The water behind my most recent dam is almost frozen. Since the springs are all running at about 50°, the water is still able to flow. This spot is covered with ice, but once I put a little pressure on it it cracked.

The original spring is still flowing and did not freeze at all. Once the water moves out of the spring it freezes, but the water in the well stay above freezing naturally.

This is a project I haven’t showcased yet. Mainly due to the fact that it failed, but in the spring I will take another picture and let you decide.

I have a garden tractor for cutting the grass in the field, I am in the midst of building a rock tumbler out of tires.  I am by all means a supporter of using equipment, however I have a preference for not damaging my beautiful trees. Large equipment needs roads and bridges to get places, but all I need is a shovel, mattock, and an axe. I  don’t have the resources or the need to get everything done quickly. I also don’t want to destroy the woods, so I generally opt for the greener choice.

I have found swinging an axe is a good way to deal with stress and have since started carving with hatchets. The mattock allows me to be careful of all of the pretty Flint Ridge Flint in the ground and my shovel helps me move the dirt in my way. I might enjoy being done digging, but I would most likely find another spring to dig. I like the exercise, so handwork is my preference.

Somethings in our plans on the farm require equipment and since we are on a budget those things are going to wait. I would like to build a couple dams and bridges on the property, so I can harvest the water and its energy.

I have been playing with a couple of springs on the farm for the past year and have made quite a bit of progress. I have two running springs right now and three that I am planning to develop in 2016.

 

I have finally found it! My favorite thing to do while procrastinating a stressful situation away is carving axe handles. What is even better is that I have a couple felled Shagbark Hickory trees on the farm, so I don’t have to go buy the wood.

It all starts with a block of wood.With every pass of the draw knife and every chop of the hatchet, the handle is more distinguishable.Shavings fall by-the-wayside as the wood piles up. Each chunk and curl sits beneath my make-shift shaving horse, making the air smell of hickory. This is why I like do this.I make my own axe handles to make it personal. I want to take care of my axe, because I made it. My handle fits my hand like an off the shelf handle can’t.  That is because my handle is hand carved by my hands, for my hands. This is my axe handle.

Before and after The sweet smell of hickory on the farm is like no other.

It has been a nice winter so far this year. We have only received a few measurable inches of snow on the ground and our cold days have been limited. This has allowed us to get a little more done on the farm than usual at this time of year.

We started with cleaning up some of the underbrush from around our old fallen barn. There are still things under all of the fallen wood and slate shingles. Among the treasures are wagon wheels, a wagon, grinding stones, and an antique porcelain farm sink. While we are starting to clean up the brush around the barn, it will most likely be next fall or winter when we start pulling it all apart.

With all the chores, of cleaning the farm, we have to find a way to have fun. So, we go on hikes through the woods to hunt for flint on the creek bed. The flint, that is under the dirt at the farm, used to be one of the most renowned tool making materials for Native Americans and early settlers. The flint is still revered by Rockhounds and knappers alike for its color and knapability.

We have been collecting and rough tumbling Flint Ridge flint while we are gone over the winter. It is a great decorating material. We like to put it in mason jars and set it on the bookcase in out living room. The wide variety of color of stone at the farm is amazing.

It was a beautiful 45° day on The Farm, so I decided to go spring hunting with Woody. It didn’t take us long before we found the perfect spring.

Here’s Wood Dog flying through the woods to sniff out the water source:

Hiding behind all of those leaves is a spring just waiting to shed water.The dirt, clay, puddled mud, rocks and leaves actually hinder the flow of the spring water from the aquifer , so I like to help out and free the pressure.

Now that I have found my spring exposed, I like to plan out how the water will be contained. I would prefer to build a nice concrete dam, but dirt will do.

I think I will put a nice dam in the erosion path of the spring. The sides are there so now I just need to fill it with dirt and put a temporary overflow to relieve pressure. This has helped, in my previous dam construction, to slow the natural erosion on a packed earth dam. Once the dam fills up I’ll post a picture of the “completed” project.

Sometimes on the farm there are power struggles. Its usually between us and the house, but this time of year is the hardest struggle of all. Winter has set in and it looks to be here to stay for the remainder of the season. Abnormally high temperatures were great to start the season off, but now its just plain cold. Today was 5°, – 11° with windchill, and that is brutally cold. I even had today off, but there was no way I could dress warm enough to go out in those temperatures. Even with the right clothes I still couldn’t have let Woody run around in that, so that is why I stayed inside. Winter might win now, but as soon as I get a chance to get some work done out there I’ll be all over it.

I guess this is as good a time as any to start planning for the future. Nothing too serious, maybe a couple dam builds and a spring or two, maybe I will finally get my Alaskan Mill and start my timber framed wood shop. If that isn’t enough to keep me busy this summer, then finding and polishing some more flint will take up the rest of my time. I have a couple ideas planned out for some flint crafts and once it’s warm enough again, I will be able to start on them.

This is why winter is a power struggle. Time keeps moving and the world keep turning and I am just sitting here with my hands tied, on a farm that has no chance, in weather that is too cold for fire to start. Hello spring and good riddance winter.