homestead
Splitting Kindling
Its fun revving up the saw and felling a tree. Its relaxing to rhythmically swing a maul. Its delightful to hear the wood crack and pop as it splits. The neatly stacked rows of seasoning wood are a proud accomplishment. Kindling is the one wood heat chore no one seems to like. Its time consuming. … Read more
Drolet HT-2000 Update
Since I’ve used this stove a few times, I just wanted to show how you could load the wood in a North-South orientation. This wasn’t even full but it still burned all night and kept the house warm. Lighting the stove has been very easy with a little kindling on top of the wood. It … Read more
Husqvarna 460 Rancher Chain Saw
When your 450 isn’t big enough, get the 460. Its the biggest non commercial saw that Husqvarna sells. I’m still really happy with my 450 but I added the 460 to the fleet when the 450 needed repairs. The 450 was quite literally pouring oil out the bottom. The 460 has a few advantages though. … Read more
Drolet HT-2000 Extra Large Wood Stove
Drolet HT-2000 Since our old Blaze King bit the dust, we replaced it with the Drolet HT-2000. It was a special order from Menards for $1099. Wait and watch carefully, you can grab it with the 11% rebate. Its free shipping to the store. Otherwise, you’re looking at a couple hundred in shipping fees to … Read more
Husqvarna 450 Rancher
I have been cutting with the 450 Rancher for a couple years now. This winter I started cutting significantly more as I’m cutting firewood to heat with. I’m generally happy with the saw with a couple caveats. The saw does start easily. Follow the guidelines on the saw and it will start in a couple … Read more
Broken Ax Handles
This would be the second handle I’ve broken this year. It was a hickory handle and didn’t show any signs of wear or damage. And for that matter, I have good aim. I didn’t hit the handle on anything. Yet today whilst I was split some seasoned maple, the maul head broke clean off. So … Read more
Chickens Are In The Coop
Checking out the perches. We finally moved the chickens from their indoor abode to their comfortable new setting outside. I had a couple final touches to do on Saturday but they’re moved for now. Unfortunately… We have some reconstruction to do on it. We’re actually going to make it taller. So in the mean time, … Read more
What to Feed the Chickens
Since taking on a flock of chickens, I’ve been pretty curious just what I can feed my birds. Sure, there’s store bought feed but I want the strong healthy yolks and solid whites of a farm yard chicken egg. While I intend on letting my chickens free range under my supervision, I have still been … Read more
Homemade Laundry Soap
I’ve taken a keen interest in homemade cleaners and especially laundry detergents or soaps. Everyone seems to have an idea about how it should be made and how diluted it should be. I’ve found powdered recipes and liquid recipes. I’ve found recipes that take three ingredients or as many as seven. Until I have a … Read more