Friday, May 31, 2013

Habitat For Humanity Deconstructs a House




Here Dave and John carefully remove building materials from a house scheduled for demolition. These materials are then sold at the Habitat Re-Store to help support Habitat's program of building decent homes for working families. The process of deconstruction is as careful and time consuming as construction. Often windows, doors, flooring, woodwork, cabinets, appliances, and copper plumbing are salvaged from these houses. Everyone wins when this happens. The home owners get the house prepared for demolition and receive a tax benefit for their donations. Habitat wins as this supports their programs. Habitat client families benefit, and the community benefits by having an increased supply of high quality, moderately priced homes. 

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Black Hills, South Dakota



These mountains are called the "Black Hills" because from the prairie they look black. The pine trees that cover much of the Hills reflect little light and look black from a distance. Yes, they are mountains. They are well over a mile above sea level, and rise sharply from the prairie that surrounds them.