Happy New Year

Wishing you all a Happy New Year with hope that 2015 will be a safe and productive year for us all. Reuben

Almost 5 years of blogging - and not one SELFIE yet!

In just a few months it will be 5 years since I started this little blog about some of the things we are working on here at Juniper Hill Farm.

When I started, the kids were 3, 5, 7 and 9 and I was less than middle aged. In the beginning we had two dogs and one cat, now we have the one dog and 5 cats. In the past 5 years we have planted many gardens, baled lots of hay, boiled lots of sap and cut all kinds of firewood. We've bought an extra house, raised a few calves, butchered lots of old hens and milked the goats, twice a day, every day. We added the Hud-son sawmill to our farm, cleared some more field and finished the barn. In eight days we built a little camp in Aroostook County and it took us just one more day to roof the camp as well. I guess we've been busy. During this time we've somehow managed to pay the bills, feed the kids and keep the cars running. I've surveyed more than ever, despite a housing market in the dumps for all that time. The Gatherer has got a job, outside the home, that she loves. The whole family is still busy with band and sports, poetry and church. Gid & I have joined the Fire Department to help in our community. During these last 5 years we've had hundreds of baseball, softball, basketball games and cross country meets. We've made lots of great friends and had to say goodbye to some special ones as well. It's been a busy time in our lives. Posting these little thoughts, almost 100 in the past 5 years, has taken some time, but it has been fun. Maybe someday, when I'm being fed through a tube, my kids can read them to my grandkids and have a laugh. I hope you've enjoy my rambling.

Gideon's Getaway - More progress

I'm finally trying to update you all on the progress on Gideon's camp, known as "Gideon's Getaway". After the framing was done, the sheathing was next. We used rough 1" pine boards straight from the mill. Using rough lumber can be a challenge, but the builder has to be mindful where a little gap can be accepted and where it cannot. The camp will be stout and warm once the siding is on and the place is insulated.

With the steel roofing we decided to lay it over a layer of tar paper. Not so much for water but maybe just to make us feel better. The steel went on quite quick and will make a solid roof for decades to come.

Caution was used to make sure that we didn't "overscrew" the steel. Sometimes less is more when it comes to screwing down steel roofing.

If OSHA is looking, we were using the "sky hook" and the lightweight invisible harness when working on the ladder. Actually I think if kids learn how to work at a young age they will be better off in the long haul. Lots of people were so sheltered as kids they aren't worth a darn as an adult. I'll post some more pics soon. As it turns out I'm a better builder than a blogger. See you soon.

Juniper Hill Farm - "Sensible Shelters"

Juniper Hill Farm is expanding again with the first of our "Sensible Shelters". The first of many to come, we call "Gideon's Getaway", is an 8' x 12' camp with an 8' x 8' sleeping loft. Across the country there is a Tiny House movement that is a great alternative for some single folks or couples. "Gideon's Getaway" is intended to be a first dwelling for a single college student while keeping living expenses down and giving a young man the freedom that he will want. After choosing a good spot we framed the deck. This camp is designed to be able to be loaded on a trailer and to go over the road to its future home, wherever that may be. Right now "Gideon's Getaway" has a view of the farm pond and access to the barn loop road.

It was a family learning experience with everyone pitching in to help where they could. Taking on a bigger building project later in life won't seem so hard when the kids get some on-the-job training at an early age.

With the frame nearly completed, the sheathing is next. The lumber was cut from our pine and hemlock right here on the farm and sawed on our Hud-Son band saw mill.

With so many folks struggling with housing insecurity, it is a shame that a sensible shelter like this couldn't be a popular alternative to homelessness. With traditional wiring and insulation, three windows and a door, this cabin could make quite a home for a single person. With steel roofing and Adirondack siding this camp should look good and last a long time. Gid already has a wood stove for heat and plans for lots of small items to outfit the little place. You will have to go to the outhouse for your dirty business, but that makes sense for anyone. Running water will come later. I'll post some more pics soon. Thanks for visiting.

Summer times

Things are still busy here on the farm. I´m milking two does now and the garden is really starting to produce. The wild blackberries are getting ready to harvest. I have been sawing some lumber on the Oscar 28, and trying my hand at making Adirondack siding for Gideon´s Getaway. I will post some pics soon. The recent rain storm washed lots of things away, but all ok here. We have made some progress at the Litchfield house, mostly grading improvements to get water away from the house. So far the new sump pump is working good. The firewood is underway, but I'm a bit behind schedule. My land surveying business is going well, my clients are very patient as I do my best to keeps things moving along. Gideon and I are helping at the Bowdoin Fire Department, learning what we can. Staying self-sufficient is as hard as ever when my time is at a premium. Try it.

Update and Garden, Chickens & Hogs.

Hello folks. The Farmer is just saying a quick hello. I'm still here, but getting busy for sure. The Maple Syrup season is over and the tools and supplies are being put away until next year. The goat barn has 6 new kids from the three does. Two more does are due in the coming weeks. We are enjoying the fresh milk once again. The incubator has been running and we are on our second batch. We had 15 out of 23 eggs hatch and survive on the first batch. I'm learning to "sex" the day old chickens. We had 6 hens, 6 roosters and 3 "others".

The snow is nearly gone & I'll be spreading manure when the ground dries some more. I've got quite a bit of this winter's firewood done, but I'll be working more on that soon. The Gardener has started seeds in the kitchen window and is getting to work on the kitchen garden. Off the farm, baseball, softball and spring track is underway so the next 7 weeks we will be quite busy. We've got some big plans for this summer, but I won't list those here, it can be overwhelming.

The real purpose for this blog is to inspire others to become more self-sufficient. You can review my older blogs to see that is a common theme here. If you are waiting to get started, "What are you waiting for?" Get to it. Plant a small garden, get some chickens, visit a local farmer or homesteader. First, start with some things that won't turn your life upside-down. A few cabbage plants are really easy and quiet, while a baby goat can drive you crazy. A small flock of hens turning your food scraps into breakfast eggs is so easy even you can do it. Pigs come next, after you have proven that you can keep things alive. One or two pigs is enough. If you want to become a big hog farmer on the first shot with 5 hogs I can guarantee that they will eat you out of house and home. Your grain bill later in the summer will kill you long before you kill the hogs. START SMALL. This is not a sprint, it's a marathon.

These baby pigs were cute, but thier mom would have eaten me if touched her piglets. Just go buy two piglets from a good hog grower and get started.

It is my hope that you find out how to produce your own food, kill your own meat, fix your own roof and get the same satisifaction that I have had so many times.

Maple syrup production

Maple season is underway, despite the recent storm. We only got rain and a trace of snow here in Bowdoin. Some areas to the north got two feet, luckily not us. We have had a couple of days of recent sap run, so I´m boiling down our first 130 gallons or so. This winter has been a long and cold one, so much for global warming.

Hope to see you for our Maple Sunday Open House, March 23 10-4.

Maine Maple Sunday - Open House - Sunday March 23, 2014 10AM-4PM - Visitors Welcome

Welcome Spring with a visit to Juniper Hill Farm, 693 West Road, Bowdoin, Maine.

Despite the long cold winter, we expect that the right temperatures for Maple Syrup season are right around the corner. We have 170 buckets hung and are waiting for the sap to run. The sugarhouse is cleaned, the wood is ready and we are looking forward to a great season. For several years we have welcomed friends, family and visitors on this special occasion to enjoy a true Maine tradition. We don't attract the large crowds of the big operations, and we like that just fine.

Again this year you are welcome at the sugarhouse, along with a trip to see the goats in the barn. We plan on having free tractor rides in our "new" trailer, and along the way you can see the beginnings of our "tiny house village" and a demonstration on our band sawmill. The greenhouse will certainly be a warm place and you can take a walk on the Sugar Trail and help us collect sap if you like. As in the past we'll plan on having a few hotdogs and beans for sale to the hungry visitors. We also plan on offering homemade ice cream with a splash of syrup.

As we try to become more self-sufficient in our everyday lives, Angela & I and the kids love to share our ideas to inspire you and your family to do the same.

Hope to see you there.
Reuben & Angela Wheeler

Becoming self-sufficient - What does it mean?

A search of the web these days finds thousands of folks giving their two cents on how to become a Survivalist, a Prepper, a Homesteader and the like. Some folks have spent their lives living what they teach, while others simple blog about something that has just become a part of their life.

The Farmer is just one more voice. I don't have all the answers. I have experience, some bred in, some learned, lots still left to learn.

WHY BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT?

1) The freedom to produce what I like. The freedom to work for myself, for my family.
2) The security of knowing how to provide for our own needs without relying on others.
3) The satisfaction of producing something, of gaining a skill, of providing.
4) The quality that can be found when the user becomes the producer, simply cannot be beat.
5) The ability to live richly without being rich.

What are your reasons? These are just a few of mine.

WHERE DO YOU START?

I like to look at our needs and see which of these I can provide. Let's list them and try to see which to tackle this first.

FOOD, SHELTER, CLOTHING, TRANSPORTATION, ENTERTAINMENT to name a few.

Start small at first.

FOOD Try making more meals "from scratch", not from a box, not from a can, and certainly not through the car window at McDonalds. At first your kids will think that you are crazy. My 8 year old commented recently that a simple meal of slow cooked kidney beans was "the best meal ever". Do you even know what kidney beans are. You've got to start somewhere.

SHELTER If you already have a home, then try to become more independent in maintining your home. If you are without your own home, try to educate yourself on building your own home. I built my first real "camp" when I was 12 years old. Dad's sawmill produced the lumber, I provided the labor.





When I was 20 I bought my first land, 20 acres of raw woodland. At 21 I was clearing the lot, sawing lumber, hauling gravel, pouring cement and building my first home. I'm now 41 and I still feel that building and shelter have been my life's calling.



I'm a Land Surveyor by profession, but a builder at heart. If you think a stud is the muscle bound guy at the gym, you've got to start somewhere.

CLOTHING This is a tough one for the Farmer. I simply don't sew anything but seeds. So on clothing I simply go without. Two new pair of Wrangler jeans and a few pair of socks and I'm happy. Maybe you can delay buying those designer slacks, do they still call them slacks?

TRANSPORTATION Once you stop buying fast food, stop shopping for that new blouse and enjoy your home more, transportation will become less a part of your life, besides driving is dangerous. Stay off the roads. Gas is expensive. SIMPLY STAY HOME! I am angry to see the roads clogged with senior citizens and the unemployed simply running the wheels off their cars. STAY HOME! The $0.49/lb sale on banannas or 5% off on Tuesdays at the G-store is not a good reason to risk being killed or maimed by a driver under the influence of their smart phone. Social Security is meant to provide assistance in your subsistence. Pounding your Subaru 20,000 miles a year to get a damn newspaper is a huge waste of resources. Yes I said resources, your, ours. So to become self-sufficient in the TRANSPORTATION department you can either go by foot or you can reduce your driving time by simply staying put. (Wow this is apparently an issue that I feel strongly about.)

ENTERTAINMENT If you are working on Food, Shelter, Clothing and Transportation, this is your entertainment. We host a yearly open house at our sugarhouse each year - this is our entertainment. We host goat farm tours and have become mentors to countless goat owners - this is our entertainment. We get together as a family to plant the potatoes in the Spring, put up the hay in the Summer and press the cider in the Fall - this is our entertainment. Try it, you just might like it.

Beans and Rice - Living Richly

Eating beans and Rice might make you feel that times are hard, but for merely a few dollars you can eat a meal fit for a king. Prepared, boxed and canned food will kill you. Look at the cemeteries, need I say more?

Project House Update

The project house has seen some attention this fall. If you recall from my Fall 2010 posts, the old house is basically a 1840's Craftsman Bungalow. To more accurately trace the roots of the old house, we have to start with what we know. In the 1840's the Alexander family moved to Oak Hill, and presumably took up residence in a home on the same lot. The core of the current house has a post and beam structure that measures 19'x24'. The joinery and construction methods surely trace back a long way. In the 1910's and 20's, Henry Bradford, a resident of Auburn, Maine bought the place and apparently undertook some substantial revisions. The little house was transformed into a 30'x30' Bungalow, with an ell. I would guess that in the 1920's, this house would have stood out as being particullarly modern and stylish. These features are what hooked me on the old place right away. It surely wasn't the wiring, plumbing, foundation or insulation that caught my eye. But then again I can fix all those things. Ugly goes to the bone, and many modern houses, while being practical, lack any style. As we have picked away over the past three years, I have focused on cutting out the rot and ripping out the old. Just this fall I finally attacked the foundation. First I dug out the old crumbling stone bulkhead. The bulkhead was the lowest point in the backyard and was great at collecting rain water and sending it into the basement.

After I dug to bedrock, which was close by, I poured new concrete footers, pinned to the ledge, and laid a new cement block bulkhead. After installing a new perimeter drain and waterproofing, the whole family helped regrade the backyard to shed water away from the house. Just days later the frost set in with force. With some new basement supports in place, I hope to get a start on replacing floor stringers in a few months. I have now removed the plumbing and wiring in the main house. It feels so good to know that the old place will keep it's heart, but will have new arteries and veins. Some folks have presumed that with this idea of fixing and flipping, we stand to make some good money. Actually I think the "fixing" in that scenario usually requires that you know how to remove wallpaper and install new receptacle covers. This place is requiring a "total rip", but the result will hopefully be a modern home with historic flare. I'm sure of one thing, the Surveyor, Farmer, Hunter, Father has become a backhoe operator, a mason and will become a Plumber, Electrician and Carpenter before this is over. As for making money, that isn't even the point.

Winter Fun on Juniper Hill Farm

The December snow, Christmas Ice Storm and frigid January temperatures are adding together to make a real old-fashioned winter here in Maine.In spite of the cold, we are having lots of fun here on Juniper Hill Farm.

On this January morning the temperature was -10°F as we went for a winter hike. Many times I have read historic accounts of the winter weather and I've felt as if we are missing out on the good stuff. When the first Wheeler's spent the winter of 1762-73, here in Bowdoin, I'm sure they had it tough. They likely had a simple shelter, probably with a dirt floor, leaking roof and barely any heat. We have it really good. The house is warm, most of the time, the roof doesn't leak, and there is only a little dirt on the floor when we don't vacuum.

Cold weather is bearing down here on the farm. The wood pile is shrinking fast, but the house is warm and welcoming even with lows at -12F this morning. I'll get some more wood ready in case we run short in late winter. The recent Christmas Ice Storm left us without power for 60 hours, but we had a great Christmas anyway. If you felt helpless, use the next few months to prepare for next winter. A wood stove backup or a generator can create a true sense of security. Oil heat has made so many people lazy. Lots of people don´t like the bugs or dirt, but how does cold feel when Old Man Winter knocks down the power lines? I'd say that most families could use a wood stove if they wanted one. For some, I would suggest burning some of their junk to keep warm. Move a few things, cut in a flue pipe and get burning. Wood is everywhere, you just need to ask and put in some sweat equity to put the wood away for later. Wringing your hands and acting helpless just doesn't keep you warm enough when the temps drop to 0F. PREPARE YOURSELF!