Bruce's Journal

[Latestarter]

yup... you need a lot of rain. On the wood rack... I'd be real concerned with no cross bracing that if you lean a little or hit a bump and jerk to the side, the whole thing will fold up and collapse... May not be an issue depending on how high the wood is stacked inside...

 

[Wehner Homestead]

My concerns are similar to LS’. My main concern would not having anything to help steady the load. If it shifts from any bump the load could fall forward or backward and then you’d have more work to do plus wood that’s potentially snowy or muddy. I’d make the back solid, less labor than slatted. The front, I’d do some sort of pony wall. Only have it come up so high to help steady the base of the load but still easy to access the load and easy to get the load in the rack.

 

[RollingAcres]

I like what @Latestarter and @Wehner Homestead said.

 

[Pastor Dave]

I wonder abt a heavy canvas cargo net for the back. It would weigh less and maybe still gibe some structural support while holding the stack in place.

 

[Bruce]

I will take it under advisement I do have a top brace across the back. I assume you are talking about bracing the back from one top corner to the opposite bottom corner ... or a solid back?

From these pictures you can see that it was only half filled and I could see where I was aiming at the platform. A solid back or full load would make that hard. I am planning to load only to about 4.5', not the full 5' so presumably I can still see through a bit. Will have to wait until Friday to try a full load of that nature, have an optometrist appointment in MA tomorrow. All day affair since it is about 7.5 hours of driving and I like to eat lunch and sit for an hour so my eyes aren't burned out from staring at the road.

EC #1 - Add a board across the front so the forks can't pass through and hit the frame of the storm door. Done
EC #2 - hack off more of the lilac bush that grabbed the rack on the left side. Done

Future ECs

1. Make it maybe 40" wide instead of 44". 2" of space on each side just isn't enough to make it easy to get the rack on the platform. A tiny change in the direction of the tires makes a big sideways change in the rack which then hits the hand rails and posts.

The rack of wood on the porch was a little under half full before this load.

 

[Bruce]

And now, another very big (small?) surprise DW and DD1 spotted in the "pit" this evening.


Not quite sure what that is? How about this?


About 1.5" shell, presumably they are about 1" when they hatch. Must have hatched not a whole long time ago. I've not seen the big turtle since I found it in the hole full of water I was trying to dig for a post on the north fence line over a year ago. Apparently the eggs are laid in grass so I ASSUME up on the edge of the pond. And if there are eggs, that means there MUST be at LEAST 2 snapping turtles somewhere inside the fence, right?

So now there are frogs and tadpoles in the "south" mud pit. Frogs, tadpoles, swimming beetles and a snapping turtle in the pit ... which I keep adding water to so they can stay alive until we get some rain and 2 fish in a bucket.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Sounds like things are working out for ya with the rack....glad ya will be able to do things easier and less wear and tear on the body.....
With that snapper in that puddle, everything else in the puddle is "on the menu".....just so ya know....

 

[Bruce]

So far I think the "everything else" is safe. The tadpoles are bigger than the turtle. Some of the smaller frogs better watch out though. They are only about the size of the turtle's shell. Don't know how fast the snapping turtles grow.

 

[greybeard]

So far I think the "everything else" is safe. The tadpoles are bigger than the turtle. Some of the smaller frogs better watch out though. They are only about the size of the turtle's shell. Don't know how fast the snapping turtles grow.

Depends how many little fishies and tadpoles they have to eat......

 

[Bruce]

No more fishies that I know of. But I guess I better not put "Adam and Eve" back in the pond until there is a LOT of water!