EASY DIGGING.
Hannah and I farm with our hands, almost literally. We don't own a tractor, and likely never will. We use a broad fork to plow, cut the grass with a scythe and farm with pretty much whatever crude object is laying around and will do the job. But sometimes, when Wendell isn't enough help, we need a hand. Or more specifically, a tool.The growing season is fast approaching and it is time to start thinking about preparing a garden spot. For those of you who are looking for the kind of tools we use on our farm, easydigging.com is a great place to find them. We love what they're doing and what they stand for. We love that the owner, Greg, is an engineer who cares about the utility, design and ergonomics of every tool his site carries. We love that all of the handles and the majority of the tools are made in the USA. We love that many of the reviews on their site are from other farmers and we love that it's the perfect place for people who like to do it all by hand––like us––to find what they need: broad forks, picks, wheel hoes, seeders, hand cultivators, grubbing hoes, etc..And in the name of full disclosure, Easy Digging did not pay for this post, nor ask for it. Our relationship to them––besides loving their catalog––has been that they use our review of the Meadow Creature Broad Fork (which we continue to love, use regularly, and will forever shamelessly support), and sent us a 6" Grub Hoe as a thank you. We're greatly appreciative of, and honored by, their generosity, and glad we've been able to help them sell their broad forks. But we didn't put this post up for any reason other than we simply love what they're doing and would love for more people to utilize these tools and this site.It's very satisfying work, both environmentally and personally, to get down on your hands and knees and farm. Stores like Easy Digging make that possible.- Jesse.
HOW'S MY FROË.
One of our newest tools/toys is the froë from Garret Wade. I've never used one before so I have nothing to compare it to, but I'm both greatly intimidated and slightly obsessed with this beast. Essentially, it's a splitting maul, but instead of swinging the tool down hard and crashing into the log, you place the froë on top of the log and slam it in with a mallet to make precise shakes (cool video demonstration!) I made my own mallet out of a small cedar log, and then before I left on Sunday, gave it a whirl.And it. was. awesome.It's definitely going to be hard––if we side the entire house with cedar shakes, it will take several months of making them and I will have enormous hands––but it's a blast. When I go to Bugtussle this week I'm going to bring back a bunch of logs to Nashville so I can do some here, a form of long distance cabin construction. We're very excited about the shakes, and this new tool.- Jesse.
GETTING TO WORK.
As far as the cabin goes, the easy stuff is over. We have a frame, but now it needs insulation, siding, electrical work, a stove pipe, etc., etc., etc.. So this weekend, I made my trip to the hardware store, picked up a ton of supplies and got to work.The first step was installing the wiring for electricity, which I admit is a bit hilarious considering how far off we are from actually getting (solar) electricity. But, if you ever want electricity in your house, you gotta do it before you insulate. Eric and Cher from Bugtussle Farm––who were incredibly generous with their time and knowledge for me this weekend––said they had their sockets empty for TEN YEARS before they got electricity. When they were ready, though, they just plugged it in and turned it on (more or less). So we did a lot of electrical work and a lot of insulating. Nearly 4,000 staples later, we were finished with insulating the floor and almost two whole walls. All in all, if one can base success on soreness, it was a very successful weekend.- Jesse.
