A Cluttered Life: Middle-Class Abundance

August 17, 2018

...rom the future excavated a 21st century home and reported the results. Why the photo shrines on the metal food storage units? The book is worth reading (ironically, I just sold my copy to reduce book clutter). While I no longer own the book I was happy to discover the short, three part video series on the project which I’ve embedded for your weekend enjoyment. Part II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyHS_-Umv4E Part III https://www.youtube.com/wat...

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An Arts and Crafts Masterpiece in San Francisco

Mr. Homegrown

October 15, 2018

Design

2 Comments

...h, Bruce Porter, and the Rev. Joseph Worcester in 1895. On the walls are a series of stunning California landscape paintings depicting the four seasons by William Keith that echo the naturalistic theme of the building. The upright and stern chairs allegedly touched off the mission furniture craze. Should you find yourself in San Francisco this church is a must see–and it’s free! Visiting hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday. The address is 21...

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Pomona Dispatch: A Great Cloud of Bees

Mr. Homegrown

June 25, 2024

Animals, Bees

...back from a month in Pomona pet sitting for friends and I thought I’d do a series of short posts about what I was up to during my sojourn. Probably the most exciting moment was witnessing a cloud of miner bees on one of my walks. There are, apparently, over 1,500 different kinds of miner bees so I’m not sure which species I was witnessing. They are a solitary insect that only emerges once a year for a brief period. Look closely at the video and yo...

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Make Your Own Molding With a Table Saw

Mr. Homegrown

July 13, 2018

Design

11 Comments

...Pacific Ready Cut houses feature a simple molding that I replicated with a series of 45º cuts followed by a pass over a dado stack and/or a router. I’ll provide specifics in a later post if requested. You can also make cove molding by moving wood diagonally across the blade. This was easier than I thought it would be (once you figure out the right angle–the not easy part). Since you raise the blade just 1/16th of in inch at a time, it can take a l...

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How to Make a Bee Skep

Mr. Homegrown

May 10, 2013

Animals, Bees

9 Comments

...build your own. Looks like a fun project. How skeps are used The following series of videos show how skeps are used. Part 6 documents the steps leading up to the honey harvest. It’s a labor intensive process. To get at the honeycomb, skeps are “bounced” over an empty skep to remove the bees. These bees are then combined with weaker hives and overwintered. It’s easy to see, from the hard work and level of skill required, why the modern and much eas...

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