Well, we finally got some hands-on experience with large concrete pours, and at the hands of masonry masters P+R. 1st Biggest Lesson: prepare everything in advance, even the little rut under the concrete mixer so the wheelbarrow can fit easier. 2nd Biggest Lesson: get more gravel/sand than you think you will use, then go get some more.
The magic ratio? One shovel Portland per five shovels aggregate (no magic really, just a veteran's experience). Mixer maxes out at ~25 shovel-loads, so that means 20 of aggregate and five of cement. Three giant coffee containers of water at first, then season to taste. Too wet makes the concrete weak, but too dry makes it weak also. Is your gravel full of sand or dirt? Sand is better, so pour a shovel-load from arm height and watch for a dust cloud. The smaller the dust cloud, the less dirt.
Also spent a large chunk of time working on our solar gig. Welding is always fun, though hard on your skin and clothing. The rack turned out very nice, though sometimes it felt like every weld was a battle (against wind, or inexperience [mine, not Casey's], or indecision). Personally, my biggest dilemma was how high to mount it! Our client is not over-large in stature, but she does have horses, and horses will rub against anything if they feel like it. We opted to make it easier for the client to use, instead of so high that the horses wouldn't bump it. Perhaps the equines will leave it alone, anyway.
This friendly little snake was found in the barn, and I couldn't resist the chance to hold him/her. Anyone know what kind it is? Some kind of garter snake, to be sure, but there are so many kinds!
We got a little bit of rain off Saturday's storm, which means a few extra gallons in the tank thanks to our new gutters. No real flooding, thankfully.
Sprocket got his first real swimming lesson this weekend, too. He can swim just fine, and he even has webbed toes, but he was still scared and wheezy after one go around the pool. Once he let me buoy him up, he chilled out and treaded water. It was fun for all of us, though the skinniest among us found the water too cold and got out after just a minute! We thought the cooler temperatures were wonderful! One thousand times better than in NY, where the water flows from mountain springs year-long, and at a constant 45 degrees Fahrenheit!
Swimming truly is medicinal, and
perhaps more-so in the desert. We all felt invigorated, and the
water-wary pooch lost his persistent aches and spent the rest of the
day running laps around the rest of us.
Early in the week, we got to show our neighbor around the homestead. We love to show off our place, mostly because the views are amazing! At least once a day, the raw beauty of this place takes my breath away.
The past week has left us a little tired and a little sunburned, but overall very satisfied with our accomplishments, small and large.
Hi there!
Been following your project for a while. We are working on something similar up in Lobo Valley, although we did not enter into it with quite enough knowledge and/or capital, so we're back to the big city to save up and try again after raising some new funds.
Point is, next time we get down there I would love to see your progress! All we were able to accomplish (most of our time was spent waiting to get in contact with the land surveyor) was a skeleton of a building, but it's a beautiful spot.
I've linked to this project on http://texarrakis.com , although you can't really access it yet, our site is down for maintenance (complete reubild and overhaul).
Best of luck to you,
Gene