Raising Heritage Turkeys - much easier than we thought!

Two of Valhalla's turkey poults at three days old
(a Narragansett on the left and a Midget White on
the right). Even at this young age they were fearless,
extremely friendly, and endlessly curious.

I admit we were intimidated by the idea of having turkeys. We had read articles and books about turkeys, spoke to others who had raised them, and were therefore very worried about their fragility, proclivity for disease, apparent willingness to keel over dead for the slightest reason, and overall stupidity. After all, when you read that "turkey poults need to be immediately hand-fed both food and water the moment you receive them or else they won't learn what to do by themselves," it can be kinda scary.

One difficult thing about raising birds or any other animals is the fear that we'll be inadequate stewards and lose them through unwitting neglect.

But we took stock: Valhalla had already successfully raised newly hatched Guinea fowl, Ancona ducks, and Freedom Ranger chicks, plus also successfully cared for month-old Khaki Campbell ducks. We were committed to Heritage breeds and turkeys were listed high on our wish list for poultry. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (an excellent organization of which we are members) lists 13 varieties of turkeys that range from "Critical" to "Study." An alarming 7 varieties are listed as either Critical or Threatened.

Consequently we thought that we were duty-bound to make the effort, though we had been forewarned about the perils of attempting to raise them. We selected two varieties: Midget Whites (critical status) because they are smaller than conventional turkeys, very friendly, and good foragers; and Narragansetts (threatened) who have similar personality characteristics but are larger and historically important as descendants of original turkeys brought from Europe and the American wild turkey. We ordered from Stromberg's in Minnesota and were impressed with the quality of poults that were delivered healthy and exactly when they were supposed to arrive.

By the way, most responsible hatcheries require a minimum order so that the little birds can stay warm enough by sharing body heat during shipping. Minimum for turkeys is 16 and we were allowed to split the order with 8 Midget Whites and 8 Narragansetts. As noted, most of the two-day old poults were squirming to get out of the box when they arrived.

The water trough brooder worked well for chicken
chicks, but the tiny turkey poults outgrew it in just
over a week! Their legs grew so fast that they looked
like tiny fluff-balls on stilts, regularly crashing into the
overhead screens while leaping around trying to fly.

Being cautious we dipped their beaks in water and then in food right away before gently placing them in the brooder that had been prepared beforehand using a large galvanized water trough. Usually before we could reach for the next poult, the previous one was already dashing between waterer and feeder - quite unaware that they were supposed to be too stupid to find them on their own.

Only one was distressed on arrival. The tiny Narragansett seemed to have been shoved into a corner by the others during shipping and appeared dead or dying. Refusing to give up on him, we dipped his beak into the water as we had the others, and after the third or fourth effort he suddenly drank and very suddenly popped his eyes open. Then we continued to hold him, dip the beak repeatedly and as he grew stronger, dipped it into the food where he began to nibble. Back to the water; back to the food. Within just a few minutes he was strong enough to walk and take nourishment by himself. He still seems to be a bit vision impaired to this day, but keeps up with the flock while they range and is otherwise quite healthy.

We checked them frequently, changed their water, added food, put in fresh litter, always constantly waiting for them to start dying off. But, they didn't die as per what the literature warned about. They didn't even die at all. By day three, when they were flying all over the brooder whenever we lifted the cover, Chris noted, "I don't think these guys are as sensitive as people say."

Every bird got handled at least twice daily. We'd reach in, pick up a chirping poult, and gently pet and talk to it until it calmed down, then release it back to the flock. We noticed that the Narragansetts became accustomed to handling faster than the Midget Whites, but neither variety seemed terribly upset by the procedure. Unlike other birds we raised, these guys look you in the eye when you hold them as if you ask, "So, who are you and what's going on here?"

One thing that caught us by surprise is how fast these turkeys grow.

We were able to keep Guinea fowl and chickens in the small brooder for a few weeks with no problems, but by the end of week two the turkeys were jumping, flying, and banging off the overhead fly screen. Time for a quick fix!

We were worried - remember all those turkey horror stories? - because we had read that turkeys have almost zero immune system for 12 weeks and couldn't be safely exposed to outside sources of potential disease. And we were a long way from that time. Heck, we had just started. Worse, the literature constantly repeated the dire need to tightly control brooder temperatures at all times, and that's exactly when the heat wave hit here at Valhalla with the mercury soaring over 110F for days at a time: too hot for people, and way too hot for tiny turkeys in a metal brooder outside!

The new brooder in the living room, where the turkey
poults could be more easily monitored within a
temperature-controlled environment during an
extreme heat wave.

So Chris quickly designed a brooder for the air conditioned living room. This one was going to be a cage on waist-high feet 10 feet long, 3 feet deep, and 2 feet high. Plenty of room for the 16 frisky poults to run around, hop on things, and even fly a bit. We left a gap in the top so we could hang warming lights and put two hinged access doors on the front to ease changing water, feeding, adding bedding, and handling. They were moved without serious incident.

The poults investigating a new toy for the first time.
Within minutes they were ringing the bell and having
contests to see how many times they could peck a
tiny yellow bead at the top of the string of spheres.

We added some "toys" for them to play with - a plastic cup, a few blocks of wood, and some dangling things with mirrors and bells (the kind commonly sold for pet canaries) and they seemed to enjoy themselves enormously. An interesting point for all young birds: they get bored easily and are prone to pick at each other. Toys and distractions keep them occupied and keep little beaks from pecking their brothers and sisters. They clearly loved watching us go about our business during the day, but above all, the poults were absolutely obsessed with learning to fly.

In fact, they had such a good time flying the length of the brooder and trampoline-ing off the fly screen at the end that they caused a minor incident. One afternoon we heard them all loudly chirping and carrying on for some unknown reason; Chris raced into the living room to see what the problem was while I strolled in at a more reasonable pace behind her. We were stunned to watch them dart out of the hole they had knocked in the fly screen and hop to the floor.

KK the cat with the turkeys he almost ate just weeks
ago. They grew, KK. They're still growing, too.
And they're still not afraid of you.

However, we were not nearly as stunned as the three Valhalla cats who were slack-jawed watching it rain birds, practically on top of them. The poults were completely at ease, showing that in this case ignorance was indeed bliss. They had no idea that both Vixen and KK regularly capture and eat much bigger wild birds without hesitation, while Joker has clumsily mangled more than a few himself.

Before any of our mesmerized feline Valhallans could snap to their senses and do the natural cat thing, Chris began scooping up arm loads of cats while I shuttled poults back into the brooder. Time to upgrade to hardware cloth, which we were able to do without further incident.

All that was nine weeks ago. As soon as we were able we transferred them outside into their own predator-safe house with a small fenced area to run in. With a warm (hot) spring and early summer it was quick. After they got big enough to fly out we put a net over the yard to keep them in. Finally, we took a look and decided that they were ready to free range with the rest of the birds.

One of Valhalla's nine week old Midget White turkeys giving a
lecture on the evolution of animal husbandry practices from
biblical times to the present (translations currently unavailable).

That was another "problem" that turned into a non-issue. Everything we read (exception: Joel Salatin's books) issued dire warnings not only against raising turkeys with chickens and other poultry but even having the two breeds on the same farm. Good grief.

Wait a minute, we thought. These are heritage birds. Early farmers were generalists by necessity, not specialists by choice. They had a few of everything all of which ran together. Maybe in over-crowded confinement conditions all these warnings and excessive medications are necessary, but these birds need to join their fellows running around the open fields that surround the house all day long.

We opened the door and never turned back.

All birds on the property are trained to instantly
come when called with a green bowl. Whenever any
of the turkeys, ducks, or chickens begin drifting into
the forests - where the foxes, coyotes, and other
predators live - simply picking up the green bowl
will cause a joyous stampede back to safety.

True, we lock them up at night as a safeguard from local predators (we have plenty ranging from hawks and owls to raccoons, possum, fox, coyote, bobcat, and even a panther that was heard and spotted nearby). Everybody but the Guineas get locked up; they opted for the trees all on their own and so they hide there at night. During the day the yard becomes a poultry free-for-all. Guineas chase the chickens, who chase the ducks, who chase the Guineas. Go figure. Meanwhile the turkeys simply roam around and seem to enjoy the show. One consequence of the frequent handling is that they have no fear of humans and follow us around like puppies. Kneel down to fix something and in moments you've got 16 sets of dark blue eyes intently supervising. Sit in a lawn chair and they hop up to roost on an arm or sit in a lap expecting to be petted.

One of the young Narragansett Toms
strutting his stuff on the railing of the front deck.

Meanwhile they roam the area with heads down consuming forage and insects along with the chickens, ducks, and Guineas. Last year the ticks were so bad that we picked them off every time we went outside, sometimes (no exaggeration) by the hundreds. This year, despite a dry, hot summer that encourages proliferation, ticks and other insects are hard to find close to the house.

One requirement that the ALBC has established is that Heritage breeds need to be able to reproduce naturally, something that commercial turkeys are incapable of doing. So even though a few of these birds are destined for the dinner table we intend to keep the hens and one or two toms from each variety with the hope of expanding the flock. By becoming breeders, even on a very small scale, for these rare Heritage varieties we will be able to contribute to the overall numbers and quality of the livestock gene pool. It's part of the Valhalla mission.

Our takeaway point is please don't be scared off of trying Heritage breeds of turkeys by what you might read or when you hear about situations that are much different from your own. These are savvy, tough birds fully capable of getting around on their own and making a living foraging, with the added bonus of being exceptionally good natured and friendly.

For Valhalla at least they have been by far the easiest birds we've raised and some of the most enjoyable.

Photo on the left: Gordon with a chatty Narragansett who had been underfoot in the garden. Instead of pecking or scratching, the young turkeys relax while letting their legs dangle when being carried. They still need to be occasionally carried various distances because if a turkey is ever physically injured in an accident or in a predator attack, staying relaxed while being picked up and carried to safety could mean the difference between life and death. 

Small Tricks Raising Poultry

One of Valhalla's Ancona
ducklings at five days old. She
had a lot to say to the camera!

It is hard to believe that six months have passed since our last blog entry, yet things have been incredibly busy with enormous progress in all areas to report!

We'll start with this report on raising different poultry flocks that will soon provide all the eggs and some of the meat needed for post-9/11 combat soldiers and war zone civilian workers who come to the property.

Over the past months we’ve raised Guinea fowl keets, Freedom Ranger chicks, Ancona ducklings, Midget White and Narragansett turkey poults with success. Sure, we’ve had a few losses early on, especially with the Guineas who seem particularly fragile as keets, but have been 100% with the chicks, ducklings, and, so far, with the poults. Knock on wood.

One of the scrawny chickens we saw during a cordon-
and-search operation outside Gardez, Afghanistan in
2010. Valhalla's flocks have a much more peaceful
life here in the Ozarks, and will eventually provide
all the eggs and at least some of the meat needed
for post 911 combat soldiers and war zone civilian
workers who come to the property.

We don’t have any secret touches. We read just about everything we can, select the most applicable lessons, and learn from trial and error. However, we have picked up on a few tricks that have worked for us and may be helpful to anyone in a similar situation.

With the Guineas, we found that introducing finely chopped greens (clover and dandelions were favorites) at a very early age really pleased and stimulated them. The keets seems extraordinarily shy and fearful of any new object added to their brooding facility. Even a rock would spin them into fits for hours. We made a small roost for them and they cowered for two days before finally climbing all over it.

Valhalla's Guinea fowl hens took turns laying eggs
in the Palace built by Specialist Jen Manning last year
and are still sitting on them as of this writing. Guineas
normally hide their eggs away from people yet this
flock feels more comfortable right under the back
deck where they can sound the alarm to have
humans rush out to defend them against predators.

We had read extensively about introducing greens to chicks and ducklings but none of the literature mentioned offering it to Guinea fowl. Intuitively, it made great sense. Guineas are omnivorous and should be interested in greens. Atypically, when we poured a small amount of greens around the litter they hit it like a school of piranha, cleaning it all up in minutes. Daily, we’d add more, varying the type by what was handiest to clip and always trying to include some of the clover and dandelions they favored. Every offering was multispecies and included grasses as well as broad leaf “weeds.”

We handled the keets a lot, and have followed that same pattern with chicks, ducklings, and poults. It seems to give them much more confidence around humans when they free range later, for all of the birds approach very close and many actually snuggle or ask to be petted. Visitors have noted that they’ve never seen Guineas as tame as ours.

This Freedom Ranger hen found a small bag of
trash and spent half an hour carefully emptying each
piece of paper and fly screen scrap out of it before
shaping a little bed for herself out of the bag itself.
Chickens are very curious, love to watch humans
at work, and will play with just about anything!

In contrast to the keets, the chicks, ducklings, and poults are intensely curious and are immediately attracted to anything new introduced into their environment. So we began experimenting with different “toys” – anything ranging from a plastic cup, to a small ball, to a cardboard box, or even an empty plastic soft drink bottle – and they seem to enjoy it immensely. 

When we see aggression – and it pops up with every poultry species in our experience – it seems to indicate boredom. So we give them something to distract them from picking on the weak by introducing new experiences into their environment.

Portable pet fencing is invaluable for safely moving ducklings
around the yard - and for separating out any injured birds while
still allowing them to safely stay with the flock.

As our Ancona ducklings were growing we moved them to an outside brooder where they began to pick on two fellow ducklings, pulling out wing feathers till they drew blood. We quickly isolated the two injured birds, placing them behind a screen adjacent to the main flock where they could see their fellows and not be too nervous, but be free from aggression.

As soon as possible we moved the Anconas outside during the day, using a combination of supervised free range and the remainder of the day in an enclosed portable pen. The variety has reduced aggression considerably – we simply don’t see them picking on each other any longer – and today we moved the two healing ducks into a similar pen adjacent to the flock so that they could get some sunshine and fresh air too, and enjoy themselves foraging. Within a few more days we expect to be able to reintegrate them back into the main group without any feather pecking.

Unlike the other birds that arrived within days after
hatching, the Khaki Campbell duckings were almost
a month only when they came to live at Valhalla. As
a result they were extremely nervous in their new
surroundings and it took several weeks before they
finally calmed down into a set routine.

As soon as they don’t need brooder lights any longer we push poultry outside in nice weather either in protected, portable pens, or letting them range under supervision, and get a taste for the outside world. This gets them eager about foraging at a young age, lets them see the other resident fowl and animals (including the cats) up close, and gets everyone accustomed to living with everyone else.

 These little tricks have worked for us and we hope that others might find something useful here that will help you, too. Most of all we have greatly enjoyed the interaction with the poultry and look forward to them getting older (and, we hope, wiser) so they will free range together without serious argument.

Living in harmony: Valhalla's 17 Anacona ducklings, 10 Khaki Campbell ducks, and 21 Freedom
Ranger chickens (unfortunately the Guinea fowl saw the camera and ran away screaming
just seconds before this photo was taken yesterday). 

From Africa to Valhalla: a keyhole garden

Doing it the hard way: one of the National Guard
Soldiers we met in Solerno, Afghanistan tending
his plants at a demonstration farm dedicated to
teaching villagers about irrigation and modern
farming methods. It's a big challenge since Afghans
often reject techniques that they aren't already
familiar with - and the soil there is simply terrible!

Have you ever heard of a garden that waters and fertilizes itself? We certainly had never heard of such a thing until last week when we stumbled across a short video showing women in Africa building a "keyhole garden."

The concept is incredibly simple, and the keyhole raised bed in the video looked very easy to construct with hardly any tools and only very inexpensive materials. Take a look for yourselves:

Keyhole gardens are now popping up all over the world. They reportedly can be made with bricks, stone, rocks - just about anything that will hold the soil in place. Organic material from the garden (lawn clippings, leaves, etc.) and kitchen scraps that one would ordinarily compost are tossed directly into the central core to eventually feed the surrounding soil.

Of course Valhalla must have one - and if this first prototype actually works, there's plenty of room where several more could be built. The following step-by-step pictorial guide shows to how we approached our first keyhole garden project. An important disclaimer: this is a step-by-step guide on how we did things here at Valhalla during our first attempt; it is not a list of instructions on how to build the perfect keyhole garden bed by any stretch of the imagination. For all we know, our approach might be a recipe for failure! Yet it's important to document every step so we can all learn about what works and what doesn't.

We first marked two circles on the ground with
an entry space between them, then dig a shallow
trench following the outer circle (click on any of
these photos to enlarge).

Step 1: We spray painted a small circle onto the ground using a 2' piece of string loosely looped around a central stake, then painted a large circle using a 5' piece of string. The  entryway marked between the circles is much wider than usual to allow easier access for those Valhallans who may have mobility issues or other physical challenges. Then we dug a narrow trench along the outer circle two or three inches deep.

We placed the first row of bricks at a 45 degree
angle so they're resting on each other. We packed
dirt on both sides for stability while angling each
brick inward towards the center.

Step 2: We lined the outer circle trench with bricks stuck into the dirt at a 45 degree angle and later found that the bricks should angle inward slightly. Packing dirt on both sides of each brick was necessary to stabilize them. We were surprised at how fast this first row went in - it was very easy. Valhalla just happened to have piles of bricks laying everywhere, they sure are coming in handy now.

We built a round cage in the center using
4' tall woven wire, a few pieces of old pipe,
and wire ties.

Step 3: We pounded three old pieces of pipe into the ground and wrapped 4' high round wire-mesh cage around them, forming a round cage and  securing the wire to the stakes with wire ties. This is where leaves, grass, kitchen scraps and other compost material will go in. Notice that our keyhole garden is shaped more like Pac-Man due to the wider entryway, but that shouldn't hurt anything.

We lined the bottom of the bed with
paper and cardboard

Step 4: We lined the bottom of the bed with paper and cardboard to keep weeds from growing up next spring, and also made a temporary barrier inside the cage to help keep dirt out during construction. The paper and cardboard inside the main bed will add some carbon to the compost as it rots and also serve as substrate for the little tiny microscopic microbes that help to nourish the soil inside the bed.

Gordon used the tractor that Ed Harkreader loaned
to Valhalla to fetch several bucket-loads of topsoil
from the waiting mini-mountains of dirt. Thank you
so much Ed, we're taking very good care of it!

Step 5: It was then time for the first layer of topsoil. We had two big truckloads of it delivered several months ago. Then Valhalla volunteer  Ed Harkreader loaned us his tractor with a bucket on it for two weeks. We'll never be able to thank him enough; hauling individual buckets across the yard would have been a  nightmare, while this was easy!

Contemplating the possibility of using mortar to
lock in the second row of bricks. Nah. If women in
Africa do not need any then we shouldn't need to
use any mortar either. If we've made a bad decision
we'll add it to the Lesson's Learned pile and go back
to fix any mistakes, or even start over if necessary.

Step 6: After carefully dumping the topsoil in we spread it around with  rakes into an even layer over the paper and cardboard. However, when stacking the second row of bricks it became clear that a lot more dirt was needed to help support the bricks. Yes, we thought about mortaring the bricks into place... but the women in Africa used bricks without mortar, so we didn't want to cheat. If they can do it, we should be able to do it too...

The second row of bricks clearly tilt in towards
the compost basket in the center.

Step 7: With additional topsoil for support the second row of bricks went in fast. We angled them inward quite a bit... they lock in to each other, but not as much as we'd hoped. On the bright side, Gordon accidentally dropped some of a tractor bucket-load of dirt on part of this second row of bricks and the growing outer wall still stayed in place. Works so far!

Paper, cardboard, and sun-bleached deer bones
went into the very bottom of the compost cage.

Step 8: At this point it was time to start filling the bottom of the compost cage to prevent too much topsoil from falling in. We started with paper, cardboard, and a couple of old sun-bleached deer bones that coyotes had apparently dragged into the yard at some point. The bones should add calcium just like eggshells in traditional compost piles do.

Nutrients from the compost cage will eventually travel through the cage to nourish the soil in the main gardening bed. Think for a moment about this important point: compost piles are normally placed in or near a garden, yet then one has to take the time and energy to physically move the composted soil over to the actual growing beds. The keyhole garden approach is based on composting organic materials right inside of their ultimate destination, thus eliminating a very time consuming and labor intensive step in traditional gardening approaches.

Chopping leaves with Valhalla's second-hand but
very functional lawn mower, and taking some of
the Guinea fowl's precious partially composted
bedding. Incidentally, the Guinea Fowl Palace
doesn't smell at all since we layer in fresh leaves
every few days. Nonetheless, the old leaves down
below are rotting - composting - and generate the
heat that the birds need to stay warm on icy nights.

Chopped up leaves went in next - and here's a neat trick: if you have a lawn mower then simply run it over any leaf piles that you might have, or just straight over leaves that haven't been raked up yet. When the lawn mower bag fills up, the leaves inside will range from dust to tiny shreds to half-chopped leaves - just perfect for compost! After spending countless hours raking up leaves I sure wish we'd figured that out before. Well, live and learn.

Then we raided the Guinea Fowl Palace that Specialist Jen Manning built for some of their precious bedding, which is a combination of straw, leaves, and (naturally) bird droppings. We didn't want to take too much since that's how the Guineas stay warm during cold winter nights: the bottom layers are many months old and already rotting - that is, composting - which generates heat. When it's really cold they drop down from their roosts and burrow down into the thick carpet of leaves to stay warm. The Guineas watched with a great deal of interest as we took a few cubic feet of their composted bedding away, yet they still have yards of the stuff left in there.

We used ash from the fireplace to ensure
purity, then poured hand-carried jugs of
well water over the first layers of
organic materials inside the keyhole
garden bed's composting cage.

Step 9: Other essential additions to the keyhole compost cage included wood ash straight out of the fireplace to ensure purity. It always seems that no matter how careful one tries to be, little bits of plastic and other non-biodegradable materials will inevitably land in a household burn barrel and should therefore be avoided like the plague when composting.

Then we added some large jugs of water. This is sort of a sore point here at Valhalla for the moment, since there's not a single water facet on the front side of the house to run hoses from. This will be resolved in the coming months after an appropriate rain water collection system can be designed and built to capture water running off the roof. A large cistern will have to be purchased and buried up the hill just outside the house, then hoses and gravity will be used to deliver water to the garden and all the vegetable beds by spring.

We added more topsoil than we thought we'd need,
but it turned out to be the perfect amount.

Step 10: We added a lot more topsoil into the bed in preparation for adding the third row of bricks. The compost already added into the center cage kept dirt out very efficiently, and the piles of dirt outside the cage shielded the chopped leaves and other materials from blowing away in the wind (it's been extremely windy here in the last several days).

Preparing biochar in one of the other raised garden
beds by partially burning and then smoldering piles
of sticks collected off the ground under trees.
With help from microbes and the earth worms that
will be added later, this charcoal will rot and
slowly release carbon and nutrients into the soil.

Step 11: We'd previously prepared some charcoal in one of our other raised garden beds by lighting piles of small sticks on fire, letting them burn halfway through, and then covering them up with dirt so they could smolder for a few hours before burning out. The resulting charcoal is actually the biochar we'd previously blogged about. We took some of it and spread it all around the keyhole garden bed outside the cage along with several bags of store-bought compost (by next year Valhalla will be generating enough compost from scratch so it won't be necessary to buy it again).

Valhalla's first completed keyhole garden, all ready
for worms, more compost, and finally planting
during this coming spring. 

Step 12: We completed the third row of bricks and added more composting materials -  we're done! Next week we'll go pick up a bucket of earth worms from Ike Yates worm farm in Gassville and then wait to see how heavy rains will effect our first keyhole garden attempt. If the walls hold up as they should, we'll build a second keyhole garden similar to this one.

An amusing sidebar to this story: our favorite UPS delivery man arrived to deliver a package but suddenly caught sight of Valhalla's unusual new addition in the garden. "What the heck is that?" he asked while pointing. "It's a keyhole garden from Africa!" I answered, and then explained how it works. He stared at it some more while rubbing his chin. "Well," he finally said, "Have you ever heard that people are starving in Africa?" Funny!

"You've gotta be joking.."

Cats Vixen and Joker as they listened in on our discussion about Valhalla's Master Gardening Plan. Vixen is clearly skeptical and Joker doesn't know what to think of it all. They don't like vegetables anyway so their opinions don't count. 

Our IRS application for nonprofit status is being processed, 
yet you can still donate to help Valhalla today!

Preparations speeding along with new help from civilian volunteers

It's been a while since our last post yet we've had our hands full after Jay Scherder from KY3 TV in Springfield decided to do a piece on efforts to prepare Valhalla for receiving the first groups of Soldiers next spring:

 

After the story aired on December 8th another reporter, this time from the Baxter Bulletin's own Joanne Bratton in Mountain Home, arrived to interview us, and her article was published the next day. Then this morning we were surprised to find that her story has been reprinted here on the Army Times website.

Coon has another name but even
his business card doesn't actually
state it, he's a proud Louisiana native
with a name that suits him very well!

As a result of this first media coverage we have met many local civilians, and many veterans, who are pitching in their time, materials, and equipment to greatly speed up our progress here. 

Among them: Viet Nam veteran "Coon" - now a painter by trade - called to announce he would scrounge up some paint for both the interior and exterior of the house. Out of the blue he then showed up with gallons and gallons of it, then proceeded to commence work on the dreadful blue room with it's crazy flowers that required many hours of sanding to prep the walls for their eventual transformation.

Ed Harkreader and his son Andy demonstrating
safe techniques on the tablesaw they brought over
along with the jigsaw shown the background. Wood-
shop tools are critically needed to speed up progress
so we can meet our target of hosting the first groups
of Valhalla post-9/11 combat soldiers in the spring.

A Navy veteran, Ed Harkreader, contacted us with an offer to bring over some basic woodworking equipment to help build bed frames for the mattresses Valhalla has already acquired. Gordon and I had already managed to build the first prototype, yet unfortunately it was three inches too tall and therefore ridiculously difficult to get in and out of. Ed and his son Andy came to the rescue - we tore the bed frame apart and cut down each leg while replacing the sheets of plywood with cedar slats to support the mattress. One handmade original Valhalla-designed bed frame finished now, many more will follow! 

Marvin trimming the ends of the oversized cedar
boards to fit. We have been working with minimal
tools and equipment so having a little help from
local citizens makes a huge amount of difference.

Then local resident Marvin and his Lab, B-Dog, showed up to help construct the first raised beds for the garden. Valhalla's off-the-grid self-sustaining goals prominently include building the capacity to grow the vegetables, fruits, and berries necessary for feeding all the post-9/11 combat soldiers and war zone civilian workers who will be staying on the property.

That's a pretty tall order, and with the rocky ground here in the Ozarks, establishing raised beds has to be a top priority. We had some trouble with cutting the oversized 2x12" cedar boards so Marvin went home and returned with a chain saw that quickly solved the problem.

Enough nails for years perhaps,
thank you Dennis and Dianna!

Just a few of the literally thousands of nails - big bins of all shapes and sizes, as donated by Dennis and Dianna Marquis (who were also behind making sure that the infamous Valhalla Marquis Wet Room project would become a reality) - sure came in handy when building the raised bed gardening frames. We have bins and buckets of bags of nails that will be pressed into use in the coming years as Soldiers and war zone civilian workers design and build their own a series of cabins around the property.

Just some of the many pretty
curtains made by Debbie
Garrison-Deters hanging on the
new curtain rods that Marvin
helped us to put up. Thank you 
so much Debbie for all the hours
you put into this sewing project!

Many other sets helping hands have filled the month of December, and in some surprising ways. Debbie Garrison-Deters from nearby Harrison pitched in by sewing many pairs of curtains to help make Valhalla a more comfortable place to stay (if you need any sewing done then you can contact Debbie on Facebook here), and Marvin came back to help put up the many curtain rods around the house to hang them. 

Lindy Benitz - the mastermind behind the timber party that resulted in all the firewood burned here at night to help keep the house warm, and who's family also donated Valhalla's very first two beds for the bunkhouse - habitually pops in with critical essentials: a shower bench for the wetroom and a special bedroom commode chair for anyone with physical challenges who might need one - as well as country living advice, reference books and instructive magazines of all kinds.

The local people here in the Ozarks are - as a group - huge supporters of the men and women who have sacrificed all and regularly put their lives on the line to help make the world a safer place. While they do not have much to give during these hard times, the mountain communities and people here always seem to find a way to pitch in and honor those serving our great nation. Valhalla will indeed be ready by the spring with such heartfelt assistance!

An unusual "volunteer"

Chippy in the moments just before he decided to make a run
for it down the side of the fireplace, where he was unpleasantly
intercepted by Joker the cat (click the photo to enlarge).

This tiny chipmunk got into the house and Joker the cat thought he was trying to volunteer himself for dinner! Chippy made a break for it, Joker leaped about 10 feet and caught him... we made him spit Chippy out and then threw him out the back door to safety. He survived - we saw him running as fast as he could into the woods, so he's OK!

Our IRS application for nonprofit status is being processed, 
yet you can still donate to help Valhalla today!

Preparations Continue: Scent of Cedar Everywhere

These excellent eight-foot-long cedar 2x12 inch boards
will last more than a decade outside in the elements for
Valhalla's soon-to-be-constructed organic gardening
beds. No sales to the public though: our goal is to keep
up to fifty combat Soldiers and war zone civilian
workers properly fed with best-quality gourmet
produce they themselves help to grow and harvest
right here on the Valhalla property.

Valhalla now has two cedar "bed" projects going at the moment: constructing frames for the queen, full, and twin sized mattresses currently laying on the floors that don't have their own bed frames yet, and also making raised beds for the intensive gardening program that will be feeding Soldiers and war zone civilian workers by next year. Vegetables for ten people by next summer, and enough canned vegetables and meat to sustain up to 50 participants at a time twelve months from now!

LTC Tom Lombardo and me in spring 2008 when
the 18th Military Police Brigade was headquartered at
Camp Liberty outside Baghdad, Iraq. A black-and-
white version of this very same photograph appears
in the book "Warrior Police"; my coauthor (and now
wife) Chris Fontana have already pledged all profits
from the book to help make Valhalla a reality and a
project that might someday be duplicated all over
the United States to help combat Soldiers and
war zone workers readjust to the civilian world
while learning new skills and also having
wonderful times together in the process.

Parenthetically, our board members Tom Lombardo and Mike Stillwell have been working with the excellent public affairs staff at Fort Leonard Wood in the person of Tabitha Smith specifically to arrange a visit soon by members of the Warrior Transition Unit. These wounded Soldiers are learning how to function either to remain on active Army duty or to return to civilian life.

While we are firmly focused on the larger Soldier population as well as the wounded, this visit tracks well with our Valhalla mission and purpose which focuses on combat Soldiers and war zone civilians including all who served downrange.

When they do arrive we hope to provide them a hunting opportunity as well as a chance to do some improvement projects, many of which will involve wood working including cedar applications.

Small and friendly despite formidable sets of horns,
Scot Highlanders with a curious calf at their side
graze contentedly while keeping a wary eye on
strangers. The calves look just like little teddy
bears, but watch out for their mother's horns...

So far we're not at the point yet where we're logging and milling our own timber, however. That day will come. Now we're availing ourselves of the excellent products milled by Phillip and Marla Fouraker of Yellville. The couple runs a very efficient home-based milling operation on a large, beautiful farm not far from town. They specialize in cedar, red and white oak, and pine. Two Scot Highland cows with unbelievably cute calves at their side grace a nearby field.

I'm holding a beautifully grained future post for a queen bed.
 Keeping my fingers crossed that I measured carefully!

We picked cedar because of its natural beauty, the insect-repellant characteristics, and the glorious scent that now fills the living room where we now have a small stack of lumber drying beside the fireplace.

For the bed frame project we picked 4x4 inch posts with 2x6 inch horizontal members. Because my carpentry is heavier on enthusiasm than expertise, we decided on a very simple, functional design. Thanks to the kind assistance of Criss Blake who trucked us over to the Fouraker mill, we were able to pick up the bed materials (plus lots of extra wood for various projects constantly fermenting in my wife Chris's head). Ultimately we plan to have an old farm truck of Valhalla's very own, but not just yet.

Timely arrival of a DeWalt compound miter saw and a pair of sanders (one belt, one orbital) ordered through Amazon meant we were able to get right to work, even though the weather has turned chilly outside. The Amazon programs offer a lot for a frugality-minded operation like Valhalla. By placing items on a "wish list" we are notified automatically of special sales - sometimes only good for hours - and have been able to get these and a few other bare-essentials tools at significantly discounted prices.

My cravat from Vietnam serves as a field expedient dust mask.
It's the same one pictured above that I wore in Iraq. That piece of
cloth now has three wars and some nasty place in between in
it's history. The patrol cap is Afghanistan vintage from
our "Warrior Police" research embeds last year.

Eventually we hope Valhalla will have a full-up wood shop with table saws, drill presses, planer-joiners, and much more for many Soldiers at a time to work with, but for this early start in preparing for their arrival in the spring we're making do with the bare essentials.

Still, where there's a will.... So the first of several bed frames is almost ready for final assembly and use.

Meanwhile, just yesterday, Phillip kindly dropped off the fixin's for the raised beds. I'm very excited about knocking them together so we can get some garlic planted in the ground before the real cold sets in and the other garden beds will have a winter season to age and be ready for planting in the spring.

And it all begins with some cedar boards. Neat.

"No sweat, it's just Joker the Cat again!" 

Pausing in their raucous morning grazing-parade around the house, the Guinea fowl take time to assess potential threats (and decide, "none here") while very casually relieving themselves on the concrete steps.

"How crude, they're not even using the litter box!" Fastidious Joker has his own evaluation
while looking out the window at his most favorite insect-and-tick-eating 
feathered friends.

Our IRS application for nonprofit status is being processed, 
yet you can still donate to help Valhalla today!

Clean water ahead! Pond renovation project completed

Heavy equipment operator Rickie leveling out the
pond wall. Rye grass has also been planted on the
the top and outer wall to help prevent erosion.

Valhalla's pond has been completed! While a $3,000 electrical fence still needs to be installed very soon to keep cattle and other large animals out, the pond itself is finished while we all wait for rain to fill it up. Rye grass seed planted on the top and outer wall will help prevent erosion, and native wildflowers will be planted on top of the rye next spring. The result will hopefully be a riot of color that attracts humming birds and butterflies.

The new concrete watering tank

Once the fence goes up livestock and wildlife will still be able to drink all the clean water they want from the concrete tank that has been installed in the front wall of the pond dam.

With this incredibly dry weather it could take a while for the pond to fill up, yet a small storm that showered two inches of rain on the property last week proved that the pond will in fact hold water. Once filled, fish and specially selected underwater plants will be added to help keep the water fresh and clean.

There are times when progress on preparing Valhalla for the first Soldiers and war zone civilian workers seems to be moving very slowly - too slowly - and while completing the pond is a major benchmark, it can be frustrating to know that it won't be absolutely complete until the fence is installed.

The original uncropped photograph of Gordon and me in
Afghanistan with Soldiers from the 18th Military Police Brigade
and their Afghani trainees. A cropped black and white version
of this same picture appears in our book "Warrior Police"; all
profits from the book have been pledged to help finance
Valhalla operations. (Click photo to enlarge)

Yet then we remember something that seems extraordinary and almost impossible to believe: exactly one year ago today Gordon and I were still in Afghanistan with little more than a crazy idea in our heads to build a place called Valhalla! We had never even heard of Yellville, Arkansas back then.

The Soldiers in the photo above were among those who not only inspired the concept but repeatedly egged us on. And here we are, just one year later, making what is in fact major progress in preparing the house and property for their eventual arrival - and for dozens and dozens of other Soldiers and war zone civilian workers who we've never met before. Progress only seems slow to us... until we stop to remember how far we have come.

Photo credit: MRAP gunner / Sergeant Matt Kunz,
who also took the most excellent very-authentic
photograph of the US Army MP that landed on the
cover of the book "Warrior Police." Thank you
Matt for the excellent photography!

Valhalla will have goats - but not camels! Life is very hard on animals in Afghanistan, like these little goat kids that we saw strapped to the back of a camel that was walking down a dirt highway. The goats that will eventually live here at Valhalla will have clean water, proper housing and excellent care while we remember how things were in a war zone.

Our IRS application for nonprofit status is being processed, 
yet you can still donate to help Valhalla today!