Homemade Laundry Soap

Here is a really good tip on how to cut costs in the laundry department! I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds worthwhile and easy to make. I didn't know that the packaged stuff has a lot of filler in it. Somehow, that just doesn't seem right.

http://beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.ca/2010/11/homemade-laundry-soap.html

That's It for This Year!

From this....

 And this...

 to this...

 And this... in only one week!

The snow is almost gone. Yeah!!  The mattock took out the bulldozer humps and buried trees. The quad and harrow leveled off the final rolling bumps and turned the humus into the soil. All that remains to do now once it dries up a bit is to move the free firewood out and toss down some hayseed. Did you get that? FREE firewood...donations accepted declined. I almost forgot. Burn the stumps and roots next winter.

Wow, it's been a week!

It has been quiet at the Men's Shelter due to the scheduling of trades people. I took the opportunity to expand the lower pasture some more. We are in a record situation so I thought I would take advantage of it. This is the latest EVER that we have not had snow on the ground! The last record was Nov. 6, 1933. We are past the sixth and no snow is forecast until the 11th . 

 I have spent a pile of time cutting and stacking the blocks for firewood. So far, 4 half ton loads have gone and there is lots left. Anybody wanting free firewood, where is, as is, give me a call.

All this field was heavily treed and full of brush and dead falls 3 years ago. It's amazing what you can do, one tree at a time. Maybe I should re-name  the Acreage and call it "The Gobi Desert of the North". Way up on the horizon, you can see Tucker still trying to figure if there is anything edible down here.

There are going to be 8 good bonfires once the snow does come!

Extended Pasture Completed!

 The last bit of the new horse area has now been cleared, and harrowed and leveled, all ready for spring seeding. I still have one large stump to remove (ughh). The long pole was used to lift the quad when I high pointed it on a stump. Love those long levers! It looks level, but there is quite a grade and a few valleys that don't show up in the photos very well.

 #1 burn pile is ready to go! It also is in a 6 foot ravine.

 This is some of the wood that I snaked out with the quad and trailer. If we had room, I would be tempted to put in a wood burning fireplace. That is a BAD thought. My longer term memory is still reminding me just how much work that is. In the meantime, free fire wood, where is, as is.

 Burn pile #2 is also in a gully. Hopefully, it will dry enough to light off this winter. I need about 6 inches of snow on the ground before any burning is done. That is my personal limit as far as fire spreading goes.

Unfortunately, there are still lots of stumps to cut off and/or dig out. The key thing is to get the sharp points off before the horses get in there. One more day should completely finish the project! I guess the next step is to put the lawn mower away, bring out the snow blower and prepare for winter.

Frugal, In a Cheap Way

When it came to taking the old rail and A frame fence down, it came to me that there were a lot of good things in that fence, namely the 15 pounds of 8 inch spikes that I put in to make the fence about 7 years ago.

On closer investigation, it seems that only a light coating of rust was on them. This made them salvageable for some future project. They pounded out OK and the crow bar removed them without bending  many. A few smacks with the 2 pound ball peen hammer on the anvil corrected that issue.

Now, I need to start figuring on some inexpensive project that I can recycle those dudes into.

Certain people by the name of Elaine have called me a pack rat in the past ( plus a few other things alluding to cheap), but seriously, how could I just burn up these logs without doing a recovery attempt?

Just the other day, a friend was looking for some aluminum flashing. I know I had two partial rolls in the shed. When I went to retrieve them I found that I must have thrown them out when I cleaned out the shed last fall. Now, this is a prime reason, never to throw anything out, or to clean out a shed, for that matter.

My friend had to go and purchase enough for a small job.

Lesson learned: Never throw out anything, for you never know when you might find a need! All junk is potentially good stuff looking for a home!