Todd Duncan Tennyson
Well-known member
A blurb from my substack... Thought it might be interesting to some of you drovers.
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I was able to escape the oppressive heat back in SE Asia and return to the Pacific NW.
When I talk with Anya, she is always wiping sweat off with a bandanna. It is the hottest and most humid time of the year in the Kingdom. It is no place for a white guy of northern descent.
We just can not tolerate it, our physiology is not set up to handle that kind of heat and it can hurt us if we are too ambitious in our activities outside.
My buddy and I decided to make a run up to the farm and get things started with the greenhouse and finishing the electric fencing for the stock. Hopeful that we could start growing produce and veggies and animal feeds et al.
A couple of weeks back we had a cold snap and some snow. My buddy wasn’t able to get up to the farm before hand, and I was still overseas.
We arrived to find this:
The weight of the snow had crushed and collapsed the ribbing of the Hoop house. and all of the tray tables and beds that my buddy had acquired were under it.
It was hard work skinning that hoop house last fall, and now we would have to uninstall and reinstall on another hoop frame. Worse still, all of the stuff that was being kept dry and safe was now filled with water. Some of the tray tables were bent and twisted from the weight of all the melted snow. A frustrating deal.
My buddy said “that’s farming.” Damn.
My buddy has established up a method to communicate from the location. Since it does not have cell phone or telephone coverage. He’s got a radio arrangement that he was able to set up a J pole antenna for that enables him to communicate with his wife and other important folks back in the valley.
They do periodic check ins with us while we are up there working on things. It is outstanding to have the ability to communicate. It isn’t Ham radio, it is GMRS.
It works, and it is clear, and it is free (after you get your equipment.) Without it, we’d have to drive half an hour down by the interstate and pick up a tower along the highway in order to make a call.
With the radio, we can call friends in the valley to then relay or make phone contacts with others etc. A good thing if you are in an out of the way and isolated place.
We had some wood debris that needed to be dealt with because it is sharp and jagged and could cut into a truck tire in the driveway.
So I grabbed a 5 gallon bucket and scooped it all up and piled it under the shelter of the woodshed. Got it all up off of the driveway and arranged it so that it will stay dry and burnable as fuel. It was actually about 6 full buckets. Good Madrone.
My buddy is good at making sandwiches. He and his wife made the Sauerkraut and the mayonnaise and everything…. I was hungry after punting around looking at what we’d need to focus on.
.............................
I was able to escape the oppressive heat back in SE Asia and return to the Pacific NW.
When I talk with Anya, she is always wiping sweat off with a bandanna. It is the hottest and most humid time of the year in the Kingdom. It is no place for a white guy of northern descent.
We just can not tolerate it, our physiology is not set up to handle that kind of heat and it can hurt us if we are too ambitious in our activities outside.
My buddy and I decided to make a run up to the farm and get things started with the greenhouse and finishing the electric fencing for the stock. Hopeful that we could start growing produce and veggies and animal feeds et al.
A couple of weeks back we had a cold snap and some snow. My buddy wasn’t able to get up to the farm before hand, and I was still overseas.
We arrived to find this:
The weight of the snow had crushed and collapsed the ribbing of the Hoop house. and all of the tray tables and beds that my buddy had acquired were under it.
It was hard work skinning that hoop house last fall, and now we would have to uninstall and reinstall on another hoop frame. Worse still, all of the stuff that was being kept dry and safe was now filled with water. Some of the tray tables were bent and twisted from the weight of all the melted snow. A frustrating deal.
My buddy said “that’s farming.” Damn.
My buddy has established up a method to communicate from the location. Since it does not have cell phone or telephone coverage. He’s got a radio arrangement that he was able to set up a J pole antenna for that enables him to communicate with his wife and other important folks back in the valley.
They do periodic check ins with us while we are up there working on things. It is outstanding to have the ability to communicate. It isn’t Ham radio, it is GMRS.
It works, and it is clear, and it is free (after you get your equipment.) Without it, we’d have to drive half an hour down by the interstate and pick up a tower along the highway in order to make a call.
With the radio, we can call friends in the valley to then relay or make phone contacts with others etc. A good thing if you are in an out of the way and isolated place.
We had some wood debris that needed to be dealt with because it is sharp and jagged and could cut into a truck tire in the driveway.
So I grabbed a 5 gallon bucket and scooped it all up and piled it under the shelter of the woodshed. Got it all up off of the driveway and arranged it so that it will stay dry and burnable as fuel. It was actually about 6 full buckets. Good Madrone.
My buddy is good at making sandwiches. He and his wife made the Sauerkraut and the mayonnaise and everything…. I was hungry after punting around looking at what we’d need to focus on.
