Bethune Catholic

Requiem Press

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:19:00 +0000

It has been quite a while since I plugged Requiem Press, but we are still around-if barely. We need your help to stay in business and remain viable into 2010-bringing more good reading options to the plate. We have several books in the wings, just waiting for enough funding to print.

We are running a $5 special on select titles. Some of these represent substantial discount over the cover price. Take advantage of these when contemplating Christmas gifts.

If you are unsure of a particular title, click over to The Requiem Reader and read some excerpts from some of these books.

Included in the $5 special are: Two Towers by John Meehan; Standing with Peter by Dr. William May; a Breath of Home-poems from the Heart of the Family by LongSkirts; Witnesses to the Holy Mass by Rev. Bede Camm OSB; and The Maccabees, Forgotten Heroes of Israel with an introduction by Dr. William Carroll.

I think there is something for everyone in this group.

Oremus pro invicem!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:09:00 +0000

Here's a couple views of our Thanksgiving celebration taken by one of our guests. The first is yours truly about to break into our 30+ pound bird. (It was not easy situating it in our oven, believe me.)

The next is the boys and I doing some kind of country song. As you can see, we had fun.

Finally, a picture of our new living room ceiling, which actually is still in progress. I promised Mrs. Curley to have it done by Thanksgiving, but those critical items (time & money) kept coming up in short supply. It's half done, let's hope for Christmas it can be completed.

Oremus pro invicem!

"You Can Farm"

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:06:00 +0000

My library didn't have this book, and I wanted read it, so instead of ordering inter-library loan (around here, inter-library loan books you only have for 8 days and you have to pay postage), I suggested they acquire a copy. After all, we do live in a rural county and others may benefit from it. To my great delight they bought a copy and reserved it for me.

I have been thoroughly enjoying it; I am almost finished. I am going to get my older boys to read the first few chapters before I return it to the library.

While I didn't learn all that much as I already practice many of his principles on a small scale, (for instance, we try very hard to return fertility to the soil, and we grass-feed or greens-feed as much as our livestock as possible on our small holding) I have come away with a new appreciation of borrowing and/or leasing land as opposed to buying it.

We are very land-limited here and need more land to be both more self-sufficient and to generate more farm income. While I have talked about leasing in the past, now I am going to actively seek opportunities for using more land without having to come up with money to purchase some acreage.

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We have a couple piglets left to sell, but most have been sold. It was a busy week in this regard.

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I hope all had a happy Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful week (not quite getting everything done, but enough). We had some family visiting, a new friend made and some old friends over for feasting, praying, and some homegrown entertainment.

Advent starts a new year in the Church. Ironically (not being a Catholic holiday), Thanksgiving always comes just before this "new year". We have had mountainous struggles this year (the new year is not starting any different) but I realize that with all this, God has blessed the Curley's tremendously.

Oremus pro invicem!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:41:00 +0000

The turkey is on ice. We have the house pretty clean, plumbing problems sort of resolved, the dryer sort of working, the ceiling for the living room is out in the garage (hoping for a quick install in the morning).

We've been selling piglets-but have a couple left.

I treat you to a picture of our turkeys (above) and a few pigs still here from our first two litters (white pig born in April, about 220 lbs in this picture; the black one born in July). (Isn't the black one a real beauty?) We've had rain (thankfully) for the last few days, making the hog pens a challenge to keep dry....
Oremus pro invicem!

Job, dryers and pigs!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:11:00 +0000

As I struggled with the dryer this week and now some plumbing problems (I had the water shut off half the day yesterday wrestling with a leaky toilet and broken valve-neither which is completely fixed, as of the present writing, but is "under control"-that is the water to the bathroom is capped off until I get some more stuff), I felt called to read some of the book of Job this morning-and now everything seems to be in perspective.

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Speaking of the dryer, I will report the intermediate conclusion of this saga. After speaking again with the folks at RepairClinic.com yesterday, they are sending me a replacement coil for the heating element free of charge. These folks and their website has been very helpful in fixing our appliances here over the years. This is the first problem I had with something I purchased from them, and they resolved it fairly. I do recommend them and will be going to them again.

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Finally, pigs for sale! From 2 litters, one born in August (the white pigs) and the other in September. Here are a couple pictures of the piglets at various stages of life - the black piglets only being a day or so old in this picture. Email me (on the sidebar) if you are interested in any. Several are already reserved, so don't wait. (Our next litter is not due until January.)

Oremus pro invicem!

Traditional feast of St. Stanilaus Kotska

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:43:00 +0000

Not to belabor my last post, but 10 years ago today we buried my father, Stanley Curley, on his name saint's feast day. Both on the 9th and the 13th of November every year we pray the Office of the Dead.

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The dryer is down. Visitors here will notice the clotheslines hanging in the 'den' as we've had a welcome (but untimely, considering the dryer) run of rain and cloudy weather. I replaced the heating element in the dryer at the end of May. It starting failing again in September, but I wouldn't believe it was the heating element. Turns out it was, and the company I bought it from won't replace it; the manufacturer only warranties 90 days. But clearly the new heating element was defective. I am trying to get the company I purchased it from to discuss the matter with the manufacturer on my behalf. We'll see how this goes. You only have to replace a heating element a few times before you could've bought yourself a brand new dryer.

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Got a new sow this week. She isn't what I planned to get, but the price was right, she's both young and proven, and she looks healthy. We'll see how it goes.

Work to do ..... Oremus pro invicem!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:32:00 +0000

I can't believe it has been 10 years (today) since my Dad died. May his soul rest in peace!

Oremus pro invicem!

Whew

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:16:00 +0000

....It's been a long time. Not that there has been a lack of things to write about. All Saints Day has come and gone. (Great gathering here of just a few families. Prayer, games, food - our first turkey!-I played St. Isadore the farmer this year.)

All Souls has come and gone also. Usually I plug Requiem Press 's Daily Prayers for the Church Suffering and offer deep discounts on quantity purchases. Not this year. We have only a few left. We originally printed 6,000 in the summer of 2004. We have sold many, but have given the rest away-one in every order shipped. I hope they have done some good. I'd like to reprint, but don't have the money. Perhaps we'll print it in-house as we do on a few other items.

But don't forget the holy souls just because I can't sell you 100 copies (we still do have enough to sell in quantities of 10 or less, at least for now.)

We also passed our 5-year mark on the blog in mid-October. I wish I had more time to devote to the blog, but now the homestead work is quite demanding of time. (Today for instance I need to distribute straw to housing, cut some piglets, start separating peanuts from plants, ... and it goes on.)

But I will leave you with a reading suggestion: on hardware stores at Front Porch Republic . My comment after reading the article was:

We still have a small hardware store and an independent feed store. The big boxes are 30 minutes or more away. My wife knows a trip to the feed or hardware store 2 miles from the homestead will more often than not be long-winded. We talk politics and business and farming. Its not just talk. The livelihood of many of the folks who stop and talk depend on these centers of the community. We get to know who can help with what and who we can help. Our small town needs more revival, but it still has life, but a low enough population that the big boxes will stay away for at least a bit longer as “real” jobs are almost an hour away.

(Is it okay to quote yourself from another blog-or is this just the height of vanity?)

Pray for the Holy Souls and have a great week.

Oremus pro invicem!

Of animals

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:16:00 +0000

We have now hit 3 deers with 3 different cars in less than 5 years. I should call our fleet of cars deer magnets. I hit a buck on Route 1 just north of Camden on Monday. The grill and right headline are gone. The radiator is bent and was knocked back into the serpentine belt. Fortunately (and miraculously) the radiator did not leak. I had a piece of wire in the truck and tied the radiator back to the front of the engine compartment. And it made it home okay. Don't have comprehensive on the '87 truck, so I am on my own. I figure a new radiator isn't that hard to install and I can pick up a grill at a junk yard.

I would have put the buck in the back of the pick up and brought it home (I did kill it) but I had a 200lb pig (another story) in the back of the truck and had no room.

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Goats were born last year on number 2 daughters birthday; our cow calved on my birthday this year; our roving gamecock hen hatched 5 bitties on number 3 daughter's birthday this October. I guess this isn't so coincidental considering how much livestock we have around here, but it is interesting.

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Today it is official, I now have 3 teenage boys in the house. God is good.

Oremus pro invicem!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:24:00 +0000

We have a gilt from our July 23rd litter which we were keeping for our own freezer-but boy she looks too good to eat. I have never seen a pig at this age have so much definition. Her growth is good also. She would make a fine addition to someone's herd. I'll try to remember to post a picture of 'Blackie" (some people around here think she should be named "Inkie", however being bound, at present, for the freezer, it doesn't seem to matter much.)

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I am being interviewed on the Catholic Radio station here in SC today, around 2:30. Every year they broadcast live from the State Fair which opened yesterday. They re-broadcast the interviews during their radio-thon. I will be talking about Requiem Press and hopefully in particular pushing John Meehan's Two Towers-the de-Christianization of America and a plan for renewal.

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Our cow is Irish-Catholic although she was raised Baptist. I know because when milking her she is most quiet during my singing (and I have not a good voice) of Danny Boy, Praise My Soul the King of Heaven, and Haily Holy Queen.

Oremus pro invicem!

Life on the Homestead

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:48:00 +0000

So last evening I rushed home from my weekly gig in the city so I could milk and feed the animals with oldest son while the rest of the family road up to St. Catherine's for a Holy Hour and Benediction.

As I am cutting some greens to feed the pigs, I notice that our latest sow is practically climbing over her fencing, in this case a log barricade. I go over to give her some greens and see that her farrowing area is empty ... no piglets! None!

I look in the adjoining pens, all but one of which has members of the herd. No piglets! Did they get out and get eaten by the older hogs? I am calling for my son "Where are the piglets?" I am just imagining another disaster.

Ah, but God was with us. As I continue to call, all 15 come running out of the woods on the other side of the pens. A few make their way through the empty pen and squeeze through a hole they've managed to make back into their own pen. Momentarily their momma sow calls them, and they all return.

We feed the pigs. Son patches the hole while I milk Mabel. Whew!

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Notice that I mentioned feeding greens to the pigs in the story above. That's right. Just a few good rains (it is raining again today-which reminds me, we need to finish the milking barn, including finishing the roof!) and my fall garden is coming alive. This morning half the pigs' rations were made up of kale, Swiss chard, turnip greens, collard greens, and radishes.

If my 40 white leghorns and Comets would just start laying, we could practically eliminate most of the commercial grain. Milk, boiled table scraps, greens, eggs, hay and nuts make a pretty well-rounded diet.

Oremus pro invicem!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Can't believe I had never heard of the Foxfire anthology books. Mrs. Curley picked up a couple at our local library (Vol. 1 & 6) and I am enjoying them. I thought it would be the instructional articles (the fine art of moon-shining?) that would be most interesting-but it is the interviews with some of the old timers from Appalachia. (Once more I hear the refrain, "We never had money, but we had plenty to eat.")

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We took a road trip yesterday to the Isle of Palms outside of Charleston. We hadn't been to the beach in over 2 years and felt it was time. We got the animals fed and watered early and took off.

Even though it was warm (high 70's on the beach) we figured it would be pretty empty-the way we like it. Unfortunately, it wasn't. But we had fun anyway.

On the way home, one of our tires de-treadded. It was practically new. It's the 2nd tire that has failed us since we got the tires in July of this year (the first failed, but it could have hit something. This time, however, the tread actually peeled off the tire and wrapped around the axle; it didn't go flat. They weren't new, but were practically new 'used' tires-full of tread. Apparently they weren't so good.

The tire failed going 70 mph with an 18-wheeler climbing our tail. We were lucky (blessed that is) to escape safely.

The 'adventure' of a day at the beach didn't quite end there. I got what looked to be a mild sunburn on my legs, but this morning when I awoke, I couldn't walk. My legs were swollen and ached. The sunburn still looked mild, but boy was I hurt'n. After a course of Ibuprofen, I am doing a little better-getting around with a cane.

All's well that end's well.

Oremus pro invicem!

Rain!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:29:00 +0000

Thanks be to God!

Oremus pro invicem!

Peanuts!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:26:00 +0000

Yesterday we harvested our 1/4 - 1/2 acre or so of peanuts. (Sorry we forgot to take pictures). The land was loaned to us. We planted, cultivated, weeded, and harvested. It was a total family effort.

Traditionally, after the peanuts are harvested, the whole plant is hung on poles with the peanuts hidden by the foliage for several weeks to dry. The nuts need to be sheltered from the sunlight or they will turn brown. We are hanging the peanut plants from the rafters in my shop and the small barn. This makes almost everything in there most inaccessible.

It took all day to pull, bundle and hang.

In the South, boiled peanuts are popular. You boil peanuts in salt water from some 9 hours. However, if you have green peanuts (those just harvested) it only takes about 4 hours.

I'm not crazy about boiled peanuts, but some of the boys are, so we may try our hand at some.

The lack of rain really cut the yield of nuts-probably by about 50%. But we still have a lot. The back of my pickup was overflowing with the bundles.

And the hay from the peanuts is almost as valuable as the nuts. The hay is especially nutritious for cows or hogs.

Oremus pro invicem!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:05:00 +0000

Here's some fairly recent pictures of life here in Bethune. First up is a few pigs from our litter in July as they have grown a bit.

And then one of the pigs (now hogs) from our very first litter in April.

One more hog picture. This is one large hog. You can't see it, but we dug a hole so the head of this hog wouldn't hit the ground, so my feet are about 1 foot higher than the hog's head.

Now for some chickens .... The first (left) is our flock which is laying now. Some Rhode Island Reds, a Comet or two, a Black Sex-Link, and a couple Americaunas.

The second is part the flock of the future (the near future I hope). These are Comets and White Leghorns. They should start laying in earnest any day now. (We are getting a white egg here and there.)

Okay, now a one more pig picture to wind things up. The "reds" are doing quite well. The larger one will enter our breeding herd come December. The other will enter our freezer around the same time.

Next time, may be I will have a picture of our Turkeys. They are quite big now-almost ready for harvest. Speaking of harvest, our field of peanuts should be ready for harvest this week.

Oremus pro invicem!

Our newest litter

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:27:00 +0000

Our newest litter nursing - 3 days old.

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Today is the feast of the Archangels-one of whom is the patron of our homeschool.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. Rebuke him, O God, we humbly beseech Thee. And do thou, o prince of the Heavenly host, drive into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander through the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Oremus pro invicem!

15!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:20:00 +0000

15 piglets, all black or black with white rind (like their Hampshire daddy) born live on Saturday. Spent part of the afternoon watching. I have a short film and a couple pics, but don't have time to post them today. Other things are taking care of themselves (with God's help.) Thanks for prayers and concerns!

Oremus pro invicem!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:24:00 +0000

Stitches last night (or actually all day yesterday. You wouldn't believe the number of flu cases in our emergency room-and they took every one of them before even looking at my wound); dead battery on one car this morning; malfunctioning window on the other car; need hay desperately for the milk cow; gate down to our holding area; and little spot overdue on her litter (due yesterday).

Now you ask why I am not posting much? (No complaints here.)

Oremus pro invicem!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:57:00 +0000

We have a litter of pigs due Wednesday or Thursday this week-although yesterday she seemed to be bagging up and was making a nest, (but not panting) such that I wouldn't have been surprised if there had been piglets on arriving home from Mass. But nothing was happening.

Have been a little disappointed and confused as some sections of our fall garden have not sprouted. Was talking to our 90+ year old farmer neighbor a few days ago .... he told me had already planted his turnips twice and they hadn't sprouted ... lack of rain. So we go at it again.

My wedding ring broke or cracked this past week. The ring almost looks like a rope, if you will. I had it sized about 15 years ago when my weight was rapidly making it too small. It broke near the point where material was added. I was leery of wearing it, as I thought it could break in two pieces and I might lose it. However, I decided to try soldering the crack. It seems to have worked, holding together so far.

It's funny, I really never thought much of the wedding ring until it cracked. Then I got worried over whether it was symbolic of something deeper. (My kids used to think-with a little encouragement from me-that whoever was wearing my wedding ring was married to their mother. They would panic if they saw me taking it off or playing with it. )

Oremus pro invicem!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:33:00 +0000

Finally some rain ... but just a little. May be some more today ... "red in the morning".

Have done a bunch of fall planting, with mixed results. Swiss chard is coming in well, but the rest is spotty. Maybe due to the lack of rain. I have tried to water, but there is no substitute for rain.

I tilled up the old goat pen and planted half, the other half this week.

We have another litter of pigs due next week. We have been selling pigs of late. Keeps the lights on.

Today is the feast of Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian. Connor (Conor) is the Irish version of Cornelius, so today is a name saint day here. We will pray the liturgy of the hours (MP) together and have some dessert later.

Jersey is still giving milk and lots and lots of cream. More than we can make butter with. Muscadine harvest is almost over. Mrs. Curley has made some jam and has another batch to go.

For me, lots of work to get done, including some catch up on the boys school work.

Oremus pro invicem!

What's up with this?

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:26:00 +0000

I checked out some of our books available on Amazon recently and found Russell Shaw's Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church available USED from $46 to $235! (Regularly price is $14.95.)

See proof of my claim here.

Do they know something I don't know? I wouldn't doubt it.

Oremus pro invicem!

Continuing saga ....

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:12:00 +0000

on food prices and small farmers vs. big Ag. This is actually where I started several weeks ago, and here it is again. I read the following at Front Porch Republic :

Organic farming, Conkin notes, exists only because of the financial backing of affluent consumers. Morever, the advocates of organic farming are often unaware of their dependence on technological improvements and scientific advances, many subsidized by governments. No small farmer of his youth could have been met the certification requirements for organic farming. Even today, for those who go organic, they cannot be profitable selling free-range chickens or organic tomatoes except that there is a bobo marketplace where people will buy these products well above market prices.

At the same time, a small farm cannot be profitable because the public wants to spend their money on other things than food, and thus settles for subpar food. (And I am not an all-organic guy. I think there is a middle ground.)

Oremus pro invicem!

The end of an era ... beginning of a new era

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:10:00 +0000

We sold our last goats on Saturday. In some senses we were sorry to see them go, but it is for the best. We didn't have pasture or enough forage for them, and they weren't providing much to us either.

And the new? Mrs. Curley distributed her first batch of homemade soap around to the washing areas of the house last night.

Oremus pro invicem!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:34:00 +0000

"With justice your right hand is filled"

When I read these words this morning, I thought that this may be a good title for a Western. "Fill your hand" is a common phrase in Max Brand and Louis L'Amour books (maybe Zane Grey too.)

But this phrase didn't come from a Western ... but from Psalm 48: 11 (D-R Ps 47: 11 "thy right hand is full of justice" -maybe even better version as a Western title.)

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Got lots of work done the past couple days-getting a good start on planting the fall garden. But we've had no rain. We even had a thunderstorm that knocked out power a couple weeks ago-but no rain came with it.

Today I wake up feeling like a truck hit me. I've taken a bit ill. Maybe I will get caught up on some office work today-and if I get bored with that, maybe post some more about goings-on here.

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Mrs. Curley and I were discussing the past, present and future yesterday. It is clear I am no businessman-perhaps that's not so bad as having poor timing. We get into the book business just as print media (in all its forms) is struggling to stay afloat; we decide to reprint old books, most of which now you can now download virtually free from the Internet. Then we get into the pig business as pork prices plummet due to economy and the H1N1 scare (don't dare call it 'swine flu' around here).

I am not complaining in the least. We've struggled, suffered and had a blast-and keep going-laughing a lot at ourselves and God's sense of humor.

Oremus pro invicem!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Curley) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:33:00 +0000

Update on a few items .... In my August 4th post (should food be cheap?) I asked the question:

Let's put it this way, if man used to spend most of his waking hours securing food through labor, should he now do the same through his paycheck?

Time Magazine this week (not my usual reading fare) has a cover article entitled "The Real Cost of Cheap Food". Here's a couple stats from the article:

Since 1935, consolidation and industrialization have seen the number of US farms decline from 6.8 million to fewer than 2 million-with the average farmer now feeding 129 Americans, compared with 19 people in 1940.

Food production was very local-subsistence farming with a little surplus for some cash. And

According to the USDA, Americans spend less than 10% of their income on food, down from 18% in 1966.

The article goes on to dispute whether this cheap food-when considering the subsidies, routine antibiotic use, environmental hazards, and health hazards (due both to antibiotic use and corn as a mainstay of feed)-is really all that cheaper.

We use more grain and corn on our livestock than I would like to, but as we develop our land, our goal is to use less and less grain and feed more and more greens (perhaps pasture if we ever can obtain more land). We don't use antibiotics as a regular course, but I am not opposed to antibiotics for a sick animal.

This year for instance, our meat birds ate mostly from our grass, supplemented by feed. Our hogs get milk, eggs, and some of the garden yield (more in the fall and winter as our greens grow very well during the cooler and rainier months), and this year will also get some of our peanut crop.

More later .... Oremus pro invicem!