24 June 2011

Busy, busy day.  My phone died, so I woke up when I felt like it and headed into town to check my internet.  I figured it was probably around 10am, but it was only 8:30am so I had LOTS of time to get things done in town.
At 2pm, Randy (the hauling guy I hired) brought up my culvert piece and ceremoniously dumped it off the trailer in the direction I pointed to.  It tumbled down the hill, took out one sapling, and stopped.  I paid him and he left.
Next, I pushed, pulled, tugged, and rolled the culvert until it was positioned just next to the hole.
And then I hesitated.  Do I roll it in and hope it tilts the right way?  Do I tilt it up and try to slide/pull it in?  Should I wait for someone else?  Right.  I went for the roll and tilt method and it almost worked, until I fidgeted with it and it slid the wrong way and wedged itself in horizontally instead of vertically.  Damn.
It took me another hour of hauling on it with a rope, pushing on it with my feet, and finally crawling in the hole with it and pushing it up, to finally get it vertically.  It was finally vertical, although not quite in the right spot yet.  And I was definitely not in the right spot.  I was stuck between the culvert and the hole, and tried for about ten minutes to scrabble and/or climb my way out.  Both the culvert and the dirt were too slippery to get a good foothold.  It was too high and my arm strength isn't good enough to haul myself out like a seal - the jump and land on my belly and haul method.  I was stuck.
First, I laughed.  I had imagined something like this could happen but didn''t think it really would.  And I laughed because I was sure I could think of something.  I had my cell phone on me, but I wasn't about to call or text anyone.  Can you imagine: "Help.  I'm stuck in a deep hole and can't get out."  No.
So finally, I dragged into the hole one of the larger 40-50 pound boulders and used it to step on and then it was an easy maneuver and I was out.  I had hesitated to do that, because, although I was out, the 40 pound boulder was now completely in my way.
The next task was to shift the culvert into place, which included lifting it over the 10 inch high boulder.  I pushed and shoved and dug out around it and heaved up on the culvert with all my strength, and bit by bit, got it over the boulder and into place.  Whew.

That was a lot of work.  But now it's in place and I'm a bit proud of myself that I was able to do it all by myself.  (I really didn't think I was going to be able to!)
I don't have any pictures of my awkward climbing and lunging attempts, but I will eventually get pictures posted of the finished product, and you can imaging the rest.

June 2011 - Camp Set-up

So, I moved out of the Beaver Cabin June 1st and my Mom and Butchie helped me move all of my stuff from the cabin to my home.  It consisted of 2 plastic bins, 2 duffels full of clothes/shoes, and 3 medium boxes full of food.
The next week, Julie and Kim helped me move the Rigid Box from Ama's car and onto my property.  It's 150 pounds of big steel and was awkward to say the least.
I needed a special U-ring to lock it, so the following day, my Mom and I spent an hour driving to 3 different hardware stores trying to find it.  Finally, at AIH, not only did they have it, but it was sent to them specifically by Rigid, and was FREE.  Things always seem like a pain in the ass at first, and then once you actually find the solution, it's more than easy.
Now, my camp is all set up... Raintarp set up over the Rigid box, small blue tent upstairs for my closet, and my bins and tools under the firewood tarp.  My sleeping quarters are away from the kitchen (bear precautions) and is a roomy 3-person tent set up down by the pond.   By doing that, I also was inspired to clear a preliminary path from the kitchen area to my tent, which will make tours of my home a lot more pleasant for visitors!
I love it!  Right now I'm using an upturned block of wood for a cook table and my sturdier bin for a chair.  Future improvements may include a real table and chair/s and maybe even a mosquito tent set up under the rain tarp so I can relax and cook and still see the birds fly by WITHOUT getting eating alive by mosquitos.  I don't mind mosquitos too much, since I don't react to them, but when it's a black swarm around my face, and I keep getting dead mosquitos into my food, it's just plain annoying.

Pictures to follow...

June 2011

Well, the Root Cellar has changed a bit....
I was digging and digging and things were going well until about 5 1/2 feet down when I hit the boulders. 40-50 pound boulders that took me a half hour to dig out and suddenly made the zen-like and pleasurable monotony of digging become a frustrating pain in the behind (actually, more of a pain in the wrist, as my maddock hit the rock and reverberated up into my arms and wrists).
So, I looked into getting a mini-excavator in to finish it off, but that would have set me back around $800 and that price inspired me to re-think the project and see what I could do with a 5 1/2 foot hole instead of an 8 foot hole.
I simplified the whole thing into a 5 foot diameter, 5 foot deep hole into which I will put a culvert vertically and then just top it with an insulated roof/trap door.  By itself, it will definitely freeze in the winter, but if I put an insulated skirting all around my foundation, I might be able to acheive a functional root cellar afterall.  And if not for vegetables, it'll be great as an extra storage area for off-season gear.
That's it for construction so far... Here are some pictures: