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Just out of interest, after discovering and reading the entirety of this awesome thread, how much time out of every year does your part of Canada spend under snow? Its just novel for me, coming from Africa where snow doesn't happen, at least on that kind of scale.
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Feb 16, 2011 18:35
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At this time of year, it feels like approximately 13 months. In reality though, there is usually winter-like conditions from late october to right around the end of march. This is all highly variable of course, we get chinooks that will melt everything and give you +15C days in the middle of january, and sometimes you'll get half a meter of snow in may. So there may not always be snow and ice on the ground, but "winter" typically lasts about 5 months, sometimes 6, and sometimes 4 depending on the year.
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Feb 16, 2011 18:59
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Slung Blade posted:So there may not always be snow and ice on the ground, but "winter" typically lasts about 5 months, sometimes 6, and sometimes 4 depending on the year. And now I am reminded why I don't want to live there. Sorry, man. Everything you do is cool as gently caress, but god drat. 5-6 months of winter?! Not worth it. But you just keep being awesome.
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Feb 16, 2011 20:28
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Slung Blade posted:I still wish I knew girls like all of you in real life. I baked shortbread for ladies at work and my friends. My friend's wife told him and he told me that she would marry me for my cookies alone were she not already married, but all the single ones keep ignoring me What the hell man, whenever anyone brings sweets or baked goods into my class at uni we all swarm around them like a huge ball of bees full of praise. Seriously, this one guy, Sev, went from being "that quiet guy who's not bad on the eyes" to "OMFG marry me your brownies are beyond gorgeous". He now gets asked "so, where are you living next year?" every day. I want to know what you're doing with your garden, is it worth planting any edibles out there, or is it too cold? p.s I love winter.
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Feb 16, 2011 21:45
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Keep in mind, for every day where the sun rises at 9am and sets at 4pm, you have another day where the sun rises at 5:30am and doesn't set until like 11:30pm. So the summers are pretty awesome. Spring and fall are great too. Winter is kinda nice because it lets you rest from all the work you've done all summer. I still have that big bag of seeds that I was going to plant last year but never got the chance/weather. Some will not germinate, I know, but I want to try using them anyway. A row or two of potatoes, and I want to grow a little square of wheat and sugar beets, see if I can refine them myself just for a laugh. Gotta do some work on the tractor soon, get it ready for spring.
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Feb 16, 2011 23:12
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I don't count spring and fall, when the snow flies and when the snow stops is "winter" By my count, we have winter 8 months out of the year.
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Feb 16, 2011 23:36
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Slung Blade posted:Gotta do some work on the tractor soon, get it ready for spring. Excellent! I was missing updates about both of your projects.
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Feb 17, 2011 03:50
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I've followed your two threads pretty much since their beginnings and have to say what an awesome inspiration you are for, well, doing stuff. I bought a place last fall in Western Washington. It's 1.6 acres in the country down a dead-end road with a large creek bordering one side and only 1 neighbor. The place was super neglected, though, and came with a decent but old double-wide trailer home I live in, a good 2 car garage, a 2 car barn/shed of sorts that half fallen over and an abandoned 3 bedroom two story house that's pretty much condemned due to mold, rats, asbestos, and everything else imaginable. However, it was barely just in my price range and I couldn't pass up the deal even though I'm now on a super tight budget. I get so overwhelmed by all there is to do that I usually end up doing nothing while microwaving corn dogs to eat(in typical goon fashion as a 32 yr old single guy afraid of women). In contrast I have an awesome neighbor family that comes to play in the creek and makes awesome sand castle cities, tree forts and huts out of the story books, and bakes me fresh apple pies from the fruit in my orchard (3 apple, 1 pear, and about 5 plum trees). I don't do much with the fruit other than give it to them and my family. My whole place is surrounded by evil black-berry bushes that, though I hate dealing with them, are awesome to get fresh for pancakes in the morning. I plan to rebuild the house, but it'll have to be pretty much stripped to the foundation. It'll take me awhile to gut it, haul it out, then gather afford the rebuild. The barn thing blocks my view of the creek and I plan to move it this summer. I want to put in a wood stove since I've nearly an infinite amount of wood that washes down the creek from seasonal flooding. Yet again, I hardly get anything done because it's easy to become comfortable and not care after the initial excitement goes away. So, reading of your projects inspires and motivates me tons. I want a tractor soooo bad. Lastly, my septic system is horrible (works, but is extremely illegal). I just had a guy help me figure out how to put in a new system. I have issues with well proximity and creek proximity that makes it tough. I can't have a drainfield due to my soil which is pretty much clay. So, the only option is a very expensive sand-filter with 3 14'x12' mounds that'll do the filtering. It produces really pure water, though, that can be used for irrigation and stuff. I can't remember the exact name (it's a proprietary system) and although expensive now, will give me back equity since I purchased the property as-is for a nice discount. I also live in nearly rain forest conditions, so maybe that puts a damper on my spirits to get out and do stuff. On the sunny days, though, I'm rarely inside as I enjoy watching deer, bald eagles, beavers, or my dog run around the area. Country living is amazing. Makes my 40 minute each-way commute so worth it when I see Mt. Rainier the whole drive home and the stars at night after my work day in Seattle. Thanks for sharing all you have and do. AzureSkys fucked around with this message at 21:48 on Feb 18, 2011 |
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Feb 18, 2011 21:45
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ack! posted:my dog run around the area. Looks like a dream sequence or flash back in a movie before something really horrible happens.
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Feb 18, 2011 21:56
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ack! thank you very much, I'm glad you're enjoying them. I wish you all the best for your construction and efforts, please keep the blackberry bushes  (also make a thread so I can follow your work too please)So I was working outside on the tractor today, and I got a few little things done, but I also wanted to do something for the house. Last week I bought a new wok, I finally found a place that sold round-bottom plain steel woks. The only problem was that it was coated in this paint poo poo. I have no idea what it was, but it didn't coat everything on the inside of the wok itself. Gotta do something about that.  So I used my shop tool and wirewheeled all the paint off the interior, and sanded it down a little until it shined pretty well.  I cleaned it up, and then I heated and oiled it. Hopefully this one won't be poo poo. Oh, and I baked some bread. I ran out of whole wheat flour, so this is just white bread. Haven't had that for a while 
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Feb 22, 2011 05:21
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My dad and I hooked up this neat little plumbing thing a while back. My fridge has a water/ice dispenser on it, but I can't use them because my well water is lovely. Well, I used the ice dispenser, but that's because I manually made ice and put it in the tray.  So, 12v RV pump, 12v power supply, culligan bottle, various bits of tubing...  ...and a little pressure tank rigged up to a snazzy homemade stand to even out the spasms of the pump.  Now I have running drinking water in my kitchen that I don't have to pump by hand, yay. 
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Mar 21, 2011 07:15
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That's a pretty cool idea. Is the water so bad that throwing a filtration system for the fridge wouldn't work?
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Mar 22, 2011 01:29
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It's burgin' time! 
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Yeah I don't really want to drink it without having an RO system and maybe a distiller on top of that like my folks have. My parents have both of those and make plenty of extra drinking water so I don't feel the need to purchase the extra equipment. All I do is take an empty jug over once per week when I go to pick up their garbage and they fill it up for me. It's worked well for almost a year now. The well water is theoretically drinkable, but it's very sulphur-y smelling and has a high mineral content. Great for washing, kinda lousy for cooking. Best to just avoid it when possible.
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Mar 22, 2011 02:18
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Well then I think your next challenge is to make a still. Although I am not sure on well that will work to get rid of sulfer.
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Mar 22, 2011 02:33
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If you have a hookup for good water, even better. Sulfates is one of the problems with well water around here too. There's something pretty unnerving about going to take a drink of water and getting a smell that resembles eating a ton of eggs and farting. If we ever get to live the dream of moving on about 5+ acres and have to use well water instead of city water, there's gonna be a filtration system. Also, you should build a still and make a kickass thread about it.
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Mar 22, 2011 03:14
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If I make a still, it won't be for water. And it wouldn't be legal to post...
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Mar 22, 2011 07:28
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Of COURSE it would be for water! You'd be separating the water from all the nasty other stuffs. It's just a matter of what you'd be keeping and what you'd be throwing away.
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Mar 22, 2011 07:41
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Shucks, you could just keep both liquids. And fertilize with the solids. Pretty drat conservationist if you think about it; an excellent use of resources.  Like splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. Only with barley.
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Mar 22, 2011 13:02
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http://www.lartigiano.co.uk/Documents/DIY-Plastic-Still.pdf e: I only post the double-bucket evap still 'cause it's so goddamn easy to build/run that I was basically moonshining under my stairs in the 11th grade without anyone ever finding out Ambrose Burnside fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 16:15
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The 16th was my one year anniversary in the house. How time loving flies. Not much to report. County was pumping water for two weeks to handle the melt, and the culverts in the ditch were the main slow points. Three crews, three trailered 5" (I think, maybe they were 4 or 6) discharge, and a smattering of smaller carry-able pumps working day and night. They never had them throttled right up, but just slow and steady. They're gone now, but it's snowed again this week. loving 10cm accumulation already. At least the roads are clear. Hopefully the ground is good enough to plant a garden in this spring. Last year was a watery disaster.
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Apr 18, 2011 06:51
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I've been burying my kitchen waste in semi-random places near the wellhead since I moved in. Time to consolidate it in a proper compost bin. These brackets are great, screw some 1x6s to them and make whatever size you want. Costco just brought in their fruit trees. These have worked great for my parents for years, even though they're pretty young, they get lots of nice apples off them if the weather cooperates. I got 5 fruit trees and one spice pear(!).  I read up on the pears, and I'll need a second tree for pollination, will pick it up as soon as I can find another one. Setup my big tank (loving finally) with a valve on the outlet and pumped almost 4500 litres of meltwater into it. Prepped the drain pipe to collect rain, too.  Started prepwork on the garden. Needs more cultivation, but I had run the tractor long enough and I don't want to kill the batteries.  As I said the other day, the frogs are singing. I tried to capture how loud they are outside, but it didn't quite come through. Just turn up your speakers though, you'll hear them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYq6YlelEoM e: vvvvvv I'm thinking about getting another one or two 
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May 2, 2011 05:46
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That's a big loving tank of water.
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May 2, 2011 06:03
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No its not :P The one im sizing up for the new place im looking at building is 10.7m wide, 3.2m tall and holds 290,000L (63,000 Gallons)
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May 2, 2011 13:34
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What kind of brackets are those for the compost bin? I'm planning on making one for my mother for mother's day, but haven't researched it yet.
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May 2, 2011 14:07
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ack! posted:What kind of brackets are those for the compost bin? I'm planning on making one for my mother for mother's day, but haven't researched it yet. http://www.leevalley.com/us/garden/page.aspx?p=56092&cat=2,33140&ap=1 Lee valley is a great store. Their stuff is pretty expensive, but I find it's usually pretty high quality. You have to supply your own wood boards though, keep that in mind.
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May 2, 2011 15:00
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Holy gently caress what a day. Did some harrowing with my new chain harrow, pulled out a shitload of tall grass and put it in the composter. (I moved the composter the other day, probably a good idea to get it away from the wellhead...)  Land was in decent shape, so I planted three rows of potatoes. It was too loving windy to plant the other seeds, they would have blown away before I could cover them up. Mowed the grass for the first time this year, pulled about 800 pounds of rocks out of the garden with this awesome little rock rake I bought, watered everything, and basically had a great day outside. No pictures of the tractor because I am an idiot, but here, pretend this is me.  Also I enjoyed a shower beer for the first time ever. I regret not doing it before, they're awesome. To give you an idea of how windy and dry it was today, I drank 2 schooners of iced tea, and three schooners of water, plus two beers. Haven't peed since I woke up, and I won't until tomorrow probably. LOVE THAT PRAIRIE WIND
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May 15, 2011 05:20
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I hope you use moisturiser or you're going to end up with a face like this by the time you're 35: Dem prairie winds sandblasted Jimmy Bob's teeth right out o' his skull too
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May 15, 2011 11:51
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Slung Blade posted:
Haha, I had absolutely no idea that the word "harrowing" had some real root.
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May 15, 2011 14:21
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Slung Blade posted:Also I enjoyed a shower beer for the first time ever. I regret not doing it before, they're awesome. Wow, what a great bad idea. Nice. Thanks for that thread link, I stay the gently caress out of PYF so I don't die of sitting in front of my computer.
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May 16, 2011 14:38
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 MAY LONG WEEKENDThat means THREE WHOLE DAYS of doing stuff and cooking and drinking. gently caress yes. I need this pretty bad, been working my rear end off lately at work, so I need some time to do things that I want. To that end, here is the first of what I hope are several update this weekend. Having my friends over tomorrow, so I gotta prep some food and clean the house. Hmm, may as well do dessert first. How about some pavlova that's not burnt this time:  Had a bunch of egg yolks left from that, and I have lemons in the fridge... Time to try my hand at lemon curd, never done this before.   Not sure if I got that right, but it sure tastes good. We'll see how it is after it chills out in the fridge overnight. MAIN COURSE: Beef ribs, to be smoked. Gotta get the rub on them the day before for maximum penetration   I'm also doing pork ribs, but I didn't get a picture of them. Whatever, no one likes you, pork ribs. Also making bbq sauce. This has to reduce and simmer for about 6 hours, I will hit it with a stick blender then and make it a nice fine liquid. Making the whole house smell like bourbony jalapenos.  Also this duck was hanging out near my back door the other day, about 50 meters from any duck-navigable water. What the hell duck, you are not a land creature. 
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May 21, 2011 21:34
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It is, however, a delicious creature. You know what you need to do.
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May 21, 2011 22:05
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Springboarding off that- have you/do you plan on getting any sort of livestock? Slaughtering your pseudopets isn't for everybody, but even a couple of chickens for eggs or a wee goat for milk would be pretty neat/rewarding.
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May 21, 2011 22:30
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Slung Blade, I wanted to let you know that this thread inspired me. Instead of doing a crappy paint job on my new living space I actually went through and fixed that poo poo. Sanded and washed the walls, sealed the cracks, fixed the screens on the windows, and a brand spanking new rug. It's not much, but it was more than the "coat of paint and call it a day" I was originally planning. Couldn't have done it without you. 
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May 21, 2011 22:59
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SB, how do you prevent your big water tank from bursting due to the water in it freezing during winter?
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May 22, 2011 00:09
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Shower beers are awesome. Back when I worked rotating shift, there was nothing like getting home at 8am in January and having one. Hot shower + cold beer = awesome. Especially after a cold winter night of work.Slung Blade posted:Whatever, no one likes you, pork ribs. You take that back  Slung Blade posted:bbq sauce. I think we're gonna need to see a recipe on that... for 
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May 22, 2011 00:37
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Ambrose Burnside posted:Springboarding off that- have you/do you plan on getting any sort of livestock? Slaughtering your pseudopets isn't for everybody, but even a couple of chickens for eggs or a wee goat for milk would be pretty neat/rewarding. I would like to, but it seems I have a hard enough time keeping up with all my duties as it is. I'd need some kind of feminine partner to help me look after any chickens or such like. Goats are herd creatures, I'd need like 3-4 of them to give them a good life, and I don't really have the time or the space to look after that many mid-sized animals. Wandering Knitter posted:Slung Blade, I wanted to let you know that this thread inspired me. Instead of doing a crappy paint job on my new living space I actually went through and fixed that poo poo. Awesome, good work.  Steakandchips posted:SB, how do you prevent your big water tank from bursting due to the water in it freezing during winter? The best way is to empty it before it freezes. It's just meltwater and rainwater, so if by some miracle the tank isn't empty by fall, I will drain it into the slough out back. The other way, which is less than ideal, is to get one of those surface melters that farmers use to keep dugouts and cattle watering troughs from freezing. They draw a lot of juice, but they work. I heart bacon posted:Shower beers are awesome. Back when I worked rotating shift, there was nothing like getting home at 8am in January and having one. Hot shower + cold beer = awesome. Especially after a cold winter night of work. Hell loving yes, I had another one tonight. I heart bacon posted:You take that back Ok, ok, when there are beef ribs present, no one cares about them. I still like them too. I heart bacon posted:I think we're gonna need to see a recipe on that... for It's actually from GWS. Noghri_ViR posted:1 stick butter It's not quite what I use. I use less ketchup, I use more honey, less lemon, and I add whiskey. Sometimes more or less spice depending on who I am cooking for. Awww yeah.  Stick blended.  Then after I cleaned the house, I got out my seeds.  Today I planted all of the onions and garlic, those beans in the bottom right, the peas uh somewhere, corn in the top right, the single packet of pumpkins, and every ounce of energy I had Still have a shitload of plants to get in the ground, maybe I can convince my friend and his wife to give me a hand tomorrow...
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May 22, 2011 05:31
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Wandering Knitter posted:Slung Blade, I wanted to let you know that this thread inspired me. Instead of doing a crappy paint job on my new living space I actually went through and fixed that poo poo. Yeah, this thread has been an amazing inspiration. When the thread started, I was hunting for a bargain that I could renovate. I eventually got a thing, it was in a sorry state and it wasn't a bargain, but it's getting much better. Every time I feel demotivated, I turn to this thread. I wish the previous owners had been able to benefit from your thread as an example of how a home owner should be SB.
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May 22, 2011 21:27
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Steakandchips posted:SB, how do you prevent your big water tank from bursting due to the water in it freezing during winter? bury it under a jean pain style compost heap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHRvwNJRNag
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May 22, 2011 21:43
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echomadman posted:bury it under a jean pain style compost heap Holy poo poo of course, free heat. 
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May 23, 2011 02:22
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It poured rain today, couldn't plant anything. That's fine, free water for the beans, peas, and onions.  Here's the smoked rib images from yesterday:  mmmmmm  My trees are looking pretty good. Blossoms, nice leaves. My folks are coming over soon to help me plant them. 
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May 24, 2011 05:04
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