Assembling the Leader Evaporator Half Pint - Part 1 of 4

This year our plan is to put 100 taps in 100 trees.  By Leader Evaporator's account, in their on-line catalog, processing the sap that is produced by those 100 taps may be a bit of a stretch with the Half Pint.  My supplier assures me that they have at least one customer managing 100 taps with the Half Pint, and with the Flat Pan at that, while we chose the newly introduced Supreme Pan for increased capacity and efficiency.  We shall see.

Leader's Hobby Evaporator Buying Guide (accessed on-line 08 Feb 2016)

On a good day, of which we have had several in each of the past two seasons, we will collect two gallons from at least some of our taps.  If we assume half of the 100 taps flow 2 gallons on that hypothetical high-flow day, and the other half flow 1 gallon, we would need to process 150 gallons of sap, preferably on that same day.  The Leader sales rep told me that they assume a 9 hour day for evaporation, so worst case we might have to work a very long day to make syrup of the entire 150 gallons, or perhaps we would extend evaporation into the next day.

Half Pint unloaded on to 2 pallets in the garage

I picked up the Half Pint on 14 January; it fit nicely, if with very little room to spare, on a pallet in the back of a Honda Pilot.  Sugar Bush Supplies Co. had it palletized and ready to go, and after measuring twice, they loaded it into the Pilot using a fork truck.  

The story of its assembly and the "first boil" will be split into four parts, Part 1 being assembly of the structure of the evaporator; the bottom, sides, back, front, legs, corner brackets, grate rails, and grate.  

Part 2 will include assembly of the boiling and reservoir pans, and installation of the fire brick.  

Part 3 will be the installation and leveling of the evaporator in the "sugar house."

And finally, Part 4 will document the first boil.  I anticipate that the installation of the fire brick will be the most challenging for me; bolting stuff together I can do, masonry of any sort is not something I have done a lot of.  Also, the refractory cement is supposed to dry at "room temperature" (65 F), which may prove challenging in our unheated garage.  Of course that is part of the allure of this adventure, a life of learning something new every day.

Starting with what was on that pallet that I picked up, the first things you might notice in the picture are the fire brick, and just behind the brick are three 3 foot sections of 6 inch diameter stove pipe, and a 90 degree elbow.  The roll of white material resting on the stove pipe is actually a part of the sugar house, not the evaporator.  Beyond the stove pipe you see some cardboard boxes (Half Pint Arch Parts List):

Cardboard Box A contained the heavy iron and hardware, including the legs for the evaporator, the grate rails, the grate, and the nuts and bolts. The nuts and bolts are all 1/4"(diameter)  x 20 (threads per inch), which is nice, however three-quarter inch and half inch length screws are all packaged in the same Ziploc bag. This has the potential of leading to a mix-up during assembly.  Been there done that of course, and it invariably leads to the need for significant disassembly and reassembly!  I sorted the 1/2" from the 3/4" before starting work.  Box A also contained the corner brackets and the Instruction Manual (link), which is commendably comprehensive and well-illustrated.

Cardboard Box B contained the sheet metal; front, back, bottom and sides, the so-called "draft latch," and the draft latch nut and bolt.

Two other boxes contained the "boiling pan" and the "reservoir pan," and the box that has "Standstrait" printed on it contained the draw-off valves and thermometers for the boiling pan, plus the "rail gasket," which goes between the arch and the boiling pan.  The white plastic pail contains the refractory cement, for attaching the fire bricks to the inside of the arch and to each other.  All parts arrived in good condition.

Steps 1-4 complete

Step 1 of assembly loosely attached the left and right sides of the arch (think of the arch as the fire box) to the bottom.

Step 2 of assembly called for raising the arch up approximately 8 inches from the working surface; I used four stacks of three full firebricks to serve this purpose.  Four 8 inch tall concrete blocks would also suffice.  The fire brick was at hand, because it is required for evaporator assembly. 

Steps 3-4 mount the legs.

Step 5-6 complete, step 8-9
in progress

Steps 5 and 6 mount the front and back panels.

Step 8 squares up the assembly and tightens bolts in the corners (the instructions called for a carpenter's square, a speed square worked just as well)

Step 9 ensures all remaining bolts are tightened

(L) Grate rails installed, (R) grate installed on rails

Step 10 is installation of the grate rail

Step 13 installs the grate assembly.

Draft door latch installed

Step 12 was to install the draft door latch, which will be used to control air flow to the fire box

I allowed 4 hours for the assembly; that included some garage clean-up before starting work, and it included the time necessary to make the photographs and document any process issues that arose.  And, in there somewhere was a break for some homemade pumpkin soup courtesy of Geri.  I estimate the process of assembly took 2 of the 4 hours.

A safety note:  Cut edges of sheet metal can be sharp; I just urge caution, avoid cutting yourself.  There are also some knuckle-banging opportunities when tightening the nuts.

To this point the work has been straightforward.  The holes in the sheet metal panels were well positioned to pull the panels into good alignment; I did not have to do any work to get the fasteners to fit through the holes.  Tools required included a 7/16 inch socket / wrench, a Phillips-head screwdriver, three C-clamps, and a speed square or carpenter's square.  Safety equipment included a pair of leather gloves to prevent the cuts and knuckle-banging previously mentioned.

The assembled arch structure, less the grate rails and grate

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-- John, 09 February 2016

Life's Work

It seems like it has been forever since I posted, or was it yesterday?  To say that we have been caught up in something of a whirlwind is probably an understatement.  Just 4 days after my last post, on 24 September 2015, my now former employer made a public release, "BUILDING FOR A STRONGER FUTURE, CATERPILLAR ANNOUNCES RESTRUCTURING AND COST REDUCTION PLANS."  Some of us have felt that tightening in the gut that follows showing up at the job only to find out that your badge does not work!  Typically the cause has nothing to do with an end to employment, rather it is a system malfunction of some sort, or you kept your badge to close to your cell phone, or another of the innumerable and perfectly innocuous possible causes.  Am I a part of the "stronger future,"  or am I a part of "cost reduction?"  Warranted or no, the guts tighten up a bit until the matter is resolved, or at least understood.  So it was on the morning of 24 September.

Fortunately, this time, we were ready.  And, that had more than a little to do with what we have been up to on the homestead since about six months before I wrote my first blog post on 18 February 2014, "Spring 2013, In the Beginning..."  It is not that we all of sudden had made the homestead productive enough to meet our needs entirely, or that we are even approaching self-sufficiency.  Rather, I would say the biggest change has been in our heads, or perhaps more accurately, in my head.  It took some time, the better part of a month, to sort through the what and how of the "restructuring and cost reduction," and to fully understand the impact on us.  Still, it must be said, after learning that my age cohort was part of the plans for "cost reduction" as opposed to the "stronger future," I did not for a moment consider staying at Caterpillar, nor did I consider looking for another employer.  Caterpillar had put together a package of incentives to encourage some folks, several thousand in the United States alone, including me, to leave the company voluntarily.  That was the carrot.  The stick was that there would be involuntary layoffs following the voluntary departures, to achieve the cost reduction targets.  It seemed like a no-brainer.

Within about three weeks all of the details had become clear, or at least clear enough, and on 13 Oct I applied for the package, which led to my "retirement" from Caterpillar on 31 December 2015.  The word "retirement" is used loosely here, because I will receive no retirement benefits, no medical, no "defined benefit" retirement income; nothing of the sort.  Like a lot of people, I was an "at will ¹" employee, and portable; by portable I mean that my retirement accounts could be taken with me from employer to employer, or be rolled over into an IRA, and that there was no promise that at some point in the future I would qualify for defined retirement income.  Beyond that, I cannot even imagine what retirement looks like at this stage of the game; I am too young, and there is too much left to do.  So, the decision having been made, then what was left a myriad of details that required my attention to put the decision into effect.  The details were sorted, and all required paperwork was completed before we left for Christmas vacation, on 19 December.  At that point, for all intents and purposes, I was done with Caterpillar, and God willing and the creek don't rise, done working for "the man."

As to Caterpillar as a company, to quote Richard Nixon, "let me just say this about that;"  Caterpillar is a great company, with rock solid leadership, that came into my life at a time when I was in desperate need of some stability.  My leaders worked with me and offered a flexibility in working hours that served me greatly, and that I would have found difficult to replicate elsewhere.  I met and was surrounded by great people, and I will cherish the friendships that were built over the years.  The "restructuring and cost reduction" was handled professionally, and the company was as generous as I could have realistically hoped for; it was a blessing in disguise, and again the timing could hardly have been more perfect.  I have no complaints.

So, what next?  I will start with where we are right now, and then go back to how we got to here from there.  Geri and I are starting a business, which will be comprised of three subsidiaries.  The name of the parent business is "Primal Woods."

Primal Woods and subsidiaries

The "Sawyers" business will start as a portable sawmill services business.  Basically this means that the mill will be taken to customers who have logs, and the logs will be milled at the customer location.  As I have learned first hand, moving big logs around requires heavy equipment, and it is expensive relatively speaking, especially if the quantity is small. Customers can be, but are not limited to, farmers, artisans, tree service companies, etc.  Eventually I expect this business to incorporate a stationary mill, kiln drying, and planing services.  In keeping with Permaculture principles though, specifically "use small and slow solutions ²," we will start small, and learn.  I have apprenticed with another local sawyer, Jim Hoover of Hoover's Mill, and I spent a full day with Jim Birkemeier at Timber Green Forestry in Spring Green, WI. (Also, have a look at Spring Green Timber Growers Store, and their store on Etsy, https://www.etsy.com/shop/TimberGreenWoods.)  Jim is a wealth of information; in the Wood-Mizer "2014 Business Best" competition, Jim and his team won 1st Place in the Hydraulic Sawmills category. Timber Green Forestry has also won awards as a family and sustainable business from the state of Wisconsin.  Training is great, and necessary; still, the learning curve will be steep.

Wood-Mizer LT40 Hydraulic

My tool of choice for the sawyer business is a Wood-Mizer LT40HDG35 Hydraulic; it is probably safe to say that this is the industry standard, and Wood-Mizer invented the portable sawmill in 1982.  The mill includes several optional features, and is powered by a 35 hp Kohler engine.  I will be picking it up in early March.

The "Sugarers" business will start by producing Pure Maple Syrup; there are other maple products, including maple sugar and other confections, and as with the Sawyers business we will start small and learn.  In the spring of 2016 we will put taps in 100 trees, which by rule of thumb, one quart per tap, should yield about 400 cups of syrup.  The plan is to scale up year by year, to 1,000 taps for the spring of 2019.  We have hobbied at maple syruping the past two years, starting with 13 taps in 2014 and 19 taps in 2015.  We are self-taught, of course we have taken full advantage of books, on-line resources on the subject and seminars.  You can check out previous posts on the subject at http://swmichiganhomestead.blogspot.com/search/label/maple%20syrup.

Leader Half Pint

The tool of choice for making syrup in year one of the ramp-up, and potentially in year two, is the Leader Half-Pint with the "Supreme" pan.  This is a wood-fired evaporator.  Leader now makes an extension kit for the Half Pint, which is why I say that it might take us through year two of the ramp-up to 1,000 taps.  Also, the "Supreme" pan, not shown, increases capacity significantly from the advertised 15-50 taps.

And finally, the "Soapers" business.  This will start small and simple, as with the others, and include a line of men's soap products, including bar soap, liquid soap, and shaving soap.  Perhaps others.  When I say that these soaps will be made "from scratch," I mean it, we will even be producing our own lye.  They will be naturally scent free, which the hunters among us will enjoy.  Of the three businesses, this one is the least capital intensive, and frankly, the least well-defined at this point.  Geri and I took a course in soap-making at Tillers International, which by the way, is a real gift to homesteaders and DIY'ers.  Tillers is also an organization that does good; I highly recommend exploring what they have to offer, especially if you live within a few hours of Scotts, MI, which is just southeast of Kalamazoo.  Accommodations are available on-site, so you can stay overnight, as I did for the Blacksmithing I course.  In what may be a sign of things to come, I am currently signed up for the Draft Animal Logging course in 2016.

Primal Woods is a vehicle of sorts, a vehicle for achieving "The Purpose."  The Purpose is something that Geri and I developed before Caterpillar made its announcement.  Future businesses were in mind even at that point, which was after two years on the property, in June of 2015.  Admittedly, "The Purpose" is aspirational, and that is okay; it is what we will hold ourselves accountable to, and it is the framework inside which we are making our decisions.

The Purpose

So, how did we get here from there, "there" being 30-plus years on the corporate ladder, leading the stereotypical "American dream" more or less, and yet being unfulfilled in work?  (I am speaking for myself now, not necessarily for Geri.)  For the most part, I suppose I have followed my gut throughout my career, and I do not have regrets in that regard, I would not otherwise have had the opportunity to acquire the homestead property.  Opportunities presented themselves and I took advantage.  The only exception to following my gut was my employment with Caterpillar; I took that on for family-related reasons.  By then I knew that long term, big companies and I were not a perfect fit.

Then in 2012-2013, Geri and I went to visit friends Jim & Bobbie Sauter in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan.  Almost immediately I began looking for what I envisioned as a vacation and retirement property, and specifically I began looking for property in the U.P.  Pretty soon though it became clear, that at 6.5 or 7 hours from our home in Illinois, the U.P. was something that we would not be able to take full advantage of while I was still working.  I refined our search parameters, with Geri's agreement, to include only areas within 2-4 hours by car of our then home base, Naperville, IL.  I ruled out Illinois, simply because it is a fiscal disaster area, in my opinion, and sooner or later that will come home to roost in a bad way, on its residents.  It has already come home to roost on those that are dependent on government services, the disabled for example.  Ruling out Illinois left southern Wisconsin, eastern Iowa, northeast Missouri, north and west Indiana, and southwest Michigan.  It did not take long before we focused the search in southwest Michigan, because there is an abundance of water in that area, and one of our criteria was that we be on water, and preferably a lake.  (If you are interested in undertaking such a search, I highly recommend landandfarm.com.)  Geri and I went back and forth over the course of a couple of months, and had it narrowed down to six or eight properties before I contacted a real estate agent.  He then added a couple more, and in the spring of 2013, we drove over to South Haven, MI, and  on a Saturday looked at 10 properties.  The homestead was number six on that list, and as soon as we left the property I told Geri that it would be ours.  I was looking for raw land, perhaps developed, but not built out.  Geri on the other hand was looking for a 2nd home.  I insisted that we not take on a 2nd 1st mortgage, that is a 1st mortgage in addition to the Naperville home.  Needless to say, we ended up with a 2nd 1st mortgage, and I could not be happier!

We closed on the homestead property in July 2013, and at that point, from pretty much the first day, a switch flipped in my mind, and the pull towards the property, and the life, only became stronger and stronger over the course of the ensuing two plus years to date.  Less than 12 months later we sold the Naperville property, a home that Geri had put her indelible stamp on, and a home that we loved dearly.  In my adult life I have moved often, this time was different.  Having spent 9 years in Naperville, and it our home there, it has been an emotional departure.

I remember the first weekend we had guests to the homestead, this was maybe two weeks after we closed the deal, and we discussed buying firewood.  Even then I just about came unhinged; there was no way that I was going to buy firewood while sitting on 69 acres of woods.  It wasn't long after, a few months at most, and Geri desired hardwood floors.  Well, we still do not have them, but when we do they will be felled, milled, kiln dried, planed, installed, and finished, by us, beginning with Sugar Maples from our woods.  It does not get better than that.  As I was investigating this process though, we had the maples (and beech for that matter, and red oak), I knew that much, and I began to research the "how" of getting those maples on our floor; this led to an awareness of the portable sawmill service, and ultimately, to the decision to take on a portable sawmill service as a business.  At first I only thought of getting a low-end used sawmill to mill our logs for the floor, to be used infrequently, but one thing led to another and here we are.

As for maple sugaring, frankly I do not know what prompted us to tap trees that first spring.  I think it probably had something to do with the study of Permaculture, with its heavy emphasis on tree crops. What an amazing time we have had making maple syrup in our first two springs.  I read something in recent days, I do not have a citation at hand, but the article was about a farm, and the owner drew a distinction between "commodity farming," and "community farming."  Maple sugaring has been a community-builder for us, and as Primal Woods Sugarers, the business will build community; that is in keeping with "The Purpose."

And finally, as "soapers."  We took the class, yes, but that does not explain it.  It was actually Geri's idea to take the class, and she asked me to tag along.  We had an interest in our health, and in not bathing ourselves in a bunch of chemicals, which frankly is what most modern day soaps are.  Modern day soaps are mostly not soap at all.  What then is the connection between sawyers and sugarers and soapers?  It is all about the woods, and the wood.  Obviously the Sugar Maples can be felled, more likely they just fall in the woods, and we harvest them for wood products.  Equally as obvious perhaps, the Sugar Maples can be tapped, resulting in maple syrup.  Perhaps not as obvious is the connection between the first two and soaping.  And again, do not bother to ask how the connection was made, because I do not know; it is amazing how the mind works when you have a burning desire to do or be something, connections appear where none were apparent before.  The connection is in the lye used in soap-making.  Today lye is made in factories, and is sodium hydroxide, NaOH.  "Back in the day" however, as early as when soap was discovered, and subsequently when soap was made in colonial days, the lye used in soaps was potassium hydroxide, KOH.  Guess where that comes from?  That comes by leaching water through hardwood ashes if you can believe it; hardwood ashes being a waste product of both heating our home, and firing the maple sap evaporator.  Waste not, want not.

So there you have it, we have come full circle, and in doing so used waste from the sawmill (cants, waste from the milling process) to fire the evaporator, and waste from the evaporator (ash) to make lye, to use in the making of soap.  'Tis a beautiful thing.

Nothing is certain of course.  Failure is indeed an option.  But I know we are on the path.  It might not look exactly like what is in my mind's eye, and I'm okay with that, even if it does bring on some anxiety.

Your comments and criticisms, your inputs and acknowledgements, are welcomed, and will help me to improve my posts.  Please "follow" the blog.

-- John & Geri, 22 January 2016


¹ At-will employment is a term used in U.S. labor law for contractual relationships in which an employee can be dismissed by an employer for any reason (that is, without having to establish "just cause" for termination), and without warning.
Wikipedia contributors, "At-will employment," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=At-will_employment&oldid=692592146 (accessed January 21, 2016).

² Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems. The term permaculture (as a systematic method) was first coined by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1978.
Wikipedia contributors, "Permaculture," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Permaculture&oldid=693698358 (accessed January 21, 2016).

Lessons from A Beginner in the Field

Or the woods, as the case may be.  It was an interesting sit between two big beech trees yesterday.  First, well before light still, I heard a branch come crashing down, I think it landed less than 10 feet behind me and a bit to my left. (Later investigation showed it to be less than 6 feet, the branch 4 inches in diameter.)  I instinctively moved, quickly, to the right around the trunk of the tree my back was against.  Scary.  Widow-maker.  Lesson Learned:  In your scouting for a location from which to hunt, check for widow-makers, be that a ground or tree stand location.  The chances of being hit are small, the consequences large.

I was sitting with my back against the tree to the left

Then, after first light, I heard what sounded like baseballs dropping through the canopy, dropping through the leaves and branches, and hitting the ground with heavy, distinctive thuds.  "That would hurt," I said to myself!  I actually thought seriously about getting one of those hard hat shells that goes under a baseball cap, and Geri mentioned the same when I told her the story later.  I thought this was interesting because I did not hear any of it before sunrise, then, I heard maybe 10 or 20 fall over the course of 30 minutes or so, then nothing.  It had rained an inch the day before and into early hours, and an inch and a half the day before that.  There was a lot of water in the canopy, and under the trees it seemed like it was still raining as I sat.  At the time I believed that they might be black walnuts, that was all I could think of that made any sense, and I saw a relatively dark trunk (compared to the dominant sugar maples and beeches) maybe 20-25 yards in front of me; they are called black walnut trees for a reason.  I also looked this over during my "later investigation," and sho' nuf, there was a big black walnut tree and walnuts littering the forest floor.  Lesson Learned: Do not set your dumb ass under mature black walnut trees in the fall!

A black walnut falls from 80 feet onto your noggin and it is going to hurt,
and raise a lump; hopefully nothing worse

Fall  turkey season opened on the 15th of September; in Michigan in fall you can take either male or female, one per license, whereas in the spring you can only take the male of the species, I presume because it is mating season.  Note:  "After mating, the female turkey prepares a nest under a bush in the woods and lays her eggs. She will lay one egg each day until she has a complete clutch of about 8 to 16 eggs. The eggs are tan and speckled brown eggs. It takes about 28 days for the chicks to hatch. After hatching, the babies will flock with their mother all year."  That from no more an authoritative source than Vegan Peace, at http://www.veganpeace.com/animal_facts/Turkeys.htm  And no, I am not a vegan!  A male turkey is called a tom or a gobbler, a female turkey a hen, and a baby turkey a poult or chick. A young male turkey is called a jake and a young female is called a jenny.

I have seen turkeys as I sat this weekend, this time of year the hens tend to stick with other hens, and the toms with toms.  I am still waiting for that long-beard to come or be coaxed within range.

The first day of fall is the 23rd of September, and deer season opens 1 October.  Hopes are high.

All for now, and thanks in advance for your commentary.

-- John 20 September 2015

Starcraft 11 ' 6" Boat Refurbishment - Part I, Seats

After turning it right-side up, just before towing it

This is part one of a multi-part effort to return this boat to life.  It was last licensed in 1999, I found it upside down in about a foot of water.  No telling how long it had been there.  I was able to float it out; there is a lot to be said for aluminum.  One seat, and the wood on both sides of the transom, were almost completely rotted away, the wood on the two remaining seats was heavily damaged.  There is a lot of work to do, and, I will start with the seats.

I had already removed the seats from the boat, and we power washed the boat and seat boxes yesterday at the local car wash.

Step one was to use a wire brush on my drill to remove surface rust from the galvanized sheet metal box that provides structural support to the seat, and protects the Styrofoam flotation located under the seat.

Step two was to disassemble the galvanized sheet metal box to allow access to blind nuts that with machine screws hold the wood seat to the box. This required the removal of 10 pop rivets, which I did using a one quarter inch drill bit on my drill. 

Before wiring brushing

Before pop rivet removal

Pop rivets removed

The flotation Styrofoam is 33 3/4 inches long by 10 inches wide by 6 inches high.  So,  33 3/4 in. x 10 in. x 6 in. = 2025 cu. in. per float, we know we have two floats, and we know there are 231 cubic inches per gallon, and that a displaced gallon of water weights 8.33 lbs.  Therefore, ((2025 cu. in. / float x 2 floats) / 231 cu. in. / gallon) x 8.33 lbs. / gallon = 146 lbs of flotation; more than enough to float the boat, even if it is holed in a bad way.

Visually the seat is slightly wider at the front than at the back, maybe a quarter of an inch overall. Measuring the length of the installed seat, that is the width as installed in the boat, it is 46 7/8 inches at its fore-aft midpoint, on its top surface. On its bottom surface the width is 46 3/8 inches. So, there is a taper of 1/2 inch in the overall width, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom of the seat; this is to accommodate the narrowing of the hull. This will slightly complicate cutting the seat to fit. The width of the seat, that is the four to aft dimension as installed in the boat, is 11 3/8 inches.

Ready to remove rails from seats

The condition of the galvanized coating inside the box is good. I will not disturb that. On the bottom horizontal surface of the box, the surface facing the hull of the boat, there was significant surface rust. I will remove that with the wire wheel, and paint the box.

Disassembly complete

Step three was the removal of the "angle iron" rails from the bottom side of the wooden seat. This required a flathead screwdriver, impact drill, and 3/8 inch socket. (These rails are then pop riveted to the three-sided galvanized sheet metal box that holds the Styrofoam, the seat then forming the top of the box.) Turns out, these lengths of angle iron are aluminum. I find that a curious choice, since the boxes are galvanized sheet metal. 

As step four, I decided to finish preparing for paint and painting the seat boxes. This involved more wire brushing, cleaning with a spray cleaner, and then wiping down the boxes with paint thinner. The paint is oil based.  Battleship gray, what else. Damn that looks good! You can see the reflection of the paint can!

That's it for today. On to another project while the paint dries.

A Calling

This post is along the same lines as my first, from back in February of 2014, titled "Spring 2013: In the Beginning..."  Focused on introspection, what's going on inside, as opposed to the "how" of this or that.  Like all of us, consciously or not, I have been on something of a personal development journey, and the past 6 years or so, with Geri's huge impact on my life, the speed of development has increased dramatically, and we have been on the journey together.  <Now some might say, "what personal development?"  Ha!  Well, if that is you, I will just remind you that there is this blind spot we all have, called "what I don't know that I don't know."  And in this case you should thank God for that!>  As we have eliminated a lot of the noise from our lives, attracted the positive and eliminated the negative, systematically, and with intention, we have been able to feel and hear ourselves with increased sensitivity, it seems to me.  The most recent example of this for me, was Facebook.  It just had to stop, so for those of you wondering about my silence, there you have it.  The homestead Facebook page is still being maintained, but I have not been on my personal page in several weeks.  It has made a huge difference; I have a lot more stillness in my life.  That is not saying anything bad about Facebook, and there are certainly great aspects of the experience, which I miss, but for me it became just another addiction, and I invested more time and energy in it than I should have.  The point is, after eliminating a lot of modern day distractions, TV being the first several years ago, the resulting quiet is gorgeous.  In the space left behind is the work, and a state of more heightened awareness of ourselves is a key benefit of "doing the work," as Geri likes to say, on ourselves and our relationships.

Of course, there is no end to this progression, hopefully, there is always another of life's challenges to surmount, another rough edge on our personality to be removed, another "3rd rail" issue to be addressed in a relationship, and so on.  I would not have it any other way.  I take some comfort in understanding that this is in large part, how the wise became wise, the empathetic empathetic, the compassionate just that, and so on.  At least that is my belief.  There is a method to it all.  Painful as it might be on occasion.

Two years ago, traveling along this path resulted in our acquisition of the "Southwest Michigan Homestead;"  a name I have been trying to replace since before it even came about!  And almost since day one, the pull to the property has become stronger and stronger.  Now I have come to think of it as a "calling."  I am being called to live from the property.  Doing what I am not quite sure.  We will figure it out on the way.  The call is becoming practically irresistible.

To that end, I have been bouncing some homestead-related business ideas around with Geri, and a few others.  As a guy with his corporate stripes firmly in place, I started thinking of a "vision" for the business.  Describing its future in some way.  What will it look like?  What will it produce, or how will it serve customers?  I did not get far.  I thought not of a single bigger business, but more of a collection of related "boutique" businesses, and really I only had one or two of those in mind.  I would not be going into business for its own sake; there is no "calling" to a particular line of work, at least not that I have heard, yet.  Then it came to me that, well, the business is really more of a vehicle for a achieving a mission, or a "purpose," and that the cart should be put behind the horse, by developing the purpose of the business(es) first.  I tend to stitch together "new" ideas synthetically, which is to say, from other ideas; "The Purpose" is no exception.  Beginning with a variety of source materials that have rung true with me over the years.  The Purpose is really about who Geri and I want to be personally, as a members of the community, and in our "life's work."  This is what we are up to.  It is unquestionably "aspirational" in my case.

This is all clearly a work in progress.  We have some fairly firm, and I like to think good, ideas about how to make maple syrup our first boutique business.  The maple sugaring business is definitely part-time and seasonal at its current scale.  To support starting that business quickly with the 2016 harvest, we will need to begin laying the foundations now.  It is an exciting time, and a little scary to be sure.

-- John, 22 June 2015

p.s. I read quite a bit; perhaps what is below will be a new section of my posts

Books recently read in whole or in part:

 

Book being read:



Books on the pile:

 

Of Birds, Bees and Apple Trees

It has been an active spring season on the homestead, and this post is the resulting "grab bag" of topics.  Last year I had made a commitment to myself to put up a couple of nest boxes, in hopes of convincing a pair of tree nesting ducks to stay, as opposed to passing through on migration as they did last year.  Perhaps it was a bit too late, but I did in fact build and install two nest boxes.

Everything I purchased for the project is pictured (L); 12 feet of 1 in. x 10 in.
cedar board, cut in half at the lumber yard, a roll 25 foot roll of 2 foot wide
aluminum flashing, and a box of 50 stainless steel deck screws; the
instructions are from Ducks Unlimited.  In the second picture (R) the boards
have been cut to length using the Skillsaw.  Not pictured are a few roofing
nails for attaching the flashing to the tree, two big nails for mounting the box,
and some 1/2 in. hardware cloth, all of which I had on hand.

As projects go, this one is simple and easy.  Simple in that the design of the box is simple, and in that little material and few tools are required.  Once I had the materials and tools assembled, it probably took me less than three hours to build and install both boxes; most of that time was spent building the first box.

Of course much tree duck habitat has been removed to make way for development or agriculture, but the biggest reason for providing nest boxes is to protect the ducklings from predators.  One study I read [1] put duckling survival rates at about 35%.  "Of the total number of ducklings produced, about 65% (11 l/171) were lost and over 68% (76/l 11) of all duckling mortality resulted from the loss of entire broods."  The loss of entire broods was attributed solely to predation, specifically to mink predation.  Yes, this study looked at Mallard ducklings, which nest on the ground, not tree ducks.

Left (L) image shows hardware cloth that allows ducklings to climb to the
entrance, and the 4-1/2 in. wide by 3-1/2 inch tall entrance hole. The image on
the right (R) shows the box mounted on a maple tree, with the predator guard
in place below the box.

A second study [2], this one of Wood Ducks, indicated that the "overall survival of ducklings only ranged from 15-28%," though this study was made in Mississippi, so it too is perhaps a bit "weak" as an indicator of duckling survival rates in Michigan.  Later in the paper: "By now, you are probably wondering what was responsible for the relatively low survival of ducklings? The answer was PREDATION!"  From my point of view it seems safe to say that duckling mortality is high, something close to 65% - 70%, and that protection from predators can improve the survival rate.

Another first this spring was grafting.  The cleared area around the house has on its perimeter approximately 25 crab apple trees, which are well established and date, I am guessing, to the early 70's when the house was built.

Left to Right, cutting through the outer and inner bark to the cambium
layer (L); the bark has been "slipped" at the cambium layer and the prepared
scion inserted (C); and finally the wound has been protected with grafting
compound and the branch wrapped with grafting tape (R)

The deer love the crab apples, though the same cannot be said by any humans I know.  Fruit trees have been a part of the plan since the earliest days, and grafting apple scion onto established root stock is one of the quickest ways to a harvest of eating-apples; 2-3 years or so.  I used Tanglefoot 300000529 1-Pint Tree Wound Pruning Sealer and Grafting Compound and Parafilm® Grafting Tape (Genuine by Parafilm®) 90' Roll Clear (1" - One Inch).  I chose Honeycrisp and Winesap apple varieties for this experiment, and am now putting a frequent eye on the scion for growth; it felt right, but we shall see. <Leafing out of some scion was seen on 16 May and growth continues.>

And finally, on the "sad news" front, there is the condition of our sole remaining colony of bees.  When the temperatures were peaking at over 50 degrees F in mid-April, and no bees were flying, I decided to go into the hive.  What I found was certainly not what I had been hoping for all winter.

A mouse or a vole had taken up residence in the hive.

Dead bees preserved in time at the top of the hive.  There was

no honey in the hive; they either starved or were chilled,

or more likely some combination of the two.

It was a complete mess, as the picture at left attests.  Some sort of small rodent had taken up residence, and of course destroyed most of the comb in the process.  Even in the comb that was still intact, there was no honey.  I am not a specialist in failed hive forensics, but I believe the colony had failed and all of the bees had died before the squatter showed up to stay.  In the first part of June last year, with only two boxes on the hive since installation of the colony in mid-April, I checked to see how much comb the colony had built out.  Sure enough, they had built comb all the way to the bottom of the lower box; I felt lucky to have been just in time in adding boxes to make more room before the colony swarmed.  This was documented in the 18 June 2014 post entitled, "Late Spring Update from the Homestead, Part III, Beekeeping."  As I took the hive apart this spring though, it was perfectly clear that the bees had built no additional comb in boxes three or four, none, since the end of the first week of June.  What happened I do not know.  Is this what "colony collapse disorder" looks like?  I cannot speak to that.  Regardless of the reason why, I do not think that two boxes would hold enough food stores to get the colony through the long Michigan winter.

I went 0 for 3 in 2014; three colonies installed, zero survived to spring of 2015.  The list of mistakes I made at colony install in 2014 is long.  In mid-May of 2015 I installed two new colonies, and benefiting from the failure documented here, and from additional research, it seems we are enjoying at least more early success than last year.

More will be posted on the 2015 grafting and bee installation in a future post.

Thank you for reading and commenting on the blog.  Your comments and criticisms, your inputs and acknowledgements, are welcomed, and will help me to improve my posts.

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-- John, 29 May 2015

[1] "Survival of Mallard Broods in South-Central North Dakota," http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=usgsnpwrc, accessed 24 April, 2015
[2] "Wood Duck Broods in Dixie:  Striving to Survive Early Life," http://www.fwrc.msstate.edu/pubs/ducklings.pdf, accessed 24 April, 2015

It is Tapping Time, And That Means Spring!

Here we go, in southwest Michigan!  The 10-day forecast includes what appears to be an almost picture perfect start to the maple sugaring season.

10-day weather forecast for Kalamazoo, Michigan

Starting on Saturday, 7 March, you can see that the daily high and low temperatures will bracket the freezing point for six days in a row; that dynamic is what causes maple trees to develop a positive pressure when the temperature rises above freezing, pushing sap out of the tree.  I will plan to tap at least some of our trees on the morning of Saturday 7 March, and I would bet that they will start flowing that afternoon.

A call to the Kalamazoo Nature Center revealed that as part of previously scheduled public events, they have already tapped their maple trees.  Based on what I have seen the weather doing in recent weeks, we have not missed much, if any, of the season.

This year we are planning to scale up the operation, from 13 taps to 20 taps, still a small operation by most measurements.  For more information on the process you can read my previous posts on the subject:

Very Early Spring 2014 - Tapping the Sugar Maples!
Very Early Spring 2014 - Sugaring! Part II of Tapping the Sugar Maples!

For those of you in southwest Michigan, you might want to check out Dodd's Sugar Shack in Niles (no web presence), call Don at 269-683-3283; they have some new and used equipment available.  Or try Sugar Bush Supply Co. in Mason, MI, at 517-349-5185.  You can also find equipment on eBay, in fact I just found 10 used buckets with lids and spiles there, at a very good price.

There are all sorts of ways to get started inexpensively, using materials you might have around you, like wire, piping (PVC, PEX, copper, etc.), and empty milk jugs, for example.  The most commonly tapped maples are Sugar, Black, Red and Silver, according to Tap My Trees.  Get out there and have some fun on a small scale; you will not regret it!

Thanks for reading, and keep us posted on your progress!

-- John, 03 March 2015