Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

We had a visit from Cooter yesterday...

I was working at my office computer and I heard a deep, steady panting noise right behind me. Since nothing in our household makes that sound, I wheeled around and all I noticed at first was a large dog with a BIG set of teeth and he was panting like a steam engine.

I had never seen this fellow before and could not figure out why he showed up in my office.

After my surprise wore off, I noticed that he had friendly brown eyes and was ignoring the cats that were circling around him. He had walked in the open front door and was looking around with great interest. He had made no noise and the cats, who are normally very nervous, were standing around like we had strange dogs in the house every day.

The temperature was in the 90s and the dog looked very thirsty, so I coaxed him out onto the front porch with a bowl of cold water. He slurped it up noisily and the cats were absolutely fascinated. Even after slurping up a quart of water, it took him at least 15 minutes to stop his heavy panting.

Chester was so interested that he could not take his eyes of the dog. He eventually came up on the porch and sat where he could watch the dog drinking. The dog noticed Chester, but made no moves that would spook the cat. We figured he must live in a household with many cats.



We called Animal Control and no one had reported a lost dog, so we kept on calling around for information. After about four more calls, someone remembered seeing him at a nearby construction site and someone suggested who his owner might be. I left a message for the possible owner and we all spent the next half hour making friends with our new guest.

I was getting ready to take him back to the construction site to see if he knew his way home from there when our neighbor from the end of the road drove up in her truck and told me that "Cooter" was her son's dog. She said Cooter had been visiting the construction site for some time and the workers had been feeding him.She had asked the workers not to feed the dog, but it is so friendly that it must have been hard for them to resist.

Since there were no workers on the site yesterday, Cooter had decided to visit our house.

She also mentioned that he was always around cats and was very used to being with them. Our cats were very happy with having Cooter around and sat and watched as his owner drove off with him. I have the feeling that he will be back.

It was a wake up call for Gretchen and I because we have been toying with the idea of getting a dog for several years. Once we got to spend an hour with Cooter, who is a friendly gentle giant and is a real joy to have around, we remembered all of the other things that come along with having a dog, like having your house smell like dog, and you smelling like dog, and walking a dog. It is a real commitment and we are not ready for that at this point.

I think we will wait awhile before adding dogs to our family. Cooter is always welcome to visit as he is a perfect guest, but I think we will draw the line at overnighters.

Making a raised planter out of a horse feeder

The favorite way of using this kind of trough feeder as a planter is to build in a reservoir to hold a supply of water before putting in the potting soil. This gives you a planter which will require less water and fewer waterings.

Tape over any holes in the bottom of the trough and then drill a series of 3/4 inch diameter drain holes in the walls of the trough about 1 1/2 inches above the bottom as shown here. When the water depth gets over 1 1/4 inches deep, the excess water will drain out through the drain holes. I put drain holes only on one side of the planter so that water would drain toward the outside of the deck and not all over the deck floor.

If you want to prevent your soil from running out the drain holes, use a sheet of landscape cloth to line the trough. If you don't have access to landscape cloth, sheets of cardboard will keep the soil from running out with the water.

Put a generous inch of gravel in the bottom of the trough to act as a reservoir. Even layers of newspaper will do. If you don't have access to gravel, fill the reservoir space with Perlite or Vermiculate. Anything that is inert and non-water absorbent will do. Marbles, broken pottery, even bits of brick can be used.


Once your reservoir space is filled to the bottom of the drain holes, cover the filler with landscape cloth or sheets of corrugated cardboard. Acually anything inert that allows water to percolate through will be fine.

Make up a potting soil of 1/3 Perlite or vermiculate, 1//3 composted manure, and 1/3 topsoil and mix it thoroughly.  The final mixture should be light and easy to work with.

Fill the trough with the potting soil and cut off any surplus landscape cloth or cardboard and you are ready to plant

This potting soil is about 1/2 as heavy as an equivalent amount of top soil and your planter will be light enough to move if needed.

The runners on the bottom make it quite easy to rearrange the planter on a deck or on a patio.

The Silverleaf Bear has returned

Last year at about this time, I was startled to see a bear running across a neighbors field. This year the bear was closer and I was able to capture a few images from our back deck.

It looks like the same bear, only larger than last year.

I would have liked to gotten a clearer shot but he was a hundred feet away and my visibility was limited. I did not even consider running out the driveway to get a closer look. I was happy to be up on a nine foot high deck with no access from ground level.

We are in Floyd County, VA, about a third of a mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway and the area in between has plenty of forest cover. Deer and wild turkeys are plentiful. Bears not so much, but that's fine as one bear leaves a lasting impression.

The bear crossed Silverleaf Lane and went down into Ann and Rodger Bower's field just minutes before JC Thompson and his wife came down the lane on their nightly stroll.

Never a dull moment up here on the ridge...

What's in your In-basket?

Now that we are becoming a nation of work-at-home professionals, I notice a subtle addition to even the most business-like home offices.

It is quite apparent that we are being infiltrated by feline operatives, who under the guise of being helpful will pull valuable papers out the printer, walk across freshly sprayed artwork, and lie on keyboards ignoring the plaintive peeps of an outraged computer.

Yesterday, I was talking to three professionals who work or manage their businesses from home and I distinctly heard them being chided by their cats for being on the phone too long. The pattern was so similar that it gave away the degree of organization that lies behind their innocent expressions.

In all cases, our conversation would be in progress and there would be a querulous chirp in the distance. After a few moments, the chirp became a penetrating complaint closer to the phone. If we continued our conversation, the unseen feline would yowl to be recognized and the person on the other end would interrupt the conversation and escort the cat out of the room. A quick apology from the person and we would resume our business.

I think this is the result of a lack of training. Some cats add value to the professional settings they inhabit. When we take our cats to the local veterinarian, we are interviewed by the receptionist and our cat is interviewed by the cat in residence. I have seen our cats settle down quietly after a few moments with the cat-in-charge.

 

As long as we are the subjects of this furry invasion, we might as well put our cats to good use. Cats, like most people, even children, feel better when they have something they can do which gets them recognition and positive feedback.

We have one cat that chases and disposes of any critter that wanders or flies in. We have another that grooms the other cats and keeps them looking well-cared for. Another cat is the watch cat and sounds the alarm if anything strange happens in the yard. Our dear old lady cat does not have the energy for such activities. She spends her days sitting in the herb garden enjoying the fragrance of Thyme..

In the right environment, cats are quite eager to help you exercise. I work standing in my shop almost all day but I do take short walks whenever possible. All I have to do is to call out, "Let's take a walk" and I will usually get a few takers. On a good day they will stick with me for a half hour tour of the property.

Floyd Christmas Party is finally held in May

Our good friends Fred and Ann First had a dickens of a time trying to hold a Christmas party last year. Floyd had epic snowfalls on the dates and alternate dates they selected, so they finally decided to hold the Christmas party when there would be no chance of being snowed out.

So, last Saturday, on May 15th, we all trooped over to the First's home on Goose Creek Run and celebrated with a potluck dinner, great music and hours of happy conversation.

Fred and Ann made us all feel at home and we partied until the clouds opened up and rain began falling. It was one of the most enjoyable parties we have attended at their house. The food was fantastic and there was plenty for everyone.You can see from these images that we had a great time.

Music was provided by Andrea Marshall, Jenny Traynham, and and Rusty May.

What month is this again?

For the past two days, our wood stove has been merrily burning up next winter's firewood and we seem to be having a repeat of last month's cold spell. Is there more to come?

We have seen no frost yet, but the temperature was below 40 degrees a few nights ago.

I am very glad that I finally broke down and purchased a truckload of firewood last month. Most of it will be saved for next year but on days like these, it's a relief to know that our heating needs are covered.

Since I am increasingly sure that global warming will not occur, except in the minds of our legislators, I am already stockpiling firewood for next year and the year beyond. As I have managed to obtain covered storage, I feel that neatly piled firewood is like money in the bank.

My blogging has been hard hit by a real shortage of free time because I am beginning to see the rewards of promoting my framing business last month. New customers have been showing up every week and it has been an interesting scramble to keep up. I enjoy working on customer projects, but I haven't had an opportunity to visit our favorite local restaurants for weeks!

We are also seeing results from our deck gardening efforts. (Deck gardening is what you do when you have deer roaming your yard at night.)

We are seeing blossoms on our tomatoes, the potatoes are coming on strong, and Gretchen has planted carrots, onions,beans and peas, all of which are doing well. They are all doing better than I expected given the colder weather we have been having.

After building my own version of a Square Foot Gardening experience, I discovered that one of my friends has come up with a better solution for planting a deck garden. He bought livestock feeders that can be converted into heavy duty planting beds. His solution looks a lot better and is cheaper than what I came up with. His 8 ft long planters stand 24 inches off the ground and are fully supported by a welded structure made of 2 inch galvanized pipe.

I will photograph his solution and add it to this post later today.

This seems like a good year to plant gardens, lay in firewood, take care of loose ends in life, and connect up with old friends.

GPS units are not quite ready for prime time in Floyd

I have seen GPS units work well in many areas of the country but I have heard reports that they are unreliable guides in Floyd County.

Today one of my customers drove from Ferrum College to my shop in Floyd and his GPS unit took him over miles of single lane dirt roads instead of on a paved highway.  They had looked at a map before starting the drive but they put their trust in the GPS unit and got taken for a ride on two of the most difficult roads in the area.

Ferrum College is on Route 40 and our shop is off Franklin Pike and there are several different routes between these two points which have reasonably wide paved roads.

I can't even imagine how one would program a GPS unit to select the narrowest and most dangerous road to drive on. I don't think there is a GPS setting which gives you the choice of primitive back roads.

Those of you who have driven Runnet Bag Rd and Cannaday School Gap Rd know that even in good weather, you want all-wheel drive to avoid white-knuckle driving. In wet or icy weather, Runnet Bag Rd is extremely hazardous at any speed. One of of the curves even has a reverse bank which causes the car to slide toward the outside of the curve even at low speeds.

This customer was driving a small underpowered car with two-wheel drive and they definitely did not want to return to Ferrum on dirt roads.

Has anyone else noticed their GPS unit selecting routes that are a bit on the wild side?

[Picture credit: Raw Feed]

The "Fires of Spring"

When the ancient Persian poet* wrote:

"Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring The Winter Garment of Repentance fling",

I don't think he had in mind our Floyd Spring which requires a different kind of fire these days.

I am grateful for the firewood still stacked on my front porch. In another month or two, I may consider moving it all back to the main wood pile where it can wait for the coming winter.

Our temperatures are still in the low 40s and I am happy to sit here working on the Internet with the gentle sounds of a wood stove as accompaniment to my typing.

The economy in our area is very tight, but I have managed to stay occupied. I am working with other local business owners to find ways we can cut costs by using each others resources more effectively. We are all looking to keep costs to a minimum by using local resources where possible.

Even so, I feel we will be hard put to make a profit this year. It is more a situation of hanging on by any means possible until we can figure out ways to add additional income streams. In this area I have lots of company and we are sharing ideas every week.

It is the usual situation of finding out what is needed and wanted and figuring out how to deliver it in a way that generates income. We will pull through, but we may will end up doing things that we hadn't anticipated. As the saying goes: we live in interesting times...

Another appropriate saying might be: Spring is here, but keep the home fires burning until Summer arrives in earnest.

*The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is a treasury of inspirational wisdom.

Our search for firewood in Floyd County

Even the best laid plans can go awry and this year gives us a painful example of that. We had laid in a larger supply of firewood this year than ever before but the continuing cold weather has caused us to burn it all with more freezing weather ahead of us.

It is still a long time to spring and our wood stove will be running 24/7 for several more months unless we get a reprieve.

I put a backup plan (Plan B) into action several weeks ago in which a number of dead trees were cut down so I could attack them with a chainsaw and split them up into firewood. Unfortunately this backup plan was stymied by the fact that 16 inches of snow fell and we cannot get to the trees to work on them.

So, we went to plan C in which we called our neighbor who had offered to deliver logs which we can cut up into firewood. He would have been be happy to deliver, but he couldn't get to the logs because his tractor could not handle the deep snow.

Now we were down to one day's worth of firewood and things were looking grim. I start calling around and found that nearby firewood dealers cannot get to their woodlots because of the deep snow. The phone book was not much help as firewood is a seasonal thing and is often a sideline activity so it is not widely advertised.

We persisted and I got a partial load from Pete Hall, who lives just down the road from us. He had a little left over from another delivery and the wood he delivered would hold us for a week if all went well.

It' was time for Plan D and I was looking for firewood everywhere. I was driving home and I saw a large load of oak firewood being driven down the road ahead of me. I followed the truck for quite a while until the driver saw me and pulled off the road so we could talk. I arranged for him to deliver a truckload of firewood as soon as possible

As soon as I got home, I secured a load of pallets from my neighbor to dump the firewood on so that it will stay dry until we can store it away. That is what you see in the image at the top of this post.

The truckload of firewood arrived two days later and looked like this before we covered it all up with a tarpaulin.

I think it will hold us until Spring, but I am going to keep an eye on our consumption and will reorder if necessary.

If you live in Floyd County, VA, here are a few people who can supply you with firewood:

Bob Backlund, Sawbrier Farm 3182 Webbs Mill Rd 540-391-8999

Frank Griffith, Mountain Top Logging, 386 Silverleaf Lane 276-692-5806

Pete Hall, Franklin Pike, 540-745-7228

Preparing for a colder decade - Part 1

My friends who follow the "official" line on climate change look with pity at me as I persist in looking at websites that insist on refuting EPA and IPCC forecasts. As a result I am preparing for one or more decades of increasing cold while they are doing their best to stave off global warming.

We will see how things work out in the coming years.

In the meantime, I am considering a series of actions that may make life easier while Nature makes up its mind whether we will have a warmer future or a colder future.

 The first problem that I see is that many of my handy tools and equipment are designed for temperate weather and we are seeing extreme weather that stops outside work completely. I plan to modify what I can to extend the working range of this equipment.

This is the first step: A Wheelbarrow - Sled Conversion Project

I have a fine two-wheeled wheelbarrow which is light and strong and works like a charm until the snow gets more then 4 inches deep. Since the snow is about 15 inches to 24 inches deep and I still need to haul firewood from the woodpile to the front porch, I decided to convert the wheelbarrow to a sled.

I removed 6 carriage bolts and lifted the barrow body off the undercarriage.

I drilled two holes in the lip of the barrow and attached a rope to use as a tow line.

Once the tow rope was secured, I could easily draw the barrow across the snow. The entire conversion took only twenty minutes.

We used the improvised sled to move hundreds of pounds of firewood from behind the house up a slope to the storage area on the front porch. My neighbor Raef King did the heavy lifting while I did the heavy thinking. I was very appreciative for his assistance.

He did a little testing on the sled and concluded that more work is needed before it can be used for coasting down snowy slopes. It doesn't steer worth a damn.

Other than that limitation, we have a workable solution for hauling heavy material around in deep snow.

Future projects that might make country winters less oppressive:

I have ideas for other projects, but they are much more difficult to implement. I would like to find a conversion for my garden tractor that involved tracks or really wide wheels for the rear wheels and wide skis for the front wheels. Think of a slow speed snow tractor.

I would like to find a low cost greenhouse with automatic ventilation that can be erected on a raised deck. It should be able to withstand severe weather and should be relatively easy to dismantle and store away during the summer. If I can extend the growing season for my deck gardens, it will be very useful as the climate gets colder.

Covered storage for our vehicles is no longer something that might be nice to have. We spend a lot of time cleaning ice and snow off our car and van. In some cases, it takes as much time to make the car drivable as it does to drive it into town. If winters continue to be colder, it will make sense to make our vehicle use as efficient as possible.