Homestead Injury and Why More Hands Help

Last Friday the heat dome moved off, so I decided it would be a good time to split some firewood. I often do this with an axe, but there was so much that needed to be split, I wanted to use the hydraulic splitter. I figured it would go faster and it would be easier than doing it by hand, and the only cost would be a few gallons of fuel.

Wrong! While moving the splitter, I hurt my back. Now it will be at least week before any firewood gets split because I have to wait until my back recovers.

The good news is that there was no moment of pain when I felt something tear or wrench. I’ve had that happen—the sudden jolt of sharp back pain that leaves you frozen and wondering if you will ever be able to move again. This was more of a feeling of, “Ooh, I probably shouldn’t have done that,” five minutes after moving the splitter.

I went to the chiropractor Tuesday, and I’m only taking ibuprofen once or twice a day, so it has improved already.

Moving the Splitter

Moving the splitter was a chore to start with. I hooked it up to the hitch on my UTV and drove pretty close to where I wanted it. Then, I had to back it into place. The problem of backing it into place is that the splitter is so low and the Polaris’ tailgate is so high, I can’t see the splitter from the driver’s seat. I can only see it when the splitter appears in a side mirror, which happens when it is going off to one side instead of straight back. By then, it’s too late to correct.

I have never been very good at going in reverse with a trailer, and my wife was not home to help direct me. After three tries, and hopping in and out of the vehicle trying to make sure everything was lined up, I got it close and decided I would move it the rest of the way manually. Moving it wasn’t so much of a problem as lifting the tongue high enough so I could move it. I’m pretty sure that is what did me in.

It’s enough to make me want to mount a hitch on the front of the UTV for next time. I’ll have to see if I can mount a hitch and a winch at the same time.

UTV Updates

Speaking of the UTV, I eventually got a windshield installed. Once they sent me the correct size, it wasn’t difficult, but I had to bang on the windshield with a rubber mallet to force it into the corners of the frame. Rough Country makes them to tight tolerances.

The next time I drove it, I started hearing a strange rattle about half a mile into the trip. I pulled over, and the rattle died down. It sounded like it was coming from the back. Nope. I look at the engine, and nothing seems to have vibrated loose. Then I got smart and checked the last thing I had screwed in—the roof. Yep, one nut had come loose, and the washer was rattling with every piece of gravel we hit, meaning constantly.

This occurred because is no way for one person to tighten the center bolt on the outside and hold the nut on the inside, or vice versa, when the windshield is installed. (And the windshield is much easier to install without the roof, so it has to get installed first.) I thought I had tightened the nut, but the bolt was probably twisting with every turn the ratchet made.

Since I was driving to help out a neighbor, when I got there, I asked him if he had a 13mm socket or wrench. He sat inside while I stood on the front tire and leaned out over the roof, and we tightened it down. It’s been fine ever since.

Just another example of when having a second set of hands or eyes can be a big help.

Fruits and Veggies

Our cucumbers have been so productive that we’ve given cucumbers to four or five people. One family friend had a pickle recipe that called for nine pounds, so we gave her a huge box of cukes. She was delighted. My wife has made two different kinds of pickles for us. The chickens are also eating at least two big cucumbers a day.

We also have an enormous amount of cherry tomatoes, but the vast majority of them are green. A few branches broke in a recent storm, so we had no choice but to salvage the green ones. They are sitting on the kitchen counter waiting to ripen.

Both kinds of peppers have yielded fruit, and we have eaten green beans three times. Not as big a bean harvest as we usually get, but this was intentional. I think there is a happy medium between too many and too few. Maybe we will find that point next year.

This weekend, I hauled the dehydrator up out of the storeroom, and my wife has dehydrated two herbs, basil and sage, I think.

So far, the garden has been productive, but except for pickles and dried herbs, it will not yield enough to last the winter if we were in a survival scenario. If we have to garden to produce calories after the SHTF, we will need to expand.

Chicken Poop

 I asked my wife why she thinks our raised beds are so productive for cucumbers, zucchini, and squash, which produce excessive amounts. She thinks it may be the chicken poop. Each fall, I place a few inches of chicken bedding—which includes chicken poop and straw—into the raised beds. It sits there all winter, breaking down and enriching the dirt. Six months later, we work it into the soil. The result is things grow well, too well in some cases.

 Another good reason to raise chickens. Of course, rabbit poop is good for gardens, too, and you don’t have to wait six months to use it.

Fresh Fruit

We are harvesting the last of the blackberries. I saw a few raspberry bushes bloom, but the birds must like them better than the blackberries because the fruit is always gone by the time I get there.

I have been feeding apples that fall from the tree and end up on our dirt road to the chickens for a few weeks, but now the good apples are ripening up in the trees and look ready to harvest and eat. Seems like it is earlier this year than usual. These may not be wild apples, but they are definitely feral, growing on old home sites. The trees are not fertilized, pruned, or cared for in any way, yet they continue to produce apples. Of course, my bees help pollinate them.

Several of these old trees were destroyed in the high winds of Helene, but others survived. We would have plenty of apples to store and preserve if the SHTF.

While visiting another neighbor, I saw a peach on the ground. I looked up and danged if he didn’t have a peach tree close to the house. I had no idea you could grow them at our altitude, although he is a few hundred feet lower than we are. My wife likes peaches, so I’m going to see if we can beg any peaches from him and then plant the seeds. No idea if it will grow true, as many fruit trees are grafted, but it’s worth a shot.

Honey Season

Lots of weedy wildflowers continue to bloom, with the Joe-Pye weed starting. The sunflowers are fading, but the seed heads will now hang around a while and hopefully cast more seeds that will grow next year. Those that came up on their own did better than the seeds we planted. The hurricane seemed to help by carrying the seeds to a spot where there was rich soil.

I just purchased three more bee escapes, so I can now harvest honey off five hives at a time. A bee escape is the opposite of a roach motel. Instead of checking in and never getting out, a bee escape allows the bees to leave the honey super but not get back in. By placing them on my hives two days before I want to pull off the supers, I will have very few bees to deal with when I lift off the supers. I use a battery-powered leaf blower to blow off any bees that are hanging around too long.

The key is to quickly put the bee-free super on a solid base and stick a lid on top so there is no way for bees to get back into the supers. I put them in the back of my pickup truck one year, and the bottom is not flat, so the bees got in. I have learned my lesson. Our honey harvest is scheduled for the end of August.

I bought some other bee equipment as well. All of it needs to be assembled. That should help keep me busy this winter.