Our Lives

I'd just like to say this blog is still active. We've gone through some changes and adjustments over the last half year.

Elizabeth Ann is focusing on her Masters while I am on the road Monday through Friday. This week has been nice, I've only spent one night away from home.

Elizabeth has been taking a quilting class once a month that seems to be teaching her plenty. I thought she knew all there was to know about sewing so this is a great thing for our family.

Until recently I had been going out to Eureka Springs to learn the art of wooden handplane making. I've been amassing my collection of tools so that when the time comes, I can walk away from trucking and pursue tool making.

My teachers have taught me enough to get me going on my own. It's now time for me to sink or swim in my own "shop". With my current schedule I only have Saturdays available on a consistent basis. This will still be enough time for me to really dive deep and rely on the knowledge and experience that I have. I've got plenty of notes and books and if I find myself stumped I am sure that my teachers will help me out.

Getting started isn't easy. There is alot to know with regards to tools and techniques both of the instruments utilized to create the planes and also of the planes themselves. So many subtle details go into the creation of a single plane that even a craftsmen himself can and will still be learning about his creation 15 years down the road.

I don't expect to be rich making planes for a living, but it will able me to be home, and that is what is most important to me.

Elizabeth and my mother have been working feverishly caning fruit from the orchard and produce from the farmers market. Amongst all the jam there are now also 11 qts and 3 pints of tomato sauce. That is alot for anyone familiar with caning.

Our chickens are still doing fine. Big Bird decided to become broody for a while so to amuse her we gave her to false eggs. They were ceramic. She was so proud of them, but after three weeks of not getting off the nest for any real amount of time, we decided it would be best to take them away. That was our lesson on why a broody hen is a bad thing.

We also decided it would be best to build a chicken run and to put the chicken tractor inside of it. They've got less space than I'd prefer but they seem to be happy.

Building the run was quick and simple and has worked very well to date. We simply put some T-posts in the ground along the perimeter we decided and connected some wire fence using zip-ties. Their run meets against a horse paddock that has a wooden fence. We put two nails in a post to work as a "fence-catch", and it's worked very well as a gate. The only trouble we've had with the run is that sometimes the nails will come loose and also the chickens like to dig at the gate-bottom. We've taken care of that by laying some fence posts and a hay bale over their hole. I suspect they use that hole to get away from the sun.

They really appreciated all the caning scraps we gave them. For people that haven't had chickens before, if they are happy-they will let you know it! Our chickens sometimes sound like they are purring!

I am sure there is plenty more for us to tell you about. But for a quick update this should do alot.

Michael and Elizabeth McCartan

The Porters