During the warm months we have a beautiful gravity-feed water system which sends clear brook water directly into our sink. When freezing weather sets in, however, we can’t use the gravity system because the pipe is above ground and the water in it freezes.

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Our first winter in Maine, we hauled water from the brook and stored it in a galvanized garbage can. Whenever we needed some, we dipped a receptacle into the can and scooped the water out. All that dipping didn’t leave the remaining water any too clean and when unknowing friends used a pot fresh off the wood stove for a dipper . . . black soot would enter our water supply. Besides, doing dishes by this method left much to be desired.

We solved all these problems by installing a faucet near the bottom of our can and setting the can on our kitchen counter top with the spigot hanging over the sink.

If you want to try the idea, drill a hole (or punch one with a leather punch, as I did) in your can and force or screw the faucet into the hole. Use plenty of heat with a torch to burn the galvanizing off around the hole and solder for a tight fit. You may still have to haul water . . . but this rig can make your life in the country a bit easier.

The international nuclear power industry was quick to distance itself from the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. Officials in nearly every nuclear nation assured the public that 1) the Soviet plant’s design was unique, 2) it didn’t have a protective containment around its reactor and 3) it lacked sophisticated safety systems. We were to believe that deficient design was responsible for the largest release of long-lasting radioactive material ever. The palliative was, “It can’t happen here.”

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Until the Soviets released a detailed report at an international meeting in Vienna in late August 1986, most pronouncements about Chernobyl were idle speculation. Very little was known about what actually happened on April 26, 1986. Now we know that two of the power industry’s initial contentions were false.

1. Chernobyl No. 4 did differ significantly from most nuclear plants in the West. It combined common elements in an uncommon way. The nuclear reactor was graphite-moderated and cooled by pressurized water, which means that the uranium fuel rods were arrayed in a matrix of graphite that slowed (but didn’t absorb) neutrons to facilitate self-sustaining fission, and that heat was removed by pressurized water flowing around the core.

There are, in fact, many graphite-moderated reactors in use in the West, but most are gas-cooled. Pressurized water reactors (PWRs), which use water for both moderation and cooling, are more common, but most of the plants in England are graphite-moderated and gas-cooled. Graphite-moderated reactors are also used in France, Italy, Japan and the United States (at Hanford, Washington, and Savannah, Georgia), and a few of these are cooled by pressurized water. The reason for the popularity of graphite-moderated reactors is simple: Their internal geometry is particularly good for producing plutonium for bombs. (Surprisingly, Chernobyl doesn’t seem to have been used for this purpose.)

Graphite core reactors aren’t inherently more hazardous than PWRs—each type has advantages and disadvantages—but the combination of graphite moderation with pressurized-water cooling may have been a crucial factor at Chernobyl.

In light of a forecast filled with heavy downpours and dark skies, the weather wasn’t so bad.  For each intermittent bout of showers, there were equal hours of warmth and almost-sunshine.  The day began with a quick harvest, a warm-up before we headed to the bulk of our day’s labor: compost turning. 

Now, compost is nature’s process of decomposition.  It’s happening all around us.  Maintaining compost piles is simply a means of harnessing the nutrients in various “waste” products, then using the natural breakdown of organic matter to our benefit.  Compost becomes soil – plant food – that then becomes human food.  Turning compost is part and parcel of planning ahead for your next dinner gathering. 

So it was to this task that we turned our attention.  Here at D Acres we have a handful of disparate compost piles that have accumulated over the fall and winter months.  Some are small, needing the addition of more material to successfully become a steaming pile of compost (…rather than lumpy conglomerations of odds-and-ends detritus harboring the last of the snow and ice beneath their loads).  Some, however, loom large. 

These blue-ribbon piles are full of microbial action.  Wisps of steam rising from the piles’ zenith are modest indicators of internal decomposition.  If we want to talk science, compost can be understood in terms of two elements: carbon and nitrogen.  In layman’s speak, this is the “brown” and the “green.”  Regardless of linguistic preferences, a healthy compost pile should offer a robust mix of woody materials (woodchips, straw, old hay, dry grass clippings, woody debris) and fresh matter (food scraps, weeds, manure, fresh grass clippings).  In combination with oxygen introduced into the pile through frequent turning, a hot, active microbial environment is fostered, essentially “cooking” the pile’s contents.  Decomposition happens fairly rapidly in this manner, providing quality soil for use in the gardens within a season or two. 

And this process is essential.  Finished compost releases nutrients slowly over time, preventing soil from becoming depleted and helping to ensure plant health.  Compost, therefore, is a key component to a healthy garden system.

So back to that looming compost pile.  (Are you familiar with our ox hovel?  Well, the oxen have had a lot to eat.  Check out their heaping, steaming compost mound on your next visit to the farm.)  At the time, heaving pitchforkfuls of partially-aged ox manure overhead, the mental mantra isn’t more than a rhythmic scoop-and-pitch-and-scoop-again.  With this round of turning completed, though, it sure is satisfying to think of the plants it will grow and the meals it will provide.  Just a few more turnings to go between now and then…

And the thing is, this tale could be your story, too.  Start a compost pile!  Already have one?  Build it up, turn it regularly – it will only be to your benefit.  With soil on hand, any plant will be more willing to grow.  

Determining how much water I had in my water tank used to be a real chore (what with having to climb the tower in order to peer through the tank’s manhole) … until I devised a painless—yet accurate—way to check the container’s water level while I stood on the ground.

The answer? A simple sight gauge which uses the compression of air in a length of clear plastic tubing as an indication of water pressure … which-in turn-is nothing but a reflection of the tank’s water capacity.

The accompanying drawings will give you an idea of how the system is set up. As you can see, there’s nothing complex about the gauge’s construction (I built mine in two hours at a total parts cost of less than ten dollars … and I’m sure you can do the same). About the only slightly thorny part of the whole project is the calibration of the sight-tube … and even that’s a snap when you know how.

[1] First of all—with the plug (Part 1) removed from the top of the transparent plastic tube—open the shut-off valve (Part 2) just a crack, until the water level is visible near the bottom of the sight gauge. Close the valve, replace the plug, and tighten the top hosing clamp until air will no longer escape past the end plug. (Hint: Some air loss is virtually inevitable, but you can cut that loss to an absolute minimum by giving the tubing plug a light coat of very thick grease prior to installing it for the last time.)

 I’ve ranted on in the past about how much I question the concept of Twitter. Really, who is so interesting that anyone would want to know the minutiae of their lives every 10 minutes? No one is that interesting! Katy Perry? Nope. John Stewart? Well maybe, but it would be disappointing to realize that he’s funny because of his staff of writers. President Obama? Really? If the President of the United States has time to waste tweeting, then the empire truly is on its last legs.

That said, here’s what a day of tweeting at Sunflower Farm would look like. You’ve been warned, it’s just a regular day, and not that interesting. And right now, every day is pretty much the same, hence the concept of Twitter being lame. All that changes is what’s for dinner. Oh, and I’m not sticking to 140 inane characters. It’s my Twitter fantasy, so I’ll do whatever I feel like… hash tag hash tag whatever whatever

4:30 am     Sun starting to make it light outside. Hope the rooster stays asleep.

5:00 am     Darn rooster making a racket in the coop. Better let him out so the ladies don’t freak out.

5:15 am     Quick walk with Jasper. Bugs out already. I’ll have to make it up to him for the lack of activity in the fall.

5:30     In the garden. It’s cool. Weeding the peas, spinach and carrots. Planting more brassicas since the first rows were fried in the heat.

 

 

7:00     Sun is high enough that it’s hitting the solar pump in the dug well in the garden.

7:15     Move the drip irrigation from the Spring Treat early corn to the Peaches and Cream later corn

7:30     Watering potatoes by the house with the drilled well. 30 days without rain. Everything is SO DRY!

8:00     Using rainbarrels to water the sweet potatoes with drip irrigation

8:15     Sun starting to get hot. CRAP!

8:20     Squashing scarabs off the blueberry bushes. Little  @#$%s eating my precious blueberries!

 

8:30     I hear the dinner gong! Thank goodness! It’s breakfast time! Best meal of the day!

8:35     Farm fresh eggs with garlic scapes, new potato hash browns, tempeh, and waffles with strawberries. Pretty much all our own food. I LOVE BREAKFAST. What… 1500 calories? I could use another 500 but won’t be able to move, let alone work if I eat much more.

9:00     Back into the fray. Move solar pump drip irrigation around in the main garden.

9:15     More potato watering

9:30     Pruning and tying up tomatoes in the barn foundation garden. No wind. I’m soaked in sweat already. Are we having fun yet?

10:00     Harvest two wheelbarrows full of garlic from main garden. It’s awesome this year!

 

10:45     Third glass of ice water of the day. How do I drink water all day and never have to pee?

11:00     Move the solar trackers. Not sure why I bother. We have more power than we can use during this heat wave… every day sun, incessant sun. Who ever thought I’d be cursing the sun living off-grid?

11:15     Knelt on a nest of hornets while pulling garlic … stung on stomach, right wrist and left hand. If I’m not dead from anaphylactic shock by noon, I could have a major buzz on. Hoping it helps the arthritis in my left hand.

11:30     Huge rock I just dug up in the garden accidentally fell on the hornets’ nest. Felt kind of bad about that… NOT!

11:45     Note to Self: Buy “Epi-pen” for next time I get stung multiple times. (But I’ll get to the store, it’ll be $100+, expire in 2 years, and I’ll put it off until next year. Remember Cam, hospital is 45 minutes away!

12:00     Quick lunch. How many calories can I cram in with this meal? If I don’t eat enough I’ll fade long before I want to.

12:30 pm     Back into the inferno. Another hour of watering and moving drip irrigation lines.

2 pm     OK, I’m officially exhausted. Enough sun. On to working in the shade.

2:15     Hanging garlic on the drying racks in the garage.

3:30     Selected more wood to build more drying racks. I planted way more garlic this year than last

4:00     Finally sat at the computer. Checked emails. Wrote this blog. Fantasized about the days I sat at this infernal machine fantasizing about being a market gardener growing food all day. Apparently the grass is always greener…

5:00     Shower time. I stink! It doesn’t matter how much I shower, I can’t believe how bad a body can smell working in sweltering heat everyday.

6:00     Dinner in front of the TV. Major networks report unbelievable record heat. Wild fires destroying the west. Drought destroying crops across North American. We’re being incinerated. No mention of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions or what might be causing the unprecedented catastrophe that is our weather this summer

6:55     No mention given to the Rio Conference on Climate Change. Apparently we don’t want to talk about this.

7 pm     Cleaning garlic on the front porch. At least it’s in the shade.

9 pm     Crap, it’s still bright outside and I want to go to bed!

9:15 pm     Took Jasper for a walk around the perimeter of all the garden, encouraging peeing to scare off the deer, raccoons, wolverines, sasquatches and any other critters intent on eating my vegetables

9:30 pm     Bed! Yee ha! Can hardly wait to run another marathon in the heat tomorrow!

As I was writing this in my head, I was fantasizing what a day of “tweets” in November would be like…

8:30 am     Got up. Read a book. Had breakfast.

10 am     Heard “Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town” by Pearl Jam on the radio. Dug out my guitar and tried to figure out the chords to this again.

Noon     Had lunch. Read.

2 pm     Napped

4 pm     Started a fire to take the chill off.

6 pm     Rented a video from Tim!

7 pm     Getting dark! Yee ha.

9 pm     Bedtime. Dark. Cold. Sleep!

I believe that Collaborative Organizations can make the world a better place.

According to a Gallup poll, around 71% of employees at American companies are not engaged in their jobs.  Engaged employees feel a connection to their company and work with a sense of passion.  How sad is it that so many employees (at least in American companies) are not passionate about the work they do and don’t feel connected to their companies?

For the first time in the history of business leaders are able to make investments in technology and strategy that not only positively impact the lives of employees in the workplace but also outside of the workplace.  We have the necessary tools and can develop the strategies required to make sure that our employees can stay connected and engaged with each other and with the information they need to get work done.  The consumer web has led to an evolution of new technology solutions which also helped change our culture.  We are now much more comfortable living in a public world where we share information and ideas on plaforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, and many others.  Enterprises are strugggling to adapt to these changes in both behavior and technology which are changing the way we work.  Technology is improving and our needs are changing yet organizations are not able to keep up.

The challenges for enterprises around collaboration are very real and all too common, some of then include:

• disengaged employees
• employee productivity issues
• too much time spent in email
• stagnant innovation
• work-life balance issues
• finding people and information
• retaining and transfering knowledge
• organizational alignment

Although I believe that new collaboration tools and strategies can help solve these problems, I think what’s more interesting are the broader implications.  If businesses are able to engage their employees and allow them to more effectively collaborate with each other, what happens?  

I believe the following:

Employees will:

• Feel more inspired or happier at work and about their jobs
• Become more productive
• Build networks of passion and interest
• Feel challenged and encouraged
• Feel as though they work with a sense of purpose
• Contribute more ideas which lead to opportunities that the organization can leverage (revenue generation and cost savings)
• Help each other at work

This is what happens to employees while at work, but think about what happens to these same employees when they leave work at the end of the day?  I believe these same employees:

• Will be less stressed out at home
• Will spend more time with family and loved ones
• Will live their lives with greater zeal and passion
• Will worry less about work related issues as they will have the ability to work from anywhere and know that they can get access to the right people and information the need

We have started to see organizations make the necessary investments in the enterprise collaboration space but we need more.  We need our businesses to evolve faster and I personally see this as a business requirement for organizations today.  I also believe that we should start spending more time looking at how collaboration more broadly positively impacts the lives of employees, that is where the real cool and interesting stuff happens!