Thursday

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BuzzFeed

Overdue laundry and oil change down south this morning.  Crossed paths with some birds heading north.

Found a strange link this morning from my friend Cynthia Lively who tagged me on a post in Facebook.  Checked it out about an hour later and somehow I made it to #20 on this list.  http://www.buzzfeed.com/bennyjohnson/things-that-are-definitely-bigger-in-texas
Thanks Benny Johnson - I think you earned a Benita Tshirt.

Rest of the day offline checking early Cat's Eye plant blooms and crawling around the pen with my boys.  Been spending about 2 hours a day out there just hangin' with the longhorns so Buddy can get used to me.  I think it's working.  Got to wait till Ben lies down to chew his cud - otherwise he horns in on all the attention.
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FEAR

Before coming here to build a sustainable life, I was one of the many who simply assumed that all will always be provided for me as long as I can pay for it...and it is my right to have it doled out by the government if I can't afford it.  As I have evolved into this lifestyle (sustainability is about covering your ass in every situation) my perspective on society has drastically changed.  After years in NYC, I was a die hard hoplophobe: a pejorative neologism originally coined to describe an "irrational aversion to weapons, as opposed to justified apprehension about those who may wield them." It is sometimes used more generally to describe the "fear of weapons" or the "highly salient danger of these weapons " or the "fear of armed citizens".

Since moving to the desert and learning that it meant a very long response time from a 911 call...I bought my first gun in October 2008.  When I brought it home I didn't even load it for a few days.  I finally (and very carefully) "filled it up" and placed it on my counter.  Off and on for days I would glance at it and with great trepidation, actually pick it up from time to time.  About a week passed and I began to realize that although it had enormous destructive potential (just like the chainsaw I had back in upstate NY),  it was harmless while just laying there loaded...and was equally harmless if I touched it or held it,  I remembered as a child being warned about knives yet I have wielded knives my entire life without a second thought.  A fired up chainsaw still to this day scares me more than a loaded gun.

This administration is doing its' best to instill fear in the population in order to gain further control of the masses.  Oh no - it's not about how society has bred a generation of killers - it's all about the tools they use!  FEAR is False Education Appearing Real...Fear is simply unbelief parading in disguise.
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gusty day

Nothing but 30 - 40 mph gusts most of last night and all day today.  Plopped my first pineapple top into water on Saturday...had my first epic fail cheese making attempt.  Long visit with my new friend Phil Light on Sunday afternoon.  Caught and relocated mouse #10 this morning.  Stayed inside most of the day while stuff blew around outside. Prepped pineapple top #2.   Had an epic succeed cheese making attempt this afternoon.  47,57,38,0,W,0

River of Life

Water in the desert is precious.  It gives life to an otherwise dead landscape.  We only have flowing rivers out here after a good rain, but the evidence is clear by the paths that the flows create and by pockets of thriving vegetation that the waters leave behind.  The Word of God is a living river...as it is allowed to flow - so shall the people thrive and thirst no more.

John 4: 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink ; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12  Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank there of himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:  14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.  67,77,29,0,B,0

Good Saturday

Good start - spotted Old Brown Cow this morning (she is the one on the right).  I haven't seen her for about 5 months.  Dick Cain gave her to me last year.  She's another old cow that doesn't move too fast.  Maybe I will get her penned up for a good retirement...and perhaps another calf if she is pregnant.

Dennis and Cassidy made a rare daytime appearance today.

Transplanted a banana plant sprout.

Made nose to nose contact with Bud today.

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pineapple jibberjabber

Prepped the first pineapple top for rooting.  According to the directions, I am to leave this out to dry for a couple of days - I am going to take that to mean 2 days and go from there.  So far it has gone "as per".

On Wednesday, I did a phone interview for my friend Andrew Odom of http://tinyrevolution.us/   Chatted with him for over an hour and a half.  Looking forward to the day he can come out and visit TFL.  You can listen to the podcast here.  http://tinyrevolution.us/2013/02/21/february-21-2013-podcast-interview-with-john-wells/   This is a much more accurate picture of life at TFL than what is coming out soon in England.

I think my episode should be airing this month (only in the UK) from that British documentary crew that was out here in July. Hoping to get a DVD in the mail soon just to see how they fantasized my life at TFL.  The program is called "Where the Wild Men Are".   Did some digging online about the show and found this description of my life that I found pretty amusing.
"He also visits John Wells in Texas, who ditched a New York fashion photography career and a mansion to hunt rattlesnakes, decapitate dead cows for their horns and live with his pet rooster Carl in a small hut made of scrap metal."   I can't wait to see what my life is really about!  54,7235,0,B,0

Field Lab Buds

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ONE CENT

Been thinking about this since a relative sent me a link last month...money vs. wealth.

"Money is a system of abstract tokens that complex societies use to manage the distribution of goods and services, and that’s all it is. Money can consist of lumps of precious metal, pieces of paper decorated with the faces of dead politicians, digits in computer memory, or any number of other things, up to and including the sheer make-believe that underlies derivatives and the like. Important differences separate these various forms of money, depending on the ease or lack of same with which they can be manufactured, but everything that counts as money has one thing in common – it has only one of the two kinds of economic value.  Economists call those use value and exchange value."

I suggest you read the entire piece here: 
http://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/80556/tangled-relationship-wealth-money

For 5 years I have been trading savings which only has exchange value in order to build The Field Lab which is just beginning to have use value as well as exchange value.  The plan is that each penny spent will earn a return worth much more than value of the minted token.  Instead of investing in gold or silver, I have been investing in systems to grow food.  Precious metals might be a hedge on inflation, but you can't eat them.  75,82,34,0,W,0

a chance...

Woke up to an unexpected cloudy day.  Checked the forecast and it seems we have a 30% chance of rain overnight.  Checked the warehouse and found just enough parts to rig a temporary downspout for the barn gutter...just in case.  Note: Rumor has it that someone has finally bought the Big Bend Ranch Supply and is planning on opening a convenience store and perhaps a gas station.  53,63,50,0,B,0

Peach

Looks like the first peach blossom season at TFL is starting.   

Ben and Bud got a 900lb round bale delivered today...Ben approves.  Picked up a couple of pineapples today for a new greenhouse experiment. http://www.rickswoodshopcreations.com/pineapple/pineapple.htm

FYI - I will be broadcasting from a new Ustream channel starting tomorrow.  http://ustre.am/TM8N
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one chance...

If you look back, what prompted me (among other things) on my Christian path was the mention of Satan.  As there is a God in Heaven - certainly there is a Satan and Hell.  As evil makes it's way through this world, blame tends to fall on people, things and situations for all the bad that happens.  Non-believers ask the question "But how could a Loving God permit such suffering and ultimately an eternity in Hell"?   How many times must you be warned about the consequences of your actions?  How many people ignore those warnings because they feel they have the right to simply do as they please?   In this earthly life we are programmed to believe we will always get another chance.  In reality, you have but one chance to accept Jesus Christ as your savior...and that chance is right now because your time on earth can end at any moment for whatever reason - then it's too late!  Our time "alive" on earth is but an illusion that cannot compare in any way to an unfathomable eternity in the abundance of everlasting life in Heaven...or enduring forever with pain and suffering and regret in Hell.  In this world and the next....regret only compiles the pain but doesn't buy your way out of a very,very bad situation that will last far beyond your comprehension.  Have some faith and heed the warnings...  53,72,24,0,B,0

name that plane

Gotten buzzed by 4 of these at a time - three times so far this year...flying LOW.  Maybe they heard I have an assault rooster.  47,65,26,0,B,0

the big boost

Just like magic...UPS showed up at 5:46PM.  Unboxed the new USB wifi antenna, plugged it in, and the device driver loaded automatically.  Comes with 2 antennas - I put in the longer one.  Disabled the wireless lan (internal antenna) and BOOM!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035H4164/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have to say that I am quite impressed with how this extended my wifi range for my netbook.  Tomorrow I will keep walking to see what my new range really is.  47,60,44,0,W,0

leucaena leucocephala

Prepped another batch of compost this morning.  Spent a couple of hours of quality time with my boys this afternoon.  Just when Bud is about to let me pet him, Ben comes rushing in for a showdown with both me and Bud.  We are so close - it's just a matter of days now.  He sure will be happy when he figures out I can scratch the places he can't reach.

Started soaking some seeds for the next planting.  These are leucaena that my friend Stacy (the rocket stove builder) brought out last Oct. 5th.  http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Publicat/Gutt-shel/x5556e06.htm

Ordered a USB external wifi antenna for my netbook today...hoping to extend its' range.  As an Amazon Prime member, I decided to try a test.  I just ordered it around 1PM today and will see if that extra $3.99 will really get it here overnight to the middle of nowhere by tomorrow afternoon...from Phoenix.  54,69,25,0,B,0

Earthbox

If lovin' chicken is wrong...then my chickens don't wanna be right.  Yes...chickens love to eat leftover chicken.  

They picked the bones clean.  

Ben got a new tip to tip measurement today.  Last one was on January 10th.  He is up to 16 3/16" - growing at a rate of about 3/4" per week now.  Next milestone is when his horns are as long as his ears.

I filled up the bio orb composter with a fresh batch of old hay, horse and steer manure today.  While I was at it - I sowed 5 of last years Earthbox planters ( www.earthbox.com ) with kale, pole beans, yellow squash, green zucchini, and spinach.  I am starting from seed this time instead of seedlings.  I had great success with this growing system last year.  Replanting them is much cheaper than the initial cost and these should last for many years to come.  48,62,27,0,B,0

thanks boys...

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watered the pit

Rigged up the sump and 55 gallons of old creek water to drench the compost pit.  Relocated a trapped mouse 2 1/2 miles away from TFL.  Pizza for dinner - chicken, mushroom, pepperoni, and homemade chipotle mozzarella.   63,78,43,0,B,0

The Grand Illusion

The Holy Spirit was very evident today both at church and with my afternoon visitors.  Susan and Danny Martin came by to search for the Field Lab geocache.  When they arrived, the first words out of Susan were that she was celebrating her one year anniversary of her double lung transplant!  I can't even imagine what she has gone through.  We had a great time visiting.  I searched her out on Facebook to send a friend request and this is her profile picture.  God bless her for realizing the healing hand that was behind her miracle of being born again in this reality.

Not sure how I came across this link.  An interesting theory of reality and our relationship with God.
http://www.naturalnews.com/038985_universe_simulation_intelligent_design.html

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a day of wind and cheese...

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