24/7 Chat About Anything

[NctryBen]

Well, the other thing now is with the fire wise programs out there your going to see more and more a push to keep trees at least 50’ from your house. Those big old maples or most any tree that size though are not so much if but when they are going to start having troubles. Your way better off taking care of trees before they are to big to have done reasonably or on your own. Insurance at some point will likely start pushing for more of that.

 

[NctryBen]

Campfire conversation can be quite relaxing just to listen to in a good camp. Especially when people connect like you say Maki... so many good times in the desert and now spreading to the hills... to bad fire restrictions will keep the fire part out of it for some... are the winds behaving at all yet? Pretty nice here...

 

[Bunpoh]

Well, the other thing now is with the fire wise programs out there your going to see more and more a push to keep trees at least 50’ from your house. Those big old maples or most any tree that size though are not so much if but when they are going to start having troubles. Your way better off taking care of trees before they are to big to have done reasonably or on your own. Insurance at some point will likely start pushing for more of that.

Totally understandable in a rural setting. This house was in an urban neighborhood in North Seattle, so we really didn't have to worry about forest fires. Those trees were 100' tall when we moved into the house in 2003. But since there had never been tree strikes or issues for any previous owners or neighbors since the house was built in 1942, and we were too house poor to pay multiple thousands of dollars to take down each of the 100' trees that had probably been there since the houses were built, we didn't consider tree removal at the time. One company tried to charge me $12k for the hemlock removal, btw. That's after the tree had fallen. Imagine how much they would charge to remove standing trees!

I would feel totally safe in saying that those trees probably wouldn't have been a problem for at least another one to two hundred years, except climate change messed them up. I'd lived in the greater Seattle area since 1976, and in the last 6 years had had catastrophic wind storms with massive power outages and tree falls, torrential flooding rains and 100+ degree days with months of no rain, none of which we had ever experienced on such a scale in the previous 40 years. People all over our neighborhood started having their historic big trees fall, after never having such problems.

I had no way to pay to have them removed. In the end, we fixed up my house, sold it and moved on. It was the best solution I could come up with at the time, especially because my husband died unexpectedly and I didn't have the resources to do much more.

 

[abnorm]

Hey Ben.....Windy here in Pahrump.....Sunday the visibility was less than a mile due to blowing dust.....cool too

Waiting for the weather to improve to the NORTH...............See ya down the road !

 

[Morgana]

owl update...

Many types of owls are cavity nesters but a fledgling is not going to move into a birdhouse. Birdhouses get used for nesting time only, laying and hatching eggs and raising the babies until they can fly away. That owl in the tree has already fledged and is no longer in the nesting phase of growth.

But some species will use "roosting boxes" at night or as shelter from a storm. A little birdhouse is not a roosting box.

and then I said

I'm not quite getting the connection between the owl and the birdhouse

Turns out that it's probably an adult bird after all. I looked it up (https://birdinglocations.com/texas-owl-species/) and it looks to me like it's an eastern screech owl, and those are pretty tiny birds. Also turns out that they like human-made birdhouses! who knew.

About two days after I originally posted on this, the maintenance crew came through with chain saws and pruned the h3ll out of both our trees. Sad! But the owl came back and found itself a new spot. It's actually easier to see now. The Gentlemen Who Sun haven't put the birdhouse back up but I think they're planning to.

 

[NctryBen]

Hey Doug... crazy rain here through tonight. I’m looking forward to sunshine. But that means being married to a mower. I talked about wanting to retire. They heard: Ben needs an assistant. Oh well, I tried! My assistant better be ready to just take over!! Haha!

 

[BelgianPup]

Here in W. WA, people plant trees that get 300 ft tall about 3 or 4 feet apart, often on the windward side of a house. All of the big windstorms here come from the W and SW. This is the fourth state I've lived in, and many of the people are apparently trying to redefine the word 'stupid'.

 

[Gypsy108]

I finally escaped
Couldn’t imagine living in a car
Couldn’t afford another van
Got an apartment (govt sub)
In Nevada
In the mountains
BEAUTIFUL

HAPPY
ONLY CAMP CHAIR , Camp table,Trifold mattress

Hahaha

 

[user 423]

^Good for you!!

 

[Sasnak]

 

[user 423]

Nice B.

 

[maki2]

Congrats Gypsy. Not everyone is a good candidate for the "discomforts" that come with being a nomad in confined space. Glad you finally connected with some assistance to change your old circumstance. Enjoy your new life. Keep busy and stay happy.

 

[maki2]

Trying to decide what project to tackle today. The build list is still too long but it won't get any shorter if I don't get on with it. I don't think the procrastination of work is so much about the task themselves as it is about digging around in the back of my tow vehicle for getting out the tools and materials. I do miss having a workshop space where everything is all set up for efficient storage access and easy to do movements for cutting, drilling, routing, sanding, planing, etc.

Or I could use the decision making technique of doing the thing I least want to do first. Nah, that just feels too unpleasant to contemplate on this very nice day after many weeks of high winds. I think I will start with something simple and easy instead

 

[JohnnyM]

Ooo Sasnak nice van! Love dem alloy wheels

Johnny

 

[NctryBen]

Boy Gypsy108... sounds like you made the right next move. Like Maki said, life in the confines of a vehicle isn’t for everyone. A good view always helps... best wishes on your new ventures.
Maki2... I like that you can pick and choose your projects. All while living a life of luxury... haha. Well, comfortable to me is luxury. Back at the sticks and bricks I made an attempt at maybe building out my latest acquisition of a cargo trailer. I did a no build build and used it for a little cross country run to my celebrate my oldest turning forty. Upon arriving home I was ready to chuck my truck camper and truck and just build this thing out and get a SUV... something gas anyways. But I’m thinking about slowing down and making a more careful approach. Oh, I’ll work towards building the trailer out... but just the thought of finding an adequate vehicle... makes my mind spin. So I’m going to take the summer and do what I can. I’ll insulate. Add heat... power... the whole shabang! Once I take off this fall, I’m not sure my plans on returning. At $6 a gallon, diesel is not something I can afford a lot of at one shot home. I’m just going to have to figure out what all I can afford. I did learn living in the desert was a viable way to spend my winters. Also, having grandkids all west of Rockies makes my driving to northern Minnesota more of a burden then a necessity. So, I’m rethinking a lot... but I will continue building what I have to keep options open. I just may not come back this way... now that the weather is like perfect, it’s hard to think otherwise. But seeing everyone able to chill without long drives is very appealing. I could maybe afford what I have then... hmmm. conundrums!

 

[Camper]

What size is your cargo trailer? I have a 6x12 and really like it.

 

[NctryBen]

6x12 with a little nose... I can just stand up in it and seems like a nice size.

 

[Camper]

Mine tows so well with my 2006 Tundra, I sure won't buy anything larger.

 

[NctryBen]

Does pull like a dream...

 

[eliyama]

I finally escaped
Couldn’t imagine living in a car
Couldn’t afford another van
Got an apartment (govt sub)
In Nevada
In the mountains
BEAUTIFUL

HAPPY
ONLY CAMP CHAIR , Camp table,Trifold mattress

Hahaha

Congratulations! But keep a tight lip, otherwise you will cause a stampede. Only kidding, but seriously, Nevada mountains are a hidden gem to most Americans. I've been thinking about that area for decades! PS I live in AZ.