Wednesday, May 13, 2009

You Might Be a Woodchuck . . .

If a truck full of old wooden pallets seems like a big prize . . .


We are so totally woodchucks.

Those pallets came from an orchard up the road that had just tossed them on their burn pile. What could they have been thinking, burning perfectly good (old, half-broken) wooden pallets that way? Craziness! Luckily, A. noticed them, then the MiL saw one of the orchard owners at an event on Sunday and asked if we could have them. She said yes, so we drove over there last night and tossed 'em in the truck. We felt like the Joads driving home.

We stopped in the village on the way home to get beer and ice cream at the market (I'll let you guess which item was for which person), and parked the truck right in front of the local bar. By the time we came out of the market, A.'s sister and her friend Mack were coming out of the bar to circle the truck enviously, asking where we had gotten the pallets and trying to steal them out of the back of the truck.

Welcome to woodchuck America, where wooden pallets are coveted.

I think these pallets are destined to become a chute for the sheep. And maybe a cold frame, when combined with one of the many old windows we have in the shed. The possibilities are endless, really. You just have to have enough imagination to see the potential in old wooden pallets.

You just have to be a woodchuck.

15 comments:

Kay said...

I think I'd like a better name as I'm battling with a woodchuck for the life of my garden.

But I do understand the allure of wood pallets. Mine are destined to become my compost area. Farmer gets seed bags loaded on them and I plan to confiscate them next time he's in the field. He wants them All and won't share. lol

CountryMidwife said...

Yup, compost too here!

Drew @ Cook Like Your Grandmother said...

You might be a woodchuck ... if you know what a "cold frame" is.

Garden Pheenix said...

lol all my raised beds are made out of pallets. My boss has over 500 (not kidding or exaggerating) just sitting on his rented out farm next door and they are mine for the taking. How do ye go about taking them apart causing the least damage?

Kristin @ Going Country said...

No, Drew. Gardeners know what a cold frame is; that's not a woodchuck thing. Unless you make your cold frames out of busted up wooden pallets and old windows scavenged from your neighbor. THEN that's a woodchuck thing.

Phoo-D said...

Wooden pallets are great! We salvaged several to use as a base for our woodpile last year. It allows the air to circulate nicely.

Chiot's Run said...

I agree, they could become so many things:

a compost pile
raised beds
a nice fence

Sherry said...

What's a cold frame??????

Kristin @ Going Country said...

Sherry: It's a wooden box with a glass top that can be raised or lowered. It's used to keep seedlings and plants warm when it's still a little too cold out for them. The sun comes in through the glass top and warms the box. The top is raised or lowered as needed to moderate the temperature.

Ours got broken all to pieces by falling walnuts in the fall (nice placement under the tree, Kristin--you moron), and I have not yet got new glass for it. Sad.

FinnyKnits said...

We do love our pallets around here. Between Redneck Bubba and my dad the contractor, we have many uses for pallets.

And when they're too broken down to be useful anymore, they make great firewood.

mdvelazquez said...

People throw away wood?!

Daisy said...

Composter, most definitely. But I'm biased (just see my blog name!)

krysta said...

in stockton you wouldn't be a woodchuck, you'd be a meth addict. meth addicts sell pallets for $$$$

Mayberry Magpie said...

Could you maybe drive to Mayberry and pick up the pallet that's been in our driveway FOR TWO YEARS? Why in the world does a city dweller need this and why won't the male in our home properly dispose of it?

Anonymous said...

Around here pallets are for stacking hay on. When they fall apart, then they are firewood.