AROUND THE FARM

Last updated: 22-JAN-2012

We moved up to southern York County Pay in the spring of 2002 for a couple of reasons.  First, MD sucks tax wise…   We save a considerable
amount of money each month by living in PA.  The secret is to get a large enough piece of land so you can get in Clean and Green, CREP and
write off things.  Its all legal and worth it !  Also, Maryland has some crazy gun laws that I wanted to avoid as well as the politics of 
the state.  I commute on Maryland roads but try very hard not to spend much money in that terrible place. Another reason was that your money
goes much further in PA when it comes to homes, land as well as the cost of living.

If I could have done it again I think I would have found a 60-100 acre parcel and then had a custom home built on it.   I like my house but
I have spent an amazing amount of money on it in the past nine years and I am not even close to being done yet.  Also, 20 acres is nice…  
But, it’s still not big enough to be considered private in my opinion.  

Also, we spent most weekends up in PA.   We shopped in PA.  So, it made sense to move.  And with the Prius as the commuter car the gallon
cost of gas is not an issue at any price.

  • VIEWS (updated JAN 2012)

  • PROJECTS (updated SEP 2011)

  • EQUIPMENT (updated JAN 2012)

  • CATS (updated JAN 2012)

  • INSECTS (updated SEP 2011)

  • WILDLIFE - GAME CAM (updated JAN 2012)

  • ASTRO PHOTOS (updated JAN 2012)

    23-AUG-2011 Earthquake

    The 2011 Virginia earthquake occurred on August 23, 2011, at 1:51 pm EDT (17:51 UTC) in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of
Virginia. The epicenter, in Louisa County, was 38 miles (61 km) northwest of Richmond and 5 miles (8.0 km) south-southwest of the
town of Mineral. It was an intraplate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 and a maximum felt intensity of VII (very strong) on
the Mercalli intensity scale. Several aftershocks, ranging up to 4.5 Mw in magnitude occurred after the main tremor.
The earthquake, along with a magnitude-5.8 1944 quake on the New York-Ontario border, is the largest to have occurred in the
U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains since an 1897 quake centered in Giles County in western Virginia whose magnitude has been 
estimated as 5.8 or 5.9.

The quake was felt across more than a dozen U.S. states and in several Canadian provinces. No deaths and only minor injuries
were reported. Minor damage to buildings was widespread. The damage was estimated by one risk-modeling firm at $200 million to
$300 million, of which about $100 million was insured.

(seismic record of the day of the quake is from the Department of Earth Sciences at Millersville University)

  • AUG 23 2011 - Quake at 13:51

  • Real Time Data (vertical) 

    This short movie was from one of my surveillance cameras.  You can see the movement in the gate first.
GIVE IT TIME TO LOAD.  Could take a few minutes depending on your connection speed.

  • MOVIE Quake - WMV format 8.4 meg

  • MOVIE Quake - AVI format 20.8 meg

    06-JUL-2009 Mason-Dixon Meteor

    The big fireball meteor that startled residents in Central Maryland and southern Pennsylvania early Monday morning was captured on my low light
security camera looking North West.  You can see the direction of travel from the way the shadow is cast on the ground and movement.

  • MOVIE Meteor - WMV format 2.4 meg

  • MOVIE Meteor - AVI format 1.3 meg

    Useful Links

  • Firewood Ratings and Info
  • Fuel types / BTU ratings
  • Listing of Herbicides

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