John’s newest creation is a 6′ by 6′ barn. I call it the Fishing Shack as it overlooks a small pond. The large porch provides shade for those who want to fish and there is a narrow cubby to store fishing poles. The sheep have their own entrance off to the side. This redwood star was made out of the cutouts from the braces. The braces are the diagonal elements that stabilize the posts on the […]
Tags: barn, reclaimed redwood
I have been gathering data and resources for making the “perfect” greenhouse for California’s Central Valley. This has been a process that has taken longer than I would like to admit, but consider the constraints: * ¾ of the year it must not be warmer than ambient temperature (>100ºF) * Much of that ¾ is unrelenting, dry solar radiation * ¼ of the year it must collect as much heat as possible (<45ºF) […]
Tags: Central Valley, greenhouse, Habitat for Humanity, inexpensive greenhouse, ReStore, solar energy
People often ask about our unusual lifestyle….owning a fish farm but also tinkering in other endeavors like aquaponics, permaculture, and hosting guests from all over the world. We have never defined our outlook on life and career, but this speech from Bill Watterson comes close. Below are excerpts from his speech…. SOME THOUGHTS ON THE REAL WORLD BY ONE WHO GLIMPSED IT AND FLED Bill Watterson Kenyon College Commencement May 20, 1990 You will find your own ethical dilemmas in […]
Tags: Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes
Casper the friendly goat with her three kids. They are about four hours old in this picture. Here she is on the 4th of July. She was huge!
Tags: goats
I love it when John creates something wonderful and useful out of stuff lying around the farm. His latest creation? A 40″ x 40″ dog house constructed from upcycled materials. John tweaked a design he found on the web. A friend gave us the plywood, cedar fencing and louvered door. The roof opens to reveal a secret compartment to store dog food. The project took two days to complete (and a couple of bandaged fingers!). Total cost = […]
Tags: livestock guardian dogs, recycling
Water Plants and the Nitrogen Cycle Why do my fish get sick and die? Your koi pond (or any recirculating water environment) is a closed system; water stays there. Fish constantly feed and emit waste products in the form of ammonia nitrogen, or NH4. This makes the water progressively unfit for fish health. The Nitrogen Cycle The biological event that cleans up the waste is called The Nitrogen Cycle. Beneficial bacteria in your pond constantly convert NH4 (ammonia, toxic) to […]
Tags: algae, J and J Aquafarms, koi pond, planktonic algae, The Nitrogen Cycle, Water Hyacinth, water plants
Today’s blog was written by our son, Matt Young, a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia. Last Friday and Saturday I helped my counterpart Sebastian harvest several of his ponds. Together with four of his sons we seined eight ponds, grading and restocking over 500 fish in order to update existing create new inventory records. (It might not look like it from the pictures, but yes, I did actually go into the water and do work when I wasn’t pulling camera duty). […]
Tags: aquaculture, fish farm, Fishing in Zambia, J and J Aquafarms, Peace Corps, seining a pond
The animal kingdom is sometimes harsh but pragmatic. When our pregnant doe, Mocha, had triplets, I was so excited. Not only was this our first set of triplets, but all the kids were girls. Shortly after the birth, I realized that Mocha did not seem to have the desire or capacity to nurse all three kids. In fact, in the first few hours after giving birth, she was only nursing the strongest kid. I had to hold up the two […]
Tags: Goat Chronicles, goats, homesteading
John visited a kindergarten class in Sanger, California. The students enjoyed meeting Seahawk and Bronco, our four week old twins!
Tags: Goat Chronicles, goats, schools