Those Hours of the Day

[Ridgerunner]

I have a shed that qualifies as a junk pile. One of my goals this winter is to put all the metal in there on my trailer and take it to the place that buys junk metal. Then pile all the junk that is left and take it to the landfill. Hopefully I'll get enough money for the junk metal to pay most of the fees at the landfill. But first I need to fix the lights on the trailer first.

 

[flowerweaver]

Wind down? -- here where the soil never freezes and the daytime temps can reach t-shirt weather while freezing each night--gardening NEVER ends. So the good news is it's big time wildflower, tree, shrub, greens, and garlic planting season, the bad news is no rest for the weary!

Other projects include finishing repainting the house, laying a paver sidewalk out front, and building a second greenhouse (which had all begun as summer projects and abruptly put on the back burner when we were hit by a tornado).

 

[thistlebloom]

Cleaning up the barn.... that's how I'll be spending 'those hours'.
It started on the work bench, then spread onto the counter in the feed room. Before I knew it, it was all over the alley and stacked up in the area that is supposed to house the mower - which is now parked in the alley next to the table saw which wouldn't fit in the tool room because of the pet carriers which got left there because the counter in the feed room is covered in hand tools and jars of screws and such which were supposed to go back on the work bench but didn't make it because I would've had to climb over the pile of empty feed bags and the old hose reel - which was supposed to have been thrown away but got left because the back of the truck was full from the last time I cleaned otu the barn... which was probably last winter..........

That's funny Cane! How does that stuff come to have a life of it's own anyway?

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

The things that would be on the top of my priority list that I need to have - schoolwork, planning on what I'm going to do with that extra acre and how I'm going to keep the animals away (whitetail deer are my biggest problem, I'm probably going to use something along the lines of coyote/wolf urine and white flags), and of course caring for all of the animals that we've "collected" of the years. Who knows what's coming as far as construction projects go - my dad keeps track of that, I'm just the one who helps. We still need to chop/stack enough firewood for winter, get enough straw/hay for the animals to last the winter, and stalk up on goat/poultry feed, etc. I still have a few small yard work jobs that I've been hired for by neighbors to finish and we'll probably have some more work to do in our own yard before season's end. Everything else (if there is any), I can't comprehend right now.

Now the things that would be on top of the priority list that I want to have would include - weaving several large baskets from cattails and perhaps other materials, tanning a few goat hides before winter even though I don't see it happening, and building a pigeon loft (I've really wanted a small flock of pigeons for several years now), along with countless other things that I'm not sure whether or not I'll get to anytime this year. I should probably get a few bean trellises constructed and in the ground before winter, even though that could probably wait until spring.

 

[journey11]

Not much downtime to be had here. I wish I could say I was going to spend the winter doing crafty stuff or sorting my family photos or browsing seed catalogs; but as it is, I am lucky to squeeze the fun stuff in wherever I can.

October has been very busy for me. School is in full swing and I am still up to my eyeballs in canning. Now there are also deer to butcher, garden clean-up, holidays to prep for, winterizing the house and the animals, fall cleaning and unpacking everyone's winter clothes...

My sis and I have been trying to schedule a trip to the pumpkin farm for the kids to enjoy, but the weather and other social activities have made it nearly impossible. I am taking the girls and my MIL to ride the Hocking Valley scenic railroad tomorrow. Finally no rain! And it should be warm, ~70 or so, a perfect day for it. I could use a little down time!

 

[flowerweaver]

@TheSeedObsesser I've got some cattails at my little pond for the first time this year. How difficult is it to weave baskets from it? Does it need splitting first?

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

I've given it a try once or twice and it's very easy, just takes some time and patience like anything else. Splitting would depend on how tight you want the weave to be and how big you want your baskets to be - big basket/open weave probably wouldn't call for much splitting, small basket/tight weave calls for a lot of splitting. Splitting is very easy, and quick to do once you get the hang of it (I've wasted a lot of cattail leaves on mistakes in splitting) - I just find a hard surface, stick my pocket knife into the end of the leaf, and pull the cut end so that the knife goes through the rest of the leaf. The first thing that I made from cattails was a mat, and them I went on to make several mats then weaved them together to make a square basket.

There are plenty of youtube videos out there about weaving with cattails. If you have any prior experience in basketry without cattails (I don't) then you shouldn't have any trouble at all. Perhaps you could even weave a circular basket.

 

[Smart Red]

That sounds like fun! I just might be going cattail hunting this weekend for a bit of practice with them. I have made mats and hats for the grands from daylily leaves.

 

[freedhardwoods]

For my big projects I need to tear down a 12' X 32' deck and build a 16' x 32' deck, build my 8' x 16' greenhouse, clean out a 24' x 34' shed, and clean and organize my 16' x 48' shop.

 

[digitS']

Projects always seem more manageable if you get the ideas down to the foot.

My feet, your feet ... Mao's Long March was 6,000 miles. I often think of that when I have to carry something ... It isn't as if I have to carry it 6,000 miles. From the backyard gate to the other end of the lot, yeah, I can do that, one foot in front of the other.

Shed workin' ... probably find me off in the corner with my feet up by the stove, asleep.

Steve