Tuesday, January 31, 2006

The Tiny Stock Trailer

Mari, you can't just leave a comment like that and then vanish ; no e mail or nothin.

Metal ranching

After chores this morning I got right back into the little trailer project.
Usually I have a hard time re starting a project after quitting for the night, but I didn't have that problem today.
I worked for hours cutting, grinding, fitting and welding. It all went great, smooth.
I came home for lunch, to feed the babies in the house and a quick lie down and then went back to it. I really work well under a deadline.
When I went to weld the top piece for the back of the trailer I wanted to pull the sides together as they weren't quite parallel. What I didn't predict were the problems that caused with the back gate fitting. A whole set of problems I never saw coming.

So as of now the trailer is basically done; although I did just patch together the top of the back gate as I don't yet have a satisfying way to do it in my head yet.
But, I do now have to cut some of the back gate so it fits, which involves taking off the gate latch. This is the part of building I find most frustrating. And these kind of problems always seem to present themselves when I am tired and almost done with a project.

It's not perfect, but it's functional and aesthetically pleasing ( well to me anyway).
I learned a lot about metal, and my welder, and how to put things together and in what order ( and how NOT to do it. Duh).

After dropping off the lambs tomorrow I'm going to J's to help her with hoof trimming. She also says she has a pile of scrap metal, and that I can take whatever I want out of it!! SCORE!! I'll have the trailer to fill!

Monday, January 30, 2006

A good day

Well it hardly rained today! The sun almost attempted to show itself!

I had 3 people go out of their way in town this morning to tell me what a wonderful son I have. They shop at the grocery store where he works here in town. That was a lovely thing.

Everyone in town this morning was in a good mood. I saw lote os people I knew, everyone was waving and chatty. Even if it was just to talk about how ridiculously wet it was, and "how many acres you have underwater?"

So I ran into Hugo at the hardware store and I asked him about how to drill these holes I have been having such trouble with. He had a good tip so after chores I tried drilling a smaller hole first. That worked a few times, but I just son't know. It was taking too long to figure this out, so I changed gears and decided to just weld some pipe and make the panels that way.

I spent all afternoon working on the trailer. I got all 4 uprights cut and welded, and I almost have all the pipe for one side done.
I am learning lots with this first project.
I need this to be ready by Wednesday as I have to haul some sheep.

The girls


Black animals just aren't photogenic

More New York nostalgia

Cuervolinda on LJ posted about going to the Kettle Of Fish this past weekend.

KOF is now where the Lion's Head was for most of my life; a bar and my father's home away from home.
It was always a safe haven for any of us, and many major family events were held there, including my father's 60th birthday, when I surprised him by showing up from California, with my new roommate Ted in tow, my father's 70th birthday, and my fathers wedding.
My dad was part owner in it's last few years after Wes died.
In reminiscing I have found that there is now a NYC street sign on Christopher Street that says "Wes Joice Corner". That makes me tear up.
http://www.evesmag.com/lionshead.htm
Wes is gone. As is my dad, and Mike Reardon, another co owner and long time bartender.

Here's a picture of the crew in the old days on my Cousin Eugen's boat as the racing crew. My dad on the left with Cousin Eugene on the bottom. Middle top another cousin Irwin and Eugene's son. On the right is Wes and Mike.
AFAIK they are all dead now, except maybe Eugenes son .

Lamb bam thank you ma'am

It's raining! Wow, how unusual!

I'm pretty much done now with this first round of kidding. One more doe due @ the 7th, then none until the 19th or so.

I spent yesterday morning watching Naboo labor and cleaning and straightening up my milking space and my shop space.
Cleaned and swept the milk room all out, I might even go so far as to paint my stanchions soon, if we get enough dry weather so that it's dry by the next milking.

Right before the flood, I had done all of this. I spent hours straightening up the shop, I made a little platform and dry spot for my tiny refrigerator. It seems that all this attention and ranch love is what caused the flood, so I am a bit worried.
In the flood, my little refrigerator first was submerged, then it floated. While it was plugged in, before the power was torn out by the windstorm. It floated around and came to rest on its side. I hadn't even dealt with this until yesterday, and on a whim I set it upright and for fun plugged it in. How surprised was I that it not only started humming, but minutes later it was cold inside? Like a little flood milagro.

No kids from Naboo so I went home for linch and watched "Project Runway" catching up on the episode I missed.
Sure enough when I went back I found the triplet DOES!!! I can only remember one other set of triplet does, although I am sure I have had others.

As I drove to the barn I could see a new lamb that just wasn't doing well. I scooped him up and took him to the barn to warm him up a bit. I took a bottle of Naboos colostrum and got it into him and left him in the warm car while I fiddles with the triplets. By the time I went back to the car he was alert and head up and calling ( weakly) for mom. So I put him back in the field with his mom.
Later that evening when I went back, he still wasn't looking so good so I repeated the operation. I even ran the heater on him, elthough it wasn't really cold and he wasn't wet, he was cold in his mouth and his feet.
This time he actually sucked a bottle and looked even better.

Molly called during all of this with a goat question; we talked for a long time.

I put the lamb back with his mother, but I am not expecting him to be doing well as it started raining this morning.

So I have 5 baby goats in the house for a few days; Naboos triplets and Shock TT's twins ( buck and doe).
So far I am running 6 does, 3 bucks.

Off to do chores and try to find a good metal drill bit for my trailer project.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Naboos babies

In the "watch out for what you wish for" department..

The doe I was waiting on to kid is a doe I have kept for the past 2 years hoping to get a doe kid out of her. For 2 years she has given me twin bucks; nice kids, but I really wanted a doe out of her.
This year was her last chance. Whatever she was going to have, I was going to sell her once she kidded.

She kidded today.

Triplets.

Triplet does!

I am satisfied.
But, I'm still selling her.

Metalwork and farmwork

Welcome home. Yesterday started with over an inch of rain, before lunch.
Fortunately it did stop and today it is not raining ( so far)

Friday night I started playing with my new welder. It was easy. It's cute. It's fun! It sticks pieces of metal together!
I made the ring for the bucket feeder holder. I don't have any strap iron, which I think would be best for the legs, so that project is on hold..

Yesterday I started working on my little trailer. I have to haul lambs to the butcher this week, so it would be nice if I actually had a vehicle..

I cut, and fitted a piece of angle iron for the first upright for the front of the trailer. I welded it on, which really went great. Of course I realised that in my excitement, I should have drilled the holes I needed before I welded that piece on.
Now I have cut the other upright and I am working on drilling the holes. My drill press is funky, so that needs some work. And I must need a harder bit as it took me FOREVER to drill just 2 holes ( I need 12 in each upright to hold the wooden horisontal slats).

Today I will start cutting and fitting the back uprights. I was planning on getting all fancy and making a slider door, but this trailer has no springs and no way I can see to put some on, so I will just get it working and start putting the fancy door on the next trailer.

Also yesterday, I had my first purebred doe kid of the season. Shock TT
had a big cream/ light red/ orange/ white/ tan buck and a dainty black doe. They are here in the house for the first few days. They slept through the night last night!
Another doe is due today.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

It was twenty years ago today.

1986
I was living in this

house in Eureka.
I was picking Daffodils for a living, working for Sun Valley. Some of the fields we picked in just rolled straight onto the ocean beach. It was a nice view to work in.

January 28th I was home; the weather was even too icky to pick daffodils with. We got to take home any of the "over ripe" blossoms so my apartment was filled with yellow daffodils.

I had met Ted, but just briefly and I don't think I knew his name.

I was just reminded that Richard Feynman figures prominantly in the subsequent inquiry into the crash.
I love Richard Feynman. I love the story of the throat singers of Tuva.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Oxidation

It is taking me a few days to digest the whole trip we just finished.

I did manage to start uploading some of the videos to Vimeo, but I have nore and about a hundred photos.

The weather since we have been back has been the cold wet muck. I didn't miss that one bit. I think back on the warm soft air of Salinas and Carmel. It was like the skate I petted at the Monterey Bay Aquarium; Surprisingly soft, like deep velvet.
That fish was so soft.

On more home- not away- notes, my does are just entering kidding season, with twins being born while I was gone. I now have 3 does in the kidding pen with baby goats pretty imminent. Fortunately I get about a week to 10 days break after these are done. Well there is one due on the 7th, so I am just deluding myself.

Pat is back from the hospital, but she is not the same. Getting old sucks. She has someone there in the morning, then another person comes at night. She needs help doing everything, and yesterday she called the water company to have the water shut off because the bill was too high ( I pay the water bill..). Fortunately I was there when the guy came to shut it off and explained things to him. He was nice enough.
It's a bit scary as she is not really being sensible.

Today Ted took me to Eureka Oxygen for a shopping spree, and I got everything I needed to get welding. So this afternoon I put my new wire in the welder and took it to the ranch. And I welded! The welder is easy, I'll have the hang of nicer welds with a bit more practice, but I got it right away. I'm going to start on my first project tomorrow; a Lambar ( baby goat feeder) holder.

I am fantasizing about those sweet houses in Carmel. And the clear warm water of the bay there. It was better than having gone to Hawaii.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

The Golden State

I have all sorts of pictures and videos from today, but my camera is in the car so those will come later.
The Steinbeck Center was really great; I learned a lot, found out all sorts of things he wrote I didn't even know about. Movie screenplays, non fiction, etc.
The stuff on Salinas makes me cry. Why is that? Just typing Salinas valley makes me well up.

We drove over the hill to Carmel-By-The-Sea and walked on the beach in bare feet,in the hot summer like weather. Sea glass and shells, cottages and galleries. It's a beautiful area, the town is gorgeous. I will be buying more lottery tickets to increase my chances of ever living there. Really. I'm not kidding.

We drove to Monterey and went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Sharks and jelly fish and otters and penguins. I mostly enjoyed the schools of sardines and anchovies.

We drove up Highway 1 into San Francisco and here we are now.

California is really something. Living in our little hole I forget how wonderful and beautiful the state really is.

Tomorrow the vacation ends and we drive back into the cave.

Touring California



After 2 days of skiing and 3 nights of poor sleep ( did I mention the fire alarm going off at 3:30 a m? ) I was in no shape for one more day of skiing.
So we left Winter and descended to the valley floor not to another winter but to late spring, as the temp in Sacramento was 72. (it was 7 when we left Truckee).
How strange to only drive an hour and find such a difference. California!

With days til we were due back, we chose a venture into uncharted territory. My love of all things Steinbeck has always had me curious about the Salinas valley. So we decided to take a side trip to "southern" California ( well, I did have to use the "other" side of the road map) and get a look at "The Long Valley" myself.

Between here and there we saw the huge wind farm near Benicia,a town of oil refineries whose name is prettier than the town itself, as well as this strange place where the Navy stores it's old ships. There were tons of them just hanging out in this tumwater marsh.



In Gilroy, what ( we thought) was the Garlic Capitol of the World, there seemed to be some garlic cover up. We could find nothing garlic.
I had always imagined a tourist destination of garlic, the water tank for the town shaped like a garlic, garlic stands everywhere.
In fact, we searched all over the town and could find no garlic references, no garlic, but, we could SMELL it!

Finally, banished to the outskirts on the on ramp to the freeway we found the GarlicShoppe gift shop, and we got all things Garlic.
It was very very strange.

On to Salinas, the town where Steinbeck was born. And here, where I expected a small refence, an Historical marker, maybe the Steinbeck house, I found a huge museum, the
National Steinbeck Center!
I was amazed! It was spectacular, the whole end of town devoted to this museum!
As it was after 5 however, we had missed open hours. We did decide to stay the night so we could go tomorrow.

The Salinas valley is a wide open valley with a flat floor extending from one side to the other. So much agriculture going on here, food for people. Tilled fields everywhere, rows and rows of crops already growing strong. I totally can see why people migrated here for the perfect garden.

Monday, January 23, 2006

THREE

Updated: 8:45 AM PST on January 23, 2006

Observed At: Truckee-Tahoe, California

Elevation: 5899 ft / 1798 m

[Partly Cloudy]
3 °F / -16 °C
Partly Cloudy

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Day 2: Alpine Meadows

Well maybe I won't get into the problems we had finding lodging and food last night. The problem being, this has turned out to be the first good snow the Sierras have seen all winter, and the conditions are fantastic, so everyone and their entire family is here. And hungry. And ready to eat all at the same time last night.
It was a joke.
At one point ( if I wasn't so tired and hungry it would have been funny) Ted says "You know, this is what happened to the Donner Party. It wasn't that they were stranded; all these restaurants were here then. They just couldn't get a table"
We did eventually find a room and some food. We didn't chew any limbs off.

Today we decided to go to Alpine Meadows, mostly because the lift tickets seemed to be cheaper. It was another clear and beautiful day, a bit colder (20 degrees when we headed out) which really made for absolutely perfect snow conditions.
The ski area is huge, 6000 acres, numerous mountains.
I saw Lake Tahoe for the first time from the top of one of the chairlifts.
Ted has some nice pics on his blog.

My only complaint is the snowboarders. They are a loud and obnoxious bunch, no style nor manners. I was almost creamed by them on more than one occasion. Fortunately the sound of the snowboard gives warning that they are approaching fast.

I did get myself in a little over my head by mistake when we took a wrong turn at the top of one of the runs. I had a few moments of panic and stress while Ted ( who is much more daring and never gets over his head) helped me out of the pickle. I didn't fall all day, but that was frustrating and scary and it took me a run or two to get my confidence back. I am a very cautious skiier.

Here I am on the Scott lift, very steep ride straight up the cliffs. You can see a braver skiier than I conquering the powder near the lift. This is how Ted skis when he is off on his own.

It's 10 degrees outside!

While I've got some time while T is still asleep in our hotel room here in Truckee, California, I'll try to catch up on the story so far.

We left our home on the surface of a wet kitchen sponge about noon on Friday, in , what else, the middle of a rainstorm.
For the start of the adventure we chose rugged Hwy 36 over the mountains to the inland valley at Red Bluff. Only 2 hours out of sea level damp world we ran into snow and LOTS of it. Fortunately it was just at the summits and not very deep on the road less travelled so chain up was thwarted.

We reached I-5 and headed south. The valley is so wide and flat, such a contrast from our small choked vistas of home.
We were surprised to see so many Olive orchards along the road, miles and miles. On approaching Corning, we find that it is indeed The Olive City. Being tourists, on vacation, we had to stop and get us some of those Corning Olives. They were awesome! Onlives stuffed with garlic. YUM eat em up.

Further south we run into the rice fields and in the far distance to our east we could start to see the shadows that are the Sierras. As we got closer to Sacramento, we could see the snow covered peaks.

We hit Sacramento just after 5 and right into Friday rush hour traffic. Yum!

We decided to set our base camp at Auburn and settled into a hotel for the night.

Early Saturday morning we joined the parade which was the migration of skiiers up I- 80 to the ski areas of Lake Tahoe. Up Up we go soon hitting 5,000 ft elevation and everything covered in thick fresh new snow.
The scenery is glorious; I am only familiar with the landscape from my trips to and from the east coast via 80, and one round trip on Amtrak.
Instead of being sensible and procuring lodging for the night, we had to hit the slopes. The weather was beautiful sunny and still. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

There are ski areas everywhere! Form each vista one can see another set of slopes, skiiers and lifts. Driving is a breeze as the roads are clean and dry, a concern for us flatlanders without snow tires.
Only minutes out of Truckee and we are at Donner Ski Ranch on one side of the road and Sugar Bowl on the other. On the way up there are teens hitch hiking with their snowboards. We soon see that they just dive off the edge of the road through the powder making their own trails.

It only took me 2 runs for me to get my ski legs and feel confident to even work on my style. Having only skiid a handful of times over the past 20 years, it always is a worry as to how this old body is doing THIS year. But,those years and years of skiing as a kid still hold fast.
The Salvation Army skis are fine, the boots fit perfectly. The skis are probably a bit longer for the level I am skiing, but I soon got used to them. The only fall I took all day was when I ventured too far into the powder at the edge of the run on a steep part; lesson learned. Take the turn before I get into that.

We skiied non stop all day until 3:30 when I just hit the wall. Ted still had some in
him so he skiied a bit more while I sat in the sun at the lodge. He is a beautiful, graceful, and daring skiier, heading into the powder whenever he can and schussing down pass all of us careful skiiers who stop and evaluate anything a bit challenging.

From the lodge I could see a run very high up the mountain, a very steep Black Diamond. I watched skiiers crawl their way down, slow stopping. Occasionally an advanced skiier would come down, geacefully. I was waiting for, and did finally see the red and black parka that was Ted, passing those that wish they hadn't gone that way. Just skiing along, so beautiful.

Part 2.
"Donner? Party of 4?"
Our attempt to find food and lodging.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

The best skiing EVAH!

We are having a perfect time. The snow is perfect. The weather is perfect. The roads are clear and dry. This is the best skiing I can remember.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Gone skiing!


Be back Wednesday!

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Vintage skiing


O K all systems go for the ski trip. We're hoping to leave tomorrow midday after I do morning chores.
I'm looking over the area (North Lake Tahoe/ Truckee) and I am getting excited about spending days in the world of SNOW!!
I'm packing trying to keep that in mind.
Still striving for the vintage ski outfit; I have the classic- wool- in- the- boots -stretch ski pants, wool sweaters and turtlenecks.
Here's the era; that's my mom on the far right. Mid 1960's.
I need a headband.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Why me?

Last year I was driving through town and I found a goat.

Two days ago I was driving through town, and another goat crosses the street right in front of me.
This tickled Jess, who lives across the street and had also just pulled up. She thought that the goat knew I was a goat farmer and was waiting for me.

Jess knew where the goat belonged so we grabbed him and took him and put him back where she thought he went. Which he promptly jumped right back out of.
This time he was a little harder to catch, but we got him and knocked on the door of the house this time.

Jess told the woman how funny it was that I was a goat farmer and that goat came right to me.
I pointed out that it didn't really look like he was supposed to live in their lovely now decimated rose filled yard, and indeed he actually belonged in a pen behind the garage.

I am a goat magnet

So it can see itself?

We had our yearly thunder/ lightning/ hail storm last night at 3:30 A M.

I miss a good thunderstorm, but I think I prefer the summer ones. Also , why do they always come in in the middle of the night? Always!

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Read this

Rain Redux

Alright, I know, we did have 2 whole days without water falling from the sky; what am I complaining about? Sheesh..
Yes, what a surprise, it is pouring down rain. On the positive side, it is much warmer and I can live without a fire in the stove for the first time in days.

Yesterday J & S ( my landlords) brought me 2 25' long utility poles to replace the ones about to come down. At some point (when the water table is more than 1 ' below the surface)we'll have to figure out how to get big holes dug and how to get these behemoths erected. That's going to be a learning experience. J & S had bought a whole trailer load, maybe 8 of them, I think they are going to use the rest for fence posts? Their ranch is like a dream fantasy, a huge spread right on the ocean. I have gathered cows for them with the waves and sea lions on my right and steep canyons and rugged pasture on my left. However, this salt air environment is really rough on fence maintenance as anything metal rusts away within 10 years, and they have miles and miles of fenceline.

J F is going through a rough time with her dying sister in the hospital. One thing about having people die in ones family is that I am much better equipped now as to what to say to people when they are going through terrible times like this. Also, living in this small town, even though people here live to be unusually old, they do pass eventually, and you know the relatives and you know the people. And you see them and you talk to them and you learn the language of death and mourning.
I do hope both J and her sister find relief soon.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Sunday, January 15, 2006

more on galvanizing (personal notes)

Milk/ Welding connection; I Knew It!

O K, I got the welder out of its box and started putting it together. I think it's getting dry/ safe enough out to take it to the ranch and start playing with it.
I thought it had come with flux cored wire and I was ready to go. It did not, so I will have to hunt some up before I can play.

On my Welders group in LJ there was a discussion about welding Galvanized; this is important to me as I figure I will be welding quite a bit of it. The zinc fumes can cause a fever, so the discussion was how to deal with this, and then, I found the ultimate connection:

2. Zinc Fume

While zinc fume is non‑toxic, excessive dosages can result in zinc fume fever ‑ an extremely unpleasant reaction with symptoms that resemble a serious fever. However, recovery is generally rapid and there appears to be no long‑term affects from zinc fumes. Mechanical or natural ventilation or an approved respirator and eye protection should be utilized when welding galvanized steel. Of course, removing the zinc before welding will significantly reduce this concern. Drinking milk can both reduce the risk of getting zinc fume fever, and also reduce the fever if you have it.

Ms Smith goes to S F

Partly?

I was excited when the weather forecast said Partly Sunny for today. I haven't seen the word s-u-n-n-y anywhere in any weather forecast for a month.

And it's not even partly sunny today. It is completely, cloud free, blue sky, no water falling from the sky, sunshine on my shoulders.

Am I awake?

Goat Semen Collector

has got to be one of the strangest jobs on earth.
She was here today.
She collected goat semen from my bucks.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Uh Oh applications are being accepted for the next Survivor!
Feb 4th deadline...
I'm on it

New Jork

Population: 8,008,278 ('00 census); Metro density: 2320.1 inh./sq.mi. (source)

Jewish Population 10.9 percent (source)

Samoans: 299 (source)

Size: New York City was 360 square miles in 1898 — it is now 321.8 square miles, Miles of streets 6,400+ (source)

World's Largest Stuff: Gothic Cathedral (St. John the Divine), Store (Macy's) (source)

Subway Ridership: 123 million rides in October 2005 (source)

Number of Reported Rapes in 2005: 1697 (source)

JFK Passengers in 2004: 37,517,496 (source)

Biggest Park in NYC: Pelham Bay Park, Bronx 2,765 acres (source)

Tallest building: Empire State Building 1250ft (source)

Average Price of Manhattan Apartment: $1,187,000 (source)

If you need more, check out the NYC Trivia quiz at NYC.gov. Do you have any favorite NYC facts?

Friday, January 13, 2006

48 degrees; 96 percent humidity.

This bone chilling dampness can only be defeated by a wool vest.
I must find mine.

(just now, when I looked up the humidity, I actually gagged when I saw it!!)

I am running things now

The other night, while I was looking up forges ( how they work, how to build, etc.) what comes on the T V but "Metal" on Modern Marvels.

I had seen it before, but now that I am expanding into forge interest, I got even more information from the show. I quick put in a tape.
I loved the part where the guy took limestone and broke it up and iron ore and broke it up, melted it in a gas forge. and then beat it into a billet. That was awesome.
I gotta get me some of that meteorite iron.

I am fascinated by the flux part of metals. That oxidation happens so quickly that you have to be constantly fighting it. I mean, in my mind, rust is slow. It is not.

The segment on Aluminum was also really cool.

I can't get enough of this stuff.

Yesterday I got a blade for my hacksaw and I came right home and tried it out. ( After unloading the hay that was still in the truck, as rain was starting)

I am working with a piece of barrel strap I found under the old gas tanks by Pat's house. The grinder will cut it but it takes a really wide kerf. And it's loud and awkward.
I went all out and bought the better hacksaw blade (ooo 7 dollars!!) whuch doesn't really have teeth, but a rough hard edge; it worked really good and cut right through, however also quite loud.
I ground the edges and clamped them together so I now have a loop.

I also shopped the rivet section but found it somewhat unsatisfactory, as all the shop carried were Pop rivet guns. We have one of those around here somewhere ( I'll hunt that up today and play with it) but I was more interested in a rivet set. Don't ask me why.

For the legs of the feeder stand I took one of the mobile home stands that used to hold my milk barn and started trying to work with it. I'm not so sure about this..more experimenting today.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Luddite music lovers, take notice

This
is cool, and fills my problem with my obsession with vinyl, yet my desire for having the music on the computer.
The company will let you download an album free in MP3 if you buy the vinyl.

Be still my heart.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Sarah:3, Entropy:1,948,398,697,but I'm making progress.



This is all I need. Dry hay. A whole truck of dry hay. I am almost back to where I was before the flood. Minus a bit of my bank account, but clean dry barn, my shop in order, hay in the barn.

After the mess of the other night when I tried to drive my little truck out into the field and got stuck, then drove the big truck out to pull the little truck which then ran out of gas, my big truck was still in the field. I got gas and then made a huge mess and finally got it out of the field.
It's had an overheating/ leaky hose problem for a long time now, and T brought a hose for it home last night. I managed to finally get the old hose off and replace it today, and off we went to Fortuna to get hay.
Mostly uneventful except the truck the R was using can't be turned off once it's jumper, and he turned it off and neigher of us had cables. He got a friend to come and jump him.
At the barn where the hay is there's lots of delicious bits of scrap metal.

I spent a lovely evening at the ranch working and setting up the shop. I took the bench vise and the bench grinder over there, and slapped together a work bench/ table. I started working on a stand for a Lamb Bar, but I need a new blade for the hack saw.
TomorrowI'll get a rivet set and a new blade for my saw.

Quench me.

Last night T and I were talking about tool making, specifically making a cold chisel.
We were discussing tempering, a subject which I know this . much about if that much, and he said something about quenching in oil.
That sounded absolutely crazy, but he seemed to know more about it than I (of course) and I found this this morning.

What I don't know is voluminous.

It is intimidating.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Wet, wild, and on the bus

It wasn't raining when I first woke up this morning, but it started soon after.
I had called W J yesterday to ask him if he might come and buy my calf. I had been trying to ship this calf via Robyn for a few weeks, but mechanical problems kept plaguing her ( he's too big for me to haul in any of my vehicles, so I am at their mercy).
Walt said he'd come by in the morning to take a look at him.

So I had planned the morning: to get to the ranch early and gather him up and put him in a corral, so Walt could check him out. Since it was raining, I thought I'd be smart and bring 2 extra dry shirts. I donned dry coveralls and a hat and Abby ( dog) and I headed out.
Of course when I got to the ranch that calf was as far from the corral as he could possibly get and still be in the field. To get to him I needed to cross a flooded road, so I drove down to the end of the field and let Abby out. Bless her little pointy head she ran right out there while I sat in the warm dry car, and she pushed him all the way back into my pasture. From there I drove back around to the front.

I got out and helped Abby push the calf and most of the sheep ( he thinks he's a sheep). Meanwhile I hear the town siren go off, and I can hear the ambulance leave the garage in town. It gets closer and closer and I can tell it's coming down my road. I had a feeling it might be coming for Pat as she has been having a lot of trouble breathing, and has been on oxygen 24/ 7 for quite a while. When Ted was working on the power lines the other day and I went in her house to tell her we'd be cutting the power off for a second, she didn't look good, sprawled on her couch, too tired to get up. It's very sad to watch people get old.

So Pat was having trouble breathing ( according to Pat's friend) and she can't hardly move, so they took her in the ambulance. I am now in charge of her little dachshund; last time she had to go to the hospital I managed to let the dog out and she ran off. Good job, eh? ( I left the door open and was thrilled when I found the dog a few days later on the couch)

So there I am , in the pouring rain, pushing the herd through the muck with all this going on at Pat's house. Flashing lights and all.

I put the calf in the corral and went and changed into dry shirt #2 and did my chores.
And I see that the calf has jumped out of the corral and is out and I have to do it all over again. Dry shirt #3.

So I get him in the front pasture ( where he can't get out) nad Walt shows up and we discuss the plan. We'll try to get the calf to jump in through the side sliding door of the stock trailer.
I get the calf in the small pen, sort the sheep out and Walt and his grandson back the trailer to the gate.
Walt is SURE that that calf won't jump up into the trailer ( about 2 1/2 feet). His grandson and I think we should at least give it a try. We are standing in the POURING rain this whole time.

Trailer backed in, gates set up, door open, and it only takes 2 goes at it and dang if that calf doesn't jump right in. Bye bye.

So ends my career in cows. I am a failure with cows. If I have any sense at all ( debatable) I will never ever have another cow.

Monday, January 09, 2006


freak

http://www.msnbc.com/modules/newsweek/autism_quotient/default.asp

I took this test about Autism/ Aspergers syndrome

I scored 38 which is considered very high.
Most people with Aspergers or high functioning Autism score about 32.

It's all because I can't stand social chit chat.
And I hate any upset in my daily routine.

Ferrous Metals 101

Today's word is "oxidation"

The involvement of water accounts for the fact that rusting occurs much more rapidly in moist conditions as compared to a dry environment such as a desert. Many other factors affect the rate of corrosion. For example the presence of salt greatly enhances the rusting of metals. This is due to the fact that the dissolved salt increases the conductivity of the aqueous solution formed at the surface of the metal and enhances the rate of electrochemical corrosion. This is one reason why iron or steel tend to corrode much more quickly when exposed to salt (such as that used to melt snow or ice on roads) or moist salty air near the ocean.

Damn those helpful neighbors

Nothing like a good disaster for you to find out who your real friends are.

There was a post in LiveJournal about community that really got me thinking about this one.
What is community. Where do I fit in. Responsibilities and respect.

Now that the *ahem* dust ( I wish) has settled and it's time to get back to normalcy, and take care of business ( instead of emergency response) I am overwhelmed by the offers of aid.

In the middle of the first wave ( ha ha) of the first flood I got a call on my cell from the mom of my groupie, I mean, 4H family offering help.
They called a few more times and on Saturday called to say they would come out the next day.
Yesterday, the whole family showed up with a wheelbarrow and pitrchfork and shovel and I couldn't have stopped them even if I wanted to ( uh, why would I?).

Dad was a real drill sergeant and they worked so hard and we got so much cleaned up I ran out of things for them to do.
I couldn't believe it. It was really beyond words.
No expectations, no guilt from me, just pure wanting to help. It was really wonderful. I can't even think of a word for how this makes me feel.
So much help I had to turn down another friend who was sending her hubby out to help me out, as I am now pretty wiped out from 3 days of shoveling, and, there's almost not much to do now.
I am overwhelmed by my friends. Really.
I don't deserve them.
Damn them.

So now I am to where I can actually think about new projects, although I really need to get tarps on the Grade B barn at some point ( a few days without rain already makes me forget).
I spent the night in bed with the Metalwork textbook. Some great tips for tool using, and I think I might start to get my shop area in shape for the trailer project.
I took some graph paper and mapped out how to do it.
I need to gather up my scrap metal and wash the dried mud off and see what I've got.

Soon, I might break out the welder....

Sunshine makes everything seem possible.
And good friends.
Damn them.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Now for the good news

Yesterday, I think, could be considered a win.

Take that, you destruction g-ds.

In the rain, Ted was up on the aluminum ladder stringing me a new lifeline. He spent hours hooking my barn up to the force that makes my lights turn on, my milking machine run, and THE RADIO!!! I missed the radio so much.

And, maybe someday, my welder.

He so rocks my world. He did it all just for me.

The entropy force finally gave up for a while and it let us have an afternoon of sunshine, because we are too strong for their powers today.

I spent that time with pitchfork and wheelbarrow, cleaning out all the wet bedding and finding the floor of my barn.
I found the difference in scale encouraging, between having 150 goats in a barn in a flood, and 20 goats in a barn in a flood.And, a barn that had been cleaned out not all that long ago, a plus too.
I surprised myself and actually cleaned 2/3 of the most disgusting soppy wet stuff.
After letting it air dry somewhat, I also found that the top of my pile of shavings is actually dry, and I spread fresh clean shavings for their dainty selves, the delicate flowers that they are.

In the sun in the afternoon, 2 ewes lambed as well. Another "ebony and ivory" set of twins. one black and one white, and a single white one.

After almost 2 weeks of this, it was time for one tiny step forward.

We are so strong that the sun is out again today.
RAWR!!!!

Creates and destroys.

Under the bushel with all of you

I so can understand why people have religion.
The g-ds let you live your life, everything goes along, you have your day to day sorted out, and just to make sure you don't get too comfortable, or think that you might have things under control, the giant hand comes down and just shakes things up.

"YOu think you like your life? You think you have things the way you want them? Here, I'm going to show you who is really in control"

PLINK

And just like that your world is turned upside down.
Rapid entropy. Speed destruction.

And there's not one damn thing you can do about it.

So you pray. You sacrifice. YOu try not to be too proud of what you have lest it be grabbed away from you.

Ha HA HA silly mortals. Look at them scrambling to save what pitiful life they have.
With just a tiny puff of wind, a little extra water, some fire, but not too much mind you, just enough to set their progress back so that entropy has the upper hand. They are so amusing


Because really, it's all a struggle against entropy. Some days you manage to put together more than falls apart. You wash more clothes than get dirty. You fix more fence than is knocked down. You try to make up for the days that it goes the other way.
But it never ends.

And then, once again, the big hand comes and wipes away any headway you might have made over months, or years in one big swipe.

The temptation to just give up and let it crumble around you is so very strong. The fight is impossible, unrelenting, and exhausting.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Friday, January 06, 2006

fyi

Domestic Torture

It was so clean at the ranch. I had it getting so tidy, so organized. The lawn mowed, the pens dry and well bedded.
My barn was clean and dry and the goats were so cozy in their big dry barn.
I had my shop all ready for the welder. It was clean, organized, new lighting.

Then 2 feet of water and mud and silt was deposited all over my entire ranch.
When the water left I now have deep wet soggy muddy bedding, goopy silt, the worst conditions imaginable.
No electricity and no idea when that will be remedied.
The barn roof I labored all last summer to patch and re roof is scattered around about 2 acres. The remaining roof is so full of holes it might almost not be there at all. And that's the only barn I have that is up high enough to have escaped the water from below. Ironic? No, just hellacious torture.
The flood without the wind would have been hell enough. The wind without the flood would have caused a major disaster. Thanks, world, for the combo.

It seems like an insurmountable task to get this cleaned up, yet I pick at it with pitchfork, shovel and wheelbarrow.
One forkful at a time. The Aegean goat barn. Guaranteed I'll get it cleaned out just in time for the next flood.

I want a dry barn. I want lights at night.
I want to play with my welder.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Where's Water?


Can you spot the problems here?

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

aftermath

I started writing a post this morning about the lessening of our emergency, when the power went off again.

It's a real mess here. Now that it's over, and just the rebuilding and clean up people look much more stressed. It's like it all caught up with them today. It was a sunny and warm day, thank heavens.
People were giddy and sad.
I moved almost everyone back to the ranch today, a ewe had a black lamb, I started putting some sheds back together, I returned the generator, I got some fresh hay ahd straw, I did a load of laundry, I could see the waves breaking from the fairgrounds , I started scraping the muck out of my barn and yard.

This has been a rough past 7 days.On top of a tough past 10 days.
It's not supposed to rain tomorrow either.

Soon we'll go skiing.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Here's
what 200,000 can buy where it doesn't flood. And there's skiing!

Snow is better than rain

Regarding the crappy weather we have in this area ( wet and chilly damp winters, damp and foggy summers) I have found out a few things.(not to mention the earthquakes)

When I ask people why they live here, they mostly say "well wherever you live it's always something, hurricanes, tornados". But then I ask a poignant question "where else have you lived"?. So far, the answer has been "well, only here..".

That explains why people live here. They don't know any better. They think that numerous emergency situations every year is normal life on earth.. The wherever there's hurricanes. they get hurricanes every year. Tornadoes hit every part of the mid west every year.

I realized that I am the most travelled person I know. I have been many many places in this country, and maybe that's why I know that it doesn't have to be like this. North east, north west, inter mountain west, mid atlantic, New England, life isn't like that there.

Another friend said "Well the flood is better than lots of snow".( also, never lived anywhere else but California and a brief stint overseas where there was no snow)
Here's my list ( on going)" why snow is better than flood".( mostly regarding farming)
If you haven't lived in the snow it doesn't make sense, but 45 degrees and 93% humidity and wet is MUCH MUCH colder than 10 degrees, 10% humidity and snowing.
I've lived where the temp is below zero for weeks, and I have never been so cold as winters here.
And in the summer here it is only 10 degrees warmer. ever.

1. Animals can stand in and lie down on snow and keep warm.
2. Snow stays put. It doesn't come into the barn. The barn stays dry.
3. Animals can dig through snow to find feed.
4. You can't ski on flood; you can't swim in 56deg water

Monday, January 02, 2006

Hope?

ATTENTION...THE FOLLOWING STAGES OF PARTICULAR SIGNIFICANCE
HAVE OCCURRED OR ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR
FLOOD STAGE
KLAMATH RIVER AT SEIAD VALLEY
MONITOR STAGE
SCOTT RIVER AT FORT JONES
EEL RIVER AT FERNBRIDGE
SPRAGUE RIVER AT BEATTY



NORTH COAST RIVERS CONTINUE TO RECEDE. RAINFALL FORECAST FOR
THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS MAY CAUSE SOME MINOR FLUCTUATIONS IN
STAGES...BUT NO RENEWED RISES ARE EXPECTED.

Wild and crazy!

Cuba?

I dreamt that I was a boat person refugee going TO Cuba. It was warm and dry and sunny there. They were farming deer.
I did start to worry about who was going to take care of my goats.

The PG&E guy just turned around in our driveway. I asked him what the word was and he said "If not today, then tomorrow for sure". I almost cried.

Still on generator ( Thank you Conways!!!)
Still raining.

http://www.northcoastweather.com

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Seasons!!

This is pretty sweet; I might try it. It's time lapse of a full year in Norway.

Carp? Rice?

This is no way to farm.

More on My Flickr

California: State of Emergency

I can't even count how many emergency flood situations I have been since moving to California, but we're having one now (just flood emergencies, there have also been earthquakes, wind storms,..).
I can't even remember when this all started, and at this point the days are all running together. I know it's been almost 2 weeks.

Was it Monday when J came to evacuate her doelings? I don't even know, but it turned out to be a good move, as their barn flooded the next day.
The water went up just a bit, but it went down.
Then we got about 1 1/2 inches of rain in about 4 hours. I guess that's when the real trouble started.
This combined with extremely high tides causes all the rivers and streams to back up and pour into my field.
One night the water was about 1 1/2 feet deep in the barn, but the water was too deep to drive through to evacuate the goats. I turned them onto the shavings and hay and hoped they'd be O K until the water went down enough to get them out.

Oh yeah, then there's the problem of the bridge out of town; when the river reaches a certain level the road is flooded and we can't get across. There is an alternate route, but it's about 45 minutes around, and also often closed in flood situations.

On Thursday ( as far back as I can remember clearly) the water went down with a good low tide enough for me to shuttle about 25 goats to the fairgrounds. The sheep were lambing in horrible weather and many were stranded on an island. I did manage to get them into the highest part of the field.

My horse and I walked the length of the field knee deep in water with no green grass in sight.

I can't even remember what happened on Friday.

Like we needed even more trouble, yesterday morning we had a hellacious windstorm that just tore everything to pieces. I woke to dim lights that eventually went out all together. It turned out a tree had taken out one leg of our power, then the sub station at the bridge flooded and the whole town was out of elec. And the bridge was closed.
My barn roof it totally ripped off, 2 of my kid sheds are all over and broken to pieces. But, kudos to me, the barn I built 2 years ago is still standing.

Last night the river once again rose to over flood stage, eventually reaching the 6th highest level on record. The water at my ranch was higher than I have ever seen it.
Ted and I hiked in through the neighbors field which still had some exposed grass, but we still had to ford some areas deeper than our boots.
The sheep were on a very very small strip of ground, extremely muddy at this point as they have been living there for days. Lots of muddy wet and cold new lambs, I have 3 I am already bottle feeding, and I found another on the brink of death.
The remaining goats and my horse still had a place to lie down, but any more rise and there would be none.
But, there was a nice low minus tide that would hopefully alleviate this.

The lamb got brought home and immersed in the sink in warm water to bring her temperature up. In about an hour she was miraculously revived.

Today we woke to still no power, but we hadn't had nuch rain over the past few days, so I was hoping the water levels would begin to drop.
The bridge was open and rumor had it that Eureka had power, so we were pretty glad to get out of New Orleans, I mean Ferndale, and go somewhere else. We needed candles and some dry clothes; no power means no dryer and we are running out of clothes.

This evening the water had dropped enough that I could once again drive my little truck to my ranch.

We do have water and hot water via our propane, And telephone and a stove.

I just went over to a friends to give them the lamb and I saw thet Ferndale has power, but we still don't. It almost made me cry to see our little town back to life.
And when I delivered the lamb, they asked if I didn't want to borrow their generator, as their power was back on.
So here we sit with the satellite TV, lights, and the Internet all plugged into the little engine in the woodshed.

The high seas are predicted to finally calm. Even though this rain will continue for at least another week, as long as it can all drain away, things might return to normal and I can bring the goats back home. My first doe is due to kid on the 20th.

I am ready to move.