April 6, 2017 Interior walls going up April 5, 2017 Siding and House Wrap April 4, 2017 Roof up April 1, 2017 Insulated subfloor (video) March 30, 2017 Ready for subfloor March 24, 2017 Trusses up March 17, 2017 Studs up March 15, 2017 Steel frame
Tags: Tiny House
A US general was touring a corner of Afghanistan recently cleared of the Taliban. He was accompanied by a contingent of flak-jacketed troops with weapons at the ready. Coming upon a remote village, he was surprised to find the smiling and waving inhabitants lining the dusty road. After some trouble finding the leader of the village, he curiously inquired about the unexpected reception. The village headman just said “Where is Rick?” The general was taken aback at the request and […]
Tags: Peace Corps
John’s newest creation is a 6′ by 6′ barn. I call it the Fishing Shack as it overlooks a small pond. The large porch provides shade for those who want to fish and there is a narrow cubby to store fishing poles. The sheep have their own entrance off to the side. This redwood star was made out of the cutouts from the braces. The braces are the diagonal elements that stabilize the posts on the […]
Tags: barn, reclaimed redwood
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. This quote popped into my pre-conscious mind one early Sunday morning, a time where the essential has not yet been drowned out by the noise of the day. Knowing that this was, unfortunately, not an original thought, I did some digging and found it was written by a young Oregonian who, in 1956, died at 29 at the hands of the primitive Equadorian […]
Tags: Jim Elliot, Peace Corps
I have been gathering data and resources for making the “perfect” greenhouse for California’s Central Valley. This has been a process that has taken longer than I would like to admit, but consider the constraints: * ¾ of the year it must not be warmer than ambient temperature (>100ºF) * Much of that ¾ is unrelenting, dry solar radiation * ¼ of the year it must collect as much heat as possible (<45ºF) […]
Tags: Central Valley, greenhouse, Habitat for Humanity, inexpensive greenhouse, ReStore, solar energy
At some point during their service, nearly every Peace Corps volunteer reflects back on the past month or year or two years and asks themselves the million-dollar question (er, well, in my case, the $280/month question): Is it worth it? Is the Peace Corps worth it for our host countries? Does the work we do really make a difference? Is bringing Americans to live in underdeveloped communities worth constantly provoking the jarring contrast between privilege and struggle? Is it worth […]
Tags: Peace Corps, Zambia
Hope to build a couple of barn owl boxes this year. “Today farmers are finding that the barn owl’s cry is the sound of death to rodents. Barn owls are helping to win the war against rodents in the fields. Barn owls and their descendents have been around for the last 26 million years and their importance to agriculture in California is just coming to the forefront. One barn owl will eat on the average of 155 gophers per […]
The beauty of aquaponics is that you engineer it so it can fit into almost any space you have. If you have limited floor space, perhaps Vertical Aquaponics is for you. The advantage of Vertical Aquaponics is the unmatched number of plants per square foot of space, because the plants grow on vertical towers. You also cannot beat the visual appeal of Vertical Aquaponics. Where else can you check your whole crop from the comfort of your easy […]
People often ask about our unusual lifestyle….owning a fish farm but also tinkering in other endeavors like aquaponics, permaculture, and hosting guests from all over the world. We have never defined our outlook on life and career, but this speech from Bill Watterson comes close. Below are excerpts from his speech…. SOME THOUGHTS ON THE REAL WORLD BY ONE WHO GLIMPSED IT AND FLED Bill Watterson Kenyon College Commencement May 20, 1990 You will find your own ethical dilemmas in […]
Tags: Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes