Who doesn’t love a bargain? The other day the boys and I went to an estate sale.

  The amount of things available to bid on was staggering. I’ve been to a lot of auctions in my life, but I don’t recall ever seeing so much stuff at one before.

  To be honest, the majority of it didn’t really appeal to me, or the price went higher than I wanted to pay. There were, of course, a few things I just had to have.

  A ringer for an antique candlestick phone. It’s ugly, but the mouthpiece was with it.

  There was a $5 trailer. It’ll need at least one new rim, a new coupler, and a bed, but for $5, I don’t think you can go wrong on a deal like that. It will be 10′ long when finished with a tilting bed.

Picked up a $12 Black and Decker workmate folding work bench as well. I already had one that I had picked up for free. It needed a new top, which it got. We probably don’t need two, but they come in handy when working on projects. It’s pictured below with the spot welder and some angle iron I’m working with.

I also picked up a Miller spot welder, I’ve wanted one for quite a while now, but I couldn’t justify the cost for no more than I’ll use it. But for $50, I can deal with it.

However, the biggest thing I bought and wanted the longest was a big log splitter. It went for more than I was hoping, and I had to put new tires on it. But for $400, I won’t complain. I’d easily tie more than that up in the motor that’s on it alone. It ain’t real pretty, but in a week or so, I’ll wire brush it clean and put on a fresh coat of paint. I’ll also replace all of the hydraulic hoses for good measure before I put it into service. I have close to two tons of wood to split, and I want it to go as smoothly as possible.

All in all, it was a good day. I got a little sunburned but saved a good bit of money on a few thongs I wanted.

May all your ventures be met with sucess!

Today was a fairly productive day today. We had to travel out of town for a doctor visit.

Normally, seeing the doctor is about all we acomplish for the day. Pick up a few groceries that we can’t find locally and scoot on home.

Today, we finally found some chicks. We didn’t go overly crazy, two of each varity they had, and two ducklings. For a total of eight critters. By the time it’s all said and done, we likely won’t save any money on eggs. At least not in the short term.

However, this isn’t about the ever climbing egg prices. Yeah, sure, it does play a part. But it’s a very small part. This is more about teaching the boys some responsibility and gaining a little more on a self-sufficient lifestyle.

I picked up some boards and a biscuit joiner. Spent more than I really wanted to, but I’ve decided to build a new back door, and the boys could use new doors for their bed rooms. So that’s three, so far. I also need one for a small metal shed out back and another for the chicken coop. The cheapest new exterior door that I could find was around $400 and they went up from there.

If I only made the one back door, I’d save four times more than what I have tied up in tools and materials so far.

We installed the new halo headlights in the pickup. They really give the pickup a cool new look, and I should be able to see better when driving at night.

While out of town, I found what I think would be the perfect handle for an old sledgehammer head. I dug out of a neighbors garage when they were moving and he was giving things away. It’s very old and pretty rusty, but I believe it will work great for blacksmithing. I have hung onto that hammer head for well over ten years now. I reckon it’s time to put it back to work.

I also stumbled across an old steel bed frame someone dumped in my backyard. If they saw the price for angle iron, they would likely regret tossing it. Normally, I’d be upset by people throwing their garbage in my yard, but something like that, I’ll gladly repurpose. I’d been struggling with how I’d build my raised beds.

Not so much now, I cut all the rivets loose and have enough angle iron to build at least two raised garden beds, using it to support the corners and the old sheet metal I have on hand.

Of course, as soon as I started getting serious about putting a raised garden bed together, it started to rain.

Daytime temps keep inching upwards and the flowers are noticing.

Our catmint, daffodils, and tulips are up and growing, as well as some other plants that are tired of being dormant.

I’ve even seen some bees making the rounds looking for pollen and nectar. They will be able to get some on their next go around. And I’ll have the 3D printed bee hotel hung out again so the bees can rest if they need to.

We also have chives that are making a comeback. To be honest, I wasn’t sure they would over Winter. They were mowed to the ground by grass hoppers last Summer and they were new growth.

I think I’m as ready for Spring time as these plants are. I have around 640 plants to get put into the ground or sold. My greenhouse will finally be put together this weekend, or I’m grounding myself until it is. Stay tuned for pictures.

It likely won’t look like much, I’ll still need to figure out shelving and such.

I’m also seriously considering redoing the compost. I watched a video today where a guy had built a 3 bin system using pallets. It wasn’t real pretty, but it looked like it should get the job done. I don’t have a link to the video, but he goes by sustainable me.

Mine would be along the same line of thought, but I would paint the pallets and then cover with some fine mess to keep the organic materials in the bins.

If anyone has any input or experience to share, please feel free to comment.

May your ventures be met with success!

  Sometimes, it drives us to do more or do better. Other times we just feel like giving up.

  Yesterday, I was given an opportunity to get a decent working generator. The only catch was that I had to go get it.

My pickup has sat for most of the last three years because the front end is worn out. I have the parts to rebuild it but never seem to find the time to do it.

My procrastination cost me the generator. While the front end is shot, it would have worked to pick it up. So even though it’s too late for one opportunity, I won’t miss the next one and I have a lot of things that I need to deal with that have been put off because of the truck being down.

Today, I got tags for it, and on the next warm day, I will start putting parts on and will do some here and there as time allows until it’s done. It’s either that or pay someone else nearly $800 to install my $800 worth of parts that have sat patiently in their boxes waiting to put into service.

With any luck, I will need it for an auction coming up this Saturday. There is a log splitter that I am hoping to have the winning bid on.

It’s more log splitter than I really need, so to my way of thinking, it should last a good long time. At my age, I may likely never need another, but time will tell.

In any event, this disappointment for me has built a fire, and I’m using that fire to finish several projects that have been on the back burner for a bit too long.

Don’t let disappointment get you down, learn from it, and like a box drawn backward, let it launch you into action. You’re never defeated until you give up!

May your ventures be met with sucess!

I have tried off and on for years now to find a larger property. I’m trying yet again. Ideally, I’d like to build an earthship dead center on a full section of land and surround it with multiple rows of trees.

Realistically, that may never happen, with the ever rising prices of land. And that’s okay. I don’t need much, I’d like enough room to raise a couple head of cattle and a large enough garden area to raise most if not all of our fruits and vegetables.

Yes, it’s still just a dream for now but I’m actively looking and have a couple of houses in town that could be traded or sold to purchase some land so, it’s getting closer to reality all the time.

I just have to remember to keep things in perspective, I’ve learned the hard way that if I allow myself to think to much about how things could be instead of how they really are I’ll get discouraged or things will blow up in my face. Easy does it, one small step at a time.

We have enough solar panels and battries to set up a sufficient electrical system for basic needs. There are enough raw materials on hand to build several greenhouses and a decent chicken coop as well as a small A-frame for a couple of swine.

The boys will, of course, want rabbits and such, which is fine. They will better learn about caring for critters and also learn more about being self-sufficient.

They will also each be provided a small garden plot and allowed and encouraged to grow the kinds of things they like to eat along with plants that benefit pollinators.

I want to attract as many beneficial insects as possible to help ward off as many of the none beneficial ones as possible. And I want the boys to learn the importance of being good stewards to the land on which they live.

Being able to produce their own food and take care of the land are skills that will hopefully serve them well their whole lives and be passed down.

Enough daydreaming for now. It’s bedtime. I still have work that needs done, but then the work never really ends when you’re working on building a life you don’t need a break from.

May your ventures be met with sucess!

Well, kind of, I had to wash bedding. I wasn’t counting having to do just yet. Though I did get in a fairly decent nap. So, I caught up on my rest a bit.

Got 36 strawberry sprouts put into soil but still a lot more to go. Did a little yard work and used what I raked up to fill a large container. Still haven’t decided what I’ll plant in it just yet, but I will by planting time.

I’m printing up a larger base for the noodle drying rack. I thought I’d like for it to stand on its own instead of having to be screwed down on a board. We will see if that’s a wise decision or not soon enough.

Keep seeing more and more bugs, so I think Spring is coming up soon. The beetle I saw this afternoon had to have been a holdover from last Summer. It was huge.

Even saw a fly, not ready for them yet, or ever, really, but it is what it is.

The youngest boy, he’s 5. He keeps telling me he wants to be a youtuber and asked me today to buy him a video camera. Kind of plays into what I’m working towards myself, so lools like I’m buying a camera. If anyone has insight into a suitable one, your input would be greatly appreciated.

I’m also working on improving our patio area, I’d like to be able to entertain guests every now and then, but more importantly, I really want a nice peaceful place for us to kick back and enjoy life a little.

Having the pellet grill and some decent seating around the firepit is just icing on the cake, so to speak.

Tomorrow, I’ll start working on a smallish chicken tractor. Hopefully, by next weekend, I will have some chicks. If not, I’ll order some online.

I’m pretty sure there are enough people freaking out over egg prices that they are buying up chicks as fast as possible. May make it harder to find any, but if enough people are collecting their own, it’ll cause more eggs to be available and help bring prices down a little. Hopefully.

Well, enough of my rambling for tonight.

May all your ventures be met with success!

  While what I’d intended to do was a partial flop It was still a good day overall.

  I’d set out to get a half dozen chicks but when I arrived they had already sold out, so I failed at that.

  However, I did get some plants for the food forest. Concord grapes, more blackberries and a small peach tree. The boys and I had a decent day, one even thanked me for a fun day.

  Got some more work gloves and a set of bur bits. And picked up some more 4 1/2″ cut off disks since they were on sell, I generally get a ten pack of them every other time I go to town.

And now I’m 3D printing a noodle drying rack. There are those who would lose their minds over that, is it food safe, is it toxic, etc.. the base and rod holders are PETG and the body and rods of it will be wood, so yes it’s food safe, no it’s not toxic.

I provided a link above in case anyone else wants to print one as well. Mine is white because that’s the color of the PETG I have on hand. It could of course be printed in any filament or color you’d want.

I’ll post pictures of the drying rack after it’s all said and done.

Best of luck and may all your ventures be met with success!