Sand Springs Oklahoma Gardeners United (Cooperative)

I am looking for or wanting to create a local urban farmers cooperative to sell locally grown produce. 

I found a cooperative but it was out of Oklahoma City (http://www.oklahomafood.coop) and not Tulsa or Sand Springs, Oklahoma (OK). 

Someone might want to join it locally and car pool produce to OKC but that is too far and costly for individuals locally to travel. We need to develop a no cost or low cost local list and group to organize and help the local gardeners. 

In my retirement I have started to spend much of my time vegetable gardening on my 1 acre parcel. My affective area for most of my gardening is only about a half acre however I have spaced it out using terracing. I and developing the terracing as I go with the rich soil and better use for rain water management. 

On April 30, 2012 morning I went out and cut, washed, and bagged several pounds of Red Romaine and Bright Green Grand Rapids Leaf Lettuce and realized I need to find people wanting to buy fresh vegetables since I cannot eat enough to keep up with it and do not want to just toss it into the compost pile and waste it. I need to join or create a list of gardeners and individuals who can help market the local produce. 

People looking for fresh vegetables need a local list of those offering it fresh from their gardens. Gardeners need a way to turn their produce into money to offset cost of seeds, supplies, and resources for their hard work and to encourage more local vegetable produce. A list of local buyers is needed too. 

Local vegetable stands, food services, restaurants, or institutions wanting fresh local produce are welcome to join the communication effort to spread the word expend the list. 

Contact me at gary@gbreisch.com if you have any information about existing resources or if you want to be added to the list of interested individuals who want to be part of such a cooperative or Local Gardeners United in or near Sand Springs, OK.

Gary's List Of Unfinished Projects GLOUP

Introduction: First of all, this is a draft and not a polished or thorough list that is subject to updating and corrections. I welcome your feedback or donations of time or funding to expand and improve these subjects. Note the date of this and other subject writings. This subject and ideas relating to them began many years prior to this summary writing of 11/17/2011 (date code 20111117). I am just throwing these subjects out there in hopes of some benefits for myself and others who might share the care. -------------------------- Subject: TRS Documentation & Internet (Online) Availability. All the Land Surveys, Section by Section, especially the ones completed near 1965 in the Keystone Reservoir, need to be indexed and available online. Other than the massive Township Range Section (TRS) folder-file system that I have built over the last 20 years, there are two outfits that can backup TRS data. Hubtack & Land Surveyor's United (AKA Land Surveyors University) (LSU) are the other two resources for management of TRS data. Hubtack has specialized in picking up where the "State" systems have left off by scanning and mapping the corner records that are part of the essential evidence needed for land title, legal descriptions, and other land surveying related projects. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) AKA Corps of Engineers (COE) contracted out large areas of land adjacent to lakes and rivers to be surveyed related to government boundaries back in the 1960's & 1970's I am guessing (details of which are limited by my local experience). Research is needed to index those projects and the details as to TRS information. None of that information to my knowledge at that time was filed at the County Clerk's Offices as would be proper to preserve that valuable information as with other Plats of Survey (POS) to my knowledge. Prior to 1980 I estimate, the age of government funding for the maintenance of Land Surveying related documentation disappeared. The funding, necessary for the inventory and management of that very critical and valuable evidence was all but forgotten. Today you rarely hear the title of "County Land Surveyor" or "County Land Surveying Department" come up except for the old timers like myself who remember them as a valuable source of information. There are a few "County Engineers" still out there who may have the foresight and funding to maintain and modernize that essential data. People just do not understand how important that data is to our economic health and the cost of "re-creating the wheel" for projects. Funding needs to be set aside again so that land can be developed and improved for the benefit of all. It creates productive jobs and results that help the economy more than any welfare program. A modern day WPA that would put surveyors back to work doing what they do best would help us all in the recovery of our economy. Healthy, productive, projects to modernize and make this Land Survey Evidence easy to obtain saves us all much work and will help eliminate the waste that has accumulated. Countries like China understand this have looked ahead and planned such that they are efficient and are leaving us behind. Poor management of the TRS system causes waste of time and paperwork caused by legal problems and misunderstandings. Better management of the TRS resources will put us back to productive work building things instead of shuffling papers and working with expensive and poor or no data at a much higher cost and less reliable. The cost of poor data is higher costs for insurance and legal expenses instead of using that money to build things that will advance and help our economy. Why should we have to worry about having reliable data or risking our jobs for misunderstandings that are generated by a lack of focus on helping others find and use resources that we already have (somewhere). I have heard stories of data in the form of field books, plats, and maps that have been piled into closets of County Clerk's Offices or thrown away due to ignorance in Oklahoma. Such waste is a product of ignorance and education partially cause by agencies that have their focus on aimless and many rules and penalties instead of their focus on resources and helping the land surveyor solve problems and grow as a team from the solutions. I am making progress locally by obtaining the USACE Partial Boundary Plats. It takes a lot of time to build indexes, folders, and files to store them in a somewhat organized TRS system. More later maybe........................ --------------------------------- Subject: Recovery & Better Drawings of Cistern Well Water Pumps. Recently I decided to look for a Cistern Hand Operated lever water well Pump (CHOP) part and found it time consuming and difficult to find and verify what I needed to fix my pump. I took a chance, ordered what I thought was the part I needed and fixed it. There is a lack of information for the CHOP. I started to hand sketch and measure the parts along with taking pictures and drawing the part in CAD. I did not finish the project, like most of my inspiration projects. I am not sure any project of that type is ever finished due to the room for improvements and available ways to display the information on the web. I want the time and the funds to continue with these types of projects and welcome your help. More later maybe........................ ------------------------------ Subject: Solar Panels Grid Tie or Battery Bank System - Payback Pursuit Ever since the 1960's I have been fascinated with the advent of having a solar system that would provide enough utility to pay for itself in savings over conventional utilities. I have found other people with similar interests lately and it looks like there is still a chance that solar panels may be available that will have a payback of less than 5 years if they can be obtained at a low enough price and put into service quickly as a grid tie to slow down or reverse that electric meter. It probably will not happen soon for my place but my buddy tells me that he may have them soon. Meanwhile I have taken all my small solar yard lights apart because they quit working to work on combining them into a mini panel to see if I can get a mini system working to refresh my knowledge of electronics and testing of the old tiny panels. After testing about 12 cells, I was surprised how durable they are and how well they still worked. It was that battery they provide for the yard light that was the weakest link. The cells, even the ugly ones with the clear coating all yellowed and cracked that still put out as good as the clear newer ones. Learning a lot and hope to have something of value to save on energy usage someday soon. More later maybe........................ --------------------------------- Subject: Landscape Efficiency. I took my otherwise nice moderately smooth and sloped back yard (about 2/3 of an acre) and started digging contour based ditches and ponding areas last year. It was a good year to do that since we had record hot dry weather. I did not capture a lot of water that would otherwise run off due the the drought but I am now seeing improvement in water collection with the recent fall rains. It is a good use of exercise activity to hand dig ditches and ridges to capture rain and put it back into the ground water or hold it to soak the garden better. I used to have to resist the tendency to buy things to do yard work for gardening and related projects, but now I have no problem with that due to lack of funds. I use my exercise time when not out in the field doing billable work (been a long time) to dig and wheel barrow my soil around to better use the rainfall resource. I even dug a hole 9' down in the low area to see if I could find water. I recall finding water at 4-8 feet about 35 years ago in that area or further west or north of my place. I found much more clay than I recall but a good 3 feet of topsoil and layers that indicated ancient deposits of topsoil between layers of clay. I recall that there was sand about 4 feet down that is part of the Arkansas River bed. Together with my cistern system, I want to make improvements to my place to better use the rain resource rather than see that water run off to the Tulsa Boy's Home (swamp) and the Arkansas River. If more of us would do that, we would have less flooding and better use of water resources. More later maybe........................ --------------------------------- Gary Breisch Land Surveyor's United (LSU) Member Map Administrator (MMA) gary@gbreisch.com www.gbreisch.com 918-948-5263 cell 918-401-0061 Google tel 3001 S. 137th W. Ave. Sand Springs, OK 74063 Surveying and Related Services Since 1965

LED bulbs for home use have been here for years - now is the time to invest

Article by gbreisch.com (Gary W. Breisch)

On the positive note, if you could pay for the cost of the bulb in about 1-2 years, then you will save enough energy to pay for bulbs that would otherwise cost you much more in energy and materials using the old Incandescent Bulbs (IB). You could have already paid for them in electricity savings if you bought them two years ago like me.

LED conventional utility light bulbs that will fit and replace the IB were too expensive at first. They are still expensive but can pay for themselves within two years now if you can get them for less than $25 each. The will last for over 20 years however after about 50,000 hours or so, they will become weaker but will not burn out like the IB which are lucky to last over 1100 hour.

They now show a substantial savings of energy and cost for basic lighting.
Several years ago after many years of study regarding LED Light Bulbs and related energy saving devices as a hobby, I finally found a bulb that was about 1/5 the cost of the LED bulbs I had found years previous.

The ones I found at first were about $100 for a basic LED bulb that would serve in a reading lamp and be very similar in light to a 60w incandescent bulb.

I have tested three of them since early 2009 with very good results and expect to have them forever as long as they do not get broken or stolen. With the price being so much higher, then theft may become a more common problem as the public replaces the inexpensive incandescent bulb we have taken for granted for over 100 years or so.

I paid about $23 each when I ordered 3 bulbs over two years ago. Recently 5/17/2011 I checked my resources and I can get 3 for $47.40 plus shipping. I see they are $ 59.18 for the slowest shipping 5-15 days HongkongPost and $ 69.80 for UPS 3-5 day delivery.

Old add:

LED Light Bulb - Warm White (5W)
Warm white LED light bulb for use in any standard incandescent socket. After many months of careful research and study we are happy to finally bring you our own selection of white LED lights. These are professionally designed light bulbs (often called LED lamps in the trade)………...

Your Price: $22.76
Wholesale As Low As: $19.68
In Stock

New Ad:

LED Light Bulb - Warm White (3W)
Average Customer Rating: based on 1 reviews
Product code: CVCL-G07



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$15.80 x 3 pcs = $47.40


Warm white LED light bulb for use in any standard incandescent socket.

After many months of careful research and study we are happy to finally bring you our own selection of white LED lights. These are compact sized light bulbs (often called LED lamps in the trade) that will fit into any standard incandescent lamp socket. Our G07 model produces a warm white color light and measures a mere 100mm by 55mm (L x W), making it suitable for placing in practically any size/shape lighting fixture.

There has been plenty in the news about green gadgets and environmentally friendly LED lights recently. You probably already know the potential energy and environmental savings that can be achieved by switching to LED's. If not, then let us give you a simple rundown of the primary benefits:
1. Energy savings
2. Incredible lamp life (50,000 hours)
3. Environmentally friendly (no mercury or harmful gases)

The design and manufacture of these LED lights is beyond compare - from the all metal primary housing and die cast cooling fins to the IC boards that drive the diodes, every part has been manufactured to exceed world performance standards. You simply cannot find a better built compact-sized 3 watt screw in LED light bulb than the G07!

Great for retrofitting into existing low wattage desk lamps, wall sconces, multi-lamp pendants, these warm white LED light bulbs deliver smooth and uniform light distribution without any flicker. In addition, these LED lights provide particularly good eye friendly task lighting for computer desks.

Chinavasion offers this LED light bulb with full QC testing before shipment ,so you can try one for yourself to see how it works. Then you can stock up on this new LED lamp to sell at your online / physical store or feature it in your latest eBay, Amazon or uBid listings.

At a Glance...
• Warm white color LED bulb for use in any standard screw-in light socket.
• True professionally designed lamp casing (heavy gauge all metal curvilinear design), not plastic like the cheap lights on the marketplace today.
• Deliver diffused lighting without the flicker, noise or heat you can get with other conventional light sources.

Plat Records in Oklahoma

Although the State of Oklahoma provides the foundation for each of the 77 counties to operate, the manner in which records are stored and retrieved vary immensely.  Regrettably, many County and City Engineers do not consider the maintenance of land surveying records to be a high priority.  Consequently, it can be a very trying experience locating and researching valuable land surveying records.

In many instances, private land surveyor records, maintained by private firms may provide the best evidence as to the historic and correct location of critical land surveying monuments.

When working in a new county or neighborhood, it is recommended that you contact local surveyor(s) familiar with the area.  It is not uncommon to learn that there are certain Land Surveyors who specialize in select neighborhoods or cities within each county.  For example, in the County of Tulsa , neighborhoods that Gary Breisch works in the most such as Sand Springs, Sapulpa North, Mannford East, Catoosa, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Bixby, and Jenks to name a few each require unique and special knowledge of local surveying problems as well as the location and repository of land surveying records.  In nearby Osage & Pawnee Counties, due to the absence of a solid land records base, private survey notes may provide the best available evidence as to the location of subdivision boundaries, right of way lines, and historic control monuments.  Anyone working in these areas are advised to extend their research to include private survey records.

Gary can provide you with a map of Oklahoma showing the counties to facilitate your research efforts. Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counties_in_Oklahoma

  The various counties are hyper-linked to expedite your research efforts.  Gary has developed County Research Tips information sites for your convenience. If you need assistance in your research efforts, feel free to contact us at gbreisch@gmail.com

We welcome your suggestions.

Thank you for considering www.gbreisch.com and Surveyor’s Coop of Oklahoma (SCO).

Although the State of Oklahoma provides the foundation for each of the 77 counties to operate, the manner in which records are stored and retrieved vary immensely. Regrettably, many County and City Engineers do not consider the maintenance of land surveying records to be a high priority. Consequently, it can be a very trying experience locating and researching valuable land surveying records.
In many instances, private land surveyor records, maintained by private firms may provide the best evidence as to the historic and correct location of critical land surveying monuments.
When working in a new county or neighborhood, it is recommended that you contact local surveyor(s) familiar with the area. It is not uncommon to learn that there are certain Land Surveyors who specialize in select neighborhoods or cities within each county. For example, in the County of Tulsa , neighborhoods that Gary Breisch works in the most such as Sand Springs, Sapulpa North, Mannford East, Catoosa, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Bixby, and Jenks to name a few each require unique and special knowledge of local surveying problems as well as the location and repository of land surveying records. In nearby Osage & Pawnee Counties, due to the absence of a solid land records base, private survey notes may provide the best available evidence as to the location of subdivision boundaries, right of way lines, and historic control monuments. Anyone working in these areas are advised to extend their research to include private survey records.
Gary can provide you with a map of Oklahoma showing the counties to facilitate your research efforts. Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counties_in_Oklahoma

The various counties are hyper-linked to expedite your research efforts. Gary has developed County Research Tips information sites for your convenience. If you need assistance in your research efforts, feel free to contact us at gbreisch@gmail.com
We welcome your suggestions.
Thank you for considering www.gbreisch.com and Surveyor’s Coop of Oklahoma (SCO).

Topo Precise and Cheap

Think TOPO – Think it Fast – Think it Modern – Think it Efficient – Think it Low Cost – Think it Multiple Use Data - 

New View Digital Mapping of Tulsa (NVDMT) and growing with Surveyors all over the World.

Prices:
1)  Digital topographic contour map (includes point data in DWG file format) from precision satellite laser scanning of the earth surface known as LiDAR that is processed into easy to view and use format.
     •  Aerial coordinated over a USGS quad sheet and aerial photograph
     •  5'/10' contour intervals
     •  Cropped to the size of the boundary map
     •  $1000 per 100 acre section. Multiple 100 acre sections are $1000 per section.
     •  Useful for general preliminary planning and watershed analysis or water resource management.

     •  Includes overview by Registered Land Surveyor and on-site High Precision Control Points with NAVD88, NAD83, and WGS84 coordinate data set and provided with DWG file format.

2)  Digital topographic contour map  (includes point data in DWG file format) from precision satellite laser scanning of the earth surface known as LiDAR that is processed into easy to view and use format.
     •  Aerial coordinated over a USGS quad sheet and aerial photograph
     •  1'/2' contour intervals
     •  Cropped to the size of the boundary map
     •  $1500 per 100 acre section. Multiple 100 acre sections are $1500 per section.
     • Useful for engineering and design.

     •  Includes overview by Registered Land Surveyor and on-site High Precision Control Points with NAVD88, NAD83, and WGS84 coordinate data set and provided with DWG file format.

For above: 50% retainer required for all new client accounts is credited on invoice #1.  Prices are based on payment within 14 days of invoice.  The 14 day invoice payments are based on a discount of 30%.  The 14 to 30 day discount is considered 50% discount.  No discounts are given after 30 days of invoice date plus 2% interest averaged per month and calculated prorate per day after 30 days added on to invoice balance.  If your budget requires other terms, please allow me to work with you on your special needs.


3)  If you bring New View Digital Mapping of Tulsa a large project, such as the one being bid on for $80,000 then I will pay you a 5% commission. So, for example, based on an $80,000 project revenue and if you find a city or county that would need a large area mapped to integrate with their GIS system then I would have you refer them to me and I would work directly with them and upon completion of the project and receipt of payment you would be eligible for the 5% commission. I believe that, not only is the big money in these municipal projects, but I also believe the greatest need may be in this sector at this time as well.

If you research the cities and counties in your state I bet you will find that many do not have actual digital contour maps to integrate with their GIS systems and would like it but until now the cost has probably been prohibitive.

For those interested in more information, as a user of this kind of data or as a surveyor wanting to provide this service, please contact me for more information on how we can work together for our mutual benefit. Samples of projects are available for this low priced and high quality and precision mapping service provided by land surveyors all over the World.

Thanks,

Kyser Williams
New View Digital Mapping of Tulsa
AAdvanceLandServices@gmail.com

Samples and additional information can be accessed at:

http://www.gbreisch.com/gwb/client/NVDMT

The Land Ownership Map & Reference System

See the drawing above to get an idea of how the sections are laid out in the typical TRS (Township Range Section) grid. 

Starting with the basics and assuming you have not had the opportunity or desire in the past to understand the land ownership grid system.  This system is used in most states of the USA (United States of America) and was based on the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) way back in the beginning of land ownership in the USA.

It would be interesting to research all the other LOS (Land Ownership Systems) of other places in the world to see if similar systems are used.  I am a Registered Professional Land Surveyor in Oklahoma who has been land surveying since 1965.  I have recently had the opportunity to talk with fellow land surveyors all over the world.  With the use of Survey Accurate GPS (Global Positioning Systems), most all of us with any foresight into the future see the importance of having a system that ties all the old systems together and improves the way we find and access points on the ground.  Ultimately I want to see a system that includes the true position of each point that defines a boundary of ownership that will never get lost or have to be re-surveyed.

Oklahoma used to spend more of its tax resources on maintaining the "system" of paperwork that defined ownership.  As technology accelerated, the land LOS stayed mostly the same with a few acceptations is way behind technology. We have the ability to establish a true position of each and every section corner including quarter corners including the center of each section in Oklahoma.  Little or no funds are available to do this in Oklahoma.  Some states are doing it and the positive economic impact is obvious.

Before I lose you totally on what is meant by section corners, let me make it clear that when I say section corners, I include all the original points that the original surveyors set back in the mid to late 1800's on and in the ground.  When I say "Section Corner", I mean each and every point or monument that the original surveyors placed and mapped back then including quarter corners around the perimeter of the section spaced about a half mile apart.  I am also including the center of each section which is the common quarter corner of the four quarters of a section.  The way a section is divided is shown below.  It is important to first understand how the sections are numbered and divided. 

Back in the beginning, an initial point was set in Oklahoma using the same instructions as most all other TRS (Township Range Section) in other states of the USA.  See the drawing above to get an idea of how the sections are laid out in the typical TRS  grid.  Notice that the "Initial Point" is at the intersection of the Base Line and Meridian Line.  The Base line is basically a line that is parallel to one of the Latitude lines that circles the globe and is basically parallel to the equator.  

By the way, the equator spins slightly faster than 1000 miles per hour in relationship to the line that goes thru the north and south pole of the globe.  This is a good thing to know and can be quite interesting if you get your head into all the factors that influence gravity, momentum, and and position of any point on our globe.  When you put real numbers to these factors, you begin to understand how it works and why we have developed systems to inventory points on our globe or big blue marble from space and on the ground.  I recommend that you research the many factors including the thickness of our atmosphere compared to the size of the earth too.  You may be amazed after you discover the truth about how they compare. 

The TRS grid is numbered north and south by the name of Townships.  In other words, the north or south number of the grid can only be the Township. I use a numbers system that excludes the name because the north or south designation means that it is a township designation so why waste space to say it is a Township when the number and direction is all you need.  For example, I use 19N11E16 for the TRS of the Section that I reside.

The code name for the TRS that I use represents the least amount of characters needed to describe exactly the section that a property is described or anchored.  The 11E in that code represents Range 11 East because Range numbers are either east or west.  There are 36 sections in each Township-Range (TR) area.  The drawing above shows the Township-Range grid.  Each TR is about 36 square miles plus or minus.  More about the specific meaning of "plus or minus" or "more or less"  later to explain a very important class of descriptions. The "more or less" designation refers to the section subdivisions with this wording that has been misused for many years by attorneys, abtract companies, and surveyors due to a lack of understanding and use.



The below drawing represents the shaded area of the drawing above and shows a TR that is divided down into sections to complete the TRS system designation.  All land surveys are based on the TRS system used by the County Clerk and County Assessor in each County of Oklahoma to locate boundaries and inventory ownership of land areas.

Notice that section 14 is shaded in the drawing above.  Each section is approximately 1 square mile or 640 acres.  You can truly say that each section is 640 acres more or less.  So why do we say "more or less"?  If  you know the exact dimensions of the section then there is no need to say "more or less."  If you know the precise dimensions of any tract of land then you can describe it from the section corners to precisely locate it and determine the precise area and description of the tract.  The precision dimensions are called "Metes" which is short for "measurements" provided by the land surveyor who measures the lines that make up a boundary of the tract of land being described.   If a person has those Metes then the area can be calculated to the nearest decimal based on the precision of the survey line measurements.  When the area is calculated using the measured sides of the tract, then there is no longer a need to describe the area and follow with the words "more or less" or "plus or minus".

For example, the original surveyors set monument and references to them in the original surveys which, once set, were never supposed to be moved or changed.  Those eight section corners around the section are the sides of the section and are supposedly been preserved and in the same position as originally set.  Most savvy surveyors know that that is not the case with some of the sections corners we find these days in populated areas.  Many of the original section corners where sandstones that were set in place originally, then later replaced with other types of monuments or survey markers that are common today, more than 100 years later.  Can you imagine how many times that a county road worker wiped out a section corner  that is usually at the intersection of common section line roads in Oklahoma?

Section corners have been wiped out or damaged at intersections and between those intersections because of the natural process and treaties of old times.  Most section lines have "Statutory Right-of-Way" easements that allow access to by the public and/or government entities in Oklahoma established by treaties with the various tribal lands in Oklahoma.  Statutory Right-of-Ways are not just exclusive to Oklahoma.  The width of those easements are varied in Oklahoma and it takes a special map to determine them.  I have yet to find a precision map that will allow me to zoom into the boundaries of each territory where the width changes.  There is a need for a better definition.  Few understand much about those easements and I have found no one that can help me pin down the boundaries precisely.  It appears that that and many other points have been lost due to lack of maintenance in Oklahoma.

Below is an drawing illustration of a section breakdown and typical subdivision examples. The example shown below came from the shaded area of the drawing  above.  Each example I have shown starts from the larger to the smaller like using a magnifying glass and zooming in closer and closer to a tract of land.


Unfortunately, the description of the tract within the section becomes more complicated and confusing unless you understand how to take a description and use it to plot the tract within the section as if the section was a perfect square mile.   I have yet to find a section as a perfect square mile so at this point, you must understand that we are working with "more or less" until the section has been measured and logged for both distance and bearings.

The breakdown or subdivision of a section has not changed for the better since the beginning section descriptions.  Many tracts of land are still described by "subdivision of a section" and are not considered "surveyed" even though the section was surveyed originally back in the 1800's.  So if your land is described as the 1/4 or 1/2 parts or other part descriptions elements, it most likely has not been surveyed precisely and there is really no way to locate it precisely without finding the survey markers for it or finding the survey markers from other surveys that will allow you to divide the section down to show the true distances and bearings.  For those not familiar of what bearings mean, this can be complicated to explain in words.  The old saying that "a picture is worth a thousand words" applies to this process.

Bearings are basically directions based on what is used for the North, East, South, or East direction.   The North direction can be based on the direction of a shadow of the sun with a vertical line at its highest point in the sky.  Most surveys that I see show North as an assumed plan direction shown on the Survey Drawing or "Plat of Survey" (POS).  If a Survey Accurate GPS is used for the establishment of North, then all the bearings shown are considered "true" and accurate.  "Due North" said or written does not necessarily mean True North.  When early surveyors referenced "North" it could have been based on "Magnetic North" using a compass.  A compass is subject to many factors that influence accuracy.  Regardless of the basis of bearing, the surveyor would often measure angles to calculate bearings more precisely with instruments of higher precision to better describe the Metes for a POS.   Nowadays, with SAGPS (Survey Accurate GPS) equipment, the True Bearings can be calculated by precision measurements without looking through a telescope or pulling out the tape measure.

North is UP on most maps and is shown on the best maps for orientation.

Please understand that the Bounds are more important than the Metes.  Up to this point I have focused on the system that depends on the position of the original monuments and the measurement used to create a POS with a precise description of the tract of land. Many abstract and title companies locally have lost the experience and knowledge of the legal priorities of the TRS and Metes & Bounds (MB) system.  I am not an attorney but I know one of the best land law attorneys in Oklahoma that agrees with me on the priority of Bounds.  Few attorneys, abstract & title companies, County Clerks, County Assessors, Government Authorities and land surveyors understand the priority of Bounds for a MB description.

I have recently dealt with a giant abstract and title company (GATC), that illustrated the deterioration of knowledge that has occurred.  Like many attorneys, they stripped out the Bounds part of a MB description for a description based on an actual land survey signed and sealed by a Professional Land Surveyor Licensed in Oklahoma (PLS).   Not only did that strip out the Bounds, they wanted the surveyor to change the Metes to match a variety of bearings that were not based on the same bearing base.  The original description was bad and they recommended that it be surveyed to clear up the many mis-matched boundaries that where common to the tract and where the result of other "unsurveyed" property descriptions or descriptions that were not ties back to common section survey points.

Not only did GATC strip out the essentials.  They ignored ignored the recommendations of the surveyors providing the correct information and found someone to "sign off" on the title requirements and never made sure that the surveyor that did all the work was paid.   This is a serious oversight.  With GATC being the Closer and Abstracter, it appears that the emphasis was on them getting paid and not the proper and correct process and correction of the deed and description.  They did this in the name of "title insurance" misused and interpreted to "not change or affect existing incorrect existing titles that had already been filed of record.  This was totally corrupt in my opinion and experience of work since 1965.

By this point you may be asking, what are Bounds.   Bounds are the descriptions of each and every corner marker or reference physically.  In other words it is the description of the survey marker so that anyone walking up to it could identify it beyond a shadow of doubt.  The survey point, marker, or monument was the original sandstone, then the size, dimensions, shape, and any markings on it would be so completely described, that nothing near it would be like it.   These days we use 3/8 inch diameter iron pins often driven flush with the ground with plastic caps on top of the pin.  The plastic caps have the "ID" (PLS numbers and names) on them for official corner pins and sometimes other markings like "GBREISCH.COM" to better locate the surveyor for control markers other than official corner markers.  The control markers are just as important as the corner markers because they serve as equal legal evidence to reference each other.  It is illegal to move or destroy survey markers of any kind without due legal process or procedure.   There are ways to preserve the position of these "points" without the expense of a complete "re-survey" of a boundary that I will plan to discuss later.

Most everyone who calls me about a land survey has little or no concept of what it takes to do a land survey.  They will usually ask me how much a survey costs right off without providing me with a "legal description"  or any form of map or address.  There is much need for out education system to include the basics of land descriptions and what is needed to provide a MB description and why and how it is used to the High School or Jr. High level of education.  When I use the phrase "legal description" I do it with reservation.  When is a description "legal" and is a legal description complete enough to stand up in litigation.

Perhaps most so called "legal descriptions" are not really legal at all.   In order for a survey to serve the users once and for all, they have to be based on evidence both on the ground and in the documents that represent all the Metes & Bounds found, set, or calculated for the Plat of Survey (POS).   The Plat of Survey with all those elements should legally be considered as the "legal description" of the "legal boundary evidence" of the subject tract of land described.   The only one who can legally determine a boundary is a judge in a court of law.  Meanwhile a POS and other documents can be filed at the Court Clerk in almost any format as evidence to go with the land forever and without prejudice.  In the case of a dispute, the filed evidence can be used to settle the dispute before it goes into expensive litigation and court costs.  That is why the sole purpose of a POS is to present the evidence in a way that will show enough to stand up in court and give the judge more than enough to make a decision that is fair and "do least harm."

Since 1990 I have promoted a system that will save billions of dollars that will eventually, on a point by point basis, establish an accurate position of corners that will never change.  The problem now and before is points are lost or not logged properly to such that they will never have to be surveyed again.  Think of all the time and money this would save individuals and companies wanting to buy, sale, or rent land.  Think of the law suits that could be avoided because we not can easily use these Survey Accurate Point on easy to access maps and database systems to confirm their accuracy and position once and for all.

Please search the web for SAGES (Survey Accurate Graphically Enhanced System) or SAGIS (Survey Accurate Geograpic Information Systems).  Basically they should be map systems like Google Earth that show "placemarks" or "map icons" that you can click on and bring up the precision datasheet showing the precise and true position of a point on the ground on a Survey Accurate layer of the map.  Be careful that you understand that most aerial photos will not line up with precision on the trues locations of the points.  Much of the aerial photos showing land features have been tied down with low precision land ties and can be off 100 feet more or less even in populated areas. The geographical grid on the earth is complicated to determine but with today's technology can be and easy task for Surveyors who understand and use their resources wisely and are funded sufficiently to build a system that will do more for positive economic growth than any other investment today or in the future.


This article is under construction.  Please contact Gary William Breisch, Registered Professional Land Surveyor, at www.gbreisch.com and  see the contact menu for current email and contact information.  Please let me know what you want me to write about regarding this and other subjects you may see covered at my vairous blogs, and websites under with the gbreisch or Ski-Unique name.  I like pictures, illustrations, and more drawings to be included in this and other articles.  So let me know what you want and ask me questions so that I may serve you with answers. If I do not know the answer right off, I will plan to find the answer for you.  All types of donations I will plan to accept.

Wheelbarrow Handle Dimensions

I realize this is a strange subject but surprisingly I could not find any sketches, drawings, or details on the dimensions of a wheelbarrow handle. I found a lot of handles for sale but no details, not even if their prices included two handles or one even with pictures of two. I guess there is not much of a market for replacement handles but it is the details that I would expect somewhere on the web. So I have removed my wheelbarrow handles, one is broken on the end with over 35 years of use out in the weather and all and with the steel parts still good except a few rusted and broken bolts that were the victim of dis assembly.

I have measured and noted the hole arrangements along the handle and will draw it up and pdf it so someone like me looking for "wheelbarrow handle hole dimensions" or any other combination of words can find a posting of this subject that has not been available with a Google search till now - I am assuming to be the first to offer this to the world. Funny to do this but it is nice to be the first and to go down in history helping others, few as they may be, to find some source of information on the web. Email me for my progress on this at gary@gbreisch.com and ask me about it. I pasted the drawing that I made of my handle for now below:



I got replies from some of the online providers but they gave me the typical no-brainer answers and did not give me personal help so I could order from the email or clearly understand the price and specifications. Lowe's ended up with the best description and indication of what I would be getting for my money for the 60 inch long handles.

I later went ahead and ordered from Lowe's and got them in along with ordering the bolts from Bolts.com - I thought what I needed was 1/4 inch carriage bolts but I realized after getting them in that I should have odered one size larger. I ordered Stainless Steel instead of what appeared to be just plain old steel bolts. I am still pleased with my re-assembly but I did have to drill my own holes using the better old handle as a template.

Now all I need to do is paint the whole thing with RED Rust-Oleum as my wife suggests to better protect it and to give it the finished touches.