Thursday, September 24, 2009

Best toilet around.

That's right everyone, it's true; it is the best toilet around. And it's a composting toilet to boot. I heard on Living on Earth a couple podcasts ago that in Sweden they call it the 'utedass' or dry compost toilet and it sounds like everyone over there has one. Maybe soon enough more people will have them here in the states. This is Gerard, the architect behind this beauty of a building. He took apart an old meat curing salt shed we had on the property and used that wood for all of the siding and the awesome dutch doors (we're going to have some dutch doors in our house proper, love them).
Because of the old recycled wood the little shack has a great feel to it. In the first picture the plexiglass hasn't been put on, but it's there now and works to heat the composting pile of s*#$. Pretty cool huh? The urine is diverted outside via the pvc pipe. The black pipe supposedly works like a vacuum and draws out the odors. We use leaf mulch and wood ash to cover what we leave behind. This has been a great addition to the farm. What next you ask? Solar powered irrigation? solar power for the house?? a wetland water run-off purification system? what else? the sky is the limit.






Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Hoot hoot!














We've been doing some bushhogging around the farm and we've seen so many little mice running for their lives. It's like the secret of nimh and we're the bad guys. Sometimes, and I really do hate it when this happens, I'll see one running and it has a broken leg or arm from the bushhog. One time I ran over a nest of them and there were five or six baby pinkies, squeaking, hairless and with eyes that (thank goodness) couldn't yet open to look at me, the harbinger of death and doom, Voldemort incarnate. When we bushhog there are hawks and turkey vultures that circle overhead looking for the kill of the day. And there are also plenty of blacksnakes around, big fat ones, that we welcome. We've heard a pair of owls on the farm too. Usually when we have late friday workdays, the pair will start hooting, going over the latest gossip of the day. "Did you see Stuart's outfit today?? HOOTHOOT!"
Looks like we only have about three to four more markets left worth of produce. How exciting. House progress pictures are soon to come.


Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Vote For Durham!!!

Please take a second and vote for Durham as your favorite Farmers' Market. Definitely the best market around!!! We need your vote to move up to fifth place. September 17th, tomorrow, is the last day to vote.

love your farmers market contest - help your market win $5,000 - vote today!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Another day on the farm

karats, mothra, geckee, and oystas




Wednesday, September 2, 2009

New blooms

Here are a couple new flowers we're trying out and so far I think I like them both. The first is 'persian carpet' a very small headed zinnia that is a total pain to cut but really makes a mixed bouquet. Great for fall. The next is also great for fall, tithonia 'torch', also know as Mexican sunflower. You have to cut all of it's leaves off or it won't hydrate properly, but it seems promising. The stems feel like satin so when I cut it I imagine going to sleep. Pretty much all of my daydreams these days consist of sleeping. Not so much satin, but sleeping.
But it is really fun to cut with the stems feeling so soft, and the plants are huge. They must be six feet tall, maybe taller.
Clover has been singing this song all week, getting right in your face and then running off. She smells so bad right now. Her official nickname is 'stinker'.