The Front Porch Swing

[RachaelS]

We gals have not got the upper body strength, that men do. But if you can figure out how to do things using the strength in your legs you can do all the things that men can up to a point. For instance.... Wheel barrows.... with one wheel were designed by men for men. Not man bashing here just pointing out the differences between our strengths.


deb

WOW Deb you go girl!!!! You know never thought about it, but you are 100% correct, if I can use my leg power I can do a LOT more. My favorite wheel barrow is a garden one, it has 3 tiny hard wheels, I don't care how much you put in it, if can push or pull it anywhere, but put that in the normal one and I can't do a dang thing with it. How odd, I wonder what the reason for that is (leg strength I mean).

 

[RachaelS]

I love them too But remember they only last about 6 months in the sun. After the Zip ties help secure things I follow through with something more substantial Like bailing twine or actual metal clips. Or better yet wire.


deb

Could be a difference here because of our humidity, but I have zip ties out there, that are 2+ years and show almost no signs of breaking down anytime soon. However, I think you are right that wire would be better. That dog kennel on the other hand is over 10 years old and nothing is rusty on it. I want to get more panels and create a "maze" of areas so I can block off different areas and allow grass to grow in the left over DL.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Yep.... and infuriating. Like the time I tried to "help" my boyfriend lift a matress up into the rafters for storage. King sized mattresses are very heavy. Now this guy was a good dancer very wiry and very strong. He baked bread for Vons and was used to lifing 100 lb bags of flour in the mixer.... But Dang he only weighed about 140 lbs soaking wet. He had rigged pulleys to the garage rafters with the idea of lifting that matress up... Everything was strong enough.... But there was no mechanical advantage to his set up. He weighed 140 the matress and box spring out weighed him... No matter how much he pulled he could only get one end off the floor.... I tried to tell him.... but he just got madder and madder at me. So I left him alone.

I worked at US Elevator at the time and regularly ran calculations for Counterweights and Hoistway motors. that was before I knew how much I really knew back then. I really dumbed down back then to "fit in". Really bad idea by the way.

deb

 

[Beekissed]

Deb,
Great idea! Will have to keep that in mind next time. DH did the original build of the coop, from there it has all been up to me, including the fencing. Inside the run area, is another coop built the same way as my "grow out pen" but made with cheaper supplies so it is not holding up as well. Not sure what to do with it. Maybe I should get some ducks and turn it into a duck house

. that is just what I need, another animal to clean up after!

Those grow out pens are pretty darn heavy, took 3 guys to unload them and move them to their spots. Last year I need to move stuff around and DH was not interested in helping, so guess what I figured out? You can go inside them and lift them up and shove, so one little girl moved them around by herself. Not as quick as 3 guys, but still got the job done. It was very empowering. Now I don't worry about it, I always find a way to use the tools at hand to get the job done. Even bought a socket set just for me. I hid it so it does not get "borrowed" and the parts go "missing"

I know most of you ladies have known this for a long time, but it is amazing when you figure out for yourself, you can do stuff, with out help if need be

Yep...I've found that a woman has to work smart instead of hard, because she doesn't have the physical strength that the men do...gotta use our heads. Speaking of which....do you all have access to cattle panels or PVC pipe you can use to form an arch over those dog pens? Sure would stabilize those tarps, cause less wear and tear in the wind and shed the rain better. Doesn't have to be all that tall, just slightly bowed will do it.

 

[Beekissed]

Yep, I am going to need clamps for that coop if I decide to keep it, striped something in today's "move"

PS my new FAV tool is zip ties, I think they rank right up there with duct tape.

Me too! I use them for everything....my coop is 2 yrs old and is held together by zip ties. Can't even hardly CUT those boogers off that coop! I'm not looking forward to stripping off the old tarp and replacing it and having to cut through all those zip ties.

 

[RachaelS]

GREAT idea, will check around for some, will also help provide support for the dog kennel itself, it is kind of bowing in. How long do they come in again?I think 12 -14 foot would work.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:

We gals have not got the upper body strength, that men do. But if you can figure out how to do things using the strength in your legs you can do all the things that men can up to a point. For instance.... Wheel barrows.... with one wheel were designed by men for men. Not man bashing here just pointing out the differences between our strengths.


deb

WOW Deb you go girl!!!! You know never thought about it, but you are 100% correct, if I can use my leg power I can do a LOT more. My favorite wheel barrow is a garden one, it has 3 tiny hard wheels, I don't care how much you put in it, if can push or pull it anywhere, but put that in the normal one and I can't do a dang thing with it. How odd, I wonder what the reason for that is (leg strength I mean).

I dont know the reason.... but I do know because we are different physically women have a lower center of gravity. for the most part.... You take one man and one woman both equal in muscle mass and physical strength.... put scuba gear on them with equal amount of air and send them down to do equal tasks .... the woman will come up with more air in her tanks. Men simply use more oxygen than women do. Probably has to do with the original roles as we progressed from the stone age. Men had to be quick and strong to hunt with spears and arrows.... Women bore children and did much of the work of food gathering and prep and storing. different skills for different roles to assure survival... Yin and Yang. I have a different take on the origins of man.... than most.

deb

 

[Beekissed]

GREAT idea, will check around for some, will also help provide support for the dog kennel itself, it is kind of bowing in. How long do they come in again?I think 12 -14 foot would work.

They are usually 16 ft. Around here they are $22 a piece but I consider them an investment...they just don't deteriorate and can be used for so many different things. I put them right up there beside zip ties and duct tape for versatility in animal fencing and housing, gardening, construction, etc.

For smaller jobs, using concrete remesh panels is even cheaper, though they seem to rust more quickly than do the cattle panels. But...they still do the job. A 7x3.5 ft. section is only $7.25 at Lowe's. I'm not sure if they have the tensile strength that the cattle panels do, so not sure if they can form a sturdy arch.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: In my case no.... The closest thing I can get are Hog panels locally. And they want 45 bucks each for 4' by 16'. what I have done in my last coop was run six foot lentghts of PVC across my partitions and angled them purposely... Over and under to make a single wave. What that does is stretch the six foot wide tarp to keep it from flapping but the angles cause it to be lower on one edge causing the water to run off. Wont work where you are though. Ours are mostly for shade.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Cant get those in San diego.... Closest supplier is at Tractor supply here.... which is in Bakersfield. 300 mile round trip.

deb