Present and Future Kingdom

A week on the road visiting family in three states, delivering merchandise from folks back home. Finally, we reach our destination in mid May. And what do we hope to see? Our dome under construction; workers with their sleeves rolled up, happily going about their jobs in the warm breeze; the sun shining just right to properly cure the concrete, birds singing, flowers about to bloom, asparagus sticking its shoots up...you know, mid-May, spring time...

So, what was our welcoming party? Snow falling from a cloudy, dreary sky; cold wind blowing in from the western plain; workers bundled up like hunters in December; and our consultant ready to head back south! But, the project continues and I can see that there is a dome taking shape on the side of the hill.

Pictures will be posted as I get them.

Finally, our dome!  

Hmmm. Doesn't look right!

Maybe you should take a prezi stroll to see what's really happening. (It was very windy today, and so we have a lot of construction debris floating all over.)

Enjoy, but don't look for a cupola, it will be built this week, weather permitting.

Finished!

Finished-and I won't get to see it until next summer *sigh*



Steve smoothened the floor on the inside and the aprons on the outside, and then took these pictures. The first is looking out the east, overhead door; the other is looking through the building from the west (notice the big sliding door)...

Finally, a picture of the east wall with the overhead door still open.

Now that I have a big, new machine shed, I should have a new machine or so to put in it. Right?

Day 9

Day 9

All the steel is on; all that's left is some trim, two pieces of the ridge vent, and the two big doors. Unfortunately, I need to leave-I have just enough time to get home, hug my wife, and head off to CMI/A 2010 in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Days 7 and 8

Day 7

The windows and walk-in door are installed and the building is now ready for steel.

Somehow, even with a steel door and high-security lock, I don't believe it's time to store anything of value in the here.

Day 8

The roof is covered and the north wall is almost finished.

Days 3 and 4

Day 3, Wednesday. With the rafters in place, the posts for the east wall are now dug in.
The ruts got deeper and the rain that night filled them again.




Day 4, Thursday. All the main posts are in position and most of the wall girts are fastened on. Also, the purlins are on the roof, extending beyond the building to allow for the overhang that is to come.
The water-filled ruts became deeper and that night, even more rain fell, filling them once again. To allow for the site to dry out, no further work was done until the following Monday.

Days 1 and 2

With limited internet access on the farm this year, these pictures were not posted at the end of each day-as a matter of fact, they didn't get posted until after my return to Maryland, a week at the Curriculum Mapping Academies and Institute, and a couple days rest.

Day 1, Monday.
Posts are cemented in place for the side walls. One post hole required digging out a big rock before the hole could be dug deep enough.

It rained that evening.




Day 2, Tuesday. Wall girts are in place on two of the walls. Posts are placed on the west wall and are positioned to make room for the big door. Ruts are left from the skidsteer working on the wet ground.

More night-time rain filled the ruts.

The Poles are in.

The poles for three sides are in. I told him that he can leave his skid steer there when he is finished. I promised to give it a good home-the very building he is constructing.

No deal.

I will see if I can get some pictures uploaded.

Why live in small-town USA?

So, I go into the FSA office to check on CRP for the family farm. Everyone is out to lunch except one very young lady whom I have never met before. So, I sit down at her desk and we start talking about the upcoming CRP bidding and about the possibility of putting some of our acres into the program. She immediately says, "That's for So and So Properties, right?"

To this point I had neither mentioned my name nor the name of the farm. Responding to the puzzled look on my face, she simply said, "It's your eyes. They look just like your sister's" "And that must mean that you are..." First and last name-pronounced correctly! Never met the lass before today. My sister last talked with her over a year ago.

Rafters arrived yesterday; electricity this afternoon, and I believe the sheetmetal this evening-I need to check on that. Builders are scheduled to begin tomorrow morning.

I'm here; where's the shed?

There are lots of birds around. They are loud enough to keep one awake at night with their constant, joyful singing.

The materials will be delivered next Tuesday and the workers might start then, or the next day. Not a problem. That will give me time to get power to the site for the builders, and for me once the building is complete.

Well, the electrician looks at the line coming in and says it is too old, he cannot in good conscience connect anything to it (I think I like our electrician). He calls the power company who immediately sends out an inspecter; the inspecter had some trees cut that were touching the lines, then s/he put red ribbons on two poles. One pole holds the meter, the other the transformer-the teeny, tiny, low-montly-cost transformer that will need to be replaced with a bigger, higher-minimum-monthly cost one as we build the house.

Flashback: I remember seeing bird nests on the support for the yard light that is on the pole where the meter is.

The pessimist in me thinks the red ribbon is a signal to replace the poles. And if the transformer pole is to be replaced, why would any intellegent business put up a transformer that will need to be replaced within five years. What that means is that my minimum monthly fee is about to go up-so thinks the pessimist.

Of all the trees and branches that needed to be cut down, there were no bird nests disturbed.

One purpose for a shed is to store tractors and other machinery so they don't deteriorate when not being used. Another is to have a place out of the weather to work on the machines. I have a tractor that needs a little work, then would be moved into the shed. Not a problem, I'll do the repair work and use the tractor while the construction is going on, then drive the tractor in and store it for next year.

Taking the hood off is a simple process, except when one is out of practice. I squished my thumb, drawing blood; I hurt my arm-pop, pain, swelling, getting better-but I've been waiting all year for this and I'm not about to let a little pain keep me from fixing and starting this tractor! I'm on the farm, and farmers are tough-they don't let anything stop them from driving their tractors. And then I lift up the hood...Mamma Robin can be very vocal, and not so musical, when a creature invades her personal space! *Sigh* I'll fix the tractor later; can't use it today anyway-it might rain.

Ground breaking.

The site prep has begun.

Click on the shovel to see the progress.
Pictures are provided by Steve.

The site (shed)

Where to put the shed? The hill in the pigpen (former pigpen) looks good. Not too much work to get it ready for the building. BUT! Awefully close to the road. Awefully far from the house. And right out the back door is a low swampy area where I could get my equipment stuck everytime I take it out to...um work.

Where the barn was turns out to be a much better place. Higher elevation, good drainage; further from the road and closer, but not too close, to the house. But, I have a four-foot difference in elevation from one corner to the opposite one; and, the saddest part, I will need to remove a big oak tree that I remember being a rather small oak tree back when we were both a bit younger.

Then I remembered our family history. It was about 92 years ago that my grandfather was making the same decisions as I am now-where to put the barn; where to put the house; etc., etc., etc. These thoughts came to me as I was planning on setting up a small living area in the shed where I can stay while I work on the house: Grandpa had set up a living area in the new barn for the family to stay while their house was being build. I hope that I can finish in time...

More to come...

Going Green

I visited Maryland's "Green Show" at the state fairgrounds today.

What I haven't mentioned is that next summer, hopefully, a year or two before building a house, I will build a machine shed-with sixty feet of south-facing roof.

My question was, and still is, "Does anybody make an integrated roof panel?" I am looking for a solar panel that will replace the steel on the roof instead of covering it up. I want a building structure solar panel that will last at least fifty years.

I don't ask for much.