Intent is to be my Getaway spot. I figure I'll have lots less money in doing this than buying a camper and parking it on someone else's land. It's easy to think extravegantly, but I don't need anything fancy or large. A dry comfy bunk and place to keep a few necessary items. Like the Harmonica that I am currently shopping for. Yep, that kinda spot.
Im with you on that. Basic needs met and im happy. Ill have to post a thread and/or pics of the out building where im working. Shed sized and goes back to colonial times.
Very similar! At one point, a chimney was in the center of the roof on our place. Best we can tell, they had the stove on the main level and then perhaps in the finished downstairs. Now, we have the wall thimble and the stove is located on the lower level. We had the roof done in 2020. When all the shingles were off, we took a good look at the roof deck. There was a small area that had some patch work done. The roofer and I guessed it was maybe an old old chimney exit that that had been filled in.
Laid down 18 trees yesterday evening. Even split between cherry blocust and sass. Got them limbed and bucked also. The Makita was feeling heavy. Must not be using it enough. After I'd had my fill, I walked to a memory treasure chest a couple hundred yards away. This was a Caboose that my friend's Grandfather purchased in the 70s (he really liked trains) and place on his property at the back of one of the pastures. If you look closely, you'll notice a wood stove. I used to build fires in that thing in my early teens as my friend and I used it as a clubhouse often. It's in a sad state now, but the memories remain.
RIP Rider. Was working up at the spot, raking and cleaining up some branches and whatnot. I hear someone just ramrodding the hell out of their car or whatever down on the road, then I hear the whistle of skidding tires. I pause, waiting for the crunch. It never comes. "Huh, they must have saved it." Continue working. 90 seconds later I hear the siren go off at the local fire house. "Perhaps a coincidence? I didn't hear the obligatory crash after the skid." Another minute passes and I hear a Sheriff siren coming down the river. Unhook the trailer from the buggy and make a hasty trip down the hill (on the way I got a really bad feeling) to see what was happening. I'm high above but in reality only a couple hundred yards away from where this happened. I arrive to this... Two Riders down. One deceased. One about to be airlifted. 22 year old kid driving the vehicle. Waaay too fast through a bad S turn. Unfortunately for the motorcyclists, they happend to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. That young man is going to prison. Someone's Husband - Son - Brother - Father didn't make it home yesterday because of stupidity.
On a much lighter note, I was super stoked to find this chair for 12 dollars and change Saturday evening. They only had the one, else I'd have bought 3 or 4 of them. I tested it out yesterday afternoon and although a bit flimsy, I give it my approval.
I'm in a hurry to get things done I rush and rush until life's no fun All I really gotta do is live & die I'm in a hurry and don't know why Everyone's in such a hurry these days. To get to what, exactly?
Over the weekend, one county north of me, someone ran a stop sign and hit to motorcycles leaving one dead and two injured. When I hear about events like this I find myself deliberately forcing myself to slow down when on the road and being aware of my surroundings.
Not that I was the one having the bad day, but I didn't get much done afterwards. I'm still struck by that feeling I got coming down the hill. It was a feeling of 'something very bad has happened to someone'. This was before I had any inclination of what had transpired other than the sounds I had heard, which had seemed somewhat benign. I should give some background...This piece of road separates the main body of my property from the river lot. There is an intermittant crick that exits into the river right below the river lot. A railroad used to run along the road. The left handed curve in the picture is the curve that was in the road to cross the railroad tracks. Those skidmarks are not the begginning of his slide. That happened 20 feet before. It looks like the start there due to the rise in the road where the tracks used to cross. He got airborne for about 6-8 feet while locked up and then the skids in the pic were continued. The road rises before the left due to the revine that of the crick. He was sliding before he ever saw the motorcycles. That's why I say he's going to prison. This little 100 yard section of road has claimed the lives of 3 people in the past ten years. The last one was a lady in a ford explorer who did not turn at the slight sownhill left before the curve in the picture, on the other side of the crick. Her vehicle flipped and caught fire. Before that it was a man who had a stroke and drove into the revine and ended up deceased. There have been others in the past. I'm 45 years old and without hesitation I will tell you there have been 50 wrecks there that I can recall. There are long straights on either side of this little patch of death. 25 years ago, my Dad tried to get the county to put up guardrails through the bad section. They came out and did some 'studies' but ultimately did nothing. We were hoping that the carnage could at least be kept up on the roadway. This particular incident will shine light on the bad section of road. Hopefully they are willing to do something this time. I am willing to work with them on trying to straighten the curves a bit. They don't really want to hear from me though as I know fully that the culvert under the road will need completely redone. When I say culvert, I mean the 4' pipe that they attached to a 5' concrete 'tunnel' that was originally placed by the railroad. It would be a costly project in my estimation. If nothig is done, more will wreck and more will die.
Less eventful weekend thankfully. Kicked it off by weedeating 'the bank of doom' Thursday evening. Some shale washed in the crick to an easy place to grab after a recent storm. This Doe just refused to leave the yard, eating the whole time I made 6 trips on the tractor. Filled a couple low spots and threw a little on the drive. They had a couple old war horses down in the shop last Friday. Both still run great. Fair bit of tractor seat time Saturday. Had some waterbars getting overran and a few ruts forming. Spotted this fungus while doing that. Unknown to me variety but quite striking in appearnace. Pretty big too. A little silver maple that decided to be a PITA. Yummy time! Local Boat Club had their annual fish fry Saturday evening and I ate like a king! I do know what this one is. Snapped this one yesterday on the way down from the shanty spot. All kinds of fungus popping up everywhere in the woods. My buddy came down to help a little yesterday. We got the single track trail rerouted to keep it out of the main area I am working to make into a leisure spot. His boy was down as well, trying out the fancy new $uspension he just got installed on his bike. Took out a few more small trees, trying to get the site thinned enough. Never thought I'd have such trouble deciding what goes and what stays. Plans for a simple shelter roof are forming. Something just big enough to shelter a small picnic table. Tried to get some discount posts at Lowes and Home Depot Friday evening and struck out. Decent bundle of usable stuff at Lowes, but I need posts right now. Nothing that I could find at HD. I will continue to pursue. Realized that Lowes puts theirs on a rack you can see when driving by...that helps. I am on the wrong end of town though...10-15 minute drive to go check. If I can't find a good deal on em, I have a friend who can supply me with free rough cut posts in varying lengths, but I will have to make some home made creosote treatment for them if I go that route, which I don't really want to do.
Had a long weekend. Took a look at the weather last Wednesday and decided to burn a couple vacation days to extend the holiday. 5 days off with zero rain. Just doesn't happen often for me. 5 days off is one thing. No rain during is just crazy. So at the shanty spot there is this maple tree. There are many 'blocking' the view but this one is actually sawable...I think. LOL Kindof out of nowhere I decide that I am going to fell this tree to improve the view. There are two options to do so. I can either learn to repel, or I can cut a goat path into the hill to get to it. Goat path it is. It is what amounts to about 8-12" of solid ground cut into the hillside with the spoil used to prop up the off side, The above was the opening salvo. I cut on this 3 times over the weekend. This is kindof where I have made it to so far. Had some material collapse and run down the hill. Currently using a pick mattock to mine shale off the side for fill and to make a place to stand. That tree IS going to die. View from outcrop above. It's far more sketchy than the pictures tell. lol Tree in question is dead center. Did a good bit of trail grooming on Saturday and a little more Sunday. Didn't take any photos but the roads are looking sweet. Water diversions improved/maintained also. Had to go up to the big part of town on Saturday evening and decided to check HD & Lowes for cull wood. Nothing to speak of at HD but at Lowes...SCORE! I didn't have a trailer to haul it, so the associate would not sell it to me, which I thought very odd. Guess it's gonna be an early Sunday. Got there at 8:15, worried that someone else had beat me to it. Nope. Mine. Got it loaded on the Banon trailer and lugged it all up the hill. $150. Hauled a load of rocks Yesterday morning. Couple of these were all I could heft. Inventory growing. Last weekend I had started a new brush pile along the river where I have been cleaning some brush. I went back over there get a little more stuff and found a nest that I didn't even realize was there. Mr. Skunk found it for me. There have been 3 nests within a 20 yard circle in this spot. All dead now. A Heron that let me take it's picture behind work last week. My Buckeye trees are heavy with Mast this year.
Kinda lame weekend with no major progress made on any front. Sat on the tractor and ran the weedeater on Saturday. Tractor work was to try to cut out some ruts in a trail and to smooth up the sandbar. River level has fluctuated quite a bit this year and after the last water rise, there was a whole bunch of drift junk wood deposited. I cleaned it all up and did some grading. Burned it off Satuday evening. Got the oil changed in the Donkey yesterday and mowed. Couldn't get motivated to tear into anything else, so I went for a ride on the dirtbike. I did spot this 'fighter' on Saturday while on the tractor. Look closely at this horizontal 'log'.
95% Hocust. The frass was as bad as I've ever seen. Most of the bark came off when I was 'clapping' the splits to 'clean' them.
