the chimney is falling , the chimney is falling!!!!

Update on Farm

9-16-2015

Damn I hate it when chicken little is right!

it falls every night. 

       Well it has been awhile since I wrote and need to update on you some things around the farm. The leaves are starting to change and the morns are colder and soon we will be in the throes of autumn. I am still here plugging along on some old projects and starting some new ones. Some of the change is due to planning and others are by accident with emphasis on accident.

       We have been experiencing some gas flow problems and at times we are completely without natural gas from the oil well. If at worst , we lose our free natural gas , well it has been a good run having been drilled in around 1969 or 46 years ago, we have had the ability to reap the rewards of free gas energy from the well. Free anything is always good and 46 years of it is even a lot better. But the loss of gas has its own problems, as it still works but on a frequent or less basis. This means if you start cooking dinner on the stove, there is no guarantee you will finish it there. Drying clothes and having hot water to take a shower are also problems to be dealt with. In fact conservation of all gas related appliances including heat is on a ration basis, hoping that we can again have a reserve in the well to keep at least keep a couple of appliances running trouble free alleviating switching to electricity and propane to meet our heating and residential needs .

    As far as heat goes I can use wood and have a wood heater here in my house that could possibly be used for a dual purpose of also heating water of which I plan to do. I would like to use it as a primary heating source and use the gas as a backup. Also I plan on installing a loop of coil to heat water on top of the stove and that along with a solar heating element that will eventually provide me with a continuous supply of hot water despite the weather outside.

     My primary concern about all this was making sure the chimney which had not been used in years was of sufficient quality to allow me to use a wood burner without burning my house down. Burning the old trailer wouldn’t bother me at all as long as I am not in it and my animals and I are safe.  But would prefer to it wait till I had time to build the addition on and at that time would prefer to tear it out instead of letting it burn. So in some ways a fire wouldn’t be a good thing at any time, a chimney inspection was required.

     So I did this as the morns are colder and soon it will be cold enough to use a wood stove, so I needed to make haste to get this job done and Monday was the day for that job . I had a decent day getting various jobs done around the farm and this job I figured wouldn’t take very long and would give mean idea of what I needed to do to get the wood stove going.

     I grabbed the extension ladder propped, and leveled it against the side of the chimney and tested it by shoving my weight against the ladder and all seemed to be safe so I proceeded up the ladder and just as I was about to grab the top of the chimney possibly 14 foot off the ground , I felt the chimney starting to topple, and quickly but not quick enough back pedaled my way down the ladder which at this time was going with the chimney and falling onto the old part of the house and my foot was tangled in the rungs as I fell backward a good six feet to the ground and landed flat on my back slamming my head a lot more than I wanted to. 

 

     I saw stars as I laid there trying to figure how bad I was hurt, and although I have stiff neck muscles that have since turned to sore, I am fairly well unscathed. Luckily most of the chimney landed on the house and remained on the roof. The bottom section stayed in place, but after later inspection I realize it doesn’t have footer under it and this may have a lot to do with its failure along with weak mortar from time. It has stood for almost 65 years, probably since my grandpa had built it. I guess nothing lasts forever and I knew the mortar was getting weak but could not really see any major defect before this all started. I sure can now and fully realize that the chimney in its present condition would surely represent a fire hazard and needs replaced. Duh. 

 

     I have started to chipping off the bricks and will be able to salvage some but not all with the mortar being real weak and chipping fairly easily. I also have other bricks to make up the difference for what I have lost in broken bricks. I brought in a load of sand and stone to pour a new foundation and will begin laying up a new chimney as soon as tomorrow. This chimney will not only have new mortar and a footer,  but will also accommodate a metal liner of stove pipe that can be replaced down the road if need be. It will also have a cleanout to allow me to clean the pipe with a stove brush if need be as part of the regular maintenance.

      I will write more on this project as I go along and include pictures of my progress. Another project I am currently working on is planting raspberries and pine trees and have successfully accomplished both with more effort needed in both those areas before fall and winter arrives but this will have to take a backseat to higher priorities as I try to fight fires of importance in priorities. Picking and choosing those things most important for me to accomplish.

     I think I have a system for planting the pine trees I have in the greenhouse and in fact all trees I have in the green house will be planted or repotted this year even if it takes all winter to accomplish it. I have some new pallets for tables in the greenhouse and this necessitates me moving all the trees to make way for the tables for plants in the spring. Also I will need to move all plants I am able move to inside quarters to avoid freezing them over the winter. I doubt if I will have enough room for all, so some may freeze and die off over the winter. I hate seeing it but unfortunately you can’t keep everything. I have some huge hanging baskets as well some big planters full of flowers that have been a delight to me over the summer. Anyone wanting spider plants can have as many as they would want as I have quite a few and only a limited amount of space. 

 

      The pine tree planting went well and it required only me, the tractor, and the new mower, a bucket of compost and trees and enough tools to lay out a grid work of trees that will allow me to mow between, and eventually will allow me to sell the trees as dug or as Christmas trees down the road. If not sold these trees will still grow and transform an unproductive piece of field into a future forest with a variety of trees. I used a two man gas posthole digger to give me the equivalent of an 8 inch hole about a foot deep, of which I filled with 6 inches of compost. This will give the trees a boost and with its high organic matter will help hold moisture to get the tree firmly established. More hay mulch will be added later to also help the trees move along and avoid weed problems. I have tried to sell these trees to people and need to get in more as well behind in planting goals I would like to achieve personally. The goal of planting a tree a day for the rest of my life to make up for what I have used in my lifetime, or have been responsible for destroying so these trees will allow me to fulfill that in this year.

       Awareness of problems is not so evident when we are young and in fact our parents and grandparents could only see farming in one perspective. The slash and burn era of our forefathers is over as our planet heats up from the loss of trees and use of hydrocarbons  that create carbon dioxide a that causes global warming. My forefathers saw trees as a resource to be exploited for lumber and fence posts with trees in the pasture and field areas as a nuisance only to be removed. They were used as a source of heat at different times, much the same as I intend to do. The trees I will be using as firewood will be carefully selected using downed trees primarily as a source of firewood then cull trees as a second source. I imagine just the downed trees on a yearly basis will be enough to satisfy my needs. This is still a renewable source and only reinforces my need to plant trees to replace those I take for firewood. This will always lock up the carbon and reduce my footprint on being responsible for global warming.