James Vavra

Hailing in East Nashville

It was a nice afternoon to plant some trees. Parts of this field were planted last year. This year’s big planting won’t happen for a few more weeks, but I went ahead and installed the catalpa saplings that I started from seed last spring.

I froze a few cups of wild blackberries that I harvested from the tree farm this summer. Tonight I made a pie.

Since it’s not going to get above 40 degrees for the next few days, I’m going to go ahead and smoke the bacon that has been curing for the last couple of weeks. This will get 36 hours of cold smoke, followed by a hot smoke to firm them up. Each of those 3 bellies is a little over 12 pounds.

The handful that we didn't tube got destroyed by deer. The biggest problem is keeping the grasses/weeds cleared out of the inside of the tubes. If I let it go for too long, they will smother the 1st year seedlings. The 2nd year trees are less sensitive to it. We've had about 90% survival with them.

Thats tidy. I should probably pick up a broom.

My grandmother used to have a similar crocheted chicken. It was smaller and always filled with peanut M&Ms. When you squeezed it, it would “lay” a piece of chocolate candy.

I use a homemade abrasive paste that has walnut oil, beeswax, and rottenstone in it. Some of that oil probably soaks in, but I don't really consider it a finish. It's just beeswax as a topcoat.

There’s just so many folks moving here as a political refuge right now. I think the platform could have value eventually.

If you turn off seeing reposts (reskeets? For fucksake are we calling it that?!?) and whatnot, it’s better.

I do some food things - fermented veg, cured meats, fresh sausages, etcetera. I also have a small farm that I’m converting from pasture to forest. I’m a bit of an audio geek, and I’m just starting to figure out car/tractor mechanics/maintenance.

A pair of little cherry cups. I don’t often make small pieces, but I had a spindle blank and an evening in the workshop. These are around 60mm in diameter, end grain, and finished with beeswax. #woodturning #woodworking #bskywoodturners

Wow

My first lathe was a bench top from harbor freight. I’m sure that stalling out that motor saved me from stitches more than once.

I’ve always wanted a big, height-adjustable assembly table. It would be super handy to drop the surface down to 18” every once in a while.

Nice!

I got most of the innards from parts-express.com. Some soldering required, but not a lot.

You ended up in my woodworking feed, but following specifically for the shitposts.

“bluesky is an echo chamber” everywhere’s an echo chamber i’m going with the one without cybertruck guys

I dabble; mostly woodturning. Here are a couple of little cherry cups.

I went with the angled support posts so I’d be less likely to hit them with the tractor.

Mezzanine build in the barn out at tree farm.

This was a fun project. I found this PA annunciator falling off of the wall in one of my schools. I liberated it (it hadn’t been used in decades), pulled the guts out, and converted it to a battery-powered Bluetooth speaker.

Picture of a live edged walnut bowl

I dabble; mostly woodturning.

Black walnut; turned on a lathe. This little one is about 9” in diameter.

I do a little woodturning

Bio: Avocational maker - woodturning, furniture, cured meats, fermented foods. Sometimes I bake a pie. East Nashvillian. Reforesting 19 acres in Middle Tennessee. I work in tech, but you'll probably never see any related posts; you will see the occasional pic my dog.

A little walnut platter I turned the other day.

Hank keeping an eye on the seedlings.