How'd it go today?

I just like to be away from people for the best sense of relaxation.

I must admit though, they have done some great work mixing the original features of the homestead with a modern practical feel. Not fully electric yet but they have solar panels for basic lighting, so a lot of candles going. Sauna Is About 200m away but the snow is about a metre deep.

Can’t wait to try the pizza oven later in the week.

Thai Penang curry on the go at the moment. At the request of the 9 year old.
 
Mass oven?

There is a gas cooker here and a fireplace by the pizza oven. I think it just a pizza oven but they said it does great steaks once you get the timing right.
 

It looks like a mass/masonry oven.
A huge mass of stone that you fire up once a day and then it retains enough heat to keep the cabin warn for a day, while also being great for baking stuff.

Nice cabin, the Norwegians do that so well.
 
I follow you now. I don’t think it is. Vidar probably built it as he has a pizza oven outside at his house in Oslo.

I remember staying in a old farm house once in Finland. They had a huge stone oven/fireplace in the main room with loads of little compartments. I asked and apparently they would prove bread in the small cubby holes.
 
I got a call from a forester today, that really cheered me up.
Richard and the apprentice have been down south, logging 2 stands of mixed oak and beech.
Both had apparently been overlooked by the old forester on the castle, so the beeches had run away from the oaks and everything had pretty much grown into each other.
( Widowmaker city, because the oaks have dead branches that'll come down when the beech branches pass behind them. Also hang up city, because getting a tree down when it's branches are interwoven in the other trees is extremely difficult)
So the forester had been going on and on about how he feared for large crown breaks in the oaks that are left behind, to become super valuable logs.
When they finished, I asked Richard how it went, and he said fine, never a problem.

So, the forester had been on walkabout after they were done, and was super happy with the work.
Nary a broken branch, he said.

That sure made my day.

Richard is probably the best faller in Eastern Denmark.
At least that is what the guy who forwards our wood, says.
He runs the biggest forwarder company here ( 12 machines) so he sees what else are running around out there with saws.

When I get pissed off that he is better than me today, after I got sick and crippled, I just have to remember who taught him the trade.
Makes me feel better :)
 
One bulb out of 96 isn’t lighting. If I move it slightly it lights so it most likely is just a poor connection in the lamp holder. As these LED bulbs are powered at one end I’ll switch the holder with the one at the other end and that should fix it. Calling today to schedule my final inspection. Bought the fluorescent light fixtures used for $5.00 each from Philadelphia Gear - a heavy item machine shop, when they replaced all of their fluorescent high bay lighting with new LED fixtures (they produce custom gears and valves the size of a VW Beetle!). I sold the commercial fluorescent ballasts which sell new for about $22.00 on eBay for $8.00 to $10.00 each. The Buyers paid the shipping costs, too. After deducting fees I realized about $1.60 profit on each light fixture. I re-wired them for single-end-powered LED bulbs using the existing internal wiring. The main cost for my lighting was my time: an hour to pick up the used fixtures, to rewire them, to sell the ballasts (three trips to UPS to ship them), installing them, and the cost of the new LED bulbs . 4D002A59-40EF-4094-A397-79F84AAF2401.jpeg 3D5F3F9C-BFC5-4B63-9C36-E39611684D32.jpeg FA6DBC8D-58BF-480C-9A15-CCB4BE04EA74.jpeg 493BDB10-7D76-4A34-93E2-0103EAF48031.jpeg
 
Looking good @pigwot
Another fun day in the wetlands. I was supposed to get all the 18-22 year old today to drag what we put down Saturday. Guess how many I got. If you guessed a number between zero and zero you would be correct. I acted grumpy about it so no one would call me all day. I actually don’t care. Just really seems like a waste of money to pay me to move brush around by hand. Also a waste of talents but what ever. With rising temps though the wetlands are becoming wet again. I should be able to finish it tomorrow.
Also have to go in early for a crew leader meeting tomorrow. That will be interesting. A lot of chiefs in one room.
 
Looking good @pigwot
Also have to go in early for a crew leader meeting tomorrow. That will be interesting. A lot of chiefs in one room.

That reminds me of something that is emphasized at our fire drills. The leader usually mentions how any time there is an actual structure fire, it's amazing how many white hats (asst. chiefs) show up from surrounding communities and stand around chatting while not doing anything. Our 2-3 instructors almost always say "If you are the IC (Incident Commander), think of the most demeaning / crappiest tasks that need to be done, and start barking them to the gaggle of white hats. I actually saw that happen once and it was amazing how humbled a group of 5 high and mighties (in their opinion) quickly turned into "Yes Sirs", or in one case, slunk away as quickly as possible.
 
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Final inspection done. Also put an LED light on my sliding miter saw. Old fellow we helped out last week wanted a laser light on his. They run $80 to $200 and get poor reviews. This cost $7.99 and a little time and accurately places shadow dead on the cut.
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I like that too. Found a tree once that was in an otherwise invisible glass dump. When it went over, there were a bunch of old bottles and stuff stuck in the roots.
 
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