Category Archives: The Cabin

The tarp shed made from scraps didn’t last long.  So I decided to get all the lumber I need.  This doesn’t include the roof and siding.

Fitting it all in or on top of the Jeep to get it here was an adventure.

I plan on it being an 8 by 8 workshop, with a roof overhanging 3 feet on one side and 1 foot on the other.  Just big enough to work in but small enough to easily heat in the winter.  I actually plan on building another later just for storage.

Updated.  I finished the frame in 4 hours.

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Good news.  After all my work, repairs, bruises, cuts, aches and pains my Jeep has passed inspection for another year.  145,000 miles and 15 years old.  Hope it keeps going.…

My garden starters are doing okay.

Broccoli, brussel sprouts, celery and cabbage are doing the best.

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As I approached the gas well down the road I heard the peep frogs and decided to try and record them.  They usually stop as soon as someone gets nearby but this time they kept going for several minutes.

https://youtu.be/O5hMyy935h0…

While I had the Jeep up replacing the ball joints I noticed the rear differential leaking very fast.  The differential cover was rusted through.  So today I replaced it.  The new one is shiny but won’t stay that way long.

Here’s the old one.  The leak was on the top right of the picture.  The hardest part was removing the old rusted and crumbling bolts.

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Almost every day I pick up trash along the road near my cabin.  Not just on my property but any where I walk.  Too many people are pigs!

Here’s one days collection.  Not all new.

So I have made a sign.  Now I just need to get it printed.

Somebody is obviously regularly sitting in their car in one spot drinking Bush and Michelob Ultra and tossing out the empties.  I pick them up and soon there are more.  Since my cabin can’t be seen from the road I guess they feel safe to be pigs.…

Every time I open or close the gate I think of the beginning of Grizzly Adams.  Was he opening or closing it?  If opening, he forgot to close it.  If closing, the gate really doesn’t do anything.

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A little warmer weather and sunshine means I have the chance to work on the Jeep.  Ball joints aren’t easy to replace.

Also a rotor and some welding.

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So I’m starting my garden a little later than I planned.  But winter is holding on pretty long this year. I purchased non-hybrid seeds so I can get more seeds for next year.  If they grow.  Today I started some of the plants indoors.

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There have been many times on the homestead when I would like to have been able to fabricate metal items.  There is a lot of old metal pipes, rods and plates in the woods from old oil wells.

Well, I can now do it.

I picked up a very low cost flux welder at Harbor Freight.

I have not welded before.  I have done a lot of soldering, including micro-miniature electronics and copper plumbing.  Welding is similar but much more . . . dangerous, I guess.  My first attempts were not great, but as I practiced I started to get the hang of it.

I can’t do very large projects but I think I can get done what I need to do.  I’ll start with a little work on the Jeep.

Next up.  I’d like to try some gas welding and cutting.…