Rural Reflections Radio

Here is this week's Rural Reflections Radio prorgam

grantnelson00.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/projectgatecrossing.mp3

Posted by: rGrant Nelson on 3/17/2010 at 2:45 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: gate crossing, grant nelson, rural reflections, rural reflections radio, texas gate

Project Gate Crossing

I am not suggesting you build this week’s project. This is a project that should probably be made from steel and by someone who knows what he or she is doing or at least has some liability insurance. I am simply telling you what happens behind the closed doors of our shop and what may be of interest to you. This is project gate crossing.

I like to check our little group of cattle pretty often. These trips are made on a four wheeler which means I have to open the gate each time I cross. I spend much of my life building things to remedy that which irritates me; opening gates is an irritant.

I started my project by cutting a twelve foot 2 x 8 in half then cutting each end at a 45 degree. These ends were then screwed together to form an upside-down “v” or truss. I laminated the junction with two pieces of plywood that were both glued and fastened with screws over the junction of the 45 degree angles. I always use screws as they hold better and I can remove them to fix my numerous mistakes. I placed the trusses on top of 2 x 6 boards that would serve as skids to move the whole structure.

I placed the two mounted trusses facing each with about five feet apart between them, then started at the bottom and began spanning the distance with 2 x 4 boards. I placed the boards about five inches apart and quit after I got to sixteen inches high. At this point I fastened a 2 x 6 across the distance created by the “v” of the truss. This board was where I fastened more 2x 4’s to create a flat plain at the height of sixteen inches. The whole idea is that I will climb the ramp with my four wheeler to sixteen inches, then land onto the plat plain before driving down the ramp at the other end of the “v” truss. The cattle won’t climb the boards because they are oriented the narrow way, on their edge. The 2 x 6 that creates the base for the flat space is also buttressed by one pier at it’s middle point.

This is a simple project but one that would be dangerous if not properly constructed-consult an expert. I adhere to a few simple construction techniques that have served me pretty well that I will share. I glue and fasten most boards, plus I use an unholy amount of screws just to make sure nothing falls apart. I never rely totally on screws to hold anything. I try to build like post and beam carpenters in that I place wood in such a way that one piece will hold the other up and that the fasteners are just there to keep things from wiggling apart. A good example is that I place blocks of wood between each 2 x 4 step to keep them from twisting. I also ran a 2 x 4 along the bottom of each side of the junction where the truss and step met so that the fasteners do not bear the considerable weight of man and machine. I also ran a board at a 45 degree angle along the backside of each ramp and the flat plain too eliminate any flex. Finally, laminating the junction of two boards with plywood and glue is a technique that Ross Cota from Red Lake Falls, Minnesota recently taught me (thanks, Ross.)

I don’t know if you have cattle but it seems most folks have a four wheeler. I hope this little project is something you can have made or at least makes you think of what can make your atv more enjoyable. I enjoyed this project and it cost less than $110 so I can probably afford to enjoy it again.
 

Posted by: Grant Nelson on 3/11/2010 at 10:50 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: atv crossing, cattle crossing, gate crossing, grant nelson, rural reflections, texas gate

Crazy Heart

Lisa and I go to a movie maybe two or three times a year. Therefore, each visit must count; we don’t go to movies featuring young vampires in love, Miley Cyrus or any other film that leaps out and identifies itself as mediocre or contrived. This week, we did go to a movie, a good one-“Crazy Heart.”

“Crazy Heart” is the story of Otis Blake (played by Jeff Bridges) who has taken the stage name “Bad Blake.” Blake is a country music singer who over the course of fifty seven years has drank too much and wasted too much time. He is at the end of his road. Blake avoids being a cliché in that he isn’t mean nor does he feel sorry for himself; he is really just a survivor. Otis Blake also writes great country music, although that talent lies comatose from his excess use of alcohol.

I think Blake is like most addictive personalities in that his life is empty so he fills it with something easy to find; whiskey. He has the talent to do more with his life but has lost his emotional drive. The Blake character is in need of a God-smack, that thing which puts all of us back on track. The life-changing smack comes along in the form of a woman (surprise!) named Jean Craddock. Craddock (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal) offers love with the condition that Blake not drink in front of her child. Their romance is engaging and honest although made dark and anxious by Blake’s alcoholism which Craddock describes as “living with a rattlesnake.” The relationship Blake develops with Craddock’s child is tender and sweet but overcast by his addiction. Still, all three spend time together in an honest and flawed way that most anyone with some life-experience will find familiar.

I love country music; not the kind that comes as a result of winning a national talent show but the stuff that comes from living life. Bad Blake writes and plays the music of life; in all its disappointing glory. It is the music that can save Blake. It is the love that Craddock offers that can make Blake remember the music. The songs featured in this movie remind me of those written by Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, among others. I was told that Jeff Bridges was instructed to listen to the music of “the Highwaymen” in order to gain historical perspective of the part he played so I guess that makes sense.

“Crazy Heart” is a movie worth watching, particularly if you like the music. There are a couple of short scenes of adults doing adults things, however they’re pretty tame. The plot moves at a slow pace as it is character and dialogue-driven; no explosions or chase scenes are featured. The characters are engaging and interesting and I found myself hoping they’d all find happiness. It was a great show and made me want to hold Lisa’s hand; more than enough reason to go.
 

Posted by: Grant Nelson on 3/04/2010 at 11:49 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: crazy heart, film, grant nelson, jeff bridges, movies, rural, rural reflections