BMN Greenhouse Ideas

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Good Morning and dare I say Happy Monday?
We had a fine weekend, maybe that is the reason I am in good cheer. When I ran my own business, I did not like Monday. Strictly speaking I'm still self-employed, except I get a check every week. Yeah, it's unusual, but it works very well, and it makes Friday something to look forward to, instead of a dread. We've been scrimping  on propane this weekend, because the tank is running low. The truck is supposed to fill it up today.  We hope so, we're getting spoiled with the modern utilities here at this house.

I'm mentioning this because well yeas, my demeanor is much improved, and I believe this comfortable home has helped. Nell gets the cast off tomorrow. She has been immobilized for so long we're both at the end of our ropes  while at the same time anxious to get to back into our own home.  Emotionally, it's nothing compared to the drama and trauma we've been through last year. I've made some personal breakthroughs  these last few months. Although there are no limitations to what Nell and I can do here at the ranch, we've tried to be considerate of the other family members and their feelings.  I'm sorry to say that hasn't panned out as we hoped, but I decided that it might have a better chance of working if the other family members put a little effort into communicating.

Nell's-cast-fireplace-Feb-19th2012 We're giving this house a workout. I doing the best I can to keep it clean. The fireplace works amazingly well. It is a keeper for certain. I worry a little what will become of this house if I am not doing maintenance. The plan Nell and I are working with at this moment is, we'll live here while we pull the trailer away from our house and build over there.  

(Buddy-Brian-Hike-Feb-19th-2012) It was nice to get outside and hike on Sunday. It's hard to say precisely how far we hiked, maybe a couple miles. The distance isn't as important because I like to think that if I keep up on these hikes as least every couple days maybe I'll be able to keep my weight down to the 199 mark where I want it.  An added benefit is the clarity I get from these peaceful hikes through the silent forests.

(Buddy-Brian-Hike-Feb-19th-2012-broken-dam) I didn't start out thinking about greenhouses, but by the time I returned I had a clarity of vision about what might work very well as far as the hilltop south facing earth-sheltered greenhouse.

(Buddy-Brian-Hike-Feb-19th-2012-fresh-snow) Odd on this hike, I was amazed by the freshness of the snow, and the lack of tracks. Now that I look at these pictures I wonder where all the rabbit and squirrel tracks were, not to mention a lack of turkey tracks. I don't know what it means, if anything. 

(Buddy-Brian-Hike-Feb-19th-2012-reality-TV-shot)  Keep on putting one foot in front of the other. I'm also focusing on keeping my exertion level high. I didn't stop to take this picture either

(Buddy-Brian-Hike-Feb-19th-2012-Flat40) There is something about the fresh snow.  

(Buddy-Brian-Hike-Feb-19th-2012)  While I hiked,  I worked  through ideas in my head. Before the weekend I had an idea to make the greenhouse crescent shaped.  I like the idea of an unconventional building design, but I was thinking that I could expand upon the crescent shape creating more floor space. I stretched the crescent into an oblong, something like this: () and liked it better.  What was it I liked about the rounded glazed front on the greenhouse? Oblique angles, the more the merrier. Getting the sun in the Winter into the greenhouse is of utmost importance.

(Buddy-Brian-Hike-Feb-19th-2012-virgin-snow)  I went and found the first definition of oblique just so I was clear in my thinking of how I am using the term: a : neither perpendicular nor parallel : inclined b : having the axis not perpendicular to the base <an oblique cone> c : having no right angle <an oblique triangle>

We want the sun to strike the glazing straight on. More rays are transmitted and less are reflected with perpendicular  angle. I'm using the term oblique from an observer's point of view. The ideal angle is an average of Winter Sun perpendicularity  to the glazing. Obviously the sun is not stay in the same place in the sky so we estimate at which orientation and angle the glazing would offer the best transmittance for the greatest amount of time when we need it most, during the cold months.

So I'm hiking along building this greenhouse in my mind.  Round south face with access to more morning Sun than afternoon sun, good good so far. Ray tracing in my mind. It really either comes down to setting up a dummy building and watching where the sun strikes the building and more importantly where it strikes the ground inside where our future plants will be, or creating an CAD design. This isn't an option for me because I simply don't want to, learn AutoCAD. Surely that would diminish my artistic creativity.

(Buddy-Brian-Hike-Feb-19th-2012) 

So there I was ray tracing sun beams in my head, it really isn't difficult and I enjoy thinking this way. The sunbeam comes in this way… where is it going to land? We of course want the sun to strike the plants, but also the warmth should strike the back wall of our greenhouse warming the earth. In my mind where I worked on this problem while walking,  I stretched the oblong shape out even further.  Silly as it seems now that I didn't think of this before, we all know what happens when the narrow sides of an elliptic are pulled out to the same diameter as the longer dimensions right? 

Sure. We get a circle.

(Buddy-Brian-Hike-Feb-19th-2012-faithful-companion) That's it then master? A round greenhouse. That is what you were thinking about while I was being a dog; chasing scents and playing?

Yes Buddy, daddy is going to build a round greenhouse. After ray tracing sunbeams in my mind for the last hour or so I have come to the conclusion that I will get to do one of my favorite artistic processes and build a curved rock wall, underground this time, hopefully creating a lovely greenhouse that inspires us to spend time year round cultivating food and herbs, helping to keep us healthy and happy even in the  coldest  of winters.

What do you think of them apples?
Brian Rodgers   

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