While we took a bit of a hiatus from blogging due to numerous projects demanding our attention, we will now be restarting with a slightly different format. Instead of our more straight educationally-minded blog articles of times past, we will be doing somewhat of a, “week in review,” giving readers a glimpse into the happenings here at ABC acres, which will no doubt include some educational content interwoven into the text as well. With that said, let’s begin!
We enjoyed a mild fall, one which allowed for several projects to be completed, with only a few slight dustings of snow to temporarily impede progress. This week, old man winter made his presence known in force, marching through the Bitterroot Valley leaving mounds of snow and cold in his wake, leading to hours spent moving snow with the tractor-mounted back blade attachment, ATV snowplow blade, and of course the always faithful snow shovel. We have a surplus of snow now, seemingly making up for lost time from the fall season, and will certainly enjoy a white Christmas as a result.
Speaking of surplus, we have been practicing what we preach regarding the third ethic of permaculture, which is, “share the surplus.” This is all as a result of posting a YouTube video about our batch box rocket mass heater. There was such a huge(at least for us) response to the video, including several requests to see more of the batch box and design drawings for it, that we decided to share them with people for free in a follow-up video, both of which can be found on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNThJeLUbU0qnMLfCbL9m8g. We are happy to share the information with people, as it is one small way for us to help make the world a healthier, better place for us all to live. We have been thankful to have our rocket mass heater in the workshop these days, as it offers a warm respite in between bouts of snow removal or caring for the livestock, which has certainly become more challenging from the foot-plus of snow blanketing ABC acres. We wish you all a great weekend, and for those in cold climates, stay warm out there!
Blessings,
Grant
