Goat Pen Build - More uses for Pallets

Earlier this spring we decided to expand our goat herd from two goats (weathered pets) to 4 goats (two dairy goats), The problem with growing the herd was the need for a larger pen. Our goats had been living happily with our ducks, but at this point we needed a place of their own. 

My solution as usual was to build something out of scavenged resources. Below you will see the finished pen. Most of it was made out of pallets, some handmade posts and some of the small tree trunks from the land we cleared for the goats. 

Here is a view of the middle of the pen. I made them a little log pile to climb on as well. 

Here is a view from the gate. I framed the gate with tree trunks and used an old chain link fence door that I got for free. 

Here is the goat hay bucket, It's just a rubbermaid bucket with a couple of holes cut in it for the hay.

You can see here a little shade spot I made out of the pallets and a piece of plywood

And here is a picture of the two weathers hanging out in their new pens before the new dairy goats showed up.

The one thing that isn't in the picture is the left side of their pen with their goat house. I have a post on that to share as well.



Overall cost for this project?? I'm not really sure. $30 maybe? Basically just the cost of screws and I also coated the bottom of the posts in roofing tar to help keep them from rotting. I won't do that again. I was a pain and probably not worth it.

 I figure I'll get a few years of of this pen before needing to do some repairs.

The only other addition since then was raising the fences up about 3 feet. One of our goats loves to try and escape and he would jump the fence. After raising the walls he is staying right where he belongs

As usual leave comments below and I'll be glad to answer and questions.

- Chuck

Ricotta Goat Milk Cheese

With the fresh milk we've been getting from our goat, Mary, I was tempted to try some cheese-making.  I decided to start with ricotta, as it is an incredibly easy cheese to make and does not require anything that you probably don't already have in your kitchen.  For this recipe, I used a half gallon of goat's milk (though whole cow's milk will work just fine!), some salt, and some lime juice.  That's it! 

To prep, set a strainer over a bowl with a few layers of cheese cloth.  For this recipe, I used up some cheap cheese cloth that I had, but had to throw it away after the recipe.  I've recently acquired much sturdier butter muslin which I highly recommend because it can be rinsed out, washed in the washing machine and used again and again.  A great investment if you ask me!

Heat your milk slowly over medium heat until it comes to a gentle boil, stirring constantly so as to be sure the milk doesn't scald on the bottom of the pan.  Once it is boiling, add your salt.  I used about half a teaspoon though I found it under-seasoned.  Next time, I plan to use a bit more.

Once the milk is boiling, add your acid.  I used the juice of one lime.  The milk will immediately begin to curdle.  Stir gently for about 90 seconds. 

Strain your cheese by pouring the curds and whey into the cheese cloth.  I pressed the curds very gently with the back of my wooden spoon. 

Gather up the cheese cloth and continue to let it drain for a few more minutes. 

Be sure to keep that whey!  Whey is a wonderful product and can be used in place of either milk or water in any baking recipes.  I used this bottle to make oatmeal, pancakes and bread.  It's high in protein and very mild in taste- makes baked goods fluffier and healthier.  If you don't care to use it yourself, chickens and ducks love it :)

Here is the finished product.  I think I drained mine a bit too long, as the ricotta was not as soft as I had hoped.  However, it was delicious on top of my chili and after a day in the fridge, it was perfect to crumble into omelets.  Such an easy recipe- what's not to love?? Enjoy!

Yum!
~ Becky

Tractor Shed Build - Just getting started

My biggest project of this summer is most likely going to be the tractor shed that I am building by hand. 

Last winter I stored the tractor in the garage - but I am pretty sure that Becky really wants her parking spot back.So I'll be putting up a tractor shed.

The goal of this project is to have a place to store the tractor and our utility trailer. The plot is cleared - now I just need to get on the building it part.

As per usual, I will be building everything out of what I have on hand and as cheaply as possible. Here is the first beam that I have cut by hand. You can see how I hew a beam here - Hand Hewing Beams

 

And here is a second beam that I am just getting to work on. If you look closely you can see part of a homemade log dog (basically a giant log staple) that I just finished making out of rebar. I'll post a walk through for this in a later post.

Well that's basically all I have for now. I'll keep you updated on the progress as I go along. For now it's just a matter of finding enough time to cut all of the beams and then I can start assembly.

- Chuck

Farmhouse Sawbuck Table Build

Becky has always wanted a farmhouse-style table. In fact, we have never owned our own table, having borrowed one from Becky's parents until recently.  For Christmas, I decided I should finally get this project done. 

Tools:
Drill and impact driver
Skil saw
Pipe clamps
Vice grip
Belt sander

Supplies:
Elmer's wood filler
Wood glue
Paint
Stain
Polyurethane
Scrap wood, mostly 2x6 boards

Friends of ours had given us a load of scrap wood awhile back, and it included some old, warped 2x6's that I knew would make a perfect tabletop.  My first step (not pictured here) was to clamp and glue 5 boards side by side, using the large pipe clamps.  After this dried, I then filled in any gaps in the boards with Elmer's wood filler. 

The next step was to have an extended love affair with my belt sander.  I cannot stress how long this took... hours of my life, days went by... my family worried.  But it was worth it?  These boards were old and warped and it took a lot of work to get them relatively even and level.  Below you can see the rough form of the tabletop. 

Next I wanted to put end caps on the table.  I used an old 2x4 and cut it to fit the length of the two ends of the table. Now all I had to do was find a way to actually attach these to the table! Scrounging through my workshop, I found some old, large square bolts that I had gotten at a yard sale awhile back.  After pre-drilling my holes, I bolted and glued the end caps onto the table. Because of the square head, I had to use vice grips to tighten the bolts.  After filling with wood filler again, it was back to my old friend, the belt sander. 

I wish I could give you more detail on how I designed the legs, but I kind of just eye-balled it, cut one leg (yay it worked!) and then cut three more to match (wow those worked too!).  I cut another 2x4 to help brace the tabletop and screwed those two pieces to the bottom of the table.  I added the legs and added a supporting 1x4. 

There was still some wobble to the design so I added 2 more braces toward the bottom of the legs.  These are not in the first picture below, but can kind of be seen in the photo of the painting process.  

Next up was paint.  You can see a photo of Jonah giving his dad a hand here. 

At this point, the table was completed except for stain and sealant.

Tada!  The completed table at home in our kitchen after being stained and coated with polyurethane.  Becky was extremely excited for her Christmas gift, which I promptly and proudly delivered mid-April.  Total cost for this project: approximately $30 for stain, polyurethane and sanding belts.  As always, please ask any questions and I will be glad to answer them for you. 

Setting The Scene

Setting the Scene

With a change in the direction of the blog I think it’s time to get a little more personal. Wait! Who dimmed the lights? Is that Marvin Gaye? No not THAT kind of personal.  I meant that I should tell you a little more about the specifics of life on Good Luck Green. 

First of all, where did the name come from?

Why thank you for asking imaginary, interview person. Good Luck Green is just the name that Becky and I made up when we first moved into our new house here in New Hampshire. The “Good” and the “Luck” each come from parts of each of our last names. Plus we thought it sounded nice. At the time there really was no concrete concept of what this place would turn into. We thought that we might put in a garden, but nothing like the size of the one I just finished making.  Good Luck Green went from being an idea, maybe even a fantasy, into a real place, place that is alive with the work and joys of trying to provide a new kind of life for myself and my family.

So what does the “farm” look like?

I’ll start by talking about the garden and the animals and go from there.

The garden -There are the two large beds, there is another one that is a little bit smaller that you can’t see in this picture as well.

We are part of a garden co-op. On top of growing vegetables for our own household we grow 2 different vegetables per year and contribute these to the co-op. We then get to take home a bunch of vegetables that other people have grown in their garden. In this way you don’t have to be an expert in everything and are still able to get great fresh local vegetables throughout the summer. It’s really a win-win for everybody. It also is an affordable option for people who can’t swing the cost of a CSA (community shared agriculture) share or whose local CSA’s have extensive waiting lists (which many in our area do).

Animals -We also never had any plans to own anything other than our dog. Oh but how that has changed. We currently have 8 ducks – 4 Pekin and 4 Magpies.  We get between 3-5 eggs per day from our flock.

We also have 3 goats. Two wethers (for the initiated this just means neutered boy goats in goat farming language). The boys are named Frodo and Bilbo – We are huge Lord of the Rings fans.

Just recently we acquired our first girl goat named Lady Mary. She is currently helping to provide milk for our family.  There will be more to come on this. Let’s just say that it has been an experience learning how to milk and take care of Lady. That being said, look at this photo of her with our son, Tommy.  

 

Ain’t that sweet?  So really that’s the farm for now.

Okay, so that’s it then? You are going to take this from a rural project blog to a farm blog? That’s cool I guess, but aren’t there a bunch of farm/hippie/homestead blogs out there already?

Well yes and no.

I’m not changing the blog. I’m just adding to it. I’ll continue to update and upload my woodsy rustic projects, but I wanted to give more perspective than just “Hey! Look at this! I made something!”

I wanted to give context. And I’m sure that there are other blogs out there similar but not truly like this. Because this is the story of the life of my family and it’s more than just a little hobby farm. It’s a life.

I’ve built mountain bike course in our backyard out of logs and trees from my own land. I’ve built a knife throwing target from the trunk of a pine I took down. I’ve used other wood from this same pine to help fence my goats, build a goat milking stand and am currently building a shaving horse for using my draw knife on. 

I’m going to tell the story of how we live and what we love, and hopefully others will take inspiration from this and be able to live the life that they dream of – even it is something completely different. It’s not about doing what I do, but finding out what it is that you want to do and then simply doing it. For Good Luck Green, it means living a rural life while still staying connected to the modern world.

- Chuck

Homemade Pipe

My brother heard about me making a wooden pipe for myself and he asked me if I could make him one as well. Of course I obliged. 

Designing a pipe like this is not my idea. I saw it somewhere else on the internet a few years ago. I've been making them like this for awhile now and they work really well.

Tools and supplies

1) Dried Tree limbs

2) bandsaw

3) Belt sander

4) sandpaper

4) Drill with large drill bit

5) Piece of wire.

6) Vise

I stared with a blank, basically cut out of a tree limb. This is wood that I've had lying around for at least 6 months so that I know that the wood has dried. Use your imagination here and find a piece of wood that you think has an interesting look.

Next I sanded down the bottom of the bowl. I tried to keep this rustic and not make it too even of a job. I like seeing the different layers of the bark and the unfinished wood at the bottom. I basically just used a belt sander to get the rough shape.

Now I clamp the sanded blank in my vise (careful that you don't over-tighten it) and then drill the main hole. I Work the bit around in a wide circular motion to bore out the entire bowl, trying to keep it as even as possible.

Here you can see the finished shape of the bowl. I don't worry to much about getting the inside of the bowl perfect. I just shape it until I like the way it looks.

Okay, this is the tricky part. Take another piece of limb that you want to use as your pipe stem. Take your drill and clamp the piece of wire in where you would normally use a drill bit.

Then You really just use the wire to drill out the middle of the branch. The pith in the middle of the branch is weaker than the rest of the wood and your wire should basically follow the path of the pith right through the whole branch.

This part it touchy and you may need to experiment with the right kind of wood and the right kind of wire. To stiff and it won't follow the channel of pith in the middle. Too flexible and it just won't drill through, or if it does the hole might just be too narrow for a good pipe draw. Take your time, experiment and expect to ruin a few branches.

Alright now drill a hole in the side of the bole. Try and make this hole meet at the bottom of your bowl as best as possible.

Alright, now you need to sand both sides of your stem, one side to fit into the bowl and the other so that you have a comfortable place for your mouth.

The one picture I forgot to add was slicing the stem at an angle where it goes into the bowl. Basically, you want to cut your stem so that it sits flush at the bottom of the bowl. Using an sharp x-acto knife from the end of your stem, cut a small wedge so that you are exposing a little bit of the channel in the middle of your stem. This will help with the pipe draw. It's a nice extra step but is really not necessary.

Alright, here is the finished pipe on a stand I made for my brother. He was very excited with the gift.

Later I will post up about a pipe rack that I made to hold my pipes. On this post you will be able to see a few more of the pipes I have made. I really enjoy making these because each pipe is unique in shape and feel.

Feel free to post any questions or comments that you might have.

Thanks for reading.

Taking things in a new direction

Taking Things in a New Direction

Let’s be honest, I have been less then faithful with my blog updates. In fact I’m pretty sure that I’m writing this blog right now for my one loyal reader, myself.

However I’m going to try and take this blog in a new direction. Instead of just adding projects I have been working on, I will start using this blog to share the experiences of raising a modern American family with a back-to-basics/homesteading/farming slant. 

Really I just want to share the wonderful adventures of living in the New England woods and also to help people realize that you don’t have to move ‘off grid’ to start moving toward a simpler, more self-reliant life.

I’ll still be putting up completed and step-by-step projects but I will also be including stories of our triumphs and challenges in building a little backyard farm and garden. 

Also here is a picture of Becky with a duck. Enjoy!

- Chuck