Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Just took a pic of one on my Studio window ... These guys (ladies) are finally making a comeback 10 years after Katrina when they were all but wiped out ... First year we’ve seen them in numbers . and some have “mutated“ to have a more round abdomen ...

Around here, we spider proof with "hedge apples" AKA Osage Oranges. There is something in them that repels the spiders. Or at least that's what the "old wives" tell us. The trees are gnarly, thorny and will dull a chainsaw faster than a rock. Fence posts made from them last for ever and if you use it in a wood stove, you never put more than one stick in at a time with other lesser woods. It burns so hot that many have warped a good stove.

We’ve used Osage Orange for years to make Bows (archery) ... Tough, springy wood !!! Poisonous ... The seeds in the fruit especially ... Great wood , impossible to find around here ... You’re lucky if you have a supply growing near you ...

LOL, those are big spiders! What I do to spider-proof the playhouse is simply go in there with a cloth and capture/expel every spider I find. I do this just before the grandies come for a visit. Of course the spiders come back...I don't mind them as long as they aren't walking on me...

To continue this nice off topic wander... We use Osage Oranges in our basement every year to keep the roaches away. It works like a charm. The one year that I did not do it, they came back. However, the O Oranges have never kept away the spiders down there though come to think of it, I haven't seen any Grand-daddy Long Legs in a long time. Hmmm. But we still have Brown Recluses and the little spiders that like old rotten plaster! I vacuum up the spider eggs each Winter. It reduces them dramatically.

GPW, where do you bow sawyers get Osage Orange wood? If you please?

Thanks!

Kathleen

For what it's worth, the huge brown ones, the 'Huntsman spiders', eat roaches. Since I'm down here in the FL woods, I make friends with every 5 inch brown huntsman I can find! You usually won't see a brown recluse unless you stick your hand in a woodpile, or under a pile of leaves without gloves.....

Turtle , we have to order it by mail from people further north that have it growing locally and cut it specifically for bow making ..... and it’s quite expensive like that ... It doesn’t grow around here that I know of ...
Angeli , we’ve seen them as big as our hand ... They are usually moving in the opposite direction ... and are more frequent now that the Cats are gone ...

GPW wrote:Turtle , we have to order it by mail from people further north that have it growing locally and cut it specifically for bow making ..... and it’s quite expensive like that ... It doesn’t grow around here that I know of ...
Angeli , we’ve seen them as big as our hand ... They are usually moving in the opposite direction ... and are more frequent now that the Cats are gone ...

Love to see some pictures of your bows

OK...

First one is Osage Orange , replica of an Indian horse bow ... 40#@20” ... 40” tall .. Deer leg sinew on back covered with Tandy snakeskin... small but dangerous ...
Second is 72” Bamboo longbow with fabric backing 45#@28” Very accurate ...

Third is bows made from PVC plumbing pipe which works remarkably well and leads me to believe this material could prove useful for trailer construction ... somehow ...

You probably get that O. O. wood from up here. The place where I go to collect my Osage Oranges has a grove of seven large trees in a circle. It is very beautiful and a family of owls lives in one of the trees. But they grow all over this area.

Those bows are super cool. The one covered in snakeskin looks scary and deadly. Looks like the Osage wood is very pretty and light in the second one. The PVC ones are beautiful. Who knew?

Angeli, the brown recluses live in my basement! It is typical of the old houses up here in Missouri. Mine was built in 1880. I wish the Osage Oranges chased them away, but not so far. We just don't stick our hands into any dark cluttered area without a good check first.

Cheerio,

Kathleen

As it was explained to me a while back, you take the seeds of the poisonous Osage fruit , dry them out and grind them into a powder and sprinkle them around suspect areas... I think that's an Old Indian trick , and may only work for old Indians ....
Just FYI, good staves for bows can easily cost upwards of $100.00 plus shipping ... and not just any Osage tree works , specific grain patterns and knotless, pin less varieties preferred ... The small snakeskin covered bow is a short bow meant to be used on horseback ... you ride up alongside the Buffalo and shoot point blank .... That's just Gotta' be exciting eh !!!

so GPW, what is going on with the Zephyr? oh, sorry, first time poster. read all about this. like it. was thinking about a 2+2 with a Vistabule thrown in and a trollie top. 12' x 5' x 5', trollie top 1' high x 2" wide for a standup. now that I have seen this I like this better. in those same messurements do you think it could be built just with foam or a lite weight frame be better?
thanks
Outlaw

O’, the frame was to make assembly easier , and provide some inner structure to hang things on ... We still haven’t started on this one yet as we’re still fooling with the FoamStream ... but we are gathering materials for the build ... Plenty of time to find (scavenge ) good materials , at a good price ...

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