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.

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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.

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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?

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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!