The Life and Times of Jacob – A story of destiny
When people meet Jacob for the first time they often become confused. Some think he’s a goat because he has hair instead of wool while others wonder how he could [...]
Changing of the Season in a changing world
We woke to a fresh skiff of snow on the slopes of Timber Butte this morning. The air had a brisk bite and the animal’s water, a thin skim of [...]
Welcoming the Newcomer – A lesson from the barnyard
Kit is the newest member of the Timber Butte Homestead community. She is a 12 year old mare; a gift from our friends Michelle and Franck. When Michelle first made [...]
Standing firm before the Fire
Fire is an annual concern to those who chose a life of isolation; especially in environments with flammable habitats. Timber Butte is one of those places. From the first weeks [...]
A short documentary at Timber Butte Homestead
Last spring Transform Films came from their office in New York City to film a short four minute documentary here on Timber Butte for Earth Day. It featured Nancy [...]
Walking the Fence Line – Contemplation for the time we live
Building and maintaining the fences here on the side of Timber Butte have always been one of my preferred pastimes. Walking the fence line has provided one of my best [...]
Building a permanent deep-pit BBQ
Jacob, our pet sheep, oversees Aaron's preparation of the BBQed lamb There’s nothing like a deep-pit BBQ when you’re cooking for a bunch of special friends. It’s a [...]
A New Cellar for Meat & Wine – Finishing Touches
Jacob and Lily examine the finished project From the beginning it had been our goal to have the new cellar finished in time to be used for [...]
A New Cellar for Meat & Wine – Part 3 – “Many hands make for light work”
Brook, Tri & Daniel prepare to build the log roof structure After the hole had been dug for the new cellar the next challenge would be to [...]
Root Cellar Construction – Part 2 – Getting started
The kitchen cellar at Timber Butte Homestead I’ve built three root-cellars over the past forty-five years. The first one I hand dug when I was in my [...]
A Cellar for Meat and Wine – Part 1
A New cellar for Timber Butte Our farmstead here on Timber Butte has continued to mature since its conception ten years ago. As a result our agricultural [...]
Four Seasons for Mom
Mom's last year on the ranch Before I tell our story of bringing my 92 year old mother who had advanced dementia home to live with us, [...]
Farm-steading in the 21st century
Nancy & Tri walking the land where their farmstead would one day be In trying to define our vision for the development of Timber Butte I sometimes [...]
Rattlesnake and Nancy’s Blackberry Crisp – Entry #223
Rattlesnake in the berrypatch Nancy’s crisp for lunch The Blackberries were prolific in the garden this year and Nancy has been dreaming of [...]
What my new book, “The Committee for the Reburial of Liver-eating Johnston” is about? – Entry #222
“The Committee for the Reburial of Liver-eating Johnston” books cover In 1973 I was a young teacher at Park View Jr. High School in [...]
The payoff of preparation for another growing season – Entry #221
Timber Butte Garden after the pre-work is done Jacob, the bummer lamb helps Nancy seed the onion bed Tri uses his [...]
Building a lambing shed for Nancy – Entry #220
Nancy’s new lambing shed Abraham Nancy and her new addition Here on the ranch certain animals seem to become more [...]
New Arrivals at Timber Butte #219
Max the cat makes a new friend We woke up this morning to two new twin lambs but one had his umbilical cord wrapped around his hind [...]
Elk on the Butte this morning
Elk on the Butte The last week of rain has been a welcome blessing after such a long, cold, dry winter here at the base of Timber [...]
Constructing concrete fence posts – Part 4 – Finishing the project – Entry #217
When it was all said and done – I felt a sense of satisfaction My last three entries on the subject of constructing concrete fence posts has [...]
Constructing concrete fence posts – Part 3 – corner & gate posts – Entry #216
Wooden gates on concrete posts and header Steel post braces Bolts and hinges were set into the concrete while it was [...]
Constructing concrete fence posts – Part 2 – Entry #215
I learned by trial and error (mainly error) how rich to mix my cement so the posts wouldn’t crack I spent the better part [...]
Constructing concrete fence posts – Part 1 – Entry #214
Concrete fence posts protecting our vineyard at Timber Butte Fence posts made by my great-grandfather surrounded the old family ranch This past summer [...]
The Miracle of time – Entry #213
Nancy was weeding in the vineyard What a difference a little time can make in the development of any small farmstead; both for good or for bad. [...]
Coming back to the Timber Butte Journal – Entry #212
Meanwhile back on the ranch I realize it’s been awhile since we’ve been contributing to the Timber Butte Homestead journal and especially for those [...]
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