The Lord has blessed us with gorgeous weather so far this spring! It has given us a great chance to get some projects done outdoors, and I thought I would share a few pictures with you. Above is our milk cow and a few of our laying hens in the pasture. The hens are doing a good job of keeping the cow patties scratched apart and all the bugs and grain picked out. Our cow is named ‘Ducklegs’, after the milk cow in one of the Ralph Moody books our family enjoys. She is currently giving somewhere upwards of two gallons a day with one milking and a calf nursing. We normally milk her in the morning and let the calf have the evening milk before we separate him.
This is my little eight month old son Enoch, enjoying a beautiful spring day in our front yard. He is growing up fast and is such a blessing to our family. Lately he has really started to crawl. In the background you can see my parents house across the way. It is such a blessing to live near extended family. Not that relationships don’t still take work, but the benefits of living in close proximity far outweigh the difficulties.
A few weeks ago we had a neighbor come and clear some cut-over land we have with a large mulching machine. These machines are incredible and he cleared 10-15 acres in 16 hours! Before the brush was so thick you could barely even walk though it. We hope to turn the area cleared into more pasture and cropland. The benefit of the mulcher was not only in speed, but also in the fact that it didn’t push off the topsoil and left a mulch on the ground that prevents erosion and adds to the soil. Already native grasses are coming up in the field. What a blessing to have such a machine right down the road from us. I believe it is only one of two in the state!
We also have been working on fencing in our first large (seven acre) pasture and are almost complete. My prayer is that this fence helps keep out predators that eat our chickens as well as providing a perimeter fence for grazing animals like sheep.
Some farmers that I am acquainted with build fence professionally and were kind enough to give me advice since this was my first real fence job. Above is the type of corner brace they recommended (over the traditional ‘H’ brace). The diagonal brace must be 2.5 times the height of the fence or it won’t hold up. Since our fence is 48″, the diagonals are ten feet long. They are cut at an angle and nailed to the corner post. The other end sets on a rock or concrete paver or scrap, and a piece of high tensile wire is wrapped twice around the end of the brace and the bottom of the post. Tighten with a permanent strainer, making sure you slip in a few staples to keep the wire from cutting into the wood, and you’re done!
I always thought that you stretched a fence from the end and stapled it, but my friends informed my that the best way to stretch it was in the middle. Like how?! They explained that you attach the wire to the posts at each end first. Then you attach the fence stretchers pictured above (and I guess you could make some that would work from 2×4’s) and pull them together with two come-alongs, one on the top and bottom. After tightening the fence with the come-alongs, you cut out the slack between the two stretchers and splice the wire together before taking them off. Voila! Super tight fence. The real benefit was the fact that when you are working with hills (like we are) you can even tighten and splice the fence together at an angle to compensate for slack on the top or bottom.
Our friends are also fence dealers, and we decided to invest in high-quality, fixed-knot fencing.
And last of all, here is my brother riding one of our pigs. She got out yesterday and was amiably wandering around. My brother went up and she let him try to ride her, but mainly just stood there. They eventually got her to wander back up near to the pen so they could get her back in.
Well, I have got to go and prepare some ground for planting. May the Lord bless your sowing during this seedtime.
“A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.” Proverbs 20:4
HI there, we are a group of 7 families in a home fellowship and last year we all bought land together to divide and continue our urban permaculture which the town has shut down. We are autonomous families who are also living Christ out in a more sharing and natural way. This summer we’re doing more timber framing, clay/straw, and excavating for planting . We’re located near Lethbridge,Alberta and we’re pioneering. Our first priority is not permaculture but Christ and He has been transforming everything we do. We ‘d also like to find more likeminded fellowship for some of us who are single. If you know of people and families who would be interested in visiting please pass on our name. In Christ, Celina and Dirk
Hello there Dirk and Celina, I know this isn’t my blog but I read Noah’s blog regularly and came across your comment above. That is fascinating that your group of fellowship has been able to buy and move onto land together as a Christian Community. I would love to learn more about your community as my family and church community have talked about doing the same type of thing for sometime now but God has not permitted us to put it into action as of now. I live in Alabama which is a very long way, over 2,000 miles, from where you are in Canada but I love hearing of like minded people and learning their stories of God’s workings in their lives. I don’t know if visiting would be practicable for a very long time but I would like to learn more about your community. If you could tell me some about your story I would love to hear about it. My blog is http://generationacres.blogspot.com if you would like to see it and you can email me at generationacres@gmail.com if you would like.
It is wonderful to hear of other people who are desiring to get back to a Christian community based living as well!
May God be with you,
Ben Nelson
Like Ben, I would also like to visit and meet your community. I live in Columbia Falls, MT – 3.5 hours away, not too far for an overnight trip. If nothing else, perhaps we could be “pen-pals”. We are a home-educating, Christ-following family of 5 children, ages 2 – 15. Our family loves to meet others who are like-minded in the Faith, and in practicing it in tangible ways. Looking forward to hearing from you.
HI Ben and Ric,
Thanks for getting back to us. We have a website now, it’s christianpermaculture.org. It’s June now and I just saw your replies? Sorry but we only regularly check our personal email, so it was really wonderful to see your replies.Spring is now hopping with acquiring animals, a homebirth and over all keeping sober so that we can hear and respond to the Spirit convicting so we can have less hypocrisy and more of the mind of Christ. Keep fighting this good fight!
I rather like your blog but, how do I follow? I don’t do facebook or tweet or anything as such. I enjoyed the photos.
We always add a strand of barbed wire to the top of our woven wire fence. That way, the cows and horses won’t reach over the top and start pushing the fence down. It will hold up longer without them pushing on it. Also makes it just a little more taller, and hopefully more of a deterrent. Just a thought, Ann from KY
Noah,
We really enjoy your blog & the descriptions of your farming! As you might already know, we “stalk” your family’s blog (in a good way) & love it, too. Y’all have been such a blessing to us from afar. We rejoice in how the Lord has blessed you & your family! We’ve never met, but hope to do so sometime soon.
Hi Noah, Dorothy and sweet little Enoch,
Our family so enjoyed getting to see your farm up close last weekend. We have been talking about it ever since. It was such a joy to us to spend time with like-minded Christians. Your family is so precious and hospitable – a wonderful example of Godly living.
I’ve been reading your book and find it inspiring for even those of us who live in a big city. We’re enjoying all our produce, and I still can’t get over the difference in the taste of eggs from grass-fed hens. They have so much more flavor than those tasteless things from the grocer.
Blessings,
Victoria