It was during Holy Week six years ago that I discerned what I thought was a call to start Requiem Press. As we begin Holy Week six years hence, I announce that Requiem Press will be closing its doors over the next few months. It was a good run and I learned a lot and met some fantastic people.

We will be selling out inventory (if possible). The website is still up, but things will be changing as we go through this process.

You know, I thought my books would help change the world-bringing people back to Christ-perhaps a few did, but I learned (once again) that I need to be more like the potter's clay, letting Christ make the model and just be His tool-not trying to do it all by myself.

I hope we can still sell some books, cause there are bills to pay.

More on this later.

I have a couple other good stories up my sleeve, but they will have to wait until we get past this holy season.

Oremus pro invicem!

Last week I returned to my old Men's Prayer Group at my former parish after some 5 years absence. We pray the Liturgy of the Hours, discuss something (scripture, the sacraments, etc.) and then go to Mass. I think I'll try to make it from now on when I am in the city. It is very valuable for men to pray together. I have missed it unknowingly.

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We finally made some peanut butter from our fall harvest. I also made some 'diabetic' peanut butter. Both seem to be hits. We have a bunch more to make. We haven't decided whether to plant peanuts again - it may depend on whether the land made available to us again. The peanut hay proved very valuable as a supplement for our cows (still getting almost 4 gallons a day from Mabel). In truth, besides some peanut brittle at Christmas, we haven't really used the peanuts as much as the hay. But this is changing.

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Our litter of 13 piglets is coming along very nicely. I will start weaning them in another week or so. I think we are going to hold a few of these back to sell as bbq pigs around July 4th. But we'll see.

In the meantime, we have litters due April 15th, April 18th, and May 17th. We have a gamecock hen setting on a clutch of eggs in one of our farrowing houses. Fortunately, those eggs should hatch a few days before I need to move a sow into the farrowing house.

I mentioned we are raising some Cornish/Rock broilers .... but in the meantime, we had eaten one of the gamecocks hatched in October. Boy, now that was a delicious chicken-maybe the best I've ever had. Methinks that I won't do C/R broilers again. We are going to build our gamecock flock.

I looked yesterday and some radishes, swiss chard, and peas are poking their heads out of the ground. I spread some more manure yesterday and tilled some more garden plot.

Oremus pro invicem!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Instead of writing a new post, I will post a link to my best previous post on St. Patrick's Day: 2007 St. Patrick's Day post

In the mail today came a request from the Mary Mother of God Mission Society -Reviving the Catholic Church in Eastern Russia. I have scanned it and reproduced it below. I have met one of the priest (an American) who has served in Vladivostok since 1991 and can recommend him and his work without question.

Unfortunately, I don't have the money to add my support to this worthy mission at this time-so I bring it to your attention. (http://www.vladmission.org/ )

Oremus pro invicem!

So, we planted peas, Kohl Rabi, Swiss chard, broccoli, lettuce, strawberries, radishes, beets, carrots, and onions this week. A good start, but we have more peas and Swiss chard to put in. Most of these will be done in May/early June, so we can plant some other stuff then. And of course we have other garden areas to plant, which won't be ready til April.

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Went to the Kershaw County Friends of the Library sale today. It always happens when we're broke, but we manage to scrape together what ever we need. Mrs. Curley found a Sheed & Ward book circa 1955 enticingly titled: Catholicism Protestantism and Capitalism by Anmintore Fanfani. Here's the blurb from the jacket (I am too lazy to retype it, but please do read it):

I also picked up The Lore of the Land by John Seymour with original illustrations by Sally Seymour. Finally, I picked up a book: Producing Your Own Power. This has two chapters on generating power from bio mass (Methane gas from manure.) This is of great interest. Our dairy cow and her heifer generate many pounds of manure each day. This winter you could see the heat coming off the manure piles. We need to harness this somehow. I'll keep you all up to date on my research.

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And we unexpectedly had time and caught the noon Mass in Camden. We really weren't dressed for it, but I figured it was better to go to Mass dressed down for a change, than not to go at all.

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We have Cornish-Rock broilers in our brooder. They came last week a day late and we lost 3/4 of them (the hatchery will replace our loss). Six weeks from now we should have chickens to sell (and some for our own freezer.)

Piglets are 5 weeks old this weekend. We have 2 litters due in mid-April and one in mid-May.

Tomorrow we will all be here for a change (the older boys have been in great demand as workers around the town), and if the weather holds up, we need to get some pens made, till some ground, build a new chicken house, and much much more.

We've moved our Lady of Fatima shrine and the girls will be planting flowers. I am looking for a site for an Infant of Prague shrine at the back of the property.

Lots of work, lots of joy.

Oremus pro invicem!

Over the years we have met, corresponded with, read about, etc people who yearn for a Catholic community of 'like-minded' folks. You would hope that being Catholic and 'like-minded' were synonymous and that a local parish community would fit the bill. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The Catholic Church in America (and very likely other places as well) has seen great upheaval in these past decades, with theological and philosophical factions, scandals, and the like. We can lay blame at numerous doorsteps, but I don't have time (and possibly not the knowledge) to cover them all.

Thus many (and this is particularly desired among agrarian-leaning Catholics, but not limited to this group) want to find/form/join a community of "like-minded" folks. However, the definition of 'like-minded' itself is often the downfall of such planned communities. Philosophical attitudes often arise from the culture one is raised in. And thus when you put together Northeasterners, Southerners, people of Anglo descent, Eastern European descent, Mediterranean descent, 1st generation Americans, 5th generation Americans, ...., middle-class descent, children of poverty, etc. (you get the picture) AND then you add in (even among faithful Catholics) Vatican II, Latin, Novus Ordo, etc. you have a cauldron ready to boil.

(Not to be nostalgic but) In past times more people were born, raised, married, raised a family and died in the same parish surrounded by family and extended family. The importance of this stability can not be ignored. (Of course the industrial revolution and centralization of power has helped destroy the overwhelmingly agrarian culture.) These folks shared faith, family and culture. All three have been damaged. Let's leave aside faith for a moment.

The melting of ethnic cultures over several generations produces no culture. What has taken the place of traditional culture is the Protestant/now secular culture that is America. This has been facilitated by wealth, but even more so by mobility-which may in part be because of the seeking of wealth, or the American dream.

It is funny that many today (and I speak specifically of those seeking 'community') want natural foods, but seek an unnatural community. For true community is based on the family and then the extended family, created by the intermarriage of local families who share faith and geographic and ethnic culture who remain in the community to make it grow.

If I want a Catholic community in Bethune, SC of like-minded folks, it will happen if my children stay in (or return to) Bethune with their families and bring their talents to bear in this community-and their children do the same.

Rural communities have suffered because the younger generation has left. But you can still see the remnants of community in most rural areas stronger than other places because few people move into dying rural towns-thus the people left have roots there.

And who am I to preach stability? My wife and I left the communities of our youth to seek a better job-the American dream. Now being wiser (but poorer) we can only hope that our children see the folly of mobility. (This is not to say that we are unhappy where we are; this is a wonderful area, just lacking a nearby Catholic Church. But we also realize that more geographic stability would benefit our country. See the web magazine Front Porch Republic for more on this topic.)

That is not to say everyone must follow the same cookie cutter. However, the majority would do better staying local. When we send our children off to college (a whole other can of worms), it should be so that they come back to our community with new knowledge and skills.

Oremus pro invicem!

Snapped a few pics today. First is the new litter 3.5 weeks old, trying to steal mom's food.

Next is Tarzan (our boar) and Cordelia, a Hampshire gilt we hope will be bred soon.

Finally is Big Red, a Duroc/Tamworth gilt. She is bred and due end of May.

Off to the Stations of the Cross.

Oremus pro invicem!

From the Small Holding ...

From Practical Farming for the South by B.F. Bullock 1946, from the introduction to the section on Field Crops, in which Professor Bullock argues against the common practice then (and even today) of planting and specializing in only a few "cash crops":

The southern farmer must be convinced that his farm is a better place on which to live than it is on which to make a living. ... American farms were once made to produce almost all the basic needs for a happy and prosperous life, and they must be made to do so again if the true spirit of American freedom is to survive.

We've been doing much planning for our current year of planting. Last year we put in our peas and onions by this time. But it has been colder than usual. We did till some garden areas this weekend, but with snow on the menu for Wednesday morning, I think we have a few more weeks.

We moved our heifer calf last week and will be planting our early crops (peas and onions) on her old pen. We will be planting on the pen we raised turkeys on last year and are extending the garden in the front. (I think and aerial plot is called for. I will work on it for the next post.)

In our main garden area, we are planting entirely in corn. We are going to let some hogs harvest it, one section at a time, moving the fencing. I hope this works out. As each section is hogged down, we will come back immediately with greens. We are pretty excited with all the extended garden area.

Big Spot still has 13 piglets thriving at 3 weeks old. They just started to steal their mom's food. I need to cut the males this week. I will wean in another 4-5 weeks. We have 2 more litters due in mid April, one towards the end of May, and hopefully one in June/July-but the last is too early to predict yet.

Mrs. Curley and the girls are making a new area/grotto for Our Lady of Fatima 'shrine'. They got quite a lot done on Saturday. Now they just have to plant the flowers.

I am looking for a good spot to create a shrine for the Infant of Prague image we have. I owe it to Him.

Sorry for the long absence, but get used to it as the busy arrives. (Oh yes, we have 100 day-old chicks coming this week-Cornish/rock broilers.)

Oremus pro invicem!

This Sunday, Father suggested we look at our life and see what we are doing that gets us closer to God what doesn't. Although Father didn't mention it, it is a good preparation for Lent.

And, I read in CWR the following by Annie Calovich:

My sister, Celine, had been insistent that our mom not go into a nursing home, and she had prepared her daily for death, saying the rosary and other prayers with her at set times of the day, keeping holy images in front of her eyes and the TV out of her room. ....

Since we should always be preparing for death (St. Paul says that our day of salvation (or not-JC) is closer than it has ever been) perhaps we should heed the same practices.

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Something to feast your eyes on before the meatless days which are soon to come before us. (Part of the hind quarter during the butchering of Bucky.)

Finally, a clip from the recent snows. (Aside, my boys have worked recently for a local horse trainer: exchanging their work putting a roof on his barn for a horse. Horse was delivered a week or so ago. They are still working for a saddle and tack.) Here is Number 2 Son taking a ride in early morning after the snow this past week. (The background sound is undoubtably Big Spot calling her litter to nurse.)

Oremus pro invicem!

Beef is back on the menu!

Finished butchering today after the 6 inches of snow had let up and melted some. We had rib-eye steaks for dinner tonight-our first homegrown Jersey beef .... delicious. Geeta Dardick (author of the BEST book on the subject: Home Butchering and Meat Preservation) warned that we should have low expectations as our beef isn't grown in a feed-lot. May be they were low, but were greatly exceeded.

Time and taste will tell whether we do this again soon, but thumbs up for now. Groovy man!

Oremus pro invicem!

Snow! and the end of Bucky

It is snowing as I write-coming down pretty hard. Accumulation is expected to be 3 inches overnight. We haven't had snow yet this year.

We slaughtered our first cow yesterday. Boy, what a job. It takes a bit more than a hog. I will wait to see how it tastes before commenting on whether we shall do it again.

Pictures here show the breast bone being split and a c0-conspirator working on salvaging the cheek meat and tongue.

I wish I had a picture of us splitting the carcass with an old axe we were given. When I brought the axehead down to our local hardware store to get it fitted for a new handle, the owner was excited: the head was old and she asked if she could weigh it ... 6.5 pounds. They told me to take good care of it. I figure if I use it as a working tool, it is more likely to last.

We were pretty much done except quartering and moving the carcass into the barn in 3 hours. Not bad. Of course Bucky was probably only 650 pounds (a Jersey).

We are making much of it ground beef, but are hanging part of the carcass for a couple days as weather permits and drying aging some of the cuts in the fridge.

I'll report on the taste in a day or two.

Oremus pro invicem!

16!

In the wee hours between the 6th and 7th of February, Big Spot had her 2nd litter of 16 piglets for us. No pictures yet as the digital camera is on the blink. 1/2 are black/black&white and 1/2 are "blue butts": white with dark area on the butt and a few spots area around the head.

We've been loading up the farrowing area with lots of straw to keep these piggies warm.

Oremus pro invicem!

From Rod Dreher via Front Porch Republic:

"Schooling," [the priest] told me, "has not changed the people for the better. This is the pain in my heart. Those educated want nothing to do with their animals. They just want to leave. Education should not be a reason to go away. It's an obligation to come back."

While the setting for the quote is Africa, it is also true here. It struck me and reminded me of my 91 year-old neighbor telling me that the family farm has died because his generation's children wanted things.

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My car radio only works when it rains. This is a good thing on my weekly commute to the city as it gives me time to pray and think. It is also good because the radio often upsets me, as it did yesterday when it rained and the two top stories on NPR were how the Obama Administration was set on making 'family planning' a key aspect of all foreign aid - and it seems the Republican party (at least those quoted) were not too upset by this. And secondly, news on the whole 'don't ask, don't tell' thing. Of course having female soldiers (writing 'female soldiers' truly seems to offend nature) on or close to the front lines in close quarters with male soldiers has some of the same ramifications, doesn't it? Not the way to start the day!

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"Big Spot" hasn't farrowed yet and is not likely to do so tonight. I am hoping she farrows before the rain coming on later in the week.

On a lighter note, here's Number 2 son with a turkey we had tonight. Very tasty!

Oremus pro invicem!

Wow, what a week. It is cold again and icy. We haven't lost a tree yet, but I am sure we will by tomorrow. It's in the 20's and been raining/icing since late last night. It is almost stopped now, but supposed to go down to 17 F overnight.

I know this is nothing like New England where I grew up, but having been away for 15+ years, it is hard to get used to.

Big Spot (pictured here a few weeks ago) is due to farrow this week. She isn't due for a few days, but am anxious that the cold and ice may stress her into an early delivery. She had a litter of 16 in July. She's even bigger this time and looks to be starting to bag up.

Broke down about 1 mile from home last night in the G30 van. I forgot to take the cell phone and Mrs. Curley was busy with dinner so didn't notice my tardiness. The van just quit. Instead of pushing it off the road, I decided to try my hand at pushing it home. There is one (up) hill on the way, but it follows a steep downgrade, so I figured I had chance, especially if Mrs. Curley showed up with the strong backs of my boys. Turns out my neighbor showed up first with a car dolly-but after I pushed for some 1/2 mile. It took a while to get the van loaded, but it's home now, just ready to be worked on. (Not a battery or a belt, so we'll look at the fuel pump and distributor cap.)

More later. Oremus pro invicem!

Sorry for the absence; been getting work done. We finished the new farrowing area and hut for Big Spot (Duroc/York/Hamp sow), due 4 February. Mrs. Curley painted the hut and did some painting on some other hog shelters.

We got Big Red (Duroc/Tamworth cross gilt) bred this weekend, and finally bred back our Jersey milk cow. She will be due in October. I would have rathered early September, thus having her dried off in the hottest months of July and August, but this will do.

I can't believe it is almost February. I think I did my first planting in mid-February last year. Boy, I am not ready yet.

Yesterday Mrs. Curley and I walked around the property and figured out our plans for this year-where we will keep the turkeys, meat birds, rabbits (yes, we will try them again-and to boot, rabbits are not regulated.) etc. I think we have a good plan. Now to get it working.

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Am working today also to make sure Requiem Press book Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church by Russell Shaw gets back into print. We sold the last copy of the 2nd printing this past fall. We hope to have it back for sale by mid-February.

And we have at least one other book targeted for early 2010. More on this later.

Oremus pro invicem!

pigtures to share

Appropriately on the weekend enclosing the feast of St. Anthony the Great (patron of swine-herders), we slaughtered and butchered two hogs. Of course we had some help and some beer (which also helped.)

Here is number three son with one of the skinned hogs, just before evisceration. Not to brag (well, okay maybe to brag) but, the hog I helped to skinn, we took the skin off in one piece with the head; so it looked like a pigskin rug. The picture is too blurry to include, but take my word for it-it's a work of art.

The deep freeze was too much for some of my greens. With two weeks of deep freeze (not to mention us being under the weather for one of those weeks) some things have gotten behind. We need to move some pigs, build some fence, and resurrect a farrowing area (due in Feb) in addition to playing catch up on other maintenance. Lots to do.

Oremus pro invicem!

Just one demonstration that we are doing much better: Number 4 Son decided to do some sliding on the ice this morning (instead of tending his chickens) and wound up falling and having his front teeth go completely through his lower lip. His comment? "I hope the blood stains don't come out of my pants and gloves."

So, thankfully we are almost back to normal. A few coughs linger.

It is still cold, but we are supposed to get a break today. One thing about homesteading in SC, you don't just bundle up in the cabin and wait till spring. You can grow year-round. Although I think this recent deep freeze probably ended at least some of the greens.

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Changing gears, reading this piece at Inside Catholic on booing in Church reminded me of something I read in Monti's life of Thomas More (albeit the subject is different). Erasmus writes of More's children:

And if the priest has babbled something foolish, something impious, or something otherwise improper for a preacher-which we see happening frequently nowadays-they know whether to laugh or to ignore it or to express their indignation. Now that's the way to hear a sermon! -Eramus letter dated 1521

It would seem from context that the "indignation" is openly expressed. I have read (although can't place my hands on where) of other saints standing up during a homily and correcting a priest for uttering heresy during a sermon. I believe the situation in the link may have been somewhat different, but touches on the point of what is appropriate during Mass. Do we keep quiet in respect for the Eucharist even if the preacher is disrespectful in preaching heresy? Is this the proper "English" thing to do? Fortunately I haven't faced this situation in years.

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Speaking of Thomas More, a few years ago Requiem Press was going to come out with a new (never before published in the states-but reprinted from an English work) biography of my favorite saint. We are hoping this is the year this effort comes to fruition. Stay tuned.

Oremus pro invicem!

So, the kids have been sick (low fever, high cough) for a week or more now. Mrs. Curley and I have undertaken all the livestock chores during that time. We've had fun working together alone. We've been working hard, and our tired old bodies are feeling a little sore. (It is good for us to do all the work occasionally. It lets us see how much work the kids do, and what improvements shoudl be made to the system.)

With the cold weather, we've been breaking up ice and lugging water to the pigs and chickens 2-3 more times per day than is usual. And we've been constantly refreshing the straw bedding in the livestock housing to keep all the animals warm during this cold snap. (Our hay supplier had extra straw and has delivered several round bales to us for free this past week.)

Last night snow (flurries) were predicted, but we got barely a sprinkle. For the first time in a week, the water troughs were not frozen this morning.

We hope the kids are on the mend, cause Mrs. Curley and I are fading quickly with our own coughs (no fevers yet.)

Oremus pro invicem!

Coooooooooooold!

At least for SC. And it is supposed to get colder-down to 10 overnight on Sunday. (A neighbor claims it was 8F early this morning-but not here.)

Now that the 12 days are over, I may start posting a bit again. In the cold weather, keeping the livestock's water from freezing-even during the day has been a challenge. We don't have heated waterers...afterall, it is SC.

We still have not mailed Christmas cards, but I figure we have til February 2nd to do so. Our tree will be up until then at least.

To work! Oremus pro invicem!

Merry Christmas!

Now Playing ....

Am doing my annual wrapping presents today .... as every year accompanied by playing selections from my 78 rpm collection. I will keep and updated run of the records every so often.

First up: Don't Tell Me Your Worries - The Carlisle Brothers (King Records)

Now: Al Jolsen: Sonny Boy/Rainbow on my Shoulder

Earlier: Cliff Carlisle Trio: A Stretch of 28 Years (Bluebird)

Census 2010

I image post will be scarce the next two weeks (as they haven't been already.) Not that I don't have enough to write about; I do. I have continued to read "The Stripping of the Altars". It really is a fascinating history. And I have pictures to post .... but it will all have to wait.

I have signed up to take the Census test to be a Census worker. They are paying $14/hour plus mileage in these parts. This is some temp money we might be able to use if I get called up. This wouldn't be my first choice for a temporary job, but maybe it will take a little pressure off, or help fund a homestead project next year. We shall see.

We are in the "O Antiphon" days, so don't forget yours....

Oremus pro invicem!

A couple things to ponder

Pretty busy around here, but a couple quick hits:

I think I gleaned this from "You Can Farm", but I could have read it somewhere else .... Basically as the number of farmers in the USA has decreased, the budget for the US Department of Agriculture has increased. Go figure.

My personal experience with this was when we called our extension office for advice on buying a dairy cow. They definitely tried to discourage us rather than help.

Gov't wants to spend time and money on the big guys. (But will come down on the little guys who don't have big lawyers.)

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Reading Eamon Duffy's The Stripping of the Altars. I don't think I will get through all of it, I am skipping around as it is. First he details the spiritual health and devotions in pre-Anglican Church England, and then he details the destruction. Here is a snip from the destruction, which started as a creeping destruction:

So the sprinkling of the holy water was explained not in terms of the water's power to banish demons or bring blessing, but "to put us in remembrance of our baptism and the blood of Christ sprinkled for our redemption," holy bread was presented not as a curative but "to put us in remembrance of the sacrament of the altar," candles at Candlemas not as defences against the power of evil or the disorder of the elements but "in memory of Christ the spiritual light".

As I read this, I wonder who won in the end. The water-downed version seems to be what we live with today in most Catholic parishes. Our faith, Catholic culture and devotions have been eliminated (who celebrates Candlemas now?) or greatly watered-down (I have never heard sprinkling of holy water to banish demons except from one priest.)

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Remember the Requiem Press sale below!

Oremus pro invicem!

Requiem Press

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!

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"

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!

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!

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

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!

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

Oremus pro invicem!

Whew

....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

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.

**********

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

Oremus pro invicem!

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.

*************

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

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!

****************

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!

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!!!!

Thanks be to God!

Oremus pro invicem!

Peanuts!

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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?

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 ....

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

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!

"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.

**********

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!

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!

I picked up a 2nd hand book last winter and have found it invaluable: Practical Farming for the South by B.F. Bullock (1946). In this book Mr. Bullock urges small farmers to diversify and not put everything into one cash crop which's success can be destroyed by drought or flood. Doing a little research on the net on this title, I found it listed as one of the books written mid-20th century by a black author, but without 'Black themes". I would have never known.

Anyhow, I used it to plan my spring garden, and now my fall garden. One thing Mr. Bullock suggests is planting Swiss Chard: highly drought resistant, but will last into the winter.

I wanted to plant a lot of Swiss Chard this spring, but couldn't find it anywhere locally . I finally got a small packet of 2007 vintage. I planted some as an experiment. It was great! I don't have many plants, but the ones I have are truly drought resistant and taste great.

It is sort of like spinach, but milder, and you have to cook it.

I finally convinced my local feed store owner to order some Swiss Chard for me. (He said he never had anyone ask for it before.) He got it in yesterday-I'll pick it up tomorrow. I am pretty excited.

I have been tilling the finished gardens and spreading manure. First planting for the fall (sugar snap peas, collards, Swiss chard, turnips, spinach, radishes) will come end of this week and beginning of next. Still eating a few butter beans, eggplant, and hoping a new zucchini crop starts fruiting this week.

Oremus pro invicem!

I was going to post on this ...

but someone else did it better and sooner. The point in question is "Cash for Clunkers". I will let him speak:

Auto salvage yards are often used by handy car owners who cannot afford the parts and labor of a professional mechanic. With a drop in the supply of parts, the prices will rise... and what was once affordable may no longer be so. And once again, low income Americans get unintentionally shafted.

Read the whole entry here.

The Clunkers are crushed and shredded; thus parts can't be resold. Of course this isn't my only problem with the program, but it is one that has a direct effect on what we do around here when the car breaks.

Oremus pro invicem!

Hoppin' John

From Rodale's Naturally Great Foods Cookbook (1977):

It is traditional to serve Hopping John on New Year's Day throughout the Carolinas. Eaten then, this dish is believed to bring good luck and plenty of everything the rest of the year.

Hoppin' John is a brown rice and black-eyed pea dish made usually with bacon and often cooked in a crock pot; but Mrs. Curley made it last night with pig's feet--delicious!

It wasn't New Year's Day, but it seems to me that yesterday (or thereabouts) did mark our 5th anniversary on the homestead at Bethany. Of course if you eat Hoppin' John with collard greens, it is supposed to ensure the following year brings wealth. We forgot the collards ... Oh well what do we need wealth for, we have everything!

Oremus pro invicem!

Should food be cheap?

It's a question I sometimes ask. On one hand, everyone is entitled to decent, healthy food-it is part of the bounty of the earth-a gift from God.

On the other hand, Big Agriculture and factory foods have made food very cheap, driving small farmers and businessmen out of business.

It used to be that most of a family's waking hours were devoted to food production. As my 91 year old neighbor put it, "We never had any cash, but we ate well." The desire for cash, (i.e. things) killed the family farm-along with the theory of 'economy of scale' championed by Capitalism and Big Ag.

So, if a small family farmer wants to make a living, how does he do it? I will quote from Kelly Klober's book Dirt Hog :

Very little money will ever be made farming for the global village, but the folks in the big houses above the global village, now there's your market.

I don't like it. I would like to produce quality pork for regular folks; they should be able to taste and enjoy pork the way it should taste. It's not just a prerogative of the rich. Yet, I can't stay in business unless my pork is priced for the 'big houses above the global village'.

So is this my problem or the problem of regular folks? 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?

The world is different. (Things, I believe are out of kilter, but this is out of the hands of most folks.) Most need cars and other things just to make their way in this world. What is a necessity and what has turned into a 'necessity' through marketing?

My family (the whole family) spends a good part of our time putting food on the table. We haven't bought meat in over a year. We don't grow all our own food, but are getting there. What we don't grow ourselves (or receive from our neighbor's surplus bounty) we buy from a farmer's market. Cash-wise, our food bill is pretty low, but labor-wise, it is pretty high-just ask the kids.

Stuff to think about.

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I keep coming back to this general idea (whether expressed by CS Lewis or in this case St. Catherine of Siena): "All the way to Heaven is Heaven". I heard another form of this on Sunday. Our visiting priest commented that we all want to spend eternity with God; if that's really the case, then why don't we spend more time with him now-in prayer?

I guess if we are truly living in the presence of God now-(quite a journey to get there, I would imagine)-then Heaven will not be so much different.

Oremus pro invicem!

I never read any of Joyce Kilmer's poetry. My closest contact with him was the James Cagney/Pat O'Brien movie: The Fighting 69th. Someone played him in this movie, as he was in this regiment and died fighting in WWI . But in From James J. Daly, SJ's A Cheerful Ascetic there is an essay on Joyce Kilmer-convert to Catholicism and excerpts from some of his letters. Here's a letter which caught my eye:

I need some stricter discipline, I think, and it's hard to get it. I enjoy my confessor's direction very much; he's a fine old Irishman with no nonsense about him. But I need to be called a fool, I need to have some conceit and sophistication knocked out of me. I suppose you think this is "enthusiasm"-that much-heralded danger of converts. Perhaps it is, but I don't think so. I know I'm glad I live two miles from the church, because it's excellent for a lazy person like myself to be made to exert himself for religion. And I wish I had a stern medieval confessor-the sort one reads about in anti-Catholic books-who would inflict real penances. The saying of Hail Marys and Our Fathers is no penance, it's a delight.

Read that last line again.

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We have now lost three piglets; the one we were nursing took a turn for the better on Saturday morning and then just died Saturday evening. And then yesterday it looks like a little piglet was the victim of being laid on. As I said before, its not how many are born, but how many are weaned.

Oremus pro invicem!

Farrowing

Last evening (right on schedule) our second gilt (Duroc/York cross) farrowed. 16 live births!

A couple were difficult-in fact I had the hot soapy water ready with a a restraint as over an hour passed between the first and second piglet-the second being huge. (20 minutes is usual.) There was a second difficult one at about piglet 8. It came out breach (which in general is okay) but for a while it looked like only one hoof was coming. This piglet is very weak and in the house being nursed now.

About 1/2 way through the farrowing we had a downpour-fortunately it was fairly short. Of course Big Spot had made her nest in the open. She eventually retreated into her house, and we quietly moved the piglets in with her.

We went to bed without knowing the final outcome.

This morning I found piglet had escaped the pen and was wandering. Another had been apparently set on and was dead. And the one we are now nursing, looked dead in the farrowing house, but when I went to remove it, it was still breathing. I brought is in and daughter and Mrs. Curley started working on him. We don't have much hope, but my daughter is trying.

In the picture above, note all the black pigs. Guess dad's genes are pretty dominant. I love it. I love colored pigs. (Tarzan will get his watermelon today!)

16 live births from a gilt is almost double than what would be expected or hoped for. (The twelve we had from the first farrowing this year was very pleasing.) I bought the Big Spot from a friend who also sold me the two 'reds' that I have pictured here before. Of course how many you wean is always the big number. We have a couple runts in there. We'll see how they all do.

Finally, an area farmer let us take the watermelons he can't sell due to over-ripeness or other reasons. The pigs love them-but will get pretty fat unless we control consumption.

God has blessed us greatly.

Oremus pro invicem!

I never could resist reading or writing about Thomas More. If ever there was a saint's life or writer who could touch me, it is More.

My sister (from the dark and bloody ground) sent me a collection of essays by James J. Daly, SJ (1st published in 1931 - this edition is 1968). Three of the essays are on Thomas More.

It comes to this: if serious people are tempted to fling up their hands at the casual air with which saints trifle with misfortune, it is only because serious people are not serious enough. Take, for instance, Bishop Burnet (A "Protestant Bishop, historian of the Reformation, was shocked at what he was pleased to consider the levity of Sir Thomas on the momentous occasion" of mounting the scaffold-JC). It is very probable that he (Burnet) did not wear a hair shirt most of his life, nor get up every morning at two o'clock to spend most of the time in prayer and the rest in study til seven o'clock Mass. Thomas More did these things and many other hard things like them, which it is scarcely and injustice to the bishop to surmise that he never dreamed of doing. It is not, therefore, idle or paradoxical to conclude that Sir Thomas was the more serious
man.

Sounds like I need to get more serious!

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We have a gilt ready to farrow any day now, (actually due tomorrow.) She is a Duroc/York cross. I am interested in how the piglets (daddy a Hampshire) will look.

We took a ride on Saturday and looked at a few hogs, including some Old Spots. Boy, they looked interesting. But we need to consolidate what we have for the moment.

Speaking of which, we sold most of our herd of goats this past week. We have two more (wethers) to sell (or put in the freezer) and one nannie left. I think I can sell the nannie this week. We will use their old stomping grounds for garden - perhaps the richest soil on the property.

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You may have noted that I haven't spent much time posting about Requiem Press in recent months, but then again posts have been sparse anyhow. There is some news to report.....soon. So stay tuned.

Busy day on the homestead on this feast of St. Mary Magdalen. I think my Dad had a devotion to her. We found an old beat up holy card of Mary Magdalen in his sports coat pocket. I still have it.

Oremus pro invicem!

Dorothy Day:

I felt even at fifteen, that God meant man to be happy, that He meant to provide him with what he needed to maintain life in order to be happy, and that we didn not need to have quite so much destitution and misery as I saw all around and read of in the daily press. -From The Long Lonliness

A friend was just remarking to me the other day what a relevation it was to him to realize that God made the earth for him (or us) to satisfy our needs so we could be happy. You may say "Sure, sure I know that"-but think about it. Do you?

Oremus pro invicem!

Back to Ireland

Our beloved pastor, Fr. John O'Holohan SJ, returned to Ireland after some 20 years as a missionary in the States, preceded by some 20 years as a missionary in Zambia. He's not retired, he will be the chaplain to a hospital in Dublin and help out at parish.

We love you Father John! You have lifted our hearts closer to God these past 5 years! Pray for us - we will pray for you!

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Saw two kid's movies this week; a rare occurrence around here. First Cars. It's really the story of Bethune. In the 1960's, I-95 opens and towns along the former main route from Maine to Florida (Route 1) begin to die. Bethune used to have a truck stop, bowling alley, restaurants, movie theater, schools. It's all gone (the elementary school is hanging on, but just barely.)

Then, due to rain canceling our beach trip, we went into Columbia for a free Tuesday morning showing of Charlotte's Web at the Sandhills movie theater. (I have never read the book or seen the orginal cartoon version-although all my kids had done both.) I think I appreciated the movie much more now that I am out here homesteading than I would have 6 years ago. Pretty funny, and truly "G"-rated as advertised.

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I have so much good stuff to write about around here, but am so busy, I don't have much time on the computer. Actually, am thankful for that. I am at the stage where I almost want to chuck it-but I do make some $$ here and there using it, so it can't go yet.

I will leave you with a photo from the goings-on around here. We had the pleasure of harvesting our neighbor's field of corn and stalks, which was 'through' for the season due to lack of rain (thankfully we have been getting rain again the past 2-3 days.) The corn we will feed the hogs (we ate a little ourselves) and the stalks we will dry and feed the cows. Here are our first attempts at corn shocks.

Oremus pro invicem!

Think Pig!