Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Say It Ain't So

I'm afraid it is so. Saturday, while trying to save 20 bucks searching for scrap boards instead of buying 2 planks at Home Depot, I took the liberty of running over a rather large chunk of tree trunk. Utterly embarrassing. I was merely circling (very slowly) the wood scrap pile, my eyes focused on the pile, when BANG! Not good. While I sat there stunned a smaller, rapid bang bang bang bang could be heard. When I got out and looked, a cross section of a tree trunk was wedged under the oil pan; (course I did know it was the oil pan at that moment-I wouldn't have know an oil pan if I fell over it!)

I called David, my long time rescuer. He, his son, and future son-in-law all arrived and within minutes had the chunk out. Great! Except for the return of the rapid banging noise upon starting the engine. David said "sounds like the crankcase is hitting your oil pan". They all took a look and found a significant dent in the pan. Not being a mechanic I didn't have a clue what that meant. What it means is bad, very bad.

They took my E-150 into the huge shop where they work on the trucks. The shop has a mechanics pit since you can't put big trucks on a lift. For a long time they worked to improvise a way to get the dent pushed back down so I could at least drive home. Oh my. I had the dogs with me and had planned a full day of tilling, seeding etc. Now I was facing an hour towing job. Well those men really were ingenious! They got it pulled down far enough so the crank was not hitting the pan. Bad news is the pan must be replaced.

Suffice it to say it is a huge job-trans has to come out, engine has to be jacked, ei yi yi. As I write this my faithful E-150 is getting "surgery".

How I wish I had pics of all this, but at the time I was too upset, more like sick to my stomach, to think about the camera.

Monday, March 23, 2009

NY Times Article

Here is a story on the changing face of food in this country.www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/business/22food.html?

Friday, March 20, 2009

Seeding Rush

No time for pics! Seeding is in full swing. The flats are filled and blocked by the dozens. The biodynamic Stella Natura calendar has the entire year laid out for specific planting days. It tells which part of a plant is best seeded. For example today is ideal for seeding all types of fruit bearing plants. This means eggplant, pepper, tomato, squash, beans, peas, anything that produces a fruit. Specifically it is the fruit part of the plant that is desired. Interestingly, broccoli is planted on flower days. Tomorrow is a root day. More leeks and onions will be seeded. Also the garden will be sprayed with biodynamic preparation 500. Rock dust fertilizer will be spread too. Looks like a very busy day, lets hope it doesn't rain.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

A Day Of Rest

Sunday is a day of rest. The Christian sabbath. Thanks to a nasty sinus infection I have been resting quite a bit this past week. Not to worry, seeding is still getting done-lots of flowers yesterday.

Each day I thank God for eyes to see, hands to work, and all the many blessings I enjoy, like clean water and a place to lay my head. If I had to make a list of the good it would surely outweigh the bad.

"I refuse to gratify the devil by becoming discouraged" reads a little note above my kitchen sink.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Too Bad No Photos of This

Friday we drove out to work, the previous 2 days being exceedingly warm, of course the ground was soaked! After turning off the lane onto the field, well....... you can imagine the results. STUCK.
Very stuck in 10" of tire sucking mud. The van has new a detailing look, sort of a sprayed variation of camo mud motif.

Not given to discouragement, a plan was made to haul the water from the thirty gallon tank in the back seat by bucket, only about 800 feet to the tunnel. Tedious. On a normal work day we frequently get tools, equipment and supplies from the "shop on wheels". I sure hope it dries up back there. A JD Gator would come in handy for those conditions. It is on my future wish list.

So how did we get back out to the lane? Towed, thank you James!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

More GMO

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 09:20:28 AM PST

Here's a "Roundup" of the latest biotech/GMO news:
Discuss :: (9 Comments)