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2024 Monadstock V
In 2011, we hosted a backyard concert at our home in the Monadnock region of NH, calling it "Monadstock." It ran for three years on Labor Day weekend, featuring local musicians and food from Fedder’s Famous Smokehouse, drawing 70–90 people annually. After taking a break in 2014 due to work, we revived Monadstock in 2023 and plan to continue the tradition for years to come.
What’s up with the Old Tractors?
Several people have asked me recently “What’s up with the old tractors? You have a couple of new ones, what are you going to do with the antiques?” And sometimes they throw in “and what exactly is Dust and Roots about?” Fair question, but for many I have found...
Limey Summer Vegetables over Linguini
This is another recipe that is more of an outline than a strict recipe. Much of what goes into it is dictated by what’s in the garden or the vegetable drawer. A few of the components need to be a part of it: the limes, garlic, cashews, mushrooms and parmesan are...
Farm Life: Chores
Chores are a part of the fabric of our life; a part of all farmer’s lives. If you are reading this because you are curious; or contemplating or just getting started homesteading, this may help you understand some of what’s involved. We will likely write essays like...
On Being Nature’s Steward
My father loved reptiles and passed his interest on to my brother and me. In hindsight I’m not sure but there may be some deep symbolism in his affection for these cold blooded creatures. He grew up in a hugely dysfunctional family that he rarely spoke about and...
Putting up Electric Fencing
I haven’t put up an electric fence in thirty years, but I need to now. When I go back twenty, thirty or more years; the runways of my memory are often shrouded in heavy fog. I don’t remember much about this process although when I went to Tractor Supply I seemed to...
The New Potato Patch
We grew potatoes in one of the large diameter raised beds in 2021. We planted on planting weekend which is Memorial Day here in Zone 5B. They could have gone in earlier but we didn’t get to it. We had modest success; I think we harvested around 25 pounds of...
Alan Brunacini… a Life Well Lived
I was thinking the other day about the intersections of our lives where one aspect of our life crosses over into another. This of course happens a lot. In this particular case I was thinking about my how my professional life influenced the rest of my life. I have...
Going Solar
We have wanted to go solar for a while. Several factors contributed to doing it now. Solar is not cheap, so money was a factor. However, there is a 26% federal tax credit available now; we are saving a quarter of the cost. Deciding when to jump into the evolving...
The New Driveway… Phase 1
I finally bought the sawmill I wanted in the spring of 2021. The sawmill is built on a trailer so it can be moved around. I also need to buy a tag along trailer to move my tractors so they can travel with the mill. The problem is the driveway at my house. It is...
Caribbean Jerk Shrimp
This recipe originally came from the Runner’s World Cookbook which I highly recommend. It is healthy, extremely tasty and easy to prepare. The key is the jerk seasoning which is often sold as Jamaican Jerk and these days is widely available at most supermarkets....
Dispatches from the Pandemic
In the winter of 2020, right about the time the Corona virus appeared, I reconnected with a couple of friends from high school. Not only were we school mates but we had all been in the same garage band and were close back then. I hadn’t spoken to either in nearly...
Adding a Garage Bay in 2020
In the summer of 2020, the first COVID summer, I built another garage bay for the new Kubota tractor I had bought. I hired my friend Mike to help with the build. The truth be known, Mike is more knowledgeable than me, he has been a professional builder his whole...
My First 24 Hour Running Race
I wrote this in 2013, about a week after this race. I was about ten weeks shy of my 60th birthday on race day. This is one of the most personal things I’ve ever written. I was originally uncomfortable putting this into the public domain but was encouraged to do so...
A Little Fitness History from 2011
I wrote this in 2011 for a blog I started with a couple friends about ultramarathoning. As it says below, I have had a lifelong relationship with endurance sports. I have enjoyed some meaningful success but have also endured some spectacular failures that are...
Victory Gardens
I wrote this piece for the Greenfield Spirit, our town wide newsletter in the spring of 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. I’m including it here because it is in part about our homestead and I think of general interest to you, our readers. For more details on...
America the Manufacturing Great: the mid-century story
I wrote this piece for the Greenfield Spirit, our town wide newsletter in the summer of 2021. I’m including it here because although it is not entirely about our homestead, I think it’s of general interest to you, our readers.When I was in my middle twenties, my...
Easy Crock Pot Red Sauce
This recipe was born of need. Our garden produces a lot of tomatoes starting in mid-July. They come fast and furious and it is impossible to eat them all before they spoil. This goes on for weeks. The joy of this method is that it cooks while your day goes by with...
Honest Work and Other Ruminations
I was talking with someone the other day and the business of cutting your own firewood came up. They asked why I was willing to put in so much effort, especially at my age, into generating firewood. Was it economical? Well… it will be someday I answered weakly,...
A New Kind of Garden
In the spring of 2020, the first pandemic spring, we put in a new and innovative garden at our house. I have gardened off and on across my lifetime. Kristine and I had a small garden at our old house. For the last couple of years Kristine had a plot at the...
Peanut Sauce Stir Fried Vegetables
I’ve been making this dish for years. There never was a recipe; you just kind of wing it. However, if you don’t like peanut butter this will not work for you. Sometimes I add chunks of chicken but mostly not. I pretty much always use mushrooms of which there are so...
Lemon Scallops and Mushrooms
This is another no recipe dish that I have been making for several years. It is very popular with family and friends. The key is truly fresh sea scallops. One way to check is to ask for a sample scallop at the seafood counter. It shouldn’t smell overpoweringly...
Curried Shrimp with Pineapple
I’ve been making this dish since I was in my late twenties. There never was a recipe; I just kept experimenting until it came out well. The shrimp and pineapple are often included although chicken can be substituted for the shrimp or it can be made without either...
Ambrosia Maple Bench
In the summer of 2021 my new portable sawmill arrived. It took three of us a long nine hour day to put it together. I knew I wasn’t going to get to use it much that summer as I was engrossed in a couple of other large, time sensitive projects. Months earlier I had...
A Shop Class Bench
I took wood shop classes starting in junior high school back in the 1960s. I really enjoyed it; we had a wonderful shop teacher named Dana Hinckley. Mr. Hinckley had been a Maine backwoods guide for many years. I think he was in his 50s, always dressed in matching...
Harvesting Firewood
We burn wood to supplement our oil heat. Our house is pretty green, and very environmentally friendly. It was built in the mid-eighties as a replica of early New England settler’s bow house. The house is a center chimney, center stair, post and beam bow roof cape....