The cabin was finally closed in for the winter

Sometime during the fall I distinctly remember telling Nancy that I no longer considered the log cabin we had been building to be a construction job but rather an art project.  Although this new guest cottage was small, (it sat on a 14 by 20 foot foundation) it had taken a good deal more time and effort to build than I had originally anticipated. There had been a lot more thought and detail than anticipated, yet instead of becoming frustrated I had instead been challenged and invigorated. Working on it had sired up my creative juices.  When we had first decided to build a guest house I had envisioned a small cabin that would portray the ambiance of an early Idaho homestead. What I hadn’t considered was how much painstaking craftsmanship it would require beyond a normal conventional structure.  You may recall that we had designed the cabin after a Thomas Kinkade painting called, “A Peaceful Retreat”. (See entry #190 – March 14^th – found under the Construction project category.) From the beginning we had it in mind to create more of an experience for those who would be staying in the guest cottage than simply a comfortable place to sleep. This not only required some creative thought, but quite a bit of extra work. Constructing the chimney was one good example of this.

Setting the final chimney capstone

I’m not fond of fireplace chimneys that are veneered with artificial cultured stone; from my perspective they look too perfect for the homestead appearance we have endeavored to achieve here at Timber Butte. For this cabin especially we wanted the chimney to look as if it were a hundred years old and built by a non-professional. (Not too hard to achieve when you’re a non-professional.) Because of this it had taken me a good deal of time just to collect enough squared off pieces of granite to stack the required twenty foot high column. Because of the weight of the rock and mortar I was only able to build a couple of feet of chimney a day in order to allow adequate drying time between sets. As a result it took me more than a month to build it to its full height. It was tedious painstaking work that required dozens of trips up and down an extension ladder carrying rocks of every size and bucket after bucket of wet mortar.  Putting on the final cap stone gave me a really wonderful feeling of satisfaction.

Eric chinking a corner log

Chinking between the logs was another all consuming project.  I didn’t know if I had either the patience or the skill that would be required to chink the cabin’s walls both inside and out. This job was not only necessary to keep the cold winter drafts for seeping in, but also to keep the mice, bugs and wasps from making homes within the many open cracks. It was a smart decision when Nancy suggested we hire our friend Eric McCray to take the project on. Eric was by profession a tile setter. He is a detail guy and a perfectionist and although he had never chinked a cabin before we knew he would undoubtedly be the right guy for the job.  Eric is the overseer of our Bible school at Boise Vineyard and because he and his wife Melissa raise their own financial support for ministry he accepted the offer. Watching Eric work was, again more like watching an artist than a construction laborer.

Homemade windows

Figuring out what to do about windows was yet another dilemma. We felt that commercially vinyl or metal windows would look totally wrong for the feel we were looking for. We also knew that contemporary small-paned wooden framed windows were out of our price range. Finding windows that had the homemade vintage style we had envisioned were nowhere to be found. We desired windows that would not only look like they belonged in a heritage log cabin but were energy efficient as well; double pained and tight fitting. In the end we decided that our only option was to construct them ourselves. This I did, first building the wooden frames and grids and then custom ordering the double pained insulated glass inserts that would be set into them.  Again, this project required many labor intensive hours of meticulous woodworking, yet in the end we installed the ten windows needed for the price of one high-end store bought wood-framed window.  Not only did our handmade windows give the little cabin the right look and feel, but having built them gave us a great satisfaction that could have only come though exercising creative imagination rather than a commercial purchase.

We are still a long way from being finished with our project, but because we are holding the perception that what we are doing is art rather than simply a building project has allowed us to enjoy the process.

Tags: country living, Log cabin, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tri Robinson

The young ducks were basking in their freedom

If you are a faithful follower on the Timber Butte Homestead blog site you may recall reading about how Nancy commissioned me last spring to construct a floating duck house. (See entry #193 – April 18th 2011 – found under poultry) She decided to release three of her most precious Rouen ducks (Hazy, Lazy & Daisy) on the pond at the bottom of our property.  Again, as you may recollect in an earlier entry, she had raised these particular little ducklings in our bathtub the year before. (See entry #164 – May 1st 2010 – “Meet Daisy, Lazy & Hazy or is Nancy just a little crazy”.) All this to say, these were not just any normal barnyard critters; these little ducklings had experienced some special rearing by the grandmother of all ducks. Anyway, the minute the door opened on their new house, out into the open world they fled, into the wild in a state of terror. It was as if Nancy was hiding in a duck blind blazing away after them with a 12 gauge shotgun; which of course she wasn’t. Of the three (a drake and two hens), one hen was never to be seen again. I reckon she became some coyote’s dinner that very first night.  The remaining two did however manage to survive the ordeal and soon were happily swimming on the pond together, at least for awhile.  After a few weeks, to our dismay, the second hen disappeared as well. At that point the poor lonely drake sat by himself among the overhanging willow trees at the edge of the pond day in and day out. He looked lonesome and forlorn but clearly had no intention of being recaptured and returned to captivity. Nancy faithfully left deposits of cracked corn on the porch of his floating duck house, which although he pretended to ignore anytime we were around, he managed to consume day by day.  This went on for weeks until to Nancy’s elation the missing little hen finally showed up one evening swimming across the pond followed by ten fluffy baby ducklings. It was a great day of celebration on the homestead.

Throughout the remainder of that spring and summer the small little family grew to maturity until it became difficult to discern between the parents and babies. Two of the babies had been lost by an overzealous Lily (our little golden lab) who had somehow gotten in touch with her forgotten bird dog DNA. I might add that Lily was quickly and somewhat severely reminded that ducks were off limits no matter who she thought she was. After that brief unfortunate incident (for both Lily and the ducks) everything remained tranquil on the pond until the first freeze in October. That’s when the coyotes realized that the remaining ducks were somewhat easy pickings now that it was possible for a full grown carnivorous animal to walk on water. Two more of the family were lost within days. In a state of desperation I was once again commissioned to construct a large duck contraption. This time a duck trap.

In late October the trap was set and baited with a tempting pile of cracked corn and the following video was captured on a cell phone of a friend, Eric Mc Cray, who happened to be present on that famous day of Nancy’s great duck rescue. Just a note before you watch this – it was very difficult to get all the ducks in the cage at the same time and when the last small hen did eventually enter I prematurely sprung the trap. Nancy’s reaction was a result of the fact that the heavy door fell on the little hen’s neck as she attempted to escape. I was certain that she (the duck) would become that night’s dinner but was surprised to discover that Nancy managed to release her unscathed by the traumatic ordeal. In all honesty I was actually more concerned about Nancy running down the snowy bank helter-skelter than the welfare of the duck. All ended well as you will see.

[Please note: no ducks or wives where harmed in the filming of this video]

Tags: country living, Ducks, homestead, Small farm, Tri Robinson

Our first small harvest

Every homestead requires some sort of a cash crop. Considering this Nancy and I spent a considerable amount of time investigating various enterprises that might be a good fit for us here at Timber Butte.  In the end we landed on the idea of establishing a small test vineyard on some rock terraces I had built  next to the root cellar behind the house. We learned that Timber Butte sat at a pretty high elevation (4000 feet) for a productive vineyard, but we also knew that we had other characteristics which were highly favorable for such a venture.  We had ample south facing slopes that received long uninterrupted days of sunlight, adequate soil conditions, and a consistent flow of air.  We also knew that although the summer months were long and warm, the winter months experienced temperatures that plummeted below zero for sometimes weeks at a time.  Not knowing for sure how grapes would do under these extreme conditions we decided to put in a small test vineyard of fifty cabernet franc vines  and observe their vitality over the course of a couple of seasons rather than put too much on the line right away. (Cabernet franc is a variety that does well in colder climates).  After planting those first fifty vines in the spring of 2010 we put in a second fifty the following spring with the help of our kids.  Things went better than expected and although we weren’t looking to be able to pick grapes for at least three years we ended up with a small but encouraging harvest several weeks ago only days before our first fall freeze.

Planting our first vine in 2010

We knew little about grapes or vineyards but the learning curve became both energizing, fascinating and fun. Over the past few years our vacation times have been invested in visiting vineyards throughout California, Washington, Oregon and southern Idaho. We’ve read books, studied online and made inquires of anyone we could find with knowledge and experience.  Through all of our efforts we’ve learned valuable skills concerning such things as pruning techniques, watering systems and trellising.

In addition to learning the elementary skills of a vintner our investigation has illuminated to us why the Bible so prolifically uses the metaphors of vineyards, grapes and wine as an allegorical picture of mankind’s relationship with God. Jesus teaching in John 15 may be one of greatest examples of this where he said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

Planting the second fifty vines in 2011

Working in our first small vineyard has taught us many parallel truths between the life of a grape and our own. Some of these simple truths help me understand why God allows me to live in the tension of blessing and struggle. It’s a known fact that grapevines do best when they are forced to struggle.  Fertilization which other plants demand will actually set back the growth of a vine; grapes do best in rocky and arid soils. In the same way too much water in the later days of summer will cause the vine to die back after the first hard freeze of winter. In my desire to pamper my vines I’ve had to force myself not to irrigate my thirsty plants during the hot dry months of August and

Plowing hillside terraces

September. Radical pruning is another necessity for the vine if it is to produce an abundant functional harvest.  Grapes require a strong breeze for pollination and long days of sunlight for the fruit to fully ripen.  In a vineyard, everywhere you look there are powerful analogies of the human struggle for spiritual maturity. For reasons like these I feel God’s presence as I labor in my vineyard both working the soil and tending the vines. I find it a good place to be at this time of my life after laboring some thirty years as a pastor in the church we have so lovingly called the” Vineyard Christian Fellowship”.  Although our first harvest was very small it was an encouraging sign of God’s ultimate intention for the future of his Vineyard.

Tags: country living, Grapes, organic gardening, organic living, Small farm, sustainability, Tri Robinson, Vineyards, wine

Introducing Buddy / Bandit

We weren’t looking for a new horse until we heard Tiara, a friend from church speak of her need to find a loving home for a big black gelding named Bandit. She told us about a long time friend of hers named Kernea who had raised and trained Bandit from a colt but due to the changing circumstances of her life as a busy wife and mother had reluctantly decided to find a new home for the horse she had lovingly cared for since her teens. Bandit is a beautiful black twelve year old, sixteen hand Canadian gelding with a long flowing main and tail.  He is beautiful on the outside but more importantly, sweet-spirited on the inside.

A year before, Nancy and I had lost a Buckskin gelding named Dusty (see entry #109- under Livestock category ) to a fatal foot injury and still missed his gentle personality.  It only took a minute to discover that Bandit possessed this same gentle attitude even though Kernea hadn’t been able to work him for quite some time due to pregnancy’s and the full time job of raising two energetic boys.

When Bandit arrived at Timber Butte everything was new for him, especially the freedom of open spaces and the introduction of three curious mares. It didn’t take long however for him to put everyone in their place and move to the top of the pecking order which he somehow managed to do without so much as a single bite or kick.  Riding him was another matter.

Because of his long sabbatical from the saddle and bridle, Bandit was afraid of every new thing. He shied at nearly everything and needed to be reminded once again how to respond to reign and leg controls. He was especially terrified of four-wheeler’s and other noisy machines. (Frankly, I didn’t hold this against him since I share the same irritation.) To remedy this problem I decided to take him on a long fifty mile ride from Timber Butte to High Valley and back. I was amazed to discover that although the ride took us over a high pass and the days were warm he barely broke a sweat.  It was on that ride that we became good friends and I lengthened his name to Buddy / Bandit.  For us he will always be known as Bandit because Nancy said that like a bandit he had stolen our hearts.

Tags: Canadian horse, country living, homestead, Horses, Tri Robinson

Nancy's faithful side-kick Lily

This year’s garden at Timber Butte has been maybe the best in Robinson horticulture history.  The raised beds were a great addition, but having a year of minimal grasshopper infestation and a wonderfully abnormal mild spring and summer had a lot to do with its outcome as well.

After the initial work of building cedar raised beds, preparing soil and setting up the watering systems I turned the day in and day out gardening work over to Nancy and her faithful side-kick Lily. She devoted most mornings and evenings to planting, weeding and watering which provided bountiful produce for the kitchen table most every night.  As the days have grown noticeably shorter Nancy is again busy in her kitchen freezing, canning and storing the fruits of her labor in preparation for the onslaught of yet another winter; one which is already showing signs of inevitable approach.

Tags: country living, homestead, organic gardening, sustainability, Tri Robinson

Mr. Mudd pours the foundation

Last March I wrote an entry in the Timber Butte journal I called “Moving vision from a dream to reality” (See Building projects under categories). I shared how we had finally gotten started on the log guest cottage we had dreamed of building when we had first started developing the homestead here at the base of Timber Butte.  This entry is a progress report on a project that is now well underway.

When the ground finally thawed out enough to set forms we called in a friend of ours who attends the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Brian Wheeler or otherwise known as “Mr. Mud”. Brian’s crew amazingly formed and poured the foundation in one day.

Triumph Log Homes crew preassembled the cabin

After submitting our rough plans to Triumph Log Homes, a newly established family owned log cabin kit business in the nearby community of Horseshoe Bend our new little cabin began to really take shape. As the logs were milled inside the old Boise Cascade warehouse they were meticulously preassembled on the spot.  Because our little cabin was the first to be built by this new company extra care was taken to work out the bugs. It was a joy to be a part of that process and watch the small crew lovingly figure everything out. In the end we developed not just a working relationship with the folks at Triumph Log Homes but real friendships.

Sub- floor being layed

Our good friends Josh and Melissa Fishburne volunteered to help me set the floor joists and lay the sub-floor after the foundation forms where stripped. For the first time we could grasp a sense of the small cabins actual size and shape.

The first logs being set in place

After the guys delivered the log bundles I knew that I needed help not only figuring out how they would go together, but lifting and setting them onto the walls.  For this I called on the faithful ROMEO’s, otherwise known as “Retired old men eating out” to lend another helping hand.  As I have mentioned before in previous entries they have been a huge blessing to Nancy and I on many occasions.  On this new project however they went the extra mile spending two long days lifting and assembling the exterior walls. This phase require extreme accurate measuring, drilling, pegging and driving several hundred 10 inch timber skews. When the walls were finished they ended up being within a quarter of an inch of perfection from top to bottom.

The main beam & rafters were lifted and set

About a week later yet another group of friends and family came up to finish erecting the log gabble ends, lift the main beam into place and cut and fit the rafters. The main beam was a twenty-four foot 6X12 that weighed hundreds of pounds. For weeks I had been thinking about how we might manage to lift it to its 16 foot high perch without a crane.  In the end it happened by sheer brute force. I was more than thankful for the young backs that did it.  This is as far as we have gotten on the project so far, but I feel a sense of relief and satisfaction knowing that most of the major lifting is over.

Tags: country living, homestead, Log cabin, Mr. Mudd concreat, Tri Robinson, Triumph log homes

The new raised beds in action

I wasn’t too sure at first, but now I’m a believer. Raised beds are worth the investment of both money and the initial effort it takes to set them up. It is only June here at Timber Butte and after a very late and frigid spring planting I wondered if we would ever get anything to grow. We had decided to build raised beds clear back in March (See entry #191 – April 5^th 2011 – Under agriculture category) but waited to plant even the early stuff until late in May due to unexpected snows and constant driving rains. It has been an unusual spring everywhere. Farmers fought every kind of weather and natural disaster from extreme drought to record breaking floods which has and will continue to result in escalating food prices. This of course makes planting a  backyard vegetable garden a really good idea.  All this to say, raised beds are a good way to go. Here are six good reasons why:

The old traditional beds took a lot more work

1. Soil control – Raised beds hold their soil from season to season while traditional mounded rows have a tendency to erode or flatten out and redistribute their soil during the winter months. Raised beds retain the rich compost we build into them season after season along with earth worms and other organisms that are essential to make stuff grow.

2. Weed control – I love raised beds because they require much less maintenance.  We lay gunnysacks in the pathways between the beds which not only make the garden look tidy but serve as effective weed barriers. Because the beds are raised they require less bending when weeding is required.

3. Water control – Normal mounded beds have a tendency to round off as the growing season commences and water naturally runs off into the low spots taking top soil with it. Raised beds hold their shape causing water to stay where it belongs around the plants. This alone is an advantage worthy of the effort.

4. Organization – For some reason raised beds are easier to organize. Walkways are more defined and, in our case, we have placed cross bracing every eight feet which also defines growing spaces.  These spaces are numbered and labeled which also helps organize irrigation drip lines so that we can more easily keep track of what’s been watered and for how long.

5. Annual spring preparation – I love raised beds because they drastically reduce the work I have to do every spring rebuilding all of our beds. Because they retain soil and nutrients the amount of dirt I have to move is minimal. It also decreases the effort it takes to reset drip lines.

6. Higher yield in smaller spaces – The greatest advantage is the fact that vegetables grow better in fertile raised beds and thus provide higher yields.  As I compare the present progress in both quantity and quality of vegetation compared to the same time in previous years I am amazed at how much better things seem to be doing now that we have transitioned into raised beds.

Tags: country living, homestead, organic gardening, Tri Robinson

Poking holes in a raised bed

A couple of years ago Nancy and I grew several rows of Mammoth Sunflowers; the ones with huge heads that produce an abundance of large seeds. I had read that in earlier homesteading times people had used the seeds to supplement their chicken feed during the winter months. We had hung the large heads upside down in a barn stall to dry and soon discovered that one large head could provide a day’s feed for a half dozen chickens or so if necessary. (See – Sunflowers – More than a pretty face – entry #112 – August 20, 2009.) After that experience I had always contemplated planting a larger plot and take the experiment a step further. We did that this year.

I plowed up a fertile spot that was about 100 by 100 feet and pulled it with the tractor into rows in preparation for planting. Sunflower seeds are generally planted about six inches apart and an inch deep which meant poking a lot of one inch holes while crawling on hands and knees.  Years ago I had sold a seeder in a garage-sale that would have been perfect for the job, but like they say hindsight is always better.  The point being, I didn’t have the tool for the job and I wasn’t

Adjustable bolts control depth of seed holes

looking forward to the alternative. As a result I decided to manufacture my own seeder out of whatever I could find lying around the place. The result wasn’t bad and after having accomplished the job I thought it might be an idea worthy of sharing. Here’s what I did.

First, I found a flat piece of steel four inches wide by 40 inches long and drilled four holes six inches apart that were large enough in diameter to take a half inch bolt. I then found four half inch bolts and double nutted each of them (placing a nut on each side of the steel plate) so that I could adjust how far they stuck through the bottom of the plate. (See picture) I then welded the steel plate to a stick of steel rebar along with a couple of braces to form a handle (Again, see the picture.) The bolts were used to poke the seed holes; four at a time, six inches apart while the adjustable bolts controlled their depth.  I later discovered that the flat edge could be used as a grader blade to prepare the row or a raised bed for planting. The tool may be crude, but it did the job quickly and saved my back in the process.

Tags: country living, homestead, organic gardening, Sustainable living, Tri Robinson

Clipping off the lower branches

Until I learned to plant tomato starts Mr. Bill style our vines rarely grew more than four feet high before the end of the growing season. Bill Meeker is the overseer of our community garden at the Vineyard Church in Boise and a master of vegetable gardening. The following is what he taught us.

For those who have grown vegetables for any length of time what I’m about to share will most likely not be a novel idea. But to some it will be an amazingly simple process to enhance your garden’s production. The key to Mr. Bill’s technique is to not place the tomato plant’s root ball in a fertile hole as you would with other pre-grown potted plants. Instead you lay it horizontally in a longer shallow trench after first clipping off the lower branches. You bend only the top third of the plant into an exposed upright position. By trimming off the lower branches and baring the bottom two-thirds of the main stem underground, it encourages additional root production. Everywhere a branch has been cut off new roots will develop. This will provide additional moisture and nutrients to be absorbed which will stimulate plant growth.         So here is the process:

1. 

   Lay horizontally in a shallow trench

   Begin with a healthy plant that is twelve to twenty inches in height.

2. Trim off the bottom half to two-thirds of the live branches leaving a long bare stem below a small clump of healthy foliage.
3. Dig a shallow trench in fertile soil just long enough to lay the root ball and bare stem horizontally in the ground.
4. Lay the vine in the trench, gently lifting the leafed top of the vine into an upright position. Then, cover and water the roots and pruned vine stem.

Fiinished product

The first time I used Bill’s technique it felt a little disheartening to bury the majority of a beautiful large plant. In the end our vines have produced bumper crops and have grown to heights of five to six feet. I guess it’s like many things in life; the visible fruit of our lives is dependent on both the pruning and what goes on below the surface.

Tags: country living, homestead, organic gardening, Small farm, sustainability, Tri Robinson, vegetable gardening

Tags: country living, homestead, organic gardening, Sustainable living, Tri Robinson, vegetable gardening

Tasty or Yummy ... I can't remember who's who.

The two new lambs are terrorizing the horses & mule

Tags: country living, homestead, Small farm, Sustainable living, Tri Robinson

Two of Nancy's new flock

Frankly I’d never thought about the idea of eating duck eggs. Up until a few months ago I don’t think I’d ever eaten any kind of egg other than that which had come from a chicken.  Because I’d never seen duck eggs in the super market I just naturally figured they weren’t for human consumption.  Then I heard my friend Tim McFarlane bragging about how much he loved eating eggs laid by his turkeys’. Whoever heard of eating turkey eggs!  Anyway, Nancy’s three Rouen ducks had started regularly laying eggs in their pen before we turned them loose on the pond below the house (see entry #192) and she decided we should give them a try.  She fried a few up for breakfast one day and to my surprise I couldn’t tell the difference between them and fresh chicken eggs, except for the fact that they were  larger and their shells were quite a bit thicker.  The hard to crack shell made me wonder if they may not have a higher calcium content.   It also made me curious as to how they might compare nutritionally to the traditional chicken egg.

After a little investigation I discovered there’s bad new and good news, but mostly good. First the unfortunate news for duck egg lovers is that duck eggs are higher than chicken eggs in cholesterol; partly because their yokes are nearly twice as big. The rest is good news.  Duck eggs are higher in vitamins B6, D, E, A and B12. They are also 50% higher in mono unsaturated fat (which counteracts the bad news concerning cholesterol) and they are higher in protein.  Another advantage is their shelf life. Due to their thicker shell duck eggs can be refrigerated safely for up to six weeks; far longer than a chicken egg.

White duck egg & brown chicken egg

When it comes to cooking, you can do anything with a duck egg that you can with a chicken egg.  Some gourmet cooks prefer duck eggs for baking. This is especially true in European cultures where they have never been considered unusual.  There is another advantage to ducks for those folks who live within city limits where chicken ordnances are enforced. In the city of Boise the rule is that a household may only have four chickens as long as none of them are roosters. In some neighborhoods there are no chicken’s allowed at all, yet nothing is generally said about ducks.  Ducks don’t crow and are considered to be more pets than other farm animals. I think the Aflac Duck has given some favorable press to ducks in general, but especially toward the now famous white Pekins variety.

The Aflac Duck has given some favorable press to ducks

Aside from their eggs ducks are considered the best barn yard animal when it comes to composted manure.  Their fertilizer, when properly seasoned is high in nitrogen and the very best for flowers and vegetables.  Another favorable fact to consider when it comes to farmyard poultry is that ducks are avid insect eaters. One of the reasons we have decided to raise more ducks is because of their reputation for being grasshopper eradicators.  The chickens have tried to keep up with the waves of grasshoppers that seasonally infest our country here, but ducks are said to have a much healthier appetite for these horrible pests.  (See entry #104 – Agriculture category)

Duck eggs are starting a trend in the organic food market. More and more free range duck eggs are being sought after by folks who are seeking healthier organic, locally grown, food sources.  Soon I believe there will be a greater demand than supply which is good for small farm people looking to make a little extra money.  Also, ducks are cute. They have great personalities and are a kick to watch. Mostly for the latter reason Nancy decided to buy over twenty new ducklings which are as we speak taking over our second poultry coup. She says she has great plans for their future, but so far I’ve heard nary a word about roasted duck.

Tags: country living, Duck eggs, organic food, Tri Robinson

Contemplating the issue of creation care in 2005

A paper written by Tri Robinson as a contribution
for the book, “Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril”  by Trinity University Press

In the 60s I was a student on a university campus along with thousands of other baby boomers.  Everything was in cultural flux and our generation was confused, scared, angry, opinionated and passionate. We not only wanted change, we demanded it.  We were wrapped up in a ruthless war that no one seemed to understand, our president was being exposed for dishonesty and our environment was showing signs of becoming non-sustainable.  We were looking for meaning and truth – but most of all we wanted authenticity.  During that time, thousands of us found our answer not through religion, but instead through an authentic faith in Christ.  History later referred to us as the Jesus Movement; a movement of young Bible-believing, non-denominational evangelicals.  We put our faith and hope in God and we were no longer angry or scared – although still very opinionated and passionate, just about different things.  Unfortunately our passion for the environment was lost in a new focus on the second coming of Christ.  Today, the things we once feared as young seekers are now happening: the world population has doubled and the natural resources of fresh water, soil, air and sources of energy have begun to wane.  The extinction rate of endangered species has escalated and even the global climate has started to change, threatening the future of our planet.

I am a Christian; and not just a Sunday Christian, but a passionate evangelical Christian pastor of a thriving church.  I believe in the Bible with all of my heart and have diligently tried to mold my life around its truths.  I believe that Jesus is coming again but sincerely can’t claim to know when.  I believe that his Kingdom (that is, the Kingdom of God) has come to earth as it is in heaven.  I believe that it came because of his ultimate sacrifice on the cross for mankind.  I believe that he has called his people to stewardship in his kingdom; to care for the people he loves, specifically the poor and broken, and for the earth that he lovingly created.  I believe that this responsibility is not just a suggestion but a commission and a mandate without option.

As a committed student and Bible teacher I have read and taught the story of the flood numerous times, always seeing it the same way until one morning in 2005.  The Bible is an amazing book and it has a miraculous characteristic.  You can read it over and over again and never get tired of it, always extracting something different with each reading.  God has a way of illuminating new understanding to his never-changing truths.  As I read Genesis 9 that morning, the Lord began to reveal something that I’d never seen before.  In this portion of scripture, it tells of God’s covenant with Noah to never again destroy the whole earth with a flood. God said, “I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:11) As I carefully examined the passage I realized for the first time that God’s covenant was not made between God and Noah or even God and man, but between God and his entire creation.  God said, “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth.” (Genesis 9:9-10)  Not only did he say it, but he repeated it six times in a row.  He really meant it and to me that was profound.

A rainbow in our east pasture reminded me of the covenant

As God laid out the conditions of this covenant agreement he spoke a number of mandates that everyone should know about. First of all, this was to be a covenant of blessing to humanity.  If his mandate was observed, the world’s environment would provide provision to all humanity and would allow man to inhabit and populate the earth. He said, “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. ” (Genesis 9:2) Secondly, his covenant demanded responsibility and an accounting that we would use the earth, but not abuse it.  He called us to the sanctity of all life. He said, “I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.” (Genesis 9:4) Also, his covenant was not to end with Noah’s generation or even with the Old Testament law, but was to be everlasting – for all generations to come. He said, “”This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” (Genesis 9:12-13)

This changed everything for me.  No longer could I separate my passion for the Kingdom of God from my commitment to care for the environment.  I had to tell everyone that Christians should not only care about creation but had been mandated by God to be leaders in a worldwide environmental movement.  I shared this mandate with my church, I wrote a book on caring for creation (Saving God’s Green Earth) and I became an advocate of Genesis 9 on radio and television.  Together with other like-hearted people I started a ministry called ‘Let’s Tend the Garden’.  I wrote tirelessly for all kinds of publications and spoke nationally to anyone who would listen.  I told everyone that caring for the creation is not an option but a commission, especially for those who value and believe God’s word in his Bible. Many have listened, and others who shared this conviction have joined in an effort to change the minds and practices of Christians worldwide.  It occurred to me that over one-third of the world’s population says they profess Christ as savior and believe that the Bible is true.  That is nearly two and a half billion people who, if they recaptured this God-given mandate, could unite to make a lasting difference due to obedience to an ancient but culturally relevant truth.

Tags: creation care, enviornment, stewardship, sustainability, Tri Robinson

Nancy releases her ducks onto the open pond

If you follow our Timber Butte saga of building a modern day homestead you may recall that last spring Nancy bought home three little ducklings that she named Daisy, Hazy and Lazy. (See Entry #164 – May 1, 2010) You may also recall that she had a five year vision to clean up our pond that had been overgrown with Willow trees and filled with all kinds of undesirable aquatic plant life.  (See entry #179 – December 7, 2010) Well, now those two events have culminated in yet a third; the construction of a floating duck house for the three ducklings that have reached full maturity and need a new place to reside.

Floatation system under the new duck house

They say you should never name a barnyard animal if you ever intend it to go in the oven, and that is for sure the case with Daisy, Hazy & Lazy.  Nothing’s too good for them.  They have become homestead pets with barnyard privileges and as spring has sprung they are now in need of a little more space to stretch their little wings.  This brings us to the pond.  The pond is a domestic duck paradise except for the fact that every kind of duck eating predator lives in its nearby proximity; coyotes, raccoons, bobcats, etc, etc.  To turn them loose without a place of refuge would undoubtedly be fatal by the end of the first night for three little naive ducks with no wilderness experience. This brings us to the matter of the floating duck house, a new construction project I was commissioned to build. Here is how I did it.

Lily swims with her freed friends

I had read in either Grit magazine, Country Living, Small Farm Journal, or some rural periodical where someone had experienced the same dilemma.  I couldn’t find the article and couldn’t remember how they had designed it, but the idea seemed good to me. The house itself of course was fairly basic. The only issue with it was that it needed to be built light enough not to sink its floatation system.  Then of course the flotation system needed to be stable and buoyant enough to support the small house.  For this I used four plastic drainpipes with four inch PVC caps glued to each end.  I had no idea if this would work until we actually launched the contraption in the water.  To our delight it did in fact float but to our disappointment had a major list when the wind blew across the pond. We decided that with the addition of two additional outrigger capped four inch pipes it would be just right.

When we introduced Daisy, Hazy and Lazy to their new home they immediately flew out onto the pond in complete delight with their new found freedom. Daisy headed immediately for the bushes in a state of terror but Hazy and Lazy where joined by Lily our yellow Lab and all took to the pond like ducks to water.

Tags: country living, Ducks, Ponds, Poultry, Small farm, Tri Robinson