General Update-091024

Yea, I know more pictures, and I have some... videos too, but I just am always in the wrong place when I decide to write! This morning I'm at church waiting to lead a Baptism class and don't have access to the pictures.

I had productive day. I finished all four nest boxes, painted them with rot preventer and mounted them to the support rail. The support rail, being only a 2"x2" may sag eventually so I think I'll run a vertical support leg up the center of the rails.

I also mounted all four Fine-X feeders, and moved the water bottles to the inside next to the feeders. The feeders just need a slot cut in the wire. They have a support wire that is mounted to the feeder and that you just slip into the wire caging... easy!

The above doesn't seem like much but it took all day. I also gave guidance to Samuel as he cleaned the front of the house. The tree frogs hang out on the front porch waiting for the porch light to draw bugs, and they aren't much hassle, but they just don't wipe their feet when when they walk around on the vinyl siding and eventually they form dirty spots where they hang out. Sam sprayed on some bleach and water, then scrubbed with a brush... he did a nice job. I won't tell him that the sides are next!

Next is the fryer cages. I think I will create open front communal nest boxes for the six cages. This will allow the rabbits to congregate together when frightened, or for warmth. I think they will be about 24"Wx18"Dx12"H. I'll make one then see how I like it. I will also make the support frame sturdier to enable it to hold the weight. I will need to look at the fryer cages that are next to the AC fan. In the Summer it will blow hot air onto the box and cook the bunnies. I will have to come up with a housing/vent for the AC blower that vents the air away. Currently I have leaned a piece of plywood up against the offending side and that has worked.

After I complete the rabbitry, which I am lovingly calling the "Wise Rabbit Rabbitry", I need to do a few things to the house. Faceing, eaves, windo caulking, all need to be worked on. I little painting too, around the doors and on the front porch. I noticed that the windows need caulking bad. I fear that I already have wood rot in several places.

After the house is repaired then I'm not sure. I want to build the aquaponics system, but I'm getting really antsy about building my ferro-cement hut/cabin... whatever. If I consider that the AP build will be fairly easy and quick then that would come first. On-the-other-hand, I really need to build the back porch greenhouse along with the AP build so then it becomes more complex. I could build the back porch green house before the AP project, just add it into the "house" repairs... 'might do that.

I researched construction for the greenhouse and had all but decided on a PVC frame but then I still need to consider the look when complete. I would like the greenhouse to fuse with the courrent house (a small ranch style on a slab) so then maybe wood... still undecided. I think I will draw both up and get with Gail and see what she says.

Tony
Pensacola, FL

General Update-090929

I didn't actually work on the farm today, but I did build two saw-horses which will help me with building the rabbit nest boxes. I felt pretty stupid in that I should have built saw-horses years ago. They could have helped me build the other stuff though up until I placed the last cage in the rabbitry I used the top of one of the cages to work on.

I also built a little platform to hold the metal cage that I've had for a few years now. I nailed a 2"x4" between the two rear inside rabbitry poles then added a cross piece and a leg. The cage had a galvanized "poop-pan" so I simply set it on the platform and placed the cage on top. I think I will also build some storage below the cage. The cage is kinda in the way but I thought I might use it to house the rabbit I try my experimental feed on... maybe not, maybe just overflow or quarantine, not sure.

I also spent some time planning my ferro-cement hut. I watched an lecture on TED (www.ted.com) concerning growing your own air which caused me to think about adding a small "air pod" to the design for growing plants in to increase air quality. The guy lecturing from India, kamal_meattle, said that they have been creating good air for their offices by growing three different plants in their buildings. He said that they had been logging an increase of something like a 1% oxygen increase over a 10 hr period. The URL for the lecture is:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/kamal_meattle_on_how_to_grow_your_own_fresh_air.html

They added Areca Palm, Mother-In-Law Tongue, and Money Plant in certain amounts per person and Kamal said that with those plants at those levels a person could live in a bottle. I thought about air quality of a sealed hurricane bunker. I imagined not having to worry about air quality, however it all relies on the health of the plants also so... Anyway, I added the air pod then tied it into a small aquaponics system with the water fed by the water catchment system. I have plenty of time before building this tough I would like to have it started this year if possible. I do need to spend a little time and money on my current house.

Tony
Cantonment