Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
New Scythe Video
I just posted a new instructional scythe video on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzdjOkLQw1s The first part of the video shows the cutting action of the blade, and basic mowing form. The second part explains the advanced field mowing form that incorporates an exaggerated side-to-side weight-shift, that turns mowing with a scythe, into quest for perpetual motion.
I learned this advanced technique from Peter Vido at the 2006 International Scythe Symposium in Canada. The technique was developed by Peter and it is a MAJOR INNOVATION in the use of the scythe. The Austrians have tradionally mowed in-circle, powering their cutting stroke by moving their arms & shoulders, and twisting their torsos. Some regions even had the tradition of incorporating a squat into the motion! At the opposite of the spectrum, the Basques traditionally mow by pulling their scythes from right to left in a nearly straight line. Peter Vido studied both these techniques, and combining the two, into an innovative new style of mowing, which he likens to the Cloud Hands Form in Tai Chi. Combining the full half circle mowing technique of the Austrians, with the lateral, side-to-side movement of the Basques, results in a full, half-oval of a scythe stroke, that cuts a swath that's more than 1 1/2 x the height of the mower, ...with ease!
Competition mowers had cut swaths this wide before, (with super-long blades and heroic bursts of effort!), but this is really the first mowing technique to quest after a much greater efficiency of mowing sytle. Peter called his new style "Mowing with Ease" and began to develop a new style of snath that would fascilitate this new technique. Although scythe blade design had been greatly improved over the centuries, snath design had remained comparatively pretty basic. This had been further impeded by the modern need to supply scythes by mail-order. Low cost and shipability had become the priority. Some of the results of Peter Vido's ongoing research and development, is available from Scythe Network retailers, and also myself. The Swiss snaths that I sell were designed with Peter Vido's input.
I learned this advanced technique from Peter Vido at the 2006 International Scythe Symposium in Canada. The technique was developed by Peter and it is a MAJOR INNOVATION in the use of the scythe. The Austrians have tradionally mowed in-circle, powering their cutting stroke by moving their arms & shoulders, and twisting their torsos. Some regions even had the tradition of incorporating a squat into the motion! At the opposite of the spectrum, the Basques traditionally mow by pulling their scythes from right to left in a nearly straight line. Peter Vido studied both these techniques, and combining the two, into an innovative new style of mowing, which he likens to the Cloud Hands Form in Tai Chi. Combining the full half circle mowing technique of the Austrians, with the lateral, side-to-side movement of the Basques, results in a full, half-oval of a scythe stroke, that cuts a swath that's more than 1 1/2 x the height of the mower, ...with ease!
Competition mowers had cut swaths this wide before, (with super-long blades and heroic bursts of effort!), but this is really the first mowing technique to quest after a much greater efficiency of mowing sytle. Peter called his new style "Mowing with Ease" and began to develop a new style of snath that would fascilitate this new technique. Although scythe blade design had been greatly improved over the centuries, snath design had remained comparatively pretty basic. This had been further impeded by the modern need to supply scythes by mail-order. Low cost and shipability had become the priority. Some of the results of Peter Vido's ongoing research and development, is available from Scythe Network retailers, and also myself. The Swiss snaths that I sell were designed with Peter Vido's input.
Friday, October 9, 2009
My 14 year old daughter, and her best friend were lamenting about the news that Obama wants to make the school year longer. I told them that Obama wants them to be as educated as possible, to meet the challenges that are coming. "Like what?" they asked. "Like Climate Change and Peak Oil, for example.", I said.
They said that they thought that hydrogen was the solution. I said it might be, if we could figure out a way to produce it that in didn't itself require much energy. That's the trouble with all the alternative energy sources that we have developed so far. The return on the energy expended to create the energy, is much smaller than it has been with the easy to get at oil. Oil has been an amazing gift, in hindsight. Since it's such a finite resource (and one that causes pollution!), it's too bad that we've used up, and squandered so much of it. It's not that the Earth is running out of Oil; it's running out of the oil that takes the least amount of energy to get. Now, the deeper they drill, and the smaller the oil fields, the more energy it's going to take to get it out, and the more expensive it's going to be.
Grain prices tripled between 2006 - 2008. The more expensive Oil becomes, the more expensive, machine grown and distributed, food will become. I told them about what Pfeiffer had written in his article "Eating Fossil Fuels".
They were incredulous. "OMG! You mean, we are all going to die?!"
I said, "No, no. That's just the worse-case scenario. That would only happen if we continue as we have been, and don't change the way we do anything. We're not THAT stupid!"
They said that they thought that hydrogen was the solution. I said it might be, if we could figure out a way to produce it that in didn't itself require much energy. That's the trouble with all the alternative energy sources that we have developed so far. The return on the energy expended to create the energy, is much smaller than it has been with the easy to get at oil. Oil has been an amazing gift, in hindsight. Since it's such a finite resource (and one that causes pollution!), it's too bad that we've used up, and squandered so much of it. It's not that the Earth is running out of Oil; it's running out of the oil that takes the least amount of energy to get. Now, the deeper they drill, and the smaller the oil fields, the more energy it's going to take to get it out, and the more expensive it's going to be.
Grain prices tripled between 2006 - 2008. The more expensive Oil becomes, the more expensive, machine grown and distributed, food will become. I told them about what Pfeiffer had written in his article "Eating Fossil Fuels".
They were incredulous. "OMG! You mean, we are all going to die?!"
I said, "No, no. That's just the worse-case scenario. That would only happen if we continue as we have been, and don't change the way we do anything. We're not THAT stupid!"
Monday, October 5, 2009
50 Million Sold
Last Saturday I went to a potluck dinner after the local Solar Tour. The subject that I import and sell scythes came up, and two of the people there said that they had heard of me, but didn't know how find me, so they just ordered from Scythe Supply and the Marugg Company.
So, local people can't figure out how to find me, and therefore order lesser quality scythes from Maine and Tennessee. I too ship scythes all over the USA. In the past 3 weeks, I've sent scythes to Vermont, New York, South Carolina, Texas, and even Australia. So some people are indeed able to find me. When I survey those people on how they found me, they say they searched around on Google for a while. The key seems to be to search "for a while". In a Google search of just the word "scythe", I appear on page 12, which is apparently what a lot of people do. Right away, they find Scythe Supply and Scythe Connection and order from them. Type in a second word like Austrian, or mowing, or Wisconsin or blade, and I also appear on page 1, but that's not what most people do. To appear higher on the one word search, apparently it helps to have the first word of your scythe business name be "scythe"!
My scythe business has outgrown my old-fashioned Mystic Prairie website. To plan ahead for the "50 million scythes" that this country is going to need after Peak Oil, I've decided to start a new website just for my scythe business. Even though I would prefer to continue calling it the Mystic Prairie Scythe Shop, most people searching on Google wouldn't be able to find me. So I need a new name. Ideally one that, of course, start's with the word "scythe". I have some ideas, but I'm also open to suggestions. This blog can do polls, so I'm going to try it out and take a survey of what name people would prefer my new website to be called. Please participate in the poll, and also let me know if you have any other name suggestions.
So, local people can't figure out how to find me, and therefore order lesser quality scythes from Maine and Tennessee. I too ship scythes all over the USA. In the past 3 weeks, I've sent scythes to Vermont, New York, South Carolina, Texas, and even Australia. So some people are indeed able to find me. When I survey those people on how they found me, they say they searched around on Google for a while. The key seems to be to search "for a while". In a Google search of just the word "scythe", I appear on page 12, which is apparently what a lot of people do. Right away, they find Scythe Supply and Scythe Connection and order from them. Type in a second word like Austrian, or mowing, or Wisconsin or blade, and I also appear on page 1, but that's not what most people do. To appear higher on the one word search, apparently it helps to have the first word of your scythe business name be "scythe"!
My scythe business has outgrown my old-fashioned Mystic Prairie website. To plan ahead for the "50 million scythes" that this country is going to need after Peak Oil, I've decided to start a new website just for my scythe business. Even though I would prefer to continue calling it the Mystic Prairie Scythe Shop, most people searching on Google wouldn't be able to find me. So I need a new name. Ideally one that, of course, start's with the word "scythe". I have some ideas, but I'm also open to suggestions. This blog can do polls, so I'm going to try it out and take a survey of what name people would prefer my new website to be called. Please participate in the poll, and also let me know if you have any other name suggestions.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Peak Oil
I don't like being an alarmist, but the aftermath of Peak Oil may happen quicker and be worse than even I ever imagined! I just read "Eating Fossil Fuels" by Dale Allen Pfeiffer, (See http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/100303_eating_oil.html ), and personally I'm very alarmed by it.
What's especially maddening to me, is that, as usual, we could actually do a lot to miticate the forseeable effects of Peak Oil and Climate Change, by acting NOW! Instead, this country just stands there on the deck of the "Titanic" argueing about whether the "iceberg" seen up ahead is real or not! Just turn the damn boat!!
Pfeiffer's article really validates my long-held theory that the only sustainable future for agriculture is to have many more farmers (millions!), growing much more nutritious food, on very small farms, and using natural farming techniques and handtools such as the scythe, and the u-bar digger, etc., instead of machines.
I'm not the only one thinking along these lines. In "Growing Food After Peak Oil", Richard Heinberg states that the key to continued food production after Peak Oil is more farmers! 40-50 million of them! (Wow! That would be a lot of scythes! I'd better get busy!) He's talking about farms ranging in size from 3-50 acres farmed mostly with hand labor. ( See http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/Archives2008/HeinbergFiftyMillion.html )
What's especially maddening to me, is that, as usual, we could actually do a lot to miticate the forseeable effects of Peak Oil and Climate Change, by acting NOW! Instead, this country just stands there on the deck of the "Titanic" argueing about whether the "iceberg" seen up ahead is real or not! Just turn the damn boat!!
Pfeiffer's article really validates my long-held theory that the only sustainable future for agriculture is to have many more farmers (millions!), growing much more nutritious food, on very small farms, and using natural farming techniques and handtools such as the scythe, and the u-bar digger, etc., instead of machines.
I'm not the only one thinking along these lines. In "Growing Food After Peak Oil", Richard Heinberg states that the key to continued food production after Peak Oil is more farmers! 40-50 million of them! (Wow! That would be a lot of scythes! I'd better get busy!) He's talking about farms ranging in size from 3-50 acres farmed mostly with hand labor. ( See http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/Archives2008/HeinbergFiftyMillion.html )
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