On Recycling

Recycling is a fact of life for the retired gentleman farmer. When you live long enough to become one, you have accumulated a great amount of junk (otherwise known as precious treasures). We moved last year to this farm and made several trips pulling a 16 ft. utility trailer loaded with treasure.

I have been very pleased to have recycled my old rickshaw. I believe I am the only one of my friends to have found a good use for an old rickshaw. Those of you who are of the Southern Baptist bent will remember when the “Rickshaw Rally” was the theme for Vacation Bible School. What fun we had pulling students and others around the parking lot at church in that rickshaw! When I get low of funds I have some pictures of distinguished leaders of the community who will likely pay a good price for me to keep those pictures.

Anyway, to my recycling project. When I became a farmer I needed a mobile chicken coop (known as a “chicken tractor” to us gentlemen farmers). This device is meant to move chickens around the yard so they can both graze and also fertilize the grass. They are moved every day to create a beautiful green, bug-less yard. I was able to remove the seat from the rickshaw and build a very nice home for the chickens last summer. It features added egg boxes for laying eggs and a completely enclosed chicken run for exercise and dust bathing. I will post a picture of this marvel of woodworking skill below. I just moved them back to their summer home this week (March 2016) and have them in the garden now weeding, plowing and fertilizing before spring planting.

I am following a long tradition in my family in modifying passenger vehicles for farm use. I am told that my father bought a new Model A Ford in 1929. He used it to romance my mother and then for several years as a regular car. However, the demands of their life called for a farm truck so my father took out the rumble seat and cut down the rear end of the car in such a way that he could have a truck. They kept that car/truck until 1949 when a new baby came (me) and my mother insisted on a better means of riding the baby around. They went whole hog and bought a brand new Chevy truck that they kept until the 70s. After it was no longer needed for a truck, Dad used the engine of that Model A to make a saw-mill to cut fire wood. Now that’s recycling!