A HIDDEN MONSTER After a year and a half of being sick, not able to work, and losing 50 of my 175 lbs(22.7 of my 80kgs) I believe I have discovered the root cause of my sickness. A few weeks ago my father

It's been a while since I've been here. I came down sick a year and a half ago. I've been in and out of the hospital since then. So far there's no diagnosis and they aren't sure what's wrong with me. I

BUSY TIMES AT THE HOMESTEAD With spring in full swing, my son and I have been busy out at our self sustaining homestead. The weather has been good to us, but we definitely could use more rain, as it's

THE ILLINOIS GLADES While not as impressive as the glades in Florida.... I would say these are one of the most beautiful waterland areas around our home. *A picture taken close to the beginning of our

SIMBA MEETS A NEW FORREST CREATURE Recently one early morning, just after sunrise, I heard Simba barking his "I have an intruder pinned" bark. So, I made my way out to see what it was...the last

HYDRAULICS ARE SIMPLY AMAZING!!! I'm sure hundreds of years ago, people felt the same way when using horses. But, watching a piece of heavy equipment like my dad's Bobcat T300, do three months worth of

MY FAVORITE SEASON... By far is spring! Lots of people enjoy autumn, and the foliage of the trees as it seems to burn in bright yellows reds and oranges. However, for me it only signifies a time for everything

DESPITE A RECENT FOOT INJURY More steady progress has been being made on the home front.💪 It did slowe down considerably as I was not able to put on a shoe. *Several days after the injury, as it was healing.

FEAR Fear, has its uses and its purposes. But it is not a natural state, and definitely not a state that is healthy to live in on a regular basis, let alone all the time. If you find you fear something

CONTINUING ON.... Picking up where we left off, the homestead has been very busy as of the late, and has kept my son and I pretty....well, busy.😁 THE CABIN GETS NEW FLOORING 🥰🥰 After a couple of years

This update is dedicated to a very special friend of mine, I shall call Bright Eyes.😺😻.....sorry so long since I posted. WHERE TO START?😁 First, around three months ago I guess. Marvin, our truck, had

OUR BABY *Simba, his paw over my hand as he sucks my finger like a pacifier, as he falls asleep. Don't let the picture above trick you.😁 As I'll start off by saying this, our Dìonadair Simba, is becoming

IN NEED OF A REPAIR Recently, a very good friend and I were talking, and I was telling him about how I was going to get a generator for the homestead. I thought having one would be a good backup plan in

WHAT A WEEK IT'S BEEN!😂😂 First of all, our main workhorse at the homestead, Marvin the Ford Ranger, suffered a major meltdown...and it took me a bit to figure out what the heck was going on... Day

THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY... I heard once that it is "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." ...I've never looked that up, so it may not be true. But, regardless,

I CANNOT COMPLETELY FILL THE DAM RESERVOIR This is due from the water having a way to bypass the dam. The dam itself does not leak. The issue is this... So, what is that exactly? Well it's a picture of

YEP, I GOT THE RESERVOIR SIDE OF THE DAM DONE!! *Kind of looks like a face doesn't it?😁😁 So, the overflow pipes are installed permanently now with mortar. There will be one more short layer of stones

WHY IS THE HIVE CHAIN SUCH A COOL TOOL FOR HOMESTEADERS? Well there are probably an infinite amount of answers for that question, I'm going to cover a few that hit close to home for me. A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE

FIRST THINGS FIRST *Reservoir side of the dam. I've veen busy with throwing stones at the dam with the excitement of the first stage of the process being done, that of the reservoir side of the dam wall

SOME GOOD PROGRESS So, after all the great fun that was our community slip 'n' slide....it was time to get back to business on constructing the dam. I'll start off by showing you the other wing footing