Living Simply

Jan 7, 2013 ∞

Just to let you know

A couple posts today… this first is just to let folks know that I WILL get back to permaculture/homestead related writing at some point! But the simple reality is that in the winter there’s not a whole lot going on in that area. At the moment my day-to-day routine consists primarily of reading, occasional freelance web work, starting fires and keeping them going, tending to critters, and getting the telescope out on clear nights. As we get closer to spring I’ll update a bit on the garden and food forest plans.

Dec 30, 2012 ∞

A Cold and Snowy Night!

A 13 second exposure of my scope and all the snow
nicely illuminated by the moon! Note Sirius in the
lower left corner of the image. Wish I'd gone just a bit
higher to fit Orion in the image!

We've been clouded over since the December 14th, the night of the fantastic Geminid shower so when it cleared late yesterday afternoon I decided to get the scope out. My plan was to try to get an as much time as possible before the moon came up which I did. It was about 25 degrees when I settled in at 6:20pm with a plan to observe 6-8 open star clusters in the Herschel 400.

The viewing was perfect! As cold as it was I was toasty warm with 4 layers on my legs, 2 pair of socks, 4 layers on top and my mittens and ski mask. I was able to get in a little more than an hour looking for my clusters and then spent another half hour looking at Jupiter. NGC 7209 and NGC 6940, both open clusters, were quite beautiful.

As beautiful as the views through the scope were what was most enjoyable was the snow covered landscape all around me. Even before the moon was up there was enough light reflected around by the snow that I could enjoy the view. The higher the moon got the better the scene became! The night was so calm and serene.

Dec 18, 2012 ∞

Geminids and Galaxies

I've not had a chance to report on last Thursday night's meteor shower and my extended time under the stars! There's a patch of sky I explored, in a constellation called Coma Berenices that is full of galaxies. One after another. The highlight of the night was NGC 4490, the Cocoon Galaxies in Canes Venatici. They are a pair of galaxies about 45 million light years away that have been in interaction and have distorted one another.

During the course of the evening I looked at 17 galaxies, 1 globular cluster and easily 100+ meteors. I was looking through the scope most of the night but in the short times I was looking up with just my eyes I would easily see 1-3 a minute sometimes more or less, depending on the time of night.

All together, about 9 hours looking up :)

Dec 12, 2012 ∞

Finding Bliss in the Universe

Between the moon at the first of the month and the nearly constant cloudiness it’s been hard getting any kind of extended time at the scope. Last night was fantastic and it looks like the forecast for the next 2-3 nights looks great.

M81 and M82

Knowing I had the whole night I wasn’t rushed to get out right at dark. I waited till 6:30 and got out and set-up just before 7 when the sky was really dark. The seeing was fantastic and the Milky Way was such a welcome sight. It’s funny just how much I have learned to love and appreciate a clear night sky in just three months. Of course, the telescope is a big part of this growing appreciation and understanding, but just standing under the stars is an experience of deep connection. As has often been said and I am often repeating these days: We are made of star dust. We really are. The iron in our blood, the carbon in and around us, all of it, from ancient stars long gone. A fundamental truth of great beauty.

I’ve always, as long as I can remember, taken note of and appreciated the stars in the night sky. Today, at 43, I can say that I truly understand who and what I am in this universe. Well, I more fully understand. True understanding is just the goal of the process. To be a living being on this beautiful planet, just one of many trillions of planets in the universe, is so amazing. I sometimes feel a bit guilty that I am able to experience such bliss in my life. Wether walking in the woods or looking up at the stars, leading such a simple life and being a part of the greater universe, I can ask for nothing more.

And about last night’s viewing session? I was happy to view thirteen more objects in the Herschel 400 as well as a swing by the two galaxies known as Bode’s Nebulae and a quick view of the Double Cluster in Perseus! Last but not least, Jupiter. I probably spent twenty minutes looking at Jupiter and I have to say, it never get’s old. Each time, each moment, is breath taking. On a good night such as last night, the 5mm EP is fantastic for viewing this beautiful neighbor of ours. The cloud bands and the GRS are crisp and easy to see. Wonderful.

As I spend more time outside at night I am consistently seeing more with my naked eyes, especially on nights with good seeing. Last night, at various points between looking through the EP, I really made it a point to enjoy the naked eye view. In particular, I spent some time gathering up the faint stars and the fuzzy Messier objects. For example, the Beehive Cluster in Cancer was so easy and obvious to see. In fact, I wasn’t even looking for it but was just scanning the sky and it stood out to me. The Double Cluster in Perseus was also an obvious and easy to see object with the naked eye.

A special note about Bode’s Nebulae: What a sight to see them together in one eyepiece! At 11 million light years distance, M81 offers a face view and is interacting with M82 which is a prototype starburst galaxy presenting an elongated view. After weeks of focusing mostly on small and faint galaxies and clusters, anytime I come upon the more easily seen objects I always find myself surprised at just how beautiful and defined they are! These two are a great example of that. I have no doubt that it is just the slow improvement of my viewing skills and my greater awareness of the range of faint objects.

Dec 6, 2012 ∞

Fire in the sky

Image of NGC 7331 and companions

My viewing session for Tuesday 12/4 started off with some fireworks. Really. I'd just gotten set-up and and viewed a couple of objects and was entering the observations when, at about 9:30pm, there was a meteor so bright that I saw it while facing the opposite direction. I was looking at the computer screen facing east and suddenly everything around me was lit up as if by a full moon. It was so bright it actually spooked me. Looked up behind me and there it was... I caught the last 40% of the burn (it was pretty slow moving). The lingering trail was in the sky for about 40 seconds and was the most substantial trail I've ever seen. You can see the reports here. What a fantastic way to start off the night!

As far as viewed objects, a few open clusters that were not all that impressive (in part due to the poor atmospheric conditions) as well as three galaxies that were viewed first and were much better thanks to better conditions earlier on. It is amazing how quickly the viewing can change based on humidity, light clouds not often obvious as clouds but there nonetheless.

The best view of the night was NGC 7331. While I was not able to see the small companion galaxies NGC 7331 was very nice.

Also, a note about the images I use. They're not mine and are almost aways taken from Wikipedia. Though they often seem unreal, like paintings, they are not. They are actual images though in almost all cases there is a good amount of processing as is required by astrophotography. Multiple exposures are sometimes layered, color is added, enhanced or balanced, etc.

Dec 4, 2012 ∞

Dancing with the clouds

Image of Jupiter from SkySafari

Last night... was a fun night of observation. It was supposed to be cloudy and when I went in at 5 after putting the chickens up it was. Then I got a text message from Russ (Astronomy viewing buddy) suggesting it was clear and wishing he'd come out. I step outside and yes, clear as a bell. I'd been missing it! Curse words and exclamations. I grab my box of eye pieces and my red light and dash out to the telescope (now being housed in the shower house for quicker access and no cool down time). I get it pulled out and the chair set-up. Take off the cap and turn on the red dot finder and look up: Clouds. No, wait, clear. Clouds - clear - clouds - clear. The wind was pushing them through so fast. I'd move to a clear spot get focused and start star hopping then clouds. After 20 minutes of a strange mix of laughing hysterically and cursing I called it quits and go inside.

Normally, I would not have bothered with such a mixed night but we've had 10 days of pretty cloudy weather and with a few clear nights blotted out by the moon. I was desperate.

Sigma Orionis

Couple hours later, about 10:30pm, I saw Karen post on the FB about being outside viewing so I went out: totally clear. Curse words. Get eyepieces and make a dash for the telescope. Set-up. Sit down. Clouds. More curse words. Wait. Look around. Decide there is enough clear sky to stay out. I spent the next 2 hours, maybe 3 hopping away from clouds, trying to find a few things before being foiled. Lesson learned? If you're desperate and willing to dance with the clouds for awhile, there might be a reward.

I got a fantastic view of Jupiter in the 5mm EP. The cloud bands were crystal clear and I was able to easily make out 3-4 bands. Unfortunately no GRS as it was on the other side of the planet. I also had a good viewing of a couple of planetary nebula. NGC 1535, Cleopatra's Eye, was particularly good. It is a bright blue sphere and with the 5mm EP a bright central core is easily visible. Of course the moon was out so anything faint was out of the question. I ended the night with a great shot of Sigma Orionis, a 5 star (only 4 viewable) system in Orion. Not my photo but this is exactly what I saw. Very cool.

Nov 26, 2012 ∞

The Whirlpool Galaxy

I was able to squeeze in about 1.5 hours of viewing this morning just as the moon set and before the sun rose. My main subject was M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, in Ursa Major. Unfortunately there was still a good bit of moon light in the sky so I'll I definitely want to revisit this one for the best possible view. That said, it was still pretty dark and the view was quite nice, I just know it will be better with darker skies.

Even with the lighter sky I believe I was able to make out a hint of the spiral structure. M51 is not alone though, it has a neighbor galaxy, NGC 5195, with which it has been interacting for hundreds of millions of years. In fact it is believed that it is due to these interactions with NGC 5195 that the the spiral structure of M51 is so pronounced. Quite a pair!

In addition to the Whirlpool Galaxy I also got a look at two other Messiers, M89 and M90. I'll definitely revisit both of those when skies are darker. A bonus, the above mentioned NGC 5195 is a member of the Herschel 400! That brings me to 92 of 110 Messier objects and 112 of the 400 Herschels. Not to bad for just over two months of viewing!

Three months ago I would have told you that my brand new 8" Dobsonian telescope would be all I would need. Well, I can tell you, that as much as I enjoy the views that this scope provides, I am excited about someday seeing these objects with a 16" scope. So much of what is now a hint of structure will be far more obvious with a larger scope. That said, I'm happy to have started with the 8" and know that many people use such a scope for many years. It's good to know what is possible with this aperture and, in fact, learning to star hop with it has been a joy, viewing the faint fuzzies with it has required time and effort. I feel like I am earning my way to the next step and will, no doubt, more fully appreciate the better views of the larger scope when the time comes because of my starting point.

Sep 28, 2012 ∞

Stargazing from the front yard

Still here! Spent a lot of time this summer thinking about the larger universe. Perspective is good.

The cool thing about astronomy? It is also time travel! Did you know that when you look into the night sky your eye is being hit by the actual photons that were put forth by the stars you are looking at? We are connected to those stars through those photons, some of which have been traveling to us for many thousands of years. Look at a neighboring galaxy such as Andromeda and your eyes are connecting with particles that have traveled for 2.5 million years, 5.8 trillion miles each year, and they finally meet you and your eyes. How fantastic is that?

Jul 15, 2012 ∞

A vintage desk, cooperatively built

How appropriate that my recently purchased used desk was made by a furniture co-op?! It is a beautiful desk that seems to been made in the 1970s. Now that I know this about the company I appreciate the desk even more. This fall when the weather cools I'll be giving it a light sanding and will give it a new clearcoat to protect it. From their website:

Community Playthings has always manufactured products right here in the United States. It all started in 1947 in an old barn in Georgia, supporting a little cooperative community. Not long after, the co-op joined a larger group in New York and brought the business with them. Today, the “community” in Community Playthings is a group of families who earn their living crafting toys and furniture for children. We manufacture primarily in New York and Pennsylvania, with wood responsibly harvested from the Northeastern U.S.

I will add that I think that it is products like this that we need to be building in the United States. Built by a cooperative, demonstrating a high quality of workmanship and made of sustainably harvested wood! We often speak of products as "goods" but they are not always good. In this case I think the term fits.

Jun 30, 2012 ∞

Tiny Cabin and Tiny Workspace Organization

My cabin interior redesign is now finished!!

Here is the finished and now neatly organized corner of my cabin that is the "office". So much better than the unused and oh so messy loft! Everything is now neatly organized on the selves which are now mostly covered by curtains (Thanks Kerry!!) for a tidy appearance.

Not only is the cabin a much more pleasant place to be but keeping it clean is now so much easier. It may just be a change in attitude on my part but yeah, I'm enjoying being organized. It's also nice having a "work space" which is something I've not had for the past few months because I replaced my previous table/desk with a futon.

The paint was a great decision. As much as I enjoyed the plain wood it needed to be protected. The paint has done wonders to brighten the place up and add to the sense of organization and tidiness. Good call!

Jun 11, 2012 ∞

Progress on Interior Redesign!

Thanks to my sister and brother-in-law my tiny house now has a very different feel and the space is much more effectively used. The sleeping loft that was never used except for a catch all for stuff is now gone and replaced by shelves. The mattress I had underneath is now replaced by a futon under my front window. All the stuff that never had a proper home in the cabin before is now up on shelves... It is all very neat and organized!

It's not done yet. Next weekend my sister is going to sew three curtain panels to cover the lower half of the shelving system which will give it a tidier look and keep dust out.

I also decided to paint. I've been living in it these four years with no finish on the walls because I couldn't make a decision. At this point though the plywood bead board is getting all sorts of funky with dirt, moisture, oil, and light... time for a more uniform look so paint it is!

Jun 8, 2012 ∞

Interior Redesign

Big things are coming to my little cabin! After four years in the cabin with a guest sleeping loft rarely used I've decided to make a few changes. I am taking out the loft and my bed beneath it and replacing it with a wall of shelves, desk and futon. The poorly organized mess in the loft will be getting neatly organized and should really open up the space. I'll probably do a bit of painting, I've never liked the fake wood exterior of the shelving unit that holds all my clothing. Will be moving my small flatscreen, MacMini, speakers and AppleTV into the top of that unit since those cloths will be organized on the new shelves. My futon is directly across from the unit so it makes for perfect viewing.

What a mess, I can't wait to get it done! Pictures and an update in the next day or so.

May 21, 2012 ∞

Free Range vs Pastured Chickens

Here’s a great video about the difference between “free range eggs” and pastured eggs. This is why I raise my own chickens which are, of course, pastured!

May 21, 2012 ∞

Hugelculture Illustrated

A great article and series of illustrations explaining hugelculture.

May 4, 2012 ∞

Three weeks with the new iPad

Awhile back I posted about being a freelance tech worker. Here’s another tech related post, originally posted at my MacProductive Blog. For anyone living remotely in a small space the iPad is a perfect choice for computing and for many it may be the best Internet access available.

It’s been three weeks with the iPad 3. By necessity it has been my primary work machine. Due to the remote location of my cabin/office my internet choices are limited. My first generation iPad was jail broken and I used it as a hotspot for my MacBook Air, my primary tool for web design projects. To be honest most days that first-generation iPad was used primarily as a hotspot. When my workday was finished I would use the iPad for reading books, RSS feeds via Reeder or browsing the web with Safari but that was about it. With the new iPad I have not been able to jailbreak and so it has become my main tool for getting things done and I am happy to report that it has held up well in this role.

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago in my iPad 3 Mini Review the increased RAM in the new iPad has made it a much more functional device and I don’t hesitate to switch apps as I work. In fact, thanks to the increased memory, switching between multiple apps is instantaneous. Unlike the first generation iPad, this new iPad truly feels like a powerful computing device.

I’ve compiled a list of my most used apps thus far. A typical day includes the following tasks:

Client website updates
Website design, ie, coding CSS and HTML
Correspondence via texts and email
Project and task tracking
Writing
Invoicing and basic banking

My most often used apps:

Safari and Reeder
Textastic
Mail and Messages
CloudConnect
Wunderkit and Calendar
Blogsy, Wordpress, and Writing Kit
FileMaker and PocketMoney

A few notes

One area I’m still not settled on is task and project tracking. I had been using Wunderlist but switched to Wunderkit in the hopes that some of our community projects might be better coordinated with shared projects. Unfortunately I’ve not had a lot of success getting folks on board with it. As of now there is no app for the iPad so I do most of my Wunderkit tracking via the web app which is not too great on the iPad. The iPhone Wunderkit app is actually pretty good and I may begin using it more.

Another part of my workflow that is a bit clumsy is image creation and editing which still requires that I go to my Mac for Pixelmator or Photoshop. Once I’ve got the image set there I turn on the iPad’s wifi and get the file via CloudConnect. Then I turn off the wifi and upload the file to the server via 4G and CloudConnect. Photoshop Touch has very good reviews so I’ll likely give that a try soon.

Other work related apps that I have but don’t use very often include Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. I can’t imagine not having them and I do expect that they will get a good bit of use.

Dictation

Though it’s technically not an app I have to mention the importance of the new dictation feature. With the original iPad I felt I had to have an external keyboard. I am a very fast typist and using the software keyboard frustrated me. To be fair, I didn’t really give it a chance. The dictation feature in the new iPad has been an amazing benefit to my productivity. It makes sending emails, texting, and even writing articles much easier.

Conclusion

As much as I enjoyed my first generation iPad for reading and casual email, it was never a work tool for me. With so little memory it felt more like a casual device. On the few occasions I tried to use it to get things done I often ended up frustrated. Not so with the new iPad! This is a very capable device easily up to the task of getting actual work done.

May 2, 2012 ∞

Video Tour

In celebration of my four years here at the homestead I thought I would share a little video!

May 2, 2012 ∞

Four years at the Homestead

It has been almost 4 years to the day since we began work here at the lake. In fact my first post was made on May 5, 2008 just after completion of our outhouse! It has been an amazing four years and we have come a long way. We built my cabin by mid May 2008 and I moved in on the 24th though the cabin wasn't finished until the end of the summer. That first summer was spent cleaning up damage from a tornado that happened two years earlier, putting in 12 fruit trees, and the first garden. Because we had not hooked up the electricity I spent the first couple of months hauling water from the lake for the fruit trees and the young garden. In the late fall we hold in another cabin.

The following spring we built the chicken coop greenhouse and in early summer we built the kids' cabin. The garden was expanded and more fruit trees were planted. The chickens arrived!! I also began work on the native wildflower Garden in front of my cabin. By the fall of 2009 I had begun to design and implement the various food forests. In addition to the fruit trees I added currants, gooseberries, paw paws, and a fairly large blueberry patch.

In May 2010 we added onto my cabin with a covered front porch and I finished my rain barrel installation. It was another hot, dry summer and I struggled to keep my garden alive. In the fall I began construction of my hugelculture beds. Another big fall project was trenching in our water line from the well house to our two main cabins. We also added onto our well house with a shower house and sleeping loft. Kerry and Greg's cabin was redesigned and the interior nearly finished.

2011 was a summer of refinements and revisions. We finished the interior of the shower house and out house. The interior if Kerry and Greg's cabin was finally finished as well. This was a laid-back summer, we swam a lot and I tried to keep the garden alive! The hugelculture beds performed fantastically.

That about sums it up. It has been a fantastic four years and this place is now my home, sweet home. I am looking forward to many more years here!

Jan 4, 2012 ∞

Winter's Soul

Something I wrote a couple weeks ago… probably needs a good bit of work still. Not that I’m going anywhere with it, just a bit of reflection.

Taking a walk this morning, it was as though I was seeing the soul of the land. Six months ago life was in full swing as the sun beat down, plants harvesting the energy and releasing it to the insects and animals. But today I see the paper thin remains of an oak leaf hanging on to a branch in sleep. A moss covered vine, spotted with lichen, twists and turns in a pattern I would not have seen in September. Just as our own human lives wind to an end, the land has come to its winter death. The life that is still to be seen consists mainly of nuthatches, chickadees, cedar waxwings and their friends flitting amongst the seeds and berries that will remain for them through the winter, as memories of summer youth. In spring, of course, life will return to the land. The soul that is so easily seen today will be less visible when the new forms, variations and patterns of life return. Life will continue its turn.

Sep 6, 2011 ∞

Shooting the Recurve!

I just recently traded a website with the folks over at Angler's and Archer's for a new handmade recurve bow and boy lemme tell you, my shoulder hates me now. But what fun! I'm forcing myself to take a couple days off from shooting so I can recover but it's not easy! Tom Dickinson makes these bows by hand from local cherry, walnut and hard maple and they are works of art. He also makes the bow string, cases, quivers, and arrows.

I tried six or so bows and decided on the recurve you see in the image. I've got alot of practicing to do but I've got a knack for it I think. My goal for the next 3 months is to to be able to put 80-90% of my arrows into a 7" circle from a variety of ranges. Thus far I've been shooting from 13-18 yards but would like to have accuracy up to 30 - 40 yards. I'm initially just working on having good form and building up strength in all the muscles involved. My intent is to shoot 60 arrows a day though I expect it will be a month or so before I can do that everyday. I'll work up to it.

I don't see myself hunting anytime soon but I'd like to be good enough that I could hunt if I needed to.

Aug 31, 2011 ∞

More Chickens!

For some reason I never blogged it but back in April I'd gotten 5 new chicks to add to my flock of aging hens. I've only been getting 3-4 eggs a day so thought it was time to add in some new ones. In the past three months I've also lost some from the old flock, Boots the rooster was killed by some critter or maybe Chip (the original rooster) back in March. Then in July, the friendliest hen of the bunch, Waffle, died suddenly. In mid-August another hen died. All the others have been fairly healthy as far as I can tell. I sure hate to see them die.

Today, I decided to go ahead and let the new chicks mingle in with the older flock and so far it's been smooth sailing. I expect a bit of conflict but at 5 months the new girls are every bit as big as the older hens and should be able to take care of themselves. They'll figure out their new pecking order before too long.

Oh, they are Columbian Wyandotte, a very pretty breed, mostly white feathers but with a bit of black around the neck and tail that date back to 1893. Here's a shot from May with my niece Emma holding one in my cabin. I'd raised the Guineas back in the summer of 2009 but this is my first batch of chickens to raise. All the others had been raised by Kerry, Greg and the kids.

Based on my experience thus far it looks like I'll be adding 3-5 new hens each year to replace hens that have stopped laying and/or hens that have died. I think though that I'm pretty happy with this sized flock, which is 15 chickens and 2 guineas. Seems about perfect.