Back to the workshop

Friday, I went to cut up a rather large tree on a local golf course and ended up having a rather frustrating afternoon. The truck and trailer were loaded so I went slower than normal causing a car lineup behind me. I pulled over at a gas station to let them by and as I pulled out, the truck bumped a pothole. At this moment, I heard a pop just behind the cab. I didn't think anything of it at the time until I looked in the mirror and noticed that the trailer was lower to the ground than normal. I feared the worst. Upon arriving home, my fears came to reality. The frame of the truck was bent just behind the cab. When I had repaired the frame before, I noticed it was rusting from the inside out, which Toyotas are notorious for. The continued rusting caused a weak spot, which broke at the bottom of the frame tube. After realizing that I must unhook the trailer before I could get a proper assessment, I pulled out the trusty Hi-Lift jack and began to raise the bumper of the truck while it was still loaded. As the back of the truck inched up, I noticed that the frame was straightening back out. I decided to use this to my advantage and once the trailer was unhooked, I used a highly sophisticated technique to re-align the rear part of the frame tube. I await the time to work on the frame, but for now the results will hold.

More will be sure to come.

Owning a home of our own has been a rewarding, but somewhat expensive endeavor. My wife and I have done everything from paint to dig around the footer to install a perimeter drain to fix a septic problem. Our newest addition, though, is a wood burning stove. We decided to install this as a backup heat in case we have the rough winter that the old timers have been saying we are do and also to help offset the cost of heating with electric. Being that our 5.5 acres is mostly wooded combined with friends giving us firewood, the fuel cost will be low...aside from the labor of splitting the wood...which will provide an opportunity to "get in shape". We've had our first fire, which provided a pleasant atmosphere for an evening...aside from the need to "cure" the new paint, which produced a noxious odor and smoke. Thankfully, we had fired the stove for the first time earlier in the day so it wasn't so bad by evening when we ate steaks and drank a Guinness in the flickering light of the burning fire.

Hopefully we are now prepared for the winter months and will have many opportunities to have family and friends sitting around the hearth sharing in the warmth of good companionship.

This weekend, June 15th, 2011, twenty of the Deacon Candidates were installed as Acolytes at the Cathedral. This is the last rite before ordination to the Diaconate. It is very humbling to take such a yoke yet we know that Christ gives strength for the tasks he calls us to!

Saturday, we spent the day with some friends canoeing a river north of us and returned home late later in the night. The next morning, while we were getting ready for Church, I heard a knock on the door. It was our neighbor who asked me if I wanted to see a picture of our visitor from Saturday. She handed me a print out and I saw the black "shadow" at the corner of our house. We had a black bear walk through the yard and up next to our house around noon the day we were gone. Others had seen one in the area and we now know it has ventured onto our property.
Now I guess we can say we are in the wild.

My wife and I are now homeowners. After several years of searching we found a little place out in the country with a little over 5 wooded acres. It is somewhat frightening yet exciting as we plan our dreams. However, we must wait a little less than a month before we can move in and then the fun begins.

Will the fittest survive?

I have been watching the economic and world events while listening to some talk radio show hosts. Needless to say, throw the last ingredient in and I get hopelessly depressed. However, sometimes things make just too much sense. As I ponder on what I see and hear, I prepare myself mentally for the possibility of different scenarios. One such scenario is a social meltdown where modern conveniences such as grocery stores, electricity, and running water is scarce to non-existent. Sure, there are those that laugh and ridicule, but personally I don't like the idea of being caught unprepared not only for my own well being, but for those around me.

Since moving to Kentucky, my love of the "great outdoors" has been given opportunities to grow and flourish. With the available acreage of forests around the places that I have lived, I have been able to pursue the development of the basics of several different wilderness skills, some of which my father had begun to teach me when I would listen. These range from hunting and tracking to identifying edible plants to basic building skills. Regretfully, far too often I have been distracted from the wilds of the forest and the wisdom that is held within the walls of the trees and rocks.

For some time I have been wondering if I should share by small knowledge with others who would listen. I have even spoken with my spiritual directer on occasion to determine how to be most responsible with this knowledge. With the advent of a recent situation of having the privilege of teaching two volunteers I work with about some edible plants, I decided that it would be beneficial to share a little with the broader world.

There are several disclaimers that I must state before proceeding, however.

First, it must be said to ALWAYS respect the natural world and its resources. When harvesting, never horde the resources by taking too much for oneself. To do so will not only cause others to not have their needs met, but will eventually diminish and terminate all sources. Realize that to gorge one's self today means to die tomorrow.

Secondly, be cautious of amounts of anything consumed. Some things within the forest are safe to be eaten in moderation, but in abundance would have disastrous effects. With this, some things may be toxic if eaten green, but will be safe if the state is altered by boiling and/or cooking. I will be listing a few common "weeds" that are fairly safe and abundant. However, BEFORE undertaking this knowledge DO YOUR RESEARCH! The plants and techniques I will list have been researched and proven, but play it safe.

Thirdly, While species preservation is a goal, the most useful knowledge is how to keep a "level head". While one may have sufficient "textbook" knowledge, once the pressures of hunger begin to arise the mind can begin to cause much fear. Fear is the forerunner of death. Often times a factor that produces fear is the desire for conveniences and comfort that one knew before being in a "survival" situation. Fasting is a productive way of preparation. If the body and mind are used to being deprived of comforts on a regular basis, then it would not be overloaded when a "real" situation arises. With fasting must come prayer because it is inseparable from humility and humility is an acknowledgement of dependance upon the One with whom is the interaction in prayer.

Fourthly and not in the least, even though people may survive and come to know better times, we all die eventually. Some do not like to face it nor even talk about it, but it is a fact that cannot be avoided. Desperation for survival can lead one to hysteria and will bring the end even quicker. Having peace with the thought of death sets the proper disposition, however, to face death, one must have no fear of what is beyond. This absence of fear comes from knowing when one is released from the bounds of the flesh, the spirit will travel toward its source with no hindrance or shame. Preparation for that should come in times where one is able to do so: as in now. "Today is the day of salvation".

Now for the basics:
Know that there is nothing in the forest that tastes like pizza, or vanilla ice cream, or mom's spaghetti. Some raw greens at best are less bitter. The best options as far as taste are the fruits such as blackberries, but they are not as abundant and more often than not one would have to contend with the birds that also like them.
Also, avoid gathering plants from roadways and other areas where there is potential for pollution. Hunger may become the least of the worries if this is not avoided.
The plants I am listing are abundant in wastes such as excavated land and yards. Most regrow fairly quickly.

Plantain: high in vitamins. Can also be made into a poultice to put on minor wounds.














Narrow Leaf Plantain:














Clover: Both red and white are edible and nutritious.














Creeping sorrel: taste of green apples. Careful with this one as it is known to inhibit calcium absorption. Also known as Sweet Clover.














Polk: MUST be cooked first. Raw greens are toxic. I wouldn't eat the berries.



















Wild onion: not as large as its domestic counterpart



















Mullien: Another plant that is controversial over toxicity. Small doses made into a tea is good for colds.














Gathering water:
FIRST! Water is precious to all life. Keeping this in mind, it is possible to draw water from plants, but REMEMBER that the plant life needs it as well. In order to extract water from plant life, it will kill the plant. Kill too many and not only will the plants become extinct, so will all else that needs the water!
To extract the water, place plants in a clear plastic bag and leave out in the sun. Be very careful of which plants used. Poison Ivy is a good example of one that should be left alone.

These only scratch the surface of the basics. There are many other essentials such as sanitation and shelter that is readily available on the web and in books.

Some will call me paranoid. I prefer to call myself prepared. It is important to remember not to just do this for self preservation for what good is it if the community does not survive? Weaker members of the community such as the elderly and the sick may be reliant upon such knowledge.

Remember that hope is to never be forsaken.

Every man's castle

say

There have been several events going on in the past few weeks. The housing crew has been working with the Child Development Center to build an adventure room for the after school program. This began when one of my co-workers came to me with an idea of building a "cave" in the corner of one of the rooms for the children to be able to sit in and on and read. He showed me his design on paper and we spoke about it in length. After realizing that there would not be a very good chance of it coming out looking much like a cave we let our minds wander elsewhere. The change went from a cave to a castle. The idea was to build a square form, but then we got the bright idea to make it round. I must admit, I was ready for the challenge.

I have found that in my carpentry vocation, I enjoy building for the joy of shapes.

We had a few very hefty pallets donated to us that I decided to reclaim the lumber from for the main structure. These were constructed of 2x10's and 4x4 posts which made for a very stout castle structure. The 4x4's were used for the floor joists on the upper level and the 2x10's became the flooring. Quarter inch luan was used to bend around the structure to accomplish the quarter circle shape.

After researching castle tower windows, we came up with the idea to cut cross shaped arrow slots into the walls to add character to it. Eventually, the after school program staff will paint the castle.

Of all the things we have built, I must say that this was the most fun!

But alas, some dream castles have dungeons once one looks into them....
My wife and I have been pursuing a little house out in the country. It started with having to wait to see if an offer that was submitted first would fall through giving us an opportunity at it, which it did. This was great news to us. We began getting a move on securing the financing and proper inspections. I went out Friday with a home inspector to get an official report. As we went around the house we eventually came across what I had already seen before, but put us on the dark stairway down to the depths of the prisons. The homeowners had run there showers and washing machine on separate lines from the rest of the home, which emptied into the septic system. The showers emptied over the side of the hill, which could be fixed by installing a greywater bed. Not extremely easy or cheap, but fixable none the less. The problem that we encountered was not the greywater lines, but a spot about midways down one of them. There was black "sludge" on the surface of the ground that had a sewage smell. I and the inspector were not certain if it was because one of the greywater lines had a break in it or if it was sewer problems. After running the shower it was connected to and seeing no increase of water on the ground, we concluded that it was blackwater from the septic tank. After going out the next day with a septic tank installer our dreams began to stink like what we smelled around the yard. We ran a probe, a piece of rebar with a handle welded to it, down into the ground and found that a few feet below the spot where the sewage was surfacing there was bedrock less than a foot down. Bad news when there has to be around four feet of earth for the septic system leach lines to work properly and very bad news for the possibility of fixing it.

Now what? The septic installer recommended calling the health inspector, which I was trying to do, but they have just a few hours in the office in the morning. We will have to go back to the sellers with a change in the offer if the health inspector's new confirm or make it worse.

However, this whole experience, outside of the physical condition of what we found about the house, has been a learning and positive experience. We have met some very quality people along the way that hopefully will not fade into the masses.

We have also been learning a further lesson about trusting God and making sure the castles of our lives are built solidly on our faith in Christ Jesus. It must have proper footing and a solid structure to withstand the years of weathering for sure, but as we keep Lent in mind we must also keep all of the "unclean things", attitudes and actions, in out lives properly under control so they do not leach out on the surface and further cause unhealthy situation for us and others. There must be frequent examination of our daily life accompanied with the study of God's Word to know the standards by which we are to live. Regular confession keeps the sludge from building up, which eventually will overflow in forms such as bad attitudes and careless words.

Above all, we must remember that castles and houses are made of wood and stone that is not respected by time or the natural mechanisms of Creation. And we, too, are only temporary...fading into the past as our flesh ages and weakens. We must put our hope in the Eternal and submit our will to how we were meant to be, thus becoming children of a loving and eternal Father God.

...and as St. Thomas Aquinas, the great theologian once said, "All I have written is all straw!" meaning that even our greatest accomplishments pale in comparison to how God will reveal himself in eternity.