ATV shed - full meal deal

jambaloney here!

danger - MANY pics but i will try to keep the text to a minimum you can make a baby barn/shed outta a truck cab..

first up  -last trout day (okay it was a month ago)... water was high!

i canoed out from where i store the canoe - never done that before!

it was a nice night

and i caught a couple of trout! one each for sandy and pp!

so the shed starts with our old front deck that jimmy built .. it is 6`x10` - perfect

and the cab off the truck, 5 1/2 feet by 8'..

so i picked a good spot that will allow for easy access to the driveway and be out of the wind:

and then i trenched the spot
:

next up - i got a bunch of ratty plastic, old tarp and old poly..

which is good enough for a vapour barrier if folder over a few times..

to the beach for rocks..

and spread them out on the poly..

one of our summer friends told me his neighbor was ditching a pile of old creosote 4x4 - i was over in a flash - a whole pile of 7 footers and to the right is a 12 footer and a 16 footer - pure gold!!!

i only needed 3 for the base..

next i horfed the old deck on the 4x4s - it was pretty heavy!

but sat nicley!

deck begins at the back with 3 braces across 2 pallets - the pallets are 40"" x  48" so the walls are 40" high..

then a pallet on the back...

and then 2 more up front

a thick side brace on each side

and there is a bare bones frame! i used a lot of deck screws securing it

next up i put on a lip with old boards..

it is spaced properly for the cab clamps to use - you can see underneath..

so now the cab - it proved a bit much to lift

so i made a ramp that you saw in kymber's earlier post

and spaced the ramp inside the cab so i wouldn't bend the cab bottom while sliding

away i went..

and it worked - nearly blew a gasket mind you ;-)

after i got it up, i put poly all around..

and added two braces near the front on each side for stablility..

i used plastic leftover from making garden markers to make teh ploy tight by screwing it in the gaps of the pallets

i was then able to remove the 2x4 and tie-down braces that i had as a "bottom" for the cab....

 

oiled up the clamps..

and secured teh cab in place over the poly lip - on the lip i put a layer of sill foam under the poly - worked perfectly!!!

last time under a tarp for you!

atv being freed!

in a new home that will be dry all year - eliminating water problems!!!!

osb door screwed in place...

and later painted with a four-point secure system made outta old clothesline wire and a bungee cord - just one hook in the middle - i don't want to be pouring frozen water on metal latches to get to the snowplow.

This was a great project - it worked out perfectly and cost only the price of deck screws and new sheets of poly... WAY cheaper than a shed from a kit - woot!

here is a nice sunset

and bird feeders:

cheers all!

september mish-mash and a "go-fund-me" project for my friend Phelan!

the weather is definitely getting cooler - but we are still experiencing some nice temps and beautiful days.

if any of you have been homesteading and reading homesteading blogs for the past million years - then if you had the good sense you would have read my friend Phelan's blog "A Homesteading Neophyte" and learned much from her. Many of you may know that she and her family moved to a whole new state last year to a beautiful holler that has proved to be a little difficult. i will vouch for the fact that it is very hard to uproot and move to a place that isn't...well...finished is not the word i am looking for...no, it's more like "started"! it is really difficult but she and her family have been trucking on. however, after surviving last winter without power, some friends of hers have set up a "go-fund-me" project for her. you can find it here. please, if you can help out at all, it would be greatly appreciated. Phelan has been in the blogging and homesteading community for so many years and provided advice, guidance and help to many. she has been a big help to many in the community and now it is her turn to need some help - which she hates! she has been cooking her family's food and canning ON AN OPEN FIRE PEOPLE! we can't let HER family go another winter without power and heat.

we have been busy harvesting, canning, drying, building sheds, putting away the summer clothes - you know - the usual! we have a long autumn here so it should still be nice with only a few early morning frosts for the next couple of months.

the other day was windy, but warm, about 20C. we downed tools at about noon and headed to the river. here is our river dinner:



vermicelli, tomatoes, cucumber, beans, peas, green onions, and mesclun greens fresh-picked from the garden, as well as a pile of basil, mint and coriander also from the garden. and my belt-you-into-next-week dressing - yummeh!



it was a beautiful afternoon and it only took a little coaxing to take my first dip. yuhikes- it was freezing. and salty. the ocean was really blowing up the mouth of the river. no matter, once in, we like to take a couple of dips. me and jam just sat and talked for most of the time, but then of course, he laid down and was snoring in about 45 seconds. he's been working his butt off the past few weeks and he always falls asleep in the sun. i normally do, too, but i just kept thinking - what if this is my last chance for a dip in the river? and so i headed out 2 more times while jam was resting and had several more dips. i love that river - it is balm to my soul.

here's my path and "boardwalk" to the river. it's just an old pallet jam laid down over a deep rivet that i kept tripping into. this fall and spring is all about building a proper boat launch, a walkway and a dock - i can't wait!



great news though! it looks like we'll be having more river days based on the weather forecast! it looks like thursday, friday and saturday are going to be awesome river days! so we have planned our chores accordingly in order to make the most of it! woohoo! more dips in the river - i can't wait!

here's some chicken breasts done on the grill with a little home-made teriyaki sauce spread on after they came off the grill. and a simple side salad all from our garden.



there's been lots of canning going on. i don't like to save my harvest until i have enough to can big bunches - i like doing it in small bunches. here's some zucchini and pattypan squash puree to make delicious soups and curries over the winter!



of course, there is the daily harvesting of herbs for drying. here i am trying to dry some lemon balm leaves and of course, little Frankie Blue Eyes has to help:



every time i am preparing food or whatnot, Frankie has to be in the middle of it! trust me when i say there is cat hair everywhere in this house!

i pick flowers daily for drying. here are st. john's wort, evening of primrose, blue and white borage and sweet marjoram flowers. by picking only a few everyday, there are still flowers left for the bees and by the time the flowers have gone to seed, i will have enough teas of each. those teas will get us through the winter, not only providing memories of sunny, summer days, but will provide a number of health benefits as well.





want a wicked-awesome breakfast or side-dish? try extra-thick bacon and fresh-picked green beans - yummeh!



and trouts and sprouts just aren't for breakfast! they also make a great supper when you add home-made french fries made with your own potatoes - deelish!



here's a bunch of noisy little grackle babies that fill our yard several times a day. i love watching them!

ok - off to start the man's late dinner/early supper and then i'll hit up all of your blogs. Sweet Sandy - email on the way.

jambaloney's latest "gonzo homesteading" project!

i think as you all know, i love and respect jambaloney's intelligence, strength, kindness, generosity - but one thing that i really admire is his ability to take a bunch of junk and somehow build something useful! he learned this from his step-dad Ted.

anyway, it's been a nice couple of days, but today it is pretty windy and cool.



so on to jambaloney's latest "gonzo homesteading" project - his step-dad will be proud!

what do you do with your truck cab that you don't use? and a pallet that you found in the garbage and dragged home?

you reinforce the pallet and start building a shed is what!

he finaggled some contraption to move the truck cab - by HIMSELF! that thing must weigh 300lbs!

then he finaggled a ramp and was able to move the truck cab up the ramp and onto the top of the shed!

i couldn't believe how easily he just moved that baby up there!

and there it is - up on top of the shed!

here is how it looks after more work on it today - he has wrapped the whole thing in plastic and will use braces to  hold the plastic down.

that's what he is out doing right now. he will start working on the door soon and hopes he can finish it all by this evening. before the door though, he will remove the 2 X 4's holding the cab on the shed and use the cab clamps to clamp the cab to the shed.

what's it for? good questions, guys and gals, i always appreciate good questions! once the entire shed is built and water-proof - he will build a ramp up to the shed. the shed is where we will store our atv from now on! we learned our lesson the hard way that leaving the atv out in all weather, even though wrapped tightly in a tarp - well - not good! we rely on that atv to do the plowing of our driveway in the winter - that atv is a tool - not a toy! and now it has a permanent home!

i am so proud of that man! so proud!

AWESOME fishing and water stuff...

jambaloney here!

first off - some fall weather pics!!!

the sun sets a certain way this time of year - and the front yard is quite nice!!!

well - you read about meeting our internet friends d and his family here.  d was around for another week and he took me fishing -  well - the guy knows his stuff - first we were to gabarus bay and got some mackerel - THEN to a secret spot for some surf fishing... i had a blast, d was a great guide - i know the river, but not the sea - i got schooled quickly and believe me, i took notes

okay - i LOVE this pic - d caught me in action...

and my biggest fish ever - striped bass around 32 inches long and 10 - 12 lbs!

i caught 3 all in all, but the others were too small  - d was returning home so he gave me his too - with the mackerel - there is a LOT of fish in in the freezer now!

thanks a million d!

not to dismiss the framboise river - aug 30, 2nd last day of trout season...

down by headwaters i found - FROST!!!

yup - frost - it is quite low-lying and windless there - here is a lesson - keep the homestead on the hill!!!

4 nice trout for pioneer p and sandy!!!

okay d and a few otheres asked k about our water - we use black berkey filters for our drinking water:

http://www.berkeyfilters.com/berkey-water-filters/black-berkey.html

we have used them for years - now we did buy the filter towers as well - but i have seen many plans to build your own with food grade buckets - got these at the bakery in sydney! - i followed this one:

http://www.survival-spot.com/survival-blog/homemade-berkey-water-filter/

but i wanted more flow - so i made it for 4 filters:

notice in the above pic one hole is bigger - i drilled the bottom holes too small - but after fixing one i realized it didn't matter as there was enough of a lip to accommodate the nuts  the nuts are 1 1/2 inches wide..

after drilling pilot holes through the bottom of the top bucket and the lid for the bottom bucket - drill 1" holes in the bottom of the top bucket

attach these babies..

one in...

and all 4 - the filters come with instructions on how to do this...

back to the lid of the bottom bucket.. line up the holes...

DANGER!!!

and here is the final result  - fill the top and empty the bottom - with 4 filters we can do around 4-gal a day! i pour the water into 18.9 L water jugs which we then use in the water coller

i marked where the holes line up - it saves time - on the first one i made, i didn't and every time i would have to line up the holes..

also - i used our well water in the first one - with all teh minerals our filters slowly clogged up - these are new filters so i resurrected the rain barrel for drinking water - much less stress on the filters..

as for the well water - we filter out the sediment with an in-line filter- you can see the difference when it is time to change!!!

i like the watts whole house model

here is our rig in the basement:

1- 3/4 hp jet pump
2 - 20 litre tank
3 - shutoff valve
4 - unfiltered water to all garden spigots
5 - unfiltered tap for basement cleanup
6 - in-line filter
7 - water to washing machine
8 -  water to house

took a while to figure it all out - but we are happy with our current setup. the well is a ways form the house but in a good spot and never dry or frozen

bonus - BERRIES - nice mix!!

hope you all have a great week!!

cheers!

meeting internet friends and the best river day ever! UPDATED

have you ever met "in person" someone that you only met on the internet? my dearest friends Phelan and Sweet Sandy both got to meet SciFiChick and the friendship that they had already had over the internet was simply solidified by meeting in person. i heard all three of their stories and they all said the same thing - that each of them was exactly like they seemed on their blogs. and they ended up loving each other even more after they had met. i admit, i was jealous as oh heck but hey, i have to have a few flaws or else you will all think i'm perfect - bahahahahahah! (no wise cracks PP!)

anyway, we were contacted by an incredibly nice man who found us through our blog...he was interested in purchasing property here and wanted our opinion. we sent several emails back and forth and spoke to him on the phone. if he was everything that he seemed to be, and from everything that he told us about his family was true - then yer darn tootin's we want that family here in Framboise.

some good news - they got their excellent property and invited us over for a meal and to view the property. we pulled up in our truck, got out and started walking down the driveway and heard him say "welcome neighbours" out of one of the windows. we were nervous, excited and a bit more nervous. he came right out of the door and gave me a big, giant hug! then moved on to hug jambaloney. next out the door was an incredibly, beautiful young woman who came right into my arms. next up, her mother, with such a beautiful smile and so willing to hug a complete stranger. and last up was their oldest daughter - another incredibly beautiful young woman! each of them all went and hugged jambaloney too.

oh where to even begin? we were all smiling, laughing and talking and all at the same time! this family will be such a welcome addition to our community!!! they are incredibly nice christian people and we love that about them. i went on a tour of the house with the women - because their girl's are really young women - and they loved it when i had to spend time hugging their fridge - they have a full-sized fridge in their house!!! did you hear me??? i said "A FULL-SIZED FRIDGE"!!!!! of course i hugged it...several times over the night, actually.

prior to our meal, the father said such a beautiful Grace, thanking the Lord for meeting us and thanking the Lord for us to be able to spend time together and the wonderful food we were about to share. jambaloney and i say Grace, but not a lot of people here do. so of course i got teary because it was such a nice gathering of like-minded people and people who were truly interested in each other. they are going to love the beautiful people in our community and our community is going to love them.

the father requested that jamie slice the beautiful bbq'd pork and i filled my plate with delicious roasted potatoes, baby carrots and onions - it was so good! my fave ...well my fave is always potatoes - bahahah! -but my other fave was a proper made tea biscuit! the mother had made them from scratch and being that i am a bit of a tea biscuit snob - sorry, but i am - i loved that tea biscuit and wished i could have had room for another. but after all of that food - out comes the flakiest blueberry pie that you have ever tasted and the blueberries were fresh-picked off of their land!!!!! i was snacking on bits and pieces all night!

how on earth do you describe a conversation with an incredibly intelligent woman and two incredibly intelligent young women that lasted for 4 hours? no uneasiness, no hesitation - just non-stop-yakking and laughing to kill ourselves. jambaloney even said that while he and the father were in the other room talking that they sometimes had to stop due to all of the laughter coming from the kitchen.

you know how when someone is talking to you and they look you right in the eyes? and their eyes are sparkling? that's how all of their eyes looked when each of them spoke to us. they were all very interested in what we are doing here and asked many questions. we were both taken for a tour of their beautiful lands and their land is incredibly beautiful. they have many plans for what they would like to accomplish on, and in, their property and all of it is attainable!

we really enjoyed meeting them and jambaloney will be going mackerel fishing with the father on one of the days this week - woohoo baby! did you hear me? i said MACKEREL FISHING - wahooooey!

anyway - we had a really great time meeting them. we can't wait to see them again! we can't wait to introduce them to our community - our community will love them! the mother and girls are gone back home today but the father is here for another week. i hope to see him again before he leaves but jamie will definitely be seeing him to help with a few things and go fishing.

anyway, we came home and yakked our heads off about what a good time we had. we were still talking about them the next day while we did all of our chores in the morning because it was a river day! we got our chores done and then set off to the river. what a beautiful day!

just absolutely gorgeous!

 

 river lunch: fresh tomatoes, peas beans and green onions from the garden, kimchi, toasted buns with tuna and avocado with fresh sprouts and some local fruit - it was yummeh!

 the river was just beautiful!



one last pic before we went home:

 and a gorgeous sunset to end the day.

we have felt truly blessed since we arrived here that we have such incredibly good friends here. adding a few more to the mix makes it all that much better. much love to all of you!

UPDATED TO ADD : the father, D, just called. i had a wonderful talk with him about meeting and how we all feel so blessed to have met each other...jambaloney has just run out the door with his clothes barely on, some of his fishing gear packed and those 2 are off an a fishing adventure that is going to prove to be the foundation of a friendship that will last for the rest of their lives. i couldn't be more happy for either of them.