I was Thinking, or Not

Please donate to Doud Dairy Farm , help us to achieve our goal of a safe and secure farm for our animals and ourselves, and the coffee is on the house. A regular medium cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts cost $2.00 at least.  I really can’t say, because I rarely buy coffee from coffee vendors.  However if you ever want a cup of good coffee do not hesitate to come over and we will put on a fresh pot of coffee, and we won’t even charge you for the conversation. That is all it really takes, one cup of coffee.  If you donate one cup of coffee we will easily reach our goal.  Have all your friends donate one cup of coffee and not only will we reach our goal quickly we will extend our offer to your friends as well. Donate one cup of coffee and any time you come over to visit, we will offer you not one, but several cups of coffee, some interesting conversation, and maybe even some doughnuts.  If you call first maybe we’ll even make lunch or diner or coffee ...

We are considering our solar system.  We are going to be grid tied!  This is necessary because of many reasons, first and foremost, Arleta is on Oxygen and needs it for her concentrator.  Otherwise, it will be nice to have for our computers, appliances, and of course to help with the farm.  That said, we are still looking at getting off the grid, just differently.  We are now going to be moving off the grid over a period of time, much easier to do by the way. So with that out of the way, here is the basic plan to get off the grid. First we are going to get the barn completely off the grid, well because for the most part there is very little that needs to be on the grid.  Even our milking equipment is relatively low demand equipment, and so we can get that off the grid pretty easily.  Initially we will actually start completely off the grid, as we will only have the sheep, and we won’t be milking them.  Therefore, all we need for the first ...

Well the USDA farm report continues to look bad for corn and soybean crops. The outlook for rain continues to be dismal. This combined with this years grain crops, and you have all the makings of a very tough winter ahead. I am sitting here watching the drought watch, and the prediction continues to be bad. The dairy industry had been downgraded, with the rise in feed prices being cited as the main reason. If the current trends continue, especially through the winter, we may see many dairy operations selling off, contributing to the increase in dairy prices. While the increase in. dairy prices at the gate would be good for the farmer, it would seem, it means the cost at the store will increase dramatically, meaning a decrease in demand. This downward spiral may be exasperated by what is predicted to be a light snow load, meaning a continuation the drought. If this does carry, feed prices, food prices, fuel prices, will go to heights not previously seen. This could mean massive good s...

Link to full article with images that did not transfer for some reason Well first I will start with death, since it is the place that seems to be of most interest to most people.  Some well known people died this year, but that is true with every year, so I am not going to post a bunch of names, there are tons of list on the web that do that.  This year we all know about the loss of Apple’s bigger than life leader Steve Jobs .  We also should mention that there were many other pioneers of the computing industry that also past.   Wired provides a decent list of them, although it seems to be missing something, and it has some errors in content, it is a list just the same.  To me the really weird part is that I am almost their age, and wonder, is it the computer that has taken their lives this way. Well before I go down that rabbit hole, let me move on to other things that happened, and what is significant to 2011.  A lot personally has happened to me ...

John McCain Will Focus Farm Policy on Those With Clear Need. John McCain will veto any bill containing special-interest favors and corporate welfare in any form. As president, John McCain will base our farm policy on the common good, with policies that help our small farmers to succeed, and our rural communities to survive and flourish once again. John McCain opposes providing billions to subsidize large commercial farms—those farms with an average income of $200,000, and an average net worth of $2 million--while American workers and taxpayers struggle to buy food due to rising prices. As president, McCain will seek to cap subsidies to farmers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000. This will ensure that small farmers are provided with a reasonable safety net, while protecting the taxpayers from subsidizing lucrative corporate farmers. He will fight to put an end to flawed government policies that distort the markets, artificially raise prices for consumers, and pit producers aga...