Submitted by Hardscrabble Farmer
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It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
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Tough old coot. Doesn’t say much.
Honestly not sure what to think. Seems like perhaps he does it the way he does it to keep busy, perhaps to forget, or as a hobby, or just likes to work. He has some serious skills. Very admirable.
Those things are dying out. Even the most committed small acreage farmer would have power tools, a small tractor, etc., I would have thought.
“…as a hobby…”
I laughed pretty hard at that one.
And no, those things aren’t dying out, they’re about to make a major comeback.
I think so too… something in the air.
What’d you think of his woodshed?
I haven’t felt that kind of admiration in a long time.
Yes, awesome woodshed, much to admire in that vid. I am unexpectedly moved.
Unexpectedly beset by nostalgia.
HSF
Might sound crazy but, that looks like a great life to me. Winter though…
When he is not working he is cutting wood. It’s the program running in the background.
HSF – he clearly chooses to do that stuff. There is no “reason” to seemingly avoid power tools save by choice. And why so choose? Hobby comes close, same as it does for someone who wood works entirely eschewing power tools. The process is what is important, not the outcome. And doing it the way he does is obviously not the most profitable or efficient way, it does beg the question as to why? Most probably because he enjoys it (ie much like a hobby). Or perhaps it might more accurately be considered a craft.
A hobby is done generally as a leisure pursuit. If he were interested in profit or productivity, he would be using those. But instead he acts more like his work is a hobby. Just my opinion.
HSF – do you use power tools? Chainsaws, tractors, power drills and such?
Yes I do, I’m very much a product of the Post-War American era. But I have been teaching myself all the old skills, accumulating the old tools, reverting year by year back in that direction intentionally.
The sticking point is the word. Hobby implies leisure time activities whereas the guy in that video does what he does because it is his lifestyle, his calling and the tools and technology he uses are tied both to his age and his place on Earth- And all you have to do is look at his woodshed or potato patch and see ho interested he is in productivity. That farms is literally flooding him with provender because he spent a lifetime tending to it with love and devotion rather than strip mining it for profit.
Just my opinion.
I went looking for a photo of my father making cedar shake shingles when the local Historical (Hysterical, according to my mother) Society reconstructed a log cabin and put it into the park in Bloomfield. I couldn’t find the images of him actually making them, yet, but here’s the cabin and the shingles are still functioning well. This image was taken in 1998.
This one is just funny, because Dad was pretty funny.
“If he were interested in profit or productivity, he would be using those ( power tools). But instead he acts more like his work is a hobby.”
Are you are really so obtuse Llipoh? This man is not into a “hobby”. This is his life, not unlike the lives of millions of people unlike yourself, a self- professed, well to do ex-patriot living in OZ and pontificating to us back here in the homeland.
It might be his life – but he is not doing it productively. Hobbies can be a person’s life.
Here is one definition of hobby:
“hobby : An activity or pastime experienced for joy, pleasure or love.”
That seems to perfectly describe what that old man is doing.
He is not doing it to make a living, best I can tell. So he is doing it for joy, pleasure or love.
He is choosing to do it the way he does, because he enjoys it or it gives him a sense of satisfaction. It is not his work, not his job, best I can tell.
You folks are getting tied in knots re the word. It would be interesting to know what he did for a living. Maybe he did this at a subsistence level his entire life. Hell, the Amish do. But they do it on a larger scale than this fellow from what I can see.
He has good skills at what he is doing. But so do a lot of folks. I am no more, nor no less, impressed by that than I am by folks that are good at whatever it is they have chosen to do. I am impressed by what HSF does, what Admin does, etc. Anyone who is expert in their fields is worthy of respect. I admire and respect work in all its many forms.
Dude, you really are out of touch. Tied in Knots? No. You are spewing word salad and not making a whole lot of sense. “but he is not doing it productively”. From what I see he is living sustainably. He puts manure on his garden, harvests his crops, keeps his animals healthy and well fed, brings in timber and firewood. His farm is well kept. I would guess that he is content with his life and not feeling like he has to move to OZ for a better existence.
Dude? What are you, 12?
PS – I did not have to move any damn place. I chose not to live say in the Appalachians, where drug use is decimating the population, where poverty is rife, where virgins are the girls who can run faster than their brothers, and where dentists tell their patients to make sure they brush their tooth every day.
Older than you doofus. Enjoying seeing you rise to the bait and showing your true colors.
Doofus. Damn, that really hurts.
I do not have time to tend to hillbillies at the moment. I will try to get back to you sometime soon. Keep your tooth clean.,
RE: the Amish
One time, on the way to get a hood that was just painted for a car, my buddy, who was driving, stopped to introduce me to his clients.
It was an Amish furniture factory.
The front of the building had an area for horses and trailers and the back contained docks to accommodate semi-trucks. They had a giant 19th century drill press that was customized for their purposes and the workers had high-quality custom-built wooden tool boxes that doubled as workbenches.
There were wives and kids in the facility and the youngest of the children spoke German, not English. The little boys and girls stared at my friend and I like we were from another world; and, to them, we were.
It’s not uncommon here to see the Amish brought to work-sites in vans to frame-up houses or install residental roofs. They won’t drive vehicles, but they use power-tools like pros.
Can’t say I completely understand their selective usage of technology, but it seems to work for them.
37th,
LLPOH and HSF are good friends. Chill just a bit. Personally, what this farmer is doing is a thing of beauty, to me anyway.
BTW, HSF and LLPOH are both manufacturers.
Sorry Donkey, but Llpoh likes to throw anti-personnel shit when he gets called on his bloviating opinions. His stereotypical and inane comments about my home region, Appalachia, are just stupid.
BTW, so what that Lippy and HSF are manufacturers? So was I, with an international customer base. Big deal. What is your point?
So what exactly was I wrong about? The poverty? Nope. The drug deaths? Nope. Maybe exaggerated the virgin bit, but hey literary license. And the tooth comment? I have travelled through Appalachia many times. Their aren’t teeth per person, but rather people per tooth. Drug use, poverty, alcoholism have that affect.
You flapped your gums (surely no teeth there) uninvited and you got off light. You are still at it. Count your blessings I was in a good mood. But those tend to be short-lived.
When you make comments about where I live and why, uninvited, unbidden, and certainly out of line, you are approaching the abyss. Best shut the fuck up about that stuff, as you know little about me, and I can be most disagreeable when fuckwits like you call me out.
I did not say a damn thing about you, to you, about HSF, or any other. Don’t like what I say, fine. But when you get personal, as you did, I am apt to kick you in the nuts.
37th,
No worries. I think you just don’t like LLPOH’s style is all.
The point of them both being manufacturers is so you can more easily understand their points.
You are wasting your breath 37th, though I commend you.
Lippy is a prick and he will die that way. But what is unfortunate is that in computer land we are never allowed to club them in the head with a chain boomer. I yawned when he run his mouth about kicking you in the nuts. That dumb bastard is so full of shit that he really believes saying it is doing it. I wager he wouldn’t and couldn’t. The first time somebody belted these arrogant pricks in the mouth they would call the law and sue you in court. It’s the new rules of engagement among our civilized society.
I look forward to Anarchy when I can settle it the way they used to. It’s what kept people like Lippy’s mouth shut and the arrogance was tolerable.
Thanks for the down vote yankee, I appreciate knowing I touched a nerve. I can go eat a pizza now with a smile like the Grinch who stole Christmas.
One eyed – that is quite the description you got their. Bet you are more like the one eyed trouser snake, though.
You really have misjudged me. I would be hard to settle with. Always have been. Careful what you wish for. Because it would be a most unfortunate day for you to actually run into me or one of my close kin with an attitude like that. Saying you could handle things and handling them are very different indeed. Sons of sons of Dust Bowl folk tend to be tougher and less tolerant than average folks.
Now, you have just scared me something fierce Lippy. Your so tough you had to bring your kin into it? You are correct, I misjudged you, you are no opponent at all. You see Lippy, there ain’t a man worth two cents that will threaten another man by bringing his friends or family into it. And you just told me all about you I need or care to know. I pity a sorry bastard like you, because you never have nor ever will be a real man.
The reason to use hand tools is control (imo). When I use an electric circular saw or jigsaw I can get things done faster, but perhaps with less precision.
Another reason to eschew power tools is the pain of having to plug them in (finding a long and potentially-dangerous ext. cord).
Yet another is the infernal racket they make.
The productivity and sanity one retains for oneself can also be viewed as a kind of profit.
I have a lovely ripsaw from Lie-Nielsen and when I needed to make a couple of legs for a tapestry loom I just clamped a board to a corner of the kitchen table and went at it for a couple of minutes. Very little mess in a tiny space. Perfect for my needs. To store requires a space only about 1″ wide.
Chubby – depends how good a person is with power tools. I have seen some old joiners that were masters of anything they picked up, be it powered or not. Forty years experience and training under masers brings considerable skill. Me, I have almost zero skill with tools, and no patience. I will never be a master craftsman.
HSF: glad you posted this video, I sent Kaiser Susie a link last summer, haven’t heard from him in a long time, he was very ill when I last communicated with him. As to the video and the grandfather…he is farming as my grandparents farmed, using horses and making almost everything for himself. I dare say there is coming a time in the not-to-distant future where each and every one of us will be needing his skills.
I’m sorry to hear Kaiser Susie has been ill. Hope all is well with him now.
Mygirl – if it gets to the point of each of us needing such skills, there will not be many of us left to so need.
My plan would be to supply something to folks that have such skills, such as corn liquor or somesuch. But if it gets that bad, and as I am now getting older, such a scenario might not have a good outcome for me.
It’s Latvia, man,… a country destroyd by Bolsheviks…
Perfect HF, perfect! That wood stove is certainly interesting and he makes quick work of digging them taters too. Them old hay tedders are hard to find in our parts and did you notice how long the handle to that 3 tined pitchfork was? Grandpa has worked hard his whole life and them worn hands are proof. Thanks for sharing, mighty fine.
Looks like a very worthwhile 52+ minutes and will view as time permits.
Make popcorn.
Here’s my grandpa in 1976… he built that barn in 1930s, the haybarn in the pasture in the 60s…
Nice….are you still using them?
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—–==
those old tools are the future's market
It’s all still there in the flatland in the southeast missouri bootheel. Is a Century Farm.
Beautiful video. But, sad in a way. Scenes of an old guy working as he has done all his life. A brief shot of a possible son, and then granddaughter nuzzling his horse. One would hope that his life is more than constant work and there is some joy in the mix. He is gentle with his horse, even when the mower is bogged down and the animal is tired. I admire his energy and devotion. And, he is a survivor.
Now that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is a man who OWNS his land.
Mark, sorry, I’m dumping you for grandpa.
HSF, you could have warned me about the dog food. I thought that dog looked awfully healthy.
I need to mull over my thoughts further.
I loved that scene.
His relationship with the dog, the horse- even the wood and tools was transcendent. What a beautiful life.
Out of curiosity, where is this? I am guessing Eastern Europe. I saw some of this in the southern mountains back in the 70s. Now, not so much. A few years ago visiting my friend and neighbor’s son in KY we watched as a team of mules was harnessed and hitched to a sled, which was loaded with hay and taken to the waiting cattle. It took forever when compared to getting on a tractor and turning the key. But, it was incredibly real.
I can’t be certain but my best guess is somewhere between Poland and Estonia.
The guys behind the Northmen website are all Finns, Swedes, Germans, etc.
One of my best friends up here helps me log with his horses and I know quite a few people who use oxen. It is not anywhere near as uncommon as most people think it has become, in fact most of the people who are doing this are a lot younger than me.
Latvia.
I have always had a fascination with oxen. Cattle are hardier than horses or mules, they require less care and they can be equally strong. They are slow and steady and harnessing them up doesn’t require knowledge of riggings. Dairy farms often toss the calves and they suffer a wicked bad fate, especially the males and steers of any cattle breed can make an ox. Start training early, cattle can be dangerous and unruly. Gee, haw and whoa are the commands, pretty straight forward.
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farm_life/education/oxen-launch-a-new-career-for-farmer/article_d8303725-25d6-5a44-b644-09e8cce077d2.html
I don’t know. In the back of my head, I kept thinking….what killed his wife?
You think like a comedian.
I thought he looked a little too happy eating his jam and bread, too.
Will check it out, thanks.
As a beekeeper myself (hobbiest with 4 hives) I was interested in the fact that he also kept hives. Since that segment was spring, with snow still around in the shadows, he must have had what appeared to be burlap inside the hives to maintain some protection from the elements. He removed it and was filling the space with empty frames for the coming spring/nectar availability.
I also noted he keeps a nice edge on that axe. As no one else seems to be around I wonder what he would do if he were to accidentally hurt himself with it?
Great documentary film. Thanks for sharing!
He also was a master in leverage. I loved the way he swung the scythe, using his upper arm to piston the snath.
Swinging a scythe properly is an art. I got some lessons as a teen, and it can be mesmerizing when you have a sharp blade and get into the rythmn. His blade is down to the nubs and about gone. You can sharpen a wide Austrian grass blade with a little anvil and hammer, peening the edge into a serrated cutter. Using a stone works, but it shortens the life of the blade.
His wood pile is giving me a hard on…. But Damn, I’m allergic to bees.
At one point when he walked away from it and the camera stayed on the face of the stack I just paused and stared at it the way people look at paintings at the Met.
Raised beds, no till, save your back man. And don’t leave the taters sitting in the sun!
There are farmers of all kinds and this man has to be up there with the best. Indefatigible energy for starters and superior intelligence. Notice how he holds a stick of wood vertically to hold his armload of firewood in place? I have been bringing in wood for many decades and never thought of that little trick.
There was one moment when he finished sharpening the replacement fence post where he was going to set it down on the ground and for just a second he paused- you could see it clearly- and decided instead to lean it against a stack of wood just so he wouldn’t have to bend down to pick it up! It showed his mind sizing up the all the variables in his actions and making the best decision in the moment based on everything around him. It was riveting.
As you get older, you work smarter, not harder. I noticed that too. Given a bad back as of late, us old fucks have to work smarter.
Paul Newman in a late career interview said that, looking back, he had learned not to try so hard. He could get the job done a lot easier.
A lifetime of measuring twice to cut once, but measure thrice to be positive.
I have total respect for the ol’ boy.
Mmmmmm, mice are delicious @ 47:30.
Just curious, has sugaring started?
It was -10 Saturday morning, we’re setting up everything but I’m not tapping until we get into the 30’s.
I did see a robin yesterday so maybe it’s just around the corner.
There are winter robins up here, don’t get too excited. Going below zero thursday and friday again. but I can take a day or two at a time. It’s the weeklong freezes that kill me.
The old man does have a frig, so he has electricity but it could be limited so he does things the old-fashioned way. I watch “Survival Russia” on YouTube. The guy, named Lars, lives in Siberia and does a lot of things the old-fashioned way. They have electricity, but he says the power supply is “not so much.” He explains that’s why he doesn’t use some of the modern methods for doing certain things. This could be why the old man, especially if in Latvia, hasn’t changed to power tools and other modern conveniences.
One of the many variables that has brought America down in the current state, there are shareholders, 401k, hedge fund managers, & Wall street sinking their greedy claws into this man’s work.
The pine tree planting reminds me of Florida.
Trapping and skinning too:
https://www.wideopenspaces.com/the-story-of-trapper-jake-a-true-outdoor-legend/
Interesting and sad in a way. I have a few of the skills on display in this video and it reminds me that in a true shtf scenario I and most others will perish. I will last longer than most of the city folks but the lifetime of knowledge and skills on display are just that, a lifetime. At age 60 it is too late to start again to relearn all I would need to know much less a place to put those skills to use. Like most who post here I will do the best with what I have and know and trust to God for the rest. The time is short, and what is coming I fear is going to be very ugly. Try to make each day count and remember that not all your fellow men are your enemy. For all of us “old coots” the job will be to survive and make a safe place for those who will follow us. FOOT
this is one reason why I like watching vids like this. Neat trick…
Shit didn’t see that. And look how he bends, butt back shoulders and neck almost straight. Nice. and one piece of kindling holding the whole dam pile. smart dude. wait, dougie says farmers aren’t smart, so nevermind.