Frugal Farmin

Tuesday nite in Cooks Creek. Weather is warm and winds are gusting out of the South. This winter has been too mild for my liken. The mild weather has the animals all goofy and the flu season has taken hold like there is no tomorrow. People are a hacken and coughen. I put this up to bein the weather is so warm it allows these bugs to survive and spread. Maybe wrong but it makes sense to me. A good cold snap will put all these flu’s and colds to rest. I’m sure of it.

Well it was haircut nite here in our house. Got to get spruced up for the holiday. Wife gave me and the boy haircuts and then I did hers. The two girls said their hair was fine. Didn’t want it cut. My youngest daughter took some of her saved money and actually went to a barber about a month ago. Came out of there an awful mess. Hair was all crooked and uneven. She said that was how it was suppose to be. That was the style. Man, even on my worst day I can cut hair to look better than that. Think she paid $15.00 for it too. They should of gave her money because she let them practice on her.

Quiet in the house tonite and a bit cool for some reason. Got a fire goin but I guess the wind is coolin the house down some. Wife is puttin the finishin touches on her quilt and older daughter is in the kitchen bakin tarts. Boy is in bed and don’t know where the youngest daughter is. She is around somewhere.

I was readin a blog the other day (not sure who’s blog it was) about how people doin what we are doin have to make do with what ever they have, can scrounge, beg or borrow. Seems to be the way with most when they are startin up. I tell the wife , “we have done so much with so little I think we can do almost anything with nothin”. Not sure where I heard that but it sure rings true in our case. The other day I was comin home from work and there is this long wooden box on a loadin dock by a dumpster. Most people would think garbage. I thought nestin boxes. Pulled over and asked the fella if I could have it and it was mine. To build that it would be $10.00 if it was a nickel. Chicken feeders are made out of old plastic 5 gallon buckets (with their bottoms cut out) and old garbage can lids. I can go on and on with a list of the ways we make do to try and get this deal off the ground. If we didn’t do it this way we would be dead in the water. No way a person can afford to purchase everything new to start a homesteadin and farmin operation in this day. I always say it ain’t the money ya make it is the money ya save. It may sound like we are cheapskates or tight wads and I guess in a way we are. If you want to do somethin bad enough you do whatever ya can to make it happen. If it means putin your imagination to work and makin the odd trip to the dump for supplies that is what ya do. Wife used to hate when I went to the dump. Said I brought back more than I took. This spring we were at the dump and there is truck after truck of yuppies dumping off perfectly good straw bales that they used for their septic fields. Asked the old timer who looks after the place can we have some bales. Have all ya want was his answer. Hauled bales out of there all afternoon. Would of had to pay a buck apiece for them otherwise. The word recycle gets a whole new meanin around this old place. Nothin gets wasted. Can’t afford to. Suspect ya all are doin about the same if you’re trying to start up homesteadin/farmin deal.

Well I’m goin to call this a done deal. The mornin comes quickly. One of my friend’s brother is in Yellowknife. Said they had 25 minutes of daylight yesterday. The days are short here but even when I was in Thompson (500 miles North of us) we still got 5 to 6 hours of daylight this time of year. 25 min. would be hard to take. Anyway I will say good nite and Merry Christmas. Talk to ya all soon.