Topic: Current Inventory

I thought that I would take a minute and describe our different firewood grades- and a quick description of pros and cons to each-

High Grade- Hardwoods- This wood has the highest btu/heat output- It last longer in the stove-Can be harder to get started in the stove but once started it takes less wood to heat an area than the other grades

High Grade- Fruitwoods- This wood is cleaner burning; great for taste; smoking

Mid Grade-This has a great smell; hotter initial output; doesn’t last as long in the stove- More creosote buildup than high and low grade; but it crackles like pine in known to

Low grade- is more abundant in this area hence the lower cost; less creosote- slightly lower output of heat unless stove is full; longer and cleaner burning than the mid grade; steady heat; can have slightly more ash build up; Great wood to heat a home

I personally suggest that if you have a wood burning stove- trying a 2 to 1 ratio (2 cords Low Grade/ 1 cord Pine) By mixing these two you can utilize the hot quick burn of pine to get the low grade going well- which will have a longer burn time and leave you with a pan of coals in the morning.

Another suggestion if you are only burning pine or Mid grade- Every 3 cords or so- try burning a half cord of our High Grade (Hardwoods); because the hardwoods are cleaner and hotter burning it will help reduce the buildup of creosote in the chimney. Inspect and clean the chimney a couple times during the season to be sure things look good for continued burning.

We had a busy winter processing and delivering orders; This picture was from a great customer (Professional Photographer) who captured the moment. This is a 1/3 cord box we call it. It is something new we started- makes it easy for the customers who don’t want to really have to touch the wood much when they buy it. Overall it was a great winter- thanks to everyone for your business!

It has been an interesting month for sure. At the beginning of the month, Shepherd experienced a hail storm unlike anyone has ever seen. Gusts with 75 mph winds plus golf size to softball size hail definitely put a dent in our work- literally! We had a set back with work to clean up the damage, so that’s been the majority of the past month.

Here’s how big the hail got around our home. I know that it got much bigger in surrounding areas, but it still caused damage.

We finished up our second cutting of alfalfa hay.

We are also preparing for the cooler season by getting in more firewood- mainly pine. Here’s what one load looks like, but we are expecting several more in the coming weeks. We will have lots!

It sure has gotten hot the past few weeks, but we have still been working hard on ground maintenance and a few home projects, along with getting hay up and shipped.

One of our home projects was starting our garden this year. Here is a before picture (Lydia is holding a worm- Mom’s preventing her from putting it in her mouth):

And look at it now!

We have corn, cabbage, tomatoes, bell peppers, spaghetti squash, beans, strawberries, and pumpkin. I think they’re doing well for our first year!

This is an example of our pickings- Lydia is eating the strawberry and the cabbage is pretty big.

This is a flower bed we put in as well. I love the colors!

One day as Josh was out irrigating, he found a huge carp to bring home. Lydia wasn’t too impressed with it- probably because it was nearly as big as she was! 🙂

More adventures to come in August!

One property also added a cool fountain to their bed- check out the progression!

This is what it looked like before any work began.

This was the first part of putting down concrete into 2 portions- one for the fountain and the other to the flower bed.

This was the final product! After the concrete work, they worked on electricity to get the fountain going, set the fountain portion in, then finish with planting, irrigation to water everything, and mulch as a final touch. Doesn’t it look so good?!