making charcoal
or biochar as it's called when used for agricultural purpose. Another rare one just because it's not all that commonly done by clothed gardeners and farmers, but not terribly rare either. And then to add the naked part. I never heard of doing it that way.. But why not? It just involves splitting up wood and burning it in a way that limits oxygen. I found the easiest way is to have an open top barrel with holes in the bottom, fill with dry wood split down to small size. start a fire on top and let it burn until it's all reduced to charcoal. Then dump it and quench it all real good with water. Have to stop it just at the point where it's charcoal and before it starts turning to ash. By burning top down it burns clean, the gasses from the fire prevent the top from turning to ash until the bottom is done. Have to be real careful when dumping and quenching it if I'm not wearing boots, but it works fine if I handle it with a long handle hoe, rake out the hot heap with the hoe and spray it all down till there are no hot coals left. Definitely not interested in fire walking.
I use chainsaw naked all the time, but also been using one 35 years to make a living without incident. Without clothing I'm extra careful more than normal even. And with my hands always where I can hit the cutoff switch and/or chain brake real fast. And shut it off if I have to move around more than a step or two at a time. Clearing some land for food crops, planning on putting all excess wood into biochar that isn't good for lumber or fence posts. Currently making it about 30 ft from where I took my avitar picture. But today it's raining and turned chilly, so I'm working in the shop modifying my log splitter to make it more user friendly. Just got in 100 strawberry plants, a few to get started.
80 acres on a mountainside, my parents bought 31 years ago when I was 20. They put me on as 1/3 owner, my dad is 90 and has signed his 1/3 over to my brother, and my mother is 81 and mentally unstable, (crazy stories about various things and always claiming it's some day other than what it really is, inherited condition that also affected her dad's sisters and their mother.) so we'll just have to wait and see where that goes. Probably split her 1/3 between the two of us when she passes on. Or just ignore it if that works. I guess the county doesn't care who's name is on the deed as long as the taxes get paid.
My brother and I are best friends and in agreement on most things, what minor points we don't agree on we live with without friction. He has skills and takes care of things that I would have difficulty handling, I do stuff that's hard for him to do. We have very different personalities and talents. I've harvested the timber a little at a time for the last 31 years in-between other things. Getting it out and hauling it to local log buyers in whatever way I can manage to do. Started out with a mule and a pickup truck, chainsaw and cant hook. Currently hauling with an old 4x4 surburban and flat trailer. I'm the mechanic, equipment builder and handler, gardener, naturist. He's the office manager, botanist, herbalist, naturalist, gardener, and textilest.
We started a trucking company and we both drove for awhile. I drove 3 months team driving with a friend, just about burned me out, not used to the stress of that kind of life. Got starved for nature and the woods. He drove several more months and seems to not mind it too much. Otherwise we have hired drivers. But the expenses eat up the profits and I don't see any income. Although we did dump a bunch of money and my work time into a land clearing project and earned half interest in a track hoe, which I have here part time and use to clear land.
Working toward turning the mountainside into a farm. Which is isolated quite adequately that I can work it nude most of the time. My mother grew up on her dad's produce farm, she just barely remembers her dad switching from horses to a tractor around 1940. I grew up with my mother gardening full time, I got so acclimated to it it's my favorite activity. Have studied nutrient dense high brix methods and I want to grew super nutritious super tasting fresh food. Oh and I love horses too. But I gave all mine away last year when the huntin club next to us started being uncooperative with my need for hay, I was providing free mowing service twice a year, but the new manager didn't care if it got mowed and kept the gate locked. It was getting pretty poor quality anyway. I will wait until I have some pasture ready so I can keep one with minimal expense and then get one more. I really enjoy riding the backwoods trails nude on a nude horse. (or is a horse not nude with a hair coat? they sure don't mine exposing their genitals, and everyone ignores it, just like humans should be but aren't ) And I enjoy going camping occasionally with trail riding friends, but I can't ride nude in those cases.
My long term plan is to live like Li Ching Yuen in China did to a great extent, just see how long I can keep going. My brother wants to do the same. There are others, like Dr Walker who made it well past 100 before giving way to an accident while trail riding. (somewhere in the 116-132 range, he was born before birth records were kept and he refused to tell because too many people refused to believe him) And some man in England in the 1800's who made it to 152 as a gardener eating what he grew raw, and died after his diet changed. But then there's a good possibility of getting married and/or finding someone who loves the land and loves working it to share it with. Even though i would love to have more level land to farm, I'll work with what I have and maybe expand eventually.
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