Living the Good Life

BUILDING

I'm reading a great book about living the good life. It's called... surprise! Living the Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing. There is a whole chapter about building with stone, using forms similar to concrete forms. Now I'm not the most handy man around. My son keeps mentioning how we start a project, then later start another project, and rarely finish one. So, although I may never try these stone building techniques, I do think it's rather intriguing and a very cost effective method of homestead building.

It got me to looking at the different buildings I pass on my walk to work. Many of the buildings are brick, some undergoing renovation after the earthquake of 2001. Even among the brick buildings there are many different ways to build, including vastly different brick sizes. There are also many buildings and other structures (stairs, pedestrian bridges, stadiums) which use a lot of concrete or mixed concrete and brick. All very well engineered and well thought out it seems. There are certainly a wide variety of building styles in downtown Seattle, and I particularly like looking at the older buildings.

Speaking of concrete, Metro Transit is working on a bus shelter near my home. From the pace of it, they are approaching the speed at which my son says I complete projects. They had dug a hole and put in forms to pour a pad. There were minor changes over the course of two weeks to the forms. Next thing I knew, they had expanded the hole and forms to nearly double the size of the pad. I don't firmly understand concrete construction, but the form looked very elaborate for a simple bus shelter pad. At least a week later, we had a pad to stand on. It has now been almost two weeks with a bare pad. I don't see any methods to attach and shelter supports; I suppose they'll just drill right into it. I just hope it's done before the summer is over.

I need a dog

I've been thinking about this for a long time. What is the perfect dog for a homestead? A dog should be a great companion, handle livestock, and defend against interlopers. On the security front, a dog or pair of dogs should be able to handle other dogs & coyotes, four legged garden pests (deer) and unfriendly two-legs who wander by. A good dog should keep the honest neigbor honest & the suspicious-looking visitor fearful. After much thought, my choice is... the Blue Heeler. It has a long history as a livestock dog. Its outback lineage, with Dingo ancestry, make it a tough customer on the security and basic survival fronts.

What to wear?

I was thinking about the perfect garment for kicking around the homestead. I want something simple and comfortable that can be worn in numerous weather conditions. Top picks are:
The great kilt or Caftan with sandals*

*While I love barefooting and letting my feet breathe, I realized on a camping trip a few years ago that shoes are essential for certain environments. (Sorry Barefooters!) While gathering firewood (after dark!), I stepped on a broken branch and put a nasty gash in my foot. Then I proceeded to step on a turd that some moron had neglected to bury in a cat hole. It made me think I was in the Nam... I promptly washed out my wound and recovered without infection, etc, but I had learned my lesson.

Breaking ground

I break ground on the virtual homestead. Plenty of room for camping - no facilities yet. Please pick up after yourself.

Dave