I never seem to have enough time these days, how do I create more of it?

Zemke, Pittsburgh PA.

Good news Zemke, we will all be getting an extra full second added to the official clock starting just before midnight on New Years Eve of this year.

According to NASA, time is slowing down, and 900 million years ago a day would only last 18 hours.

I would say the best way to create more time would be to delete most of your distractions and try to live more in the moment.

"I thought you guys had two chicken tractors? How can you make one Ice and Easy serve both tractors?"

Jack, Houston TX

I have not figured out a way to do that, but an alternative to the Ice and Easy might be a simple Crock Pot.

I tried it last night in the other tractor and it worked fine. It seems that if you keep the cover off and the setting on low the water stays close to luke warm. Be sure to switch it off during the day if it gets hotter than 40. Our hens even seemed to enjoy the warm water in the morning, but that could be just my imagination.

Does it matter how you put a log that has been split in half into the stove - round side up or down?

--- Shelia, WV

I guess that would depend on what kind of fire you need. I have found that barkside down seems to burn slower, maybe due to moisture in the bark. This can be a good thing if you're ready to turn in for the night.

The intriguing photo was taken by Brian Jones on his trip to Uganda. The woman's name is Napeyok and I've always been fascinated by how much weight can be carried on one's head.

It seems like only women have this skill, and some can carry up to 70 percent of their body mass without burning too many extra calories. This article suggests that the secret is in the pendulum motion of one's head and body.

David in Louisianna writes:

As a budding seed-saver, I don't find that question silly at all!  Most seeds will last much longer than you might think --- check out this story about a 2,000 year old seed sprouting, for example.

Of course, I'm not advocating that you use thousand year old seeds in your garden, but your seeds will probably last longer than you think.  Take a look at the table to the right and consider using those old seed packets to plant your garden next year rather than buying a new set!

"Could you post a picture of your chicken tractor?"
Jackie

Here is the smallest of our two tractors. I added the carpet towards the bottom to keep the small chicks from escaping through the holes.

The skeletal frame is made of a material called remesh. It comes in a medium sized roll and is usually used to reinforce concrete structures and floors. We used an old metal milk crate turned on its side to function as a nest box. Most of the wooden frame is made from small trees and pieces of scrap.

The total weight is a big factor in making it easy to move. I recommend practice movements during construction.  Check back in the near future for a more detailed post on chicken tractors with construction tips, pictures, and short video clips.

Am I the only one who is still wondering why George Bush Jr. and the United States Congress decided in their infinite wisdom to increase daylight saving time by 4 weeks back in 2005? They claimed we would save more energy by starting it 3 weeks earlier and extending it by a week. Like usual, this piece of legislation was buried in a wide ranging bill that got attention for giving oil and gas companies nice fat tax breaks.

According to the Washington Post, candy manufacturers have lobbied for years to stretch daylight saving time to encompass Halloween. Now parents can rest easier knowing that kids will have more daylight to navigate the neighborhood streets on that frightful night, and an extra hour to consume even more candy.

I was surprised to learn that recent research from Carnegie Mellon University has found that you are 3 times more likely to be hit and killed by a car just after the time switch. They speculate that drivers go through a week of adjusting to the new schedule. It might be a good idea to use extra caution this week if you find yourself crossing the street even once.

Katrina Van Tassel sends us a question from Sleepy Hollow, Connecticut:

Is it possible for chickens to "turn bad" and possibly cause harm to the farmer?

Good question, Katrina. Most people don't know this, but chickens can be especially hazardous during the Halloween season.  The danger is caused by a freak astronomical event that somehow temporarily increases the intelligence factor of every 7th hen. This alone is nothing to worry about, but if that super hen is allowed to cackle out commands to her sisters, then you're in trouble....as can be seen in the picture provided. Please keep all cutting tools well away from the chicken coop for at least the next few days. Expert opinions vary on exactly how long this effect will last.

Jim from Michigan wrote in to ask "Do you hunt?"

I have recently come to the conclusion that hunting around here makes good economic sense if you're a meat eater in this region and you have a freezer. We are in the process of shopping for a more suitable gun and have come to a bit of a fork in the road. 40 caliber or 9 mm? Any feedback from our readers would be appreciated.

The main factor in choosing to hunt is wanting to take an active part in the deer management problem in these parts. Another big reason is the self sufficient element of not relying on the grocery store for all your protein needs and having a desire for a more pure meat experience. I guess one more reason would be to someday enjoy a wild turkey dinner since all the hunters I talk to keep going on and on about how juicy and tasty a wild turkey is compared to the farm raised ones you get at the store.

I know everybody has heard this before, but I'm going to say it again. Keep all firearms well out of reach from any cats you may have hanging around your place. A cat cannot be trusted with a gun of any type. It's a well known fact that a dog would never even think of shooting its master...but a cat...well let's just say that a cat's loyalty is sometimes shaky at best.

Our property is rich in water, but none of it is safe to drink.  We have two creeks which work great for irrigating the garden and a hand-dug well which people presumably drank from decades ago.  Unfortunately, the well tested positive for coliform bacteria.

Coliform bacteria, while not necessarily dangerous by themselves, are a sign that the water has come in contact with the fecal matter of a mammal at some point, and thus mean the water isn't safe to drink.  Many people who drink from shallow wells or springs build up an immunity to the problematic bacteria, but we didn't want to risk it, especially since it would mean that guests might get sick drinking our water.  So, for the first year and a half, we carried our drinking water into the property a gallon at a time from a friend's house a mile down the road.

Then came the economic stimilus checks this spring.  We decided to see if we could get our drinking water system up and running for a couple of hundred bucks, and sure enough we did! 

After researching all of the options, I quickly decided that a UV light is the best treatment system for home drinking water --- actually, a lot of municipal water treatment plants are moving toward UV treatment and away from chlorine since UV is completely safe and leaves no nasty aftertaste.  The cheapest UV system I came across was the Omnipure Pacific from FreshWaterSystems.com.  We opted for the 1 gpm 6 watts sytem with ballast, and bought an extra light since the light has to be changed about once a year.

The one thing you have to be aware of when installing a UV treatment system is that the water needs to be very clear for the system to be effective.  Any tiny grains of dirt suspended in the water will act as a shield, protecting bacteria from the light and making the "treated" water unsafe.  The bare minimum is to install a 5 micron sediment filter upstream of the UV light system so that the water runs through the sediment filter and is cleaned before running through the UV system.  You can get sediment filters just about anywhere, but we got ours from the same place to save on shipping.  In the end, our treatment system cost under $200.

Another thing you should consider when installing a water treatment system is your water source.  The system I've outlined here (and also the systems used to treat most municipal drinking water) are designed to remove only sediment and microorganisms.  If you pump water from a creek which gets pesticide runoff, the pesticides will still be in the water after you treat it!  So you're far better off starting off with groundwater (from a well or spring) and preferably also using water from a watershed which is completely forested.

We made one change from the normal installation procedure.  While most people would install a pressure tank which automatically kicks on the well pump whenever it gets low and leave the UV light plugged in at all times, we opted for a cheaper and lower power system.  Mark rigged up a reservoir above the kitchen sink to hold our drinking water.  Once a day or so, we flip the switch on the power strip which turns on the UV light and well pump and lets the water rush through the sediment filter and UV system to fill up the reservoir.  Then we turn off the power strip until the next day.  Used this way, we suspect our UV light will last for several years instead of just the one promised by the manufacturer.  And now we have clean, running, drinking water piped to our kitchen sink!  No more carrying frozen jugs of water for half a mile to the house in the winter.

This week's question comes from Laura in Cincinnati Ohio.

I wanted to ask you if you have a generator for your deep freeze?  I got to thinking about this after the storm a few weeks ago.  A lot of people in the tri-state area here would have lost their harvest without one.

I have had the same concern since I started seriously freezing food last year. A couple of months ago I started doing some research on how much a generator would cost us and what type we should get.

We settled on a Champion 3000 watt generator from Home Depot.com. It sells for 349 dollars plus 40 bucks for shipping. I tried calling the local Home Depot store to see if I could order it and pick it up there. The woman informed me that they only carry Coleman generators in the store and online items had to be shipped to your house. We placed the order 10 days ago and if everything goes as scheduled it should show up sometime next week. Once it's here we will fully test it and post a review to let everyone know how it performed.

It is possible to make your own generator from an old lawn mower engine and a car or truck alternator. I found this site that provides some advanced tips on such a project. I considered giving it a try a few years back and decided it would cost just a bit more money to buy a new one.