Month: June 2022

When we learned last month that I had to have shoulder surgery, we looked at our project list (with a bit of anxiety). We prioritized the big ones that required both of us. We are so grateful for friends who came to help! Guess we keep kicking down the road again: painting all buildings, new gutters and roof, more fencing, trenching more water lines, trenching heat from boiler to little house, paint pool fence, build new metal storage shed, rebuild front drive gate, and many others.

The selected big projects were:

• redo melon boxes and drip irrigation and plant melons (no photo yet)
• finish the vineyard trellis support system (photo below)
• cut and stack firewood for 2022-2023
• tie emergency well drilled last summer and storage tank into fire defense and irrigation system (photo below)
• build fire-resistant metal shed around the new emergency well (photos below)

We use a great deal of recycled materials, free materials or auctioned bargain materials for projects. For the arbor, we did buy 69 u-bolts, 12 bags of concrete and some ox\acetylene gas for cutting arbor trellis support crossarms. The vineyard arbor materials cost was less than $150. For the metal well-shed, total materials cost was about $75. The plumbing parts were most expensive (Biden’s fault of course), about $200, mostly because the high-volume pressure regulator was pricey. Regulator needed because the water storage for the emergency well is on the hill and gravity can generate 160 PSI. The irrigation system can only handle 60 PSI. But the fire hydrant needs all that pressure.

Vines are young and trellis essential now for decent harvest in future years. Three rows for 60+ grapes — wine, table, juice and raisins, eventually! Probably 1\2 mile of wire in all 3 rows of 3 levels of 2 wires per level, plus main wire.

Below, left to right: wellhouse metal frame, David getting Heather with some supplies, David (and Heather) installed panels while Neil measured and cut them.

Phenomenally, with Heather’s help, we completed the irrigation tie-in AND the metal well-shed in ONE highly motivated day (yesterday) because …

… below is me today for the next two months, followed by eight months of rehab. David now needs all kryptonite to stay FAR away.

Work. Lots of it.

After this was accomplished, we enjoyed a hearty meal and several rounds of beverages. We talked about these things:

• Working together
• Accomplishment
• Shared values and stories
• Energy
• Nature
• Fire
• Machines
• Inventions
• Friendship

“Before enlightenment: chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment: chop wood, carry water.” — Zen Kōan

For more on that saying: Enlightenment: 3 Meanings of Chop Wood, Carry Water

How much energy is in the gallon of gasoline to run the splitter? The equivalent of about 20-men for a day is the close answer.

Who invented hydraulics? We all benefit from the work of men and women before us. Pascal, anyone?

Finding ways to heal from disaster. The fire here in 2020 killed a lot of trees (and trees are still dying because of it). Two years later, we are still using the energy from those dead trees to heat our home.

We look forward to seeing Mike and Jim again at Thanksgiving. There might even be a cozy fire in the fireplace — if we can find the wood!

1.3 inches of rain!

We’ll take it. 🙂

Almost three weeks ago, we wrote about Ayi’s malocclusion.

At first, we could find no vet dental care for a least several months. Then Ayi’s breeder suggested we try Mother Lode Veterinary Hospital in Grass Valley. Mother Lode saw us promptly and said we were looking at three options: 1) try to move the teeth with an implant; cut and cap the teeth so they stop digging into her palate; 3) pull the lower canine’s completely out.

Since we wanted Ayi to keep all her canines, we chose option 1. That was the most uncertain option, but it appears to have been successful!

Ayi had to be in a cone for 2.5 weeks, eat only soft food, and chewing on anything was forbidden. That was a little tough to manage for a puppy.

The total cost for treatment was $1097.68.

In the slide show, below, you can see the results in pictures:

In the end, it looks like Ayi gets to keep her canines! Whew.

Here’s what it looked like before we started: