Construction journal: unwalkouting the basement

Michael's parents had a beautiful house on a hill about 3 miles from here, which Michael and his dad built in the early 70s. It had a wonderful walkout basement. They sold that house in the late 80s and decamped to Arizona. Then we had grandchildren for them to visit in the summertimes (we lived in St. Paul at the time) and they needed more than a mini-motor home. In the mid-90s, we went in together and bought this land and Michael helped Clyde build a 3 season cabin. 

So when Clyde and Irene put a partial basement under their 3 season cabin (making a partial 4 season house), they decided to recreate the walkout basement, but without the convenient hillside. 

We still have the mountain of dirt that came out to put in this door.  

The problem with making a huge ditch leading up to a door is that it acts, well, like a ditch when it rains...only heading towards the house rather than away from it. We wisely hired the guy who built the basement to block in the door.  

Shaune does pretty work.  

Today we put in a window...and if the plumbing runs in front of it, the light is still nice. 

Michael will start backfilling the dirt to slope away from the house once we get the tractor running again.  

Today we also put the stairs on our deck!   

Rails are still in the future, and yes, we made the steps different lengths with malice afore thought. 

And as a final accomplishment (or maybe the first of many for the day), Michael trapped a second giant mama raccoon. 

Construction journal: unwalkouting the basement

Michael's parents had a beautiful house on a hill about 3 miles from here, which Michael and his dad built in the early 70s. It had a lovely walkout basement. They sold that house in the late 80s and decamped to Arizona. Then we had grandchildren for them to visit in the summertimes (we lived in St. Paul at the time) and they needed more than a mini-motor home. In the mid-90s, we went in together and bought this land and Michael helped Clyde build a 3 season cabin. 

So when Clyde and Irene put a partial basement under their 3 season cabin (making a partial 4 season house), they decided to recreate the walkout basement, but without the convenient hillside. 

We still have the mountain of dirt that came out to put in this door.  

The problem with making a huge ditch leading up to a door is that it acts, well, like a ditch when it rains...only heading towards the house rather than away from it. Our decision to take the door out was put on the back burner until we realized that we will have to run the plumbing for the addition right past that door. We wisely hired the guy who built the basement to block in the door.  

Shaune does pretty work.  

Today we put in a window...and if the plumbing runs in front of it, the light is still nice. 

Michael will start backfilling the dirt to slope away from the house once we get the tractor running again.  

Today we also put the stairs on our deck!   

Rails are still in the future.  

And as a final accomplishment (or maybe the first of many for the day), Michael trapped a second giant mama raccoon. 

Construction journal: unwalkouting the basement

Michael's parents had a beautiful house on a hill about 3 miles from here, which Michael and his dad built in the early 70s. It had a lovely walkout basement. They sold that house in the late 80s and decamped to Arizona. Then we had grandchildren for them to visit in the summertimes (we lived in St. Paul at the time) and they needed more than a mini-motor home. In the mid-90s, we went in together and bought this land and Michael helped Clyde build a 3 season cabin. 

So when Clyde and Irene put a partial basement under their 3 season cabin (making a partial 4 season house), they decided to recreate the walkout basement, but without the convenient hillside. 

We still have the mountain of dirt that came out to put in this door.  

The problem with making a huge ditch leading up to a door is that it acts, well, like a ditch when it rains...only heading towards the house rather than away from it. Our decision to take the door out was put on the back burner until we realized that we will have to run the plumbing for the addition right past that door. We wisely hired the guy who built the basement to block in the door.  

Shaune does pretty work.  

Today we put in a window...and if the plumbing runs in front of it, the light is still nice. 

Michael will start backfilling the dirt to slope away from the house once we get the tractor running again.  

Today we also put the stairs on our deck!   

Rails are still in the future.  

And as a final accomplishment (or maybe the first of many for the day), Michael trapped a second giant mama raccoon. 

Varmint journal: the trap worked

See the UFO in the upper right hand quadrant? 

Ritual journal: sitting with the duckies

Hanging out under the pines.  

We lose eggs in the tall grass if we let our mature ducks into the pond area, so it is reserved as a playground for the newbies, once they get full featherdom. We have 4 kiddie pools for the non-pond ducks, which we fill every night. (Ducks LOVE muck, so they make it daily.). 

Duck Resort (towels not included).

The need to fill pools gives us time and space to sit, listen to the small sounds of evening, plan our projects, or just sit and absorb warmth through our pores. 

Livestock journal: the slaughter of the innocents

Yesterday we lost 4 ducklings and 2 goslings to the raccoon monster. The monster could reach under the sides of the yurt, so we put hardware cloth along the sides as well as front and back. We ordered more geese and ducks, as we have been enjoying the geese.  

Trillium from 2 weeks ago...a bright spot to cure sad news.  

This morning we awoke to all our babies having survived the night, the live trap picked clean of bait without having been sprung, and an enormous pile of feathery raccoon poo.  

Hoary puccoon-what a great name to say! 

Michael went out to check on the trap at 3:30 this morning. The raccoon robbed it after 3:30 but before 7 am.  

Birds foot violets-bright patches on sandy banks

The trap wasn't able to hold this raccoon last year. She beats it to death then walks out...when she's not simply robbing it.  

Lupine-tiny compared to the huge blossom spikes they have in Maine.  

Yes, I am purposefully substituting wildflowers for anything related to the topic of this post. If we ever do bag the culprit, I may have to post her mug shot...but we'd have to catch her first. I'm not looking forward to figuring out how to protect our future sheep and goats and pigs from the wolves who slink through our woods. Problems for another day.  

Yellow bellwort

Livestock journal: moving the babies to greener pastures

We let the young ones out of their brooder when they were about a week old. They loved the grass!   

Pool time is a plus: ducks and geese need water deep enough to douse their entire head

They have quickly outgrown this space, which is now very well fertilized. We had some volunteer Blue Hubbard squash appear, and then quickly disappear.  

So fluffy!!!  The duckies are beginning to feather out and are a bit prickly these days.  

Today we rehabbed the last summer yurt, putting on a new tarp and finding a water bucket to go inside. The babies cried during the ride down to their new house, but they are settling in now, making tiny happy chirrups. 

Goodnight!  

Season journal: wet, wet, wet

For the past 3 days we have emptied the rain gauge and it keeps filling up! 

Ah, springtime in Wisconsin, where we are still heating the house with our wood burning stove. If the weather keeps this up, the seeds Michael planted a week ago will moulder in the ground. It would not be the first time. Last year we had a killing frost on May 27 th.  

To bring some cheer to this wet day, a few more wildflower photos: 

bloodroot flower

bloodroot sap

trout lilies

phlox

Anemone cinquefolia

Rue anemone  

marsh marigold

and some lovely 4 petal flower I haven't been able to identify.  

Season journal: baby ducks! Baby ducks! Baby ducks!

As many of you already know, I love ducks.  Yesterday morning, the ducks arrived!   

The big feller on the left is a gosling.  

We ordered 15 runner ducks and 3 Embden geese. We will see if I also love geese...  

The goslings are playing well with the duckies and if anyone is getting picked on, it's the goslings. The goslings are slower and more awkward than the duckies. They do fit nicely in my hand and are pretty calm about being held. The duckies peep more, until I tuck them under my chin. 

Color coordinated duckling!   

Already a much bigger goose after one day.  

We lost one duckling in transit and one chick today due to a previously undetected ant problem. We are tackling the ants now. Sigh. In the past two years we kept the new chicks in plastic buckets. Those presented problems. Now keeping them on a dirt floor presents different problems. Will update later as to our chick status. 

Season journal: the baby chicks arrived!

We have been waiting all week to get that phone call saying our babies are ready for pickup. Today the call came on the chicks.  

35 chicks=16 Cornish crosses, 9 Special Black and 10 Sagittas

They are so fluffy!!! 

This one's for you, Persephone.  

Michael had the heat lamp going in the chick corral for the past couple of days to help the ground dry out. He cleared out the winter detritus and turned over the soil to have as clean a start as possible.  

Run around then face plant! 

I've been popping in to check water and feed. At first they made distresses chirping sounds. Now they are making the softer happy peeps.  

Repurposed coop area.  

Michael designed a small door there in the front where we can let the chicks wander into the larger coop area as they grow. Right now, it's important to keep them warm, dry, fed, and with clean water to drink. 

I admit it: I'm taking a break from working on a difficult appeal in a sex trafficking case and engaging in a little fluff therapy.  

The blacks are small but pugnacious  

Season journal: the bloodroot and pussytoes are out!

The first flowers of spring are not dandelions, but violets. 

Violets add a wonderful freshness to salads

Violets have been blooming for about 3 weeks now. Not far behind was the Creeping Charlie.  

Creeping Charlie came with settlers as an ingredient to beer where hops were unavailable. It is a type of mint.  

Next to appear on my list of familiars were the pussytoes.  

Pussytoes grow singly on hillsides but can carpet an open swale.  

Just two days ago I espied the first bloodroot blossoms. They were not yet fully open.  

Bloodroot "bleeds" if you pick it.  

It had been an odd spring, veering between snow and beautiful days. We have spent the past couple of days weeding and turning over the garden and getting ready for the arrival of chicks.  

We have a lot of digging in our immediate future! 

We did get the chickens out on pasture a few days after the ducks went out.  

Longfeather is a good rooster, if somewhat aggressive at times.  

The best part of spring is taking a moment to enjoy the sunshine! 

Livestock journal: the grass really was greener!

We are due more snow in a couple of days, but we had to get the ducks on pasture. In the last two days, the grass grew three inches!!!  In preparation, we replaced tarps on the Summer Yurts and filled the wading pools with water.  

I love my ducks.  

We hand carried our 13 ducks from the Duck Mansion to the Summer Yurt. Hauled feed and watering cans down while they were bedazzled by GREEN!

They are loving their new digs. 

We will wait for the threat of snow to abate before we haul the chickens down.  

Apricots in bloom.  

Rich, pray the weather doesn't do in our apricots again...we hope to resupply you with jam one of these years!   

Harvest journal: broth that stands on its own, and sustains a body through hard times

Michael and Irene were visiting a friend in Alabama from April Fools to April 14th. This left me to care for the chickens and ducks, and allowed me to be here when Auntie Harriette fell ill on April 2nd, and to hold her hand until she died on April 7th. Although an honor to stay by her side during her journey from life into death, it was pretty exhausting. Fortunately, I had taken out a package of chicken feet from the freezer when Michael and Irene drive off, and had them boiled up the Sunday I got the call that Harriette was in the ER. 

On request, this is as close as I will post to a chicken feet photo. The photo records the snow we received on April 11th, 2017. 

After boiling them with garlic and bay leaves and a carrot and salt, I fished them out of the soup, coated them in olive oil, and put them in a 350° oven to roast. Oh, oh, oh!  Roasted until crispy, they were like my favorite part of a roasted chicken: the wingtips that get all brown and crunchy. They were even good cold. Those boiled then roasted chicken feet sustained me for several days.  

Solid at room temperature! 

And when I ran out of crispy feet, I had this amazing broth. I added vegetables and garlic and ginger or just ate it cold. It melted on the tongue and made my tired body happy.  

Auntie Harriette passed peacefully, knowing she was loved and not alone. At 98, she was ready to go. My chickens were not so old, but I tried to make their passing also as peaceful as possible. It helps to pet them, which relaxes them. Death and dying is part of living. We can only hope to do both well.  

Season journal:I have confidence that spring will come again

Michael and Irene have left me alone to tend our gardens and livestock while they are off doing other good deeds. This has gotten me out and about, absorbing all the awakenings happening at this time of year.   

Like planes over O'Hare... 

All 11 duck hens are laying and 13 of our 17 chicken hens are laying. Two dozen eggs every day...omelets in the morning, soufflés at night and custard for dessert. 

Mr. Frog let me take his picture. Madame Butterfly could not sit for a portrait.  

The frogs will begin to sing soon. In the meantime the Sandhills, geese, teal, blackbirds, pheasant, and wrens make an incredible cacophony around sunset.  

The intrepid garlic graces the garden

Rhubarb vying to out-red the maples

Maple trying to out-red the rhubarb  

A few days of full sun and warmth will have us in bloom in a heartbeat. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for dandelion greens. They make the best first salad of spring. Happy April everyone!

Fiber journal: the happiness of a final product

I had a vision of a garment once my butternut bark yarn came out of the pot.  

My sister makes this looks good! 

Sea and land

We have dubbed this pattern the Loopy Toonic. I took the time to write down the pattern this time. I have to have my sister "proof" it for me before I can make it public. It is a simple project, but has a few tricky bits.  

In progress.  

I had the tiniest bit left over from the pound of butternut bark yarn, which ended up with the vintage button I found in an Orcas  Island thrift store. 

Some of my favorite women in the world: my fiber models, moral and otherwise! 

I can hardly wait to try other dye pots!  

Construction Journal: Venting the Attic Space

22 March 2017

Well OK, it is not really an attic but it is the space above the ceiling and below the roof and the reason that it is supposed to be vented is that ideally the temperature of this space should be the same as the outside air.  That way snow in the winter does not melt on your roof and freeze into ice which will damage the shingles...which is a bad thing.  To accomplish this there are ridge vents at the ridgeline at the top of the roof and soffit vents on the underside of the soffit, the overhang of the roof.

4" soffit vents

Since finishing up the wiring I have begun to insulate the ceiling but have run into a problem.  The 12" ceiling insulation closes off the area that allows air from the soffit vents to circulate into the attic space.  This would mean that all that venting would be for just for show and the attic space would not actually be vented.

This is peering down into the soffit to the vent-before insulation.

and here is a picture of area with 12" of ceiling insulation blocking off any air movement between the soffit and the ridge vent.

What to do?   What to do?  So my solution to the problem was to procure 4" PVC sewer pipe and cut it into 2ft lengths and insert them between the soffit and the space above the ceiling therefore allowing air to circulate and the vents to do their jobs.

4" PVC pipe cut into 2ft lengths

4" PVC pipe in place doing it's job.

I'm not sure what "real" house builders do to solve this issue but this seems to me to aworkable solution that at the same time allows me to insulate to the outside edge of the house and ensuring that I have insulated the place where the wall connects to the roof.  A particularly problematic space as that area in a house in cold country (where the wall connects to the ceiling) can easily get cold and cause water vapor to condense and black mold to form....and that is a bad thing, even disregarding that fact that is is a place where heat leaks out of your house.

Building a house yourself is full of interesting problems like this that you never thought about before....

Fiber journal: I love butternut!

As promised, the results of my tree bark experiment: 

Michael modeling a pound of yarn

Okay, one more as a close up: 

Chrome mordant on left; chrome and cream of tartar on right. Close, but subtly different.  

So now for the rest of the story. I bought a Blue Face Leister fleece last May and finally got around to cleaning it in February while my left arm sprain healed.  

Dirty fleece, straight off the sheep

I washed the fleece in small batches in the kitchen sink, using a cookie rack to lift the fleece in and out of the water to minimize felting. Hot water and Dawn dish soap and multiple washes, and then a vinegar rinse, and then a plain water rinse.  

Clean fleece. Look at those lovely locks! 

I separated my locks and put them through my carding machine.  

Yes, I do have feathers everywhere! 

Once I had the teeth of the carder full, the wool comes off in a batt.  

No cutting the batt off!  Keep those fibers long. 

Batts are bulky, so I predraft mine and roll them into balls. 

Baskets. I love baskets.  

The roving gets single spun with a right twist.  

A Kromski Sonata that breaks down and stores well.  You can see it's case under the table in the background. 

Three spools of singles then get a left twist ply. Changing directions make the strands grab each other and give strength to the yarn. 

A kit built wheel with a larger spindle and my three smaller spindles on a lazy kate.  

I made two skeins, each weighing about 8 oz, and measuring about 175 yards.  

Spinning worsted (keeping all the fibers aligned from cut end to tip) increases luster.  

The twist is set after the final ply by soaking the skein in hot water. The warmth and wet allow the fibers to relax and maintain their twist. 

The skeins went into a mordant bath made by dissolving a teaspoon of potassium chromate in about 2 gallons of water. I added a tablespoon of cream of tartar to one of the two pots. The recipe called for 41/2 gallons to a pound of wool, but I don't have a pot that big. 

Potassium chromate. Our water is naturally soft.  

The yarn went into cold water. It then came to a boil and simmered for an hour. Lids on after that, waiting overnight, letting that mordant penetrate that wool!   

Chrome on top, chrome and cream of tartar on bottom.  

Then came the excitement: putting the wool in the butternut extract (twice sieved through cheesecloth and diluted equal parts with water to make 2 gallons per pot). 

I had my doubts at this point.  

Boiled for half an hour then rinsed until the water ran clear.  

And you've seen the final result!  Yes. This is a lot of work for a pound of yarn. But it is unique, lustrous, wonderful yarn you would be hard pressed to find for sale anywhere. Now to make it into a garment!   

Equipment fail journal: it could have been worse!

About that box elder we were taking down branch by branch... 

Time to get a new rope... 

March. We are due for snow. But the sun shines more every day. This means we will soon have leaves on trees. It is much more difficult to fell trees when the leaves come out. So Michael put me back behind the wheel of the car while he wielded the chain saw. The remaining part of the box elder leaned in the opposite direction than where we wanted it to fall...and it was allllmmmooost coming my way when things came apart. Or at least the rope did. The tree balanced for about 4 seconds (that was a long 4 seconds) before it fell the way it had been wanting to fall all along.  

Ouch.  

We had moved Irene's car as a precaution. It was good that we took off those initial branches, as the only real damage was to the metal roofing. No broken timbers!   

We unbent the roofing, Michael hammered in the roofing nails that had been jolted out of place and our wood pile is now larger.  When next it rains we will see if we develop leaks anywhere. We will have to do some better planning before we take down the other trees that are trying to eat our garage!  Thank goodness this box elder only took a nibble. 

Harvest journal meets weather journal: keeping the lions at bay

The warm weather of February got Michael out and about, when he noticed that the box elder next to the small garage had developed a bad split.  

The split, which was only a couple of feet long at the beginning of February extended all the way down the trunk by the end of February.  

March is notoriously windy, and we both figured that if we didn't take quick action, we would soon find that nature had taken the tree down for us...and the garage (and Irene's car) as well. The problem was how to fell the fell fellow without squishing the garage or ourselves. So Michael consulted Brother Johnny, who is quite savvy about taking down trees and not the surrounding buildings. He suggested a pulley. So Michael hopped on the computer and ordered us a likely looking piece of hardware.  

One end of the rope was tied to a branch and the other to the hitch of our car. The pulley is attached to a tree headed away from the garage, but still accessible to the driveway. 

Michael climbed a ladder and wielded the chain saw and I peered at him through my rear-view to figure out when I had to put the car in gear.  

First one branch, then another.  

We managed to miss the garage and didn't kill Michael either.  

Box elder tends to have colored heartwood. This one is red, but can be blue or yellow.  

We will burn the wood year after next. We still have the remaining limb to take down, but relieved the pressure on the trunk that was creating the split. I wasn't much help in hauling branches and stacking wood, as I had sprained my left wrist on the last day of January. (I'm much better now.). 

Sap ran freely from the cuts. It was slightly sweet and nutty tasting.  Box elder is related to maples, having winged seed pods. 

We have had high winds the past few days (as in tornado warning weather) and what is left of the tree still stands. Success.  

Deconstruction journal: removing barriers little by little.

I have been cursing the kitchen every time I cook for the past two and a half years.  

Michael repairing a leak about 8 months ago.  

Notice the hood over the stove. It is hard to see, but it was located about 5" above the back of the stove. It was a perfect height for Irene when she cooked, and gave her more shelf space, which is at a premium in her tiny kitchen. She rarely needed any more than a single burner and only used small pots and pans.  Aging eyes and dim light meant that cleaning wasn't a problem.   However, we took over the cooking when we moved in two and a half years ago and we have different cooking habits. I finally gathered up the courage to ask Irene if we could take the hood down. She gave us the green light. 

The hood removed.  

The hoodless stove with temporary lighting.  

I cleaned this small area for two days straight. I engineered a way to hang a light and another small shelf and Michael (who could reach places I could not) finished installation. I rummaged around in the garage and found some vinyl for a backsplash, which Michael got cleaned up. Between the two of us, we put the kitchen back together so Irene had a place to make her breakfast in the morning.  

Still a small space, but it feels so much bigger!  and cleaner!

I have been able to use all my burners at the same time!  I've been able too take lids on and off without burning myself!  I may even get to use my butternut elixir before it goes bad!   

Irene gave her seal of approval to the new set up. We all like the lighting. This is a quick fix while we finish the addition. Irene will move into the addition, which will then allow us to move our bedroom into the space Irene is in now...which will allow us to put the kitchen where our bedroom is now!