@LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org avatar

LallyLuckFarm

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Small scale permaculture nursery in Maine, education enthusiast, and usually verbose.

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LallyLuckFarm OP ,
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Already a big fan of pine needles but I hadn't heard of the Ajwain seeds. We live in a white pine / mixed hardwood forest so there's ready access.

I have no explanation for why I hadn't thought of pubmed too, thank you for suggesting to look there as well!

LallyLuckFarm ,
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My neighbor here in Maine came down the road to see if we had felt it too. Apparently my wife felt it in the house, and while I didn’t feel the quake I definitely noticed it when all the trees dropped their snow loads at the same time.

Epoxy takes a while ( imgur.com )

I’m almost wrapped up with filling voids, bark inclusions, and knot holes in the boards for the bookcase. If our garage was climate controlled I expect this process would have gone faster; the same could be said if I had more horizontal working space for staging and filling. Once everything is done curing I should be able to...

LallyLuckFarm OP ,
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Currently I have two of the boards on the folding sawhorses and three more on a folding table, but I hear you and appreciate the suggestion. The IR lamp suggestion is clutch as well, I think I have several in the rabbitry for the buns’ overwinter comfort but didn’t think to use those for this. Now I’m wondering if I have spare chain lying around to make an adjustable fixture height apparatus. Good looks, thank you!

Older houses are fun to renovate update 1 ( imgur.com )

Kind of a busy week otherwise but progress is progress. I put comments on each image in the album to explain reasoning, goals, and steps taken - if you haven’t done much carpentry I hope they help; if you have done much carpentry I hope you’ll share your expertise. I’ve been around a bit and done a few things but this is...

LallyLuckFarm ,
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Awesome stuff, and the door is a special touch! And…is that a lapphund I see doing the maths to figure out how they can get a shelf of their own?

LallyLuckFarm ,
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You sound like an awesome human!

Please give all parties my scritches, and tell that pup I love his eyebrows!

LallyLuckFarm ,
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If they know what it is, they can identify what is happening if some of these adults behind this movement are trying to take advantage of them. With a fifth of the state population meeting the definition for illiteracy and the whole of it being for education in the country, it’s not exactly surprising that the voters (writ large) aren’t familiar enough with how libraries work to prevent being duped into supporting this.

LallyLuckFarm ,
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Write or type a letter to your neighbor explaining that you’d like to help them make their fence safer, then leave it for them if they’re not home when you go to drop it off. Provide your name, a way to contact you, and be polite. Don’t make moves to alter their fence without them; changing your neighbors is expensive and good will is priceless.

If it’s a chain link style fence, with the exposed ends twisted together and jaggedly facing up, a top rail with fasteners is likely to be the easiest to set up. If there’s a fencing installer locally, try calling them up and telling them about it, then ask if they have the means to fabricate or modify a top rail to work for what’s going on. If you have the means to make a jig for an angle grinder you may be able to cut appropriate openings in the top rail yourself and secure them with ring clamps or appropriate hardware for connecting them to the upright posts. Wooden toppers might be less expensive to purchase or fabricate but will have their own upkeep needs - a router with a channel bit or a table saw with a dado blade could make short work of the recess needed to cover the sharp parts of the fence, and conduit clamps could be used to secure it in place.

LallyLuckFarm OP ,
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This is a space that used to be two closets in our dining area. When we redid the bathroom to replace rotting subflooring we decided to enlarge the bathroom footprint from 22sqft (2.04m²) to 36sqft (3.34m²), which gave these closets only 8" of depth. They’re too shallow for what we used to store in there, and the swinging doors took up additional floor space with their clearance needs. In a <1200 sqft (111.48m²) home that stuff adds up quickly.

Our plan is to build in shelving to consolidate our book collection, which is currently overflowing from a number of smaller bookshelves and stacks. We picked up some great boards from a local sawyer that I’m excited to get to work on for this project. Once the initial demo and resheathing of joists is done I’ll be able to cut the boards for depth and get them installed. If folks are interested I’ll try my best to record steps in the build to share with the group.

LallyLuckFarm OP ,
@LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org avatar

<3

Please please please go through and double check wiring and housing for your light fixtures if you haven’t. We’ve been here a while and have been renovating as we’re able to afford to (there’s a reason we bought an older house) but that was one of the first things we did and there were nightmares hidden in the ceiling

LallyLuckFarm OP ,
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Every project becomes 5-15 projects to do right.

Ugh, this is it entirely. And then add to the 15 that the final product is going to require imperfections to make it look like it fits the rest of the space.

And my cabinets are different internal heights for some reason?

Our ceilings are made for someone shorter than six feet tall, but our cabinets have spots that my 6’8" friend has to go on his toes to reach. Cabinet logic in old houses is bizarre.

LallyLuckFarm OP ,
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I’m glad they found that and (hopefully) rectified it! Surprise reno and remodels are never much fun.

Terrifying wiring mistakes too, the type that make your hair stand on end

This particular turn of phrase has me in stitches, well done!

LallyLuckFarm OP ,
@LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org avatar

Definitely filling out my punch card with this one

The Texas National Guard has seized control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, and is denying U.S. Border Patrol agents access to the area ( www.rollingstone.com )

The Biden administration sued Texas last week over recent legislation signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott signing that grants local law enforcement the authority to arrest migrants and allow judges to order deportations. The administration argues that the law goes against constitutional mandates granting the federal government...

LallyLuckFarm ,
@LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org avatar

So, arrest them?

It is a felony under 18 U.S.C. § 111 forcibly to assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with Federal law enforcement officers, including Secret Service agents, in the performance of their duties.

justice.gov/…/criminal-resource-manual-1562-obstr….

Eventually Texas will run out of national guardsmen willing to commit felonies

LallyLuckFarm ,
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To echo @Psudo when it feels like it’s meaningless. Paying attention to local and state politics and politicians is an avenue to support the kinds of representatives you’d like to see setting more national policy. It’s also a way to improve your state and local politics. Maine had some great turnout and engagement around getting ranked choice voting instituted as our way of electing most of our politicians, and now the debate is on improving it and how hard we’re allowed to mock the folks supporting the 937^th attempt to overturn it. RCV, STAR, and other alternatives to FPTP elections help to keep political extremes from setting policy, which can in turn improve how effective local votes are. It’ll never happen from disengagement though. And gerrymandered systems can be brittle, sometimes requiring only a small increase in turnout to be overcome.

LallyLuckFarm ,
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I call shenanigans, there’s not a “bless their heart” in sight

LallyLuckFarm ,
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Also in Maine and voted for this. I’ve had a few conversations with folks during the past few months about it, and have for the most part managed to convince them to reconsider their “no” votes.

LallyLuckFarm ,
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I’m having a bit of a tough time making out the bevel in your second picture - the angle looks steep but not unreasonably so. Are you flat filing the backs of the cutting faces to work the burr? Here is a guide to determine the angle you should be aiming for.

I love flat files for sharpening larger blades like my axes and hatchets (they’re still finished with a stone) but tend to reach for a sharpening stone for smaller blades like scissors and secateurs. The wider face of the stone makes it easier to keep a consistent angle even without the use of a jig.

LallyLuckFarm ,
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It’s normal for scissors to have different angles on the thumb arm than the finger arm, depending on their intended use. You shouldn’t have to work the backs too much, but they should be revisited every so often during filing/honing to work the burr that is formed by the sharpening. I personally feel that a stone is more economical but you can finish hone with high grit automotive sandpaper too. If you’ve got an old leather belt, some scrap wood, and some glue you could make yourself a strop and only need some polishing compound. The finish work with a strop removes the burr, leaving the sharpened edge - if you don’t remove the burr your tool is likely to lose the edge more quickly.

LallyLuckFarm ,
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I see what you mean - is it possible that you’re a “back third” cutter? I tend to cut close to the lever end of scissors and will have to touch that section up well before the point end needs any maintenance.

LallyLuckFarm ,
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Seconding oxyclean or a similar surfactant for the cleanup.

Second piece of (possibly unwarranted) advice: Do your best to load the box in such a way as to minimize fiddling during active burn times. We have a small fire box so for us it’s usually a sort of Z pattern with two parallel logs and a cross piece. Play around with a few configurations to figure out the best layout for yours - the manufacturer may have suggestions. The goal is to set them up in such a way that the bottom logs collapse and let the top ones come down into the renewed coals, then turn to coals themselves. That’s the optimal time to insert fresh logs to minimize ash and smoke escaping into your residence.

LallyLuckFarm ,
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I’m working my way through Christopher Alexander’s The Nature of Order for a second time. It’s only slightly easier to get through this time though. Before that was the full run of The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson).

LallyLuckFarm ,
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I’m not even lying when I say that if I had a low wattage intercom system preexisting I’d drag new wire everywhere.

LallyLuckFarm ,
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Yes, definitely that. But I also dream of being able to press a button and say our little “all ducks, go to bed” and have all those truants down in the big pond know what they’re supposed to do 😂

LallyLuckFarm ,
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Ducks would really rather party outside all night, but we use “all ducks go to bed” every time we bring food or treats or water changes to the coop. It took some time but now when we say it they come in to see what the deal is and we can lock up behind them.

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