Todd Benatar » Farm Life & Home

Down Time, During the Snow

Todd — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:26:26 +0000

Today was promised to be a nice day all week long by the local news weatherman, and I was looking forward to getting a few things done around the place outside and in some of the out buildings today. Once again all of their technology which is used for weather forecasting has done us wrong, this happens way too often and gets my dander up when it occurs on occasion.

Looks like I will be spending most of the day taking on some much needed inside projects and tasks, while keeping a good fire burning to keep the place warm during this below freezing weekday, down at the farm.

What’s Up With That

Todd — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:57:18 +0000

Spent most of the day looking for the cans of degreasers that I swore were kept in the grey out building behind the garage. I always seem to be looking for something around here. If I didn’t know any better I would swear that some one is playing jokes on me, but considering that I am the only one that lives here and that I rarely have any visitors I really don’t think that that is the case. My sister tells me that she thinks that it is our late father messing with my head like he used to like to do to me while he was still on this earth. Or that I am just getting old and burned out, which is the explanation that I believe to be true.

I really could use a vacation, but I can’t leave this house and the farm to run it’s self for even two days in a row for heaven’s sake. A week away from here, some where nice and warm by the water sounds wonderful, but I don’t see that happening any time soon unless I can find some one to take over all the things that need to be done around the old homestead and I don’t know even one person that I could rely on to due that for me.

In the mean time I guess I’ll need to take a trip into town tomorrow and buy a new can of degreaser. As much as I am burned out from being here all alone all the time I really hate going into town.

The Need For A New Kitchen Undermount Sink

Todd — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:13:24 +0000

It really shouldn’t surprise me that so many things are in such bad shape around here, but with so little time and little money to put back into the old homestead it sure is frustrating and very disappointing. The latest thing that I have discovered is the need for a new Undermount Sink in the kitchen. Instead of going into town and spending the time and money that it takes for the gasoline that it takes for the trip, I have asked my eldest sister to take a look for me on the Internet to help find some sites that have affordable Undermount Sinks since she is very familiar with everything around here as well as I am and I trust her judgement since she helps out more than anyone else around the house when she is able. Right now I really have my hands full on the farm, with Fall being one of the busiest times of the year for us here, so any help right now is totally appreciated.

The energy crisis

Todd — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:25:26 +0000

With the cost of fuel increasing, and it is increasing once again, it is getting harder for the farm to be making enough money to pay for the fuel I need to run the tractors to tend the farm. I’m growing enough crops to feed my own livestock, assuming that the weather cooperates I won’t have to buy too much winter feed.

I’m thinking about putting in a windmill and some solar panels to try to generate some of my own energy to cut down on electricity costs. It’s hard to find ways to conserve energy when you are running a farm! I’ve been reading articles on the Internet about how different plants like algae can be used to create biofuel instead of using corn (which I think is a great idea) and how many areas of the country are looking into wind farms and solar farms, too. I think that all of these areas are good investments into the energy futures of the country.

Time Honored Family Traditions

Todd — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:57:40 +0000

I have to admit that the holiday season’s are still pretty tough for me considering that I am living at the homestead and farm that we all grew up on and our parents were running up until they passed away over 3 years ago now. It is just me here, all though I have a ton of relatives that live close by. All of those holiday traditions are the hardest. My eldest sister and her family all try so very hard to keep most of these traditions alive and are always there for me each and every day and they go the extra mile during the holidays.

I haven’t spend a full Christmas day here at the house yet. So far I go over to my sister’s house and spent Christmas eve with them and spend the night there so that I can be there to see the kids eyes when they come down the stairs early Christmas morning. Then I am there dealing with the kids while my sister is busy in the kitchen preparing all the holiday foods for that evenings Christmas meal that she has taken over from my mom, with the rest of the family is on the road on their way to her house and the place gets filled up quickly through out the day.

One of the holiday traditions that we now have is going over to the family cemetery to pay our respects to our parents and all the other members of the family that are there with them as well.

Gonna Be A Bit Pro Active Here Folks

Todd — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:31:46 +0000

I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be if I had to deal with a case of identity theft. What a nightmare that would turn out to be. That is why I am trying the 30 Day Free Trial that Identity Hawk has to offer. I found this offer while surfing the Internet a while back and I was interested enough to book mark their site while contemplating the subject for a time and now is the time to go ahead and take action before something like this happens.

Identity Hawk numerous ways to protect people from identity theft protection and I would anyone to go to their site and see what they have to offer and if it is something that could help you or other people that you know and love. This is a growing problem, one that I don’t believe is ever going to go away, what a crazy world we live in today folks. It isn’t as if we don’t have a million other things to worry about and deal with, like right now Mother Nature is taking it’s toll on us that are living on the east coast. My poor sister is really freaked out and wants me to come over there, which she knows is so totally out of the question. I mean how could I possibly leave the farm and all the animals to go hide out with her and her family.

Farm Humor for Twisted People

Todd — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:40:53 +0000

Good old farm humor, gotta love it!

Keeping it real down on the farm……….

It’s All About Getting The Best Bang For Your Buck

Todd — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 05:15:59 +0000

We are all looking for ways to cut back on our expenses these past couple of years. There is a lot of information on the TV about ways to reduce your expenses, but for folks like me that don’t get to see much TV, we depend on the Internet for information and tips instead. I just watched a clip on a new book, “Living Large in Lean Times”, that was just recently released by Clark Howard, a money expert, who is famous for giving us all kinds of advice on how to get the best bang for our buck and how to avoid being ripped off in the process. I don’t have much time for books these days but hearing short clips like this that let you know that you can get prescription eyeglasses for $7 at ZenniOptical or that you can extend the life of your razor just by drying it after each use, I can take in small doses and not get over whelmed with too much information.

Shopping online is the way to go these days, especially for people like me that don’t live right in town, the nearest town to me is over 35 miles away, so running into town is a time consuming chore and takes a lot of gas just to save a couple of bucks on something that is on sale. With so many companies catering to the ever growing online shopping population you can find great deals all over the Internet and if you stick with only the companies that provide you with free shipping you can really make out on top. Let them bring it to me, yes indeed, that is what I’m talking about.

Too Bad That Youth Is Wasted On The Young!

Todd — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:06:30 +0000

I’m so glad that we are being able to enjoy some nice weather days and evenings for a change. After weeks of dealing with the temperature being in the high 90′s and the 100′s, these past couple of days in the 80′s are just awesome. As I’m getting older it is becoming harder to deal with such extreme weather, but at least we are not dealing with tornadoes, hurricanes and all the other extreme weather that seems to be devastating so much of our country these past couple of months. We did have to deal with way too much rain this past Spring, but at least it is better than not having enough rain, which has happened too often lately. Without rain a farm like mine can go into ruins real quick like.

Last night I actually had some free time that I got to enjoy outside before hitting the sack. This is something that I don’t get to do very often as an adult. As kids we would spend a lot of time on the front porch and in the front yard, catching fireflies, playing Kick The Can, Hide and Seek, and roasting marshmallows and making those wonderful S’mores with tons of chocolate dripping all down our arms. It sucks that youth and wasted on the young.

GREEN Rubber Mulch – The Way To Go Folks

Todd — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:05:31 +0000

What can I say? When I think of mulch, rubber is the last thing that comes to my mind. But apparently there is a new fangled type of mulch that is being manufactured out of old tires by a company called Rubberecycle. This is the same company that provided the White House with the playground that the Obama’s daughters and their lucky play mates get to play on. I’m assuming that when a new president moves into the White House that the playground will stay right where it is, but who knows what the future will bring when that takes place when all of that comes about. But for now it is good to know that the Obamas are doing their part in going green in numerous ways that are all good to know about.

This particluar company offers several products that are long lasting, safe and extremely environment friendly, not to mention economical. I would urge anyone to check out their website of rubberecycle.com and see all that they are about. If I had kids and was looking into having a playground for them to enjoy I would certainly be interested in having this company come out and see what they could come up with for them. We all want our kids to spend time outside having fun, but safety is a big concern, right? The numbers are startling when it comes to injuries that occur on playgrounds all across the country, nothing new really, just more media attention is taking place on the subject these days. I know that I would feel like a real dog if one of my kids or one of their friends or another member of family’s kid got hurt on something that I paid for and allowed them to play on. So it sounds like this rubber mulch is the way to go folks, if you have the need.