Comments (1) Had another bout with the stomach bug again today. Cat had problems last night. Not sure if it is the same one or another one or another round of the previous one. Unpleasant whichever. Nothing much got done but sitting in the sun and reading in between trips. Better for now. Will be a early night. Tomorrow am gonna try to do the stuff I didn’t get to today…
The day was a success in several ways. Game play was rapid and with 42 or 43 on the field there was a lot of action seen by all. After getting the propane regulator unstuck with a few well placed blows and hitting it with pressure on and off a few times, the grill worked great. Fed 24 paying, and 6 or 7 staff. The food was well received and seemed to be enjoyed by all. Fare was 2 burgers or 2 hot dogs dress em your self, baked beans, chips, and a drink. Was supposed to include a desert but somehow that part got forgotten and was found at the end of the day in the bottom of the fridge. We will do better next time.
Made enough to buy another shelter to use for the kitchen which I am gonna pick up tomorrow. Planning on getting another one to use as a portable work area too. Whether I get two of them tomorrow or not I haven’t decided. Probably will to be done with it and have no more excuses of no dry place to work in. 🙄
Finished the day with a fire in the big fire pit. Must get pix of it, keep meaning to and then forgetting it. Called it quits at about 10 pm. Long day as it started in the field for me before 9 am and Cat by 9. Got a work day this coming Saturday and may have a game the following Sunday. Have had several ask for a Sunday game day so will see if they are really interested.
Tis late and I am ready for some down time so will close till tomorrow.
Got out on the tractor and moved Tim’s trailer into it’s resting place. Jacked it into some kind of level and blocked and shimmed it into position. Ran the cord for power and he spent a bit cleaning it out.
Did much more, including dragging another power pole across the creek beside a cedar tree that has been down for 12+ years now, to build a foot bridge from. Getting closer. It looks like the beavers have moved back upstream since the water level has come back up. There are dams that they haven’t repaired in 3 days now and their ponds are clear to the bottom so something has happened to them. Will have to keep a watch this weekend.
Game tomorrow. Big game. Gonna call it an early night to try to get ready for it. Will try to catch up and such after this is over. Till the morrow.
Or so it seems. Still not feeling good but am a lot better than yesterday. Didn’t get much of anything done today, but didn’t sleep the day away like yesterday so think that’s progress. Drove to the top of the hill and sat in the sun and read for a while in the afternoon. Came down and tried to crank Tim’s truck but the battery was dead again. Got the charger and put on it. It seems to be taking a charge but as drained as it was left it on trickle overnight tonight. Will try it in the morning and see if it will crank. Had just gotten the charger on when Tim and Bob drove in with the camper that Bob is selling Tim. Got it kinda parked and unhooked for now and will move it around into it’s permanent location with the tractor later. Got dark on us and Bill built a fire which Tom, Cat, Bill and I sat around for an hour or so till it got cold enough to run us all in. Came in, got firewood in for the night, ate, and sat down to this. Gonna read for a bit and try for an early night. Till the morrow.
Been attacked by a stomach bug and surrendered for the day. Mostly abed and out of it. Here’s hoping that the morrow will be a bit less explosive. 🙄
And on that note, gentle readers, I will leave you for the evening…
All day sorting and alphabetizing books. And only a few thousand left to go. Most of what was in the parts of the dwelling not the front library area, have been put on the shelves. I’ve sorted and alphabetized through G so far. Other stuff is mostly sorted but not in it’s final resting place yet.
Tomorrow I’m planing on getting the books out of the old trailer and putting them on the shelves. Then comes sorting through the 4000+ in the qhut that are not cataloged already and sorting between keep and sell and then getting the keepers on the shelves.
Long day and tired Dave who is heading for bed. Till I type again. 😎
Figured out what I would need to do the 28 feet of shelves. Found the bits and cut the long pieces in half. Cleaned (kinda, sorta) and dried the steel and started the installation. After a couple of tries decided on 6 shelves and a 12 inch high area at floor level for large and reference books. There is also a shelf a foot from the ceiling so we will figure on 8 shelves per section. As of a few minutes ago I now have all but one shelf in place and that one needs a blue cross piece that is over at the other trailer and I don’t feel like braving the elements (dark) tonight. 🙄
Anyway that figures up to 224 feet of liner shelf space. I counted the books in 4 feet earlier tonight and it came out to 54. Didn’t take an average. But that figures to 13.5 books per foot. So the shelves we have on that wall will hold about 3024 books. Guess that would round off to 3000 or so.
Have decided to move the 10 x 55 trailer with the tin roof up here and butt the back end up to the east most door of the trailer here now. That should give us enough sq footage to house all the books that are in the q-hut now. That way I can move the machine tools into the q-hut and have a real work area with cement floor, instead of fighting the dirt in the barn. Much work remains but it seems to make more sense than any other idea I have had so far.
Doing some rough figuring it seems that using the cross walls and all the long walls we should be able to house 16000+ books in the 10 x 55 trailer. Should be enough for now. 😯 🙄 😎
About had enough for the day so am gonna call it a night. Till I type again… 😎
Or something.
For those (most of you reading this) that haven’t been in the compound here that we call home, the bit I wrote yesterday about shelving and nicknack’s most likely didn’t make a lot of sense. For those that have been here, no further explanation is necessary.
Starting at the beginning, the reason I call it a compound is that it’s not just one dwelling even though there are only the two of us living here. There is the original building which I put up 20+ years ago that is the quonset hut. I then built a greenhouse onto the back of it of which half is still here (though not for long) and houses the bathroom and laundry facilities. The next addition was a 12 by 60 mobile home/office building that I moved in at a right angle to the back of the q-hut and is offset to the east by about 4 feet. We then removed half the greenhouse and built a 2 story room that joined the greenhouse half that was left, the q-hut and the mobile home. An additional room 12 x 16 was added to the back of the 2 story part to house the plants, heater, and firewood storage.
The mobile home part is used mainly for storage. The main room is about 24 by 11 and has floor to ceiling shelves around most of it. The bit we moved yesterday was a 12 by 3 foot wooden shelf from a school building that we had on the floor along the south wall under the windows. This was filled with assorted glassware and stuff that we both collect, rocks, old turtle shells, feathers, and ceramic pieces to name a few of the many items. Hundreds of pieces. All of which had to be moved off the shelves, and put elsewhere so we could move the shelf across the room and screw it to the opposite wall above the couch and chair on that wall. Which we did. I went looking for a support for one corner and found a beaver stick that was just right, trimmed to fit and screwed into place. That’s one that they won’t use in their damn dams again! Then every piece had to be dusted, cleaned if necessary and put back on the shelves. After I made a few more shelves that is. Still got to cut two more, and am procrastinating by typing this out. 🙄 But we are much closer than we were.
After getting the last of the stuff back on the relocated shelves will start on an additional 16 feet of floor to ceiling shelves for more of our books. Then we can move the books off the 12 feet of shelves now on that wall (which have to be moved 7 inches to allow for the full 16 feet of new shelves). So much moving and rearranging fun, so little energy. 🙁
And that’s what yesterday was all about. Other than splitting half a truckload of wild cherry to keep the home fire burning. And loading it, then unloading it. And cooking the 12 inch dutch oven full of chicken and veggies. I am quite tired today for some reason, but would like to get at least 3 sections of the new shelves up so we can start moving the books off the existing units so we can dismantle and move them. Multiple sequential vortices anyone?
And I am off to find shelving steel and cut the same. Stuff I have is 12 feet tall so am cutting it in half and making 6 foot shelving units. Then adding another shelf attached to the wall about a foot under the ceiling. Doesn’t look the best but works and has the least waste of anything I could come up with. 😎
Spent the morning splitting wood and the afternoon moving cabinets, dusting and placing knickknacks. Resulting in sore arms/hands/shoulders. Will try to report in full on the morrow. Till then…
Game today, which took up part of the day.
I spent most of the day ripping and tearing trees, brush and vines with the tractor and box blade. Got the big wild cherry to break loose and pulled it out of the creek. Will cut it to straight section and debark some strips on it and leave it to dry for a couple of years. Or if I get the saw mill up and going soon may just cut it to a 10 or 12 inch beam and leave it to dry. Looks like I can get 14 to 16 feet out of it.
Removed the rebuilt section of beaver dam this morning and Bill got in and removed a lot more this afternoon. They should be working all night to repair the damage. Soon they will have cleared all of the smaller stuff along the creek and all the way to the barn. That’s when they either leave or get dead.
Removed most of the stumps from by Bills garden plot. Got one more tree to get out and then fill and level the area.
Cut up all of the dried stuff I had pulled to the camp site. Now to split and load about half into the truck and bring up here for the stove. Several hundred pounds of nice dry cherry heart, good burning wood.
Lakebed is draining nicely. Hope to get back in there before the next rains get here.
Worn out and hurting all over more than any where so am gonna call it an early night. Gonna try to get up and out to the local flea markets and see what we can find. Tell the next exciting update… 😎
Pistol match tomorrow. Not sure what all they are gonna get into.
Spent part of this afternoon putting pegboard and shelving into mongo’s hooch.
Another part patching wind damage in town and digging out the last bit before the drain for the lake. Have water in it for the first time in months. Now see where the low spots are so know where to drag the first loads from the dam proper.
Will try to write more tomorrow. Going to be an early night as I have an early morning tomorrow.
Today was fun with beavers day. And no not that kind of beaver. 🙄 This is the kind that builds the dams in the creeks and makes lakes out of low lying areas.
Started the day out with moving one of the dead cars to the area in front of Bill’s bus, mainly to get it out of the way of folks coming into the parking area. Scrapped the weeds and brush that had grown up under and around that car and drove over it a bit to flatten it all out. Drive is now wider in the final turn. 😎
Then went across the creek and started pulling brush and small trees out of the creek and off the bank to allow the big wild cherry that fell in the blizzard of 93 to come out once I cut it off on the other side. Tree is still mostly alive, just big time in the way for several future projects. Fought with it for quite a while and tore up my towing strap pretty good and then decided I needed chain and another kind of hook. Have a bunch that will work on the transport dollies so removed one piece from the one I’ve already started taking apart. So easy to type that last sentence but removing the chain took over 30 minutes of beating and hammering then I got to looking at it and thinking instead of just doing the get a bigger hammer number and supported it from the back and it drove right out. Next time shouldn’t take more than 5 or so. All in figuring out how to do the job. 🙄
Went back and started trying to pull the tree out of the creek/beaver pond and made a bit of headway but the rain started so I went to the barn and put the tractor up. Went inside and got to digging around for metal to make a grappling hook to remove beaver dams with. Found some plow parts for the points and used a lawnmower blade for the shaft and bolted it all together. Added a section of chain and as the rain had let off a bit got the tractor out and went back down to the creek and tried the hook out. Not a total failure but close. Need a shaft at least 2 feet long. May need 3 or so to get it to hook right. But it allowed me to pull the middle of the dam apart enough to release over a foot of backed up water. Spent a half hour or so with a rake and removed a lot more of the dam. Then the rains came again and we called it a day. Need to get the hook modified and the arms reshaped a bit so I can remove the other 4 or 5 dams that the little pests have built. I suspect that the one I opened up today will be rebuilt tomorrow, unless this rain we are now getting the leading edge of, keeps them inside, which I doubt.
And that was pretty much the day. Sitting here listening to the rain and thunder. Supposed to get an inch or so with this batch coming though now. Will help with the drought but need a lot more that this to get the ground water levels up. Hope the drain is open all the way through the dam. Suspect that the lake bed will have water in it tomorrow whether it is open or not.
Gonna look through some feeds, read a bit and call it an early night I think. Hopefully I will be able to move tomorrow so will see how much stuff at the playing field has to be repaired after the rains and wind tonight. Till then… 😉
Didn’t do much of anything today. Muscles all quite sore and lots of other pains too. Between the change in temp and humidity and me overdoing it for the last couple of day the body decided I needed a day off so I took one.
Put up a fan to distribute the heat from the wood burning stove a bit better. Hung it from the ceiling and angled it to blow down toward the floor at the other end of the room. Had put it up last year and taken it down in the spring when we quit using the woodburner and I had forgotten about it till I noticed the two hangers in the rafter. HUGE blank spaces on the tape… 🙁
Bill came by and we walked to the lake. Has got some water running in but it’s hitting a hole before it gets halfway to the drain. Will try to get back up there tomorrow with the tractor and start the rerouting of the water. One area I want to dig out for a pond is mostly clay and rock that I can start scraping out if I can do nothing else due to the rest being too wet. Will see, and if I do get it stuck I can try out a couple of tricks I have learned for getting tractors unstuck since the last time I spent 3 days digging it out of the lake bed. 🙄
And that was the main highlights of the day. Hope to do more tomorrow. Till then… 😉
Had fouled a plug yesterday and kept on anyway. Upon getting out and about today moved the tractor to the front of the barn and did a bit of maintenance. Had been meaning to reinstall the front shield and finally did so. Changed the plugs. Tightened the exhaust pipe to manifold nuts. Checked and added oil. Replaced the positive battery terminal with one from the 68 Volvo 142. Another car I need to get running again and sell.
After getting it ready, took it to the town and pulled a timber I cut yesterday out and down to the firing range where it will spend the next year or two drying and curing. Then scrapped and cleared some brush. Pulled another 2 logs from by the dam to by the camp fire pit to cut up for firewood. Finished cleaning brush, privet and vines up by the lake drain pipe outlet.
Went to the lake bed and spent the next couple of hours pulling dirt and rotten sticks and such away from the stand pipe and drain entry. Most everything was rusted out pretty badly but cleared back to and open pipe so should have drainage.
Then went to the west end of the dam and started clearing trees and dead stuff to start cutting through it for the new creek bed. Made it up the side to the old fence and will have to remove it prior to any more work right there. Went to the east spillway and cut some of the pile of dirt there loose and started filling sink holes with it.
Dark fell and the rains came and in I ran. Food was consumed in moderate quantities and to the computer came I to recount the toils and tribulations of the day. And thus I come to this the present. Time to scan a few feeds and call it a night. Till the morrow… 😎
Hopped on the tractor and headed for the lake bed this am. Scrapped the tall stuff down and then started scrapping the brush and smaller trees into a pile for later burning. Ran out of gas and went and got the spare gallon and sent Cat to the station for another 8 gallons. Took the truck, chain saw and other implements of destruction with me when I went back. Cut the tree in town that has been waiting for the time and saw. Then went to the lake bed and took out the ones that were leaning and much in the way. After spending the first 15 minutes filing the chain. Worth it though the way it cuts. Cleared most of the bed (2 to 3 acres) of grass and brush. Pushed my way up the center of the bed clearing as I went to the first water behind a beaver dam and started reinforcing the dam. Doubled its thickness in just a few minutes. Hope I give the little critters a complex… Gonna take the top 5 or so feet off of the big lake dam and move the dirt into the lake bed. Cut a hole in the dam for the creek to flow through and work from there. Should be an interesting next few weeks/months as I move several thousand cubic feet of dirt and rock.
Got another game this weekend and again next weekend so gonna be busy with other work and clearing and fixing around the property for the next few weeks.
Gonna call it an early night and start again tomorrow and see how far I can get before the rain hits and calls a halt to the lake bed clearing. Till tomorrow… 😎
Didn’t have a good morning. Overdid it work wise yesterday and my muscles are still telling me about it. Got through the morning and lunch and managed to get dressed and out and on top of the hill for some much needed sun and air by about 2. Spent a couple of hours sitting in the sun reading then came down and walked around and looked at stuff that needs doing. Which is a lot. But have managed to line up some things that need to be taken care of soon. Lot of down wood on the west side of the lake bed so am gonna punch a road through on that side to both harvest the firewood and also to provide access.
Arms and hands are giving me a bit of a problem so am gonna cut this short and hope they complain less tomorrow. Till then…
After a dripping wet start this morning it turned into a pretty good day. Had 18 or 19 playing for the first game anyway.
Tim did a good business with guns, bb’s and assorted batteries, magazines, and parts. Now to get the building cleaned out, stock shelved and the website finished. Maybe monday or tuesday.
Ended up cooking for the mob anyway. Keaton brought egg rolls and cooked them on site. I had cooked the deer stew last night and did some doctoring on it today after lunch and served it, along with cooking a couple of pans of cornbread to go with it. Boiled 30 hot dogs and had chips, pickles and assorted crackers. Not super fancy but was filling and much was consumed. No egg rolls were left! Good stuff!
We put it all up and I walked back to the camp then over and took the sign in then sat and started this. I am beat. Lot of stuff that went on that ain’t in here. Run here and there, soldered the catch back on a belt buckle, more running, cooking, fire building, still more running and cooking and then eating and board splitting and fire building. Long day done and done.
And now I am gonna call it a night and start again tomorrow. Till then…
Got through it and actually got a few things done. Game tomorrow (today as I am writing this after the witching hour) so am gonna cut it short.
Got a bit more done on the site. Looking like first of the week to go line I think. Will see if I can get a few more things done between now and then with the game in the way.
Wondering how this ice storm or whatever is gonna affect the attendance and travel. If it is bad may have to start later.
Got deer and vegie stew cooking in the crock pot for eats for us tomorrow. Should be ready right around lunch. Cooked the steaks hot in the frying pan after a short milk soak and flour, salt and pepper dip. After they were done added water and made a gravy and added them and the gravy to the crock of diced veggies and water. hope it is as good as the last we had. Finished the last of it today.
Tis early morning and I got to get up early so will close. Till the morrow. Or later today as it were. Or something. 🙄 😉
Where has the week gone? In a daze due to mild fever and illness I suspect. Have felt much better and some of the time do. Whatever it is is really weird. Sometimes perfectly fine, others feel like I got lungs full of crap and a sore throat, still others when the joints ache like the flu, and there is the disorientation and dizziness now and again. All in all not near as boring as some bugs, just wish it would get out of my system and life.
Almost got the e-commerce site where it can go live. Tim is putting product in like a mad man. Never seen anyone put in as much as fast before. Still got to get the info pages worded and in place, and add a few more bits of trim here and there but it’s close and should go live within a week. Will post a link here when it does.
Next got to get the book and junk site up and going. Was going with Drupal and Ubercart but after working with Zen Cart again I am leaning toward it instead. It’s come a long way since the last time I worked with it. Looks to be growing up rather well.
Bought a year of Skype Pro just now. Cat had called her mother and noted that our balance was going down as she talked. I checked and our previous year or whatever was up so $36.00 later we got another year of outgoing calls and a answering machine for those on Skype that call us if we aren’t around. Tried to get a local # on Skype In but the only thing they have is in Huntsville and Hartselle and both of those are long distance for land lines from here.
Time to check the fire and call it a night. Got a bunch of stuff in the tabs that I need to get posted before Firefox crashes or I make an error in clicking and close the wrong window again and loose them all. 😥 So anyway will try to get that tomorrow or sometime soon. Game this Saturday so will be busy the next 3 days but will make an effort to post at least once a day. 😉
Till then… 😎
Guess I have and have had a bug for the last few days. Last night the inside temp here was high 50’s low 60’s and I spent most of the night out from under the covers so at least something wasn’t regulating right.
Have been setting and getting a e-commerce site set up today. More on that when it has product in it. Not mine btw.
Cat had another dentist appointment today so that took the afternoon.
Loaded in some wood for the night and been sitting and reading or on the computer since. Gonna be an early night too. Still feeling a lot less than fair.
And with that minimal recounting of the day I am gonna close for now. Till tomorrow…
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