Continuing to work on projects. Moving forward on some and moving sideways on others. I do what I can with the limited time I have.
It’s official! We are certified to conduct business in Ohio — acquired Hellbender Farms LLC. We now have all the handles for YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Gmail, and a trademark on the name.
The goals for Hellbender Farms are becoming clearer. Never in my life have I been so laser-focused on a task. I cannot lie — farming is in my heritage, and I’m coming to terms with that. I’m currently exploring all options to purchase some acreage near Hellbender Farms (Buttermilk creek).
The idea with the farm is to immediately go full tilt and install all new fence. The plan is to rent some land, have about 20 head of Dexter cattle, plant cover crops for fodder, and eventually cut and use my own hay.
I’m slowly figuring out how to make one property into an agritourism destination. Key takeaways: $5,000 weddings, catch-and-release fishing, rustic cabin rentals, and pay-by-the-pound fruit and berries.
If anyone wonders what goes on in my mind when I’m completing other tasks at my day job — this is it.
Next project is the road modification. I hired a very experienced and retired strip mine equipment operator. I reserved a Caterpillar D6 dozer for the weekend in April. It’s a massive machine, but it’s the only dozer the rental place had available. We’re also going to prep the pad where the new one-trip 40’ shipping container will go. This is what’s referred to as “high cube” — the door clearance measures 9’7”, adequate enough so I can park the Kioti inside, and the implements can also be stored out of the weather.
The dozer will have to be driven across the creek. I will have to repair areas with the tractor. No big deal — it is what it is. This may be the last time a dozer will ever be on this property.
Switching operating systems and then trying to build a website is a steep learning curve. In the spirit of keeping myself technologically relevant, I bought a new Apple Mac Pro with the M4, 1TB SSD, and 20GB memory. As a long-time Windows user, I hoped the integration would be almost seamless — there are still issues remaining. However, I am starting to enjoy the shared ecosystem of my iPhone, Mac, and iPad. I am much more productive with this setup already.
Olympic National Forest, Washington State. 2014
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