Pacheco Creek Flash Flood Photos
It’s been raining… This piglet got separated from her mother, we rescued her as the floodwaters washed her away…
Our House Heater: 123 Years and Counting
So as some of you know, our farm and house are off grid. In nine years I’ve started our house furnace three times…
CK Pork is Off the Grid
Our entire farm is off the grid, a decision made years ago for economic reasons as well as environmental concerns. (The farm is former organic row crop acreage, far from utility poles and civilization.) The farmhouse, outbuildings and electric fencing for the pigs are powered by solar panels with battery storage. In addition, there is a small experimental wind-powered generator that “trickle” charges the batteries during stormy weather. We have a diesel generator backup for long stretches of cloudy days. The predictable prevailing afternoon winds also run the windmill that fills the water tanks. Windmills are a great example of an older technology that works splendidly under the right conditions…and it provides an enchanting sunset silhouette on the...