![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTLnXMEbxBANSeVBPLFZEtvTnftqyWq6j22ybL7zTjGpc/image.png)
Hello, we have been a member of the community since Sunday 5/6/18. Over the weekend my son, ryan313, and his family came to our farm in Upstate New York for the weekend. He got me all hooked up with Steemit. I have been thinking about what it is that I can bring to the community.  Well here we go.
To begin with a little backround may be a good place to start. Both my wife and myself have recently retired. Robin was a Xray Technician for 35 years and I retired from teaching.  I taught special education for 37 years and loved every minute of it. I worked with emotionally handicapped students, what a challenge. The daily rewards of working with these young people will be with me the rest of my life. Besides teaching, I love working with wood, building speciality furniture  and other unique pieces. We have four children and six grandchildren, our latest being my son Derrick's first child, a beautiful little girl named Payton.
My wife Robin likes to say that we live off of the grid and to some extent we do as we live on a dirt road in a town called McDonough, population 535. We have owned this property since 1978 and I build the home we are living in in 1985. It is here that we have built so many memories, and it is here where many of our passions have been nurtured. 
For those community members who love the outdoors and just old clean living, I hope you find my blogs interesting and maybe somewhat informative. 
Just to give you a preview of what you may find on our future blogs, we will give you a little taste of the content. 
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTF4G7sCKKErdgMUk6MNKMYNUL7VpfSvifKUDZMdj3Lby/image.png)
MAKING MAPLE SYRUP AND COLLECTING SAP
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdKu2d1XpDE5HwvBKawf9Qhxbv4cYtLawqT3V3a3hDExz/image.png)
GROWING VENEER GRADE TIMBER INCLUDING BLACK WALNUT, FIGURED POPLAR, AND CHERRY 
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRApeDHqBxED79AhNyd49v2q3mypAAdNhGywi8NQVkMvB/image.png)
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNUrvx9uyGEdEJnaL8yECoDJAV5NSmWy63Bd6zQaKQigb/image.png)
GROWING HOPS AND BEER MAKING
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeqfgDoBKCZi7r3mYmUTbuEtmgKHNims81Hq5Lnnum636/image.png)
ORGANIC GARDENING
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUH1U9qPuicv1cxx4G4JQTYRnPQXdAg39gtEXNEpEn8Si/image.png)
BACK SAVING RAISED BEDS
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmciiJbw9whKGsPLQpEyGXSubBotNJPsm2iyje7ZtzzzVm/image.png)
BLUEBERRIES GALORE
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSPgkhzr8n2bM3B5ymL1i47RsRafS38jcezgYextc5LaW/image.png)
BLUEBERRIES READY TO STORE

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWmioVPQVRdEZHE2uQb8TPYW6g5rLqudeGjJ8jyaxNFr5/image.png)
FURNITURE BUILDING

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbN56ZqMcCUaoAiYMxPDFBWRTgBC6kiLuFsnLVncBWncC/image.png)
MILLING LUMBER
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdUJuTPLZoGBAJVDWpsPhg7mJdCKeiMHWpxjtEsByJ5na/image.png)
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY6xHoJsS5opsnr6G2JVgXwR17jFqss1LDrLRRuZxgXh3/image.png)
HARVESTING AND PRESERVING ORGANIC VEGGIES   

We hope you find some of this content interesting. Future posts will explain and demonstrate the subject matter found above in greater detail. Have a great day and stay tuned as we bring you projects from the farm.  
Thanks again thebigsweed