Happpy Solstice!

Cloudy, 28 degrees, snowing
We've made it to the darkest part of the year. The sun only shines here for about 9 hours per day (when it isn't obscured by clouds, of course). It's a good time to take stock, think back on accomplishments, look forward to goals, and generally get our houses in order while we have indoor time. When the sun has begun her swing closer to us and her warming rays stir growth again, there is no such time for winnowing through piles of old magazines and re-arranging kitchen drawer contents. That is the time for creating these piles in the first place while we head back out the door toward the field or barn or garden.

Last night we marked the long darkness by eating our dinner by candle light. Karen told her traditional story about the two sisters who visit Old Mother Winter, and we talked about what we hope to do in the next year, before the next long dark falls again. Then we made popcorn balls for Birk's school holiday party the next day ;-)

Tonight we will celebrate the return of the light by going to a friends' house for a Solstice celebration in town. There will be a fire, and I've been appointed Fire Marshall. What that means, basically, is that I have firewood and am willing to bring it, lol. It seems like a fun thing to look forward to, and I'm sure all the kids will be having fun.

We do have another nasty storm looming, and it threatens to snarl up thousands, if not millions of people's Christmas travel plans. The Midwest is bracing for a snow/rain/ice event that is due to go for at least 48 hours and straddling both sides of Christmas Eve, so just about everyone I know is nervously watching the ever-changing forecast to see if they can make it a Merry Christmas with loved ones. Oy.

We are getting snow right now, but nothing major. They forecast an inch, I'd say we're easily over 2.5 at the moment, and it's still coming down. Light fluffy stuff. I've got the tractor plugged in so I can clear this out, and I'll try to keep the driveway cleared as best I can over the upcoming few days. It doesn't sound like it's gonna be pretty. Well, maybe it WILL be pretty, but you know what I mean.

The other day I was walking past my big compost pile made of what's left of last years' bedding from pigs in the barn, and this years' broilers. I noticed how the snow was all melted from the top. Of course, I've always known compost piles heat up. But I was in the process of getting the chickens some un-frozen water, and I suddenly (finally??) went "HEY! There's HEAT in there! FREE, untapped heat! And not only that, but all I had to do to generate that heat was to pile a bunch of sh$t up in a mound!" and my mind started spinning like a teenager on a school parking lot. So my latest Big Thought is how can I use compost pile heat to keep my water lines unfrozen in the dead of winter? Could I use it to make hot water? Could I use it to heat a barn? If I could heat a barn with it, what about being able to heat the house with it?? I've just started doing a little research on the topic, luckily there are folks out there who have had this thought too, and they are smarter than me, and they've been experimenting. There are some really cool ideas out there.

A lot of folks in town simply might not have access to the amounts of materials necessary for a large enough compost pile, but I do. Now that's got me thinking more about deep-bedded over-wintering systems inside barns for livestock such as pigs and cattle.
I wonder if someday, small farms could accept yard waste from suburban neighbors and sell them back electricity made from methane made from thecompost heaps? And then when the compost heap is done, the end result is the best fertilizer there is, and goes right back into the soil and actually helps grow more food and build the soil, rather than depleting anything. Pretty Cool, hey? It's so perfect - it makes me look over my shoulder to watch out for Big Oil coming down on it. You watch. I bet they lobby for control of these types of things. Can't have folks making their own energy at home in a closed-loop system, can we? Bad for profits.
Anyway, here's a link to a cool site that includes all sorts of renewable fuel types and sources: http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/BioFuel/biofuels.htm

Happy Solstice to everyone from us at Prairie Fire Farm!