Well, That’s Different
After a number of years with just exposed OSB subfloor (and a couple of rugs) as the flooring in my kitchen… It now has (part of) a floor. Do not be fooled by that picture. It is still mostly this… I have
The Long-Neglected Upstairs Bath
Three years ago I had a great idea. An idea that was mostly driven by my desire to have one bathroom in this house that contained a tub suitable for soaking. Anyone remember this tub (with an effing fireplace?!) from my last
2017: Unexpected Progress and New Adventures
When I sat down to reflect on 2017 I expected to be a little disappointed with my progress around the farm, mostly because I spent fair amount of time last year gallivanting around the country, sleeping in a tent and climbing things.
Christmas on the Farm
Well, holy shit, it’s 2018. This year stared out by giving me a solid ass-kicking just so I would know who’s actually in charge around here. (Not me, clearly.) So, for the last 3 weeks I’ve been trying desperately to fix things
Chicken Nipples and Other Surprising Things
Sometimes I wonder if there will be a point in the future where someone googles my name for something important– you know, like a potential employer who might want to hire me, or if the government ever wants to offer me top-secret
Prepping for Winter & The Return Indoors
Up here in Michigan we had beautiful fall weather for about two weeks and then mother nature smirked and drop-kicked us right into winter, which became fully apparent when I found myself driving home last week. In snow. So by “prepping for winter”
The Farm and The Darkness
Listen, I know that Daylight Saving Time has been a part of my life every single year of my existence. This shit has happened to me thirty-six times and at this point it shouldn’t be surprising how much it affects my desire
DIY Climbing Wall: Part 1
So many weird and wonderful (and kind of unexpected) things have happened to me in the last year, not the least of which is that sometimes I do this now… Like, I’ve left the farm on more than one occasion to go
Rebuilding the Greenhouse: Foundations
Unsurprisingly, spending multiple weeks away from the farm this summer created a serious backlog of work to tackle now that I’m home. Some of that is maintenance, some of it is fun work, and some of it is shit I have to
Back on the Farm
You know, even after fourteen years of telling stories about my life (and the things I build) on the internet, I still spend an inordinate amount of time staring at a blinking cursor on a blank page every single time I sit down
In The Garden: All The Zucchini (and all the ways to eat it)
Every spring as I’m starting work in the vegetable garden– hours upon hours spent planting seeds, weeding, building garden boxes, mulching, composting, transplanting, watering, and generally siting around impatiently waiting for something to grow– I tell myself that this year, this year,
Summer on the Farm
Every year I go into spring with a ton of energy and a ton of projects, and I’m always convinced that energy and motivation will last the entire summer… until sometime in July when it gets hot and buggy out, and we’re
Idaho, Of All Places
Sometime late last year my dad informed me that my extended family wanted to take a vacation together this summer and that we would all be meeting up at the end of June… in Idaho. I can honestly say that up until
Building a Vineyard Trellis
When I first considered adding a few rows of grapevines to the farm, I figured building the trellis to grow them on would be the easy part. I mean, I’ve built entire houses before… how hard can a few posts with a
Spring Garden Tour
For so many of the early years on the farm spring was a daily, relentless battle against grass and weeds. One I almost always lost. So it’s a bit surreal to walk around the property this year and see a manicured lawn
A Long Week of Good Things
The last week in May is what I’ve come to think of as my Spring Sanity Week. Up until that point, I’m usually trying to balance the craziness of spring on the farm with all of the other things I’ve got going
The Long-Neglected Upstairs Bath
Three years ago I had a great idea. An idea that was mostly driven by my desire to have one bathroom in this house that contained a tub suitable for soaking. Anyone remember this tub (with an effing fireplace?!) from my last
2017: Unexpected Progress and New Adventures
When I sat down to reflect on 2017 I expected to be a little disappointed with my progress around the farm, mostly because I spent fair amount of time last year gallivanting around the country, sleeping in a tent and climbing things.
Christmas on the Farm
Well, holy shit, it’s 2018. This year stared out by giving me a solid ass-kicking just so I would know who’s actually in charge around here. (Not me, clearly.) So, for the last 3 weeks I’ve been trying desperately to fix things
Chicken Nipples and Other Surprising Things
Sometimes I wonder if there will be a point in the future where someone googles my name for something important– you know, like a potential employer who might want to hire me, or if the government ever wants to offer me top-secret
Prepping for Winter & The Return Indoors
Up here in Michigan we had beautiful fall weather for about two weeks and then mother nature smirked and drop-kicked us right into winter, which became fully apparent when I found myself driving home last week. In snow. So by “prepping for winter”
The Farm and The Darkness
Listen, I know that Daylight Saving Time has been a part of my life every single year of my existence. This shit has happened to me thirty-six times and at this point it shouldn’t be surprising how much it affects my desire
DIY Climbing Wall: Part 1
So many weird and wonderful (and kind of unexpected) things have happened to me in the last year, not the least of which is that sometimes I do this now… Like, I’ve left the farm on more than one occasion to go
Rebuilding the Greenhouse: Foundations
Unsurprisingly, spending multiple weeks away from the farm this summer created a serious backlog of work to tackle now that I’m home. Some of that is maintenance, some of it is fun work, and some of it is shit I have to
Back on the Farm
You know, even after fourteen years of telling stories about my life (and the things I build) on the internet, I still spend an inordinate amount of time staring at a blinking cursor on a blank page every single time I sit down
In The Garden: All The Zucchini (and all the ways to eat it)
Every spring as I’m starting work in the vegetable garden– hours upon hours spent planting seeds, weeding, building garden boxes, mulching, composting, transplanting, watering, and generally siting around impatiently waiting for something to grow– I tell myself that this year, this year,
Summer on the Farm
Every year I go into spring with a ton of energy and a ton of projects, and I’m always convinced that energy and motivation will last the entire summer… until sometime in July when it gets hot and buggy out, and we’re
Idaho, Of All Places
Sometime late last year my dad informed me that my extended family wanted to take a vacation together this summer and that we would all be meeting up at the end of June… in Idaho. I can honestly say that up until
Building a Vineyard Trellis
When I first considered adding a few rows of grapevines to the farm, I figured building the trellis to grow them on would be the easy part. I mean, I’ve built entire houses before… how hard can a few posts with a
Spring Garden Tour
For so many of the early years on the farm spring was a daily, relentless battle against grass and weeds. One I almost always lost. So it’s a bit surreal to walk around the property this year and see a manicured lawn
A Long Week of Good Things
The last week in May is what I’ve come to think of as my Spring Sanity Week. Up until that point, I’m usually trying to balance the craziness of spring on the farm with all of the other things I’ve got going
