Glenn's Underground Cabin Update

Started by glenn kangiser, January 30, 2005, 10:24:03 PM

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Redoverfarm

No worry it will be gone once I get some other things out of the way first.  I had a couple extra ones at the house and I got tired of sitting on a plastic 5 gallon bucket.  I do however have some bar stools in the kitchen but with the weather being as nice as it has been I moved out side for my  c* breaks.

I am not sure if anyone else is having this break in the weather but it is a nice change from the last four-five months 80F yesterday (48F inside the cabin). I let my fire go out in the woodstove.  First time it's been out since October.

Ndrmyr

Here is a link for a big man's adirondack chair called "Jakes" chair. These would truly grace your fabulous front porch.  Personally, I'd recommend making a set of templates from tempered hardboard and you can then whack them out at will.

http://www.internetwoodworking.com/w5/chair.html

"A society that rewards based on need creates needy citizens. A society that rewards based on ability creates able one."


Whitlock

Nice hyjack guys heh heh

Scott us rustic builders all have a plastic chair of knowledge to use when figureing out how to make unsquare bent up twisted boards fit.

here is mine-

Make Peace With Your Past So It Won't Screw Up The Present

Redoverfarm

Whitlock we figured he has probably hijacked enough of the others it was "payback time".    ;D

glenn kangiser

Wow .... [noidea'


Nobody never talks to me much  no more then I go to work for 3 days and everybody comes by.  [waiting]

Guess I should work more often...  [ouch]





Quote from: Redoverfarm on April 02, 2010, 07:06:53 AM
Well Glenn they did stop talking about it so "Off it Went".  Maybe again this fall when it turns colder.





Wait  minute, John.  Is that what is left, or before you got rid of it?  hmm

It looks like it fits the cabin there. :)
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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Redoverfarm

No Glenn that is just before the scalping.  Shoot I look like a regular person now.  At least my daugher will give her Dad a hug now  :  Someday I will post the "post mortem version"   ;D

glenn kangiser

Just getting back through the postings here, John.  [ouch]

You know how much I love hijackings.   It's always an honor when people think enough of me to do it to  mine. :)



I think it needs to get 2 or 3 times longer than that before you remove it, John.... but not everyone takes pride in making others think they are crazy like me... [crz]
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

I cut mine off one time ind it looked so bad I grew it back immediately..... [waiting]
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Quote from: Ndrmyr on April 02, 2010, 05:30:52 PM
Here is a link for a big man's adirondack chair called "Jakes" chair. These would truly grace your fabulous front porch.  Personally, I'd recommend making a set of templates from tempered hardboard and you can then whack them out at will.

http://www.internetwoodworking.com/w5/chair.html



Nice chairs but I think I need even more rustic than that ..... then my wife gets these rope and stick modern covered swing chairs and makes me hang them by the old garage... [ouch]  

I told her they just do not fit my decor.... [waiting]



The plastic chairs, guys.... we have a ton of them but they seem to be easier to ignore.  :P
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

I got the corral area pretty well finished this weekend so I can maybe hold and grain out the little Houdini steer, the one named Hamburger...... [waiting]

I used the 3 foot tall animal fencing that was given to me by the lady who is holding him in her field now.  If he gives me a bad time I'll add electricity to it.

I still have to make the gate but that is only about a 30 minute chore as I left the wire long enough to reach.



I am still continuously swamped with work for the next few weeks at least I think, so not a lot of other progress, but I am not complaining.  Oh yes --PS the Bobcat is back together after I welded the sprocket back to the axle and my neighbor put it back together.  Now I can proceed to tear it up again.  At least it makes it look like I'm doing something.


Spike has been helping to keep the bottom of my truck clean.



and on another note , the garden continues to grow as the weather gives us a hint of spring.





Rhubarb looks like it will be pie this year.... [hungry]




and one of many flowers





Friends gave Sassy a bunch of strawberry plants so I will be making a patch of them below the top terrace I think.  I weed-eated the grass today and have to do it again so it does not strangle my tiller.  It is about 2 to 3 feet high in places.

I am covered with grass shrapnel from the bottom of my boots to the top of my hat. [scared]
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Got home early enough to weed-eat the rest of the grass into small pieces  that I could till into the soil without clogging my tiller and wrapping it around the tines.

With the grass short enough, it was amazing how well the first cultivation went.  I had a lot of rocks to throw out this time but it is getting pretty good already.  If I feel ambitious enough I may try the Chinese way and throw it all uphill then dig the clay some more then move it forward and move the good soil into the trough.  You can see the water bars I put into the bottom terrace this time - working well to retain water on the hill rather than let it run off.  The terraces seem to hold the water better as we had Swiss Chard on the sides volunteer last year and never died even though they were not watered throughout the summer.  The tree beds are raised to help prevent drowning the roots while the water is soaking in.

"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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ben2go

Looks like a good start to planting.I should have started a month ago planting a garden.Cheaper than the grocery store and a heck of a lot more rewarding than making a trip there.  d*

Is that rain water?I didn't think you guys got much rain there.I know you're not in the desert area.  ???

jdhen

Glenn, The garden looks great! I like the way you intensively plant.  I've been so preoccupied with building that I won't have a spring garden for the first time in several years.  :(  Well, my wife put a few spring onions and some garlic in a mulched bed but that's not going to get us very far!  Now I have to go to the farmers market and actually pay for my veggies!

You mention the Chinese method.   A few years ago I read Farmers of Forty Centuries by FH King.  It was amazing to me how much they moved the soil around, mixing and remixing it with compost and river muck.  All using rudimentary tools or even simple sticks!!  I think the fact that there was a large labor pool helped a lot.
Jesse

glenn kangiser

Quote from: ben2go on April 06, 2010, 06:42:11 AM
Looks like a good start to planting.I should have started a month ago planting a garden.Cheaper than the grocery store and a heck of a lot more rewarding than making a trip there.  d*

Is that rain water?I didn't think you guys got much rain there.I know you're not in the desert area.  ???

Ben, we start planting now when we get overanxious, but in reality plants put in later probably do better - I will have to work harder on continuing to plant throughout the summer this year.  

Yes - it is rainwater.  That is several thousand gallons that we would not have if I let it run down the hill.  We get a lot of rain in the winter (25 or more inches) and if it is held to soak into the ground it seems to really improve the growth of the plants.  We had a Swiss Chard that was never watered last year but never died as it was over a fill area that seemed to have stored a lot of moisture.  I have noticed the trees growing much more in the areas I have terraced as water soaks in more and stays in the ground rather than just running off.

We allow many plants to continue to grow and go to seed.  Lots of the garden is volunteer and grows year around..  

Jesse, I intensive planted corn last year and even though my bulldog destroyed the corn patch 3 times we still had enough for the freezer and it was only around 6'x6'.  I hope to do better this year.

The Chinese method requires a lot of work... I tried it a bit tonight taking the lower half of the soil I tilled last night and throwing it up on the top of the soil uphill.  I put some gypsum into the soil and some fertilizer.  I dumped some alpaca manure down there with the Bobcat and will have to spread it by hand.  Once that is done I will till the lower section once more - throw it on the upper section the till it once more and put it to the low side as it will be more mineral soil and I think the purpose of that is to get a water retention trough below the good growing topsoil.  Just guessing.  Hope I don't run out of energy before I get that done but it will be better than it was no matter what I do.

Sassy raked the chopped up grass down the hill for me to incorporate it into the soil - it is my green manure crop and has not gone to seed yet so should be great for the soil.  Hopefully by this weekend we will get the strawberries and whatever else we can planted there.  

I am working out of town again, so not much time for the garden and later this week or next week I will be working down by LA/San Bernardino again so will not even make it home for a day or two. [ouch]  

I still want to get serious with the garden though as I think the heavy work load may only be a temporary thing.
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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PA-Builder

Quote from: glenn kangiser on April 06, 2010, 11:08:46 PM

...  I dumped some alpaca manure down there with the Bobcat and will have to spread it by hand. ...

Don't they have pitch forks in California ... I may just fly out and watch this operation ...   ???

glenn kangiser

Quote from: PA-Builder on April 07, 2010, 07:45:54 PM
Quote from: glenn kangiser on April 06, 2010, 11:08:46 PM

...  I dumped some alpaca manure down there with the Bobcat and will have to spread it by hand. ...

Don't they have pitch forks in California ... I may just fly out and watch this operation ...   ???

I broke my pitch fork, but I didn't actually mean my actual hand, G. [ouch]

If you care to fly out,  I could put on a pretty good show for you though. :)

I had it just above the strawberry terrace with the Bobcat. so the shoveling wasn't too bad.  I added a bucket of wood chips from the saw mill and the rest of the grass clippings also and worked it in along with some gypsum and fertilizer.  I think that is about as good as it gets this time around as I am about burned out.  So that is about 4x 45' that is now usable as garden space.

When the tiller hits the bigger rocks it about launches but nothing has broke yet.  :)
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

I was sitting half dozing in front of the computer this afternoon and getting a bit depressed as I realized the clock was still running and I wanted to do a few more things before it's time to leave ......  Oh .. it's not that close but it is steadily heading this way... [waiting]...

..so I went out and got on the Bobcat to see what I could destroy. :)

I hope to have a running gold mill/rock crushing mill some day and I started the road a few months back.  What better time than right now?  The soil is soft and damp and digs pretty easily.



I made it all the way to the site today - just a hundred feet or so but there were boulders there near size of my truck - maybe 12000 lbs or so.



I sent this one over the side as I could do nothing else with it and I was HOPING it stopped at the wide fire lane/widened old road about 20 feet below.  It did but I was sweating it.  The next stop is about 200 feet down the mountain - the main road and Whitlock is always bugging me about rolling boulders into it.  Note the tree it took out going over the side - a small oak.

The mill will go right here so gravity can be used to move the rock or ore as the case may be.  Road above - turn around area - fuel above - haul road below and storage area if I ever have something to haul.  This will be mostly a small time mill as everything will have to be hauled in but it will be useful, private and protected from wandering parasites..... [waiting]




I will have it protected by a patrolling ghost dog with a stick. :)

"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

It's that time of the month again..... [waiting]


Several things going on.  Hosting international students again.  This time it is Morad and Ahmed. Morad is from Jordan getting his degree as a CPA - He already has his bachelors degree, and  Ahmed is from Egypt studying engineering specializing in aquaculture and is working on his Masters degree.



I always enjoy talking to these students from the other side of the world.

I finally painted the inside of the shower because the wonder board was looking a bit ratty.  I was beginning to wonder what it was.  Tile or something else can now be delayed a bit longer.... [ouch]


Also - the wildflowers are in bloom  - the Chinese houses are some of my favorites.



I worked all day today, will work all day tomorrow then off to Hesperia to work early Monday morning.  Am I the only one working? [noidea'

Morad had a close encounter of the dog kind today.  Spike wanted to play but Morad didn't realize that and thought he wanted him for dinner so he made a hasty retreat across the mountain with the rest of the dogs joining in on the chase.  That was not nice.... [waiting]

We must take better care of our guests.  Spike... this means NO SNACKING.....  [hungry]
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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phalynx

Glenn, let's get that lightbulb replaced soon. That really bothers me.

glenn kangiser

Hey, Phalynx, thx for the reminder.... I'm on it like flies on ummm ..... manure.... [waiting]
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Got the motor on the brush shredder last night after I got back from the Fremont Accura job.  I want to trim our one mile long road to our properties.  Too much chance of fire with the tall grass crowding the road from both sides.

I put a 2.5 inch pulley on the drive as I couldn't find a 2.25 but it wants to go racing so this morning I will go to town and get a 2 inch as an alternative and I think it will be plenty fast.  I put a 6.5 Greyhound Harbor Freight motor on it $95 on special, and it started for the first time on second pull.  It looks like a great little engine.

I had to raise the mount 1.25 inches and adjust it to fit as the 8hp Briggs it came out with was bigger physically, however I saw a DR shredder which is a later version of the same machine, with a 6.5 hp advertised so I am sure it will work fine.




"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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PEG688

 Bitchin about being busy , I hear ya , it's a good thing compared to the other option. c*

Do you still have he guy who needs , badly ,  ::) suspenders working with you or are you doing solo work?

 And NO  ( Please God NO ,)  we don't need any more photos of "Two moons rising" thank you! I was just curious if you where working alone these days.


 Rainin here , plenty of in the shop work to do.

Tak-er easy Glenn.

I wonder what those international students think of a real American "icon" like you Glenn? Way off the ugly American they where lead to believe from TV shows I'd think.

 A true ambassador of real America Glenn , nice job! 8)


   
When in doubt , build it stout with something you know about .

ben2go

Nice machine.I haven't saw one of those since the 80's.

glenn kangiser

Quote from: PEG688 on May 01, 2010, 12:21:21 PM
Bitchin about being busy , I hear ya , it's a good thing compared to the other option. c*

Do you still have he guy who needs , badly ,  ::) suspenders working with you or are you doing solo work?

 And NO  ( Please God NO ,)  we don't need any more photos of "Two moons rising" thank you! I was just curious if you where working alone these days.


 Rainin here , plenty of in the shop work to do.

Tak-er easy Glenn.

I wonder what those international students think of a real American "icon" like you Glenn? Way off the ugly American they where lead to believe from TV shows I'd think.

 A true ambassador of real America Glenn , nice job! 8)


   

Oh you mean Fred, PEG... let's see now... where did I put the latest picture... no Fred has gone to work on a ranch down in the Valley, but I do have this picture my daughter sent me of a butt lift gone bad -- keep it to yourself but there may be litigation involved with this plastic surgery I think [scared]



The main steel company I sub-contract for has been slow so instead of farming the jobs out to sub-contractors and laying their guys off they have me take their shop men and run them on field jobs all over the place.  I get them going and either do the jobs with them or let them continue if they are capable enough on their own and then I come back as I can get there to help or iron out problems.

Currently I am doing the steel work on a job in Hesperia about 320 miles away and Fremont about 150 miles in the other direction - just finished one in Fresno about 75 miles away and am going back to Hesperia tomorrow evening for work, Monday, Tuesday then probably Fresno to start an new job Wednesday, then to Fremont again after that.  

No rest for the wicked, eh?..... [waiting]

The steel company has only supplied me with help in Hesperia for a couple days - the GC foreman calls me the one man band there.  He was whining the first morning because I didn't have a crew running around looking busy, but the company told him to just leave me alone and stand back and watch - the job would get done.  By 3:30 in the afternoon I had the columns all up and even made 3 repairs for him.  He was totally happy and never complains - even wants me back.. :)

Yesterday there was a bully hayseed tobacco chewing moron hassling me for a bit.  My big crane truck was too big to go in their 11 foot high door so I just had my little one.  He said, "You should have taken up working in potato chips instead of steel - they are a lot lighter."  I kind of ignored the first smart aleck remark and just said my truck was too big to get through their little door.

About an hour later I went to talk to the GC foreman and he was there.  I couldn't hear real well but he looked at me and said something.  I walked up about 2 feet from him and said,  "What did you say?" seeing some of his drool and part of his wad of chewing tobacco while still  looking him square in the eye.

He said,  "I been to Suburban before - they are right there on the south side of Fresno in the Park", referring sarcastically to the fact that they are in the poor part of town and an area that is a melting pot of various ethnicity.  I am not prejudiced against any race.  Just against idiots like him, most politicians and criminals who deserve it.

These guys treat me like family and are my friends so so I said back-- sarcastically also  "Yeah, and we've got the N's and the Mexicans, so what's your F'ing problem?"

He knew I was on his case now and kind of cowered a bit and said, "Oh nothing, I was just F'ing with you."

I said, "I'm from Mariposa and there we take people who F with us and shoot them and throw them into the bottom of a mine shaft."

I did not smile when I said it... he took me seriously, and immediately wanted to be my friend.  He started talking about Mariposa and the surrounding area.  He was familiar enough with the people and area to know that possibly what I said might be true.  I'll never tell him any different.... [waiting]

I love making new friends. :)

That was my fun story, PEG.

The international students are all great.  Our Muslim friends both invited us to come and stay with them in Jordan and Egypt.    The others in Taiwan also invited us over to visit.  All of them are welcome back here.

As I continue to say - it is not the common people who want the wars... it is the politicians and big business who do it for greed, money and power, waging their corrupt wars on the backs of the working class.  

I consider these foreign students to be as good a friends as it is possible to have anywhere and much better than the dregs of our local societies.

I think we may have foreign professors coming to stay next week.  I'll update when we know for sure.

Take it easy, PEG and don't over-rate me...  [rofl2]
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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