Building Our Sangha Shed

Extra Projects Related to the Sangha Shed and Its' Area

The "BIG" Table

Some wise person once said, "If you're going to have a patio and a community shed, then you've gotta have a picnic table. It's in the Bible, I think." Well, true, or not, it is a good idea. One day in spring of 2012, I was at the KRCE campgound and noted the presence of some new picnic tables with steel frames and cedar plank tops. They were exceptionally beautiful. I know 'beautiful' seems a strange word to use in reference to a simple picnic table, but it's not overkill. So I decided then, that I would build my variant of a cedar plank table the following year.

In April 2013, I visited Meeks Lumber yard in Yreka. I knew they carried cedar planks (2"x12" unsanded). I bought four 10 foot long planks, took them home and began to sand them into a smooth finish. The table design is of Amish origin - a trestle style with my variation on the theme. Thanks to the Amish who posted photos to websites. I stole the ideas with no care for future credit.

The assembled table was very heavy. It is made of 2x12 cedar planks and 2x6 legs and braces. I guessed it to be about 200 pounds. To move it from the driveway circle to the Sangha Shed patio required a strong woman and balancing the whole thing on a wheelbarrow. Liza provided the strength and I provided the balancing act.

We got the table to the patio and slowly tipped the wheelbarrow forward. We were really surprised how graceful the process was. We realized the table would ultimately have to be turned 90 degrees to the position you see in this photo.

The Sangha Shed area was now beginning to take on a more 'red neck' trailer circle. The small trailer was now a storage shed and our chemical toilet was placed in it. The new picnic table provided the center of our meal activities.

The new table with the first chairs. Behind the table, to the left, can be seen the primrose (wild rose) bushes we planted and the white oak tree that I grew from a nut! Our patio is beginning to take shape.

The Patio Walkway

Since the beginning in 2010, the area to the east end of the patio had been left unfinished. It needed some gravel. I kept putting it off until 'sometime when I coud afford some gravel'. And, the grass grew.....

In May 2014, my grandsons Isaac and Damian Jones of Merced were in need of some 'trusted relative' to take them in during a one-week school vacation. I volunteered quickly. I love to have these guys around. So much energy. And they seemed to really like my style of cooking - spaghetti, mac n' cheese, etc..

Grandsons Isaac and Damian wanted to do something to help us in our new home. I looked around and thought they could at least shovel the gravel into the wheelbarrow for me. Then I would haul the wheelbarrow and dump it. We soon had the walkway done. And, the boys were proud of themselves - me too! Thanks boys.

The Rain Barrel Irrigation System

October 2012: I bought four plastic 55 gallon barrels from a trucker living in Medford. I managed to get all four into the rear of the Honda CRV and brought them home. I wanted to build a water catchment system. This would connect to eaves troughs on the Sangha Shed and hold the rainwater. The water would then flow by gravity through plastic hoses to the local trees and flowers.

I built a simple support system for the barrels of 4x4 timbers set atop cement blocks.

The four plastic barrels were linked together with PVC pipe and fittings so that the collected rainwater would flow into the top and 'find its' level'. The water would drain from the bottom into the plastic hoses going to the planters.

September 2013: I decided to build a cover system since the barrels seemed to be so 'red neck' without one. The barrels worked AOK, but we had to haul water in 5 gallon jugs from the well and pour them into the barrels - that's 220 gallons - or 44 plastic jugs of water - all hauled by using the car..... It was a pain in the neck and back. I foresee the day when we will have the well and a pressure system from the house pumping water up to this system.... Oh lord, let it be soon!

April 2016: In the spring of 2014 we decided the rain barrel idea had merits, but the work of keeping them full was a huge effort. Eaves troughs and related piping systems were even less useful - especially with snow/ice buildup. And then there were the mice, birds and squirrels who fatally expored the depths of the barrels. I removed the barrels in the winter of 2014/15. On return in early 2016, I decided a snake guard and squirrel 'denier' system was needed.

In mid-March I had seen my first snakes, both large prairie snakes, and a fat squirrel had taken up residence in a hole she had dug under the patio paving bricks with an access from under the shed. Time to block both and all from such activities.

I used the remnants of trellis material, put 1/2" square hardware cloth on its' backside and put the assemblies around the shed as a skirt. It worked! Well, almost perfectly. Never saw any snakes under the shed again. But that pesky squirrel spent the spring birthing her babes and reopening holes under the mesh every time I patched it. Finally, she died in the Fall of 2016 and we hope to keep out her offspring from now on.


 
 

Links to Other Photo Essays About the Sangha Shed


 
 

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