Life goes on - Summer 2020




Just finished making a feeder for my chickens. The partial board I used to cover the gaps in my rough cut lumber fell out of someone’s truck going down the road a while back. The plywood I used for the back was some that was thrown out at the dump guess someone didn’t like the staining on the corner. So all in all my new feeder was built with lumber I just had around the farm. Even the oak I used for the cover was just hanging around in the barn. I have no clue what some oak boards with one rounded edge where for but there are a few of them in the barn from some long distant past peoject.
All I need to do is pick up a few hinges for the cover. One thing is for sure the chickens won’t roost on that feeder.

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Well. Wet, wet, wet cool here for the past 3 weeks now. Another 4-5 days say the weather people. No wood drying is occurring at all. I am down to literally scraping the wood shed floor of chips, slinters and wood dust. Paper bagging, and heat burning this.
Next years wood outside tilt bed dumped and tarped up in preparation to be outside row stacked for drying is just live wood too wet still. I can force it to burn/heat but at a 50% heat value loss. More sense to let the electric furnace blow away.
Ha! These kind of year we say here true summer begins the 5th of July.

The good news is now three batches of free range hen hatched out baby chicks.
The vegetable garden all now sprouted and above ground waiting to sunny days burst forwards.
The k-12 schools announced they will start up again in September with modifications.

Life endures, and goes on. Adapt and roll on too.
Steve unruh

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I was thinking of starting a thread “A Tour of My Shop” as a place for the DOW clan to post photos and videos showing the layout of their shop as well as tools and equipment used in their work. If you have an interest in this, please “like” this post and I’ll start it. If there is already a thread like that somewhere, please point me to it. Thanks.

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This is what we woke up to yesterday morning. Those numbers would be fine if they were in Celsius. It is equal to -3C
I don’t mind these temperatures because I can light up the coffee warmer. I love wood heat.

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Bill, those were about our numbers today. 27C = 80F.
Not a single cloud in the sky, but unfortunately I was forced to spend 8 hours inside the paper mill at over 100F :hot_face:
What a relief to get out, light up the woodburner and cruise home with windows down in the 10:30 pm sunset :grin:

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That should keep the bugs at bay. :bug::ant::::beetle::cricket::spider::mosquito:

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Nothing better than a fire when its freezing outside last time I was in those temperatures me and the wife took the kids on a canal adventure in the middle of winter for a month in the uk (cheaper in winter haha)

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Here also, but in your place it is not getting dark all summer?
Glad to walk/work in shorts. And the first cherries! Super idea for harvesting. Easy to say it is mine, but it is not. Very simple and functional.

This is the thing

And 32 asparagus we planted some weeks ago. It is to bad they don’t need fuel. Hard to get motivated for me.

Needs some weeding anyway.

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Joep, l owe you a box of beer! We too have literaly tons of cherrys on our property but all to tall to harvest. Was thinking about something similar to a apple harvester but this might be better!

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My 14 year old sun, just like that. He is always having solutions like that. My wife told me about his idea and I thought to 3d-print something, no just cut a V…

And that beer stands! Thx already.

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Joep,
Where I live the sun does set even at this time of year, but a clear sky is still pretty bright at midnight. The polar circle is at 66° and I’m at 60°. 2/3 of Sweden is north of me.
Nice cherry picker.

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Well guys, I finally did it yesterday. I retired! This is going to feel strange after working for 58 years but I am looking forward to some hobby time at my own pace. Maybe now I can play more with woodgas!

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Congratulations Don
My last official last day was April 24. So far only doing a small amount of woodgas work. Swmbo has numerous higher priority projects that as of today she had 36 years to remember them all. :astonished:

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Don, my touchscreen is cracket where the Like button stands! Congradulations, looking forward to your projects!

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Congratulations!
Hobby time = Tracker clutch, maybe? :smile:

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Congratulations Don!
It seems I am more busy now than when I was working.

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Congratulations, Don. We are looking forward to seeing posts of your new innovative projects.

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Congrats Don, now you won’t have time to work.:upside_down_face:

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I can do work for 15 minutes then I need to rest

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Well one more day of cool raining and burning paper sacks of woodshed debris.
Then 5-8 days of glorious sun shining. Long solstice days.
Our garden now really, really needs weeding. Be different shuffle hoe hands blisters and sore muscles from that.

I do not wish to intrude on the different charcoal talks so I will put this here.
A very good commercial wood charcoal maker from Northern California once told me that he made intentionally five different kinds of wood charcoal for different clients needs.
Some from the same trees species using different portions of that tree. Cooked differently. Some from selected species of trees.
Out my Doug Fir I can make three completely different charcoals. Only one from the actual limby tree knot-wood sections is hard handleably for storage. Never enough of that to be practical. Sure machine breaking stuff as char-brands. Steel saw chain sparks cutting as raw wood.
None of mine artist drawing capable. Nope. Still growing my willows for that charcoal.
Most of you fellow are showing yourselves, as not beginning to understand, that not all are ever the same.
In anything.
Accept that Mr Fusion was a Hollywood writers wet dream. And the shiny Bricklin handles like a pig, and only seats two people. No room for the children. No children support - - no actual Future. You are a dead-end not-solution.
S.U.

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