Oddbean

Haflinger draft ponies giving wagon rides; working for their hay. https://i.nostr.build/APjE.jpg We got out haflinger horses for several reasons, one to enjoy them recreationally, two as a way to increase our resilience at the homestead, and three to generate cash flow. The past several years (covid nonsense mostly) have impeded our ability to use the horses to make money but this year we were able to realize our business with the horses. https://i.nostr.build/BQ8w.jpg https://i.nostr.build/oGe7.jpg The largest input we have at the homestead is hay, and thankfully we are able to source it locally, as close as directly across the street. The horses do a great job of converting hay into fertility we can easily utilize but it is still expensive. Now, the horses are paying for their hay with the work they do giving wagon rides and we still get use the manure they produce to feed our chickens, as well as fertilize gardens and pastures. https://i.nostr.build/zYe0.jpg https://i.nostr.build/6LnO.jpg We gather the manure and feed it to our chickens. They scratch and turn it, making it into compost quickly. They find fly larvae in the manure, which provides protein for them to produce high quality eggs. By eating the larvae, the fly pressure is also reduced for the horses. https://i.nostr.build/2ABP.jpg https://i.nostr.build/0oQX.jpg Once the chickens process the manure, we use it to grow out annual vegetables and cannabis. The year we had more compost than we could use in the gardens and we spread it on a weak pasture. https://i.nostr.build/WQyY.jpg https://i.nostr.build/QK4X.jpg Over time the horses have transformed from an expensive hobby to an essential system on the homestead. The produce cash flow, they have the ability to work, and the generate a nutrient flow that produces bountiful growth. #homesteading #permaculture #permies #horses #drafthorse #haflinger #selfsovereignty #meshtadel #grownostr

Thanks! I'm sure you'll find your way to the homestear one day for one reason or another to see it in action. Things are in good shape for the most part but with so many moving parts and irons in the fire there is always something broken waiting to be fixed and piles of materials leftover from projects here and there.

This winter has been very hands off when it comes to water for the horses. https://v.nostr.build/a4WB.mp4 The water for the horses has evolved over the years. We used to have the trough in an insulated box with a clear plastic window open to the south. We would cover the top of the trough except for a small opening for the horses to drink. It worked great and almost never froze except in extreme cold in which we would have to break a hole in the ice on top for the horses to drink. https://i.nostr.build/z6jM.jpg (Couldn't find any pictures of this thing in action during the winter...) The biggest problem with that system was filling the trough. No matter how we managed the hoses they would almost always have some sort of blockage from ice and if it wasn't the hoses the spigot would be frozen. Thankfully we only had to fill it once a week or longer. https://i.nostr.build/eKo0.jpg Now that we have a mini pony, the solar water trough wouldn't work because the pony couldn't reach. The trough must be kept full by a float valve so the mini can drink. Through our research we found this magic device called a freeze miser. It automatically and passively controls the outflow of water from the hose during freezing weather to keep enough flow rate to prevent it from freezing at as low as 20 below zero!! We have it on a Y valve with the float valve so a trickle of water keeps the float valve from freezing up in the trough too. https://i.nostr.build/dVBJ.jpg This system solves all the problems of the hose management frustration but is continually letting water flow so we are spending some electricity from the well pump kicking on more often. Since the trough isn't in the insulated box anymore we also have to break the ice daily. All in all well worth the trade off of the old system. Next winter I expect to figure out how to get the water trough back in the solar box so the pony can reach. #homesteading #permaculture #permies #grownostr #horses nostr:nevent1qqstlj9je3yjkwyfrjqttwaxtlryeek4q87uuxypuee24z0fpggja0spz9mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejj7q3qf5pre6wl6ad87vr4hr5wppqq30sh58m4p33mthnjreh03qadcajsxpqqqqqqzar4q02

Hay delivery! https://i.nostr.build/O4rR0.jpg Hay delivery day! This hay should last our horses several months. As they eat it they turn the hay into fertilizer in the form of manure. We give our chickens access to the manure, which they scratch through eating fly larvae, reducing the fly pressure on the horses. Free food for them, and the action of their scratching turns the manure helping to compost it. I use the finished compost to grow our vegetables, subsistence crops, and cannabis. Hay is one of the most expensive inputs at the homestead but it's so much more than just food for horses. #permies #permaculture #homesteading #meshtadel #grownostr #stackingfunctions #producenowaste nostr:nevent1qqstlj9je3yjkwyfrjqttwaxtlryeek4q87uuxypuee24z0fpggja0spzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzv9hxgq3qf5pre6wl6ad87vr4hr5wppqq30sh58m4p33mthnjreh03qadcajsxpqqqqqqztvdrap

One year ago I recorded a podcast with @Ungovernable Misfits talking permaculture and bitcoin in general. https://v.nostr.build/dKxP.mp4 This clip is a good summary of my high level thoughts on Permaculture and Bitcoin and was basically the ideal I was working towards throughout the year. nostr:nevent1qqstwecn8fdcx5jxd233trfgzrd2njml8h8qwp2tuzn03c0txf8jacqt2gx08 The podcast as a whole provides a good reference point for a lot of what has happened on the homestead over the last year. I'm not sure why I thought to detail so many of my plans for the year, maybe hold myself accountable. All in all, I was able to accomplish almost everything I mentioned throughout the podcast in the last year. Take a listen and check out this year in review mega note. February was defined by maple syrup production, the threads aren't as cohesive as I was still learning Nostr and developing my style. nostr:nevent1qqsvhgjudnvpny24fd9cxqqrr3027l6g2496a8c4ezqsjchaj2a0z7ck0vayq March the highlight was working on the 20ft tiny house, still haven't quite figured out Nostr. nostr:nevent1qqs2f7dc4dsk777h6cxn0vtu8yts2tukjaw4yygj65kxvght7m8tmjs2jauhd April was marked the completion of the Bitcoin mining dehydrator, one of highlights of the whole year for the homestead. nostr:nevent1qqsf2cfvzprsp5j6rhgvj4pa6p7ctjs59af3rwmysmyhmrv66kxtx2shu0983 May was the sweet spot of sunlight and waning colder temperatures which lead to lots of pleb mining at the homestead. The solar power was flowing and the dehydrator was constantly loaded. The cold frame was growing cannabis and the portable S9 space heater was saving lambs from hypothermia. nostr:nevent1qqs9tenvxqfyfprtpchq45smsquwhx9w3mpgnnmn4zj2mauxrcf4kzcqhywnz June the sheep were grazing the pasture at it's finest and the yurt was booked solid with guests nostr:nevent1qqsxngyrjf5630slu5vwjnlka8cqgjhcvf8eguhqh576mwgau6y8s8s8hn2pr July the bitcoin mining clothes dryer was completed in the peak of the summer tourist season. A project I have been thinking about and working towards for over 6 months. nostr:nevent1qqsrpcafs5e3ry7wu2w0mrm6u8g58639z29wzxk32fj0dvvns74edfsug9sfk August I made my second appearance on the Bitcoin Rapidfire podcast talking about mining on the homestead. nostr:nevent1qqs8g763g8hpln22jwuff3srhda5jnz35vmnrasqeuy5qupvnefc0cqvt20qa September the food forest ripening and cannabis colas were forming. nostr:nevent1qqsp7473jzdhn6x66uv0cpry9ejmmwps5gnwyrz408ht9988qkknalg3dt5zu nostr:nevent1qqs86m023f0c63g6g6r7qdv6rmhffaxyta3rmtzvpe72p9s05zx7l9s8l5eky October the sheep were finishing out the season strong making for some of our best lamb we've grown. nostr:nevent1qqs9r79fg68dnq36n8muh4guujlk95a2jrssfwzkxryn9l730n6dd6cz4c4xw November we rounded out a great year with the horses after finally realizing our goal of using them for carriage tours. nostr:nevent1qqstlj9je3yjkwyfrjqttwaxtlryeek4q87uuxypuee24z0fpggja0spz9mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejj7q3qf5pre6wl6ad87vr4hr5wppqq30sh58m4p33mthnjreh03qadcajsxpqqqqqqzar4q02 December I spent spreading the word of the intersection of Bitcoin and Permaculture on the @TokyoCitadel, @QW, and @FrogTalk nostr:nevent1qqsy9hzjlmaxr7vglzxw5vandy8p3uman3xy42r4w9mmygqezqs820gpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ezucnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmp0qgsy6q3ua80awknlxp6m368qssqghct6ra6scca4meepumhcswkuwegrqsqqqqqpwnn9t7 https://fountain.fm/episode/xBjvqfEigQCQNGWwsQh2 What a wild year, it's been all that more amazing to share it with everyone on Nostr. Permaculture, Bitcoin, and Nostr is facilitating a new permanent culture in which we are all building together! #permaculture #permies #homesteading #bitcoin #meshtadel #bitcoinmining #plebminer #foodforest #weedstr #cannabis #rotationalgrazing #yurt #grownostr