Some Flowers

Here's a few things that are blooming around the house right now. A jack-in-the-pulpit, right beside my steps going up to the deck.
Some little white flowers. They are by the steps also. These are fairly common around here. Nice ground cover.

My little wildflower meadow. It's a lot more prolific this year than last.

Bee balm. This is very common here. I like it though. It always strikes me as a hippie-like plant with it's pink dreadlocks.

Sweet Freedom

These images are from the Alabama Veteran's Memorial located in Birmingham. Allen was the superintendent for the job and I worked on this one a little. If you live here in Alabama I would encourage you to make a trip here and if you are ever passing through our fair state it is worth a side trip to see. It is out in the middle of the woods in a very serene setting. It consist of this courtyard with these large concrete columns which are embedded with artwork, letters and the stories of Alabama's Medal of Honor recipients. My first and only public sculpture is here.

Then there is the 'temple' part which has the names of all Alabamians lost to war engraved on the walls. It's a fairly simple design but very striking. Allen took Fred to see it (Fred was in the Navy) a few weeks ago and took these photos. The walls of the temple are solid 2' thick concrete. In fact, there is more concrete in this job than I have seen poured on some much larger sites. If I remember correctly, just that center beam of concrete in the ceiling (that has the rounded bottom) weighed around 90 tons.
The outside of the temple has some vines growing on it, per the architectural firm, and really gives the place a feeling of timelessness. You can sort of make it out in the background.
They have almost filled all the spaces on the walls with names. It would be great if there was never any reason to add more.

*Micheal McDonald

Lessons Learned

The post today is to answer a question asked of me by a nice young lady wanting to know about apprenticeships. The photo is just a random one I took at the end of the day on the job. We were waiting on the backhoe operator to come with the machine and get the tools to put up. We put them in the bucket of the machine and have him carry them to and from the shed as there are way too many for us to carry.
Anyway, Charlotte, to answer your question: There are different types of apprenticeships, depending on if it is a trade or craft you are learning, but basically you work for a journeyman or master doing all the tedious, everyday work of the craft in exchange for lessons taught by the craftperson. It is somewhat like a college degree as apprenticeships usually last 4 years and at the end you must pass certain tests etc. and produce work of a certain quality in order to be set up as a journeyman. In our line of work, the apprentices work on our jobs and at the same time attend school one day a week, in the afternoon, which is also taught by the older carpenters. In each class they are required to build at least one project and there is also written exams etc. I sometimes teach the welding class and during the last 2 weeks of class I require my boys to construct an item of their choosing. They have already spent the majority of the class time learning the technicalities of welding and then apply them to a project. Craft apprenticeships are similar in that you learn from the master as you work for them and then usually you are given use of the studio in the after hours to produce work of your own. Generally, the master will give you some guidelines about what they want you to make. Obviously, our apprentices are paid and I think most in the crafts receive at least some small stipend for their labor.
I will tell you this, most apprenticeships are designed to be somewhat hard. A lot of our boys have trouble with this idea on our jobs but it weeds out the ones who are not really interested in the work. As an apprentice you are the lowest man on the totem pole, if you know what I mean. The laborers even have authority over our apprentices. You will get every crap job there is. It's not meant to demean you in any way but you must learn every aspect, good and bad, of the craft you want to pursue. I have read that the potters apprentices in Japan must sweep the floor and clean up after the masters for 2 years before they are even allowed to touch any clay. We are not that bad on ours but they often complain that the foreman doesn't think the shovels fit anybody's hands but the apprentices.
I hope this info helps. Most women would do well to learn some kind of trade skills as it adds tremendously to your self confidence levels and self reliance.

*Alicia Keys

Whiskey and Green Tea

This house is the one I am kinda using as a model for the colors on my house. The colors that you have seen on the house so far are primer. Some of the trim is the correct color but some of it is going to be restained. I really liked these colors. They feel very earthy and organic. Even the red and I think they all go with the galvalume roof well. And I think stone will look really great next to the green, if I ever get that done, that is. Of course, the architect hates it. I think he just fusses just to have something to disagree with me about. I don't have as much that I can paint red, as this house, besides my door though. I may add some steel brackets to my clerestory overhang and thought they would look good in red. I could add some window boxes as this house has but I have never really liked window boxes. Well, it will work out. As I said before, I think, I am using an opaque stain. It is water based, basically an acrylic resin. I am very happy with it so far but I wonder if it will be prone to fading.
Not much has gone on with the house this week. I have had to attend to some of the issues with the land. We finally pulled that tree up out of the creek and cut it up and I had to go down the driveway trimming limbs and saplings back. The grass seed I sowed is coming up great! Finally, the runoff is slowing down. I have started on a small retaining wall around the parking area. Planted a few more flowers.
We left work a little early today due to a strong lightning storm. If it just rains we have to wait until the boss calls it; lets us get out of the rain. But if it is lightning then we are allowed to call it. I was glad for a little rest as it was still raining when I got home. My back is pleading for more rest though! We have had to grade gravel for concrete slabs all week and that sucks. If you have never had to pull gravel then be very thankful. It does build up good stomach muscles though. I'm very anxious for the 3 day weekend coming and maybe I'll get a lot more done on siding.

*Supergrass

Cover Me

Siding update! Well, I have turned the corner, so to speak, and have run both the north and east sides as far up as I can reach with the current scaffolding. Here, I need to put my flashing above the windows and door before I can go any higher. On the north side I am completely finishing the siding as I go up, painting and all, so that I don't have to rebuild the scaffolding, so it is taking a little longer. Allen came and helped me this weekend so it went some faster. We had a little excitement Saturday though that I could have done without. We were on the north side working and I started noticing a bunch of these little bugs flying everywhere. Not that unusual; but after a time there was a lot more. I walked around to the east side to go in the house and there were hundreds of these little things everywhere and they looked like flying ants. Allen said it appeared that they were coming from the east and then it occurred to the both of us; we were in the midst of a termite colony swarm. I ran in the house and they were coming in under the door and seemingly through cracks in the windows too. If you don't live in the South I will tell you that nothing strikes fear in a homeowners heart down here like the word "termite". Maybe "tornado" but it's about the same. So, we spent the next 2 hours vacuuming termites out of the house and spraying and caulking, anything to get rid of those horrible creatures. No sign of them today.
Someone had asked about how I was running the siding around the windows since I had run the trim first. The siding is just cut out to the profile of the window and trim and then very carefully lifted into place and nailed. This is a piece waiting to be installed.
This is the same piece installed. If you are careful you can get a pretty tight fit. I will caulk these joints and paint and you'll never know the difference.
I have several plugs on the deck and around the house that I had to accommodate. When I was running the circuit, I just drilled a hole in the exterior wall and roughed out about a foot of wire in the approximate area I wanted the plug. I did not set a box yet. When I started running the siding I then could see where each piece was going to hit and could then put the box in the wall making sure that it was going to hit fully within one piece of siding. You don't want it to hit in between two pieces; it makes putting a cover on a royal pain. The siding is nailed every 16" on the studs. When I located the studs I just plumbed a line all the way up (that's the black line on the Tyvek) so that I would know where they were as I was nailing. I am using 4d galvanized nails with a small head for the siding. I am using 8d galvanized casing nails (no head) for the trim. You have to be careful with galvanized nails. I think that it is easier for your hammer to slip off the nail as you are driving it and hit the board. It's bad because if it slips off and you hit your nice, (expensive) cypress trim and leave a pecker mark, it will cause you to talk very ugly for a few minutes, so be aware of this.
Just for the record so that everyone does not think that I am a complete moron, I wanted to make a note of something. Pablo left a comment on the last post saying I should write a novel because I had a good theme in that post. I asked what that theme was; I wasn't sure. Well, I know what the main theme of the post was but I have noticed that a lot of the comments I get are not about what the main topic was, since I tend to ramble at the end of a post, such as now. That post had several ideas in it so Pablo could have, theoretically, been speaking of one of the others. Ha! I'm still dense and it takes me a while sometimes to think about things.


*Bruce Springsteen

Ray Of Light

As I slowly carve the dense underbrush and brambles further and further from the edge of the forest surrounding my little house, I have noticed an incredible array of native shrubs and flowers beginning to emerge now that the sunlight is able to reach their roots once again. Species that I have never seen before and never imagined lived here in this valley. This is Grancy Graybeard (chionanthus virginicus) or "old man's beard" as many older people call it. There are several of these shrubs near the house as I have recently discovered. My mother recognized it when she came to visit recently and told me it's common name. Tons of flowers are also coming out such as violets, jack-in-the-pulpit, bee balm, butter weed, coreopsis and many more that I don't know right off.
One day while working in the garden, I was thinking about how all this life was blooming around here that I never knew would be here and it suddenly struck me how maybe our own lives are like this. If we cut back all the superfluous crap and stuff choking the light out of our lives, things would begin to bloom that we never knew were there. It doesn't matter if you look at this from a religious point of view or strictly philosophical because we all have way too much stuff in out lives that we think are so important, that really doesn't mean much. Too much physical and mental clutter. I mean, when we are at the end of our time here, is that 52" TV really going to matter? Or that we saw every episode of "American Idol"? But I'm not just picking on television, there are lots of things that occupy more of our finances and time than they should. Like, some people are appalled that I don't color my hair. What? Good God, if some man won't turn my way because the gray is noticeable at 10 feet then he probably couldn't handle me anyway.
I do think I work way too much sometimes. I get up at 4:30 a.m. and go to work for 8 or sometimes 10 hours, come home and work some more on this house or in the yard. I don't usually stop until time to go to bed about 9:00 p.m. I do try to get out on the weekends sometimes and attend a gallery opening or some such thing. Last month I went out on a few dates with a guy that a friend set me up with but nothing came of that. I am thinking that I may try to do a few arts and crafts shows this year just to get back out and socialize. Of course, there are some things that it's nice to indulge in a little. I like to make things and probably spend maybe a little too much money on music. I've mentioned before that I have had doubts about why I am trying to build this house this way (paying for it as I go and spending so much time on it) but I just didn't feel I had many options, so while I had the energy and money to do it, to go for it. It's a slow, hard way to go but I don't have any family or whatever that I would otherwise be neglecting so, why not? I'm glad now not to have a house payment but sometimes get very tired of never being through.

It's raining today over most of the state, a steady, soaking rain so we did not work today. I slept a little late which was nice but am frustrated because I can't work on the outside of the house! I think I will try to work on finishing the pantry walls. That is one room I have long ignored and it won't take much to finish it which would help my feelings a lot and help with some storage issues too.

* Madonna/ Ray Of Light album

she's flying, trying to remember where it all began

she's got herself a little piece of heaven

waiting for the time when earth shall be as one.

All Our Past Times

I have been going through some old work photos to try and find some that might show form work for slabs and more specifically, the rebar specs, but have not been able to locate hardly any. Ron over at Homesteading Hickory Hills is about to form a slab roof for his root cellar and I am trying to get him some photos etc., although I think he is already on the right track. I haven't forgot about you Ron and will still send that little sketch for the outside forms. I did come across some funny and interesting photos though from waaay back though. This one above is obviously me but about 7 or 8 years ago. I was a journeyman at this point, working on a hospital. It struck me how clean and neat I look then. I mean, we try to all keep ourselves neat looking at work, as best we can, but my ol' hardhat is much more battered now, with a lot more stickers. Many construction workers collect stickers from the jobs they work on as sort of a record. I have 2 now that I prize highly with the NS logo; given to me by a major sweetheart. My nail apron is held together in many places with tie wire. I guess I am going to have to break down and buy some more. That hammer is still the same one I carry now but it is needing to go into retirement too. It has just gotten about impossible to find a 20 oz. leather handle, straight claw Estwing though. I don't wear suspenders anymore. Actually, that did not last long at all. Most of the guys wear them because our pouches are so heavy but let's just say, they don't have anything up top to "get in the way" of suspenders. I found them very irritating and I have enough caboose to keep my apron up, unlike most men! A lot of people ask me why I don't wear my nail apron when I work at home. Well, ours are a little different than what these guys on This Ol' House wear! Ours are longer and can weigh 15-20 lbs. if carrying all that we do for form work. When we get a chance to take them off, we do!
Turning 40 also has gotten me thinking a lot about where I've been and things I've done. I guess I've had a very different life experience than most women. This was a job I was on in North Carolina. It is not one of my favorite job memories because I was married at the time but it was interesting. It was who I was married to, not the fact that I was married btw. This is what we call a tilt-up. Basically, you pour the wall slab on the ground, as if it were a floor slab, and then you stand them up and secure them to the building frame. You can stack them up like cards on the ground and you spray a release agent on each on to (hopefully) keep them from sticking to one another. These are about 8" thick and weighed about 35 tons apiece. They have more rebar in them than a regular slab to withstand the stress of movement. Pouring the panels is fun and interesting but setting them is very dangerous and nerve wracking, at least to me. Generally, you have a separate contractor come in and set the panels. These guys make "danger pay" which is a higher rate when they are doing this because it is so risky. Many men have died because the wind will get up quickly and snatch the panels around or various other problems and break the straps to the crane.
With these big openings you would have a slight chance of getting through a hole but with the solid panels, well, at least it would be a fairly quick way to go. I was just a little apprentice on this job and had never been around anything like this before. We had a crew come in, mostly Hispanics, and began setting the panels on a Monday. Well, that night they all went out and just got really hammered because they were all too sick to come in the next day. Some of these guys are kinda rough. Anyway, we couldn't wait on them so we had to start setting them ourselves. Fortunately, our bosses had experience with the panels but it was still very scary to me and the other apprentice boy because we were the ones that had to climb up on the panels and secure them after they were put in place. We were very happy to see that crew come back in the next day. I think they were a little surprised to see that we had set a bunch without them.
I'm still working on siding; it's going pretty slow but it looks good. Maybe some photos of that soon. It has rained some more so I've had to stop now and again because of that. I did take the time yesterday morning to plant a good bit in the garden before it just got too late, so am very happy about that.


*Eric Clapton/ No Reason To Cry album

Skin O' My Teeth

Well, I finally started running the siding. Let me just say, cement siding is very heavy to put up by yourself. I expected to be very sore in my shoulders this morning when I got up but actually felt pretty good. What I did was to measure up off the bottom of the sheathing to establish a level line. I put one mark on each end and one in the middle. A nail in the middle mark held one end of the chalk line and I popped the line one side at a time. Sighting down it, it looked pretty good. Once this line was established and the first run of siding up, I just repeated this process moving up, measuring off the top of the siding and allowing for an 1 1/4" lap of siding. This works only if you stay on your line well. I am going with a 7" reveal on the lap. I don't think I mentioned that before. The smaller reveals look too busy to me and seem more appropriate on a Victorian style house or similar.
Allen showed up at the end of the day to help with the cut pieces around the windows and he took these photos. It is going pretty slow as does everything around here. I am going to try to come up with a sketch or something of what the house will look like when it is completely done. It will change a lot. In addition to a whole 'nother half of house, there will be a large planter bed of poured concrete in front of all that concrete block you see. So, the block will not show at all. I am anxious to get that covered up. I am working on plans in my head about how to conceal a root cellar within this planter since it will be concrete. Of course, you will not be able to walk into it but it will be on the north side of the house and could store a fair amount of produce.
Above the block (around the windows) I am going to lay stone. I have started this process but have not gotten very far.
The title to the post refers to the fact that I swore to myself years ago that I would have my own house before I turned 40. Well, I turned 40 yesterday. But I live here and it is great. Being at home all week has really brought home the fact that there is so much here that is undone. I feel like a lot of times that I have bitten off way more than I can handle. I only have a few things planted in the garden and there are trees down all over the place from storms or construction that need cleaning up. It's hard for just 2 people to construct and maintain something on this much land, much less one. Allen has not started construction of his house yet (still working on the road) but I need to be able to help him when he does.
Some very heavy storms came through today so I had to stop work on the outside. We got a good bit of rain though, which is good. My non garden needs it. It is supposed to be nice tomorrow so I hope to get a lot done.

Knock On Wood

This is a load of cypress from Louisiana that I had milled to use as the exterior trim on the house. It is beautiful wood; I almost hate to stain it a color but that's the way it goes. I am using Hardie board lap siding on the house but could not find a suitable trim board in the Hardie product so that is my reason for going with the cypress. The options for trim are very limited when it comes to pre-manufactured siding but you don't have to go with what they have. The boards here were milled down to a full 1 1/4" thick by 12" wide. We then ripped them down to 5" for window and door trim and one side of the corner boards. The other side is 3 3/4" so the corners are equal and it worked out to use some of the 3 3/4" boards for the bottom trim under the sill. The drop from ripping these boards was exactly the right size to make the sill extensions out of so it worked out perfectly. The windows came with sill extensions but they were sized for brick mould, which I hate. Since I am going with a 5" trim, the sills were too short. Not too big a deal to make more and the ones on the windows popped off pretty easy.
Here you can see 2 of the north windows trimmed out. Yes, the trim goes up first and the lap siding will butt against the trim. That way you don't have any spaces under the trim as you would if you were to lay it over the siding. That calls for more careful cutting of the siding but that's OK. I am just hoping that there in minimal shrinkage in the wood. I still need to put up my corner boards, which won't take too long, and then I can start actually running siding.
This is a little detail shot of the trim. The small groove in the back of the sill will cover up with the siding. The windows had a 1/4" tenon along the front that the sill extension fit over so we had to make these with the same thing. It will help keep the sill in line. I ran a bead of caulking in that groove and then slipped it in place. I also nailed, up through the sill, into the side pieces in order to hold that 1/4" reveal. Wider boards sometimes want to try to twist so I'm hoping to stop some of that. The sills extend past the sides 1" both ways, as does the header piece. That is sort of a Craftsman style trim and always been one of my favorites.
I am using an opaque stain on the trim and siding. It is basically an acrylic resin. Goes on like paint but you can actually see the grain in the wood well. I am very pleased with the look. I think it has something like a 20 year warranty. I am trying to avoid the peeling and blistering that you get with paint by using this stain. There are a fair amount of colors to choose from but not like paint. It is the Olympic brand. I wanted to use Cabot but they did not have the colors that I wanted.
I have never thought of myself as a great trim carpenter but am very pleased with how this is looking so far. The wood trim just has such a nice feel to it.


*Eddie Floyd

Comin' Home Part 2

So this is the second half of the drive. This is at the sharp turn by the rocks. Lots of oak leaf hydrangeas grow along here.
The drive makes another kind of sharp turn at the top of this little hill and then it is the final stretch to the house. I am looking back down the drive here, towards the creek. Several concrete truck drivers have had a pause here at this curve but we have never had any problems getting any of the big trucks in.
This is the last leg of the journey and you can see in the distance where the clearing starts. There is a little area here, over to the right, where there is another large boulder and that I want to plant more hydrangeas and ferns etc. Maybe some more daylilies!
Now it opens up to where the house sits. Over to the right is my pathetic little garden that I am woefully behind in planting. Hopefully, this will be the last photo you see of that freaking house wrap as it will soon be covered with siding! I know the house looks funny but when all the retaining walls are poured around it etc. it will look closer to the ground. The way it is now does not make sense to a lot of people but I know in my head what it is going to look like finished. I just have trouble explaining it to everyone else.
To answer your question Pablo; I believe this was a 25 acre lake and the shore of it came to about where my house sits. You can see how the land kinda slopes off to the right; in the direction of the creek. We have found an anchor and fishing lures right in the vicinity of the house and driveway. The dam broke in 1963 so it has had quite some time to grow up. I was born in 1968 but we won't discuss that as my birthday is Wednesday and I may be having a crisis. Oh yeah, you can see ol' Blue sitting over there in his little parking spot and who is now paid off!
I start my weeks vacation tomorrow although I will be working the whole time. But I will be working on my house and not for the Man so it is very good.

Comin' Home Part 1

It occurred to me the other day that I have not posted any photos of the land or garden areas in some time and that a lot of readers may have no idea what type of surroundings are here. I am tired of posting shots of the unfinished house so I thought I would show some other stuff. Allen and I have a little over 17 acres here although it is divided between us. It is basically a whole valley. My house sits back off the road about 1,000 feet. The terrain, my desire for privacy and layout of the property lines are the reason for this. Basically, the best home site was just that far back. When we first acquired the property it was completely inaccessible. Fortunately, since I work for a large construction company, I was able to procure the use of some heavy equipment to make things work out. Still, I tried not to disturb the terrain any more than necessary. Oh, a large part of the land was once under water because back the 50's, this was the site of a man-made lake. This photo shows the beginning of my drive. There is a very large sycamore tree right there on the right.
I enjoyed Pablo's video he made of his drive into his land and so that is part of where this comes from. I have no idea how to make and download a video though so this will have to do. Basically, I just walked up to the furthest point you see in the photo to take the next one. The sloping banks you see on either side of the drive here are what is left of the old earth dam. I was very fortunate to be able to use this soil as the fill and base for the driveway. It would have been very expensive to haul in that much dirt and very destructive to have tried to gather it from around the property.
This is just past the dam and right before the big rock bluff that I showed a few days ago. Some of the areas on the sides of the drive are fairly bare and I would like to eventually have these all planted with native shrubs and flowers. The rock bluff is on the left but it is mostly obscured by the trees now. We had to move a few very large boulders here to be able to get the road in but just moved them over to the other side to help shore up that soil. We also moved the small, spring creek over just a few feet to give a little more room! What you can do with even small equipment. Of course, we got a backhoe stuck right here so bad I thought we were going to have to call a wrecker. If you look off to the right at the turn there in the drive you can see where the spring creek joins the main creek. I have planted some groups of irises and there are at least 2 different types of ferns that grow there naturally. Maybe you can make them out in this photo. You can see the main creek over to the right for most of the drive. It makes for a very pleasant walk too.

I will show the rest of the drive tomorrow maybe. I have this whole week off from work and hope to get a large portion of the siding up. I received the trim yesterday afternoon and will start staining that Sunday since it is raining here today.

*Deep Purple

How Do You Mend A Broken Heart?

A few days ago Florida Cracker made a post about a heart-shaped Alabama rock over at Pure Florida. I was not going to post about mine but after I saw his I thought, "what the heck". We were rolling around in a ditch (footing) at work trying to set some wall forms when I looked down at my knee and saw this rock. FC's rock appears much bigger and nicer and does have a slight crack through it. But mine is broken, with a piece missing. 'Course, that is sort of what gives it that heart shape. No more comment other than to say it's funny how you find or see things at certain times in your life.
And yes, that is my dirty, rough ol' paw in the photo. Concrete work messes your hands up something terrible even when you wear gloves.


* The Bee Gees

Flower Grown Wild

This past week I have been walking about my land a lot, seeing what new and different now that things are really starting to grow and I have been amazed at how many new (to me) species of plants I am finding. These were definitely not here before and I suspect that some things are coming out now since I have cleared a lot of areas that were previously choked by so much underbrush. This is cross vine and I was particularly happy to see this. In fact, I have found several bunches of it in different areas. It is a very hardy vine and I'm sure it goes by other names, that is just the one I know. It has a very attractive and fairly large flower that is really not done justice by these pics. The colors are very bright and flashy in real life. According to herbalists, cross vine is a wonderful tonic for general health and stamina, similar to ginseng. You make a tea from the leaves, I don't believe you use the flower.
It's very attractive anyway and I would imagine that the hummers would like it also. I would like to try to root some and plant near the house, perhaps on a trellis. It flowers very profusely with enough sun.
I have not been doing much work on the house itself lately. I have had a couple of projects for other people that I have needed to complete and have been working on planting various things to try and make things look a little better around here. I guess it just looked so barren around the house that it was beginning to get to me. I needed some garden therapy I guess. Also, I have been saving my paychecks in order to buy the siding which I hope to start next week. I am very anxious to get that done. I think it is really going to help my feelings to have the siding on and getting it painted and trimmed up will be something relatively easy for me to do when I come home from work in the afternoons.
Oh, I forgot to mention earlier, the sun has now vanished from the inside of the house. Actually, it was back at the first of April that the last sliver of sun departed. So, the house is staying fairly cool these days even with some days in the low 80's. If it is a bright sunny day (80-82 degrees) the house is usually at about 76 degrees when I get home. I do have 3 narrow west facing windows that I need to shade and I think it would drop the inside temp some. Hardcore passive solar design says NO west facing windows but I couldn't help it. Besides, they help warm in the winter. I am going to open the clerestory windows this week and see if that makes any cooling difference now that I have ceiling fans. The guys at work have said that they are already running their air-conditioners at home so I feel good about my house.


*Bryan Adams

Let It Grow

My grass is coming up! I'm so excited! Maybe now this area will not look so bad if I can get some greenery on it. I put out a bunch of wildflower seed also so I hope that has taken as well. I really don't want to mow as this just wastes energy (mine mostly!) and time. Also, due to lack of grass or anything, I was having a lot of trouble with the rain washing sand and dirt down onto the driveway in this area. I put these logs along the drive and secured them as a temporary retaining wall. This is the same tree that fell on my house last summer! Anyway, when it becomes rotty or I get more time, whichever comes first, I will remove the logs and probably build a stone retaining wall in their place but for now it is a quick and easy way to stop that run off. The dirt will compact behind the logs and hold it's shape long enough for when I roll the logs away and allow me to get something else up. I back filled behind the logs with some good dirt and compost and have been trying to plant a nice grouping of native and low maintenance shrubs and flowers. Most of them I have collected from the area or been given so they are acclimated for this climate. I have some day lilies and daffodils from a friend. I think I mentioned once before here that if you live in the South and have any amount of soil you are required to plant day lilies. I have some narcissus from Mama's house. There are large clumps of them growing in her pasture that no one can figure out where they came from. I bought a few coreopsis and a crab apple tree. I am also mixing some local, medicinal plants in with the flowers such as mountain mint and mullein. They grow abundantly here and are attractive plants. As with everything else, I try to use plants that are used to this soil (don't require pampering) that you can generally get for free (salvaging) and can serve another purpose such as food or medicine (self sufficiency). Oh, I forgot, I am lining that side of the drive with lavender. That's what those 3 bushy things are to the left end of the logs. OK, I know that is not native but it takes to this sandy soil VERY well.
I have also had some dirt work done recently on the driveway and parking areas. Allen had to get a backhoe with operator out to his job recently so we had him come to the house for a couple of hours to help make his hours for the day. It has made the drive much better. I'll try to post this soon.
I'm still trying to decide on siding and trim and have a request in at work to take the second week of May off. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

*Eric Clapton

Blueberry Hill

Well, I can't say that I found my thrill really but I was excited later to find out this is a wild blueberry bush. See, I had gone out for an explore one day after work and proceeded to climb up to the top of this rock bluff that runs across my drive. I was searching for wild azaleas, which I found plenty of, but also found this shrub. I had no idea what it was but it was covered in these little blossoms. I know the photo is crappy because the camera focused on the leaves behind my hand but I think you can pretty much tell what it looks like. I was going to post the photo and see if anyone could tell me what it was. I also found some really pretty little, red flowers growing up amongst the rocks that I was going to put up. When I got back to the house and got on the 'puter, I went to Rurality and lo and behold, there were my little, red flowers! Karen beat me to it except she already knew what they were! Dang it! Every time I think I have found something she posts about it first.....of course, she always knows what it is, so I do learn what I was wanting to know to begin with. LOL! Anyway, back to my story. Today I decided to check out this local nursery and see if they had any unusual plants for my place or at least something different than the same ol' stuff that Lowe's or Wal-Mart carries. Well, they did, some wonderful shrubs and they had this bush that looked just like what I had found on my rock bluff. The lady said they were blueberry bushes so I was real happy to know I have quite a few growing on 2 different hillsides. I don't actually like blueberries all that much but I do like to make muffins and I figure I can bake some things for the guys with them.
This is one of the wild azaleas that I went looking initially. They are very pretty and are usually pink although I have seen a few white ones. Unfortunately, most of them grow way up on the rocky hillsides, with the blueberry bushes, where you cannot see them easily. This one just happens to be right at the top of a curve in the drive. They get pretty large also, for an azalea.
This is part of my driveway with the rock ridge. I guess it has been awhile since I have shown much of my land so recent readers have probably never seen this. I am very blessed to have some beautiful land. There is a nice creek on the other side of the drive. You may just be able to make out that azalea bush right above where it looks as though the drive ends. The road makes a sharp turn back to the right there and you can then see the house.
This is some of the rock formation at the top of that ridge. The rocks are very large. I think it is very pretty. I always wanted land that had big stones and such and a creek on it.
This is one of the many, many dogwoods that are still blooming around here. They last for several weeks and look so nice scattered throughout the woods.
Working this land and building my house has been very hard at times but I am so grateful to be able to live here and in this manner. I told my mother that even if my house never got any more completed (other than lack of siding) I would be so happy and think I had the best place in the world. I was listening to a song today (you can tell music is important to me) and the guy singing was saying that the secret to life was to be thankful and I think that is true.

I used to think I didn't have a lot
Now I realize just how much I've got
Now every day I'm gonna take the time and stop
and be thankful, thankful.


*Fats Domino
The other song referred to is "Thankful" by Jonny Lang.

Garden Party

These are some of the seedlings from the seeds that karl sent from Pile of O'Maleys! I think I did something wrong with the first batch of seeds because the little seedlings promptly croaked. So, I tried again and had better results. These are Cherokee Purple and the Pantero Romanesco tomatoes. I have never been good at starting plants from seed unless I just sow the seed directly in the garden. That I can do. But starting seedlings ahead of time and having to keep them inside and harden them off etc. just gets to me. I guess I get distracted or bored with them and neglect to water and such. I prefer to buy the plants already started and just set them out. Partly this is just because I have so much stuff going on it is less trouble for me. However, it is getting more and more that I cannot find the plants I want because I have turned more towards growing heirloom varieties and most gardening centers carry hybrids.
Anyway, I also have some pepper plants started and several paprika plants. I am very excited about that. Apparently you can eat the paprika peppers just like others types but if you want it for the seasoning, you let the peppers turn red on the plant and then pick and dry them and then grind for cooking with. This is many more tomato plants than I need but I am going to share some with a buddy at work.
I have several things going on at the house that I hope to post about soon. I am trying to get started on the siding but need to do just a little more research on some stuff before I buy the trim. When I finally purchase the stuff I may see about taking a week off from work so that I can really get a good portion of it done. Allen wants me to do the trim his way but I am not sure about that. I think I may want to do it another way. That's why the song says, "ya can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself".

*Rick Nelson

Working Too Hard

Hey folks! I'm back! This has been a rough week to say the least. It's my second week on the new job site and I'm back to pouring footings and piers and tying rebar and I get to do it all in several inches of mud! The last couple of months at the railroad job spoiled me bad. Easy door hardware etc. and all gravel. It takes a few weeks to get accustomed to the rough stuff again and they have been pushing us hard to get a certain amount of piers poured per day and all that. This job is also a little further away and I have to go right through downtown Birmingham, so it takes longer to drive home and I am usually pretty tired by the time I get here. Perhaps after things calm down a little I can post more. Btw, that is the same pair of boots that I was showing off here back in August. They look a little rougher now. If I get 10 months out of a pair I am doing good. And these are $130 a pair Wolverines.
I have been so filthy after work that I have taken to keeping some extra clothes in my truck because I have to stop after work one day a week to buy groceries. People look at you bad enough if you go into a public place with work boots on much less dirty work boots.
One of my good buddies that was on the railroad job got transferred over to this new site this past week so that helped my feelings a lot. He is just a couple of years older than me and we have a good time working together. However, he accidentally dropped a 16' form on me so that didn't help a lot. It skipped down my leg and made a nice pattern of bruises though. Times like these make me wonder why I do this kind of work and I really don't have a good answer. I mean, we leave work a lot with our clothes torn, mud and blood caked all over us from building things that society needs (hospitals, schools etc.) and all to have people just dog you because of your profession. A craftsperson used to be respected but now we are all regarded as the dregs of society. I had one lady (?) tell me I could not drink from a public water fountain. A lot of the hospitals we work on will allow us to buy food from the cafeteria but we often have to go outside to eat. When we can eat inside we have to sit far away from everyone else and have actually been told not to look at anyone other than our fellow workers. I have never been invited to attend one church that I have helped build.
I didn't mean for this post to be a rant or anything, I have just been tossing a lot of things over in my head lately I guess. I have tried several times to find other employment but I always seem to get pulled back to construction, which is really weird, me being a woman especially. Are we destined to take certain paths in life in order for particular events to occur or to meet certain people? Is the wisest choice in life the one that you feel most drawn to or the one that makes the most practical sense? For me they rarely are the same! At times, I think I have made the biggest mistake of my life by not having another career and at other times I think I would never be able to have the life I really want if I had left it. I know I would never have been able to build this house as I did, had I not been in this industry. And seems like whenever I need something that I cannot provide myself, one of the men I work(ed) with will just appear with whatever it is that I was looking for. Is this Someone looking out for me or just the power of our unconscious minds' desire that created enough positive energy for these events to unfold? Or, is that positive energy in our minds how the Someone works? Maybe these thoughts are way too profound for a lowly construction worker.
I do know that in the next several years I will get to where I cannot do the work anymore. Parts of me hurt now that should not and may eventually require surgery. The guys are beginning to fuss more about me doing certain things and try to run me away from the harder jobs. I know I will quit when I begin to feel that I am causing more work for them. But I'm sure that when the right time comes a new door will open for me and I will start a new adventure.

*Lyle Lovett/ My Baby Don't Tolerate album

Kiss

Can anyone tell me if this is kiss me over the garden gate? I found this plant growing down by the creek next to the road. It is a very tall, kind of bambooey looking thing and just covered in these flowers. I hope it comes back this year as I would like to transplant some of it closer to the house. If it is KMOTGG, does anyone have experience with it? I read that it can be invasive in some areas.
I am working on cleaning the basement up this weekend (did I mention that already?) so to be able to do some pottery and such. I made a lot of progress yesterday and am going to try to build some shelves today for my supplies.


*Prince/ the only song of his that I can even tolerate much less like. Also, done by Tom Jones.

A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall

And it did too! Some strong winds also as you can see from the top of that tree now laying on the ground. I'm glad to see that because that top had actually broken out of one of the trees some time back and had gotten hung up way out of reach. I could not figure how I was going to get it down but the storms yesterday took care of that for me, so now all I have to do it cut it up. The recent rains are helping quite a bit to get our water levels back up to normal but I think we are still in a "considerable drought". The dogwoods have really been opening up this past week too.
I love these trees and have been ecstatic to see how many are around here. There are lots of redbuds too but they don't show up in the photos as well. Hopefully, these rains are helping my grass seeds get started.
This is a discovery I made last year and have been meaning to post about it but just never quite got around to it. At first, I thought (hoped!) this was a witch hazel bush but finally found out it is a spicebush. Lindera Benzoin. It is over near the creek and has these little blooms that open around mid-March. I think it is native but have never seen one before. Of course, unless you happen upon it while it is blooming you would never pay much attention to it as it's summer foliage is somewhat unremarkable. It's leaves and branches do have a spicy smell and my book says it can be used to make teas. The female plants produce small red berries (this is apparently a male) that can also be used as a substitute for allspice.
The weather is still kind of crappy today so I think I will spend most of the weekend trying to clean up and organize the basement. I must get that area in order because it is also my studio and I need to start producing some more pottery. I also have several stained glass projects to do for myself and others that I must start soon. One of them is a window for the bathroom but I need to come up with a design first. It will be something abstract, maybe with vague references to the movement of the sun etc. Speaking of the sun, it has just about disappeared from the house at this time. I was hoping to see today how much was left but it is so overcast that no sunshine can be seen. The past week or two the temps have been in the mid to high 70's during the day and the house warms up to about 73 degrees. It is very comfortable and it holds this temp throughout most of the night, only dropping 4 or 5 degrees in the early morning hours. The heat has not been used more than just a few minutes in some time. I'm not sure if the warmth coming from the ground under the house and through the uninsulated floor has anything to do with this or not. I believe this will affect the temperature in the house some though and am glad now that I have not insulated the floor. Next winter when I have the wood burning stove in the basement it will help warm the house also through radiant heat. I believe I will install some vents in the floor also which will facilitate the cool air from the basement coming in during the summer and the warm air (from the stove) in the winter. Of course, these vents can be closed so to help regulate things also. It's sort of like the house and earth is telling me what to do next if I will listen to it. OK, I'm not weirding out on you but from just observing what happens when I build a certain thing, you can learn a lot. Everything is working it's self out, even the perceived catastrophes have shown me which direction to go next.
A favorite quote of mine from the writing's of Joseph Campbell is, " We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
Now, that is not to say that I don't believe in any planning of life (I think you really need to plan a house well) but we shouldn't hold on so tightly to our little life plan that we strangle any serendipitous fortune that comes out way. It seems sometimes when I quit trying so hard to do something a certain way that a much more simple and elegant way just presents itself. Some would chalk this up to good karma or luck or the will of God but, Go with the flow, dude...ya know?

*Bob Dylan

Good Intentions

I have recently been trying to make more of an effort to tidy up the landscape around here. During construction things get so torn up and you get to where you don't really care but I have gotten tired of looking at just dirt and mud. My dream is to have a mostly naturalized landscape with native plants and grasses. Something that does not require a lot of maintenance or resources. This area was clear cut about 10 years ago and so it was very thick with undergrowth and small trees when we came down here. About all you could do with it was just bulldoze it and start over. I want to restore the forest areas; clear out the privet hedge and briers. Well, a friend was telling me how he his trying to do similar work on his land and has gone to the National Resources Conservation Services for help. I had never heard of this but basically, the federal government, if they deem you fit, pays you to restore your own land. An agent will come out and advise you , after viewing your property, on which programs you may be eligible for. Most all counties have an agent; it's something like your county extension office. Then they give you money, a written plan of what you must do and a certain amount of time in which to do it. My friend has gotten money to restore some watersheds and help restore the quail population in our area.
Part of the quail program is that you must plant a certain amount of native grasses for them. I have been needing to plant something in front of my house because the runoff is horrible and it looks terrible too so he gave me some of the seed he had leftover. It is a mixture of 3 grasses and 2 wildflowers. Indian Grass, Little Bluestem, Switchgrass, Partridge Pea, Illinois Bundleflower and Blackeyed Susan. He also gave me some Tickseed and Mexican Hat seeds. So, Allen and Oliver boxbladed the front area smooth again and we got up a lot of the rocks and sticks and then I sowed these seeds. Now, I didn't have that much so, on the friends advice, I sowed these along the edge of the woods and then just did a short fescue grass in the big open areas. I did sow the wildflower seeds in with the grass and might get some more flower seed. This is the mixture I was given. I know you can't tell much from the photo but it did have a wonderful silky feel. I did this on Sunday and Monday and it rained good today so I hope the seed takes and begins to grow.

I also built a little temporary retaining wall along the drive to stop dirt from washing onto the driveway and planted some more daylilies and daffodils and some other stuff. I will try to show that soon. I have tries to start a few things in the garden but need to do a lot of work there as the ants and grass are fighting for control within it's borders.

Well, time for bed. I have to get up earlier these days because this new job is about 20 minutes further from my house. Ack!

*Lyle Lovett and his Large Band