Indian Paintbrush Farm
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The Elephant Squats

Sustainable, Carbon-Negative, Profitable.
Working on Sustainable and Profitable, we prowl horse farms and dairies collecting manure to add to our continual compost bins for free fertilizer and clay-busting amendment. (I guess that this is also "Carbon-Neutral"). Following up on an idea from last year, Terry noticed the Carson and Barnes Circus elephants generously leaving presents in the middle ring. www.carsonbarnescircus.com/ His attempts to find out where these presents were left got him in a circular discussion among 3 county commissioners and the Bonham Chamber of Commerce, and no presents for his efforts. ...<< MORE >>

Carbon Credits and Bragging Rights in North Texas

Our Farm Motto is: Sustainable, Carbon-Negative, Profitable. This is a progress report on the second item.

We gave just been notified that our sustained cropping efforts on our modest north Texas farm has been rewarded with a contract to SELL “carbon credits” on the Chicago Board of Trade www.chicagoclimatex.com/. As far as we can tell, this is the first contract in a 10 county area around us in north Texas. We have been working since 2003 to recover this farm, more on that at indianpaintbrushprairie.com . I cannot hope to match ...<< MORE >>

RAISED XERISCAPE BEDS FOR THE TRUCK GARDEN

RAISED XERISCAPE BEDS FOR THE TRUCK GARDEN 30 SEPT 2009 We may be uncertain about the claims for Global Warming, but we do see the point of preserving what we have. Last winter we used the little put-put tractor to set up 7 wide row raised gardens for our truck gardening. Not very straight, but rototilling in the 10 yards of equine derivatives using the German trench method. It looked fine. Arbitraging the EDs was by using a 6 tine fork moving from one trading slot to the next. More at http://yack.sterkel.org/2008/10/13/major-move-on-ee-derivatives.asp; http://yack.sterkel.org/2009/01/11/seed-bank.aspx; and http://yack.sterkel.org/2008/12/17/blood-flowing-in-the-market.aspx << MORE >>

Shelving Ambitions

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Shelving Ambitions, 22 June 2009


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Llama Dung: A cautionary Parable

Llama Dung: A cautionary Parable, 24 Feb 2009


It is too easy to stick with old, tried and true.


Frequently, the original rationale is long forgotten, and all you have is "that is the way we do it." This type of thinking sticks the company, church, school,
county or state in a rut so deep that fresh air cannot be breathed. Here is the Parable of the Llama Dung.


Parable of the Llama Dung


We engineers are ...

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Barn 1, Barn 2, Barn 3

Barn 1, Barn 2, Barn 3, 22 February 2009


Barn 1:

Terry's Barn started as a Pole Barn, in the New England tradition. The plan was to build as time and money allowed. The pole barn approach allowed the approach of "build a little", "wait some time",
then repeat as cash flow and his paying job allowed. He bought blueprints for the New England style barn, and corresponded (a lot) with the AIAA architect to ensure that he understood. He even
figured out the ridge beam. ...

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Barn Raising

Option c. It became clear that Terry did not have the off-work time to build any pole barn. Good idea, too bad, but we need a barn to keep all the equipment from rusting into the ground. Hence, Option C. This is an all metal barn, on beam/pad concrete. The drawing below is what he and Cody Cox of Liberty Farm Iron Works http://www.libertyfarmironworks.com/ came up with. The center is 26 feet high, 24 feet wide, and 36 feet long and will be fully sealed and insulated on all surfaces, including the floor before the rebar concrete is laid. The two sides, 12 feet wide and 36 feet long will have only a roof and gutters. The original plan was to enclose for a shop, but after looking over the amount of farm equipment, the entire length of the two sides will be needed. The squiggle at the top is Terry's Bison Weather vane. Cody will do the framing and enclosure. Homer Barker Concrete, who did our concrete house, has agreed to do the floating slab. Terry wil do the floor, sides, and roof insulation, plumbing, and minimal electrical. The wood bought at auction (see YACK:"channelling Joe"), will be used for the second floor and other build ins << MORE >>

Victory Garden and Barn Raising

Catching up.Victory Garden.
With help from his Shovel-buddy, Carlos, Terry put in collard greens, cauliflower, strawberrys, irish white potatoes, german red potatoes, peruvian purple potatoes, and yukon gold potatoes. Will make an interesting stew, combined with the earlier plantings below.

Anticipating the need for storage, Terry and Carlos built a ladder-style shelf 10x3x21 feet. Just the pieces, did not assemble it.

Terry is up to Barn 3. There are continual changes in discussions. Gone is the post frame, in is the cross beam. It will not have the Ne England style tall peak, ...<< MORE >>

Seed Bank for the Truck Garden, and Early Orchard


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SEED BANK FOR THE TRUCK GARDEN, AND EARLY ORCHARD. 11 JANUARY 2009


You may remember the ... << MORE >>

MAJOR MOVE ON EE DERIVATIVES

MAJOR MOVE ON EE DERIVATIVES, Columbus Day, 2008


With the major exchanges tanking, Terry has decided to review alternative places for capital appreciation. Buying old people's life insurance contracts and
then wait for them to die is a bit ghoulish. 


After taking due diligence, and reading the market papers, it looks like Stock Exchange Derivatives are promising; the Equine Exchange Derivatives are
especially appealing. The derivatives are easier to handle, being in a more uniform mass than the input to the Equine Exchange, and dividable into ...

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Purchasing for the Pole Barn

Purchasing for the Pole Barn, 8 October 2008


One activity Terry treated Gerald to on his vacation was buying supplies for the Pole Barn. After picking Gerald up at the airport, the next morning Terry got Gerald up early and
ran to the site of the Building Supply Auction, in Celeste, Texas. This was to scout out what was available, and the rules of the game. Next, Gerald needed some seasonal shirts, so he enriched Sam
Walton's progeny. After that it was fishing in Beatrice's Pool.


The next AM, ...

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Too Small Barn, and Horse leavings

Terry put the trailer in the 1946 barn. With the red trailer, the tractor and the truck and all the implements plus some new-barn fixtures, the 1946 barn is bursting at the seams. The tractor does not fully fit in, even with its bucket draped over the tongue of the trailer. Terry is having to "reconceptualize" the new Barn. Speaking of the red trailer, Terry has noticed that it still, even after 2 loads of poles and 2 loads of lumber, is missing something "earthy..." With the panic in the markets, Terry has decided that Betsy needs to emulate her mother, aunts and grandmothers and start preserving food. To this end, he has cornered the market on horsey do << MORE >>

Getting ready for Gerald and the Farm

Getting ready for Gerald and the Farm, 30 Sept 2008


Betsy is busy beaver getting the place together for Gerald's visit. We have "redecorated" at least 4 times in the last 4 years, moving pictures
back/forth/up/down/left/right. This has left lots of holes in odd locations. She has filled them in and painted. where did the holes go? 


Betsy's first DAR meeting of the year went well, but because of Ike, they had to skip the Graveyard dedication.  


 

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Start of the Barn and the little red wagon

Start of the Barn and the little red wagon, 18 September 2008


The Boss finally allowed a check to be cut for the "Start" of stage 1 of Terry's Barn. This was for grading down 12 inches below the organic overburden,
and hauling 200 tons of "select fill." Thus, the pad is now in, and Terry is going around saying that he has had his "paddling." The plan is to let the Winter storms beat the pad into a hard surface
before putting in ...

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Barn Pad, rough utilities, and the "little red wagon"

Barn Pad, rough utilities, and the "little red wagon", 18 Sept 2008


The Boss finally allowed a check to be cut for the "Start" of stage 1 of Terry's Barn. This was for grading down 12 inches below the organic overburden, and
hauling 200 tons of "select fill." Thus, the pad is now in, and Terry is going around saying that he has had his "paddling." The plan is to let the Winter storms beat the pad into a hard surface
before putting in the poles for the Pole ...

<< MORE >>

Purchasing for the Pole Barn

One activity Terry treated Gerald to on his vacation was buying supplies for the Pole Barn. After picking Gerald up at the airport, the next morning Terry got Gerald up early and ran to the site of the Building Supply Auction, in Celeste, Texas. This was to scout out what was available, and the rules of the game. Next, Gerald needed some seasonal shirts, so he enriched Sam Walton's progeny. After that it was fishing in Beatrice's Pool. << MORE >>

The Little Red Wagon

Terry finally gave up attempting to haul barn supplies in his Truck. Even with a full size (8 foot) bed, most of the materials threatened to fall out. He got permission from EC to rebuild EC's metal trailer. Interior measurments are 8 feet by 26 feet.Scratching one of his quirks,
Terry went to the Chief of Police and went through the Texas Statutes on Ag Trailers. He then corrected the violations, replaced tires, got a new spare, and got the trailer registered. This done, he succumbed to another quirk, horror of rust, and started to ...<< MORE >>

Buffalo Grass on the Berm and Dock Design

Buffalo Grass on the Berm and Dock Design, 15 March 2008


I added native Buffalo Grass to the dam berm to make it easier to walk on. I spread cheaper annual rye grass to the slopes. When Gerald, Shirley, and
Mom were here, Gerald and I went to the annual Master Gardener's convention, and won a door prize of $50.00 bag of native wildflowers. These went on the wet side of the berm. They also witnessed the
arrival of the first 9 x 8 ...

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Fannin County is in Top 10% of Best Places to Live in SW (TX, OK, NM, AZ)

FANNIN COUNTY IS IN TOP 10% OF BEST PLACES TO LIVE IN SW (TX, OK, NM, AZ), 1 November 2008


33rd of 379 counties per Progressive Farmer Magazine and on-line Magazine




see also: http://yack.sterkel.org, "http://blog.indianpaintbrushfarm.com">http://blog.indianpaintbrushfarm.com

            
http://sterkel.org,
http://indianpaintbrush.com


... << MORE >>