Montag, 18. Januar 2016

Retreated


I'm in the Cabin for studying and do some winter training at the moment. We have to build up trust with the Cabin, so -12 degree Celsius is a start for building up trust between us (me) and the Cabin.

I barely got up to the Cabin with the car, last 50 meters I used the snow chains. Today I retreated with the car to a parking area a kilometer away, because I don't want to get caught by snow or ice up the hill.

It's strange this time...

I couldn't wait to get here, and as I arrived...bad mood...winter blues ? I don`t know, and I don't care, maybe it's also a "settling in" process.

So, first aid:

I carried 50 Kg of coal, wood and other stuff up the hill, then Hexe -My Terrier-  and I did a 5 Km snow show walk...without snow shoes. We have to buy some...Phantastic to see all the animal tracks....got a bit little scary with seeing wild boar tracks....but it wasn't there...good for it. I am the "Top Dog Boar" here...haha...

Back to study now for my mastercraftsman cert. ....and sorry for the strange writing....but as I said, strange times at the moment.



Freitag, 15. Januar 2016

Preserving: Einwecken....kind of canning...with a special "Weck Jar"

Weck is a old German company making equipment for preserving food. My grandmother, my great grandmother and even my great-great grandmother Liesel used this system of preserving.

I grew up with food preserved in Weck jars. Fruit, meat, soups, vegetables....nearly everything can be "eingeweckt werden", as we say.

Why am I a fan ?

My point: Something went wrong while preserving or something wrong with the food - the vacuum is instantly gone, "Weck Jar" opens lid and you know: Something wrong! Don't eat it.

There is a wiki page in english, explaining it HERE

For the Cabin I have three main dishes preserved at present:

1. Irish Stew (Without beer)
2. Pumpkin Soup (Made from a Hokaido pumpkin)
3. Minced Meat (Boiled in the Weck Jar for 2 hours)
3. Paleo Muffin (Without flour and sugar)

If your are interrested in the recepies, please comment.


Einwecken in a big pot, the cheapest way.

Transport Box for driving to the Cabin

Homestorage






Firewood Collecting Permission

Yep.....you need this in Germany.

Basicly you need to do to the "chainsaw certification" to go to public land for collecting firewood. But with this permission you are not allowed to fell trees, you are just allowed to collect wood from the forest ground. In this basic certification (chainsaw cert.), you learn also to use a chainsaw, sharpening it, safety rules, do the service and some rules for working in/with the wood(s).

Next certification is a semi-professional license, with this license you are allowed to fell trees, in private woods. As far as I know....

Next step is then the professional license, with this license you can set up your own business producing firewood.

Well, for us the basic certification will do, I did made it a couple of years back. I think doing the certs is a good system, because you get the cowboys out of the wood.

Next week I'll ask for an appointment with the Mayor, then we will figure out an area close to the cabin for collecting the wood.

My tools are:

1. Fiskars X7
2. SOG Fasthawk (Testing for usability)
3. Handsaw (Bügelsäge)
4. Tatonka Kraxe
5. Some straps for fixing firwood to the Kraxe.

Pictures of a Kraxe, also called "Rückentrage" , kind of a back-basket.


Mittwoch, 13. Januar 2016

Samstag, 9. Januar 2016

Walkabout ?


First being at home, then I drove to Rhinehessian (last Blog entry) , then my wife rang: "Let us meet at the cabin!". It's developing to a walkabout, I guess....

So greetings to you all from the Thuringian Rhoen....., I'll be back Monday.....maybe....

still OTRA



Mittwoch, 6. Januar 2016

OTRA: Rhinehessian Nordic Walking Park

OnTheRoadAgain

Tomorrow I am off for a day marching. I am driving to the "Rhinehessian Nordic Walking Park". It 's close to Frankfurt/ Main (Known for the big Airport) in Rhinehessian-Palantine county.

As I said, marching, hiking,  I don't do it Nordic Style...because... I am just using sticks when there is half a meter snow and I am in need for snow shoes. My style!

It's a hilly area mainly with wineyards. There are also a lot of long distance hiking tracks. You even get gpx files for your navigation system.

From 1,5 Km to 150 Km-ish tracks u'll get everything there. People are very, very friendly. 20 years ago, I guided a group there, we were in dire need of water. We rang on a door, asking for water. Good people deserving what they are, I guess....we got water, wine, cake, bread with local meat specialities.....

As we thanked our hosts, asking what we have to pay, they said:" Nothing you are good people, it was a nice time talking to you, thank u for that."

That experience gave me hope.....because it was a hard days work for me....a friend of mine killed himself a couple of days before.

So, meeting good people always brightens up your life.



I am using the "Katadyn Bottle" for cleaning this kind of water.




Dienstag, 5. Januar 2016

Outhouse / Compost Toilet..

...a toilet without water...

You basicly catch your processed food in a bucket and your urine (male/female) is caught in a special inlet, which is directing it through a pipe into a canister or sewage pit. You choose...

If you have finished, just grab a hand or two of bark mulch and throw it over your leavings. The orange 20 liter birch mulch bucket lasts a week-ish.

The inlet I used is from separett , it's called:" The mild winter house". The company is from Sweden, so I guess mild means till -30 degree Celsius :-)

The toilet is not finished yet, but it works sound ! I have to install a couple features, like an air pipe and a door to access the bucket from outdoors.

For a perfect setup, we have choosen to use furthermore a closed composter and 3 buckets for rotation. To be direct: With 2 persons you need a new bucket after 3 days ish...

I marked the floor with red color so that the bucket is exactely on the same spot every time after changing it - to avoid accidents.



I wish you a good aim and luck !

The Wolf

Montag, 4. Januar 2016

Hints & Tips: Handwashing

Washing hands in a Cabin, where the next water is a kilometer away.......not a bother :-)

Even not for us waterspoiled consumers ! Having one bath is wasting drinking water for one week in the cabin.


What u`ll need:

1.) A small, higher Bowl (Grey one in pic)

     So that you can easily wash your hands in it, with a liter-ish water.

2.) A bigger, flat bowl which contains the small, high bowl.
     (Transparent one in pic)

     It's just to catch the splattering water while washing hands.
     But the second use is to use for washing your hair.

3.) Biodegradable soap


Furthermore a kind of a recycling mindset is mandatory. When we are washing our hair, we use the water with the bio soap afterwards for handwashing, If it's too dirty, we fill the water in the outdoor handwash bowl, so you can clean your hands after working in the garden, making firewood etc.

Plain: Just to get the coarse dirt away...





Sonntag, 3. Januar 2016

Cabin Art


This sickle belonged my great grandfather, He died shortly after fucking WWII because of his injuries.

It was the only thing I could recover from this part of the family. They were simple and strong people, living in the countryside. Hardened...

 The "Z" was the marking of the family. My great grandmother used the sickle until she died with 93 years of age, proud and though until the last couple weeks. 

Last year I found this sickle, cleaned and oiled it....





One important aim for 2016

15 years ago (alternativ: 20 kg ago).I was an ultra long distance runner, loved it, twas fun.

  • 100 Km on a 400 m track in a sportstadion, thats 250 times running in circles.
  • 75 Km run from Hamburg to Lübeck in Germany
  • Shortest crossing of Germany (Husum to Schleswig, 50 Km ish)
  • 63 Km run to the River Rhine Valley
  • ...some trailruns...a.s.o.
Things I did...nothing special, other runners running 250 Km and more in 24 hours, running days through the "Death Valley" in U.S. 


Point is, I am still missing the adventures, the challenges, being worn out and bouncing back then.., meeting interresting people....see my body working with nature.... even on this small scale.

Now I am back on the road again, Willi Nelson.

But this time with hiking, because it suits more our lifestyle now, call it walking/hiking between to worlds, high stress tech life and simple living in a cabin.

So basicly I am running at present 5 Km every 2 days. On the weekends I'll hike the longer distances for training.

Time is passing....GPS is now tiny as a smartphone....and with maps... (We are not getting older, Tech is developing faster...:-)   )

The aim is an organised 65 Km hike in August. Training started 2 weeks ago...cross fingers for me...it's a hike back in an auld, known, loved life,


Sla,
the Wolf