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Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Hog-eyed Man

I just was presented with an old drawing done by my delightful daughter maybe when she was fourteen. It contains a side portrait of none other than me. It has the usual mouthful of teeth with a hint of a smile, maybe a sly smile. She makes note that it is her Dad. In the bubble of speakage it says "What me to play my fiddle? That's what I thought." It implies that I would take out my fiddle, ask the question and then play no matter what the audiance said. It was a like-it-or-leave-it comment and that no matter what others thought I was going to play my damn fiddle.


Ya, they got tired of my asking and probably playing but I have prevailed. The kids did move away but I don't think I drove them out, I don't think, but I never did ask. In any case, I love to play in the kitchen by the old cook stove.

If nothing else the old songs bring back a few memories of barn dances, maybe some history and a number of times in the distant mountains when we played for the reinactmnets of mountain men in the long ago. There were some great names to the tunes, Cluck Old Hen, Jack's Maggot, Nixon's Farwell and Hog Eyed Man. The music never goes away.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Sorta Sustainable Beer

For beer to be sustainable one would have to be able to make it without any way infringing on the ability of folks in the future being able to have enough beer. Seeing how beer is all made from renewable stuff like barley and hops, it should be pretty easy.



Well, I suppose that if the barley were grown on an industrial farm that uses tons of fuel to power the tractors and create the fertilizers, than it might not be sustainable, but if I were to grow all the stuff in a garden or find it in the woods then it would be cool.

Years ago I made a beer from chicken scratch and it actually tasted like beer, but not good beer. What it would all come down to is how desperate one is. I have grown hops so that one is easy. Growning the grain can be done if one has a little land and a willingness to do a bunch of hand work, but it could be done.

But there are two additional processes that require energy. One is the malting process that dries sprouted barley and the other is heating the wort. Interestingly, both of these could be done with a wood fire. Thus, the entire process would be done with renewables and would be sustainable at a local level---like my kitchen. Problem solved.

Now, I won't say that this jug-a-brewing is sustainable, but it is close. I didn't grow the grain nor malt it, but I did add some maple syrup to give it a sustainable zip. And I reused bottles. Next time the real thing. One more week and I am in the beer.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Sugar is Flowing


It was winter and then it was spring. Today the big maple was tapped and out of the fresh hole dripped the elixir of sweetness.

I decided that this year, as a way of being sustainable, I would only tap trees I could walk to. There are three giant ones in our yard good for 13 tapes. There is another 2 trees across the road in the town property and if Merilyn has a nice talk with the Sugar Maples in her yard maybe another 4. All told I could pick up another 12 tapes. That amount should give me a tidy couple gallons of maple syrup.

If we were to get rid of all corn sugar this would be enough to sweeten our teeth for a year. Getting rid of King Corn is not esary because it is everywhere but I think spare ribs with maple syrup, oatmeal with syrup and many more, sounds real good and it all comes from trees with in walking distance.

Now if I could make whiskey from it the world would really be right.

Revolution Watch--Changes

Headlines are telling. Of all the headlines shown, the most interesting to me is the one mentioning that the Train business is expanding. Many writers feel that the future mode of travel will be heavily dependent on rail, and low and behold what is the pattern here.

The auto sales are down, the post office is losing ground (Internet competition)and loss of billions, shops are closing and jobs are lost. It would seem that rail manufacturing, and all things associated might be the future for jobs and opportunity. Warren Buffet just purchased a major position in Burlington Northern. Wonder why!

Today, I read a piece that referred to this era as the Age of Decline. Not to heartening. Then I guess if we have a Sustainable Revolution, we have to be sustainable. I have a feeling China building and bringing on line 2 new coal fired electric plants every week is not sustainable. Then too, having 82 million more people on the earth every year is not that desirable either. Oh, I forgot the 15 million news cars to be sold in China this year---to folks who last years road bikes. Well, what can ya say?

Bringing a motor to Life

Over a year ago my brother Jeff and I found ourselves the possessor's of a 1930s McCormick Deering stationary motor. It is a brute weighing in at some 300 pounds producing a massive 3 (three) house power. It is much like the industrial revolution and while it is not a Rummly Oil Pull, it does have a primitive, rather aesthetic way about it. It is as if it means business and plans to be on the earth for many generations.


It moves at only 600 RPMs and is easily repaired. Most of the parts, oddly enough, are still very available. it is our intention to get it back on line, fired up and have it ready for the revolution. We are not sure its use but we do believe that when called up on it will last many generations.

It is close to being ready at this moment. It is looking like a machine of the ages, some the late iron age and some the bronze age. The old engine has a raw beauty that radiates the efforts of man to that point in time. Years ago it ran on kerosene but I believe it will run on ethanol and cooking oil. Only time will tell.

The end of Winter

Two weeks ago it was still winter and as near as I could tell it wasn't even close to being done. I looked out to the side shed and there sat my bike all engulfed in snow. The days never even hinted at a change in time---just winter, the time to hide by the stove.



That day we walked across the bridge over the Tommorrow River and looked south. For reasons not yet apparent, a portion had opened up, the portion where in late fall we had seen a River Otter. It seemed to make little sense because it was still winter and there had been a above freezing day in months. But there apparenetly are other forces that had detected the subtle changing weather. The river was opening. Nature decided to break the ice once the daytime average drifted above 20. Combine the intruding water temperature and subtract the penetrating cold air of deep winter and the playground of the otter returned.



I pulled the Folboat out from under the west side shed and it became covered in what I thought was just another winter snow but the boat, like the otter, detected the changing river. It all melted and today it is spring.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Revolution Watch, Sustainability

There has been a few times in the last couple of years when I've had to really wonder what was truly sustainable. Literally, what am I doing today that will be in use 50 years on? How will we have to conduct ourselves now so that those in the future will able to indefinitely enjoy a reasonable life?

Obviously, many things will have to go. One of them I suspect will be the motor vehicle, or at least every individual having one. Their use will simply be marginalized even if they are electric. Energy will simply not be available to the level it is being used today.



There is a large group of individuals (they are vastly more educated than myself) that believe the Amish may represent one possible pattern of life worth considering, at least there living habits, not their breeding habits.

Parked here at the Amish store we frequent, is one of their modes of travel. I am sure it is well know just how much feed, hay and oats, one of these horses consumes. Let's say 5 acres of pasture---and it all has to be harvested and stored . If each family in our county had a horse and buggy and there are ten thousand families (there are, I believe about 40,000 people in Portage county) then we would have to have 50,000 acres of hay fields. Interesting. One would have to wonder how is that possible.

But then there are some 11 million people from Milwaukee to Gary Indiana. I think I see a math problem. In 1900 (the last time horses were in common use) the population of the entire US was only 7 times as big as the above Milwaukee-Gary is now. The US has now grown 4 times greater. So what is the future of personal transportation?