Restoring Tobacco Road ..

[mannytheseacow]

Looking good there, Tru. That first photo makes me think about a Moony wall. Google that; now would be the perfect time to superinsulate.

[pa_friendly_guy]

I had never seen that idea before. It looks like it works very well, and give superior R values to your home, and a DIY'er can do it fairly easily too. I like it ! On another note,,,,,,,,,,,Great job Tru, you will be ready for your stove when it arrives in Dec. Let us know how you like it, and how well the heat gets distributed. That was always a problem for me with my Riteway down in the basement. I had a vent to the upstairs right over it, but it was still hard to get the heat distributed through out the house.

[TruGrit]

.. had not planned on starting the garden/orchard project till next year .. but .. ran into a fella that has a tree bidness, told him I needed some woodchips .. 3 hours later he shows up and dumps this load .. and .. he says he'll bring me about 10 more loads this season .. yeehaw!

.. sooo, I guess my garden/orchard project will begin shortly ..

[matt walker]

Score! That's a great resource Tru, I only had one truckload dropped from the local PUD and it went a long way mulching the trees and beds. That's gonna be a big boost for your place.

[mannytheseacow]

Awesome. 10 loads?! If I had 10 loads I'd cover the whole lawn with chips so I never had to mow.

[pa_friendly_guy]

I have been using wood chips the last 2 years to mulch the garden tru. I am about out of them now. I have been looking for a source like you just found, its really nice to have your mulch delivered to the house and ready to use. I have found that the chips rot up pretty quickly, you will have a good rotted mulch with in a year. I have used them as a much to keep weeds down when they are new, worked great, and I have used them after they have rotted up a bit, both way worked very well. That is a great source of chips you have there. If you get too many for the garden you can use them on your pathways. Congrats on your great fine.

[TruGrit]

.. howdy pards! .. well, been on my knees with a set of loppers and a pruning saw clearing the top field for my orchard .. transforming 40 years of brush growth from vertical to horizontal .. got about 2 acres done and at least one more to do before Winter sets in ...

.. the chips have stopped coming, I hope it's only a seasonal thing, and they pick back up in the Spring .. garden is covered, but need a lot more for the orchard area ..

.. got an email that my Woodstock stove is in production, so that should be shipping soon .. it needs to get here before my woodpile is too depleted ..

.. hope all is well with you and yourn, and everyone is staying warm .. have a wonderful Christmas!

[pa_friendly_guy]

Great Job Tru. Three acres of orchard is a huge area, not only a lot of planting, but a lot of mowing, trimming, and general up keep. You are definitely going to keep yourself busy well into your retirement. I see that you have a lot of brush pilled up there, what do you plan on doing with it? Making brush piles for animal habitat improvement, burning it and using the ashes and charcoal to improve the soil, chipping them and using the chips as mulch, burning them in your new stove, or do you have another use for them in mind? I am sure you will put them to good use, what ever you decide. Hope you and your lovely Lady and a wonderful Holiday with family and friends, enjoy the time together. Merry Christmas to all.

[TruGrit]

.. thanks Guy, well, got a little tired of doing everything by hand, so I picked up this little beauty .. it was a fixer upper and took 3 weeks to get running right, but it's strong as a tank .. goes anywhere and lifts everything ..



.. it came with a bucket and forks, so I picked up all my brush and am building a birdy high rise ..



.. but wait, there's more .. been grading down the upper landing, trying to get it level enough to build my workshop .. hoping to start that come Spring



.. I feel like a kid in a sandbox with his Tonka toys .. only bigger ..

[pa_friendly_guy]

The only difference between Men and Boys is the size of their toys. Your new tractor looks great, you can do a lot with a front end loader. I looked to be another Ford, newer maybe from the 1960's to me, then I saw the fender and noticed the Alis Chalmers logo. What is that thing, and how many HP does it have. The roll bar roof is a very nice feature safety 1st, always safety 1st.