SSS news

Discussion in 'Communal Living' started by Selfsustaingsociety, May 5, 2007.

  1. FritzDaKat

    FritzDaKat Member

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    So one thing which will shorten the life of a furnace built of fireclay is the difficulty it has in reaching it's fusing temperature and I've seen various mixes suggested to help lower that temp using Iron fillings and other ammendments to act as a binder.

    I've had the additional thought of mixing a small quantity of thermite in with the clay, perhaps just dusting the mortar layers so it will leave a web of thermite steel thru the brickwork, perhaps adding some nickle too. Providing the mix will ignite and burn properly once the fireclay has hit a semi-plastic state it should also help it reach it's fusing temperature

    . Once I get some steel wool pads shredded & rusted, then an aluminum bar filed down (mabey with some nickles added??) & I test it out on a small scale I'll post back on it, but figured I'd put the idea out there for consideration.
     
  2. FritzDaKat

    FritzDaKat Member

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    On a more practical note for all perhaps, I should probably post a link to this site.

    http://wintersown.org/wseo1/index.html

    It's a means with which to better acclimate your crops to your specific region via. planting sucessive generations during the winter. End result being a crop more able to withstand the harsher climates. An interesting idea if anything. How's things been going up there anyway?
     
  3. Wandering Circle

    Wandering Circle Member

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    I'd love to hear a bit more from you SSS... how are things going atm?

    Circle :peace:
     
  4. Selfsustaingsociety

    Selfsustaingsociety Member

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    Alright been a little too long without an update, so here goes.

    well that small 400 sq ft cabit that was to be moved before the end of October didn't end up getting moved until well after the first snow storm here in MB. ended up happening in mid November. The good news is that it was moved in record time and the snow was not a factor in the move, it was however a factor in the amount of work I had to do that day... After the move the guy I bought the house from told me that he didn't drain the hot water tank and so I had to get that done, as well as the water was frozen in the trap beneath the sinks and in the toilet... had to heat some snow on the fire I built to keep warm and use the warm water to melt the ice, drain the hot water tank and did a few other little things to get the cabin ready for winter. as it stands it's still on the moving frame waiting for spring... Come spring I'll have to get working on a pad and get it moved onto it's intended spot.

    That same day I took a walk around the property and saw that the pond was filling up with water some more. there was already an inch of ice on top. also saw some more deer tracks and found some more junk in the woods... More stuff to clean up and get rid of before this property is truly natural and garbage free.

    Since then, I have not been to the property. The temperature fell fairly quickly soon after and the time to work on indoor projects is upon us. I've been getting together with friends and family and trying to get my house back in order before spring is once again upon us. Once that happens I know I'll be filling my day with more than I can do so trying to get some of those projects and chores out of the way.

    There has been more intrest in the commune in the last little while and I've been trying to get a meeting of people to happen but time is in short supply and so it will have to wait until the new year. I'm looking to get a camera or possibly a cell phone(I keep wanting these(going on 5 years) but keep telling myself that they are not necessary so don't purchass either) and want to get some pics up but we'll see.

    I mention pictures because there was so much beauty this year, 5 monts really, that I can't realy put into words. I will try but know that words can not convey the emotion or sheer overwhelming beauty of the images. A few that stand out are some of the flowers that were just gorgeous in their own right, many of them protected species in MB.There was the beams of sun breaking through the clouds and then a second barrier of pine needles to finaly reach the forest floor. There was the clouds of dragonfly's(thousands) hovering all about a foot above the grass, gorging themselves on mosquitoes and fly's, the dull droning of their wings all around. There was the full moon beaming down so bright you could read by, the beauty of the sky coming down and encircling the entire world in stars(firefly mating season), everywhere you looked stars... There was the beauty of the pines and tamaracks when they were changing clothes, the colors and the contrast of the leaves and needles of the forests, each tree trying to out dress his or her neighbor. Lastly there was the beauty of a pristine wilderness as far as you could see(in three directions anyways), a heavy dusting of snow and ice covering all, reminding me that we are all just here... and that nature just happens weather someone is there to appreciate it or not.

    Now the things I would like the most is be able to share some of these moments with others. Be able to set up the small house/cabin and be able to spend even more time out there. once again I hope this post speaks to people. that's why I keep writing them, and thanks for the prodding... like everyone, I sometimes need that to keep on track.

    Hope to have a whole bunch more to say come spring.
     
  5. Vana

    Vana Member

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    :( Makes me miss Manitoba / NWO area... awww. Congrats on the trucking along. Still hope someday to check the place out.
     
  6. Selfsustaingsociety

    Selfsustaingsociety Member

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    New update. Over the winter I talked to the municipality's building inspector, and he won't allow me to just place it on beams, I'll have to pour cement. I wasn't too happy about that. Other than that and trying to have meetings(that people don't seem to be interrested in) winter was fairly uneventfull. With no heat, no electicity(not hooked up yet), no water and freezing temperatures I didn't get out to the cabin. It's still going below freezing at night but we brought out a bunch of blankets and stuck it out. I for one could not wait to get back to the land and get things done.

    This weekend we managed to dig, plant and water a small garden. We planted potatoes, oignons, beans and radishes this time. Those are all planted from some of the seeds/spuds that I was able to get from my garden in the city. I will have to extend the garden and plant more things as the garden is pretty small, but it's a start.

    I used the sod from that to start building a platform for the outdoor wood oven that is being planned. We had managed to get a small amount of grey clay last year and so decided to try making something out of it. We didn't wash it or anything just started mixing what we had with some water(it had dried out over winter/spring) and some dry grass. One of the people helping out managed to shape a small oven, but it's pretty rough. Going to have to collect a lot more clay and do a better job crafting it. It did harden and also held up to some abuse(another person drew flames and graffitti on it's side with charcoal and later in the night fell on it...it survived admirably).

    I had been given an old BBQ that didn't work anymore and instead of buying a bunch of parts to get it working again, I removed all the gagetry and we used the shell of it to cook. It worked really well, and was able to prepare a feast(steaks, carrots and oignons, potatoes and turnips, mushrooms with oignons and dates, and baked apples with dates in the centre) in about half the time and with less hassle than on the fire. It also allowed us to decrease the amout of wood that was being used to cook, so hopefully will mean less time gathering and cutting wood and more time out of the day working on other projects.

    We also cleaned up a handfull of stuff from the woods, patched up the old wood stove in the really small 100 sqft cabin and worked on a few other small projects.

    Also of note, one of the people helping out brought out a cell phone and took a bunch of pictures so, I may have another picture or two to show folks soon(waiting for the email). That's all for now, although as the weather warms, i'll post more often and try and keep doing what i've been doing.
     
  7. Selfsustaingsociety

    Selfsustaingsociety Member

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    the pictures my friend took were pretty bad, didn't turn out great(focus, color, brighness, quality...) :( will try and do better next time

    I do have a small update.

    Talked to the municipal building inspector and have a meeting on wednesday. hopefully can get a building permit written up and start working on getting a footing poured(it's the only way they will allow a structure on the land and only way it'll get insured). Hopefully that will mean we can get it done in time and get electricity hooked up soon after.

    Also a friend promissed us a table and chairs as well as a few other things. We have also been salvaging stuff people throw out. So much still usable stuff still getting thrown out even with freecycle and garage sales and a bunch of other means. It angers me so many people still would rather waste than even spend a few minutes finding out how to donate that stuff to a shelter or salvation army... take your pick.

    If all goes well will have more news and will be able to see how much it's all going to cost. I hope it doesn't break the bank.

    Lastly I just wanted to point out to folks that may be thinking that starting a IC on their own is impossible that it's not. I'm young and have no clue, but I'm working on it, researching it and making it happen. It hasn't happened quickly and it took a lot of work just to get where I am, wich isn't very far, but i'm getting there. and hopefully the "I" becomes more and more of a "we", and hopefully we become a sustainable IC.
     
  8. MissBHave

    MissBHave insert clever phrase here

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    Wow, it sounds like you really have a vision and the determination to see it through. I have heard alot of people with ideas but not many stick with it or believe in the possibility of fruition. I hope everything goes well for you.
     
  9. Selfsustaingsociety

    Selfsustaingsociety Member

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    Thanks for the encouragement,

    The meeting with the building inspector went well. I now have a building permit. didn't cost me too much. rained all day so didn't do much work out at the property. did manage to clean up some junk though, oh and the radishes we planed last week are sprouting already.

    Driving out the worst part of the day as it was hazardous. We just got a lot of rain, all day, and there was a lot of water on the roads. I was hydroplaning all over the place. had to drive really carefull and a lot slower than the posted speeds.

    this next weekend is a long weekend so, weather co-operating, will have hopefully more accomplished and maybe even a project or two accomplished.
     
  10. Vana

    Vana Member

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    Are you going to update the SSS website any time soon, or are updates basically just being posted here?
     
  11. Selfsustaingsociety

    Selfsustaingsociety Member

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    Well Vana, I have been neglecting the SSS site for quite a while now. mostly too busy and to tired/sleeping when I'm not busy. I also heard that all geocities sites will be taken down shortly, so that means I'll have to find somewhere else to host it. been talking to a few people about getting something properly set up with our own .ca site but it's slow going. needless to say I won't be updating the site probably till it moves to the new address. I should put a note on there to let people know that we're still active but no updates for a while...

    Thanks for the reminder. I'll see what I can do.

    EDIT: added a handfull of pics to the site and a link to this thread under the what's new section.
     
  12. +-Freedom-+

    +-Freedom-+ Member

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    This sounds very interesting, i need to do more research.
     
  13. Selfsustaingsociety

    Selfsustaingsociety Member

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    ... radishes were eaten by a deer :(. No radishes for me, it's ok though cause deer got some food and they probably would have frozen as we had snow and freezing temperatures. I still made it out and started digging up some sod from where the foundation will be, lots of work. weather sucked. didn't get very far. poor use of the long weekend.
     
  14. Tsurugi_Oni

    Tsurugi_Oni Member

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    Keep on updating man.

    It's important that you let everyone know the journey of creating this lifestyle. It's probably one of the top reasons why people don't venture into it, because they're walking into the dark.

    Check craigslist if you need stuff. There's always tons of amazing free stuff being put on there. Just the other day somebody was giving away 5 free fainting goats.
     
  15. Vana

    Vana Member

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    Have you concidered an electric fence for the radishes? My parents have one, it's perfect, except it'd eat up power and the like. But 'em deers don't like it and stay away from the garden. It's tall enough they can't jump over. I heard deer hate mothjballs, but maybe that's skunk. My mom planted some kind of flower in her flower garden and apparently deer hate it that, too. I'll have to ask her.And chances are, the cold won't bother 'em. If they lasted the winter, they'll last this.

    Also, I heard you buggers got snow up there for hte long weekend... that sucks ! Weather up there can be an adventure. I actually miss the colder weather, southern ontario is too bloody hot.

    edit to add: yay for more pics! is that old vehicle just parked on the property? take it apart and use the metal for something... gotta be able to break down it into peices for something :p
     
  16. ChronicTom

    ChronicTom Banned

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  17. Selfsustaingsociety

    Selfsustaingsociety Member

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    I just wanted to say the weather this year isn't great and I spent another cold weekend out there trying to get things done. barely anything moving forward except for the contractor I talked to is going to get back to me in a day or so with an estimate for the footing needed for the house. I'm hoping it's reasonable and within my budjet.

    As to the deer, and electric fences... I'm not interested at this time. I have a second garden in the city that I can take care of daily and the garden out at the property was more of an experiment this year than anything else. I'm also bringing in some potato and green been plants in to work, as desk plants!!! Not sure what the higher ups will think but if anyone objects I'll just drop some SD on them and hope they laugh it off.

    As always i'll try and keep folks informed.
     
  18. Selfsustaingsociety

    Selfsustaingsociety Member

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    Time for an update,

    Contractor hired, price was higher that I was hoping for but should be do-able if I cash in some investments or get a line of credit for the balance I can't pay yet. Half has already been paid... I'm hoping to go line of credit route, will make things easier and then I won't be cashing in the investments at a loss (small but still not quite recovered)

    Second the weather has improved so it's not so fricken cold at night. That however means that the mosquitoes and horseflys are out in full force. They are anoying twice a day and so I can get quite a bit of work done in between. The dear also ate my beans so I'm down to onions and potatoes in the garden.

    The last weekend I used some salvaged lumber to build a small dock for the pond, as well as have been digging out the pond some more. It's still small, but it's big enough to get completely wet and cool down in the afternoons. Funny thing happened though. So I get the dock from one end of the property to the other in peices and spend most of the morning assembling it. By the time I'm done, I'm soaked with sweak, have a few extra bug bites and am starting to overheat. So what does one do to remedy the situation when standing beside a pond with a new dock... you go swimming. So I get in the water and after cooling down and cleaning off, I'm getting out of the pond when I hear this huffing noise. A doe was 10-15 yards off peeping. for some reason I grabbed the towel and coverd up before realizing WTF. Anyways it made me laugh.
    I spotted a mink on that same day crossing the driveway.
    I also would like to indicate that the wild edibles are really starting to take shape. The fruit are starting to flower(rasp, blue, straw...) and the cat tails are at a good length.

    Lastly my desk garden is going fairly strong. the desk potatoe plant is dead so I'm growing lettuce in it's place and the beans are all growing tall but are a little week in the stem due to lack of wind. I'm thinking of expanding it. So far people think i'm a little weirder then they had guessed but are going along with it.

    ~keep on struggling~
     
  19. Selfsustaingsociety

    Selfsustaingsociety Member

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    foundation poured, walls partly built, house to be moved on in the next few days... cement truck driver ran over my potatoes. Have about half the plants left and all the onions. that's if for this update, might have pic of foundation and lady slipper flowers in the next few days for people to see...
     
  20. Vana

    Vana Member

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    Lady slippers! I love them. Good thing the driver didn't run over them, they're protected, are they not...? I know they are in Ontario.
     

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