Man, that barrel is hot.

The priority for today was to complete the rocket stove to the point we could test burn the entire system.  Using the bricks Youssef and myself created a manifold where the exhaust can freely flow into the exhaust chimney then we covered the seams in a clay, straw, and perlite mixture.

Our initial test burn revealed that smoke could escape through the joints.  They were quickly taped up.

After adding a chimney outside, the initial test burn worked alright.  At times heavy smoke back into the greenhouse had us all crying.  The wood we used was rather thick so tomorrow I will try smaller fuel to see how that effect everything.  Also needed is a chimney cap.

Burnt Friday

Hey blogreaders, I'm nearly a week into my farm experience, and all is going well. I can feel it's going to be a chilly winter, and am not looking forward to my stay in a custom, handmade, Sustainable Homestead built shelter in January, but more of that is to come. For now, our rocket stove is coming together beautifully and we're both very eager for it to be completed and operational.

Today was great, we had a lazy morning, still feeling the effects from that Thanksgiving meal the day before. Working pre and post the meal really had us burnt out, more so than our barrel which we learned today had been coated with high-temp paint. We kept the controlled fire burning into the night and all day today so we'll find out tomorrow if it's ready for installation.

Turns out we ended up wasting about 2 hours trying to get certain stove piping to fit, only to learn that the pipe must have been from a botched batch, as some other sections slid right into our already standing exhaust pipe. After getting the elbows and measurements all set, we cut the hole in the greenhouse, sent our piping through it, and insulated it inside the bulkhead trim rings.

Along with many others, I've met Freddy and Philip the last two days, who are the primary caretakers of the farm when Scott is away or otherwise occupied. It was a great treat yesterday evening to fire off a couple rounds of .22 in Philip's bolt-action, scoped rifle. Hopefully it's a good re-introduction to the fun of shooting. While it isn't necessary for full sustainability, hunting is an extremely valuable skill if it is indeed your goal, as is mine. I'm learning the basics of feeding and caring for the animals and plants, as well as countless other information about tracking, animal identification, water purification techniques, gear and food collection and preservation, hygiene, and many other essential skills.

We'll be back with more pics and videos of the rocket mass heater, and everything else going on here at the Homestead, goodnight all, stay healthy.

- Youssef

No rest for the thankful

This morning was absolutely gorgeous.  There were six beautiful deer munching in the front of the house.  I watched them for a good bit before starting the day.

The first thing we did was to start up a fire of scrap lumber from past projects to take the paint off our barrel that will sit on top of the heat riser made several days ago now.

See the paint coming off towards the bottom?

Youssef and I got a lot done on the rocket stove.  After taking apart the initial design, we replaced it with the metal shell we made and painted yesterday.  The paint was a little tacky still, but we just brought it in and set it up anyway.

We stopped to take up the neighbors on their offer of a Thanksgiving meal.

Later we would return to put some more time on the rocket stove.  After struggling to put the last pipe sections together, the following is how it looked at the end of the day.

Another "test burn" because I like it

The frame and initial piping being supervised by Youssef and Phillip.

Boxing Out the Rocket Stove

Today's task was to gather all the materials in preparation for completing the rocket stove over the next two days.  This morning I called JT Wade sheet metal in Eden, NC the same place that we ventured to to find the 12 in stove pipe the other day for the heat riser.

After talking about what I was trying to achieve we had a design in hand.  Youseff and myself provided morale support and some light lifting.  It was definitely a blessing for if (I remember correctly) Jeff and the owner, Tamridge, to allow us to hang out and watch them use the machinery.  We were asked to some hot dogs at "Big Mike's Grill," so we did not refuse.  Especially because I was eyeing the place on the way in previously.

Youseff and I came back home and unloaded panels we had made, and jumped back in the car.  This morning I had spoken with the stone yard and I wanted to make it there before it closed for the holiday.  We got that rock, now my truck is a squat.  I think it is number 78 gravel which is approximately the same as pea gravel.  When we succeed, this will be revolutionary.

The side panels

Metal corner panels and hole for ash clean out.

With the sun fading fast I strung up the panels from the shop rafters, while Youssef started applying the high temperature paint picked up from Lowe's earlier.  The light faded quickly, but headlight power kept us operating for another half hour after everything was dark.  The gusty cold wind should dry them out tonight.  It chilled us to the bone during the process.

Cold outside, but the greenhouse is heating up - the rocket stove continues.

Youssef and I started this morning in the greenhouse creating a heat riser for the greenhouse rocket stove using the dirt gathered yesterday before dark.  It rained all day.  If it were colder it would have been snow, but the greenhouse felt nice despite the sub 50 reading on the thermometers.

We started by putting our 8in stove pipe inside the 12 in stove pipe to create a form for the clay mixture.  The mixture is approximately just less than 2 parts perlite or vermiculite to one part of sifted dirt.  Check mixture for explosive ability.

 

Each handful is packed tightly in this case with a golf club left by Freddie last time he was running dogs.

The form is filling.

Completion

Installation

Test run #1

New to the homestead

Hey everybody, first blog post after three full days on the farm. I'll be spending the next twelve weeks here and plenty of time writing here. I've already learned and accomplished so much in that short time. Other than basic knowledge of how to keep the farm going, we're building a rocket stove heater from scratch for his greenhouse. It's going to replace the current system of a propane tank heating the greenhouse, saving hundreds per month. We'll have an update on that throughout the next couple days, and videos are on youtube for you to see the build in progress.

Without a doubt homesteading and sustainability are invaluable skills, but I can only speak for myself. I am a former U.S. Marine and while I learned lifelong lessons and skills from them, it is nothing compared to the tips, tricks, patterns, and life-and-death know-how is still to know. Survival is of utmost importance, and I am grateful to be here learning all that I can. Goodnight sustainable homestead blog, I'll be back soon.

- Youssef

2 shots, 2 misses, 1 kill

The chickens were confined to the coop today after the discovery of a dead faverolle in the run yesterday evening.  Its chest was open and guts flung outside the cavity.  It was apparent that a hawk had paid a visit.  As the weather gets colder, they will be more stressed for food.

This morning Youssef, the resident intern who is ok with being mentioned on the blog and has shown interest in making posts himself, and myself were coming down from working towards completion of the rocket mass heater in the greenhouse.  There were eight large turkeys in the field and while we were joking about taking one for thanksgiving dinner, the hawk flew into the chicken run directly across our field of view.  We drove down to the run, and I drew my pistol firing one shot.  My review of the XS Big Dot sights is that they are too large to shoot hawks that are eating your chickens.  I missed.  They are more intended for large targets and close range.

Youssef and I had the same idea almost instantly.  We retrieved the chicken after removing it yesterday and set it back in the run.  The trap was set.  We around until the small birds started chirping near us, and we knew the hawk was gone.

I good time later, it might as well been deja vu.  The hawk flew over the truck as we came down from the greenhouse again.  It had taken the bait, however my drive by skills are lacking and he got away again.

The dead chicken remains in the run waiting for another opportunity to serve justice to her killer tomorrow.

I have been putting off the net over the run.  This serves as a sign it is time to do so.

In addition to fighting the hawk, Youssef and myself drove all over town looking for a 12in diameter stove pipe.  After trying several stores in person and several others over the phone, one of those phone calls yielded some information as to where to look.  I gave the recommendation a call.  It was almost as if fate connected us.  I told him that I needed a 12in diameter pipe as he was a metal shop, and he asked how thick I needed it.  I proceeded to tell him that I really just needed stove pipe, but no one in town had it so I assumed I was going to have to get a thick pipe.  It just so happened that he had a piece of scrap stove pipe that was 1 inch taller than the length we needed.  In the time it took us to get there he had cut it down to size.  Tomorrow we will complete the heat riser assembly for the rocket stove, burn some paint off a barrel, and bust up this hawk with a .410.  I am usually such a fan of hawks and their beauty, but I am a greater fan of my chickens, and an even greater fan of scrambled eggs, but the greatest fan of chicken parmesan.

Rocket Mass Heater construction

Using an adaptation of Paul Wheaton's portable rocket mass heater design, (I don't know if he wants his name on here. to be potentially edited later), the new resident/intern and myself made relatively quick work of moving a bunch of bricks and laying out the burn chamber after building a frame out of lumber this morning.

Today was much about getting (UNTIL ANONYMOUS) acclimated to the farm and showing him around the place.  I am much appreciative to have his help, and it was especially brisk outside so that appreciation was exponential.

Before we moved the bricks inside we did some experimentation with a mocked up rocket stove outside the greenhouse.  It is a difficult process to explain, but the stove started pulling the flames in almost immediately.

Pump Pump Pump it up

I did some tweaking to the aguaponics system and after replacing the pump with a faster one, the siphon runs smoothly.  I am excited for the completion of this project.  Nothing else really to report.

Trying to get things right

After spending a long time unclogging the greenhouse drain, the blockage was removed and I could get back to work on the aguaponics system.  I thought I had this siphon dialed in however it isn't exactly right.

Freddie and Phillip and myself hung out for most of the evening watching the water fill and drain into the sump tanks.  We tried some different variations, none worked as efficiently as I wanted it to.

I'm not frustrated although I would have liked to had the system cycling by now.  It is all a process.  The same can be said for any project that I have done on the farm, but next time I work on a similar project I will be able to do it faster, cheaper, and more efficiently.

Since nothing has hatched in well over the allotted time, I am calling a stop to the incubation project.  I hope to have the incubator cleaned out an moved into the barn tomorrow.

Other things happened today too.

no significant title

I spent a lot of the day waiting on the propane man and gathering supplies so that I don't have to see him again.  I am significantly closer to building the rocket mass heater for the greenhouse and completing the aguaponics project.

Moving some tanks around today resulted in me breaking the bulkhead fitting.  The flange snapped, but did not flake a piece.  It was deep however it did not pass the washer that holds tight against the bottom of the grow bed.  I debated wether or not to replace it.  I grabbed the pipe wrench and was going to, but right as I was about to take it off the propane man came.  I took it as a sign.  Later after gluing the pipe back in place, I covered the fitting with the pvc cement.  It seems to be holding together nicely.  I plan to use a pipe strap and some electrical tape to make sure it is sturdy.

I gave the propane man a brief tour of the greenhouse and what was going on in there.  He was very interested.  Last time he was out here, he invited me with his family to a music festival up the road.  It is cool to get the opinion of people as they see the project progressing.  He was very complimentary.

A neighborhood dump run was made this evening.

In the Media

The aguaponics system is really starting to take shape.  I got a slow start after waking up early this morning.  I attribute that to moving the 50L bags yesterday evening.  Eventually I got the grow media unloaded from the truck, washed, and added to the growbed.

In the truck

In the bed

Walkaround

The chickens have yet to hatch.  I am pretty certain that they will not, but I am going to give it a few more days just to be certain.

On the road again

Too much of today I was stuck in the truck driving to pick up materials that aren't available locally.  Mother Earth Hydroton is frequently used in hydroponic gardening as a planting media.  People like it because it is lightweight when compared to gravel, has a neutral ph, and holds moisture.  Usually plants are supported and nourished through the soil.  Since the nutrients, usually found in the dirt, are provided through circulating fish waste, support comes from the expanded clay pellets.  The media also provides surface area that houses bacteria that break down the fish waste.

I was really hoping that the store had a forklift, but as I got closer and closer something in my gut told me that I was going to be the forklift.  The 30 bags filled up the bed of my truck, and it is still squatting currently.  The lady at the store didn't help me, but she gave me a bottle of water 20 bags in which was appreciated.

It turned into a much longer trip than originally anticipated, but the good news is that by then end of tomorrow roughly 85% of the aguaponics project will be completed with only really two or three steps further to go.

Tomorrow will be a big day.

Coyote Attack

Ash, the farm's Great Pyrenees protection dog, is a real sweet-heart, but when she turns it on it can be scary.  She is barking right now likely at a deer, but it reminded me of the story that was relayed to me earlier this evening.

Two brothers were logging an area right up the road from here sometime in the past several days.  The one man was working on the top of the hill out of sight from the other running equipment at the bottom.  Suddenly five coyotes surround the piece of equipment on which type I will ask for clarification.  They try to attack the man.  From the tractor seat he radios to the man up the hill saying, "Get down here as fast as you can.  I got coyotes down here trying to kill me."

I imagined it like Sigourney Weaver in Aliens, trying to fend off coyotes while almost biting his face.  He would have definitely not been as fortunate enough to dodge the slobber dripping from the jowls of the canine.

The brothers ended up alright and the game warden came out and shot one after using an electronic caller.

Ash I wouldn't want to tangle with.  One time she caught a possum almost on the front lawn.  It was immediately apparent that I needed to go see at what she was barking.  I'm still don't know how I feel about possums.  I don't think they are on my team though.

Drizzle

Fog and drizzle was the theme of today.  I fed the cow this morning and walked around after stoking the fire.  The weather did not call for a fire, but once I opened back up the damper this morning the fire came back to life, and I just kept feeding it.

I roughed out the rocket stove in the kitchen.  I will leave it for a while to see if it is actually something that I want to do before bringing a ton's worth of mud inside.  My current feeling is I like it very much.

After feeding the cow, the turkeys were going crazy in the back field.  I went inside and grabbed my camera and my laptop.  I pulled up turkey calls on the internet and played them while watching the turkeys.  At first they were taken aback.  Then they trotted off over the ridge.

I may end up building a form for a concrete rocket stove in the greenhouse.  Everything needs to be perfect because I won't be able to move it ever.  More planning and thinking needs to be done.  A thermal mass grow bench would be nice for starting peppers and tomatoes like a heat pad but natural.

Merping around

This morning I caught two deer in the front yard.  I started taking pictures inside and continued moving through the door out to the lawn to the north of the house.  I took some more pictures and kept moving.  The deer kept looking in my opposite direction like something was going on over there.  I got closer that I was expecting wearing heavy Muck boots, taking pictures almost the entire way.

Taken from the kitchen

What you looking at Willis?

Getting closer

And then they got merped.

Betsy wants me to stop playing around and give her her milk I think this is 95X magnification

Just as the sun was about to go down I would push the same deer I saw in the morning out of the back field.  The siphon is working on the aguaponics system.  Most of the sump tanks are in position.  I was really hoping and kinda expecting the media to come in today.  The man said Monday, but again he also said today.

New Four Legged Additions

Among the usual routine and some other projects at hand, today is a very special day in that some new faces came to stay.  Seven boer goats and a holstein calf were just unloaded and are already settling in nicely.  The calf came with the name Betsy.  Although that may change, I like it currently.

Everybody getting acclimated

Betsy is a baller.  She is about eight weeks old so she is on a diet of milk replacer, grass, and cow feed.  This evening I gave Betsy her first pale of milk.  I was a little awkward holding the bucket at first.  She knew what was up and charged the bucket in my hand wanting that milk.  The bucket sloshed a bunch of milk on her head, to which I apologized, and she seemed unfazed.  

It was all fun and games until the milk was done.  Then she turned to the goats and told them to get.  As I was coming back with a bit more milk to make up for my party foul, I saw the goats fleeing like a herd of buffalo away from the calf.  She was in a full out charge, and the goats didn't want anything to do with it.  I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't expecting that.  At first, I was a little worried about the young calf and her ability do fend for herself.  Turns out she has got some mooooooves and showed she can more than handle the pastures.  She is way cool.

As I walked the farm this morning, I was pushing turkeys everywhere.  Behind the house there were a bunch.  At the pond there were a handful.  Further up the holler there were more.  Only if I had a meat slicer, I would be set.

Snow on the horizon?

Today was dark and grey most of the day.  The rumor was snow was projected today and tomorrow.  I saw snow for maybe 30 seconds this afternoon, and now that I am looking at the forecast they are calling for a sunny 41 degrees tomorrow but no snow.

When I saw the snow, I decided it was finally time to take the shade-cloth down, but just last week it seemed like we were getting really nice weather.

Topless

All balled up in the corner

This is the n^th variation of the siphon.  The internet suggested adding a L and extra pipe to make it initiate faster.  Several sump tank ideas are still sorting themselves out in my head.

I've been snacking on the lettuce sprouts while watching the bed fill.

Siphon Problems

I spent all day watching the grow bed fill and drain while making little adjustments to the siphon and simultaneously cleaning the workshop.  After fixing the forge blower for the 4th time,  I think it is finally done.  The main handle was constantly slipping and regardless of how tight I torqued the bolt, it never held properly.  I drilled a big whole in the shaft where the bolt can screw into.  As soon as that was fixed, I was spinning it and all of the sudden the fan stopped moving as quickly as before.  After I took it apart and replaced a screw that locked the fan to the driveshaft, the whole thing is going nowhere.

I still don't have the siphon dialed in.

Turkeys watch

This afternoon I came around the corner to the back field and saw 13 turkeys.  I was like wow.  Then I went further around the corner and there was another 30 turkeys grazing.  At this point all stealth was gone as I charged their grouping.  As they scattered in all directions into the woods, while the familiar call of the turkey rang out mockingly.  With Thanksgiving coming up, it might not be a bad idea to snag one with a bullet next time.

I spent most of the day cleaning out the shop and organizing everything.  I want to move the large worktable to a different location to make ample room for the rocket stove.  It is amazing how quickly it becomes cluttered with the scraps of old projects and things in the making.  As soon as the shop is spotless, it is going to get messy again.  It is just how it works for me.  I admire people with constantly clean workshops, but I am positive that is a sure sign that you aren't making anything, or maybe a clean shop is a sign you have been at a location for a long time, or you are a professional.

At the same time I was cycling the aguaponics system.  I am still waiting on the grow media, but I want to make sure the bell syphon is working properly unassisted by me.  A few more positive tests tomorrow, and I will be confident.

In speaking with the owner of the local grocery that sells fresh meat he mentioned that his customer base had increased substantially since Food Lion switched to pre packaged meat.  So that is good news.  I need to be his egg supplier.

They are calling for snow Wednesday or Thursday, I have to remove the shade cloth from the greenhouse before then.

Rocket stove

The plans are pretty much finalized in my head for the rocket mass heater.  This afternoon when I went up to the neighbors to move the trees, we were talking about the project at hand.  I said that I needed a tank from a water heater.  Low and behold he had two old water heaters that he said I was welcome to.  It will need a good cleaning as well as a hole patched.  Tomorrow I will cut off the bottom of the tank then a parallel line 7 or so inches off the ground taking out the rusty part.  We will then weld the bottom back on, add a new temperature and pressure blow off valve and be cooking with gas.  I mean wood.

In the driveway now sits a mocked up version of the stove.  It was getting dark and I was really just playing with bricks and fire.  Every brick is different depending on where you get it.  So every rocket stove is unique.  The key is having the right dimensions.  After playing with the blocks, I got the puzzle figured out mostly.  It is smart to do the initial conception outside.

After much deliberation the rocket mass heater will be located inside the workshop where I currently have scrap wood stored.  It will serve more functions and require less change to the current everything.  It is top priority to organize the shop again and move some tables around making ample room for the heating unit.  The project workload has definitely scaled up from my initial mental conceptions.

Copper in the Freezer

The rough form for the rocket stove has been laid out.  I have more leveling to do tomorrow after pulling some trees out of the woods for a neighbor with the tractor.  I would like some more copper pipe to make a heat exchanger.  I have 30ft currently.  There are two types of copper pipe.  Type L is for water.  There is another kind that is for refrigerant.  I am using type L that will give me the ability to stack functions if I want to heat sinks or a shower near this location in the future.

A compression fitting joins a 20ft and 10ft section of type L copper pipe.  I thought about a solder fitting, however I am worried the temperatures might melt the solder.

This pipe is very flexible and is easy to mold and crimp.  If it bends to quickly or sharply a crease will be left.  The circumference of a 55 gallon drum is substantial so the risk is minimal, but I don't want to take any chances.  This stuff is not cheap, and I really only want to do this once.  I plan to fill this up with water and stick it in the freezer overnight with the ends pointed up so the water doesn't spill out.  The ice inside will absorb any shocks and leave the tube crease free as I bend it around the barrel.

Trust me there is water in there.  I filled it with the tea kettle and force air into the back until all the air was out.

I talked to the hydroponics supply store again about grow media.  They are expecting it next Friday.  That is really all I am waiting on to have the system cycling.  I want it now.

My objective for tomorrow is get the final location of the rocket stove leveled and the burn chamber built.  Depending on time I would like to start the thermal cob heat riser.  It would be nice to have the trench dug for the insulated pex pipe that carries the hot water underground to the greenhouse heat exchanger by the end of the day.  All in time.

Coyotes calling all around the house 7:47pm.

After all that straw

It didn't rain 'tall.

The Final Straw

I spread 30+ square bales today with a little extra help finishing the job towards the end of the day.  My head hurts, probably from not drinking enough, and I am tired.  I have a few more bales to spread, but it got too dark to see, and the truck headlights only help so much.  The majority that got done should help thwart erosion come tomorrows chance of showers and hold moisture against the seed for better germination.

The guineas have begun roosting outside of the coop.  Several nights ago the first one got into a tree.  Today all of them were out roosting on the top rail of the chicken lot.  On the agenda for soon is adding a half door that I can let the chickens free range under the nearby apple trees.  I'm going to bed now.

The following depict how the area looks currently.

Still a little more to go.

Building Blocks

This morning I let out the chickens and went to go vote with the 9 year old neighbor who said she had never been to vote.  She was all laughs until we got inside the voting center.  Then she was kinda intimidated, however she pressed the buttons phenomenally.  It is a shame they did away with the lever.  It is all that guy Chad's fault, you know the one with the dimples.

I was surprised to see that many people at the polling center.  Too many to all be working there.  I looked for refreshments, but there weren't any.  After collecting our stickers, I dropped the neighbor back off at her house then went to pick up supplies for today/tomorrow; 40 straw bales and some fire bricks.  The straw will cover the area seeded yesterday around the pond just in time for rain forecasted for Thursday.

Imagine a bunch of square straw bale stacks,

that is what the picture I didn't take looks like.

The bricks and water to air heat exchanger (pictured below) are scheduled to become a heater for the greenhouse, but not just any heater.  The Rocket Mass Heater uses as little as 1/4 the amount of wood of a traditional fireplace because of its horizontal burn chamber and thermal mass that stays radiating heat for hours after the fire has been extinguished.

Only several other materials need to be collected from around the farm; namely a 55gallon drum and more fire bricks.

Want to learn how to harness the shape of fire to efficiently heat and potentially save yourself $10,000 upfront while paying pennies for future heat? Email us to find out about the up coming rocket stove seminar sustainablehomesteadinstitute@gmail.com

If anyone has a broken water heater they want to get rid of please let me know.  All I really need is the insulated water holding capabilities, the electric/gas/or otherwise element does not need to be functional.

After dark, Freddie and I finished hanging the front gate on the newly concreted post.  It might need some further adjustment tomorrow in the light when I can see it better.  I gave the goats their worm medication at some point today, and distributed some winter wheat and rye over the goat pasture.  I have decided to tackle that pasture with any extra seed left over from seeding some other place.  Over time it will become a formidable food forest dotted with willow and poplar trees.

Sowing Seed

Sowing seeds is probably one of my favorite things.  So today was a good day.  Where the bulldozer had moved some trees encroaching on a field and touched up around the pond, I broadcast equal parts rye and winter wheat.  They will set quickly and lock in the loose dirt helping to stop erosion.  The weather Thursday calls for rain.  I broadcast the seed over much of the area with the tractor.  The back of the dam and several other steep banks required hand seeding.  It is my goal to put straw over the areas seeded today before the rain comes to ensure a good set.

I washed out the ibc tote two more times.

Over the past several days a crew has worked to move a building that has been slowly rotting due to not being used.  It made its way down the road today and off the property to its new home.  I am thankful to have it gone.  Because it was too large to fit through the gate, one of the wood poast had to come out of the ground.  After dark using the headlights from my truck, Freddie and I dug out the hole and reset the post in concrete.  Tomorrow the gate will be reattached securely.  When attaching a gate it is important to fit the brackets that came with your gate in opposite directions.  If both of these L shaped brackets face the same direction once screwed into the post, it is easy for the gate to be slid off and negates the purpose for the gate or lock.  Once the gate is attached to the post via the brackets, using a car jack is an easy way to help position the gate.

I ordered some suspenders a while back.  They came today, and I must admit I like them and they feel great.

Be Very Quiet

We are hunting rabbits.

Truthfully you don't need to be that quiet when hunting rabbits with dogs.  Virginia has a long heritage of using dogs for hunting things (SRC: Virginia Gentleman's Label).  Today marked the first day of rabbit season as well as the start to the black powder deer season.  This was my second time rabbit hunting, but around here it is a way of life.  Freddie started banging on the door about 7:00am this morning.  He and his brother Phillip have been ready for months now.  Everyone will tell you that if you talk to Phillip, the conversation is going to come back around to dogs and rabbit hunting.  Months ago someone had the idea to get a group together to go to Dave and Busters.  I asked Phillip if he wanted to go play video games and eat pizza.  He rebounded a simple question, "are there going to be dogs there?"

After several raps on the door, I had made it out of bed and down the stairs to open the door.  Freddie wasn't ready to come inside and stood in the dawn light finishing his cigarette.  I laid down on the sofa and covered myself up with the blanket laying over the arm rest.  Eventually I got moving and we were off.  Fog covered everything this morning except for a perfect view of Pilot Mountain with the base and tip separated by a thick band of fog.  It was really incredible, I had to back up and look at it for awhile before proceeding.

We arrived pretty late after making some stops on the way to the hunting grounds, a 130 acre plot used for timber and forestry products associated with the Sustainable Homestead Institute.  Two years ago the area was clear cut leaving brush piles and perfect cover for rabbits.  The changes over the year since we hunted here were profound.  Last year where all the ground cover had been pushed by the bulldozer it was easy to see rabbits darting from brush pile to brush pile.  This year grass, scrub oak, thorn bushes, and pokeweed had grown up waist height in most places.  The replanted pine ankle ticklers from last year now dwarf the hunters standing between them.  With all the ground cover it was difficult to see the rabbits, and with an exceptionally beautiful and hot day, the dogs just didn't have the stamina to keep up with the rabbits.  Not that they keep up anyway.  It is there job to sniff the trail to flush the rabbit out for the hunter to see and dispatch.  They had several good runs, and we jumped at least 11 rabbits and 6 deer, though the dogs don't chase the deer.  Phillip and Freddie were disappointed not to get a rabbit for themselves.  I think they were even more upset to be shown up by a rookie.  I took home the only kill of the day, and the meat is in the freezer waiting for a special occasion.  I would like to make soup.  They out did me my first time significantly, and they have all the dogs, so they win.

The bird language was really happening today.  The birds reacted beautifully "pop corning" to avoid the dogs sniffing.  When we first arrived a Kestrel looking hawk flew upwards from a thick brush pile away from my direction.  It was less than 10 feet away.  Later in the day, a heron looking bird flew over us.  I assume it was coming from the large pond on the property.  It was impossible not to take notice because it seemed out of place.  Well you could definitely miss it if you don't know what to look for.  Want to learn how to focus your awareness on what birds movements reveal about other animals and the environment?  You could email us about it at sustainablehomesteadinstitute@gmail.com.

Ebb and Flow

The grow bed held up well overnight without any signs of moisture where it should not be.  It rained off and on most of the morning, and I spent the afternoon watching the aguaponics system fill.  I am relatively certain that I need a larger sump tank.  I may chop an IBC tote to fit under the grow bed.  This cut to the current height will fit about 100 gallons.  I really need 130 I think.

In worst case event I could link two IBC totes cut to heigh by a tube and have a perfect food grade solution on the cheep.  I had very much hoped to get everything plumbed today, however thinking about the sump tank when not knowing how much the grow media displaces is difficult.  Some internet forum suggestions say anywhere from 40-70% of the grow bed volume are taken up by media.  I didn't find a src credible enough to trust their information.

I created a bell syphon and gravel guard late this afternoon well before the sun started setting.  After adjusting the height of the syphon, it seems to be flowing well.  I will go try it again here in several minutes.  I needed to get something to eat.

I finally got in touch with the owner of Blue Ridge Hydroponics and Home Brewing Company, Chris.  His store is the closest anywhere near me, and is a distributor for the grow media I was looking for, Hydroton.  We discussed several options and his passion was evident in how long he stayed on the phone with me.  He only had 4 bags in stock, and my order will be included in his next truck load.  He advised me about growing tomatoes saying that the fish like roughly half the nitrate levels that the tomatoes require so it might not be the best system to start out on.  I am happy to stick with lettuce.  A lot of people I know don't like tomatoes, but everybody likes lettuce.  I might eat a whole salad with only a slice or two of tomato.  Lettuce will sell, and what doesn't the fish can eat.  I need to dial in the sump tank situation and give the tanks a final scrub down.