Sometimes it makes me wonder how we get so much stuff done around here. And I ain’t alone there. People over the years have regularly expressed the same astonishment. Once long ago, a local described Sandra and I as the hardest working people they knew of. It’s hard to tell whether such words were a compliment. They may have been. The answer though is really quite simple, we’re just two super organised and motivated individuals. However, very occasionally things with planning the work activities go completely wrong, like with the recent innovative: ‘one list to rule them all’ incident.
Hard work is no stranger to me. As a kid living in a single parent household back in the early 1980’s, I attended a high school for disadvantaged children from years seven and eight. Ignoring the before and after school newspaper rounds, it was otherwise two years of indolence and enjoyment. Alas, academically speaking during that time, I sank beneath the comparative educational waves.
My grandfather took a harsher view upon the entire matter, then stumped the mad cash to send me to a more English than the English grammar school. Upon entry there in year nine, it was discovered that his misgivings were indeed correct, and I’d tested my way into the lowest quartile academically. It was an impressive achievement. Go me!
Having no other valid options, and sensing the aroma of opportunity, I applied myself academically, whilst still working the before school newspaper rounds. The afternoon newspapers by then had faded into obscurity. A young bloke has to have mad cash to spend on the arcade game machines, and there was no such thing as indolent pocket money. Far out, free hand-outs, what an outlandish idea! By year twelve I was back to the status of an A grade student. Not the best in school mind you, but good enough to be satisfied with the results.
To give you an idea of what that effort took, in those years, school nights inevitably involved about three hours of homework, every night. They drilled you, that’s what the tuition fees go toward. Additionally, two nights per week involved a few hours of training for school sports. Then on a Saturday morning, you’d compete against other public schools. Saturday afternoon was more homework. The educational facility greedily ate your entire life, but it also trained a person as to how to navigate our work centric civilisation, if that person was self motivated.
And let’s not forget that I had witnessed enough complicated familial situations, to have long become wary of overly optimistic futures. Let’s just say that I was self motivated from an early age.
Sandra had a different educational experience, and instead attended a government high school. Unlike the relentless drilling I received, hers was a more indolent time. Yet like me, she also worked jobs delivering newspapers, but had also cornered the more lucrative weekend evening babysitting market. We were both mercenary young things and equally self motivated for much the same reasons, thus probably why we hit it off so well and understood each other.
The ace up her sleeve though, is that she scores really well in aptitude testing. In the past, it’s scored her some very interesting jobs. Anyway, some abstract things I struggle with, are comparatively a breeze for Sandra. It’s all a big mystery to me, much like how advanced mathematics is an arcane and esoteric art to my brain.
It comes in handy though. Back in 2010, we built the house here, mostly using our own labour. The only time I can ever recall being stressed out by that work, was the time when we were outside the supplier for sheet steel. An order had to be put in for all of the various shapes and lengths of the flashings used for the crazy flame retardant roof design. From hindsight, the roof design of this house is unnecessarily complicated and it is not a mistake I would repeat. Whilst sitting in the car outside the supplier I had the awful realisation that I was totally unprepared to place the order, because I hadn’t had enough time to think it all through. That’s when my brain went into the rarely seen meltdown mode. As you’d imagine, it wasn’t pretty.
Fortunately for me at that moment, Sandra took over and resolved the detailed requirements for the order. It was a three dimensional problem with overlapping components where no two flashings were the same size and shape. Months later after all of steel materials were installed on the house and there was no wastage, or shortage for that matter, the hard question was put: “How the f$%k did you do that?” To this day, despite explanations, it’s still a mystery.
Whatever, we’re both super organised people. Fleeting ideas get captured on paper and discussed, some are even implemented. There’s rarely a dull moment around here. A few years ago I discovered an obscure reference to Sandra’s personalty type appreciating lists. Right, that made sense. And when I thought about it, there were a few paper lists of ideas literally sitting on the kitchen island bench. I’m certain there was a system to the lists, I’m just probably not smart enough to appreciate it.
A discussion regarding these list ensued recently. The idea was raised to let’s use the lists to guide the activities around the farm for the week in advance. A good idea. The so called ‘one list to rule them all’, sprang into being from that discussion. There were a lot of activities that week, and the list idea was a helpful guide so that needful things weren’t neglected. This all occurred a few weeks ago when we were dismantling the rusty steel shed.
So during that week the work around here took it’s natural course. The list guided the activities. However, the rabbits became a sudden nuisance, and that required an enormous amount of additional effort which we hadn’t planned for. So, by the end of the week, the realisation had sunk in that we hadn’t taken a single day off work to rest. None! By that stage, we were both a bit edgy, and possibly even a touch snippy. The list had been achieved, but nobody in the house was happy with the outcome.
Turns out, it’s not a bad idea that if you intend to set goals, you need to ensure that they’re both realistic and achievable. And whilst we can work hard, that’s not sustainable seven days per week. Nope. The ‘one list to rule them all’ is still there guiding our work now, but in a modified format which no longer includes aspirational goals. And the household collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
A very large tropical storm brought outside work to a standstill on Thursday through Saturday. Over 50mm (2 inches) of rain fell, and it was just way too wet to work outdoors on those days. Never fear dear reader, I was able to work in the machinery shed making two timber water pump frames.
The timber frames sit on thick treated pine sleepers and are made out of whatever scrap materials we had to hand. With a powerful electric table saw, you can mill larger timber pieces down into the size and shape that you require. There was even enough time to connect up all of the various plumbing and electrical components (although I forgot to take a photograph of that work).
In another week or so, the frames will be clad in corrugated steel sheeting for weather protection. Then they’ll be connected up to the 12V DC power and tested. The water pumps may be small, but they can both push 20L/min (or 5.5gallons/min) each and will easily power a strong bushfire sprinkler and garden taps.
Prior to the forecast heavy rainfall and storm, we spent a day of work splitting and hauling firewood back up the hill. The large pile of firewood on the house contour is now pretty much complete. When the new firewood shed is built, we’ll move all of that firewood pile, into the new shed.
The next phase of the firewood job will be to fill up the existing firewood shed. And some of that days firewood haul went into the shed.
On Saturday we travelled to a nearby fern specialist nursery. It’s a lovely place to visit, and we’ve been purchasing from them for at least a quarter of a century. In 2022, they supplied us with the six foot tall tree fern which sits in the drainage basin at the front of the house. Now the weather is warming, the big tree fern is beginning to produce new fronds.
During the visit to the nursery, we purchased an additional dozen smaller ferns for a garden bed which runs beneath the low gradient path.
In breaking produce news, the soil around the potato vines continues to be hilled up. One of the fastest growing vines now resembles a minor volcano. Where it will end, who knows?
The asparagus spears in the three raised beds are growing faster than we can consume them, and we eat a lot of asparagus. I don’t actually mind letting some of the spears turn into the ferny foliage, because it allows the plant to store some energy in the root system.
The sensitive person knows not to count their apricot and almond crops in this cold marginal mountainous environment, until they’re eating the fruit that is! But both crops have now survived a light snowfall, freezing overnight weather, and heavy rainfall – and they’re still on the tree. It’s a good sign, but still… In previous years anyone one of those weather events would have lost the crops, but somehow not this year!
The many varieties of pears and apples look at this early stage of the season as if they’ll do well. Fingers crossed. Growing fruit is not an activity for the anxiety riddled.
This weeks video is about breathing exercises and the benefits of using your nose for that activity:
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 11am is 19’C (66’F). So far for last year there has been 776.8mm (30.6 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 720.6mm (28.4 inches)
Yo, Chris – Ah, lists. I really don’t do lists, unless it’s just a shopping list to go to the store. But my good long-time mate, Scott, swears by them. He’s always got one or two shoved in his pocket. He says it’s very satisfying to cross things off the list. Whatever winds your clock.
Although he didn’t say as much, I think it’s maybe important, to stay lose. Set time frames might just prove frustrating, as things come up that require more immediate attention.
“Twas a dark and stormy …” Funny, as I’ve used the phrase a couple of times, recently. As we’ve had several dark and stormy nights. But then I got to wondering (obviously, too much time on my hands), why people make fun of that opening line, to an old novel. Even the “experts” can’t seem to agree on what might make it so bad.
https://w.wiki/BcTR
About the only thing that hits me wrong about it, is, it’s redundant. If it’s dark, it’s probably night. If it’s night, it’s probably dark. Otherwise, seems like a pretty solid observation, to me. Especially when I’m dripping on the floor.
That is a lot of firewood. Each piece lovingly hand crafted by the elves at Fern Glade Farm. 🙂 That one picture looks as if a ship of firewood, has run aground on your shed. Or backed into it.
Go the tree fern. I think your new fern bed, will make quit a nice addition. But just out of curiosity, weren’t there ferns growing in your woods, that could have been transplanted? Or were you shooting for a wider variety?
The potatoes are off to a good start. Your asparagus makes me more resolved to plant some of my own, next year. I’ve got pumpkins planted in two tubs. One tub wasn’t as robust, as the light isn’t as good. I think I’ll plant that one with asparagus, next year.
The video was quit good, except the subtitles are wonky again. I went back and watched your peanut butter making episode. Wanted to figure out which blade you used, in your device. It was hard to find, given the searches I used. I’ll fill you in, tomorrow.
The Sapphire Dragon Tree looks lovely. Rather like a Wisteria, heading in a different direction. Looks like those apples won’t have to worry about frost. The Rhodes and Crab Apple, really dress up the place. Lew
Hi Göran,
Interesting, and I was wondering if you had locally bred varieties of tomatoes for your area. Corn can grow remarkably quickly, and it is a grass plant, albeit a very specialised form. Even here, though tomatoes are a chancy crop outdoors. Usually the cherry to mid-sized tomatoes do well outdoors most seasons, but the larger varieties are a greenhouse only unless the summer is very hot and dry. Then you have other problems, like reduced water stores. Wise for you to stick to the hoop house.
I’m trying to work out a proper crop rotation arrangement, and unfortunately greenhouse space is limited. Hmm.
Ah, that’s also known down here as common couch grass. Right. The grasses here are rye and bluegrass varieties, and I’d not ever heard of grasses doing that potato invasion trick. Oh my! You’ve mentioned the grasses under the orchard trees here in the past, and I agree, they do compete for water and minerals during the growth phase of the trees, but then they also tend to die back over high summer so it’s not too bad as that shades the soil and probably reduces water stress. Dunno, but I’ll let you know how the potato experiment goes.
You have a natural flair for networking. There may be some cultural differences going on as well. Not too may people around here are using their land to grow fruit and/or vegetables. There’s also a cultural preference for meat, and so people generally run cattle, sheep, or have purely ornamental gardens. It’s a wealth and status thing. And the pampered horses I see, probably couldn’t put in a hard days work. Man, I’m left scratching my head about the whole thing as it makes little sense to me. Slowly though, we’re making social connections in this regard. It is something I need to put more effort into.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
🙂 Lists aren’t my thing either, but I can respect them, and have used the tool from time to time when task overload is in full swing. Ook! Mostly, my brain stores the ‘what needs doing’ lists, and that doesn’t bother me. You do know that plenty of people don’t cope so well with keeping such lists in their mind? The Editor uses lists as a brain extension, and once it’s written down, she promptly purges the thought.
Shopping lists on a practical note, are valuable tools to ensure that us lesser mortals are not unduly swayed by advertising and promotions. 🙂
Hmm. Scott does that. Right. I’ve likewise seen such activities taking place, and yes the element of satisfaction in that cross off activity could be seen here as well. It’s always fascinating to observe people and their actions in the wild. For all you and I know, those lists may be an adaptive methodology to a complicated environment, but like you, I’ve also gotten this far in life without them…
Yes, exactly. Stay loose. That was the thing when the ‘one list to rule them all’ took over – there was no spare fat, and aspirational goals had been plonked onto the thing. Truly it didn’t work for me, and upon conclusion of the week, let’s just say that I now take a more controlling guiding hand in the weeks activities.
There’s an old saying which you may have heard – it takes as long as it takes. Most of the time with the sort of activities we do around here, it’s almost impossible to predict how much time things will take. The constant time pressure applied in the top end of town was one of my bugbears with that lot. It’s all completely arbitrary too. Have you ever had a job where time pressures were a feature? I’d imagine the commercial kitchen would have been a bit of an err (excuse the unintended pun) pressure cooker?
We both knew the literary reference, and can quote it verbatim. I’d say given that, the author was onto a winner with such word-smithing efforts. Just an entirely different take on the matter. It’s possible the experts are merely jealous they themselves (he writes whilst cheekily inserting a duplication! 😉 ) didn’t come up with the line? I agree with your take, it is a solid observation of the conditions, and immediately sets the tone, in very few words. It was a stormy night, just doesn’t have the same punch.
Those elves work hard! 🙂 We did some paid work this morning, then headed down to smash up some boulders. Running out of usable rocks is a bit of a problem! The day was warm too, and that added a new dimension as we’ve been used to the colder wintry conditions. Rescued many rocks for projects, and that’s a good thing as I’m not made of rocks, you know. 😉
There are only a few, but we may have to convert some large rock shelves which we don’t have the equipment to break, into garden beds.
That’s very true about the possibilities of relocating the ferns, but people can get a bit weirded out by doing such things, so it is easier to just go and buy them. It might not show up in the photos, but the larger ferns all have tags attached to them with ‘proof of origin’. Some trouble is just not worth it. Of course if I had plenty of time on my hands with nothing better to do, I could simply go and collect fern spores from the forest, and raise those.
Oh yeah, the asparagus is growing so well this year. I believe it would enjoy your food additions which you dig into the soil. People don’t believe me, but each year we add a packet of rock salt to those three garden beds.
You got me there with the subtitles. This time around I didn’t have enough time to key them in. The Editor is suggesting that if more viewers are the goal, we should simply stick to making videos about solar power and it’s failings. Dunno. Last I checked, nobody pays me, and so I go whether the whimsy blows. She might have a point though. Do you have any thoughts about the videos? I’m always appreciative of other peoples perspectives, even when I disagree, mostly because I could be wrong.
It is a bit like a wisteria, same colour too. Close up the flowers are a bit like foxgloves. The Rhodies and Crab Apples really are show stoppers.
Oooo. Riding a motorbike in the rain, is an interesting experience. The thick line marking paint the authoritas use on the road is very slippery in the rain. And I wonder how the Club riders would cope with steel tramlines? It can be a bit crusty demons on the road sometimes…
I thought that Di had a hard face, but clearly my views are in the minority here, not to mention elsewhere. 🙂 Yes, I agree, the lady was a tireless worker for the family and community, and made an overall good impression. Shame about the allegedly complicated personality, which would not have been an easy path in that difficult family.
That would be a warm night even down here, mind you it is past 10pm and 61’F, so same, same again. Do you regain your lost hour this coming weekend, or the next one? Ouch, but well, the seasons do turn, and frosts will arrive in due course for you. The pumpkins are now on borrowed time sorry to say.
🙂 Hehe! Dude, that was my exact thought with the cleaning up. If I didn’t do this work, nobody else would. The neighbours appear to have lost all interest in the property. I’ve barely seen them. You’d see that in play with garden beds which become neglected? Probably after a brief early burst of activity as well. I’m more like the tortoise, than the hare. What else can you do?
It’s too cold here for okra, so that doesn’t surprise me that they’re grown mostly in the SE of your country. I can’t reproduce those sorts of conditions here.
Ah, spinach in a can. You know, I’ve never tried this, but yeah Popeye did consume the stuff from cans. Hmm.
Man, you learn something new everyday! For some reason I’d thought that Seattle was the capital of Washington – please excuse my ignorance there. That’s been my experience though with furniture, I genuinely believe that quality stuff goes for a song. A complete mystery to me. The guy who sold me the dining table for a $100, told me that it was an heirloom piece, handmade in the big smoke too. It would have costs thousands new. All it needed was a sand and seal. Not hard. Have you ever thought about sending stuff to that auction house?
I’d not known that about Banksy’s art either. Interesting, and clearly good quotes are recyclable items. 😉
True. Oh well… Until the mad cash games get taken away. You’ll hear some epic foot stomping then.
Spent an hour or two this evening getting an old laptop running again and in tip-top shape. Might sell it off, it works perfectly and I’m not using it, better it gets re-used.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Reading over your shoulder … “…not too many people are using their land to grow fruits / vegetables.” I’d say about half the garden plots, here, are used for flowers. Drives me a little bonkers. Oh, sure, I tuck the odd flower in, here and there. A little variety, and, attracts pollinators.
I think I read somewhere that a person can comfortably hold three things in their mind, at a time. It takes real effort to retain more. The brain is a funny thing. It seems to be an almost universal experience, that people can walk from one room to another, and forget what they had traveled to that room to get. And the memory might not be jogged, until you return to the starting point.
Oh, I think most jobs have a bit of time pressure, built in. To a greater or lesser extent. Sometimes, to a bonkers extent. Restaurants have their “rushes.” Even different library branches, could be overwhelming, as to the number of books returned. A couple of branches, I wouldn’t work in. If they called, I’d just say I was booked somewhere else. 🙂
…large rock shelves.” Let’s hope they’re not holding the whole place up!
That’s interesting about the ferns. I mentioned it to the Master Gardeners, this morning. Here, moving plants around on your own land, isn’t a problem. But harvesting off of private lands, might need a permit. I have known people, in the past, who made their whole living off of “brush picking.” Mostly, for the floral trade. Cedar boughs for the holiday trade. I knew a family of seven, that managed to support themselves. What they did is, they’d lease land, from land owners, for a season. Different things, were harvested at different times of the year. They’d take each day’s haul to a “brush picking shed.” Where a wholesaler or middle man would box them up, and sell them on to the florists.
Several things were discussed, with the Master Gardeners, this morning … in the rain 🙂 . Okra, some varieties, do grow here. Asparagus came up again. One Master Gardener pronounced that okra grows better, here, than asparagus. And that pumpkins need a frost, to turn orange.
I potted up 6 pots of Elephant garlic, for the plant sale, next year. Three bulbs to a pot. They did quit well, last year. The dwarf Iris I potted up, last week, are looking pretty happy.
I think I like your how-to videos, best. Especially food. But that’s just me. 🙂 . When I went looking for the peanut butter video, last night, first I searched “Land of the Wombat, making peanut butter. No joy. So, I reversed it. Still no dice. Although they might have been further down the list, before I lost patience. Adding “Fern Glade Farm,” and it appeared. “Land of the Wombat” just yields lots of videos, of cute wombats. 🙂
Here, as we’re on main north/south rail lines, both freight and passenger, the bikers have to contend with lots of rails.
Our high yesterday, was 64F (17.77C). The overnight low was 45F. The forecast high, for today, is 58F. It’s pretty rainy, today, but the next three days are going to be nice. Although the overnight low on Wednesday, is to be 35F. We gain back our hour, the first weekend in November.
Bad news from the World of Chocolate …
https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/20/business/halloween-chocolate-prices-cocoa
And, I expect the price of anything dairy, will go up. Lots of milk cows in California, are dying from Bird Flu. I hadn’t realized, until recently, how much dairy goes on in California. The major grocery chain (that I am boycotting), gets most of its West Coast, store brand dairy, from farms they own in California.
Don’t feel bad. Our state capitals, are seldom the obvious choice. In grade school, one task was to memorize all the state capitals. Sometimes, it was a matter of being centrally located. But back in the 19th century, there was lots of graft, corruption and bribes, involved. Sometimes, it was a matter of the most major city, becoming not so major, over time. Oregon’s state capital is Salem. New York’s state capital is Albany. Is Louisiana’s state capital New Orleans? Nope. Baton Rouge.
You might check out the prices for your model of old laptop. Before going to the trouble of refurbishing it. Most don’t bring much. If anything at all. I saw a new movie, on our library “on order” list. “Scrap. A film by Stacey Tenenbaum Discover the vast and strangely beautiful places where things go to die and meet the people who collect, restore, and recycle the world’s scrap. SCRAP scratches beneath flaking paint and rusting metal to reveal the beauty and pathos in the ugliness we leave behind.” I put it on hold. I’ve known a few people (there are a couple at the Club), who either collect scrap, full or part time, and sell it to scrap dealers. Lew