Saturday, May 20, 2017

White Tail Institute Soil Testing

Thank you Whitetail Institute of North America Staff for doing an impromtu picture at the Iowa Deer Classic 2017!

It had been some years back that I purchased some seed samples for mini-plots at another Iowa Deer Classic. You can find my growth results written  here on September 2, 2010.

I'd done some research on the Whitetail Institute website about their soil sampling kits...Since I've not personally had our soils tested here at Timber Life, I wanted to verify some information I had classified by reading.  So, this year instead of buying the tests online I found the booth...I bought two of their limited supply.

The tendency of our Timber soils indicated to me a sour disposition with all the vegetation pointing in that direction. Makes sense,right?!? I had an idea of how negative the pH balance was by the specific plants that were flourishing, but to provide the proper environment to unlock the nutrients for a balanced diet for Man and Beast, I needed to do the soil test,to have my own results.


I sent in soil samples from two different spots on our property to get an idea of the pH range I could expect to modify.

To find specific results some preliminary seed possibilities, just to get an idea of what would be needed was required.

Weed populations have increased over time on my plot...They are being addressed. 

Purple Top Turnips, used for human consumption was also implemented for Whitetail Deer and Turkey here in the past. The produce became sweet after the frost and a well consumed food source. You could say they, cleared the patch,eating it down to ground level.

The annual seeds shown are those  I might consider for planting for a fall crop after the weed population is under control. Then it will open up the potential for a perennial crop to be  planted next spring, or the chance for double cropping. Keep those Deer happy is my goal!

Thanks for stopping by Timber Life today....I like talking Deer.

Have a Great Day!
































Thursday, May 18, 2017

Voisin 35 Parts Cleaning Moving Forward






On March 29,2017, I began more refined fabric and tape removal from a wing section Corey brought up from the Hangar.

 I proceeded onto the tail section on April 3,2017, to remove fabric;  providing time support. My efforts  will allow Corey to focus on wing modifications.






I found a weakness to pierce the fabric as I followed along the hollow just under the frame.






As you can see I was able to loosen the tail covering in it's entirety - to
preserve for Corey's personal archives the N# flown by his initial proto-type...renewing it for modification number two.







A cleaned frame ready for a fresh application of fabric.
















Time to get this tail in order.







Each section became a little easier to clean, because I developed a method of my own.

I didn't need to strip it in a bunch of tiny pieces, but managed to pull off entire sections with well placed cuts and a bit of opposing power.





Next came the upper and lower left ailerons ,with both the upper and lower right ailerons to follow at a later date.









Due to my skill level I've pretty much accomplished all I'll be able to do alone for now.




 Corey has ordered some stainless steel cable, 3M Fastbond Contact Adhesive 30NF Green Glue and Aircraft Spruce has come through with some smaller parts  for the Voisin 35 at the present time.

We will be getting the order in for fabric and looking for a re-drive to to get the Geo Engine placed back in position to power-up.

Next post will show a few pictures of Corey's reworking of the wings...

Until then Have a Great Day!