Rescued Paulownia Dresser

We decided to hire a guy to redo our driveway and parking space. And what a guy! He can do anything, and he gave us a year's worth of firewood to boot! Part of his job is pulling down old houses, so he tries to recycle any decent beams and posts. AND HE GIVES THEM AWAY!!! Our dream of adding a guest house is starting to look possible.  Also, as part of the demolition process, he often unearths antiques, collectibles, and some retro items that the customers give him. They are not always in the best of shape, but they aren't broken either.

Well, these things pile up, and he and his wife like to see them re-used. When we told them of our love of Japanese antiques, he showed me this beauty he got demolishing a doctor's house..

Rescued Paulownia dresser

It is quite scratched and worn, but amazingly all the fittings are whole (but rusty) and it looks amazing!

We have been looking in recycle shops for a dresser for our daughter, and now one just falls from the sky. 

Now I just need to figure out how to take care of it. Do I oil it? Polish it with a soft cloth? How would you care for 100 year old paulownia wood?

Aquaponic Strawberries

Well, making the hydroponic strawberry system was so simple, I thought I would add one to my aquaponics system as well. Then I can compare yields and flavor.

I realized that I don't need to build a pvc pipe stand for the grow tubes. They will do just fine supported by... well, anything! So I just measured to the top edge of the grow box, and calculated that for a 1% drop, I would need to lift the inlet four centimeters from the grow box, the far joint two centimeters, and just rest the exit on the media in the grow bed. Works great!

Then I planted twenty strawberry starts in vermiculite pots with wicks and set them into the holes. 

This was ridiculously easy to do.

Drilling the holes with my hole saw

Changing my PVC pipe to some garden hose.
Hill and Bourne don't seem to mind.

Planted 20 new strawberry plants in the aquaponics system!