Building a Homestead in 100 Days - Day 20

Day 20 of 100 days of building a homestead. We are 20% in. We had to get the right tool for the right job. We're trying the brand new Stihl FS 240.

What?

Happy day! It is PT day. Burn it up, cooking show, full effect. Can y'all see the haze? Maybe you can see the haze over that light a little bit. Carnivore biscuit, sausage patty, the fried egg in the middle. That's what I'm talking about. You can just say, does that feel good on your teeth? Are you teething? Did you turn your nest boxes around back? You did.

You went out there this morning.

You would know if you went out there this morning or not. Hey, why do you have 3 shirts on? I don't know. He clearly has no problem finding shirts. Now just to find some shoes. Look like you've been out and about tonight looking up a, uh, a brush cutter. I've heard you guys, I've heard you in the comments. We need a brush cutter for the little sapling type stuff. It's gonna save my back. And they're saying the most powerful one is the FS560. That one more of a commercial brush trimmer. Probably not available at Ace Hardware, but maybe we'll try later. We'll also see if today, if our next step in clearing would call for a brush trimmer. Let's tell you how big the trees are. Come on, we just got an hour and a half. We can use all the help we can get. Let's get the car started for Mom and Jonah. Warmed up. Come on, no, you're gonna get milk. Come on, you're not a drill. What are you doing? Uh-oh, you stay back, you're gonna go milk. What's the matter with you? Josiah made quite a big paddock here today. Kind of overestimated what a day's paddock is. That's okay because tomorrow we have a farm sitter coming just for the day, just for the morning, and his wife is great with child. He said I can farm sit, but the caveat is if my wife goes into labor, I can't. Besides, set up such a big net, it actually could be 2 days. So that could be good because if he can't move them tomorrow They've still got plenty of feed. It's coming, it's coming. We won't separate the calves tonight either so that he doesn't have to milk in the morning. We definitely don't want to lead her in the stanchion this way since she's pointed downhill. Come on, her legs are pointed downhill too and it's hard to milk her. You got to get them to go up the hill into the stanchion. Come on, come on, this way, honey. See how when she's pointing uphill, she's got her legs back and her udders are utterly exposed? Like that dad joke? Maybe the kids like that dad joke. I can't even breathe while she's eating this stuff. No training today, so we get to go straight into the 100-day project. Been super good having a goal like that. Keeps us focused, keeps us on purpose. We steal every minute we can get. Good job, honey. Lead the way. Well, they are happy. Lily asked us, graft, is if grass tastes good. It tastes terrible. That's nature's greatest miracle— grass into beef and lamb.

I'll carry the tumbler in the dirty bucket.

All right, you can empty the tumbler, let it be lighter. Let's make like yogurt, Lily. Lightweight clearing saw for forestry and landscape maintenance. Uh, maybe that's what we want because the boys are going to be doing— or are you boys going to do it?

What?

Or is it just going to be me?

I'll probably do it.

I'm going to compare the 311 to the 570. 560, extraordinary power on a robust design. Clearing saw, uh, ergo start. Sound choice for professionals, low vibration levels. He's saying the 560 will cut through the 3-inch trees. That's what we're looking for. We're looking for— I don't think the 311, I think that's more for like thick grass and shrubs. I just put the yogurt started in there, a third of a cup of— oh, we like this A2 A2 100% grass-fed yogurt by Alexander. It gives us a really smooth yogurt. 1/3. So I did 4 1/3, whatever that is. Okay, can you do that while I see if there's a 560 in Asheville? Just called Ace. No, they only go up to 240. So the other place, they went— the other local place went up to 311. But you agree, right? Like, we don't need just a big grass and brush clipper. We need something that can get small trees. Yeah. Don't you think? Even if we have to wait, order it. I think we have it low enough now that we can just pour it.

The 3-1, I think, can cut down the little trees.

The 311?

Yeah.

Why do you say that?

Because Grandpa's little RedMax can cut down little trees.

That's a good point. This is gonna be definitely more powerful than that. I just talked to Mom. I said, hey, get us the 311. That way we'll have something today. We got some time. And we'll get the 560 for the bigger stuff. Since you want to clear the little stuff first, I say we wait on the 311. Mom's coming with it soonish. We can use this time to get caught up in the kitchen. It's kind of an explosion in here. Stop the roller skating party and come help me, please. You can help on your skates if you like. Everybody, all hands on deck cleaning the kitchen. 7 hours at 105. And that, my friend, is raw yogurt. Rebecca's main making beef broth in the Instant Pot. Whoops, pretty sure— probably should have used a bigger bowl. Really getting the trail mix ready for tomorrow. Soaked pecans, some dried out raisins. These are pecans, almonds. That's it? Two nuts of raisin and some chocolate. Okay, walnuts. Get some walnuts. Oh, look who's there! You walking now? They wouldn't let you walk still?

Well, it's kind of— I just have to start putting more weight on my leg, which—

Mama asked him, can he make his bed? No, if I can— yeah. And he said, uh, what did you ask that? Or Mom? Mom asked, can he make his bed? And he said he can make his bed plus everybody else's. Yeah, that's my PT.

The guy said—

he said maybe that is all the 5'6"—

the biggest one that you were thinking we needed. It weighs 26 pounds. It weighs more than Henry. And then you have to put gas in it. And he's like, it's like, dang, it weighs a lot. And he's like, so when he was expensive too, it's like $1,300. Okay, so he says this one, he's like— now I called the wrong one.

The, the 311 is an Ashville.

Okay, so he's like, this could— this can't cut a tree this big, right? But it can do like this big.

We'll see. We'll see. We're gonna see right now.

But I'm like, you wouldn't cut a tree this big.

No, with that, maybe you just saw it down. Yeah, I don't think the 560 would. That might be exaggerating. John is healed. He's healed when a new machine arrives.

I know, he's like— he's like, oh, I wish I could do it.

No, first impression is that looks plenty big. He didn't even install Any bigger, it's gonna be heavy. We'll see how it cuts. Let's get it going. We got us some supplies.

I saw that you had this in your cart.

Oh, good.

So I got it for you.

It's a field vise for sharpening. Heck yeah. Thank you, you're so kind.

And I got your barn channel. And then there's like the manual for sharpening.

Okay. Oh, good.

Stuff like that.

How's it feel? Good. It's like we don't want to work more than an hour. It seems like that's always what we get. We have a little bit of time. Or a lot. Somehow it gets sucked up. Somebody said in the comments, you got to use the right tool for the job. Yeah, okay, 100%, 100% agree. Let's get the small stuff first, work up. Jonah set us up fuel. Let's try it, crank this up for the first time. Nice. Josiah, let's start with a little stuff and, and, and work our way up and see if— see what this thing can handle. Right by Sally at Briar Patch. Clear these briars first up. All right, got the briars, no problem. Try that 1-inch brush. I like it. Uh, you want to try this one? This bigger one and a half? Oh nice. Okay, it kind of works like a saw. You kind of go slow into it. You don't just do it like a string trimmer. That's easy. Let's say that 2.5 inches. Go! That's a little bit of a struggle.

Yeah.

Wow. Get the speed going first. Oh my, it knocked this big one down. Hang on, we gotta, we gotta get lower down to the ground though. Well, I'm happy. I would have had to chainsaw that. You got to be able to get lower. Wow. No, no, you gotta, you gotta keep spinning and going slow. I know it's a weird coordination. It doesn't like that 3-inch one. Try this one, 2 inches. Yeah, 2, 2 and a half inches. He's— are you letting off the fuel? It's probably pinching it.

Yeah, it is.

All right, let me have a turn. That pinches it when it falls, that's all. All right, see if you can— try this one, 3 inches. All right, 3 inches too big for this thing. We want to go through a 3-inch, we're going to need a 560. But watch, I think it's gonna be perfect for this guy. My take is probably this or smaller with this machine. The problem is— or one of the problems is, let me show them again. A tree that might be that big is actually this big at the bottom, and that's a chainsaw job. And look how big this tree would have been. I mean, that's what is 3 inches here, it's like 5 or 6 inches down there. It's getting pinched when you get through it with some of these bigger ones. So I think the sweet spot is maybe there. See what Lily's on? Don't need to cut that with the saw, just nip it with that. Okay, something that's not heavy. Yeah, and one thing you could do if it is heavier just get it up at the top. You could even get a lot of these at the top. And, and, and, and one like this where it's going to have a big root system, a big knotty root system, leave for the chainsaw. But you could get the top off.

So you want me to go through and cut all the little stuff?

Yeah, do it. I see the way they call it a brush saw now instead of a trimmer. You On the bigger ones at least, you seem to use it more as a, as a saw, and you kind of just go slowly into it. But I do wonder if you're supposed to use it more as a trimmer and you're only supposed to go at diameters that are conducive for that. Oh wow, you cleaning up in here? Yeah. Josiah, what? You were a machine on that machine, man. Did you like it?

Yeah.

What did you like about it?

It's sharp.

Oh, you have to remember how that feels and let us know when it's not sharp. Okay, and we'll learn how to sharpen it.

It has the directions.

That's the directions. I'm happy you're motivated. You're happy. That's the key. You gotta have fun in the process. I told you we're getting the farm center tomorrow, and I never told you— did I? We're going to Roots and Refuge tomorrow. Uh, it's an Abundant Plus lifetime party. It'll be about 50 people there. I hope to talk to Jeremiah about track loader versus, uh, mini excavator and maybe get some insight on what we need. We're searing tomorrow tonight's supper, or tomorrow night's supper. We're gonna go ahead and prep it. Remember that beef broth I got this morning? I forgot I was gonna do this, or I would have just made this then. Rebecca just cut— it just almost covers it. She made this amazing chuck roast. When I was just doing carnivore gaps.

I would put a little more.

They were trying to mimic it.

I would put a little bit more because it's gonna evaporate some out with cooking it. It just does. It doesn't like evaporate at all, but like when I opened it up, this broth in here was boiling.

Oh. Okay.

Boiling, and it was in boiling broth in the oven. For like 3 or 4 hours.

Okay, I was just on a business call and look, look what it— look what the kids did in my phone. We need, we need mini excavator. We need a mini excavator. Also on the back of the camera, we need a mini excavator please, from your loving kids. It's been what, 3 hours, Rebecca? Let's test this, uh, roast. The oven's hot. The beautiful one says if it's falling apart, it's good. Falling apart test. Nope, nope, nope. Still pretty chewy. We want to be able to shred it. 2 hours later.

I mean, look.

Uh-oh, it's like pulled pork.

That whole— and it's coming apart. It's coming apart very nice.

Not a chewy bite in there, just melt in your mouth.

Yeah, let me make sure.

It's just kind of checking everything because I see this way you can shred it, right? Cube.

Correct.

Normal chuck roast. Love it.

Well, not any— I don't think normal chuck roast is supposed to ever cube. I think it's always supposed to do this.

Oh, so we didn't do nothing special.

We just, we just cracked it, figured out how to do it.

Minerals for the sheep have arrived. Let's have one last look at this. I call it a blade trimmer, but it's called a brush saw. Look at this side-by-side, it's full of equipment. We're serious. Big heavy-duty thing. I'm most excited how, how Josiah was very excited to use it and, and to get involved. He running that, me running the saw. That workflow seemed to work very well. So this is going to help us get on pace for, for clearing these 2 acres, uh, and getting this homestead ready. You want to join us tomorrow because we're going to Roots and Refuge for a party, and hopefully, hopefully we're going to be dry checking out and driving, uh, a track loader and a mini excavator. So tomorrow should be super exciting. See you guys then.