When Lucy yanked the football out from under him. 2020 was set to be a wonderful year. The first full year of Ron’s retirement and he had lots of plans floating around in his head. Take it from me, it is better when they are just floaters. I break out in a sweat only when I hear him say, “Ginny, sit down and lets talk”. We had one small hiccup in 2019 when our favorite resturaunt and one of our first customers had a kitchen fire. They had to close down for repairs and would not be reopened until sometime in the spring. But that should be just in time for 2020 shiitake season.

Ron found a deal for wheeled metal shelves on the Costco website and ordered 5 of them. He has spent a good deal of time in the internet watching other micro green growers. Everyone of them has a slightly different shelf set up. But most swear by the metal shelves. We are still trying to find the just right set up that works best for us. The metal shelves were only the first step in his planned upgrade.

As with any project we get involved with, setting up the shelves was, shall we say, an adventure. The instructions were straight forward and pretty simple. Four two piece posts, plastic clips and five shelves; assemble accordingly. It took three tries to get it right. Jo, Ron and I set it up the first time. Ron wanted to have six shelves on each set, so we cannibalized one set to feed the others. He wanted to maximize the shelf space in our floor space.

Our first attempt did work but not as easily as they claimed. Each pole has grooves cut into it at equal distances apart. You are supposed to use them to keep the shelves level, counting so that you have the same number of grooves between each shelf. We were done by 8 pm and happy with a job well done.

Ron pondered on it all the next day and that night he and I took it apart again. Definitely a two person job. Halfway to getting it set back up, we stopped and took it apart again. The third time it was done to his satisfaction. Now it should have been easy enough to get the others done. All we had to do was copy what we already did. One or two false starts and we got it done. Then Ron had to run the lights which were another change as we would be going from two lights per shelf to three. Will be interesting to see if our micro greens grow better with the extra light. So that was that. First big change for the year was in process.

Our pink pussy willows are still a struggle for us. We have yet to discover or develop the knack for getting the darn things to stay pink. The expect swears to Ron that all you have to do is pick them, set into water until the turn pink, pull them out and they should stay that way. Well that is not what happens to ours. They promptly return to their grey color. And while still lovely, they are not what we hoping to get. Another thing we have more learning to do on.

Ron decided he needed to add one more item to his list of projects for 2020. Last year he became a procurer of vegetables for our restaurant customers. He is a big advocate of buying local and pushes this when he can to our customers. This year he wants to have his Amish farmers grow more specialized veggies. Potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, beets, radishes and a few others thrown in. As soon as he got in his 2020 seed catalogs, he took them to the chefs for their veggie wish list. Then he was out meeting with the Amish to see what they thought about said list. Once the list was finalized, he placed the seed orders and checked that off his to do list.

Me, I was working on perfecting a recipe for calendula infused shampoo bars. I like the idea of using a shampoo with no chemicals seeping into your scalp or pouring down the drain. You can make your own liquid shampoo, but I am making bars. No risk of spillage involved and much easier to carry with you. I made two different one bar batches last fall and gave them out to friends as Christmas gifts. Do you know a better way of getting happy test subjects? Didn’t work so well for me though. I haven’t heard a single comment back from any of them. Some friends I have. I was not deterred though and did a lot of reading about what oils work best in shampoo bars. A few more attempts and I should have a shampoo bar good enough for Tiny House Farm to add to their product list.

I had some comfrey infused olive oil ready to use so I made a batch of shampoo bars with that. Those were just to play with as we don’t plan to grow comfrey for our use. And then tried non goat’s milk calendula soap. Experimenting with different oils in a variety of amounts is kind of addicting. I also made calendula soap without the goats milk. Just looking for something else that I can contribute to our product line.

We got through February but continued to be distracted and worried about the news of the virus making its way around the world. Like everyone else, we were so hoping that it would not hit us here. We were hopefully planning for our upcoming shiitake inoculation. We were wanted to make changes this year, looking to upgrade in a few ways. So much for all those plans. Mother Nature smacked us and the rest of the world a good one. But we did have other projects that needed our thoughts and plans.

By March 8 we knew our hopes about the virus were in vain as NY Governor Cuomo called for all that could; to work from home . One by one our customers advised that they were not going to be ordering any mirco greens from us. On March 14 I started working from home. This was to last until further notice. As I have never been a huge fan of working from home, I was not happy. I really, really need the interaction with people during work. It is so much harder to ask a question or get someone’s opinion on an issue by email of IM. But I am so grateful that my job can be done at home. Losing my income was not something we had to worry about. That is a blessing that too many Americans did not have over the past two months.

Such a odd thing this is. Getting up everyday and going to work at a table in my house. It is all so wrong. No dashing out of house in the nick of time for work. No driving and no worry about the roads or weather outside. Also no annoyance that someone had parked in my parking spot. I have used the same spot for the past 15 years. I think should entitle me to squatter’s rights. don’t you? The only worry I have to deal with is whether my internet connection will stay up for the entire 8 hours. It feels as though I am on vacation but am not. All sorts of stories out there of people baking up a storm, buying up all the yeast in the world, or learning a new skill, but I feel kinda of stuck. We have been holdup in the house most of the time since mid-March. Rain and cold here in upstate NY prevented us from making even small work trips out to the farm. Because neither Ron nor I are spring chickens and we have both have pre-existing conditions; the rule of the day is stay home. Stay away from everyone. We don’t want to get this virus, but also don’t want to give it to anyone else. Jo is our major concern. She works overnights at our local Walmart. And I have never been happier that she works that shift. Her customer contacts are very limited which makes her safer.

All this “down time” has resulted in thoughts of how we can improve our processes. And, sadly revealed more things that need to be done. We have already spent hours and hours picking rocks from our field and dumping them onto a few sections of the path to our southern end.

It is clear that we have a lot more rock moving in our future. Two additional years of 4 wheeler trips there and back have taken a toll. It is even hard to walk through this. As we have two lovely and large piles of already picked rocks sitting along side our field, all we have to do is toss them into our wagon and haul them across the steam. I foresee a road building party in our future. Adhering to social distancing guidelines of course. Along with a house painting party and a juneberry planting one. Yes, Ron has actually ordered juneberries for us to plant this fall. And we still need to have a garbage picking party on THF. Every rain we have reveals more junk left behind by previous owners.

Ron and I went out to the farm in early April to work on our elderberries and lavender. We had to trim back the elderberries to keep them healthy and strong. We brought home some “sticks” for me to plant in hopes that we would get new bushes from them.

They seem to be doing well and should be better once the snow finally ends for the year. We are going to use three of these to replace bushes that we have lost, but the others; we hope to sell. We are keeping them here at the house so I can watch over them. I will have to find a safer place though. At least one squirrel did some digging at them. I assume the critter was looking for stashed but forgotten nuts.

We also cut planting “sticks” from our pink pussy willows (insert giggle here). Those are still in our frig waiting for us to make a decision on. Do we plant them so we can sell them as already established or sell them as bare root? Though you can root them in water, from the research I have done it seems best to start them directly in dirt. Supposedly they will be stronger if started this way. BUT if you do root them in water, you really need to save the water. There is a natural growth hormone in pussy willows and it will infuse the water they sit in. You can then use this water to root other plants. No need for any rooting powder. Ron is a huge fan of being able to use the one thing in two different ways. A twofer he calls it.

I am keeping myself busy and involved with THF by working on product and supply inventory. Finding out what we have in stock and what we need to buy. Or in my case, need to make. I have Ron pondering labels for my shampoo bars and watching for a sale on the size he wants to use. He wants those bars to stand out from our calendula soap. Right now, that means a different looking label.

When our area does begin the process of opening back up we will need to be ready for our customers. But we are fully aware that this will be a long and difficult process. It will take some time before things are back to being anything like normal. We are going to have to roll with the punches making sure we are able to duck when we can. The uncertainty of it all is going to be the hardest to deal with. There is so much that will be beyond our control. But we are going to get through it; all of us will. We just have to take care of ourselves, our families and each other.

A week later and we were out at THF to pick shiitakes and rescue some of our missing logs. They are calling for rain today at 11 am so we were ready to go just before 7.  Shiitakes were the priority so Jo and Ron headed over there. I stopped to check on our lavender and elderberries.

So excited to see the ripening berries, but I need to get busy not only covering these bushes to keep the birds away but also figuring out some kind of support.  There are more than a few branches resting on or near the ground.

I did a bit of weeding and then headed across the stream to help with the shiitakes.  Once they were all picked and safely stashed in the tent, we girded ourselves for the trip out to get the found logs.  All three of us had on hip waders so we should stay dry this time.  But this adventure was going to be tricky.  Ron would be driving the 4 wheeler while I walked in front of him guiding  him to the more shallow areas.  Jo would follow behind to keep an eye on both of us.    Right away thing got a bit dicey.  Ron had to drive faster than I could walk.  Remember I was not only walking in the stream but dealing with the rocks too.  He had to keep going in order to prevent getting bogged down.    There were tree branches hanging low over the stream that we had to dodge and even more of them in the stream itself.  We hit the deeper spots and I had Ron stop to make the decision about which way to go.  He made the choice and then gunned it.  I had to scramble to get out of his way.  Jo was freaking out, sure that I was going to be hit.  Sliding on the rocks in my boots, I managed to get up on the bank and Ron flew by me.  Huge relief when he got up onto the bank of rocks and brought the machine to a stop.

Jo and Ron loaded the logs already piled up into the wagon and planned their way back.   I headed down the right side of the stream.  I am still determined to search as much as I can for our sled.  I found 9 more logs and a few seriously deep pools.  Up to my knees deep.  I made my way back to Ron and Jo to see if the plan was now to gather up these logs too.   Delighted to hear that they had also been log hunting and had 15 more pulled out of the brush.   Jo and Ron headed back to THF and I headed back upstream to start bringing my found logs out.  That was some seriously hard work.  Carrying logs while walking through deep water burned off a lot of calories.  I had to watch where I was putting my feet as I did not want to fall, but was also keeping one ear open for a bellow from Ron.  Thank goodness all I heard was the engine of the 4 wheeler getting fainter as they safely moved down stream.

They were back before I had all 9 logs corralled.  Jo was soaking wet.  As she had struggled to hold a branch out of Ron’s way the back wash had gotten her.  She lost her balance and went down.  Once again she had boots full of water.   She helped me with the last few logs and they headed back out again.  It was best that I wasn’t going with Ron.  My nerves aren’t as young as Jo’s are.  There were spots on his trip where he could have easily tipped himself over.  He was trying to stay in the shallow ends, but sometimes that meant having one side up on the rocks and the other side in the deep.  I was doing myself better by hauling more logs out of the brush.

Last load of logs and pallets.  Did I mention we needed to get them back to the farm too?  We need them to stack the logs on.  They headed out again and I grabbed the 8 foot long board I found to follow.  But then decided to go back another way, exploring a bit.  Except for one patch of serious bog, it might have been a better way for Ron and the 4 wheeler too.

I got back safely, grabbed the camera and headed out to the south end to find Ron and Jo.  They had decided to take the logs all the way out there right now.  This will save us work later on.  I hadn’t been out there since we moved all of our new logs out there.

All told, we found 50 logs.  Go us.   We aren’t sure that we will actually get shiitakes from them next year, and we are going to tag them, keeping them separate from the others.   You can see that some of them already have while spots on the ends, confirming they have been full inoculated.  Who knows, they may be end up being our best producers.

I might search for the missing sled again tomorrow.

 

 

This weekend was fully planned out. Saturday we took the day off due to expected rain and the three of us drove to Syracuse. Lots of errands to run, including a favorite, the CNY Regional Market. That opens at 7 am and Ron is a big fan of getting there first thing. He wants to make sure he gets the rolls and bread that he really likes.   We didn’t get on the road quite as early as he wanted to, but I was just fine with the time.   Then Ron realized that he had forgotten his log soaking schedule.  They should have been done the night before.  It was too late to get it done on Saturday if we were going to make it to the market in time to get his bread.

Once the rolls and bread were safely in our shopping bags, Ron was off to the races. He wanted to see and talk with anyone who was selling garlic there.   Can you believe that he hadn’t remembered to bring any of our business cards?  Luckily I had some with me and he was able to hand them out.  Carrying a purse does come in handy at times.   Jo and I picked up a few things and Ron was finally done.  Next we headed to a restaurant supply store to find some of the brown paper bags we use.   The first place we stopped at did not have them but they graciously sent us to another stop that did have them.   Now that Ron’s shopping was done, all I heard was “move along, move along” from him.  He needed us to get home with enough time to get out to THF for soaking set up.  We got the last of our shopping done and headed home.  Grabbed a quick bite, changed into work clothes and drove to the farm.

The soaking tanks had been emptied so it was easy to load the logs in and then fill the tanks.  Our day was done and we went home.

Today the plan was to head to THF later in the day.  The logs need to soak 24 hours, no longer.  We had a few other things that needed to be done before our 3 pm deadline.  A tree to cut down,  the small reservoir we use for log soaking needed to be cleaned out.  Both of these chores were results of the flooding in July.  Jo was going to be busy mowing the field.  Then we still had some storm clean up do to, pull the logs out and start soaking a second set.

The tree came down quickly.  We still have to figure out the right way to get the bird house off this tree and on to another.  But that is for another project.

Next was to get Jo going with the brush hog.  And that is when the day totally changed course.  The key would not go in.  Nothing we tried got it to work so we moved on.

With Jo and me collecting rocks, (just where would we find those?) and Ron digging out the silt, we made good time on the repair.  Ron wired the intake hose to the cinder block, we placed it in the center and let the pump rip.  All was well and we moved on to the next project.  Jo and I headed off the pick up and bring back the 11 logs I found after the flood.  Ron started picking up the odds and ends about the place.

Once we had the logs stacked on right side of the stream I suggested we walk down the stream to see if we could find any more of our missing stuff.  Ron and I had the long boots on while Jo had her shorter ones on.   That turned out to be a mistake on her part.  The creek bed is a pretty one with lots of easy places to walk.  We spotted one of our blue tubs jammed between two trees, but then we rounded a corner and saw……

our water tank.  O frabjous day!  The hose was still attached and there was no damage.  I headed back to our work site to get my camera.  When I got back to the site, Jo and Ron had wandered off.  I took a look around and spotted one of our logs and then another and another.  I pulled them out of the wood pile and started stacking them on the rocks.  Jo came back and said Ron had headed upstream.  All told Jo and I found a dozen logs.  When Ron got back I was still digging in the bushes and handed him his ammo can.  We had forgotten about that.

This lovely pile has to wait for another day.  It was time to head back to our soaking logs.  But we had to take the water tank with us.  That was a serious job on its own.  No hand holds on the blasted thing.  Jo and I carried the back end while Ron wrapped the hose around his shoulders and led the way.  As we struggled back to THF, we were also paying attention to the path we would going to have to use with the 4 wheeler and wagon.

Now we had to pull the soaked logs out and get the next ones in.  And then load up all the garbage and walk to the vehicles.  We got there and Ron discovered he left his keys sitting on the wagon.  Jo was standing in water filled boots and I was not going to have her walk back.  Ron was just beat, so I headed back.  Keys in hand and I walked back to the road.  Loaded up and drove home.  Such a lovely word – home.

Of course the work was not done.  Showers for all and then beers all around.  I still had laundry to get done, dinner to organize, and this blog to post to.

This is not the end of the story.  Stay tuned to see how we pull off rescue part two.

 

 

And that would be Flood. Even worse is Flash Flood.

We are still dealing with the after effects of the storms that rolled though our area the weekend of July 1st. Everything is still very damp and the mud is everywhere.
So we were very unhappy when the alerts popped up on our phones July 10th. We had already made the decision that our logs needed to be moved to a safer location. Somewhere the over flowing creek won’t get them.  On the south end of the property, the bank is quite high.  If that ever floods, we are done for.

So now they were calling for three more inches of rain.   It was supposed to start on Wednesday, the 12th at 8 pm.  We had to get the logs moved NOW.  Could not afford to lose any more of them.   We thought about getting out to THF on Tuesday, but we were all so tired and just not in the mood.  That turned out to be a huge mistake.

I got out of work at 4 pm and was home about 30 minutes later.  We changed into work clothes and boots and headed out.   It was hot and muggy out by the creek but the work  had to be done.  The first logs we tackled were the ones we just inoculated.  They had to be moved across the stream and down to the south end, but keeping them separate from the shiitake logs.  These 75 logs would be set up on A frames like the shiitakes, but they will not require any soaking.   Oyster mushrooms show up when they want to.  So far, no one has figured out a way to force them to flower on a schedule.  It will be interesting to see how it goes next year.  So far our totem experiment had not produced any mushrooms.  It could be because we used the wrong type of tree.  It was just one that fell down and Ron didn’t want to waste it.

The plan was to load up the wagon and have Jo and Ron go across with them.  Jo would stay down at the far end and help unload and set up the logs.  I would stay at the tent for now and work on getting everything up and out of any potential flooding.   Once all the logs were across the stream, I headed over myself to help move the rest of the logs.

Already we were feeling the heat and effects of the hard work.  We had moved just 5 loads of 25 each and were already exhausted.  We had to keep going though.   This had to be done.   It was pick up each log and load it into the wagon, then Ron drove them down to the other end where they were unloaded and stacked again onto pallets.  Did I mention we had to move the pallets too?

When it started to sprinkle at 730 pm I almost danced for joy.  It was a brief bit of coolness.  Didn’t last long enough though.  And the logs kept moving south.

Finally, finally we were done.  And we came to final count of about 100 logs lost during the previous flooding.   I would still like to find the time to walk further downstream to see if I can locate any more of them.  Or our water tank.  That was another casualty.  We have not needed it just yet, but will next year when we have to not only water our newly planted juneberries and fill the log soaking tanks which will now be “miles” away from our water source.   We already know that using open buckets or large tubs to haul water in our wagon results in lose of a good chunk of it.   So that means we will need another water tank.  My budget is shuddering as I type.

The logs were all moved and the three of us were sweaty, dirty, wet and exhausted.  Extremely hungry too, so a quick trip to McDonalds was in order.  Am not sure the one we chose will allow us back in.

And, of course, the rain did not come.  On one hand, that was good news.  No worries about losing anything more and dealing with even more mud.  But it was annoying too.  All that work and it was not needed.  At least not now. But we now don’t have to worry the next time we hear the dreaded words “flash flood”.   Well, not worry as much.  Personally, the next time, I will pack Ron up with a hammock, rain jacket, waders, and food then send him on his way to THF.   He is after all, the man with plan and I am confident in his ability to thwart Mother Nature.

though more than a bit damp.

Today was supposed to be another mushroom inoculation event.  A small one of course, with just 75 logs to get done and the three of us involved.   Brother in law Don was in as usual, depending on the weather.  Ron had ordered and received oyster mushroom spawn and we were going to try get the last of our logs set up with that.  I was more than ready to get them taken care of and out of the way.

But then on Friday the rain came and stayed.  And stayed.  And we had a tornado warning to boot.  Some serious damage down the road from us.  Once the storms cleared, Ron and Jo went out Friday night to check on things and came home soaked.  The creek was over their boots but they got across to the other side and back.   Plan was to head out to THF about 7 am on Saturday work for a few hours and then head home when the expected rain started.  Then we would go back on Sunday to finish it all up.

Ron checked the weather first thing this morning and we had a serious change in plans.  The rain was supposed to start at 9 am instead. No point in going out to get just 2 hours of work down. I started laundry and Ron puttered around.   Just waiting.  But the rain did not stop.  And the radar showed more on the way.  The day was a bust.  Jo and I went out to run some errands and came home again with the rain still coming down.

At 1 pm I got an alert on my phone, a flash flood warning.  That sent me down to talk to Ron.  We really needed to check on the farm. Still had quite a bit of equipment out there and our new tent.   Ron waffled but then gave to appease me.  It was pouring again and I put on a rain jacket, boots and hat in what turned out to be an extremely vain effort to stay dry.   We hit one patch of water streaming across the road which was not a good sign, but got to THF with no problem.

What we found there was a serious, crushing problem.  We had a lot of water in our work area.   The creek itself had not overflowed its banks yet, but water was coming from up the hill down to THF.  And there was nothing we could do about it.

And it got worse as we worked.  We pulled tools, the grill, pallets and assorted bins out of the water or its potential path.   And the water kept rising.  By the time we left I was soaked to the bone.  My boots were no where near tall enough to protect my legs and feet.

We headed home and once I changed into dry clothes, Ron sent me out with Jo to get ourselves some waders.  It was obvious that we were going to need them, not only for this emergency but for the others that might happen over the next 10 years or so.   One hopes that we have spent unnecessary funds on these boots and we don’t have to use them but this once.

At 5 pm the three of us loaded up and headed back for an update on THF’s condition.  I was driving my car which turned out to be an annoyance for Ron.  We hit one patch of water on the road after another.  Had to turn detour here and then turn around.   Finally he had me pull over and he drove from there.   After a series of turns we were finally on Solsville Augusta road and turned off it onto Route 26.  Then we hit serious water on the road.  We got through it but even Ron said we should have turned around.  The water was just pouring across the road and down the path to our farm.   We parked the car part way up a hill and started the walk back.

I think we would all have preferred to have snow again.

Ron wouldn’t let Jo and I follow him.   The water was too deep and current too strong. He came back up and we went down the way to the other path.

It was so much worse than we had expected. And hoped.

We didn’t dare open the tent to see how things were.   I had piled everything I could on top of our work tables and most the stuff was in plastic bins.  Tomorrow we will see just how bad it is.  We still have to get across the creek to check on our mushroom logs.  We could see some of them still upright on their frames, but have no way of knowing how they will handle this.   Our 2017 shiitake season could be over, unless they are as stubborn as Ron is.

By the time we left some of water had receded from the road and it was no longer pouring down our path.  So hoping that we get out there tomorrow morning and most of the water has moved down stream from us.   We have a lot of clean up ahead of us. Update to follow.

for blog support staff.  The current two staff members are simply not living up to expectations.

Ron  had signed up for an online mushroom class so yesterday he arranged to take the afternoon off. Then he decided this was perfect time to get another water test done on our streams so he took the whole day.  These tests need to be done several times a year and involve getting an early morning sample and driving to Syracuse NY with the container stashed in a cooler.  Apparently you get the best testing done if water is kept cool.  He headed out to THF about 730 am to get the needed water.   A very good thing he did, too.  When he got there he discovered that the wind we had the other day had pulled the landscape cloth up and taken some of our lavender plants with it.  Because we still have 3 inch high wheat stubs left behind from our mowing, that means the cloth does not rest flatly on the ground. This gives the wind the perfect opening to slide under the cloth and cause havoc.

Do you think he took a few pictures of the situation?  No, of course he didn’t.  He didn’t have the camera with him, but his iPhone could have done a nice job.  He didn’t even bother to tell me about the situation until hours later when he was on his way home from Morrisville College.  He had stopped there to pick up some garlic scape pesto and talk with the food program people.  Then and only then did he call me and let me know that we had a serious problem that we needed to immediately address.

The plan was that Jo and Ron would head to the farm after his class ended and I would meet them there.  At 4 pm I left work and headed to THF.  When I got out there, Jo and Ron were working and already baking in the sun.   It was 71 degrees out and we had no shade in our work area.  I had reminded Ron to bring the camera with them, but did they take a picture or two of how things looked before they got started?  No, they didn’t.

Ron had shifted the landscape cloth back into position when he was out there earlier and the two of them were now pouring sand into each hole.  The bare root plants were the ones who took the hit from the wind, being wider and dryer than the other plants.  Ron’s idea was to add sand to each plant and then give them all a good drink of water.  But first they had pulled all of our pallets onto the landscape cloth to be used as anchors.  Fingers crossed that this will help our lavender settle in and start to growing nicely.

They had brought my work clothes with them so I changed and jumped into the fray.   Dumped two cups of sand into each hole and moved on.  Thank goodness we “only” had 150 holes to deal with.   It really could have been worse.   In fact I had expected it to be worse.  From Ron’s description the wind had yanked our plants out of the ground and left them drying in the sun.  Turns out only a dozen or so needed to be replanted.  Obviously I need to train him to give me accurate details when relaying news.

Then it was time for watering.  Jo and Ron got the tank filled and we started watering all of the plants. Up and down each row, pouring out water as we went and back to fill up our pitchers, then up and down the rows again.  This was necessary not only to try and reset the plants but we aren’t expecting more rain here until Thursday.  We really do need to come up with a better system.  But on the positive note, I do tend get my daily step quota in.   And then some.

We didn’t have enough pallets to secure all of our sheets, so we fell back on an old standby.  The cement blocks that had previously been pulled out of the bushes. We loaded them onto the trailer and then plopped them down along the edges.  It was just after 6 pm and we were all so ready to head home.

Side note for all of you, don’t donate blood in the morning and then have a farm emergency 6 hours later.  One that requires you to be in hot sun and haul cement blocks around.  For the first time, I had to sit part of a job out, drink some water and let Jo take over for me.   Another life lesson learned by the doing.  Guess that is one way to make sure the lesson sticks.

Applications can be submitted to thfaugustany@gmail.com.  On site only, participation in work projects required.  Will involve early starts,  long days, in all weather conditions and sometimes at a moment’s notice.  Strong work shoes or boots recommended.  Most days lunch will be provided.   Snacks and water always on hand.  Serious applicants only need apply.