tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18600351541429326632024-02-06T19:54:27.431-08:00Serendipity Ramblings ala LynxLynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-47394121506876514512016-01-29T20:19:00.003-08:002016-01-29T20:22:50.592-08:00Bad Behaviour in ChildrenScenario:<br />
<br />
Son is being very quiet, You, the parent goes looking for him. Parent finds son in the bathroom, squeezing toothpaste all over and spraying cologne. Parent "Stop that! Put that cologne back! How many times do I have to tell you not to play with the toothpaste and cologne!" Son looks at you defiantly and squeezes more toothpaste out. Parent reaches out and grabs the toothpaste from son, and smacks his hand. "Nooooo!!" Son throws the cologne at Parent. Parent yells "we do NOT throw things" and grabs the cologne and smacks it down on the counter. Son yells back and hits parent. Parent goes "That's it! you're getting a spanking!" *spank* "You do not use things that are not yours" *spank* "When I tell you to stop, you stop" *spank* *spank* We do NOT throw things and we do NOT hit!" *spank* *spank* *spank* "Now go to your room!" Son goes to his room wailing after the the spanking.<br />
<br />
1 hour later:<br />
<br />
Son is pulling things out of a cupboard.<br />
"STAY out of the cupboard! Put those BACK." Son ignores you and continues pulling things out. Parent goes over to son and says "Put those back NOW!" Son says "NOOO!!" Parent grabs son's hand, puts a thing in it, and shoves son's hand toward the cupboard. "Now put it back!" Son throws the thing at Parent. Parent says "We do NOT throw, now put that back." Son throws another thing at Parent. Parent smacks his hand. Parent says "Put it back now, or you're getting a spanking." Son yells no and hits Parent. Parent goes *spank* *spank* *spank* *spank* now put it back. Son, upset and crying, puts the things back. Parent glares at Son and says, "Now stay out of there or else!!"<br />
<br />
1 hour later:<br />
Daughter is playing with a toy. Son grabs it and tries to take it from Daughter. Daughter protests and holds onto it. Son says "LET GO NOW" Daughter doesn't let go, and protests more. Son hits daughter's hand, daughter lets go, and then cries, since she lost the toy, and hits his hand. Son hits Daughter harder and yells at her, "I want it! It's my toy!!" Parent comes over to Son and Daughter and goes "Son, what is wrong with you! DO NOT HIT YOUR SISTER!! How many times do I have to tell you we do not take what isn't ours, we do not yell and we do not hit!" *spank* *spank* *spank* *spank* "Now go to your room!"<br />
<br />
That son is quite the brat, isn't it? He's going to be a problem child and an even bigger problem teenager when he grows up. He's just always hitting, his parents, his siblings, and now his siblings are copying him too! He's probably going to end up being a horribly violent person. That Parent has tried so hard to teach him that we do not take things from others, we do not throw things at people, and do not hit people. This Parent is trying to teach Son not to do take, yell, throw, and hit, but Son isn't learning very well. WRONG.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, Parent has forgotten one very important thing about parenting. The biggest influencer of behaviour, especially of a young child, is modelling. Children model their parents, all the time, in almost everything. Son, like all children, is actually a very very good at learning to copying his role-models.<br />
<br />
Son, has learnt that when someone does something that you don't like, you are to speak aggressively and/or accusatorily to the person. If someone has something someone else wants, or thinks they shouldn't have, again, speak aggressively/accusatorily to them. If that doesn't get the results you want, you escalate and get more aggressive and yell at them. If they don't do what you want, or give the thing up, go after them, take it from them, with aggression if you have to. If they protest, or try to refuse, hit them. If they continue to protest, and if they yell back, hit them harder, again and again until they submit, or until you feel it's an adequate punishment.<br />
<br />
<br />
You see, this, is exactly what the Parent has done to the Son. The Son is very good at modelling his Parent's behaviour, and this, is exactly what Son has done to Daughter, and also to some extent, back at Parent. It seems that Daughter, and any other siblings, are beginning to "copy Son" but in actuality, they are copying Parent, and then, to a much lesser degree, their older sibling.<br />
<br />
I don't agree with your discipline methods, and I think there are better ways. But I can't stop you. But I can say this:<br />
<br />
If you are disciplining your child in this manner, that is definitely
up to you. However, remember this when you get all frustrated about your
child's yelling and hitting and aggression: the only thing they are actually doing
are copying YOU, copying YOUR BEHAVIOUR as their role model, as their parent.<br />
<br />
Make of that what you will.Lynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-2271282618600110892013-07-14T08:48:00.001-07:002013-07-14T08:49:11.746-07:00First Look At A Potential PropertySo there's this piece of property near here for sale. Five acres for $7000, crown-leased land. Lease is about $170 a year. For those who are wondering what crown-leased land is, well, first, I do believe it's a Canadian thing. I'm up in Canada. The crown (ie. the federal government) owns the vast majority of land in Canada, especially in the northern regions of the provinces. You can lease this land from the crown, but the process of trying to lease it is long and difficult.<br />
<br />
It's a nice piece of property. I like it. It has two acres fences already. There is a possibility of buying another acre. Water comes from the nearby lake. No electricity.<br />
<br />
There are problems though. It's currently zoned or rated for horses. I would like a small hobby farm - horses maybe, two cattle, some goats, sheep, alpacas, dogs, and <i>maybe</i> two pigs and the yearly piglets. I would have to apply to the crown to have that changed so I can have those animals on there as well.<br />
<br />
I want to live on there full time. From what the man selling it said, currently a permanent residence on there is not allowed, although a movable residence would be. I would have to apply to have that. Or I could just build it. It's not like they really care - I think. I have to decide what size of cabin I would build on there, if I do build one.<br />
<br />
The process of getting approval for the different animals would be a pretty long process, apparently.<br />
<br />
I want to look at the lease, the drawings of the parcel, I need a water sample from the lake there. I need to figure out a way to get water to My place. Electricity (solar), heat (wood) I need shelter for the animals. I want at least two, if not four movable pens (for sheep).<br />
<br />
I think the man really wants to get rid of the property though - he was already talking about it as mine.<br />
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<br />Lynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-79107263179357479542013-07-13T22:50:00.002-07:002013-07-14T08:27:22.662-07:00Picking The Minds Of Wise Eldars For The Pearls Of Wisdom. Or Attempting To, Anyway.So I got mentioned by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/17224906349154302210" target="_blank">Greenpa</a> in a blog post at his blog, the <a href="http://littlebloginthebigwoods.blogspot.ca/2013/02/prelude-to-rats-in-b-major.html" target="_blank">Little Blog In The Big Woods</a>. It was in response to my comment over <a href="http://littlebloginthebigwoods.blogspot.ca/2012/12/news-watchers-get-your-binoculars-now.html?showComment=1354828021123#c3991698352764560736" target="_blank">here</a> on another blog post.<br />
He says:<br />
"One of my readers, who goes by Lynx, helped push me in this direction. His entire comment is available below <a href="http://littlebloginthebigwoods.blogspot.com/2012/12/news-watchers-get-your-binoculars-now.html">this recent post</a>. I recommend it, if you have the time. A few excerpts:"<br />
<br />
I wrote a big long reply to this post, and then realized: I really should post a short one, and write a blog post myself. So, I did.<br />
<br />
<br />
Well, well. I'm honoured to have my comment so commemorated.<br />
<br />
Also, I'm a lady. She, not he. :p<br />
<br />
Quite frankly, I can't remember whether it was intended in humour or not, but I suspect it was partially. :) I'm glad you got quite a few laughs out of it.<br />
<br />
It's also completely serious. I know you can't answer all, or even several of the questions, and I don't expect you to. It was good to get all those questions out there, for me.<br />
<br />
'"Hey, please tell me everything you know!" is actually a request I get
fairly frequently; and often with no realization on the part of the
asker about what's truly involved. I think you realize. :-) '<br />
<br />
I try to realize. I know it's a big task I've set myself. I have been researching this information off and on since I asked the questions. It gets a bit more serious and personal for me right now, because I may be buying a piece of property somewhat soon - 5 acres for 7k (maybe less), 2 of which are fenced, no buildings. And yes, I know that's a very small plot, especially for everything I'd love to do. However, the job I have currently pays well and is good, so I do not want to quit to move elsewhere, and large chunks of land around here just aren't that available. It's mostly crown land (I live in northern Canada). I may end up being able to lease more land from the Crown once I get going there.<br />
<br />
So all these questions I've asked...I'm actively looking for the answers now. As well as all the other questions that come with potentially buying a piece of property. What kind of zoning does the property have - can I even build anything
on it? Is it crown lease, or private? Freehold? what about water,
mineral, and tree rights? Leins on the property?<br />
<br />
I have to decide, what kind of house am I going to build, in what format, with what materials, what kind of insulation. Do I build it myself, or hire a contractor? for just the framing, or the interior too? What kind of insulation will I go with, and where do I get it? What kind of foundation am I going to need? Is bedrock right on the surface? How and where am I going to get water? From a well (is that possible?), from a spring (are there any?), from the lake (how close is it, are there any contaminants, and is there potential for flooding?)? Once I get water, how do I keep the water lines from freezing? What kind of greywater system do I want and will work? Can I legally use a "sawdust" composting toilet, or will I be required to get a commercial one? What can I use in lieu of sawdust? <br />
<br />
Some of these things I'm looking into, I know where I can probably find the information. Some I don't, but I will figure it out.<br />
<br />
If I buy it, once I build a place to live and move out there, I will almost guaranteed have to buy a snowmobile before that year's coming winter - another thing to research.<br />
<br />
So I attempt to pick your brains, Greenpa, other people's brains, I buy books on the subjects, I read blogs. I <i>research</i>. Because it's important. It's essential. I want to build right the first time. Do this right, the first time. But I won't be afraid to fail, because eventually, I will. Just means I'll have to try again, in a different wayLynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-54136490512477991222012-10-22T16:06:00.002-07:002012-10-22T16:06:38.880-07:00CompostingI've been reading a lot about composting. Composting toilets as an alternative to water-based toilets, as well as composting food and other biodegradables. It's something that I am really interested in, as composting significantly reduces waste. <br />
<br />
Last night I started work as a waitress in a Husky restaurant on a major highway. I ended up making $20 in tips, 25% of which went to the cook, allowing me to take $15 home (which promptly went into my gas tank so I could I <i>get</i> home.<br />
<br />
Now one of the things that I noticed was just how much biodegradable waste was going into the garbage. The garbage was one of those large heavy-duty plastic ones, it was completely full at the end of the night, and probably about 90% or more of that garbage was biodegradable. It's got me thinking. <br />
<br />
What kind of market is there for compost? Who buys it? Who could it be marketed to?<br />
<br />
As well, what kind of market is there for collecting compost? Is this something that I could make money off of? A strange idea of a job, but there it is. What would it be like to really and truly reduce the amount of garbage in landfills?<br />
<br />
I would have to find out however, if I'd be able to get enough carbon based materials to keep up with the compost-able nitrogen based materials.<br />
<br />
Also, I would need a location where I could do this composting. That....might be rather interesting to find.<br />
<br />
Anyways, more thoughts on this to come.<br />
<br />
<br />Lynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-19778949473908482382012-10-22T13:21:00.000-07:002012-10-22T15:16:52.725-07:00Dog Sledding! Oh how I miss you dogs.<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kTuJrAJAzxY" width="560"></iframe>
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Dee on the right in lead (brown), Glee on the left (white)<br />
Oslo and Orbit<br />
Oakly (I should have taken Otto, sigh) and Obee<br />
Oslo, Orbit, Oakly, Obee, and Otto are all siblings.
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Old Duke, 14 years old this summer. Awesome dog. A real sweetheart.
Lynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-2264276854362166042012-04-29T16:44:00.000-07:002012-04-29T16:46:38.162-07:00Lynx's Notebook on a Farm, April 27th, 2012So, the farm here has a lot of garbage. Although glass jars are used for storing milk (we happen to have a lovely Jersey milk cow and calf), we don't really have an other food storage containers, glass or otherwise. Leftovers are kind of wasted. Often they will get eaten, but they also get thrown out. Or they get eaten and I'm simply not there. There are pieces of garbage just everywhere. Shouldn't an organic farm be making an effort to not produce garbage? And to not have what garbage there is strewn all over the property? He uses plastics and paper feed bags. What about canvas? Couldn't those be reusable, especially if they're good quality? Same with twine. Use twine from a biodegradable source, such as cotton, jute, flax, and hemp. If you cut it as little as possible when taking it off of bales, and keep the used twine on rollers or even just bundled up, you can reuse it for a myriad number of applications. Also, if you always carry a bag (used feedbag) or a backpack with you, you can stuff any cut ends of string or cut wire in it. It can also be used to hold a hydration pack, nails, hammer, and any number of items. This way, there is no garbage strewn on the ground.<br />
<br />
Chickens should be made full use of. The layers have a great skill of scattering manure. Make and use an eggmobile. Also can use electric fence or netting. Details as in <i>Pastured Poultry Profits.</i><br />
<br />
Yesterday I set up fencing for a new pasture for the cattle. The electric fencing is really easy to do. The cattle are easy to move. If you are moving them a fair ways, you do need a fenced corridor, but that is easy enough to set up. To get the cattle to follow, simply have a bucket of oats and throw handfuls on the ground to your side. If you're simply moving them to a new pasture that is directly beside the old one, just open the fencing and they will go through. Well, they will go through if there is fresh grass, and they're used to going through. This fencing system is easy enough that one person can do it. One person could farm the land. For haying, you could hire a neighbour to cut and bales the hay and/or straw.<br />
<br />
Hay bales and straw bales. I think I need to investigate this more. Personally, I prefer the rectangular bales to the round bales, or hayballs as the other <a href="http://www.wwoof.org/" target="_blank">WWOOF</a>er calls them. I think that although the hayballs and strawballs are nice, they require big tractors to lift and move them. One person and a tractor can handle them. The rectangular bales however, specifically the two-string bales, one person can handle without any machinery (although hay is quite a bit heavier than straw). It would be possible to load a trailer full of bales and then move them via truck. It would probably use less gas than the tractor. If you only wanted one or two bales, then simply loading them onto the back of your pickup truck would work. The hayballs are quite nice for winter though, as you can simply stick it in the feed/round hay holder, and the cattle feed from that. I would think that generally one is not using hay in late spring, summer, and fall - those are the times to be collecting hay, not using it. All the herbivores are eating grass. For horses and donkeys, one should probably offer hay anyways, but that wouldn't be using much. Overall, I think I would go with the rectangular bales over the round bales. It is something to be researched however.<br />
<br />
Going back to fencing and watering, apparently you can get a good fencing system for about $2000. He uses a watering truck, that is a truck with a large plastic tank in the pickup bed, to water many of the animals. The other <a href="http://www.wwoof.org/" target="_blank">WWOOF</a>er and I were discussing fencing and water supply. He had several ideas on how to improve the current system. What you could do instead, is buy the land, look it over, choose the house location (if there is no house yet), figure out the water supply or source, the sites of outbuildings such as barns, sheds, and granaries. Then (or first, if you like), you figure out how you're going to use the land - where the pastures are going to be. You can set water lines, specifically very well insulated water lines in the ground (probably about four feet down, below the frost line to avoid freezing), as well as wire for electricity, and have access points coming up at various points where you're planning to pasture. As well, add permanent fence posts to be corners for your fencing. The reason for the permanent corners is that the corner posts are put under a lot of strain and when they are the fibreglass or plastic posts, they tend to bend, break, or fall over.<br />
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Set up in this fashion, one post could service four fields. Depending on the size of the fields, and especially in summer where you don't have to worry about freezing water lines, you could have on EWC (electricity water corner) service 16 fields - the adjacent fields and the fields adjacent to those. Just use garden hoses to extend the water, and wire to extend the electricity. In winter, one could quadruple the field size (would be quadrupling the field size in winter be a a good thing?). The initial investment would be quite high to set up a system like this, and if there were any problems such as leaks in the water line or corroded wire, it would be difficult to fix, but I think that the amount that you would save would be huge, in both money and time. You would simply have valves that you can turn, opening and closing EW pathways, to get the water and electricity flowing to where you want it. You can also put the cattle in a barn or barns for the winter, and have said barn adjacent to four fields. Have a road to the barn. It would work. Especially if you put the barn, house, and other outbuildings in the middle of the land. That would give equal access in all directions.Lynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-21845650422539784862012-04-29T15:08:00.002-07:002012-04-29T15:08:56.769-07:00Lynx's Notebook on a Farm, April 25th, 2012Chicken, garbage, plastic, string. What are their place on an organic farm. Chickens belong. Others?Lynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-49559766244939704492012-04-29T15:05:00.001-07:002012-04-29T15:38:57.318-07:00Lynx's Notebook on a Farm, April 24th, 2012First impressions are important on an organic farm, especially one that you would like to have a lot of people coming to. If you want your farm to be people friendly, encouraging to visitors, customers, and potential customers, or just those who simply wish to see what an organic farm looks like, you have to make the farm look nice. <i>You can't have it looking like a dump.</i><br />
<br />
Having several outbuildings are okay. Even having them look old is okay. However, having them [looking] broken down and falling apart is not. It just looks bad and makes the organic farming community look bad. If you have broken down vehicles or tractors, park them together so they're not all over the place. The same goes for working vehicles currently not in use.<br />
<br />
When doing anything, it would be a good idea to always keep an empty feed bag with you in your vehicle so that if you're doing anything that will give little (or big) bits of waste, such as string, wire, nails, pieces of wood, etc. they are picked up right away. Such things quickly blow away from their original drop-spot, get buried (to later puncture tires), get carried off, and/or eaten. It isn't worth it to just leave it there to be picked up later. Big tractor tires are filled with toxic fluid and are about $400 to repair if they get punctured.<br />
<br />
On the subject of fencing, the farm here uses electric fencing, and mainly fibreglass poles that have these wire holders (I think they're called fibreglass insulators, but could be wrong). He also uses some plastic poles with metal or rebar sticking out the bottom (the part that is driven into the ground). You can also used metal rebar as poles.<br />
<br />
The fibreglass is nice. I assume they're relatively cheap. Apparently some of the ones in use here are the original ones bought 20 years ago. If the insulators aren't on them, they bundle well, making carrying them easy. However, you must use gloves to handle them or you're get tons of tiny glass slivers in your hands. If your gloves aren't very good you can get them anyways. If the wire holders are on them it is difficult to carry many. In winter they can be pounded into the ground using a piece of pipe and hammer, which is difficult to do with the plastic ones, as for one the metal in them is cheap and bends relatively easy, and it's difficult to hammer down plastic. It is difficult however to get the poles out in winter and spring because they tend to freeze into the ground, and it's difficult to get a grip on them. They also splinter off/break. If you really want to get the pole out, you can break it out, but that leaves a bit left in the ground which can later puncture tires or possibly injure livestock who step on them or happen to ingest them. I assume it would be even more difficult to get said pieces out later, if you could even find them. Since the insulators are slid on, they're are fully adjustable, which is quite advantageous. They are also non-conductive, however they are not biodegradable. The farm here seems to think that the pros outweigh the cons of fibreglass poles. They <i>have</i> been using them for the past 15 years. I, however, am not so convinced. Perhaps for winter use, they are better, but not year-round, in my opinion.<br />
<br />
I prefer the plastic poles because they stack easily, making it vary easy to bundle and carry them. They have holders built into them for the electric wire at several different heights. They are non-conductive. At the bottom of each post is a pieces of metal or rebar, which is the part that is driven into the ground. They can only go a fixed depth into the ground, so if you have had very deep snow you would not be able to hit earth (not necessarily a bad thing, if the snow is hard). If the metal does not go all the way into the ground, they are prone to tipping and bending over. This can make them unsuitable in thin, very dense, or hard soil. They're also more likely to bend out of shape or warp. The metal part itself appears very prone to bending. You cannot pound them into the ground. Driving over the fence can be more difficult as well, as the wire must be held down or moved to a different height; a difficult proposition when dealing with electric fencing. Also, plastic is generally not environmentally friendly, but then again neither is fibreglass, I believe. However, the plastic is far safer on your hands to handle, and if you accidentally touch it with another part of your body, it is not immediately hazardous like the fibreglass is.<br />
<br />
Some farmers use metal rebar, which has the advantages of being cheap, plentiful, and easy to use. It has all the great properties of fibreglass, with few of the negatives. It can use the insulators, be fully adjustable, it's pound-able, easily carried, won't split like fibreglass, and won't give slivers. However, it is heavier. In summer, they would likely get quite hot, and in winter freezing. They're probably easier to remove though since they're far easier to grip than fibreglass. Their one big flaw is that they're conductive. If the wire comes off of the insulator and touches the rebar pole, or if you need to wrap the wire around the post, it will ground it and anything past that point in the circuit will have no power. Overall, although there are great benefits to them, I do not think that the potential problems of grounded wire would be worth it. <br />
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One type of post that was not mentioned by the farmer here was wooden posts. I do not know if they would work well or not. They're less skin hazardous than fibreglass (wood slivers can actually be pulled out), non-conductive, can be fully adjustable. Depending on the species of wood, it could probably be pounded into the ground in winter. A biodegradable, sustainable product. The possible disadvantages are cost, strength, flexibility (would they break easily?), possibility of breaking a lot or shattering from frozen water, possible fire hazard, rotting, moulding, and insects. How many uses or years would such a pole be expected to get? Depending on these factors, wood could be a viable possibility. Most preservatives for wood are toxic for the environment, and naturally resistant woods such as cedar are expensive and a declining resource. <br />
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Overall, I can see why this farm would choose to use mainly fibreglass, but I would prefer something different if possible. <br />
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Some of the gates here are make-shift gates made by using two posts and wire fencing. The fencing is attached to one side of the fence, there's a wooden post in the middle of the "gate" for rigidness, and another at the end. The gate is closed by wrapping a piece of wood around the end post and sticking it on the other side of the fence. When you open the gate, it falls on the ground.
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I understand why a person would make such a gate instead of buying a proper gate: they're far cheaper. However, it is far more difficult to close it, as the middle post does not want to stay upright when attempting to close the gate, and you have to pull quite hard on the far post to get the stick around it and keep it closed. I think it is also not as sturdy or safe as a proper gate. If you're making the gate yourself, it really would not be that much more expense and time to put something across the top, bottom, and diagonally to stabilize it, and to put hinges on. Easier and faster to open and close the gate, and safer.<br />
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It's too much of a shortcut and savings, in my opinion. Would may be alright for a very temporary gate, but that "temporary" can quickly become "permanent" as changing it is continually put off for so-called "more important" things.<br />
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For electric fencing, apparently it is best to have a good steel wire to transport the charge out to where you'll be making the movable fencing with the string-like wire, which makes sense. The farmer here uses a permanent fence to do that - a fence that is used with the bison. All his electricity for his fencing comes from the same source.<br />
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The thing about electric fencing, is if an part of a circuit is touching the ground, it will be grounded, and any part of the circuit past that spot will not have a charge. So if one part of the circuit is grounded, depending on where that part is, it could potentially take out almost the entire circuit. If you have 4 pastures enclosed using the same circuit of fencing, and in the first 10 feet the wire gets grounded, the whole circuit is without power. If in the last 10 feet, then all but that 10 feet will have power, so it wouldn't really be a problem then. So, the potential (and very real) problems of having many pastures on the same series of circuit is a high concern. I don't see why one would only use one circuit instead of two or more. It might be cheaper with only one, but the negatives are pretty high. Something somewhere gets grounded, and all your animals could get loose. Wouldn't it be better to have multiple circuits? I know some people use batteries instead. <br />
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Bison. Bison are beautiful. Their meat is utterly delicious. It is different and exotic tasting. It is also pricier, which means a potential higher profit. They don't seem to need a lot of care, just green pastures or hay-bales, and water, salt, and minerals. They seem to birth easily, and the mothers are highly protective, with a good mothering instinct. However, they're slaughtered at two and a half to three years of age, while cattle are slaughtered a bit younger, at two years of age, I believe. That's an extra six months to a year of feeding: expenses. They're also wild animals - they're not tame. You cannot walk among them as you would with cattle. The farm here hires a professional shooter to kill them, because you must kill them when they're calm. If they're full of fear when they die, it can wreck the flavour of the meat. They're spooky and easily startled. In order to do anything with them such as ear-tagging or moving, you have to catch them, which can be difficult. To tag them, this farm uses a series of fencing, gates, and chutes to move them around and then restrain them. Perhaps you would need to do the same with cattle to ear-tag them, but I think it would be a lot easier with the cattle.<br />
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They breed in August, calve in May. Gestation period is nine months. Calves are separated from their mothers at about one year of age, before the mothers calve again, I guess. Mothers will very much want to be back with their calves, and can jump over six feet plus fences (dangerous). They thrive on grass, and are good at surviving winters. They probably have a natural resistance to parasites.<br />
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I am uncertain as to whether I would want to breed and farm them. They are definitely exotics. They require much stronger fencing, permanent fencing, which translates to higher expenses. I think far more money could be made with cattle, with fewer and lower expenses. It would also be harder to control the breeding and make sure that there is an adequate gene pool. From where else can you get breeding bulls? It's not like there are an abundance of bison farmers to exchange bulls with. that means your bulls are more likely to be coming from within the herd, which limits genetic diversity.<br />
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I haven't had much to do with the cattle yet. They're just getting hay, water, minerals and salt right now. I'm hoping it gets more involved later on. Several cows are due to calve in the next few weeks, which is exciting. I really want to learn more about them. Everything about them. Currently, I have learned almost nothing. They are okay to walk around in the field with them. They're not aggressive, and not spooky. They'll walk away from you, but they're not really afraid. I like them.<br />
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Pigs. It seems as though this farm's main focus is pigs, although I could be wrong. Springtime is different from summer, especially early spring. The nights still drop below freezing and snow was still on the ground about a week and a half ago. I need to research what pigs eat in the wild, as well as find out what kind of mix these pigs are fed. I know it's a mixture of grains and some other things. Is this what pigs should be eating? Shouldn't they be getting some form of meat or protein? Are pigs herbivores or omnivores? Are grains an ideal type of food? What is an ideal type of food? Here, they usually lose one pig a month, or 12 pigs a year, usually to illness or parasites. Can one feed them differently in order to not even get parasites? Or specifically to not get overwhelmed with them? According to Joel Salatin, illness of any sort is often the symptom of some sort of malnutrition - nutritional deficiency or stale living quarters. This farm has used in the short past, and is ordering some more diatomaceous earth. He feeds it to the pigs, it kills most or all of the parasites. To my way of thinking, although the diatomaceous earth is far natural than parasite medication such as de-wormers or antibacterials, it does the same thing: it treats the symptom (parasites), without treating the problems (why are they getting the parasites?).<br />
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Also, what exactly does the diatomaceous earth do? Can it have an adverse effect on the pigs innards? It makes little tears in the parasites and they dehydrate or bleed out. That's how they're killed. Could it not do the same thing to the intestines? Make little tears and cause problems?<br />
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Although I do not know, and I do intend to find out for sure, it seems like the pigs are being fed a mixure of grains, unlimited hay, and whatever they want and can get from rooting in the pasture. Is this enough? Does this provide optimal nutrition? According to the one <a href="http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/publ/wlnotebook/pig.htm" target="_blank">website</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1860035154142932663" name="diet">Feral pigs are opportunistic omnivores that eat whatever
plants or animals happen their way. They especially relish acorns as
well as hickory and beech nuts in the autumn. At other times of the year
they eat forbs, grasses, leaves, berries and other fruits, roots and
tubers, corn and other agricultural crops, insects, crayfish, frogs,
salamanders, snakes, mice, eggs of ground-nesting birds, young rabbits,
fawns and young livestock, such as lambs, calves, kids. They can also
kill larger livestock that are weak from illness or injury. When fresh
meat is not available, feral pigs will also readily scavenge carrion.</a></blockquote>Lynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-22171456965733550082012-03-10T20:47:00.001-08:002012-03-10T20:47:13.308-08:00StrawBaleHouse<a href="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=bc831d4efef04d5988c230283c355947&esrc=bl">StrawBaleHouse</a>: <table><tbody><tr><td><img alt="" src="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/download?mid=bc831d4efef04d5988c230283c355947&rtyp=lt&ctyp=other&ts=1331363160000"><br />
<br><br />
3D model by<br />
<a href="/3dwarehouse/search?uq=1799995467614728188300095&scoring=m">Lynx</a></td>
<td valign="top">This is a model of a straw bale house, load-bearing. It is NOT finished.This is not necessarily done correctly. I am not an architect nor an engineer, nor even a carpenter. But as it is so far, I...</td></tr></tbody></table>Lynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-38072237419064181702012-02-16T08:11:00.001-08:002012-03-08T13:31:07.921-08:00What do I believe? Food:Eat organic whenever possible. Make it possible. Preferably from grass-fed ruminants, natural-diet poultry, home-grown or farmers market vegetables and fruit. it's far more nutritious, and therefore one doesn't need to eat as much to be full, and not just full but nourished. Also, avoid GMO's as much as possible. <br /><br />I beg of you though, do not go vegetarian or vegan. It's really not healthy for you. One of my favorite books is called The Vegetarian Myth. It's written by a woman who was a vegan for over 20 years, did everything "right" and wrecked her body in the process. It's scientific, with proofs and reasons, and it's readable. Along with that plea comes this: avoid everything soy. The book also explains why. Even if you don't believe me an are vegan or vegetarian... Read it so you know what the opposition is saying. <br /><br />Learn to cook. Cooking does not mean grabbing a box from the freezer, taking a package out, removing the plastic, and heating it in the microwave. In fact, people should just get rid of their microwaves altogether. Really, it's healthier. Besides, not having one forces creative cooking: if it's there, it's far too easy to use it. <br /><br />Buy a slow cooker and a nice toaster oven - you can probably get one for under $10 at your local second-hand store. Get some good, non-Teflon cookware, preferably glass (don't use put the heat any higher than medium for glass!), or coated cast iron. A crockpot is an essential. Buy the Nourishing Traditions cookbook.Lynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-49784167757362873832011-11-14T22:03:00.001-08:002011-11-14T22:03:05.564-08:00Journey to British ColumbiaWell, today (right now as of 11:00 pm EST) I am leaving from Winnipeg for my new job in BC. I'm really tired; my eyes are closing. There's a lady behind me crying. I guess it was really hard for her to leave. <br />
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It's dark, and although the city is still lot up, it is very much asleep. There are very few vehicles on the road, a vast contrast to what it will be like tomorrow morning starting at 7 am. But I will not be here, for I shall be in the rolling prairies of Saskatchewan. Lynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-17688907497737290802011-10-29T20:47:00.000-07:002011-10-30T21:07:25.151-07:00In Defense of Food: paraphrased<span style="font-size:130%;">Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Eat food:</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.</span><br />- Why great grandmother? Because to be safe, we need to go back at least a couple generations, to a time before the advent of most modern foods. (IE., would your great-grandmother be able to recognize yogurt-in-a-tube? Yogurt used to be milk inoculated with a bacterial culture)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> - Sub-clause: Don't eat anything incapable of rotting.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Avoid foods products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number, or that include d) high-fructose corn syrup.</span><br />- All of these characteristics are reliable markers for foods that have been highly processed to the point where they may no longer be what they purport to be. the have crossed over from foods to food products. Bread used to be simply flour, yeast, water, and a pinch of salt. Go take a look at your bread's ingredient list.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Avoid food products that make health claims.</span><br />- For a food product to make health claims on it's package it first must <span style="font-style: italic;">have</span> a package, ie. it's already likely to be a processed than a whole food. And the health claims don't mean much.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.</span><br />- Most supermarkets are laid out in the same way: Processed food products dominate the middle, while the cases of ostensibly fresh food - dairy, produce, meat, and fish - line the walls.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Get out of the supermarket whenever possible.</span><br />- You won't find any processed foods at farmers' markets, and what you will find are fresh whole foods picked at the peak of their taste and nutritional quality. Get to know your farmers; that's how trust is built.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> - Sub-clause: Shake the hand that feeds you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Mostly plants:<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.</span><br />- Scientists may disagree about what's so good about eating plants, but they do agree that plants are probably really good for you, and certainly can't hurt. There are literally scores of studies demonstrating that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits reduces the risk of dying from all the Western diseases. But remember, meat is nutritious food, supplying all the essential amino acids as well as many vitamins and minerals. Just don't eat too much.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">You are what you eat eats too. </span><br />- That is, the diet of the animals we eat has a bearing on the nutritional quality, and the healthfulness, of the food itself, whether it is meat or milk or eggs. All creatures that we eat are much healthier when they have access to green plants, and some are simply meant to only eat green plants, such as cows and sheep, who are meant to eat only grass. They have much higher nutritional levels too.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">If you have the space, buy a freezer. </span><br />- When you find a good source of pastured meat, you'll want to buy in quantity. Also allows to buy in bulk from farmers market and freeze the food.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eat like an omnivore.</span><br />- Eat more species of food. The greater the diversity of species you eat, the more likely you are to cover all your nutritional requirements. Also, eating in greater biodiversity means a greater biodiversity is grown, which is healthier for the soil, plants, animals, and environment, and thus you.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eat well-grown food from healthy soils.</span><br />- This can be organic or not. Also, highly processed "organic" foods are little better than conventional food (organic oreos anyone?)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eat wild foods when you can.</span><br />- Many wild greens and meat are highly healthful for us. However, one must take care not to eat too much of wild foods, as many, especially fish and certain types of plants are seriously endangered.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Be the kind of person who takes supplements.</span><br />- People who take supplements are generally healthier, but most studies show that the supplements don't appear to work. Said supplement takers tend to be more health conscious, better educated, and more affluent. So be like them, but save your money.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eat more like the French or the Italian. Or the Japanese. Or the Indian. Or the Greek.</span><br />- People who eat according to the rules of a traditional food culture are generally much healthier than people eating a contemporary Western diet. There are two dimensions to a traditional diet - the foods a culture eats and how they eat them - and both may be equally important to our health.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Don't look for the magic bullet in the traditional diet.</span><br />- In the same way that foods are more than the sum of their nutrient parts, dietary patterns seems to be more than the sum of the foods that comprise them.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Have a glass of wine with dinner.</span><br />- Alcohol of any kind appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, but the polyphenols in res wine appear to have unique protective qualities. Experts recommend no more than two drinks a day for men, and one for women. Drinking a little every day is better than all at once on the weekend, and drinking with food is better than without it.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Not too much.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pay more, eat less.</span><br />- Pay for quality, instead of quantity - you'll get more nutrients for your buck. Also, if you pay more for it, you're apt to eat less of it. Pay attention to your body, and stop when you're full. Maybe don't go back for seconds. Spend more time on making the food. If you can find the money for TV, internet, second phone line, second (third, fourth, fifth) vehicle, then you can find the money for higher quality food. You might have to cut out one of those things, but are they really needed? Also, if you eat better, higher quality food, you'll have less health problems.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eat meals.</span><br />- Don't snack. Eating meals is a way of socializing and civilizing our children, teaching them manners and the art of conversation. At the dinner table parents can determine portion sizes, model eating and drinking behaviour, and enforce social norms about greed and gluttony and waste. Eating a meal fuels culture.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Do all your eating at a table.</span><br />- No, a desk is not a table.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.</span><br />- Except for the milk and water, food from gas stations are highly processed.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Try not to eat alone.</span><br />- Light eaters eat more, and heavy eaters eat less. (If only because we're less likely to stuff ourselves in front of others.) When we eat mindlessly [in front of the TV] and alone, we eat more. Eating together also elevates eating from a mechanical process of fueling the body to the ritual of family and community - culture.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Consult your gut.</span><br />- Pay attention to your body. Am I really still hungry? Eat slower - it takes about 20 minutes before the brain gets the word that the belly is full. If you take less than that to eat, how will you know? Until you're able to pay attention to your body, try other ways. Serve smaller portions on smaller plates; serve food and beverages from small containers; use glasses that are vertical than horizontal; leave healthy foods in view, unhealthy ones out of view; leave serving bowls in the kitchen rather than on the table to discourage second helpings.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eat slowly.</span><br />- Not just so you'll be more likely to know when to stop. Slow in the sense of deliberate and knowledgeable eating. Eat with a fuller knowledge of all that is involved in bringing a food out of the earth and to the table. Eat from freedom, instead of compulsion. Offer some sort of blessing over the food or grace before the meal, or words that make one reflect on the food.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cook if you can, and plant a garden.</span><br />- To take part in the intricate and endlessly interesting processes of providing for our sustenance is the surest way to escape the culture of fast food and the values implicit in it: that food should be fast, cheap, and easy; that food is a product of industry, not nature; that food is fuel, and not a form of communion, with other people as well as with other species - with nature.<br /><br />All of this information come from the book <span style="font-style: italic;">In defense of Food</span>, by Michael Pollan. Most of this is strictly from the third part, chapters two to four (pages 147-201). Much of it is copied verbatim. None of it is my own work, and is provided here strictly for information's sake. I strongly encourage one to read the actual book, as it goes in to a great deal more depth, and is quite fascinating.Lynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-44573848517293417362011-10-26T07:23:00.000-07:002011-10-26T11:04:07.155-07:00Intentional Ignorance and Inconvenient TruthsI have heard people say so many times "Don't tell me. I don't want to know!" Why don't you want to know? <span style="font-style: italic;">What</span> don't you want to know?<br /><br />If you're saying "No, I don't want to know what happens in that movie." or "Don't tell me the ending of that book." or "No, I don't want to know how to make a car." or "No, I don't want to know what it's like to see someone killed by a bomb.", well, I can fully understand and sympathize with those sentiments.<br /><br />You don't like that movie, or want to see it yourself; you want to read the book, and have the outcome be a surprise; you're not interested in mechanics; you're not a soldier and/or are squeamish.<br /><br />However...Someone brings up circumcision. You say "Don't tell me! I don't want to know! I'm just getting it done cause that's what the doctor recommends." Well, why? Why not become fully informed? What if that someone said to you "No health organization in the WORLD recommends the procedure, it is the amputation of a completely normal body part, the procedure is <span style="font-style: italic;">highly</span> painful for infants, anesthesia is rarely used and when it is, is never enough to block the pain completely, and there are often complications such as hemorrhage, infection, damage to the glans, tightness of the skin on the shaft (painful erection), scarring, and death. Would you circumcise your daughter? No, because that's genital mutilation. But it's the same thing on a boy as on a girl - a major, unnecessary, mutilative surgery on a non-consenting minor."<br />(more info here: <a href="http://www.drmomma.org/2010/09/knowing-better.html">http://www.drmomma.org/2010/09/knowing-better.html</a>)<br /><br />And you go on to say "Don't tell me any more! I don't want to know!" Why? Is it because you don't want to have to face making a decision, one that family and friends may not be happy with? Or perhaps if you face that it may be wrong, you'll need to spend time an effort researching it to find out if these facts are true. Perhaps, once you realize just what it means to circumcise, with all the after-effects, you'll feel obligated to advocate against it. Perhaps you've already circumcised one or more sons, and don't want to face that you just might have been wrong, or you were circumcised yourself, and don't want to face that clearly. Whatever your reasons, why are you willfully choosing to be ignorant on a subject that has a very high impact on yours and others' physical and mental well-being? At least <span style="font-style: italic;">research</span> on it.<br /><br />There are quite a lot of other parenting topics that a lot of people "don't want to know about it". Why? Look in to it. A lot of people tend to be of the mantra "it didn't hurt me growing up" or "I turned out fine", so why not do the same with my kids. Did you really? Is it really not harming your children?<br /><br />Another topic that people tend to not want to know about is food. I'm really researching organic farming, and the one book I'm reading, called <span style="font-style: italic;">The Organic Farming Manual</span> (pub date: 2010), says in there that (in regards to what contaminants you should test your water for) "Arsenic, in areas where there are large poultry operations, as it is now routinely added to commercial poultry rations."<br /><br />Say WHAT? They add arsenic to our chickens - and we eat them? "I don't want to know, don't tell me....I <span style="font-style: italic;">like</span> eating chickens." Well...so do I, but I don't like eating chickens that eat arsenic. I could go for an organic chicken, but it would cost more. I could also just ignore/acknowledge that I'm eating chicken which ate arsenic, and eat it anyway.<br /><br />Potatoes. I recently read <span style="font-style: italic;">The Omnivore's Dilemma</span>. Here's a quote from there. He's talking about a potato farm that is typical of most potato farms that supply potatoes for french fries, and quite possibly general consumption. Page 8:<br /><br />"It was fifteen thousand acres, divided into 135-acre crop circles. Each circle resembled the green face of tremendous clock with a slowly rotating second hand. That sweeping second hand was the irrigation machine, a pipe more than a thousand feet long that delivered a steady rain of water, fertilizer, and pesticide to the potato plants. The whole farm was managed from a bank of computer monitors in a control room. Sitting in that room, the farmer could, at the flick of a switch, douse his crops with water or whatever chemical he thought they needed.<br />One of these chemicals was a pesticide called Monitor, used to control bugs. The chemical is so toxic to the nervous system that no one is allowed in the field for five days after it is sprayed. Even if the irrigation machine breaks during that time, farmers won't send a worker out to fix it because the chemical is so dangerous. They'd rather let that whole 135-acres crop of potatoes dry up and die.<br />That wasn't all. During the growing season, some pesticides get inside the potato plant so that they will kill any bug that takes a bite. But these pesticides mean that people can't eat the potatoes while they're growing, either. After the harvest, the potatoes are stored for six months in a gigantic shed. Here, the chemicals gradually fade until the potatoes are safe to eat. Only then can they be turned into french fries.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">That's how we grow potatoes?<br /></span>I had no idea."<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br />That's what we're eating? Have those chemical levels <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> faded to a safe level? Is there a safe level for such toxins? Just <span style="font-style: italic;">what</span> are we putting into our bodies. The other major question is:<span style="font-style: italic;"> "Where did all those chemicals go?"</span> They leached out of the potatoes, therefore they must have leached into something else. Where? The most obvious answers would be our air, earth, and especially our water. That means contamination.<br /><br />"But I <span style="font-style: italic;">like</span> eating potatoes. If you keep telling me about all the foods that are bad for me, I won't be able to eat anything!"<br /><br />I like eating potatoes too. Do I want to support agriculture businesses that promote dousing our foods in [toxic] chemicals though? No. If I know, I can do something about it. I can change my eating practices so that I'm eating organic. I can protest the big business. I can buy locally, organically grow food from my local farmer's market. I can buy organic in the grocery store. Ya, organic is more expensive, but it's far better for the environment. It's also higher in nutrients, and you're paying for the true cost. (If you don't know what I mean by that, research it!)<br /><br />"I just want to continue doing what I've always done. Change is hard. Besides, it doesn't really affect me and my life."<br /><br />Well, it's your body, your choice, so you can choose to poison yourself if you want. However, a lot of experts are predicting a food crisis by 2050, some say by 2025. I'm sure you've heard of the unrest in Egypt and other countries in that area. A lot of the unrest is due to them having a food crisis, or put more plainly <span style="font-style: italic;">they are starving, so they are warring, to get more food</span>. So if growing practices and food consumption practices don't change drastically by 2025, or at the latest 2050, you're looking at starving and having to war for more food. Does that affect you now?<br /><br />Let's say you're 20 years old. that's 14, almost 13 years from now. If your country goes to war for food, you're highly likely to be drafted (that means force-recruited) to fight for your country. Or looking at the later prediction....you're 60 now. That means that you probably are too old to fight, past reproductive age, sick from many of the chemicals and bacteria that are now prevalent in our foods, air, water, and earth (e.coli outbreak in cabbage anyone?) That means you're useless, and worse than useless: a drain on limited food resources. You and anyone older than that will be the first to have your food supply cut off. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Does that affect you now?</span><br /><br />Knowledge is power. The more you know, the more you have the power to enact change, be it in your food choices, parenting styles, choices for your children, schooling, jobs, church, etc.. It might not be a lot of power, but is it power. Sometimes it's enough. Remember the movie Ants? The ants fought back and won against the grasshoppers, because although they each had very little power, together as a cohesive whole they were powerful. If you get enough people together, each of them with a little power, it adds up to a lot of power and sometimes it's enough to overpower and fight off the grasshoppers.<br /><br />You also have power as an individual. Every time you buy a product, you are endorsing that product, and encouraging business to produce more of it, whatever it is.<br /><br />Knowledge is power. Stop closing your eyes and ears to the truth simply because it's inconvenient and <span style="font-style: italic;">use</span> that knowledge to enact change in your life, others, your community, county, and even the world.<br /><br />-LynxLynxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06745318819534793538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-70180374296234465042011-10-19T07:54:00.001-07:002011-10-25T17:22:04.506-07:00Chicken Manure and Organic Composting<div class="MsoNormal">[In regards to composting] 'NOP (National Organic Program) further cautions that "while composting can degrade many organic contaminants, it cannot eliminate heavy metals. In fact, composting concentrates metals, mating the contaminated compost, pound for pound, more potentially hazardous than the manure it was created from. Broiler litter and broiler litter composts have been restricted from the certified organic production in the mid-South largely for this reason. Arsenic-once used in chicken feed as an appetite stimulant and antibiotic-was a particular concern. Since the precise composition of commercial livestock feeds is proprietary information, arsenic may still be an additive in formulations in some regions."'1</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Seriously? They're <i>still</i> adding arsenic to chicken feed? To knowingly poison what profits a person to gain more profits for said person, is in my opinion, insanity.<br />
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1 Peter V. Fossil (2007). <i>Organic Farming: Everything you need to know.</i> St. Paul, MN: Voyageur PressUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-40489862497859530022011-10-18T20:28:00.000-07:002011-10-18T20:28:24.323-07:00Jobs, books and printing them, and organic farming.Recently, I've become very interested in organic farming, and studying up on it. Right now I am reading a book on organic farming, called (surprise, surprise), "Organic Farming: Everything You Need to Know" by Peter V. Fossil. It seems rather informative. Not as in-depth as I was hoping, but still has a great deal of information. It is one of four books I took out of the library today, all dealing with the subject of organic farming. However, by reading this book (and writing this blog) I am procrastinating from what I should be doing, which is applying for jobs.<br />
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Now speaking of books, I currently work for a printing company. We print books, calendars, maps, yearbooks and more. This is a rather large and well-known printing company (which happens to reside in a town of only 4500 people). They've printed quite a few very well known books, although I'm really not supposed to say what we print. But, to all those authors out there, who are all "Yay! I've written such an exciting book and it's been accepted at the publisher and now it's going to the really exciting part: printing!" it's not exciting. Making books is about the boring-est job ever. A total snooze-fest. Whether it's an exciting new novel that ends up on New York Time's best seller for weeks in a row, or a dry law textbook...it's really really boring printing the books. Boring, and repetitive, and quite frankly, some [many] of the jobs, a trained monkey can do - literally. Many times, all you have to do, is show up for work, turn off your brain, and go through the motions.<br />
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I will say though, it's not a <i>bad</i> job. They don't gyp you of pay like some places try to do. It's relatively cool in summer, and it's kept warm in winter. You're treated pretty decently. It's just...not a stimulating job at all.<br />
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Hence why I'm looking for a different job - there are times it feels like my brain is rotting there. I'm really hoping to avoid another labourer job. There's quite a few that are available where I'm planning to move, (oh ya, I'm planning to move), but...really would rather not have that. I think I'd rather be a labourer than work in a fast-food restaurant though. A job at walmart...not sure if that'd rate higher or lower than labourer job. I think it'd rate just a wee bit higher, but not much. I'm going to apply for a bunch of different jobs. What is quite annoying though, is needing to write a different cover letter for each one. Yeesh! Anyway, I'm going to apply. See if I can't get a couple applications done before I go to sleep.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1860035154142932663.post-87638585968222166592011-10-18T19:31:00.000-07:002011-10-18T19:31:44.019-07:00This BlogMy blog is going to be about my interests; whatever I'm focused on today, things I've come across throughout the day or online that have grabbed my attention. Sometimes I see something happening, and it's something I'm passionate about, and want to expound on it. I am interested in so many different things, that sometimes I'm off on a tangent exploring one subject, and get sidetracked and my brain runs off in the opposite direction, hehe.<br />
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Anyway, I hope whoever reads this enjoys it (even if no one does).<br />
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-LynxUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0