I asked for one of these, both for my high school and then for my college graduation presents...I am still waiting.

One of two chicken greenhouses

I purchased a well worn farm truck this past week.

Buying this truck was all about connections…David, (good friend, godfather to my sons and GOL instructor) works at his wife Nancy’s family’s summer camp in Keesville, New York (North Country Camp). The camp was selling their truck, a forest green, 2000 Chevrolet 1 ton and because you can never have enough farm trucks, I decided to buy it.  Much to my son Wesley’s horror it has no AC, no CD player, and manual roll down windows! Although Wyatt likes the big bench seat, he does not like the loud noise the idling diesel engine makes.  

Having spent the weekend at the NOFA-VT Winter Conference, it was a quick drive over the state line to pick up my “new” farm truck, courtesy of a ride from my friend Elena. On the way over,  we stopped at the Essex Farm in Essex, NY which is owned by Mark and Kristen Kimball. Essex Farm has a unique year-round CSA where members can choose whatever they want, in whatever quantity they choose, as part of  their share: veggies, meat, eggs, milk, grain and syrup. I had also read and loved Kristen’s  book “The Dirty Life”, which describes the birth of the Essex Farm from a city girl’s perspective. Besides the fact that the CSA model is interesting and the book is a good read, they have eight draft horses on the farm and I have  been interested in using Zoey (our draft horse) for cultivating vegetables, so wanted to check out their horsepower operations.

Saying "hi" to one of the working boys

We caught up with Mark Kimball, repairing equipment in his machine shop. just before noon. Within 10 minutes he had efficiently extracted the basics of what I do at Under Orion Farm with questions like “How many mouths do you feed?” and “How many farmers do you support?” and what Elena does for a living (she works for a nonprofit organization that likes farmers). Mark then told us how the farm’s CSA works, his idea for a “farming college”, and before he was off to fix equipment again, he ended the conversation with “give yourselves a tour”, after inviting us to stay for lunch.

Checking out a #7 mowing machine

Although we had to skip lunch, we did enjoy checking out the horses and equipment, milk processing trailer, slaughtering trailer, and lastly, the farm stand.

From a hay tedder

What a great way to draw inspiration…just visiting other folks’ farms, seeing what they are excited about, what does and does not work for them, and maybe trying out some of their ideas…..like a New Idea manure spreader. It has not been THAT long since graduation.

Milk processing trailer

Dad, helping me plow - 1996

It has been an interesting week of  farming related adventures,  Over the weekend, I attended the 23rd  Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) Winter Conference, an annual event that brings together hundreds of organic-minded farmers, gardeners and organizations for workshops, talks and camaraderie in Burlington. As a certified organic farmer of hay and beef, events like these never fail to get me excited and ready for the busy growing season just ahead.

Top: Giving Bear and Wolf a snack while drilling oat seed (1995). Bottom: Drilling oats.

One of the most interesting workshops I attended was about growing grains. Hosted by George Wright and Kim MacMullin from Castor River Farm in Ontario,  they grow a variety of grains and raise pigs on their 44 acre farm. George and Kim have developed a successful business model with minimal financial investment by selling only at Farmers Markets with a very customer oriented focus. I loved their energy, their belief that this model could work for many other farmers, and their willingness to share with all of us both during the workshop and throughout the day in one-on-one conversations. I was ready to jump in the car to go visit their farm that afternoon!

In the 1990′s, for six years, Under Orion Farm grew oats for the now defunct, Cabot-based Vermont Cereal Company, that was packaged under the label Eric & Andy’s Home Grown Organic Oats.  Using horses and tractors, we planted and harvested acres of oats. We stored the oats in a high moisture corn silo that we converted by putting in an aerated floor and a high capacity fan for drying.  The resulting cereal, once mentioned in a holiday gourmet gift-giving section in the New York Times, was a thick, chewy meal that was stocked in stores and co-ops across the State.

The oatmeal from Castor River Farm is very good…a reminder of the great rolled oats from Eric & Andy’s and George, with his great energy, got me thinking about growing oats again.  Enjoy the pictures!

Top: Using the combine. Bottom: Arnold helping me unload oats into our aerated silo.

Our oats! The finished product in an Eric & Andy's Organic Oats bag

back of the bag

From Wyatt…..”This is the last of the three part story about Kim the dental hygienist. I hope you enjoyed it. I have been working on making each of the characters larger and more identifiable through the use mostly of clothes. Thanks for reading.”

New sawyers leave their mark

This past weekend I sponsored a chain saw safety course put on by Northeast Woodland Training, called the “Game of Logging” (GOL). GOL is a training system that teaches chain saw skills to professional loggers as well as folks who have never held a chainsaw. Developed in the 1960s by Soren Eriksson, a Swedish logger turned training instructor, the Game of Logging uses Scandinavian logging techniques  for working safely around trees.

The “game” refers not only to the friendly competitive aspect of the training, but also to the necessity of having a winning plan or strategy for felling trees and working safely. The program breaks apart saw work into steps that are practiced throughout the course. A fun scoring system helps focus participants’ attention on the most important details and allows them to measure their progress each day. – excerpt from Game of Logging website

Heading to the woods

I had both hosted and taken GOL years ago, and wanted my son Wesley (15) to take the course, but needed to have several more students in order to host it – so, I rounded up six other interested folks to spend the weekend at Under Orion Farm.

David, fielding questions

Saturday morning, the propane heater was going full blast up in the office of my airplane shed, the coffee was hot, and people were bundled up to spend the day in the woods. David, Wesley’s godfather and the instructor of the course, started right in with Emergency Planning and  Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). There were gruesome stories of accidents and near misses to give everyone a healthy respect for the chainsaw and what it can do. He also covered chainsaw safety checks and the “Reactive Forces” of the bar and chain.

Aftermath of the "Bore Cutting Station"

At noon, we paused for some excellent chili and cornbread and got to know each other a bit better.  The group was a diverse collection of future timber cutters that would be guided by David through Levels 1 and 2 of GOL. A father and son duo, Ed and Ben are from Elmore. Ed has been using a  saw for years, but his son Ben has had very little experience. Although she had put in her time with a wood splitter, Shawntel from Montpelier had never held a saw. This turned out to be true for a few other students, like my son Wesley and also for Evelyn, a woman from Cabot who came with her partner Roy.  Roy had used a saw some, but had picked up many bad habits along the way, so the course was a great refresher on skills and safety. Robert, who works for me at the farm, is from East Hardwick and had used a saw some at Sterling College, but was not comfortable with felling (cutting down) trees.

In the afternoon we headed back into the woods. This is where the fun really starts. David gave a good tree felling demonstration, showing ” 70% notch angle, correct hinge length and thickness, and level back cuts”. Then he makes a “Bore Cutting” station. Using a “high stump”, he squares the sides, and scores marks on two sides of the stump.  ”Precision Bore Cutting” requires boring the tip of the blade straight into stump between two of David’s marks and come out the other side of the stump between two other marks…..not as easy as it sounds. Everyone was scored on this, not only how they did the cut, but for safety violations.

Wesley cutting his notch

Grading a stump

The most common safety violations were not hooking your left thumb around the handle and not putting down the visor on your hardhat.

Each person then got to fell a tree, for which they were also scored. I loved the satisfied look of accomplishment Wesley had, after his pine tree came thundering down, just missing his target stick (you have to judge where your tree will fall by placing a stick at that spot. Points are then deducted for every foot you miss your target by). Evelyn “hung up” her cherry tree in a nearby maple. This turned out to be an opportunity. David showed us a neat trick of boring a hole above where the tree was cut, inserting a long pole into the hole. Using that pole as a lever, you rock the tree back and forth to free the hung up tree out of the snag. Neat!  The group as a whole just so into it! It was wonderful to see.

Evelyn "Rocking" her hung tree

Evelyn's "Pole in the Hole"

Sunday, day two, Level 2, started off warmer. No need for the heater. The “indoor” portion of the class covered Routine Chain Saw Maintenance, Carburetor Tune-up and Chain Filing. David remarked that while teaching at tech-schools, he needs to tell his students not to tear their saws apart while he is talking because they may not pay close enough attention. Fifteen minutes later I notice that half of the room has saws torn apart, and the floor is full of sawdust and saw parts.

Robert noticed my saw was missing the chain catcher (small piece of metal on the bottom of the saw to “catch” the chain if it comes off the bar), as well as a new chain sprocket.

Chain saw maintenance

Chain filing demo

Wesley and Shawntel discovering the innards of the saw

We were soon back in the woods with clean, sharp and tuned-up saws, learning about “Releasing ‘Spring Poles’ Safely”, understanding “Stem Compression & Tension, Limbing  and Bucking Techniques”. Robert was the master of climbing saplings to bend them over for “Spring Pole” practice. If you were to just cut off a spring pole, the sapling, loaded with pressure, would sky rocket off the stump with deadly force. David demonstrated how to choose the cutting spot, then shave the underside to relieve the tension. Cool stuff!

Ben shaving a "Spring Pole"

Shawntel working the angles for her "Spring Pole"

Robert climbing a "Spring Pole"

Wesley, Evelyn and Roy...paying attention

All day Wesley was keeping close track of the score. He, Shawntel and Evelyn had all been neck and neck. David informed us that this is often the case, the folks with the least experience (no bad habits) score the highest. At the end of the weekend, Evelyn had the highest score, followed by Wesley and Shawntel.

It was a fantastic weekend. Many skills learned, and new friends made.

Ben and Ed, sizing up the competition.

Measuring notch angle, while grading a stump

The Crew

warning sticker

I am still working on the different “greenhouse” parts, the plexiglass windshield and observation windows that make up the top, forward and rear part of the cockpit. (I think pilots called it a “greenhouse” not only because it looked one, but also because you baked in it when the sun is out). Each piece of plexiglass must be shaped to fit, then aluminum edges must be fabricated to go around each piece. The piece must then be lined up with the fuselage, holes drilled for the screws, and fit into place. Once all the “glass” has been fitted, it is then removed to finish the fuselage. It is a painstakingly deliberate process.

As I work, breathe, fret and dream about plexiglass, part of what makes my time at SD Air Service  enjoyable are the people that I work with. Working with these men, swapping stories and indulging our common interest in flying, is a welcome respite from the day-to-day of farm life.

Scott

Scott: Scott and I share a love of aviation history. We have been known to lose way too much work time, recreating stories from the 1930′s and 40′s. As my friend, mentor, chief of the boat, and mechanic extraordinaire, I find myself having to learn as much as possible, as quickly as I can. He has me working on my L2 project next to the air compressor, just below the waste oil heater, next to the hazardous material locker, and the radio…which is blaring Rush Limbaugh. At this rate I may not live long enough to finish my aircraft rebuild.

Ray

Ray: Ray is Scott’s right hand man in the shop. Ray keeps on working, while the rest of us seem to get distracted…..by almost anything. He has saved me often, usually during the annual inspection of my Cessna 170, where by the end of the day, I am so frustrated at some part not going back together like it is supposed to and am thinking a long flight across the hanger to the wall on the other side might be just what this certain part needs, Ray’s calm attitude and intervention helps me set things straight…..He also will change the radio to a country (or classic rock) station when the boss (Scott) is out…..YES!

Dan

Dan: A cook, a Wiggin’s Airways’ pilot, a mechanic in training? He is all of the above. Although Dan lives in Connecticut, flies a UPS run to Manchester, New Hampshire in the morning and evening, he still needs something to keep him busy during the day…..mechanic training. SD Air Service has many projects going on at once, and Dan is helping on most of them. His greatest asset (to us at least) may be his desire to  be a chef. He once ran a wonderful snack bar and a hot dog stand at the airport, and will often cook us lunch in the Experimental Aircraft Association Club building. We have had Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches, venison stew, sausage and pepper subs, wild goose breast, and excellent hamburgers from Under Orion Farm.

Bob

Bob: You could call him an airport fixture. Bob was in the Marine Corps for 2 years, and then the Air Force for more than 20, but still calls himself a Marine. We have a gentleman’s bet on who will finish their aircraft re-build project first. Bob is restoring a 1946 Piper J3 cub….he may well beat me. He is a guy who will do anything for you, has a good sense of humor, (I keep stealing parts from his airplane if they are in better shape then mine), and he takes fantastic aerial photographs.

Pete

Pete: Our local politico. He keeps us up-to-date on all aviation happenings (a.k.a. gossip) at Rutland and around the State. I love hearing his tales of being a volunteer member of the Mount Washington Observatory (chipping ice and cooking meals for the full time crew in that icy locale in New Hampshire) Though he has recently sold his beautiful Cessna 140 (maybe to indulge in his other passion, trains), he has stayed involved in aviation activities and is helping Bob on the J3.

a sticker on the back of Scott's tool box