Like the illusion of Wall Street, with its vast and powerful investment banks, now shuttered, China too is an illusion perpetuated by the Globalists that gave us the 15,000 mile Caesar salad, poisoned cat food and lead based paint on babies' pacifiers. Like the illusion that money would come from thin air to always push housing prices higher, China has spent a generation pursuing its illusion. Pursuing an unattainable dream to be like the West, while 6000 years of its carefully shepherded top soil blows into the sea.
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 6:09 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
Got two trusses built for the woodshed barn addition. Cut all the pieces I had, but ran short so it's off to the building supply tomorrow. Hitting it hard this year. I think we are pretty late in this game. _________________ Local fix-it guy..
Joined: Oct 27, 2004 Posts: 675 Location: Salt Spring Island, Cascadia
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:06 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
The jack on our utility trailer was one of those wimpy after-market things, held on with four bolts that attach to "U" brackets. After numerous tightenings, the brackets were all bent up and the jack freely slid back and forth, because the bolts were out of thread for further tightening. So I got mad at it, and welded the damn thing to the trailer tongue.
Then I went a half mile or so into our land, where a gigantic bigleaf maple was being fed by an underground seep. Everything is so green and lush below there -- looks like a good place for a pond! A bigleaf wouldn't normally grow to 30 metres and a good metre and a half in diameter, unless fed really well.
When these maples get this huge, they start to shed like a long-haired cat. The base of the tree was littered with a good face cord of wood. With tractor and logging chains, I got them all lined up, wrapped a chain around the bundle, and dragged the lot back to the woodshed for bucking. Some were bigger around than my thigh, and a good ten metres long. We'll probably take another such harvest after the next wind storm -- all without killing a tree! Plus, we can buck them directly into the shed now, without moving them twice. "Ohio" principle: Only Handle It Once. :-) _________________ :::: Jan Steinman, Communication Steward, EcoReality, a forming sustainable community. Be the change! ::::
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 3:17 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
Bytesmiths,
Love the "Ohio" principle! LOL! Best way we found to make firewood with horses. Hitch one to a log, put a kid on his back, and send" em to the woodshed. The kid unhitches, and rides back. I stay in the woods and keep cuttin'. Don't cut it up until you are ready to split it, and it splits better, too. Slick operation.
Working on more trusses today. Received our two 5 gallon crocks from Netshops. Good deal, and fast. Now if I just had more cabbage... Oh well, I gotta make a kraut cutter first. Maybe next year. Should get the scythe this week, too. If so, then I can get to that mess of weeds behind the shop. _________________ Local fix-it guy..
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 3:39 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
patience wrote:
Bytesmiths,
My last experience with a brush blade was as a kid, cleaning out an unused pig lot, with 7 ft. horseweeds and wormweeds. One mighty (and only semi controlled) swing stuck the end of the blade in an old wood post. Yanking it free disturbed the nest of wood boring bumblebees inside, who sent a couple squadrons out to attack. Spent the day soaking the stings in whatever, and left the weeds for Dad to deal with--and the bees.
LOL ROF SOMN. This year I have been within one swing of three hornets nests, lucked out all three times. 35 years ago I was raking with a ten foot dump rake and raked up a yellow jackets nest on the tine right under the seat. Took three dumps to get it off but war had been declared. Both horses were old enough to vote but it was like we were favored in the Kentucky Derby. All the way to the woods, broke the pole on the first tree they came to and they met nose to nose on the far side. I kind of flew /bounced off the ass of one of them and rolled into the bushes. took the rest of the day to replace the pole.
Joined: Dec 25, 2005 Posts: 607 Location: Hillsboro, West Virginia
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:59 am Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
Shannymara wrote:
Showed son and husband how to use hammock tent:
I have a Hennessey Safari Deluxe. I used it last summer in the oak grove behind my house. I'm keeping it packed this year because it wouldn't do to get the nylon sun-rotted too soon.
Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5719 Location: Body in OK, Heart in TX
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:53 am Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
Jenab6 wrote:
I have a Hennessey Safari Deluxe. I used it last summer in the oak grove behind my house. I'm keeping it packed this year because it wouldn't do to get the nylon sun-rotted too soon.
I ordered 2 more so there's one for each of my family. In addition to being comfortable and lightweight, they take all of 2 minutes to set up and 1 minute to break down and pack away. That's WAY better than a "normal" tent. Plus you have less bugs, etc. I love the clips and gear pocket inside. My mom has a hip replacement, and she can get in and out of these things (you suspend them at chair height, step under and pull the entry port over you, sit down, then recline), whereas a tent on the ground is impossible for her. Awesome invention. I can fit shelter for my whole family in one little bugout bag, and still have room for the other needed items. _________________ "Every junkie's like a setting sun..." - Neil Young
Joined: Jan 03, 2005 Posts: 1212 Location: western Wisconsin
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:56 am Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
Last night we canned peaches. We go in with some friends and get a bunch from an Amish group that hires a truck and buys a truck load from Michigan, so we get really tasty freshpicked peaches for a reasonable price. We did 14 quarts (2 canners full) last night, and ate lots of them fresh, too, and will do another batch or so as the rest of them ripen. I hope that my peaches continue to grow and produce a usable crop in a year or two.
Last week we had a booth in the commercial exhibits area at the local county fair, and displayed my son's 1981 Comutacar electric car, to get people talking about electrics. The fair was trying to promote "green" technologies and ideas and made an effort to bring in a variety of displays and vendors. A fellow we know from the Twin Cities sold LED bulbs and similar items, too. We also had some information about wind power and currently available wind generators (at least ones that I feel actually work reliably), and had a lot of interest in that, too, even though the booth was such a last minute idea that I didn't have much to make the wind power stuff visible to folks walking by. Wish I had a wind generator suitable to taking to display at events like that.
All in all, it was an interesting way to spend a few days--talking about wind, solar, and electric cars at the fair.
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:37 am Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
WisJim wrote:
We also had some information about wind power and currently available wind generators (at least ones that I feel actually work reliably), and had a lot of interest in that, too, even though the booth was such a last minute idea that I didn't have much to make the wind power stuff visible to folks walking by. Wish I had a wind generator suitable to taking to display at events like that.
All in all, it was an interesting way to spend a few days--talking about wind, solar, and electric cars at the fair.
Sounds like fun, Jim. I have some family with a suitable site for wind power and wonder if you could recommend some resources.
We're going to get some local milk and eggs this morning, along with some good exercise. I've been seeing some little EV cars around, as well as cool bikes. I'm interested in an adult trike, but the ones I liked were very expensive. I spotted one at the grocery store and tracked it down. Pretty inexpensive and good quality by a known manufacturer. I really want one.
Joined: Nov 18, 2004 Posts: 1137 Location: Central Texas
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:37 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
Today I set up my solar water distiller after taking it down for a week-long road trip to Colorado. (Attended a niece's wedding and visited some friends too.) It has been about four years since I had to break the seal to do maintenance, i.e., cleaning lime from the basin.
Note the effects of the drought on what used to be grass/weeds in the front yard. At least I haven't had to mow...
I re-caulked the glass to the basin with "food-grade" silicone sealer. Now I will distill a couple dozen liters of water to rinse the glass and trough, discard that water, flush the basin really well for the next couple of days and then I'll be ready to collect for drinking water again. I hope to get at least 10 years out of this distiller. Four more years to go... _________________ About my avatar: Guess.
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:07 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
Split wood and stacked it under the deck/porch. little less than a cord today , about half done. Almost got through a day without rain then had a small shower about sundown. Daughter #2 is bringing me pink board insulation to finish root cellar. She drives by HD most days no need for me to make a separate trip.
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:37 am Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
Well, it's not me who's doing it, but, the state highway we live on is fianally getting paved this week. This was a rebuild that started 4 years ago!. Done in 2 sections of 7 miles each, this highway connects our county seat to the one in the next county over. The first 7 miles was done a couple years ago, but the second, easier half has languished until the cost of asphalt went up considerably, and cost Indiana a lot more money. A disaster from the start, this project has had us detouring on poor county roads for 4 years now, where we met huge trucks making farm feed deliveries, log trucks, and semi's delivering to local businesses. At one point the excavating contractor hit a cave and wanted to fill it with concrete! That would have created a lake in the 5 or 6 square mile area that the cave drains. It took a couple months to get that resolved through the state agencies with all deliberate speed...
I was concerned that it might not get done at all, if we had hit a serious oil disruption. We are going to need good roads, as fuel gets more precious, and road maintenance will probably fail to keep up. This project will save us a lot on fuel economy for necessary trips. I like the reduced grades and wider shoulders for bike use and possible EV use, too. Been waiting a long time for that possibility. _________________ Local fix-it guy..
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:03 am Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil worl
Well. I learned a couple of things this week.
1. The words of acquaintances should not be relied upon as truth.
Sure, this should go without saying... but I tend to put too much faith in people's honesty, especially if it's been a while since I've been burned.
2. Don't ever agree to bartering skills for services sight unseen. Don't do it. Even if they sound like nice folks. Even if they are friends of friends. Nope.
3. Don't feel bad about saying no. Now this is one I've learned in theory. Putting it into practice is going to be a 180 degree adjustment for me. No. No. No.
4. I learned that I am capable of handling crazy leaping calves, & dairy cows that dwarf me, by myself. This gives me some faith that cattle could still be in our future (husband really wants 'em)
5. Animal hoarding is even more upsetting in person _________________ Country Momma
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