Pictures from Sweden
Category: Personal
Organizing the Dog Pen (or Reorganizing the Lumber Pile)
The last bay of the garage/carriage house is a large, unpaved area. For a long time it just served as an overflow storage area and nesting place for a large group of house sparrows. I had added a gate to the opening so it doubled as a dog pen (in the summer). In the back of the bay I stacked a nice pile of red oak, hickory and maple to air dry. The wood pile wound up being a nice place for Tucker to sit when he got bored staring out the gate and a real pain in the a$$ when I wanted to get a board that was at the bottom of the pile.
A friend of mine is cutting up a large maple tree into slabs and needs a place to air-dry the wood for a couple of months before turning it over to a kiln. We have lots of room, if I just reorganized our stuff a bit. And I just really needed an excuse to build a lumber rack.
I had picked up boards cut from a single oak tree in Ledyard a couple of years ago, and they have been drying in the pile since then. All the other lumber was older and dry. So I could build a proper lumber rack and not worry about keeping the stickers between the rows of boards. Saturday night I headed to the home center and picked up a bunch of construction lumber to build a storage rack.
Sunday I emptied the barn and started building the rack. Of course, I found one of the posts for the barn had rotted, so I had a little project detour to replace that. But it wouldn’t be a good project without a few detours. I had the rack mostly finished by that afternoon.
Yesterday I added the second row of shelving and stacked the remaining lumber from the pile on the shelf. The boys helped me clean and organize the rest of the space. The next step will be to double up some of the 2x4s on the supports and add an additional shelf or two to help keep the lumber organized.
Today the boys helped carry up a few boards that didn’t fit on the lumber rack under the workshop and were just stacked down there. Okay, I have two lumber racks. I have a problem. I know. I have too much lumber. Of course, if you have a good deal… I’m always looking for more. I wouldn’t want to run out in the middle of a project.
But of course I have plans for the lumber. Though I’m sure I’ll never get around to it all:
- Hickory: I have a bunch of heavy 8/4 boards that would make a nice workbench even though hickory is a pain to work with and the beams are heavy and a pain to move around. And I already have a functioning antique workbench. But it seems that making a workbench is sort of rite of passage.
- Red Oak: I have a matched set of boards from a single tree. I was going to make bedroom furniture from it until Susanna said she likes cherry better than oak. So it will be used to make the boys furniture (and I already made night stands for them from some of it). I also have some random non-matched boards floating around. Red oak is way too common here and is usually used just for firewood (it is like it grows on trees almost).
- Cherry: I have a bunch of cherry that Susanna and I picked up on a road trip to Western Massachusetts a couple of years ago. The cherry is for furniture for us and the house. Anyway, cherry is nicer to work with than oak.
- Maple: I have maybe 8 boards left that a friend had gotten cheap on Craigslist before he decided that he had too many hobbies to continue making furniture. It is pretty nice spalted maple. I think the boys are going to claim a couple of boards to make Japanese toolboxes this month.
- White Oak: A bunch of 8/4 and thicker boards. Okay, I don’t really know what I’m going to do with it. But white oak is strong and rot resistant, so it may go to outdoor projects.
- Sapele: A few remaining boards from a stack that had gone to smaller projects and trim on the sailboat.
- Cedar: A bunch of smaller boards that I really have no idea what to do with.
- Some random other species: Mahogany (though the plank I have isn’t really mine, I just store it and look at it), Yellowheart, Fir, and I’m sure a few more. The boys keep taking the smaller pieces of wood and re-purposing them into swords and leaving the swords outside until they are no longer usable and become firewood and they need to make new swords.
Building a bat house…
I had been talking to Will about projects he would find fun to do in the workshop. He said that he thought building a bat house would be fun. Today he had is friend, Morgan, over and the two of them built bat houses (one for her house, and one for here).
The project was quick and made from 3/4 plywood (and MDO) scraps I had lying around. The real pain will be hanging it way above the chicken coop after it has been painted. We had initially planned on going sailing today, but the weather didn’t support it.
A Weekend On The Water With William
Will came over on Saturday morning to spend the weekend sailing and camping in Long Island Sound. We decided that there was room for Targa to join us, so it was the two of us plus one dog for a trip across the sound. Susanna got to enjoy peace and quiet. Well as much peace and quiet as one can have with Tucker and a bunch of chickens and ducks.
We headed out around noon to catch the ebb tide out of the Niantic river. We had debated going across the sound to Gardiners Bay, but decided that was too long of a trip and too much heading into the wind. We opted to catch a left and head east to Fishers Island sound and find refuge in East Harbor (Fishers Island, NY) for the night.
The wind didn’t pick up until late afternoon, so after heading downriver we motor-sailed east. Will took the helm and I went below to make lunch. Then crunch. We grounded off of Two Trees Island. Nice thing about a shallow draft boat is that isn’t too big of a deal. Except that I got wet. I jumped off and after a few moments, pushed the boat off the gravel. Then the boat drifted towards deep water before I could jump back on. So there I was hanging off the bow of the boat, not quite able to get myself lifted into the boat. Luckily, Will was good in an emergency. He killed the outboard and got the ladder out for me to ungracefully clamber back onboard.
Of course, Will noted that Two Trees Island is a dumb name. There are no trees at all on the island.
The rest of the day went better. The wind picked up and we were able to sail most of the way to East Harbor. It even got to the point as we passed Chocomount Cove that we decided to take the jib down before the wind picked up too much.
We took Targa ashore (the joy of cruising with a dog), and ate a camping dinner of freeze-dried meals. After dinner we took Targa ashore again, and Will decided to spend time swimming at the beach. We got to enjoy an evening of fireworks. First from the submarine base, then from what looked like was Stonington. A cool breeze kept the boat comfortable that night.
The next morning I woke to a foggy stillness. There was no wind, not even a slight breeze. And the fog thickened as the morning stretched on. We ate a breakfast of oatmeal and coffee. I’m sure Will found some cookies and chips to supplement his meal.
We started up the motor and meandered along the Fishers Island coast in the morning fog. We kept close to shore, and luckily the fog started lifting before we entered Long Island Sound, and was completely gone before we had to pass the Thames River mouth.
We made it back to the mooring by noon, with only a short hiccup. The outboard stopped and wouldn’t restart immediately just off of Millstone nuclear power plant. We took the opportunity to drop the anchor and eat lunch. After a few more tries, I got the motor running and we were on our way. We enjoyed the end of the trip with a short swim in the Niantic River at our mooring before heading home.
More Pictures from St. Louis
I’ve been a little slow to finish posting the pictures from St. Louis. We have had a busy 10 days since we got back from our vacation. Now I need another vacation.
Summer Trips – Pictures from St. Louis
Susanna, the boys, and I are taking a little over a week to drive to St. Louis and visit family. We spent a couple of days in the Ozarks camping in a huge cabin (so not really camping). We spent two days floating on the rivers down there, and even toured a cave (Cathedral Cave). Today we went to the City Museum for the morning, and tonight we will watch fireworks in Webster Groves. Here are some pictures from the trip so far:
Pictures from Turkey
After my week down by Gölcük, I had a day and a half to wander around Istanbul. It is a huge city, so I couldn’t visit all the places on the “must-see” list. However I hit a couple:
I walked through the Ayasofia (Hagia Sofia), a large cathedral built-in the 6th century that was converted to a mosque in the 15th century and a museum last century. It was the largest cathedral in the world for a thousand years. It was a pretty impressive structure.
I also visited the Basilica Cistern, which also dates from the 6th century. I did quick walks through the spice market and the grand bazaar.
Here are some pictures from the trip:
Turkey Part 1 (Izmit and Gölcük)
Last Saturday afternoon I flew from Boston to Istanbul, Turkey, with a stop in Frankfurt. I arrived in Turkey Sunday afternoon and had to wait. And wait. And wait. I am travelling with a coworker who flew out of Providence and had a 6 hour delay on a flight from Dulles to Munich, and had to catch a later flight down to Istanbul.
I had luggage and no grasp on the Turkish language. So I was stuck in the airport waiting for him. Seven hours later he emerged from the arrivals section without his luggage. Apparently his luggage hadn’t made it across the pond and went back to Providence from DC. It would show up several days later and require that we make the 7 hour round trip (with traffic and long delay dealing with Turkish Airlines luggage) back to the airport to pick it up. We departed that night for Izmit, on the eastern side of the Marmara Sea – a 90+ minute drive out of Istanbul. It is also on the Asian side, so this weekend I spanned three continents (the Istanbul Airport is in Europe).
This was a work trip, so we were stuck staying near Izmit, which is nice, but not the most exciting of places to viist. We stayed at the Emex Hotel in Izmit and drove the 15 minutes to Gölcük where the Turkish Navy has its main base. The evenings weren’t too exciting. Dinner most nights in the hotel, and to bed early. Except Wednesday night. We had to do a drive back to Istanbul to pick up missing luggage – we departed shortly after work, and got back to the hotel after midnight. But heck, it was better than wasting an evening playing on the spotty Internet in the hotel and watching whatever wedding/dance/event was going on at the hotel that night.
Lunches were much more exciting. Our hosts took us out to lunch each day. Monday we ate on the base at the officer’s club, but the rest of the week was off the base in town. Out of all the places I have been, I think the food here is the best. Tuesday’s lunch saw us on the coast west of the base in a part of Turkey that had been destroyed in a large earthquake in 1999. Wendesday we went back towards Izmit, and Thursday a group went with us to a small village south of the base to a hole-in-the-wall resteraunt. The place was crowded, but the food was outstanding.
We finished up work early enough that we could head to Istanbul earlier than planned today. I’m staying in old town Istanbul, and am taking a day of vacation to tour the city (tomorrow). All I can say is Istanbul is huge. And crowded. It makes New York City seem small and open. I’ll post about my trip to Istanbul when I return.
A weekend of house projects
A three-day weekend! Every weekend should be a three-day weekend!
We had time to enjoy a date night on Friday (Comix Comedy Club at Foxwoods), get lots of house projects done, and even relax a little bit in the evenings.
Instead of starting a big project this weekend, we decided to focus on getting smaller projects finished.
I added a better bird waterer to the coop. The ducks had made a mess of the chicken waterers, so I took a piece of PVC gutter and a cheap float valve and made a new water trough for the birds. I plan on improving it in the future to make it easier to clean out, but for now it is an improvement over the old one.
We also decided to add a shelf and laundry sink to the mud room. Susanna and I worked on the shelf together on Saturday, and I installed the sink today.
I even got time to work on the third toy box for Susanna’s school. The box construction is complete, leaving only a couple of coats of varnish to put on the doors. Hopefully the weather will support delivering it on Thursday evening.
The entire household enjoyed the beautiful spring weather. Perfect for finishing projects, hanging out, or foraging for food (if you are a chicken or duck).
Getting the garden ready for summer
It has been a busy couple of weeks. The weather is finally warm and we can spend the weekend outside getting ready for summer.
The chickens and ducks are growing.
I learned that the ducks aren’t so good at doing ramps. I had opened up the bottom of the coop for the birds a couple of nights ago – they love exploring. However, the ducks love sleeping under the coop, and the chicks seem to think the ducks are their parents, so they try to sleep under the coop with the ducks. And the ducks don’t seem smart enough to figure out how to get back into the coop. It still gets cool at night and I worry that without proper feathers the chicks and ducks will get too cold away from the heat lamp. So, of course, I spent three nights climbing under the coop to collect the birds and return them to the coop.
Today I decided to close up the bottom until they are a week or two older. I was tired of crawling though the mud every night, no matter how amusing Susanna thought it was to watch me chase birds around a small cage. When they all have feathers I figure they can sleep wherever they want.
The garden is mostly planted. We have three raised beds. A couple of weeks ago, I put onions and leeks in the first bed. I’ve never tried onions or leeks, so it will be interesting to see how that turns out. The second bed is filled with strawberries, but I think I’ll be able to squeeze a couple of tomato plants into the end where the strawberries have yet to claim. I planted summer squash, winter squash, and pole beans in the middle of the third bed. Today I planted 13 of the tomato plants on the ends of that bed. If the weather supports tomorrow, I’ll plant 5 of the remaining 9 plants in the garden and Susanna will take the final 4 for her pots.
