Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Just to show you my amazing brother in-law
In case you thought, in my earlier post, that my brother in-law was crazy for bowhunting for pheasants, here's a little video:
Friday, April 20, 2012
Posts I've neglected as of late
© 2012 Joshua Stark
While playing with my kids and my new dog, painting the kitchen, visiting long-unseen relatives and driving all over town, here are some posts I've worked on and thought up but haven't finished:
I took my nephew on his first-ever hunt where he could shoot (last January he passed his hunters' safety course - and so did his mom, my sister);
My new friend and brewer Matt brewed up a few bottles of nettle beer, and we discovered that one can squeeze a lemon out of a nettle;
Agnes' herb garden is growing, with additions of lemon balm, cilantro, garlic and lavender, and we are looking for herb suggestions (legal ones, of course);
My slug battle has heated up, and I'd love to find a cure that doesn't cost as much as patented prescription drugs.
In other garden news, the first sprouts have sprung up in the Summer vegetable bed, and the potato patch has come alive, thankfully with potato leaves. Also, the orange tree and boysenberry are blooming, and the walnut has lost a ton of tiny (about 1/4") walnuts.
Last, every third Saturday of April, Kiene's Fly Fishing puts on their annual Expo in honor of trout season opening the following Saturday. I've missed it the past couple of years, but hope to stop by there Saturday morning to say hi and to let some travel fly-fishing fellas about Hippo's resort, and how they'd better get out there before he catches all the fish
So, lots going on here.
While playing with my kids and my new dog, painting the kitchen, visiting long-unseen relatives and driving all over town, here are some posts I've worked on and thought up but haven't finished:
I took my nephew on his first-ever hunt where he could shoot (last January he passed his hunters' safety course - and so did his mom, my sister);
My new friend and brewer Matt brewed up a few bottles of nettle beer, and we discovered that one can squeeze a lemon out of a nettle;
Agnes' herb garden is growing, with additions of lemon balm, cilantro, garlic and lavender, and we are looking for herb suggestions (legal ones, of course);
My slug battle has heated up, and I'd love to find a cure that doesn't cost as much as patented prescription drugs.
In other garden news, the first sprouts have sprung up in the Summer vegetable bed, and the potato patch has come alive, thankfully with potato leaves. Also, the orange tree and boysenberry are blooming, and the walnut has lost a ton of tiny (about 1/4") walnuts.
Last, every third Saturday of April, Kiene's Fly Fishing puts on their annual Expo in honor of trout season opening the following Saturday. I've missed it the past couple of years, but hope to stop by there Saturday morning to say hi and to let some travel fly-fishing fellas about Hippo's resort, and how they'd better get out there before he catches all the fish
So, lots going on here.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Time...
© 2011 Joshua Stark
Today, my youngest turns one year old. His was a difficult birth, and I find myself reflecting on that day, watching my wife get wheeled into the operating room after enduring hours upon hours of 'transition' labor.
But, my boy is insistent, and keeps pulling me back into the here-and-now with his antics and a yell. He is a force of nature, to be sure. He is smart, and learning every day.
Although, the ease with which he would put a live cobra in his mouth, if he could reach one, makes me marvel at the fact that our species has survived at all. The boy is making it on looks, alone -- left to his own devices, he'd have eaten an electrical wire or a poisonous spider by now.
So I'm home today, baking a cake from scratch, wrapping a present, driving the family to the river parkway, and not out on opening day of deer season. There's no doubt about where I want to be (here).
I do hope he likes to deer hunt one day, however.
Happy birthday, Ruben!!!
Today, my youngest turns one year old. His was a difficult birth, and I find myself reflecting on that day, watching my wife get wheeled into the operating room after enduring hours upon hours of 'transition' labor.
But, my boy is insistent, and keeps pulling me back into the here-and-now with his antics and a yell. He is a force of nature, to be sure. He is smart, and learning every day.
Although, the ease with which he would put a live cobra in his mouth, if he could reach one, makes me marvel at the fact that our species has survived at all. The boy is making it on looks, alone -- left to his own devices, he'd have eaten an electrical wire or a poisonous spider by now.
So I'm home today, baking a cake from scratch, wrapping a present, driving the family to the river parkway, and not out on opening day of deer season. There's no doubt about where I want to be (here).
I do hope he likes to deer hunt one day, however.
Happy birthday, Ruben!!!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
My first bow... with pics! And a tangent on social trust...
© 2011 Joshua Stark
I have to admit, I was too daunted to attempt a bow for the first couple of years I'd considered it.
I would start thinking about it, even buy a piece of oak to start, and then take my recurve out to the range, draw it, and consider the power in those limbs. I'd wonder: Do I trust my woodworking skills enough to pull a bow of this poundage wrought by my own hands?
That's an interesting take on a lesson I'd taught my high school students way back in a past life as an economics teacher. You see, almost every senior would come into that class with the same bad advice about the world - trust no one. So, one of my first lessons was to teach the two most valuable components to a functioning market system: Informed self-interest, and social trust.
That first concept appears in every textbook, along with other half-truth attempts by the authors at being "cool", with the same catastrophic results as if they, themselves had appeared in class in baggy pants and backwards ball caps to rap about the "invisible hand" or the "science of choice".
The second concept, though, that of a social trust, never shows up in any text - at least, not directly. And yet, a social trust is as important to a functioning economy as an informed self-interest. To prove it, I'd ask my students a series of questions, starting with this: Would you give your credit card information to your best friend? I'd get snickers of derision at that suggestion; "heck no!" Then I'd say, "well, you gave it to the gas station attendant. What's his name?" Stunned silence would follow. Other questions were similarly designed, with the goal of getting students to understand that a market system requires an implicit trust in others, and that without it, we cease to have the wonderful things the market provides us.
And so, as I would stand at the range, I'd consider how I have no idea who built my bow, presumably some able Korean, but I trusted this person to make something that I would repeatedly pull back to my face, straining, to loose a deadly-sharp instrument through the air. We are amazing, trusting creatures, and it provides us with much. I also thought it extremely funny that I wouldn't trust myself to accomplish the same task.
Then, I stumbled upon an easy introduction to building bows. Particularly daunted by the time, patience, and space needed to work on finish-tillering the bow (where one scrapes off the belly of the bow until one reaches its desired power), I was elated to find instructions that required no tillering of the belly. It was a youth bow, designed with wood from a local hardware or lumber store in mind, and it made a bow of around 15 lbs. draw weight. It was also made nigh indestructible by a linen backing.
I built the bow over a few weeks, although the actual work was very quick (I was thwarted by the second wettest December on record here). I've shown it in various stages of completion here at the blog, and now here is the finished product in action:
The shooter is the recipient of my first bow, and the best nephew I've ever had. Am I still nervous it will break? Frankly, the only thing I'm nervous about is the string, which is the first bowstring I've ever made, too. It's made out of silk threads, so I'm not too nervous, but the tips of the bow and the string serving (the extra cotton string wrapped around the string to help protect it from abrasions where it meets the tips and the arrow) could both be improved. It's something I'll work on.
This first project has given me loads of confidence, and I plan to make more. If you are interested in a kid's bow that works, please head on over to the TradGang site, specifically here. I modified the design a bit (to make the limbs a bit stronger, and I used leftover purpleheart for the tips and handle instead of oak), but the general design is obviously a great bow for kids. I highly recommend it, too, as a first project. If you don't have kids, find a neighbor or friend who does, and make it for them. You'll all be happier for it.
Here's one more pic of the bow in action:
Trusting fellow, isn't he?
I have to admit, I was too daunted to attempt a bow for the first couple of years I'd considered it.
I would start thinking about it, even buy a piece of oak to start, and then take my recurve out to the range, draw it, and consider the power in those limbs. I'd wonder: Do I trust my woodworking skills enough to pull a bow of this poundage wrought by my own hands?
That's an interesting take on a lesson I'd taught my high school students way back in a past life as an economics teacher. You see, almost every senior would come into that class with the same bad advice about the world - trust no one. So, one of my first lessons was to teach the two most valuable components to a functioning market system: Informed self-interest, and social trust.
That first concept appears in every textbook, along with other half-truth attempts by the authors at being "cool", with the same catastrophic results as if they, themselves had appeared in class in baggy pants and backwards ball caps to rap about the "invisible hand" or the "science of choice".
The second concept, though, that of a social trust, never shows up in any text - at least, not directly. And yet, a social trust is as important to a functioning economy as an informed self-interest. To prove it, I'd ask my students a series of questions, starting with this: Would you give your credit card information to your best friend? I'd get snickers of derision at that suggestion; "heck no!" Then I'd say, "well, you gave it to the gas station attendant. What's his name?" Stunned silence would follow. Other questions were similarly designed, with the goal of getting students to understand that a market system requires an implicit trust in others, and that without it, we cease to have the wonderful things the market provides us.
And so, as I would stand at the range, I'd consider how I have no idea who built my bow, presumably some able Korean, but I trusted this person to make something that I would repeatedly pull back to my face, straining, to loose a deadly-sharp instrument through the air. We are amazing, trusting creatures, and it provides us with much. I also thought it extremely funny that I wouldn't trust myself to accomplish the same task.
Then, I stumbled upon an easy introduction to building bows. Particularly daunted by the time, patience, and space needed to work on finish-tillering the bow (where one scrapes off the belly of the bow until one reaches its desired power), I was elated to find instructions that required no tillering of the belly. It was a youth bow, designed with wood from a local hardware or lumber store in mind, and it made a bow of around 15 lbs. draw weight. It was also made nigh indestructible by a linen backing.
I built the bow over a few weeks, although the actual work was very quick (I was thwarted by the second wettest December on record here). I've shown it in various stages of completion here at the blog, and now here is the finished product in action:
The shooter is the recipient of my first bow, and the best nephew I've ever had. Am I still nervous it will break? Frankly, the only thing I'm nervous about is the string, which is the first bowstring I've ever made, too. It's made out of silk threads, so I'm not too nervous, but the tips of the bow and the string serving (the extra cotton string wrapped around the string to help protect it from abrasions where it meets the tips and the arrow) could both be improved. It's something I'll work on.
This first project has given me loads of confidence, and I plan to make more. If you are interested in a kid's bow that works, please head on over to the TradGang site, specifically here. I modified the design a bit (to make the limbs a bit stronger, and I used leftover purpleheart for the tips and handle instead of oak), but the general design is obviously a great bow for kids. I highly recommend it, too, as a first project. If you don't have kids, find a neighbor or friend who does, and make it for them. You'll all be happier for it.
Here's one more pic of the bow in action:
Trusting fellow, isn't he?
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
The secret to homesteading:
© 2010 Joshua Stark
I'm going to let you in on the secret to homesteading, urban or otherwise.
Two weeks ago (nearly), our baby boy was born. Both sets of grandparents have done some of our laundry, brought and cooked dinners, and provided some shoulders to lean on. Aunties and uncles have taken time out of their lives to come by and hold him and his big sister, or have taken the big sis for sleep-overs.
During our pregnancy (being the man, I still feel like I'm cheating by putting it that way, because she did all the work), and during my unemployment, we've received trips and dinners and lunches, wonderful meats and fully cooked meals, handmade clothes and canning supplies - sometimes with canned stuff already in them. Friends and neighbors, in-laws and outlaws, all have pitched in.
We've given back as we've been able, with fig preserves and duck eggs, but we know that we won't be able to really give back until we are back in shape, but that's okay. When we will be able, people will get the bounty of our love, probably in the form of spiced elderberry jam, nocino and Thrifty Italian, pickled tomatillos, and more duck eggs. For those who fish with a fly, they'll get some custom numbers for their particular style.
These folks give us plenty of incentive to make sure we can grow, or gather, or pickle or steep or jam things to give back, to show our love and appreciation for all they've done for us through creating healthy and productive things for our loved ones to enjoy.
I look forward to the networking connections I'll get to make at the BlogHer Food conference this weekend, but not just for the chance at SEO tips or increased traffic to my site (though I'll love that, too!). I look forward to strengthening the reason for my attempts at homesteading.
That's because the secret to homesteading, the reason for trying it at all, the impetus behind striving to get better at it, is community. Thank you to all who've been there for us this year.
I'm going to let you in on the secret to homesteading, urban or otherwise.
Two weeks ago (nearly), our baby boy was born. Both sets of grandparents have done some of our laundry, brought and cooked dinners, and provided some shoulders to lean on. Aunties and uncles have taken time out of their lives to come by and hold him and his big sister, or have taken the big sis for sleep-overs.
During our pregnancy (being the man, I still feel like I'm cheating by putting it that way, because she did all the work), and during my unemployment, we've received trips and dinners and lunches, wonderful meats and fully cooked meals, handmade clothes and canning supplies - sometimes with canned stuff already in them. Friends and neighbors, in-laws and outlaws, all have pitched in.
We've given back as we've been able, with fig preserves and duck eggs, but we know that we won't be able to really give back until we are back in shape, but that's okay. When we will be able, people will get the bounty of our love, probably in the form of spiced elderberry jam, nocino and Thrifty Italian, pickled tomatillos, and more duck eggs. For those who fish with a fly, they'll get some custom numbers for their particular style.
These folks give us plenty of incentive to make sure we can grow, or gather, or pickle or steep or jam things to give back, to show our love and appreciation for all they've done for us through creating healthy and productive things for our loved ones to enjoy.
I look forward to the networking connections I'll get to make at the BlogHer Food conference this weekend, but not just for the chance at SEO tips or increased traffic to my site (though I'll love that, too!). I look forward to strengthening the reason for my attempts at homesteading.
That's because the secret to homesteading, the reason for trying it at all, the impetus behind striving to get better at it, is community. Thank you to all who've been there for us this year.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Please welcome my baby boy to the World!
© 2010 Joshua Stark
Ruben Antonio William Stark, born last Friday; our newest member! Both Mama and baby are fine.
What an amazing experience. Simply amazing. I am thankful and exhausted and often emotionally overwhelmed.
Now the adventure begins: Two children.
I am truly blessed, the happiest Dad ever.
: )
Ruben Antonio William Stark, born last Friday; our newest member! Both Mama and baby are fine.
What an amazing experience. Simply amazing. I am thankful and exhausted and often emotionally overwhelmed.
Now the adventure begins: Two children.
I am truly blessed, the happiest Dad ever.
: )
Saturday, March 20, 2010
A budding photographer, and an update on the pond
© 2010 Joshua Stark
A great picture of our new pond, partly installed. The great part of this photo isn't the picture, it's who took it... my three-year old daughter!
I'm only a little bummed that she takes better pictures than I.
I laid down the double-over plastic liner after fitting in some shelves. As you can see, the ducks are happy I put in shelves, as they sit up on it and preen.
We are very excited with this, especially considering exactly what it replaces:
I still need to add a hard plastic piece to the bottom of the new pond, so I can use my sump pump to drain it, and I also need to surround it with rocks and purty stuff, and adjust the water line out so that it will water our raised beds. However, it is coming along nicely.
Update on this update: The cheapie pond liner I bought lasted about 8 hours with duck claws. Currently looking for a better liner. If you have suggestions, please let me know.
A great picture of our new pond, partly installed. The great part of this photo isn't the picture, it's who took it... my three-year old daughter!
I'm only a little bummed that she takes better pictures than I.
I laid down the double-over plastic liner after fitting in some shelves. As you can see, the ducks are happy I put in shelves, as they sit up on it and preen.
We are very excited with this, especially considering exactly what it replaces:
I still need to add a hard plastic piece to the bottom of the new pond, so I can use my sump pump to drain it, and I also need to surround it with rocks and purty stuff, and adjust the water line out so that it will water our raised beds. However, it is coming along nicely.
Update on this update: The cheapie pond liner I bought lasted about 8 hours with duck claws. Currently looking for a better liner. If you have suggestions, please let me know.
Monday, January 12, 2009
A Big New Year
© 2010 Joshua Stark
Kicking off 2010, our family has decided to make some pretty monumental changes to our behaviors and goals. On the garden front, this involves a makeover that will, hopefully, conserve water while putting us on track for a day's worth of food per week from our soil and ducks. Just think about it: Cutting 1/7th of your food bill & knowing exactly where your food came from and how it was handled.
We won't achieve this lofty goal, I'm sure, until midsummer, because we don't have a single thing in the ground (besides the trees and berry, of course), and this is due to a huge transformation of the garden area currently taking place. Among other things, we are moving to walled raised beds, and I am installing a permanent duck pond to replace the kiddie pool they currently use. The new pond, though larger, should improve our water conservation by its design, which I hope will allow only a quarter to a third of the water to be changed each day. In addition, we may add another, duck-prohibited water feature, where we would grow duckweed to supplement their feed, and possibly have a small waterfall.
Right now, the yard has gigantic, muddy spots, and looks lumpy and ravaged... well, here's a pic:
The reason I'm showing you is because this should be transformed into something pretty and in fairly short order, and I'd like to use it as blog fodder.
Happy New Year!
Kicking off 2010, our family has decided to make some pretty monumental changes to our behaviors and goals. On the garden front, this involves a makeover that will, hopefully, conserve water while putting us on track for a day's worth of food per week from our soil and ducks. Just think about it: Cutting 1/7th of your food bill & knowing exactly where your food came from and how it was handled.
We won't achieve this lofty goal, I'm sure, until midsummer, because we don't have a single thing in the ground (besides the trees and berry, of course), and this is due to a huge transformation of the garden area currently taking place. Among other things, we are moving to walled raised beds, and I am installing a permanent duck pond to replace the kiddie pool they currently use. The new pond, though larger, should improve our water conservation by its design, which I hope will allow only a quarter to a third of the water to be changed each day. In addition, we may add another, duck-prohibited water feature, where we would grow duckweed to supplement their feed, and possibly have a small waterfall.
Right now, the yard has gigantic, muddy spots, and looks lumpy and ravaged... well, here's a pic:
The reason I'm showing you is because this should be transformed into something pretty and in fairly short order, and I'd like to use it as blog fodder.
Happy New Year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)