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This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Homesteading. (Note that this BB is part of a three-part choose your own adventure list BB called Big List. You must complete three Badge Bits in the Big List.)

In this Badge Bit, you will find and clean up things that somehow "went missing" the rest of the year.

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
After the snow has melted and before the grasses have started to grow, fill a pickup bed with stuff that somehow “went missing” the rest of the year:
  • Tools
  • Materials
  • Garbage


  • To show you've completed this Badge Bit, you must provide pictures or a short (less than two minutes) video depicting the following:
  • The land you're tending, after the snow has melted and before the grasses have started to grow
  • An item from the list that "went missing"
  • Another item from the list that "went missing"
  • Another item from the list that "went missing"
  • A collection of rescued items



  • COMMENTS:
     
    gardener
    Posts: 814
    Location: Durham, NC
    338
    hugelkultur gear urban cooking building writing woodworking
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    Approved submission
    Well do I have a spring cleaning for you.  I have not spring cleaned in awhile.  Four years or so. I do urban permaculture because I live in the middle of a city.  Luckily I'm in a fairly natural part with fields and greenways and oh yeah, abandoned and overgrown areas abutting my land. That leads to strange things like items being moved from where they were.  Things being dumped. And also, my own laziness and despair as I quite simply gave up for a couple years, leaving tools and materials out to rot.

    So I finally decided to do something about it.  Pickup truck bed?  Pffft.  I got a 15 ton dumpster.

    (One caveat, which is that there is grass here 365 days a year, so it would be impossible for me to comply unless I torched the ground and then snapped a picture before the grasses grew back.  Assuming that's what neither of us wants, allow me to regale you with pictures.)
    20200804_173716.jpg
    View of the open areas with woods along the edges.
    View of the open areas with woods along the edges.
    20200805_175449.jpg
    There were lots of piles to clean up, like this one here. A mix of reclaimed materials and also slashed hoses, ruined tarps, and other junk.
    There were lots of piles to clean up, like this one here. A mix of reclaimed materials and also slashed hoses, ruined tarps, and other junk.
    20200511_201446.jpg
    There was also lots of debris from a christmas tree farm that sets up in the field every winter, then leaves behind piles of crap.
    There was also lots of debris from a christmas tree farm that sets up in the field every winter, then leaves behind piles of crap.
    20200702_202705.jpg
    So I got the dumpster. This is an interpretive dance I call "2020"
    So I got the dumpster. This is an interpretive dance I call "2020"
    20200708_194216.jpg
    I filled it to the brim with 15 cubic yards of rotted particle board, the junk you saw earlier (most of it rotted with rusty nails), and also stuff from my basement.
    I filled it to the brim with 15 cubic yards of rotted particle board, the junk you saw earlier (most of it rotted with rusty nails), and also stuff from my basement.
    20200805_175205.jpg
    After combing the entire landscape, especially this area that had decades worth of old rusted metal, nails, broken glass, etc, things were right again.
    After combing the entire landscape, especially this area that had decades worth of old rusted metal, nails, broken glass, etc, things were right again.
    20200805_175015.jpg
    I recovered this transplanter. May not look like much but I've been missing it for years.
    I recovered this transplanter. May not look like much but I've been missing it for years.
    20200805_175006.jpg
    Also found my precious, a pair of Fiskars trimmers I've been using for twenty years, which was actually stuck in a root I'd been trying to trim.
    Also found my precious, a pair of Fiskars trimmers I've been using for twenty years, which was actually stuck in a root I'd been trying to trim.
    20200602_111951.jpg
    The biggest score/heartache is this wheelbarrow which had rusted and rotted out. Tripped on it in the weeds. Turned it into a pollinator garden.
    The biggest score/heartache is this wheelbarrow which had rusted and rotted out. Tripped on it in the weeds. Turned it into a pollinator garden.
    20200805_174957.jpg
    A collection I recovered was this stack of planters from various plant purchases and reuse efforts over the years. They. Were. Everywhere.
    A collection I recovered was this stack of planters from various plant purchases and reuse efforts over the years. They. Were. Everywhere.
    Staff note (Mike Haasl) :

    I certify this BB complete!

     
    gardener
    Posts: 1569
    Location: Washington State
    985
    6
    forest garden trees rabbit earthworks composting toilet fiber arts sheep wood heat woodworking rocket stoves homestead
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    Here is my submission for the Homesteading - Sand - Spring Clean BB.

    To document the completion of the BB, I have provided the following:
    - The land you're tending after the snow has melted and before the grasses have started to grow
    - An item from the list that "went missing"
    - Another item from the list that "went missing"
    - Another item from the list that "went missing"
    - A collection of rescued items

    Mid-March at Windward and I discovered that the workshop needed some cleanup and decided to expand the project into the Spring Cleaning BB.  The workshop had several boxes of kindling that were relocated to firewood storage areas freeing up space for new projects.  More boxes were sorted, tossed, or relocated, leading to organizing the "tin-can" storage area.

    We have two shipping containers that are 20-feet apart and have greenhouse bows and greenhouse plastic to increase covered outdoor space.  The plastic is attached with wiggle wire and C-channel and a recent storm tore the plastic and ripped the C-channel assembly off the roof.  I deconstructed the assembly, rolled the aluminum flashing, repaired the C-channel and put it away, then took the wood to the burn pile.  This led to finding more tools there.  

    Lastly, this area had been collecting random things for several years got sorted; finding some useful things (ammo can parts) and adding to the trash run.
    1.jpg
    The land that I help tend
    the land that I help tend (part-time)
    2.jpg
    increased organization here and more space in the workshop
    increased organization here and more space in the workshop
    3.jpg
    aluminum flashing roof assembly that I dismantled
    aluminum flashing roof assembly that I dismantled
    4.jpg
    more missing tools near the burn pile
    more missing tools near the burn pile that I collected
    5.jpg
    more trash and stuff that needs sorting
    the random thing area - mostly trash and some stuff that needed putting away
    F1.jpg
    sound tools
    found tools
    F2.jpg
    found small tools
    found small tools
    F3.jpg
    found wrench and ammo can parts
    found wrench and ammo can parts
    T1.jpg
    trash collected
    trash collected
    T2.jpg
    a full size pick up ready for a trip to the dump
    a full size pick up ready for a trip to the dump
    Staff note (gir bot) :

    Mike Barkley approved this submission.

     
    Posts: 17
    Location: Mid-Michigan
    11
    4
    kids monies forest garden urban cooking rocket stoves
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    Submission flagged incomplete
    Small space, small cleanup.  Most of the cleanup was the puppy chewing on things in the yar and shredding toys.

    https://imgur.com/a/4YJsBH3

    4 photos:

  • The yard and cause of most of the cleanup
  • Closeup of the type of junk
  • Bucket o' junk
  • Clean(er) yard
  • Staff note (gir bot) :

    Someone flagged this submission as not complete.
    BBV price: 1
    Note: This BB requires a full pick up truck amount of saved items.

     
    pioneer
    Posts: 65
    Location: Salado, Texas
    12
    hugelkultur forest garden fungi foraging medical herbs ungarbage
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    Approved submission
    We don't get snow much in central Texas, so December/January is our only chance to cleanup before the grass comes in and hides everything again.   It's the perfect time of year because snakes, scorpions, and wasps are "mostly" dormant.

    Spring cleanup on my main project is ongoing because I'm moving, so there will be many pickup loads coming from there.   I have pictures below that are from there and from my sisters house ... 1/2 pickup load each spot.

    There is 1 pick with some sheet metal I have rolled up ... notice the channel locks ...that's my trick for hauling something that will want to come un-rolled.   Just remember to get yer channel locks off at the other end of the trip or you'll have something new missing forever!
    DSC02664.JPG
    the load from my sister's house ... going to scrap yard with this
    the load from my sister's house ... going to scrap yard with this
    DSC02557.JPG
     ... some good scraps in there, but mostly trash
    ... some good scraps in there, but mostly trash
    DSC02591.JPG
    the 1st load I photographed from my dump pile
    the 1st load I photographed from my dump pile
    DSC02663.JPG
    "missing forever" item #1 ...soaking in used oil to loosen it up
    "missing forever" item #1 ...soaking in used oil to loosen it up
    DSC02665.JPG
    missing items #2 ...I'm gonna re-purpose that old speaker to be a nail sweep
    missing items #2 ...I'm gonna re-purpose that old speaker to be a nail sweep
    DSC02667.JPG
    #3 I got several shovel heads that just need handles
    #3 I got several shovel heads that just need handles
    Staff note (gir bot) :

    Paul Fookes approved this submission.
    Note: I certify this BB complete.  Well done

     
    Can't .... do .... plaid .... So I did this tiny ad instead:
    permaculture and gardener gifts (stocking stuffers?)
    https://permies.com/wiki/permaculture-gifts-stocking-stuffers
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