Sugaring Off Starts in March!

We are still in the heart of winter when preparations begin for making Maple Syrup and Maple Sugar.  But Sugaring Off holds the promise that the trees know spring is on its way.  The sap flow that will awaken the trees from their winter sleep and cause buds to burst into leaves is also the flow we tap to make syrup.  Maple syrup is distilled sunshine and the promise of winter end.

Our farmers are busy washing buckets, sorting spiles, and preparing the ox cart for another seasons work.

The fire arch will be rebuild on the grounds, the boiling pan and pots scrubbed clean, and firewood stacked for another seasons work.

To see this late-winter burst of activity come to our Sugaring-Off Sundays, every Sunday in March.  Admission gets you a free Pancake breakfast with real maple syrup.  After breakfast you can wander the grounds, watch the farmers collect and boil sap, and visit with me in the Blacksmith Shop!

Casting Pewter Spoons: Part I

Our blacksmith shop does some metalwork beyond just forging iron.  One recent project is the casting of pewter spoons using bronze molds.  We are fortunate to have both original and reproduction spoons molds.  These are bronze two part molds.  A clamped mold is in use on the left, and an open mold is lying to the right in this photo.

Pewter is a low temperature alloy of tin.  We use modern, lead-free pewter.  It is melted in a steel ladle over the fire in the coal forge. 

The halves are clamped together.  Then molten pewter is poured into the mold.  When the mold has chilled it is opened to reveal the spoon.

Not every pour results in a perfect spoon.  Skill and knowledge play a part in successful casting.  The metal must be at the right temperature and free of dross.  The pour needs to be smooth and uninterrupted.  If the mold is not clamped tightly it leaks molten metal!  These can all lead to an incomplete spoon.  Sometimes the failures become interesting sculptures!

Winter Weather

It has been a moderate winter for The Farmers’ Museum, regardless of the storms that have set records on the East coast and in the South. The Farmers' Museum is located slightly South and an hour’s drive West of Albany. Our snow storms are more likely to come from the Great Lakes than from the Atlantic. With about two feet of snow on the ground and the temperature dropping into the single digits, it has been an average winter for us. The frost and snow does provide a beautiful but austere background for our historic buildings.

Our barns may be over 200 years old, but still do the job of keeping out the wind and snow. The sparrows take advantage of the barns to find a warm perch.

The sheep are kept inside if the wind, snow, and cold are too fierce. But they are naturally well equipped for the weather and like to be outside most days. As ruminates, they spend much of their day eating. A little snow doesn’t bother them!

The Blacksmith’s Duel

Blacksmiths are under-represented in our literature, history books, and stories. The village blacksmith is now part of history. But there are some great stories about blacksmiths if you know were to look. The story below is about real people, but I suspect it has been remembered with a little more flair than accuracy. It is a great story.

ONE of the famous duelists of early New Orleans was Bernard Marigny, a member of one of Louisiana's oldest and most influential families, who was a master swordsman and a crack shot with a pistol. He was elected to the state Legislature in 1817 as a member of the House of Representatives and took an active and a leading part in the many disputes that arose between the Creoles and the Americans. At the same time Catahoula Parish was represented by James Humble, a blacksmith and a former resident of Georgia, who was noted for his great stature -- he stood almost seven feet in his stockings. The Georgian replied to one of Marigny's most impassioned speeches, and made various allusions so pointed and personal that the Creole considered himself grievously insulted, and challenged the blacksmith to a duel. Humble sought the advice of a friend.

"I will not fight him," he said. "I know nothing of this dueling business." 
"You must," his friend protested. "No gentleman can refuse a challenge." 
"I'm not a gentleman," Humble retorted. "I'm only a blacksmith."

HUMBLE was assured that he would be mined both politically and socially if he declined to meet the Creole. His friend pointed out that as the challenged person the blacksmith had the choice of weapons and could so choose as to put himself on equal terms with his adversary.

HUMBLE considered the matter for a day or two and then sent this reply to Marigny: "I accept your challenge, and in the exercise of my privilege, I stipulate that the duel shall take place in Lake Pontchartrain in six feet of water, sledge-hammers to be used as weapons."

SINCE Marigny was less than five feet and eight inches tall and so slight that he could scarcely lift a sledge-hammer, this was giving Humble an equal chance with a vengeance. The Creole's friends urged him to stand on a box and run the risk of having his skull cracked by the huge blacksmith's hammer, but Marigny declared that it was impossible for him to fight a man with such a sense of humor. Instead he apologized to Humble, and the two became firm friends.”

Quoted from Great American Folklore : legends, tales, ballads, and superstitions from all across America. Compiled by Kemp P. Battle ; illustrated by John M. Battle. Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, c1986. Pg. 121, 122.

The Farm, the Chickens, and the Hawk!

Farms have always had the challenge of being part of the larger ecosystem. That tie to the larger world has been a challenge for the Lippitt Farm this winter. First in December a Fox spent several weeks trying to eat our Cayuga Ducks. Raccoons raided our barn and ate over a bushel of seed corn. Now in January a Hawk has been preying upon our Chickens. Our farm seems to have exactly the same problems that our predecessors would have had in 1845. It isn’t easy to keep wildlife from seeing the farm as a source of food!

Our historic farm has a lot of livestock and poultry through the winter even though the visitors are not here to see them. That is because many of our animals are rare or historic breeds. If we want to have them we must raise them ourselves. The farmers are working at the farm and are in the barns every day. Their vigilance prevented the fox from succeeding, and led to the capture and relocation of a chicken-thieving hawk!

Here is a first-hand account of our adventures with the hawk from Marieanne Coursen, one of our farmers:

I saw a hawk sitting on the barnyard fence. I scolded it and it flew off only to land on the fence on the other side of the Brook barn. That night I had a terrible time getting the chickens into the henhouse. Three of them were hiding in the sheep pen and would not be chased out. I thought sure they would come out once I let the sheep in but no. I finally managed to get them out and into the henhouse. Then I had to search for the rest of the chickens. I found a few more cowering in corners but came up short of 2 of them.

On Thursday we discovered a hawk in the granary. It would not fly out. Just kept flying in the peak and did not want to come down low enough to fly through the door. I took a few pictures of it and they are attached. Isn't it ironic that a hawk got the chickens after all the trouble with the foxes and raccoons?

The hawk ended up spending 2 nights in the granary because it just would not fly out. On Thursday Ray (the trapper) caught it with a net and took it away. I wish it could have stayed because the sparrows got pretty scarce while it was around.”

We think this was a Sharp Shinned Hawk or a Coopers Hawk. If any readers are knowledgeable on the subject please reply and let us know the breed of this hawk. Just as our predecessors would in 1845 we can only respond by being vigilant and keeping the barns locked up tight at night. Hopefully this will be the end of our adventures with hungry wildlife this winter.

Blacksmiths Seeking Knowledge: Traveling to Conferences and Hammer-ins

In two weeks time I have made two trips, spent 6 days driving, and covered 2,400 miles to get to Blacksmith’s conferences and Hammer-ins. My travels illustrate the lengths to which Blacksmiths will go to network and add to their skills. There are events large and small at all times of the year and all across the nation. This is the culmination of a long road that began with the first National Blacksmithing Conference in 1973.

One on one tutorial classes such as we offer at The Farmers’ Museum are one of the fastest ways to develop new skills. Memberships in educational organizations are another good way to learn new skills and meet others interested in blacksmithing. There are over 50 organizations nationwide. All hold educational workshops called “hammer-ins”. They may teach everything from basic skills to advanced classes in forge welding, tool making, or other needed skills.

Here are a few notable Hammer-in’s and events planned for this year by organizations that seek to preserve and teach about blacksmithing.

April & September 2010. Northeastern Blacksmiths spring Hammer-in at Ashokan, NY. http://www.northeastblacksmiths.org/index.htm

April & October 2010. New York State Designer Blacksmiths Spring & Fall Hammer-ins. More information should be available on the web site in coming months. http://www.nysdb.org/

June 2-5^th, 2010: Artist Blacksmith Assoc. of North America’s conference in Memphis, Tenn. This is huge event, with demonstrators and attendees for around the world. http://www.abana.org/business/Conference_division.shtml

Sept. 24, 25 & 26 Quad State Conference 2010: Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil’s Quad State Roundup. This may be the largest annual blacksmithing event in the U.S., and possibly in the world. There are at least 4 demonstrators presenting at a time, near 1,000 guests, and is a great place to find new and old tools. http://www.sofablacksmiths.org/

This is just a small sampling of the conferences and learning opportunities this year.

Blacksmith Conferences

How can someone learn more about blacksmithing? Find and join the nearest blacksmithing organization. The U.S. is fortunate to have a nationwide organization (ABANA) as well as more than 50 state and regional organizations. These are non-profit groups run by volunteers with the goal of preserving and teaching the art of blacksmithing.

I have just returned from the "6^th Annual Bill Gichner Memorial Hammer In" held by the Mid Atlantic Smiths Association. It is an example of the best features of a mid-sized blacksmith’s conference. The conference was held in a huge maintenance barn on a family farm in Maryland. The conference started with a huge Friday dinner and continued until after lunch on Sunday. Meals were provided as part of the conference fee, and I have never eaten better at a conference. The shrimp boil was my particular favorite.

There were two demonstrators that demonstrated by turn in 1.5 hour stints. The demonstrators, Kim Thomas and Pat Livengood, focused on methods to make classic elements of European inspired ironwork. Their work can be seen at: http://www.mastersinwroughtiron.com/. They worked right in front of the crowd, answered questions, and even held a slide show of their work in the evening after dinner. Easygoing and skilled demonstrators, they engage the audience and shared a tremendous amount of knowledge.

Pat Livengood started smithing as a farrier, and still works with the speed and dispatch of someone working on a deadline. A horse will stand for you only so long! His work at the anvil shows how to move metal smoothly and precisely. Pat’s demonstration featured using a 10 inch metal ring as the frame for beautiful ironwork. Here is an example of his work:

Kim Thomas’s presentations focused on using modern structural iron to provide shortcuts to making accurate German inspired scrollwork. He used a number of drawings to demonstrate how to train your eye to see the simple forms within a complex form. If you are interested in Colonial American or European iron then their demonstration is worthwhile.