposed to go in such a time? It turns out, after a long life lived with only vague attachment to any particular community of spiritual conviction, people for some reason felt the need to invoke religious language and ritual at the end of their lives.<br />
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I don't say this with judgment, far from it - I was just plain perplexed as to why they didn't create some family observance of their own, why the need to set up this thing in the church they didn't attend with a pastor they didn't know? Probably this is some kind of residue, a muddled mix of felt needs that arise in the midst of a culture that has a significant number of people who consistently claim some kind of Christian identity, yet rarely, if ever, darken a door of an actual church community. Well, they darkened my door often enough, in their hour of perceived need, and awkward conversation ensued.<br />
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"So," I would ask at some point in our meeting, "did So-and-So (the deceased) have any particular verses of scripture that they were drawn to?" This question was often raised during my fishing expedition with the family, trying to draw some inspiration for the heartfelt and moving message they hoped I would give on behalf of a stranger.<br />
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"Oh, yes," they would say, eyes widening as they looked around the table for help, "Yes, yes...old So-in-So just loved that one....um....that one.." Their eyes scanned the room in desperation, hoping some fragment of religious-sounding speech might leap out at them.<br />
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"Maybe," I would prompt gently, "something from the gospels?.....or....the Psalms?"<br />
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Their faces would light up with relief and recognition. The Psalms, of course, everyone has heard of those! "Yeah, the Psalms," they would exclaim, "especially that one!"<br />
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"That one?" I would ask, even though I knew the answer already.<br />
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"Yeah, that one about the Shepherd! So-in-So loved that one!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtDn0I10801ixhiLnVuCH7LcOBsCY5fhIFfXSOvJ6-GMjQU9JOB41U1rtAiv-F7Csq0aa8c-No-A62LjsLnlbS2_eaLVeF6w8mksf1V3glzlYaaNMkn4pD5CuhDJCoCJd8lokQn93rQw/s1600/IMG_0600+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtDn0I10801ixhiLnVuCH7LcOBsCY5fhIFfXSOvJ6-GMjQU9JOB41U1rtAiv-F7Csq0aa8c-No-A62LjsLnlbS2_eaLVeF6w8mksf1V3glzlYaaNMkn4pD5CuhDJCoCJd8lokQn93rQw/s320/IMG_0600+2.JPG" width="320" /></a>That one about the Shepherd. They meant Psalm 23, of course, which in the big wide world of the Psalms is the one that folks tend to remember. There are probably several good reasons for that, but one of them has got to be the fact that the Psalm talks about sheep. Sort of.<br />
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It talks about a shepherd, anyway, and about green pastures and other things that sheep like, so the actual sheep are strongly inferred. And we like the sheep, we human folk, probably because we have had a long relationship with the woolies, and by long I mean like buried in our DNA sort of long. So when we read an ancient text, like Psalm 23, and those long-ago, far-off people start dropping sheep references, some part of our brain springs to life and says, "Hey, yeah....somehow, that makes sense."<br />
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That's the part of our brain that recognizes some kind of content to a little aphorism like, "The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence." We might live in a condo in Phoenix, unfamiliar with both grass and fences....but still, we get it. I hope you don't live in a condo in Phoenix, that really sounds like the worst.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0lbJg_yiR0HG90cNIVct0bJxwTNO_Dieed4jgTI86qW68G56odlVAxUMFuNBdf1zIbGOuHEI6vjJ0w61Ft8gZYivP-zoUGbTYRbIZcl_HPUt4lTETZ4IpOR7h5LVA2flEcpdpSEVPso/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0lbJg_yiR0HG90cNIVct0bJxwTNO_Dieed4jgTI86qW68G56odlVAxUMFuNBdf1zIbGOuHEI6vjJ0w61Ft8gZYivP-zoUGbTYRbIZcl_HPUt4lTETZ4IpOR7h5LVA2flEcpdpSEVPso/s200/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you tell where the fence line was?</td></tr>
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What is all of this driving at? It's all about that grass and those fences and relative greenness. That old wisdom about fences and green grass arises out of a real observed phenomenon with sheep and other grazing livestock. Placed in a pasture, they seem to think that the grass that is just out of reach is always the best and most desirable grass they can imagine, and they will put themselves in sometimes ridiculous situations trying to get to it. Their antics wind up as our country wisdom, and the whole fence and grass proverb describes a kind of vain longing for something different, when what you have right now is more than adequate. It warns of disappointment if you risk the effort of getting over, under, or around the fences, the boundary lines that prescribe your life and circumstances. And like most folksy wisdom, it is true. Sometimes.<br />
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There is an alternative yet complementary truth of pastured life, one that is hinted at in that old Hebrew poem. You might recall that little stanza, "He makes me lie down in green pastures....he leads me beside the still waters...he restores my soul." There is the necessity of constant movement in sheeply life. A shepherd does a lot of leading, choosing new, greener pastures on which the sheep can find forage. They need to do this because they are incredible eaters, walking, breathing lawn mowers and weed trimmers rolled up in a woolen package. Around this little farm, after a long winter of eating bales of alfalfa and dried orchard grass, they are eager to get after every new shoot of green that has the audacity to spring up out of the ground. In just a little time, they will eat their pasture down to the ground, and then they need to get moved.<br />
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That movement, that change, is necessary for health and life. The longing for other pastures is not always fickleness, as the fences proverb warns. Sometimes the longing for change is part of the need for new fields in which to roam, new nourishment on which to feed. Sometimes change is necessary if what we are really looking for is restoration of our souls.<br />
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Find yourself longing for something new? One of the voices in our heads invariably tells us that we are just dreaming vain dreams, that the higher good is to stick it out right where we are. Certainly as I contemplated this big change in my life (<a href="http://www.dmacleodsmusings.blogspot.com/2015/06/everything-is-changing.html" target="_blank">Everything is Changing</a>), I encountered a strong thread of advice, internal and external, that suggested I was just a little tired, and after a rest I would find the stamina to carry on doing just what I was doing. Not only that, this advice came along with a sort of ethical argument that named the "good" as staying the course, and called change the "bad." This kind of ethical rationalization is especially prevalent in ministry circles, where "faithfulness" is defined in one way - a lifetime committed to the calling of the clergy. It is not uncommon to hear the idea that if someone exits the ministry it must have been because they were never really "called" to it in the first place.<br />
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But, just like the sheep, we are made for change, for movement. That longing inside of you might just be telling you that it is time for new pastures or quiet waters. Those dreams of a different life could be your very soul making a case for restoration. So, don't let one bit of country wisdom hold you back from pursuing your big change. That little proverb on fences doesn't tell the whole story. Remember those sheep that you sometimes count to get to sleep? Take your cue from the woolies - they are out there in your near-dreamland jumping fences. Maybe it's time for you to do the same. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-70661960541484832762016-03-06T10:02:00.000-08:002016-03-06T10:05:02.345-08:00Sheep's ClothingIt's the <a href="http://dmacleodsmusings.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-year-of-leap.html" target="_blank">Year of the Leap</a>, and I am taking time to blog about the strange experiences of a big life change.<br />
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This past week was my first as an unemployed.....er....self-employed person. On Monday I cleaned out my office and walked out into a brave new world. Oh, the freedom that awaited outside those doors, oh the liberty! I imagined the first days would be filled with leisurely reflection, a slow and careful assessment of the path ahead.<br />
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Right.<br />
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There is an interesting psychological backlash to becoming suddenly vocationally unattached - rather than creating a sense of freedom, instead I experienced an immediate and overwhelming urge to get some stuff going, to get irons in the fire, to get things FIGURED OUT! Probably not a mystery, my "provider" identity was suddenly in real crisis and the compulsive business that resulted was a predictable reaction to fears of destitution.<br />
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And so I launched into a maelstrom of productivity, a near fit of projects, chores and new initiatives. My to-do list has been enormous and unfocused, my days so full that I felt a gnawing frustration that there were not enough hours in the day to address my ambitions. Though it scratches that little insecure itch that says, "you're not DOING anything," it is otherwise impractical and unsustainable.<br />
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There are lots of things that are disorienting about a big change, stuff that is confusing to yourself and to others. I had occasion to reflect on this while I was doing a chore that comes up around the farm in the springtime - the time for sheep shearing has arrived.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyp7j0XODajqXk4BgMkVN8PclkPoT768vOIe9GXWHneZ0QQR-1PrDjeptlvqbs7pQqw4mVDQVbN0JnZJNyt4hjbgrtVB0jy2FPpZN5csmWa05Tc0IE8lzLnShW03LtmrJnQxBWOsFX8E/s1600/20160304_080726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyp7j0XODajqXk4BgMkVN8PclkPoT768vOIe9GXWHneZ0QQR-1PrDjeptlvqbs7pQqw4mVDQVbN0JnZJNyt4hjbgrtVB0jy2FPpZN5csmWa05Tc0IE8lzLnShW03LtmrJnQxBWOsFX8E/s320/20160304_080726.jpg" width="205" /></a>I have been keeping a little flock of sheep for several years now. You can go into the Wayback Machine and check out some of the genesis story <a href="http://dmacleodsmusings.blogspot.com/2013/03/for-pet-or-dinner.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Since those first days we have grown that little flock, which, with the addition of 10 lambs this spring, now numbers 23. Their wool grows with relentless consistency, and each spring I take up shears and commence trimming. It is not particularly easy work, but it is satisfying in many ways. Certainly I am standing in the footsteps of my Scottish ancestors, those muddy, manure laden footsteps - and that is sort of a nice feeling.<br />
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The sheep are corralled and picked out, one by one, to suffer the indignity of a haircut. With each blow (thats what they call a cut of the shears, in sheep-handling parlance), their heavy coats are cut back, revealing a creature that is by many degrees cleaner and smaller than they appeared before. Their wool, if white, glows anew, and if they were caramel colored before, their wool bleached by a season's sun, they are returned to the pure black of their younger days. It is a pretty remarkable transformation. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYgTk7J8Y2eROaUiGlMO4w9n6XJFSmY8JcX1b83-lbQaxejZMZjZ_ubAJVTyuZN4vivbtdUMpOuHw61pgvKq4sdB3lFlSUImVCWxbfd95MHjpK4RLF45Qw3ruY1_IUg5NhE6bHIWxobc/s1600/20160304_090452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYgTk7J8Y2eROaUiGlMO4w9n6XJFSmY8JcX1b83-lbQaxejZMZjZ_ubAJVTyuZN4vivbtdUMpOuHw61pgvKq4sdB3lFlSUImVCWxbfd95MHjpK4RLF45Qw3ruY1_IUg5NhE6bHIWxobc/s200/20160304_090452.jpg" width="156" /></a>Now, sheep suffer from a poor reputation in the smarts department and though they are winning creatures in many other ways, that particular slight is at times well-deserved. One annual demonstration of their dimness inevitably arises at shearing time. A freshly-shorn sheep is unrecognizable to his or her peers - really. Sheep don't recognize their colleagues after a haircut, to such a degree that, for instance, the rams will set upon one another with all kinds of head butting and other displays of dominance because Odin, our younger ram, believes that old Atlas, freshly shorn, is really a new kid on the block that needs to be put in his place. But Atlas is still Atlas - the king of the pasture, something Odin will rediscover in short order.<br />
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I think we are prone to the same mistake, in our own ways. Our culture associates so closely the ideas of "who we are" with "what we do" that when someone makes a dramatic change in the latter we are tempted to translate that change to the former. In my own case, leaving behind a career in church ministry has brought about all kinds of confusion in some folks. It is as if, having embarked on this change, I have become unrecognizable. And it's not just them - I think that half of my frenetic doing of all the things this past week is rooted in the same misconception. Cut loose from what I have been doing for so long, I have been instinctually filling in the gap with lots of other stuff, scavenging a new identity from bits of activity. A fearful shield to guard against the inevitable question, "So, what do you do?"<br />
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As I have been working through this big life change others have reached out to talk about their own life transitions and I realize I am not alone in this. One of the impediments to embracing a needful change is a sense of identity conflict. We get wed to a particular path, a career trajectory, and some of the reluctance to changing that is the sense that it somehow it would be inconsistent with who we are. A friend of mine was struggling with this very problem, wondering if his desire for a change somehow painted all of his past endeavors as mistakes or misjudgments, a grand waste of time.<br />
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I don't believe that's the case. Old John Locke, that english thinker from the 17th century, used to talk about things having a "real essence" and a "nominal essence." The nominal essence was what we could observe and describe about a thing, but the real essence was what lay underneath, a kind of core. Maybe I can suggest that we have similar layers to our own identity - of course we are in some way reflected to the outside world in the things that we do, the work we engage in, etc. - but those identifiers are not who we are, our real essence. Underneath the dirty woolen fleece we are the same person - a big change just gives us a chance to shake off some of the tangled, matted accumulation of life and step out feeling lighter, fresher, newer.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9VE8rl6JwRMT-2rVTihyrQuttPbwqog79dK4z50z1xY9AZdI-77JlSk9yxJF6RgiRmUNCFPLu44EOdpsaEiONiee6F9_F_eLhtX-VWebVP0XL62_Jeyx0BU3AGZ65R4m927sR_GYVM0/s1600/shreksheep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9VE8rl6JwRMT-2rVTihyrQuttPbwqog79dK4z50z1xY9AZdI-77JlSk9yxJF6RgiRmUNCFPLu44EOdpsaEiONiee6F9_F_eLhtX-VWebVP0XL62_Jeyx0BU3AGZ65R4m927sR_GYVM0/s200/shreksheep.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHCbQGnuSZlST9_Xp4P8KnrvNIoyLdbCrnu444ksCmZm7Kvy2_0CqZ7VUXTVau1Uy2PTrs1GMitllvPjZ0Y2C1N7JQDam7Nm-9ov8j3nTKe26PFXP7jL2JEO2j5vD_2N72FvwheXE_joA/s1600/shrek+shorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHCbQGnuSZlST9_Xp4P8KnrvNIoyLdbCrnu444ksCmZm7Kvy2_0CqZ7VUXTVau1Uy2PTrs1GMitllvPjZ0Y2C1N7JQDam7Nm-9ov8j3nTKe26PFXP7jL2JEO2j5vD_2N72FvwheXE_joA/s200/shrek+shorn.jpg" width="200" /></a>There was a story out of New Zealand that ran around the interwebs a couple of years ago about an old sheep named Shrek. This cagey fellow managed to avoid the indignity of the shears for six long years, apparently he'd taken to hiding in caves when the shepherds came calling (maybe not so dim after all). His fleece, left unattended and unchanged, grew....and grew....and grew. Impressive, but not particularly healthy. He was finally caught and shorn, yielding a 60lb fleece, stepping out into life a new man...er...um...sheep. New, but also the same.<br />
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Are there lessons here? How about this one...don't hide in a cave when it's time for a change. Step into it, welcome it, let the old trappings fall off like sheep's clothing. The you that is always you (ewe that is always ewe?) will be happier for it.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-86954748478268024482016-03-01T12:03:00.000-08:002016-03-01T12:04:12.467-08:00The Year of the Leap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The past several months have been a something like a climb up the ladder to a high dive platform. Over the summer I went public with my impending retirement and since that time have been occupied with all kinds of regular-type work, helping to guide the church I have served for the last six and a half years through this big transition. It felt sort of good to retreat into the routines of work, even if those routines were now being carried out in the shadow of a looming deadline. But yesterday, Feb. 29th, 2016, I reached the top of the ladder and stood with my toes hanging over the edge of the platform. Yesterday was Leap Day.<br />
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It was my last day as a pastor at Yakima Covenant Church and, more than that, my last day working in church ministry. I am walking away from all of that, for reasons you can read about in posts like "<a href="http://www.dmacleodsmusings.blogspot.com/2015/06/everything-is-changing.html" target="_blank">Everything is Changing</a>" and "<a href="http://www.dmacleodsmusings.blogspot.com/2015/06/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it.html" target="_blank">What's Love Got to Do With It?</a>" Our farewell was marked by an incredible outpouring of love and support, for which we will forever be grateful. <br />
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But with the support of my amazing wife and kids, I am striking out on my own, vocationally speaking, seeking a new kind of life, new ways to make a living. It is a little bit crazy - to leave behind the security of a successful career. I have only a few answers to the many questions this usually provokes from reasonable people. What will I be doing? How will we pay the bills? Have you been taking your meds? All will be answered in due time!<br />
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Leap Day was a wildly appropriate day to mark such a radical change in our life. I admit that as I packed up the last things from my office and walked out for the last time, I felt a moment of panic - this is really a big leap, a risk, it will bring new challenges, some of which we can anticipate and some that I am sure are the sneaky type, waiting around corners we haven't reached yet. While I've been observing a sort of radio silence since last summer, wanting to give the community that I served plenty of room for the big changes they have been and will be experiencing, that will be changing. Over the next weeks and months I will be positively prolific as I try my hand at this new thing, whatever this new thing looks like. And I'll reflect a little not just on the "what" that occupies the coming days, but also on the "why."<br />
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Here's how I figure it: everybody has got some big leap they are contemplating. If the faltering, stumbling, bumbling steps of an aspiring beekeeper-shepherd-farmer-philosopher can be of any help at all as you consider taking whatever plunge you are staring at, then I call that a win-win. I'll chronicle adventures and reflections during this whole Leap Year. What kind of story will it end up being? Time will tell - it's the year of the leap and we'll take it as it comes!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-26928780978398140742015-06-20T15:40:00.000-07:002015-06-20T15:40:20.943-07:00What's Love Got to Do With It?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAk36DCb-y18PW2SVJruNDcYnzVocSH5biKnKP8iiErtDfym5wf-NebKZB9LlKArZf7sBLqQV15e_5YjoRCjIN4rKxBSsTSar3v7FUo8N_p7kSJoVRyPgkTZYs7gXh5az8mLul1ETs2yI/s1600/change_everything.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAk36DCb-y18PW2SVJruNDcYnzVocSH5biKnKP8iiErtDfym5wf-NebKZB9LlKArZf7sBLqQV15e_5YjoRCjIN4rKxBSsTSar3v7FUo8N_p7kSJoVRyPgkTZYs7gXh5az8mLul1ETs2yI/s320/change_everything.jpg" width="318" /></a>I'm leaving the ministry. I'm going to be a beekeeper. If you haven't been following the last couple of posts, I've caught you up in two short sentences. This post is going to be long and occupied with a specific subject - I hope you'll spend the time to read and understand it. I'm going to try and explain some of the reasons I have felt a growing need to leave the ministry. I'll be describing, in particular, one area that has generated a growing disconnect between my personal life and my professional life, and how that disconnect has fed this decision for change. This will be something like a confession, and like all confessions is equal parts pain and relief. And, as a reminder, this is my personal blog, a cataloging of my own journey - here I do not speak for the church I serve or the denomination that carries my credentials. These are my own thoughts, relating to my own journey and my own convictions.<br />
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Not all of what follows will be entirely understandable, I fear, if you, dear reader, are not from the strange land of Christendom. Understand that much of my own personal history has occurred in some relationship to the church, and that has had a profound effect on what I have perceived to be important, right, and true. What follows will be an accounting of that history as it relates to a particular conversation within and outside of the church. This conversation, and the controversies it embodies, are not, of course, the only pertinent or important factors in my decision to leave the ministry as I have so far known it - but it is a window through which you might come to understand the levels of fatigue, disillusionment and cynicism that contribute to such a decision. Those things have their answers, in more than equal portion, in renewed energy, enthusiasm, and optimism for what I hope is ahead.</div>
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Over the past several years, I have been involved in some complex discussions related to changes facing the church. Macro-scale happenings in our North American context that are being felt right down to the old, wooden pew in that church down the street that you probably haven't been to lately and that fewer and fewer people are going to at all. As a bit of background, I was raised in the Presbyterian tradition, my grandfather was a minister, church life was also family life. As I grew older I came to understand some additional nuances - we weren't just Christian, we were Presbyterian, we weren't just Presbyterian we were PC(USA), we weren't just PC(USA), we were West Coast PC(USA), which meant that we were part of a broadly evangelical-identifying tradition within mainline, protestant Christianity. </div>
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Lost? Don't worry, most of those nuances don't matter in the outside world, but those tribal identifiers informed me in very specific ways. They shaped what I believed, what I felt was right, how I reasoned through things, what kinds of authority I accepted and where I was likely to be a skeptic. The church has as one of its primary tasks the passing on of the faith, but it also effectively passes along a whole set of values, mindsets, judgments, biases and beliefs that sort of hitch a ride along with what one might call the core or essential aspects of faith. For me, these combined in their own way to produce a young man who, when first entering the ministry, could pretty well be described using words like conservative, Reformed and Evangelical. Those words not only described the sort of theology I tended to find plausible, but also my starting point for approaching social issues, politics, etc.<br />
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I take a moment to describe that because it may help you understand my starting point, my...what should I call it?...default understanding?....on a subject that has had an immense influence on the church and our culture at large in the past several decades: LGBTQ sexuality/identity. Like so many in the evangelical world, I had been taught very little about the LBGTQ community, my worldview was formed by the kinds of playground humor that filters down from adults to kids, and, importantly, by the prevalent teaching of the church on LGBTQ matters which boils down to some variation of: God doesn't like it, it's not natural, it is sinful, etc., etc. I didn't come up in communities that were putting out nonsense about the "Gay Agenda" or that kind of thing, though I certainly recognized and brushed up against those kinds of teachings within Christian circles. Yet, though the rhetoric was less harsh, there was certainly a sort of uniformity in evangelical circles, a level of presumed agreement that left very little room for deviation.<br />
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At a certain level, this means that communities are able to achieve a pretty high level of homogeneity of opinion, which can shelter members from critical questions, arguments, and resources that would suggest any view counter to what has been traditionally held. I received, almost through osmosis, the evangelical view of LGBTQ matters, and then, as I became older, reaching high school and college age, I was equipped, through teaching and bible study, to defend that viewpoint. Or, perhaps more accurately, I was given answers to what were perceived to be "liberal" arguments against orthodoxy.<br />
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As I progressed along a career path in ministry, the "battle" over sexuality issues became more overt, and looking back I see that I was being equipped as a soldier in that battle. When I was being examined for ordination, at the end of my seminary training, I met with a committee for final evaluation and found myself stepping into the battlefield in earnest. I was a candidate from a "conservative" church, the language of my confession of faith contained all the right keywords that aligned me with "orthodoxy" in this matter, and others, and I met with genuine hostility in that committee from members that were in the "liberal" camp within the PC(USA). It seemed to confirm everything I had ever been taught about the war over future of the church. I was passed along into ministry, because, among other reasons, conservative churches still held great influence in various corners of the organization.<br />
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You may have noticed a lot of '' ''s in the last paragraph. Read them as big airquotes, and you'll catch my tone. All of that language, the binaries of liberal and conservative, orthodox vs progressive, even the language of battle, war - that language serves to perpetuate the mythology that fuels the conflict and these days I am much more careful in my diction. But back then, it reflected, in some ways, how I thought, who I saw as "my people", and who I saw as operatives of the "other" side. Becoming an ordained minister meant that I was now a voting member of my organization, and now had opportunity to work to protect the church. And I did. In sexuality issues I voted the conservative line, every time. I rolled my eyes at the rainbow stoles of my colleagues, I shook my head at their arguments for a different understanding of human sexuality, one that would be inclusive, welcome things like same-sex marriage.<br />
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Things were changing in the culture that were complicating the picture. Same sex marriage was becoming legal in state after state, and with those changes came better awareness of the kinds of arguments that were changing minds: refutations of the pseudo-science that gets passed around in the church; lucid and compelling arguments based upon civil rights for the gay community; increasing awareness of the pain and suffering endured by LGBTQ youth and adults as part of a minority population; and a growing celebration of "out" culture that meant everyone began to realize that they knew LGTBQ folks as friends or family. We've seen a remarkable shift in public opinion and cultural acceptance of LGBTQ folk over the past two decades. In the evangelical wing of the church, however, this created a sense of defensiveness, even panic, and one's theological convictions on LGBTQ issues became a litmus test for orthodoxy. Lines were drawn in the sand. <br />
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Not surprisingly, churches have been splitting over these issues. The Episcopal Church in America is remembered for taking the leap first, with the ordination of Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop in 2003. Conflict erupted after that, and headlines were filled (for a short time) with stories of property disputes and political realignment of congregations. The Presbyterians were laboring along in their own way. With many shared organizational characteristics with the US Congress, the machinations of advocacy groups for and against inclusion were creating an increasingly polarized atmosphere in the General Assembly (the hive-mind of the Presbyterian Church(USA)). There were rumblings of a split coming, as evangelicals increasingly saw themselves as a faithful remnant in an organization largely gone astray.<br />
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In early 2011, the rumblings of a split reached the surface, and a group of influential evangelical leaders in the PC(USA) began talking about a new denominational expression. This would eventually become ECO, the new Presbyterian denomination with the unwieldy name (the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians). I was a part of the early formation of this organization. I was already becoming ill-at-ease with the teachings and conclusions I had held on the LGBTQ issues by this time. My confidence in my previous beliefs were being undermined as I watched the narratives of the church spin up in defense of evangelical orthodoxy. I listened to people link theological deviance on this issue with heterodoxy of every kind, from rejection of the Trinity to outright cultural idolatry. Now, here I was working with leaders I had always respected, from churches within the evangelical family tree that I knew so well - and I found the discussions being had were ugly. It was carefully concealed theological ugliness most of the time, language about authority of scripture, welcoming but not affirming, high calling of celibacy, etc - all of this lipstick put on what increasingly seemed to me to be the face of bigotry.<br />
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I attended and was even a visible leader in a meeting in September of 2011 that marked the beginning of the end for me as a part of my evangelical family of origin. Attendance at that meeting, held in Minneapolis, swelled at the same time as the official stance on openly gay clergy was beginning to change within the PC(USA). The increased interest in what was to be ECO was no accident - though the new denomination was talking a lot about new ministry practices, it was painfully clear that many people were there because they were fleeing the "gay" issue, seeking a safe port in the storm of cultural change. I heard talk in those halls that deeply bothered me - a kind of easy self-assurance of rightness, narratives of self-justification that seemed so transparently self-serving, and even outright bigotry on occasion. I left disillusioned and unsure of my place.<br />
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National events in the PC(USA) were having regional effect, and it was clear that the church I served would be forced to make a decision on their denominational future. I helped lead them in that discernment process, including an in-depth study on matters related to the LGBTQ community and the church. I am ashamed to say that the process was really the first time that I had done any such study myself, and I suppose I used it as an opportunity to hit the reset button, to apply critical thought to the entire subject, to start from scratch and examine everything that I had been taught, as well as give hearing to the whole wide range of theological thought on the matter. My previously held convictions, what I had been taught as orthodox belief on matters of sexuality, were already tipping...but it was actual study of the scripture that toppled those convictions for good. I was careful to let the leadership of the church and eventually, in later classes, members of the congregation, go through their own study and reach their own conclusions. But my own mind was irrevocably changed during that process. <br />
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I am deeply sorry that I have, for so long, hindered the progress of understanding and hospitality in the church. I have, for too long, contributed to an ancient bigotry, one that has been perpetuated and sustained through church doctrine and culture. Heterosexual privilege and perspective has informed the dominant culture for so long, it has caused such harm for the LGBTQ community and the church. Rather than being a community of good news, the evangelical community has institutionalized and theologically justified prejudice against the LGBTQ community, turning good news bad, transforming freedom in Christ into a millstone for those who have the misfortune to stand out as different from the majority population. Majority populations are very good at writing totalizing narratives that justify their own beliefs, culture, practices, etc., and also excel at marginalizing and radicalizing populations that diverge from that majority. I think that sociological truth goes a long way towards understanding the kinds of narratives of support of heterosexuality as an expression of theological orthodoxy. Those narratives are the air one breathes as a bona fide member of the majority....it takes some effort to get enough perspective to begin to see outside that bubble.<br />
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So, I have, over the last several years, gone through a conversion of sorts. My mind has been changed, my convictions radically altered on this matter - and that has put me out of step with much of the Christian world, especially the evangelical world. Professionally, this has made my job as a pastor more complicated. I serve a community that is full of mixed and strongly held opinion on these matters. I serve in an organization that has traditions and policies that, by and large, align with historical orthodoxy on these matters. For the past several years I have stood in a very strange middle ground, having to carefully weigh every word, be measured with every teaching, hold in tension a great many views. This certainly is a trivial discomfort compared to the great pain endured by LGBTQ persons so often in the church, but it is a discomfort I have felt keenly at times. While personally I have become more and more convinced that the church is part of a problem of perpetuating injustice, professionally I have often had to share space with people whose views I find increasingly problematic, if not outright bigoted, especially in circles of pastors. I don't belong to the evangelical world any longer, and the disconnect personally and professionally has been part of the formula for my weariness and burnout. </div>
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I don't think it is my place or role to enforce my personal views on a congregation, that is not my idea of what the calling of pastor is all about. However, I have become more and more uncomfortable with my own association with teachings that I consider wrong...flat out wrong. And as I've become more convinced of the wrongheadedness of much of church doctrine, tradition, and church culture on this matter, I have also become more discouraged by my own enabling of that tradition by my participation in the very system of which I am growing more and more suspicious. <br />
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I think there is nobility in working for change. I have spent time and energy in the past year contributing to advocacy efforts within the Evangelical Covenant Church, the denomination that ended up being the new home for my congregation here in Yakima. Within the Covenant there are people of incredible talent and possessing great stamina who are working to bring about changes in the church, like the brothers and sisters working through <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mf4inclusion" target="_blank">Mission Friends for Inclusion</a>. They wage an uphill battle and will always have my appreciation and admiration, for whatever those are worth. <br />
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The Covenant, generally, is a pretty good fit for this congregation. It is certainly part of the evangelical world, but also embodies an ethos, polity and culture that has some promise of providing a decent context for conversations about inclusion to carry forward. Change will not happen overnight. Yet, at the same time, the ECC is part of an evangelical tradition that I now chafe under, a tradition that I can't, with any personal integrity, continue to identify with as a pastor. Indeed, the process of my credentialing within the ECC (a travail, to say the least) revealed to me just how far out of step I have become with the majority culture and the leadership of the denomination. The posturing and positioning of the denominational leadership as they seek to resist change of hearts and minds around these important matters is, on the one hand, entirely understandable to me as a command/control response to rapid change. It is also entirely unacceptable to me personally, and I no longer possess the patience for it.</div>
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This all may not be easy for folks in the church to hear and understand. I am not angry with those who hold to a traditional view, though I do earnestly hope that view will change. Nor do I see myself as abandoning those who hold an inclusive view, though in some ways it feels something like that. I just can't see myself standing in the middle of all of that in the role of pastor any more. <br />
I can no longer stand in the pulpit as a voice speaking on behalf of "the church" while this debate slowly and painfully plays out. <br />
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There probably aren't enough words to express all of what I feel on this, and no doubt the ones I've chosen will prove to be inadequate in many ways. I hope I've been able to shed some light onto some part of my own personal journey, and the ways in which this particular subject has had a profound effect upon my own sense of identity and purpose. It does seem strange, ironic, that in order to live most honestly with my own convictions and to embrace love for all, I would feel the need to leave the church which, in many ways, taught me the value of both of those things.<br />
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That's enough for now. Next post will be on the delicate subject of the birds and the bees. Well, the bees, mostly. Stay tuned!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-42619760325843915072015-06-07T13:27:00.002-07:002015-06-07T13:27:56.273-07:00Everything is Changing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Big stuff is afoot. Everything is changing. I will be publishing a series of posts that explains some of what's happening for this little family of ours, and I hope you will follow along!<br />
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This Sunday morning, June 7, 2015, I announced to the congregation I serve that I have decided to retire from ministry. This will not be an immediate action, in discussion with the leadership of Yakima Covenant Church, we have settled on a date in February of 2016 when this will take effect. But it is a definite decision - in February I will be stepping down as pastor of Yakima Covenant Church. It is time for a change.<br />
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It is a big change of course for me personally and professionally, it is full of all kinds of risks and unknowns, and it is also, for me, a necessary and needful change. Over the course of the next several posts, I will be explaining some of the background for this decision, explaining what has led us to this course, and some of my hopes for what lies ahead. <br />
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A transition like this begs a lot of questions. Why this? Why now? What next? I will spend some time in future posts trying to give answers to some of those questions, as well as I am able. But it is enough to say at this moment that it is a personal choice, one arrived at after much thought, after lots of discussion and dreaming with my wife, Shannon. The past six years at Yakima Covenant have been good ones, and it is a community that I am proud to hand over to the next iteration of pastor. But there has been growing in me over the course of the past several years a discontent of sorts, a gnawing awareness of the need for new direction. Those feelings have grown stronger over time, they have not dissipated upon reflection, they have not been dissuaded in counsel with friends or family. Rather, I reached a point when I knew that what had been sort of run-of-the-mill escape fantasies had morphed into legitimate longings for a new experience of life, family, time, and vocation.<br />
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We feel great hope and anticipation about what is ahead. I can't wait to tell you more about it, and I hope you'll come back to hear about what's ahead and some of the reasons that have led us in this new direction. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-61436706827008224042014-12-29T23:35:00.000-08:002014-12-29T23:35:11.215-08:00Martial Sewing Arts<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMFxpp-CfHahLoBtqTjn18Eh2HPfiSO1xzyUfAGSgdgsEF19SM1w5XZpVREzsi92Ddm1MVx6qVmH0qQktX3IoFxEX-lMwSzfN80ezexCPf_zSRqB9z_ODGGSMwLRZMNsasUcfyBmVw80/s1600/DSC_0382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMFxpp-CfHahLoBtqTjn18Eh2HPfiSO1xzyUfAGSgdgsEF19SM1w5XZpVREzsi92Ddm1MVx6qVmH0qQktX3IoFxEX-lMwSzfN80ezexCPf_zSRqB9z_ODGGSMwLRZMNsasUcfyBmVw80/s1600/DSC_0382.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a>I've been working on a bunch of sewing projects over the past month. Some were for the holidays, including some fleece pj bottoms for the kiddos, stuff like that. I've been slowly working through tailored shirt patterns, learning my way around that stuff. Got a couple of cool pattern books from Japan for Christmas, and those things have me all excited to try out shirts and jackets. So why, you might be tempted to ask, why would I, in the middle of all of that, suddenly take up an entirely different project? Well....in this case, I will have to plead self-defense.<br />
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For a little over two years now I've been taking karate at a local gym. It started out as an activity for one of the kids, and twice a week I would drive her down there and sit on the parent-bench (you know the one), with all the other parents, waiting for the 1-hour class to finish. The class was fun, my daughter was enjoying herself, which was nice. The bench, however...well, it might not have been the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57gzA2JCcM" target="_blank">Group-W bench</a>, but it filled me with a kind of dread nonetheless. Parents slouched on the bench, staring into their smart phones, in various states of could-be-better health. I noticed that there was a beginner's class for adults happening at the same time as my daughter's class - it took me all of two weeks to put two-and-two together and I enrolled for classes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyiI1YyybBUqItXE7VMvGcpqcb9MweNjNDdNKBk7d6jM-w1czggeSoOs-2uOE5M9La2Nwr5zSBeR-Fgdq231RnXR4tsqDSuD6dlri-9Wtvhbxqp2wpdle7FCRM8FJMsg7I0LEOJTHy84/s1600/DSC_0383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyiI1YyybBUqItXE7VMvGcpqcb9MweNjNDdNKBk7d6jM-w1czggeSoOs-2uOE5M9La2Nwr5zSBeR-Fgdq231RnXR4tsqDSuD6dlri-9Wtvhbxqp2wpdle7FCRM8FJMsg7I0LEOJTHy84/s1600/DSC_0383.JPG" height="200" width="133" /></a>Since then I've been training away, several hours a week, for more than two years. You might know that karate, and other martial arts, uses a special outfit for training called a gi (pronounced "gee", like geek....shut it). When I started out I got the starter uniform, a lightweight and ill-fitting piece of work, its only positive attribute being...... actually, I don't remember how this sentence is supposed to end. Upgrading to a heavier-weight gi is a bit of a gamble, the sizing and such is always a mess since they are made out of cotton canvas, which can shrink and move quite a bit. On top of that, they need to be sturdy (for all of that grappling and throwing around stuff) and roomy (lots of athletic movements).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghjbtnoiVje5ePp2e8vboKkMK3MHnql_zgGCJM25m2MSJqqBjLhwjaK52JuyyhthAWS7MmZDGjz2xjJ6xM_pMsYv5V069X87EqB5zuD6P1Kd7lZAAdcVbZPJahmeIWcM6zZfZpTMrnSUs/s1600/DSC_0386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghjbtnoiVje5ePp2e8vboKkMK3MHnql_zgGCJM25m2MSJqqBjLhwjaK52JuyyhthAWS7MmZDGjz2xjJ6xM_pMsYv5V069X87EqB5zuD6P1Kd7lZAAdcVbZPJahmeIWcM6zZfZpTMrnSUs/s1600/DSC_0386.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
I got a heavy-weight gi about a year ago, and I like it fine. The pants are great, I really like them, but the jacket is less than perfect, especially in it's length. Gi jackets are cut in a bunch of ways, depending on use and tradition of origin, but I have come to want a longer "apron" on mine, meaning a long jacket that hangs down to mid-thigh. So, I took out my heavy-weight jacket and started creating a pattern from it, then altered that pattern to create something more to my liking, and a bit more fitted.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkAnEfhWGxgfprOdeLAS9DtsmQ98CAtPQHClKH2BCgrsgMn6Fi0Zk9chzKs3__RWA7fHcZ1VS1twCSQj2krkk8pzUDBqRNK_6tli_Av9bCl3l3JkMfRV7cwZCNEqRkB_xfABACYRN6RY/s1600/DSC_0387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkAnEfhWGxgfprOdeLAS9DtsmQ98CAtPQHClKH2BCgrsgMn6Fi0Zk9chzKs3__RWA7fHcZ1VS1twCSQj2krkk8pzUDBqRNK_6tli_Av9bCl3l3JkMfRV7cwZCNEqRkB_xfABACYRN6RY/s1600/DSC_0387.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a>I finished the project today and will wear it to practice tomorrow night. The gi ended up being great practice for several techniques, mostly due to the heavy-weight, sturdy construction that is required for a piece of clothing that will undergo so much use-stress. <a href="http://www.coletterie.com/tutorials-tips-tricks/standard-flat-felled-seam" target="_blank">Flat-felled seams</a> are used throughout, a yoke piece is integrated into the shoulder area in an interesting way, several ties and gussets are incorporated, and all hems are super-reinforced. Lots of top-stitching to do, often through several layers of canvas. A denim needle (or two...broke one near the end) is a must, as well as a healthy dose of patience, especially when approaching seams where layers are stacked up. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvxRteCeI_Q0pQwgg6-zirm40HqFFj6kdUq8wmJw98RB61nrPQb16lOSZ8VxxltgpsPDspFv-YesLNNBXk87v5wA3FMrVZ1Avcei2lYhH3UEsST_aq0ZFaElhkaeteTndFR1vo5DEI8g/s1600/DSC_0385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvxRteCeI_Q0pQwgg6-zirm40HqFFj6kdUq8wmJw98RB61nrPQb16lOSZ8VxxltgpsPDspFv-YesLNNBXk87v5wA3FMrVZ1Avcei2lYhH3UEsST_aq0ZFaElhkaeteTndFR1vo5DEI8g/s1600/DSC_0385.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a>The jacket will get its real test in the coming weeks, as I work out in it and see how it wears (and tears). But I am pleased with the way the thing turned out so far...it was a big project, but came together fairly quickly and is something I can put to use right away. I marked it with an improvised tag, working in some tartan colors along the way. Highland colors on a karate gi! Fusion!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-16196157180940088302014-12-27T21:29:00.002-08:002014-12-27T21:29:13.721-08:00Makers' MarkWe have been having a creative bonanza here at home. The holiday season has provided materials, motivation, and time - all the necessary ingredients for a Maker's movement. Here are a few of the results!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-1Y1HbpHDo7vuPFunZMGXknrHQHoLbAzwxpfQY-aGhNPZmSH6s_8SBPLIK9wKF2K83UqtRb4ySDY_BVwr7wRbb12egLJMO8gKq2QeVQcYAf_uP2X6LdH2y3bC5p1hVvNRsCve13HTjM/s1600/DSC_0427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-1Y1HbpHDo7vuPFunZMGXknrHQHoLbAzwxpfQY-aGhNPZmSH6s_8SBPLIK9wKF2K83UqtRb4ySDY_BVwr7wRbb12egLJMO8gKq2QeVQcYAf_uP2X6LdH2y3bC5p1hVvNRsCve13HTjM/s1600/DSC_0427.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kilt Hose - knitted by Duncan</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUtuIW2bO43k7dfNjx_XNnNPuv6Gzyh4BjntQkneDwcdGAYjGz-IoOhHGVdxwMoDAsAS2WB0tsyMVoHGkA3zlz1Xo5Ih7m51HdfDRcgB3txwn-E0gkbMPf2PmJdSnADU-kzUI0LLgNfM/s1600/DSC_0429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUtuIW2bO43k7dfNjx_XNnNPuv6Gzyh4BjntQkneDwcdGAYjGz-IoOhHGVdxwMoDAsAS2WB0tsyMVoHGkA3zlz1Xo5Ih7m51HdfDRcgB3txwn-E0gkbMPf2PmJdSnADU-kzUI0LLgNfM/s1600/DSC_0429.JPG" height="200" width="133" /></a>I started learning knitting maybe two years ago, a combination of necessity and opportunity. The opportunity portion came about with a sudden abundance of wool fiber, the contributions of our little flock of sheep, shorn annually. Anticipating this, I thought it would be nice to start learning a few ways to put that stuff to good use. The necessity bit...well, necessity is a bit of a stretch. But still, a man that wears a kilt now and again needs some kilt socks. And let me tell you, good kilt hose are hard to find. Heavy-duty, cable-knit make the best impression when showing off a Scotsman's calves. The best quality fetch a handsome price, probably because they are hand-made gems that come right from the source, deep in the Highlands. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6YLmukAhZ-YdXDFtJIwsbpt4oO8hzatX838aj8jlqpBIBdOF8tHFzxg1Dw1UnKRIEuXIMYEFzcSqGW6wdn_lDoI1xe3yQoWIUX3bqDoQPtCZUtwsKg35K90wmIDCYXlhZeUA2Y1m9mI/s1600/DSC_0428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6YLmukAhZ-YdXDFtJIwsbpt4oO8hzatX838aj8jlqpBIBdOF8tHFzxg1Dw1UnKRIEuXIMYEFzcSqGW6wdn_lDoI1xe3yQoWIUX3bqDoQPtCZUtwsKg35K90wmIDCYXlhZeUA2Y1m9mI/s1600/DSC_0428.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgel9uQpqA5NKMyahj7ORwv2qGzKw2XPeKPizbcV47ctk59qv2EEX6K_bTkokvVtbSOI-tv7qiMfrxQecpdiLEJf7wDgZqdgJMVq61AvHapg1-yl8PkrLp2e5UckTVRg73B9-gP-IGfWPU/s1600/DSC_0430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgel9uQpqA5NKMyahj7ORwv2qGzKw2XPeKPizbcV47ctk59qv2EEX6K_bTkokvVtbSOI-tv7qiMfrxQecpdiLEJf7wDgZqdgJMVq61AvHapg1-yl8PkrLp2e5UckTVRg73B9-gP-IGfWPU/s1600/DSC_0430.JPG" height="143" width="200" /></a>After a couple of starter projects (cable-knit scarf, that kind of thing), I put together a design for the socks, drawing from a variety of sources in order to get the look I wanted. I actually produced a pair in a charcoal color, then started these in a classic creamy wool. Then I set them aside....for like...eight months. Then, a week before Christmas, I decided I wanted to wear them with the kilt for a Celtic Christmas Eve service we hold at the church every year. So, I drug them out and finished them off. They turned out great, I'm very happy with the weight and wear of them. In the photos you can catch a glimpse of a sgian dubh (pronounced skein doo), the "black knife" that is part of a kilt outfit. I crafted the knife, too, though it is not quite finished, lacking a proper sheath and a final polish.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMp9GxUlV62Kh-gwD4k_4RAhZZ2NqHREiogXaltrEFToXcmGcYD7nJqEE0zu3biZV6N7PTBL-rQnkb6VYw7huZ7p4EBZbTKAk6ORb11E-7K9Fc2Izq118CMWkJNggFNKbU-fQjfMv1us/s1600/DSC_0417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMp9GxUlV62Kh-gwD4k_4RAhZZ2NqHREiogXaltrEFToXcmGcYD7nJqEE0zu3biZV6N7PTBL-rQnkb6VYw7huZ7p4EBZbTKAk6ORb11E-7K9Fc2Izq118CMWkJNggFNKbU-fQjfMv1us/s1600/DSC_0417.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>AT-AT, Snowspeeder, et al - constructed by Evie</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9v4nXZxWJcJjvXX8OdT2pMR7J5BGGb6orVvepRz4u5ELA3T75syu17ng9vwYDdn3JZ7uGV97foelCiyrY90AhEcyc0I37dAt2r5_XxYYGE4uLNgHx52dhMwArRZQAdworha5TQGSj2kk/s1600/DSC_0416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9v4nXZxWJcJjvXX8OdT2pMR7J5BGGb6orVvepRz4u5ELA3T75syu17ng9vwYDdn3JZ7uGV97foelCiyrY90AhEcyc0I37dAt2r5_XxYYGE4uLNgHx52dhMwArRZQAdworha5TQGSj2kk/s1600/DSC_0416.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a>Evie had a Christmas list this year that was topped by pure awesome: she wanted a LEGO Star Wars model of an AT-AT. Yes, an Imperial Walker, famous for stomping around Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. She nurtured this want for months, and, anticipating that we would make this awesome dream come true at Christmas, we primed the pump on her birthday by getting her a Snowspeeder model, complete with Luke Skywalker in pilot garb and a still-living Dak Ralter. Having now completed both models, she is well on her way to staging complete battle re-enactments. StarWars parents are the best parents.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnkJoAA7CQk9KJNAkcfnZnPRiqbjlNnFf16kZrLGPq4PdwxFnb80bRG9GK318m33V1CYLRPpFNV6SLMBHkxR9e_vUJOyw_YCFy4MNTT3SmlEY8wQyVo0HTanCdpnnLTRMqM45yxiX7lc/s1600/DSC_0421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnkJoAA7CQk9KJNAkcfnZnPRiqbjlNnFf16kZrLGPq4PdwxFnb80bRG9GK318m33V1CYLRPpFNV6SLMBHkxR9e_vUJOyw_YCFy4MNTT3SmlEY8wQyVo0HTanCdpnnLTRMqM45yxiX7lc/s1600/DSC_0421.JPG" height="200" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sx7w5-iKIKWRcD9iUb-MRA0pVX-LZk6hkNqJ8MW-SgCEJ4qkjtrXjeQRyVufBtYd49BcL_CoMcNJ0SZr01ZPRQ-5tUpWzTPfpiqJOi0keI6FImegh4CpT9aV7877mxNx4Y5KBVllXl8/s1600/DSC_0418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sx7w5-iKIKWRcD9iUb-MRA0pVX-LZk6hkNqJ8MW-SgCEJ4qkjtrXjeQRyVufBtYd49BcL_CoMcNJ0SZr01ZPRQ-5tUpWzTPfpiqJOi0keI6FImegh4CpT9aV7877mxNx4Y5KBVllXl8/s1600/DSC_0418.JPG" height="142" width="200" /></a>Of course, I had to stage a few extra pics with these "toys", trying to capture a few movie-moments. I think all fans will appreciate the way Luke is working his way to the underbelly of the walker. Also, take note of the Imperial troopers as they march on the rebel stronghold. "The shield will be down in moments. You may start your landing." Oh, man....so good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3dQBnBYrjHRrQlA0sUuguq7RjSEaqIcxq1znzBYa_naAEY8AkmoT_9YLaThsuls3thOA9JFRIoruveQPUyeNRw3TaqVsUU8kNgsgem45xXKUSQgZwntUhg1nQ2gVQFTAczD_t6aAGpE/s1600/DSC_0422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3dQBnBYrjHRrQlA0sUuguq7RjSEaqIcxq1znzBYa_naAEY8AkmoT_9YLaThsuls3thOA9JFRIoruveQPUyeNRw3TaqVsUU8kNgsgem45xXKUSQgZwntUhg1nQ2gVQFTAczD_t6aAGpE/s1600/DSC_0422.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ox9UD1M52tfPRu4MqFg0DXsK2kmyEbjdTuExumleoBz_4otY1D9svXKubEuXMsIrkUsdGFa3aHTaV9w_eIMc3_yrgRNDrh9ucxYlfW_IXtQs6TBs9rWCdvxwCATvRVIoUAvVBQX2PVM/s1600/DSC_0424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ox9UD1M52tfPRu4MqFg0DXsK2kmyEbjdTuExumleoBz_4otY1D9svXKubEuXMsIrkUsdGFa3aHTaV9w_eIMc3_yrgRNDrh9ucxYlfW_IXtQs6TBs9rWCdvxwCATvRVIoUAvVBQX2PVM/s1600/DSC_0424.JPG" height="200" width="133" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdz79Y87Xk8UjN7zupog91MyST6EoWQtU6mHtn305lZkCJTKgU50VZ8n04YqCGbHSCqe1UVtPHTrvPQAUzjokFCz3TglO8RJjmboq27Pz1jAMXM5ldgh00X4hWAemaP8SySSfu42qkK0/s1600/DSC_0426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdz79Y87Xk8UjN7zupog91MyST6EoWQtU6mHtn305lZkCJTKgU50VZ8n04YqCGbHSCqe1UVtPHTrvPQAUzjokFCz3TglO8RJjmboq27Pz1jAMXM5ldgh00X4hWAemaP8SySSfu42qkK0/s1600/DSC_0426.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proud and accomplished builder.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>He is the Special - LEGOs by Tavish</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLk4WN6i_yybTkaQSScHrID3AvR68EIDBT3pMqUEdfKKoBtI5P8sHwjvi8jpYycPUqnhLV37AkAx2nY27usAV8JXE156Hk2CrzASZ_r0HAEaBimapTvzyMf1IAkLXbmHExUS0HGcfukFQ/s1600/DSC_0433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLk4WN6i_yybTkaQSScHrID3AvR68EIDBT3pMqUEdfKKoBtI5P8sHwjvi8jpYycPUqnhLV37AkAx2nY27usAV8JXE156Hk2CrzASZ_r0HAEaBimapTvzyMf1IAkLXbmHExUS0HGcfukFQ/s1600/DSC_0433.JPG" height="200" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Ns16H1bUaJSYPBRXfpZBBkmMiyzAJ5DZjJZRJe56A9Rclk_VJkQ7U3mUsGCkdUbzNCJupffkWV6NQR8TYBqbmTMuM8j0S-rF5r8Ca4pvz9TkkljpZ6YhlPmP9vX4RVXAsXX679IC_OY/s1600/DSC_0446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Ns16H1bUaJSYPBRXfpZBBkmMiyzAJ5DZjJZRJe56A9Rclk_VJkQ7U3mUsGCkdUbzNCJupffkWV6NQR8TYBqbmTMuM8j0S-rF5r8Ca4pvz9TkkljpZ6YhlPmP9vX4RVXAsXX679IC_OY/s1600/DSC_0446.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a>What?!? You haven't seen The Lego Movie?!? Well, you should - it's a fun romp for anyone who has ever played with the famous interlocking block system. Tavish has put together a variety pack from the movie, including a Micro-Manager ("Micromanager, commence micromanagement!"), Metalbeard ("Be ye disabling of yond shield."), and Emmett's awesome construction-themed destruction robot. He even has an angry Unikitty to complete the set!<br />
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We've also converted an old coffee table into a lego table, which is a fun staging ground for all of this creative work. Everything IS awesome! (That is totally my jam....)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSxEXjbNxjUz9OZSLdDS589KYK8MrDlM09_FnvNmsfzR2Hceh-Cgds6ASHF7IWvRx5vGURG3-yvhpgciJAFFALC6_moOuxn-3cL8yLaB-BG0Ub7zujOWA6iDetWMxw7VwUcc-UmRuKis/s1600/DSC_0434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSxEXjbNxjUz9OZSLdDS589KYK8MrDlM09_FnvNmsfzR2Hceh-Cgds6ASHF7IWvRx5vGURG3-yvhpgciJAFFALC6_moOuxn-3cL8yLaB-BG0Ub7zujOWA6iDetWMxw7VwUcc-UmRuKis/s1600/DSC_0434.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrll1nyE359_OWa8jINMWymgnlwHMxa0VJmZmTG8F46aNCUU8VB633eQrs2-p4o-VgqzBXeYgVjQY4KJr748PSCuvzPMaC1Tgq0dUwLRdGpkKLyLI-is5ijxQbcqMBZtB5AkrotZqsOrA/s1600/DSC_0441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrll1nyE359_OWa8jINMWymgnlwHMxa0VJmZmTG8F46aNCUU8VB633eQrs2-p4o-VgqzBXeYgVjQY4KJr748PSCuvzPMaC1Tgq0dUwLRdGpkKLyLI-is5ijxQbcqMBZtB5AkrotZqsOrA/s1600/DSC_0441.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Making Believe - by Piper</b></span><br />
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All making starts with imagination, and Piper has lots of it! This one lives with one foot in this world and one in a fantasy world - she now has a travel companion for her flights of fancy. Her new doll, her top-line request for Christmas, even comes with glasses - tea parties for the near-sighted can now commence!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRnR3mIyP2nSO4WdDIQfXWNs4Z2-50ge4-rabV1KqIAnbB9nZYsPSOO7MDRK9uBZCh_pbycJLDJq2kPcMFQZANUKNRbR4eGwKd4YHdKEz9rg9i7yaemh13pamAXUSCD5MtXc2APVn9zVI/s1600/DSC_0447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRnR3mIyP2nSO4WdDIQfXWNs4Z2-50ge4-rabV1KqIAnbB9nZYsPSOO7MDRK9uBZCh_pbycJLDJq2kPcMFQZANUKNRbR4eGwKd4YHdKEz9rg9i7yaemh13pamAXUSCD5MtXc2APVn9zVI/s1600/DSC_0447.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-82510485445120706972014-11-16T16:20:00.000-08:002014-11-16T16:40:30.901-08:00One Leg at a TimeIt's like welding. Or carpentry. It's just assembly, except instead of wood and glue, the materials are twill and thread. Anyway, I don't need to justify myself to you, dear reader, by now you must know that I can't help but do for myself what might easily be done for me. Case in point - PANTS.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHEqgc3CKoHF68hLxa0UmhHv7dtjqky5x5hG-kiV-lTCjP8ucOzMltiPPDgt15bWZZJAQdnzbLwpFfj9s1oBzolEjbZwWXv_GMU7Ggr_PbgAPVcWHI-D_CbLZgpEMlqB1iZfyjEdYmRg/s1600/DSC_1066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHEqgc3CKoHF68hLxa0UmhHv7dtjqky5x5hG-kiV-lTCjP8ucOzMltiPPDgt15bWZZJAQdnzbLwpFfj9s1oBzolEjbZwWXv_GMU7Ggr_PbgAPVcWHI-D_CbLZgpEMlqB1iZfyjEdYmRg/s1600/DSC_1066.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
I've been playing around with the new sewing machine I got for Shannon last Christmas and eventually some web surfing led me to <a href="http://www.threadtheory.ca/">www.threadtheory.ca</a>. Let me tell you, though self-making is a growing trend and online instructions are an amazing resource in the Information Age, men's sewing patterns lag far behind, remaining an obscure cul-de-sac off the information superhighway. The good folks at Thread Theory are working to change that, producing some amazing patterns, instruction, and encouragement all in order to help poor saps like me find my way to a new pair of pants. One leg at a time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF6JkVINGDhgYDQmu2lYHGDnpWr5vq7LxEirPd4y_mZaoTtQX7kbVtoHTQIT50H0_kBM4J2Pqb8ZEcYvGdGCpo1YKEez7hvEXJ8cQfay2iJ5IIZ6pcs_pKCASI8Jcl0I7HqxM1aJiOnpU/s1600/DSC_1054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF6JkVINGDhgYDQmu2lYHGDnpWr5vq7LxEirPd4y_mZaoTtQX7kbVtoHTQIT50H0_kBM4J2Pqb8ZEcYvGdGCpo1YKEez7hvEXJ8cQfay2iJ5IIZ6pcs_pKCASI8Jcl0I7HqxM1aJiOnpU/s1600/DSC_1054.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMOz4KR88hwCvKxdXOY70CACMnGMtdWgC0KlAlMkRqgMiVC8-775VdijApkrDfIkPnv1kUoJaCYo2O6DDTGKt8CsfTETcrARH-hE0sNFrLNyHky6qx71vUcZopp_2o68_3FHK6HflkQPo/s1600/DSC_1053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMOz4KR88hwCvKxdXOY70CACMnGMtdWgC0KlAlMkRqgMiVC8-775VdijApkrDfIkPnv1kUoJaCYo2O6DDTGKt8CsfTETcrARH-hE0sNFrLNyHky6qx71vUcZopp_2o68_3FHK6HflkQPo/s1600/DSC_1053.JPG" height="142" width="200" /></a>The pattern I selected for this first run was their new Jutland Pant, a straight-leg, relaxed fit pant that would be suitable for a heavy work pant, a jeans pattern, or even an outdoor waterproof hiking pant if someone was determined to hike in the rain. I decided to make mine a kind of wearable muslin in a green twill with a gold facing fabric. I have some selvage denim I have been holding onto for a bit, trying to build up skill and courage to do a couple pair of jeans. I figured the Jutlands would be a good pants primer, and the clear instructions and pictures didn't disappoint.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbE2KM0Myvj5IUoPWtr21fahPmvEclLGf_ATbJRqas-fwzuZRNZgVfW-k0YEZEA3jxgxSXO1TZ9PJl0jhtipStrt5KjuL2IG92ss_4VC9XA1QduGPJDCWxgZVbilzKmcR0JQnhoYx-IWc/s1600/DSC_1057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbE2KM0Myvj5IUoPWtr21fahPmvEclLGf_ATbJRqas-fwzuZRNZgVfW-k0YEZEA3jxgxSXO1TZ9PJl0jhtipStrt5KjuL2IG92ss_4VC9XA1QduGPJDCWxgZVbilzKmcR0JQnhoYx-IWc/s1600/DSC_1057.JPG" height="320" width="228" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUjASv0exCCQR0nHPu7AVKFmfJpBbe6loMjDJvRJ66iXkaZ2exHz3a6e-EnjqmiVFM_LZ-3H3Uh0pHGhEVBdm4Smz68kablU7AIFX_4RSaj4mk4NBFlCTbofOfPduvGKAZSfbNXwOx5U/s1600/DSC_1056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUjASv0exCCQR0nHPu7AVKFmfJpBbe6loMjDJvRJ66iXkaZ2exHz3a6e-EnjqmiVFM_LZ-3H3Uh0pHGhEVBdm4Smz68kablU7AIFX_4RSaj4mk4NBFlCTbofOfPduvGKAZSfbNXwOx5U/s1600/DSC_1056.JPG" height="200" width="142" /></a>I failed to document any of the process, which mostly involved late nights huddled over the sewing machine, thread and fabric bits slowly piling up around me, and occasional beer breaks while I puzzled over each step. It took several days of on-again off-again effort, but the finished product turned out great! The pattern includes several cool options, like reinforcements for the knees and hem, cargo pockets, etc. I went with cargo pockets and the knee bits, and had to shorten the length of the inseam (of course) and grade the pattern for my size.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-1jyOGXRVKHttdJ2rEtOXeDw0xPFmtFEkkdffeC2cwmxaGTCd6kwU1iZlJ-UGp0V-_gDXGUs6DZJqur5nkV4-rRzayMSI1hrD9YzErg1KER6aTEwCQ52IP8rHgVXj7dZec2LlgmlFDc/s1600/DSC_1064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-1jyOGXRVKHttdJ2rEtOXeDw0xPFmtFEkkdffeC2cwmxaGTCd6kwU1iZlJ-UGp0V-_gDXGUs6DZJqur5nkV4-rRzayMSI1hrD9YzErg1KER6aTEwCQ52IP8rHgVXj7dZec2LlgmlFDc/s1600/DSC_1064.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a>There were some challenges, too. The flat-felled outseams turned out well, but then trying to run the top-stitches on the inseam after the leg was closed was a trial, to say the least. Topstitching in general was always a little bit of a finicky operation, but I am overall pleased with the results. The fly construction was a learning process, and though I was able to muddle through, I learned enough that the next run at that operation will no doubt be better. And I had to make some alterations to the pattern, like raising the knee patches so that I they lined up on my knees and not on my shins (which meant that they fell further up the taper on the leg, which meant that the edges didn't extend far enough for the flat-fell seam, which meant the seam had to be pressed from the back to the front). Learning to anticipate the ways in which pattern changes have downstream repercussions is part of the continuing education. <br />
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These are very wearable, and should hold together well as the construction, based upon Thread Theory's excellent guide, is very solid. I have a shirt project to put together, but the Jedediah Pants at Thread Theory are high on the to-sew list, and I'll start studying that pattern soon enough. Anyone wanting to stitch a pair of these together before the holidays would do well to visit the <a href="http://www.threadtheory.ca/" target="_blank">Thread Theory</a> page and jump onboard with their Jutland Sew-a-Long, scheduled to start Dec. 1! <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-24243178854228046992014-03-08T17:38:00.001-08:002014-03-08T17:38:44.909-08:00New Home ConstructionSpring is trying to break through, it really is. And in anticipation of it I have been busy building boxes for bees. Though I have utilized Top Bar hives in the past, I am changing my equipment over to Langstroth hives, for the most part, and keeping only a few Top Bars here and there for fun. Since I have ambitions for a LOT of hives in the near future, I have been working on production methods for the new hives so I can turn out eqquipment on the cheap and when necessary. Here's a look at five boxes and some other bits as well.<div><br></div><div>First off, we start with 1x8 pine lumber. I grabbed four 8'ers from the local big box store and got enough for 5 medium supers, with just a few bits left over. I like working as efficiently as possible with materials, and this counts as a win for the good guys.<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIJSW-lqURgdDsqBLiBKOsW-AZ9lpsLbUchuPVW40HRHjWMfgZf-r9C77vvdvbmTLvBWjfpubPhRqmlG1RQnQAtlhKMymop2zN0bqikd7zp87fgwfeLmh7XyScLszJh4jp1uLgxuCdeM/s640/blogger-image--1503816990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIJSW-lqURgdDsqBLiBKOsW-AZ9lpsLbUchuPVW40HRHjWMfgZf-r9C77vvdvbmTLvBWjfpubPhRqmlG1RQnQAtlhKMymop2zN0bqikd7zp87fgwfeLmh7XyScLszJh4jp1uLgxuCdeM/s640/blogger-image--1503816990.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">After basic dimensioning, including rips and cross cuts, I run the pieces through the table saw using my handy-dandy box-joint jig. I made this thing a few weeks ago, it works like a champ. The ends get milled to fit together at the corners in a very strong joint that will eventually get glued and nailed. I like working with sled jigs, they allow for some real fine-tuning and keep fingers safe when working with the saw. I set the table saw up with a 3/4" dado blade and away we go. You can see the stack of sides adding up.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDR2UjrmD1gPgKnBzd-j-sFlJu-9u2X0zAcmoPREoYazYopg9LMWp4uEuXrMM8jcQ7DmzLganqoOyTKEyL2t-Zz5tFq6GWVE4R1V39c4ypdfb_Gc0UZyX7RQPs7c2LrMGXXha9vqFDUg/s640/blogger-image-1536323496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDR2UjrmD1gPgKnBzd-j-sFlJu-9u2X0zAcmoPREoYazYopg9LMWp4uEuXrMM8jcQ7DmzLganqoOyTKEyL2t-Zz5tFq6GWVE4R1V39c4ypdfb_Gc0UZyX7RQPs7c2LrMGXXha9vqFDUg/s640/blogger-image-1536323496.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">A rabbet along the short sides is required to create a ledge that will hold frames eventually. I use the stacked dado and created a custom top-plate for it using some oak scrap laying around the shop. It is a cool little accessory, fits the table perfectly. Cutting the dado on the short side, as well as planning the joint correctly, means that I can make the dado cut across the whole length, rather than stopping it and squaring out the cut. Don't know why people bother with that, but plan after plan seems to suggest that route.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjritmvlZtS-gw6pMjaH9FMwNes6d0owHppH7lhFwaaZnEVE2TwxqpB4I3v_SWhWVMD-8Bm7u8J2p5vpx3Ra115K1PoYAjYvHFjkZluM8mmOwwZBCX1OQP0JYsa1_tEUJrB6xvQd33LyL8/s640/blogger-image-1842501010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjritmvlZtS-gw6pMjaH9FMwNes6d0owHppH7lhFwaaZnEVE2TwxqpB4I3v_SWhWVMD-8Bm7u8J2p5vpx3Ra115K1PoYAjYvHFjkZluM8mmOwwZBCX1OQP0JYsa1_tEUJrB6xvQd33LyL8/s640/blogger-image-1842501010.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The sides then get glued up and assembled. It's important to keep the boxes square, so I utilize no small number of clamps, including a 90 degree corner clamp and then some long ones to draw the joints together. There are 32 nails per box, these things are not falling apart anytime soon. But then again, they have to endure the elements as well as handle the weight they will carry when full of bees and honey.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXp1Toq_Y3vYZzwLhbqE5YJCL_ejDinVF09K9pYBLo3NBTEsUrG_py3uG2jPxnDG8KQc-nqfJd1qAtO4z0gGd_3z8NuJRiVJYhyIMhZ6c8MqqMiCbphjYI8dd-OO0EC1xuoR6BFcKaksY/s640/blogger-image--1027198567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXp1Toq_Y3vYZzwLhbqE5YJCL_ejDinVF09K9pYBLo3NBTEsUrG_py3uG2jPxnDG8KQc-nqfJd1qAtO4z0gGd_3z8NuJRiVJYhyIMhZ6c8MqqMiCbphjYI8dd-OO0EC1xuoR6BFcKaksY/s640/blogger-image--1027198567.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Good jig design and careful layout means that I can bust out tight joints quickly and with regularity - it's a nice thing.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnzoW8QMkj0GFqlFr-tiN4jTx7uN_3C5IODxQp3tUqCfpZ2XRgSjS1O0igrrlC63H1Ho3BOsxZcJS6ONx6B97v9n6MmPmZKL4Ca6P9a0rEP9D6djR6kRR2kpC-tT-F0UYuq7NEKpnWNw/s640/blogger-image-160012741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnzoW8QMkj0GFqlFr-tiN4jTx7uN_3C5IODxQp3tUqCfpZ2XRgSjS1O0igrrlC63H1Ho3BOsxZcJS6ONx6B97v9n6MmPmZKL4Ca6P9a0rEP9D6djR6kRR2kpC-tT-F0UYuq7NEKpnWNw/s640/blogger-image-160012741.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">One of the little touches that I like on commercial boxes are the scalloped handholds that are set into the sides. So I did a little research and found a handy design that can get a similar result using a skill saw. It mounts to the finished boxes and cuts the handholds pretty neatly. Not bad.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFYjR_v1yh3OUQ9PTmrR7PTNug4HpShOZCSkDjIGq33YYyxOV7Xq0oQ2qFm6J6srQIluABhk8e9f6HwRF2WTkN7BzsJRzZi-BFXPg2LNj5glMs8j8YDjBUYbpxqXVUVWpxDcnXY2jEqJc/s640/blogger-image-1683200510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFYjR_v1yh3OUQ9PTmrR7PTNug4HpShOZCSkDjIGq33YYyxOV7Xq0oQ2qFm6J6srQIluABhk8e9f6HwRF2WTkN7BzsJRzZi-BFXPg2LNj5glMs8j8YDjBUYbpxqXVUVWpxDcnXY2jEqJc/s640/blogger-image-1683200510.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewamC2Hy05umiBmNXgtKdbOHbWMMsZaXAv2OeIbFYro-U20gchl5e9w0BqzY-nu340HLW4bSxZBJRSrVDNxQOKmXUR6XmkuwL5PCob9WYHrXH_pYLVyl4o6k3a4CZWTxSPfluQgmerCs/s640/blogger-image--572823413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewamC2Hy05umiBmNXgtKdbOHbWMMsZaXAv2OeIbFYro-U20gchl5e9w0BqzY-nu340HLW4bSxZBJRSrVDNxQOKmXUR6XmkuwL5PCob9WYHrXH_pYLVyl4o6k3a4CZWTxSPfluQgmerCs/s640/blogger-image--572823413.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Making boxes is just one part of a whole hive. Each box holds 10 frames, which the bees will use to build their comb on. I got a bulk package with pieces for 100 frames, they have to be assembled one at a time. But the pieces are all coming together, and soon spring will be here and all the separate bits will combine for a productive whole, much like the colonies they will house. Looking forward to it!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2k6xYOaXsUDqLRPm-JxL5EYAs7OpZORxZPL-MSM2EeZWiaD4HN4P340OBrldgxrYINU0McPn_JKPPDH0Rm1ySOyctnuNOzunLnEXCfWLRtQQzRNLssBXRfLvjv7kOsvzLGL7_EN2ZBvM/s640/blogger-image--396513537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2k6xYOaXsUDqLRPm-JxL5EYAs7OpZORxZPL-MSM2EeZWiaD4HN4P340OBrldgxrYINU0McPn_JKPPDH0Rm1ySOyctnuNOzunLnEXCfWLRtQQzRNLssBXRfLvjv7kOsvzLGL7_EN2ZBvM/s640/blogger-image--396513537.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjraxvEpyZIZOQj5npBK9KeSYIeMXnALK7k0QVZxkt2MiNCi55SY3lU6Zy2MB3VGFvDnQ7qXVcMR22g2oWR4wbmQUSEXs9t7Du5_HQVAwg8jcFZDFsrV61icXIKKdNOPTHXy6UPmmHeJCs/s640/blogger-image-2130350818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjraxvEpyZIZOQj5npBK9KeSYIeMXnALK7k0QVZxkt2MiNCi55SY3lU6Zy2MB3VGFvDnQ7qXVcMR22g2oWR4wbmQUSEXs9t7Du5_HQVAwg8jcFZDFsrV61icXIKKdNOPTHXy6UPmmHeJCs/s640/blogger-image-2130350818.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0Yakima Yakima46.5875 -120.625486tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-78914138002022315792013-12-08T21:30:00.003-08:002013-12-08T21:30:59.281-08:00Goings onNew goings on at our affiliate blog <a href="http://www.harvestingathome.net/">www.harvestingathome.net</a> where you can read all about our new book. That's right, a book, complete with all the bells and whistles! It has pages, and covers (both front and back), comes with pictures, text, and even a table of contents. Hard to beat all of that value packed into one little package! Anyway, go check out the new thing!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2sxKdh_WBHOiFKi7Ljokn9geDzdu0Mp8C6u46P-2T8kmD7pPWZICt21lXUSnJDzMTeuWnC-EO_5QV3TgDOnCU-26Mw4A_6r-FS08tMeCJK35cIsuwxQ-j87Q087kkdFLq_wHJctp_lI/s1600/Harvesting_Pigs_at_H_Cover_for_Kindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2sxKdh_WBHOiFKi7Ljokn9geDzdu0Mp8C6u46P-2T8kmD7pPWZICt21lXUSnJDzMTeuWnC-EO_5QV3TgDOnCU-26Mw4A_6r-FS08tMeCJK35cIsuwxQ-j87Q087kkdFLq_wHJctp_lI/s320/Harvesting_Pigs_at_H_Cover_for_Kindle.jpg" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-44086243242066394272013-04-15T10:26:00.002-07:002013-04-15T10:27:42.949-07:00Shear Joy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrP5rxutQbb43TgD_9cYJqhqueIzrDDHd4d0hT1GQmuBpxc5vpKIwE4h2zl5vyAl04UofEyus_UVFBQoE3K-X1bzp9SLWXy1cygl9V1VC5dLMLbyTPOrVZwML6XR8lT2r_GLaAjKSwVU/s1600/DSC_0458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrP5rxutQbb43TgD_9cYJqhqueIzrDDHd4d0hT1GQmuBpxc5vpKIwE4h2zl5vyAl04UofEyus_UVFBQoE3K-X1bzp9SLWXy1cygl9V1VC5dLMLbyTPOrVZwML6XR8lT2r_GLaAjKSwVU/s1600/DSC_0458.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a>One of the things I have noticed is that the cultural distance from activities that were once commonplace in human society has resulted in a powerful mystification of otherwise mundane tasks. When we decided to harvest our own pigs last year, we found ourselves piercing through layers of mystery that have been erected between the average meat consumer and the source of their food. Butchering meat, once a household skill, is now arcane knowledge, kept by disciples in white lab coats who pass quietly behind swinging doors. What happens behind those doors? Who knows, certainly no one in polite society should like to find out - instead, we are content to be handed individually wrapped portions, developing our specific tastes and preferences with little to no consideration of the whole from which it comes. Even among those who raise pigs, harvesting and butchering is most commonly left to the professionals. When striking out on our own, we found that we were flying in the face of what is now conventional wisdom.</div>
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In the same manner, when I began this new venture of raising sheep, one of the tasks that every shepherd would have taken upon him or herself is the annual need to shear the woolies, ridding them of their thick fleeces in time for lambing season and the warming of spring. But, similar to changes in most other areas of agricultural life, when sheep raising moved from smallholdings to vast herds in corporate operations, tasks that would have been achievable by a small community were put into the hands of professionals and specialists. And now, even among smallholders, the instinct is most often to call a professional shearer (a profession growing more rare every year) to schedule a haircut for the sheep at what one hopes will be a reasonable price per head. For those wishing to try their own hand at it, the industrial model (using expensive mechanical shears) tends to maximize efficiency over the comfort of the animal - as a result, one gets the impression that the only good way to shear a sheep is to get it done as fast as possible.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPVH-76jk6ztLB1FamK35notnOFv4C7EHp90vxVcNnQ6yetLI7sytSnUR2neU2uVQXAJHDdcwmhQQPdlMufCT4wen_ECCnmA5069YZ4a_-NEmhANUCJzQeE73To8rPHaQwqjOG36mzBw/s1600/shears.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPVH-76jk6ztLB1FamK35notnOFv4C7EHp90vxVcNnQ6yetLI7sytSnUR2neU2uVQXAJHDdcwmhQQPdlMufCT4wen_ECCnmA5069YZ4a_-NEmhANUCJzQeE73To8rPHaQwqjOG36mzBw/s1600/shears.JPG" height="236" width="320" /></a>There are other ways to do this. Traditionally, shearing was done comfortably and peaceably using <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L62EmEsacEY" target="_blank">hand shears</a> and some patience. The goal, rather than emphasize efficiency of time, is to work well with the animal and to get a quality fleece for fiber work later. Often these skills were learned on the job, under the watchful eye of a skilled shepherd, but in the Information Age, recommendations on tools and approaches are just a click away, and after research is done all that is left is to give it a try. There is an old Russian saying that translates: "Repetition is the mother of learning." - my aim was to learn to shear our own little flock, using the five sheep as five lessons in shearing.</div>
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My brother Alex had put me on to some hand shears that seemed like they would do the job right. They are called <a href="http://www.handshears.co.uk/" target="_blank">Jakoti Shears</a>, and let me tell you, they are, as they say in the east, "wicked shaap", they are extremely comfortable to use, and they hold an edge like you wouldn't believe. Although they are made as garden shears, I would recommend them as a more than adequate tool for the task of shearing. They are manufactured in the UK but carried by several dealers in the US.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RFtFgVo10cmABNDb7-c1JONjeIzxs8xfMO0XB_gjqUKTMclH1MEjU2xFDiwR92_O5zv80xGod463mekK6R5Tz0kOOlWnGOBCIIOuRVy1Mh2YrKONgdPj5y0Y4VJ9Rz1LTMz0tukf-zU/s1600/birchfield+manor+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RFtFgVo10cmABNDb7-c1JONjeIzxs8xfMO0XB_gjqUKTMclH1MEjU2xFDiwR92_O5zv80xGod463mekK6R5Tz0kOOlWnGOBCIIOuRVy1Mh2YrKONgdPj5y0Y4VJ9Rz1LTMz0tukf-zU/s1600/birchfield+manor+map.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a>I started first with the lambs, and began figuring this whole thing out. In some ways, it is just a haircut of sorts - but there are some tricks that make it work better for man and beast alike. In order to make shearing possible, the sheep is flopped onto their backside and leans against the legs of the shearer. In this position they are completely docile, even slipping towards sleep every once in awhile. What follows is a kind of greco-roman wrestling match, as the sheep is gently rolled around to different positions in order to get the angles best suited to cutting wool and not flesh. That distinction is harder to maintain than one would at first imagine - the wool is so dense, and the flesh so soft, that the line between them is sometimes difficult to discern by eye or even by touch. But there is a feel to the thing that develops in a short amount of time and though we had to administer some minor first aid care to the long-suffering sheep, no major cuts were inflicted.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxF8RYSzah7SRtE03WU9T79iZWRi2kNZxAxWSb3qw49glGF-wp2M1hbMxil_XVmid6glMM88ghWeKWVD29hc2QMgcr-IiR8qUzMT1Cq0d5YQH1N6ZQGz3SvJRF626foCvDMcXpHaMkIwI/s1600/mama.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxF8RYSzah7SRtE03WU9T79iZWRi2kNZxAxWSb3qw49glGF-wp2M1hbMxil_XVmid6glMM88ghWeKWVD29hc2QMgcr-IiR8qUzMT1Cq0d5YQH1N6ZQGz3SvJRF626foCvDMcXpHaMkIwI/s1600/mama.JPG" height="228" width="320" /></a>Keith and I worked our way through the first two lambs and our cutting technique began to improve. A week later I did two more yearlings, and got pretty decent looking fleeces off both. And finally, I turned my attention to "Mama", our bred ewe (due in June), with her impressive shaggy coat. The lambs were easy to move around, but Mama was a different story. Just getting her in the shed and onto the working platform we built was a challenge and it made me think about what kind of system we would need to develop next year when our flock was more fully grown. But eventually she and I worked things out and she sat back and relaxed for her trim. Thirty minutes later, she emerged with a daring new look, and I was able to take some pride in a beautiful and intact fleece.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNi9MV6k_xvyE95-uf4fMXNcxlg4664lZeUnCPBJK6riWWLWtQtnGjGnvER9LxvQiRhS_yMpreIKP90barogmECkVJp7FHceDRpAfxLExk2AQZ3OJ3UGD2m342VDJeVTQxaugnlILRuI/s1600/fleece.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNi9MV6k_xvyE95-uf4fMXNcxlg4664lZeUnCPBJK6riWWLWtQtnGjGnvER9LxvQiRhS_yMpreIKP90barogmECkVJp7FHceDRpAfxLExk2AQZ3OJ3UGD2m342VDJeVTQxaugnlILRuI/s1600/fleece.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a>The fleeces are getting washed, then the plan is to send them off to a local fiber mill for processing. Our plan is to get a bunch of yarn back and put them to use in some knitting projects, that kind of thing. Hopefully we'll have a lot to work with, and can hand some out to talented knitters and see what they can do! Meanwhile, lambing season approaches and all the new learning that will come with it - Mama is ready, now, for an easy time of it with her new, sleek spring outfit. The curtain has been pulled back, the great and powerful Oz has been exposed - shearing is a task well within the grasp of any that would care to learn to do it. For me, there was a recognition that this ritual, a Scotsman shearing his sheep, has been repeated countless times through the ages - and I am glad to continue on in the tradition. </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-9378919501220342382013-03-03T21:06:00.000-08:002013-03-03T21:06:17.662-08:00For Pet or Dinner<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It was possibly the worst Craigslist ad I have ever seen. </div>
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It read, simply: "Lambs: For Pet or Dinner. $50."</div>
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A stock picture of some sheep, no contact information save a generic craigslist reply. It looked bad.</div>
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My partner in crime at the farm is my friend Keith. He e-mailed me the ad, along with some skeptical side comments. The Yakima Valley has some pretty sketchy farm outfits, and unfortunately that sometimes means that you see livestock dumped on the internet, oftentimes they come in questionable health and are raised in even more questionable conditions. We had been keeping our eyes out for some sheep in order to start up a small flock that we want to keep at the farm - this didn't seem like a very likely answer to our hopes.</div>
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But still....it was worth at least a reply e-mail right? So I shot off an e-mail that had a couple of questions in it and my phone number. An hour later I got a call and all concerns were laid aside. We had hit the jackpot.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnaoQ6WpBT1lKG7v48M5jdBd5-m9q-uaL0DnswD6K5sHOV7bT3quZ0BN4tkwvmBa9unyKfexIMTgHP9rFIuWhyBLJk7EiLczrew1Ao9GXlNgs-zp6-3P4rpNwL_V_L5tg6xmbmRSBgmY/s1600/DSC_0461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnaoQ6WpBT1lKG7v48M5jdBd5-m9q-uaL0DnswD6K5sHOV7bT3quZ0BN4tkwvmBa9unyKfexIMTgHP9rFIuWhyBLJk7EiLczrew1Ao9GXlNgs-zp6-3P4rpNwL_V_L5tg6xmbmRSBgmY/s1600/DSC_0461.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm grateful that the owner of these beautiful sheep had asked her adult son to place a craiglist ad for the sheep....and I'm grateful that he put almost no effort or thought into it. What we found was an absolutely beautiful farm home to absolutely beautiful sheep - 60 head of Cormo, which were managed for their wool. The lambs were 8 months old or so, in perfect condition. It didn't take much chatting to find that the owner was more than happy to be selling the sheep to some young families with an interest in getting started and soon we were talking about what we would be able to take home.</div>
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We ended up agreeing on four sheep - three lambs (2 ewes and a wether) and a pregnant ewe that was due in June. This would give us a nice starter flock to work with. I put money down on the spot and arranged to pick up the sheep later in the week, giving us time to get the farm ready for their arrival. We had a couple of fencing issues to address, a shelter shed to get ready (the resident horse had moved out several months earlier) and a few other sundry details to attend to. When we arrived to pick up the sheep, the owner gave us an additional ewe as a "bonus"....and so we came home with five beautiful, wooly creatures.</div>
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We were told it would take a little while for them to warm up to us. It took about 4 hours and a handful of grain. The sheep are a fantastic addition to the farm - they seem to love their new accommodations, they follow us around as we work, and their wooly fleeces hold the promise of all kinds of projects in the year to come. In just a few months we will happily add more to their number as the pregnant ewe delivers at least one (maybe two!) little ones to add to the happy crew.</div>
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So, this MacLeod is standing in the footsteps of his ancestors. A tender of flocks, a mender of fences, and a shoveler of #*@!. All transferable skills. Say hello to the golden parachute - it's a woolen parachute, which means it still insulates, even when wet. Just be careful how you wash it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwozxU6g3EtYSnh1EO5nUJa5g-RxVFD57n5_-b7tSKA2WDgTgcSIDuLAmkYlOkcuZ14I0vwKOKr1I2-3ZAkY-JC7mqV_ly-RZ3DteThu9sRexTHDkoGaZJlCCg0BCjQSL9IzrWmLEH78/s1600/DSC_0439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwozxU6g3EtYSnh1EO5nUJa5g-RxVFD57n5_-b7tSKA2WDgTgcSIDuLAmkYlOkcuZ14I0vwKOKr1I2-3ZAkY-JC7mqV_ly-RZ3DteThu9sRexTHDkoGaZJlCCg0BCjQSL9IzrWmLEH78/s1600/DSC_0439.JPG" height="200" width="143" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chewy - our wether.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGc_WZQtjHx-_IunVeP-UNWIsA3dyoCxiFmv2akatRHXD9t5bn9jbAwlezU16jgwY6ZP916YJIUNFUy1kSsNFr_HGD2_dheUzmhSOLNmao3bJ3Ka7DE5cIEyUbyT6Qoxw5JOP37KxTWc/s1600/DSC_0442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGc_WZQtjHx-_IunVeP-UNWIsA3dyoCxiFmv2akatRHXD9t5bn9jbAwlezU16jgwY6ZP916YJIUNFUy1kSsNFr_HGD2_dheUzmhSOLNmao3bJ3Ka7DE5cIEyUbyT6Qoxw5JOP37KxTWc/s1600/DSC_0442.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lily - the shy one.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZjEK5cfds5x18j0lTXyvKoHl5l8oRC6Bebm0iVCi3ZscRLBOWrC6cyLgqsAQaEh9pJOjJoq0TQMCEfC_0NU6q9-SirJqsdW-SDorYArBf2gePJ5aorkKax1NyVgWGdYaCXeo0uuCGPA/s1600/DSC_0450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZjEK5cfds5x18j0lTXyvKoHl5l8oRC6Bebm0iVCi3ZscRLBOWrC6cyLgqsAQaEh9pJOjJoq0TQMCEfC_0NU6q9-SirJqsdW-SDorYArBf2gePJ5aorkKax1NyVgWGdYaCXeo0uuCGPA/s1600/DSC_0450.JPG" height="200" width="142" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mama - bringin' the babies.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7GTiI9_C3LS9ysucpFwsbCE13LZAS0CYZhDAcXxsHEqSZex9x8rIYLaUPSuU3RgcZlYy6MnlHMq5k6nr9DCUvpR_5utvIK8PQb2Z-bYHejmSIcmvAOJj_qX-wnsdGa5dKztCcifYKBw/s1600/DSC_0453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7GTiI9_C3LS9ysucpFwsbCE13LZAS0CYZhDAcXxsHEqSZex9x8rIYLaUPSuU3RgcZlYy6MnlHMq5k6nr9DCUvpR_5utvIK8PQb2Z-bYHejmSIcmvAOJj_qX-wnsdGa5dKztCcifYKBw/s1600/DSC_0453.JPG" height="200" width="143" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuddles - truly tame.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cocoa - our bonus lamb.</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-44916661192569895812012-11-30T17:42:00.000-08:002012-11-30T17:42:42.752-08:00Bringing Home the Bacon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHUAYgomqVt_cUx99f-BIqtLpjGCuD1B5YZqsrSlmC5zcgihLC8zk06Se81CdCdNRJTC1w0i9CAq98pVaJaQiy4IKem_-nHpLOH9r1gFZ0f_iWM8EznIn7wip91-FpEtm35RdOOSGTcw/s1600/DSC_0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHUAYgomqVt_cUx99f-BIqtLpjGCuD1B5YZqsrSlmC5zcgihLC8zk06Se81CdCdNRJTC1w0i9CAq98pVaJaQiy4IKem_-nHpLOH9r1gFZ0f_iWM8EznIn7wip91-FpEtm35RdOOSGTcw/s1600/DSC_0196.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a>We recently came into a significant inheritance of sorts - about 200lbs of pork resulting from the harvest of the pigs we raised this past year. Some of that meat comes in ready-made and recognizable cuts that can be used immediately in the kitchen. Others portions invite additional processing in order to bring out the best. What follows are a couple of our recent adventures in curing and smoking.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXin7h5zLMQE_ivoXPkaiEVTCELj9dQ1Dkz1QpvqSnOawk0WhzRcjPaIfRwt-rkUuKi4K3cTfv9beT41dtutOJd_7gT_4vY0ZqhXee1BjcZFzR2gyYvINY1pWUHWfAEpUe9Z1LDuFN5OE/s1600/DSC_0199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXin7h5zLMQE_ivoXPkaiEVTCELj9dQ1Dkz1QpvqSnOawk0WhzRcjPaIfRwt-rkUuKi4K3cTfv9beT41dtutOJd_7gT_4vY0ZqhXee1BjcZFzR2gyYvINY1pWUHWfAEpUe9Z1LDuFN5OE/s1600/DSC_0199.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a>When a pig is harvested, one of the biggest tasks is to get all of that meat packaged and stored. Most of it can be vacuum sealed and stored in a freezer until ready to use (one of the great conveniences of pursuing an old task in a modern age). But other cuts can be preserved using other methods, like curing, which will not only save freezer space but will also produce some of the very tastiest stuff we associate with the noble pig. The primary text I've been using as a guide to this process is Ruhlman and Polcyn's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354324279&sr=8-1&keywords=charcuterie" target="_blank">Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing</a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizVVjeCcFOXjzLQYdYpEIxjQTumdu3N8o1NB-1s9R3MZ9VoiPN1y7bO_LbQDZR2eI3PjDYlbChfJZkaPpzpHo11SbxohZ92QRGJz0Qme59owj_XdBN2MuUjmA3SwV41_rTx80s9g40N9I/s1600/DSC_0206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizVVjeCcFOXjzLQYdYpEIxjQTumdu3N8o1NB-1s9R3MZ9VoiPN1y7bO_LbQDZR2eI3PjDYlbChfJZkaPpzpHo11SbxohZ92QRGJz0Qme59owj_XdBN2MuUjmA3SwV41_rTx80s9g40N9I/s1600/DSC_0206.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
The belly is one of those cuts that benefits greatly from various cure treatments. These large slabs are a wondrous mix of tender meat and silky fat and it is here that we look for bacon. Yes, bacon....take a moment if you need to. This past year the world did a collective shudder as it contemplated the mere possibility of a bacon shortage - a truly terrible thing to consider. To transform the fresh pork into salty, smokey goodness, a slab of belly is first covered with a cure. This is a mix of salt, sugar, spices, and often (though not always) some special curing agents that protect the meat from developing certain kinds of dangerous bacteria. The meat is then put into a large ziplock bag and placed in the fridge, where it sits in the resulting brine that leaches out. After a week and a bit, the slab is removed and rinsed off, then allowed to dry in a fridge for about 24 hours - this preps the meat for smoking.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifL-DdhPoGGX9wHHwdNW00TVwgTpqh3ZAl99oG5der5rWbmnFfmcXSm9VYyGQ3_zwTHIY4VOGt1eUq1fhvRY5Q-sBbjaXZM1QghOAASQ5huybEevpOGoBB7qqDfpxBgQRle3ovS6abiqE/s1600/DSC_0220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifL-DdhPoGGX9wHHwdNW00TVwgTpqh3ZAl99oG5der5rWbmnFfmcXSm9VYyGQ3_zwTHIY4VOGt1eUq1fhvRY5Q-sBbjaXZM1QghOAASQ5huybEevpOGoBB7qqDfpxBgQRle3ovS6abiqE/s1600/DSC_0220.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
I prepared four large slabs of belly in basically this manner, although one slab was destined for the garage rather than the smoker (it being turned in to pancetta, the subject of a future post). When ready, they were put into the smoker and cold-smoked for several hours over smoldering applewood chips, then transferred to the oven where they were cooked to an internal temperature of 150F. Voila! Bacon! We now have more bacon that I know what to do with.....well....actually, I'm pretty sure of what to do with it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOH-sSWrE5m467ZNx2viAHx7LBhKDNs2M0TAn_fBL99TDCvllWSAF9vK6Khd2pBQrBI6yGc9Wj5DNjeS1RezzWQdk6F0-JQzQh0PP3DP0HpSruJ0s8P6jAY9SwetIKm3zJfsrDArSIes/s1600/DSC_0221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOH-sSWrE5m467ZNx2viAHx7LBhKDNs2M0TAn_fBL99TDCvllWSAF9vK6Khd2pBQrBI6yGc9Wj5DNjeS1RezzWQdk6F0-JQzQh0PP3DP0HpSruJ0s8P6jAY9SwetIKm3zJfsrDArSIes/s1600/DSC_0221.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YnV6MJu1P4Qa3PH7fhOE0oqDsYeBwkmIMbkDErReHCBvydZ1_NEZYwUWi7_w8L0HoufKV06nZEmrscscSm_7fIsdydTNziFjGoglt1kfnNJHaRDJP-jNIZNuKcVu587B3dXRY9OI1WE/s1600/DSC_0214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YnV6MJu1P4Qa3PH7fhOE0oqDsYeBwkmIMbkDErReHCBvydZ1_NEZYwUWi7_w8L0HoufKV06nZEmrscscSm_7fIsdydTNziFjGoglt1kfnNJHaRDJP-jNIZNuKcVu587B3dXRY9OI1WE/s1600/DSC_0214.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a>Another great cut for curing is the ham. This comes from the hind leg quarters and can be a large cut. This can be cured in several ways, some roads leading to tender, sweet ham, other, longer journeys resulting in prosciutto. I decided to debone our hams and then submerged them in a brine for about two weeks. They sat out in our garage, protected by salty brine and cool temperatures, as they underwent a flavorful transformation. After this, they, too, sat uncovered in the fridge to dry, then off to the smoker where they were exposed to applewood smoke for about 5 hours. We finished them in the oven to 150F. These hams make a fantastic feature for a big meal, the smoke flavor is superb. You can also put them through a slicer, particularly convenient because they are boneless, and turn out your own packages of deli meat.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhglBnCz8M_ywPjU8lhIgbyzcNAuhkBqyTROUm7_S95VeS_0NxbOe3Lgcg5BfRZV-WMpUkC8-a24JjUSruUQMgLxo46wBVVlNHgHjgzwE04-22__CY1jJstc3u23XDyRF9jBj7cYpicUO4/s1600/DSC_0219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbydJ3NPzyHKm2gSd9xruXtf2Oa4IMjGAHmipnvzEjvwJKX3_RB9kOfgyDCAjk3Re8Ln96Oi5BCvxbjA5EQRs3UORA-fab1-aC_cxmXgnrnsziuI8-BFyotgA3JEosF3QnVZmmwQLGT8/s1600/DSC_0217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbydJ3NPzyHKm2gSd9xruXtf2Oa4IMjGAHmipnvzEjvwJKX3_RB9kOfgyDCAjk3Re8Ln96Oi5BCvxbjA5EQRs3UORA-fab1-aC_cxmXgnrnsziuI8-BFyotgA3JEosF3QnVZmmwQLGT8/s1600/DSC_0217.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhglBnCz8M_ywPjU8lhIgbyzcNAuhkBqyTROUm7_S95VeS_0NxbOe3Lgcg5BfRZV-WMpUkC8-a24JjUSruUQMgLxo46wBVVlNHgHjgzwE04-22__CY1jJstc3u23XDyRF9jBj7cYpicUO4/s1600/DSC_0219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhglBnCz8M_ywPjU8lhIgbyzcNAuhkBqyTROUm7_S95VeS_0NxbOe3Lgcg5BfRZV-WMpUkC8-a24JjUSruUQMgLxo46wBVVlNHgHjgzwE04-22__CY1jJstc3u23XDyRF9jBj7cYpicUO4/s1600/DSC_0219.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a>The quality of the product that can be produced in your own kitchen is really astounding. The flavors are amazing - this is work that pays dividends on the time and attention given to it. We are now able to find quality deli meats and gourmet bacon a few steps away from the kitchen, tucked safely in the freezer. And bacon and ham are just the tip of the porkberg, so to speak. Pancetta and guanciale are curing in the garage, developing character and flavor. After those, there will be time to try our hand at sausage making, a product that can also benefit from salt, cure, and smoke. The pigs just keep on giving! Stay tuned for more charcuterie updates as time works its magic! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7nEuzL2qOuSHhUHANJ_tgk7hpL2VXYz1zyJK-HcCAbxSQ8wNdkZuYERj3ePWgPrjZcEjYUmTXNgbZ5vwRhSbpnKTDE4112OZeEjwGF6DBkuphE28vTu2_ULy8yS5NzHmKhzZyDdfm0o/s1600/DSC_0216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7nEuzL2qOuSHhUHANJ_tgk7hpL2VXYz1zyJK-HcCAbxSQ8wNdkZuYERj3ePWgPrjZcEjYUmTXNgbZ5vwRhSbpnKTDE4112OZeEjwGF6DBkuphE28vTu2_ULy8yS5NzHmKhzZyDdfm0o/s1600/DSC_0216.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Autumn arrived in a hurry. In a matter of
days the temperature, which had been unseasonably temperate, plunged into
refrigeration range. Leaves began to fall with frantic intention, and the
sky became gray and troubled. It was time for the harvest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">WARNING: WHAT FOLLOWS IS A DETAILED
DESCRIPTION OF THE HARVEST OF FOUR BEAUTIFUL AND BOUNTIFUL PIGS. THE
CONTENT MAY BE OBJECTIONABLE TO SOME - IF YOU ARE NOT OF A MIND TO VIEW SUCH
CONTENT, PLEASE DO NOT SCROLL DOWN. THE DESCRIPTIONS AND PHOTOS ARE OF A GRAPHIC
NATURE AND ARE INTENDED TO HELP INFORM OTHERS ABOUT HUMANE PROCESSES AND
PRACTICES RELATED TO SMALL-SCALE MEAT PRODUCTION.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">If you are not interested in the rest of the
post, enjoy this picture of our beautiful pigs enjoying a perfect fall day in the
Yakima valley (along with their chicken friends). For the rest of the
post, continue scrolling down.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0I_x0-vhh9jr-SmnyTkqTlWiZPOk7Ub2LauJxMGXVdB9tvXcEAkDYWnh7w8n_ynIodt-RW3AzqszaCEOp7xACv3Bmz22gsRrp8YwVE1WmXZ3JH6PqEn12yP4TmdZbiqVm_0oCa0Bk9c/s1600/DSC_6736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0I_x0-vhh9jr-SmnyTkqTlWiZPOk7Ub2LauJxMGXVdB9tvXcEAkDYWnh7w8n_ynIodt-RW3AzqszaCEOp7xACv3Bmz22gsRrp8YwVE1WmXZ3JH6PqEn12yP4TmdZbiqVm_0oCa0Bk9c/s1600/DSC_6736.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZBwrev0Hq-WjSvCHrIpga85auH-nSef6ghWxdJqdM3x6lh4nufXvp1KMogpbDU1gP8jADPP7gfayxFTna7Y_CvcnJFcZajS9Nk8-U-h6cv23P22TrFzRbUSjGaJNyiHpBOqlOxZ6wJ8/s1600/DSC_6737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZBwrev0Hq-WjSvCHrIpga85auH-nSef6ghWxdJqdM3x6lh4nufXvp1KMogpbDU1gP8jADPP7gfayxFTna7Y_CvcnJFcZajS9Nk8-U-h6cv23P22TrFzRbUSjGaJNyiHpBOqlOxZ6wJ8/s1600/DSC_6737.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">If you are still reading, I will assume that you
are along for the whole ride. The harvest day was so long anticipated,
fretted over, planned and plotted that it seemed strange to see it finally
arrive. Our hogs had grown a great deal. From their <a href="http://dmacleodsmusings.blogspot.com/2012/05/spring-pigs.html" target="_blank">small andbutton-cute beginnings</a> back in May, they ballooned to great size and even
greater appetite. We fed them hundreds of pounds of apples and pumpkins
over the last several weeks (even getting them a little sloshed on occasion on
account of fermented apples). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcv46pV-dzvjr7WwsWzUQKuWA0UIv6lV7htTgodbbi0DVeFDs_cOKNeHPfRZ4OL6iQNLsuDGQC5Zw6zawC7NDFk-GOEixilQun0jTGUSVYOm4EYmgcDZvASpN9jmcp-wqcCN4Fg8aZHk/s1600/DSC_6744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcv46pV-dzvjr7WwsWzUQKuWA0UIv6lV7htTgodbbi0DVeFDs_cOKNeHPfRZ4OL6iQNLsuDGQC5Zw6zawC7NDFk-GOEixilQun0jTGUSVYOm4EYmgcDZvASpN9jmcp-wqcCN4Fg8aZHk/s1600/DSC_6744.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Our plan was to do the whole harvest ourselves,
from start to finish, slaughter to freezer. In preparation of this my
brother and I did some training at a <a href="http://dmacleodsmusings.blogspot.com/2012/10/primal-cuts.html" target="_blank">seminar</a> of sorts put on by the good folks
at <a href="http://www.farmsteadmeatsmith.com/" target="_blank">Farmstead Meatsmith</a>. My partner in crime, Keith, sketched and salvaged
and sparked together steel structures necessary for the tasks ahead.
Knives were sharpened, equipment gathered, volunteers recruited - until
in the end there was nothing left but the task itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTKREzSrByICtCEN8zs1VENT3uuZqj0Ur0SGYUGpZh9lIhLokufMx16EHsu32uZy-8kWkhWmdczSQo48WP7hTfX8CjTx9XkozM5eNHEwRf1x3PleWGE5zeYrMdrJV-DklJw7iZgRkdfGg/s1600/DSC_6805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTKREzSrByICtCEN8zs1VENT3uuZqj0Ur0SGYUGpZh9lIhLokufMx16EHsu32uZy-8kWkhWmdczSQo48WP7hTfX8CjTx9XkozM5eNHEwRf1x3PleWGE5zeYrMdrJV-DklJw7iZgRkdfGg/s1600/DSC_6805.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Harvesting hogs in a traditional manner takes
several steps: 1) the kill; 2) scald & scrape; 3) evisceration; 4)
butchering (portioning). Each step has some special tools and set-up to
accomplish, and all steps benefit from a lot of helping hands. In this
way the process has built into it the potential for a community that gathers
around the shared labor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">THE KILL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghniN2owxirThvjjn9gjaaIyi52KOniReYM81TvCMFhzFATdVL4Ax2IzctINKmfUjTWhTLxhdUAUMiX1Ec645E48nRzrSz-3gcde1GtUqswy3t0Q97K9neJ9pMu3CkLZE9CwGaAdEPS9Q/s1600/DSC_6808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghniN2owxirThvjjn9gjaaIyi52KOniReYM81TvCMFhzFATdVL4Ax2IzctINKmfUjTWhTLxhdUAUMiX1Ec645E48nRzrSz-3gcde1GtUqswy3t0Q97K9neJ9pMu3CkLZE9CwGaAdEPS9Q/s1600/DSC_6808.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">After spending the last five months caring for
these beautiful creatures, Keith and I spent a great deal of time thinking
about this moment. We were greatly invested in making sure the kill
happened in the most humane manner possible. As with so much of traditional
harvesting, pursuing excellence in this arena is not only an ethical
consideration but is also a practical one, as stressed animals can potentially
taint the meat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhU7HUqPfz5hzIalWbTMqb0EZsrbS4SfOmYvZ0xxhpFUYhuVaJnLrbCcfgiNJZAq9HZSJKkMvrytBEwllF7ux30KahSFHU1BHWY5tkmaaD6HaDHo35rTu5dGTQZMIymQaW4Jql6mJb7Rw/s1600/DSC_6839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhU7HUqPfz5hzIalWbTMqb0EZsrbS4SfOmYvZ0xxhpFUYhuVaJnLrbCcfgiNJZAq9HZSJKkMvrytBEwllF7ux30KahSFHU1BHWY5tkmaaD6HaDHo35rTu5dGTQZMIymQaW4Jql6mJb7Rw/s1600/DSC_6839.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The ethical and the practical are inextricably
intertwined, a connection that becomes immediately apparent when the caretaker
is also the executioner. Our contemporary food systems sever this
connection, and we become detached consumers, not invested in the care of the
animals nor confronted with their death. For some, the moment of the kill
is the hardest to imagine participating in - for us, we could not imagine
handing the task over to anyone else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5ZUn7VFu3rYMyr5b8vT9GQ7WVRSl0k6oKdEiiC8cszQs4YI8uuLZOdUYJUhOtrN3eL87D99YrjdDSd2EPj9vFUkHqaMiq7jCIHEl27nZq8PAMQHg3LZru-28CUn-G3qP6eVjQn_DDMM/s1600/DSC_6780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5ZUn7VFu3rYMyr5b8vT9GQ7WVRSl0k6oKdEiiC8cszQs4YI8uuLZOdUYJUhOtrN3eL87D99YrjdDSd2EPj9vFUkHqaMiq7jCIHEl27nZq8PAMQHg3LZru-28CUn-G3qP6eVjQn_DDMM/s1600/DSC_6780.JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4AoM4BTczZzMUH1LdyjZ2_IfYazlm84dOVvaHREETm4uW-pEfTlcz-_r1zHSDiTWzNCM9rliQVDjQlVb1YxuE0j-JBNzeNvk2-wB9qLxB_2Vu9zwpZYrZ-FiHnZhOMotCvn7vLRESsI/s1600/DSC_6840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4AoM4BTczZzMUH1LdyjZ2_IfYazlm84dOVvaHREETm4uW-pEfTlcz-_r1zHSDiTWzNCM9rliQVDjQlVb1YxuE0j-JBNzeNvk2-wB9qLxB_2Vu9zwpZYrZ-FiHnZhOMotCvn7vLRESsI/s1600/DSC_6840.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The pigs were killed in the paddock that they
called home. They were given a meal of cracked corn and apples which they
attended to with great enthusiasm. Keith then lined up a shot with a .22
rifle at point blank range. The target is a specific spot on the front of
the head, taking advantage of a thin spot in the otherwise impenetrable skull
plate. The shot renders the pig senseless - immediately after the shot a
small team rushes in to accomplish two important tasks. The first is to
"stick" the pig, a knife is inserted at the base of the neck, angled
up to nick the main arteries and create an impressive flow of blood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BX5GuruCYiaEH-Q8QMudVgtdBs1dYqi0qVo9MxM-UVn2CmtT6VWNgDMpaRX_mnMgRwKY8xqH3f6llYHDWvOqgsINpTKGOvTBcQ7-dzyXKHVV-60dkqLFcueVEl5jN5sHY6cbbFzhspk/s1600/DSC_6753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BX5GuruCYiaEH-Q8QMudVgtdBs1dYqi0qVo9MxM-UVn2CmtT6VWNgDMpaRX_mnMgRwKY8xqH3f6llYHDWvOqgsINpTKGOvTBcQ7-dzyXKHVV-60dkqLFcueVEl5jN5sHY6cbbFzhspk/s1600/DSC_6753.JPG" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">This blood is collected as it flows, possessing
unique culinary potential. It must be whisked continuously while it cools
to avoid turning to one large clot as it hits oxygen. After cooling it is
filtered into jars and refrigerated, so it can be used for blood sausage.
Collecting the blood is a part of the commitment to make the most efficient and
total use of the animal, an ethos that flows naturally from investment of time,
energy and emotion required to raise them. It is one of the most fetching
qualities of the pig - it is almost totally useful as food. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Whole-Beast-Nose-Tail-Eating/dp/0060585366"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Fergus Henderson's "The Whole
Beast: Nose to Tail Eating"</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">is a marvelous introduction
to the odd bits that your local butcher may have neglected to tell you about.<span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBph5OsjM8D1UQuWvEJw8WLbmjB_Ol7coUxVxMz65sZaYX48ZPNX6RFUfYHjMJXffPtx8ipZB9_8Hlr0fztuRICV8xTQnBW29OM1Z09e7o67BYUkwbUv-ljvud9F29WKgg-buCshJbBM/s1600/DSC_6754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBph5OsjM8D1UQuWvEJw8WLbmjB_Ol7coUxVxMz65sZaYX48ZPNX6RFUfYHjMJXffPtx8ipZB9_8Hlr0fztuRICV8xTQnBW29OM1Z09e7o67BYUkwbUv-ljvud9F29WKgg-buCshJbBM/s1600/DSC_6754.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">SCALD & SCRAPE:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdM3_7V1_MTwpr7rDBrAMZkbkipsUJdAIcZW2ZbfF0ZK9iA1DURuh3EMXmnNWDljS8bXrI6CL9HNO2aPxdUR7WzUEApIka2vcV_oAw2wVmgHv9EUavUOSFAi7QAjNjVL3myitCLW2FZqw/s1600/DSC_6766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdM3_7V1_MTwpr7rDBrAMZkbkipsUJdAIcZW2ZbfF0ZK9iA1DURuh3EMXmnNWDljS8bXrI6CL9HNO2aPxdUR7WzUEApIka2vcV_oAw2wVmgHv9EUavUOSFAi7QAjNjVL3myitCLW2FZqw/s1600/DSC_6766.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCLjOgvSeXUh8iD0imGH2UfYyAadYLor_UW0qV6ov6b1y8oYPMngDJZ0P8g7h9OR4LWmtgdgjV-bI70DwOSXxStMlrfomRb-v7JSQIUaxLgb1SGm3VRhemQ9dBDC6rCKnqN_XbqPHz3EU/s1600/DSC_6784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCLjOgvSeXUh8iD0imGH2UfYyAadYLor_UW0qV6ov6b1y8oYPMngDJZ0P8g7h9OR4LWmtgdgjV-bI70DwOSXxStMlrfomRb-v7JSQIUaxLgb1SGm3VRhemQ9dBDC6rCKnqN_XbqPHz3EU/s1600/DSC_6784.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">After the kill and blood collection the pig is scrubbed relatively
clean and then cuts are made at all four feet to open up access to some
amazingly strong tendons that will be used to hang the carcass during many of
the processes that follow. What follows next is sort of a watershed event
in the harvest process. There are two schools of thought on preparing the
carcass for butchering - to skin or to scald, that is the question. We
opted for the more traditional and certainly more labor intensive scald and
scrape, which entails dipping the entire carcass into 145 degree water for 5
minutes and then scraping the hair and top layer of skin off of the entire
carcass, nose to tail. The result is a clean tough surface which is very
easy to handle during transfer and butchering, since the skin remains intact.
But the process requires a tank large enough to handle a 380lb hog (that
was the size of our largest) and a means of raising and lowering the animal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5wpT3SBWIT4Ja1WwrW1947I9tm8z7w1Rc_qyKOYmLM0VzlX_lDxho7r6-EUs55D1R6606Y3nFDtOV7xK4SrTmDGw6PC-D2BKDJyyRzM3k4gjd7se2cJNnHU5jfoxcdBsnFDMhbH-Pw0/s1600/DSC_6791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5wpT3SBWIT4Ja1WwrW1947I9tm8z7w1Rc_qyKOYmLM0VzlX_lDxho7r6-EUs55D1R6606Y3nFDtOV7xK4SrTmDGw6PC-D2BKDJyyRzM3k4gjd7se2cJNnHU5jfoxcdBsnFDMhbH-Pw0/s1600/DSC_6791.JPG" width="133" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5L5ki7HQeoCyneOGoivlQ1l1sFnSMItRYOhOBF7lgJcdI5fvSDrUqzl1Inw8Je1J-28Ob493B0zqdRb0Adm4d37b2rO3uc9MfU5tyaYeY3KIAEewR0g10cAraYAfGwHjwq4comwT4J8/s1600/DSC_6769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5L5ki7HQeoCyneOGoivlQ1l1sFnSMItRYOhOBF7lgJcdI5fvSDrUqzl1Inw8Je1J-28Ob493B0zqdRb0Adm4d37b2rO3uc9MfU5tyaYeY3KIAEewR0g10cAraYAfGwHjwq4comwT4J8/s1600/DSC_6769.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Keith scavenged an old water tank that we
estimate had a total volume of about 110 gallons. Being handy with a
plasma torch and welder, he was able to create a truly deluxe scalding tank,
complete with removable lid and a ball-valve for draining the tank at the end
of the day. A little bit of paint to cover up the rust and our tank was
ready for action. Keith is also handy with a fork lift, which had more
than enough capacity to handle the big job we were throwing at it. The
lift allowed us to easily transfer the pigs, hung on gambrels, to the tank for
scalding and to the large metal frame that Keith constructed to hold the completed
sides. Did I mention Keith was handy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2QDbXGr0P4p_kI0rsU-LBeuZBJ77jLfnCTVJTGRgcpyh6xun7WS_P8uXzR0NTF2aFFi9JH8YlXObcfUg9PDQYzBXt6vwbo3HNg5VyU1jF_WsYltziNcQ2_zB9dYWikAwmstw2hCaszI/s1600/DSC_6795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2QDbXGr0P4p_kI0rsU-LBeuZBJ77jLfnCTVJTGRgcpyh6xun7WS_P8uXzR0NTF2aFFi9JH8YlXObcfUg9PDQYzBXt6vwbo3HNg5VyU1jF_WsYltziNcQ2_zB9dYWikAwmstw2hCaszI/s1600/DSC_6795.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">T</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">he water temp is extremely important to achieve
the best scald. A precise 145 degrees for exactly 5 minutes - there are
undoubtedly many other opinions and practices related to scalding, we found
that the formula above achieved the very best results. Mistakes made here
create difficulties later, so taking time to get it right is important.
One half of the carcass is scalded at a time, and when it comes out of
the tank after it's soak the work must be completed at a brisk pace. The
scurf (the layer of skin that gets removed) gets scraped off, a task made
easier by a unique tool called a bell scraper. Three or four people
working quickly can scrape the half down in about 25 minutes, then the pig is
flipped and the other half is done. Final touch-ups can be done with
razor-sharp knives, leaving the skin as smooth as possible.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNf6j1eC7xaqUodJOBYYrV4Ph2cYNYukdch6D9X6y6JYBOwQhO3adtAexki-S8Glmk5r48zbqCBGRGs8td4-5m-UwNHahO6K5qfSrB4l_G8H6bKzMOmhh867D5PpT6e5gG_DfaSCMkuw/s1600/DSC_6847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNf6j1eC7xaqUodJOBYYrV4Ph2cYNYukdch6D9X6y6JYBOwQhO3adtAexki-S8Glmk5r48zbqCBGRGs8td4-5m-UwNHahO6K5qfSrB4l_G8H6bKzMOmhh867D5PpT6e5gG_DfaSCMkuw/s1600/DSC_6847.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5k5lYGatLMBc34VIc6pSTF01hl4vU-w5G3_UxVC9Gu1xHyZv47LyBklpMhvFUbzb14hzAptCXFsslB4fa97eUFklqIOBmOavO7nWsQU9nOi9iMiG1FBBLnMYFfCfT6U8c2DTAPTHoUfI/s1600/DSC_6824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5k5lYGatLMBc34VIc6pSTF01hl4vU-w5G3_UxVC9Gu1xHyZv47LyBklpMhvFUbzb14hzAptCXFsslB4fa97eUFklqIOBmOavO7nWsQU9nOi9iMiG1FBBLnMYFfCfT6U8c2DTAPTHoUfI/s1600/DSC_6824.JPG" width="214" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">After this the head is removed and taken away to
be cleaned up properly. There are a lot of flaps and folds on the head
that have to be attended to with razor and knife in order to render the head
ready for roasting or carving. The carcass is then transferred to the
evisceration area for the next steps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">EVISCERATION:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_XQDL7z0XukQRcR_S-9kZ6hil1zvjJ5pmn6-HL3WG-dIThANc6gMsRVYO125Js-0cM6kxkDv0oAFI3iv9n3ZEUr5tzvzVnrXgqQcJjZlFEdIYMYmMNJ_aI3N_cl3SrvQnYUqX1SiJcM/s1600/DSC_6820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_XQDL7z0XukQRcR_S-9kZ6hil1zvjJ5pmn6-HL3WG-dIThANc6gMsRVYO125Js-0cM6kxkDv0oAFI3iv9n3ZEUr5tzvzVnrXgqQcJjZlFEdIYMYmMNJ_aI3N_cl3SrvQnYUqX1SiJcM/s1600/DSC_6820.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Next the carcasses are opened up, using knife
and saw, in order to remove the insides and divide the carcass into halves.
This is detail work requiring a steady hand - one nicked intestine can
create a micro-biological mess of your meat. Better to proceed slowly and
carefully than deal with clean-up protocols. We took few pictures of this
process - but it was attended to by my brother Alex and friend Charmaine, who
carefully divided the carcasses, harvesting all the usable bits from inside,
including heart, livers, caul fat, etc.. The rest of the insides where
bagged for disposal. What results are clean "sides" of pork,
looking an awful lot like meat - real, honest to goodness meat. But that
meat needs to be chilled before being portioned into more usable cuts suitable
for a family to make use of throughout a year. This is conveniently
accomplished by leaving the sides hanging outdoors overnight, when the
temperatures will drop into the upper 20's, chilling the meat to the bone and
firming up the skin and fat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZi_LPvYWq5H7FJtWo6oM_oKRF3ohwACi2u-BH-tiLiDtmqulXI8grIozut3JvoRSXSPCVKu2J6gJSfwFn5FufcrPa1hStE10IGFMRtE8h0linZ9pd01jlwnQ_Pmx-D5xjJMTCp_HG1xM/s1600/DSC_6842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZi_LPvYWq5H7FJtWo6oM_oKRF3ohwACi2u-BH-tiLiDtmqulXI8grIozut3JvoRSXSPCVKu2J6gJSfwFn5FufcrPa1hStE10IGFMRtE8h0linZ9pd01jlwnQ_Pmx-D5xjJMTCp_HG1xM/s1600/DSC_6842.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The frame that Keith fabricated using scrap
metal was a structure of extreme utility, accommodating all eight sides with
ease. A light dusting of snow greeted us the next morning when we arrived
to pack up the sides and take them to Keith's shop for butchering.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">BUTCHERING:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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butchering of meat. At grocery stores, technicians in white lab coats
pass to and fro through opaque doors, bringing out trays of portioned and
plastic-wrapped meat marked with a barcode. What goes on back there?
We usually aren't given much access to that part of our food production,
so it is easy to imagine that a great range of technical skills and specialty
tools are required to transform sides of beef, pork, or lamb into usable cuts
of meat. This is not the case. Traditional butchering utilizes a
few simple tools, consisting of a small selection of knives, a cleaver, bone
saw, bone scraper and cutting boards. That's it. By no means do I
intend here to denigrate the butcher's craft - far from it. One thing
that you learn when taking on this task for oneself is that there are cuts in
the meat that require skill and understanding that are the result of long
training and practice. Yet the harvest of a family hog used to be
realistically in the realm of household competencies and a little imagination,
optimism, and a couple of sharp knives can fully equip you for the job of side
butchery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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There are great videos at the <a href="http://www.farmsteadmeatsmith.com/" target="_blank">FarmsteadMeatsmith</a> site on the particulars of side butchery, I encourage you to go check
it out if you are considering taking on the task. We set up the garage
with several work stations, a host of bus tubs, vacuum-seal bags, plastic wrap,
butcher paper, and enough cutlery to outfit a samurai army. Over an
8-hour day, all of the sides were slowly transformed into bacon, rib chops,
loin roasts, shoulder roasts, hams, hocks, trotters, tenderloins, and oh, so
much more. There is a kind of mysterious multiplication that happens, the
amount of meat seems to increase with every cut. The old-hat, grocery
store cuts end up being pretty boring - it is heavily marbled shoulder roasts
that fire the imagination, or jowl meat surrounded by silky fat, ready for
curing or the grill.<o:p></o:p><br />
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The end result is a freezer full to the brim
with meat of a quality that is unmatched by anything available at the local
grocer. Many pounds of pork belly now lie curing in the fridge, on their
first steps in a journey that will end in bacon and pancetta. Hams are
suspended serenely in brine buckets, slowly gaining flavor through a mysterious
alchemy that will eventually see them transformed into smoked and glazed
masterpieces. Our four pigs have provided enough stores for a small army,
and by that provision they have facilitated the function and fellowship of a
whole community as we gathered to share in the work and enjoy the fruits of
that labor. There is much, much more benefit incurred in the whole
process than simply a harvest of pork...and for that we are so very grateful.
The harvest really is a gift, one to be received with gravitas and grace.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">POSTLUDE:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The whole process is a big work, as one might
expect. But it is deeply satisfying work. We have found that our
respect and appreciation for our animals has grown, as has our sense of
confidence in our own ability to gain some control over the ways and means of
acquiring the food that we feed ourselves, our families, and our community.
The experience of the death/harvest side of the cycle leads one to long
for the birth/nurture side of things, and the mind races forward to spring,
when young pigs will once again populate their big yard at the farm. And
so the end is the beginning of more plans, more dinners, more food adventures,
more farm ambitions, and, of course, more blog posts!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A special thanks to: Keith, Alex, Charmaine,
Trent, Nate P., Gabe, Bob, and Nate H. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-59164347625142123232012-10-20T10:00:00.000-07:002012-11-02T18:56:25.229-07:00Primal CutsThis past Friday I traveled to the far reaches of Whidbey Island, located in the Puget Sound, to take part in an instructional class of a unique kind. A small number of participants gathered for several days of shared work, taking two pigs from the host farm through the entire process of harvest. Our own pigs are fast nearing their harvest date, so this was a timely opportunity to gain critical experience. <br />
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WARNING: WHAT FOLLOWS IS A POST THAT DESCRIBES THE DIVIDING OF A PIG CARCASS INTO USEFUL PORTIONS OF MEAT MEANT FOR CONSUMPTION. THERE WILL BE PICTURES. IF THIS TOPIC OR THESE PICTURES PROMISE TO BE OFFENSIVE TO YOU, PLEASE DO NOT READ THEM. INSTEAD, ENJOY THIS PICTURE OF THE MUKILTEO-CLINTON FERRY IN THE RAIN. TO CONTINUE READING THE POST, SIMPLY SCROLL ON DOWN.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0XbwkHOkm6YuH93jUuhpS4WCnv1y4GBOFhbrQphPSKOTP6UxwThOEsByl8xp47Hr5Php24SEcGLcEGu6mqem1u6jI7bG6Sb6RVJpOmfvAhyphenhyphen_mtiJVMj3oZNsHhgwA-ikZjjC3KIvu38/s1600/DSC_0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0XbwkHOkm6YuH93jUuhpS4WCnv1y4GBOFhbrQphPSKOTP6UxwThOEsByl8xp47Hr5Php24SEcGLcEGu6mqem1u6jI7bG6Sb6RVJpOmfvAhyphenhyphen_mtiJVMj3oZNsHhgwA-ikZjjC3KIvu38/s1600/DSC_0132.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The class was hosted by the crew at <a href="http://www.farmsteadmeatsmith.com/" target="_blank">Farmstead Meatsmith</a>. I have been lurking on their website for the better part of this past year, trying to glean from the excellent and beautiful instructional videos some of the techniques we would need to put to use as we eventually come to the task with our own animals. Apart from the very practical discussion, you also end up getting a look at some recipes and food treatments that make it clear that those folks are foodies as well as butchers and abattoirs. And they weave in some of their philosophical commitments that undergird their choice to get this personal with their food experience. It is no small vision; more than an economic argument and bigger than a nostalgic look back to days past, there is a commitment to community life, to hospitality, to stewardship and to generosity. The commitment to these values goes beyond a claim on them as the niceties of society - they are seen as vital, necessary, needful....I would say even strategic. By that, I mean that members of a community practice these values as a way to pursue their ability to survive and thrive - and so the whole interdependent community around them does as well.<br />
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That may all sound a bit high-minded for a class on butchering a pig. But our connections to one another, our connections to food and to the animals that we take it from, to the land that we take it from - these connections have all been weakened in our contemporary culture of commoditization. The plastic wrapped packages of meat we buy in the store, or the neatly arranged piles of fruits or vegetables soaking under the misters in the produce aisle, these are far removed from their places and processes of origin. Regaining a connection to our food is a way to not only regain control over the quality and economics of our food, but also a way to explore the reforging of those connective paths between our food and each other.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-XHGnBwej_kHjKnpzTovmoLzm9lHvadf5xnIuAXm1NQi7l2J1bxmGu0Jpd1eIScxbSeWLVn-2bjqx6U5k88MKZkPm4XF1Yeotd_EzotHeDBdLuVVplUAykD40WlLa_YI2vR0NxUo6-8/s1600/DSC_0138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-XHGnBwej_kHjKnpzTovmoLzm9lHvadf5xnIuAXm1NQi7l2J1bxmGu0Jpd1eIScxbSeWLVn-2bjqx6U5k88MKZkPm4XF1Yeotd_EzotHeDBdLuVVplUAykD40WlLa_YI2vR0NxUo6-8/s1600/DSC_0138.JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
And now, here is a picture of a philosophical butcher in training - my brother Alex.<br />
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Alex is a shareholder in our little herd of pigs and so is also preparing for the big day. He participated in all three days of the class, which covered topics like slaughter and evisceration, butchery and meat curing. He also managed to harvest a deer while on the Island, a timely accomplishment considering the number of cutting boards, knives and other processing tools located at the farm site.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlcSbYYEKGEDa6j8zSwyPD53t6s2nelS6UfrJihjSYmkMMiCoIGxIzIJX53yfY3MqTPOhGfEinb998EQAJLvl489nMxlj4b8iVjVkJfMEFR2m0ibxIZIE-L5VeuR_OFK68-ekXyDr09w/s1600/DSC_0136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlcSbYYEKGEDa6j8zSwyPD53t6s2nelS6UfrJihjSYmkMMiCoIGxIzIJX53yfY3MqTPOhGfEinb998EQAJLvl489nMxlj4b8iVjVkJfMEFR2m0ibxIZIE-L5VeuR_OFK68-ekXyDr09w/s1600/DSC_0136.JPG" width="133" /></a>Our instructor was Brandon Sheard, who led us through the steps to take full sides of pork and transform them into usable cuts of meat. The pigs had been processed the day before, so when I arrived on Friday they were already cleaned, divided, and chilled - what was left were four sides of pork. Alex and I had one side to work with between us, and we first divided it into quarters (two shoulders, loin and side).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtUGbZNL_ByVz2kE5w1UL_JeF2rG6iB5Isb33EY9YiGLBWQ-p0MbgoWtYR9_V-vtccmlmf0X2lKrJ1vf51UgF9tr2xGOl26UvgeMK8PB0k0U6I-7jNqdeArfPJ7DWVExw3IzpB1RfcFo/s1600/DSC_0155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtUGbZNL_ByVz2kE5w1UL_JeF2rG6iB5Isb33EY9YiGLBWQ-p0MbgoWtYR9_V-vtccmlmf0X2lKrJ1vf51UgF9tr2xGOl26UvgeMK8PB0k0U6I-7jNqdeArfPJ7DWVExw3IzpB1RfcFo/s1600/DSC_0155.JPG" width="320" /></a>All of the traditional pork cuts that you might find in the grocery store can be found in these quarters, and there are some non-traditional cuts hiding in there as well. What becomes abundantly evident early on is just how much food one pig can produce for a family or community. Brandon made a comparison to "loaves and fishes"....with each cut, the food seems to multiply. This abundance is part of what invites and encourages hospitality surrounding the harvest.<br />
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That hospitality was well-modeled by our host site - a picturesque farm property hidden in the deep forests of Whidbey Island, the host family provided a beautiful locale for the class. It is hard to express just how warm the reception was - not only did we accomplish the butchering in the comfort of a large kitchen setting, we were treated to food and drink at every turn. Homemade cheese, pickled beets and beans, spicy garden salsa, even some very local spirit distilled from apples and aged in oak.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskOf_b1z3DjcL92SBrLIsMfg4ZFEjMEm_HhAXw84cychIQO38MXRZm8QaC5d-rfWFm5BGlQLWGRNVL5hnQSRKMcmz2sd0RqUb7J1BwGD2VprNGUP1fzGo8UGeQrUCH16YlWjYm8SDk7s/s1600/DSC_0160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskOf_b1z3DjcL92SBrLIsMfg4ZFEjMEm_HhAXw84cychIQO38MXRZm8QaC5d-rfWFm5BGlQLWGRNVL5hnQSRKMcmz2sd0RqUb7J1BwGD2VprNGUP1fzGo8UGeQrUCH16YlWjYm8SDk7s/s1600/DSC_0160.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTnp_dMEe9v-MJTf8AwCDk8Xz_-XY6igJ0ZvM40MI9hqQcrqCfhcrUG4OOPjSDcbKkDqYf9OIAHGbi6y-UycWItq8VngL1jEviBbPpIo0z2-o5HvvmF04PVcL0zRjJdPYzjekmbJzhsA/s1600/DSC_0159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTnp_dMEe9v-MJTf8AwCDk8Xz_-XY6igJ0ZvM40MI9hqQcrqCfhcrUG4OOPjSDcbKkDqYf9OIAHGbi6y-UycWItq8VngL1jEviBbPpIo0z2-o5HvvmF04PVcL0zRjJdPYzjekmbJzhsA/s1600/DSC_0159.JPG" width="214" /></a>Our quarters turned slowly, cut by cut, into pork chops, tenderloin, boston butt, picnic roasts, leaf fat, back fat and, of course, bacon. Or at least, belly, which would eventually turn into bacon. Or cured into pancetta. Or roasted into delicious. That's the thing, there are so many possibilities, one side is 150 lbs of potential - a foodie's mother lode.<br />
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The instruction was very useful, the best kind of hands-on work that I needed to feel more confident as we approach our big harvest day. The experience gained will help insure that our own pigs' life ends in as humane and respectful way as they have lived, and that we are able to maximize the ways in which our family...and our community....will be able to benefit by that gift.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-17720065127962120972012-09-12T11:18:00.000-07:002012-09-12T11:21:38.118-07:00Surplus and Stitches<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pVe25U0XSgVGp0ukHqeYHJgaUV-GLpY5DNYQ_jLYs0Qfx7O1erR_JOgS8nugyWFuugIWDmo_lldvFHvWj8CwaVzB2ZpjYNzKbYBgJ5JTyEqdUkXsWmARjB148ucP_3u1dwCOCuPA700/s1600/DSC_0212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pVe25U0XSgVGp0ukHqeYHJgaUV-GLpY5DNYQ_jLYs0Qfx7O1erR_JOgS8nugyWFuugIWDmo_lldvFHvWj8CwaVzB2ZpjYNzKbYBgJ5JTyEqdUkXsWmARjB148ucP_3u1dwCOCuPA700/s200/DSC_0212.JPG" width="200" /></a>For the past several years I have really enjoyed the upland bird season here in the Yakima Valley. Chasing quail, chukar, and pheasant through the big landscapes of the mountain west is one of my favorite pastimes. One of things this kind of hunting has in its favor is the relatively low-maintenance nature of it - there is very little stuff one needs to do it. A gun, some clothes appropriate for hiking, and a vest that can carry shells, maps, water and the like - and the vest should also be orange enough to make you visible to others in the field.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdOlwDdEZRYpnWdp13H3l6Fpcq9IrSCmNFcdb0Xq86TlC0t-dayreC84nipsPiRFn89brXComWu287hXoGFvK_WGAHdZLBCwQRR2IL5ofNg12DwmmkxrqiJUs5Uck_2fBfzGHHx1ULMw/s1600/DSC_0211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdOlwDdEZRYpnWdp13H3l6Fpcq9IrSCmNFcdb0Xq86TlC0t-dayreC84nipsPiRFn89brXComWu287hXoGFvK_WGAHdZLBCwQRR2IL5ofNg12DwmmkxrqiJUs5Uck_2fBfzGHHx1ULMw/s320/DSC_0211.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
Now, of course, you can go much, much deeper than that into the gentleman-hunter's rabbit hole. Many thousands of dollars can be spend on nearly any of the above-listed items. Specialized clothing suppliers wills happily sell you hunting boots for $500 a pair, and "shooting clothing" made by manufacturers like <a href="http://www.filson.com/activity/hunting/-aa13/" target="_blank">Filson</a> will ready you for the field shoot and the photo shoot....if you have the green to pay for all that orange. I appreciate the craftsmanship, but I am not possessed of such limitless funds....there must be another way!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ-Y63bIlVkH2ho0-XOS9nidtytd54Xo3iW8zOtceEJcKekhPuGugK9Ur2Lp5o9dyntLpPa5zQpnpTY4GwYKfTF4V_m0g_E596bCP647Lc_WBQ21LCDLdWANyQd-Xm5kHGOjDHJiAtCs/s1600/DSC_0213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ-Y63bIlVkH2ho0-XOS9nidtytd54Xo3iW8zOtceEJcKekhPuGugK9Ur2Lp5o9dyntLpPa5zQpnpTY4GwYKfTF4V_m0g_E596bCP647Lc_WBQ21LCDLdWANyQd-Xm5kHGOjDHJiAtCs/s320/DSC_0213.JPG" width="213" /></a>After several seasons of some stop-gap designs (strapping orange to my fishing vest, for example) I had enough experience to settle on some specific needs and wants in whatever would become a more permanent replacement. I pined over some high-dollar strap-style hunting vests like the ones by <a href="http://www.filson.com/products/pro-guide-strap-vest-with-blaze-orange.16023.html?fromCat=true&fvalsProduct=activity/hunting&fmetaProduct=aa13" target="_blank">Filson</a>, or <a href="http://www.uplanders.com/home.php?dr=products&fn=product_details&categoryid=12&subcategoryid=92&suboptionid=452&pr_id=VEST-7-12" target="_blank">Browning</a>, but couldn't quite get over the price hurdle. Tempted many times, I was unable, ultimately, to imagine any version of a conversation about the receipt with my wife that ended well. Some of those imagined conversations, in fact, ended badly...very badly.<br />
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So, armed with some design ideas and a slim budget, I was off to the surplus store. There I found all manner of old army stuff that, when creatively combined, created the foundation for a vest. What it lacked was a game bag, a place to keep the birds, and enough orange to make it 'legal' in the field. A quick stop at the fabric store yielded several small patches of fabric that would do the trick. Equipped with needle and thread, I got to stitching.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KtD7Q8itZmst702K9STT98uw_aVtMq7cuWPI7HKsi8p92TUN6fGHnMPs6ue0hBIOcoZlfN3AwrW8mi0jIAeAEUaNbWK3scdoZ3zChFHyWRyx_A9rqkUzWwCfDfQpOn9Vq64JpkK5zDQ/s1600/DSC_0215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KtD7Q8itZmst702K9STT98uw_aVtMq7cuWPI7HKsi8p92TUN6fGHnMPs6ue0hBIOcoZlfN3AwrW8mi0jIAeAEUaNbWK3scdoZ3zChFHyWRyx_A9rqkUzWwCfDfQpOn9Vq64JpkK5zDQ/s320/DSC_0215.JPG" width="320" /></a>The result is a vest I'm pretty excited about. It incorporates a lot of small features that I have settled on as useful for some of the particular rigors of chasing chukar up and down the rimrock ridges of central Washington, including a water bottle (although the vest would be compatible with my camelback water system as well), and generous pockets for shells. I have also added a cell phone pouch, and a document bag, something to hold maps, licenses and the paperwork required for hunting on the land of the Yakima Firing Center (the US Military base located near Yakima....which happens to include great chukar habitat). The game bag has been made water resistant and, lined with rip-stop nylon, should prove durable as well. <br />
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The product, as good as it looks now, remains untested. October 6 marks opening day for quail and chukar on state lands, so its debut is coming soon. It may not have the panache of its big-money cousins, but I think this homegrown vest will hold its own.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-86236113604767925782012-09-12T07:21:00.000-07:002012-09-12T07:21:12.479-07:00Big Chickens<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknZkcb_PgrYLiwKzHf345Y_nd1Gkm0ECqnYA3gfoUy8dKxR-Q4XwnDyPkAz4LuiZRa6QdbwvkwuXdNEpr5ljunkCVr4VgOlM7kRaRRgH9G0XPuQa-fAaBQX1th2xLDwKbXyy1lHUFqkE/s1600/Duncan-MacLeod-YM-4-560x373.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknZkcb_PgrYLiwKzHf345Y_nd1Gkm0ECqnYA3gfoUy8dKxR-Q4XwnDyPkAz4LuiZRa6QdbwvkwuXdNEpr5ljunkCVr4VgOlM7kRaRRgH9G0XPuQa-fAaBQX1th2xLDwKbXyy1lHUFqkE/s400/Duncan-MacLeod-YM-4-560x373.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
The chicken coop, renovated and populated this past spring, is now settled into high productivity. We have fourteen hens in the 'big house' and they have all finally come into their own as proper layers. They had started out as three factions: five chicks raised in our garage, five chicks raised in our friends Keith and Ruth's garage, and four layers given to us by someone who just had too many chickens running around. Those cliques were impenetrable as the chicks grew up into teenagers, the separate groups would band together, eyeing one another suspiciously - a poultry version of Westside Story. <br />
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But these days the old animosities have been left behind. There is reconciliation in the big house, and the hens get along very well. We haven't had any incidents of them picking on one another, pulling feathers, or that kind of stuff, though we have heard stories of such things becoming a real problem. With fourteen layers in there we are now getting up to 1 dozen eggs a day. Usually it's somewhere around 8-9, but occasionally they get fired up and crank out a full dozen. They are also spending a great deal of time free-ranging these days. We often leave the coop door open 24 hours a day, and the girls find their way in and out and all around the farm property. They especially like the peach orchard across the road, and I've had to fetch them out of there on occasion.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGh9hyphenhyphenGMx1IVJfbvbjmdTtU3tK0ZST3xDUZwwCVcXXV1OFvc10mpDT5yQ6X5a41GekIrwg-KeLUe-sDUowwJryFhEdDDehHOxq7OfGMf0SrakVCkAgmiZEP2GJGhiUbNSUSFCt2nGKhA/s1600/photo(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGh9hyphenhyphenGMx1IVJfbvbjmdTtU3tK0ZST3xDUZwwCVcXXV1OFvc10mpDT5yQ6X5a41GekIrwg-KeLUe-sDUowwJryFhEdDDehHOxq7OfGMf0SrakVCkAgmiZEP2GJGhiUbNSUSFCt2nGKhA/s400/photo(5).JPG" width="298" /></a>One hazard of such a free and easy lifestyle is that the hens can sometimes get a little sassy about where they are laying their eggs. The other day I was rounding them up from their daytime haunts around the farm, and while chasing several out from under a boat tarp, came upon Red Ranger, Tavish's favorite hen, who had clearly been holding out on us. She is a new layer, her eggs still on the smaller side, and she had been depositing her eggs each day in a private spot, and was trying, in all earnestness, to hatch those little things. This task is beyond her, of course, since the eggs are not fertilized. We have since dissuaded her from this course and she has mended her ways.<br />
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Putting all these eggs to use is a challenge, but egg-rich recipes like brioche and lemon curd help make a notch in our supplies. We give some away, the girls may start selling them by the dozen, and of course the pigs look forward to a score of hard-boiled treats now and then.<br />
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Meanwhile - a new flock is being developed on the other side of the farm! Eleven birds of mysterious parentage, dropped off at a tender age. Keith and I repurposed one of the horse stalls into a new walk-in coop, opened a door to the outside world and stopped feeding them after several weeks. These are our wild birds, who free range because they have to! We make plenty of water available, provide roosting poles and nesting boxes (which they don't make use of quite yet, still being of a tender age....mmmm....tender chicken). I catch sight of these feral chickens on occasion as they dart in and out of the weed patches around the property. They like to patrol the pastures where the larger animals graze, so the pigs and the horse each get their company during the day. They seem to be doing very well, and this experiment in pastured, free-range poultry looks to be a success. When they get to laying age, we will restrict their movement some in order to get them established in their laying routines, and then they can pursue their vagabond lifestyle once again. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-48724763347992948052012-09-11T14:37:00.001-07:002012-09-11T14:38:16.955-07:00Setting Things Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZH2Yv-OAdTB9NFXwRXsy8R46tfUMiinfr06K95VGV9IYkZWgICBtGiHZVyRB7PcBI-0oiRBwDLnXHVhDUTuAQTuhtSlNbtCK-2sOAcay-uI0c4DBcyC2TFwSp3_NmPHSg1vDYi5qEo5A/s1600/DSC_0204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZH2Yv-OAdTB9NFXwRXsy8R46tfUMiinfr06K95VGV9IYkZWgICBtGiHZVyRB7PcBI-0oiRBwDLnXHVhDUTuAQTuhtSlNbtCK-2sOAcay-uI0c4DBcyC2TFwSp3_NmPHSg1vDYi5qEo5A/s400/DSC_0204.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
It has taken a couple of years, frankly, for us to get up to speed on the whole canning thing. Our first couple of attempts at fruit jams failed, which put an early damper on our experiments. But, after taking in some more information, after a few more trials and tests, we are up and running and loving the results.<br />
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Our pantry is quickly filling up with a colorful variety of jars that contain summer produce in tasty forms. The first wave was early fruit, and includes blueberry syrup, apricot jam (apricots from a neighbors tree), blackberry jam (from a phenomenal thornless bush growing at the farm), plum jam (a bag of mystery plums left at the church, which yielded a ridiculous product), and recently added to the collection: jalapeño jelly. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbo8iWtXcPtWDtiUPBHGpaFK1R0pYcbEUdrRQ0t7JEdcuHftY2ZW0kTh4nYtux-2kHiTtmBPGvttMg1MwF3x6dAO_846A99bEhrkWCldHOGpW5NPg0RUitAEA_kPkYtwo8xd24X55YT54/s1600/DSC_0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbo8iWtXcPtWDtiUPBHGpaFK1R0pYcbEUdrRQ0t7JEdcuHftY2ZW0kTh4nYtux-2kHiTtmBPGvttMg1MwF3x6dAO_846A99bEhrkWCldHOGpW5NPg0RUitAEA_kPkYtwo8xd24X55YT54/s200/DSC_0207.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg74LpD0g4N65S6YeqaF-nhQU6Z913MbEvWtNdVAoNnVEYUi-XqSmfsKnFv8M0jx78KzoLwd19cc7_SoJoVV1MNphDKbouBiCBBGsRqPsEEgycc1nvYReEabpxj2ECvIg5E3oJ-5QeNTO0/s1600/DSC_0229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg74LpD0g4N65S6YeqaF-nhQU6Z913MbEvWtNdVAoNnVEYUi-XqSmfsKnFv8M0jx78KzoLwd19cc7_SoJoVV1MNphDKbouBiCBBGsRqPsEEgycc1nvYReEabpxj2ECvIg5E3oJ-5QeNTO0/s320/DSC_0229.JPG" width="320" /></a>Tomatoes are our most recent obsession. They are now ripe and plentiful, and I regularly bring home several pounds from the church garden. We are canning these in a variety of ways, including cooking down for tomato sauce, mixing in with other garden goodness for homemade salsa, and chopping and packing just as they are (minus skins and seeds).<br />
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There is a strange happiness that arises when one looks into a pantry full of food that is set up for the winter months, food that you have put work into harvesting, food that you know. This is a skill that many in my generation and younger are rediscovering and taking great pride in. It can be as easy as buying fresh local fruits or vegetables when they are cheap and available and turning them into tasty products that you can enjoy all year long. For some great recipes and advice on canning, don't forget to check out the <a href="http://www.pickyourown.org/" target="_blank">PickYourOwn</a> website, which is full of good information on how to do all this safely. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-15832535384504791682012-09-11T13:49:00.000-07:002012-09-11T13:49:31.036-07:00Pigs, Pork, and Associated PerilsWARNING: WHAT FOLLOWS IS A POST ABOUT THE RAISING OF ANIMALS AS A SOURCE OF FOOD. IT IS INTENDED FOR AUDIENCES INTERESTED IN SUCH PURSUITS. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO OFFEND THOSE WHO ARE NOT. THE BEST WAY TO AVOID THIS OFFENSE IS TO SKIP TO ANOTHER POST. THIS BLOG IS NOT A SITE FOR DEBATE. I LIKE DEBATE. BUT THIS IS NOT A FORUM FOR SUCH DISCUSSIONS. CARRY ON.<br />
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Back in May we welcomed four piglets to the farm, our spring pig project had begun. It is a five month experiment in raising our own animals, caring for them, and eventually harvesting those animals for food. There is a lot of rationale for such an endeavor, and many benefits, but I am not here to convince you of the merits of such a thing, only to share our experience in it. I assume if you are reading this that you have come to terms with your omnivorous nature and won't begrudge me my own. If you have committed yourself to other ways of feeding the wondrous machine that is your body without animal proteins, then you have my admiration and well-wishes. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1nZX5BVqBy8xTiRIPEY53n0jisiUTL2Ed8RhhnvMOfS17SYkcc5VNqBcrV8WG_YV6p1f63w9NelFZ2xt52IvvfDL670XaVsJjQD_lJCoavfWktwmP_LmXnlT2vrgAXzRKLPw1VCQ9dY/s1600/Duncan-MacLeod-YM-2-560x373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1nZX5BVqBy8xTiRIPEY53n0jisiUTL2Ed8RhhnvMOfS17SYkcc5VNqBcrV8WG_YV6p1f63w9NelFZ2xt52IvvfDL670XaVsJjQD_lJCoavfWktwmP_LmXnlT2vrgAXzRKLPw1VCQ9dY/s320/Duncan-MacLeod-YM-2-560x373.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our young pigs back in June, starting to grow.</td></tr>
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Pigs are fantastic animals. And I'm not just talking about their unparalleled superiority in the minds of the culinary world. It has been a lot of fun to raise our four hogs up on the farm this year. They started out at about 20-25 lbs each, cute as a button and full of fun. They were pretty skittish upon moving into their new digs in May, but it didn't take more than a week before they had warmed up to their caretakers and their new home. The kids enjoyed coming by to see them and I liked running the length of paddock with a stampeding porcine herd in pursuit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE_admtPZ-0tc0zDbSuvHDXuV-8z2YuokXuIZfzLnHSOTvoZE8ZyfgOACp_sQEv1ETdDqM2WYxVj_rIstyNX2xP_C5x0uGm83gSNYJc7KiKH_QHvfGEMRElAGf4JtCwm71sWzyi6m5OA/s1600/photo(6).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE_admtPZ-0tc0zDbSuvHDXuV-8z2YuokXuIZfzLnHSOTvoZE8ZyfgOACp_sQEv1ETdDqM2WYxVj_rIstyNX2xP_C5x0uGm83gSNYJc7KiKH_QHvfGEMRElAGf4JtCwm71sWzyi6m5OA/s320/photo(6).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken in July sometime, I think.....showing a little more size.</td></tr>
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Able to feed freely, they have grown rapidly. These days they are all over the 200lb mark, our big girl is going to finish at 300lbs, I'm convinced. At this size they are something to reckon with and the pig pasture has been a kid-free zone for some time now. A curious sow can throw a wheelbarrow with one toss of her head (even if that wheelbarrow is loaded with manure and stacked with rake and shovel....ask me how I know) and their propensity to test things with an exploratory bite means that you don't really want to turn your attention away from them for too long lest you find your boot or your calf in their powerful jaws. But they remain good-natured and our experience with them has been overall very positive.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-9rbyzIXJtLY-f7K6LtwY_bERMI38NbbhHK3MxiUmqA30S24nvr2cYsC4Ik1f-6XyxYSZtwWcz27coFuXv0rZ7qr_dsjqeQW4bW0BtBulDJBPdlTWv6yVTOCtAq8VW8uuD5umA3MbHA/s1600/photo(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-9rbyzIXJtLY-f7K6LtwY_bERMI38NbbhHK3MxiUmqA30S24nvr2cYsC4Ik1f-6XyxYSZtwWcz27coFuXv0rZ7qr_dsjqeQW4bW0BtBulDJBPdlTWv6yVTOCtAq8VW8uuD5umA3MbHA/s320/photo(8).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken in early September, getting big now.</td></tr>
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However, harvest time continues to approach. These four pigs are being divided between six families, providing food for more than 20 people, not including friends and family. We are going to be handling the whole process ourselves from a to z, snout to tail, slaughter to sausage. It is a big task, one with no small amount of gravitas in it. And so we are already starting preparations.<br />
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In the information age, there is a great deal of help out there for people interested in taking on work like this for themselves. And, of course, such a pursuit has a niche community out there that is passionate about such things. There are the foodies, the hunter-sorts, the homesteaders, paleo-dieters, and a whole crop of people coming to this through the agrarian renaissance. One such voice comes from the good folks at <a href="http://www.farmsteadmeatsmith.com/" target="_blank">Farmstead Meatsmith</a>, an amazing resource located here in the Northwest. They have published a series of beautiful (no really, you should go watch) instructional videos on their site that not only give some of the practical steps to farm butchery but also do a good job of introducing much of the rationale that drives so many of us to seek a different way of life, or perhaps I should say a different way of food.<br />
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In mid-October I will be taking part in a hands-on experience in side-butchery with the Farmstead Meatsmith folks over on Whidbey Island. I have been tooling up for our own harvest, collecting knives and knowledge, and in general getting very excited about the culinary benefits of this process. I can recommend several books that have helped in the planning, including Michael Ruhlman's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347395765&sr=1-4&keywords=ruhlman" target="_blank">Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing</a>; Stéphane Reynaud's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pork-Sons-St%C3%A9phane-Reynaud/dp/0714847909/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347395827&sr=1-1&keywords=pork+and+sons" target="_blank">Pork and Sons</a> ( a beautifully photographed book about pig harvest and charcuterie in provincial France); and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Whole-Beast-Nose-Tail-Eating/dp/0060585366/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347395960&sr=1-1&keywords=snout+to+tail" target="_blank">The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating</a>, by Fergus Henderson.<br />
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Harvest is going to happen sometime around the first week of November. In the meantime the pigs are eating cull apples and pears, zuchinni and squash, and even the occasional early pumpkin. They like extra eggs from the chickens when they can get them and nearly took my hand off the other day when I delivered a bag full of over-ripe plums and apricots. We've liked the experience and are already making plans for next year. More updates to come as we get to harvest time.....wait until I tell you all about salami!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-62906153572153809292012-09-11T11:34:00.001-07:002012-09-11T11:35:45.278-07:00Sweeter than honey?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNKNOYz9JFEf0hqmhrzKfRmdn2nwHt87JlcI35B0XcE-WDlvnhAOKz_w8YnXz9uNiGv3gFQywzim-x-mPOPHZJmaLCUQQkJr9kROlLsjwbDkDT6pTE_uVDg4oHxbjxS333_RoZL9ga-w/s1600/Duncan-MacLeod-YM-5-560x840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNKNOYz9JFEf0hqmhrzKfRmdn2nwHt87JlcI35B0XcE-WDlvnhAOKz_w8YnXz9uNiGv3gFQywzim-x-mPOPHZJmaLCUQQkJr9kROlLsjwbDkDT6pTE_uVDg4oHxbjxS333_RoZL9ga-w/s320/Duncan-MacLeod-YM-5-560x840.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
There are a lot of benefits to keeping bees around. Of course there is the honey, which is always dynamite. I harvested plenty of honey from one of my hives this year, it has real flavor (which you just won't find in the grocery store varieties) and expresses a range of color depending on when and where it is harvested from.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGF38tUWO1r8mpQobPrzGLPnls3lL3nVL8FUyFd3h08JfUIfbaFEK6uuZDocra9Y_zBqNja9rC3tqZofwMGpDfksAI4guRflok6az_VM4uakLZF4Yc850kjAuf53580_9FmSiG7DmQbuQ/s1600/DSC_0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGF38tUWO1r8mpQobPrzGLPnls3lL3nVL8FUyFd3h08JfUIfbaFEK6uuZDocra9Y_zBqNja9rC3tqZofwMGpDfksAI4guRflok6az_VM4uakLZF4Yc850kjAuf53580_9FmSiG7DmQbuQ/s200/DSC_0209.JPG" width="133" /></a>This year I was able to capture four swarms for myself, which I have hived in three large Top Bar Hives up on the farm. On top of that, I had opportunity to capture several other swarms which we placed with some aspiring new beekeepers - nice to get some other folks into the work of caring for bees! My hope is that the hives will all be strong enough to weather the winter and will start next spring strong. I will be able to split those colonies next year and continue to expand the apiary.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuEfbAPrCeom7bPiMOrKUVlINgh4OPS75qb2PQ3IGC8fcbL1k8myzFcsMCc2wacvSz8cxbI-Jqv_t8eDcvKti2T_JYyHg4dNy23O4XauXpiajto8Vht_tQUfgYFSPaeKg-glVc_lqzP8c/s1600/DSC_0225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuEfbAPrCeom7bPiMOrKUVlINgh4OPS75qb2PQ3IGC8fcbL1k8myzFcsMCc2wacvSz8cxbI-Jqv_t8eDcvKti2T_JYyHg4dNy23O4XauXpiajto8Vht_tQUfgYFSPaeKg-glVc_lqzP8c/s320/DSC_0225.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wax not only looks great, but it smells simply amazing.</td></tr>
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One of the side products that is readily taken from the Top Bar Hives is beeswax. The bees build fresh comb which they use for raising young and for storing honey. The honey storage comb is sometimes emptied out as the bees make use of the food during periods of colony growth or low forage availability. That empty storage comb is good stuff for processing into pure beeswax. Evie and I built a solar wax melter this summer and have been putting it to use to render out some beeswax for a special project she's interested in. Pure beeswax has a lot of uses, but she has her eyes set on lip balm. So we'll combine this wax with some other natural products and start turning out Evie's first line of lip balm soon. It's sure to be the hot item this winter for all those chapped lips out there, so keep your eyes open for our young entrepreneur's announcement about available product.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-59662330953698731582012-09-11T08:47:00.000-07:002012-11-02T18:52:41.852-07:00Let's Go Fly a Kite<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A great gift came to us in mid-late August this year - a family in the church offered us a week at their time-share property in Long Beach, WA. The summer temps in Yakima had been unbearable, a long string of triple-digit-days, and we were ready for some respite on the Washington coast. The trip was our last hurrah before school started for the kids, so we packed up and headed towards the sea, making the 4.5 hour drive from Yakima in about 4.5 hours. Textbook.<br />
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One of the cool things happening at the beach that week was an International Kite Festival. The sky just outside the hotel was filled with fantastic displays every day of the week! We settled into a routine of sorts, taking a stroll down the boardwalk nearly every day and taking in the festival.<br />
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The loop back towards the hotel took us back through town and we quickly discovered a candy store on the route. The kids liked stopping in there and perusing their merchandise! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAN9jWBZlP6YQXjio0SkD11PFt92T4jyxvMwq3IMEBfoiwVUNCMECYT3Kci69_RwRgKurX0TdEHsBektjcL8kmAY2-AZTRQP15bhV6VGGcFEkKxAPi8rkOVtVBlDwynvp7MaCeXd16nV0/s1600/DSC_0219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAN9jWBZlP6YQXjio0SkD11PFt92T4jyxvMwq3IMEBfoiwVUNCMECYT3Kci69_RwRgKurX0TdEHsBektjcL8kmAY2-AZTRQP15bhV6VGGcFEkKxAPi8rkOVtVBlDwynvp7MaCeXd16nV0/s200/DSC_0219.JPG" width="200" /></a> One of the cool features at the festival was a kids' kite pavilion which offered the kids a chance to make a kite of their very own. They selected colors and fabric and soon enough they were joining the ranks of kite-flyers on the beach.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivR0LtLksSKJ1saaiLPpU-Y3SWf38ZzupwK4gN6A37kYTsGk3ocGFiLTZ3fU08BkHncJNudDbnjYaXuQctvu8HoMdV141Q48cQoZX2O-tQW2FA7X2fMMMpT1OuA-_k74Ge8GsPVvhC7LY/s1600/DSC_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivR0LtLksSKJ1saaiLPpU-Y3SWf38ZzupwK4gN6A37kYTsGk3ocGFiLTZ3fU08BkHncJNudDbnjYaXuQctvu8HoMdV141Q48cQoZX2O-tQW2FA7X2fMMMpT1OuA-_k74Ge8GsPVvhC7LY/s200/DSC_0234.JPG" width="200" /></a>A kite festival has a great, mellow vibe to it. The display of color and design is pretty mind-blowing (kite humor), but there is not much more to taking it all in other than relaxing near the beach and enjoying the view. This makes for a pretty relaxing week, which is just what the doctor ordered. The kids spent many, many hours in the hotel pool, which was kept at a balmy 80 degrees or so, and we spent time walking the beach every day.<br />
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The kids want it to be a new tradition, a yearly trip to the beach and to the kite festival. Whether it works out that way or not, we certainly enjoyed our trip and would gladly do it again. Enjoy the pictures! <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-8702645860174962872012-09-10T21:33:00.000-07:002012-09-11T08:51:09.059-07:00Over-exposed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I admit that I've been having a bit of a freakout. It has taken me some time to come to terms with it, to understand what I've been reacting to, what has been driving a recent spell of rampant introversion. And I think I have identified the source, as unlikely as it may seem to some of you who know me well, as impossible as it might seem to those who know me a little.<br />
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Earlier this summer I was interviewed by a local magazine here in Yakima. It goes by the appropriate title, <a href="http://www.yakimamagazine.com/" target="_blank">Yakima Magazine</a>. Initially I was talked into a profile piece. You know, a kind of "who are the people in your neighborhood" kind of thing, an innocuous fluff article on a local pastor tucked between ads for the fair and the classifieds. A photoshoot was scheduled. Ok, I can handle that. A couple of photos in several settings, surely one good one would surface for the article.<br />
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Several days before <a href="http://www.yakimamagazine.com/?s=macleod" target="_blank">the article</a> was published, the writer called to go over the text with me and I asked if they had found a photo that worked.<br />
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"Yeah, yeah we did. In fact....(pause)....you are actually going to be the cover photo."<br />
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Cover model, that's me. So, you should know that this magazine is a free publication. It goes out in a Friday addition of the local paper once a month and is also distributed in stacks to local businesses, libraries, etc. In short, they paper the town with this thing. You know those periodical dispensers outside your local grocery store...the bins where you can pick up the local paper or the nickel ads or the auto-trader? Yeah, my cover photo was all over those things.<br />
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Of course, it was all in good fun. The article was fine, the response was very positive and resulted in a strange level of attention. I found myself a kind of B-list celebrity in town. People would double-take in the grocery store as I passed, getting up the courage several aisles later to say, "Hey, you're that guy from the magazine, right?" The folks at the church were very proud and we had some good laughs, I even signed some autographs that first Sunday after the magazine came out.....yeah, don't unpack that too much, I have tried to block it out.<br />
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But I have since found myself in something of a funk. And I think the article has something to do with it. One of the things people don't often guess about me is that I am an introvert. I don't always look much like an introvert. Mmes. Myers and Briggs label me an INTJ. It is true that my "I" (for Introvert) is borderline....but that line is moving, moving slowly and steadily over the last several decades from the crowded mall food court to a sage-covered hill in the wilderness. I used to be an ENTJ back in the day....but my "I" side is slowly taking over. I am a situational extrovert, which means I can become a people-person when necessary, but it does not give me energy. It, in fact, exhausts me, and I often retreat after public exposure, like preaching, for instance.<br />
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So the magazine article ended up being a laser-focused spotlight under which my introverted self shrank and shriveled. I found myself retreating from facebook, from my blog, from other means of friendship, communication, and networking. My projects and interested didn't cease, but my desire to share those with anyone else was gone.<br />
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Of course, this is an over-reaction. I am slowly coming out of this period of retreat and gaining some perspective on it. I think self-sufficiency is an illusion, but my introvert inclinations push me to want to believe in the illusion. The truth is, much of the projects and passions I pursue are at their best when they introduce me to community. Community is a basic need for humanity, even for a borderline introvert. I enjoy the company of others, I especially love sharing the joy of discovery that comes in so many of the areas of interest of mine, whether that joy is shared with my kids, my wife, or the many friends that I meet through this poly-hobbiest lifestyle. I really do like to bring people together, especially through shared passions - I suppose I have just had the opportunity to see some of my own demons, and might recognize them on the street the next time they are heading my way.<br />
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So I am back on the blog. Lots going on, especially as fall, the most blessed and perfect of the seasons, comes to Yakima. I'll try to do some catch up here and there with some of the projects that have been going on. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-50085060850415719452012-05-11T14:29:00.000-07:002012-05-11T15:35:32.169-07:00Spring Pigs<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcheK6i5MSqjuXucx5JFbKhQDHL5isA9qI_UzuuLXsrk1JQVytHo9HuPua8ksXTXk-ivljuVQw5aFVZml-IHvQ0qsyrknNBajtdbQ5Fm6_jeS4jH30YiFklfRwabAv8YU1TNezmFQWrk/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcheK6i5MSqjuXucx5JFbKhQDHL5isA9qI_UzuuLXsrk1JQVytHo9HuPua8ksXTXk-ivljuVQw5aFVZml-IHvQ0qsyrknNBajtdbQ5Fm6_jeS4jH30YiFklfRwabAv8YU1TNezmFQWrk/s320/DSC_0041.JPG" width="320" /></a>Today marked a milestone in our adventures in country living. Sure, chickens are great, but every hipster in Seattle has got him or herself a backyard flock. Shoot, any good flock of chickens just about comes with a pair of skinny jeans, some ironic facial hair, and a can of PBR. But you know you are going beyond the trendy when you step into bona-fide livestock. So that's what we did. Time to dust off the Curriculum Vitae and add "Pig Farmer" to the list of life skills.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3DEdnyVWgAy5r1FumqYAMZzsooM8Ez6J1nYCthqpRBqxxUYOaXIL0h_BAp9rr59UnXMdZe9msdVhouf4WeKEzZkXij3JGIVB2MKYgUPVDud-yjw1uDmZWP9HjNEGCgsPrkaDjHdsWy8/s1600/DSC_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3DEdnyVWgAy5r1FumqYAMZzsooM8Ez6J1nYCthqpRBqxxUYOaXIL0h_BAp9rr59UnXMdZe9msdVhouf4WeKEzZkXij3JGIVB2MKYgUPVDud-yjw1uDmZWP9HjNEGCgsPrkaDjHdsWy8/s200/DSC_0037.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiZhMDVC1vdfG7MPWeGwRGmYyAXF0fJ_RCTJyx_B8lOhd_jtXfqRDJcgSzTqJMxsAcUICv3QOt2N0nkCmIWsCqkrgvav5IT6IDoeNeYps0QqJd2txoAUVeiiHbIl6akV2KA8lDmv19B4/s1600/DSC_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiZhMDVC1vdfG7MPWeGwRGmYyAXF0fJ_RCTJyx_B8lOhd_jtXfqRDJcgSzTqJMxsAcUICv3QOt2N0nkCmIWsCqkrgvav5IT6IDoeNeYps0QqJd2txoAUVeiiHbIl6akV2KA8lDmv19B4/s200/DSC_0045.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilKWrDvSj085sIm9CATjToCiQBlAmfnSNzrjKJ355ThfAuxRzvB_LpPuzUkPlf4Zj9loSvrVhHJxPcc96mFhXpOEzVRYVCn5Pv3Qprudso_8kns8l1qeRRzeN8DqrQPHr4CqMYoK3Ri8/s1600/DSC_0038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilKWrDvSj085sIm9CATjToCiQBlAmfnSNzrjKJ355ThfAuxRzvB_LpPuzUkPlf4Zj9loSvrVhHJxPcc96mFhXpOEzVRYVCn5Pv3Qprudso_8kns8l1qeRRzeN8DqrQPHr4CqMYoK3Ri8/s200/DSC_0038.JPG" width="143" /></a>We picked up our four piglets today from new friend Pablo at Mountain View Family Ranch (www.mountainviewfamilyranch.com). The pigs are being raised on the farm property that we have been rehabilitating with friends. They get a very large paddock, deluxe all the way. We had to do some work to make it right, including fence repair, gate replacement, and electric-fence installation. We knew that the pigs would be ready for pick-up in early May and the day finally arrived. We had some last-minute adjustments to make, but moved the four little ladies in late this morning.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiZhMDVC1vdfG7MPWeGwRGmYyAXF0fJ_RCTJyx_B8lOhd_jtXfqRDJcgSzTqJMxsAcUICv3QOt2N0nkCmIWsCqkrgvav5IT6IDoeNeYps0QqJd2txoAUVeiiHbIl6akV2KA8lDmv19B4/s1600/DSC_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>There has been a lot of interest in this project as it picked up steam. The four pigs we have are going to be divvied up between six or so families - when word started getting out, we could easily have bought ten or more, there was that much interest. But we are keeping our first venture into pig-raising modest in scale. It is a five-month investment, these cuties are slated for the chopping block in November. That's the way of things, folks. But they are going to get a lot of attention and love in the meantime, possibly even a trip to the fair. Stay tuned for more farm updates as we all get settled into late spring routines here! <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-10302641891319610862012-05-08T14:45:00.001-07:002012-05-08T14:45:24.962-07:00An Old Shed, A New CoopThere have been some exciting developments recently that have resulted in a great deal of work. Real, get-your-hands-dirty, be outside kind of work, which has prevented a lot of blogging. Blogging about work and life is a kind of derivative, a downstream product of life, like shadows on the cave wall. I would much rather be occupied with the font of experience than the products of experience, so I make, once again, no apologies about the trickling pace of posts. There is a great deal going on, however, and I suspect that 2012 will produce a great collection of photos and reflections!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ9SuRMWgolM0xy62g0uApucvhZ4EW9vZGRiUlsrW7OI2AjDf2wuCI_uLQXT2lLYcZgXjWWZ2G3YVLcmYcjOVF9dNqDt8Gq_C6rnr3ClVcDRxyLRT3y9u45jV7pGbBppR9hwFcv82SfO0/s1600/DSC_0338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ9SuRMWgolM0xy62g0uApucvhZ4EW9vZGRiUlsrW7OI2AjDf2wuCI_uLQXT2lLYcZgXjWWZ2G3YVLcmYcjOVF9dNqDt8Gq_C6rnr3ClVcDRxyLRT3y9u45jV7pGbBppR9hwFcv82SfO0/s320/DSC_0338.JPG" width="320" /></a>Things like this - a new farm! Well....an old farm....and not our farm. Some friends have recently acquired a small, run-down farm property located just minutes away from our house here in Yakima. They have graciously included us in a rehabilitation effort, as our two families, both interested in homestead-y kind of living, work to put animals of various sorts back onto the property. Our plans are ambitious and far-ranging, including chickens, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and who knows what else. We have been working hard to get the place ready for the first couple of move-ins and I have learned the first of what will surely be a whole host of important lessons.<br />
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Lesson #1: There is no such thing as an "animal-ready" farm.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmhxy_HUe51K9NFDVmgV9qEJY87mN6Gy4oHvu7nFnogXVl-9kEmTvyk96Khz876mNjlbFiH1htrNtavtzuR8cI9bbpMHqLDy7MzIsYakS-TDZK3uoGsWKOl4cJoE2Z2tmRwX0gZKqZBw/s1600/DSC_0341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmhxy_HUe51K9NFDVmgV9qEJY87mN6Gy4oHvu7nFnogXVl-9kEmTvyk96Khz876mNjlbFiH1htrNtavtzuR8cI9bbpMHqLDy7MzIsYakS-TDZK3uoGsWKOl4cJoE2Z2tmRwX0gZKqZBw/s200/DSC_0341.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_jvouYjUslmL_eliea6gdTMeIkEgxEpVHbW5qCu5NWOavnkp2kLXdm2krVAYlLYRzAz822I7QdecmDRjVnK2AMm4ne6JZenwKYlSlmo3y1fSBM_TPIc0_3anzf-mRv9E7GqoDvGjUcw/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_jvouYjUslmL_eliea6gdTMeIkEgxEpVHbW5qCu5NWOavnkp2kLXdm2krVAYlLYRzAz822I7QdecmDRjVnK2AMm4ne6JZenwKYlSlmo3y1fSBM_TPIc0_3anzf-mRv9E7GqoDvGjUcw/s200/DSC_0006.JPG" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkxtJi6wVe_1mQ7csKxtpcV2LF-5wADLUFc-kulnkCuWThcdvP-4fvJPrQnOBvqHD2KMVoob-HKsE_MJpZQ-JA0Fab3fZgvZbvHZ7vBDbH2YUGGHeBiUs5Ffd2kGZD5fXnES7DTRPTs4/s1600/DSC_0008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkxtJi6wVe_1mQ7csKxtpcV2LF-5wADLUFc-kulnkCuWThcdvP-4fvJPrQnOBvqHD2KMVoob-HKsE_MJpZQ-JA0Fab3fZgvZbvHZ7vBDbH2YUGGHeBiUs5Ffd2kGZD5fXnES7DTRPTs4/s200/DSC_0008.JPG" width="143" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz7gydPHkAFOzx6hDouiupxcdahwvpuyU9MOTE4F5Q8lGGixa7OMwIHSl2jwznXXEj9ZXQ9GYFvBpCQLFaGYfNpbvRKwaAmE4bHxi8wodaqFVwqTwA1q0kLKSfNJURJ_ubzo_deAh4U74/s1600/DSC_0342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz7gydPHkAFOzx6hDouiupxcdahwvpuyU9MOTE4F5Q8lGGixa7OMwIHSl2jwznXXEj9ZXQ9GYFvBpCQLFaGYfNpbvRKwaAmE4bHxi8wodaqFVwqTwA1q0kLKSfNJURJ_ubzo_deAh4U74/s200/DSC_0342.JPG" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA02TRvtJbv3AE59xFANzUL3EFLHAXOrueb3YgQ2_mZ3LxSPVuKSD33zxJrFtMoR_reZz3H52iibdtAyOBZ2AzGGvj3GfFGT5OKAH0B_HTprbQVlBRlEQSWk5rHc9upjijnYw27XxI2k/s1600/DSC_0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA02TRvtJbv3AE59xFANzUL3EFLHAXOrueb3YgQ2_mZ3LxSPVuKSD33zxJrFtMoR_reZz3H52iibdtAyOBZ2AzGGvj3GfFGT5OKAH0B_HTprbQVlBRlEQSWk5rHc9upjijnYw27XxI2k/s200/DSC_0021.JPG" width="200" /></a>Even a property that has previously housed animals will probably need a surprising amount of work to get ready for new residents. A great example is the new chicken coop. We quickly identified a shed that looked like a likely candidate to be repurposed into a chicken coop. It had previously housed a couple of varieties of pigeons and then just the scatalogical remains of pigeons. There were various design considerations to deal with, not the smallest being that the shed had been cobbled together with a variety of materials and not a square angle in the structure. Also a consideration was our desire to make great use of recycled materials, of which there was a large supply of around the property. The very first step, logically, was to purchase 5 chicks from the local feed store. These we began raising in our garage, which was a great delight to our kids. It also started a stopwatch on the coop project.....we had about 5 weeks to get the thing ready. Nothing motivates like a deadline.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3Ss7aw7Fah5knq4Ub8zwEWtXVJ8kOxNrj3ZuPkUoLtiAFcAE7yWTpbfYYicGBbJMt_4IBPVIkqEY0SsHKaXrUwC_mzyWi-EiTcY-BH-CQ2v14KRU9bm-Iw5phFt43uIXB8GSikj59w0/s1600/DSC_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3Ss7aw7Fah5knq4Ub8zwEWtXVJ8kOxNrj3ZuPkUoLtiAFcAE7yWTpbfYYicGBbJMt_4IBPVIkqEY0SsHKaXrUwC_mzyWi-EiTcY-BH-CQ2v14KRU9bm-Iw5phFt43uIXB8GSikj59w0/s200/DSC_0009.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-R2Bwlp5RqQP-ysUQAqElmQeRcrVXQCI9G4HaA7Dm7Ukf6MoOg40XIX5CZPyTYwJPmVNVZMjIhFe3AehDf9IXa6bnyyf-0-1nt57lGl6uW0eiA7YZrKy6Ret4UplXklfo1OqlxECVMw/s1600/DSC_0346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-R2Bwlp5RqQP-ysUQAqElmQeRcrVXQCI9G4HaA7Dm7Ukf6MoOg40XIX5CZPyTYwJPmVNVZMjIhFe3AehDf9IXa6bnyyf-0-1nt57lGl6uW0eiA7YZrKy6Ret4UplXklfo1OqlxECVMw/s200/DSC_0346.JPG" width="200" /></a>The shed was torn apart and cleaned out. No less than three front-loader buckets full of guano were carted away as we made the space as disease-free as we could manage. The coop is a large design, more than capable of housing the now 14 chickens that make it their home. A front run is open-air, surrounded by fencing and accessed by a recycled door. The chickens access the coop proper by way of a ramp that leads to a small door. Inside, there are roost areas and nesting boxes for all those eggs. Four of the chickens are laying adults, and so there are already eggs being produced and enjoyed! The nesting boxes are accessed through individual sliding doors, which the kids check daily. New tin was put on the roof and on the sides, to make the thing look a little less like a shanty (though putting tin on that structure was a challenge, to say the least).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WTCaARTYtg3DAuO6jJpolfXWtPofnssBmE7wWYiLvEzJTqo6mBTNt1nQv170JAeZi-W_HpuOiIgzjVNFsTeeMpLA4TJol9wJgrLXijGCpH2FxS8Lveogl1W1Q9PQZRVBro4w9BuOfIQ/s1600/DSC_0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WTCaARTYtg3DAuO6jJpolfXWtPofnssBmE7wWYiLvEzJTqo6mBTNt1nQv170JAeZi-W_HpuOiIgzjVNFsTeeMpLA4TJol9wJgrLXijGCpH2FxS8Lveogl1W1Q9PQZRVBro4w9BuOfIQ/s200/DSC_0013.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7TxIvCT2qtIXV_BGFOKBSCrQAdA1FGrnqmEwr0WqFpMCZFO7bm3qbNNGDtYs57z4oKO5-j7Ca3yRGBdb-wWbf756VWMZhBiCZjiJO1QkIncva4Qou79VitIifPoIv79weld7d1tKKTg/s1600/DSC_0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7TxIvCT2qtIXV_BGFOKBSCrQAdA1FGrnqmEwr0WqFpMCZFO7bm3qbNNGDtYs57z4oKO5-j7Ca3yRGBdb-wWbf756VWMZhBiCZjiJO1QkIncva4Qou79VitIifPoIv79weld7d1tKKTg/s200/DSC_0027.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxHkZkZjcH6J6FwQiI_bpJzq9a18hQLQizBg2Hrj6zv2bhI95TYx6nZGWZ_53kMNItnagbug86E4ZF7B3kapbz2KhCDDRrY_iKzVMr6OlL-x5R9Q4MLBhaPgMvcRBbExXAHNwSscN-Lc/s1600/DSC_0022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxHkZkZjcH6J6FwQiI_bpJzq9a18hQLQizBg2Hrj6zv2bhI95TYx6nZGWZ_53kMNItnagbug86E4ZF7B3kapbz2KhCDDRrY_iKzVMr6OlL-x5R9Q4MLBhaPgMvcRBbExXAHNwSscN-Lc/s200/DSC_0022.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jjfNFmfgXA3Y5tWuYUMIW8GLBVUkf0Ld3Jf73pPHfb7b6r4py757LVYjodbPf5cL2F2ahObcIbdVt-pSVUT39WmOLCGxQLxF0eIJ8pzTrrgKM1oKi83r7hc4KCv-wCzzYyQPWKqqKjE/s1600/DSC_0029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jjfNFmfgXA3Y5tWuYUMIW8GLBVUkf0Ld3Jf73pPHfb7b6r4py757LVYjodbPf5cL2F2ahObcIbdVt-pSVUT39WmOLCGxQLxF0eIJ8pzTrrgKM1oKi83r7hc4KCv-wCzzYyQPWKqqKjE/s200/DSC_0029.JPG" width="200" /></a>The chicks are all moved in an enjoying the new home, which has light and heat provided so that it will be able to sustain them through all seasons here in Yakima. The kids check in on them just about every day, keeping close tabs on their personal favorites.<br />
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We've also been working overtime on getting one of the large paddocks on the property ready for new residents that will arrive this Friday - four pigs! Pictures of that project and the little porkers will soon follow. I've established my new apiary on the site as well, and will probably have about 3-4 hives working by the time summer is in full swing. Green acres is the life for me! Stay tuned for more updates from "the farm". Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2551901043643999130.post-33749028733467939052012-02-16T20:51:00.000-08:002012-02-16T20:51:53.920-08:00Putting the Kids to Bed<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDckr1Lf3fnx9ndCFJtFSzXqP5hjrJi9GjgraOLfrYEtMDDpCif6MJiK9rPGjVZUFkiVBTB3WShyphenhyphenqivsvvd-DU-Ti-_7KwkhHpISRbmizta_O11g9MZqTL96QMT1PKzZ0W-wOjYYiOCkk/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDckr1Lf3fnx9ndCFJtFSzXqP5hjrJi9GjgraOLfrYEtMDDpCif6MJiK9rPGjVZUFkiVBTB3WShyphenhyphenqivsvvd-DU-Ti-_7KwkhHpISRbmizta_O11g9MZqTL96QMT1PKzZ0W-wOjYYiOCkk/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHWn0-ZYAXz2LrbKlkMUB0bdya-Q-5c3-TkJGXLjLqroQhtsj5I18IHBzY_NCpXZ5nv7mwMuYwPa7n9vJF2DkbhW75f7YyzBchUxVIC6vQTqT0MVt44AbDn3aULXj9JgaSnSkDFgsTBQ/s1600/DSC_0251.NEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDckr1Lf3fnx9ndCFJtFSzXqP5hjrJi9GjgraOLfrYEtMDDpCif6MJiK9rPGjVZUFkiVBTB3WShyphenhyphenqivsvvd-DU-Ti-_7KwkhHpISRbmizta_O11g9MZqTL96QMT1PKzZ0W-wOjYYiOCkk/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDckr1Lf3fnx9ndCFJtFSzXqP5hjrJi9GjgraOLfrYEtMDDpCif6MJiK9rPGjVZUFkiVBTB3WShyphenhyphenqivsvvd-DU-Ti-_7KwkhHpISRbmizta_O11g9MZqTL96QMT1PKzZ0W-wOjYYiOCkk/s200/photo.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHWn0-ZYAXz2LrbKlkMUB0bdya-Q-5c3-TkJGXLjLqroQhtsj5I18IHBzY_NCpXZ5nv7mwMuYwPa7n9vJF2DkbhW75f7YyzBchUxVIC6vQTqT0MVt44AbDn3aULXj9JgaSnSkDFgsTBQ/s320/DSC_0251.NEF.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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It has been some many months since I last posted, and I have no apologies to give, it has just been a busy time. There have been several projects that have progressed since October, some new ones, some that have been completed. This post is about one of those latter categories.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtfkttuAvsZU538O_Cdf6GHEQTffHATnsAkC6SXbPJaQzfgha9vlJB2F5ENTzmN_ofdKbOUEg3VCKPw1JPvk0d5a758PgHMSADgvmjUxLf_02c2iYKmtwgDMygd9RqUzzUUXlMiAOzMg/s1600/DSC_0247.NEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtfkttuAvsZU538O_Cdf6GHEQTffHATnsAkC6SXbPJaQzfgha9vlJB2F5ENTzmN_ofdKbOUEg3VCKPw1JPvk0d5a758PgHMSADgvmjUxLf_02c2iYKmtwgDMygd9RqUzzUUXlMiAOzMg/s320/DSC_0247.NEF.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZH9f-R8FChAOsY5MdW0sSGYmUxNfNx2LjRvmxT7Bs0KWOLAW9c93tuF8xJb5eTt9MjPXmzGkZiS6D1VwVpnkDq0GUIo1Mz_Z4mxXb6r4BCCOrSwJ2Zf2d82K0m-gFKZMYgeReGo26_D4/s1600/DSC_0246.NEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZH9f-R8FChAOsY5MdW0sSGYmUxNfNx2LjRvmxT7Bs0KWOLAW9c93tuF8xJb5eTt9MjPXmzGkZiS6D1VwVpnkDq0GUIo1Mz_Z4mxXb6r4BCCOrSwJ2Zf2d82K0m-gFKZMYgeReGo26_D4/s200/DSC_0246.NEF.jpg" width="133" /></a>As the kids have grown bigger, we have been experimenting with different sleeping configurations to get the whole family to sleep. The girls expressed interest in bunk beds, so we got this bunk frame and got it all outfitted and then found that nobody wanted to sleep on the top bunk. Workarounds were tried, but it became clear that a new arrangement was needed. So, off to the workshop....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdE5YO9qPAijJcIBJb7cb6vB97fFOOCC2ia8xUOhdQkl_Uf-qiEB5e3mLjlXxLrAeJ9KKQkAfc4nPj39SoRv6wflBxgVEjbbRDjkXMgphQL1nco8oDRNBBcwECNQ2JUn-LmSHguIXx3mw/s1600/DSC_0248.NEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdE5YO9qPAijJcIBJb7cb6vB97fFOOCC2ia8xUOhdQkl_Uf-qiEB5e3mLjlXxLrAeJ9KKQkAfc4nPj39SoRv6wflBxgVEjbbRDjkXMgphQL1nco8oDRNBBcwECNQ2JUn-LmSHguIXx3mw/s200/DSC_0248.NEF.jpg" width="200" /></a>The goal was to produce two identical twin beds that would come in at reasonable cost. The girls also needed input so they would have some ownership. Here's what came out:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBHr6OlEFRtL_JkFAp33-j5thAUK2btY3QDLYz3C1qUjAtB1tldsyf0p20gB2DUhKnF1aQCgBJ61tGq9CL1DF2-D-qU_kbZ0ma0hgyi2xtKkKE5g7VgRZghn0EorVnmTADI72lux8quQ/s1600/DSC_0250.NEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBHr6OlEFRtL_JkFAp33-j5thAUK2btY3QDLYz3C1qUjAtB1tldsyf0p20gB2DUhKnF1aQCgBJ61tGq9CL1DF2-D-qU_kbZ0ma0hgyi2xtKkKE5g7VgRZghn0EorVnmTADI72lux8quQ/s200/DSC_0250.NEF.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH16mddZLrLeJ8RxI2_i_oOvs-mnfV_e3qemkt_8pwyIwU2XRrKB9xAnStYIePbhLS0R8ztnjYiiL4A6VStubEBP3iyEq-me-o2WxADBs-t-YbItUFF0BjUSX8P3BvUPJcM1sJ6S9m-0k/s1600/DSC_0249.NEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH16mddZLrLeJ8RxI2_i_oOvs-mnfV_e3qemkt_8pwyIwU2XRrKB9xAnStYIePbhLS0R8ztnjYiiL4A6VStubEBP3iyEq-me-o2WxADBs-t-YbItUFF0BjUSX8P3BvUPJcM1sJ6S9m-0k/s200/DSC_0249.NEF.jpg" width="200" /></a>I built the beds out of pine and worked off of a model I created on Google's SketchUp program, which gave me a chance to think through the design. I laminated the legs to include through mortises which would receive the sideboards. The headboards were the most complex, though pretty straightforward as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5IzLz-gZ6GiEb8yd7yTQw5MhOyuT7NPfgyPPa_Nps4EDmbppVx6uLC85RLHDqbE-DzJtO31Y1pQufYzkbgBESdrPGU_6h6Cm0U10kdxOf7uvQ6HN-7J9Eb_iyeBAQ-UL_1sM9Hq8bVA/s1600/DSC_0294.NEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5IzLz-gZ6GiEb8yd7yTQw5MhOyuT7NPfgyPPa_Nps4EDmbppVx6uLC85RLHDqbE-DzJtO31Y1pQufYzkbgBESdrPGU_6h6Cm0U10kdxOf7uvQ6HN-7J9Eb_iyeBAQ-UL_1sM9Hq8bVA/s200/DSC_0294.NEF.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGclN5Fol549xDeMn8VpEHlJVWe5FxZer-Jx3dVPw0V8wQD-3koFvltNiLtzLACBpvr_atxYlQAmsHH_QbIJIqU-zth3brncW6FtAbWRjIkI8fEpjIJW5BcUXozhaFGCdfzS-4fzEOxI/s1600/DSC_0292.NEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40CeTOUeqIEUocSIHMRqtgwhfmXX4iLHS5pesM3r2Y7ESU4NE9RWFCzSGKZsIiL1JRA4arbhvwdNYWHPjTvkeFmDljZjnaJ5XJW6YxCMMqdLM8cIuA4hshbG16ln-R_FlxWPPhzwCP-s/s1600/DSC_0295.NEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40CeTOUeqIEUocSIHMRqtgwhfmXX4iLHS5pesM3r2Y7ESU4NE9RWFCzSGKZsIiL1JRA4arbhvwdNYWHPjTvkeFmDljZjnaJ5XJW6YxCMMqdLM8cIuA4hshbG16ln-R_FlxWPPhzwCP-s/s320/DSC_0295.NEF.jpg" width="320" /></a><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGclN5Fol549xDeMn8VpEHlJVWe5FxZer-Jx3dVPw0V8wQD-3koFvltNiLtzLACBpvr_atxYlQAmsHH_QbIJIqU-zth3brncW6FtAbWRjIkI8fEpjIJW5BcUXozhaFGCdfzS-4fzEOxI/s200/DSC_0292.NEF.jpg" width="200" />The girls picked out their colors of choice. "Sparkling Lime" and "Strawberry Shortcake". After the beds were finished, we created some letters out of 1/4" mdf (Evie did some of the scroll-saw work). Shannon decorated them in color schemes consistent with each bed, and we affixed the letters to the headboards for a finishing touch. Voila! The girls love them, which is really all that matters in the end. A pretty reasonable project with a fine result.</div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04399496321127936491noreply@blogger.com1