jamesg1213

Guitarhacker
Quick update..... I went out to the farm yesterday to do some exploring in the woods.....
 
2 things of note:
 
1. It's really thick out there. I used a machete quite a bit. and I felt like Hansel and Gretel .... but I didn't use bread crumbs... I used marking tape.... bright pink.   It took me an hour and a half and still hadn't reached the stream at the halfway point in the back 20. I could see the hardwood trees on the stream...   When I got home, I found a tick on me.... so next time... it's some DEET infused bug spray when I'm bush-hogging the property line.
 
2.  Look at the picture of the house in the OP.... see that vine to the left of the door with the christmas light strand in it?  Well.........spring has sprung and it's starting to pop out leaves..... oh yeah... it's freaking poison ivy.  Who in their right mind grows poison ivy up the side of their house?  Removing THAT is going to be fun.  I might have to get one of those hazardous waste clean-up suits, full face and hand protection and then tackle it. That's the last thing I need.

 
You could cut it through with loppers or a hedgetrimmer at ground level and again about 3ft above. Everything above the cut will die and turn brown then it would be easier to handle. Then spray the roots with something nasty.

Now, that sounds like professional advice!!
 
Take a lot of precaution Herb.......you don't want to mess with that stuff (apparently, (back in the day) my grandmother had died from poison ivy).

I treated the poison ivy with some heavy duty monsanto brand weed killer.... let it work for a few days....
 
Since we're planning to gut the cabin inside and out....I might just leave it alone until the current resident moves out at the end of June.... then rip the siding off without messing with the vines. Throw it right into the waste industries dumpster that I plan on bringing in. I believe it's cinderblock under the siding. 

Today, I moved half a ton of rock to fill the potholes in the drive.... got more to do tomorrow.... including spraying the shelter with wood borer bee killer.... they were having a freaking orgy down there today..... my German shepherd would have gone nuts.... she loves to snap them out of the air.... and amazingly she hasn't gotten stung yet.  I practically cry from laughing watching her catch those things.

dcumpian

Guitarhacker

eph221
Kill Branch stream looks like a sewer, keep  the kids away from that!

No.... it's not... it's got weak tea colored water which is generally pretty clean stuff.... and it flows year round at a decent flow rate so it's as clean as a stream gets in eastern NC. You can see the bottom in most parts. It's part of the Neuse river water shed and has a 50 foot buffer on both sides.... to protect it.  No cutting of large trees or digging/excavating in that buffer.  We can thin the underbrush but that's the extent of it.  I plan to hike back to the second stream tomorrow and have a look at it. It flows into the one in my pic.

I live close to the Mattaponni River here in the Old Dominion and it has that same color. I believe it is natural from dead vegetation. The Mattaponni is listed as one of the cleanest rivers in the country, which would be why the Corps of Engineers want to dam it up and pipe it down to Norfolk for drinking.
 
Regards,
Dan

If they're big enough, I'd be highly tempted to set up a water turbine for cheap power. If not I'd get with a landscaper and create a little dam/waterwheel and say good by to the grid!

Guitarhacker
I treated the poison ivy with some heavy duty monsanto brand weed killer.... let it work for a few days....
 
Since we're planning to gut the cabin inside and out....I might just leave it alone until the current resident moves out at the end of June.... then rip the siding off without messing with the vines. Throw it right into the waste industries dumpster that I plan on bringing in. I believe it's cinderblock under the siding. 

Today, I moved half a ton of rock to fill the potholes in the drive.... got more to do tomorrow.... including spraying the shelter with wood borer bee killer.... they were having a freaking orgy down there today..... my German shepherd would have gone nuts.... she loves to snap them out of the air.... and amazingly she hasn't gotten stung yet.  I practically cry from laughing watching her catch those things.

Herb,
 
What is the name of the wood borer bee killer you are sing? My deck is starting to look a bit swiss...
 
Regards,
Dan

 
Uhhhh no!  Honey yes.... milk... no.  We're thinking about meat goats as opposed to the dairy variety. I can't picture myself milking the goats every morning before the sun comes up. Whatever we get, I want them to be the kind of things that don't need daily supervision.  Taking care of the dog everyday is more than enough,


well said mate-dogs,chooks,vegies-that`s my life and with all those acres you will be busy just keeping it tidy.
 

soens

dcumpian

Guitarhacker

eph221
Kill Branch stream looks like a sewer, keep  the kids away from that!

No.... it's not... it's got weak tea colored water which is generally pretty clean stuff.... and it flows year round at a decent flow rate so it's as clean as a stream gets in eastern NC. You can see the bottom in most parts. It's part of the Neuse river water shed and has a 50 foot buffer on both sides.... to protect it.  No cutting of large trees or digging/excavating in that buffer.  We can thin the underbrush but that's the extent of it.  I plan to hike back to the second stream tomorrow and have a look at it. It flows into the one in my pic.

I live close to the Mattaponni River here in the Old Dominion and it has that same color. I believe it is natural from dead vegetation. The Mattaponni is listed as one of the cleanest rivers in the country, which would be why the Corps of Engineers want to dam it up and pipe it down to Norfolk for drinking.
 
Regards,
Dan

If they're big enough, I'd be highly tempted to set up a water turbine for cheap power. If not I'd get with a landscaper and create a little dam/waterwheel and say good by to the grid!

You would need some flow but, having been in an alternative energy startup for five years, I can tell you that hydro is the best for power!  Wind power is far more efficient than solar (at least with the current technology), but hydro has almost 1,000 times the potential energy of wind so a little can go a long way.

Guitarhacker

dcumpian
Herb,
 
What is the name of the wood borer bee killer you are sing? My deck is starting to look a bit swiss...
 
Regards,
Dan

Look for termite killer concentrate. Itkills termite, wood boring ant, and wood boring bees.   $20 for the concentrate that makes about 5 gallons.

Thanks!
 
Dan

 




"You would need some flow but, having been in an alternative energy startup for five years, I can tell you that hydro is the best for power!  Wind power is far more efficient than solar (at least with the current technology), but hydro has almost 1,000 times the potential energy of wind so a little can go a long way."


well said Craig-in the 70`s we lived in a valley with a small but reliable waterfall(approx 400ml per minute) and created a small rockpool dam with a 90mm outflow pipe which dropped vertically for 5m or so then into a 50mm pipe for 5m and finally down to a 5mm spray nozzle we directed onto the cups of a handmade brass Pelton Wheel(visually,a Ferris Wheel)which connected via a fan belt to a 12volt automotive generator and provided lights and radio for 3 households.
 
nowadays,as you know,the new teflon slider pumps work with minimal flow rates.
which brings us back to wave power-perpetual motion-that was supposed to be a no-brainer but i guess ,like solar and wind you cant dig it up or bottle it or really own it so there is no ongoing profit to be made so forget it.........
pardon my cynicsm
 
cheers

Congrats Herb! It's interesting to see how different people approach life. It'll be rewarding to have it all done I'm sure.
 That all looks like a lot of work to me :) Good luck with it!!