Category Archives: Home
Firewood
Pile of rocks
The cone-like dome of the cairn came out pretty much as I had envisioned. I collected as many round-ish rocks as I could find and stacked them as I would cannonballs (not something I’m ever likely to do). Started with a ring (see image below) and worked my way up. This little project took about a month but the heat spell halted work for much of that time.
Weeds whacked
Weeks of 100 degree temps have kept me indoors with a simmering case of summer cabin fever. Today was finally cool enough (mid-80’s) to work outside and I fired up the weed whacker.
Squirrel!
Sticker burrs
We have some wicked sticker burrs on the property and I got into a patch yesterday. Easier to toss the socks than try to pick these off. I’ve been wearing knee-hight rubber boots but found they didn’t always protect me from chiggers. Knew there had to be a better way and ordered these.
I’ll hose these down with permethrin and see if they’ll protect from chiggers, ticks and burrs. Stay tuned.
Winch comes in handy again
The wood chipper got a much needed cleaning and service and two young guys put it in the pickup but did not come home with me to unload. It’s a heavy mother so rolling down my ramps would be iffy. Instead I used the electric winch to lower it to the ground. If you look close you can see the Gator-Jaw soft shackle holding a lot of weight.
Cairn base complete (?)
Danger! Ticks, chiggers, poison ivy
Powerful chemicals help protect against ticks and chiggers, but poison ivy demands constant vigilance.
Rock sled
Much of our ten acres is covered with rocks. Lots of rocks. A few really big ones…and a whole bunch of smaller ones. I’ve spent countless hours moving rocks for various reasons.
I’ve found there’s no easy way to move rocks. In the end, you have to pick one up…carry it to where you want it…and put it down. I’ve used a wheelbarrow from time to time but now trying something different. I built a rock sled.
With a pry bar you can lever a pretty big rock onto a 6 inch high sled. Then it’s just a matter of putting the pickup or Jeep in 4WD and dragging the sled where you want the rocks (see below). A while back I purchased a Jet Sled. A good tool for getting rocks down the hill but not that great for dragging with the truck. 
The rock sled won’t be much help down in the woods but should do nicely for collecting larger (too heavy to lift/carry) rocks around the property.
