Forest Monks on the Brain (FMOTB)

Introduction: FMOTB, by Mike Erickson, with Jacob Bolton and Grant Depoy, coils saved by Michael Patton. [click on the title if you don’t see the photo']

Asked to explain the meaning of the entwined coils each Forest-Monk-in-Training gave his own interpretation on the spot, in the moment, from the heart and soul.

Jacob: “These coils are like us, humanity and faith. Our relationship is coiled together. TreeXUs.”

Grant: “Aged rusty, lost its spring, but together they stand.”

Baba Nam Kevalam = “Love is all there is” Om Mani Padme Hum = "The jewel is in the lotus."

Explanation: FMOTB – from the parts makes the whole, and that is us!

There are 4 main parts to FMOTB, made of thirteen items, not including paints, that were put together to make this monstrosity. It looks like a wet exposed brain with two colored antennae probing about its environment and collecting info for processing within. The blond antennae is Jacob. The red one is Grant. The wood is brains. It wishes it could probe and collect like the Forest Monks of SIU.

Part 1 lifts the brain from the surface for stability and outreach. It is made from a type of man-made stone in the form of an electrical insulator. Appropriately brown and glossy. According to a source “Porcelain is the most frequently used material for insulators…are a mixture of feldspar (35%), china clay (28%), flint (25%), ball clay (10%), and talc (2%)…mixed with water…consistency of putty or paste and is pressed into a mold to form…the desired shape.” (https://electrical-engineering-portal.com/ceramic-porcelain-and-glass-insulators).

Part 1A, unseen, is a long screw and two washers that pull the insulator tightly to Part 2, the wood burl. I picked this burl or gall from the many lying around the house. It was sanded to enhance its look like a brain and was painted glossy with polyurethane. The burl originally came from trees, some oak, found on a former 100-acre golf course near me in Evergreen Park. Burls and galls don’t necessarily hurt the trees. Their function is  somewhat ‘unknown’ and are valued for their shape and grain.  (https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-tree-burl-1342918).

Parts 3 and 4 are the two double metal coils forever clasped together by unknown forces. They were saved from oblivion by M. Patton and found Uptop near the site of the old wood sheds taken down to make room for the new garage. They were spray painted brown for wood, green for leaves, and orange and yellow for fall colors.

Parts 4A were 2 golf balls found in the woods that seem to complete the antenna tops. Corona balls or static balls reduce static on car radio antenna, while capitates, from the Latin caput, meaning head, are the balls found at the end of bug antenna. (https://www.thoughtco.com/insect-antennae-and-their-forms-1968065). Parts 4B, not meant to be seen, are two types of screws, one that hold the antenna loosely to the brains and the other ties the balls tightly to the coils.

The parts of this thing were joined in a flowing and ebbing, a rising and lowing of energy and intensity as parts failed and others triumphed into the making. Will it come together? Try this piece. Wow, this wood is almost impossible to drill. Why golf balls? Antenna without sphere toppings, never. Mixing it all together in the best way. No fear of failure, just action and discovery. The care.

Sharing it with others is also part of the process. I enjoyed every part of this experience culminating in FMOTB. Some of these actions of mine go back many years. Never did I know at any time that all this fun would be brought together in one object called FMOTB. Even the sharing has been fun, hence the ‘many thanks’.

Many thanks for this blog goes to…Robby Penna who I texted by accident (new phone stuff), and who returned my text (with an ID mechanism on his new phone). He asked to see the table top sculpture hidden behind the ‘Day of the Dead’ mask found along the Cal Sag Trail. An ask to see behind the mask! Roll on you bikers and skaters! And of course thanks to Donny B.

“_OR_” Truck – Gear up for ‘A History in Reverse’

[if needed, a clue…to see the pic just click on the title]

“_OR_” Moves On, In Place (toward Stage 3)

On my departure from the farm this Covid-July 25th, 2020, Dave Davis promised to trim back the thorny rose bush a few more inches from the tail end of our truck named “_OR_”. No longer “Found On Road Dead”, nor “First On Race Day”, just “_OR_.” Normally I wouldn’t ask him, but this rose bush had attacked my safety umbrella every chance it got. It was angry. I had denied it a cushy home lazing on the truck’s rear end. As revenge, it scratched and clawed at my portable sun and rain protection every time I went past. Uncanny. Annoying. Do you know what ‘thorn on umby’ sounds like in the quiet of a hay meadow? My faithful umbrella survived. In my temporary retreat from this battle with nature and from the ongoing reconstruction of an old truck bed into a new raised platform I had an ally in Dave Davis.

It took 2 or 3 years of part-time work to clear the space around  “_OR_.” But why would anyone bother with such a thing? Well, first off, to take advantage of the shade provided by the Russian Olive shrub at the truck’s front end. Shade is an exceedingly rare commodity up top, and this fair white-haired boy needs full summer shade! From this process I learned a bit about plant succession’s relationship to micro-climate alteration due to refuse piles in hay meadows. Esoteric but key knowledge in sustainable agriculture. And secondly, I could take advantage of “_OR_”s bulk and stability to construct a secure multi-use raised wooden platform.

It took 3 or 4 days of part-time work to elevate this truck’s bed to a bed of repose. I had a goal in mind, but not a detailed plan. My way is to allow the use of process. Study the situation. Get rid of the extraneous. Try something and flow from that to better. I built a basic starter platform of used materials on top of “_OR_”  to minimize brute strength hoisting . Getting started was my first step. The key steps forward involved the use of ‘posts on stone’ to support the outside ends, the use of long boards as levers in a one-man operation, and screwing cross-hatched supports to the truck’s original wooden bed.

Through a series of small-problems-solved the truck went from nowhere  to a destination. Mostly used wood, borrowed battery operated tools, a dwindling assortment of screws, some last-minute tucks and hoists, and left-over paints. Job “finished” on time and under budget! A vehicle that had been  stuck for over 3 decades deep on the side of a hill had new life. “_OR_”  was rescued from the long dormancy of stage 2, to enter “Stage 3”, new life. Life as a party space. Life as my wife’s tent platform. Life that could stage a one-man play of “Moby Dick” perhaps?

Celebrating New Life

A skinny Wood Monk joint was lit up and passed from me to Grant and then to Jacob in celebration of the new elevated party platform in the hay meadow. Grant declared it “art with a purpose”, and we celebrated. We felt great in mind, body, and spirit. And that is Uptop in a nutshell. No, not a bunch of nuts in a shell, yes a place to re-engineer ourselves from the inside out. “_OR_” emerged from its doldrums…after decades spent reflecting on a near tragedy.

The near tragedy was the near loss of a good man’s life. What did Phil S. do when his big ol’ truck with no brakes was gaining speed in an uncontrolled  roll down a steep hill up top? Of course, wrestle the steering wheel sharply to the right and dig the rig deep into the hillside, or perish. Death was avoided in an instant of clarity. That simple. Phil walked away, and “_OR_” stayed put, stuck in Stage 2 for another 30+ years. Stage 1 all gone but the memories.

Everything Has a Purpose

“_OR_”s intended stage 1 purpose was to be a useful truck and to do truck things well. Like hauling hay for instance. This ended in the deadly crash averted. Forward momentum was absorbed without injury by the land itself. The culprit of steep contours denied. One of many similar miracles in Uptop’s history.

Stage 1 is a story of productive use. Not the many possible uses in Stage 3, but the farming uses put to it by Michael P, Phil S., and even David D. How many other people got to drive “_OR_” in its Stage 1 life at Uptop? Before Uptop? Many people loved that truck! Some of those people we will never know, because Uptop was not “_OR_”’s first home.  Celebrate multi-purpose. It was born in an American  FORD plant in the year 1952, and in July of Covid 2020 it entered Stage 3 at 68 years young.

Like in Spamalot, “_OR_” says, I’m not dead yet!  “… I'm not dead, just floating, Right between the ink of your tattoo, In the belly of the beast we turned into, I'm not scared, just changing….

Some background

Courtesy of Michael Patton: “_OR_” is a “1952 Ford 2.5 ton flat bed truck with stake sideboards, powered by a flat head 8-cylinder engine, and with a 2-speed rear-end transmission.” P.S. The Walter Nine family owned it before us.

A Recent Uptop Barn Tour

Save Our Barns (SOBs)                                                                                                                         That’s my goal, one way or another, save the old barns. And I do not stand alone! However, as we know, Uptop has many viewpoints! What follows is background information, some insights gleaned from a short tour with Neil and Charlie, and a pledge from me, Mike E., on how I’d like to continue on this quest. Thanks for being here!

Background Info:             https://www.hobbyfarms.com/barns-repair-restoration/              Porter points out that barn owners can get additional help in states such as New Hampshire, where private nonprofits such as the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance offer matching grants so owners of old barns can hire local contractors to generate plans for their next steps. Each contractor researches the barn’s history, assesses renovation options and develops a priority list of needed work. The NHPA grant is for $400, and the owner has to match with $100. Together, that’s enough for the initial assessment. The NHPA’s most recent campaign is to raise enough money to help 52 barns in 52 weeks.

Of course, one specialist can’t help every barn owner, so Porter and his colleague, Francis Gilman, an extension agriculture engineer emeritus, produced a book called Preserving Old Barns: Preventing the loss of a valuable resource (2001).

“A barn will survive indefinitely with a sound roof and a decent foundation,” Porter says. “The biggest culprit in the downfall of neglected barns is the overgrown vegetation that’s allowed to grow up next to a barn.”

https://mwbarnpros.com/barn-pros/wv/green-bank/barn-restoration    Just fill out the form, tell us about your needs and we will connect you to local barn experts. When you need a barn professional you can depend on MW Barn Pros to be connected with top Green Bank barn restoration experts.

https://www.diynetwork.com/shows/barnwood-builders             Barnwood Builders follows five fun-loving West Virginians who salvage antique log cabins and barns. The show celebrates the American pioneer spirit and pays tribute to the hard work and craftsmanship that built our nation.

July 2020 Uptop Barn Tour with Charlie & Neil, and Mike Erickson

Summary: both the big barn and the sheep barn can be saved using the correct equipment and techniques. Neil was incredibly positive and would make a good consultant paired with other local contractors and friends of Uptop. We have ways to move forward even now, says Mike E.

Big Barn – (1) a large mechanical bucket tractor would be useful to hold up the big barn while the northeast corner is stabilized and rebuilt. The roof line (about 2 feet out of alignment) would not have to be ‘fixed’ to original alignment to complete the corner stabilization. Work space can be maximized here.

(2) remove hay, fix floors of barn at multiple levels, build alternative housing for the barn swallows

(3) find alternative homes for the wood leaning against the outsides of the barn, and for the wood resting in the SW room of the big barn…leaning wood has negative effect on barn foundations

4) SE corner of the big barn, near ‘pet cemetery’ needs regular mowing, as does the entire site, after the ground is free from hazards, such as sapling stumps, rocks, and uneven ground and other buried matter

Sheep Barn - concrete footings would be useful to stabilize the sheep barn, though most of the bottom two beams on the north side are rotted through and would need replacement. Some of the wood in these low and not so low beams can be pulled apart with strong fingers. Rot must be dealt with eventually.

General Structure (and whale): Mike E. pledges to keep vegetation away from these structures to maintain a micro-climate conducive to long-term coherent wooden structures. Less water trapped by living plants or piles of dead grass and sticks means less rot.

A Snip-it of Conversation - Yeah, I believe we can rehab the big barn, because I hear the O’Hagan’s believe we can rehab the big barn…just look at the beautiful rehab of the Out House! I thought that should be torn down. Now I’m a believer. [key up the Shrek song here]

Comments:

Sheep Barn: the NW corner faceboards are bending north as bottom supports edge to the north, as seen from a bench in the new firepit area.

July 2020 photos - en mass, unedited

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPJfB3L 48 Phone pics

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPJhxJu 20 Blk n Whts: mostly people

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPJk1xj 20 I went…

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPJh7ZV 16 Wood Monks measuring the forest

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPJgWao 52 Long walk back up top

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPJaejR 48 AWP, Inc.: what I saw at the saw mill near Uptop

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPJfgbD 40 Wood Cuts: clear cut vs. selection cut near Uptop

Sometimes I Get Rolling

First of all, much thanks to Donny and Karla for yesterday’s entertaining digital trip to Uptop, West Virginia. Did anyone else see the bird land on the camera? Blink and ya missed it. My highlight of that 6+ minute video. These days one needs distractions.

Anyway, I finished one distraction, my puzzle, about a month or more ago. It was about a fantastical garden scene. My daughter’s got me started on it, but I had to finish it by myself. Since then I haven’t had the will to disassemble it and put it back in the box. If I can get the photo off my phone I’ll show ya.

The last time I saw a puzzle being put together was in the ‘big kitchen’ Uptop. The boys from (mostly) Illinois were in a frenzy. I recollect 5 guys working day and night until that last puzzle piece fell into place. I can’t begin to describe how much fun it was to have those young men on the property after days and days of not so lonesome aloneness. Put that last word in the dictionary and smoke it.

So, yesterday I did something kind of cool with some results of another puzzle I’ve been working on for many months now. It is, what can we do in Illinois for bicyclists and potential bicyclists that will help save our children and save our climate?

You Chicago bike jockeys might like this, I sent a letter to Ms. Gia Biagias, Commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Transportation (cc’ed the Mayor too). This woman has talent, a big job, and I’d like to help. Silly me, but whatever. The weather has been awful around here!

Part of the puzzle I shared with her was an analysis of the 2017 City of Chicago Bike Map. I had a copy. I took it apart. I reassembled it. And now I have a spreadsheet of all the types and miles of bike facilities in the Loop, Chicago’s north- and south-sides, and the 468 miles of gaps that separate each from the other.

Basically the gaps tell the story. About 18 miles of route might entice, another 150 miles of route is marginally attractive to the best riders, and the rest is like ‘dangerous’. All separated by 468 gap miles.

That’s my story for today. I gotta get rolling…it’s too nice out. Please enjoy the letter, and don’t get too picky.

4/30/2020 City Hall 121 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602 Attn: and Mayor

Dear Ms. Gia Biagias, CDOT Commissioner

I am interested in helping Chicago move quickly and effectively to achieve a 20 to 25% mode share for bike travel. You might agree that due to our common needs to help our youth and fight climate change we should put our knowledge and dollars to use immediately. That is why I write you now.

On your website I found the following:

• Chicago currently has…200 miles of on-street protected, buffered and shared bike lanes…

• The Chicago Streets for Cycling Plan 2020 calls for a 645-mile network of biking facilities…

Both numbers above, 200 miles, and 645 miles are not what they should be, says my analysis of the “2017 City of Chicago Bike Map.” To reach proper mode shares we need more, better and now. Here is what the city map data says:

• 18 miles of excellent, mode share shifting, barrier protected bike routes…what all miles must be

• 152 miles of good, not really mode share shifting, bollard and bike lane routes

• 139 miles of poor, not at all mode shifting, marked shared and signed routes

• 468 miles of gaps between the above bike routes, no facility at all

• = 759 miles of street that need either solid bollards, jersey or (my favorite) planter barriers

We need 777 miles of top-notch bike facility to transform our kids/our City for a little over $150 million.

I have seen a lot of bike plans and most of them make it seem as if bicycle planning is rocket science. It is not. You can plan until your blue in the face, but with the obstacles IDOT and the rule makers have put in place it is literally impossible to build a supportive bike system in Illinois in our lifetimes.

On your website I also found the following:

• CDOT's Bike Program continues to look for ways to improve the bicycling environment…

• …in place by 2020 to provide a bicycle accommodation within half-mile of every Chicagoan

In conclusion. The $150 million is at $200k/mile. Some use $120k/mile. Pick a number, it does not matter if “the plan” sits on the shelf. Build it and they will come. Build it so anyone from 8 to 80 years can use it if you want to shift the mode split. But I guarantee, if you build it right you will have to find a better way to deal with gentrification in Chicago.

Thanks for your time. Good luck in your position. Love your water infiltration plans for the environment. Sincerely, Mike Erickson, Out the Box Transportation Planning, 708-625-2597

Another Post in Mike E.'s Tiny House

  Welcome Uptop. Come on in, take yer shoes off, set a spell!

Thinking about tiny houses…https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/nature/how-build-house-stone

Get and/or dig rocks …walls will have 3 layers: a 1’-thick stone wall, a 1’-foot-thick gap, and then another 1’-thick stone wall. Find some limestone. Grind it up until it's dust. Then, put it in a pot of water and boil it, stirring as you go. Mix some dirt in. Congratulations! You just made mortar.

I’ve had my eye on some stone piles Uptop for years!

Thinking about trees…https://psmag.com/environment/young-trees-suck-up-more-carbon-than-old-ones       …intact, old-growth forests sequestered 950 million to 1.11 billion metric tons of carbon per year while younger forests—those that have been growing less than 140 years—stored between 1.17 and 1.66 billion metric tons per year.

I love to think we could improve our Uptop forests, make new space in a 10-acre plot of woods, and sequester more carbon from the atmosphere in the fight against climate change! Then 50 acres?

Thinking about putting down deep rooted sunflowers…https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crops-carbon-idUSTRE77412Q20110805              Creating crops with deeper roots could soak up much more carbon dioxide from the air, help mankind fight global warming and lead to more drought-tolerant varieties, a British scientist says in a study. Kell calculated that even a 2 percent increase in soil carbon down to 2 meters could lead to an extra 100 tonnes of carbon per hectare if that carbon stays in the soil for at least two years.

Wow, I can plant sunflowers, love ‘em, eat ‘em, fiber ‘em, &  improve the soil/CO2/air  at the same time?

Best Movies of Late?

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/decoding-the-weather-machine/  = Climate Change Demystified

https://video.wttw.com/show/blood-sugar-rising/  = Why I had only ½ a cinnamon bun this morning!

Best Idea Ever?   Take over IDOT: spend their $3.08 billion dedicated to sprawl on bikes & peds instead!

Yeah, I think so…8546 miles of biking-ly blissful roads in the 7-county NEIL region? Only $1.7 billion tops. I’ve got plenty of time, so I’ll map out the other parts of the State too. Thanks to the City and ATA for the base-maps, and Covid-19 for the extra time. Beats jig-saw puzzles, right?

Hope ya’ll are hunkering down in comfort! Here’s yer hat. What’s yer hurry?

Sincerely, Mike E.

Sunflowers Uptop

Welcome to…

“Mike E’s Tiny House”.

Come on in. Take your shoes off. Set a spell.

This is where I’d tell you a little story. But no, I’m burnt out from relearning Google Earth, making a power point from all the air-photos and talking with Dave D, and Nancy A. I’ll publish the power point asap here.

Meanwhile, I got’s to go out in the cold and throw some disc.

It’s a start anyway. Thanks DD.

XOX Mike E.