Broken bones and the Rocketmass 

It's been really busy on the farm....... Trying to get everything I can ready for winter and then this.....
Last Wednesday my better half came home from work early (normally that would make my day) with a broken arm......I always knew how much of a help SHE IS TRULY  MY RIGHT ARM.... She is more than  half of what keeps me going .... And to see her hurting like she is KILLS me !
The place she works will remain nameless (one of the big three and it ain't Ford or GMC) will not let her take any time off for the injury (they don't want to damage their "no loss time due to injury" thing... So she gets to go in and sit around .... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot....

In-between helping her get thing done I have spent a little time on the Rocketmass project ..... IT IS DRAFTING AS IT SHOULD !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks like the greenhouse may just stay producing this winter !! A few pics of the feed tube/burn chamber (I would post a video if I could figure it out)

rocketmass from marty loose on Vimeo.

A day getting ready for winter 

 As the temps and the leaves start to fall it's clear that global warming old man winter is on his way....
Today I spent some time with a great old friend .... HYDRAULICS !!! As I get older it gets harder and harder to get done what I could when I wore a younger mans clothes.... But when you have hydraulics as a friend (not many folks like to lend a hand these days, the farming-homesteading preparedness life is hard work) it gets done !!!

With the help of my 'ol 52 and a log splitter I did get a little firewood put up....

I was able to get 4 of these boxes moved to the front of the house were they will get stacked on the porch for easy hauling to the woodstove .....

Had a few minutes to finish the new dog house .... This thing is made from old pallets ... It was thick enough to get a R-21 insulation value .... And the "permadogs" love it .....

 

We had an old truck bed liner laying around and we needed to keep the hay in the newly made goat feeder dry (goats don't like wet hay)...

And some more of the goats (because they make me smile!)

  Speaking of smiling .... These guys make me :) too ... The new adds to the flock (thanks Kevin)

They FOUND THE POND !!!!

 And people say we are strange to want to live like this ... It IS hard work .... Some one once said "Dirty hands and a clean soul" I like that !

More in the morning .... Stay safe out there !!!

Rocketmass update 

After much research, a rebuild and a great conversation on a great Facebook group this is the final layout of the greenhouse Rocketmass heater

I will post more as the cob and more mortar go in ..... Thank all of you for the help !

The rocketmass heater

This is my start with a small Rocketmass heater  that I'm building in a 10x20 greenhouse. We are in south east Michigan and the winters can be harsh down right brutal (ya know with all the global warming and all)! My hopes are to be able to keep things growing and to keep the aquaponics system thriving and not going dormant .....

This is the main burn chamber and chimney in mortar ...

The barrel on the left will be fitted over the taller "chimney" part ... The smoke and gasses will then exit at the bottom and heat the mass that will become the bench ... 

The bench will cover about a 10x3 foot area of the floor and be about 2 foot high ....Hopefully this will be enough to keep it warm all winter .....

More to come soon

Fall clearance sales at the big box stores 

As anyone that knows me knows that I don't like Lowe's hate that place .... Never find an employee that knows anything about the department they work in, no one in the store can re-stock a shelf from people putting thing in bins that they don't belong in, all in all costumer service SUCKS !
But did we walk into a great clearance sale a few days ago...... 

The big ones were regularly priced $19.95 each (got them for $1.80 each) the medium were regularly $11.95 each (got them for $1.00each) the small ones were regularly $9.99 each (got them for $.60 each) 

So then we wanted some potting soil to put in the pots .... Bags that had a hole in them were re-bagged and sold for $1.00 each 

Then we found the clearance on the last of the fruit trees .... 1/2 off ... We got two of them for $11.50 each ...One pear and one peach ...

So, as much as I love deal with this place we got a great deal for the farm and greenhouse ... Y'all should head there and see what kind of deals are left for you !