Wed 3/26/2003 3:27 PM:

I'm disappointed that we're not seeing more journal entries. How are things going? Are you

O.K. Looking at how to fly to California cheaply using bonus points or something.       Hannah

 

 

 

03/26/03 10:42 PM      Highly Resourceful Pests

You may recall that I had commented that not even a flea could find his way into the trailer if the door is kept shut and the trailer remains two to three feet off the ground. Well, that's true - no fleas. However, when I woke up this morning and went to boil some water for my coffee, I found a spider comfortably perched in the air about half way between the kitchen table and the wire rack that hangs below the ceiling. I don't know what he expected to eat because he certainly wasn't going to find any bugs flitting about in my trailer. I deftly scooped him into my fist and flung him out the door. Can you imagine what would have happened if I hadn't discovered him, or her? She could have given birth to a large mass of eggs that could have hatched into hundreds of little spiders. I have nothing against spiders, per se; we probably host a few thousand of them in our two hundred year old Cape Cod mansion and they do handle the bug situation pretty well. The idea is that I thought I had sealed this place up rather tight last spring. The door and windows had been closed all night. I let it go and took my coffee outside to watch the sun come over the hill. She probably rode in on one of us the previous day.

This evening, before sundown, I discovered an ant crawling across the floor of the trailer.

Now this puzzles me. There are only three places where they could even reach the trailer - the two stacks of concrete block that support the iron axle and the stacked rocks that support the iron tongue. They would have to crawl along large iron leaf springs or whatever and upside down across the bottom of the trailer to get to the door and then inside when the door happens to be open. Two in the same day? Not very likely.

Then I remembered the pair of new PVC water pipes and the holes I had drilled for them that were just a little bit larger then the respective pipes, plus that 1/4" guide hole I had drilled when I first drilled in the wrong spot (found a leaf spring where the pipe would have wanted to enter - duh). I had planned to buy a 1/4" dowel and glue to plug that hole and some silicone sealant to seal around the pipes, but I had not thought of it as a matter of urgency.

The Sink, Plumbing, and More Fiberglass

Eileen said she wanted a sink with running water. I said, "Right!". "Sinks are expensive." "Besides, you have a sink - it's that pink plastic thing we used to call a salad bowl, and when you tip the water jug, you have running water." "If you want some real running water, you can do what I do - go out to that hose I ran from the water tank and put your head or hands under it." (In the morning, it wakes you up, instantly.) Eileen doesn't want to do that.

"Lets go look for a sink." etc. etc. We drove into town to our favorite thrift shop, Ryeone's Corral, where Eileen found a yellow marble sink with fixtures on a white console with gold trim. She offered Sandy $5 and he accepted it. We brought it home. I scrubbed it down with 409 in the driveway. I couldn't believe this.

Remember that rain catching contraption I tried to rig up last year? (Last year's journal.) It was a latticework of interlocked PVC pipe cleverly supporting and stretching a large tarp that the wind unfortunately mistook for a large sail. So I've had this significant pile of white PVC pipe gradually turning a light brown in the sun as I constantly seek new uses for it. It works very well as border markers for the property, and tied together as a tripod it nicely hangs my large propane tank upside-down for filling the small ones, and it is great for stacking lumber on so the wood doesn't touch the ground. I thought about making chairs and a table with it but didn't get around to that.

The nice thing about PVC is that it is flexible; it doesn't have to go in a straight line like copper does. I was able to curve the trench down from the water tank, around the visible boulders, under the driveway (the graveled part), around the bushes that I didn't want to disturb, and up to the trailer. I said "visible" boulders, because I discovered a few more below grade, but they were ultimately kind enough to allow me to snake the pipe between them.

Now Eileen has a sink with running water - cold. I do have an old water heater tank stowed away that I plan to paint black and set in the sun to provide warm to hotish running water. Maybe next year.

An added advantage is that she is now referring to the place as being like a small cottage. Prior to the sink, she would only refer to it as being one step up from camping.

Now she wants a real stove. Oh my God! The camping stove works fine; you just have to light it with your head back so it doesn't singe your eyelashes. It just so happens that our neighbor, Tom, before he moved away, gave us a nearly new apartment size stove that runs on propane.

The problem is that all these things were not on my agenda, so that those that were are not all getting done. Of course, as previously mentioned, my money for supplies got spent on the van, so I don't have a real solid reason to just say "No! Busy!".

At least the water installation got me out of those long walks and now I'm gluing fiberglass over the cracks in the roof, so that's a good reason too.

 

Bedrock Patio

I've also been sweeping the landscape with a whist broom - like the archeologists do. I have discovered that the layer of dirt that goes between the driveway and our door covers a fascinatingly contoured formation of flowing bedrock. I am using the soil to level an area nearby that can serve as a tent site when people come to visit. It will give them convenient access to an outside faucet and a charcoal filter I incorporated while running the new water line. Anyhow, having only bedrock out our door will keep the trailer clean and provide a masterful sculpture to gaze at and ponder when sitting out there with a cup of coffee or can of beer. It is mind boggling to wonder about the forces that shaped and twisted that rock. However, a deck is eventually going to cover about half of it.

 

The Burn

A few weeks ago, I finally did the big burn. I had accumulated quite a pile of brush and scrap over these two visits as I cleared the new site and renovated the trailer. Since the rains had dampened the terrain, it was no longer tinder dry, so this was a good time to burn. I got a permit at the firehouse in town, dug a hole in the sandy wash that runs below my site and banked up the sides. I began the burn at 6 am and slowly fed the brush and wood into it until it was gone by about 2 pm. All that remained visible was a bed of light grey ash, but you could feel an intense amount of heat hidden below the ash. I got curious - just how long would the hot coals last? I began to monitor it. I remained close and vigilant, prepared to put it out if the wind picked up. Each day I stuffed a few twigs down through the center of the cone. Each time, the twigs would slowly smoke but not burn. Within an hour or two they would be gone. On day 8, the twigs did not smoke so I figured that was it. I spread out the cone, exposing the coals at the bottom. Guess what - they were still hot. I heaped them into a small pile and laid some twigs on them which shortly burst into flame. Eight days. The next day it rained, so that was the end of the experiment. I photographed the whole thing and you'll find that on the web site.

Free Water

You may recall my reference to the pregnant tarp roof last year - my having to give those bulging bellies of water a good shove now and then during a rain so that all that good water would cascade over the sides of the tent to be lost forever. Well, that bothered me and that's why I devised the rain catcher that ultimately didn't. After the rain a week or two ago, instead of pushing the bulges away, I dropped the end of a small hose into the clear H2O and siphoned that good water into a couple of large water bottles. It tasted great, it washed dishes and it watered the dog - all for free.

Of course, first I had to break the ice. Just for the heck of it, during my first coffee, I stood a small sledge on the ice and it held. What was interesting here is that there was no ice on any other water accumulation - just on the tent roof puddles. I think I know why, though I would need verification from a physics enthusiast or whatever. Last year's tarp was green and the tent did tend to get pretty hot at times. The same theory applies to painting the proposed hot water tank black - dark dull colors absorb the sun's rays; light colors reflect it away. This year's tarp is silver, so I am assuming that it reflected the heat away, allowing the water to freeze. The problem with this is that it all happened at night - there was no sun. Perhaps it was just the night breeze that carried the heat away from the broader surface.

Yesterday it poured. I was ready. There was no ice this time. I probably siphoned about 25 gallons of clear pristine water which I poured into our water system. I also filled a few buckets and basins by placing them under dribbles from the roof of each trailer. These I used to flood away the layer of deep dirt from my bedrock patio that the broom could not dislodge and to mix concrete. I have been using "grey water" for the patio, but that leaves behind particles of food that the flies and honey bees find very interesting.

This matters. In Southern California, you don't waste water since most of it is piped in from other states or from up north. Joshua Tree is fortunate to have its own vast ground water supply but the same rules still apply, and the same prices. Our neighbors with imported trees (pine, beach, etc.) pay as much as $200 per month to keep those trees healthy. I believe that I could do the same for next to nothing after the initial investment. All I need is a few large fiberglass water tanks that could be buried up in my hill, and a lot of little water catchers. If you've read the Dune series by Frank Herbert, you know what I'm talking about. Small sturdy screened water traps could catch the drips from overhanging rocks. A narrow hose would carry each trickle underground to a common settling tank (where the dirt settles and the water is filtered) and the overflow from that would be piped to a large storage tank connected to our water system.

A Lawn

This place is turning very green. Generally I tend to walk between the green things when I'm out and about as I don't want to disturb the delicate ecosystem. Now I have no choice; the weather has been so bad that we have a lawn. I asked Ron if he has a lawn mower I could borrow and he said no, I would have to use scissors. Everything is budding and I expect quite a display in short order.

The Quilt

Eileen has just finished a quilt sewn entirely by hand from little triangles of cloth, plus the padding and backing. It is a masterpiece and of course worth considerably more then those sewn with a machine. At some point it turned from a pastime to an obsession, so that towards the end I could hear a lot of groaning and light cussing coming from inside the trailer, and her fingertips look like they've been petting cacti. But now it is done and she is very proud. It is a magnificent work of art.

 

As I refer to periods of time, keep in mind that those are relative to the free-flowing moment. In reality, I'm typing this in bits and pieces over a couple of weeks.

Post & Beam For The Trailer

I've been installing a new support system for the trailer. Those cement blocks make me a little nervous in that they could topple during an earthquake. Also the trailer shakes slightly as you walk through it because leaf springs separate the trailer from the axle and blocks. Hence, I have dug (or chiseled) a number of holes approximately 10" in diameter, lined them with tin and/or tarpaper, and filled them with concrete. Into the center of each I inserted a short PVC pipe (Yes!) with nails drilled through the bottom end to lock it in place and the top projecting above the concrete. When the concrete hardens, I pull out the tin and tarpaper.

I then manufactured a heavy beam - an 8 foot sandwich of 2x6s on the outside and 1/2" plywood on the inside, heavily glued, clamped and bolted together. It is easily as sturdy as any steel I-beam. Today, I saturated it with a 50/50 blend of linseed oil and mineral spirits to keep the wood from drying out and cracking over time. I also treated the top of the box trailer and all wooden tool handles while I was at it. I then slipped the beam beneath the trailer below the frame and above the leaf springs so that the iron frame rests directly on top of it. It in turn will perch on two 4x4 posts braced to each other and to other posts. A 6" deep hole is drilled up into each post and that fits nicely down over the PVC pipe, cut to 6”, that projects from the respective concrete footing. A square aluminum foot with a hole in the center is first attached to the bottom of the post to keep water from wicking up into the wood.

When this is done, I will remove the cement blocks. I will then install another series of Posts in a similar manner ranging from three to eight feet out from the trailer, and hang a cedar deck from the lot. The deck will conform to the shapes of the surrounding boulders. This will allow Mo easy access to the trailer even though he has already become quite adept at his three legged leap. I also may run partially buried wire mesh between some or all of the posts with a ramp up to a trap door of sorts in the deck so that Missy can have a large safe sandy area to climb down into.

A Kodak Lemon

Before we left on this trip, I purchased on eBay a new digital camera to produce images roughly twice as good as those of last year's camera. Within that year the technology has advanced way beyond 'twice as good', but the price was right. It is a 2 megapixel Kodak camera with a dock for charging and quickly transferring the images to my computer. The night shots are not as good as those of my old Hewlett Packard 1 megapixel camera, but the day-time resolution is great. If you've read the journal (this) online and/or looked at my photo essays, you may have noticed an improvement in picture quality over last year. I was quite pleased with the camera except for the viewing lens being out of alignment with the camera lens, but I learned to allow for that. I've taken approximately 800 shots, that is I did until it stopped - cold turkey; nothing; 0 power.

I emailed Kodak back and forth and then made a few of phone calls, none of which resolved anything and then was finally told to ship it and they would get it back to me within a few weeks. They also had me sit through a long complex recording of instructions (wasting valuable minutes on my cell phone) as to how and where to ship it. The 'how' was said in intricate detail and the 'where' was said too fast and was not repeated, meaning I would have to relisten to the long 'how' just to get that address right. That's when I quit. I'll take it apart with my jewelers screwdrivers and see if I can find a loose wire or such. Oh yes, they mentioned that I might be billed a service charge.

Compare this to my experience with Hewlett Packard a year ago. I was having a problem with the lens. I wasn't sure it wasn't me; I'm still not sure. I emailed once for help. I was in turn provided with a number to call. I called that number. The next morning, a new Hewlett Packard camera was on my door step with a box for shipping back the old one. FedEx took that away the next day. It cost me nothing.

Why didn't I get another HP? Because I'm in the business. Clients depend on my knowing about computers and computer peripherals, including digital cameras. Hence, I buy different brands to learn about them and that is why I went with Kodak this time. Never again! These days, almost all hardware devices are about the same; they usually get their parts from the same sources, almost all based on microchips that are so advanced in quality and function that you just can't go wrong. The main difference is in the profit margin and in the service. I like to assume that the more you pay, the better service you get, but this has proved not to be the case with Kodak (and with Dell).

If you notice a drop in photo resolution accompanying the latter part of this journal, you'll know why; I'm back to my 1 megapixel work horse.

 

Fri 3/28/03 10:01 AM:          Hi Van & Eileen, It was good hearing from you.  Glad you got rid of the spider before you were colonized!  New England is sunny and bright, it has finally warmed up and all the snow is gone!  Are you planning to return to Sandwich soon? Happy Daffodil Days.  Sue and Allen

 

Fri 3/28/03 06:19 AM:          Hi Van & Eileen, Great to hear from you & that everything is OK. Weather here went from deep freeze into shirtsleeve weather, hope it continues.

Got a 404 error both with IE and Netscape on your new news page links. (Mac), didn't try my PC.  Janie and Richie

 

11:30 PM:       Hi Janie, I could only try a couple images because I'm connecting at 9600 baud and they worked. 404 usually means that the image isn't where the link points. If you get a chance, I would appreciate knowing which ones bombed. Thanks for the heads up, Van

 

Sat 11:06 AM:          Hi Van, the Journal, The Burn and Nice Shots, gave me the 404. Now I will go over and try them with IE, same.  Janie

 

Sun 12:08 AM:      Yes! They all had back-slashes in their URLs instead of forward-slashes. The Mac doesn't like that. They should work now. Thanks, Van

 

    07:52 AM:      Hi Van, Everything works like a charm now, the Macs do have some idiosyncrasies that I can't remember sometimes.

Your pictures are great! Glad Mo is OK, dogs have a way of compensating for accidents.

Rain here, and spring is just starting, grass is just greening, so its a good time to do our transplanting ... Janie

 

Fri 3/28/03 12:45 PM:          Hi Dad, hope all is well. I was reading your journal while at work, and I thought I might as well send some of it to Kodak. So I pasted the part you wrote in regards to non-satisfaction, and added that a friend had sent me the email, and that I was sad to hear about the deterioration of the once solid Kodak customer service and quality.

Tell all I said hi, and give Mo a hobbled hug for me, enjoy the weather!! Love Bri

 

Sat 3/29/03 11:06 AM:      Dear Van,       Haven't read your "news" yet but have printed it out so I can read it in bed. I've been very sick. Had emergency surgery on Monday for a strangulated hernia and afterward heart trouble was discovered...anyway, I'm home but feeling pretty terrible. So, am looking forwarding to reading about your life at Joshua Tree.       Thanks....Sheryl

 

Sun 12:07 AM:      Hi Sheryl, I'm really sorry to hear that. Denny must be worried sick. Now you can just get better, take it easy and watch the flowers and birds. Enjoy the coming spring. What would cause the strangulated hernia? What is it? You are so health and tranquility minded. Maybe you should try my diet - deluxe cheeseburgers, beer, coffee and moving rocks around in Joshua Tree.       Take care of yourself, Van

 

Wed 04/02/03 2:55 PM      I cannot seem to get your latest new pictures. Tell Eileen I am proud of her, she has been very ambitious finishing her latest quilt. David and I just got back from Cabo San Lucus, Mexico. Wonderful beach right outside our door, also 4 swimming pools in the complex. Sun, sun, sun and warm every day. We had a great rest, shopped, fished and sunbathed most every day! The ride home was long and tiring am still trying to catch up.

We couldn't visit as the trip would have been 1,000 miles. Hope all is well, see you when you get home? Love , Renie

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