When you set out to be farmers, what that really means is that you are setting out to be a steward of a comprehensive, living, evolving organism, and of the physical infrastructure that supports it. This means that carpentry, plumbing, concrete work, electrical work, mechanics, small engine repair, horticulture, animal husbandry, and who knows what else are all on the table as skills you may have to develop.
Papa has a great rule of thumb for this: “If it’s something you’re only going to do once, rent or hire. If it is going to need to be done more than once, buy the tool and learn how.”
A good example of this is the rainwater catchment project. It is pretty simple in the broad strokes of the plan, but the actual execution has turned out far more complex than we initially thought it would be, with countless little details that have attached themselves to it.
It is almost finished. Almost the last piece is getting electricity to the pump itself.
Since we are running electrical wire at all, we ran conduit to the corner of the barn so we can mount a light and an outdoor outlet there, and have light and electricity when doing chores in the dark winter months.
The project involved ladders, which are not really daddy’s thing, but we do what we must.
Marking a place where the wire kinked, so that if there is any impedance we can know where to splice it.
Wire is run, now we have to splice it into the existing electrical wiring, make an outlet on the outside wall on the opposite end of the shop, and voila!
Easy Peasy!
Little Farm in the Big City 