photos

Photos. Some of these pertain to what we are working on, some don't. All are from the Center.

So Far...

Saturday, September 29, 2007

This morning I finished up the wood collection on the front drive. My next endeavor was to dig out a short trailer that I used to use in the blackberry fields. It was still right where I left it, in fact it still had a load of pine mulch on it. So I spent the next half hour or so cutting the weeds down around it so that I could gain access to it. Then I pitch forked all the old mulch off of it. Viola! Good as new. My next project for the day was to work on the main house front porch a bit. I started clearing it off and also used our brand new still-in-the-box pressure washer. That’s a handy tool to have around! That kept me busy until lunch, which was right when Will made it back. We shot a few ideas back and forth between ourselves and tried to stay on the same page about all of our going-ons.

Will brought his truck out, so after lunch we loaded up a bunch of the bulky items that we are planning on junking. Duel and Lisa made it out this afternoon, and it was a great chance for us to talk a few ideas out and show off our progress. I’m quitting early today though, because I’m off to Fort Worth this evening. I’ll be back out tomorrow night and back working on Monday morning. Osmosis Amoebas!

Friday, September 28, 2007

I think I got some good things accomplished today. First thing this morning, I headed up to the guest house area to work on that a bit. I stayed there for maybe an hour or so, mainly collecting trash and garbage out of the yard and surrounding area. I really didn’t want to tackle the shed by myself, so that got put off to another day. Late morning, I picked up trash. That’s right. The unsightliness of litter really bothers me, so I did a little community service. Armed with my bucket and claw, I took to the streets of Rusk County to hopefully put a dent in its massive litter problem. I hope that cleaner roads will inspire those who passed by to think twice before they toss that lemon lime Gatorade bottle out the window. Also, I think it helps improve the image of the center. Not only are we trying to work on projects here, but we are improving the community too. This kept me busy until lunch.

After lunch I found myself in a mechanical mood. We’ve got lots of equipment in various states of disrepair around here, and it’s my goal to fix them. The first thing I tore into was a couple of old treadmills. Neither worked properly and we certainly don’t need them, so I harvested the electric motors out of them so we can get rid of the bulk. Hopefully we can put them to good use in a project down the road. Next on the list was a lawn tractor. The tractor won’t turn over at all- I suspect the battery is dead. We don’t have a charger around, so that is as far as that got. Then I was going to use the Bolens tractor to retrieve a trailer, but when I cranked it, I discovered a pretty serious fuel leak. Add one more thing to the list!! I clearly wasn’t having much luck with my mechanical endeavors, so I moved on to other tasks. What I spent the rest of the afternoon doing was picking up fallen limbs and trees on the driveway. While doing this, I was struck with an idea: why not burn all the wood we’re collecting around here in a wicked awesome bonfire? So, upon approval, we’re having a party at the Center! I would like to suggest a pasture party complete with homebrewed beer and live music. We’ll see how that goes over.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Will and I both needed to be in town this morning, so as soon as we woke up and ate, we journeyed to Tyler. I mostly took care of some things that are outside the scope of this blog today. I made it back out to the farm right around three this afternoon. I took a little break and didn’t really start up any projects until about 4:30. I had spent a good part of this afternoon doing research on various topics and trying to put together a list of things that need to get done around here. This is all maintenance type stuff.

1. Tractors:

a) Complete Bolens tractor seat installation. This will require some fabrication.

b) Fix the flat tire on the Kubota tractor.

2. ATVs:

a) Fix the shifter problem and flat tire on the Honda.

b) Troubleshoot and repair the Yamaha.

3. Complete the guest house area clean-up.

a) Included with this are: the garage (mostly done), shed, back porch, and the entire surrounding yard. I would also like to pressure wash the garage and porch areas, and maybe some of the exterior walls.

4. Main house area and drive clean-up.

a) Included with this are: entire surrounding area including the pool and the front porch. I would like to move some of the equipment from the front yard (the plow, old mower, etc) so it isn’t the first thing you see when you drive up to the house. I think included with that should be a place to keep the tractors and ATVs out of the way and protected from the elements.

5. Began a regular maintenance schedule for the grounds, yards, facilities as well as all equipment. This should include mowing, weeding, landscaping, cleaning, or otherwise improving. Equipment (tractors, ATVs, tools, etc) will also need a regular service plan.

That is basically what I’ve got. If nothing else, I think it is definitely a good place to start. More than likely this list will grow before it starts to shrink… no worries though!

This evening I was able to pull the flat off the Honda and started working on the Kubota when lack of daylight and an ever increasing rain hampered my efforts. I should be able to get that taken care of first thing in the morning. I think for tomorrow I will also work on the guest house clean-up a bit. Will will be back out tomorrow afternoon so hopefully he and I can put a good sized dent in that project.

Now- on to the fun stuff. We have a few projects in various phases around here that are more what the center is about. Right now our big three are:

1. Biodiesel production.

2. Solar oven research.

3. Building a greenhouse and starting up some aquaculture.

Of these three, I consider myself an armchair expert in biodiesel (I think I know about as much as I can for someone who has yet to make any), somewhat knowledgeable in solar cooking, and pretty much clueless in aquaculture. Our plans are to start on a batch of biodiesel ASAP. We’ll probably complete a test batch within the next week (I hope). Marty, a friend of the Center and an expert at just about everything, is going to help us along with our aquaculture in exchange for a little manual labor on our side (building him a greenhouse). I’m not really sure how solar cooking research is going to fit into all of this just yet, but we shall see…I think we should try and make one meal a day, 3 times a week with solar power. One obstacle I see approaching is that the winter season will quickly be upon us and with that less intense sunlight and shorter days.

And one more thing. Each of us at the center have our own little pet projects going on (at least I do!). I’ve got a long list of things I’d love to do, but for right now I’m going to focus on a few. My first project is going to be brewing beer. Just a few more pieces of equipment and I’ll be all set up to make my very own “True Brew”. I’ve got a few more things in planning stages (converting a pickup to run on straight vegetable oil, maybe building a backyard foundry, building a sweat lodge, plenty of other things…) but for now, let’s take it one at a time. I’ll keep you updated on my “fun” projects as they progress.

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