Work and Play

Week 2: 2/2 – 2/9

After I published the first blog post last Monday, I made several more errands in Clark.  First, I went to town hall and got the paper work required to become a resident of South Dakota.  Once Claire and I become residents we can purchase hunting and fishing licenses.  I also picked up a water testing kit to ensure that the well water at the cabin is safe to drink.  I will mail the water sample to Pierre, South Dakota next Monday.  From town hall I walked to the hardware store where I dropped off a list of materials (mostly lumber) in hope of a quote.  I am eager to return to town and find out how much our tiny home will cost to build.  To finish my visit, I stopped at the post office and registered our address with the United States Postal Service.  Now all I have to do is build a mailbox and we should be able to receive and send mail!

When I returned home that evening, I received a phone call from one of my brothers, Mateusz, telling me that he had suddenly gotten work off and was heading my way as we spoke.  Yes!  Company!  I know I’ve only spent five days alone but it’s nice to have a friend to talk too.  The moon was almost full that night and it lit up the fields like it was daytime.  I couldn't resist.  Misty and I walked through the grasses for two hours while awaiting Mateusz.  We have several owls that live on property.  One of them is a barred owl and as I stood still in a moonlight drenched field, I heard it.  “Wo-wo-wo-woooooo”.  I called back to the best of my ability.  To my surprise, it responded!  For the next five minutes, I had an incredible conversation with an owl.  However, this conversation was cut short by the sound of the rumbling engine of my brother’s car.

Mailbox Memories

My brother is finally here and he comes prepared with a Native American flute, Frisbees, and a couple of items I forgot to bring.  However, despite his company, I still need to build my mailbox.  Mateusz is good with his hands and has some experience with carpentry so he happily offered to help.  This was my first time building something from scratch and I was a little nervous.  

The main post is simply two, two by fours screwed together.  The arm that extends from this post (also two, two by fours screwed together) will hold the mailbox 42 inches above the ground (required height).  There is a two by four in between the arm and the post that ensures support.  I made two 45 degree cuts in this small piece of lumber and it turned out okay.  I’m still new to working with power saws and sometimes it can be difficult to make a straight cut with my Dad’s old circular saw.

After all the pieces were assembles, it was time to apply a coat of varnish and stain to protect it from rain and snow and to make it aesthetically pleasing.  Once the stain had dried, we attached the mailbox to the post with fasteners.  After churning our own cement from a concrete mix, we placed the completed mailbox in a five gallon bucket, made sure it was level, and poured the cement in.  Just like that, Claire and I can now receive and send mail.  The mailbox is not perfect by any means but it was a good starter project.  Two days later I received my first letter from my Dad.  Thank you Mati for all of your help and advice! 

Applying a coat of stain and varnish

Mati and me standing next to the new mailbox

The Old Barn

There is a parcel of land 30 miles from the cabin that is home to an old horse barn.  It is falling apart but there is a fair amount of good lumber left inside and it is my intention to salvage some of it.  When Mati and I arrived, the first thing that caught my eye were four large support beams that were dangling from the ceiling in an old room.  These beams were doing nothing in terms of supporting the barn so we knocked them down, I pulled the nails out, and we loaded three of them into the bed of the truck.  I hope to return for the fourth soon.  I’m not certain what Claire and I will use these for but I have a feeling they will be useful at some point.  I also tried to use a nail puller to pry free some of the lumber from one of the horse stalls.  After pulling out four nails, everything seemed to be going smoothly.  On my fifth nail, the teeth of the cast iron nail puller snapped off!  I guess it’s too cold outside to be using these old tools.   

     

Two years ago in the spring, my cousin Michael, my friend Phil, and I spent several days clearing the green ash that had grown up the side of the barn.  We took the logs back to the cabin and left the branches to dry inside the barn.  It just so happens that I am currently running low on kindling and the dry ash branches that reside in the barn are just what I need.  While I stood in the barn breaking branches and making piles of kindling, Mati found his way up an old windmill.  This flimsy, metal structure stands 30 feet above the ground and of course, my brother is on top of it!  To finish an awesome day at the barn, Mati, Misty, and I went for a long walk through the cattails that surround the property.  When we returned, I cleaned out the wood shed and stocked it full of dry kindling!

Mati climbing an old windmill

                       Walking through the cattails after working it the barn            
 Photo Credit: Mateusz Fischer

     Cleaning out the wood shed      Photo Credit: Mateusz Fischer

Frisbee and Fun

Both of my brothers and I have always been fascinated with Frisbees and whenever we see each other, throwing a disc is usually the first thing we do.  The wind on the prairie is constant and this allows me to throw to myself for hours on end.  However, nothing compares to tossing with another human.  On Mati’s last day of his visit, it was 45 degrees in the shade with little wind.  In other words, we tossed a Frisbee the entire day.  To end this beautiful day, we traveled to a nearby parcel of land that sits on a lake.  As the sun set, we played flute in the grasses, launched long throws across the icy lake, and tried to keep Misty from visiting the fishermen.  It was the perfect end to a wonderful visit.

                      Sunset over the lake with Native American flute in the background    
 Photo Credit: Mateusz Fischer

Photo Credit: Mateusz Fischer

Aquaponics  

It is now time to start making adjustments to the plants growing in my system.  My brother mentioned cutting back the oregano so it can branch out.  Two days after I cut the main stem, the plant already sent up three new shoots.  I tried cutting back the mint and all of the chives and I got the same result.  It amazes me how fast these plants are growing.  I guess that’s the fish poop at work!  Now I have fresh chives and oregano to add to my dinner and fresh mint to add to my eggs and tea in the morning.  I also added a sugar snap pea seedling to the tank.  Hopefully, this plant will one day produce delicious peas for Claire and me to munch on.  

Breakfast: 2 eggs and mint tea

Dinner: chives, oregano, onion, carrots, quinoa, and peanut butter

  

 Planting Our Future

When I was child, one of my most vivid memories was exploring my parent’s vegetable garden, searching for peas, beans, tomatoes, and whatever else I could eat.  I will never forget the first time I tried a freshly picked bean from a plant that my parents grew.  It was so satisfying for me as a kid, I can only imagine how rewarding it was for my parents who put in the hard work.  I want to eat locally and organic for the rest of my life but I found this almost impossible living as a student.  With no money and no time, I was only able to grow my own lettuce.  Now I have an opportunity to teach myself, work with the soil, and respect the land that has fed me my entire life.  Only this time, I have the chance to grow the food my own way. 

This summer, Claire and I intend to keep a garden in order to supply ourselves with fresh produce.  The garden will not be planted until May and we will have to wait even longer before we can harvest fruits and vegetables.  We didn’t want to wait that long for fresh greens, so Claire and I invested in 19 different types of organic seed, 20 pots, two bags of potting soil, one bag of vermiculite, one bag of peat moss, and individual planting cells.  After two week of living here, I now have seedlings of the following:  Yellow pear tomatoes, Martino’s roma, red salad bowl lettuce, tre’s fine maraichere, spinach, Amish deer tongue lettuce, jalapeno peppers, bull nose bell peppers, lemon balm, Swiss chard, and sugar snap peas.  I planted three seeds per cell and as the seedlings poke through the soil, I am able to thin out all but the best.  The thinned lettuce seedlings are a great addition to any meal.  The sugar snap peas are the only seedlings big enough to be moved into individual pots or into the fish tank.  

During college I purchased a pressure sprayer for $10.  It was the best $10 I have ever spent.  If you want to get into growing your own food indoors, I would highly recommend one of these.  You can adjust the nozzle to several spray settings and the locking trigger allows you to spray with ease.  It’s great for starting plants from seed and for spraying existing foliage.

Pressure sprayer

Watering a newly planted sugar snap pea

I am also experimenting with micro-greens.  These are small sprout like plants that only grow to be several inches tall.  I have sunflower and pea micro-greens.  I have tried both types before and one little sprout tastes exactly like the fruit of the plant.  For example, a sunflower micro-green tastes exactly like a sunflower seed!  The seeds are planted on top of an inch of soil and are supposed to be ready for harvest after 7-10 days.  I’m personally having trouble getting them to grow.  Many of the seeds I planted sprouted and died soon after or didn’t sprout at all.  The ones that survived look good but it has been 15 days since I planted them and they are still not ready to pick.  I planted several trays and am eager to see what becomes of them.

My cousin Michael helping me plant sunflower micro-greens

Sunflower micro-greens after 15 days

In all honesty, I planted way too many seeds.   I wanted to compare the affects of temperature, lighting, water, and environment (yes I sing to my plants) amongst different plants.  Thus, every window in the cabin and the garage has some sort of plant growing in it.  In the end, my goal is to have 20 plus pots full of edible plants.  If things continue as they have been, Claire and I should have multiple raised beds of lettuce by the end of March and tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and peas by the end of April.  All inside the comfort of our home!   For now, we are relying on the micro-greens for fresh produce. 

This week has been absolutely wonderful.  The visit from my brother reminds me of my family and like always we had many adventures under the sun (and the moon for that matter).  My plants are growing, my stomach is full of soup, bread, and rice, and the weather is phenomenal.  The only thing missing is Claire.  However, only six more days until we are reunited!  I’m in the midst of constructing sawhorses and raised beds out of old two by fours and I hope to complete them before I see my wonderful lady.  Until next time, peace and love.     

                                          The moon setting                                    
Photo Credit: Mateusz Fischer

                       Misty picture of the week                    
Photo Credit: Mateusz Fischer

                      Sunrise                    
 Photo Credit: Mateusz Fischer