After being shown a two story cabin my mother, father, and siblings had built by hand (even cutting and skinning the pine trees), I asked my sister how she could enjoy such a time in her life with no running water or electricity. Grinning, she stopped and pondered for a moment, surprised by her own emotions. "I think it was because everything we did, throughout the entire day, had purpose. We could easily see progress. Every labor turned into a reward. The wood we chopped kept us warm."
I'm with the Malones. We fight for freedom so our kids and grandkids can live simple, full lives.
This is beautiful - and that is why we are always talking about our farm and how we "homsteaded" it. If people only understood how satisfying creating a farm and working the land is, no one would be left in the suburbs or cities.
Yes, farmettes count- homesteading is a state of mind, IMO. Learning to be self-sufficient takes a lifetime. Once never stops learning.
"Never stop learning" is the key to personal intellectual horsepower and a positive productive life that can help shape ones childrens lives.
So MANY individuals make a HUGE mistake of NEVER reading books after high school - especially the three main subjects that have direct DAILY impact on everyone: history, economics and politics.
My late mother would often say if I grumbled, "It could be worse". She lived thru the depression. Father died when she was 3. I only heard of the hardships through funny stories. This phrase illustrated a thankfulness for what was, realizing some others faired far worse. ...but godliness with contentment is great gain.
I discovered late in life that it is indeed a gift to be simple - I retired from Lockheed and became a long-haul trucker for ten years (now I'm fully retired, finally, and life is getting simpler and simpler). Thank you once again for your enlightening reports and reassuring sentiments. https://liveyosemite.wordpress.com/2024/07/18/truck-driving/
I’m going to try to explain the connections your essay and my job have, from my perspective, of trying to teach young people to learn a work ethic, a trade and be a citizen as well. Physical labor is what I have done for 40 years. I would say I have success with maybe 50% of teaching the young how to wrap their minds around the concept of building a project from foundation or footings, to the roof, and then finish work. So many just can’t mentally do physical work. They think they’re above it, or it’s too hard, or their heart just isn’t into it. I know this will sound off the beaten path but half of teaching a young person is getting them aware of caring about America and the freedoms that are the backbone of our country. Making them rugged, teaching them nothing comes easy, with relentless hard work is where you will find success. Some never get it and don’t last. Some do get it and go on to make their living in the trades. You had mentioned the other day of becoming wealthy and famous. I never wanted fame, obviously I’m a carpenter by trade, but in the beginning I did want to be wealthy. Now my main goal is to, yes make a living, but to me 100% I want a happy satisfied customer. I could end up with o dollars after a project, but if my customer is happy I did my job! It’s hard to teach a young person that the number one goal is doing a great job, satisfying your customer and taking pride in the whole process. J.Goodrich
Indeed! There are not a whole lot of things better than cutting into a new, still warm loaf of bread (Einkorn wheat, sour dough) that you just made yourself and sitting down to enjoy it for breakfast with a cup of extra strong black coffee. One of life's better simple pleasures for sure.
We have produced two generations of people who embrace comfort over responsibility. Will they ever know the gratifications of self disciple and the "pursuit" of higher achievement?
Yes, Ana... lets hope and pray that the 2nd Trump administration has the absolute elimination of fatal drugs from Communist China and Mexico at the top of their 'to do' list.
And with unbroken southern and northern borders; and Atlantic and Pacific coast lines as well - with not incarceration + 3 meals a day for convicted drug smugglers but DEATH.
Physical work is indeed profitable—enjoyed the pictures, as usual.
Life as usual ended for me 31 years ago. A major surgery almost killed me—in fact it disabled me for the rest of my life. I went from working 1.5 jobs to a screeching halt of zero income, with a wife, two daughters, and a son who was safe in mamma’s womb. God provided through family friends and a wonderful church.
Though my body was limited, I did physical things the best I could, and the sense of accomplishment was overwhelming. It took me three plus days to change out a water pump on my car—I had never changed out a pump before but had to do it to save money—I was physically weak and would take breaks, but once finished, it was exhilarating!
One day my wife told me that all we had to eat was in the skillet. So I called my family together and told them how we were going to eat—women and children first—my wife first, daughter, son then me, and I looked at my son and said, don’t ever forget this, and I told my wife if she does not take enough food out for herself, I would not eat. We all ate and were filled and had leftovers!
My son told me as an adult that he was glad we were poor, because he learned what life was all about. When I was able to work part-time he saw me struggle going to work—not feeling well and in pain. He asked, are you sure you want to go to work? I said, I have to, and out the door I went.
To me, simple things in life are importantly,, family relationships are second in importance, with God as number one in importance. He spared my life 31 years ago, provided miraculously for my family, and has never left me nor forsaken me. I still enjoy physical work. There’s something about it that brings me satisfaction, but I’m older now, and willing for others to gain satisfaction in my stead.
Digging in rocky soil; I remember it well when kids were small. But in Texas summer heat rather than nasty cold - prefer the former. Finding the leak was the problem. And those bloody rocks so tight in the clay soil! Got 'er fixed every time, lost count how many, and yes, the feeling of accomplishment each time.
These are fine words and thoughts from Dr. Malone as usual~!
We here also live life to the fullest and our choice to own and live on a small farm/ranch is quite intentional for many reasons, however Dr. Malone well describes the feeling of personal accomplishment that comes from operating an agricultural property as opposed to having a standard city life in the asphalt jungle. Here on our beautiful homestead, we take care of many domestic animals and local charities & Individuals really enjoy the fresh organic free-range chicken & duck eggs that we can provide. We deliver firewood from damaged trees on our property every year to help folks keep warm. We live healthier because of our own organic gardening efforts and share what we can with others. We have some land that we provide to the wild critters that want to navigate the neighborhood. We always try to help our neighbors when we can because of the extremely difficult times that America has been going through and the good folks in our area are not focusing on the differences that we may have, but they are coming together to enjoy a safer and healthier & happy community~! Almost three years ago our little family was ruthlessly & criminally attacked because of the efforts that we were making within the medical industry to inform patients of the truth regarding the still ongoing Democidal COVID & "vaccine" attack, so our Income and retirement plans of a lifetime of hard work were destroyed. Still, we thank God that we have the wonderful blessings in our life that allow us to make the best of our circumstances and to continue to help others along the way. Unfortunately, we currently live in Washington state which is dominated by extremely corrupt Individuals at all levels of the government structure here, so we plan to relocate to a more "Constitutionally correct" state as soon as possible next year to do our best to live free and to continue to help others as much as possible. The current Western medical model in the US is obviously collapsing under the weight of its own corruption so if we can find honorable Individuals in healthcare to work with, we would consider continuing our efforts in the field, but at our ages we need to work hard to rebuild the financial security that we need going forward. Many of the best in healthcare have been devastated by the intentionally planned and orchestrated atrocities of our own government over the past few years, so we hope that folks never forget that there were those in the industry who did their best to get the truth out when it mattered most and at extreme cost to themselves~! Together as Americans we can come together to create a FAR better country and with that set a positive example to the rest of the world~! Thanks to Dr. Malone for bringing a human face to America at these most difficult and dangerous times~! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all~! Sincerely, Mike & Lisa
It would be a blessing if not only every illegal immigrant who has over run the USA, but every "American" Communist, Socialist (SAME thing) and "progressive" ALSO would be DEPORTED - and made it plain on DEATH should they ever step foot again on American soil. "We" don't want no stinking Socialist Democracy hell bent on destroying our REPUBLIC!
ALL of the illegal trespassers need to be deported ASAP! This must be done to secure our country and to make sure that "we" (America) respect and support the good folks who LEGALLY enter the US to be part of our country~! I have been a professional analyst who has been monitoring this terrible problem for decades because it is just something that American Constitutionalists do, and from the looks of things President Trump and his folks will be deporting many of the Illegal aliens right from the start. There is a new worldwide economic - financial system that has already started to rollout and the short version is that only people who are legally in a country will be benefiting from the program, so don't be too surprised if you start to see many of these illegal aliens leaving on their own in the near future. You may not know it, but you also hit on another interesting point! Very quietly and under strict national security there is excellent evidence that quite a few criminal "Americans" have been going through the US Military Tribunal process for some years now, so I can assure you that is NOT a corrupt circus court like the corrupt judicial/court system in the rest of America. The criminals going through US Military Tribunals get fair and speedy trials, and most of them won't be coming back into America because of their treason and/or crimes against humanity. Additionally, there will be quite a few "Americans" in government, politics, and the general public who have dual citizenship and allegiances to other countries (like Israel) and if they are lucky, they will be deported and never set foot in America again for their crimes. I understand how you and many Americans would LOVE to see all of the communists, Marxists, socialists, and others who are fundamentally against the American Constitution and all of our freedoms & rights deported never to return, however as an old American Constitutionalist that would be VERY difficult to really accomplish. Remember, these people have been VERY underhanded for many decades, and they hide under the rocks because they know just how unpopular that there plans to destroy America and Americans are. America also has a weakness in its very freedoms that allow for different opinions, which really is a great thing, but that also gives these mentally deranged "Americans" cover and even protection to be "anti-American". Many of these "Americans" are either mentally ill and/or just completely ignorant and unintelligent miserable Individuals who may have been indoctrinated all of their lives by the criminally corrupt US educational system~! This is one reason why President Trump and his folks are planning on eliminating the US federal department of education, because it has intentionally screwed over our school system and indoctrinated many by brainwashing them against America & The American Constitution. Education & REAL honest news may be able to help some of these anti-Americans see how foolish they have been, especially when they learn the truth about many of their political favorites like the corrupt Clinton's, the Bush crime family, the disgusting Obama's, Biden and his rotten people and many more... In fact, the truth has been slowly dripped out and I have been monitoring it pick up steam for years in the general public~! Unfortunately, most Americans would not be able to handle the truth if they heard too much too quickly because it would completely freak them out and create many terrible problems, so President Trump and the global white hats are orchestrating this slow drip of truth and conducting the greatest criminal "sting operation" that the world has ever experienced over the past few years~! None of this is reported in the corrupt mainstream media, however if you look closely, you can see it reflected in the mainstream media every day now~! The corrupt mainstream media has killed itself with their own anti-American brainwashing program and the new "media" has already been born and will take its rightful place... That is a very good thing ;-) Keep the faith and stay prepared, safe & healthy~! Have a great Christmas and get ready for a difficult and amazing 2025~! Great things are headed for America & Americans when the dust settles~! Sincerely, Mike
The joys of farm life! Several years ago I went in the morning to turn the dog and cat out of the kennel, to discover the kennel was a winter wonderland of ice! A pipe in the cat stall had burst, spewed, frozen, and was spewing again as I arrived at the kennel. Needless to say a very wet, bedraggled, angry cat was waiting impatiently at the door and was happy to make his escape! So glad you solved your problem and Jade can drink again. Blessings to you and Jill from our Angus farm in Alabama.
My wife and I have installed and dug up more yard burys than I want to remember. The utility of having water available where you need it on a farm far outweighs the effort involved. Although someone living in a concrete box somewhere is sadly unlikely to understand the sense of accomplishment and labor saving importance of digging two feet deep trenches to get the water line below the frost line then filling the hole at the end with gravel, it is truly a marvel that, if lucky, you can admire ten years later.
So true. I've always thought it was a contridiction to say that parents work hard to provide a better (easier) life for their kids. Seems to me this is not doing them any favors and one can almost track the slow slide downward from the generation who lived through the Depression then had to go to war before they could start their adult lives. There has to be a balance.
"Tough" love, self responsibility, personal integrity and never ending self education is a recipe for well balanced children - and their children's children. NOT an easy task for parents.
There is rocky soil and then there is...rock. I have a bird feeder station that stood there for about 15 yrs with only occasional disruptions by deer. reaching for seed. What I assume to me a migrating family of raccoons decided they loved the suet and took the whole shebang down several nights. Since where the station is located is about 2 inched of soil over solid limestone finally got a 1' drill for stone and planted a foundation rebar 10" into that stone. The coons gave up and left
After being shown a two story cabin my mother, father, and siblings had built by hand (even cutting and skinning the pine trees), I asked my sister how she could enjoy such a time in her life with no running water or electricity. Grinning, she stopped and pondered for a moment, surprised by her own emotions. "I think it was because everything we did, throughout the entire day, had purpose. We could easily see progress. Every labor turned into a reward. The wood we chopped kept us warm."
I'm with the Malones. We fight for freedom so our kids and grandkids can live simple, full lives.
This is beautiful - and that is why we are always talking about our farm and how we "homsteaded" it. If people only understood how satisfying creating a farm and working the land is, no one would be left in the suburbs or cities.
Yes, farmettes count- homesteading is a state of mind, IMO. Learning to be self-sufficient takes a lifetime. Once never stops learning.
"Never stop learning" is the key to personal intellectual horsepower and a positive productive life that can help shape ones childrens lives.
So MANY individuals make a HUGE mistake of NEVER reading books after high school - especially the three main subjects that have direct DAILY impact on everyone: history, economics and politics.
My favorite Shaker saying “Many hands make light the work.” Author Mother Ann. I usually use this when thanking neighbors for their help
My late mother would often say if I grumbled, "It could be worse". She lived thru the depression. Father died when she was 3. I only heard of the hardships through funny stories. This phrase illustrated a thankfulness for what was, realizing some others faired far worse. ...but godliness with contentment is great gain.
I discovered late in life that it is indeed a gift to be simple - I retired from Lockheed and became a long-haul trucker for ten years (now I'm fully retired, finally, and life is getting simpler and simpler). Thank you once again for your enlightening reports and reassuring sentiments. https://liveyosemite.wordpress.com/2024/07/18/truck-driving/
Congratulations on a both productive and rewarding day. Your closing photo also expresses gratitude. Stay forever grounded, as you are.
I’m going to try to explain the connections your essay and my job have, from my perspective, of trying to teach young people to learn a work ethic, a trade and be a citizen as well. Physical labor is what I have done for 40 years. I would say I have success with maybe 50% of teaching the young how to wrap their minds around the concept of building a project from foundation or footings, to the roof, and then finish work. So many just can’t mentally do physical work. They think they’re above it, or it’s too hard, or their heart just isn’t into it. I know this will sound off the beaten path but half of teaching a young person is getting them aware of caring about America and the freedoms that are the backbone of our country. Making them rugged, teaching them nothing comes easy, with relentless hard work is where you will find success. Some never get it and don’t last. Some do get it and go on to make their living in the trades. You had mentioned the other day of becoming wealthy and famous. I never wanted fame, obviously I’m a carpenter by trade, but in the beginning I did want to be wealthy. Now my main goal is to, yes make a living, but to me 100% I want a happy satisfied customer. I could end up with o dollars after a project, but if my customer is happy I did my job! It’s hard to teach a young person that the number one goal is doing a great job, satisfying your customer and taking pride in the whole process. J.Goodrich
For me today, it was making a loaf of bread. Creating something which will be enjoyed by others is very satisfying as I know you know full well.
Jill will be baking bread today also. Using the wood stove/oven.
Oh boy, there is that incredible smell! Aroma to some
Recently baked a killer loaf of banana bread - 1st time out! GREAT with morning coffee.
Indeed! There are not a whole lot of things better than cutting into a new, still warm loaf of bread (Einkorn wheat, sour dough) that you just made yourself and sitting down to enjoy it for breakfast with a cup of extra strong black coffee. One of life's better simple pleasures for sure.
Those figures on the drug use by our country's youth are beyond sad 😔!
We have produced two generations of people who embrace comfort over responsibility. Will they ever know the gratifications of self disciple and the "pursuit" of higher achievement?
Can I just add here that this might be true for most but not all!
And Thank you for the reminder.
Gob Bless
I completely agree.
Yes, Ana... lets hope and pray that the 2nd Trump administration has the absolute elimination of fatal drugs from Communist China and Mexico at the top of their 'to do' list.
And with unbroken southern and northern borders; and Atlantic and Pacific coast lines as well - with not incarceration + 3 meals a day for convicted drug smugglers but DEATH.
Physical work is indeed profitable—enjoyed the pictures, as usual.
Life as usual ended for me 31 years ago. A major surgery almost killed me—in fact it disabled me for the rest of my life. I went from working 1.5 jobs to a screeching halt of zero income, with a wife, two daughters, and a son who was safe in mamma’s womb. God provided through family friends and a wonderful church.
Though my body was limited, I did physical things the best I could, and the sense of accomplishment was overwhelming. It took me three plus days to change out a water pump on my car—I had never changed out a pump before but had to do it to save money—I was physically weak and would take breaks, but once finished, it was exhilarating!
One day my wife told me that all we had to eat was in the skillet. So I called my family together and told them how we were going to eat—women and children first—my wife first, daughter, son then me, and I looked at my son and said, don’t ever forget this, and I told my wife if she does not take enough food out for herself, I would not eat. We all ate and were filled and had leftovers!
My son told me as an adult that he was glad we were poor, because he learned what life was all about. When I was able to work part-time he saw me struggle going to work—not feeling well and in pain. He asked, are you sure you want to go to work? I said, I have to, and out the door I went.
To me, simple things in life are importantly,, family relationships are second in importance, with God as number one in importance. He spared my life 31 years ago, provided miraculously for my family, and has never left me nor forsaken me. I still enjoy physical work. There’s something about it that brings me satisfaction, but I’m older now, and willing for others to gain satisfaction in my stead.
Digging in rocky soil; I remember it well when kids were small. But in Texas summer heat rather than nasty cold - prefer the former. Finding the leak was the problem. And those bloody rocks so tight in the clay soil! Got 'er fixed every time, lost count how many, and yes, the feeling of accomplishment each time.
What a beautiful song! Thank you!
These are fine words and thoughts from Dr. Malone as usual~!
We here also live life to the fullest and our choice to own and live on a small farm/ranch is quite intentional for many reasons, however Dr. Malone well describes the feeling of personal accomplishment that comes from operating an agricultural property as opposed to having a standard city life in the asphalt jungle. Here on our beautiful homestead, we take care of many domestic animals and local charities & Individuals really enjoy the fresh organic free-range chicken & duck eggs that we can provide. We deliver firewood from damaged trees on our property every year to help folks keep warm. We live healthier because of our own organic gardening efforts and share what we can with others. We have some land that we provide to the wild critters that want to navigate the neighborhood. We always try to help our neighbors when we can because of the extremely difficult times that America has been going through and the good folks in our area are not focusing on the differences that we may have, but they are coming together to enjoy a safer and healthier & happy community~! Almost three years ago our little family was ruthlessly & criminally attacked because of the efforts that we were making within the medical industry to inform patients of the truth regarding the still ongoing Democidal COVID & "vaccine" attack, so our Income and retirement plans of a lifetime of hard work were destroyed. Still, we thank God that we have the wonderful blessings in our life that allow us to make the best of our circumstances and to continue to help others along the way. Unfortunately, we currently live in Washington state which is dominated by extremely corrupt Individuals at all levels of the government structure here, so we plan to relocate to a more "Constitutionally correct" state as soon as possible next year to do our best to live free and to continue to help others as much as possible. The current Western medical model in the US is obviously collapsing under the weight of its own corruption so if we can find honorable Individuals in healthcare to work with, we would consider continuing our efforts in the field, but at our ages we need to work hard to rebuild the financial security that we need going forward. Many of the best in healthcare have been devastated by the intentionally planned and orchestrated atrocities of our own government over the past few years, so we hope that folks never forget that there were those in the industry who did their best to get the truth out when it mattered most and at extreme cost to themselves~! Together as Americans we can come together to create a FAR better country and with that set a positive example to the rest of the world~! Thanks to Dr. Malone for bringing a human face to America at these most difficult and dangerous times~! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all~! Sincerely, Mike & Lisa
WELL said, Mike ( & Lisa).
Thank you, Tom,~!
That is very nice of you, and may you have a great New Year in 2025 when "we" take back our beloved America and send the criminals packing~! ;-)
Sincerely, Mike
Thank YOU, Mike.
It would be a blessing if not only every illegal immigrant who has over run the USA, but every "American" Communist, Socialist (SAME thing) and "progressive" ALSO would be DEPORTED - and made it plain on DEATH should they ever step foot again on American soil. "We" don't want no stinking Socialist Democracy hell bent on destroying our REPUBLIC!
Absolutely~!
ALL of the illegal trespassers need to be deported ASAP! This must be done to secure our country and to make sure that "we" (America) respect and support the good folks who LEGALLY enter the US to be part of our country~! I have been a professional analyst who has been monitoring this terrible problem for decades because it is just something that American Constitutionalists do, and from the looks of things President Trump and his folks will be deporting many of the Illegal aliens right from the start. There is a new worldwide economic - financial system that has already started to rollout and the short version is that only people who are legally in a country will be benefiting from the program, so don't be too surprised if you start to see many of these illegal aliens leaving on their own in the near future. You may not know it, but you also hit on another interesting point! Very quietly and under strict national security there is excellent evidence that quite a few criminal "Americans" have been going through the US Military Tribunal process for some years now, so I can assure you that is NOT a corrupt circus court like the corrupt judicial/court system in the rest of America. The criminals going through US Military Tribunals get fair and speedy trials, and most of them won't be coming back into America because of their treason and/or crimes against humanity. Additionally, there will be quite a few "Americans" in government, politics, and the general public who have dual citizenship and allegiances to other countries (like Israel) and if they are lucky, they will be deported and never set foot in America again for their crimes. I understand how you and many Americans would LOVE to see all of the communists, Marxists, socialists, and others who are fundamentally against the American Constitution and all of our freedoms & rights deported never to return, however as an old American Constitutionalist that would be VERY difficult to really accomplish. Remember, these people have been VERY underhanded for many decades, and they hide under the rocks because they know just how unpopular that there plans to destroy America and Americans are. America also has a weakness in its very freedoms that allow for different opinions, which really is a great thing, but that also gives these mentally deranged "Americans" cover and even protection to be "anti-American". Many of these "Americans" are either mentally ill and/or just completely ignorant and unintelligent miserable Individuals who may have been indoctrinated all of their lives by the criminally corrupt US educational system~! This is one reason why President Trump and his folks are planning on eliminating the US federal department of education, because it has intentionally screwed over our school system and indoctrinated many by brainwashing them against America & The American Constitution. Education & REAL honest news may be able to help some of these anti-Americans see how foolish they have been, especially when they learn the truth about many of their political favorites like the corrupt Clinton's, the Bush crime family, the disgusting Obama's, Biden and his rotten people and many more... In fact, the truth has been slowly dripped out and I have been monitoring it pick up steam for years in the general public~! Unfortunately, most Americans would not be able to handle the truth if they heard too much too quickly because it would completely freak them out and create many terrible problems, so President Trump and the global white hats are orchestrating this slow drip of truth and conducting the greatest criminal "sting operation" that the world has ever experienced over the past few years~! None of this is reported in the corrupt mainstream media, however if you look closely, you can see it reflected in the mainstream media every day now~! The corrupt mainstream media has killed itself with their own anti-American brainwashing program and the new "media" has already been born and will take its rightful place... That is a very good thing ;-) Keep the faith and stay prepared, safe & healthy~! Have a great Christmas and get ready for a difficult and amazing 2025~! Great things are headed for America & Americans when the dust settles~! Sincerely, Mike
Bless you, Robert and Jill, I truly try to live in the same way.
I own that I am a creator and try to create something new (to me) every day. Simple things but they make my life worthwhile.
I hope our lives in the next year prove the value and joy of creative action in the world.
Pam
The joys of farm life! Several years ago I went in the morning to turn the dog and cat out of the kennel, to discover the kennel was a winter wonderland of ice! A pipe in the cat stall had burst, spewed, frozen, and was spewing again as I arrived at the kennel. Needless to say a very wet, bedraggled, angry cat was waiting impatiently at the door and was happy to make his escape! So glad you solved your problem and Jade can drink again. Blessings to you and Jill from our Angus farm in Alabama.
Such a clear way to start our week. Thank you.
My wife and I have installed and dug up more yard burys than I want to remember. The utility of having water available where you need it on a farm far outweighs the effort involved. Although someone living in a concrete box somewhere is sadly unlikely to understand the sense of accomplishment and labor saving importance of digging two feet deep trenches to get the water line below the frost line then filling the hole at the end with gravel, it is truly a marvel that, if lucky, you can admire ten years later.
So true. I've always thought it was a contridiction to say that parents work hard to provide a better (easier) life for their kids. Seems to me this is not doing them any favors and one can almost track the slow slide downward from the generation who lived through the Depression then had to go to war before they could start their adult lives. There has to be a balance.
"Tough" love, self responsibility, personal integrity and never ending self education is a recipe for well balanced children - and their children's children. NOT an easy task for parents.
There is rocky soil and then there is...rock. I have a bird feeder station that stood there for about 15 yrs with only occasional disruptions by deer. reaching for seed. What I assume to me a migrating family of raccoons decided they loved the suet and took the whole shebang down several nights. Since where the station is located is about 2 inched of soil over solid limestone finally got a 1' drill for stone and planted a foundation rebar 10" into that stone. The coons gave up and left