School started two hours late today, let out an hour early. My 4-wheel drive SUV made it half-way down my quarter-mile lane before the snow proved too deep. My Dad pulled me out with the tractor, and pulled us back in. It’s supposed to start snowing again tonight, with wind. If you want to visit, and you don’t have a snowmobile, you’re going to be walking. We’re stuck.
I’m stuck with this blog, and having trouble getting restarted. There is a reason I post every week, and it’s not because of popular demand. It’s how I’m wired. I like starting every day with chores.
And so, I’m publicly announcing my intention to post every week, even though I still feel stuck.
I think this blog works best when I’m answering a question. Some questions I want to answer:
How much wood does my outdoor wood boiler use?
How much fuel does my farm use?
What is the feed efficiency of my hogs from 250 to 300 lbs.?
Why can hogs digest acorns without processing?
How long did the “wild west” last? Side note: I think a major contributor to the wild west was post-traumatic stress disorder from the civil war veterans.
Another thing I want to look at more closely is how a square foot of land changes throughout the year. I think I know, but forcing myself to look every week, and take a picture, may prove eye-opening.
Until next week, stay warm.
Curiousfarmer 
Nice post. I know a few other who are “stuck” in various ways-myself included. I am particularly interested in hearing the answers to a few of your questions: #1, #3 (and what exactly does “feed efficiency” mean?) and the last question-the bit about the square foot of land. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
wow..my Chicago bluesman friend, Robert Stroger, was talkin’ to me on Skype and was “oooing and ahhhing” at the snowfall there. O’Hare closed, Midway closed.
Well time for a snowman and a blog w/ hot chocolate, bacon and eggs. Yum.
It’s hot in Merida, Yucatan. And, it’s late at almost 1 a.m.
Maybe “citygirl” would like Etsy [great stuff from around the world] and just fun to look at …when you aren’t blogging, of course, or downloading sq. ft. of field.
Lookin’ towards those changes of scenery.
Thanks and always enjoy the blog. My question is what’s the cost of soybeans a bushel these days? Just curious.
Abraso! Best to you in the New Year [Feliz Ano Nuevo!]
Karen
Thanks, Shayla. Feed efficiency, is how much feed it takes to produce a pound of pork. Feed efficiency gets worse as a hog gets larger, since we are taking our hogs to a heavier market weight, I’m curious how much worse feed efficiency is.
Karen, I’m envious. Do you have a place in Merida?
You are so well connected with the blues scene. I’m reading a biography of Howlin’ Wolf right now. He’s my all-time favorite.
The price of a bushel of soybeans is $14.38. That is high. I’m thinking we are in a period of high prices and volatility. You’ve got me thinking I should write another post on the price of feed, as it’s been a couple of years since the last one.
Enjoy Merida!
Sometimes realizing you’re stuck makes you see more clearly where you want or need to go. Glad to hear you are unstuck!
feed efficiency sounds interesting. acorns too.
I’d like to know more about how or which feed affects fat quality. I’m specifically thinking about percentages of mono, poly and sat fats (I think sat fat is good and mono is fine. not so thrilled about poly) but would also be interested in other measures of fat quality. I’ve read a lot about Mangalitsa pork and it has high quality fat. I realize that this is just a comment – not a request – you’ve got plenty of your own questions and they are probably more to the point! Always interesting to read your blog.
Hey Matt how is the wood furnace working? Hopefully you didn’t have any troubles getting wood to it with all this snow. As a general rule that I use for mine is I burn 1 pickup truck load a week on my outdoor stove and 3/4 of a load in my cast iron stove for my garage. Of course I leave the house at 74 degrees all the time. I hope that helps.
John
Thanks, John. It does help. Practical experience is worth more than company claims.
Yes, we managed to get enough wood between the storms, and it’s worked great. We keep our house warm, as well.