What I did on my summer vacation

[Ben]

When weeding the strawberry patch last night I encountered this character.

Spoiler

I suspect it is a she since the smaller ones are brownish.

And yes I know I am opening myself up for comment about Bugs but so be it! 

Ben

[PaulG.]

What did the mantis say to the other mantis while sitting at the bar? "Might as well have another. They're just going to chew our heads off when we get home anyway."

[Ben]

After a week off I should account for my time.

Spoiler

All of that dirt came out of the basement in 5-gallon buckets, four buckets at a time. I would transfer the buckets to a Gorilla cart, dump it, rake it out and by the time I got back to the skip-hoist, there would be another set of 4 buckets waiting for me.

A tech-tip:

They make umbrella hats covered with reflective fabric that make a great fashion statement but also help when we are working in near 90 degree heat with the sun beating down.

And a image from the end of the day, after we fixed that bow in the ridge beam of the roof.

The house is now sitting on new temporary supports waiting for me to dig out where the cinder block pillars will be built.

Having fun!

Ben

[Ben]

"A little bit every day" has resulted in my brother uttering the phrase "That is deep enough."

It has been a long slog with excavation to make enough room for use to put in proper supports and allow room for a water heater and HVAC. But as recent rain day showed me that I had some flood control to attend to.

Spoiler

Saturday was the first day I actually put more stuff (gravel) in the hole than I took out.

I knew this was going to be a crazy project before I took it on but that was one of the reasons I wanted to do it!

I will now be able to tell that granddaughters "Yeah I dug a basement one time now tell me how hard your work is."

Ben

[JÞB]

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@Ben wrote:

"Yeah I dug a basement one time now tell me how hard your work is."

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As I am sure you suspect, and will do next time..... there is a better workflow.  

1. Dig Basement
2. Build House

😄

[JÞB]

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@JÞB wrote:

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@Ben wrote:

"Yeah I dug a basement one time now tell me how hard your work is."

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As I am sure you suspect, and will do next time..... there is a better workflow.  

1. Dig Basement
2. Build House

😄

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It helps if you capture these requirements [HOME001 House shall have a basement: HOME002 Basement will be a physical chamber located below elevated plat finished grade; HOME003 Basement shall be under House; HOME004 Basement shall be of sufficient physical dimensions to contain X, Y & Z Auxiliary components in their normative and nominal operational environmental conditions including flooding; HOME005 Basement shall not accumulate Grey water nor CHT in any substantial area....]  just a bit earlier in the project's delivery schedule.  I'm looking forward to seeing a Software Development sea-story along the same lines.

[Ben]

What?

Miss out on all of that great exercise?

May it not be so!

After all of that digging I now have a first hand understanding why Popeye was always drawn with huge forearms. In the day of steam powered ships sailors would have been shoveling coal into the boilers. Not that far off from shoveling shale into buckets.

And then there is the return on the investment where I am converting work into real-estate value.

But the fun does not end in the basement mind you. No sir.

Spoiler

There had been an old shed out back that had had been blown away last spring. I had picked through the remains of it but my better half was not pleased with the last of the debris that was the old floor of the shed. I had been loading a dumpster in the evenings and was looking forward to completing the work last night. I had two railroad ties left to deal with.

Picking up the first of the two produced a cloud from the far end. Yes I ran like one of my granddaughters but I did not scream. Turns out I have a honey bee hive to entertain me now.

I am leaning toward letting them bee until next year. We need our pollinators mind you and the wife has plans to make mead.

The wife purchased a bee keepers veil for me so I may end up investigating closer.

So until we talk again, Bee have!

Ben

[Ben]

Boy was I wrong!

Those were not bees but rather yellow jackets.

Which reminds of one of my favorite YouTube videos.

Revenge of the Electric Weenie

Spoiler

It is about 10 minutes long so be forewarned.

Ben

[crossrulz]

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@Ben wrote:

Boy was I wrong!

Those were not bees but rather yellow jackets.

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I had those this summer under my little platform holding my propane grill.  I freaked out the wife when I started pouring gasoline down the big hole that was exposed when my 4-year-old kicked over a brick.  Watching the nest burn was quite satisfying.  No, the flames didn't come anywhere close to touching the grill.

Spoiler

I am half Kentucky hillbilly.  This is what we call "fun".

[Ray.R]

When I have a bit of spare time, I am writing Jeopardy game using LabVIEW...  But also writing Family Feud game for an upcoming party,.

I may need 100 different people to participate in a survey...