Pigs, pigs, pigs

 Mrs. Curley and I processed a hog this week - not too big - maybe 200 pounds. We think that this is the first time Mrs. Curley participated actively. She sawed the pig in half after evisceration and butchered with me on Thursday morning.

Red is ready to bust! I would be very surprised if we didnt' wake up to a litter in the morning. This will be her 3rd litter. She has been a good mother.

And, here are 4 really good looking girls from our litter born 3 weeks ago or so. 

Oremus pro invicem!

Its been a while...

 The kids came home and then left. We've had 2 litters of pigs, 2 snow storms, 1 ice storm, and lots of other things. We have another litter due this week.

We are in the midst of Spring garden planning - some things should go in the ground VERY soon.

We have finally finished collecting wood for this winter and are working on next winter. I won't be caught so short again. 

We have been working on pruning muscadine vines which have been over grown since the day we moved in here - finally getting them under control.

I hope to document more progress this spring - but who knows?

I finished a few books recently: Anthony Esolen's "Defending Boyhood", a book (can't recall the name) about hunting and fishing in SC-a personal memoir. Now reading RJ Snell's "Acedia".

Last year was sort of a homestead disaster, between my work schedule and my weekend commitments away from home on pig business. We are trying to regroup and refocus on why we are here. (We are also thinking again of getting a milk cow????)

Stay tuned.

Oremus pro invicem!

Merry Christmas!

 May the Nativity bring peace and joy to your family and throughout the Earth!

Oremus pro invicem!

Old ground covered

 I know everyone has covered this ground, but......

So Food Lion is selling "Holiday Trees"! Really? Which Holidays are they? New Year's Trees? Hanukkah trees? 

Radio stations playing "Holiday Music". Which Holidays are we talking about. In this case, there are a few generic winter songs, but the rest - Christmas!

I really don't have a problem with someone saying "Happy Holidays" as this does historically encompass Christmas, Holy Mother of God, Epiphany, and minor feast in between.

BUT Holiday trees? 

Sorry for the rant.

Oremus pro invicem!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Our children are spread all the country this Thanksgiving - on G is home, and my in-laws are here. Two days ago we had a bonfire so we could use the "hole" for target practice.

This morning we put in our 28 lb turkey, which G was invaluable in helping with, in the oven.

Oremus pro invicem!

Supply Chain and Gift Giving

Mrs. Curley and I have been talking about Christmas this year. There was a year in the tight Requiem Press days where we made all (or just about all) our Christmas presents for the children. The shop and sewing room were very busy that year. As I recall there is a Little House on the Prairie episode which inspires this kind of Christmas gift giving.

We have been talking about the supply chain and lamenting out personal dependence on it and China. But I read this at Front Porch Republic this morning. Here is the "money quote", although you read the whole thing.

With the supply chain tangled, we have what may be a brief moment to consider its flaws without being blinded by the glare of its surface efficiencies. Perhaps, we can craft a Christmas experience not dependent on plastic molded an ocean away. As David Cayley, author of a fine introduction to the work of renegade priest Ivan Illich, noted on a recent B.S. podcast, we should beware of an institutionalized Incarnation. The more we farm out our expressions of affection to things and entities designed to do the work for us, the more we miss the point. More gifts rooted in real engagement and fewer dependent upon shipping containers could be one of the benefits the broken supply chain delivers.

Mrs. Curley and I had already discussed moving back towards opening the workshops for this Christmas. (I hope this doesn't set out panic in my children - if any of them even bother to read my blog anymore.)

Oremus pro invicem!

Busy days ...

Last week we drove up to Pelzer, SC and bought a couple turkeys (Thanksgiving and Christmas). Then we drove down to Kinards, SC and bought a couple bull calves. 

Now when I buy bull calves, I always ask whether they got colostrum from their mother. People do lie about this, but there is no reason to deny the calf the colostrum. You can't use the first day or more of the milk from the mother because it is all or mostly colostrum. 

Well, we have raised a bunch of calves here in the past. I am pretty sure these two did not get colostrum. We have been fighting the good fight all week to save them. Probiotics, electrolytes, Re-Sorb, using bottles and fluid feeders. It looks like we are winning. At least one calf seems to be back to normal. The other is improving every hour. 

We are still cutting wood, but now are burning it occasionally too. Two mornings we have taken the chill off with a small fire in the wood stove. More to come....

Weaned another litter of pigs this week. What an adventure! The sow kept breaking away from the breeding pen to get back near her pigs. This from a sow who was digging holes under the fence daily to let the pigs out! Now pigs (rather hogs) from her first litter (now 160 pounds) are trying to suckle off her - and she is letting them. I have never the seen the like. Wish I had a camera with me.

Oremus pro invicem!

Convergence

Sometimes unrelated articles converge to an idea or conclusion. So this past week I read Phil Lawler's piece on the state of the public schools and his advice: 

Educate your children at home, if you cannot find another school. Find other parents who share your concerns and will match your commitment, and start your own school. Scrimp and save and do your best; it will not be perfect, but it will be better for your children than the indoctrination program that now confronts them.

Don’t wait for the next outrage. Don’t wait until your children are seriously hurt. Get them out of the public schools. Now.

And then I read the seemingly unrelated piece by David Cooney explaining why the unlikelihood of capitalists being woke is really not so surprising:

Conservatives will claim that it is because the news, education and entertainment industries have been “taken over” by liberals or leftists, including many socialists, who indoctrinate our children in school and the public in general through education, biased news reporting and the underlying message of our entertainment industries. There is an element of truth to this observation, but it doesn’t really explain how they were able to accomplish all of this.

In my view, the blame for that is mainly the conservatives themselves. It was the conservatives who failed to learn the lessons of recent history. Every socialist regime that has arisen in the last century has employed the same tactics of taking over education, news and entertainment and ensuring that only one point of view could be presented. Taking control of educational institutions was always a high priority because the socialists knew that they might not be able to change the minds of adults, but that they could use schools to indoctrinate children to believe things contrary to their parents beliefs and values. Conservative capitalists knew that liberals and socialists were “infiltrating” all of these arenas in our societies. We know they knew it because they have spent decades complaining about it. Yet, they did nothing significant to resist it.

So here is the convergence. Why and the solution, but immediate and for the future. Will anyone answer the call?

Oremus pro invicem!

Songs of Sion

Many homeschoolers over the years have used the Fr. John Laux series for high school religion class. See the series (TAN) here. I th ink I posted on this some years back.

In several of the books in the homework assignments, Fr. Laux references another of his books, Songs of Sion. I have searched for this book for years. Now that I no longer need it for our homeschool, it comes up in one of my outstanding searches.

I ordered it and got it. 

Fr. Laux provides a biref introduction to the Psalms and then groups them according to type: Pennitential Psalms, Messianic Psalms, Gradual Psalms, etc. And he provides a short commentary on each: what it is about, where each psalm may be useful for our prayer.

If I still ran Requiem Press, I think I would try to reprint it.

Oremus pro invicem!

This morning's work

I am starting to feel better about the winter as the night temperatures are getting cooler. Not too comfortable, though, as much of this wood, which we cut and split this morning, won't burn well until at least February.

Oremus pro invicem!

More Pigs! Red's 2nd Litter

Update: Red had 11 piglets! All are doing well.

It was quite a pig day. I was going out to cut wood and noticed one of our 100 pound pigs was wandering around the yard. I went to his pen and all 5 were out. They had busted through the old gate. It took a while, especially since most of my children are too far away to help, (Wyoming, SD, and OH) but we finally got all five in an old farrowing pen. 

Meanwhile our litter which was born in August are always escaping their pen. Mom lifts the fence and they all get out. I put it back down, but after they get back in and she feeds them, she just lifts it up again. I think she is trying to tell me something.

Came home yesterday to Red's 2nd litter of pigs. Boar (Daniel Boone) is a Berkshire and Red is a

Hereford with some other red pig mixed in. 

I think she had 11, but I will be able to tell better this morning. Here are the pics:

Oremus pro invicem!

 Woke to another litter of pigs. Opal's first litter. 

Finally finishing Contagious Faith. I can't endorse this book enough.

. Oremus pro invicem!

Science?

It is ironic that in the "age of science" (I say this in the context that science has become the new "god"), science is the first thing to be sacrificed at the altar of Co-Vid.

For just one example, wading through everything out there, it seems clear that the way you can get Co-Vid19 is to talk face-to-face with someone (with Co-Vid) without masking at a distance less than 3 feet (1 meter) for a prolonged time (generally considered to be about 10 minutes). This is how CoVid is passed according to the experts. (Obviously there may be exceptions, but this is the pretty much what has been determined.)

If this is truly the case, where does transmission actually occur? I would venture it transmits in close relationships (family at home or close friends), maybe at parties, road trips with a business associate, at work occasionally depending on the nature of the work, at recess or cafeterias.

Is there a documented case of someone contracting CoVid as a customer in a grocery store? At Mass? At the library? These seem VERY unlikely places for transmission (with or without masks), especially if grocery carriages etc. are being sanitized. (How long the virus lasts on surfaces seems to be still unclear, or at least reports are contradictory.)

At the three colleges I taught at face to face (with masks-sometimes worn properly, but not necessarily social distancing) during fall 2020 and Spring 2021, not a single case of classroom transmission of CoVid was documented. Classrooms (set up traditionally) are not likely places for transmission.

Heard on the radio Thursday, (paraphrasing) "Israel has the highest vaccination rate per capita in the world ..... and the highest daily rate of increase in CoVid cases." To me this says something about the effectiveness of the vaccine? Yet we have to get it? 

I also note that when the country was shutdown, cases only increased (see likely transmission occurrences above), and when masking became the widespread policy, cases continued to increase. Now this is all anecdotal, BUT there is scientific reasoning (CoVid particle size versus typical mask void sizes) and several-to-many documented studies (going back to the '70's) showing masking does not impede spread of viruses. The exception may be a medical mask (N95?) in conjunction with gloves and other sterile garments. (For example see this article: https://www.aier.org/article/masking-a-careful-review-of-the-evidence/ )

There is much, much, more that can be said on these topics, but it is ironic that in the "age of science", science is dashed upon the rocks, and we are being bullied with fake science.

Oremus pro invicem!

The Homestead....

I have never been so late in getting wood for the winter heating season. My goal is always to be done by the first week in March for the next winter. I feel I have written this before. In any event, I started cutting and splitting wood today (now yesterday).

A small start....

I have a lot of work to do.

The summer garden was a disappointment, but understandably so. We got things planted, but then I got kidney stones with complications. Then I brought our youngest daughter to Wyoming Catholic College and got sidetracked with visiting my beautiful granddaughters and moving my middle daughter to South Dakota from Wyoming. In any event I got back after what seemed like 3 weeks, but just over 2.  

So we've had some really great sweet corn, but small and not much of it. The cucumbers were good, but few, and by the time we got back they were pretty done. The beans - who knows? The cantaloupe never appeared. Just a few okra. But the tomatoes (cherry and Roma mostly) have been great.

So besides getting wood, it is time to prep for fall garden and move pigs to clean up the garden areas we are not planting in until next year.

Of course we are short-handed. Only my 15-year old and Mrs. Curley (who is having knee problems - hopefully soon to be fixed.) We also have a young man visiting us for at least a few days.

But things are working out.

Oremus pro invicem!

4975 miles

That is, to Wyoming and back with several cross state (WY) trips in between. Great to see my kids and grandkids, but it is also good to be finally home. 

I spent a good bit of time in Moorcroft, WY, near Devil's Tower - which is a unique (or largest of its kind on earth) geological formation. Got to take some pictures of it, and actually recorded a remote lecture with it in the background for my Earth Science class.

Oremus pro invicem!

More pigs!

Lots happening here. More pigs last night. A small litter, but if she raises them all, it will be okay. 

Kidney stones ..... not too fun, but not as bad as it could have been. An 8 mm stone is nothing to laugh at (I am not laughing!), but my kidney is saved - which may have been in question for a time.

I don't know the fall dates yet, but if you are a man and have a son over 12 or a young man you are mentoring, you may want to consider coming to a St. Josephs Farm weekend. 

Oremus pro invicem!

What is going on? Is this the end?

Update: Made through the week without further incident! Still reading Contagious Faith by Phil Lawler, and still recommending it.

Saturday I almost blew my head off lighting a propane grill. (I usually cook pigs on wood, but it was raining and I wasn't at home.) Luckily my burns were not too bad. Mrs. Curley is happy one of my eyebrows is much shorter than it was.

Monday I was picking weeds at home and almost stuck my hand in a copperhead's mouth. I did kill it.

Today I was stung by a wasp when moving an old pallet.

Nothing ever happens to me. Is it a warning that I should get my life (my soul) in order?

If the pattern holds, I can't wait until Friday!

Oremus pro invicem!

Contagious Faith

 Only on the 2nd page of the first chapter, and I think I will be recommending it.  

Oremus pro invicem!

I got a glimpse of the future this morning....

It is 10:00 AM on a Saturday morning. I have already slaughtered and eviscerated a 300 pound hog and put it on ice. 

There is a good reason that in days past small farmers (and/or homesteaders) were mulit-generational. I am not old by any means, but as I slaughtered a 300 pound pig this morning, virtually by myself, I saw my limitations in stark relief. I don't know if I have ever killed a hog by myself until today. It has always been a community activity at our place - either the community of just our family or joined friends (and brief acquaintances). 

Historically and culturally in the South (at least) hog-killing has been a community activity. And there is great reasons: for one, a 300 pound hog is heavy. For another, why process a 300 pound hog if there is no community to share it with? 

With the advent of the industrial revolution, not only did the young leave the homesteads and farms for cash jobs, but machinery was created so that people could do things with less help - less community. 

We don't have machinery like tractors to lift and move the hog (although I did drag it with a chain and my pick-up truck to our "cleaning" station.) But even if we did, I would have missed the community. By the end, my daughter and young son did come to help, and I felt the community restored. But for an hour or so I was by myself and wondered why. 

Oremus pro invicem!

Last night at our table....

 Home grown broccoli and fried chicken. 

Tonight duck breast and pork ribs - with broccoli.

Oremus pro invicem!

Boone + Red #1

Last night around 11 PM Red (Hereford) finished delivering her first litter. This was the first litter fathered by Boone our Berkshire Boar.

Here they are:

Oremus pro invicem!

Time to plant

 We have had a wet February. Last week into this week we had over 10 inches in 5-6 days. And it stayed chilly. Today not so much. Beautiful and I am working up a sweat planting.

So today we put in broccoli, spinach, romaine, swiss chard, peas and beans. I will plant corn before the end of the week. We may have another frost, but if it isn't too deep the corn should be okay.

Oremus pro invicem!

A life worth lived?

The question that was put to forward at a gathering I was at this weekend was: Do you want to be alive or do you want to be living?

In these times of CoVid19, this is a question we should be asking ourselves. Are we sacrificing a life worth lived just to stay alive and well? Are we sacrificing experiences which make us better persons and possibly make a difference to others in order to stay safe and well.

What is more important, our soul or our health? (This question is one I am not sure how most of the US Bishops would answer based on their actions in the last year.)

So many of us now exist and operate with fear that it begs the question of whether that existence is worth the cost.

I do think CoVid is real, but is also being used nefariously: Fear + Isolation = Power

Oremus pro invicem!

St. Joseph's Farm Weekend

 Want to learn about raising and processing pigs. Here's the place to go: 

SJF Weekend Workshop – Pigs 101: Husbandry, Killing, Butchering Basics | St. Josephs Farm

February 19-21.

I hope to see you there!

Oremus pro invicem!

Durable Pigs!

 We slaughtered a hog this morning and were gifted with a new litter of piglets this afternoon. 

This is "Happy's" first litter. We are hoping she is a good mother. This was our boar's last litter with us. We sold him (a Yorkshire) and have a new boar (a Berkshire).

BTW, I have finished reading Durable Trades by Rory Groves. I do recommend it. It is a quick read if you don't read the details of all the trades. (For example, I skipped midwife and baker etc.) Perhaps the best parts of the book are the Introduction and Parts I and III (which are not the listing/descriptions of the durable trades.) 

Oremus pro invicem!

Merry Christmas!

We were greatly surprised when my son, daughter-in-law, and 2 granddaughters showed up - all the way from Wyoming - to spend Christmas with us. I spent hours holding the infant over the few days they were here. Peace and joy!

We have been busy with so many of my children home (extended due to COVID). We put down our steer, fixed the skew of our feed shed, raised a new goat pen and shelter, cleared shrubs etc. 

It has been great to be working with my children again. There is something special about spending time together in a common endeavor.

Merry Christmas!

Oremus pro invicem!

This is a book I want to read

Update: Someone read my post ... I got it for Christmas. So far so good. Merry Christmas!

You can read a short excerpt at: Front Porch Republic 

Oremus pro invicem!

Goings and Comings

This weekend two children who had spent the last 27 months with us were returned to their family. It was really rough ... no matter the circumstances we will miss them dearly.

Then last night I became a grandpa for the 2nd time - the baby is in Wyoming of course!

And let us not forget to pray for our departed loved ones this day:

May all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen

Two recent quotes...

First saw this at TS: originally from a Peggy Noonan column. This is a quote from Judge Barrett, the context is not important (to me) just a good thing to remember.

“If life is really hard, at least it’s short.”

Speaking of Peggy Noonan, I remember reading her: What Happened at the Revolution about the Reagan administration. I can still remember a few of her stories about Reagan even though I read the book decades ago.

The 2nd quote I would recommend comes from a Michael Warren Davis article at Crisis Magazine.

So, let’s be very clear: One of the first principles of Catholic social teaching is that immoral acts must not be given legal sanction. That’s why the Church plainly teaches that abortion (CCC, 2273) and pornography (CCC, 2354) should be prohibited by law. We as Catholics believe that civil authorities must not condone vice, even implicitly.

I think the context is very clear!

Oremus pro invicem!

I have joined the club.

Getting ready for the wood burning season, it was finally my turn to clean the chimney. I have never done it before. My sons have always performed the task. Now they all live in WY or OH, so I had to do it myself. I bet they all thought I couldn't.

It was tuck and nip for a bit. I was not sure I could fit in there, but as evidence of the soot I did get in, AND I did get out. Chimney cleaned.

Oremus pro invicem!

Back from WY

My daughter tries to pick out songs about the states we are traveling through on our way to and from Wyoming. There is a favorite Wyoming song of mine by John Denver.

Now half my children live or are in school in Wyoming. I can see the attraction. It is beautiful out there. I think the response to life and issues is more reasonable in Wyoming than in most other places, including SC.

The one exception seems almost universal in these states we travelled through: the Church is militantly afraid of covid-19 and the Bishops are convinced is their job to protect what they view as their "stupid and incompetent" flock.

I am pretty sick of the fear. If Christ conquered the world why are we running scared?

Back to Wyoming, I wish I was. I didn't get to go backpacking this time - this stay was short. But we did a 3 mile hike to some falls. Sinks Canyon - gorgeous!

Glad to be home. Lots to do here. I still am finishing some house maintenance/improvements and note that we do not yet have enough wood split to get through the winter.

We have had our share of corn, cucumbers and tomatoes. We have 1 (one) cantaloupe. Maybe more will come. The weather has been highly unusual. We are getting rain, but it is 100 degrees or so almost every day.

Okay. That's the update.

Oremus pro invicem!

Confession

I was in Cleveland briefly earlier this week visiting #2 son and wife. I took the opportunity to go to Confession in Cleveland as it is not as easy as you think to get to confession in our diocese. True, confessions were supposed to "open" on June 1st (who knows why they were every closed) in our diocese, but they didn't in every parish.

So, #2 son took me to his parish for 5:30 PM confessions last Tuesday. The line was pretty long. Also, 90% of the line was made up of men!  - men of various ages. This is a good thing, not often seen in these parts.

Oremus pro invicem!

SC Primary

Today was the SC primary election day. Only one race on the Republican ballot. While not a Republican, an Independent can vote either ballot.

Lindsey Graham, Senator from SC had 3 Republican opponents. While expected to win easily, I did find that one of his opponents made a statement as party of his platform which you don't see often.

Duke Buckner said, "Fathers play an important role in the development of their children. Research has shown that fathers who are positively involved in the life of their children help promote emotional stability and cognitive development." 

I have contended in the past the lack of fathers in the family is the greatest moral and economic crisis in this country, but the politicians don't recognize it.

Oremus Pro Invicem!

More signs of job confusion

On Monday May 11, in South Carolina dine-in restaurants are allowed to open again.

On Sunday May 17th, in-person Sunday resumes with various provisions - (not from the State, but from the diocese and parishes); among them: Holy Communion is not to be received during Mass but as the faithful exit the church. AND confession is not allowed until sometime in June. (There is no reason Confession should have ever been cancelled!)

This makes sense?

Oremus pro invicem!

Echo

I have been using an Echo CS-440 chainsaw for years. We heat only with wood, so you can imagine how much I cut with my chainsaw each year (even if we do live in mild-winter SC.)

But I am behind this year (I usually try to have next winter's wood cut and split by the end of March. As of yesterday, I only had a couple weeks worth cut. My old saw needs a major overhaul - which I will do, but in the meantime, I need to be cutting wood.

I bought an Echo CS-400 today. A slight bit less powerful (displacement) but it was the one available, at a good price. (Probably would have opted for the CS-490, but it is hard to come by locally.)

I cut, split, and stacked almost a month's worth of wood this evening. The Echo was great, but the true test is whether I am still saying it is great in 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years, and 5 years.

BIG NEWS TODAY! In-person Mass resumes in our diocese on May 11. No word on confession returning.

Oremus pro invicem!

New Pigs

We sold most of our last litter very quickly and at a decent price. People quarantined start thinking of self-sufficiency. It was the same during the 2009 recession. I could not keep up with the demand for piglets. The demand went down as people went back to work. Thus it will be again.

Right now I have 1 sow. But I have a gilt bought as a piglet in December (?) to become a second sow. This week I bought a Hereford/Duroc cross gilt (piglet) to become a 3rd sow by the end of the year.

I am sure that demand will go down, but I think I will still be able to sell all the piglets I want.

Here is a picture of the new gilt. (Still in transport trailer. She joined a couple other pigs from our last litter in a generous and greeeeen pen.)

Oremus pro invicem!

Repost

Is it okay to repost things from your own blog?

My daughter was talking to me about her fear of planting seeds - her doubt as to whether they would ever come up. I pulled up the following for her from June 2009:

Faith is believing that seeds mature into plants that give fruit.

Hope is the expectation, based on your faith, that the seed you plant will mature into plants that give fruit.

But this hope will be fruitless unless the seeds and plants are tended with love.

Oremus pro invicem!

COVID 19 Thoughts

My son commented to me the other day that he doubted that during the Black Plague, everyone relaxed their penances - probably increased them. But we have Bishops telling us we can eat meat during Fridays in Lent cause things are so bad, we need relief.

And I note that Phil Lawler remarks that many Bishops have job confusion: 

“My number one priority as your archbishop is to ensure the safety and health of all who attend our Masses, the children in our schools, and those we welcome through our outreach and services,” Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, DC, told his people. But that’s wrong. So clearly wrong, in fact, that it’s disturbing to see that sentence attributed to a bishop of the Catholic Church, whose number-one priority, always and everywhere, is the salvation of souls. The spiritual safety of the people is a bishop’s primary concern; everything else is secondary.

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

We are told that we should stay home unless we are part of essential services or have an essential job. But I question this. I see trees being limbed and bushes trimmed on a closed campus'. I hear about minor road construction going on a closed campus - a campus where even faculty are not even allowed to retrieve items from their office. In fact I see all kinds of construction going on everywhere.

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

In SC many small business' have been told to close, but big business' stay open. Why doesn't the govt order Walmart and Target to close all but their grocery and pharmacy - why do they get an unfair advantage?

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

Lord have mercy on us!

Oremus pro invicem!

Jersey

There is no beef like Jersey beef. The hamburgers, the roasts, the steaks: all tender and delicious even when very lean. We (finally) put down one of our Jersey steers a couple weeks ago. With less help than in the past, it was a full day for me and Thomas. Then we butchered over the next two weeks. Hard work, but I think everyone thinks it was worth it.

I guess I am glad I am not Byzantine Rite. No meat or dairy during the great fast!

Oremus pro invicem!

Lenten Candy

I heard from my daughter yesterday that cough drops were considered "Lenten candy" in our house by the kids. No candy during Lent, but if you had a cough....

++++++++++++++++++

Reading: the One Second After trilogy. I recommend it. Story set in a rural community of North Carolina at the time and after an EMP event over the continental United States. 

Oremus pro invicem!

The view out our back window yesterday

South Carolina

Well, today is primary day in South Carolina. I have no predictions. My pigs are doing well (litter a couple weeks ago) as you can see below. Not so much all our chickens. We have had a fox attacking our brand new, ready to lay chickens. Lost a few, but a neighbor gave us a few more and we are back in eggs. Am hoping the wood holds out. Crazy weather, some cold, some hot. Can't predict. Confession this afternoon. Feeling clean!

Oremus pro invicem!

I should be cutting and splitting wood for next year, but am still splitting wood for this year … depending on how long winter lasts. It started early but the last week or so have been unseasonably warm.

Oremus pro invicem!

Merry Christmas! and...

It took the flu to give me time to post again. I am one of the last men standing, but I feel like I am going down....

Last weekend we had a wonderful square dance/hog roast - when the flu was somewhat distant on the horizon. Here is some of the pig prep: 1. dipping it in the scalding water; 2. making coals for cooking the hog; 3. taking the hog off the grill.

Oremus pro invicem!

Dorian

It looks like Dorian will have no substantial effect on us so far inland. We probably will get our share of rain - although it hasn't started yet.

So I dug trenches around the pig houses (actually lean-to type shelters) last night to divert water from pooling in the house. The pig shelters have dirt floors and the pigs tend to hollow those floors out, making them a low point.

My 19 year old son is in the SC State Guard and has been deployed to the coast for rescue and cleanup. I think he just completed his swift water rescue course a couple weeks ago - so the timing is right.

Oremus pro invicem!

pigs!

14 pigs born to us this weekend. They are very active and  healthy!

Oremus pro invicem!

Out West

What a trip. Arrived home last night from a 2 week trek to Wyoming and back with a couple detours.

Of course I saw my grandbaby - a lot.

I love the west, especially Lander, WY - not just  because the cutest grandbaby in the world lives there.!

We also went to South Pass City - well worth it! It used to be a booming town in the 1880's, now population of 3 or so. Much of it is preserved.

Son Nick and I hiked to Big Sandy lake (elevation around 9000 feet) and then after a night of camping, we hiked to Rapid Lake, which is close to 11,000 feet. Not much air to breathe there. I admit to having trouble in that regard. Pic is of me relaxing at Rapid Lake. It was BEAUTIFUL!

Hit Mount Rushmore for about an hour on the way home. Glad I went, but once is enough. I think the pictures are actually better than the monument itself. I will say though that Eastern South Dakota is beautiful.

Stopped somewhere in the middle of nowhere in South Dakota to get out of a dangerous thunderstorm with baseball-size hail, took shelter with a few other souls in a gas station - and met someone from SC not far from us. How does that happen?

Great trip! Good to be home.

Oremus pro invicem!

Hog Heaven?

Goings on ...

We picked our first cucumbers a few days ago and harvested our corn 2 days ago. The corn, due to lack of rain at the critical time wasn’t as big as in the past, but it still is tasty. We are just finishing last year’s corn from the freezer. I don’t know if we will have enough to put up much this year, but I will take what God provides.

We had to replant our cantaloupe and pumpkins. They are just breaking ground last week, so we will see how they do. The tomatoes are there, but slow in coming.

We still have a very large hog to put down. We just never got around to it, and now it looks like the fall? This is the last of our own hogs. We have two young Jersey steers (Jersey beef is the best to eat.) which should be ready in winter and early spring. AND we bought a pregnant sow a few weeks ago. I want to get our own breeding stock again, but it will have to wait until the fall. (I think I said that last year.)

The bathroom remodel saga still goes on. Remodeling a bathroom which is not square and which has many quirks in the walls and plumbing has been no fun. Looking back, I should have gutted the whole thing including the towel closet and started from scratch. The budget would probably been about the same and I would have finished a week ago.  Yesterday I thought we were ready at least to have the bathtub operating (shower walls are proving a bear), but alas the tub drain is leaking. Oh, it goes on and on.

Oremus pro invicem!

Still on bathroom remodel – day 15 of a planned 2-day project….

But bigger things are happening. I have mentioned in passing before that we have had a special young man visiting with us for the past 3+ years. Just a few days ago we signed adoption papers for this special 13-year old. Nothing is final until the court signs off on the adoption, but now it is all but final. Happy days!

Oremus pro invicem!

Daughter B found the calf in the corn this morning. Not too much damage. But it was hard moving the several hundred pound steer back into its own fencing. I guess we should have halter broke it. But of course we usually won't do that for a Jersey steer going into the freezer come winter....

We had no rain for a month, and hot, hot weather. Cucumbers fared well, but the cantaloupe and beans never broke surface. Replanted some this week after 3 or 4 days of off and on rain (finally). This rain may have saved the corn.

Still working on the bathroom. Floor, toilet, vanity and tube are installed. Kitchen sink let go in the middle of all of it. JB Weld solved the problem.

This morning I installed shutoff valves under the house for the shower hot and cold so I can total redo the plumbing for the tub and shower at my leisure. This plumbing is necessary to get the shower walls to fit properly.

Oremus pro invicem!

Life is great, but I hate bathroom remodels. I have been working so much and doing so many things that this old blog has been sadly neglected. Did I mention I hate bathrooms?

School is out for me, and except for a possible 4 week course at the end of July, I have little work this summer. 

That may be good because the 2-day bathroom remodel looks like it may take many more days and even weeks. Did I mention how much I hate bathrooms? Things leak...

I am done for the night, but I am hoping that by this time tomorrow night the most critical issues have been resolved. 

The worst of it is that after this remodel, I tackle the one upstairs..... This could be the summer from....

But otherwise, life is great. I am blessed greatly. More on this later, if I can get by the bathroom issues.

Oremus pro invicem!

It's been a long time, and lots has happened. I have been to Wyoming to see my granddaughter. I listened to talks about "The Beer Option" at St. Joseph's Farm. I have finished the semesters at both my Adjunct gigs. A few weeks off and all the kids will be home at sometime in the next couple weeks. Everyone overlaps for at least one day.

I love Wyoming. This time Mrs. Curley went with me. She fell in love too.

The homestead is at a quiet time. We have been drying the peanuts and need to take them off the vine. The Jerusalem artichokes are ready for harvest.

We need to get back to cutting wood for next year. And there are two hogs out there ready for slaughter.

Mrs. Curley (especially) and I are testing our will power and patience, having an infant and her 2-year old brother staying with us since July. I forgot about infants....

I have thought often of writing about various things I have heard on the radio or read about, but there has been little time.

Oremus pro invicem! 

Life and Death

I became a grandfather for the first time one day late last week. There is a certain joy to this. It is hard to explain. It is also difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that my son is now a father. 

I remember when I am taking my children to college the first time, it usually involves a long drive. During the drive, I always panic that I only have a few hours left to tell him or her all things I should have but haven't gotten around to yet.

But this is worse, I can't tell my sons how to be a good father (or daughters a good parent). All they have is my example - yet that has been too often lacking. Hopefully they will get their inspiration - not from me, but from the Bible and see how God is a good father.

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

Last week we also lost a good one. My wife's uncle, Dave Stanley, passed away. He was a good man. He was always welcoming to our family. I recall especially he was good to our special needs foster son. Dave always made our foster son smile, let him drive the golf cart to his extreme delight, and bought him hats - a favorite item for our son.

May his soul rest in peace!

Oremus pro invicem!

Time

We had the best looking sweet sorghum crop in years, but we ran out to time to process it correctly. It won't go to waste, the seeds are chicken feed and the stocks, although not squeezed to make syrup, will be fed to some appreciative pigs.

We are just about done with most of the summer garden. There are lingering tomatoes and one or two pumpkins left to pull. It was a good year for pumpkins, although absent were some of the huge pumpkins of past years.

For to be a farmer's boy, 1887-Winslow Homer

I think our peanuts (although the smallest plot in years) will be stellar based on what I have seen so far. Harvest is still a few weeks away.

The summer won't leave. We are still having 90+ to 100 degree days everyday. It burns up any broccoli or cabbage you try to put in.

With school having starting for me, getting a big fall garden in will be a challenge. I like fall gardens because weeds don't grow.

Speaking of school, I have started a new assignment. In addition to teaching part-time at a local technical college, I am now teaching Physics at a 4-year college (as an adjunct.) 

More money but less time at the homestead.....

Oremus pro invicem!

Back to Cleveland!

It had been 30 years. I lived in Cleveland for 2 years. The last thing I did there was to attend my friend's wedding in 1988.

Last week I was back in Cleveland for my son's wedding. It was great. The liturgy was chanted. Everything was beautiful. The bride's family was very gracious. We had a great time!

Oremus pro invicem!

The need is great!

I mentioned back in 2016 that we were finally licensed for foster care in South Carolina. Since then we have had 10 children ranging from 4 months to 15 years come into our home for times ranging from a few days to more than 2 years.

Our very first foster child is still with us after more than 2 years. Presently we also have 2 other young children.

But we get calls all the time to take more....

Yesterday we had two calls: the first to take a sibling group comprising 6-month old and two-year old; the second for a sibling group of 5 children.

And this is not the first time we have received multiple calls in one day.

We don’t have the beds or rooms to take more than we have now. (Sometimes I wish we did – other times we feel overwhelmed with whoever we have at the time.)

It is hard to say “no”.

The need is tremendous. We have been very blessed.

Oremus pro invicem!