interesting...

DIY mixer repair

That's my KitchenAid mixer. Scary looking, isn't it? Don't be frightened though, it's not as bad as it might seem. Although I will admit that at first I thought this puppy was a goner. You see, my sweetie tried to use my mixer with the food grinder attachment to grind ginger root. (For future reference and to save all of your mixers from a similar fate, this was not a plan. Ginger root should be grated by hand.) In the midst of grinding, the part that holds attachments and spins around suddenly stopped spinning. The motor ran just fine, but no more mixing, grinding, or anything else was going to happen any time soon. So I googled it and found out that it was probably a relatively simple and cheap fix. There is a sacrificial plastic gear inside the mixer so that if the going gets too tough, it fails in order to save the motor. Pretty cool, right? You can find directions here for doing this repair yourself.

Now that it's all apart and the new gear and food-grade replacement grease is ordered, it will be a matter of seeing if I can remember how to get it all back together again. Could be interesting.

By the way - the head of the mixer is packed with grease. What I found was that the grease had degraded pretty significantly, so it might be a good idea to take it all apart every several years and remove and repack the grease. One of those "can't hurt, might help" kinds of things.

But I'll tell you, it feels kind of good to have a quality piece of equipment that can actually be repaired (by me, no less) rather than having to throw it away like so many things today. I like that. Hopefully with good maintenance and no more ginger grinding, this mixer will last me for the rest of my life.

I want to see this movie

">

"no one with land should be without a job"

I just read a blog post by Gene Logsdon on this subject. Logsdon is a wonderful writer with strong opinions about small farms and farmers - he very much believes in them. Maybe it's just the times, but my thoughts have been running along the same path. There is so much you can do with just a little land, and it really doesn't take all that much. It doesn't even have to be your own, (although if you're going to use someone else's land to farm, you should probably ask first... just saying). Anyway, there are folks farming in cities and suburbs whose total combined acreage, between their own and the rented/borrowed land, is between 1/4 and 1/2 acre. And they are making at least a part, if not all, of their living from it! Amazing, right? Yes, it's hard work. The days are long and during the summer you may be out in the garden every day of the week. But if it's something you love, then it's worth it.

As you know, I'm putting in a greenhouse and starting a market garden. Hopefully next year, a not-insignificant portion of my income will come from these endeavors. But that's all I'm going to say about that - I don't want to run the risk of jinxing myself by putting too much out there, too soon, if you know what I mean.

(If you haven't read any of Gene Logsdon's work, check him out. My favorite book of his is "The Contrary Farmer".)

harvest the power

Today I went to the "harvest the power" festival. It was an hour and a half away, and halfway there, I realized I forgot my camera so, although there were some great photo ops, there won't be any pictures. Sorry.

Located in Kempton, PA and surrounded by wooded hills and rolling farmland, the festival was quaint, charming, enlightening, and exciting all at the same time. First, there was a special place right next to the entrance gate for anyone driving a hybrid, bio-diesel, or other alternative mode of transportation. I parked my bug out with the rest of the traditional cars. Walking up to the gate, we were serenaded by a group playing kettle drums. Then, as I walked around getting my bearings, a three-person bicycle rolled by and I don't think anyone but me gave it a second glance. This had to be one of the most laid-back and low key group of people ever to gather in one place. And yet still quite a diverse crowd. There were crunchy-granola, hemp and cotton-wearing folks mingling with polyester-clad nerds, and everything in between. Several tents were filled with vendors selling everything from alternative power sources to goats milk soap. And quite a few more tents were set up for the seminars which is where I was headed. First stop was a seminar on cover crops. Next up was growing and harvesting healing herbs. The keynote speaker for the lunch break was a freelance writer for Wired magazine talking about America's power grid. Speaking of lunch, numerous options were available. Skipping the vegan selections, I got a Thai chicken kabob with peanut sauce followed by baklava and some truly wonderful coffee. In the afternoon, I learned about Spin farming as well as growing exotic fruit in Pennsylvania (paw paws, quince, jujubes, and figs). During the spin farming demo, a circular five person bike sporting an umbrella went whizzing past (it looked like fun). And by then it was time to head home. A full day in a beautiful setting with a most interesting assortment of people and some good information.

Would I go again? Probably. And certainly I'd encourage others to go, if only for the ambiance.

harvest the power

On Sunday I will be going to the "Pennsylvania renewable energy & sustainable living festival" (isn't that just about the longest name you've ever seen for an event?). And although this will be their fifth year, it will be my first to attend. Billed as a true celebration of earth-friendly living, there will be workshops and seminars on everything from solar, wind, and hydrogen power, biofuels, green building, organic farming, and sustainable living. I have my eye on several workshops and seminars on farming. Exciting stuff, folks. Or, at least, interesting.

"Harvest the Power", September 18, 19, 20, Kempton, PA, http://www.paenergyfest.com

harvest the power

The fifth annual Pennsylvania Renewable Energy & Sustainable Living Festival will be held September 18-20 on 66 acres near Hawk Mountain Bird Sanctuary in Kempton, PA. The event attracts thousands of visitors and promotes solar, wind and hydrogen power, biofuels, green building, organic farming and sustainable living.

I've never been to this, but am hoping to go at least one day this year. It looks like there will be over 100 vendors there and the number of workshops, lectures, and demonstrations being given is pretty impressive. There are several lectures that I have my eye on and one in particular seems taylor-made for me: "Spin-Farming: How to grow commercially on under an acre". Could be interesting.

Check it out at http://www.paenergyfest.com