equipment that runs on oatmeal

Here is the scythe I ordered from Scythesupply. Will try it out on the yard this spring, but eventually it will be used to cut hay, and we will also be planting some small grains for us and the chickens. I still am reading up on the other steps of grain processing. We will need to bundle, dry, thresh, winnow, and grind the grain, and in some cases, figure out how to dehull or pearl it.

We are committed to the permaculture approach, and Mark will be planting a lot of trees for us this spring, and I plan to experiment with amaranth and quinoa, but I really like wheat bread. I have been pleased with Scythe supply so far, the book that comes with the scythe is very informative. We'll see how long it takes for me to figure out the sharpening, honing, and actual cutting motions.

One more step towards delinking from fossil fuels. I'm reading up on cross cut saws now, but my old McCulloch is still running fine, and it doesn't use all that much gas.....

Went to the doctor this past week for a general checkup, and decided to work on the back again. The pain is not that bad, but a weekend of hauling stuff will make it hard to sleep with the ache I'm left with for a couple days. I tried exercises and chiropractic manipulation several years ago, but didn't have much improvement, so stopped. He referred me to an orthopedist, who is now going to run me through a few weeks of specific exercises to see if I get improvement. I really don't want to move to the farm and find out I'm too hobbled up to do what needs done. I know I'm out of shape and sit too much with my job, so hopefully just getting more active will strengthen my core and ease to pain.

Next hand tool to get is a saw sharpening tool kit. A saw set and saw file should be enough for now. Both my hand saws are getting dull, and no one sharpens saws any more, so I will figure it out myself.