Category Archives: Okra Paradise Farms

Half way between Atlanta and Orlando and all the way to paradise!

Deadfalls after Hurricane Helene 2024-12-07

Every path through my woods looks like this. Hurricane Helene was ten times worse than Idalia for south Georgia and north Florida. Forestry is Georgia’s top industry, and it is hurting bad, along with pecan trees and other agriculture.

[Fallen oak and pine trees after Hurricane Helene]
Fallen oak and pine trees after Hurricane Helene

-jsq

More cast iron hangers 2024-12-14

There was still too much cast iron getting musty in drawers, so we added two more racks.

[More cast iron hangers for grilling]
More cast iron hangers for grilling

These are mostly grilling items, near the back door, leading to the grill on the back porch and the fire pit.

Some items moved from the hall hangers, allowing those to get more organized. Continue reading

Rolling a big oak tree limb 2024-11-26

Gretchen and her granddaughter Elleanor tried rolling an oak limb out of the way.

[Rolling the oak log]
Rolling the oak log

Suddenly, as by magic, it’s done! Continue reading

Dropped oak tree on tractor shed roof 2024-11-27

Oops. That oak tree insisted on going south when I cut it down. It made a big dent in the tractor shed roof.

[Roof damage]
Roof damage

It broke off the end of one roof truss. But the main truss and the plate it is sitting on are undamaged. So it’s fixable, and not so bad meanwhile. Continue reading

Boat rack, cherry logs, child labor 2024-11-27

After I chainsawed a cherry tree off the corncrib and dropped some cherry logs on the boat rack, I screwed it back together almost straight.

[Rebuilt boat rack almost straight]
Rebuilt boat rack almost straight

We used child labor to roll out the resulting cherry logs. Continue reading

Chainsawing cherry tree off corn crib roof 2024-11-17

Yet another clearing task after Hurricane Helene: get that cherry tree off the corn crib roof.

[Sawing from the top --Gretchen Quarterman]
Sawing from the top –Gretchen Quarterman

It was a nice Prunus serotina, but it would not survive like that, and we could not leave it to cause more damage during the next big storm. Continue reading

Swayback shack roof 2024-11-10

Here is our 8×16-foot roof extension to our firewood shelter, the swayback shack.

[Swayback shack roof extension]
Swayback shack roof extension

This is steel roofing that was on my niece’s house before Hurricane Helene poked holes in it. You can see a few of the holes, but they won’t leak, because we put them on top of solid pieces of steel.

So, more room for the massive amounts of firewood we’re accumulating by sawing deadfalls off of driveways and woods paths.

-jsq

Cypress Swamp with dogs after Hurricane Helene 2024-11-11

Our cypress swamp doesn’t look too bad at the west end, after Hurricane Helene.

[Deadfall, west end]
Deadfall, west end

But some of it is quite bad. Continue reading