Car Starting Hard After Fuel Fill Up / 5-Minute Fix

If your vehicle is starting hard, sounds like it’s flooded, or just won’t run after filling up, chances are there’s a quick, easy fix. It will take only two minutes to diagnose the problem, and only five minutes, one tool, and less than $30.00 to repair. If you car was manufactured in the last twenty years or so, the problem could be your evaporative purge valve. The evaporative purge valve (or just purge valve) is part of your vehicle’s evaporative emissions systems. If the valve fails and sticks open, it can cause some serious, but easily fixed problems. TOOLS NEEDED 10mm socket, ratchet, and extensionsmall scrap of paper TIME TO COMPLETE < 5 minutes COST: About $30(as of Jan 2022)

Making Corn Shock Decorations

It’s that time of year again. Time to get the homestead spruced up for Fall get togethers, for Halloween, and for the family visits for Thanksgiving. With just a few corn stalks, a tee post, and about ten minutes of work, you can put together these corn shock decorations. Add a few pumpkins and other seasonal ornaments and you’ve got the perfect holiday decoration. Good luck, and happy Fall!

Bee Hive

Setting Up the Bee Yard (Apiary)

Today we’re setting up the bee yard (apiary).  Okay, apiary might be a bit of an overstatement, given that we’re putting one nuc into one hive.  But this is the start of a bigger effort for us. We hope for beekeeping, and bee-related products, to be a key element in our homestead’s productivity. I’ll start by saying that I over-engineered our apiary (big surprise).  What I’ve done here is not in any way necessary to get good results with your bees. But I really wanted this to be an effective, efficient, low-maintenance place to put my first four or five hives. And I think I’ve succeeded. Doing the Work to Establish Our Hive I started by marking out the boundaries