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“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time."

Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
We've had a lot of rain this year...at some point I'll have to do the math. Between the rain, our heavy clay soils, and heavy fruits on the Loring Peach tree, it has literally fallen over, pulling up the stump, two or three times this year. I'm not sure it will make it, but it is holding on so far, with some help from a few ratchet straps and T-posts.
Certainly the heaviest load of peaches we've had, and they are delicious

Primal Woods

Finally. Finally two things I'd have to say, 1) the first Kiln is complete, and 2) I pulled the trigger and got the help I need. Especially with the ramp-up in Sawmill Services work this year, 30%, there just hasn't been enough time in the day.
Done and dusted, more or less. A couple of improvements yet to be made, but nothing that will impact function.
Portable Sawmill Services Pretty light on milling this month, which is par for the course; August, perhaps due to the heat, is regularly a low month in terms of Sawmill Services revenue. Frankly, that was a godsend this year, as it allowed us to finally commission the Solar Kiln.
A brief walk-around of the Kiln. Some "tweaks" remain to optimize its performance.
We have learned quite a bit on this build, and the benefit of all those lessons will be incorporated in Solar Kiln #2.  Further to that end we are collecting data on the performance of the Kiln using in the Wagner Smart Logger pictured last week. Having gotten my phone to work with this device with help from Jason at Wagner, I ordered a second logger yesterday; the second logger will be used to measure atmospheric temperature and relative humidity for comparison to conditions inside the Kiln.
Temp F and Relative Humidity (RH) data since Kiln load on Aug 10
This is an experiment of sorts, and I don't really know what to expect. It will be interesting to see how the Kiln performs; we're expecting 80's for the next 7 days, with good sun exposure, so I should know more by this time next week.
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Now that's a paddle!
Pure Maple Syrup Another small improvement to the process for making the Blueberry Pure Maple Syrup; a 3 ft long stainless steel paddle will make it much easier to keep all of those blueberries in suspension!
“I'm A BIG FAN of the Blueberry Pure Maple Syrup! Will be ordering more bottles in the future!!"

Gary W. after having shared the abundance with his grandchildren
It's makes our day to receive this sort of feedback, and the early results are in; it's a WINNER!
“First order. 19 days and 4 gallons of vanilla ice cream!"

Mike O. sent the above message with a picture of an empty bottle
Over vanilla icecream is one of my favorite serving suggestions for all of our syrups, but apparently Mike has made the combination its own food group!
Suffice it to say, I hope you will give it a try!
Please Support Our Purpose: Buy Pure Maple Syrup Now!
Break-Fast of champions
Homesteading & Health 
"Breakfast," another of those word combinations that doesn't work for me. Breaking the Fast, that's what we're doing when we eat Break-Fast. And, there's just something about growing your own food; it's fulfilling to say the least.
A big storm blew through this week, and I had to run the generator for a few hours to keep the freezers on-line; power went out at 10:15 pm Tuesday and came back on at about 1:00 pm Wednesday.
Generator in Action
Here's a preparations challenge that anyone and everyone can do: pick a weekend, any weekend, and turn the power off at the house for the duration. Then, keep track of what works and what doesn't work, with respect to your preparations. We've made several changes to our electrical system, including to separate the Sugar House and the Well House from the House electrical; and one of the first things I noticed at this power outage was that we need to update accordingly the integration of our Back-up Generator system. The call has already been made to Gene, our Electrician. The kerosene (or lamp oil) lamps in the house performed well, and on demand, as usual. I missed an opportunity to press the Hand Pump in the Well House into service; we'll do that next time for sure. A "new" lamp we picked up at an antiques fair a few weeks ago worked great.
"New" old 6V Star Headlight and Lantern Co. incandescent light
Sometimes newer and better just isn't. I've also been using this when collecting eggs; it's great to be able to set it down, go "hands free," and put the light where I need it.
In closing...  
I'm meeting with my friend and trusted advisor David this weekend; he's been with us since practically Day 1. It's always a pleasure, and I always learn. I've not always risen to the challenges he has made, but I always have them in mind and make the attempt.
The He-Goats move went pretty well last week, after I bought additional electric fencing so I wouldn't have to turn the Goats loose in the transition. I still managed to let Grey Stone escape. The secret to attracting them back into the fold as it were, is supplemental feed; they love that when they've been solely on forage for a time. Livin' and learnin'.
All the best, and God bless,
John & Geri
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