Odii's Urban Phoenix Back Yard Pallet Coop

So, I've been on an interesting journey for the past year or so and it has taken me to wanting to have chickens for my own awesomely-delishious eggs.

Seeing some of the pallet coops, I thought it would be a great idea to save money, and live a life where I make use of what I have and what I can find. Sourcing some friends, I was able to get a fair amount of pallets and even some shingles. I ended up having to buy screws, nails, hinges (found most of the hinges on old doors), wire and the shade I have covering the run.

I live in Phoenix, minor threat of predators here, cats would be pretty much it where I'm at, and we have a dog with his scent all over the yard, I've seen plenty of cats in other people's yards and hanging out down the road, but never once any near our back yard where it smells like our dog.

There is a lot of light noise in the pictures due to where the sun is.

The side that has the double wall has no openings on that side due to where the majority of the sun will come from, but it is very nice inside relative to outside temperature. I've spent quite a bit inside trying to get everything working. I did put up thermometers inside and outside so I can keep an eye on things.

I made obviously a hinged section to get eggs and also made an entire wall hinge so i could go inside and clean etc.

I've never built anything really, and mostly used hand tools (as if it wasn't obvious). By the end of it I have learned how to use a square, how to "toenail", how to use a circular saw and the old "measure twice, cut once". At the start, all of that was sketchy at best... You don't even want me to break down some of the flaws in my design/build heh.

The pictures make the shade covering the run look particularly messy, but it is very secure and looks good - also it is considerably cooler underneath there.

Inside the coop I made a shelf with and put foil baking pans filled with sand underneath some brackets that have the curved piece for coat hangars, I bent that a bit and put some repurposed bamboo for them to roost on.

It will still be a few weeks before we get chickens, and despite me wanting to get 3+ month old pullets, Jess wants to get chicks because "they go peep peep peep and are so fluffy".

Overcomplication

Lately I have found myself wanting more, by wanting less. I have been complicating things by trying to make them simpler. Irony at its finest.

Past few weeks have been harrowing, have had some circumstances arise that have put me to the test, and yet the struggle is internal, not external.

This weekend I had three people tell me I was a mean person, and each of them came to apologize later, stating that I wasn't mean, they just misunderstood. Perhaps I am mean, I'm not sure. I'm certainly not ill-intentioned, as far as I know, but perhaps there is a certain meanness to truth. Perhaps its not so much as the intention or content, but perhaps, the delivery. Ashamedly, I wouldn't have my delivery any other way. That's indulging in self-loathing narcissism at its core.

Composting

So, I've been super busy lately and haven't been on my computer all that much. I'm trying to find ways to be able to use my Kindle Fire tablet to post pictures and blog entries, but not really having much luck - but, here is a post!

  So we decided to start composting, we'd been talking about it a while, and now with me starting to garden, this is a perfect opportunity to do so. The compost containers at Home Depot or online can be pricey, and in for the sake of being more permaculturish and/or post-consumeristic I found something pretty awesome.
 
The city of Phoenix sells recycled trash cans for the specific purpose of composting, they have no bottoms and are pre drilled for airation.

 A week ago we went to the city of phoenix dump and picked up our recycled trash can they sell for $5.00. The process was a little strange, I couldn't believe just how much garbage rolled through there in the 30-45 minutes we were there for. Just goes to show you, out of sight, out of mind.

 Anyhow.

$5.00 compost bin

Day 1

Day 5

Today

 We set it up in the unfinished side of the yard, where the "RV" gate area is, lots of rock and crappy unfinished ground over there. Good place to put this big blue bin. So, I don't know much about composting yet, but I'm giving it a go. We started off with a layer of dirt from the yard, and then we put on some dried "brown" (sticks, dried grass, trimmings etc) and then we put a layer of "green" (tea bags, egg shells, veggie scraps etc).

Yesterday I put a top layer of dirt on it and gave it some water. I'll be watering it every few days to keep it doing its thing. I was pretty surprised, I assumed with all that decomposing food waste in there, it would have a smell to it, but it just smells like good dirt, no foul odor at all.

I am pretty excited, we've started a little collection container in the kitchen to collect our compostable waste and will be contributing to it daily or so.

In a couple of months (maybe sooner due to heat), with some turning, some watering and adding to it, we should get some nice nitrogen rich soil just in time for September planting!

My apologies for the piss-poor job on the layout of this post, not sure what happened.

In the works

Everthing lately seems to be something in the works. My garden, my search for a new drummer for my band, my life. I guess that is part of it, its a long process. That's life. This weekend my dog got in the garden and dug up all my plants, they had just started sprouting. My dog, Odin, didn't care about my garden until he saw me behind the little fence i put up. Jessica thinks that the ground smelled like me, adding to his love for digging, it was a perfect combo for doggie satisfaction. I'm trying dearly not to be too unreasonably upset with him, its proving difficult between dog surgery and doggie dentist, and now the garden. Lots of grief in a short period of time. Today we bought some more cheap garden fencing, i replanted some zucchini and cucumber, here's hoping that takes well. Memorial day weekend was a good one this year. My friend Paul came out from California, he is looking to move, and we got to do lunch and went for 8.5 miles of sweet Arizona singletrack. I was not quite sure how much riding he did, or how I would be feeling, but we had a blast. Next time he is out here we will need to do a longer ride, likes Hawes or BCT. I need to get some more pictures up on this blog. I took a very nice one whilst resting ine the shade during a ride Saturday. Need to post that. Only got ~15 miles in this weekend, but they were quality miles.

Refreshed.

Well, after taking a week's worth of vacation, and having a friend visit from Maryland, I am feeling much refreshed. All of my "problems" still exist, but my ability to deal with them has been reset.

I've debated taking down the last post, since no one has read it, but I dunno, kind of defeats the purpose of it all.

Will post a new blog entry later with some garden pictures.

Honesty and Frustration - a Catharsis

So my initial intentions when I created this blog, was to give me an outlet to share my riding experiences, and post pictures and all that cool stuff. It would give me a place, outside of regular social media, a place without boundaries, without rules, and without turning anything into a discussion. Sometimes, those things are great, but I wanted something different.

The more and more I think about this blog, and the more things are happening in my life lately, the more I realize the opportunity and importance of this blog. I've thought about keeping this blog purely for riding and creating another blog where I can spew all the indulgence of a self-loathing narcissist I could muster, but anyone who knows me, knows that I don't half-ass anything and I take pride in my ability to be brutally honest. Its time to be honest.

I realized, recently, very recently, that I am in fact, a self-loathing narcissist. I've been keenly and overwhelming aware of the self-loathing part for a long time, but only recently have I come to realize the degree, to which, I epitomize narcissism. Just the fact that I think I need to write this down, shows it. I don't even care if anyone actually reads it, and I am actually not looking forward to some of the discussions that might take place once I'm done updating this blog entry, but its something I need to do to be honest with myself.

I have been on, what seems to be, a roller-coaster for the past several months. Since I decided to take control of my health, the  physical, mental and emotional struggle that I have been fighting, has been endless.

Physical - My desire to eat has changed a lot, hungry at odd times of the day, appetite and taste has changed drastically - My clothes don't fit, which is an amazing thing, however, It makes me feel sloppy, unkempt and disorganized. A few months ago, one of my wisdom teeth starting coming in, with my personal choice to not use medicine, I have not gone to the dentist, and there is a rupture in my gums, every two weeks or so it flares up, I can't close my jaw, and eating becomes painful. Two months ago I broke some ribs on a bike ride that had some issues out at Black Canyon Trail here in Phoenix, Az.

Mental - My OCD has changed, I like to think that it has lessened, but if I am honest, I think it has just gotten lazy and maybe changed a bit. The irony of my OCD changing this way, is it has caused me some misery, I've actually misplaced my wallet a few times, which would have never happened a year ago. That sounds pretty silly, but misplacing my wallet, and dealing with the fact that it would have never happened before, makes me feel like a part of me is missing and makes me wonder about how "better" I could have been growing up, and then into adulthood without this. I've always been open talking about my OCD, but I don't know if I've ever written it down. I wonder why I have this overwhelming desire to capitalize the letters, as if... as if what? I don't even know.

Emotional - I can summarize my mental state with a conversation I had with my mum a few days ago. My mum has always been and always will be nothing short of amazing. She has been a guiding light, a support and unwavering love to me for all my life. We had a long conversation about Jessica and I not having children, mainly due to her heart condition, but also, very much to do with me being who I am, and dealing with the things that I deal with. I made a decision a long time ago, that it would be selfish of me to bring another me into this world, to subject another living creature, who is unable to make their own decisions, to not only my way of life, but to my genes as well. I honestly feel that it needs to end with me. I have for a long time, I knew this when I was far too young to be having these thoughts. I shared this with my mom and while I don't want to say that she said "Yes, you are right." She didn't disagree. I was not searching for some sort of validation, nor was I searching for someone to tell me I was mistaken, but I certainly didn't want to be right. Despite the very open relationship with my mum, I made a point, growing up, to not discuss my OCD, and just try and get-on with life. During this conversation she told me that she has always know that I was... the way I am, and she has never tried to change that, and loves me for everything I am, and everything I have become. She told me she was very proud of me and the personal and social growth I've made over the past few years. I can't disagree with this, but I feel ashamed that I forced people to live with me the way I am, and it was something we didn't talk about.

What is the point of this entry? I don't know, perhaps catharsis?

I'm not seeking validation, nor comfort - I don't know, maybe I am. It doesn't really matter.

In the grand scale of the universe, anyone's existence is just a smudge on something with much more breadth than one's imagination could ever fathom. Yet, here I am, feeling sorry for myself.

My struggle is no more than anyone's. I'm not fucking special.

I have a friend who was taken to jail this past week, a very good friend, someone who I have spent a great deal of emotional time with. You see, we're in a band together, and for me, being in a band and sharing music with other musicians is something very special. It requires trust and passion, fervor and pain. My friend thinks I'm just some asshole, but his loss has really upset me - I am powerless to do anything at all for him. One of the many reasons I don't drink / partake in drugs is due to my necessity to be in control 100% of the time, and not being in control is the worst feeling I can think of. I can let go of many things, but letting go of my control is something I can not do. I hope his journey is a safe one, and I'm optimistic that he will come out a stronger, better person than he went in.

I'm hoping I can just post this post and that I will feel better, knowing that despite my normal ability to be honest without regard for repercussions, this post will not make undue stress, or cause undue burdens for anyone.

I have a friend visiting from out of town, and we're going to the Grand Canyon tomorrow - Hopefully I can rest these emotions in this post and blog with some awesome Grand Canyon pictures later on this week.

If you read this - thank you and I'm sorry.

Getting ouf of the heat

Prescott!

This weekend, I had been planning to go for a nice, long, and painful ride, but I woke up late on Saturday, and realized it was +102 outside.

It is only a couple hours from my house to Prescott, Flagstaff, or Sedona, so I figured I could make the driver up there to get some miles in. Sometimes you have to just say "fk it" and go and do things that are out of your normal routine. I could have sucked it up and went to PMP Trial 100, or to F.I.N.S. But I wanted something else for today!

I hit up some of my friends who ride, but with such short notice, no one could go.

I felt guilty leaving Jessica at home, while I drove up north for a few hours, to ride a few more hours and then drive back a few more hours, but she hit up one of her friends and went and hung out - which is a good thing, Jessica never spends time with friends without me - At least, that is how I justify the guilt.

I headed out at 11:40 am, temp outside showed 102. I also missed the exit to prescott, not once, but twice, going north AND going south... I was pretty frustrated about the potential lost riding time.

You must understand, riding is Serious Business. It is not something to take lighthearted, and when you take pictures of yourself, you must maintain the absolute most serious face you can muster. Can you see my sexy stumpy in the back? Hrm, that sounds like the start to a dirty joke...

Well, I arrived at Lynx Lake, was $5.00 for parking, and it was well worth it, this is somewhere I will definitely come again, and there is a variety of things to do here. Fishing, boating, camping, sightseeing, plus it was 15 degrees cooler than phx, and it was about a 2 hour drive.

Oh look, my face again... jeez. Look behind me tho! Its awesome

After checking out the trails on the sweet free trail map, I decided to head out on the 305. The problem is, that I decided to head north to the top of 305 before coming back down... At some point there, I got lost and ended up on some god awful Hiking only trail. It was beautiful, don't get me wrong, but mostly unrideable. I ran into a lady, who albeit was super kind and helpful, was a little scary with her no bra, perhaps she was dowsing for water? She had a fluffy golden retriever with her, who apparantly, thought I was too hot, so he ran into the water then back to me and dried himself off... all over me. He was a cute dog.

Unfortunately I didn't get very many pictures, and not a whole lot of trail pictures. Between nursing my still sore ribs, and enjoying the thrill of these trails, I couldn't stop long enough to get many shots.

Another self indulging picture of myself. Believe me, I don't like my face any more than you do, and when more people ride with me, I'll have pics of them... I promise!

Back at the car, packing up - I will definitely be back here at some point, this place is awesome! The fact you can refill your water, with COLD water, is amazing.

Needed some more pics before I left. Look at how amazing this place looks!


There is a restaurant right there at Lynx Lake, but the only thing that was veggie friendly, was deep fried - so I left.







Details from Strava - I swear I did more miles, wonder if me forgetting to turn my GPS back on is what lost mileage...

Hrm, can't seem to figure out how to post strava data...

Will try garmin data when I get home... sorry for the crappy blog entry.

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Surprise! It's snowing in Globe, AZ

This weekend we had a camping trip planned. I wanted to test some of my bikepacking kit, so I can get a better feel of what I am missing, but I decided that i wouldn't subject Jessica to me sleeping outside the tent, and all of our friends wondering why I'm such a weirdo, and why she puts up with me.

I didn't get any pictures when we got there Friday night, because it was already rather late. A friend had taken our tent up, since we'd be arriving later on, and they had it setup for us already!

We spent the night sitting around the campfire, talking and hear some stories from Mark, Ian's dad. He has a lot of outdoors experience and was sharing some of his worldly wisdom.

I realized, at some point that I had forgotten my shoes, I just had my flipflops... I also realized that I didn't bring any pants, just shorts. No biggie, its not that cold, the fire is warm and its no big deal. I joked, due to some rain forecast for overnight, that we'd all wake up to half a foot of snow.

I may as well have been in a horror movie and said "Nah, we've got plenty of bullets" because sure enough, when I woke up in the morning, we had snow. Lots of snow.

Me looking not so amused. Thankfully Tomas had an extra pair of shoes, and I had warmed them up in the truck before taking this picture, because I couldn't feel my feet. I do barefoot plenty, but certainly not used to snow.

Driving out of the camping area had to take this picture, I wish we would have known it would snow, so we would have taken pictures of before and after. There was NO SNOW here the afternoon before.

On the way out of Globe, AZ we stopped at a diner for some grub. Going into this I knew my pickings would be slim, but I ordered up a Veggie Omelette hold the mushrooms (for allergy). Again, the dumb things that come out of my mouth come back to haunt me - I said to Tomas, $10 says my omelette has mushrooms in it...

 The waitress brought out all our food, even called out who had Veggie Omelette and handed me an omelette with sausage, mushrooms and all sorts of other bullshit I didn't want - So completely obvious that it was not what I ordered I didn't even have a bite before I sent it back.. I generally don't send food back, but this time I did. I was given a second omelette, it looked a little less omelette like, but seemed to be clear of bs - after a few bites I realized it is full of mushrooms. Sent that one back. Third time I got a soggy pile of half-cooked eggs with some veggies in it, no sausage or mushrooms. Everyone was waiting on me to finish, which was a bummer. Its bad enough that I'm doing the vegetarian thing, and it comes up in conversation a lot. I feel that people think I'm judging them, I'm really not, and I'm sure they don't feel that way, for the most part, but I feel that way and it bums me out.

I gave my debit card to Jessica, and asked her to pay, because I didn't want to speak with anyone, not that I ever expect anything for free, and was willing to pay for my omelette, It surprised me, after advising the waitress when I initially ordered that I was allergic to mushrooms, that having to send the food back twice and getting a steaming pile of crap, they charged me for it. Oh well.

Driving back into town, my body must have known I was getting close to home, my insides started doing its mushroom rumble dance.

Ended up feeling like crap for the rest of the day, took a nap after falling asleep in the shower (yes, its possible, no its not as glorious as it sounds). Now its 1am, I can't sleep and I still feel like garbage. Can't help but blame the mushrooms.

For the record, my wife is the most amazing person, the last two times camping without her were not as awesome as they could have been if she had been there. Despite the snow and coming back 2 days/1night early, I'm very happy we made the trip.

Blog!

So, I decided that instead of indulging, so much, in Facebook, to share my thoughts, I would start one of these blog thingies. Its a way that I can document and keep track of myself, for later reflection.

 The past year has presented itself a lot of changes, and I want to ensure I keep myself grounded. Its easy to lose sight of what is important, when you are so caught up in doing what you think is important.

I should have started this back about a 10 months ago, when I decided to get my health in check.

It has been a journey so far, and I don't anticipate it getting any easier. So here goes.