Another Trip North

You can sure tell we're not in the Central Valley. The sky is as blue as my shirt.

You don't pour, you shovel. The mask was so I didn't breathe in Portland cement.

My helpers. Actually Maureen is more than a helper in this enterprise, she is a partner in thought and work.

We went north again mostly to do some more work on the pizza oven. We visited with family and enjoyed our time together. After a few days of rain and drizzle we poured the insulating hearth of vermiculite cement. What a strange mixture that was. 5 parts vermiculite to 1 part Portland cement mixed to the consistency of oatmeal. You don't pour, you shovel. Fortunately only four wheelbarrows worth compared to the 30 bags of redimix. Takes about 3 weeks to cure then on to the bricks for the hearth floor and the tunnel or dome of the oven itself. That will be fun.

The strangest event, or it really should be called a blessing was the journey my eye glasses didn't take. We were in the parking lot of a grocery store in Napa with dogs and food, ready for the last half hour of the trip and I realized I didn't have my glasses. We thought through all the possibilities and figured they fell out of the door pocket at one of the three stops along the way. I don't have spare glasses in the correct prescription and I've worn glasses for many years. I anticipated a weekend of headaches and little reading. When the rain extended out stay, I just figured the glasses were a loss and I'd have to go through the process of getting new ones.

We traveled home and stopped at the first two places, gas and food stops across the street from each other. No glasses. We continued south and the last stop was at a rest stop off of the northbound lanes of the highway. We had to travel to an offramp pass the rest stop and I commented that though I was going to turn around and return I wasn't holding out much hope of finding the glasses.

We pulled into the rest stop and we got the dogs out and they got into a tizzy with some other dogs and that put everyone on edge even more. I located a person that looked like a supervisor and asked if there was a lost and found. She said there was and we could go look. She put her hand into the box and pulled out my glasses case and glasses. I thought I was going to cry. Joy over some glass, plastic and metal.

Then I realized the joy is what one gets in trusting that God is still calling the shots.

A Time for Everything Under the Sun

24 April 2009 was tilling day, and the beginning of our adventure across the street. We started with such great expectations and for the most part they came true. We jumped in and grew many things. What started with our neighbor Joyce welcoming us into her backyard and her daughter Marcie continuing to give us open access has ended. Our choice after seven years.

How many people do you know that would let you use their backyard as if it was your own? We had access virtually any time of the day. And as much as we could get them to take the produce, the only rental cost was the fruits and vegetables that were produced. Suburban Sharecropping is what we called it and it worked. In Joyce's last days we knew that she could look out onto a green yard and that spurred us on to grow.

Ultimately lives and times change. We found ourselves in a constant battle with Bermuda grass and weeds. But the Bermuda was and irritant beyond contempt. We tried things we never would have tried in the beginning. Weed cloth, pulling by hand, mulch, herbicides were to no avail. It became tiring to walk across the street knowing we would see our vegetables partially grown over with the Kudzu of the west.

But it was more than the Bermuda. Marcie, Tyson and the boys always made us welcome, but we were still walking into someone else's yard. My personal sense of space had alarms going off. It was me that felt like an intrusion. I used the alley gate and that helped, but as the family grew I couldn't help but feel like an interloper. This was my internal workings nothing they did or said.

The final decision was made in January. We were starting to plan for this year's plantings. The no-till method was working well on our property and for the most part across the street. We were confident the plants were getting nourished. We were talking one evening about weeding across the street in preparation for planting. I happened to look out into our back yard, specifically some unnamed unfinished job and I became overwhelmed. I looked at the tasks I needed to finish here, the fact that baseball season was beginning and I would be around less and i thought now is the time to change. I felt I wasn't taking care of my own first and that any time spent away would make finishing more difficult.

We talked about the decision and made adjustments. I still haven't finished everything I want to, but some have been completed. Many days bring a reminder of the decision, and more often than not it is an affirmation that we made the correct choice. We won't have as much produce, but one of the ways we are adjusting is to look to maximize our own land usage. Disposing of some stuff is helping and looking closely at what we keep is important.

Ultimately if we believe that hard times are coming, we can't have unfinished jobs, materials and work cluttering our minds and efforts.

What's Goin' On?

Baseball, building (or at least tearing down) and gardens. It's that time of year when baseball interferes with the spring garden beginnings. Having some time in the morning helps, but evening is my most productive time and I am away.

We took the youngsters to an almost inner city school yesterday and for some it was eye opening. Other than a bad loss,it was event free. Our whitebread players were exposed to other people and with some prodding realized those young men have the same thoughts and desires as our kids do.

The one thing the kids were shocked a bit about were the homeless camped and sleeping in the trees and shrubs of the freeway. The boys literally saw people sleeping as we creeped by on the congested freeway.

Besides our own gardens, we started a project we have been trying to get started at sister-in-law's house. We have helped others start gardens and while this is the latest we hope to have more going this year. We have decided to cease gardening across the street at our neighbor's. The years of trying to eradicate bermuda grass finally was too much. The area will be missed, but the recovered time will allow us to refocus other places. We spent so much time fighting the bermuda it finally hit us we could use the time in better ways.

The playhouse is mostly down. The second story is demolished and ready for nails to be pulled. The bottom half is ready to move and will be soon. The area left behind will become a mini orchard and tomato patch. We will try to grow vegetables until the trees get bigger and shade the area. It also cleans of the backyard a bit. We still have to find places to store tools and such, but that will come. As usual for us, we plan as we build and fit things as we create new openings. Sounds kid of like nature--Nature abhors a void. So I guess I should go fill the opening to do work.

Still Mine--Movie Review

Still Mine is a film we stumbled upon through Netflix. Netflix, Spotify and Pandora have been the center of many discussions about their mathematical mumbo jumbo being used to give us the movies and songs they think we want to listen and see. That is a discussion for another day, but they do get it right sometimes. Still Mine is one they got right.

Spoiler Alert! The story, based upon a true tale, is about an older couple having been married 60 years and the struggles when one starts forgetting. The husband, Craig, decides to build a house for Irene to help her and him as they finish their years together. He has been taught how to build a house by his father and precedes to do so, even as the local building inspector red tags him repeatedly for code violations. Even though the house is being built to higher standards than the code, the inspector continues and the fight ends up in court.

While this is happening Craig and Irene re working through the changes they are experiencing with Irene's losss of memory. The sadness and love of this gets played out in different ways and is worth the raw feelings they invoke.

Recently I read that over 50% of Americans look at the country and don't recognize it compared to their youth. Beyond the technological advances, how the country operates makes them feel like they are living in a foreign country. That is what Still Mine reminded me of as I watched Craig. Not only is the woman he married changing, but common sense and the simple act of being reasonable and flexible is lost and not to be found in the building inspector. The beauty is that as unmovable as the inspector is, Craig is so grounded from a deep foundation of truth the inspector's rules and codes look trite.

 If you are frustrated with the direction of our leaders and country, Still Mine will tap into that dissatisfaction, but it will leave you at a better place after the movie than you began.

Different King of Work, Better Soil

Today's tale is just a small picture of what we have been doing. Maureen found the Back to Eden method of soil building. We covered our garden and food beds with shredded trees and compost. The idea is that the soil will be protected and the worms and other critters will work their way through the soil to the decomposing plant material on the surface of the soil. They drag the plant material down through the soil and aerate and build the soil. No tilling is done and compost and more mulch is added each year. I'm not describing the process very well, but I hope you get the idea.

Yesterday Maureen started the process of planting a tree and in digging the hole for the tree had to dig in an area with the mulch and a nearby area with no mulch. The mulched area was softer and had more worms. The other area didn't. Score one for mulch.

A Place of My Own Review and Using a Kindle

I just finished A Place Of My Own by Michael Pollan. You might recall that Pollan is primarily known as a food writer, The Omnivores Dilemma, In Defense of Food and other books. There is much to read by Pollan about food and worth the effort. This book is different as it's a 2 1/2 year journey building a writer's hut for himself.

Many of us, I know I do, have an almost innate desire to build. From childhood to present I have constructed and deconstructed various buildings, rooms and spaces. Pollan describes the entire process of talking to an architect friend who designs the 8' by 16' building. We get to be a fly on the wall as they discuss Craftsman vs. Modernism vs. Post-Modernism and their effects in building design. It was a bit slow at times, but informative as to why buildings today look like they do.

There is a ongoing description of the classic architect vs. builder divide over a building. The architect that is designing art is certainly to come into conflict with a builder that tries to construct a building that will stand and not leak in a rain storm. It was interesting to revisit this schism and Pollan even offers a historical basis for the split.

The main of the book though is the description of Pollan, a carpenter novice, building the hut with a hired hand who is opinionated as well as skilled. They discuss every detail as they build. I also found the sections interesting when Pollan goes to a local craftsman to have the windows built. The craftsman explains why the architect's design is flawed, ow it is flawed, why the windows will fail soon because of no water seal, and how to solve the issue.

Ultimately it is a good book about the desire for shelter and rest and the construction of that desire.

This is the first book I've read on a Kindle. I was generously given one for my post op recovery as I would be reading. Overall I liked the system. I enjoyed being able to change the font size of what was being read. With the larger fonts I was forced to scroll to a new page more often but that was worth the larger size and less eye strain. I disliked the effort it took to go back and reread a section, or refer to a diagram. With a book you can hold a place with your finger. Not so with the Kindle as you have to scroll back to the page desired and this could be more than a few screens.

I also have to further investigate a issue I had with my eyes watering. It only happened at night and after a day of reading. The backlighting of the Kindle didn't contribute to this, but I can't prove this idea. When the eye watering would start I would make the font larger and if it continued I would have to stop. Reading a laptop screen or a regular book usually stopped the watering. Again I have only this anecdotal evidence. I am looking forward to another book to see what happens.

Maureen also used the Kindle and she would jump from book to book and that shows the Kindle's ability to hold a library of books, truly a good thing for a reader.

Odd Bits and Pieces

This will kind of like making a stew. You take the odd bits and pieces of what's going on and combine them into a life at this time.

--Recently our community had a young man die of cancer. He has battled for over three years. What was amazing was during halftime the opposing school took time during their homecoming festivities to have a moment of silence for this student. Sometimes schools do get things right and remember what is important.

--The farmer's market seems to be slowing down for the year. The market we help at is year round, but there are seasons. With the recent baloney from the dealer backing out, our friends are plugging along. They have started a new CSA box program and it is growing slowly. Let's hope it takes off very soon.

--We purchased some more solar products yesterday that will help us have options. Goal Zero is the company we are using. They have a plug and use system of panels, inverter/battery and accessories that allow for expansion and versatility. We were looking for a system to camp with and also use in a grid down situation. Mostly we had many questions concerning how to utilize the panels we currently own into the system we can use. We ended up buying some larger panels and a generator/battery to convert the panel generated electricity into usable electricity. We hope to use it later this month.

--Fall baseball has started and we're off too a roaring start. Seniors acting arrogant, freshman acting scared and everyone else trying to learn. As with every year we lost some players and gained some, but it's the one that have been with us for a few years that will determine how we do.

--On another baseball related topic, I am a league rep. That means I go to one or two meetings a year and meet with reps from the other leagues in our section and discuss news and give input on policy. Our proposals and suggestions are voted on by the administrators and CIF people and this becomes the rules we operate under for the next year. We had a meeting this past week and like many of these I walked out feeling like my input will be ignored and I just spent 2 1/2 hours of my life that I will never get back.

--For a person that was known in town for riding his bike everywhere, I sure am driving a car much more than riding now in my new life. Feels weird.

--I have never been a Yankees fan, but have liked a core group of their players: Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter. All baseball fans have to like how Jeter played his last game in Yankee Stadium. Too cool.

--Recently traveling on Amtrak two things happened that I hadn't experience before. The train was delayed at a station when it ws announced n the overcom, "Conductor to cafe car immediately."  About 3 minutes late,the same message was announced. The second one made me think. Eventually we were underway but just before the next stop it was announced the we would have a longer stop at the next station and we were met by a sheriff's car when we arrived.  I guess someone didn't like their ginger ale. Later we stopped at a station and some passengers got off for a smoke. I was anxious to get moving so I started observing the smokers. I thought it nice of three young men to share their smoke so as not to waste cigarettes. They I figured out it wasn't tobacco they were smoking. Nothing new under the sun came to mind.

With that, I'm off to spend another day on this spinning globe.

Ecclesiastes 3 & Home Projects

I was reading one of my daily blog reads, chismheritagefarm.com, and a thought hit me about teaching. The author of the blog was talking about getting up and working on his farm, then going to work fixing computers, then coming home to do more farm work.

As  teacher, I rarely had the luxury of leaving work physically and mentally also. Maybe it was me only, but even at home I had a stack of papers hanging over my head that needed grading. Or a pile of wood that needed to be cut for student projects. Maybe that was the curse of being an English teacher. I'm sure that I've had this thought before, but it hit me differently today.

We are in the midst of some household projects. Actually there is a list of projects to finish. They are the leftovers of jobs that I had put off because of lack of time while teaching. Certainly coaching baseball added to the list. January to June is the dead zone of getting projects completed around here because I am gone dawn to dusk chasing the white ball. We would carve out some time to plant the garden or maybe fix something that couldn't wait. Usually the task was added to the list.

One of the benefits of re-jobbing, down sizing your income while leaving one job to find another, is I now have time to complete some of these projects. As well as work on some of the dream projects that one never seems to get accomplished, like setting up a shop.

As wonderful as this might seem, I still ponder one thing. How come I'm not doing more?

Napa Area Earthquake

It's been said that a wise person looks at the news and media coverage of an event with a cautious eye. We don't often get to see an experience or crisis firsthand. It seems these days that news media want a quick and simple explanation, and complementary to that we as citizens want the "quick and dirty" version of these affairs. This last week I had the chance to see why caution is a good trait to have when making judgments about many things.

After hearing of the recent Napa area earthquake and talking with family there, I visited for a few days to see if I might help some. I saw part of the damage and what I saw on the TV and internet didn't prepare me for what I saw. As with many natural disasters, the logic of why one building is hit and the one next door stands unharmed is missing. I do know it will take time to rebuild and the area will have a "do-over" in how it rebuilds. What will become the priority and how will the area look afterwards? Will Napa become more of a boutique destination spot, or maintain its agricultural tourism region feel?

At few things did happen that made me scratch my head. A San Francisco TV newscaster while looking at a picture of grapes on the ground between vineyard rows said something to the effect that the earthquake was so strong it shook the grapes off the vine.

 No. The grapes were on the ground as they were thinned, picked off the vine to improve the remaining grape clusters. What is bothersome is that many people are out of touch about how our food is produced, and don't take the time to learn more. I admit to not knowing many things, but I hope I wouldn't tell others on TV about those things.

Another perception is that Napa Valley is full of millionaires and they can handle a few lost barrels of wine.  Or at the least they have insurance to cover to damage. That may be true for some, but the majority of people, including non wine makers, earthquake insurance is too expensive and deductibles make them even more expensive. Remember insurance companies are in business to make money, not protect us. The stories I heard were more on the line of people uncovering themselves from piles of wine barrels and boxes of bottles with the help of their friends. The houses that weren't shook to the ground, but had objects fall from the wall or shelves. Of doors and windows that won't open or close fully. Businesses downtown that could open but were shuttered because the business next door hadn't done their seismic retrofitting and might fall. So who is hurt the most?

The workers that make the wineries run. The cooks and servers that bring us our restaurant food. The common man and woman that are trying to house and feed their families. Fortunately it seemed that much of the area is still up and running. The lines of cars and trucks on Highway 29 were still long, but they included winery trucks delivering part of the harvest. Life goes on and that is good.

The Beginning of Another School Year

And I am not there.

Yesterday at the farmer's market, a former colleague asked what I was thinking about not having to report for school this fall. I first answered with the usual comment about enjoying not having the stress. I then said I was sad. She mentioned a friend of hers that had just retired also. This friend was going to come back to work because he missed teaching. I miss teaching also.

I have been trying to organize my thoughts this past week about the odd feelings I have had. I miss teaching. I don't miss bureaucracy. I don't miss tests and papers. I do miss students, even the sullen ones that are a challenge to get to smile.

Still I wondered what was the root of the uneasiness. The comments about the other teacher shed light. I was sad to not be doing something that I have done for the last 31 years, and still like doing for the most part. The habits formed in those years haven't been broken yet. I realized I really need to make an effort to start new habits, new work to form new habits. As friend Jim did, I need to make a bookshelf.

Deep down as I opened myself up to these thoughts, I realize not teaching is still the correct decision. So many new worlds have and will open with that choice.

Civil Duty and Corn and Fencing

I was summoned for jury duty today. Fourth time I was called in the last three years or so. Fourth time I was excused. This time the defendant failed to appear for their summons. The authorities are now looking for them. Our child in the house commented, "Sucks to be them." Maybe so, but maybe not.

A room full of citizens heaved a heavy sigh. Some were thankful to go back to work, some not so thankful. A few of us had no pressing business. I wondered at the time and expense of nearly 75 people called to a room, then let go. Compared to other people in other parts of the world, I can spend some time sitting in a room talking.

Better than fleeing my homeland and gangs. Better than being asked to deny God and embrace Allah or being killed. Better than sitting of a hilltop hoping for food, water and maybe a trip off the hill. Better than watching my neighborhood burn in a St. Louis. Better than watching any of these on tv "news."

It looks like the corn crop is almost done for the year. A success by most standards. 94 human edible ears from two beds of about 88 square feet. At least a few dozen more went straight to the chickens. We haven't grown corn for years and this year we had a few empty beds and some seed, so we tried. We haven't grown corn recently because around here it is abundant and pretty cheap. So in a bad tomato year chalk this one up as a good thing.

Sure wish the hot weather would change. I want to get to work in some cool temps. The idea was that I would be working at another job, and that is still the plan. Yesterday was spent making a new gate in the back fence. It will be part of a bigger gate that will allow driving a vehicle or trailer onto the back concrete. I need to finish by on doing the old gate and re-fence that area. This will allow to get the chicken coop area cleaned up.



Sure is nice to not have school hanging over my head. How did I do that for 30 years?

A BIG Tree Trimming

 We have a pecan tree in the back yard that is both a friend and nuisance. Pecans shed something all year long. Pecans, aphids, goo, blossoms, leaves, and just plain stuff. Ours was barely more than a twig when we moved in to the house and now it had grown taller than the 50 year old oak in the next yard. It was time for a trim, but much more than we could handle. So we called Pete's Tree Service and they did a great job. And even came back to touch up a limb afterwards.

Gunnar isn't sure what is happening at this point.

 These are a few views of the tree before trimming. The tree on the right is the oak my great aunt planted in the early 1960's. The purpose as to save some of the tree for some shade and pecans. It had become too much shade for the garden below it. As we have expanded our vegetable growing in the yard, we realized we needed more sun for the plants. Rather than cut the tree down, we decided to trim it first.

If you look close in this picture you can see the trimmer about to cut the top limb.

The final result, almost. We estimate about a 60% reduction in leaves and limbs. The result is also virtually no shade on the garden and back deck in the late afternoon. (Temperatures have been over 105 for the last few days, so a bit hot in the evening.)  We haven't used the deck in a few years and had been planning on using the space for chickens or other critters, so this moves that project along.

In talking to the arborist he said we should expect to get about three years before another trimming is needed and the tree will fill back out over the next year or so. 

The move to the side yard for outdoor eating is now official, shady and closer to the kitchen.  All good.

For the Future

I have a warning about this post upfront.  I will have been writing this over a few weeks time before it is actually posted and made public. There are some events that need to happen before I feel like publishing.  I think you will see and understand after I finish.

In the middle of April I turned in my retirement papers to the state of California. I will no longer be teaching at the high school. Thirty years at the high school I "graduated" from, 31 total teaching.  I feel like getting a shirt that says, "Finally Graduating!" It's time. Once for a kick I wrote down all of the different classes I've taught and the rooms I've lived in on campus. 16 different classes and 13 rooms. Some of the classes don't exist any longer nor some of the classrooms. The former Auto Shop turned into Photo lab with the leaking roof. The portable classrooms, one with faulty wiring that would short out and another with no ventilation that induced lung ailments. What a cross section of time and spaces. The best will always be Room 81 and the Ladies of the English department. I sometimes wonder what it all gained? New teachers see me as the curmudgeon, older teachers are mostly gone, and the administrators I tried to help by being a team player are retired. At the end we don't seem to remember the team players, just the stars. But I still got to put on the uniform and play.

45 more days

At this time only a few close friends and family know of our retirement. I have told the principal so he may plan for next year. Couldn't tell if he was relieved to have me gone or truly surprised. Once again, I tried to think of the school rather than keep things quiet and not tell him. Yesterday the principal came by with another form. In addition to the state paperwork, I need to fill out a district retirement form.  Done.

40 more days

I also found out this week a good Math teacher is leaving for another district. Part, or maybe much, of the decision was the $13,000 raise he will receive, that's over 10%. I know that I didn't go into teaching for money.  I know that I make a very good salary compared to most in our poor county.  But one can't help but wonder how school district #1 thinks about their employees when nearby district #2 chooses to pay their teachers that much more #1 and doesn't?  Or offers a 1% increase while receiving 9.5% new monies? Now you have to trust me when I say I'm retiring not because of a lack of money, but there sure seems to be differences in how districts value people, both teachers and students. As a side note, the superintendent of District #2 mentioned above was just named Administrator of the Year for the county.

38 more days

This has not been a good week. I am angry about a few things and retiring is a great thing to do.  Great as in let's get out of Dodge before the school burns. Maybe there are stages of grief in retirement, just as in death. I've been sad, nostalgic and now angry. What's next?

I just read on Facebook that another teacher my age in the district is retiring. They posted a picture of themselves turning in their papers. Hooray for them!  It is always interesting to see who leaves the district each year. This one was expected, but not this soon.

24 more days

The principal announced through email he is taking a position at the district office.  This had been rumored for weeks. Including him, the school is looking for eight new employees.  Not a welcome task. It will be a new school site next year, a whole different feel with the new employees. I hope a group of someones step up and makes the school great again. Again, another sign it is time.

Recently I told  a friend I was retiring. Actually he is on the school board and read it in the agenda.  It wasn't supposed to be in the agenda, but to the district's credit it was removed before the meeting.  Some people saw the retirement notice and mentioned it. Still mostly on the down-low I hope. The friend was a mentor in my teaching and coaching. He was excited for me and us.  Another great adventure unraveling.

17 more days

I was just told that my position will have to be "flown," or advertised.  This means that it will soon be public that I am retiring. I am not looking forward to this. Tonight we play for the section championship in baseball. Sometime between tonight and early next week I want to tell the baseball team I am retiring from teaching and probably coaching. I think it right and proper to tell of my decision to these young men. I have worked the closest with them this year. Some were expecting to have me in class next year.

10 more days

Four days ago we won the section championship.  What a strange season it has been.  19 years ago we won the school's fourth championship. Now we added another and another layer of emotions.

I told the players today that I was retiring from teaching, but I'm still the baseball coach. More emotions. They will get over it quickly planning their championship rings. Tomorrow the principal is having a short meeting to announce another teacher and I are retiring. He's been there about 25 years after a career in the Army.

Maureen announced it on some social media and the responses have been great.  Now it will be just getting through each day until the end. Maybe the shaved head will help.

Oh, yeah.  I agreed to get my head shaved if we won the Valley championship. Tomorrow after school is the day.




8 more days

Idea and Questions

Above is Hoop House 5 at Polyface Farms in Virginia.  Here is an explanation of how they use this hoop house.  We don't winter hogs in deep bedding as they do, nor do we really need a greenhouse/hoop house for our vegetables, but it gave me an idea.

Years ago we poured a concrete slab at the back of the property.  That part of the yard never grew much grass and after moving the sandbox around a few times the soil wasn't great. At that time we were more interested in raising children than food, so concrete seems a great place for them to play and a soft sided pool to rest in the summer. It worked out great.  We played through and wore out a few pools in the 10+ years we've had the pad.

Now though, it has become our orchard of wine barrel fruit trees.

 Now the question is how much trouble would it be to cut the concrete leaving about three 15' long planter beds?  This would put the trees in the ground, better for them; and clean up some of the clutter.  It would also let us use the barrels elsewhere.  The cost shouldn't be too great, but I'm curious about the time.

Has anyone done something like this?

Epiphany?, Part 2

Last night we received a visit from the investigating police officer in our recent break-in. He was checking to see if we had found anything else missing, which we have not.  That's the good news. He also said that there wasn't enough evidence to hold the suspect and prosecute.  I figured as much that morning, but held out hope. Not because I wanted the person to pay, but in the hopes that maybe getting caught would change their ways.  That's my Pollyanna/Bambi meadow moment.  I'm pretty sure they didn't have a mother march them down to the store to return stolen batteries as my mother did. Some lessons need to be learned while we are young.

My bigger thoughts now turn to shoring up the back alley entrance and preparing for another visit from that thief or others. I'm not sure they will return, but I know that we have a weak point and it must be fixed.  It's also made us rethink our backyard layout.  With the tree planting underway, we need to find more places to grow vegetables as well as places for fruit trees. But this incident gives me reason to finish the fence and make our home not safe, but at least safer.

Epiphany?

We had an event yesterday morning that is sinking and settling into my brain in ways that make me uncomfortable. We live in a small town with the usual small town issues. We have been spared many of those issues, but have heard of others not so fortunate. I generally have the thought that most people are good, but don't put yourself in a situation that tests other people to be good.  That means I try not to give others a chance to do bad things. I have fenced and secured the alley.  We don't leave tools, bikes and objects out for others to take.

Yesterday morning that changed. Someone jumped our back fence from the alley and tried to steal some of our tools.  In the process they walked into the outside bedroom on our son. He startled them and they ran.  We were awakened, the police called and the yard and even the neighborhood was secured. I haven't gone through all of the tools, but they seem to all have been recovered. They were stashed in bushes in the alley and in the church yard down the alley awaiting pickup later. Eventually the police found someone they suspected of the crime and found some of our objects in their possession.   We'll see where that will go.

What has hit me in the time afterwards are some unpleasant thoughts about how I live and the society I live in. I know there is bad where we live.  We have friends that have been visited by bad, but this is the first time bad has visited us.  I thought I had prepared better.  I haven't, and that bothers me.

The outside room has always been a fun place.  In the multiple years in took to build, most all of our family has slept there at one time or another. Our young adult son living there now enjoys having some autonomy while still living at home.  I am still finishing up some of the details such as locks and deadbolts.  Did I put him in harm's way by not finishing them sooner?  I will wonder that for a while.

We don't have many tools.  It has taken years and decades to put together the tool room.  Old planes, chisels, woodworking tools, and newer tools such as a nail gun for my sore elbow.  To see them in the alley awaiting departure has sickened me. I would never have replaced some of those tools.  Some were gifts from my children. I'm not easy to give gifts to and they put some effort into the tools they gave.

I guess I'm sickened on many fronts. The society we live in that produces a need to take other's goods and the people that take them. I'm no Pollyanna that lives with Bambi in the meadow. I teach young people that I know don't have as many options as others through no fault of their own. And one of the bigger causes in they grow up not being taught the desire to better themselves through their efforts and work. They learn to believe they are owed what they want.  But I can only try to help.

The biggest sinking feeling I'm having now is that I failed my family.  I thought I was prepared better than I was.  That I can change and fix.

Mind Games & a Question

I spent yesterday figuring out how to program a lazer leveler to level and grade a new baseball field.  Good friend, Digby, always makes the time enjoyable.  Had to relearn some Math, especially slope and grade percentages.  It was reasonably fun to challenge the mind.  Also learned about trailers and other pleasantries associated with towing on the road.

The question comes from some thoughts I have been having from time to time. The recent row over the Phil Robertson interview and the ensuing social dialogue have made me wonder again. One comment that was made, and seems to be made often when someone shares their Biblical beliefs, is that he was quoting the Old Testament and don't we now live under the New Testament?

My question is: Isn't the Old Testament the foundation for the New Testament?  Aren't the thoughts, ideas and even the laws the precursor and framework for how Jesus wants us to live in the New Testament times?  I need someone wiser than I to help me with this.

The Sunday After

This will be a strange Sunday.  Thanksgiving Thursday with some family and dinner.  Re-clean Friday and Saturday to prepare for a Two Birthday dinner Saturday night. In between one of the birthday children decide that the house should be decorated with the Christmas stuff.  This entails 12+ boxes from storage, take out the Christmas, put the normal back in boxes, take the boxes back to storage.  (Some day I will have a post about storage businesses.)  Dinner with friends and other family was quiet and calm compared to Thanksgiving and refreshing.  So Sunday?

Clean, wash dishes, prepare for the last 3 weeks of school before Christmas.  What if this was the last Christmas you were spending at school?  Just wondering, not sayin'.  Need to finish up the wood projects.  I have much to cut today so students can assemble next week.

I will have to start discussions on the building of a new baseball field.  A son and I laid out and staked an idea, now to get it built in time to for the JV's to use it this year.

Also need to prune some trees and even take one down,plus locate and cut some firewood.  Busy, fun times.

What I Did on Part of My Vacation

 West and South Elevations

 East Elevation with ramp

North Elevation

Last week I took Amtrak North to Mt. Veeder and the Derrs.  My trip was to see family and build a chicken coop.  The basics of the coop are done, but a few details are needed to finish.  Doors on for the outside entrance of the nesting boxes, the clean out door and the ramp door will make the coop weather tight from below.  The roof needs some kind of covering, probably metal or roll roofing.

There were few design parameters given so I wanted to try a few things I'd never done before. I needed to have wheelchair access to the nesting boxes for Maya, so the boxes will have doors that are outside the fencing very similar to our coop.  The reality is this will be better for everyone.  There is a bit of wind so I wanted a hip style roof to protect from the west.  The winglike triangular east section of the roof is to help the wind move along, but mostly for the feed to hang and be protected from wind and rain. Each different viewing angle gives a different impression of what the roof was styled after.  I'm no architect, but one side reminds me of a pagoda while others vaguely look like the fins of a '64 Cadillac.

The biggest design element was from my cheap ways.  I was given free reign to use anything from the farm woodpile.  All of the lumber and plywood came from leftovers and unused scraps.  So it became a bit of a challenge to make things work with what was available. If you look closely at he first two pictures you'll see that three of the sides are sheathed with lined T-111 ply.  The ramp wall is another kind of plywood.  Closer inspection will show two walls are pieced together like a puzzle with triangle and funny shaped scraps of plywood.  It became a wonderful goal to make everything fit together.

Other tidbits include not using a tape measure. I couldn't find one and on my one trip to the hardware store I forgot about needing one.  Total material cost at this point is about $15 for some boxes of nails and few Strongtie brackets.  I have some hinges needing a new home that I will use for the doors. I also have some roofing felt to go under the roofing of choice.

It was a wonderful trip overall.  I got to help the Lampyridae Vineyard Chicken Project. I ate beyond well and drank some Napa Valley grape juice.  I did some things in a new place, met new people and learned new things. Most importantly,  I spent time with family I adore.

Dr. Seuss or Peace Sign

One of our discussions over time has been how to increase our food production.  For awhile I have been eyeing the Curly Willow in the front yard.  Decades ago that side of the front was the first patch that the grass was pulled from and replanted with plants. At the time they were ornamental, and they gave the front entrance a pleasant feel. The original Birch died and was replace with this fast growing Willow because we wanted shade.  And shade it gave.  It is a weed.   It was a constant battle to keep it pruned, and cleaned up. 

The other side of the front eventually lost its grass and now has a planter for various vegetables through the year.  Having exhausted most of the rest of the prime growing space in the lot, we turned to this tree and the hope for more space.  The above picture is the latest cut and shows a limb hanging off to the left.  The picture is squashed and distorted looking, but clearly there is a V for victory or a Peace sign or we are creating our own Dr. Seuss tree.  Take your pick.  But the results show below.

These two pictures show how much sunlight the limb was blocking.  Great for ornamental plants, but not so great for the tomatoes that are going in today.