Creating with Cork

The solar panels are elevated for the winter and back in action. The base will become a solar dehydrator, but I will finish it up in the spring. Not much point in doing that now. The hemlock worked out well and the cork is great. The plan is to do the same combo in the basement, but I will need to go get another load of hemlock for that project as the cork is very dark in color. This is because it has been heat and pressure treated to get a higher density. It still has a smoky smell. 

Also got a chance to build a couple more compost bins this week. Got the garden all cleaned out as well. Felt bad taking out healthy looking tomato plants, but the frost will be here soon. I think. Strange that it hasn't come already. Even found a few peaches that hadn't ripened up yet. 

Replaced the motor control device on the table saw. That was rather tricky. Also put in a new blade which solved the wobble problem I was having. Sure is nice to have that machine working properly again after so many months of being down! Just in time to get back into the woodshop for the season. 

Naomi got to bake some Dutch treats with our new Dutch friends yesterday. I took the girls to Judo while she was doing that. Then we worked on the garden in the afternoon. Yet another beautiful fall day. Still not ready for the snow - first stuff was here on Halloween last year. Seems to be holding off a while longer this year. Wednesday it is supposed to hit 70 again. So strange. 

Not a bad place to work.

Added on the two left bins.

Table saw repair.

Ready for winter.

Kinda late?!

Fun with a fall fire.

Acquisitions

Another action packed week. The girls had a great time with Grammie and Grampie. They had Monday and Tuesday off of school. I spent the night on Monday and got in one last round of golf and a bit more harvesting done in the garden. Naomi got to go to a Bernie Sanders rally while we were in Escanaba. Also helped to cut down a couple trees. Really nice that Dad is back from his big roadtrip! 13,000 miles. Hard to imagine. 

On Tuesday we carved pumpkins. The smaller ones from our garden and the big Atlantic Giants from Grampie. Needed a sawzall for those. The girls came up with great designs! On Wednesday the big cork shipment arrived. The pallet barely made it under the garage door. Nice chocolaty color (too dark for Naomi but I love it) with a smoked smell. Extra dense. Exterior grade. Can't wait to give it a try. The girls had a half day of school, so we went out to our land for a cookout with the neighbors and the girl's teacher and her boyfriend. The dogs got along well and we even met some people who live next to our land. They came out on horseback to say hello. 

On Thursday I went down to Cornell to pick up another load of wood. 2x4's for the basement and hemlock for the greenhouse and solar dehydrator. Sometimes I feel like I am doing a lot, but then I talk to this guy, who built three houses with his own hands and some help from his boys. He did two of them while working full time. All the wood he harvested from his own land and milled himself. Even built the roads to pull it out. Makes me feel like a wimp! Brought some back some hemlock for a neighbor too and restacked the whole pile to get it ready for winter. One of the few days a second car would have really helped! Full garage again. Plenty of material to get me through the winter.

Friday was the day Naomi picked up the girls from school and made plans with their teacher about the work they need to do while on vacation in the NL this February. I went with neighbor Rick to an estate sale. Pretty interesting. We found a few nice things. Yesterday was warm and sunny, so we ate outside and I made some good progress on the solar dehydrator. 

Must be October.

Trip to the sawmill.

Naomi had fun watching Bernie.

Big tree!

Full garage.

The End

Finally finished the foundation project and the wood stove install this week. Got the smell of paint curing burned out as well. Now I need to figure out how to get the firewood to dry. The window well covers turned out well. I like the design. Curious what the snow will look like when it comes. Still not ready for that though!

Yesterday we got to meet a Dutch family. The grandpa is 97 years old and still doing well. The flew in smoked herring and Naomi and the twins absolutely loved it. They said it tasted fresh. Naomi baked a Dutch treat that really moved the grandpa as his dad used to make them when he was a boy. It was a special afternoon. Hopefully we can see them again soon. 

Made a bit of progress on the solar dehydrator. Not sure how far to go with it. Looks like the cork will be here on Thursday at the earliest, and it would be nice to work that in, but maybe I will just get the frame up and save the rest for the spring. Not sure. Spent a day this week helping out Dominic as well. Feels good to have a bit more flexibility. Getting out of the military mindset. 

Had our bees checked on this week and they are doing well, although it looks like they may have swarmed. Not many left. Lots of honey though! Hopefully it will get them through the winter. 

Big waves on the big lake.

How did the beavers move such a big log?

All done!

Fall hike.

Dehydrator foundation.

Big buck was on the driveway.

Trail maintenance on our land.

Can you spot the queen?

Good looking colony.

Our first fire.

Two Days

I need two more days to finish two big projects. One final window well cover remaining and the woodstove needs to be inspected and wrapped up with a couple outstanding parts. So close. I have had a mild cold for the past month, so maybe once these two projects are done I can move on from that too!

Wrapped up a couple smaller things this week as well. Tried to seal up the garage door as there were big gaps around it. Chopped and stacked more firewood. Got rid of the last dirt piles and turned them into a base for the solar dehydrator. Designed it too. Even ordered a pallet full of cork. Hard stuff to find. I thought there was only one supplier in the US but I managed to find a second and their price was about 25% lower. Better service too. Hopefully the product is good. 

Naomi had her busiest work week ever. She has taken on a lot of extra tasks, but she enjoys it. Hopefully she can find a better balance. Amélie was home sick again for a day and a half. Luckily Abigail hasn't been picking up these colds. We finally got rain last night! It was so dry. Maybe more mushrooms in the next few days. 

Two down, one to go!

My client finished up the trophy base I turned for him.

All done!

Base for the solar dehydrator.

No more dirt piles!