Shack Shelves Built with Local Lumber

I added these shelves to the shack last weekend. I just needed something built quick to get some of the junk off the floor and onto storage but it turned into an experiment with some of the branches trimmed from the olive trees which were destined for the fireplace.

I ran them through the table saw to split them in two. Then I used the chop saw to cut the 45 degree angles. If I do this again I'll build a jig to make the cutting easier and truer. That said, they aren't perfect but they are made from a solid, sustainable material and hold up the shelf just fine. I think I'll make a few more hooks to match.

Previous Posts:
Ramshackle Shackitecture
New Desk for the Shack

Green Dumpster Diving

The boys and I were out walking the neighborhood. We picked up some broccoli from Figueroa Produce and turned ourselves homeward. It was trash day. Green, blue and black bins shared the sidewalk with us. As I passed one full green bin, a bright red bug caught my eye. My oldest son and I recognized the bug as ladybug larva. Our identification skills were honed in March when we raised and watched some ladybugs grow.


Excited about our discovery, I noticed the entire green bin was crawling with ladybug larvae. We harvested seven and brought them back to Camp Ramshackle. My oldest son bore the task of keeping the lively critters on the stroller tray with gentle pokes and sweet words of direction.


As we worked our way home, we periodically took roll on the bug count. "Only three left, Mom," by the time we pulled up to the Ramshackle gate. But I spotted one on my son's back and another on his knee. Five larvae were transported to barrel of carrots in dire need of some aphid eating ladybugs.


We returned to the stroller, happy to find a rouge to add to the posse.

Hive Maintenance

I finally did some overdue hive maintenance. I moved a full frame from the second box up to the top one. The bees had started to draw some comb up there but it wasn't hanging off the top bars, it was kind of lumped on the bottom of a couple of frames. I am sorry that I don't have pictures of the open hive but we have only one working camera at the moment and Julia had it with her.


It took me a while to get this done because I needed to make a shelf to hold the top box while I moved the frames around. As you can probably tell it's made from scrap wood we had lying around. I had the goal of putting in 3 bolts on each side which was a good decision because I broke the drill bit in one of the holes on one side and left it empty. On the other side I missed the stud with one of the bolts. Two out of three is a raging success here at Camp Ramshackle so I didn't sweat it and got on with moving the frames.


When I set the box up on the shelf some honey comb that the bees had drawn on the bottom of the frames was crushed and leaked a little honey out. It was kind of exciting and concerning at the same time. Good because we got a little taste of honey. Bad because I was concerned that it might attract ants.

When I took a quick look the next morning I was surprised to find that not only were there no ants on the shelf, there was no trace of honey. None. I couldn't have cleaned it better with a rag.


There were ants however. They had come for the carcasses of bees which were crushed when I put the box back on top. I now know that I should have scraped these off when I finished but the bees were pretty tired of me by the time I was done and I just got out of there.

I'm going to run up there tomorrow and check again. I hope the dead bees and ants are gone. If not I'll dump some cinnamon on the ground and get some diatomaceous earth on the way home to bolster the defense.

Figs Appear

We have a tiny old fig tree that just keeps on going year after year. It produces a small basket of fruit each season - maybe 3 lbs. or so. The birds get about another pound or so if we don't pick the ripe fruit before they notice it. I am getting excited about the prospects of fig enhanced salads in about another month.

Mud Factory

Preschool is officially over. Now on to more pressing matters...the creation and maintenance of a mud factory. The dirt was added cup by cup, transported from the "dirt spot" about 25 feet away. The factory is a big producer. The current most favorite product is mud ice cream.

Good Transparency on the Pacific Gyre

If you haven't heard already, there is a gigantic accumulation of plastic floating in the middle of the pacific ocean. Good magazine created an info-graphic that explains it's contents. It is a beautiful representation of a repulsive ecological disaster.

There are many reasons to avoid plastic as much as possible but this is at the top of my list.

Link to Good's "Through the Gyre"

Visited the Eco-Home

Back in April our friends at Homegrown Evolution posted a suggestion to visit the Eco-Home in Los Feliz. We took their advice this past weekend and had a great time.

Julia Russell the founder of the Eco-Home Network guided us through the tour of her home (with help from Judy Rachel) which is outfitted with solar power, solar water heating, a gray water system, organic garden in back and many energy saving upgrades.


Julia has been car free for 20 years.


This is the solar clothes dryer.


The garden is beautiful.


Julia shows off a handful of completed compost.

We joined the network at the end of the tour and look forward to attending meetings so we can see what some of the other folks have done with their homes and get advice about the projects we plan to undertake.

If you are interested in taking the tour here's the schedule.

Ramshackle Seed Bank

This is the official Ramshackle Seed Bank (it could use some glue). It's mostly filled with half full packets from previous years, some gifts and some recent buys that still haven't made it into the ground yet.

One difference this year is that we've been saving more of our seeds and have just started to plant some of them. I'd love it if we could get to the point where we were refilling most of these packets each year.

Here are some Blue Lake bush beans about to be sown. This year I've gotten it straight that these are in fact bush beans and won't be waiting for them to climb any poles. These were delicious. I hope they sprout.

Pomegranates Are Coming In

In Southern California, the pomegranate is hard to beat. Ours gets almost no supplemental water and still produces plenty of fruit. We don't weigh the haul but a guess would be somewhere around 25 or 30 lbs. Last year was a little light because I pruned it back pretty hard to get some of the unruly growth under control. This year forward I think we'll reap the benefits of that pruning.


We are losing some of the pollinated flowers though. I'm not sure if it's been the wind, not enough water or birds and squirrels knocking them off. The picture above shows a blossom caught in the St. Catherine's Lace (it's a buckwheat - Erigonum giganteum) as it begins to bloom.

Here's what the St. Catherine's Lace looks like in full bloom.

DWP Lawn Removal Incentive Program

Our friends at Green Frieda recently posted about the new Los Angeles Department of Water and Power program which pays an incentive to rip out your lawn and plant drought tolerant plants. We heard the same report on the radio but hadn't tracked it down yet - thanks EAPPster!

From the DWP site:
One square foot of traditional lawn needs approximately 50 inches of water per year. In comparison, most drought tolerant plants need approximately 15 inches of water or less per square foot per year. In an average year, Los Angeles receives about 15 inches of rain per year.

The average drought tolerant native at the Theodore Payne Society will run about 10 bucks and fill about 9 square feet. So essentially this means that if you are willing to do the work, the DWP will pick up the tab for the plants.

Read more about it on Green Frieda.

Accidental Baking Day

That mountain of egg shells is what inspired the accidental baking day. Somehow in my early morning stupor, I ended up bobbling two dozen eggs. The one in my right hand survived in tact. The rest were salvaged from various degrees of cracked. The slightly damaged were retrieved for scrambled eggs.


Some eggs went to cupcakes. Great gluten-free recipe from GlutenFreeGirl.com.


A quiche for dinner was made early with fresh basil from the garden. The most damaged eggs went to the dogs who happily enlisted themselves for floor clean up.

Tomato Cages from Reused Wire Mesh

I made a couple of tomato cages from reused concrete reinforcement mesh. We had previously used this material as a cheap fencing to keep our bad dogs in the yard. As we replace sections of it with a more private wood fencing or where our neighbor has put up his own wall, we need less and less of it. While it is rusted and a little beat up that just helps it fit in all the better with the rest of the junk around here.

I actually think they compliment the bean poles nicely.

That's two down and about eight more to go. We'll see how the tomatoes do since they didn't make it into the new planter bed.

New Raised Planter Bed Up and Running

OK, it's been 3 and a half months since I finished building the planter bed but this weekend I finally finished filling it. Things have been a little busy around here and with my work. I try not to worry about it too much but we are behind with our summer planting.

The dirt in the picture above is just plain top soil from an area over by the beehive. I am working on terracing that area a bit more. The soil isn't very rich but we are using it mostly as filler. It took between 20 and 30 wheelbarrows full of dirt to fill the bed to this level. They were all carted from about 120 feet away in a straight line but the hillside and the stairs forced a circuitous route from the source to destination.


Once I got it nearly full I added a wheelbarrow of oak leaf litter. Something in the oak leaves helps keep the clay soil loose. I figure it will break down and work it's way deeper over time.

After that I piled another five or six inches of compost on top. The compost will also work it's way down into the soil over time as we water the plants. With each successive planting we will add a few more inches of compost so the bed will become richer and richer over time.

Here is a handful of the compost up close. You can see eggshells and lots of organic material including worm castings in it.


While piling the finished compost into the bed I found several larvae. I am pretty sure these are about to become crawly backs which then become green fruit beetles. [Update: these are black soldier fly larvae which are beneficial - see the comments for more info] Since they don't pose much of a threat I put them back into the bottom of the compost pile. I figure they'll help the worms and other bugs break it all down.


Finally I planted it with 2 seedlings which were labeled sunflowers but which I believe to be zucchinis. In any case, I am almost positive they aren't sunflowers. I'm not sure what else we'll plant in this bed since it wasn't ready in time for our tomato seedlings but I think we'll plant beans for sure and who knows what else.

Making Soup

Under the overcast June sky, we made perhaps our last pot of soup this year at the preschool. School ends next week. The zucchini, planted from seed by the class, was tossed into the pot.

Creative dicing from the sous chef.

The celery was also grown in the garden and tossed into the soup.


We picked fresh basil, sage and rosemary for our spices.

More Blades Arrive

The rest of the blades from my sample pack arrived yesterday. So far since the original batch arrived I have used only two blades. The first was a Feather. It was true to it's reputation - extremely sharp. Maybe too much so. I nicked my self once or twice that first shave without even knowing it. On the bright side, however, I got 5 shaves out of one blade without resharpening at all.

The next blade I tried was a Dorco. It was not nearly as sharp. So far I have gotten 2 shaves out of it but I doubt I'll get a third. I think I'll go through all of the blades to see how many shaves I get out of each without resharpening and then go through the lot again, this time sharpening each to see how they fare. I got the feeling with the Feather that "sharpening" it my have had the effect of dulling it. It was that sharp.

Overall I couldn't be happier since I abandoned the plastic disposable multi-blade razors. I am really happy to not be involved in the disposable razor head arms race or subject to the planned obsolescence of the brand specific head/handle combos. My new blades all fit my razor. There is very little plastic involved (some come in plastic boxes but many come in cardboard with wax paper wrappers) in my new routine. My cost of shaving has dropped dramatically and my satisfaction has soared. I stand by my Father's Day gift recommendation from last year.

Previous Shaving Posts

Bucket O' Weeds

I never have enough time to do the kind of job I'd like when pulling weeds but I actually enjoy the chore as strange as that sounds. There is something really satisfying about clearing an area of the yard. Sometimes I am struck by how attractive the weeds themselves are - at least once they are in the bucket.

Machine Project: Sewing 102

My mother's day gift (aside from a great day at home) was Machine Project's Sewing 102: Introduction to Pattern Making and Alteration. The gracious and capable duo of Annie O'Malley and Lake Sharp, who honed their sartorial skills at the costume department at Occidental College, taught the class.

Sage Chin wearing her sleeve on her arm.

Over three Sundays, they supervised the deconstruction and reassembly of shirts and pants, showed how to make a pattern from an existing garment, and imparted a wealth of information on how to make clothes fit properly.

My pattern and project in the making.

For the final class many students constructed a pattern of a favorite garment and set to work. I'm working on a pair of pajama pants.

Classmate Sage with her newly constructed shirt.

Transforming clothes to fit perfectly is a surprisingly empowering experience. I altered a t-shirt that been originally sewn improperly. The shirt always twisted awkwardly. The remedy was to rip the bottom hem, turn the shirt inside out and pin it to fit my body. I tailored the shirt to fit and resewed the hem. The knowledge gained from the class has me rethinking everything that is hanging in my closet.

Machine Project periodically offers sewing classes. Although a Sewing 102 is not currently scheduled, you can always email Machine Project expressing your interest. The crew at Machine is quite receptive.

And while I'm at it, if you have a few pennies in your change jar and are looking for a worthy non-profit, I recommend Machine Project. If your change jar and couch cushions are combed clean of all copper and silver, visit Machine Project anyway. It is truly a great place in L.A.

Late Season Manroot Removal

A while back I posted about some manroot clean up that we did. This is a follow up of what you have in store if you don't clean it up when it's still green. The pods are vicious things the size of small potatoes. The spikes will easily pierce leather gloves so I don't wear them anymore. I find that it is easier to be careful without them. Inside the pod are smooth hard seeds that I am told were used by the Native Americans as beads for necklaces.

Here are the before and after shots of the fence. Maybe next year I'll have the time to dig out the roots so I won't have to clean the fence off for a while but now that the ground is dried out it is almost impossible to find the roots. Even if I were to find one, the earth here is a clay which is chipped at rather than dug into once it is dry. Besides, I have other projects that are more pressing. like getting the new bed planted (better late than never).


Previously:
Manroot Maintenance
Hedgehog from a Manroot Seedpod

Morning Hike

My oldest son is an early riser. At one point in his young life, he was waking up at 4:30AM ready to take on the day. Everyone else in our family likes to sleep in. I've always wanted to take advantage of my son's early mornings with a morning hike. Today, we finally did.


We live next to a small hill with a short trail. We climbed up to enjoy the view, saw some cottontail rabbits, spotted and regular towees and a cairn.

Big Lizard

Alright, really it's a monitor not a lizard. Lizard Boy makes an appearance at my son's preschool each year. His visit is always greatly anticipated.

My youngest son happened to be chasing lizards outside the school when we bumped into Lizard Boy and his reptilian crew on their way out. Perhaps Lizard Boy sensed a kindred spirit in my youngest son. He stopped in his tracks and treated us to a private show.

Frilled Necked Lizard

Lizard Boy 2.0?