OGOPOGO our Pond Monster

According to Wikipedia, Ogopogo is a cryptid lake monster which is rumored to dwell in Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Our cement pond monster was inspired by Ogopogo. He is our newest addition of cement animals we collect for our pond area.

We had the cement maker put holes in the bottom of each piece when he cast our monster so that we could put rebar in each piece. The hole under the head is a little bit larger so that his head bobbles! Then we cut the rebar length to match the depth of our pond and cemented the bottom end into a rubbermaid container so each piece wouldn't fall over. The rounded rubbermaid also will protect the pondliner from getting punctured. In this picture Laurie is shaving off the top of the rebar with our metal grinder so that that bottom edge of each piece of the monster will be just below the surface of the water. This way if the water level drops due to evaporation, etc each piece will still be in the water.


Being rather facinated with the subject of cryptozoology, we couldn't resist this guy for our collection. He makes a great addition to the pond and looks very much at home among the lilypads!

Water Wheel Project Part 3

Our water wheel has two flumes. The first extends out of the water wheel housing structure and dumps the water into the second flume. The second flume then dumps the water over the wheel. Here Dave is fitting the second flume so he can gauge where the upper flume will be placed.


Dave is holding our Little Giant water pump. Luckily it still worked after sitting for five years since being purchased. We put a " pump sock" over it before use. Remember that you can double click on any of the pictures in the blog for a closer look.


We also have a Little Giant filter which can be housed out of the water. The water get sucked into the pump and up into a pvc pipe that is also connected to the filter. It then passes through the filter and then up through an outlet pipe where the water is dumped into the upper flume.



We made a video of the waterwheel with Annalie as your host. We also zoomed in on some of the other features including our garden art. You can also hear Jason in the background giving his own narration. We hope that you enjoy it and come visit us soon to see it in person. Our next project is a small scale water tower which will be placed at the entrance of our driveway. It will be made with the left over wood from the water wheel project. This will actually be Laurie's project with Dave supervising and helping her out. Annalie also will also be helping out with it's construction.

Water Wheel Project Part 2

Here's some pictures of the wheel in its early stages after all the pieces were cut out and it finally ready for assembly.
I purchased the outer hubs from a guy who builds water wheels in Georgia. They arrived to me pretty rough with no holes indexed for the spokes to mount to. Fortunately I was able to use a brake lathe at work to smooth up the outer edges. Next I built a paper template with 24 holes marked out as evenly as I could around the circle. Last step was to drill the holes. This step alone represented quite a few hours of work but it was important to me to get it right.
Laurie is usually the one who stains our outdoor wood projects. She decided it would be much easier to stain the pieces of the wheel before final assembly and mounting.
Next step was to sandwich the 2 sides together while also adding the 24 paddles and 12 inner rim sections. I had imagined this being a royal pain but with Lauries help and some clamps it actually went together quite easily. On a side note there are 144 galvanized bolts and 216 stainless screws holding this thing together!
Here we are discussing the final installation. My friend Mark and his son came over and did most of the heavy lifting. They also brought a wide plank that was used to make a temporary bridge over the pond so no one had to get their feet wet.
My job here was simply to make sure the wheel was just the right distance away from the building so nothing would rub....about 1 in.
Annalie is happy to get a chance to walk on the temporary plank. Hopefully in part 3 I'll have everything all plumbed and maybe even be able to post a short video of it working. Stay tuned!

Water Wheel Project Part 1

A number of years ago Laurie and I talked about wanting to have a water wheel in our front yard not for generating electricity but simply as a water feature to enjoy. Yes there's something pleasant about the gentle sound of running water. Rather than building the wheel first and then trying to figure out where to put it we decided instead to create its final resting place then deal with the construction of the wheel. Annalie served as my cement mixer. You will also notice that in subsequent photos she is considerably older. That shows how long this project has been going on!
I threw a quick form together out of some 2x12 cedar I had laying around, dumped in a little sand and re bar, then used at least ten bags of cement. Fortunately for me I was able to access the form from the back side with a wheelbarrow which was much easier than using a five gallon bucket. We were also able to drain the pond some and pull back the liner in order to provide with a bit more room to work. I can't remember if I got my feet wet or not but I do seem to remember dropping a few tools and having to fish them out.
A friend came over and helped me build a very sturdy mount similar to a saw horse to support the axle shaft and bearings which was then bolted to our existing building. Next a small addition was framed to contain everything and to match the existing siding and metal roof. I should also mention that there are doors on both sides that will facilitate the final installation, plumbing and any ongoing maintenance that may be required.
Here's a couple of pictures showing the finished product which we will have a very good view of from our front window. Also Jason will also enjoy a front row seat from his bedroom window where he likes to sit and look out.

I took this picture just this morning on my way out the door to work. Hopefully the next time you see this it will have a water wheel on the side as well. Incidentally the water wheel is all together now and hopefully will get installed in a week or so. Stay tuned!

A Rare Opportunity!

Recently Laurie and I had a rare opportunity to get away for 24 hours. It had been almost 2 years since the last one. Since a lot of logistics are required for us to go anywhere we usually find it easier just to stay at home. I still believe that everyone needs a break once in awhile though!
When it looked like we were indeed going to pull this thing off Laurie began doing some research online. She had decided and I agreed that it would be foolish to see how far we could drive when we only had 24 hours and at least 8 of those would be spent sleeping. Anyway she discovered a neat getaway in Port Orford of all places that seemed to be just what we were looking for. The name is Wildspring Guest Habitat www.wildspring.com. They have private cottages in a beautiful wooded setting, a guest lodge, and lots of peace and quiet. They also provided a nice breakfast the next morning.

It was entertaining for me just to roam around the grounds and look at all the garden art that was placed thoughtfully throughout the property. There was also a beautiful handmade outdoor spa with an ocean view which we enjoyed on Saturday evening even though it was during one of our coastal storms.


The cottage was very nice and was built within the last 10 years. There were no phones but there was a small TV and stereo. Also no TV service is provided but the guest lodge has a nice selection of DVDs that would appeal to anyones tastes. Each cottage has a massage table and Laurie opted to have a therapist come and work on her for 90 minutes. Meanwhile I had the luxury of reading a book which is something I rarely get to do.

Now for a bit of trivia! The next morning we were walking up to the guest lodge for breakfast. Another guest was just ahead of us also on her way there. Once inside we visited with her and found out she was from Seattle. As Laurie and I were eating suddenly Laurie said that she thought this lady looked familiar. I didn't think much of it at that point. A few minutes later Laurie spoke up again and said "I've seen her wearing a red coat standing out in the snow." A short time later Laurie finished her breakfast and was outside talking with the owner. I quickly glanced over at this person's table and now I was beginning to think that somehow she looked familiar as well. As I was finishing my breakfast I couldn't help overhearing her mention "Santa Claus". Immediately a light went on inside me and I smiled to myself since now I knew who she was. Her name is "Elizabeth Mitchell" who co starred with Tim Allen as Mrs Claus in "The Santa Clause" movies produced by Walt Disney Studios. We actually own these movies and are pretty familiar with the characters. I hurried outside to tell Laurie but she had already figured it out for herself and was talking to the owner about it. He had recognized her as well. Although she was friendly toward us probably the best part of this story is that she didn't know that we knew her identity. After all why would anyone be vacationing in Port Orford unless they were wanting to keep a low profile?
The bottom line is: Would we go back? We sure would and would highly recommend this place to anyone that needs some quiet time like us and Elizabeth Mitchell!

New Floors

Last fall we began the arduous task of redoing our flooring while still living at our house. It always seems to take longer than originally planned but eventually we got them done. This picture shows the chaos that we added to our already busy lives.
The good news was that the state was willing to underwrite some of the expense of the hardwood flooring due to the fact that Jason often would pull out carpet fibers and eat them......not good and not healthy. We decided to go ahead and also do some tile work in the kitchen, bathroom, closets, entry ways, and pellet stove pad. We funded this part of the project ourselves.


I also wanted to take on the job of converting our carpeted stairs to hardwood in order to further cut costs. I had never done anything like this before but thanks to the good ol' internet I was able to do the necessary research. Doing so allowed me to feel confident that I could tackle the project and I must say that I enjoyed the challenge. Laying hardwood on stairs requires a lot more attention to detail than a carpeted stairway does. Everything should be as plumb and level as possible. Carpeting I discovered hides many imperfections.
This is part of the finished project which shows the new tile which I also enjoy doing as well as the mitered T-molding that covers the transition between the flooring and tile. I feel the wood gives a very warm look to the inside of our house which I like.
A couple of pictures show the finished product!

CHP Road Trip

Back in November I took a cold call at my desk. It turned out to be someone from Sacramento CA who was in charge of purchasing for the California Highway Patrol. He was looking for a supplier of OEM parts for some of their Dodge vehicles. Why he called me I'll never know. He asked me to supply a bid for a list of part numbers he provided which I did. I really didn't expect to ever hear back since the parts were to be supplied to offices down in Arcata and Garberville. This seemed strange to me since there is already a Dodge dealer down in that area. Amazingly enough eventually all the forms and necessary paperwork was completed and I was given the go ahead to fill the entire order request which totalled over $4000.
When the parts all arrived I loaded up a big GMC SUV and headed south. I invited Annalie to go with me that day since I knew the trip would take all day and she and I don't get to do many things together. First stop was the Arcata location where I was able to unload half of our cargo.

The last stop was outside of Garberville which was over an hours drive south of Eureka and a place I had never visited before. It was a lot of driving that day but Annalie brought along an audio version of "The Chronicles of Narnia" which kept us both entertained. On the way home we stopped at Ferndale for a quick bite. Ferndale is a quaint victorian style town which is always fun to stroll through. We returned back in Brookings about 5:45pm just in time to head for home. A good day to be sure!!