Let's visit on the Porch II (Billings, Helena: commuting to, methods, tornado)

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Lessee... Elk uses 1 gallon to water the lawn, state uses 1000 gallons to flood Elk's yard...

Sure, they'd charge me for over watering. hahaha

Here is how it looks today:

This is the lone willow on the River bank. Corral is this side of tree.




Water is way down. In this photo, River to the right, ElkHunters cabin to the left, about equal distances. Remember, Thursday the water was to the middle of the top sandbag, we were getting ready to add another layer, but held off.

[Reziac]

You need a bigger bag for that leftover sand

What do you do with all the sandbags after the water goes down?? I'm thinkin' you need a warehouse, keep 'em for next year.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Reziac

You need a bigger bag for that leftover sand

What do you do with all the sandbags after the water goes down?? I'm thinkin' you need a warehouse, keep 'em for next year.

Keep them for next year? hahahahahaha That was funny, seeings how they are in Biodegradable bags that fall apart in about 3 months. We are well experienced with trying to keep them for later.

Around here, we've had some washed out areas, we fill them up with sand. The new sewer line we put in for the RV spaces (6) floated right up out of the sand. We'll have to dig that down again, set the sewer line, then bed it with sand about a foot tall over the pipe, then cover it with dirt. Some of that sand washed away, so bagged sand will go in there. We've got a big fire ring down at the fishing shack by the river, where we bar-b-q and stand around the fire of an evening. We're going to build that all up with sand for about 10 foot out from the fire ring. Right now it's dirt and after a rain we can't use it.

Basically, we got 15 yards of free sand to use around the place. We'll darn sure use it. The feed trough for the horses, and around the water tank will get a bunch of sand, keeps them from standing in mud.

[ElkHunter]

Here, I took this picture when I went and checked Jerry out. Jerry was a terminal patient at the VA. I used to go check him out and bring him out here fishing. I still have some big rainbows in the freezer with Jerry's name on them. Unfortunately, i won't get a chance to share those with Jerry.

Anyhow, I took the picture while standing in the lean-to (fishing shack) at the river. The fire ring is right there. The shack is basically to sit in the shade and enjoy the river, or to duck in if a shower hits. Inside the shack we have a double cedar swing, and two chairs made out of stumps. Around the fire ring we have abouot a dozen chunks of timber cut at 22 inches tall, for people to sit on. We have a grate with legs on it that we place in the pit to bar-b-q chicken, fish, etc... During the summer we use the hell out of it. During the winter we use it about once a week, seeings how we save all of our paper and cardboard and burn it at the river. A person doesn't realize the amount of paper they have. Think about this. We have the main house, 2 cabins, and usually 2 or 3 RV's. We all save our paper and burn it at the river. This whole place only has one trash can setting at the road, and it's never full when it's picked up once a week.

[Reziac]

Yeah, one place I burned trash for three years before I had enough leftover to fill a 50 pound feed bag. The way I had it set up it burned so hot it vaporized aluminum cans the moment you tossed 'em in, and ate steel cans in a matter of minutes. Paper? didn't stand a chance. The trick is to start it with corrugated cardboard, and have a good big vent at the bottom.

PS. Never try to burn old rubber boots. Trust me on this.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Yeah, one place I burned trash for three years before I had enough leftover to fill a 50 pound feed bag. The way I had it set up it burned so hot it vaporized aluminum cans the moment you tossed 'em in, and ate steel cans in a matter of minutes. Paper? didn't stand a chance. The trick is to start it with corrugated cardboard, and have a good big vent at the bottom.

PS. Never try to burn old rubber boots. Trust me on this.

I have a 40 lb bag of Iams for Timber. When the bag is empty, I start cutting boxes so they'll slide into that bag, like layers of paper. When I take it out to the burn pit, that bag weighs close to 60 lbs it is packed so tight with cardboard. Even the boxes off of butter are opened and layed flat in that bag. I wait until I have about 3 of those bags and then take them down. Well, unless we're going to have a weenie roast, then I might burn early. hahahaha Like you say, I slice the bottom of the bags so they're open and then stand them up like a Teepee. With air getting in between the gaps at the bottom, and the slice in the bottom of the bags, I get a regular tornado going.

Have you ever made a Redneck Roman Candle? Make it out of about 36 inches of lodgepole pine, about 18 inches in Diameter. You light it with a match and it puts a jet flame out of the top, and that one chunk of wood will last about 4 hours if it's done right. That was originally started, you could light that fire and then put a cast iron skillet on it and cook. The wood would hold your pan just right and you'd have flames that hit it and just kind of wrapped right around the pan. I have some pictures, I'll see if I can find them and post them. Works great.

Rubber boots, been there. I crush milk jugs and burn them too. When I have styrofoam, I wait until after dark and throw it in the fire too. Black, bulging smoke and lots of it.

[ElkHunter]

Found the pics.

Stand up the chunk of pine.
Take your chain saw and cut it down the middle. As you reach about 6 inches off the ground, pull your chainsaw out, and dip it in the middle so the center of the log has the cut about 2 inches deeper than the outside.
Cut it at again, so that there is an x in the log, again, dipping the chainsaw as you pull it out. Grab a handfull of shavings and dump them in the crack, and trail them out to one cut you made so you can light it from the outside. The flames will crawl down to the middle. Now these pictures were taken in sequence starting mid afternoon, and ending well into the night. I cut it while on a block of concrete, but we set it out in the dirt before we lit it. You'll notice that the last picture was well after dark. When it was pretty much done, there were 4 chunks of pine on the ground, about 4 inch triangles was all that was left. They were still burning but we threw them into the fire pit, it was getting late and we wanted to go in. So I'd guess we got about 8 hours or so out of that one chunk of pine. For the longest time, the flame shooting out of the top makes it look like a candle.

[Reziac]

That's a big candle I'm wondering how it would work for a regular woodstove, like a vertical barrel stove... certainly got your money's worth outta that one log!!

My feed bags are plastic mesh, tho after a year or so they degrade down to crumbly dusty stuff. They're really strong when new, and waterproof, and I was going to repurpose them as tarps til I found they fall apart like that! Doesn't need sun either. I imagine they're cellulose-based plastic. I haven't tried burning 'em...

<cuts little piece, applies butane lighter>

Melts down into a pile about 1/10th the volume I started with, then starts burning kinda like wax, no smoke. Burns a long time, I finally got bored and put it out with a rock, which left a little dab of crispy crumbly plastic.... still white. <scratching head> This has gotta be good for something...

[ElkHunter]

Daughters birthday today. Son-In-Law had these made for her and gave them to her today. The ivorys out of her Elk from last fall.

[Reziac]

Those is real purty!

Anyone else 'enjoying' the hail? Came down so fast yesterday that it went from merely wet to an inch of ice on I-90 in a matter of seconds (this was between Belgrade and Central Park). One car in the ditch (as in, slid clear over to the far fence) and others sliding all over from one moment to the next. At which point nearly everyone pulled over and waited for it to go away. I dunno where the nearlies went, they ain't been seen since.

I learned a new trick... wipers goin' to beat hell might reduce the impact of large hailstones just enough to save your windshield. I can't believe I didn't collect any dents. Let's hear it for Ford metal!

And if this keeps up, I think I might extend that piece of plywood I've got atop the rack (redneck truck topper!), so it hangs over the windshield too.

Comin' down again today... just small hail so far, but big hairy thunder and lightning.