Vegetables and Meat

3/31/08 - 2nd Day - After Breakfast. (Make sure to read on past the update and veggies, for the real meat). Last night our neighbor and friend Homer came by to say hi on his John Deere Gator. Danielle and I had gone down to help the Siffords and the Irbys move Josie's new goat. We had walked the goat down to Josie's land and got it chained up next to her goat box, and just as we finished up, Mr. Homer pulled up with the children piled up on his Gator. So we rode around the land a little bit and showed Homer some of the work we have been up to lately, including the plans for my office back by the creek.

The gardens are doing well. This past week I got a few more things planted:

I finished and planted the third raised double-dug bed in green beans
I finished and planted the second small raised double-dug bed in pickling cucumbers
I planted a row of black bush beans, and a row consisting of more green beans and some lima beans.
I planted a few more tomatoes and about 6 basil plants (so far) I plan on planting a lot of basil this year so I can stock up on our favorite and most used herb. I also have sage, cilantro, and peppermint planted.
I planted a short double row of some heirloom corn we received last year from Judy (Tabletop Homestead - Thanks Judy!).

My carrots and my turnips are coming up well, and some of the leaf lettuce we planted as seed is coming up really well. The prognosticators are calling for rain this morning, but it hasn't showed up yet.

We were invited to go eat at the home of a preacher friend who lives over in Coleman. We got talking about our group and how our interpretations of things differ so much from those of modern, mainstream Christianity. My answers to him kind of coalesced some thoughts I have been speaking about recently, so I thought I would share some of those thoughts. You know, we are pretty simple people. When we determine that the Bible says plainly (and in the plain text) that you should do something, then we determine that (with God's help) we will do that. If we read that the Bible says not to do something, then we pray and determine not to do that thing. We try to take the whole Word in context, and to eliminate any apparent contradictions, and to have a complete view of whatever the topic is, but when we read:

"Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 21:8), and, "But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God" (Exodus 21:10)

Then we determine that we ought to keep the Sabbath, and that it is on the seventh day. Now we read the rest of the Bible to see if there is anyplace else where God changed his mind, or told us not to keep the sabbath, or that it was changed to Sunday, and since we don't find that anywhere, and since the Bible says that the "Sabbath was made for man", and that it is good for us, we just decide to simply do what God said (and we are definitely NOT Seventh Day Adventists!). We read in the New Testament that the early church had corporate or community fellowship on the Lord's Day, which is not "man's day" or a day of rest but is a day to get together and worship the Lord corporately, and when we read that that day is the first day of the week, well, we think that makes perfect sense, so we do what the Bible says and we have our community fellowship day on the Lord's Day which is the first day of the week. So we see the sabbath (Saturday) called man's day, and it is a time of rest and quiet and of separation from work, and we see The Lord's Day (Sunday) set apart for community fellowship and worship, and we simply do what we believe the Bible says to do. Now, I understand this might cause consternation among those who have imbibed traditions and teachings contrary to what the Bible teaches in the plain text, but, like I said, we are simple people and we do what we can to obey the Word in a simple way.

When we read in 1st Corinthians 11 verse 10 that a woman ought to have a veil or cover on her head because of the angels, AND we learn from history that it was the practice of every Biblical culture in history, and that only very recently has the "church" calling itself "christian" abandoned the headcovering for the woman, then we very simply determine that what the Bible says is true, and that we ought to obey God rather than man, and we do what the Bible says.

These are just examples.

Now, here is what I have learned from false teachers and New Gnostics I have been talking about lately - like Bryan Lewis, Rod Jordan, and many others - in fact, almost all of modernist professing "christianity". I have noticed that these people have developed a system that is very interesting. What the Bible plainly says to do, they do not do. But what the Bible says to NOT do, they do. For example, they teach against the Sabbath (they say, Jesus is my Sabbath!) and against the headcovering (headcoverings were just for the Corinthians!). I suppose they believe that Paul's teachings against homosexuality was just for the Romans, but I don't know. They teach against separation (2 Cor. 6:17) because, they say, separation is invisible and in the heart. So, I guess I take that back, it is not that they teach AGAINST what the Bible says to do, they just teach that all the things you should do are INVISIBLE and SPIRITUAL, while the things the Bible says you should NOT do, are either not culturally applicable, or do not apply for some reason. The next thing, is that they teach things that the Bible says absolutely nothing about (in the plain text, I recognize that the Bible teaches on everything, but I am making a point). For example, the Bible makes very clear that meats are not to be forbidden (1 Tim. 4:3), and that God himself had overturned and had cleansed foods that had formerly been considered unclean (Acts 10:15). But some of these guys forbid the eating of some meats, despite what the scriptures say. Bryan Lewis and his ilk forbid baptism, saying that water baptism is insulting to God, even though the scripture commands water baptism as a sign of obedience. Once again, what the Bible commands, they ignore or spiritualize, but what the Bible allows, they forbid. I have had people condemn us for drinking alcohol in moderation (even though we preach consistently against drunkenness), listening to certain music, or using tobacco, etc. when they themselves completely ignore or purposely disobey the plain commands and commandments of God. Strange. Now, I was telling this preacher friend that I understand all the arguments these folks make. Believe me, I have read and studied them all. I know perfectly well what the Romanist arguments are for infant baptism and baptism by sprinkling. I even understand the arguments. They're just not in the Bible. Not in one single place. I understand the arguments against what the Bible plainly teaches about the Sabbath. I know why the modern "church" calls Sunday the "sabbath", and I understand why they teach that the Sabbath (as an ordinance containing the prohibition of work) is done away with. The problem is that their argument, though it is a perfectly good one, isn't in the Bible and therefore isn't Biblical. I understand thoroughly the arguments against Pork, and against beer, and against tobacco, and against Agrarianism, and against Separatism. I understand that it is easier to forbid some stuff that you think is bad, then to actually follow the plain teachings and text of the scripture and do what God said to do. I understand all of that. I understand that Rod Jordan, Bryan Lewis and their Antinomian brethren do not like the concept of an actual, physical Sabbath, and I understand that the women (and emasculated men) who they cater to do not like the thought of a woman wearing a headcovering. I sure understand that. I understand why people want to tell women it is alright for them to preach and teach and to have authority over a man, and I understand why some people might not want to exclude Arminians, Romanists and other Antichrists from your friendships and fellowships. I have read and do understand all the very complicated and serpentine reasoning, historical extrapolation, and Greek parsing that causes a man to bring forth a "christianity" that is very culturally relevant and morally ambiguous and not discernibly different from the world. I understand why a man might not want to grow a beard (Lev. 19:27), and might not like the Bible and history saying that he should, and why he might not want to know that a clean shaven face was created by the Romans to help homosexuals attract men. I understand the desire to look like the world, and fit in, and yet have some minor pet issues that you believe sets you apart.

So, you see - I have been paying attention. I think I have put a finger on why we are a bit different from the world's system. Maybe we are too simple. Maybe we take the Word of God too simply, or too literally, or too seriously. I told this preacher friend, "Maybe we are wrong about some stuff, but if we are, it is because we are going by what the plain text says, and we hope God will know that our ignorance and error came about because of our intention to simply obey and follow God". I mean, who knows, maybe Bryan Lewis and Benny Hinn and Rod Jordan and Billy Graham and Joel Osteen are right. Maybe our best life IS now, and not in the life after this one when those who belong to Christ, who have forsaken this world, will be with Him in His Kingdom.

Nope. I'm not even going there.

I think I shouldn't be surprised that when a man gets his sustenance and food from the world, his water from the world, his income from the world, and his rules and style from the world, that he has also gotten his theology from the world.

I'll take the Kingdom, Lord, and we'll let those worldlings have their best life now.

Michael

Scattershooting and Pics

3/28/08 - 6th - After Breakfast. Preparation of the Sabbath. Ok y'all, I will do some scattershooting among some really interesting pictures I finally have uploaded off of Danielle's camera. This first picture is of my family at our orange party (Ain't Catholics Day) over at the Sifford's. From left to right there is Tracy, Robert, Jennifer, Little Sarah, and Danielle. I'm the one with the hat.


Here we are butchering the pig. Remember, it was the last cold morning, so it was in the 30's for the first few hours. Yesterday and Wednesday, however, it was in the 90's. We have hung the pig on a very Agrarian engine hoist, which is handy for a small pig, and you can crank it up and down as you work. Assisting me is Tracy and Jennifer. Robert and Danielle helped too, but aren't in the picture.


This bowl of lettuce is a lot bigger in real life. We are getting a bowl this big (or bigger) every day from the garden. I will try to get a picture of the garden to put on here too, but it is a very cloudy and gloomy day today, so we'll see. Anyway, the salad from the garden is awesome; the only thing that would make it perfect is some nice tomatoes, but we will have to wait for them.


Here is a picture of the children up at the front of the land collecting manure for the garden. There is literally tons of it up there to get (from us having all the cattle in this area over the winter), so we have been gathering it when we have time.


Here are some pictures of the garden presently. At least what we have done so far. I like to put pictures of the garden up so I can look at them (if the Lord wills) in future years and see what things looked like and when. We have 5 of the 6 double-dug beds finished (not all planted yet) and the three long raised beds we are doing this year are finished. I have also added two smaller double-dug raised beds which are currently planted in squash and melons.

In this picture, looking from east to west, you can see the progression of double-dug beds and how they have been planted. In the closest you can see onions, garlic, cauliflower , and broccoli. There are 450 onions planted in this bed! In the second bed, you can see our "lettuce and greens", and the third raised bed is not planted yet. The fourth double-dug is planted in carrots and turnips, and the fifth is being planted in potatoes.

Ok, one last garden pic. This one is a closer view of the three raised beds.


Danielle and I went to Brownwood yesterday (yes, again) and picked up a 55 gallon barrel of Kerosene and some propane. We also bought two storm doors for the porch. David and Kelly came over and helped me unload the Kerosene, which by the way is now nearing $6 a gallon. Hopefully this will last us awhile. I can see us using fat lamps in the future.

Oh, and we found out yesterday that the feed store in Santa Anna is closing down (somebody bought the building), so we will likely have another antique store or tourist store and no feed store. Looks like we will be driving to Coleman for feed unless someone else in Santa Anna starts carrying feed.

Oh well, gotta run. Y'all be cool.

Michael

Off-Grid Living for Agrarians, Part 13

In abandoning his Agrarian roots, man has abandoned his connection to the land, and with it has cast out his peculiar local heritage and culture. In it's place he has adopted a rootless, amorphous, and temporary international culture - defined alone by man's insatiable and fruitless hunger for more - more personal peace, more affluence, and more comfort. Biblical cultures were defined by those peculiar practices endemic to a particular people, and those practices were derived by their necessity due to the close and personal interaction between the people and the land. Relationships, celebrations, and even diet were defined and restricted by land and growing practices, and all of life was governed by what (and when) the land would produce. By definition, then, the culture was a representation brought forth from the divine gardener of a piece of land, the good ground, from which their progenitor of all men had been derived. Each culture was the product of not just the morality and laws the people accepted for themselves, but of the types and quantities of crops that would grow readily in their soil, and the animals indigenous to the place which could be used for food, or who could be sustained easily by what could be grown.

I have mentioned quite a bit in this series that our ideas of what the ideal life will be should change with our knowledge of what God originally intended for us, and our experience in what will work well where we are. As you will already know from reading this series, I put a high value on a good philosophy and right thinking in engaging in an off-grid Agrarianism plan. As we grow and learn, some practices, means, and methods will develop (or re-develop) which are highly successful, and others will be abandoned as failures. What will develop, then, if the Lord wills and tarries, will be the development of a particular Christian Agrarian culture where we are. Traditions, practices, feasts, etc. will become more local (because hopefully we will have already cast off the international pagan/apostate ones), and we will once again begin to be defined by our peculiar Christian culture. The Christian man and the Christian family will once again be connected to the land. He will have legends and the stories of building and working the land, and He will have a sense of history that is more in line with reality and less the result of socialist, industrialist, and secular propaganda.

Once upon a time, when the South was still Agrarian and predominantly Christian, even in the south there were many, many diverse and discernible cultures. While the South was generally one in their values, morals, and overall respect for the land and the family - within the south, in fact from town to town, you would have found a grand diversity in how these values were practiced. Every small town had different festivals and celebrations. One town might have "The Watermelon Festival", while another town celebrated "Okra Days". Around here, the two big days for us right now are The Fiesta De La Paloma (the Feast of the Doves) in Coleman, Texas, and Santa Anna Funtier Days in Santa Anna. As our Christian community here (if the Lord wills it) grows and expands, we will develop our own special days and festivals. We already look forward to "First Wednesday" which is our monthly community work day, and we all look forward to the two Ranchfests we have every year. But the point is that our desire in our Off-Grid Agrarian lives is to live our lives more locally, and to do so it all has to start with us.

I mentioned in the 11th part that we ought to start looking to focus on growing more perennial fruits, nuts, and crops. The harvest of these crops will likely be a regular yearly event, and can be a time of great fun and fellowship. We ought to also be looking into what types of food and crops are indigenous to our area. Those that have developed here and succeed here are great, and if they can fit our criteria, then we ought to pursue them; but if we can reclaim those foods and crops that really thrive in our soil, then we would be foolish not to focus on them. It has been a shocking (perhaps it should not have been) thing for me to realize that the crops that I have grown over the past 8 years that have done the absolute best, are these:

Okra
Black-eyed Peas
Green Beans
Squash

...and now I have learned that Sweet Potatoes and Greens (Mustard, Collard, Spinach, etc.) grow great here.

Now let me see... that looks like a Southern Menu if I ever saw one! Why should I be shocked that these foods grow well here in the South? There is a reason that these foods are identified with the South - and sometimes we are too slow to figure these simple things out - I know that I am.

I intend to really focus on these locally successful crops, and our diets will change to represent what grows well here.

Our minds and hearts need to be more local. Live wherever you want to live, but if you plan on being a Christian Agrarian - then really LIVE there. Make it your home, and you and your Christian fellows will see a Christian culture thrive there. Rather than spend your time in the world, partaking in the world's culture and society, put those things behind you and live your life as a Christian among Christian friends and family. This series is about Off-Grid Living, but more specifically it is about successful Off-Grid Living. Our mindset is critical in our success, and a right philosophy of life and living will immeasurably assist in that success. The Apostate "christian" world has adopted the mantra "Grow where you are planted" as a rational for professing "christians" living worldly among other worldlings. I would add the following asterisk:

* IF you are planted in good ground, and IF you are sure you are not a tare, and IF you are willing to work and grow in the soil, and IF you are intent on being obedient towards the production of good fruit, THEN you should 'grow where you are planted'.

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker

Hamming it Up

3/25/08 - 3rd Day - After Breakfast. Ok, so the ribs last night were magniful and beautificent and a whole bunch of other made up words that describe the quintessence of yummihood. The children, smiling with barbecue sauce all over them, pronounced their wonder at the thought that less than 12 hours earlier their supper had been oinking down at the pig pens. I merely grunted between bites and tried not to wipe my hands and mouth on my sleeve.

last evening, I started the curing process on the hams. I am planning on mixing about 3 different preservation methods to really get a long term cure so I can hang the hams in the root cellar for long term storage. I have read many different methods and ideas about long term storage, so I finally just came up with a way that I hope will work using what we have available and some old tried and true methods. I started with a salt/sugar cure. I will leave the hams in this cure for only a few days to a week, then I will go to a second cure for two to four weeks. Then I will try to cold smoke the hams some, before coating them with honey, wrapping them, and storing them for 12 months to a year. One of the hams will probably be consumed at 6 months just to see how it is all going. I should have two more large hams starting the same process in a few weeks. Here was my cure recipe for the first cure:

2 gallons of water
1.5 lbs of brown sugar
2 cups of honey powder
2 lbs of pickling/canning salt
2 garlic cloves
Pepper
Clove

I submerged the hams in the cure by placing them in a plastic bucket. I then placed the bucket into our large chest freezer. This freezer will not be allowed to freeze (we will try to keep it in the high 30's and 40's) during the process, though I am not sure the hams would freeze anyway with the salt content in the water. After some undecided amount of time passes, I plan on doing a second similar cure by pouring off the first liquid and doing it again, only this time I will add saltpeter, and I will inject some of the cure into the ham all the way to the bones. This second cure will go for several weeks. Then I will likely do a salt cure rub (dry cure) for a few weeks, before coating the whole hams in honey, wrapping them, and hanging them in the root cellar.

This morning, Danielle has already started on cubing and canning the two big pork roasts, so we ought to be mostly finished processing this pig by late today. The only work we will have left is for the ladies to make the lard, and for me to make some sausage from the stuff we saved for sausage.

At least 1 and maybe 2 of our pigs will go to the professional butcher on April 9, so we should be set up (if the Lord wills) for pork for 7 to 8 months which will be in time to contemplate butchering again.

Thanks for tuning in.

Michael Bunker

Hog Butcherin' Day

3/28/08 - 2nd Day - Late Afternoon. This morning was likely our last cold morning. We had a cold front go through and we woke up to 34 degrees this morning. The mornings have been in the high 40's up to the mid 50's in the past week or so. The 15 day forecast doesn't show any mornings even in the 40's after tonight, and Wednesday and Thursday our mornings are supposed to be up in the mid 60's, so I saw this morning as an opportunity to butcher one of our hogs. Now, I have butchered just about every type of animal before except a cow or a hog. We've been planning on butchering a pig for years, but it has never worked out for us. I am scheduled to take another hog to the butcher on April 9, but I have a total of three males that need butchering and I didn't want to keep feeding all of them. One of the males (the friendliest little one) was one the children named "Ham Hawkins", and he was the smallest of all of our pigs. I wouldn't have put him much over 135 lbs. So this morning we got our stuff ready for butchering and Danielle and I walked down to the pig pens with a .22 intent on doing the deed. For those of you who have read with amusement some of our earlier pig escapades (like The Battle of Butcher Holler), you might have expected our plan to go horribly wrong, but the Lord seemed to be with us this day. We were able to lure young Mr. Hawkins out of the pen by himself without letting all of the 6 pigs out. Then we fed him some slops right near the back of the pickup and he held fairly still to eat. He was calm and happy. Then, when I shot him just where you are supposed to shoot him, he dropped like a lead weight just like he should have. I stuck him and he bled out honorably in about 10 minutes, and then Danielle and I hefted him up onto the tailgate (this was the toughest part of the whole job). I had borrowed a gambrel from Logan last night and we hooked it up to my engine hoist and we had a good makeshift pig lifter-upper. Everything else went fairly smoothly, and we had him quartered in less than 2 hours. All of the family helped, and Danielle and Tracy started almost immediately in cubing and canning the meat. The only special "cuts" we are keeping is the two hams, and I am currently smoking all the ribs for supper tonight. I am going to be curing and smoking the hams, but the rest of the pig will be cubed up and canned or some of it might be ground up for sausage. The whole process went fantastically well, and I was pleased to get the whole family involved. Danielle and Tracy just told me they have the first canner load almost finished, and we will do another canner load or so tomorrow. Interesting that we will be able to have some good pork, from the hoof to the root cellar in the work of a single day! We have raised a lot of pigs, but this is the first pig we have had born here on the land, and have taken it all the way to butchering age, and have butchered it ourselves. I feel very good about it.

So, last night we went over to the Ante's house for supper and we had a wonderful meal I wanted to tell you about (I know you all SO love my descriptions of our delicious meals here at the ranch). We have been wanting to introduce the group to traditional southern cooking and meals, so that everyone will feel comfortable in raising indigenous southern crops (like sweet potatoes, okra, greens, etc.), especially those that grow so well here in our area, so we made up a pot of greens to take to the supper. Kris Ante made corned beef, boiled potatoes and carrots, cabbage, and corn bread. Everything was very delicious, and the greens seemed to be a hit with the Ante's, and especially with the children. Part 13 of the Off-Grid Living series is about growing local and indigenous foods for many reasons (including reclaiming our cultural heritage), so we are very pleased to have our garden greens growing so prolifically this spring. We made two huge pots of greens with pork this weekend and the greens garden is still going gangbusters.

Today, after the butchering, I had a huge garden salad from the garden. The only thing it was missing was fresh tomatoes, but I will have to wait for them. Anyway, I had a salad of about 3 different types of lettuce, mustard greens, and spinach, with cheddar cheese and brisket, topped with blue cheese dressing. Yes!

Ok, I have to go, the garden is calling. Lord willing I will report on the pork rib supper for you soon.

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker

Scattershooting

3/20/08 - 5th Day - After Supper. Today for supper we had biscuits, ham (canned from our own pig) over rice, and green beans from last years garden. Yes. Very nice, I must say. Today for lunch I had a huge salad from our garden, with chunks of our canned bacon and cheddar cheese. For Breakfast (since I am doing this) I had one of our homegrown eggs over easy with potatoes, bacon, and homemade wheat tortillas. I love Agrarianism. I would say in all three of my meals there may have been .80 to $1. Probably less than 80 cents I reckon.

The papers are saying our rain this week was a "million dollar rain" since it came at such a good time, came good and slow in order to sink in well, and didn't have anything severe with it to destroy anything. Everyone I saw in town had a smile on their face. I smile on the inside. We measured after the rain and after our bucket brigade and I think we have a bit over 800 gallons in our cistern. That is pretty good for March, especially since we were right on empty at the end of January. The prognosticators are calling for rain on Sunday again. I'll take it.

Tomorrow I have to go to Brownwood to pick up a young man who will be joining me in my ministry program. God help him. I also hope to pick up some things at Home Depot to make a chicken tractor and to fix up some more raised beds in the garden. The garden (what I have planted so far) is going gangbusters, and I am enjoying the salads out of it.

I went over and saw Logan today and he had some of the men over there helping him put the roof on his workshop/storage area. It looks really good, and I'll bet there'll be pictures up at the Ante blog pretty soon showing the progress.

We received some more chicks today in the mail from Welp Hatchery. I used to order from Murray McMurray but I don't any more for several reasons. They seem to be sold out of what I want when I want it, and the last two times I ordered from them we received some weird half-breeds and not the Rhode Island Reds that I ordered. They looked a bit like Rhode Island Reds, but they had mixed white and black feathers in with the red, and they were obviously some attempt at hybridizing the birds and were being sold as Rhode Island Reds. Anyway, my last few experiences were not good, then this year when I went to order birds all of the ones I wanted said 'sold out', so that was good. I have ordered from Welp before and always get a good deal, and what I ordered, and when I want it. We ordered 30 Rhode Island Reds and we received 37, and all were alive. I like a company that gives you more than you asked for. I still have about 70 meat birds coming in either tomorrow or next week, don't know yet. So our first chick flock was moved up to the chicken pen, and the new 30 reds were placed in the ultra special, non-electric, chicken brooder. I will post pictures of it soon since we had a request for it. I'm not as good with pictures as the Ante's, because I am still afraid that it is magic and when my picture is taken I might lose my soul. Not really. I think.

Ok, so we have had a great week, what with the rain, the chicks, the salads, the orange day celebration (Ain't Catholics Day), and whatnot.

Michael Bunker

The Mud Years

3/19/08 - 4th Day - After Breakfast. Well, we have received a goodly portion of our March rains. According to the prognosticators, our average monthly rainfall for March is supposed to be 1.9 inches. Now, I suppose that "average" takes into account drought years over the last century when there was no rainfall in March, but I can't imagine it. In the 3 years we have lived here, including the excessive drought year of 2006, we have had 5 inches of rain or more in March every single year - and I was told by the Realtor that in 2005 the area received much more than 5 inches. So I don't see 1.9 inches as a realistic "average". We have received somewhere around 3 inches in the past two days, and we had a bit over 2 inches earlier this month.

Now, no one is complaining. Not me for sure. I am glad to have the rain. Our water level has been low in our catchwater cistern for the last 6 months, and I am glad to have more water going into it. Yesterday, with our front catchwater vessels full, we started the family bucket brigade to haul the water to the cistern. We moved 150 gallons or so before the rains came again and refilled the front vessels. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be crystal clear and sunny, so we hope to haul some more water into the cistern today, and to see the ground dry up some as well.

For those of you who have been reading the Off-Grid Living series, you might want to get used to the concept we call "The Mud Years". Since this is our second homesteading experience in the past 10 years, we are well acquainted with "the mud years". When you first start your homestead, you will find that landscaping is way, way, way down the list of important projects - if it is on the list at all. Usually you will live off a long dirt driveway, which is off of a long dirt or gravel road. Some of you will have the money to haul in a bunch of truckloads of gravel for a nice private road, but most of you will not be able to do that at all. So one principle reality of your life will be MUD. Now, we have especially muddy mud here in Central Texas. It is the clay, gooey, peanut butter mud that just kind of sticks on everything and builds up as you walk. But the point is that you will constantly be dealing with mud. Mud is very frustrating for the few days it lasts, but it is also a constant reminder that God has favored us with rain. After the severe drought we suffered in 2006, I committed to never again disdain the rain. Last year was a very wet year, and some of the prognosticators are calling for another one here this year. We can only hope and pray, but if it is wet, then it will also be muddy. Where my cabin is, our field was never planted with pasture grasses. It was overrun with weeds when we got here, but those died off pretty quickly, and due to the traffic and constant work, no grasses or ground cover has grown up. So when it rains, we have mud. Now, some day, if the Lord wills, when all of our building and projects in this area are up and running, we will landscape some and plant grass. We will bring in nice gravel for the road and for the parking area, and we will put in some stone sidewalks from rocks we have on the land. In that day, we will look back on the mud years with a mixture of fondness and utter disdain. Our "mud years" at our old homestead dragged on for about 3 years, and I assume our mud years here will last much longer than that. Strangers and city folk will never understand why and how you can do it, but when you have been through it, you'll understand.

We thank God for the rain, and from the water from heaven.

Michael

Off-Grid Living for Agrarians, Part 12

Worldliness is the constant, daily, selling of one's soul in exchange for carnal comfort. Godliness is a constant selling of one's carnal comfort in exchange for the good of one's soul. The grand plans of many aspiring Agrarian homesteaders crash and burn because of some mental threshold of minimal comfort that the mind both expects and demands. I would say that almost 100% of the objections raised against Agrarian Separatism and Off-Grid Homesteading have to do with COMFORT, no matter how the questions are disguised or how the objection is framed. Even when the protester denies that comfort is behind his or her objection, it is always there - lingering as the final and unmistakable truth behind why people won't leave the world behind. When someone protests that they are staying in the world for the sake of their children or grandchildren, or because they believe their "sacrifice" will allow future generations to live like God has commanded - if you just replace their entire protest with CARNAL COMFORT and you will be a whole lot closer to the truth.

Now, I have no problem with being comfortable, I like a nice bed and a good meal as much as anyone. That kind of comfort is not what we're talking about here, and the point I am making is that if we make carnal comfort the rule and we never look at what we should be doing and how we should be living - merely because the right thing seems uncomfortable - then we will never be obedient in those things we ought to do.

I have mentioned this verse before:

Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house. (Pro 24:27)

God's wisdom declares that we ought to live uncomfortably for awhile while we are preparing our life and living for the future. We ought to make our lands, fields, gardens, and animal facilities workable, managing all of it for our future good and for the sustenance of our families - and we ought to do these things first. THEN, when God has blessed our endeavors and our obedience to His Word, we should build our house. John Gill said this:

"and afterwards build thine house; when, though the blessing of God upon thy diligence and industry, thou art become rich, or however hast such a competent substance as to be able to build a good house, and furnish it in a handsome manner, then do it; but first take care of the main point, that you have a sufficiency to finish it; see the advice of Christ, Luk_14:28"

Now, of course, many people are going to say that there is no Biblical command for people to live Agrarian lives, despite what these verses (and many others say). They will say that these verses only applied to some other culture, long ago, that would have to prepare their fields because they didn't have a Wal-Mart. Some people really believe that modern urban industrialism is just as good and pleasing to God as Agrarianism... and I suppose if they are willing to discount or disbelieve about half of the Bible, they might have a point. So God says that we ought to live in such a way that we produce food from our own fields, and my point is that we ought to expect and even foster some discomfort at the beginning of our journey. If our countrymen had followed this advice, we would not have a mortgage crisis today. The average worldling today is unable to feed themselves or provide for themselves. They do not grow food or husband animals for their food and care. Yet they live deliciously in mortgaged castles, eating dainties that have been poisonously grown and marketed, cared for by a paternalistic beast that juggles the means of survival just well enough to make all seem right for a time.

But what should YOU do?

When choosing to move off-grid, you should remember the rules:

Separation
Simplicity
Sustainability

Start separately and simply, even if it means you might be uncomfortable for awhile. Mine is a family of 6 living in a cabin of less than 500 square feet, with a small 1976 camper as an addition. My bedroom is the size of many people's walk-in-closet. I am typing this manifesto while sitting on a bed because I do not have a desk on which to work. If you will make sure your initial setup fits these three critical rules, you should do well.

Gill points out that we ought to expect God to reward our diligence in doing our duty. I am convinced that if the Lord wills that we prosper here, I will be able to build a house some day when my fields and animals are made to bring forth abundantly; and I believe that the house I will build (if the Lord wills it) will be much nicer, more sustainable, much more permanent, much more well built and solid, and even much more comfortable, than any I might have built in haste, with little money, before it was in God's timing. So my advice to you is to engage and embrace discomfort in the beginning - even invite it. Make yourself live with less, and prove what is good and right. By that I mean, try to live without all the stuff, and when you realize that you can do so, then you have proved that you don't need it. More than 75% of the stuff we did not sell before we came here, but put in storage, we found out we didn't need. My advice for many folks today is to sell everything except the few items you are absolutely sure, without a doubt, that you will need. Sell it all and then buy what you KNOW you need. I am convinced that most people already have the resources to begin their off-grid journey, but the money is locked up in junk they don't need and shouldn't own.

Building an off-grid life will most likely start with the soil and not much else. I have made many mistakes in my off-grid adventure, and I am willing to admit those mistakes and pass the wisdom on to you all. If I had it all to do over again, I would start with the dirt and a shovel. I would dig a hole for my root cellar as my first building project. Whatever your first project is, remember the three rules and keep it simple. Always remember that food and water are primary, and ought to occupy your time and mind for a long while before you ever begin to think about long-term comfort. So long as our mind considers the world to be a safety-net and a crutch, we will not have a right view or mindset. We ought to think that food and water production and storage are critical to our survival, because they are. If you were cast onto your land with nothing but some basic tools, how would you prioritize things? Would you spend your time on temporary comforts? or would you spend it tilling and planting?

Now, this part of the series is about building, and I suppose I ought to get to that, but I wanted to make sure our minds were right about the subject first.

So... what to build?

Remember that this is the part of the process that will take the most time, will require the most of us, and will last the longest with us. Where and how you choose to build - these are going to be decisions that stay with you for a very long time. If you choose to build in a modern style, and then a few years later you think you might want to use your farm for agro or eco-tourism, then you are going to regret your modern new buildings. If you choose to build in a place or direction that isn't well thought out, and then you learn later that you didn't have all the information, you are going to regret many of your decisions. This is why I believe that God would have us live on our land for some time, working the soil and producing food, etc., before we build our permanent home. That way we can see the way the wind blows, how the water pools and drains, and myriad of other important realities that will one day effect how we live our daily lives. In these parts, back in the old days, the folks would dig a root cellar as their temporary living quarters while they prepared their fields, pens, sheds, and barns. The house would come to be much later. That idea, as we have shown, is a very good one. If you live in a land where heat isn't as much of a problem, then you might want to build a small temporary cabin, or you could purchase a small camper or tent to live in while you prepare your fields and out-buildings. In any case, get to know your land for a few a year or two before you build permanently. You will make better decisions in the long run.

Our first "structure" was a chicken coop built from a castaway deer blind we found on the back of the property. I put a new floor in it, built it up on "stilts" and used some old fencing to fence in the coop. Next I built a second coop that would also serve as a grain and feed storage. We put in our garden and a corral as we were building our small cabin. Our cabin was designed as a temporary dwelling (5-7 years) and has grown a bit to help us do the things we need to do. We started our root cellar in the first full summer after we arrived here and we had it ready to use at the beginning of last spring. Today we literally have thousands of pounds of storage and preserved foods stored in our root cellar.

I have received dozens of questions about the building of a remote/off-grid cabin. While I do have many ideas about the subject, and I have learned a lot about what to do and what not to do, you need to remember that this series is not about "how to do" stuff. It is about maintaining a sane and intelligent philosophy and process in doing it. My advice in building a cabin? Small is fine, especially if it is temporary. You really want to go for cheap, but not dangerously cheap. Try to use resources that are free or very inexpensive. We have found folks willing to let us tear down houses and other buildings if we will just remove the materials. From these materials we have built all sorts of things, including a farrowing shed for pigs that I built completely from these re-used materials. The basic philosophy, though, is to spend some time anticipating your needs. You should always plan for thing like catchwater, storage, etc. Think about where you are going to put the stuff you need, and how to get rid of the stuff you do not need. Think about the weather, seasonal changes, sun track, where you want to sit when it is hot in the morning, and where you will sit when it is hot in the evening. How do you want to direct the breeze through your building? How much light will you need? I am convinced that I can build a good sized (but maybe partially unfinished) cabin, with a sizeable catchwater and rainwater storage, for less than $10,000, and that is using mainly new materials. If one were able to procure a large amount of free, cheap, or salvaged materials, the cost would be significantly less. I am fairly positive that we don't have anywhere near 10 grand in this cabin, and we built it in increments, as money, supplies, and labor were available.

What if I had to do it all over again (as it relates to housing). Once again, I would build below ground first. My first structure would be a root cellar, and I would live in it while I build a second, larger root cellar (larger than this current cabin). Then, if I need to put a small one-room shack over my large underground cabin, I would do so. This plan would do the following for me:

1. It would be much easier to manage the temperature swings, and to stay cool in the summers. Our expense for cooling "stuff" for the first two years probably added up to well over $200 a month for most of the year (I would estimate close to $2000 per year). This cost would be almost eliminated if we had built underground, and that money could have gone to building cost instead of waste. Even now, on this 17th day of March, it is 83 degrees and I have two ceiling fans going at full blast to cool the cabin. No such need in a root cellar or basement cabin.

2. The root cellars would be handy and easy to use from a permanent house I plan on building in the future. As it is now, this cabin will either become a guest house, or a dry storage, or a combination of both, but it will not be as easily usable once I build a house. The house I build, if the Lord wills, will incorporate a large underground or partially underground living area for the coolness factor.

3. There would be no need for us to leave the cabin and slog through the mud to the root cellar when severe weather threatens. We could put the children to bed and not worry about having to get up and traverse the hazards to get into the root cellar if a tornado is coming.

When I do build a house, if the Lord wills, I will incorporate all the things I have learned through practical experience, and I will know tons more about my land and about how to do things correctly. I will know more about wind currents, temperature changes, sunrise and sunset at different times of year, rain runoff, etc., and I pray the Lord will continue to give me wisdom and ideas up to and including when I do finally start to build my house.

Returning to our point, if we do not look at off-grid living as a complete system, with a philosophy that guides our decision making, then we will fly to and fro without any real purpose, and quite often we will be working at cross-purposes with ourselves and with our future plans. Take the time and use your mind and your creativity to envision how you want to live, and how to go about it. All the rest of your building plans, then, will fall into place, and will only require the materials, the know-how, and the motivation to get them done. Now, don't you feel better?

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker

The Wearing of the Orange

3/17/08 - 2nd Day - After Breakfast. Today is the day the world calls "Saint Patricks Day", but which I like to call Aint Catholics Day. As some of you know, I like to wear orange on this day and to sip some orange beer in order to support our Protestant brethren in Northern Ireland and around the world. In Belfast, only the flag of St. Patrick is supposed to be used by marchers in order to identify the day, not the color green - which is representative of the Irish Roman Catholics. Of course St. Patrick was not what we call today a "Roman Catholic", since he likely would not recognize the Church of Rome at all, except if he rightly recognized it as the Church of Antichrist. Anyway, we here are trying to start the tradition of wearing Orange on this day, so if y'all want to join us, please do!

I think I should have Part 12 of the Off-Grid series ready to post sometime early today. So stay tuned!

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker

Triple Threat

3/14/08 - 6th Day - Preparation of the Sabbath. Suppertime. I mentioned recently that one of the biggest hazards or problems with gardening here in Central Texas, is the massive temperature swings from day to night, and from one day to the next. Today is one of those days. Woke up this morning to a bit chilly 40ish degrees, and we hit a high a little while ago of 89 degrees. A fifty degree swing is hard on both the body, and the garden. Now, one of the most irksome realities of living here is The Blowtorch. The blowtorch is when it is in the 90's or 100's and the wind blows at 30-40 miles an hour. That is what we had today. So we had the triple threat, but it seems like the garden has held up really well. It's one of the prices we pay to live in the land of perpetual good weather. Tomorrow is supposed to be a dream March day. Mid 70's and nice and clear. Nice.


While fat gnostic truck-drivers and such assail me for "hiding behind a keyboard", we here in the community go on with our Christian Agrarian lives. Here we are putting the siding on a cabin we are building for a lady in the fellowship. So while I am castigated by insignificant seminary gluttons and internet wannabes, I just laugh and hang out with my brethren. How about you?

Looking forward to the Sabbath (both the eternal one, and the one that starts tonight),

Michael Bunker

Off-Grid Living for Agrarians, Part 11

Although there are mentions of rotational kind of "seasonal" or annual crop farming in the scriptures (crops such as wheat, corn, and barley - used to make bread and other staples), by far, when speaking of food products, or God's providence, or blessed wealth, the Bible talks about perennial crops or perennial food items. A blessed land is said to run with "milk and honey". We read about olive trees, almond trees, pistachio trees, milk, honey, dates, sycamore figs, apples, grapes, and pomegranates, as well as many root crops including garlic, onion, and leeks which in many cases could be left or stored in the ground for a good part of the year. I think we can all agree that the original garden planted by God for man was made up of fruit and nut orchards and perennial crops. I don't think that annual crops were instituted until after the fall, but of course that is mainly speculation. But I do believe that many crops which are considered annual seed crops now were actually perennial plants in the original garden. For example, Tomatoes which are an annual plant in most of the world, are actually perennials in the Tropics and all the modern species of tomato are derived from perennial fruit.

As we mentioned in some previous parts to this series, quite a bit of food was stored "on the hoof", which is actually one of the Biblical means of storing wealth and being prepared for hard times. Biblical herdsman concentrated their efforts on animals that were fairly easy to keep, reproduced well or copiously, could be pastured on free or relatively free lands, and that did not require expensive care or feeds. In short, it seems that a man's wealth was determined by that which was renewable, sustainable, and somewhat perennial. A wealthy man would have had a land running with milk and honey; he would have had orchards, and vineyards, and cattle, and root crops that come up and produce all year or every year. Those who depended inordinately on annual crops were subject to drought, disease, and famine. We ought to think about that when we get started in our own homesteads. Our family has made a practice of planting trees every year, and the majority of those trees are chosen for some type of food production. I think setting a goal to plant 5-15 fruit or nut producing trees a year... EVERY YEAR... ought to be in every homesteading plan, no matter how much land is available. If a small acreage gets too crowded with trees (is that even possible?), then the oldest trees can be harvested for the wood. Pecan, Cherry, Walnut, and Apple wood is great wood for woodworking, building, and for firewood. We also plan on planting fruiting bushes and vines every year as well. You also ought not worry about producing too much fruit or nuts. Remember that you will always be buying food for your animals until you can produce enough on your own to stop buying feed. Feed a portion of your crop to your animals, because fruits and nuts are a great addition to a balanced animal diet, and rotted fruit is great for a compost pile. Fruit and nuts can be dried, powdered, canned, etc. pretty easily. It is a truism that in this current environment our diets are greatly lacking in fruit and nuts, so changing our diet to represent those items which are more permanent and perennial is just a good idea.

Permaculture

One of the topics I talk a lot about around here, and one that you will hear me speak quite a bit about in the future, is permaculture. The word "Permaculture" is a combination of the terms Permanent and Agriculture. Permaculture is a philosophy and design theory that revolves around the idea of inter-dependent planting and design. The overall idea is one of sustainability, but it goes beyond that. A permaculture plan is one that incorporates all the sustainable ideas in a way where each area benefits and serves another area - in a type of symbiosis that is hard to explain, but easy to understand once it is grasped. For example, a permaculture idea of raising chickens might be a chicken coop and pen system where fruit and nut trees and bushes are planted so that they drop their fruit or nuts into the chicken pens. The coop might be designed so that the chickens (which produce heat, fertilizer, and carbon dioxide - all of which is necessary for plants) have a portion of their "run" in a greenhouse. By going about their normal duties, they produce a large portion of the heat and CO2 that is necessary for the plants to survive. The plants produce oxygen and food for the animals, and the fertilizer can be used to boost the productivity of the plants. This is mainly just an idea to get you started on the overall philosophy, but modern pastured poultry and pasture rotation/animal rotation schemes are all based on some permaculture philosophies.

Proper, sustainable, permaculture design of the homestead can greatly reduce the overall workload, and can reduce or eliminate many of the costs related to running the homestead. A few hours of planning and design can eliminate untold amounts of cost, work on the homestead. Some permaculture ideas, though they will not eliminate labor completely, will certainly eliminate costs. Using chickens in insect and pest control; using properly planned and designed orchards to produce food for our animals, and using animals to work and improve the fields and gardens, are all a part of permaculture design.

In coming to a right mindset on these issues, it is necessary that everything we think be put on the table and debated. Our diets ought to change to better represent our location and our geographical reality. We ought to eat those things that grow well locally, and as much as possible it should reflect those things that can be grown perennially or that increases the sustainability of our homestead. From the species of trees we plant, to the types of crops we grow, we need to keep in mind how that choice is going to effect us and continue to effect us in the long run. If we get into the mindset that we are always going to be able to put in a nice annual garden, or some annual seed crops, and that somehow that that idea is sustainable, then we are likely to fail if things do not forever continue as they are now. From the day we start our homestead we ought to be thinking of some type of perennial or continuous food production. It is hard in this world of immediate gratification and a "get it now" mentality, to plan for a crop that will not mature for many years, but we ought to always remember that this is exactly the way that God works, and our patience will be rewarded in due time. One of my greatest anticipations is to see the trees we planted in our first year here on the ranch, produce fruit. Not only is this a great example of God's mighty works in and through us, but it is a profound picture of His providence and grace towards us, that He provides sweet and free fruit from the ground abundantly to all of His children who will reach out and take it.

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker

Ranch Ketchup

3/10/08 - 2nd Day - After Dinner. Greetings y'all. Well it is time for a "ketchup" post about what has been going on here at the ranch. The weather has been variable (which in central Texas means that it swings from the 20's to the 80's effortlessly). It is finally warming back up and we have had quite a bit of rain in March. Our usual average for the whole month is about 1.9 inches and we are already over that by half an inch or so and it is only the 10th. Some of the prognosticators are saying that since we are still in an El Niño like we were a year ago, that we might expect another wet year with a cool summer, which would be very nice. Last night the rain moved in late in the evening, and we woke up to a nice rain this morning. Today the sun is out and is drying things out a bit.

I can see that a few of my peach and nectarine trees are blossoming. I am looking forward to maybe getting some fruit this year, since many of our trees are in their third year of growth. Our fig tree is putting forth leaves, and I definitely expect figs again this year. I bought some grape vines to plant, and I just ordered 3 blackberry bushes and 3 blueberry bushes to plant this spring. I am hopeful that in just a few years we will be producing quite a bit of fruits to preserve by canning and drying. I am convinced that fruit and nut trees ought to be a very, very important part of any off-grid living plans. I will be writing more on that in the Off-Grid Living series... It seems to me that two very critical food sources are often neglected by folks in this generation who are living (or intending to live) off-grid or homesteading lives: Root Crops and Tree/Bush Crops. We have been so colonized to believe in annual planting of regular vegetables and seed crops, that we have neglected what could very well be God's original intent for our maintenance and survival. Anyway, more on that coming up.

As I type this I can hear the chirping of new chicks. Here is the update on our chicken ranching. As many of you know, I used to be pretty heavy into chickens and eggs at our old farm in West Texas. In fact, I used to refer to myself as a Chicken Farmer. At some points in time we had well over 200 chickens for either meat or egg production. When we decided to move to Central Texas, we brought maybe 60 or so layers and roosters down with us, some which were newly hatched that year (2005). Well, here we are in 2008 and we basically still have the same birds, with a few additions from chicks that hatched out over the last couple of years. Mainly, though, our flock is very old - but still producing. Last we counted we had about 33 birds, and we are still getting 20 or so eggs a day right now. We decided to start getting more birds this year to replenish and restart our chicken business. This past weekend we drove up to Abilene and picked up 20 new pullet chicks. I think we got some banties of unknown breed (probably silkies of some type) and some Black Australorps and some other kind that I can't remember. I thought it would be fun to see what kinds we end up with. I also ordered another 90 chicks online (60 meat birds and 30 Rhode Island Reds), of which I will probably be selling about 20 of the meat birds to Mr. Sustaire. The meat birds (Cornish X Rocks) are bred to produce a large, meaty bird in just a few weeks. I think they are designed to weigh about 7 lbs. at 8 weeks of age, but we will probably butcher all of ours at 5 weeks in order to get them processed and preserved earlier in the summer. I will likely be buying another 200 or so birds this spring if the Lord wills, but I have to work on some more facilities before I can do that.

Handy-Dandy Chick Brooder

At our old farm we had a chicken barn which was designed for high-volume chicken production. We had grid electricity so we could get a couple of hundred birds in, keep them warm in a large brooder, then move them to the appropriate pens. Here, alas, we do not have the space, the facilities, or the electricity for such an operation. So with these first 20 chicks we have devised a handy-dandy brooder for keeping them warm for a week or two. We put the chicks into a large blue plastic bin like those you can buy at Stuff Mart for storing quilts or other stuff. We put long range grass down for bedding, a small feeder and waterer, and a kerosene lantern for heat. We took a board and wrapped it in foil and placed it over part of the top (crossing over the lantern) to reflect the heat and light back downwards on the chicks. The setup keeps the chicks at the perfect heat level, and it uses very little kerosene. I suspect that we could only brood about 20 chicks at a time like this, but by adding more bins with the same setup we could keep any number of chicks. This is a great option for those off-gridders out there who want to raise your own birds. We have a chicken coop ready for these birds, but we won't move them up there until the birds have their feathers and once the nighttime temps have warmed up a bit more. Now I have to build a few chicken tractors for the garden so that I can use the birds to keep the grasshoppers at bay this year.

Our final freeze date is officially the 15th of March which falls this coming Sabbath. The old-timers all say that there is usually one last light freeze on or about the pagan Ishtar festival, which falls about 8 days after the 15th, but I am betting we don't get a late freeze this year. Last year we got a freak snow on April 8th, but I really hope that doesn't happen this year. Right now, if the prognosticators are to be believed, we should be clear of that sort of thing into spring. So we are in full garden preparation and growing mode from here on into summer.

Ok, back to work on the Off-Grid Living series. Y'all be cool.

Michael

Turkzilla

3/9/08 - The Lord's Day - Mid-Afternoon. In keeping with a recent trend of me talking about Turkey (Turkey soup, Canning Turkey, Turkuna sandwiches, etc.) I decided to entitle this blogpost "Turkzilla". Today, when I first woke up, I could hear the turkeys very loud near the rear of the land, but didn't go down there because I figured they were probably across the fence in the neighbors property. Well, we had a great fellowship and when I returned I heard a very deep voiced Tom gobbling back behind my office. It sounded like either a very deep voiced and monstrously big Tom Turkey, or some idiot trying to call Turkeys and doing a not very good job at it. So I came all the way back to the cabin and got my shotgun. I had it loaded with four shells. The first shell was a magnum load of 00 Buck. Then the next 3 loads were all "4" shot, which is a much smaller load. So I walked back to the office, expecting that the turkeys had already vamoosed away from the area. When I got behind the office and crossed the creek, I looked to my left and I saw the biggest Tom Turkey I had ever seen, I mean this guy must have been about 4 feet tall. I would say he was 30 yards away and just on my side of the fence. I raised the shotgun and took a shot and I know I hit him because I saw some feathers fly. He immediately took to the air and I took my second shot (this time with the "4" shot). I am a pretty good shot and I don't miss much, and I had to have hit him the second time but he didn't even flinch. Now he is flying about 5 feet off of the ground from my left to my right - crossing about 20 yards in front of me. I pumped the shotgun and took the third shot and down he goes very hard. He tumbled down to the ground and I saw him bounce behind a Cedar tree. I started running to keep him in view, knowing I had taken him down and at this time I saw a turkey run from the west side of the clump of trees and down towards the creek. I figured it was another turkey since I had seen my big Tom hit the ground pretty hard. I circled around to where the downed turkey should be, and he was gone! There was a pile of feathers there but no Turkey. I immediately commenced a search, and eventually went and loaded up the whole family and we scoured the whole back of the property to no avail. Somehow, Turkzilla had gotten away. I don't know if he lived through the deal, but I would really, really, really like to get that Turkey. I was already eating wild turkey sandwiches in my thoughts as I was searching for Turkzilla. Oh well.

Like I said we had a great fellowship today. I love walking to fellowship with the family on the Lord's Day morning on the dirt roads. For our Lord's Day dinner we had smoked brisket, mashed potatoes, salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, mixed veggies and tortillas. For desert I had vanilla pudding with chocolate chips and some kind of chocolate cream pie which was very nice. We played horseshoes for a few hours then we came home and I lost my prize Turkzilla.

I hope you all had a wonderful Lord's Day and I look forward to getting some work done tomorrow.

God Bless,

Michael

Scattershooting

3/07/08 - 6th Day - After Breakfast. Preparation of the Sabbath. Well Danielle, Robert, and Jennifer have been gone for a week, so Tracy, Sarah, and I have been covering the bases here at the Ranch. Yesterday we got a pretty good rainfall, I would say at least an inch, which was very nice - though it was very cold all day. We stayed in and played around with technology. Tracy and Sarah watched The Waltons on DVD and I did some studying, completed a Friday Q&A, and read endlessly on Wikipedia.

Ok, this is funny...



"Stuff White People Like"...

Ok, this is not funny... but I do agree that he worships the same God as muslims and jews, and so do most Amerikan Xtians...



Well, we just passed one very important historic day (Texas Independence Day on the 2nd of March) and we are coming up on a day for a historic protest. A year ago on what the world calls "St. Patrick's Day" (March 17) I donned an orange shirt and drank a huge orange beer in support of our Protestant brothers in Ireland:


I invite you all to join me this year on the 17th!

Scientists admit that they were wrong about their guess on the age of the Grand Canyon by 150% (11 million years), but what can you expect from people who came from monkeys.

“a proprietary Bible product exclusively available to their organization and their members”

"There's no one closer to God than the pope."

Ok, enough of that. The sun is out and I must do some work.

Peace,

Michael Bunker

New Gnostics 2, Electric Boogaloo

3/04/08 - 3rd Day - After Supper. Hey, I have posted The New Gnostics, Part 2 over at BiblicalAgrarianism.com, so go check it out. If you haven't read Part 1, you might want to read that one first.

Y'all have a great night,

Michael

Bright Sunshiny Day

3/04/08 - 3rd Day - After Breakfast. In all my years of writing several millions of words I have never written the word "sunshiny" before and I would have sworn there was an "e" before the "y", but apparently not.

Well, we had a rough night the night before last when a very severe winter front moved through the area. I had the children down in the root cellar at about 2:30 a.m. or so and we ended up with wind gusts up to 60 mph and pea-sized hail. There were several tornado vortexes in the area according to the radar, and it was a tense night. Not too abnormal for this time of year in Texas though. Last night the rest of the cold front blew through and it got down in the 20's for hopefully the last time this year. It is in the 30's right now but it is very sunny and the temps are on the way up for today. Later today I will go see how my garden held up to the storm.

Hey, my wife Danielle has her first blog: A Process Driven Wife Check it out for her side of the story; I look forward to reading it regularly.

I also started a new blog called The Center for Agrarian Homesteading Education. That sounds like a very pompous name, but I was having trouble finding a name that would identify exactly what information could be found there. I started by using it as an archive for the Off-Grid Living for Agrarians series. You will find it there, and I will add other Agrarian series and articles there as well. It will be a great resource for you and any other folks you want to send it to. Please remember to bookmark it and link to it on your own blogs.

We received some amount of rain during the storms, but I cannot tell you how much. It is hard for the rain gauge to catch water that is coming in horizontally. So I will guess that we got about 3/4 of an inch. It was nice though, and we needed it.

As you will read in the Process Driven Wife blog, Danielle, Robert, and Jennifer are up in Smyer taking care of my mother. We hope they will be home on Saturday.

Ok, I have to go to work. I hope to get Part 11 of the Off-Grid series done really soon.

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker