Modern Transcendentalists

"All knowledge transcendental, which is concerned not with objects but with our mode of knowing objects."  
 --Emmanuel Kant, Philosopher


"The materialist, secure in the certainty of sensation, mocks at fine-spun theories, at star-gazers and dreamers, and believes that his life is solid, that he at least takes nothing for granted, but knows where he stands, and what he does. 
Yet how easy it is to show him, that he also is a phantom walking and working amid phantoms, and that he need only ask a question or two beyond his daily questions, to find his solid universe growing dim and impalpable before his sense.
The sturdy capitalist, no matter how deep and square on blocks of Quincy granite he lays the foundations of his banking-house or Exchange, must set it, at last, not on a cube corresponding to the angles of his structure, but on a mass of unknown materials and solidity, red-hot or white-hot, perhaps at the core, which rounds off to an almost perfect sphericity, and lies floating in soft air, and goes spinning away, dragging bank and banker with it at a rate of thousands of miles the hour, he knows not whither, — a bit of bullet, now glimmering, now darkling through a small cubic space on the edge of an unimaginable pit of emptiness. 

And this wild balloon, in which his whole venture is embarked, is a just symbol of his whole state and faculty. One thing, at least, he says is certain, and does not give me the headache, that figures do not lie; the multiplication table has been hitherto found unimpeachable truth; and, moreover, if I put a gold eagle in my safe, I find it again to-morrow — but for these thoughts, I know not whence they are. 
They change and pass away. But ask him why he believes that an uniform experience will continue uniform, or on what grounds he founds his faith in his figures, and he will perceive that his mental fabric is built up on just as strange and quaking foundations as his proud edifice of stone."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson, Lectures, January 1842

"It is well known to most of my audience, that the Idealism of the present day acquires the name of Transcendentalism." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Whatever is unintelligible would certainly be transcendental." --Edgar Allen Poe

All true, still true today, the Modern Transcendentalist.

Spring Time Planning, Planting

With the day lengthening, the winter turning mild, many look to the arrival of fair weather--Spring! Why not plan and plant a garden? Not to worry--Nature has a lot invested in the success of your garden.
Choose vegetables you like, those that are your favorites will be best. You will not be pleased with an abundance of vegetables you prefer on occasion. Plan your garden space accordingly. It 's not necessary to have a large garden. For many families a space of eight feet by ten feet will be sufficient. Many vegetables may be grown both spring and again in fall, leaving the hotter summer open for others like tomatoes, melons and eggplant.
When choosing, seeds are adapted to your environment. Choose the ones for your area. Plant them according to the package directions, water and they will grow! Weed your garden and provide nutrients. Grass clippings, compost made with the waste produced in your kitchen, leaves chopped or composted in the fall will all provide food for your plants and mulch to conserve water as well.


Don't forget fruit trees!They are pretty with flowers in the spring and luscious with fruit afterward. They also produce at different times. For example, cherries in May and June, apples as early as late July, peaches and pears in August and September. From them you will have fresh fruit, pies, jams, or anything your appetite inspires.
For a family of four, two "dwarf" to medium sized trees each of any type of fruit is plenty, and may be too much some years. Don't forget small fruits like strawberry, raspberries or grapes!

Many locales now permit small numbers of chickens, ducks or rabbits; some allow goats; if yours does, you may be able to almost entirely feed your household like many of our great grandparents did. Enjoy the satisfaction of your own home grown table. Enjoy the calm of the garden, the reduction of time spent as a consumer shopping, driving, and always be confident about your food. After all, you grew it and you know how! Goodness is in the garden.

Trees Are Food For Bees!

While there is increased concern for the lowly and yet the mighty honey bee, apis mellifera, at the same time there is increased destruction of the worker bees' habitat. Large scale farming, recently in the drive for profits, has plowed up more and more land, ripped out more stands of trees and replaced them with crops such as corn and soybeans.

The problem with corn, and to a lesser extent soybeans, is that as a cereal grain, like grasses, is  pollinated by the wind. No bees needed and their pollen, an essential nutrient for honey bees, is not food available for them.
As for soybeans which do flower and are pollinated by a wide variety of insects, the honey bee doesn't figure large in that number. Researchers theorize why, but are still uncertain as to the avoidance of this particular crop. There is some perception that honey bees will visit soybean fields, but it is also thought that they do not prefer them when other forage is available.

Most know that bees however love flowers! They do, and they work certain flowers heavily for both nectar which provides carbohydrates to the bees and pollen which is their protein.

Few people are aware that many species of trees are very important to bees for both nectar and pollen! If you keep bees or if you want to feed bees, consider trees in your landscape.

A list of important trees for bees in the mid-west United States:

Willows, all types, including the French Pussy Willows

Bee working a Linden tree in bloom.

Sumac, all types
Elm, all types,
Oaks
Ash
Tulip
Linden, all types
Fruit trees, all types
Nut trees, all types


And more...

A Goat for Milking

Goats make excellent milkers for the small farmstead. They are very efficient users of feeds, converting more pound per pound to milk than a cow. They are smaller body size, intelligent and easily trained to milk. The equipment required to milk your doe is minimal. However the time you will invest in caring for your milking doe is large.
They must be milked twice daily without fail. If you cannot milk on any given occasion, you must find a substitute to do it for you. It cannot be postponed. If this seems unrealistic for you, then congratulate yourself on your good foresight. If, on the other hand, you have a home based lifestyle, then milking may easily fall into your routine of daily activities.

The main item you will require besides a 'freshened' doe, one who has kidded recently, and is lactating, is a milking stand and stool. A stanchion style milk stand is preferred by many. The doe will quickly enjoy her time on the stand if you give her grain rations there.Many does enjoy grooming with a rubber curry brush while on the stand. In addition when she is relieved of the pressure of her full udder, she will gladly allow you to milk her, once accustomed to this process.
As mentioned goats are quite agile; with some encouragement you can teach her to jump up onto the milk stand and receive her grain. Once she does this willingly, the stanchion bar is secured which allows her to move her head up and down, forward and look around but not back. This is important because you will be seated near her side to milk her. if she backs up milking is nearly impossible, and she will surely step into the milk pail and spoil the milk you've collected or tip it over. so always secure the stanchion bar when she jumps up onto the stand. If you find training your doe to jump up difficult, a ramp may be added to the stand for her to walk up onto it.

A few other items will be required in addition to the milking stand which you may make yourself or purchase ready-made. Stainless steel milking pans or pails, at least one of each; iodine compound for cleansing the udder just prior to milking or another approved product for this purpose; towels, soft brushes for cleaning milking equipment, milk filter paper, for filtering the milk after collection and a refrigerator kept at 38 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit in which to store the milk. Learning to milk really isn't hard; practice makes perfect, and you can laugh while you get the technique down.
Remember, it is very important to milk your doe each and every day at the same time or very close. Many does will become ill with Mastitis and a serious fever if you do not. For more details about the process of milking, consult your library, the Internet for videos or your extension agent. Contact the American Dairy Goat Association, located in North Carolina to learn about others in your area who have milking goats.

Goat milk when well handled is nutritious, good tasting and naturally homogenized. It is easily frozen for later use. Consult with a veterinarian or your state extension service to learn if any specific health tests are recommended for your milking animals. It is not unheard of for milking species to carry forms of tuberculosis or brucellosis; both diseases are transmittable to humans. For any sales of milk to others, your state may have several specific requirements. Learn what these are if you intend to sell any milk or milk products.

A final note, there is a specific breed of sheep which produces good quality milk, often used in yogurt or cheese making, the Holstein sheep; like the cow of the same name it originates from the same region of Europe. They are available in the United States about 20 years now. Check the internet or the breed association for breeders and locations.

For more about care of goats or sheep: http://oncollinspond.blogspot.com/2014/02/sheep-and-goats-small-farm.html

Exceeding the Usual Limits

Song of Myself
Verse 14

                                     ...The wild gander leads his flock through the cool night,

Ya-honk he says, and sounds it down to me like an invitation,
The pert may suppose it meaningless, but I listening close,
Find its purpose and place up there toward the wintry sky.

The sharp hoofed moose of the north, the cat on the house sill,
the chickadee, the prairie-dog,
The litter of the grunting sow as they tug at her teats,
The brood of the turkey-hen and 

she with her half-spread wings,
 

I see in them and myself the same old law.
The press of my foot to the earth springs a hundred
affections, they scorn the best I can do to relate them.

I am enamor'd of growing out-doors,
Of men that live among cattle or taste of the ocean or woods,
Of the builders and steer'rs of ships and the wielders of axes
and mauls, and the drivers of horses,
I can eat and sleep with them week in and week out.

What is commonest, cheapest, nearest, easiest, is Me,
Me going in for my chances, spending for vast returns,
Adorning myself to bestow myself on the
first that will take me,
Not asking the sky to come down to my good will,
Scattering it freely forever... 

~By Walt Whitman~

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

Burn high your fires, foundry chimneys! cast black shadows at

nightfall! cast red and yellow light over the tops of the houses!

Appearances, now or henceforth, indicate what you are,

You necessary film, continue to envelop the soul,

About my body for me, and your body for you, be hung our divinest aromas,

Thrive, cities—bring your freight, bring your shows, 

ample and sufficient rivers,

Expand, being than which none else is perhaps more spiritual,

Keep your places, objects than which none else is more lasting.

You have waited, you always wait, you dumb, beautiful ministers,

We receive you with free sense at last, and are insatiate henceforward,

Not you any more shall be able to foil us, or withhold yourselves from us,

We use you, and do not cast you aside—we plant you permanently within us,

We fathom you not—we love you—there is perfection in you also,

You furnish your parts toward eternity,

Great or small, you furnish your parts toward the soul.

~~Crossing Brooklyn Ferry~~

by Walt Whitman 1856

Welcome to On Collins Pond.

Collins Pond is a little bit of peace and tranquility around here. Some like to enjoy the sunshine; others like the nature or a chance to fish. There is a whole world waiting On Collins Pond.

We're under construction around here. Check back for this new blog!