This started as a draft of a reply to a farmer advertising for workers on Gab. He mentioned that it's a "Christian farm." He is 500 miles away. I'd consider leaving within 24 hours, as of late May, 2026.
I'm a Christian by the strict definitions and a number of other beliefs / assessments of data. With that said, I find vast swaths of "Christians" to be very annoying, to say the least. I'm willing to have a medium-long theological / "political" discussion.
I'll give my thumbnail resume for farming. Note that I'm using my real name, so I am easy to find. I'm active on X, somewhat active on Gab, and I have a website with my resume and megabytes of other stuff.
I spent 5 non-consecutive weeks on Hugh Lovel's biodynamic farm in Blairsville, GA in the mid-90s. It was called Union [County, GA] Agricultural Institute at the time. Hugh wanted me to stay. Why I didn't is perhaps relevant to discuss later. I'm just as able-bodied as I was then.
I've fed and sometimes led horses a number of times over the last 2 years. I've sometimes been the only one feeding and watering two horses for days on end.
I've taken care of chickens for weeks at a time. I have faced down ornery roosters and have defeated their pride without damaging them.
I had to do the same with one bull. I've spent a good deal of time in cow pastures as walking trails, with the owner's permission. It took around 3 years before a bull considered killing me. I thought the bull was going to be turned into cheese steak after my first bull fight, but there was a sad case of mistaken identity, and the wrong bull was summarily executed. Thus, I had a second bull fight with the same bull. I won both fights and only damaged the bull's pride by successfully bluffing it. The first time, standing my ground and staring it down worked. The second time I had to take a sumo wrestler position and give a battle cry like a barbarian chief. (I'm not at all fat, so I can't be a sumo wrestler, but that's what the position reminded me of.) Both times he charged me twice, and I had to do the same thing twice.
The point being that I know the dangers of bulls. I'm not going to rely on previous techniques. I'm open to suggestions for better bull management.
I was (very, very easily) accepted to auto mechanic / tech school and got within a few days of starting classes. Admission was easy because I was qualified for big time academic stuff, let alone trade school. I'd done moderately complex work on my car before that. I dislike applications / bureaucratic processes, yet I considered auto tech school seriously enough that I went through the process. I might have been happier if I took that path. Once again, why I didn't take the path may be relevant, and maybe I should address that in later editions of this.
I've done a handful of small car repairs lately. I installed a flush valve in the toilet recently. It's worked without leaking for months.
I did several hours of paid, very heavy manual labor 2+ years ago. I was ready to do more, but I was recruited by a friend for what was presumably higher-value work. Once again, I probably should have stuck to manual labor.
The point being that I'm ready to go down such paths, and I've been interested for decades.
I just remembered that as I child I collected a larger and larger potted plant collection. Rubber trees that got huge. A cactus raised from a seedling that got 4 feet tall. Maybe I had twelve of them. I can see them in my mind around and on the hearth. I must have been 7 - 8 when I started collecting. They all lasted through college. I think my family whittled it down when I was gone to college, and I gave some plants away when I moved out of that house. Maybe some are still alive. I have no idea how long they can last.
I may have "brewed" 100 gallons in 1995 and 1996. I remember five people who regularly drank it, and there were plenty of others. I sold one gallon. No one got sick.