Every time I turn around these days Nancy is raising or growing something new in our bathtub.  First it was two kittens who she named Mercy & Gracie, then seedlings for the vegetable garden, and now three small Muscovy ducklings she has named Daisy, Lazy & Hazy.  Responding to her grandmother instinct I notice she constantly ventures into the local feed store and heads straight to the bins and cages of live baby things; little chicks, geese, rabbits, ducklings, puppies, or anything else that is peeping or meowing out for a loving mother figure.  That’s what happened with the kittens last winter. As she walked by their cage a small Siamese kitten slyly reached his tiny paw through the wire of the cage that imprisoned him and gently touched Nancy’s passing arm.  As you can imagine her heart melted like wax and in a moment of weakness he was in her arms. Not wanting to separate him from his fuzzy and equally cute twin sister she brought both kittens home and prepared a cozy bed for them in the master bath tub.  His original name was Mercy but later was renamed Mad-Max (due to a significant puberty behavioral and attitudinal personality change). When challenged on what we were going to do with two new cats Nancy’s only response was that they were free.  Free that is until she had to purchase a state of the arc litter-box, a matching set of food & water dishes and the half dozen toys needed to keep them from becoming bored, not to mention the additional expense of neutering Mad-Max and giving him a plethora of kitty shots, worming medication, etc. etc.   Realizing that having two kittens in the house along with Lily was a bit much;   Nancy gave Max’s sister to a friend’s granddaughters who desperately feel in love with Gracie (much to our relief).

Now, about the ducklings.  Again it was a stop for feed at D&B Feed and Farm Supplies, a stop we frequently make on our way home from work.  For several weeks I noticed Nancy eyeing a large feed trough filled with peeping ducklings and new born chicks.  Week by week I watched as she fell deeper in love with the ducklings. She kept commenting about their tiny bills and webbed feet which I knew was a bad sign. She also commented on the fact that they were gradually being sold off and were decreased in number every time she stopped by the store – that was another bad sign.  For a while I managed to talk her out of taking them home by reminding her that although we had a large half acre pond below the house we didn’t have a duck house or pen to protect them from the coyotes, skunks, raccoons, bobcats and foxes that called Timber Butte their home.  My strategy was working pretty well until she spotted a copy of Hobby Farms Magazine on a rack by the cashiers counter as we were leaving the store.  As only providence could have it the magazine had a

Mad-Max meets Daisy, or is it Lazy

portrait of a Muscovy duckling on the cover that was identical to the ones being sold. Nancy knew at once that it was in fact the hand of the Lord telling her she must take the remaining ducklings home.  As you might guess, the rest was history. 

Once again the master bathtub no longer belongs to the master (that would be me) but rather is now a duck habitat filled with wood chips, a poultry feeder and waterier.  Daisy, Lazy and Hazy are a content part of the family as plans are being drawn up for our future duck pen and house.  It’s just the way things work here at Timber Butte Homestead and as tough as I sound Mad-Max contently lays on my lap every morning as I drink hot coffee and have my quiet time. He has become my good friend and has even accepted the ducklings as something more than a convenient snack.

Tags: Hobby Farms, homestead, Muscovy ducks, rural life, simplified life, Small farm, sustainability, Tri Robinson

Lesson #3 –Makes a smaller footprint for a bigger handprint – Entry #151

Saying goodbye to the Burmese Karen in 1981

Nancy and I chose unemployment and a downsized sustainable lifestyle for a reason.  I’ll admit, it was a joy living in the quiet seclusion of the old ranch for that season of time, but it wasn’t our intention to withdraw from society and live an inward reclusive lifestyle.  We had purposefully made the decision to downsize our life so that we could upsize our impact on the world around us.  Our experience in 1982 (see entries 149 & 150) taught and prepared us for a greater life of outward service. We had seen the broken world first hand and wanted to help make a difference with our lives.   We had also observed many with a heart to do significant things yet unable due to excessive debt load.  Many had lived beyond their means and were owned by material possessions.  We wanted to be in a position of freedom, not in the bondage of financial debt.  It was our goal to learn to make a smaller footprint with our lives by consuming less, owning less and not allowing the possessions we had to possess us. We wanted to express the viewpoint through our lifestyle that we had come into the world with nothing and would leave with nothing. We believed that it all belonged to God anyway.  We knew we were called to be stewards, not only of the land we lived on, but of all the things God cared about, especially suffering humanity.  We wanted to make a smaller footprint so we might be able to make a bigger handprint; the handprint being the imprint of God on the world around us.  It was with this thinking in mind that I eventually wrote the book, “Small Footprint / Big Handprint – How to live simply and love extravagantly”.

Nancy & the kids in a Karen village 1984

Now back to my story.  If you recall from my former blog, this whole adventure started when we felt called to Thailand to help a hill tribe people group called the Karen.  They had lived in Burma, but because of ethnic cleansing by the Burmese government, many had been forced to flee across the border into Thailand in an attempt to avoid mass murder and extreme persecution.  My exposure to the Karen was my first experience with such atrocities up close and personal. Getting the chance to know them and even live among them gave Nancy and me a kind of love that’s hard to describe.   The experience was so life-changing we knew at once that we could never live solely for ourselves again.  Our worldview had been shattered.  In the years to come we couldn’t watch the atrocities in places like Somalia or Darfur without being broken for the people involved. We desperately wanted to somehow help alleviate the suffering.  Even natural disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, floods or earthquakes and the pain they inflicted upon the extreme poor challenged us. We could no longer be spectators; we had to get involved.  No longer could I turn my back on things like human trafficking, world hunger, world health or

Teaching English in a Karen village - mid 80's

environmental degradation.  I knew these things where breaking the heart of God and should be breaking mine as well.  We realized that life had much more to offer than to simply withdraw and live for personal security, comfort, and survival.  We wanted to be part a greater cause.

If you want to successfully live a sustainable lifestyle you have to have a vision that is bigger than yourself.  Becoming a social dropout is tempting at times, but in the end it will lead to emptiness.   Nancy and I have tried to develop Timber Butte into a sustainable homestead not to pull back from society, but to add to it. We are striving to become more energy efficient for the sake of future generations.  We are attempting to learn better ways of organically producing food because we know how damaging mass production of factory farms can be to the environment and health.  We care about forestry practices because we have seen the effects of deforestation in the developing world where there is little or no restraints on clear cutting. We care about the preservation of water because we have seen the effects drought and pollution have had in so many parts of the world.  We want our lives to serve as an example for others to follow.

Nancy with African children years later in Zambia

 When I resigned from my job is 1982 I used the time to redesign myself.  I spent time evaluating what I thought was really important and how I wanted to spend the rest of my life.  We decided to put our financial concerns second to the pursuit of a life that had purpose and value.  I decided not to look for a job, but rather for a lifestyle that had meaning while still providing our basic financial needs.  I guess that’s how we ended up in the type of ministry we did. We didn’t want just any ministry, but a ministry that was intent on capturing the heart of God and fulfilling the commission of Jesus to love people and bring healing to broken humanity.  It was our aim to be part of a people who desired to be on the frontlines of suffering humanity, not merely to be content watching it on CNN.

 The third lesson I learned from being unemployed was that it gave me an opportune time to take a new direction and go after the things that would instill a new and lasting passion for life.

Tags: Chrisitan missions, country living, hill tribes, Karen tribes, simplified life, Small footprint Big handprint, Sustainable living, Tri Robinson

Building a butcher shop in the back room of our barn has taken most of my free time this winter and I still have quite a bit to do before its completion.  In a previous blog I mentioned a few unique things I incorporated into the plumbing system, but neglected to mention that I was working on a butcher-block counter top at the same time.  I finished the main counter a few days ago and was really satisfied with the way it came out.  I was especially happy with the fact that when it was all said and done it cost less than fifty dollars in materials to complete.

Cutting off the tong and grooved sides

For about eight years I have been packing around several bundles of used maple hardwood flooring that I had scrounged from an old high school gymnasium floor.  I originally procured this used flooring when we built our mountain cabin and had re-bundled and stored the leftover scraps thinking I might one day have use of them. It’s good stewardship to incorporate recycled, resold and reused building materials when you can, and it saves money besides.  I’ll admit that there has been a time or two I’ve been tempted to cut them up for fire wood just to get them out of my hair, but in the back of my mind I always felt they were too valuable for such a fate even though much of it was warped and unusable for their conventional

Coating both sides with Gorilla Glue

intent.  When I envisioned building our butchering room I knew I had finally found a home for them. Here is what I did:

First I estimated how much would be needed for the square footage of the countertops we would need.   Gathering up what I thought would satisfy the need I cut the tongs and grooves off of both sides of each individual piece.

Second, using Gorilla Glue I generously coated back and front of each length, setting them on side for lamination.  I did this until I had enough in place to make more than the two foot counter width I

Clamping the glued maple strips

desired.  I made them wider than they needed to be with the intent of trimming them to their needed dimension later. 

Sanding slabs level

Third, with the help of my granddaughter Hope, we squeezed them tightly together with furniture clamps leaving them to dry for several days.  You might notice in the picture how we clamped the two pieces that would eventually be fit together as forty-five degree corners.  After these were dry I cut them to fit.

Backing slabs with Liquid Nail

Using a belt sander with heavy grit paper I sanded the pieces, (first across the grain and then with the grain) until all the high ridges were taken down making the counter top pieces flat and even.  This took a little time and patience.  The final sanding would be done after the laminated pieces were set into their final place with fine grit paper.

Fitting corners into place

Next, using tubes of Liquid Nail I thickly coated the bottoms of each piece and fit them together on top of the reinforced cabinet I had prepared for them. It gave great satisfaction to see the corners slide together and fit.  (I think I’ve mentioned along the way that I’m not a perfectionist and when things actually work out the way I envision them it always surprises me a little.)  

Application of mineral oil

Finally, I did the finish sanding and calked the sink and backsplash board to avoid later leakage. I coated the maple wood top with mineral oil which sealed it and gave it a beautiful final appearance. (Using mineral oil on a food preparation surface was recommended to me by my friend Rand Thompson who does professional counter top work.)

Tags: Butcher shop, Counter tops, country living, Gorilla Glue, homestead, Liquid nail, simplified life, Small farm, Tri Robinson

 On New Year’s Eve it snowed a heavy wet snow as if trying to decide if the warming temperature merited snow or rain.   It was the kind of weather that would motivate most any creature to hunker down and find shelter.  As I do every evening, I trudged to the barn and cupped my hands in megaphone fashion shouting my familiar high pitched call for the horses to come in.  It’s a call they recognize and have learned to trust knowing from many years of experience that their obedience to it will provide fresh hay, a possible handful of grain and the security of a dry stall. 

Between my repeated calls I stood under the protection of an overhang listening into the darkness for a sound of response.   I knew I had been heard but also knew that the distinct tone of my call always takes a bit of time to sink in. Knowing the little I do concerning horse psychology I’ve become acutely aware that whenever my call is heard a decision process takes place.  A choice must always be made between the freedom of the open field and the benefits of obedience.   I’ve been observing it for some thirty-five years and it usually happens the same way every night.  First, all four horses raise their heads and perk their ears toward the beckoning call.  They stand frozen for several minutes until one horse (generally it will always be the same one) will take a few steps in the direction of the barn.  Next, the other horses not wanting to be left behind start to join the leader, tentatively at first, but with every step the pace quickens until  a race begins for the corral gate.  Last night I was listening for the sound of galloping hoofs on the distant hillside and looking for the first sign of my small gang to appear out of the storm.  As many times as this evening ritual plays itself out I never stop feeling a sense of relief when they all arrive.

For me this was a hopeful and prophetic picture of the New Year.  It was a picture of a faithful people running with expectation out of an uncomfortable storm into a better place of security.  It was a picture of many responding to the Master’s call for provision.  But mostly it was a picture of victory.

2009 has been a stormy difficult year for many.  As pastors of a church that cares for a lot of folks we have seen and experienced heart ache. As a city, Boise has been hit hard with massive unemployment as has much of the nation.  Like the rest of the country many people who had aspiration for retirement in their sixties have had plans and dreams stressed with the loss of mutual funds.  Some have lost their homes to foreclosure and many who started the recession with savings have resorted to using them for survival.  The church’s food bank has been stressed with demands that have doubled its normal output.  Economic and social pressures have put undo stresses on relationships exasperating the problems.  It’s been hard.  And because no man is an island, especially in a tight church community; it’s been hard on everyone, especially for those who have hearts of compassion and deep feelings of empathy.  It’s been a storm, but in the end it has awakened many to the Masters beckoning call to trust Him for security and comfort.

Nancy and I believe that the Lord is calling all who will respond to his voice into a new place of victory in 2010.  This doesn’t mean that the storms won’t continue to rage, but for those who choose not to rebelliously remain in the open range, he will provide provision and refuge.  Like my horses, a decision to respond to the master’s voice must be made.  In every small group some must rise up and take the leadership to be willing to take the first steps of radical obedience in order to begin the charge.  This will require long term vision; even eternal vision.  It will require people to stop dwelling on their short term crises and see the bigger picture of what God is doing.   This will take people who have their ears perked, sensitive to the Lords beckoning voice, always listening with faith, believing that his voice can be heard above the distracting roar of the storm.  It will take a people who are weary of the storm, eager to be in a new and better place; a people who are not satisfied or content with the misery, but ready and willing to move (even to run) through the darkness towards the distant light of the Lords fresh provision.   We believe that 2010 will be a year of great victory for many as they beckon to His call for obedience and surrender.

Tags: country living, homestead, Horses, simplified life, sustainability, Tri Robinson

A long commute to and from work is actually not very energy efficient, especially for those of us who endeavor to live more sustainable lifestyles.  The choice to develop a sustainable farmstead in the solitude of the country while working thirty miles away in the city has its trade-offs.  I grimace at the consumption of even our small all-wheel-drive car every time I’m at the gas pump. Yet, I believe the work we are doing in building a church that serves the poor and cares for creation has deep and lasting value for humanity.  I grieve each time I board a plane to go convince people that the Bible mandates God’s people to care for the earth. I know that the flight in itself is the antithesis of the message I deliver.  Not every choice I make is right, but my heart is to do some good with the life I’ve been given.  I want to value the gift of life itself never harboring feelings of entitlement or taking my life for granted. I want to live with a heart of thanksgiving even when things don’t go the way I think they should.

As for my commute, I value the beauty and quietness it provides every day.  For me it’s a time to reflect and plan.  In the morning it prepares me for the day I am about to face and in the evening it provides opportunity to debrief the events and encounters of the day I’ve just experienced, bringing closure and proper perspective.  

My drive home takes me over a high pass which then descends through a small town in the basin of a picturesque river valley bordered with distant timbered ridges. It winds further down six miles of the river, across an ancient metal bridge and up an unpaved narrow road which ascends a long grade to the higher rolling hills that hold the butte where we live.

Every day I see a myriad of wildlife including birds of prey like hawks, falcons, owls and eagles. I see an occasional elk herd and many deer, both mule and whitetail.  I see wild turkeys, badgers, foxes, coyotes and skunks illusively dodging into the brush and rocks at the road’s edge.  My commute is clearly a privilege not a task; even on those late stormy winter nights after meetings that go too long – nights when the snow blows horizontally across icy roads forming hazardous sculptured drifts.  Living in the country somehow always seems to provide adventure that interrupts the mundane schedules and patterns of what might be considered a more normal life.  Not that my homeward journeys have always been without calamity and trials.  More than once I’ve experienced blown out tires on lonely stretches of road.  I’ve collided with deer and incurred hundreds of dollars in damage to my car. I’ve rolled my truck down a 30 foot embankment, landing upside down after hitting black ice on a cold, December night.  I’ve been delayed by herds of cattle and bands of sheep being driven by cowboys and herders, often inconveniencing me and delaying my arrival to important meetings and appointments.

All that being said, my commute is a picture of life itself.  It is a journey full of decisions, conflict and trade-offs, not always matching the purity of my ideology. It carries me towards a destination of peace if I stay focused and keep to the road before me.  It is a journey often full of obstacles, delays and sometimes even detours – but using each to teach patience, tenacity and stick-to-itiveness.  It is a journey not without pain and trauma, but one that exposes the greatness and majesty of God each day if I look for it.  It is a journey that requires contemplation and deep thought, putting everything in proper perspective. And, in the end it provides much meaning and purpose. For those who read the directions, follow the signs and choose the right road it may be a long journey, but a journey that will surely take us home.

Tags: country living, homestead, simplified life, Small farm, sustainability, Tri Robinson

Sometimes life gets so busy that it’s easy to forget to take time for simple pleasures.  Ever since I’ve been a young man in my 20’s I have enjoyed using my horses in harness pulling wagons or buggies.  There is a certain peacefulness and satisfaction driving a horse-drawn buggy down a quiet country lane even at a time in history when it’s no longer considered a viable means of functional mobility.  

The other night Nancy and I were eating dinner on the back porch with our son Brook when two un-muffled dirt bikes went screaming down our country road disrupting the peace and solitude of the evening.  Thankfully this doesn’t happen too often here, but the harsh noise felt out of place, obnoxious and audibly abusive in the context of an otherwise perfect summer evening.

The experience motivated me to get our buggy horse out of retirement and take a short cruse in a more aesthetically acceptable way down the country lane.  After hitching old Dusty to a spring cart I trotted past our rural neighbor’s farms and houses in an attempt to counteract and maybe even heal the nerve damage inflicted by modern technological advancement. 

Horses and buggies have a way of being an antidote to the rattled nerves of many country dwellers.  However, because of the effort it takes to train a horse to safely pull; not to mention the hassle of having to harness and hitch it every time you decide to go anywhere may seem like more of a pain than the efforts worth.  For me, driving horses has always provided a special pleasure and a feeling of tranquility, especially on cool summer evenings.

Tags: Add new tag, Buggies, country living, Harness, Horses, simplified life, Small farm, sustainability, Tri Robinson

Looks can sometimes be deceiving

Things aren’t always what they seem. The road up to Timber Butte is often picturesque, especially at certain times of the year.  Lately the hillsides have been covered with light blue flowers that to the unknowing eye are breathtaking, especially in the early morning hours when they are in full bloom. Unfortunately, to those who are aware they are anything but beautiful.  These flowered bushes are the highly invasive noxious weed Chondrilla juncea, better known to the ranchers and farmers of southern Idaho as Skeleton weed.   This weed is nearly impossible to kill except with the use of powerful chemical herbicides during the late fall or early spring.  Skeleton weed is more adaptable to the hillsides and fields around the Timber Butte area than the natural grasses and vegetation and is becoming a serious problem.  It sinks a deep tap root into the earth which makes it almost impossible to uproot and it thrives best during hot seasons when other plants are competing for ground water.  There are fifty-seven different types of noxious weeds that have found their way into Idaho, all of which are becoming a major menace and a very real threat to the future environmental welfare of the state.  Skeleton weed however is on the top of the list for us. Wherever it grows grazing lands are lost (almost nothing will eat it), and hay fields are becoming chocked out.  Not only that, but the anatomy of a Skeleton weed plant makes it very difficult to kill with most chemical sprays because the upper part of the plant has no leaves.  Most chemicals are absorbed into the root system through the leaves.  Also, I might add, mowing Skeleton week is a lot like pruning fruit trees; it just makes them come back ten times as strong.   Skeleton weed is a clear and present danger.

Trying to keep things as organic as possible near our garden and orchard Nancy and I have had to figure out the best way to combat noxious weeds without the use of chemicals.  Although it has taken a tremendous amount of work we have done two things: hand pulled them and encouraged healthy plant competition that is able to overtake them.  These two processes have taught Nancy and me a couple of valuable spiritual lessons.

 The other day Nancy came in and shared a revelation with me after spending the better part of a morning pulling weeds around the garden.  She said that the only way she could successfully remove the entire root of a weed was by soaking and softening the ground with water for an hour or so first.  She told me as she was weeding that the Lord showed her it is much the same with us.  Until we allow our hearts to become softened the roots of noxious and toxic memories and experiences break off only to later grow back stronger.  As Nancy was pulling out weeds in the softened soil (some with roots up to a foot in length) she found herself with a heart of thanksgiving for what the Lord was doing and wanted to do in the lives of the people she loved.

The second lesson for me didn’t happen in the garden but the hay field.  Two years ago Skelton weed was really getting a stronghold in one of our fields.  I asked our neighbor Craig Krosch if he would bring over his big plow and turn it over.  He did, and we replanted the field with Rye grass which does well in dry climates.  The next year the Rye grass came on strong and the following year even stronger.  It literally crowded out the Skeleton weed.  The truth I learned was concerning spiritual warfare and it was this – when the enemy (the devil) starts to invade your life or the lives of those you love the best defense is offense.  Using toxic chemicals that can kill good plants and eventually become absorbed into the soil and ground water is like fighting evil with more evil.  The better way to fight evil is to crowd it out with goodness.  This truth reminds me of Paul’s advice in the book of Romans where he counseled, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay, “says the Lord. On the contrary:  ”If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Tags: Add new tag, Idaho noxious weeds, noxious weeds, organic farming, organic gardening, organic living, simplified life, Skeleton weed, Small farm, sustainability, Tri Robinson

Last week my friend Duncan dropped by with some parts he had salvaged off of an old John Deere sickle mower.  We had decided to get all of the haying equipment ready for next season now instead of frantically repairing things the week before it’s time to start cutting next year.  Duncan’s thinking was that it is better to fix things while the problems are fresh in our minds.  Being old men we figure we might forget what was broken and in need of fixing a year from now.  Anyway, we spent the better part of a morning replacing broken parts, lubing, sharpening and adjusting my two old mowers.  When we finished we realized that the day was still young enough to get our hands into another project.  I had been telling Duncan about an old relic horse drawn mower I had acquired and brought home the year before.  It was missing lots of parts (including the sickle arm itself) and looked beyond repair.  It was covered with rust and the driving gears were seized after being discarded in a field for so many years.  Realizing that we had extra parts from the mower Duncan had brought (including an extra sickle arm) we decided to see what kind of damage we could do. 

The rest of the day was spent grinding, pounding, fitting and improvising until the old mower was ready for a second chance in life.  Even its old gears broke loose and turned freely after being cleaned and lubed.

If you look close enough there is a lesson in everything.  As a pastor I’ve found that a lot of folks who have given up believe their lives are too far gone to be renewed and restored; they don’t realize that God’s whole purpose is to give us a second chance.  He is the great reconciler.  In fact the entire message of the Bible tells the story of his plan to do just that.  Colossians 1:22 says it well; “Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ… As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”

Our old mower isn’t without a single fault I can assure you,  and Duncan and I are far from being like Christ, but the point is – with God it’s never too late.  His desire is that you would be reconciled, renewed and restored so that the remainder of your life is meaningful and fully functional.  All you have to do is ask him.

Tags: country living, Harness, hay farming, homestead, Horses, ranching, rural life, simplified life, sustainability, Tri Robinson

King Solomon once wrote; “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.  A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest…”, and last week was our time to harvest hay up here at Timber Butte.  From the early hours of the morning until late into the night all of our neighbors have been out in their fields trying to get their hay mowed, raked, baled and undercover before it gets rained on and ruined.  Everyone has been working.  Like King Solomon said, timing is everything, and sometimes when the time is right you have to work until you feel like dropping. 

Because we all dry-land farm our hay crops up here we only can get one cutting a season and so when conditions are just right everyone starts their tractors and the harvest race begins.  Our race isn’t between each other, but against the elements of nature.   The moisture content of hay is crucial for the optimal nautical value of alfalfa and grass hay. In the case of alfalfa the plants must be at least 60% in bloom and the air must be dry. Normally our harvest starts sometime in mid June, but this year the rains continued to fall all month pushing things back a few weeks into July.  A lot of farmers in the valleys below who get more than one cutting attempted to bale their first crop too soon and the heavy June rains saturated their cut hay before they could get it under cover.  Moisture causes hay to mold and become not only unusable for healthy feed, but in danger of building up dangerous combustible heat, especially if it is stacked in barns.  Numbers of barns in southern Idaho have burned down this past month which is of course a great tragedy.

Last week everything seemed perfect and so Nancy and I took a week’s vacation and with the help of a few wonderful friends managed to put up 350 perfect bales (approximately nine tons) of grass / alfalfa hay in our barn and hay shed.  It was an exciting, exhausting, victorious week that I will write about in the coming days ahead.

Tags: country living, Hay, homestead, organic living, ranching, simplified life, Small farm, sustainability, Sustainable living, Tri Robinson

It’s hard to explain why, but there is something really satisfying about using horses in harness. Few folks use horses any other way than under saddle these days, yet for centuries horses were probably used more to pull and transport things than to carry people. Other than in Amish communities across the country a quality harness is continually growing increasingly more difficult to come by. Using a harness is rapidly becoming a lost art to many, but if the truth be known, in many cases a single horse in harness is a really handy thing.

Last week we had decided to plant a small pasture on a steep hillside just below our house.  We fenced it using mesh wire so that we could run a few lambs there if we wanted to, not only to feed them but to keep the hillside mowed down since it is too steep for a tractor or lawn mower to safely negotiate.

I wanted to harrow the soil to smooth it out before I planted it and also to cover the seed after I broadcasted it.  The only safe means of doing this that I could think of was to use a horse.  What took our old mare to accomplish in an hour would have taken me the better part of a day using a garden rake.  Not only did we get the job done easily and safely, but it was a real joy walking behind my horse seeing her do a job that she was specially designed to do.

Tags: Add new tag, country living, Harness, homestead, Horses, simplified life, Small farm, sustainability, Tri Robinson

For a long time our daughter Kate has wanted to raise a few laying hens in her back yard.  Up until last week she’s had two obstacles keeping her from her goal, the first being that she didn’t have any chickens, and second, she didn’t have a place to keep them.  We had discussed the possibility of building her a chicken coop, but because she didn’t have an urgent need it never seemed to happen.  When a neighbor across the street decided to rid herself of a half dozen young hens Kate called asking if we would help her build a coop.

Last Saturday the two of us spent the entire day working in my barn building a chicken house that could be dismantled and easily reassembled in her back yard.  Using a few odds and ends lying around we managed to build it for about $100.  It turned out great so I thought I’d share how we did it with you.

We constructed each wall individually on saw horses inside the barn due to inclement weather.  The coop was small but very adequate for Kate’s needs.  When it was complete it was four feet by four feet with a peaked roof that made it stand about five feet high.  We decided to build it on stilts one foot off the ground with a wire mesh floor so that she could easily rake the manure out from under it into her compost pile.  The coop was to be located right next to her vegetable garden.

The first wall had an old small-pane window framed into it which had been sitting in my storage pile for several years waiting for a good excuse to be used.  We built four laying boxes into the second wall with an exterior lid allowing Kate to remove eggs easily from outside.  To add a little flair Nancy donated a small stain glass window she had been saving which we incorporated into this wall as well.

We built a double door system into the third wall.  Cutting a smaller door into the larger door gave both the hens and Kate access inside. One small secret I have discovered that has been  helpful when trying to hang small plywood doors like these is to make the cut on the hinged side of the door and set the hinges before cutting the rest of the door out.  In this way the doors will open and close perfectly after the door is fully cut out.

Using some left over corrugated roofing we not only covered the plywood roof, but the laying boxes as well.  Hope, our granddaughter, thought this might make a good place for her to entertain her friends, but after describing the layer of chicken manure that would soon be present she changed her mind.

The next day was Sunday and just happened to be Father’s Day so after church we all assembled at her home.  Kate cooked a wonderful turkey dinner after which her granddad and I helped her reassemble the coop we had prefabricated the day before.  Everything went together perfectly as planned and with the help of my mom and Nancy we used old fencing to build a chicken run and in a matter of about two hours the new little house was ready for its occupants.

While I made a few finishing touches everyone else went across the street to Kate’s generous neighbors and grabbed arm loads of chickens and our chicken house endeavor was successfully completed with the exception of Kate’s plans to paint it to match her little home.

Tags: Add new tag, chicken coops, Chickens, country living, family, homestead, organic gardening, organic living, simplified life, Small farm, sustainability

Gates of any kind are expensive, and in most cases don’t have a lot of character – especially if you desire a country look and feel. Steel ranch gates are functional and I think look okay, but I have resorted to building most of our gates both to save money and achieve an old homestead look. Through the years I have constructed a lot of swinging lodgepole gates with various degrees of success. I won’t say that practice makes perfect because I don’t think my gates are perfect, but I have learned a lot in the process. I have found two major issues that will make or break the success of pine-pole gate construction: one, the method of attaching the horizontal poles to the upright poles; and two, building a strong hinge method.
Here is how I have addressed these two issues:

Drilling the vertical upright

Attaching the horizontal bars to the vertical uprights – the first key issue. Commercial gate builders have special tools and machines to drill upright posts and taper the horizontal bars so that they will perfectly fit together. To me this looks a little too perfect, a bit like a pencil that has been sharpened and plugged into a custom-made hole. They use pealed poles which again loses a bit of the natural rugged (maybe a bit crude) country look. I prefer to leave my poles natural and unpeeled. (Nature has a way of naturally pealing them in time anyway.) Because I don’t have the commercial tools I have had to improvise by using a ½ inch drill motor and a heavy-duty 2” auger on my upright poles. The horizontal poles are a little trickier. Here I use a 2” keyhole saw which also attaches to

Key-hole saw

my ½ drill motor. I cut into the end of the pole as deep as it will cut (about 2”) and then use a skill saw with the blade set so that it will only cut as deep as the keyhole cut. (See picture) Using a draw-knife I finish the edge for a more homemade look.

Cutting out the plug end

I plug the horizontal pole into the upright pole, pounding it home with a sledge hammer. Then I drill through the side of the upright post into the end of the horizontal post with a Timber-lock skew and washer to hold the two together. (See picture) So far I have never had poles pull apart.

Gate hing pivot

Hinges that will support the weight and stand the test of time – the second key issue. Hinges can be extremely expensive when trying to swing a heavy gate. Because of this I have had to build my own. Here is how I’ve been able to beat the system. The first thing I do is to dig a hole at the base of where I want the gate post swing. (See

Homemade top hing

picture) Then using some sort of a form, (I have used a coffee can with the bottom cut out) I place a ¾” pipe about two feet long in the center and pour the hole with concrete. This provides a pivot for the horizontal post to swing on without having to directly hang on the gate post. I drive a sharpened piece of 3/8” rebar up the bottom of the upright post that sets into the ¾” pipe in my concrete base. I’ve been doing this for years and have had great success. For the top hinge I generally forge a heavy metal strap that slips over a store bought hinge peg. (See the picture).

Tags: Add new tag, country living, homestead, Horses, lodgepole fencing, lodgepole gates, ranching, rural life, simplified life, Small farm, sustainability

We had a new UPS driver today deliver a package that I had ordered.   As I was walking up to his truck I noticed him looking at the barn and he asked me what the Latin words meant that were inscribed on the bottom of our sign. I told him its translation meant “Seeking first the Kingdom”.  Looking a bit puzzled he asked me what the Kingdom was.   I said it was the Kingdom of God, and for us it meant letting Jesus become the Lord of our lives.  He wanted to know more so I went on to explain that living in the Kingdom meant not only discovering who God is but also seeking His righteousness and living your life for Him. I went on to say that in doing so God ends up blessing your life in many ways.  For example,  living here on Timber Butte had been a real miracle for us. I told him that there was no way we could have made this happen on our own. 

 I asked him if he ever saw the movie “Lonesome Dove“.  He said he had.   Then I asked, “Remember the sign Gus had nailed on the front gate of their ranch and how he had written a few Latin words on it?”  – I told him that was what gave Tri the idea to put Latin on our barn sign.  Gus didn’t know what his Latin words meant but he said they made him feel educated.  Tri put Latin on our barn sign to remind us to always put God first. 

Our new UPS driver gave me a genuine smile and said that it sounded good to him.  As he was driving away I prayed for him and asked the Lord to take our short conversation and make it reality. 

You never know how God will use your words to plant seeds of truth in someone.  If I go out and intentionally share my faith it somehow always seems awkward.  I love it when it happens as naturally as it did with our UPS man.  I call that being naturally – supernatural; leaving the outcome of simple heartfelt words up to God.    Later Tri told me that as the UPS man passed him down by the front gate he gave him a big friendly wave and smile. 

I love the amplified version of the scripture Tri used on our barn –  ”…But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. [Matthew 6:33]

Tags: Add new tag, country living, homestead, simplified life, Small farm, sustainability, Tri Robinson

 I have never put too much faith in electric stock fencing. It didn’t seem logical that a small wire pulsating a harmless electric jolt could detour a 1000 pound animal that believes grass is always greener on the other side.  Horses we’ve owned through the years have had the uncanny intelligence to master the art of opening tricky gate latches, untying rope knots and having instinctual radar systems capable of locating weak spots in pasture fences.  The thought of a small wire strung on flimsy fiberglass poles having the ability of slowing down an animal like that seemed laughable – until just lately.

 As spring has arrived and the rains have stimulated the rapid growth of pasture grasses we have had need of directing stock to places where they can graze without eating fields designated for mowing and bailing. Throughout the 80 acre homestead there are numbers of un-farmable ravines and hillsides that are rich in grass but too rough or steep for the tractor to safely negotiate. These areas haven’t been fenced, nor are they places we want to fence, yet they need to be accessed for grazing a month or two a year. The solution we have discovered is the use of temporary electric fence lines that can be readily moved from area to area at will. 

 When we first started using electric fencing I tested its jolt by simply gritting my teeth and grabbing it.  I’ll admit I didn’t much like getting zapped, but no matter how shocking it felt I didn’t trust that it was enough to put fear in an animal with a thick hair covered hide.  What I neglected to understand was that my two rubber soled boots insolated me from being as well grounded as a bare four footed animal.  Once a horse or cow touches an electric fence with the tip its big wet nose it generally never wants to touch it again.  I think it scares the poor beast more than hurts it, but for whatever reason, it does make a wonderful and dependable barrier.

Nancy checks voltage on Lily's nose

 Nancy and I enjoy going out on warm spring evenings to string electric fence lines together.  It is not unusual for us to set up to a half mile in an hour or two. We have a system where I hook up the electric charger and grounding rods while she sets posts and strings the wired nylon tape.  It is one of the things we love to do together not only because it gives us a reason to get out of the house and into the fields, but it gives us satisfaction knowing that were opening up new areas for our animals to use.    Electric fences are not only effective and easy to use but they provide a means of moving stock from place to place so that the land can be sustainable and not over grazed.

Tags: Add new tag, Electric fencing, homestead, ranching, simplified life, Small farm, stock fencing, sustainability, Tri Robinson