Like a bomb went off: heavy equipment arrives to save a pond

Click this picture to see the full sized photograph of
the devastation when the old pond was destroyed.

What a shock! Yesterday some men hauling backhoes on trucks arrived to work on Valhalla's lower pond. By the afternoon it looked like a bomb had gone off with enormous trees down and a giant crater marking where the old pond had been. What had been a beautiful peaceful little area seemed to be the site of total devastation and tragic environmental destruction.

The picturesque pond as it looked last spring
following record rains and regional floods but
before this summer's drought. It was beautiful yet
already in serious trouble, choking on a combination
of silt, leaves, cattails, and cow manure. Fish that
could otherwise help keep the pond clean would
have died in such an environment. In fact, the
pond itself - while pretty - was dying.

Is any of that true? No. The old pond hadn't been maintained in a very long time and had choked both on thickets of cattails combined with years of leaves shed by giant sycamore trees that were, in turn, sucking most of the remaining water out of it. Silt had built up to levels that were slowly turning the pond into a mud bowl. Cattle had free access to it and often waded in to cool off, thus contaminating the water.

The pond had reached the end of it's natural life cycle.

There were so many trees growing along the edge
of the pond that it was mostly hidden from view.

Something had to be done, so we contacted the Crooked Creek Soil Conservation District in July for advice. Karla Axel and Water Quality Technician Specialist Mike Parkinson came over to investigate, and after looking things over suggested expanding the size and depth of the pond, removing the trees around it, fencing it off, and installing a water tank for livestock and wildlife to drink from. Such an undertaking would require a significant amount of work with heavy equipment and would therefore cost quite a bit, yet Valhalla could apply for a cost sharing grant under the federal Clean Waters Act Section 319 as administered by the State of Arkansas.

The pond will be much bigger than before.

While we were tempted to put such a costly project off until Valhalla's fundraising programs are further along, it made more sense to do it during severe drought conditions - that is, right away! We applied for and were quickly accepted into the Section 319 grant program. The front retaining wall dam was then breached to drain the pond, which  has been drying out for over a month now.

Trading a few trees for the promise of a lot of clean water.

The real work that began yesterday started with knocking down the trees that had choked the old pond out.

It was hard to watch those trees coming down but the area is a tiny nook inside a huge property, and in the end animals of all shapes and sizes will benefit.

Priceless, precious, wonderful pond muck

Another benefit already coming out of this pond project: a mountain of leftover nutrient-rich pond muck, the enemy of clean water yet one of the most prized additions to gardening soil. Valhalla's compost pile looks microscopic compared to the tons of  precious pond muck. It takes a long, long time to "grow" quality soil out of the mostly rocky gravel with barely any dirt as common throughout the Ozarks. In the coming years we'll be building up the soil with plenty of help from animals, yet in the meantime we'll add quantities of pond muck to Valhalla's raised bed vegetable gardens.

"What are you talking about? I never pee'd or pooped in that pond! I liked wading in it, sure, but always walked all the way back to the barn to use the toilet! Of course I did!"

Check back soon to see how Valhalla's first pond project progresses, we'll post updates regularly as the work on it continues!

Our IRS application for nonprofit status is being processed, 
yet you can still donate to help Valhalla today!

Finally getting off the floor: furnishing Valhalla

Living conditions have been a bit primitive, yet 
structural, safety, and accessibility improvements
dominated Valhalla's limited start-up budget. In the
case of the "Blue Room," spending money on paint
and getting rid of the wall flowers seemed to be a
more important priority than buying a bed frame.

Now designated as an indoor project for this coming
winter, the Blue Room will be transformed by 
sunny-white paint and simple, rustic furniture.

Back in July Valhalla's first furniture purchase was a new queen sized mattress, a necessary essential that allowed Gordon and I to live on site while working on safety renovations and other projects. Our two trusty folding tables for our laptops (last year we traveled in 13 states around the country with them) and the addition of eight canvas camp chairs summed up the bare essentials here for the last several months.

It didn't make sense to spend money on furniture when doorways needed to be widened, the living room floor raised, a wet-room installed... the list went on and on (still does!).

Valhalla's first couch, delivered by (from left to right)
Paul Benitz with friends Gage, Courtney, and Tylor. 

But then one day a couple of weeks ago the phone rang. "My son Paul will be there in 15 minutes," Lindy Benitz announced, "with a gift for Valhalla, and y'all gotta get off that floor one way or another!" Paul and his friends turned up with Valhalla's first couch and a matching love seat - no foo-foo colors or ruffles either, just nice beige and green plaid (the same colors we intend on painting the exterior of the house soon).

Arkansas native Jarid Matthews being held aloft
by Sergeant Nick Olszewski in Gardez, Afghanistan.

A black and white version of this same photo was
published in our book Warrior Police, the profits
from which have been pledged to help support
the Valhalla pilot property and programs. 

While watching Valhalla's young civilian volunteers in action it was impossible not to remember another Arkansas friend who we first met in Gardez, Afghanistan last year. Specialist Jarid Matthews spent hours listening to our initial "crazy idea" for a Soldiers working retreat and was quoted in our book Warrior Police saying "I'll shovel lots of sh*t if I can go there!" His home town of Harrison is only about 25 minutes away from here, and we went there a few days ago to pick up the third twin bed for Valhalla's bunk house.

While it still needs paint, area rugs, side tables, foot lockers, curtains and privacy screens,
the bunkhouse now has three twin beds including the new one (left) bought from a family in Harrison.

Quality-used instead of brand-new often makes sense.
As Albert Einstein said, "If most of us are ashamed
of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more
ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies...
It would be a sad situation if the wrapper were better
than the meat wrapped inside it." Luckily the "new"
furniture at Valhalla isn't either shabby or shoddy,
just clean, comfortable - and the numbers work too!

Then last week a small houseful of quality-used furniture came up for sale. An elderly local lady sold her house and most of the contents with it so she could move in with her daughter. It was a one-time opportunity so we pounced, paying a very reasonable flat price for a hide-a-bed couch, two recliners, coffee tables, a large bed, a dining room set with chairs, a filing cabinet for the office, two dressers, a large bag of cook books, an unbelievable number of sheet sets, and many small yet useful items.

The former Green Room (it had previously been painted with a shocking neon green) is one of two
private bedrooms where married couples will be able to stay. Someday it would be nice to push out
the outer wall about ten feet and replace the window with French doors that would open directly into
the park (currently the back yard which will become a beautiful park) yet this will do for now.

The new dining room table set will later be replaced with a long custom-made table with benches
made from timber harvested less than 100 yards away. The cabinets (right) will be moved to the other
side of the room (left) and the wall ripped out to so that people in the dining room can easily
interact with those working in the kitchen. In the interim it's wonderful to have this table!

The new hide-a-bed sofa (left) with the Benitz Family couch and love seat (right). The framed print
on the wall titled "Ever Vigilant: Protecting the People of Iraq" by Carlos Arguello shows various scenes of the 18th Military Police Brigade working with Iraqi citizens during their 2009 deployment.
The print was donated by Lt. Colonel and Valhalla board member Tom Lombardo, raising the bar pretty high on the quality and meaning of artwork to display at Valhalla. 

"Cats are not allowed on the furniture! Get off of there!"


Vixen snored softly in response. Joker briefly cracked his eyes open with a look that clearly said "Yeah, right. Whatever."

Our IRS application for nonprofit status is being processed, 
yet you can still donate to help Valhalla today!

Timber party! Community pitches in to provide firewood and lumber

A beautiful morning for harvesting two large oak trees that will
be milled into lumber for building a very large dining room table
and benches for communal meals. Once milled, the lumber must
cure and dry for many months on racks, yet the satisfaction of
sustainably harvesting and utilizing Valhalla's own natural
resources will be well worth the long wait.

Last Saturday the Benitz family and friends arrived with chainsaws to harvest some firewood for the coming winter.

Because the Valhalla pilot property includes roughly 150 acres of forested areas there will always be plenty of firewood available through deadfall alone. As part of our environmental sustainability program Valhalla also intends to use some additional trees for building furniture (tables, beds, storage chests for personal items) as well as in future cabin construction projects.

As a new nonprofit, learning as we go, it hadn't occurred to us
to include a structured Valhalla civilian volunteer program. The
neighbors didn't care about formalities though, they simply
showed up wanting to help prepare the property to receive the first
combat Soldiers and war zone civilian workers. Here Ricky 
Heinen shows his chainsaw talents with a freshly downed oak as 
his son Justin Jennings (left) waits to pounce in with his ax.

Over the summer we invited forestry experts from the US Forest Service to come out and assess the property, yet even during the drought Valhalla's forests were so thick that it was impossible to do a proper assessment. Now that the leaves are starting to fall and undergrowth is thinning out the foresters will come back to help Valhalla design a practical and productive 100 year sustainable Timber Harvest Plan.

Valhalla civilian volunteer Justin splitting firewood
from the branches of this oak tree. The trunk itself
has been reserved for milling lumber and the
firewood will help keep the house warm this
winter while reducing dependence on
electrical heating systems.

While having such a plan on private property isn't a requirement, Valhallans should have the opportunity to learn responsible timber management practices within a larger comprehensive program that will integrate wildlife management, fire control, and sustainable farming operations. Voluntarily working with foresters, wildlife managers, conservation service biologists and other public service professionals, over the long term the Valhalla pilot property should become self sustaining to provide food, building materials, and heating and cooling systems.

Neighbor Paul Benitz stacking firewood cut from
deadfall salvaged from the forest floor. 

During this early preparatory stage and without necessary equipment of our own yet - chainsaws, axes, a pickup truck for moving firewood and other materials - the role of helpful neighbors has become critical to getting the Valhalla Project off the ground. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of community members who have very limited resources themselves yet are always willing to pitch in. And at every step along the way they remember the Soldiers who have sacrificed everything in the name of their countrymen.

Who are you?

Gordon meets an unexpected trespasser on the front lawn. He then tried to convince her to deposit fertilizer inside the stakes marking Valhalla's future raised bed gardens. The cow refused to cooperate. Neighbor Doug Royston eventually arrived to bring her back to his herd.

Our IRS application for nonprofit status is being processed, 
yet you can still donate to help Valhalla today!

How *you* can help make Valhalla become a reality

They have already paid.

The Soldiers, veterans, and war zone civilian
workers will never be asked to pay for either food
or lodging at Valhalla. Monetary donations are

needed to first prepare the property for their arrival

and then cover a long list of program expenses.

The preparatory work of acquiring the pilot Valhalla property and implementing critical safety upgrades on the house has understandably cost quite a bit of money.

Founders Gordon Cucullu and Chris Fontana have stretched to personally cover these initial expenses to jump-start the Valhalla pilot property, yet available cash is now running out.

While all profits from the book Warrior Police have been pledged to the Valhalla Project, it may be many months before book sales are received by the publisher and then trickled to the authors for deposit into Valhalla's bank account.

Therefore, the time has come to ask for help in the form of time, materials, or monetary donations. 

One of the completed projects to prepare the house for the first
Valhallans (thanks again to Dennis and Dianna Marquis for
donating the tile!). At this point we need donations
 for upgrading the kitchen, exterior paint, and many
other essential preparatory tasks.

You can decide how much you'd like to give to help make Valhalla a success for the benefit of post-9/11 combat soldiers and war zone civilian workers, whether it's $5, $25, $50, $100, or larger donations.

Click here if you'd like to donate money to Valhalla using your debit card, credit card, or Paypal account:

The exterior of the house hasn't been painted
for at least a decade (if not longer).

Where would your money go? As of this writing Valhalla needs a backup generator before winter sets in! In a rural environment such as this, power outages can become a serious problem for days or even weeks at a time. Culverts must also be installed to protect the creeks and ensure vehicle access before the rainy season. And the exterior of the house hasn't been painted in years: painting it is not a cosmetic matter, but a matter of protecting the structure itself from additional weather damage. 

Donations other than money are also very
much appreciated and essential: the Benitz
Family brought over two twin beds to help
get Valhalla up and running. Quality used
items are always welcome!

These are immediate critical needs, yet the list of other essentials is very long: a barn for goats, sheep and other animals; a reliable used pickup truck for farm work, a new dishwasher (Energy Star compliant) to replace the ancient dead one in the kitchen, hand tools of all kinds, a four wheel drive tractor... well, you get the picture!

If preferred, instead of donating money you can pitch in by purchasing some critically needed items and having them sent directly to Valhalla by referring to our Critical Needs List.

An important note and disclaimer: while the Valhalla Project Inc. has already been incorporated as a non-profit organization, our application for full charitable 501(c)3 status with the IRS is still pending. This means your donation may or may not be tax deductible for this year, although we sincerely hope the IRS will be able to finish processing our application in the next few months. And regardless of tax status, with your help we will continue to move forward to safely house Soldiers and war zone civilian visitors by this coming spring.

Very first "Valhallan" builds the Guinea Fowl Palace

Then-PFC Jennifer Manning preparing to
pat down Afghan women during a cordon-
and-search operation in Gardez, Afghanistan.
A black and white version of this same photo
appears in the book Warrior Police, which
will help finance some of Valhalla Project's
operating costs in the coming years.

Although Valhalla is still getting set up for formal admissions and full operations next spring, Specialist Jennifer Manning drove for six hours from Fort Riley, Kansas to help us build a permanent pen for the Guinea fowl. This makes her the very first Valhallan to stay on the property and take part in our first (albeit simple) building project.

We first met then-Private First Class Manning in Gardez, Afghanistan where she was working as a gunner for the 92nd Military Police Company in the Spring of 2010. She is briefly mentioned several times in the book Warrior Police and ironically was one of the Soldiers who somewhat accidently helped inspire the Valhalla Project concept itself.

Even as a young enlisted Soldier she took us under her wing during our embed, making us feel both welcome and safe. Valhalla will return that favor for her and many other Soldiers.

Jen is now preparing to deploy back to Afghanistan again early next year with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion (1st Infantry Division) and therefore has a lot on her plate, to say the least. Yet after many months of regularly instant messaging with us over Facebook and staying in contact, she really wanted to come see the new pilot property with her own two eyes. And since she'll be on her second tour when Valhalla is officially opened next spring, it was decided that she should at least have the chance to participate in this initial preparatory phase while becoming the first official Valhalla Soldier.

Jen hanging over the side of the deck tacking on
poultry wire for the new Valhalla Guinea Fowl Palace.
It is a fairly simple structure that takes advantage
of a previously unused dead-space, and it will be
critical for protecting the keets and older birds
 from nighttime preditors.

Everybody works, and everybody has fun. Valhalla's recreational programs are not in place yet, but we all sure worked hard this weekend and still had a lot of fun doing it in the process!

Challenge: the growing Guinea fowl flock didn't have a secure outdoor coop to sleep in at night, three of the 18 went missing over the last few days  (and may have been snatched up by owls, coyotes or other predators), while Valhalla has nine younger keets that are quickly  outgrowing their brooder.

Mission: build a secure Guinea Fowl Palace in the unused space under the deck at the back of the house, then move both the keets and young adults into it without getting maimed. Jen accepted this specific mission weeks ago for her long Columbus Day weekend while knowing full well that it might involve sweat, effort, creativity, and possible exposure to small quantities of poultry manure.

"After Action Report"

Old habits die hard. Jen and Gordon stacked to
clear the coop before introduction of birds.

The appointed Palace space is abutted by a steep hill that we didn't want to disturb or dig out, so framing was a bit of a challenge. However, during earlier safety renovations to the house - when various doorways were widened for possible future wheel chair access - an entire narrow door frame with its matching door were removed and stashed in the basement. They were retrieved for this Guinea Palace project.

The completed Guinea Fowl Palace.

After framing with a series of 2x4s and 2x2s nailed into the existing deck, poultry wire was then tacked on with a 6" skirt at the bottom to help keep predators from digging their way in. Jen certainly proved herself with a circular saw and drill.

Then the hardest part of all: transporting the nine keets from their brooder upstairs. I crawled into their 2' high brooder on my hands and knees to shoo them into a corner where Jen and Gordon could grab them - it was a messy job as the frantic birds panicked, landed on my back, and otherwise attempted to evade capture.

Special duty: sprinkling feed around to calm the
keets as they adjusted to their new home.

In the end we successfully captured them all, although one little bird burst out of the cardboard transport box and ran straight up the side of a tree! Perched on a small limb some 18' up Jen tried to startle him down by tossing sticks around him, but he wouldn't budge until Gordon arrived with a pole. Eventually we were able to herd him through the Palace door to join the rest of the small flock, and within minutes the Guineas were happily pecking away in the straw lining their new home.

Jen sketching out a sample paintball zone
configuration while explaining some of the rules and
regulations. Every Valhallan will be encouraged to
dream up a special program or project and then
come back to see how their vision ultimately
benefited other Soldiers and war zone civilian
workers who come to stay for periods of time.

Knowing that the plan is to have ten people staying for weeks at a time at Valhalla by next spring and eventually working for a population of up to 50, Jen decided to start planning out a paint ball recreational program for different terrain features around the property. In her extremely limited spare time and as a hobby while deployed downrange she'll be mapping out boundary locations, safety procedures and playbook strategies while knowing that some day she'll be able to come back and put her plans into action.

Meanwhile, we'll be working on getting the necessary gear to help make her vision into a reality!

Our IRS application for nonprofit status is being processed, 
yet you can still donate to help Valhalla today!

Benitz Family comes through with Valhalla's first beds!

The Benitz Family from just up the road standing in
front of Valhalla's new beds. From left to right:
Matt standing next to his fiance Elizabeth Benitz,
her brother Paul, with parents Lindy and Lee on
right. Valhalla thanks you all for the wonderful
donation, beds like these are critically needed!

Wow what a wonderful day, long yet productive, and topped off with an amazing delivery from the Benitz Family just down the road: they arrived with not only two twin mattresses and beds, but a huge box of blankets and freshly washed sheets for Valhalla's new bunk house!

The beds are very special for different reasons. One is electric with handheld controls that allow one to adjust the elevation of either the head or foot of the bed, while Lee Benitz had built the other bed from scratch for his son some years ago using red oak and ash that he milled himself. Finally, they're really special since they're the very first beds for the Soldiers and war zone civilian workers who will be staying at Valhalla for many years to come.

A few of the places where Gordon and I
slept during our Warrior Police research
tour in Afghanistan last year. Soldiers and
war zone civilian workers endure such
conditions for much longer than we ever
did during our three months there.

Having comfortable bunks is understandably a very big deal since so many Soldiers and civilian workers living in Afghanistan today are stuck sleeping on cots, bunk beds, and bare mattresses without any sheets.

We learned this the hard way ourselves while researching Warrior Police last year. In Zormat it was necessary to crawl up a rickety ladder to get to an old stained mattress, and at FOB Justice somebody had messed up the order for mattresses so everybody there slept on naked box springs instead.

It was hard to complain since everybody was in the same boat, yet the first night left bruises, and the second night was an agony to try to get comfortable with wires digging into bruises from the night before.

Those serving overseas right now think nothing of napping on gravel, steel benches, or using balled up t-shirts as pillows in a pinch. They don't like it, but that's the way it is for many.

This is why the Benitz Family donation of two very comfortable twin beds is such a big deal. Lee and Lindy are determined to help make Valhalla a comfortable place, and their entire family is going the distance to help make it happen.

The new twin beds made up with sheets, blankets and pillows
also provided by the Benitz Family. Three more beds will
comfortably fit on the other side of what was previously a
sizable recreation room and of course there's 200 acres left
for building private cabins and camp sites in the years to come.
Someday this house will be converted into a visitor's center and
everyone will move into small energy-efficient self-sustaining
cabins, yet for now the house is a wonderful start-up asset!

So with help the bunk house is really coming together. Several more twin beds, bedside desks, throw rugs, curtains, lamps, chairs, foot lockers, and other essentials will be added when such items can be acquired, yet we remain confident that the Valhalla Vision will become a reality by next spring.

Thank you again, Lindy and Lee and Paul and Elizabeth and Matt!

Our IRS application for nonprofit status is being processed, 
yet you can still donate to help Valhalla today!

The Dennis & Dianna Marquis Wet Room and other updates

It took a while yet the water-proofed bathroom is finally finished, transforming a cramped space into a spacious wet-room with safety bars designed for some future Valhallans who may have physical disabilities. And unlike most bathrooms, this one even has a very stately name: The Dennis & Dianna Marquis Wet Room, in honor and recognition of all the beautiful tile they donated to Valhalla for this project:

The duel-flush toilet (1.1 gallon and 1.6 gallon flush options) will undoubtedly save a lot of water over time and we were able to buy it for less than $100, thus matching Valhalla's resource conservation and frugality purchasing goals. Although a few more accessories are needed (storage baskets, a shower bench to sit on, and a mirror to mount above the sink) we are very impressed with the end results!

Keith Hurst and Charles Jefferson were constantly on the lookout for creative ways to save on materials costs without sacrificing safety or quality. They came up with a really neat idea: salvage the old bathroom sink and move it into the bunkhouse on the other side of the wall. That way, those who are staying in the bunkhouse (previously a recreation room) can still shave or brush their teeth if and when the wet room is occupied:

The salvaged bathroom sink in its new place in the bunkhouse.
It needs a little more work and the room has to be painted, yet
 it will be a nice option for when the wet room is occupied soon!

Will the painting never end? Valhalla President
Gordon Cucullu putting the finishing touches on
one of the bedrooms while knowing there are many
other rooms that need work before next spring.

Three or even four twin beds should be able to comfortably fit into the bunkhouse, and another three up in the loft above the living room, while the two private bedrooms will eventually need to have queen sized beds for married couples who may spend periods of time at Valhalla.

The house isn't the only place where preparations are continuing: the property had a number of abandoned vehicles that not only posed a health and safety hazard (they were all contaminated with inches of rodent droppings), they also had undoubtedly dripped oil and other industrial chemicals into the soil for many years. Removing them meant bringing in a lot of heavy equipment, and it was also necessary to cut down some trees to extract the enormous dump truck that had been swallowed whole by the forest.

Valhalla would like to thank Steve and Sharron StClair for their incredible work in removing this ancient
dump truck from the property. The rear axle had frozen with rust so the wheels couldn't turn, and in
the end they had rig skids and cut the bed off to get it onto their trailer. Thanks Steve and Sharron!

Steve Nelson had to make many many trips to
apply lime over Valhalla's pastures.

The large pastures on the property have been neglected for years, so in came another huge truck to distribute two and a half tons of lime on each acre. Lime (which is simply ground up limestone, not the toxic quick-lime!) sweetens the soil without using commercial fertilizer, and by next year we should start seeing some positive results in the quality of hay and wild grasses.

Bottom line: a great deal of progress is being made yet the Valhalla to-do list remains very long. How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

Our IRS application for nonprofit status is being processed, 
yet you can still donate to help Valhalla today!